Island County introduces new planning, public works and emergency management staff; facilities worker honored for 10 years

The Board of Island County Commissioners on Jan. 14 introduced several new county employees and recognized a facilities worker for a decade of service.

The announcements came during the meeting’s employee presentation segment, where planning staff introduced Crystal Jones and Amanda Hogue as new members of the county’s planning team. Crystal Jones is training for the Camano Plans Examiner/Building Inspector position; Amanda Hogue joined the planning team Dec. 16 and brings a background in hospitality management and a renewed focus on environmental protection and equitable natural resource management.

The planning presenter summarized Jones’s professional background in real-estate appraisal and art, and quoted Jones saying, “I’m proud to have trained several appraisal apprentices who are still practicing and 2 of whom have become chief appraisers in Whatcom and Snohomish counties.” The presenter said Jones retired from appraisal work when her twins were born, later worked remotely for BECU, and sold photography to the Whidbey Camano Land Trust for county tourism promotion.

Public Works introduced new hires including Evan Ritzenberg, described as a laborer with hands-on equipment experience, and Galen Patel, who was introduced as a solid-waste site attendant serving Island County’s three Whidbey sites. The presenters said both employees have been working for the county about a month and are filling operational roles in maintenance and solid-waste services.

Emergency Management staff introduced John Becker as the county’s new emergency management training and exercise coordinator. The presenter said Becker has prior emergency management experience in Hawaii, served eight years in the U.S. Army and is completing a degree in homeland security and emergency management at Arizona State. The presenter also said Becker has scheduled six CERT classes for 2025, with sessions planned on the north end, south end and Camano Island.

Facilities staff honored Chris Potts for 10 years of service. A facilities speaker credited Potts with handling the smaller projects that support larger capital efforts and described him as a dependable contributor to operations.

The meeting record shows the employee presentations concluded before the public comment and regular agenda items. Several commissioners offered brief welcome remarks to the new staff and thanked Potts for his service.

The introductions and recognition do not include formal hiring votes in the public meeting record; presenters spoke to backgrounds, duties and training schedules only. The commissioners did not take action on any of the personnel items during the meeting.

Services and programs noted: six CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) classes planned for 2025 across Island County.