Skagit County approves consent agenda including ARPA-funded dike repair, interpreter contract and UST insurance

The Skagit County Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 22 approved its consent agenda, voting 3-0 to adopt items 1–25, including a cooperative agreement to help Dike District 19 with emergency repairs, amendments to court interpretation services and several community service contracts.

The agreement with Dike District 19 covers county participation in emergency repairs after a past breach on the Samish River near Edison. Commissioner Ruizan said the district fixed a roughly “thirty‑forty foot hole” in the dike within 12–14 hours and the county used American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to help compensate the district.

Commissioners also approved an amendment to the Superior Court’s personal services agreement with Language Exchange to add interpreting capacity. The county will add $100,000 to that contract, commissioners said, to address growing demand for interpreters in court proceedings.

Other items on the consent agenda included: - A KnowBe4 cybersecurity training and phishing‑simulation service for county employees (described by commissioners as a quarterly self‑testing and training tool). - A recurring grant to Sunrise Services providing up to $30,000 per year for local mental‑health services. - Funding from the Washington State Department of Ecology for illegal‑dumping abatement programs (amount not specified in the meeting). - Renewal of an insurance premium for decommissioned underground storage tanks (USTs) the county has left in the ground. The premium was described as $36,000 per year; commissioners said the county has four or five properly decommissioned tanks that remain in place and therefore remain insured rather than removed. - An assessor contract with Master Touch for printing and preparation of assessor mailings (described in the meeting as printing, formatting, envelopes and inserts).

One consent item required a commissioner recusal. The board approved a personal services agreement with Chinook Enterprises to provide system navigation services through the Bridges program for eligible young adults transitioning from high school; compensation is fee‑for‑service and “shall not exceed $44,000.” Commissioner Browning stated she serves on the Chinook board and recused herself. The motion to approve the Chinook agreement carried 2–0 with one recusal.

The board opened the public comment portion of the consent agenda. A resident raised concerns about a parks‑and‑recreation property swap (Plot 44674) and said the swap and related water‑rights issues devalued their property. The resident asked for more information from the commissioner representing their district. Later in the meeting another resident, Anthony Romano (owner of Plot 44681), addressed the board during the public hearing portion about separate property and septic system enforcement letters; Romano asked county staff from Public Health to follow up.

The board moved, seconded and adopted the consent agenda items 1–25 as outlined; the procedural vote was recorded as “Motion carries 3 to 0.”