Skagit County commissioners report on Northstar accountability work and agricultural tour with state legislators

Skagit County commissioners used part of their Sept. 2, 2025 meeting to report on recent work to strengthen program accountability under the Northstar behavioral-health and housing initiative and to describe a farm tour with state legislators that showcased local agricultural operations.

Commissioners said they met with TENFOLD, a consulting group advising the county on the Northstar project, to clarify performance measures and accountability for programs tied to housing and behavioral-health goals. A commissioner said the work aims to define what the county is measuring and why, and to ensure programs that do not meet goals are adjusted or discontinued.

Commissioners also described a tour organized by the Potato Commission, Wheat Commission and other partners that brought about a dozen state legislators to view local operations. Stops included Boldly Growing (a rehabilitated former dairy farm), a premium milling operation at the port where millers are able to trace product to specific fields, Tilleens Potato Farm where a high‑capacity potato-sorting machine photographs tubers for grading, Furr Island Farms’ estuary-restoration project, and Taylor Shellfish for a demonstration of shellfish life cycles and harvesting practices. County officials said the tour fostered discussion with the Secretary of Agriculture and staff and highlighted local innovations and drainage, buffer and crop‑management concerns.

Commissioners described these meetings as opportunities to demonstrate local needs and investments to state legislators and agency staff and to secure better understanding of funding and regulatory contexts.