Oak Harbor approves opioid-fund allocation and property purchase for regional public safety training facility

The Oak Harbor City Council on Oct. 25 approved using $407,500 from the city's opioid settlement funds toward a regional public safety training facility and authorized the purchase of Units 1 and 3 of the Goldie Street Business Park for $2,750,000 plus closing costs.

Council members said the proposed facility would provide dedicated space for mandated training and reduce long travel times to distant training sites. Chief Tony Slowick of the Oak Harbor Police Department told the council there are more than 300 law enforcement and corrections officers in Island and Skagit counties but no dedicated regional training facility. "The 1 Washington MOU allows for the legal use of opioid funds for first-responder needs, which also includes infrastructure and training," Slowick said.

The council approved the allocation and the property purchase unanimously. Council member Marshall moved to allocate…