Skagit County asks Anacortes for $500,000 toward startup of STAR Center recovery facility

Skagit County Commissioner Lisa Janicki asked the Anacortes City Council on Nov. 10 for a $500,000 contribution toward startup costs for the STAR Center, a regional facility intended to provide crisis stabilization, withdrawal management (detox) and co-occurring treatment beds.

Janicki, representing the North Star county‑city initiative, said the STAR Center will have three units of 16 beds each and form part of a continuum of care that includes short-term bridge housing and recovery/transitional housing. "We will be asking the Anacortes City Council for half a million dollars to go toward the start up cost of that STAR Center so that we can get this thing started for Skagit County," Janicki said.

Why it matters: County and city leaders are asking municipalities to pool opioid-settlement proceeds to create services that are expensive to launch and that individual cities have said they cannot afford alone. Janicki said about $3 million is the initial funding “bogey” for start-up; she told councils the county has reserved just under half that amount so far and that settlement funds roll in over many years.

County presentation and proposal: Public‑health director George Kosovich summarized the North Star proposal’s three project areas: (1) short-term detox/bridge housing, (2) recovery/transitional housing, and (3) a one‑time investment in the STAR Center. Kosovich said the county’s approach is roughly an 80/20 split — about 80% of funds for joint projects and 20% held for city‑specific uses. "We're collectively received 2,600,000.0… Now we're about almost exactly 3,000,000" in settlement receipts to date, he said, describing the revenue roll‑in as roughly $500,000 a year over a 17‑year timeframe.

Council concerns on sustainability and oversight: Council members asked whether billing to Medicaid and private insurers would sustain operations after the startup phase and how the pooled funds would be governed and audited. Janicki and Kosovich said the business model used by the provider Pioneer North included third‑party billing that can sustain operations once programs reach capacity, but they acknowledged risks if Medicaid coverage is unstable. "The heavy lift is on the front end of this," Janicki said, adding that Pioneer planned to contract with insurers and that startup funding is the principal gap.

Reporting and administration: Kosovich said reporting requirements — including service counts, origin of clients and outcomes — will be built into contracts and that the county intends to work with cities to ensure data are shared in a consistent format. He also said interlocal agreements and joint RFPs are the likely vehicles for allocating funds and selecting providers.

Local context and reaction: Council members said local emergency responders and outreach teams have urged more local capacity and that existing facilities are insufficient for county needs. Councilmember Walters described the STAR Center services as the kind of resources that would have helped with past local encampment issues. Several councilmembers asked for more detail on how much each city would be asked to commit and on the governance language in any interlocal.

Next steps: Janicki said commissioners will prepare a formal request to cities and that staff will bring additional details, including an RFP process for housing projects and the county’s proposed interlocal terms. The county also plans an open house for the STAR Center on Dec. 16. Council members indicated they will consider any formal funding request during the city’s 2026 budget process.

Provenance: Presentation and Q&A on North Star and STAR Center (transcript SEG 566–941; council questions and follow-up SEG 965–1410).