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San Juan County Council narrows 2027 priorities, emphasizes marine infrastructure and ferry access
Summary
Council members directed staff to refine 2027 legislative asks that prioritize marine infrastructure (including a $4 million Orcas Landing request supported by Rep. Larson) and to press Washington State Ferries for reservation-priority rules for essential service providers; council also debated tourism-tax uses for housing.
San Juan County Council on Monday refined draft 2027 legislative priorities, placing county marine infrastructure and ferry service access at the top of the list.
Counsel Jessica told the council that Representative Larson’s office backed an appropriations request of $4,000,000 for the Orcas Landing marine facility and urged the council to decide whether to concentrate the county’s capital ask on that site or present a menu of three to five prioritized marine projects. “If council would like to modify the area that you’re interested in supporting with a capital request, now is a good time to start discussing it,” Jessica said.
The nut graf: County officials said focusing the advocacy ask and showing legislators a short, prioritized list will make San Juan County’s needs easier to digest and more defensible in Olympia and Washington, D.C. Councilmembers said they prefer a concise set of priorities rather than a long, unspecific wish list.
Councilors also discussed working with Washington State Ferries (WSF) to create a reservation-priority system for essential service providers — grocery distributors, medical transport, and commercial haulers — tied to a planned reservation-system overhaul. One council member summarized WSF staff’s stance: they are willing to create prioritization rules but warned that vessel and reservation capacity are limited and priorities will require specific curbs and guarantees.
The council briefly considered a hydrogen- or passenger-only ferry proposal from Switch Maritime, which a council member said could be paired with federal ferry grants. “He submitted a proposal that I’m happy to share with you,” a council member said of the Switch Maritime representative; staff requested the written proposal for follow-up.
On housing funding, members debated whether to pursue a carve-out allowing lodging-tax (LTAC) receipts or other tourism-related revenues to fund affordable housing or public-health services. Some members opposed repurposing LTAC and recommended instead working on “funding local services through existing tax structures” and consulting with the county lobbyist, Josh Weese, on feasible legislative language.
What’s next: Staff will work with the county lobbyist to refine the marine infrastructure capital ask into a prioritized menu of projects and will bring back legal and implementation guidance on ferry-priority language and possible revenue measures for discussion at the May 26 meeting.
