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Island County delays three utility franchise hearings after newspaper misses notice deadline
Summary
The board continued three franchise public hearings — sewer franchise transfer PW2025‑0257 and two water franchise matters (PW2025‑0171 and PW2025‑0201) — to June 16, 2026 after the Whidbey News‑Times failed to post required public‑notice notices on time, county staff said.
County staff asked the Board of Island County Commissioners on June 2 to continue three franchise public hearings to June 16 after the county’s public‑notice newspaper failed to publish required postings in time.
Sylvester, identified in the transcript as the county engineer, said the Whidbey News‑Times did not post the notices during the week they were supposed to, which left the county short of the two‑week notification period required for these hearings. Sylvester asked to move the sewer franchise transfer (PW2025‑0257), a water franchise renewal for Olympic Marine View Water Association (PW2025‑0171), and a water franchise transfer for Southeast Camano Water Cooperative (PW2025‑0201) to the June 16 docket.
Commissioner 3 responded sharply to the newspaper’s failure to meet the deadline, criticizing the business for missing its contractual responsibilities and saying the county has to hold the newspaper to account for timely postings. “That is your business's problem, and we're paying you to do it right,” the commissioner said, arguing the county selects its newspaper of record based on professionalism and adherence to deadlines.
The board agreed to continue the three franchise matters to June 16, 2026. County staff and applicants will return on that date with the items properly noticed for public hearing.
