After almost a year on the job, director Brian Vincent says the San Juan County Public Works Department is an industrious place.
“We’ve been very busy,” he said. “There is just a lot of work that has built up over a few years. We are finally fully staffed and able to take on those lingering projects.”
Vincent said it seems the department has been hiring since he arrived, but several retirements have left the department still a couple of positions short.
“It’s just part of the business,” he said. “We have a great staff; they’re very professional, and everyone wants to [fix problems] that are of concern to the public.”
The department of public works oversees county road design, construction and maintenance; planning, design and construction of stormwater facilities; solid waste services; and purchasing and maintaining county equipment and vehicles.
In October 2015, the department adopted a six-year Transportation Improvement Program. On Orcas Island, it plans to replace the Deer Harbor bridge, improve Orcas Road and Prune Alley; replace culverts on West Beach Road; reconstruct A Street; and build a park and ride in Orcas Village. On San Juan Island, it will construct Connector Road between Pear Point and Turn Point roads; realign Cattle Point Road; replace culverts on Beaverton Valley Road; reclaim San Juan Valley Road; improve Douglas and Bailer Hill roads; and improve marine access at Griffin Bay.
On Lopez, it will conduct a feasibility study for relocation of Mackaye Harbor Road; replace the dock, float and boat ramp at Hunter Bay; and replace the float and pile at Odlin Park.
The department also plans gravel road conversions, intersection geometry improvements and non-motorized safety improvements for trails throughout the county.
The six-year program covers only “about half of what really gets done” by the department, says Vincent. The other half involves day-to-day road crew operations, engineering attention to small traffic concerns, environmental resources, and oversight of utility and solid waste functions.
The county’s October 2015 reorganization added to Public Works the Environmental Resources division, which is involved with salmon recovery, marine resources (working with the Puget Sound Partnership) and nearshore protection. Public works oversees the county’s stormwater through capital improvements and active operational management of water quality. The department also oversees and assists the county’s solid waste organizations with regulatory hurdles and interfacing with the Department of Ecology.
The 2016 expenditure budget includes: $11,960,511 to the roads fund; $312,732 to solid waste fund; $135,815 to solid waste projects fund; $560,102 to the stormwater utility fund; $849,607 to the stormwater utility capital fund; and $2,219,839 to equipment rental and revolving fund.
Vincent said he finds San Juan County residents are very interested in public works activities.
“There is a lot of input,” he says. “A lot of places, people really don’t care, but here, it’s encouraging that there’s actually concern about how and when things are done.” While sometimes that involves conflicting opinions, Vincent says he finds it exciting.
“What I like about the community and county government is, it’s small and adaptable enough to see change accomplished in a relatively short time frame,” he said. “Larger organizations can be like a big behemoth – hard to change. Here, we’re a little more nimble.”
He’s encouraged that the department gotten several projects initiated or underway recently. Prune Alley will soon have better storm drainage and a complete streetscape to include curbs, sidewalks and other characteristic Eastsound elements. The new Connector Road should allow more housing in the area; and “despite a series of challenges,” the Deer Harbor bridge work is nearly ready to go to bid. The Odlin Park float was recently replaced, making the ramp less steep, removing old creosote material and moving the float to allow boats on both sides. The department has been working collaboratively with Washington State Ferries on plans for the proposed park and ride at the Orcas landing, as well.
As spring arrives, public works will move into “construction season.” The spring maintenance schedule will include chipsealing and the gravel road conversions as well as a much-needed drainage project for the stormwater currently bogging down the Lopez Farmers’ Market. Unfortunately, February’s record-setting rains have highlighted other weaknesses in the county’s stormwater drainage system.
“The system was never designed for that kind of storm event,” said Vincent. “It certainly exposed the weak parts, some areas that really do need quicker attention.”
If he could have one wish, Vincent said he would reduce the time it takes to wade through permitting processes at various external state and federal agencies in order to move forward with needed projects.
“The permitting process is very slow, and sometimes you want to get a solution out in the field,” said Vincent. “It just takes a while, and really slows down the execution part. The hard part is, it’s such a linear process, but the agencies don’t necessarily talk to each other.” He said most of the delays are related to water or fisheries, and the Departments of Fisheries, Natural Resources, and Ecology have inconsistent and sometimes even conflicting requirements that can be challenging to meet.
“People wonder why it takes forever to get something done,” he added. “There are just a lot of steps that need to be gone through.” When problems can be solved within a day or two, he’s thrilled.
“We want to do good work, and do it as quickly as possible,” Vincent said. “I really am enjoying my time here, and look forward to the next several years of getting some things done.”
