Dear friends, family, and Guemes community,
Yesterday 12/5/2024, Skagit County cordially invited us all to attend a Public Hearing: “The hearing, which will be held Friday, December 20, 2024, at 1:30 p.m. is an opportunity to hear from Skagit County staff and/or members of the public to provide public comment.” Along with their invitation, they provided us all with drafts of the resolutions that they are proposing, which upon review, seem rather unreasonable and unsustainable for most islanders. They are proposing a roughly 30% fare increase overall, significant increases in the cost of HazMat, charter, and emergency services runs, and they are proposing discontinuing the sale of paper punch cards by the end of this year. They are asking for public input on these proposals, so this is our only opportunity to have our voices heard.
Links to draft resolutions shared by the county:
Proposed resolution and 2025 ferry fare schedule
Proposed resolution suspending sale and limiting future use of paper punch cards
Please join the GIFC at our regularly scheduled monthly meeting on Thursday December 12th @ 6:30 pm at the Community Hall to discuss our options. This will be an open forum, hosted by the GIFC, and the format will be geared towards a group discussion to strategize on how we as a community can clearly communicate to the county. The GIFC is here to support you, our community, and would like to gather community feedback and strategize together, to convey a united message to Skagit County that our voices will be heard, and our input should be considered when decisions are made that affect our livelihoods.
Please join us for a productive discussion! We look forward to seeing you Thursday!
Respectfully, the Guemes Island Ferry Committee