It has been a busy week for San Juan County council, approving a 2016 county budget, beginning public hearing on the Shoreline Management Plan, approving an acquisition of Zylstra Lake.

In a Nov. 23 presentation to the council, executive director Becki Day presented a year in review of the San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce.

Day said the chamber is a primary source of information for visiting tourists, and said that so far this year they’ve had 18,000 visitors to the chamber office in Friday Harbor, sent out 744 visitor guides, fielded 4,778 phone calls and mailed 125 relocation packets for people interested in moving to San Juan Island.

“It is our goal to strengthen the Town of Friday Harbor and the island’s year round economy,” Day said. “We evaluate our success by comparing the monthly lodging and sales tax reports.”

The chamber works with more than 300 business members in the community, and creates events like the upcoming Island Lights Fest to promote visitors. The festival will feature local businesses and activities like arts and crafts and caroling for kids.

In the Nov. 23 county council meeting, Ed Hale of San Juan County Public Works Department presented a 1.5 percent decrease in excise tax for solid waste in the general solid waste district, noting that Lopez Island has a separate solid waste district that would not be affected by the tax change.

The council voted to adopt an ordinance concerning what Hale called a “sustainable number,” reducing the solid waste excise tax from 16 percent down to 14.5 percent.

The council chambers were packed for almost three hours of public hearing on Nov. 30 for the first of three days regarding adapting an updated Shoreline Management Plan, with much focus on Mitchell Bay and Snug Harbor. Islanders from Orcas, Lopez, Shaw and Stuart Islands came to voice how they felt about the new plan in comparison to the old plan.

Public hearings will be held at county council meetings this week, and a final decision will be reached Dec. 15. Read the Dec. 9 edition of the Journal for more on the Shoreline Management Plan.

– By Anna V. Smith, Journal reporter