Chapter 2.35
MARINE ACCESS COMMITTEE

Sections:

2.35.010    Created – Membership, appointment, term and compensation.

2.35.020    Vacancies – Removal.

2.35.030    Duties and responsibilities.

2.35.040    Meetings, officers, records and quorum.

2.35.010 Created – Membership, appointment, term and compensation.

A. There is created a marine access committee for the city, hereinafter called “the committee.” The committee shall consist of seven voting members, and the appointments and confirmations of those members shall be governed by Chapter 2.01 BIMC.

B. Members shall not be employees or officers of the city or appointed to another city committee, board or commission, except for specialized committees or task forces of limited duration.

C. To establish the committee, initial committee appointments will include all current members of the road ends committee with unexpired terms and all current members of the harbor commission with unexpired terms. This may create a marine access committee that is temporarily larger than the permanent committee membership of seven. During this transition period, all appointed members will be voting members. If the committee membership during this transition period is greater than seven, a quorum will be a majority of the currently appointed, voting members. Initially, committee members will be appointed for terms for which the expiration date matches the expiration date of the member’s current position on either the road ends committee or harbor commission. In addition, current members of either the road ends committee or the harbor commission who hold position terms that expire on June 30, 2015, and who are eligible for reappointment will be offered an initial appointment to the new committee for a two-year term that expires on June 30, 2017. In subsequent years, the number of committee vacancies will be adjusted as needed to achieve the standard committee size of seven with staggered terms as described in subsection D of this section.

D. Members of the committee shall serve for a period of three years, commencing on July 1st and ending on June 30th three years later. Members shall be appointed to a position number, and the terms are to be staggered, with no more than three positions expiring in any given year. A member may be reappointed, and shall hold office until his or her successor has been appointed and has qualified. No member shall serve more than three consecutive terms unless the city council determines that special expertise is required, or there are no other qualified applicants.

E. Members shall serve without compensation. (Ord. 2021-16 § 7, 2021; Ord. 2016-07 § 1, 2016: Ord. 2015-13 § 3, 2015)

2.35.020 Vacancies – Removal.

In the event of a vacancy, the mayor, subject to confirmation of the city council, shall make an appointment to fill the unexpired portion of the term of the vacated position in accordance with the city’s appointment cycle. The removal and resignation of members shall be governed by Chapter 2.01 BIMC. (Ord. 2019-01 § 14, 2019: Ord. 2016-07 § 1, 2016: Ord. 2015-13 § 3, 2015)

2.35.030 Duties and responsibilities.

The marine access committee, working in collaboration with the city, shall implement recommendations for the appropriate provision of public access to water. The marine access committee shall:

A. Work to support awareness, management, and enhancement of public access to and from the island’s waters and water dependent activities;

B. Actively seek opportunities for public engagement and public outreach to increase awareness of marine access sites of all types (water access, water view, etc.);

C. Promote and coordinate opportunities to develop island-wide marine access sites, especially road ends, as appropriate circumstances occur;

D. Develop and recommend new road end and harbor management policies as needed, for island-wide water access sites;

E. Coordinate with appropriate city staff to implement the marine access policies and goals of the council through measures which include, but are not limited to, recommendation of ordinances, regulations, and other means;

F. Initiate, manage, encourage, and support a program for community stewardship of individual water access and road end sites throughout the community;

G. Actively seek to leverage city resources by identifying donation and grant opportunities and assessing for alignment with city goals and priorities;

H. Enlist volunteers, neighborhood members, and community organizations to assist with the implementation of approved plans and/or projects adopted by the city council;

I. Develop an annual work plan in collaboration with appropriate city staff, and submit the proposed work plan to city council for review and approval each year, along with a report on results of the prior year workplan;

J. Such other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned by the city council. (Ord. 2016-07 § 1, 2016: Ord. 2015-13 § 3, 2015)

2.35.040 Meetings, officers, records and quorum.

A. The committee shall meet at least monthly. Meetings shall be open to the public and held in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act (Chapter 42.30 RCW).

B. The committee shall select from among its members a chairperson for a one-year term at the first regular meeting of each year. Demotion of the chairperson shall be governed by Chapter 2.01 BIMC.

C. For meetings consisting of a majority of the then serving voting members of the committee, the committee shall provide public notice of the meeting and shall keep a record of its meeting minutes. Minutes of each meeting, including a record of attendance, shall be prepared by the secretary and approved and signed at a subsequent meeting. The minutes do not need to reflect the actual discussion, but only the formal actions taken by the committee. The approved meeting minutes shall be posted on the city’s website.

D. The city shall provide city email accounts to voting members and related training on the use of email accounts, including personal computer privacy expectations while serving on the committee.

E. A majority of the voting members then serving on the committee shall constitute a quorum. (Ord. 2019-01 § 15, 2019; Ord. 2016-07 § 1, 2016: Ord. 2015-13 § 3, 2015)