A: If you are on the e-mail list, a link is sent to you at least once before the meeting. If you don’t see one by the date of the meeting, check your spam folder. One e-mail will go out 10 -11 days before the meeting. Another is usually sent as a reminder the day of or the day before the meeting.

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The link is also published on the Events page of our website. The meeting information and agenda usually goes up at least a week before the meeting.

A: You can call in to the meeting from your cell phone and participate that way. The call-in number for the meeting will be on the website Events page.

A: Yes. Community Council meetings are held the 3rd Thursday of the month, from 7-9pm. The board meetings are held the 1st Thursday of the month, also beginning at 7pm.   Here are the dates for the 3rd Thursday Community Council general (not the board) meetings for the remainder of 2023. 

Sept 21

Oct 19

Nov 16

Dec 21

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A: 

1.    Ben Carr - At Large Board member
2.    Debra Gussin - Vice President
3.    Diane Emerson – President

4.    Jamilla Stigall - Secretary
5.    Jessica Anakar - Corresponding Secretary
6.    John Affolter - Treasurer

Their terms run through November, 2024.

We need more board members to take on these important roles for the community council. Are you ready to join in and help us continue to have a space to come together and work on Island issues? Can you help in one or more of these areas?

1. Website management

2. Mailing List and Membership List Management

3. Recruiting and supervising volunteers

4. Tabling

5. Helping the Committees function well, and making sure everyone knows about the state laws for advisory committees, and our bylaws and standing rules for committees. We need a board liaison for every committee. 

6. Meeting and Event promotion

You can always attend a meeting of the Community Council and raise the issue there during the Open Discussion portion of the agenda.

A: Currently, we depend on donations from our board members and interested members of the community to cover the expenses we have.  You can donate here.

A: If you are 18 years old or older, and reside, even part time, on Vashon-Maury Island, you may become a member. Residents 18 years and older may vote on all issues which come up at the monthly meetings of the community council.  Visit our Home Page and fill out the form at the bottom of the page.

A: Early on the Council helped to stop illegal developments and an apartment complex rezone; helped establish Island local bus service by Metro; prompted WSF dock repairs and improved ferry service; and assisted the County in conducting its Comprehensive Land Use and Zoning Study and Plan.  Many of our key Island organizations began as ideas– then committees of the Community Council, before spinning off on their own. The Groundwater Protection Committee, Vashon Household, and initial support for the Vashon Parks District are a few of the most well-known.  At one point the Community Council rented a passenger ferry and took Islanders to Olympia to protest poor service by Washington State Ferries.

Most recently, the Council has been instrumental in the installation of the sturdy metal garbage cans you have seen in Vashon town, the organizing of help and support for our beleaguered Post Office, and a stern recommendation against allowing developers to pay a fee to King County so they can build market rate housing instead of affordable housing.

Over the years the Community Council has resolved many community issues through public discussion and has enabled Islanders to express their points of view on matters of concern, such as a proposed bridge, affordable housing, and the coming drug and alcohol treatment center.  It has allowed elected officials and agencies to regularly speak to Islanders in an open town hall forum where questions are asked and often answered.

Additional Accomplishments (Several of Many)

∙         North End ferry lineup configuration on Vashon Hwy – there were head on crashes before

∙      Supported the acquisition of the Village Green, a community resource, operated by the Vashon Parks District: Village Green funding: $35,000 from King County Executive Ron Sims, $18,000 from King County Councilmember Greg Nickels

∙         King County Library at Ober Park

∙         Pushed and got the Groundwater Protection Committee with King County, and the entire Island designated as a sole source aquifer to protect our drinking water.

∙         Created the Vashon Town Plan with assistance from King County. 

∙         Coordinated a Washington State Department of Transportation grant award to create sidewalks and reconfigure the parking lot at Chautauqua and McMurray schools through the Safe Routes to Schools program (SR2S).