Justin told the EPRC that Washington State Ferries plans a two-day closure of the East Sound ferry dock in 2027 for dock work and has asked the county which days would be best. The county will coordinate scheduling with nearby islands (Lopez, Shaw) to avoid simultaneous closures and will solicit community input via brief surveys.

Justin said he will ask that the ferry contractor include funding for transportation services in the contract so residents and visitors have inter-island and mainland travel options during the outage. “I am going to be inputting ... funding to make sure that we have transportation both within the islands and to the mainland, even if it's just foot transportation available through the entire outage,” he said.

County staff described coordination with the county Department of Emergency Management, grocery stores, schools and EMS and said outreach will include industry stakeholders and a basic survey asking whether earlier or later weekdays are preferable for the closure window. The county asked for community feedback by the end of the month so Washington State Ferries can finalize a schedule.

Ending: The county will circulate surveys and additional outreach materials; committee members encouraged planning for local transportation and emergency coordination during the closure.