Meeting Summary for Decatur Island Alliance May Meeting: May 18, 2025

Quick recap

The Decatur Island Alliance (DIA) held its second meeting on Sunday, May 18th from 10am - noon at the Decatur Island school.

The meeting focused on two issues:

• Developing a DIA operational structure that would be transparent and inclusive.

• Putting together an all-island survey to Island residents’ highest priority concerns

Operational Structure. The participants adopted a leadership team model with committees. Committees would have full autonomy, but would be accountable to specific actions and timeframes. Committees would take on both administrative and subject-matter issues. 

The leadership team would emerge from the committees. Once formed, it would consist of 5 to 7 members who represented different segments of the Island community.

Island residents' concerns: Participants discussed an all-island survey that would be both electronic and hard copy. They brainstormed about specific topics to include in the survey.

The meeting adjourned at noon.

Organizational Structure and Leadership Planning

The group discussed how to structure their organization. The group agreed and discussed forming a leadership team for Decatur Island, rather than a formal board, that would aim to build community trust through engagement activities, communications and action on specific island concerns.

They agreed on a small leadership team of 5-7 members to ensure efficiency and consensus, with representation from various factions and organizations on the island. The group chose to work within the present leadership structure for several months while we increase DIA visibility and engagement.

The group also discussed the importance of having an HOA liaison role and a functional division of responsibilities between leadership, committees, and HOA representation. Angela suggested an Island Community Engagement Strategy.

The group discussed methods for gathering community input on island priorities, emphasizing the need to reach both online and offline residents. They also decided to reach out to other islands in order to learn from neighboring communities about organizational structure, communication tools, building cohesive relationships with government officials and other issues. The group also considered using phone calls, canvassing, and other traditional methods to engage residents who are not electronically connected.

Leadership Team and Committee Structure

The group discussed the structure and operation of a leadership team and committees for their organization. Angela proposed a framework where committees would have autonomy to carry out their missions without micromanagement from the leadership team, but with oversight to ensure accountability and community harmony. The group debated membership criteria for decision-making, with a consensus that only property owners should have voting rights, while others could provide input. They also considered the possibility of allowing registered voters who are full-time residents to serve as proxies for property owners.

Decatur Island Alliance Committee Planning

The group discussed the timing for forming committees and a leadership team. They agreed to focus on creating standing committees first. Members discussed creating a flyer, managing communications, and forming liaisons with HOAs and other islands. A separate San Juan County Committee was proposed to monitor county-level issues. The initial committees are:

• Community Harmony and Outreach

• Communications

• San Juan County 

• Opalco 

• Island Engagement (survey)

Angela emphasized the need to start executing projects and building community trust. 

Residents’ Concerns & Priorities

The group decided to draft a survey to gauge islanders' concerns and priorities, with plans to create committees to research and address specific issues identified in the survey. They also discussed the importance of education and outreach to engage more community members.

Decatur Island Community Survey Planning

The group discussed the survey which will gather community input about Decatur Island's identity and concerns. The responses would be anonymous. The participants agreed that the survey would include some open-ended questions about residents' visions and values, and also questions about specific concerns. Demographic data will be captured to provide additional insights. Specific concerns to be included in the survey included: 

• Road maintenance

• Derelict vehicle removal

• Parking management

• Toxic waste removal

• Noxious weeds

• Garbage and recycle disposal

• Fire prevention 

• Fire protection

• Emergency services

• Taxation and services

• Mail service

• Access to conservancy property

Next steps

All committee chairs to send their committee's mission, action steps, and timeframes to info@decaturislandalliance.org.

• Charlie to lead the Harmony Committee; Harmony Committee to organize community events and outreach efforts.

• Melody to lead the Communications Committee and coordinate website, social media, and other communication efforts. Communications Committee to create a monthly newsletter for the island. Angela to coordinate the construction of a community bulletin board near the Art Pole.

• Jill to create a DIA flyer.

• Angela to chair the Survey Committee.  Will develop and distribute an all-island survey including topics discussed in the meeting.

• Roz to chair the San Juan County Committee. San Juan County Committee to research and analyze the island's tax contributions versus received services.

• Bill Hurley will lead an Opalco committee to gather resident concerns about solar farm proposal.

MEETING PASSCODE TO ACCESS RECORDING: .*LOsg4R

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