Island County Commissioners at their Aug. 11 meeting gave final approval to a $384,500 contract to HB Hansen Construction, of Lynden, to repair a breach in the Ala Spit in Oak Harbor.

An existing concrete bulkhead will be partially removed, an existing rock groin will be partially removed and constructed at a different location, and beach material will be moved from one location to another, the county said.

The board had already preliminarily approved the plans and awarded the contract, it said.

The board also approved a contract of $284,700 to Sound Slope and Shoreline, Inc., of Freeland, to correct recurrent flooding along the southern end of Maxwelton Road and adjacent property.

That project is in its third and final phase, the board said.

The board agreed to spend up to $115,000 to survey and control the aggressive weed spartina throughout the county. Spartina, also known as cordgrass, is a genus of plants frequently found in coastal salt marshes.

The commissioners agreed to pay up to $78,000 to Patrick Cole, doing business as Wildlands Management, of Mount Vernon, to survey and control Spartina on the island through June 30.

The board recommended the appointment of Jonathan Hefflinger as an Island County representative to the Northwest Workforce Council. That Bellingham-based organization is a 27-member board responsible for governing the workforce-development system in Island, San Juan, Skagit and Whatcom counties.

Authorized under the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998, the council convenes representatives of the private and public sectors to address workforce-development issues.