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2025-03-25 Council Minutes Edmonds City Council Minutes March 25, 2025 Page 1 EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL MEETING ACTION MINUTES March 25, 2025 ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT Mike Rosen, Mayor Will Chen, Councilmember Neil Tibbott, Council President Michelle Dotsch, Councilmember Vivian Olson, Councilmember Susan Paine, Councilmember Chris Eck, Councilmember Jenna Nand, Councilmember STAFF PRESENT Jeff Taraday, City Attorney (remote) Neil Weiss, Edmonds Municipal Court Judge Uneek Maylor, Court Administrator Shane Hope, Interim PDS Director Mike Clugston, Planning Manager Brian Tuley, IT Manager Scott Passey, City Clerk 1. CALL TO ORDER/FLAG SALUTE The Edmonds City Council meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm by Mayor Rosen in the Council Chambers, 250 5th Avenue North, Edmonds, and virtually. The meeting was opened with the flag salute. 2. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Councilmember Olson read the City Council Land Acknowledgement Statement. 3. ROLL CALL City Clerk Passey called the roll. All elected officials were present. 4. PRESENTATIONS 1. RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT AND RECOGNITION OF WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH Councilmember Eck read the resolution supporting Women's History Month and presented it to Mary Anne Dillon of the YWCA and Megan Wolfe of Girls on the Run. 2. ANNUAL JOINT MEETING - SOUTH COUNTY FIRE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Edmonds City Council Minutes March 25, 2025 Page 2 Representing South County Fire: • Fire Chief Bob Eastman • Communications Director Christie Veley • Board Chair Jim Kenny • Vice Chair Mark Laurence • Commissioners Ed Widdis, David Chan, Michael Fearnehough, Micah Rowland • Assistant Chiefs Jason Isotalo, Shaughn Maxwell, Todd Anderson Chief Eastman provided a brief presentation explaining staffing, resources, service area, lifesaving and community tools, cardiac survival rate, and other information. The group discussed items of mutual interest related to the provision of fire and rescue services. The discussion touched on the following points: • Cardiac survival rate • Neighboring Unit Utilization Factor • Transport Balancing Factor • The 1756 Report and metrics specific to Edmonds • Private ambulance service • Merits of increasing the Benefit Charge (2% increase is standard) • Merits/costs of having cross-trained firefighters and EMTs • Determining statistical significance with few incidents • Resource deployment • Fire fatality metrics • Recruitment and retention • Demographics and cultural changes in work force • Planning priorities, including infill stations, to improve response times • Needs are determined by good communication and statistical analysis 3. MUNICIPAL COURT ANNUAL REPORT Judge Neil Weiss and Court Administrator Uneek Maylor provided the annual report, which covered the following topics: • The Role of the Municipal Court • Newly Implemented Updates to scheduling, technology/website, and procedures designed to improve court accessibility, efficiency, and fairness. • Initiatives focused on correcting past convictions (Blake Vacate Project), enhancing Communication (text/email notification), accessibility, and community engagement (Law Day). • Community Court – evolution into two distinct programs: Therapeutic Community Court and Resource Fair Days. Edmonds City Council Minutes March 25, 2025 Page 3 • Statistics on caseload and operational trends. • “Prisoner Care Costs” - the legal framework governing mandatory and discretionary incarceration, including rules and statutes related to booking, pre-trial incarceration, and post-conviction sentencing and probation. COUNCIL PRESIDENT TIBBOTT MOVED TO LIMIT DISCUSSION TO ONE QUESTION OR COMMENT PER MEMBER. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Councilmembers expressed appreciation for court improvements and efficiencies. Questions and comments centered on: • Alternatives for the term Prisoner Care • Sentence lengths and credit for time served • Protentional for depriortization of charges • Separation of powers • Public Defender case loads • Potential locations for reinstatement of community court 4. MAYOR’S FINANCIAL REPORT Mayor Rosen provided a brief report. 5. APPROVAL OF AGENDA COUNCILMEMBER CHEN MOVED APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 6. RECEIVED FOR FILING 1. CLAIM FOR DAMAGES 2. WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS 3. OUTSIDE BOARD AND COMMITTEE REPORTS 7. AUDIENCE COMMENTS 1. Joan Longstaff, Edmonds, commented that the city appreciates the volunteer work of the Cemetery Board. 2. Marty Ronish, Edmonds, urged the city to remove the North Bowl from the Neighborhood Centers and Hubs list due to safety reasons and lack of redevelopment potential. 3. John Rudligh, Edmonds, urged the city to remove the North Bowl for safety and environmental reasons, adding that it won’t affect the stated goals. Edmonds City Council Minutes March 25, 2025 Page 4 4. Mike Henderson, Edmonds, urged the city to make informed decisions on the North Bowl Hub, noting that the interim ordinance came before the information. 5. Rick Hood, Edmonds, said the GIS data erroneously describes Grandview as a through street, noing that single family development shouldn’t be restricted in a hub. 6. Joe Scordino, Edmonds, expressed support for the Comprehensive Plan amendment process and encouraged the council to proceed as recommended by staff. RECESS AT 8:01 PM, MAYOR ROSEN RECESSED THE MEETING UNTIL 8:09 PM. THE MEETING RECONVENED AT 8:09 PM. 8. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS COUNCILMEMBER ECK MOVED APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA. COUNCILMEMBER OLSON MOVED TO INCLUDE THE CORRECTIONS TO THE MARCH 18 MINUTES SENT BY THE CITY CLERK. MOTION TO AMEND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. MAIN MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS AMENDED CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The agenda items approved are as follows: 1. APPROVAL OF COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES MARCH 11, 2025 2. APPROVAL OF COUNCIL COMMITTEE B MEETING MINUTES MARCH 18, 2025 3. APPROVAL OF COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES MARCH 18, 2025 4. APPROVAL OF CLAIM CHECKS - CORRECTION FROM 3/11/25 MEETING AGENDA. 5. APPROVAL OF CLAIM CHECKS AND WIRE PAYMENTS. 6. APPROVAL OF PAYROLL AND BENEFIT CHECKS, DIRECT DEPOSIT AND WIRE PAYMENTS. 7. RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT AND RECOGNITION OF WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH 8. MATHAY BALLINGER PARK SHELTER GRANT ACCEPTANCE 9. APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT PSA FOR PHASE 13 SEWER REPLACEMENT 10. APPROVAL OF PSA WITH BHC TO PROVIDE DESIGN SERVICES FOR PHASE 6 STORMWATER REPLACEMENT PROJECT 11. APPROVAL OF SUPPLEMENTAL PSA FOR PHASE 16 WATERLINE REPLACEMENT PROJECT 9. COUNCIL BUSINESS 1. ERP UPDATE Edmonds City Council Minutes March 25, 2025 Page 5 Brian Tuley, IT Manager, provided a status update on the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project, a three-phase project comprised of an 1) Accounting, 2) Payroll, and 3) Utility Billing system. He reported on the scope of work and progress to date. Council questions and comments focused on the test phase, system mapping, project phases and timeline, training for end users, and the details of time, project, and expense tracking. The payroll phase goes live in 2026. 2. 2025 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT IDEAS TO STUDY Interim Director Hope provided an overview of the approach and timeline for Council’s proposed amendment ideas to the Comprehensive Plan. The 28 separate ideas were consolidated into 5 categories: 1. Neighborhood centers & hubs 2. City Properties 3. Private Properties 4. Revisit of goals/policies 5. Code related and other Council will decide at the next meeting which ideas to include on the study list for 2025. Questions and comments included the following points: • While goals and policies are part of amendment process, code updates could be done throughout the year. • Prioritizing urgent amendments will help narrow the ideas • Underlying plans for the City Properties are needed to make informed decisions • Council should be mindful of limited staff resources and time-consuming amendments • Residents would appreciate the focus on Hubs and Centers MEETING EXTENSION COUNCILMEMBER ECK MOVED TO EXTEND THE MEETING TO 9:20 PM. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3. DESIGN REVIEW OBJECTIVES AND KEY ISSUES Interim Director Hope outlined the objectives of the design review update. House Bill 1293 mandates streamlined design review process with objective standards. Key objectives include” 1) walkability (open space, neighborhood scaled design); 2) “Eyes on the Street”; 3) Building design scaled to neighborhood; and 4) Open Space and “Green-scape.” Options for streamlining include consolidation of the Administrative, General, and District-based system into a Hybrid Model comprised of Administrative and Architectural Design Board. Edmonds City Council Minutes March 25, 2025 Page 6 Questions and comments included the following points: • The city should leverage the expertise and volunteer resources of the ADB because of its prior involvement in creating objective standards • The city should be mindful of efforts to circumvent open space standards • If feasible, standards should be developed for Neighborhood Centers & Hubs • Citizens should be encouraged to provide input to the Planning Board • A reminder that council has requested green space be incorporated into multi-family design standards. 10. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmembers commented on various issues. 11. MAYOR’S COMMENTS Mayor Rosen provided comments. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:17 pm.