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Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
December 13, 2022
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EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL MEETING
APPROVED MINUTES
December 13, 2022
ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT
Mike Nelson, Mayor
Vivian Olson, Council President
Will Chen, Councilmember
Neil Tibbott, Councilmember
Diane Buckshnis, Councilmember
Susan Paine, Councilmember
Dave Teitzel, Councilmember
Jenna Nand, Councilmember
STAFF PRESENT
Oscar Antillon, Public Works Director
Dave Turley, Administrative Services Director
Angie Feser, Parks, Rec., & Human Serv. Dir.
Rich Lindsay, Parks Manager
Rob English, City Engineer
Mike Clugston, Senior Planner
Emily Wagener, Senior HR Analyst
Jeff Taraday, City Attorney
Scott Passey, City Clerk
Jerrie Bevington, Camera Operator
1. CALL TO ORDER/FLAG SALUTE
The Edmonds City Council special meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Mayor Nelson in the
Council Chambers, 250 5th Avenue North, Edmonds, and virtually. The meeting was opened with the flag
salute.
2. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Councilmember Nand read the City Council Land Acknowledge Statement: “We acknowledge the
original inhabitants of this place, the Sdohobsh (Snohomish) people and their successors the Tulalip
Tribes, who since time immemorial have hunted, fished, gathered, and taken care of these lands. We
respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and we honor their sacred spiritual connection
with the land and water.”
3. ROLL CALL
City Clerk Scott Passey called the roll. All elected officials were present.
4. PRESENTATIONS
1. RICH LINDSAY PROCLAMATION
Mayor Nelson commented the first line mentions the year 1971 which may not seem that long ago. He
shared interesting things that happened in 1971, Cup-a-Noodle soup was created, McDonald’s introduced
the quarter pounder, National Public Radio broadcast for the first time, the 26th amendment to the
Constitution lowering the age to vote to 18 was passed, Nasdaq was founded, a secret taping system was
installed in President Nixon’s White House, Starbucks was founded, one of the most famous fights
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December 13, 2022
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between Mohamed Ali vs. Joe Frazier occurred, kids were playing with Hot Wheels, Etch A Sketch and
Battleship, but what was most impactful in 1971 to the future of Edmonds was when Rich Lindsay was
hired. Mayor Nelson read a proclamation honoring Rich Lindsay and proclaiming the City’s Tree
Lighting Day as Rich Lindsay Day in Edmonds and thanking him for his service and commitment to the
City of Edmonds and encouraging all residents to join the council in extending their gratitude and
appreciation for his service to the community and environmental leadership.
Parks, Recreation and Human Services Director Feser presented Mr. Lindsay with a Lindsay Way street
sign that will be installed in City Park. Mr. Lindsay thanked Mayor Nelson, councilmembers and
audience members for their appreciation of the 51 years he worked for the City. There have been a lot of
changes during that time; he started as a seasonal employee, progressed to a senior maintenance worker,
lead and then parks manager. The parks manager position has been the most fulfilling, a job he loved. He
will miss the people when he retires, but not the work. He recognized the parks crew he was in charge of
for many years who were the tops and made him look good. Everything comes to a close, and it is his
time to move on. He expressed appreciation for everybody’s help and the opportunity to talk with past
and present councilmembers and mayors, remarking he served under eight different directors including
Ms. Feser who is a great director.
5. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, TO
APPROVE THE AGENDA IN CONTENT AND ORDER.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS,
TO MOVE 10.1, ADOPTION OF 2022 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENTS, TO 10.6.
Council President Olson advised this was a staff request because something preliminary needs to be
discussed first.
AMENDMENT CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
MAIN MOTION AS AMENDED CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
6. AUDIENCE COMMENTS
Mayor Nelson described the procedures for audience comments.
Deborah Arthur, Edmonds, wished the Council a nice meeting and said she will be listening.
7. RECEIVED FOR FILING
1. CLAIM FOR DAMAGES FROM SHERMAN PRUITT FOR FILING
2. WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS
3. OUTSIDE BOARDS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
8. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS
COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON, TO
APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA.
Council President Olson requested the following items be removed from the consent agenda: 8.6, Civic
Center Playfield Park - Walker Macy Contract Amendment, 8.11, Sole Source Procurement Truck, and
8.13, Commander Position Job Description.
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December 13, 2022
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COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER NAND, TO MOVE
8.13, COMMANDER POSITION JOB DESCRIPTION TO 10.1.
Council President Olson relayed she was told the commander position job description not ready for
tonight’s agenda and suggested placing it on a future agenda.
COUNCILMEMBER PAINE WITHDREW THE MOTION WITH THE AGREEMENT OF THE
SECOND.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS,
TO MOVE ITEM 8.6, CIVIC CENTER PLAYFIELD PARK - WALKER MACY CONTRACT
AMENDMENT, TO COUNCIL BUSINESS 10.7. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL, TO
MOVE ITEM 8.11, SOLE SOURCE PROCUREMENT TRUCK, TO COUNCIL BUSINESS 10.1.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Council President Olson confirmed Council Business Item 10.1, Adoption of the 2022 Comprehensive
Plan Amendments was moved to Council Business Item 10.6 via action taken under Agenda Item 5,
Approval of the Agenda.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The agenda items approved are as follows:
1. APPROVAL OF REGULAR MEETING MINUTES OF DECEMBER 6, 2022
2. APPROVAL OF PAYROLL AND BENEFIT CHECKS, DIRECT DEPOSIT AND WIRE
PAYMENTS
3. APPROVAL OF CLAIM CHECKS AND WIRE PAYMENT
4. 2023 BOARD AND COMMISSION REAPPOINTMENTS
5. CONFIRMATION OF DIVERSITY COMMISSION APPOINTEES DIPTI CHRASTKA &
PAM IVERSON
7. CIVIC PARK - SNOHOMISH COUNTY REET ALLOCATION ILA
8. APPROVE DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY AGREEMENT - 2021-2023 BIENNIAL
STORMWATER CAPACITY GRANT
9. APPROVE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH BLUELINE FOR 2023
OVERLAY PROJECT
10. PUBLIC SAFETY PARKING AREA SAFETY BARRIER PROJECT
12. MICROSOFT ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT AND LICENSE CONTRACT RENEWAL
9. PUBLIC HEARING
1. PUBLIC HEARING ON 2023 PUBLIC WORKS UTILITY RATE INCREASE
Mayor Nelson opened the public participation portion of the public hearing.
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December 13, 2022
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Deborah Arthur, Edmonds, was surprised the increase was so high for PSE and asked if it was only in
Edmonds or all of Snohomish County. The supervisor she spoke to at PSE was surprised at such a large
increase and indicated therm rates have only increased by 1%, but gas increased a hefty 25-30%. She was
not complaining, she just wanted to know more about it. She concluded no one wants their utilities to go
up.
With no further public comment, Mayor Nelson closed the public hearing.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO
APPROVE THE ORDINANCE IN THE PACKET THAT ACCEPTS THE UTILITY RATE
INCREASES RECOMMENDED BY STAFF, 5% SEWER, 4% WATER AND 4%
STORMWATER.
Councilmember Teitzel said he was torn about this because he clearly sees these are inflationary items,
recent data indicates a year over year CPI increase of 9%, gas prices are in excess of $4 and heating costs
are up so it concerned him to raise utility rates at the same time. However, he recognized input costs were
also increasing such as costs to maintain infrastructure as well as dramatic increases in wholesale water
prices from Alderwood Water.
COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL MOVED, SECONDED COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS, TO
AMEND THE MOTION TO INCREASE UTILITY RATES BY 50% OF THE PROPOSED
INCREASE.
Councilmember Teitzel explained this would allow the City to recovery some of the increased costs, but
not all and when the rate study is completed next year, rates can be reconsidered.
Councilmember Nand echoed the concerns Councilmember Teitzel expressed about raising rates at a time
when a lot of Edmonds households are tightening their belts to meet their monthly expenses due to the
added pressure from inflation. However, she also found Mr. Antillon’s presentation about the anticipated
11% increase from Alderwood Water very compelling and it would be nice to divide that up rather than
pass on the entire 11% rate increase to ratepayers next year or the following year, a significant increase
especially for seniors on a fixed income. There have been public comments about the proposal to increase
rates without completing a rate study to determine the best way to phase in the increase rather than a
sticker shock approach of 11% in the future. She agreed Councilmember Teitzel’s approach to increase
rates by 2.5% in anticipation of the rate study would be a good compromise to address the various
stakeholders and acknowledge a lot of people are suffering financially due to the pandemic and
inflationary times.
Councilmember Buckshnis said she has already made her opinion known about the 2017 rate study that
included the marsh in stormwater as well as the full amount for sewer. She had not seen fiscal
responsibility; for example Water’s professional services are estimated at $1.2 million for 2022, and a
budget of $1.78 million which she felt was a lot of professional services to be nimble. Storm’s estimated
2022 professional services are $1.8 million and the 2023 budget is $2.2 million, a lot of extra to be
nimble. Professional services for Sewer are estimated at $1.7 million for 2022 and the 2023 budget is $1.5
million. The council and HR scrubbed their budgets and it is unfortunate other departments have not
curtailed their budgetary requests. She expressed support for Councilmember Teitzel’s motion to cover
the increase in water.
Councilmember Paine said she would not support the amendment, but would support the original motion.
Enterprise funds are supposed to be self-supporting. Edmonds had dramatic rate increases in the past due
to the lack of rate increases 15 years ago. The proposed 5%, 4%, 4% rate increase is tempered and
measured and does not reflect the entire cost of living for the last two years, but might be easier to
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December 13, 2022
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negotiate rather than a steeper increase. She recalled from a previous discussion, when the council
foregoes tax income, the end result is the loss of a large amount over a period of time. She appreciated the
amendment, recognizing that an increase would be unpopular, but the City does not get a reduced rate
from its providers.
Council President Olson liked the comment made earlier about a compromise and how this tries to meet
everyone halfway. In spite of feeling that way, she anticipated the City’s customers would dislike seeing a
larger increase next year more than they disliked splitting the increase. She found the increase inevitable
and encouraged council to take the heat from people this year, because they will be less happy about a
bigger increase next year.
Councilmember Chen did not support the amendment. He was torn between increasing the rates and
understanding the impact of inflation as Councilmember Nand mentioned, on seniors on fixed incomes.
He wanted to ensure the City made an extra effort to inform residents about the ARPA funded household
support grants so that people can apply if they need help.
Councilmember Tibbott did not support the amendment. These are essential services; if people are
choosing between Wi-Fi and water and sewer, water and sewer are absolutely necessary. The City needs
to pay for these utilities and it is appropriate to split the difference between this year and next and pay as
we go.
UPON ROLL CALL, MOTION FAILED (3-4), COUNCILMEMBERS TEITZEL, BUCKSHNIS
AND NAND VOTING YES; COUNCILMEMBERS CHEN TIBBOTT, AND PAINE AND
COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON VOTING NO.
City Attorney Jeff Taraday advised the version of the ordinance in the packet is not the most updated
version and technical changes need to be made. He suggested the ordinance come back on a future
consent agenda such as on Monday night.
UPON ROLL CALL, MAIN MOTION CARRIED (6-1), COUNCILMEMBERS TEITZEL, CHEN,
TIBBOTT, PAINE AND NAND AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON VOTING YES;
COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS VOTING NO.
10. COUNCIL BUSINESS
1. SOLE SOURCE PROCUREMENT TRUCK (previously Consent Agenda 8.11)
Public Works Director Oscar Antillon relayed his understanding that the question was about the truck and
why staff was asking to fund it now. A vendor is able to provide this truck right now; staff was informed
the vendor received the truck this week and are outfitting it so it will be ready to purchase in the next
couple weeks. In a normal process, the lead time for this type of equipment is very long and Ford is
actually not even taking orders. The City was lucky to find someone who put this in the queue a while
back and is willing to sell it to the City which is why staff asked for a sole procurement for this vehicle.
This vehicle provides snow response capability in areas the City’s current vehicles are unable to access
such as small neighborhoods on steep hills.
Councilmember Buckshnis asked if this was the same truck in the 2022 budget amendments, agenda item
10.2. Mr. Antillon answered yes. Councilmember Buckshnis asked why this was on the consent agenda
for approval as well as a budget amendment. She asked if the intent was to remove it from the budget
amendment. Mayor Nelson advised it would be pulled from the budget amendment because otherwise a
truck could not be purchased until next year. Councilmember Buckshnis said her understanding at the
finance committee meeting was approving the budget amendment would fund the truck.
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December 13, 2022
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Councilmember Tibbott said having heard the presentation about the truck, he was excited the City could
get it now and have the opportunity to serve parts of the City that currently do not have good snow
removal especially the northern part of the City with steep hills and narrow streets. This is not only a way
to extend services, but also a public safety issue. He was happy the truck purchase could be moved
forward this year.
Councilmember Nand echoed the previous comments and asked how soon the City could get delivery of
the truck if the council approves the sole source. Mr. Antillon explained the truck is being outfitted now
with the dump bed, spreader for deicing, and plow. The vendor thinks he can get it outfitted by next
Friday. Councilmember Nand said she lives off Highway 99 and saw the bright blue light when the power
lines went down during the snowstorm that resulted in people being trapped at home with no heat and
unable to leave. There is nothing else on tonight’s agenda that is as high a priority as getting this truck
into the City’s fleet. She expressed support for the sole source procurement.
Council President Olson wanted to ensure everyone was on the same page with regard to the process. This
was scheduled as a presentation so when the council gets to the budget amendments, councilmembers
would be more comfortable passing it. It was also scheduled as a presentation instead of on the consent
agenda to inform the public. Sometimes the northern area of the City has not seen or heard the love the
City is sending them and council wanted to know about this. It was her understanding this would be
approved during the 4th quarter budget amendment process instead of taking a vote now. Administrative
Services Director Dave Turley said there is some confusion about this item. Staff is asking council to
approve sole source procurement of the truck, rather than go through a bid process. There is a truck
available and it is the only one like it. Council approval of the sole source procurement is necessary
before the budget amendment; approval of the budget amendment will put money into the budget to
actually buy it, two separate approvals.
In terms of the need for truck, Councilmember Chen recalled last winter, the road was covered with ice
for a week illustrating the desperate need for more equipment. After that experience last winter, he
anticipated staff would have jumped on acquisitions sooner than nearly a year later. Mr. Antillon
answered this was identified as a gap in public works’ capabilities and it was initiated earlier in year
before he joined the City, but staff did not think they would be able to purchase it until 2023. Staff found
this vehicle about a month ago and decided to put it in front of the council as a sole source procurement.
Councilmember Chen joked it was a Christmas gift for the council.
Councilmember Paine asked if the truck can be used year round and whether it was 4-wheel drive. Mr.
Antillon answered it is 4-wheel drive and has a dump bed so it will be multi-use. Councilmember Paine
commented the forecast next week is for very cold weather and she looked forward to not getting stuck on
the hill. Although she doesn’t mind walking, it is a challenge for many and this will be a welcome
addition to the fleet.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER CHEN, TO
ACCEPT SOLE SOURCE PROCUREMENT OF THE SNOW REMOVAL TRUCK.
Councilmember Teitzel recalled this was discussed in committee and he wanted to clarify the funding
source. He recalled the committee recommended using ARPA funds as this addresses health and safety.
Councilmember Buckshnis raised a point of order, advising the funding source will be discussed under
the budget amendment process, this is strictly approving the sole source procurement. Mayor Nelson
ruled point taken.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
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2. 2022 DECEMBER BUDGET AMENDMENT
Administrative Services Director reviewed the 4th Quarter Budget Amendment:
• There are seven requests, detailed information is available in the council packet beginning on
page 686.
• If approved this budget amendment would increase forecast revenues by $165,000 and would
increase budgeted expenditures by $1,703,550
• Amendments
1. Provide budget authority needed resulting from AFSCME Collective Bargaining Agreement
for the last three payroll cycles of 2022, $242,000 as approved by council on November 22,
2022.
2. Provide budget authority needed resulting from the AFSCME Collective Bargaining
Agreement retroactive payment, $785,520, as approved by council on November 22, 2022
3. Provide budget authority needed resulting from AFSCME Collective Bargaining Agreement
step increases, $159,600, as approved by Council on November 22, 2022.
4. Provide budget authority needed resulting from the EPOA Commissioned and Law Support
Bargaining Agreement retroactive payments and increases to base salaries, $112,000, as
approved by Council on November 22, 2022
5. Provide funding for the City Clerk’s office in the amount of $14,030 to improve the City’s
online code presentation to a more modern platform
6. Provide funding for the Gift Catalog Fund 127 in the amount of $60,000 for additional
spending related to various items; related revenue from donations and from the Goffette
donation have already been recorded
7. Provide $165,000 in funding from the General Fund for a Ford F-550 4WD 3-yard dump
truck with snow plow and sander configuration. This truck has recently become available and
we would like to order it now, in 2022, so that it will be available when winter storms hit.
COUNCILMEMBER CHEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO
ACCEPT THE DECEMBER BUDGET AMENDMENTS.
Councilmember Chen commented the reason the finance committee recommend this come to full council
was the significant dollar amount and for transparency. A majority of the items have been preapproved.
Council President Olson asked if the motion should include the language in the title of the ordinance. City
Attorney Jeff Taraday answered the title does not need to be read; at times, multiple ordinances are
presented and in those cases, additional clarity is needed. Because there is only one ordinance in the
packet for this item, the legislative intent is significantly clear.
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December 13, 2022
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Councilmember Nand apologized if this had already been covered; she missed Saturday’s meeting due to
bereavement. With regard to amendment 6, she asked if funds from the Goffette bequest were already
being spent on benches and picnic tables or was there room in the parks & recreation’s budget that allows
General Funds to be used for park benches and picnic tables. She recalled the Goffette bequest was very
specific about its use for flower baskets and flower beds. Mr. Turley answered that is a two part question.
The gift catalog Fund 127 has been around for several years and in the past was primarily used for
donations for park benches and flower poles. When the ordinance was originally passed, it created a gift
catalog and people could make donations for specific items. With the bequest from the Goffette estate, a
question arose about where to put the money. It was decided since it is related to parks projects and it is a
donation, it would be put into the Fund 127, but within the fund, the Goffette money will be separate from
other donations. There is no General Fund money in Fund 127, only funds from donations and the
Goffette bequest. The statement in the budget amendment is that all expenses are offset by revenues that
have been received and are in the fund’s fund balance.
Councilmember Nand observed the Goffette bequest is not being comingled for benches, etc., it is
segregated for flower baskets and flower beds. Mr. Turley agreed the Goffette funds are kept separate
from donations from individuals.
Councilmember Buckshnis explained this increases the authority to handle the incoming gift catalog
purchases and has nothing to do with the Goffette funds.
COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON,
TO UTILIZE ARPA FUNDING FOR THE SOLE PROCUREMENT TRUCK.
Councilmember Buckshnis provided rationale for her amendment, the City has been buying vehicles with
ARPA funds rather than the 511 fund.
Councilmember Nand agreed this was an entirely appropriate use of ARPA funds because access to roads,
especially during extreme weather events does address both economic and health impacts of the
community which is what Congress directed the ARPA funds be used for. Having the roads plowed helps
small businesses, helps people get to work and generate income, and ensures first responders and
vulnerable residents have access to the services they need.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Councilmember Buckshnis referred to Exhibit D which lists the funding source as Fund 511 and asked if
that would be changed to ARPA funds. Mr. Turley said assuming the motion to approve the budget
amendment as amended is approved, the ordinance will be updated to reflect that change and put it on the
consent agenda next week.
COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON,
TO AMEND THE ORDINANCE AND PUT IT ON CONSENT. MOTION CARRIED
UNANIMOUSLY.
3. EDMONDS CITY ATTORNEY 2023 CONTRACT
Councilmember Teitzel recalled the work group has been before council several times discussing the need
to establish a 2023 one year contract with Lighthouse because the current contract expires December 31,
2022. The work group brought two options to council on November 22nd, 1) a flat rate option similar to
the current Lighthouse contract, and 2) an hourly billed option. After discussion on November 22nd,
council directed the work group to pursue the flat rate option, finalize that option and bring it back to
council for consideration. On December 6th, the council discussed the revised flat rate and requested
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additional changes. During that discussion, it was clear there was a very deep concern about the look back
clause in the flat rate option, which provides for basically retroactive billing if the City terminated the
contract with Lighthouse. After hearing those concerns, the work group decided to return tonight to
consider the two options again, 1) a refined flat rate option which incorporates council’s December 6th
input, and 2) an hourly rate billing option which does not have a look back clause. The flat rate options is
Option A and the hourly rate billing is Option B.
Councilmember Teitzel continued, Option A assumes a 7.5% increase above the 2022 flat rate or an
additional $49,000. The cost of Option B was calculated by assuming the average number of hours
booked for Lighthouse for the past four years and multiplying it by the hourly labor rate Lighthouse
would charge. If the council selects Option B, the incremental cost for 2023 would be $188,000. The
actual cost can be higher or lower depending on how the City controls the workload given to Lighthouse.
The work group is hopeful the council will approve one of the two options for 2023 tonight.
Councilmember Paine recalled when the council last discussed this, there were two motions on the floor,
the first from Councilmember Tibbott to remove Section ii and iii, and an amendment she made to return
to the original language in ii and iii from the November 22, 2022 packet. She asked City Attorney Jeff
Taraday how the council should proceed. Mr. Taraday answered the cleanest, easiest way is to use the
versions of the contracts in the packet as the starting point tonight. He recalled the versions in the packet
reflected the adopted motions from the last meeting.
Councilmember Paine did not think they did. Mr. Taraday said for example, at the last meeting, council
voted to remove the RCP 1.6 authorization which is showed as stricken on page 703 of the packet. In
addition, the changes made to paragraph 3.a also reflect the motions adopted at the last meeting. He did
not recall if there were other approved motions. To keep it clean and understandable, the most
straightforward way is to use the versions in the packet as a starting point.
Councilmember Paine pointed out the council had not voted on the two motions regarding 3.c.ii and iii.
Mr. Taraday agreed there was no vote, but it was his understanding that the work group essentially used
the pending motions to inform its next steps in negotiating with him. What is coming back to the council
now are revisions that were informed by the fact that those motions were made and deliberated on, even if
they weren’t voted on. It may help to remind the council what those motions were, but he suggested not
getting bogged down procedurally with regard to with those motions. The cleanest way to proceed is to
use what is in the packet as the starting point.
Councilmember Paine recalled the motion made by Councilmember Tibbott was to remove section 3.c.ii
and iii. She had then counter-motioned to return to the language in the November 22, 2022 packet for
those two sections. The contract in the packet includes the language from November 22, 2022, but that
actually had not been resolved.
Councilmember Paine explained the packet includes a contract reflecting Option B, an hourly rate,
standard form contract with 95% of the standard Lighthouse rate and the only time the 100% would be
charged is there was a request for award of attorney fees. The full hourly rate, depending on who did the
work, would be billed monthly and reviewed by finance and a councilmember, and the expenditure
approved for the hours worked the prior month.
Councilmember Nand asked if council approved Option B, the hourly rate with no look back provision,
would the council need to adopt a city attorney budget ceiling in the 2023 budget. Councilmember Teitzel
said he was prepared tonight to enter a revised number into the budget for the city attorney contract
depending on what option the council approves. The cost of the hourly rate contract is an estimate,
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December 13, 2022
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assuming X number of hours, and that amount could increase or decrease. If the council selects the hourly
rate option, the estimated cost will be included in the budget.
Councilmember Chen agreed with Councilmember Teitzel that an estimated budget amount would be
proposed that would be calculated using the estimated hours used. Assuming 85% of the historical
average hours for the past 4 years, the estimated budget amount would be $835,435; assuming 90% of the
average hours for the past 4 years, the estimated budget would be $884,528; and assuming 100% of the
average hours for the past 4 years, the estimated budget amount would be $982,884.
Councilmember Buckshnis said she had several procedural questions, pointing out when COVID hit, the
city attorney’s hours increased due to the city attorney attending committee meetings and she hoped that
had been considered. She asked about the process for monitoring attorney hours. She was aware some
councilmembers use the attorney to prepare resolutions or for advice, and acknowledged the council
president needed that information. She wanted to get an idea about the procedural aspect if the contract
was based on an hourly rate and how that will be managed by the council as a whole.
Councilmember Teitzel responded the work group talked about that briefly and since they are intimately
familiar with this issue, it makes sense initially to involve the work group in reviewing Lighthouse’s bills
and determining who needed to be asked about any aberrations on a monthly basis.
Councilmember Paine commented there would not be a detailed summary on the billing, only an
overview of the number of hours and the project title to maintain some level of confidentiality. The intent
would be to track hours and not get involved where the work group did not necessarily belong.
As a follow up to Councilmember Buckshnis’ question, Councilmember Nand said in the private sector
and in a municipality of this size, which is comparable to a mid-size company, there would be an inhouse
attorney responsible for reviewing monthly billing statements from outside firms to ensure, 1) the entity is
not being overcharged, and 2) usage of the legal budget is judicious. She asked if the work group would
review Lighthouse’s monthly invoices under an hourly rate scheme and determine whether the times
billed were judicious and also informing other sectors of city government whether they are using hours
appropriately, setting caps for hours, basically administering Lighthouse’s services under an hourly rate
scheme comparable to what an inhouse attorney would do in the private sector when engaging outside
counsel.
Councilmember Teitzel answered at least initially, for the first quarter or so, the work group should be
involved in scanning documents for any aberrations. As time goes by, a better, more permanent process
for that review would be determined. Initially, the work group is best equipped to make those high level
reviews and determine if further investigation is necessary for anything that looks abnormal.
Councilmember Buckshnis disagreed with that because the council president is instrumental in dealing
with the attorney and is responsible as a representative of the council to look at invoices and claims
reports. She acknowledged the work group had done a lot of work, but felt the council president should be
involved because their work with the city attorney is more detailed and timely and they would have a
better idea of how much time has been spent with the city attorney. She suggested the council discuss
using outside law firms to work on appeals, possibly as a retreat topic.
Councilmember Chen commented it would be helpful to have someone with a law background assist with
the review.
Councilmember Tibbott asked for confirmation that this discussion was about a one year contract and not
beyond that. Councilmember Teitzel answered yes. Councilmember Tibbott commented during this one
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
December 13, 2022
Page 11
year contract, there would be an opportunity to evaluate how the City uses attorney services and evaluate
the services received and perhaps develop options for better utilizing those services. He has been satisfied
with the attorney services the City has received and the payment method used for the last decade. He
preferred to go with what we know during the next year to give the council a year to evaluate themselves
and the way they are using those services.
Councilmember Paine pointed out the issue of a quorum if the council president was added to the three-
person work group when reviewing billings. That issue has not yet been ironed out; the intent is to first
approve the contract.
In response to Councilmember Chen’s comment, Councilmember Nand pointed out having four
councilmembers in the work group would create a quorum. If Option B is selected, she suggested the
work group may want to engage Madrona to assist with establishing a ceiling on the usage of city attorney
services. That would provide the work group legal expertise from someone in the legal profession and
help the City transition if that option is selected tonight.
COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON, TO
GO WITH OPTION A WHICH IS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE HAVE BEEN USING FOR
THE LAST 10 YEARS. WITH THE DISCUSSION TONIGHT, UTILIZE SOME OF THE IDEAS
TO EVALUATE WHAT TO DO AFTER A FULL YEAR OF THIS CONTRACT.
Councilmember Tibbott said he has appreciated the services the City has received from Lighthouse. This
one year contract provides an give opportunity to evaluate the use of services and how to use them in the
future.
Council President Olson clarified if this motion failed, the council’s choice would be Option B. Mr.
Taraday advised if the motion for Option A failed, a second motion for Option B would still be necessary
because the council could just opt not to contract with Lighthouse.
Council President Olson commented this decision has been surprisingly difficulty and has taken a lot of
time and thought. She seconded the motion for discussion; she could have been satisfied with the status
quo; as others have said, it is just a one year extension and to do that with a cost of living increase was
super simple, straightforward and easy. It seems from the conversation that the look back clause, which
was a sticking point in the past, continues to be a sticking point. If the look back clause is triggered, the
council ends up paying hourly so she was thinking the council should just approve the hourly contract
because it looks less conflicted. She has not had an issue with the way the City has done business with
Lighthouse and would not have had an issue with continuing with the flat rate as it would have been a
fast, simple way to do a one year extension.
Councilmember Teitzel clarified the reason the work group was bringing two options to council tonight
was the significant concern with the look back clause. If the City contracted with Lighthouse on a flat rate
basis and then decide to terminate in late 2023, there would be a retroactive billing of up to 8 months of
look back which caused council a great deal of concern. The hourly rate billing option is much cleaner, it
provides a lot of control with regard to how the City uses the city attorney and how much work they are
asked to do. There is a lot of discretion in what they are asked to do, such as not attending as many
committee meetings in 2023. There is some portion of the city attorney’s time that is not discretionary as
there will be lawsuits to defend which will take some time. If the hours can be reduced by 15%, that
number will be included in the budget. An hourly rate is a cleaner method and is the way most, if not all,
other cities in Washington contract with attorneys.
Councilmember Nand stated her appreciation to the work group for bringing Option B to the council and
thanked Councilmember Chen for the calculations. She preferred to continue with the flat rate which
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
December 13, 2022
Page 12
obviously is less beneficial to Lighthouse because under Option B they receive more money. The rate the
City has received for many years has been very beneficial and reflects the good relationship the City had
with Lighthouse and the hope that that would continue into the future. If the council was considering an
inhouse attorney for the 2024 budget, the look back clause would trigger a $200,000 increase in city
attorney services in 2023. Paying $58,000/month under Option A versus paying close to $1 million/year
under Option B would be a better use of taxpayers’ money. However, the City could potentially pay the
higher amount if the look back provision is triggered during budget talks next year. She was hopefully
laying this out would reduce some of the public acrimony. This is bargaining for services, and there is
nothing wrong with Lighthouse pursuing an aggressive bargaining position; their incentive is to make
money, the council’s incentive is to be judicious in the use of taxpayers’ money.
Councilmember Chen pointed out advantages of the straight hourly rate, it is very fair and the City only
pays for what it uses. Comparing it to the flat rate, there are also considerations of who is taking
advantage, whether the City is taking advantage of the attorney by using more hours and paying at the
lower rate, or whether the hours billed were actually needed. That ambiguity is negated by a straight
hourly rate. Another advantage is it will give the City an opportunity to look at where hours can be cut
and areas where attorney services are needed and when people need to be more careful about calling the
attorney. There are other advantages, but those are the two most significant.
From an old timers standpoint, Councilmember Buckshnis said the City has used Lighthouse for a decade
and she has thoroughly enjoyed the flat rate. But as Councilmember Chen said, it is like a buffet and
Lighthouse spent many hours on Ebb Tide which she anticipated would not have occurred if the City had
been paying an hourly rate. It is time to rebuild trust with the community; the community has provided a
number of negative comments. She trusts the city attorney, but it is important to take a year to look at
what needs to be done and test the waters to see if there is another firm. It has been over a decade since
that has been done; councils look at their city administrators qualifications after a decade. She recalled in
2009, the City changed from Scott Snyder with Ogden Murphy Wallace to Lighthouse because the
community had lost trust in Ogden Murphy Wallace. She preferred to pursue the hourly rate, be
conscientious and have the council president involved in reviewing the hourly billings.
Councilmember Paine commented if the council selects an hourly rate, the council will be evaluating the
RFPs on an apples to apples basis which will be important. The flat rate has been beneficial to the City
and she has no quibble with that. An hourly rate contract will put the City into a much fairer position and
will respect the work being done by the city attorney for the municipal corporation. The work done by the
city attorney is absolutely essential, not something that can be pulled off the shelf as it requires people
with expertise in municipal law. She concluded everyone will benefit from experiencing an hourly rate
that is closer to the market rate.
Council President Olson said the fairness argument resonates the most with her; the City should be paying
for the value they are getting. She anticipated some of the extraneous use will need to be cut out because a
lot of city attorney services will be needed this year such as for the code rewrite. She hoped
councilmembers had their eyes wide open as they vote; 85% of what has been used over the last four
years may not be conservative, there may not be a choice not to use more hours. The simplicity of
extending the existing method appeals to her, but she understood what everybody was saying on the
subject.
Councilmember Teitzel commented if council decides to go with the hourly rate billing option, it will
require a dramatic culture change with regard to interactions with the attorney. When he calls Mr.
Taraday, he starts with small talk. With an hourly rate option, the clock will be running so interactions
will need to be much more focused. That will apply not only to council but also the administration, a
jarring but necessary change.
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
December 13, 2022
Page 13
Councilmember Nand pointed out under 10.3.e in section 1 in Option B, it will be a non-exclusive
contract. With the concern about upcoming appeals in 2023, the City could do a RFP for an appellate
attorney that specializes in appeals; she did not anticipate an appellate attorney would charge less than the
$336/hour rate in Option B. She preferred Option A as it results in a savings for the City. If there is a
strong sense the City will do an RFP for the 2024 budget, she could see it would be more fair to
Lighthouse and a good experience for the City to test the waters. She did not want the council’s approval
of Option B to be a reflection on the city attorney’s services. She felt Option A was a better deal for the
taxpayers unless there was a strong sense the council would pursue an RFP to test the waters as
Councilmember Buckshnis stated.
UPON ROLL CALL, MOTION FAILED (3-4), COUNCILMEMBERS TIBBOTT AND NAND AND
COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON VOTING YES; COUNCILMEMBERS TEITZEL, CHEN,
BUCKSHNIS AND PAINE VOTING NO.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY CHEN, TO PROCEED WITH THE
OPTION B CONTRACT, THE HOURLY RATE.
Councilmember Tibbott said given that the council was moving toward an hourly rate contract for
attorney services, he challenged the council and administration to look at ways to reduce their use even
more than 15%, and suggested striving for a 30-40% decrease. He was unsure what could be cut out, but
that would be a justifiable goal.
Councilmember Teitzel agreed the intent should be to reduce beyond the target. He cautioned everyone
listening, including council, that there are major initiatives in 2023 including the code rewrite as well as
the comprehensive plan and lawsuits that will require attorney involvement. He was hopeful the use could
be trimmed but how much remains to be seen.
UPON ROLL CALL, MOTION CARRIED (5-2), COUNCILMEMBERS TEITZEL, CHEN,
BUCKSHNIS, AND PAINE AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON VOTING YES;
COUNCILMEMBERS TIBBOTT AND NAND VOTING NO.
4. DELIBERATIONS ON THE 2023 EDMONDS CITY BUDGET
Administrative Services Director Dave Turley said before deliberations begin, he wanted to address
something that happened last Saturday. The comments are from him, not the mayor, not the city attorney
or any other director. He read the following statement. “The council president apparently on behalf of
Councilmember Teitzel made a motion on the dais for him to provide a budget schedule to council. The
motion included what you wanted me to provide, the manner in which you wanted me to provide it and a
deadline that you wanted it by. I want to remind council that this is not appropriate. Please reread the
mayor and councilmember handbook available from MRSC and AWC that you should have received as
part of your training. It will say that your job is to legislate and create policy. You determine the number
of employees that can be hired and their job descriptions, you establish salary and benefit levels, you
approve contracts, but you do not in any way direct the work of employees including what you directed
me to do from the dais on Saturday. Directing the work of staff is the responsibility of the mayor; it is not
your job. It is not appropriate and it is highly unprofessional. It is on the same level of unprofessionalism
as if I were to come up and sit on the dais and attempt to take part in a council vote.
Is this a big deal? Yes, it is. This behavior by councilmembers over the years has played a big part in
causing highly competent, qualified, hard working directors to leave the City of Edmonds. Your actions
Saturday give the impression that you have to force me to do my job. Let me be clear, it is perfectly
appropriate for you to request information from me. As long as the request is appropriate, I’ve always
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
December 13, 2022
Page 14
worked hard to provide you with all the information you request. You’ve had the proposed budget and the
decision packages since October 3rd, that’s 10 weeks, 2½ months. During that time I’ve worked days,
evening and weekends to try to ensure that every question asked and every piece of information requested
gets answered as quickly and completely as is reasonably possible. Despite this, you apparently felt it was
necessary to essentially shame me from the dais by directing me to provide information and you gave me
a deadline to do it. So I want to be crystal clear about something. It is certainly appropriate for you to ask
me to provide budget information. If council had asked me after the meeting, I would have probably
provided it. I probably would have worked on Sunday to get it to you. What was inappropriate and
unprofessional was for you to direct me to do it from the dais and more especially doing it by motion.
I’m not bothered by you asking me for the information, but I believe a public apology is in order for the
way in which you went about it and the false impression that it left with the public. So again, is this a big
deal? Yes, it is. I feel that your action directly undermined the public’s faith in the administration and my
efforts to be open and transparent. You gave the impression that I’m not doing my job and that you have
to compel me from the dais to do my job. This does actual damage to my reputation. There are already
multiple comments in My Edmonds News disparaging me and the mayor on this topic, saying this is a
new low for the mayor, asking what we are hiding, why the administration shows utter distain for the
citizens. There was no inappropriate behavior by the mayor, only by the five councilmembers who voted
to approve that motion. It doesn’t matter how important you feel the information is. And I already know
what your response will be, Dave, that wasn’t our intention. It doesn’t matter what your intention is, what
matters is your words and your actions because those things have real consequences.”
Mr. Turley reviewed the budget proposals:
No.
DP#
or
New Submitter Fund Description
Resp.
Dept.
Proposed
Cost
Increase
(Decrease)
Proposed
Revenue
Increase
(Decrease)
Increases
(Decreases)
Fund Bal
83 New Teitzel GF Add incremental funding for
Lighthouse Contract for 2023
Admin
Svcs 35,699 (35,699)
Councilmember Teitzel explained the council voted to proceed with the hourly rate billing option. He
submitted an amendment as a placeholder, assuming a 5.5% increase on top of the current 2022
Lighthouse billing of $647,000. Changing to the hourly rate option and using the amount Councilmember
Chen quoted previously, the incremental change for 2023 would be $188,015.
COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER CHEN, TO
APPROVE AN AMENDMENT FOR INCREMENTAL BILLING OF $188,015 FOR THE 2023
LIGHTHOUSE CONTRACT.
Councilmember Buckshnis suggested it would be simpler to round it to $188,000 or $189,000 or
$190,000.
COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL,
TO AMEND TO ROUND UP TO $190,000. AMENDMENT CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
MAIN MOTION AS AMENDED CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
No.
DP#
or
New Submitter Fund Description
Resp.
Dept.
Proposed
Cost
Increase
(Decrease)
Proposed
Revenue
Increase
(Decrease)
Increases
(Decreases)
Fund Bal
37 7 Chen/Tibbott GF Remove HR Mgr position
from DP7 HR (197,810) 197,810
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
December 13, 2022
Page 15
COUNCILMEMBER CHEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, TO
REMOVE THE HR MANAGER POSITION FROM DP7.
Councilmember Chen said the reason was to look at hiring HR employees in an incremental manner. One
assistant position was already approved, plus a contractor in the proposed budget which is essentially
hiring two more people. He understood there was perhaps a need for an HR manager, but he proposed
hiring the two in the budget and wait a year, and if the need still exists, hire an HR manager to avoid
laying off people when the economy is winding down.
Councilmember Tibbott expressed his full agreement with Councilmember Chen’s comments. He was
also interested in whether a manager level employee was needed in HR or if it would be helpful to have
an employee in addition to the HR assistant that is already in the budget.
Senior HR Analyst Emily Wagener explained the HR department could definitely use a manager role who
would serve as a bridge between the HR staff and the HR director and would allow the HR director to
focus on the higher level visionary work of the HR department and the City employees as well allow HR
support staff to work through the daily administrative tasks. Another staff member would be appreciated,
but a manager level employee would definitely bring value to the HR department and the City and enable
HR to complete some projects that have been put on hold due to not being staffed appropriately.
With regard to Councilmember Chen's comment that council has already approved HR staff, Ms.
Wagener said the addition of lower level HR staff increases the supervisory load on the director. Adding a
manger role in addition to staff members would add another support role that would assist the director in
managing those staff members and allowing the director to focus on important higher level visionary
work.
Councilmember Tibbott asked it would be better to hire a manager and not the administrative assistance.
Ms. Wagener answered the administrative help is important because she and the other analyst do a high
volume of administrative tasks which could be given to the HR assistant and allow them time to work on
upper level functions. Councilmember Tibbott asked for an example of a project that cannot be completed
without an HR manger. Ms. Wagener answered there needs to be a full update of personnel policies,
review and revision of all job descriptions, consideration of hourly positions and hourly pay, update the
City employee evaluation process, and establish a supervisory training program to ensure supervisors and
management are properly trained and able to effectively manage their employees. Some
supervisors/managers come from out of state or other agencies where they have not dealt with unions; the
City has a lot of unions. Other tasks HR has not been able to complete include establishing hiring and
interviewing training programs for all departments, identifying the roles between payroll and HR,
employee engagement and an employee engagement program, conducting stay interviews instead of exit
interviews, paperless HR, and many other things.
Councilmember Paine commented HR does a lot of work. She recalled from Director Neill Hoyson’s
presentation, there are currently three people in HR, the director, Ms. Wagener, another person and the
assistant that will be hired. Ms. Wagener advised the HR analyst is part-time, she and Ms. Neill Hoyson
are moved to full-time, so there are almost three employees. Councilmember Paine recalled Director Neill
Hoyson saying for every 100 employees, there needs to be two HR staff; the City has 250 employees not
including seasonals. Ms. Wagener said the number of employees varies with seasonals from 240 to 250.
Councilmember Paine pointed out since HR is all internal service, the public does not see the projects
they do. She observed without an abundance of hours, a lot of the bigger projects get set aside to handle
essential tasks like payroll, recruitment, interviews, and other HR duties. She did not support removing
the HR manager position as it offers a much needed level in HR. HR is basically the first area that
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
December 13, 2022
Page 16
applicants see and if they do not do a good job, it makes a difference in whether a person wants to work
for the City.
Councilmember Buckshnis commented Ms. Wagener has worked with several directors. The prior two
HR directors never engaged in negotiations with the unions; Director Neill Hoyson is the first director to
do that, the City used to pay a firm to do it. Union negotiations take a lot of time which added a lot of
work to the other employees in HR. She asked if the HR analyst could be full-time and not have a HR
assistant to add 1.5 FTE instead of 2. Ms. Wagener answered ideally an HR manger would offer the most
value and support for the HR department which results in the City and employees receiving more support.
HR would be thankful for an additional positions, but would prefer the HR manager because it serves as a
bridge between the higher level HR director and the analyst positions and offers them support. She was
hopeful HR staff could work on the important projects rather than being reactive rather than proactive.
Councilmember Buckshnis recalled a complete job description review was done with the assistance of
former Councilmembers Bloom and K. Johnson. Ms. Wagener answered the full job description review
was done in 2012, 10 years ago. Councilmember Buckshnis said there had never been an outside review
of non-represented employees, that had always been done internally. She can commiserate with all the
work HR does; she is on the fence with one or the other position in HR and was unsure she could support
both. Mayor Nelson said HR’s original budget request was three positions, he only included two in the
budget.
Councilmember Nand commented it seemed like HR was running a very lean department to address the
various HR responsibility of a workforce of this size. Within the private sector, there is an
acknowledgement of the importance of incorporating social governance and equity factors into operations
and hiring decisions for corporations that were previously devoted to maximizing their profits. From a
social governance equity perspective, especially through the lens of hiring people from non-traditional
backgrounds and people with disabilities into various roles, she asked how HR would be able to address
some of those goals with a HR manager. Ms. Wagener asked if she was referring specifically to
recruiting.
Councilmember Nand asked Ms. Wagener to address how the HR manager would enhance the City’s
ability to recruit, retain and advance people from non-traditional backgrounds into jobs and ensure the
workforce is more equitable. Ms. Wagener answered that is certainly a goal in the HR department and
could be a priority with the additional support of an HR manager. Recruiting has been a hot topic recently
with the great resignation, feelings about work ethic, etc. HR wants to be more proactive about recruiting
and giving the City a face so that instead of people approaching the City, HR could go to potential
employees, a program an HR manager could definitely help develop.
Council President Olson said she is usually the first one who does not want to fund things, but she was
surprised councilmembers did not want to fund this. She understood the concern for a management level
position because HR is such a small department and the span of control, but she can definitely see the
need for additional manpower. The council may not be ready to accept that the proposed structure is the
right structure. She suggested funding at least some of this decision package so there can be more
discussions and the administration can consider how to move forward on expanding the HR staff. She
acknowledged the last few years must have been exhausting for HR staff with all the turnover, changes in
policy, communications, hiring directors, etc. She commended the HR staff for a great 2-3 years with
their 2-3 staff members. She asked the dollar amount for this decision package. Councilmember
Buckshnis advised it was $197,000.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED TO AMEND TO DECREASE THE DECISION
PACKAGE BY $47,000. MOTION FAILED FOR LACK OF A SECOND.
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
December 13, 2022
Page 17
Councilmember Chen said his initial thought was to delay hiring ad HR manager, but with the
information presented and considering that the City will be hiring a lot of police officers and other
employees, he sees the need.
COUNCILMEMBER CHEN WITHDREW THE MOTION WITH THE AGREEMENT OF THE
SECOND.
Councilmember Tibbott said in a recent email exchange with Director Neill Hoyson, she stated the trend
is toward more involvement by HR and many more hires which gave him pause to understand what is
going on. He trusted the professionals when they say they are looking for a manager level at that salary
level.
No.
DP#
or
New Submitter Fund Description
Resp.
Dept.
Proposed
Cost
Increase
(Decrease)
Proposed
Revenue
Increase
(Decrease)
Increases
(Decreases)
Fund Bal
New Paine Add a recruitment manager
position to HR HR
COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED TO ADD A NEW FTE, A RECRUITING SPECIALIST
FOR THE HR DEPARTMENT. MOTION FAILED FOR LACK OF A SECOND.
Mayor Nelson declared a 15 minute recess.
Councilmember Buckshnis said she emailed councilmembers a proposal for DP26, parks maintenance for
Highway 99 and Civic Field, which was changed at a previous council meeting to remove $450,000 for
salaries from ARPA funding.
COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL,
TO GO BACK TO THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION TO UTILIZE ARPA FUNDS FOR
HIGHWAY 99 SALARY POSITIONS.
Councilmember Buckshnis said she had a discussion today with Mr. Taraday today about the Goffette
trust which is very specific about corner beds and flower baskets. It is unknown whether corner beds and
flower baskets can be installed on Highway 99. She suggested approving the decision package as
recommended by staff and analyze what is needed next year.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Council President Olson recalled there were two different decision package in Planning and Development
for a $50,000 reduction in the professional services budget. Hers was related to the critical aquifer reserve
and the ability to more or less copy the statute and adapt it versus starting from scratch. One of motions
was defeated by a tie vote.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS,
REDUCE THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL SERVICES BUDGET BY
$50,000.
Council President Olson commented that would leave $15,000 in the decision package which would still
allow for professional services for the process side and just takes out the build from scratch code.
UPON ROLL CALL, MOTION CARRIED (5-2), COUNCILMEMBERS TEITZEL, TIBBOTT,
BUCKSHNIS AND NAND AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON VOTING YES;
COUNCILMEMBER CHEN AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON VOTING NO.
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
December 13, 2022
Page 18
Councilmember Buckshnis asked if the council should wait to approve the budget until the CIP/CFP is
reviewed because there may be some offsetting budgetary impacts. Mr. Taraday answered the budget
ordinance will need to be revised to address ARPA related expenditures. Final approval of the budget
ordinance cannot happen tonight. If the council wants to take a vote to indicate the budget is basically
done except for capital projects, that might help tie a bow on it. It is not official until the council adopts
an ordinance which would probably be on Monday’s consent agenda.
COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON,
TO APPROVE THE 2023 BUDGET AS AMENDED PENDING ANY CHANGES IN THE CIP/CFP.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
5. APPROVAL OF THE 2023-2028 CAPITAL FACILITIES PLAN & CAPITAL
IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
City Engineer English reviewed:
• CIP/CFP Schedule
o October 12th - Planning board presentation
o October 26th - Planning board public hearing and recommendation
o November 1st - City council Presentation
o November 15th - City Council Public Hearing
o December 10th – City council discussion on public works CIP/CFP
o December 13th – City council discussion on public works and parks related CIP/CFP
o December 13th - Adoption of the CFP into the Comprehensive Plan
• 2023-2028 CFP-CIP Changes
o Actions taken 12/10/22 during budget deliberations
Item
No
CFP-CIP
Project
No.
Project DP# Action
2023-2028
CFP-CIP
Change
1 PWT-
64,65
Green Street 236th St &
Dayton St
72 Remove DP#72 from 2023 budget and
postpone to 2024
Yes
2 PWT-60 2023 Pedestrian Safety
Program
75 Increase DP#75 from $20,195 to
$80,780
No
3 PWD-01 Edmonds Marsh WQ
Improvements
New Add 2023 DP for $366,843 for PWD-
01
No
4 PWF-16 Public Works O&M New Add 2023 DP for $75,000 to design
new roof material bunker
No
5 PWT-01 Annual Street
Preservation Program
64 Reduce DP#64 from $1.5M to $1.0M Yes
6 PWT-25 84th Ave (236-238th) New Program $160k for design in 2023
(ARPA) and construction (2024)
Yes
o Actions taken during council discussion of CIP/CFP at 12/10/22 meeting (following budget
deliberations)
Item
No
CFP-CIP
Project No. Project DP# Action
2023-2028
CFP-CIP
Change
1 PWT-18 Main St @ 9th Ave
Intersection
N/A Identify estimated project cost for
signal and mini roundabout
Yes
2 PWT-42 Railroad St. Walkway
Dayton-Main
N/A Delete project from CFP-CIP Yes
3 PWT-65 Green St – Dayton St
Hwy 104-2nd Ave
72 Delete project from CFP-CIP Yes
4 PWF-01 Boys & Girls Club 61 Reduce 2023 budget from $150,034 to Yes
Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes
December 13, 2022
Page 19
50,00
5 Prk
P8/D19
4th Ave Cultural
Corridor
N/A Move project to Public Works CFP-
CIP and designate Community
Services/Economic Development as
lead department
Yes
Parks, Recreation and Human Services Director Feser reviewed
• 2023-2028 CFP-CIP Changes
o Actions taken by council at previous meetings
Item
No
CFP-CIP
Project No. Project DP# Action
2023-2028
CFP-CIP
Change
6 NEW Lake Ballinger
Improvements
N/A Add $200k for ILA with Mountlake
Terrace
Yes
7 NEW McAleer Park
Improvements
N/A Additional project ($25,000) Yes
8 NEW 5th/Main Oak Tree
Maintenance
N/A Additional project ($25,000) Yes
New Item: Shell Creek Restoration
COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS,
ADD AN ITEM TO THE 2024 CIP REGARDING SHELL CREEK RESTORATION FOR $500,000.
Councilmember Teitzel explained PWD-04 addresses lower Perrinville Creek Restoration-Phase 1. The
city also has a pressing need to address erosion issues in Shell Creek, starting in Yost Park. The creek
there is severely undercutting the southern bank in the park, causing silting and trees to fall. This issue has
already forced closure of one footbridge over Shell Creek and will likely require closure of at least one
more footbridge. This problem is being caused by stormwater surges entering the creek as well as
redirection of the creek by the presence of old concrete weirs that were once part of the city’s original
water supply system in Shell Creek. Note: as opposed to Perrinville Creek, Shell Creek is 100% within
Edmonds’ city limits, and we have full control of how the creek can be maintained/improved.
Councilmember Buckshnis said the 2023 budget included $100,000 for Shell Creek. She asked if
Councilmember Teitzel was putting the original $400,000 in the out years. Councilmember Teitzel
answered yes.
Councilmember Paine asked if this could be done using volunteers. She referred to Councilmember
Teitzel’s narrative in the packet that states, …”determine what work can be done to address it with
volunteer help.” Ms. Feser answered it depends, the scope of the work needs to be determined first. Part
of what is also new is the infiltration project that is under construction now as mitigation for Civic Park;
there is a very large storm line that comes into Yost Park above Shell Creek west of the bridges and
during an event, contributes a significant amount of water into that system. The infiltration project
captures water in the pipe and puts it into the ground rather than into the stream bed. The effects of that
will be seen early next year. Another portion of the work proposed to be done next year with the original
$220,000 was to determine what needed to happen in Shell Creek. If the Council wishes to earmark
$500,000 for 2024 as part of a planning document in the CIP, that’s okay, but she could not say what that
work would entail.
Councilmember Teitzel commented the vision is that this effort would involve volunteers just as marsh
restoration has. However, volunteers cannot do it all and heavy equipment will be required to remove
sections of the concrete weir and realign the stream to reduce erosion. It will be a combination of
volunteers and contracted help. This includes salmon habitat restoration; a lot of salmon habitat in local
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streams has been lost to development over the years and to the extent some of that lost habitat can be
recovered, it is imperative to do it. Fish habitat is a component and as part of the natural space citizens
and visitors enjoy, Yost is a beautiful place that can be more beautiful if it is a properly functioning
habitat.
Councilmember Buckshnis said one of the reason this was reduced to $100,000 was although engineers
will need to be involved, there are a lot of local scientists and experts that can help. The City has never
added this watershed to the CIP and it is in worse shape than most people realize. She supported putting it
in the CIP now and beginning the taskforce process.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Project P3 and D14
COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO
DELAY THE START DATE OF THE ELEVATED WALKWAY IN FRONT OF THE EBB TIDE
TO 2025.
Councilmember Teitzel explained P3 and D14 are requests for funding of an elevated pedestrian walkway
on the beach in front of the Ebb Tide condominiums. The total investment is stated as $1,334,500, with
the project beginning in 2024. The start date for this project should be moved to 2025 to enable the City
to engage in further discussions with the Ebb Tide ownership about potential alternatives.
COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS MOVED. SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER CHEN, TO
REMOVE IT COMPLETELY FROM 2025 AND MOVE IT TO 2026 OR PAST THE 3 YEAR
THRESHOLD.
Councilmember Buckshnis commented things don’t happen overnight. The City has already spent a
tremendous amount of money on this project, but it is probably one of worst returns on investment. She
pointed out the importance of being cognizant of the impact on the environment and the fact that there is
already a walkway on the west side of Railroad Avenue and there could easily be an alternative trail that
does not go through the Ebb Tide or the shoreline environment.
UPON ROLL CALL, AMENDMENT CARRIED (4-3), COUNCILMEMBERS CHEN, TIBBOTT,
BUCKSHNIS AND PAINE VOTING YES; COUNCILMEMBERS TEITZEL AND NAND AND
COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON VOTING NO.
MAIN MOTION AS AMENDED CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
New Item: Marsh Estuary Restoration A1, P4, D9 and D1
COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL,
TO CHANGE THE AMOUNT TO TBD FOR MARSH RESTORATION A1, P4, D9, AND D1.
Councilmember Buckshnis explained the estimated cost is over $14 million. The Shannon Wilson report
included a mitigation piece for the stormwater aspect of the connector project. This project should be
TBD due to unknowns such as the MOU with Unocal, whether the property can be transferred to another
agenda or the design. Rather than retain arbitrary numbers, it should be TBD and work can continue on a
volunteer basis which is being actively pursued with NOAA.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Add ILAs between Snohomish County for Regional Parks of Esperance and Meadowdale Beach Parks
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Councilmember Buckshnis commented is important to look into ILAs with neighboring jurisdictions,
especially for Esperance Park. There is a dog park at Esperance Park that many Edmonds residents use.
There is also a lovely new Meadowdale Beach Park that many Edmonds citizens visit. She asked if it
would be appropriate to include ILAs in the CIP or should it be pursued via discussions next year. Ms.
Feser said options could be explored with Snohomish County, it was not necessary to include something
in the CIP. The reason the ILA with Mountlake Terrace was included was due to previous discussions
with Mountlake Terrace and that was the dollar amount associated with the project.
Councilmember Buckshnis removed the proposed amendment.
Community Park and Athletic Complex Phase 2
Council President Olson explained this was the subject of an email between Ms. Feser and she today that
the council was copied on. It was listed as something that would be removed from the CIP because it
wasn’t a high priority in the PROS Plan. Phase 2 of the sports fields included lighting which is a very
instrumental part of the project as it makes the fields useable for half the year when there is no natural
sunlight after approximately 4:30 p.m. She requested the council reconsider and possibly recommit to that
project. There is a lot of talk about public safety and bored teenagers is a component of that. Sports is a
healthy outlet and there are not enough fields in the City. Having unlit fields is the same as having no
fields during much of year and many hours of the day. This project, Community Park and Athletic
Complex Phase 2 was on page 45 of the CIP and packet page 908..
COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS,
TO ADD THE COMMUNITY PARK AND ATHLETIC COMPLEX PHASE 2 BACK INTO THE
CIP/CFP.
Council President Olson recalled Ms. Feser had recommended an estimated cost of $1.5 million. Without
additional research Ms. Feser said she would support an estimate of $1.5 million. She asked Council
President Olson for an approximately year for that funding. Council President Olson proposed 2025. Ms.
Feser said the City would also need to coordinate that work with the school district as it is their property
and their facility and the district’s CIP will need to be reviewed to see if they have the capacity for the
City to contribute to an improvement on their property. Council President Olson said this is a high interest
item for the Pacific Little League and she assumed all the soccer affiliates. She heard recently that there is
a community of people very interested in this project.
Councilmember Buckshnis clarified Council President Olson’s request was that it not be removed from
the CIP. Council President Olson answered yes.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
New Item (add to PWD): Investigate Options to Provide Emergency Access to the Edmonds Downtown
Waterfront
COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER CHEN, TO ADD
AN ITEM FOR 2024 AT AN ESTIMATED COST OF $100,000 TO INVESTIGATE POTENTIAL
OPTIONS TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY ACCESS TO EDMONDS DT WATERFRONT.
Councilmember Teitzel explained the Edmonds Waterfront Connector project, which was abandoned in
2019, was intended to provide a means for first responders to reach the Edmonds Waterfront in the event
of an emergency (police, EMS or fire). The problem still exists, however, and is actually increasing in
severity with the advent of the Waterfront Center and its many attractions, imminent double tracking by
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Page 22
BNSF which will increase train traffic along the waterfront and potential addition of a boutique hotel on
the waterfront (which is currently allowed under Edmonds zoning rules.) These items, coupled with the
many amenities already available at the waterfront (dive park, beach access, restaurants, offices, marina,
off leash park, etc.) will increase the likelihood of injury or need for urgent first responder attention.
COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, TO
AMEND TO $50,000 AND ALSO INCLUDE AN ASSESSMENT TO ENSURE IT IS NECESSARY
AND HAVE A DEFINITIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY RISK OVER THE
LAST COUPLE YEARS.
Councilmember Paine commented there have been a couple of emergencies in the last 1½-2 years and an
abundance of additional usage, but it hasn’t seemed to be as compelling and there is the potential of
BNSF double tracking. She did not want to overcommit the budget when there may not be an abundance
of need.
Councilmember Chen expressed support for the amendment. He realized there is a need to look into this
situation but with the extensive effort related to the waterfront connector, there must be a lot of study and
data available. There needs to be some funding available to get that going.
Councilmember Nand expressed support for the amendment. For the public watching, she acknowledged
any mention of the waterfront connector was politically toxic. There are multiple solutions that could be
considered; for example, there could be an EMT permanently stationed on the west side of the tracks, the
City could work with Washington State Ferries to have emergency first responders in the ferry terminal,
etc. The end solution is not necessarily bringing back the waterfront connector, but finding a way to
address the potential needs of that population center. She put this in the same category as the $75,000 she
and Councilmember Chen proposed for the police substation on Highway 99. This is a population center
that could potentially need emergency services and could have access blocked.
Councilmember Tibbott agreed with the previous comments. It was his understanding that will be
considered in the comprehensive plan update and the waterfront study so a lower amount is fine.
Council President Olson said addressing this as part of the comprehensive plan makes sense. She recalled
an assertion in the waterfront study that there was a desire to offer access for cars which was not an
assumption she supported without exploring other options. She will vote no, not because of the waterfront
connector, but because she preferred to think of it holistically as part of the comprehensive plan.
Councilmember Buckshnis expressed support for the motion, commenting it should not be part of the
comprehensive plan which is an overall vision. The waterfront study had a gravel driveway through the
Port property which she did not support, but the waterfront study has not been back to council after
council provided comment. There are many different ways to reach the other side in the event of an
emergency, helicopter, drones, small vehicles on a walkway, etc. The Waterfront Center has trained
medical people on staff during the day and there is a fire boat on the waterfront. It is important to
investigate alternatives, noting there will be a world of hurt when the double tracking eventually happens.
UPON ROLL CALL, AMENDMENT CARRIED (6-1), COUNCILMEMBERS CHEN, TIBBOTT,
BUCKSHNIS, PAINE AND NAND AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON VOTING YES;
COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL VOTING NO.
MAIN MOTION AS AMENDED CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
6. ADOPTION OF 2022 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENTS
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Senior Planner Mike Clugston advised this is the last procedural step of the year to adopt the
comprehensive plan amendments, 1) the PROS Plan that was approved in June, and 2) the CFP. The
assumption was the council would vote on the CIP/CFP tonight. Since that did not happen, he wondered
if the council should consider the ordinance to adopt the PROS Plan and the CFP or wait to do that at the
next meeting after the council officially approves the CFP. City Attorney Jeff Taraday explained several
amendments were made to the CFP. One option if the council wanted to see the final product before
adopting the ordinance is to put it the consent agenda at the next meeting. His understanding was the
council did not plan to deliberate further on the CFP, the next step was to finalize the document.
Ms. Feser relayed her understanding that the council did not formally approve the CIP/CFP and made
some amendments. It may be good to clean up the documents to reflect the amendments and bring it back
to council for approval on Monday. She was unsure how that affected adopting the comprehensive plan
amendments. Mr. Taraday explained the comprehensive plan amendment has to be the last step as the
CFP is an attachment to the ordinance. He recognized several amendments were made that were not yet
reflected in the CFP attachment. He was uncertain if there were other CIP/CFP amendment/deliberations
and if there are none, he assumed the CFP would conformed to include the amendments that were just
made and ultimately attached to the ordinance that Mr. Clugston was introducing. That ordinance could
be adopted on the consent agenda at Monday’s meeting without any further deliberation.
Council President Olson commented these comprehensive plan amendments were pretty administrative
but the reason the council wanted them on the regular agenda is because they are amendments to the
comprehensive plan and the council wanted that to be highly transparent to the community. Even if the
comprehensive plan amendment is approved on the consent agenda, she wanted to ensure there was
enough discussion today so the public understands the comprehensive plan amendment includes the
PROS Plan and the amended CFP. She also wanted the council to have their questions answered so it
could be approved on the consent agenda next week. Mr. Taraday commented there are basically two
components to the comprehensive plan amendment this year, the PROS plan and the CFP, which are
attached to the ordinance. To the extent that the council is still tinkering with the CFP, that should happen
before Mr. Clugston presents the comprehensive plan amendment ordinance.
For Council President Olson, Mr. Taraday explained the council just finished an agenda item to review
and amend the CFP. He asked if the council was done reviewing and amending the CFP; he assumed the
council was since it had moved onto the next agenda item.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO
APPROVE THE 2023-2028 CAPITAL FACILITIES PLAN AND MOVE IT FORWARD TO THE
CONSENT AGENDA NEXT WEEK.
Councilmember Buckshnis commented it is actually the CFP and the CIP. She preferred to wait until next
week.
COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TEITZEL,
TO AMEND TO APPROVE THE CIP AND CFP AS AMENDED TONIGHT.
Councilmember Buckshnis commented docketing of comprehensive plan amendments is a key
component at the end of the budget process. The council made a lot of changes to the CIP/CFP and she
prefer to wait until the next meeting and not put it on the consent agenda out of an abundance of caution.
There is plenty of time and once the council sees everything that was amended, it can be approved.
AMENDMENT CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
MAIN MOTION AS AMENDED CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
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Mr. Clugston explained this is the last step in the comprehensive plan amendment adoption process,
inclusion of the PROS plan which was approved in June, and the CFP that the council will approve on
consent at the next meeting. The ordinance is attached to the packet, the adopted PROS Plan and the
adopted CIP and CFP will be attached to the ordinance. He was unsure whether the council planned to
continue discussion regarding the CIP/CFP at the meeting on December 19th. The council could approve
the ordinance in Exhibit 1, knowing that the PROS Plan work is done and that the CIP/CFP will be
approved on consent.
Councilmember Buckshnis asked Mr. Taraday to explain why the docketing process is so important. She
was willing to approve the CIP/CFP on consent, knowing the council could pull items from the consent
agenda. Mr. Taraday clarified tonight is the regular meeting during which these things should be
approved. Having said that, several amendments were just made and the attachment, the CFP, does not
yet reflect those. If the council wants to see it all together as a neat and tidy package, that would be easy
to do on the consent agenda, but there is no need for another presentation because the council had a
presentation on the CFP, followed by deliberation and amendments; everything that was supposed to
happen happened. The cleaned up document will be on the consent agenda at the next meeting, the same
process as the budget which the council amended tonight.
COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS, TO
ACCEPT THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ORDINANCE AS PROPOSED IN THE PACKET AND
AS AMENDED TONIGHT WITH THE CIP/CFP CHANGES.
Councilmember Paine commented it would be appropriate to have the ordinance on the consent agenda at
the meeting on Monday, December 19th.
Council President Olson asked Councilmember Paine if she wanted to include placing the ordinance on
the consent agenda in the motion. Councilmember Paine agreed her intent was to have it on the consent
agenda.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
7. CIVIC CENTER PLAYFIELD PARK - WALKER MACY CONTRACT AMENDMENT
Parks, Recreation and Human Services Director Feser explained this was presented to committee
yesterday and they asked it be presented to council for a brief overview. The landscape architect firm
Walker Macy has been involved with the project from master plan through construction. Administration
is asking for two amendments to the budget, 1) an extension of the deadline from December 31, 2022 to
June 30, 2023. That does not necessarily mean construction will extend into to June, the target completion
date is February/March but keeping them on will allow them to help with punch lists, closeout and
wrapping up the project, and 2) additional funding related to this project in three categories:
• Lighting for the proposed art sculpture, a suspended piece in the shade structure and a panel on
the end of the restroom. The artist highly recommends very specific lighting around the sculpture;
determining what the lighting will look like, how it will be installed, how it works with the art
sculptures, lighting analysis and study added $20,000 to the project.
• Boys & Girls Club: A Snohomish PUD power line into a transformer had an easement that went
through a portion of the Boys & Girls Club. The line and easement was moved to honor the
12,000 square foot commitment to the Boys & Girls Club which also required redesign of the
south end of the Boys & Girls Club footprint, plus work related to stairway at the entrance of the
Boys & Girls Club.
• Prefabricated restroom. A contractor for the restroom was secured at the beginning of the project.
Their bid was very reasonable but they became non-responsive to the City’s inquiries. She
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December 13, 2022
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anticipated they had underbid the restroom. Another provider for the restroom was secured but
their restroom was a slightly different footprint which required reworking the foundation and the
related infrastructure.
Ms. Feser reported the total is slightly over $100,000 added to Walker Macy’s $1.456 million contract.
This is not a request for additional funding as the extra expense will be covered by the project
management reserve. This is only council approval of the increased contract amount with Walker Macy.
She plans to provide a progress report on Civic Park and the 95th Avenue infiltration project in 2023.
COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER PAINE, TO
APPROVE THE EXTENSION OF THE WALKER | MACY CONTRACT AND THE
ADDITIONAL FUNDING. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
11. MAYOR'S COMMENTS
Mayor Nelson expressed his wholehearted thanks to City staff and directors for their work on the budget,
responding to requests for additional information, PowerPoints and presentations and everything they did
to make this budget happen.
12. COUNCIL COMMENTS
Councilmember Nand addressed her absence on Saturday, commenting she saw some public criticism of
her absence in the same article that criticized Mr. Turley. She was absent on Saturday due to personal
bereavement; her rescued Flemish Giant rabbit, Arjun Joy Nand, died unexpectedly after a brief battle
with cancer on Friday evening. On Saturday while the council was hard at work on the budget, her family
and she were building his casket and digging through permafrost to bury him. She explained in 2018 a
woman who was breeding rabbits for show posted on Craigslist that he and his brother were going to the
butcher that day if no one wanted them because they weren’t the right color for show rabbits. She rescued
him and he enjoyed four beautiful years of life as a pet rabbit and not a meat, breeding or show rabbit.
Unfortunately, many animals in the country suffer horrific animal abuse due to the actions of backyard
breeders. Animal shelters and animal rescues are overflowing and a lot of are euthanized due to
overcapacity. In honor of her rescued Flemish Giant rabbit, Arjun Joy Nand, she encouraged the public to
support bans on backyard breeders in federal, state and local legislation. As animal welfare awareness is
ramping up, people are beginning to understand it is wrong to keep breeding animals that end up dying
due to neglect, abuse and abandonment.
Councilmember Paine wished everyone a wonderful, happy and restful holiday season. This has been a
long budget season, and after 13½ hours of council meetings last week, she was sure everyone wants to
spend time with their family. She appreciated all the work staff has done. The budget was a lot of work,
she was glad it was done and looked forward to having projects start rolling out next year.
Councilmember Tibbott thanked staff for all the work they have done. It has been interesting to see staff’s
strengths and their diligence in making amendments and budget requests; he learned a lot about the City
as a result. Although it has been a long process it was a good process and staff should be commended.
The council should also be commended for the work they have done learning about the City and ensuring
it is funded properly. He wished everyone a happy holiday, relaying he felt blessed to be in Edmonds; it is
a great place to celebrate, relax and gather with family. It is a great time to shop and play local. He loves
shopping in all areas of Edmonds and the Edmonds Center for the Arts has two concerts coming up, the
Nutcracker and a holiday presentation on December 21st. He reminded the ECA is a great place to enjoy
local entertainment.
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Council President Olson loved the shoutout to council, agreeing it was well deserved. She did not blame
councilmembers for being tired of spending time with each other. Staff has been fantastic and she thanked
them for their support. The council learned a lot thanks to their patience and delivering on their requests.
She acknowledged the message Director Turley shared tonight and if upon reflection and research she
assessed a public apology was warranted, there will be one.
Councilmember Buckshnis thanked everyone that has reached out to her and for the numerous emails
council has received. She thanked staff for kicking it out of the ball park, completing tonight’s meeting
long before 10 p.m. Director Turley did a great job and deserves to have a few days off for all the work he
has done. He has taken on the lion’s share although she recognized Council Assistant Beckie Peterson
also helped him. This was a very complicated, complex budget due to the ARPA funds, bonds,
carryforwards and other moving parts. It’s great to finally be done with the budget and the CIP/CFP
although she has an email to send to Director Feser about marsh. She wished all a wonderful and safe
holiday season.
Councilmember Chen echoed council comments that staff has been terrific, working long hours on the
budget process at the same time they are doing their day job. The Council also worked really hard,
especially Council President Olson. Being the council president is supposed to be a part-time job, but he
anticipated she was putting more than full-time into it. He wished all happy holidays, stay safe, and be
merry.
Councilmember Teitzel echoed what others have said about their appreciation for the directors and their
staffs for answering questions. The budget has been a lot of work, the council has had a lot of questions
and a series of amendments. He echoed the appreciation in particular for Director Turley for his yeoman’s
work getting all the numbers pulled together. He felt bad that Director Turley was offended and
apologized that he felt offended. As he recalled the discussion, council was simply asking for a copy of
the spreadsheet that tracked revenues, expenditures and the effect on the fund balance. He recalled asking
him informally if that was easy to put together and he said it was. The council was asked to make a
motion which was more of a directive. He apologized for the way that came together. He has had a very
good relationship with Director Turley, working with him during his last term on council and he has
always been professional and respectful and he hoped that would continue. He wished everyone happy
holidays.
13. ADJOURN
With no further business, the council meeting was adjourned at 8:33 p.m.