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05/08/2007 City CouncilEDMONDS CITY COUNCIL APPROVED MINUTES May 8, 2007 Following a Special Meeting at 6:30 p.m. for an Executive Session regarding a legal matter, the Edmonds City Council meeting was called to order at 7:11 p.m. by Mayor Haakenson in the Council Chambers, 250 5th Avenue North, Edmonds. The meeting was opened with the flag salute. ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT Gary Haakenson, Mayor Peggy Pritchard Olson, Council President Michael Plunkett, Councilmember Richard Marin, Councilmember Mauri Moore, Councilmember Deanna Dawson, Councilmember Dave Orvis, Councilmember Ron Wambolt, Councilmember STAFF PRESENT Gerry Gannon, Assistant Police Chief Duane Bowman, Development Services Director Stephen Clifton, Community Services Director Noel Miller, Public Works Director Rob Chave, Planning Manager Stephen Koho, Treatment Plant Manager Dave Gebert, City Engineer Debi Humann, Human Resources Manager Don Fiene, Assistant City Engineer Scott Snyder, City Attorney Sandy Chase, City Clerk Jana Spellman, Senior Executive Council Asst. Jeannie Dines, Recorder 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA. COUNCILMEMBER MARIN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER MOORE, TO APPROVE THE AGENDA IN CONTENT AND ORDER. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 2. CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS Councilmember Wambolt requested Item. S be removed from the Consent Agenda and Councilmember Orvis requested Item R be removed. COUNCILMEMBER MARIN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER WAMBOLT, TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The agenda items approved are as follows: Approve A. ROLL CALL A/17/07 Minutes B. APPROVAL OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF APRIL 17, 2007. Approve Claim C. APPROVAL OF CLAIM CHECKS #95684 THROUGH #95851 FOR APRIL 19, 2007 IN Checks THE AMOUNT OF $460,190.72, AND #95852 THROUGH #95982 IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,075,608.03 FOR APRIL 26, 2007. APPROVAL OF PAYROLL DIRECT DEPOSITS AND CHECKS #44725 THROUGH #44774 FOR THE PERIOD OF APRIL 1 THROUGH APRIL 15, 2007 IN THE AMOUNT OF $817,207.71. Approve Additional D. APPROVAL OF CLAIM CHECKS #95983 THROUGH #96130 FOR MAY 3, 2007 IN THE Claim Checks AMOUNT OF $322,745.75. APPROVAL OF PAYROLL DIRECT DEPOSITS AND CHECKS #44775 THROUGH #44829 FOR THE PERIOD OF APRIL 16 THROUGH APRIL 30, 2007 IN THE AMOUNT OF $854,047.18. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 8, 2007 Page 1 Claim for Damages E. ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF CLAIM FOR DAMAGES FROM STEPHEN PIERCE Community ($630.82). Services Dept. Report F. COMMUNITY SERVICES QUARTERLY REPORT - APRIL 2007. Transportation G. RATIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT OFFER TO TRANSPORTATION ENGINEER. Engineer H. AUTHORIZATION TO ADVERTISE REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE Medical MEDICAL PROGRAM DIRECTOR FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. Program Director I. AUTHORIZATION FOR THE MAYOR TO SIGN ADDENDUM NO. 6 OF A Remedial PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT FOR A REMEDIAL ACTION PLAN AT Action Plan at 8th Ave & 8TH AVENUE AND WALNUT STREET WITH LANDAU ASSOCIATES. Walnut St. J. AUTHORIZATION FOR MAYOR TO SIGN ADDENDUM NO.3 TO THE Treatment Plant PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH BROWN & CALDWELL FOR THE Electrical Improvements ELECTRICAL IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT. Lift Stations K. AUTHORIZATION FOR MAYOR TO SIGN ADDENDUM NO. 2 TO THE 7 te g PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH HDR ENGINEERING, INC. FOR Integration THE LIFT STATIONS 7 AND 8 INTEGRATION AND REHABILITATION PROJECT. Yellow Cab Taxicab L. APPROVAL OF 2007 TAXICAB OPERATOR'S LICENSE FOR YELLOW CAB OF License WASHINGTON. Res# H 44 - M. RESOLUTION NO. 1.144 - AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF EDMONDS TO ENTER INTO Revised Mutual A REVISED MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF EVERETT AND Aid Agreement OTHER SNOHOMISH COUNTY WATER AND SEWER UTILITY PROVIDERS. Res.# H45— N. RESOLUTION NO. 1145 - STATING THE INTENT OF THE CITY COUNCIL TO Intent to vacate Portion of 8th VACATE A PORTION OF 8TH AVENUE NORTH NORTH OF SPRAGUE STREET > > Ave. N. ESTABLISHING THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR SUCH VACATION AND STATING THE INTENT OF THE CITY COUNCIL TO VACATE SUCH RIGHT-OF- WAY UPON FULFILLMENT OF THE CONDITIONS. Ord# 3640 — August Johnson O. ORDINANCE NO. 3640 - DESIGNATING THE AUGUST-JOHNSON HOUSE FOR House/Register INCLUSION ON THE EDMONDS REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES, AND of Places Historic Places DIRECTING THE COMMUNITY SERVICES DIRECTOR OR HIS DESIGNEE TO DESIGNATE THE SITE ON THE OFFICIAL ZONING MAP WITH AN "HR" DESIGNATION. (FILE NO. HP-06-54 / APPLICANT: SUSAN BAUER AND STEPHEN BERNHEIM. Ord# 3641— Amend City P. ORDINANCE NO. 3641 - RELATING TO PUBLIC RECORDS; AMENDING SECTIONS Code Related to 1.20.010 THROUGH 1.20.040 OF THE EDMONDS CITY CODE, ADDING A NEW Public Records SECTION 1.20.045 DECLARING THE MAINTENANCE OF AN ALL-INCLUSIVE INDEX OF EVERY PUBLIC RECORD TO BE UNDULY BURDENSOME, AS REQUIRED BY CHAPTER 42.56 RCW. Ord4 — Approve Approve Q. ORDINANCE NO.3642 - APPROVING THE REZONE OF CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY Rezone at LOCATED AT 24310 76TH AVENUE WEST FROM NEIGHBORHOOD BUSINESS (BN) 24310 76th Ave TO COMMUNITY BUSINESS (BC), AND ADOPTING FINDINGS OF FACT AND West CONCLUSIONS OF LAW. Building Safety Week T. PROCLAMATION IN HONOR OF BUILDING SAFETY WEEK, MAY 6-12, 2007. Proclamation Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 8, 2007 Page 2 Day of Prayer Proclamation U. PROCLAMATION IN HONOR OF DAY OF PRAYER, MAY 3, 2007. 7.P. Patches Day V. PROCLAMATION IN HONOR OF J.P. PATCHES DAY, APRIL 26, 2007. Proclamation Ord# 3643 - ITEM R. ORDINANCE NO.3643 — APPROVING THE REZONE OF CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY Rezone Certain LOCATED AT 23012, 23014, 23028, 23100, AND 23110 EDMONDS WAY, 9133 - 232ND Property on STREET SW, AND A VACANT LOT LOCATED AT THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF Edmonds Way 232ND STREET SW AND EDMONDS WAY, FROM MULTIPLE RESIDENTIAL (RM- 1.5) TO MULTIPLE RESIDENTIAL-EDMONDS WAY (RM-EW), AND FROM COMMUNITY BUSINESS (BC) TO COMMUNITY BUSINESS-EDMONDS WAY (BC- EW), AND ADOPTING FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW. Councilmember Orvis explained he pulled this item in order to vote no. COUNCILMEMBER MARIN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER WAMBOLT, FOR APPROVAL OF ITEM R. MOTION CARRIED (4-3), COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON AND COUNCILMEMBERS MARIN, WAMBOLT AND MOORS IN FAVOR; COUNCILMEMBERS ORVIS, PLUNKETT AND DAWSON OPPOSED. Non - Represented ITEM S. NON -REPRESENTED COMPENSATION ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. Compensation 3611. Plan Councilmember Wambolt indicated his intent to vote no on this item, referencing his previous comments regarding the proposed Non -Represented Compensation (NRC) Plan. He acknowledged the proposed Plan would address employees who have reached the top of their pay range and were no longer eligible for a salary increase, pointing out this was the result of the ranges having a spread between the top and bottom of only 25% rather than the customary 50% and some ranges that were set too high. He pointed out the extent of the modifications to the current plan made the proposed NRC too costly and unacceptable to him. He reiterated two of his major objections; first, some of the proposed increases were too large - five of the nine bands would be increased by more than 20% and one increased 45.6%. He acknowledged employees would not receive these increases at one time but over time their salaries could increase by that amount. Second, of the 41-42 positions that the NRC applied to, only two would be surveyed and the findings of the survey used to adjust the pay scale for the remaining positions. He acknowledged it was an easier process but would likely result in many salaries set at inappropriate levels. Councilmember Wambolt pointed out Human Resources staff did not have compensation expertise and were generalists. He cited the need to hire a compensation consultant to provide the necessary expertise as well as the impartiality necessary to develop an objective policy. He noted funds were budgeted for a compensation study and anticipated using a compensation consultant would result in a better policy as well as provide a learning experience for staff. He hoped a new policy would emphasize merit pay, noting the current and proposed plan were not structured around pay for performance. He acknowledged a new salary plan may result in better compensation for a few positions; this was acceptable to him as long as the plan was rational and fair to employees and taxpayers. He cited his qualifications to make an independent assessment of the City's salary plan, noting he was a retired corporate executive with over 25 years experience administering employee salaries. COUNCILMEMBER MARIN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER DAWSON, FOR APPROVAL OF ITEM S. Councilmember Moore asked staff to respond to Councilmember Wambolt's comment regarding the increases being too large, particularly the 45.6% increase, and the length of time it would take for the increases to escalate that much. Human Resources Manager Debi Humann responded she was unsure Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 8, 2007 Page 3 how Councilmember Wambolt had calculated that percentage. She noted the difference between the top and the bottom was not a percentage but a flat dollar amount between bands. In response to Councilmember Wambolt's comment that only two jobs would be surveyed, Ms. Humann explained one of the difficulties with the previous L5 compensation plan was the lack of internal evaluation; all evaluations were done via outside benchmarking. One of the improvements via the NRC was the addition of an internal component. She agreed outside benchmarking would only be done for the top paid job and the lowest paid job; the remainder would be internally evaluated and banded by responsibility level. She disagreed with Councilmember Wambolt's comment that the compensation plan was not related to merit increases, noting employees were eligible to receive a 1-5% merit increase based on performance and goals defined in the previous year's evaluation. Councilmember Moore inquired about the compensation expertise of staff versus a consultant. Ms. Humann agreed she was a generalist, noting with only two staff members in the Human Resources Department, they handled every aspect of human resources for all employees. With regard to her experience in compensation, she cited her common sense and experience in applying the L5 policy and previous salary plans. She has a background in compensation but was not a specialist. She cited reasons against the use of a consultant including that the $50,000 - $100,000 for a consultant to develop a plan would result in limited funds to implement the plan. The NRC was developed with the assistance of the Directors and the Mayor and was a plan that worked for everyone and a plan that the City could afford. Councilmember Moore asked whether other cities conducted similar surveys. Ms. Humann answered approximately 50% of other cities were not happy with their compensation plan that functioned like the L5 due to the difficulty finding similar jobs during surveys. She noted surveys strive for a 70% match which was difficult for Edmonds because so many of the City's positions were unique due to the way the City was staffed. Councilmember Wambolt commented the City's compensation plan was clearly not merit based, pointing out for an employee who received a 5% pay increase, 4% was a cost of living adjustment (COLA) and 1% was merit pay. Conversely employees paid via a merit -based plan did not receive a COLA. With regard to the 45.6% increase, he referred to jobs in Band C that were currently paid as low as $76,421 and the new top salary of $11.1,247 - the difference between the two was 46.5%. He agreed although there were some differences in jobs between cities, but did not anticipate it would be difficult to find a 70% match between the City's positions and another city. Using Assistant Police Chief Gannon as an example, Councilmember Dawson commented if it came to the Human Resources staff s attention that the salary for that position was increasing or decreasing, staff could do a benchmark survey for that position and/or make an adjustment to the NRC Plan. Ms. Humann agreed periodic benchmark assessments would be necessary to avoid the loss of employees. Councilmember Dawson commented although a survey would be done of only the highest and lowest paid positions, there would be periodic verification of other positions to ensure the salary ranges were competitive. Ms. Humann agreed. Councilmember Dawson asked if the merit increase was in addition to a COLA. Ms. Humann stated yes, noting that it was less than the increases in L5. In L5, employees received a COLA as well as a 0-5% merit based on performance. Under the NRC, the merit increase was 0-3%; only a few outstanding employees would receive a 4-5% merit increase. Councilmember Dawson summarized the NRC had both a merit base and COLA. Ms. Humann explained all employees received a COLA in January; on their anniversary date, they received a merit increase unless they were at the maximum in the range. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 8, 2007 Page 4 Councilmember Dawson asked whether it was typical for governmental entities to have both a COLA and merit based component to their salary plans. Ms. Humann answered yes, noting several cities had a provision whereby employees at the maximum level could earn additional pay; Edmonds did not have such a provision. She emphasized the last L5 survey for non -represented employees was conducted in 2005, therefore, their salaries were based on 2005 salary ranges plus the 2007 COLA. She noted non - represented employees were key managerial staff and the union employees they supervised received annual increases as well as longevity pay and overtime which often results in a serious salary compression issue where supervisors would soon earn less than the employees they supervised. Councilmember Dawson inquired about Ms. Humann's discussion with other cities regarding the NRC Plan. Ms. Humann stated several cities were interested in the Plan as it contained the basic components they were interested in such as outside benchmarking, internal evaluation, banding jobs by responsibility levels and was easy to administer. Councilmember Dawson acknowledged the NRC plan may/may not require correction in the future and agreed it was time to move forward with the proposed NRC Plan. Council President Olson agreed with Councilmember Dawson, emphasizing the L5 plan no longer worked. She was interested in trying the NRC plan and making adjustments as needed in the future. She concluded the NRC was definitely better than L5. Councilmember Moore expressed her support for the proposed NRC due to the amount of work staff had put into developing the plan, the ability to administer the plan by the City's 2-member Human Resources staff, and to ensure non -represented employee's salaries kept pace with the employees they supervised. She viewed the NRC as a merit plan, acknowledging that although private industry did not do COLA, it was standard operating procedure in governmental entities. Councilmember Wambolt clarified he did not say City employees did not deserve a pay increase from 2005 levels; he simply wanted the increase to be the right amount. He pointed out the difficulty of adopting a plan and making adjustments in the future particularly lowering an employee's salary. He reiterated the NRC was not a merit -based plan, commenting the apparent lack of understanding regarding compensation policies reinforced the need for a compensation consultant. He reiterated there was $75,000 budgeted for a compensation consultant. Mayor Haakenson commented he had also been involved in the corporate sector, emphasizing the corporate world was not the same as City business. He pointed out of the 250 City employees, the NRC affected only 50 employees who were not represented by unions and had no one else to represent them other than the Council. He emphasized although L5 worked well for a period of time, it did not work now and it was time to make a change to take care of 20% of the City's workforce. He offered to have Ms. Humann report to the Council in one year on the experience with the NRC Plan. UPON ROLL CALL, MOTION CARRIED (4-3), COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON AND COUNCILMEMBERS DAWSON, MOORE AND MARIN IN FAVOR; COUNCILMEMBERS Ord# 3644 — WAMBOLT, PLUNKETT AND ORVIS OPPOSED. The item approved is as follows: Salary for Non - Ranges for ORDINANCE NO. 3644 — AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 361.1 WHICH ESTABLISHED THE Represented SALARY RANGES FOR NON -REPRESENTED, EXEMPT PERSONNEL FOR BUDGET YEAR 2007. Older Americans 3. PROCLAMATION IN HONOR OF OLDER AMERICANS MONTH, MAY 2007 Month Proclamation Mayor Haakenson read a Proclamation declaring May 2007 as Older Americans Month and presented the Proclamation to Farrell Fleming, Executive Director, South County Senior Center. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 8, 2007 Page 5 Mr. Fleming introduced John Wagner, Board of Directors President, in the audience. Mr. Fleming commented on the under -utilization of seniors in the community, noting their experience and wisdom was often under -appreciated and their potential often overlooked. He noted the Edmonds City Council had two members who qualified as seniors and Mayor Haakenson was approaching that landmark. The age at which a person became an "older American" varied, HARP identified it as age 50; historically senior centers define membership at age 55, however, the South County Senior Center no longer had a defined age. He noted if age 60 was the age at which one became an older citizen, most individuals had 20-30 years of life remaining. Both society and senior centers were exploring what the purpose of one's remaining years could be, whether it was community service, service to one's family, spiritual growth, learning new skills, exploring the arts, playing joyfully, or enjoying the simple things in life. He urged individuals of all ages to make choices that led to a healthier future. "Swift" Bus 14. UPDATE BY COMMUNITY TRANSIT ON "SWIFT" BUS RAPID TRANSIT Rapid Transit Todd Morrow, Director of Public Affairs, Community Transit, referred to an information sheet regarding routes in Edmonds. He introduced June Devoll, Manager of Strategic Planning; Tom Pierce, Public Information Specialist, and Barbara Earl, Public Outreach, BETS Consulting. Mr. Morrow explained they were visiting City Councils along Hwy. 99 to provide an update on Swift Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). He explained Swift BRT combined the attributes of a commuter rail system with less expensive and more flexible rubber -tired buses. BRT systems are operating in Los Angeles, Boston, Orlando, Las Vegas and Eugene, Oregon. He identified the primary components of BRT: • Fast and frequent service • Fewer stops • Stations versus bus stops • Advanced technology • Dedicated lanes • Train -like vehicles Mr. Morrow identified the 16.7 mile Swift route from the Everett station down Rucker Avenue, Evergreen Way and Hwy. 99 to the Aurora Village Transit Center in Shoreline. Currently local service along that route took 73 minutes; Swift would take 51 minutes, eliminating approximately 31 % of the travel time. He assured local service on this corridor would continue. Mr. Morrow enumerated factors that would improve travel time: • 14 stops in each direction (compared with 50+ stops on the route currently) • Off -board fare collection • Buses with three doors • Station dwell time reduced to 10-15 seconds • Buses running every 10 minutes eliminating the need for schedules Swift would use stations rather than bus stops. He displayed examples of BRT stations, explaining each would be uniquely designed and would be visible along the corridor via an iconic marker that identified it as a Swift station versus a local bus stop. There would also be signage to assist first-time users and identify how Swift connected to local service. Stations would have real time monitors identified wait times and ticket vending machines. He displayed a drawing of a Swift bus, explaining the Swift vehicle would be branded with the Swift logo and have many other features not available on standard buses such as space for riders to stand, wide comfortable seats and automatic stop announcements. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 8, 2007 Page 6 Mr. Morrow explained next steps include selection of a bus manufacturer by summer 2007, ongoing efforts to identify station locations, final stations design, public outreach via four community meetings held this summer, and a partnership with Everett Transit on stations and operations. Mr. Morrow summarized Edmonds was an important partner in the Swift BRT project. Former Transportation Engineer Don Sims participated on the interagency work group and Community Transit continued to work with City Engineer Dave Gebert, Assistant City Engineer Don Fiene, Development Services Director Duane Bowman, and Public Works Director Noel Miller. He noted this was a landmark project for Edmonds, Snohomish County and Community Transit as Swift leads the region into the future of transportation. Councilmember Moore commented this was the closest thing to light rail at a fraction of the cost. She commended Community Transit on their partnership with Everett Transit and for the in-house design of the Community Transit logo and Swift logo. 5. AUDIENCE COMMENTS Edmonds - Dave Page, Edmonds, commented on the economic opportunity the City had as the friendliest town in Friendliest Washington State. He commented on the corruption in many areas of the country compared to the Town compassion of the Edmonds community. He recalled comments made at Police Chief Stem's memorial service about his integrity, noting Chief Stern only knew one way to do things - the right way. He pointed out everyone knew the right way but may bend the rules to their advantage. He summarized Edmonds was not only the friendliest town but was also free of corruption, attributes the city should capitalize on. Al Rutledge, Edmonds, urged the Council to vote on term limits for the mayor in January, noting term Term Limits limits would be considered by the legislature next year. Next he suggested the City survey residents with lCityManager_J regard to a City Manager, pointing out Bothell, Brier, Mountlake Terrace, and Snohomish had City speakers Managers. He then commented on the loss of the City's Fire Chief I I years ago. With regard to public Addresses comment, he recommended speakers be required to give their name and address. G�►� /\•(i77i.YK�7►yi►� 1 �1►(I ry states Capital Mayor Haakenson reported the State's capital budget contained $1 million for the Edmonds Center for the Budget Arts via Building for the Arts, $200,000 for the South County Senior Center, $500,000 toward acquisition of the former Woodway Elementary School and $100,000 toward the purchase of the Shell Creek property acquisition. In the transportation portion of the capital budget, the Edmonds Crossing received $4.004 million for right-of-way acquisition and $438,000 for the Puget Drive pedestrian walkway/bicycle safety program. He advised a ferry work group would be established to implement HB 2358, a bill that states no terminal projects can proceed until ridership demand forecasts were reconciled and pricing strategies developed and reviewed, surveys conducted to gather data on ferry users and to help inform operational and pricing strategies and pre -design studies. He hoped there would be an opportunity on the work group for the City to participate. He recognized lobbyist Mike Doubleday for his assistance in the legislature this year. Strategic Plan Mayor Haakenson referred to the Council's discussion regarding a strategic plan that espoused the Council's vision for the future, advising staff had begun a six-month effort to study more efficient operations in each department. He suggested it may be timely for the Council to begin a strategic planning effort that would occur concurrently with staff s study. Upon completion of both staff s and the Council's study, the two could be blended for use in the 2009-2010 budget process. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 8, 2007 Page 7 Appreciation of Mayor Haakenson offered his thanks on behalf of the City and the Police Department for the kindness and Kindness and Sympathy sympathy shown on the untimely passing of Police Chief Stern. He expressed appreciation for the amazing outpouring of support from neighboring law enforcement, Fire Departments and the community. 7. COUNCIL COMMENTS Speakers Council President Olson advised the Council would continue not to require speakers to provide their Addresses address as it was a security issue. Strategic Plan Councilmember Moore commented she was challenged by someone recently who heard she was not planning to run for reelection to do something about the strategic plan before she left office. She suggested scheduling a discussion on an upcoming agenda, noting she had several ideas with regarding to a strategic plan. Police Chief Stem's Councilmember Moore suggested Police Chief Stem's memorial service be aired on Channel 21, Memorial commenting it was a great story of a man, a family and a community. Mayor Haaken son advised that was Service Letter to the Councilmember Moore referred to a letter to the Edmonds Beacon editor that gambling would follow if Editor/Beacon taller buildings were allowed in Edmonds. Councilmember Moore disagreed with this logic and urged re: Taller voters not to listen to that type of rhetoric. She emphasized gambling was a dead issue in Edmonds. She Buildings & Gambling noted taller buildings had been an issue for the past four years; however the issue was over 36 inches, not high rise buildings. Letter to the Editor re: Pizza Councilmember Wambolt referred to a letter to the editor complaining about the pizza trailer near the Trailer ferry holding lanes. His observation revealed it looked fine and was nearly hidden from view. Domestic Councilmember Dawson provided an update on items she was working on with regard to domestic Viole nce violence reporting a bill that made strangulation a felony in the State of Washington had been approved Legislation as was a bill that made any violation of a no -contact order could be prosecuted criminally. Police Chief Stem's Memorial Councilmember Plunkett thanked those responsible for Police Chief Stem's memorial service, Service commenting it was a great service to Chief Stern and the community. With regard to letters to the editor, Councilmember Plunkett commented he enjoyed robust debate. He encouraged citizens to express their views with regard to gambling, taller buildings, more parks, more sidewalks, development of a strategic plan, etc. Snohomish Co. Councilmember Marin reported the Snohomish County Tomorrow Steering Committee unanimously Tomorrow approved annexation principles that have now been forwarded to the Snohomish County Council. He SteerinCommittee also reported on the Steering Committee's efforts to encourage Snohomish County staff to develop standards with regard to Low Density Multi -family Residential (LDMR) projects. County staff developed numerous changes that were approved by the Steering Committee and would be referred to the Snohomish County Council. He provided an example of a change that would require 15 feet between buildings to allow the Fire Department to use a ladder to access an upper story. He expressed his appreciation to Snohomish County staff for their efforts. Councilmember Marin displayed a photograph of the tunnel boring machine breaking through in Seattle. Sound Transit He noted this was not only Sound Transit's tunnel, but the region's tunnel due to the traffic relief that light rail would provide. He relayed that he had ridden transit a record number of times over the past week, riding Sounder once and buses 28 times and found riding transit quite enjoyable. He commented Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 8, 2007 Page 8 with 3.5% inflation, the current $3.33 cost of a gallon of gas would increase to $7.90 per gallon in 20 years. He pointed out the importance of mass transit to the future of the region. Mayor Haakenson referred to an email he received from a person upset with his support of Sounder and questioning the ridership on Sounder. Mayor Haakenson asked Councilmember Marin at a future meeting to describe the original ridership, current ridership and future projections. 8. ADJOURN With no further business, the Council meeting was adjourned at 8:11 p.m. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes May 8, 2007 Page 9