Everett City Council Talks Homeless Hotel, Red Light Cameras, Park Fees, Taxes, Budget, ARPA

It was a busy agenda for the Everett City Council Wednesday night with the meeting starting an hour earlier than usual to accommodate all of the items. Here are a few highlights from the meeting.

On November 9th The Herald newspaper published an article that Snohomish County had entered into a contract with a real estate company to find and purchase a hotel to house people experiencing homelessness in the City of Everett. This led to lots of questions from both citizens as well as Everett City Council members.

Incoming Everett City Council member for District 5 Ben Zarlingo wrote in a community newsletter this week that there was a rumor that the hotel would be built on 19th Ave SE. Mayor Cassie Franklin said the County has not finalized any location. Council President Brenda Stonecipher advised that at next week’s Everett City Council meeting representatives from Snohomish County will provide a briefing on the plan for the hotel and be open to answering questions from City Council members. She also invited people to write to the council with any questions or thoughts on the idea. Mayor Franklin said that due to ongoing negotiations not all details will be available for public disclosure. The meeting will be next Wednesday November 24th at 12:30 PM.
 
Here are suggested methods of contacting your City of Everett elected officials:

• email the Council at Council@everettwa.gov.
• contact the council offices at 425 257 8703.
• You may call in just to listen to the meeting by calling 1.425.616.3920, enter Conference ID #724 887 726#.

 
The City Council voted unanimously to begin charging developers Park Impact Fees next year. A representative from the Master Builders Association spoke against the fees but that appeared to carry little weight with the Council. For home developers the fees are as follows: 1 bed and studios = $941, 2 bed = $1882, 3 bed or more = $2823. Commercial spaces would be charged by the square foot with Office and Service at $0.26, Retail at $0.38, Industrial at $0.21. You can see the full ordinance here.
 
With Liz Vogeli the lone no vote, (Jeff Moore was again absent) the other members of the Everett City Council voted to authorize the City’s Engineering staff to develop a Request for Proposals to solicit responses for an Automated Traffic Safety Camera System. Six intersections are proposed for red light cameras along with one school-zone-speed-camera.

Some details, the cost of the ticket would be $124.00. It would be treated like a parking ticket and not be reported to a driver’s insurance company or count as a moving violation. Signage would go up for 30 days prior to the cameras being turned on. Traffic safety was cited but it was noted in the briefing that the six locations and one school zone were selected to “ensure the program is financially sustainable.” If a proposal comes back and is to the Council’s liking then the cameras would likely be awarded in Spring of 2022 with a six to eight month time frame before they would go live.
 
The Council approved its annual one percent increase in the property tax levy and one percent increase in the EMS levy. Also amendments to the Comprehensive Plan for Parks, an area near 75th+Hardeson Road and Smith Island got the okay. A second public hearing was also held on the 2022 budget though no one signed up for public comment.
 
The City Council got a briefing on American Rescue Plan Funds totaling around $20,500,000.00. The money needs to be allocated by the end of 2024 and there are specific restrictions on how the money can be used. The project list was not shared publicly but sent to the Councilmembers for their general direction for Administration to begin dispersing funds. Council members spoke of the need to make sure these don’t turn into unfunded future mandates. MyEverettews.com will ask for a copy of the project list provided to the City Council members and will post that when it is received. Deputy Mayor Nick Harper said this would be an extended process with back and forth between the Council and Administration.

Editor’s note: One thing to keep in mind, the majority of the current City Council will be gone in seven weeks so things on the priority list may change quite a bit as new leadership takes over after the first of the year.