Everett Council Approves Scooters, 2-Day Boat Race, Names Tuohy Vice-President

Here’s a recap of Wednesday afternoon’s Everett City Council meeting.

This year the Everett City Council has adopted some new rules including the election of a Vice-President. Today the council held the process to select the person who would handle meetings when President Brenda Stonecipher is unavailable.

Council members nominated Judy Tuohy and Paula Rhyne. The vote was taken with Tuohy getting four votes (Tuohy, Schwab, Zarlingo, Stonecipher) and Rhyne getting three (Rhyne, Fosse, Vogeli). Terms for Everett City Council President and Vice President run through the end of each calendar year.

Earlier this week we told you the Council would be getting a briefing and taking a vote on a one-year contract to bring scooters back to the streets of Everett, Washington. The contract is with Bird, Inc. and was approved by unanimous vote. A representative for Bird, Inc. answered questions and said the process to roll out the scooters is underway. They expect to begin hitting the streets throughout Everett sometime in May.

In a six to one vote, the Everett City Council approved a request by the Seattle Outboard Association to again hold their annual outboard-hydro races over two days instead of one this year. The request for two days was first brought up in 2020 but the Pandemic cancelled the race.

Last year the group again asked for a two-day event and that request was approved by the Everett City Council. Light attendance last year caused council members some concern about having the majority of Silver Lake tied up for two days instead of one. One reason cited for the low attendance last year was extremely lousy weather for both days and the Pandemic was just starting to fade.

Council member Ben Zarlingo who represents the Silver Lake area in District 5 moved for just one day instead of two. That amendment was defeated with all other city council members voting for two days. City Council President Brenda Stonecipher did move to amend the two-day approval to also require a firm count of attendance and also have the Seattle Outboard Association show what they’ve done to advertise and attract more visitors to the event which is free for people to watch. The Everett City Council is also expected to review the ordinance that governs the race and make changes for future years. This year’s race will be June 4th and 5th. Hydro racing has been held on Silver Lake for more than fifty years.