Updated with new information regarding Tuesday’s executive session.
Thanks to snowy weather last week, the Edmonds City Council is meeting this Monday and Tuesday.
Monday’s meeting is a repeat of the agenda for last Tuesday’s canceled meeting, with a newsworthy addition: Council President Strom Peterson announced over the weekend that the council will be voting on a resolution in support of marriage equality, which is being considered by the Washington State Legislature. “Council Member Michael Plunkett and I are proudly cosponsoring this action,” Peterson wrote on Facebook. “Please show your support and contact the council at counciladmin@ci.edmonds.wa.us.”
– hold a public hearing on proposed changes to outdoor dining regulations.
– hear a presentation by the city attorney regarding laws relates to councilmembers.
– authorize the mayor to sign a two-year interlocal agreement for the Lake Ballinger/McAleer Creek Watershed Forum, and approve $1,600 per year for administrative costs.
– approve municipal code changes to simplify rules for providing concessions in parks.
Prior to its regular meeting, the Council will hold an executive session at 6 p.m. to discuss labor negotiations and real estate matters. The regular meeting starts at 7 p.m.
Tuesday’s council meeting starts at 6:15 p.m. and includes a 30-minute report on the Regional Fire Authority and two hours devoted to the second Edmonds Strategic Plan & Visioning Retreat involving the council, the Edmonds Planning Board and the Economic Development Commission. Prior to Tuesday’s regular meeting, the council will meet in executive session at 5:45 p.m. regarding potential litigation. This session, which is not open to the public, is scheduled to last 30 minutes and no action is expected.
Both regular meetings will be in the Council Chambers, Public Safety Complex, at 250 5th Ave. N., Edmonds. You can see the complete agenda for each meeting here.
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The resolution supporting marriage equality should not be voted on by council members until citizens have been given adequate opportunity to provide their views. The vote should be representative of citizen views and not simply the personal view of each council member.
After giving this matter more consideration, I’m of the belief that it’s impossible for this issue to be anything but a personal decision and is therefore not an appropriate agenda item for city council.
Agenda Item 10. I have read the proposed resolution. It is unthinkable that this issue would come before the council. The sponsors should withdraw the item from the agenda. For anyone to think that the council could speak for the citizens of Edmonds on such a personal matter is insanity in its purest form. For a council member to even consider voting for or against this resolution is beyond comprehension no matter what position the council member might take with regard to same sex marriage.
Thank you Robert, you’ve articulated it well. I couldn’t agree with you more. I will be writing the council members how I feel, I hope others will do the same.
This is a very appropriate issue. This issue affects many residents of Edmonds. Below is a copy of a recent article on how other Mayors are working together to bring marriage equality to their cities.
Mayors Commit to Bring Marriage Equality to Cities
By Nick Visser
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and counterparts
WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than 80 mayors from across the country announced their support for marriage equality today, predicting that it would one day come to all of their cities.
They pledged their support as part of the launch of a new effort called Mayors for the Freedom to Marry. Included are mayors of the five largest U.S. cities: Michael Bloomberg of New York, Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, Rahm Emanuel of Chicago (who was not at the news conference but signed the pledge), Annise Parker of Houston, and Michael Nutter of Philadelphia.
All of the mayors have signed a pledge to fight for marriage equality and encourage other lawmakers to take up the cause.
After New York enacted marriage equality last year, Bloomberg said the freedom to marry in the state has “only made New York stronger,” and extending that right to all American citizens is only a matter of time.
“For me, the question is not if marriage equality will come to all 50 states. The question is when, and with America’s mayors standing up for what is right in their cities, I believe that day will come sooner than most people think,” he said at the news conference, which was held during the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C..
Bloomberg said he would welcome President Obama speaking out unequivocally on marriage equality. So far, Obama has said only that his views on the issue are “evolving.”
Villaraigosa, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, emphasized the need to set aside partisan divisions, saying “the more support we build in our cities and states, the stronger the case we can make for extending the freedom to marry.”
“I’ve often said in L.A. that it doesn’t matter who your father is … and hopefully soon, it won’t matter if you have two of them,” he said. “If we truly believe in family values, then we should value all families.”
My comments are not about yes or no on the issue, but the process. I dont think the voters of Edmonds were given adiquite time to voice there opinion on this issue. I believe it was expidited for poltical reasons. This is not what I would call open govt. which so many of our council members claim they are for.
I also think that the council should make it quite clear that it is the council and not the voters who decided yes or no on the issue
The article you provided Mr. Dorame, has not convinced me that mayors across the country or any other elected officials should make decisions that purport to represent my postion on anything, though I know that is contrary to the thinking in the main stream social and political media these days.