It’s been nearly two years since the Edmonds City Council approved a proposal advocated by business owners to create a Business Improvement District in downtown Edmonds. Since that time, the BID, which represents nearly 350 businesses, has renamed itself the Downtown Edmonds Alliance (ED! for short) and has also launched a variety of initiatives — from complimentary umbrellas to marketing materials — aimed at attracting more business downtown.

At Tuesday night’s Edmonds City Council meeting work session, Councilmembers Joan Bloom and Lora Petso argued that the council — which approved formation of the special assessment area by a 4-3 vote in January 2013 — should take another look at the BID fee structure based on concerns they have heard from BID members who resent the assessment because they are seeing no benefit from the new organization.

Bloom said that she has spoken with more than 30 unhappy business owners. An anonymous survey should be conducted of all BID members because many are afraid of speaking up or are too busy running their businesses to come speak at a council meeting, Bloom said.

Two owners who are being assessed — Brent Malgarin and Tom Wilkes — did testify during the public comment section of the meeting Tuesday night that the current system isn’t working. “People are upset because they feel it was forced on them,” Wilkes said.

Petso suggested that immediate action be taken to lower costs for those businesses that are 1) very small, 2) provide services by appointment only, and 3) are not located at street grade. Those actions could “quickly could buy some goodwill” among those who are dissatisfied, and give the council time to review other options for tweaking the BID assessments, Petso said.

None of the other four councilmembers present (Councilmember Adrienne Fraley-Monillas was on vacation) offered support for Bloom’s and Petso’s ideas, with the exception of Council President Diane Buckshnis, who suggested that a survey would be a positive step to ensure all voices are heard.

“I don’t think there’s any way to satisfy everybody,” said Councilmember Strom Peterson, who owns the Cheesemonger’s Table and is a BID member. Any time there is a fee involved, “there’s going to be a camp of people who don’t want to pay it,” added Peterson, who noted he has talked with many members who support the BID.

Buckshnis agreed with Councilmembers Tom Mesaros and Kristiana Johnson that it is too early to start considering a change in the BID fee structure, which the council has oversight over, and that the young organization needed time to become established before such adjustments were considered.

The assessment structure has two categories: one for “open door” businesses (restaurants, retailers, banks, etc.), and one for “by appointment” (hair salons, doctors, lawyers, nail salons, insurance providers, counselors, financial advisors and others). It assesses retail establishments at a higher rate than service and professional businesses. The assessment is based on square footage and costs each business in the zone from $120 to $600 per year.

The council also spent time discussing several other issues, including:

– The merits of building some type of emergency vehicle and pedestrian access over the railroad tracks that separate the Edmonds waterfront from the rest of downtown. Stating that lives could be at stake when trains block the tracks during a medical emergency, Bloom advocated that the council consider finding a way to immediately pursue that type of project separately from an analysis of all railroad crossing alternatives — emergency and otherwise — that the city is working to secure state and federal funding for. Public Works Director Phil Williams noted that the type of project Bloom mentioned requires significant dollars, with no source available, and Mayor Dave Earling added that creating “dueling projects” could jeopardize future funding possibilities for the more thorough alternative analysis.

– Next steps for a proposed lease option agreement and ground lease for construction of a new facility at the Edmonds Senior Center. Councilmembers reiterated their support for the concept of building a joint senior and community center to replace the aging senior center facility at 220 Railroad Avenue. Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Director Carrie Hite noted that the senior center’s prime use hours are from morning through late afternoon on weekdays and that a new joint-use facility could significantly reduce the pressure on evening and weekend programming at the city’s increasingly busy Frances Anderson Center. The senior center board is ready to begin fundraising for the new building, and the city hopes to have an agreement template ready to sign by the end of the year, Hite said.

– New public defender case load requirements based on recent court rulings that will merit additional budget dollars for 2015, and options to sign a new contract with the city’s long-time public defender, Feldman and Lee, P.S., for 2015. The matter will be included on the council’s consent agenda next week.

In one of several action items at the beginning of the meeting, the council also voted to amend the length of a $3,060/month contract with the Town of Woodway from six months to three years. Under the contract, the City of Edmonds will provide part-time police services to answer level 1 and 2 services calls (911 calls) to the Town of Woodway.