Edmonds closer to forming Diversity Commission; city councilmembers wrangle over study session format

The City of Edmonds is a step closer to having a Diversity Commission, after the Edmonds City Council Tuesday night agreed to form a task force of citizens and councilmembers to develop recommendations for establishing such a commission.

The six councilmembers present Tuesday night (Strom Peterson and Mayor Dave Earling were absent) were unanimous in their support of the idea, but agreed they would prefer to have a task force of interested citizens sort out the group’s mission — including perhaps some of those who testified in favor of the idea during the public comment period Tuesday night.

One of those who offered testimony was Emily Hill, who organized a walk against racism in early September after an Edmonds man and his family were subjected to racial slurs and a death threat along Sunset Avenue. Hill told the council that citizens are ready to “roll up their sleeves and move forward.”

The council was not as agreeable, however, when it came to discussing the future of its meeting structure. Three months ago, councilmembers voted 6-1 to replace the current system of council business meetings and once-a-month, information-only council committee meetings. Tuesday night, the council debated whether to keep or ditch the new system, with Councilmember Lora Petso stating that the current structure didn’t allow councilmembers enough time to hone in on issues of importance, such as financial reports, and resulted in items being placed on the consent agenda instead of being fully vetted.

That also was an issue for Councilmember Joan Bloom, who had made an attempt earlier in the meeting to pull from the council’s consent agenda approval of a professional services agreement to update the city’s development code. Bloom had argued that the issue deserved further discussion as part of the budget process and wanted to move the item to a future meeting, but couldn’t get a majority of councilmembers to agree. Under the old meeting structure, such an issue would have been referred to the appropriate committee for additional review, Bloom noted.

There have also been citizen complaints about the location of councilmembers on the floor rather than dais during the more informal study session format, as it makes it harder for citizens watching the meeting to both see the council and hear them, due to inconsistent use of microphones.

Bloom and Petso were joined by Councilmember Tom Mesaros in stating that the new structure leads to longer, more stressful meetings with not enough time to absorb all the information presented.

Council President Diane Buckshis was joined by Councilmembers Adrienne Fraley-Monillas and Kristiana Johnson in stating that the council should give the new meeting structure a bit more time before eliminating it. Buckshnis noted that the end of the year is always busy, with approval of the budget set for December, and isn’t representative of how the new meeting structure would work under normal circumstances.

After much debate, the council voted on a motion to switch back to a system of three regular business meetings and one combined study session/committee meeting night — but it ended in a 3-3 tie, meaning the motion failed.

The council also:- Voted to add half-time responsibilities of legislative assistant to the workload of current City Council Executive assistant Jana Spellman.

– Heard a presentation from Development Director Shane Hope on the Draft Housing Element of the 2015 Comprehensive Plan Update, which is due to the State of Washington in mid-2015.  A public hearing was scheduled but no one signed up to testify. Hope noted that it is a priority for the city to develop a more specific strategy for increasing the supply of affordable housing in Edmonds.

– Received a final report from Stormwater Engineering Program Manager Jerry Shuster on a study to address reducing the amount of stormwater flowing into Perrinville Creek, which is causing a variety of problems, including flooding, soil erosion and a loss of habitat for salmon. The study, conducted by Tetra Tech, concluded that by implementing two projects– an infiltration facility in Edmonds’ Seaview Park and Blue Ridge Pond modifications in Lynnwood — will reduce creek flows enough to allow for replacement of a fish barrier culvert — without increasing flood risk to properties downstream of Talbot Road.

– Heard from Buckshnis that Councilmember Strom Peterson — who was elected to the Washington State Legislature in November — is scheduled to leave the council following the body’s Jan. 6, 2015 meeting. Plans are underway for establishing the process for replacing Peterson, Buckshnis said.