On Tuesday, the Edmonds City Council will vote to select a new councilmember to replace Strom Peterson, who is now in the state Legislature. Whether the six voting councilmembers will come to consensus in the time allotted is unknown. Last time the council voted to fill a vacant seat, in March 2014, the effort spread across two meetings and 59 ballots because the group was deadlocked 3-3. Finally, the council selected Tom Mesaros.

(If you want to predict the number of ballots this vote will take, you can take our poll here.)

Here’s how the process works: Each councilmember will nominate one of the 10 applicants – who were interviewed by the council Feb. 17 —  and then the council will vote on those nominated, one ballot at a time. The first applicant to receive a majority of votes — four or more — is the new councilmember, regardless of how many ballots it takes.

The council also has several other items of interest on the agenda, including approval of selling the city’s newest police dog, Kira, to the City of Everett. According to the council agenda, the Edmonds Police Department purchased Kira for $1,500 to replace a recently retired police K9, Rocky.  The purchase was made with funds that were raised and donated by the Edmonds Police Foundation.

Due to several staffing issues that currently exist, the department is unable to fill a vacant K9 handler position, the agenda notes. The department will be leaving that specialty position vacant until its three officers currently in the academy graduate, and three additional vacant positions can be filled and those officers complete academy and field training. Given that Kira is still relatively young, the department reached out to other agencies and the Everett Police Department has agreed to purchase her, and will be placing her with one of their K9 handlers.

In addition, the council will:

– Hold a public hearing and may take action on a proposal to name Fire Station No. 16 in honor of the late Betty Mueller, a community organizer who founded the Edmonds Public Safety Foundation, among many other contributions.

– Consider awarding a bid for the City Park Spray Pad and authorizing the Mayor to sign a supplemental agreement.

– Hear a presentation of proposed goals and policies of the 2015 Transportation Element of the city’s Comprehensive Plan.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, Public Safety Complex, 250 5th Ave. N. You can see the complete agenda here.