For the second year, members of Edmonds-Woodway High School’s Students Saving Salmon club delivered an update to the Edmonds City Council regarding stream quality in Edmonds — and the news was mostly good.

The club, formed in 2014, has been continuing its efforts — under the name of the Edmonds Stream Team — to perform monthly monitoring of Edmonds streams, led by  retired fisheries biologist and Edmonds resident Joe Scordino.

On Tuesday night, a group of seven club members provided highlights of their 17-page report, summarizing their work to collect water samples at Willow, Shell and Shellabarger Creeks and the Edmonds Marsh. The goal? Providing data on how stormwater and other runoff may affect the ability of the streams to protect salmon.

“The reason all of us participate in these activities is so that we can work towards the goal of re-establishing salmon runs, which are so vital to the environment throughout Edmonds,” club member Erin Francisco said during her council introduction.

The Stream Team samples are analyzed by an accredited water analysis laboratory that tests for metals, petroleum products and other pollutants. You can read the entire report with their findings here.

“This year Willow, Shell and Shellebarger Creek all have good water quality that was suitable for salmon,” said club member Taylor Blevins, who summarized the results. Most of the marsh “conformed to the necessary water quality standards to be a safe environment for salmon,” she added. However, the marsh edges have low dissolved oxygen levels and in some months had more acidic waters, and in the summer months, the middle of the marsh displayed higher temperatures — all factors that aren’t good for salmon, she said. Possible solutions include increasing freshwater circulation by opening the tide gates, as well as increasing marsh vegetation.

An area of concern, Blevins added, is the discovery of some carcinogenic pollutants –found mainly in the marsh — that exceed state standards and require further investigation to determine the source.

In addition to continuing their Stream Team monitoring, the students during the 2016-17 school year launched a stewardship program to work with residents along lower Shell Creek, explained club member Joe Cooper. The students went door to door, handing out information to 28 homes so that homeowners could identify what kind of salmon were in the stream and what they could do to protect the habitat.

Following that effort, the students made arrangements with several homeowners to conduct streamside restoration projects on their properties. Using a grant from Sound Salmon Solutions, the students over their spring break planted 320 native shrubs at four residences long Shell Creek. The club plans to do a similar planting with 80 shrubs next to Holy Rosary Church in the fall, Cooper said.

In late May, club members released 800 juvenile Coho salmon from the Willow Creek Salmon Hatchery into lower, middle and upper Shell Creek.

“The reason that’s a big deal is because salmon currently are unable to reach the upper reaches of Shell Creek because of barriers in the creek,” Cooper said, adding that the most significant of these is a waterfall near 7th and Glen in a property owner’s backyard. The Students Saving Salmon club is working with the property owner, the City of Edmonds and Trout Unlimited “to find a solution for removing that barrier and allowing salmon runs to reach the upper reaches of Shell Creek,” he said.

“We’d like thank everyone who’s helped us out the past few years and helped the club be so successful, and we hope we can rely on the continued support from the city and the community going forward,” Cooper said.

Also on Tuesday night, the council:

– Approved by a 4-3 vote an ordinance that will allow city projects — with mayoral approval — to operate more easily outside current noise restrictions of 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Councilmembers Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, Diane Buckshnis and Mike Nelson opposed the measure, while Councilmembers Kristiana Johnson, Tom Mesaros, Dave Teitzel and Neil Tibbott approved it. More details in our previous story here.

– Following public hearings during which no one testified, approved a draft updated plan for the city’s water system and water use efficiency, prepared by consulting firm Murraysmith. The water system plan now goes to the Washington State Department of Health for final review. The biggest capital expense identified in the plan was the replacement of Edmonds’ aging and undersized water mains, many of which are from the 1930s. Another significant expense will be the seismic retrofit of the 5 Corners reservoir.

– Had further discussion on proposed changes to Highway 99 development regulations with Development Director Shane Hope going through possible changes with the goal of making long-term improvements to land use and transportation. The council will continue to discuss the plan during two upcoming meetings: July 31 and Aug. 15.

– Approved a resolution to designate the Edmonds portion of Highway 99 as a “residential targeted area” in order to implement the multifamily tax exemption program for developers who include 20 percent affordable housing units. (The Edmonds City Council approved such a program for Westgate area development in August 2016.) The measure now goes to the council’s Parks, Planning and Public Works Committee for further discussion.

– Listened to Edmonds Mayor Dave Earling read a proclamation in honor of the 95th anniversary of the Edmonds Floretum Garden Club.

– Heard a report on a plan for historic informational panels for Yost Park and Sunset Avenue. The plan will be forwarded to the appropriate council committee for further consideration.

– Approved the process for appointments to the Tree Board, and confirmed all members.

– Approved the second quarter 2017 budget amendment.

At the close of the meeting, during the period reserved for councilmember comments, Councilmember Mike Nelson offered a stinging rebuke of fellow councilmembers who have recently expressed their opinions about council actions in local media outlets, which he says undermines the legislative process. While all councilmembers have ample opportunity to debate the issues and offer amendments during meeting deliberations, “once we vote, it is settled,” Nelson said. “It is the council’s decision. This whole body, the council, the city stand behind it. The executive branch, the mayor and the staff implement it.”

Lately, Nelson said, councilmembers “have taken it upon themselves to publicly call into question our fair process and seek to influence public opinion when they are on the losing side of a vote.”

While Nelson didn’t name the councilmembers, it appears he was referring to two recent opinion pieces, both of which ran in My Edmonds News: from Dave Teitzel on the council’s rejection of a candidate for the Edmonds Salary Commission, and from Neil Tibbott on the council’s approval of a resolution on the Paris Climate Accord.

“By these councilmembers’ actions, the legislative process seems to be a mere annoyance,” Nelson said

Nelson added that he knows what it’s like to be on “the losing end of a vote,” pointing to his opposition late last year to staffing cuts to the city’s fire stations, which the council approved by a 6-1 vote.

“I was very frustrated,” Nelson said. “But did I take to the airwaves to publicly criticize my colleagues’ decision? No. I moved on.”

“I will not sit quietly by while someone tries to block, prevent or hinder the decisions made by this council,” Nelson said.

Councilmember Neil Tibbott, who was next in line to offer his comments, said in response that his intention in writing his commentary “was not to criticize so much the process as it was to rally some support for an ongoing dialogue with citizens with regard to implementation” of the climate resolution.

“I’m sorry that it was taken that way,” Tibbott said. “My intention was to point out that this is an opportunity for citizens to now be involved.”

— By Teresa Wippel