The Edmonds City Council Tuesday night agreed to revisit a proposal to change the city’s Comprehensive Plan map for two undeveloped parcels in the Perrinville area.

The council had decided at its Oct. 6 meeting to indefinitely table the proposal to amend the Comprehensive Plan map, which would change the parcels in question — located off 76th Avenue West — from Neighborhood Commercial to Multi-Family Residential — Medium Density. The owner of the parcels has proposed building six to seven townhomes on the site, but that proposal would be subject to future city approval if the map change were approved.

Citizens testifying during a related public hearing said they were concerned the map amendment would lead to development that could negatively impact the Perrinville Creek watershed.

The Oct. 6 motion to table was approved by a 5-2 vote, with Councilmembers Luke Distelhorst and Vivian Olson voting no. It was Councilmember Distelhorst who requested that the matter return to the council for a decision, and councilmembers agreed on the Nov. 2 date, which is a Monday meeting due to Election Day Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The council also heard city department heads make the first of two presentations on a range of proposed 2021 budget packages. This week’s proposals were focused on operatimg expenses. Capital budget proposals will be presented at next week’s Oct. 27 meeting.

Budget proposal highlights for 2021 include:

Human Resources

$50,000 for a citywide Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative, to increase training and awareness.

$5,000 for supplies, equipment and other operational expenses for the city’s safety and disaster coordinator.

$23,940 to cover annual increase for the city attorney contract.

Continuation of a hiring freeze for approximately 25 vacant positions, which reduces the budget by $895,428. And along those lines, removing 2021 funding for a vacant crime prevention officer position for the police department as well as operational costs, such as supplies, — at a savings of $133,657.

Adjustments to various non-departmental expenses — ranging from an annual increase for the public defender contract ($37,930) and a $100,000 increase in prisoner care, to a $150,000 reduction in fire hydrant costs and a reduction of $25,000 (from $75,000 to $50,000) in money budgeted for the Edmonds Senior Center/Waterfront Center and the Edmonds Center for the Arts (also reduced from $75,000 to $50,000).

Edmonds Municipal Court

$23,117 in carryover funds from state dollars received for court improvements, with a focus on paperless services.

Information Technology

$24,500 to relocate a network switch (budget carried forward from 2019).

$14,000 for increased cloud storage.

$15,000 for software licensing.

$109,600 for annual equipment replacement (from set-aside dollars from various departments).

Economic Development/Community Services

$48,946 to fund a continued expenditure for a part-time public information officer/communications strategist and also continuing the same amount for a part-time human services program manager. (Those were funded as one-time, trial positions last year.).

$16,600 to continue a one-quarter-time Diversity Commission Coordinator at $16,600.

$500,000 to create a Human Services Fund to provides services to individuals and families in need. This amount would include hiring a full-time social worker as well as pay for contracts wtih outside agencies to provide direct services. The total includes $123,000 from the city’s current Homeless Response Fund and $377,000 from the city’s general fund. “We will of course seek grant funding to supplement this,” said Community Services and Economic Development Director Patrick Doherty.

$3,000 for social media support.

Development Services

$20,000 for a Comprehensive Plan “gap analysis” aimed at reviewing city planning for the 2024 comp plan update “through the lens of equity and climate,” Development Services Director Shane Hope said. The money would be used to hire a consultant to oversee the work.

$60,000 for a Highway 99 Community Renewal Plan, aimed at addressing areas of crime, vandalism and graffiti. The money would be used both for “strategic assessment” and “good neighborhood and community input on the needs and issues,” Hope said.

$30,000 to continue the city’s participation in the PUD Green Power Program. Under the program, the city pays the PUD for “extra credits that go toward funding sustainable, carbon-neutral power sources instead of pollution-generating sources,” she said, adding: “It’s one more example of Edmonds’ commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship,”

Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services

$32,000 for a Salmon Safe Program, a certification process for watershed and salmon habitat.

$30,000 for city operating expenses incurred while offering programming at the new Edmonds Waterfront Center, including utilities, a site monitor, and custodial expenses. The city projects it will offset these expenses through estimated program fees of $31,000, Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Director Angie Feser said.

$55,000 for a one-time Edmonds Arts Commission grant program that will address the impact of COVID-19 on the Edmonds arts community, with a focus on accessibility, equity and inclusion. The funds will come from the municipal arts fund ending cash balance, Feser said.

$25,000 for ongoing annual spending authority for long-term care of the Edmonds cemetery. Next year’s funds would be used to replace “a 25-year-old mower affectionately named Frankenstein, because it’s basically made of two different mowers put together,” Feser said.  This money would come out of the cemetery fund, she added.

Public Works and Utilities

$500,000 for major facilities maintenance, which continues the city’s work to catch up on a large backlog of projects.  The 15 projects identified range from new electrical panels at the Meadowdale Club House to security card readers at the Frances Anderson Center to office flooring in the Public Safety building.

$20,000 to continue funding the city’s Pedestrian Task Force, which develops education initiatives in partnership with the Edmonds School District and the Cascade Bicycle Club.

$36,000 to continue the city’s Commute Trip Reduction Program for city staff.

$80,000 to contract with a certified contractor to rate and document the condition of city sewer and storm drainage pipes.

$13,600 for the Lake Ballinger operations fund.

$152,500 for a Stormwater Comprehensive Plan update.

$14,717,115 for the wastewater treatment plant’s Carbon Recovery Project, replacing the current sludge incinerator. The city will seek bond funding for this project.

$80,866 in cost increases for the treatment plant budget related to the startup of the Carbon Recovery Project.

$262,000 for five new vehicles, which Public Works and Utilities Director Phil Williams said is a significant reduction from past years.

In other action, the council:

– After a public hearing during which no one testified, voted 6-0 (Councilmember Kristiana Johnson abstaining) to place on next week’s consent agenda a flood damage prevention ordinance. The ordinance is related to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) floodplain maps that became effective June 19, 2020. For the City of Edmonds to remain a participant in the National Flood Insurance Program, it must update its floodplain regulations, and the ordinance establishes a new flood damage prevention chapter in the city code. The ordinance will replace an interim ordinance the council approved in June.

– Also approved for placement on next week’s consent agenda a contract with Parametrix to oversee integration of the wastewater treatment plant’s SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) computer system into the upcoming carbon recovery project, which will replace the city’s sludge incinerator. Under the $408,000 contract, Parametrix will participate in the design and construction phases, and also be available for on-call emergency support.

– Heard Mayor Mike Nelson read a proclamation for National Arts and Humanities Month.

– Received the yearly report from the Students Saving Salmon Club, which this year includes 50 students at both Edmonds-Woodway and Meadowdale High Schools. The students participate in water quality monitoring of local streams and the Edmonds Marsh, and also work on habitat and salmon restoration projects.

– Discussed a proposal by Councilmember Susan Paine to transition from Committee of the Whole meetings (where members of all three council committees meet as one body) back to individual committee meetings, which was the norm in pre-pandemic times. There was a discussion about the best days of week and times of day for those meetings, given the current Zoom format, and also whether such a transition should wait until next year. Paine cited the concern that business meetings were going very late into the evening and the hope is that could be avoided by dedicating the normal second-Tuesday-of-the-month committee night to business meetings. “The goal is to not have an 11:30 night ever again,” Paine said.

In his comments at the end of Tuesday’s meeting, Edmonds Mayor Mike Nelson addressed the topic of Halloween during COVID-19. Pointing to the latest Snohomish Health District numbers that show cases of the virus rising countywide, Nelson said that “our city’s recommendation for trick-or-treaters is to please stay home,” adding that it’s “for your safety, for your family’s safety, for our community’s safety.”

“We have to look out for everybody more than ever right now,” the mayor said.

— By Teresa Wippel