Edmonds City Councilmembers covered a range of issues during their three Tuesday committee meetings, from a possible name change for the Edmonds Diversity Commission to an agreement with Snohomish County to participate in the county’s diversion center aimed at helping adults who are homeless.

Councilmembers also talked about developing a framework around the process of mayoral and council appointments to city boards, commissions and committees — after Mayor Mike Nelson’s decision not to reappoint two Edmonds Planning Board members raised concerns about the city’s protocols.

And they discussed proposed increases in development fees, a new ground lease for the Edmonds Boys and Girls Club, and an update on solar panels proposed for the city’s downtown public safety building.

Here are highlights of the three committee meetings:

During the council’s public safety-planning-human services-personnel committee, two Edmonds Diversity Commission members — Chair Elaine Helm and Commissioner Jessie Owen — spoke about the commission’s desire to change its name to the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Commission. Helm said the new name “really reflects the needs of the community as well as the direction the commission has been headed in its work for the last several years.” Edmonds’ demographics “show that our population differs in really meaningful ways across the city, whether that’s by age, gender, race, disability, housing level, income,” she said. “There’s just a lot of really interesting differences when we talk about diversity to be reflected in city government and programs and policies.”

Owen said that while the city has made a genuine and authentic commitment to diversity, more needs to be done. “By expanding our scope to include equity, inclusion and accessibility, we can place the emphasis on our commitment to policies, to procedures, to systems that better represent our people,” she said.

“While a truly inclusive group is diverse, a diverse group does not necessarily mean it’s inclusive or accessible — and we want to do it all,” Owen added.

Councilmember Jenna Nand raised the idea of also requiring at least one of the commissioners be under age 24, to ensure the group has younger representation. Helm noted that the commission in the past has had a liaison from the Edmonds Youth Commission and appreciated the youth voice. Some in the meeting expressed concerns about the city’s ability to find youth candidates, and noted the competition for members with the existing youth commission. In the end, Edmonds Community Services and Economic Development Director Todd Tatum — who staffs the commission — and committee members agreed to discuss the idea further and come back to the full council with a presentation on March 7.

Regarding the city’s agreement with Snohomish County to use its Everett-based Diversion Center, Parks, Recreation and Human Services Deputy Director Shannon Burley said the arrangement will give the city “another tool in our toolbox” to help those in Edmonds who are homeless and have substance abuse and behavioral health issues. The diversion center is a 44-bed facility — with space for 32 men and 12 women — that offers short-term placement and shelter.

The city wasn’t able to partner with the diversion center until it had a social worker who was working in partnership with the police department, an arrangment that Edmonds now has. That partnership also gives South County Fire paramedics the ability to transport individuals directly to the center, Burley said.

“This opens up a wide range of possiblities for our law enforcement in conjunction with our social work team to help people to receive the type of support in their treatment efforts that is available to them,” Burley added.

It doesn’t cost the city anything to participate, other than it is required to transport people to and from the diversion center. (Both Burley and councilmembers stressed during the meeting that this option is different from the county’s plan to convert a former Edmonds Highway 99 hotel to bridge housing.)

Council committee members voiced their support for the agreement and agreed to place it on a future council consent agenda.

The discussion about the recruitment and appointment of city board and commission members revolved around how to ensure that there is robust recruitment — including notices targeted to multilingual audiences — and that the appointments are made in a timely manner. Councilmember Nand, who along with Councilmember Will Chen had advocated in a previous council meeting for more multilingual announcements, said she had been assured by the city administration that such efforts would be made. Council President Neil Tibbott, who had originally raised the idea of amending the ordinance governing board and commission appointments, said it may take until the end of February to gather the information needed regarding possible amendments. One idea proposed by Councilmember Vivian Olson was to have the council take over the mayoral appointment process if appointments weren’t made within a specified timeframe.

Councilmembers also discussed a draft policy governing the employee practice of taking home city-owned vehicles. Human Resources Director Jessica Neill Hoyson described the policy as “a housekeeping issue,” adding that some departments already permit the practice but the city didn’t have rules reagarding it. Councilmembers agreed to place the policy on a future council consent agenda.

During the council finance committee meeting, Planning and Development Director Susan McLaughlin presented a proposal to update the city’s development fees. The city adopts its fees by resolution, with major updates coming every three years. The last update was in early 2020.

Recommended updates include:

– Increasing most flat fees and labor-based fees by 14.2% based on the Consumer Price Index for the last three years. The new rate for hourly staff charges is $126.

– Simplifying fees for plumbing and mechanical systems in new single-family homes.

– Adjusting fees for retaining wall permits to better reflect staff time spent.

– Adding fees for new permit types such as for generators and smoke control systems.

Committee members Will Chen and Susan Paine agreed to place the fee increases on the council’s Feb. 21 consent agenda.

During the parks and public works committee meeting, councilmembers talked about a proposed 40-year ground lease for the Edmonds Boys and Girls Club, which has occupied the field house at downtown Edmonds’ Civic Field since 1968. Parks, Recreation and Human Services Director Angie Feser explained that the initial lease arrangement was with the Edmonds School District, which owned the Civic Field property until the city purchased it in 2016. The Boys and Girls Club plans to demolish the existing field house and build a new building after Civic Park renovations are completed. Given the scope of — and interest in — the project, council committee members agreed to have the matter come before the full city council at a future meeting.

Parks and public works committee members Dave Teitzel and Diane Buckshnis also heard an update regarding the city’s plan to place a solar plant on top of the public safety building, which houses the city’s police station. During a presentation in August 2022, committee members learned that costs had escalated considerably on the project, and they asked to revisit the topic once numbers were finalized. During Tuesday’s committee meeting, city staff and consultants reported much better news. Shelby Sawyers from consultant McKinstry explained that project — which would involve installing 280 solar panels — will reduce both the city’s electricity use and its carbon footprint, aligning with Edmonds’ Climate Action Plan. The project would offset about 18% of the building’s annual grid consumption. Utility cost savings are estimated at $10,596 annually.

“Even more importantly, right now there’s really no more cost-effective time to install solar,” Sawyers said, pointing to State Department of Commerce grant funding of $119, 645 — covering 25% of the project cost — plus the federal Inflation Reduction Act, which will provide a 30% tax rebate estimated at $176,048.

The total cost to Edmonds would be $394,692. Assuming council approval, construction would occur between July and September 2023, Sawyers said.

The proposed project will come before the full council at a later date.

Finally, the council heard from Public Works and Utilities Director Oscar Antillon regarding the city’s efforts to purchase 40 new vehicles, most of them for the police department, that were approved during the council’s last budget cycle. Antillon said that the city is “really struggling” to source vehicles locally, adding that the city usually contracts with the State of Washington but many of those orders were canceled due to lack of availability. To address the issue, he proposed the city enter into interlocal purchasing agreements with both the State of Arizona and Snohomish County to explore other markets.

Councilmembers agreed to place the proposal on a future council consent agenda for approval.

— By Teresa Wippel