Property rights, police issues face County Council

EVERETT — There’s a new look to the Snohomish County Council this year, and some new issues.

Ken Klein and Terry Ryan got an earful or two from future constituents last year as they knocked on doors seeking to get elected.

The new councilmen were sworn in Monday. Now it’s time to take a run at issues such as police protection and property rights.

Plus, they’re in for a cram session on familiar Snohomish County political themes: commercial air service at Paine Field, keeping the Boeing Co. happy and preparing to bid out the county’s $20-million-per-year garbage contract.

Brave or unsuspecting, Ryan says he’s ready.

“I’m so excited — I can’t wait to get started,” he said. “We have important things to work on: aerospace, transportation and land use. Those will be three of the biggest that we’ll be working on.”

Councilman Dave Somers, of Monroe, also won election in November, to his third consecutive term. His four colleagues on Monday chose him to take the reins as this year’s chairman. That gives Somers a lead role in running meetings and crafting next year’s budget.

Somers sees lots of work ahead, starting soon with discussions about building a passenger terminal at Paine Field to handle commercial flights.

“I would expect between now and March we’ll want to make some decisions on that,” Somers said.

It’s not clear who would build the terminal, the county or another entity.

At the county-run Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, the council is preparing to look into significant changes, even a seemingly far-fetched plan to move the racetrack.

A consultant’s report is due this month.

“We’ll be putting quite a bit of thought into what we want to see at the fairgrounds,” Somers said.

The county’s long-term goal is to raise the fairgrounds’ profile as a year-round destination, outside of the popular 12-day summer fair.

County lawmakers won’t just be dreaming up ways to have fun. They’ll have to think about garbage, too. More to the point, who will haul it away for disposal.

Allied Waste now takes all of the county’s trash by rail to an Eastern Washington landfill. Allied’s contract runs into May 2017, with a possible one-year extension.

The county expects to hire a consultant this year in preparation of opening the contract to other bidders. At stake: estimated $20 million in yearly revenues. Allied and rival Waste Management, and possibly others, are sure to be in the hunt.

The time needed to prepare the new long-haul contract was a contentious issue between the council and the previous county executive.

Aaron Reardon resigned as executive last year, but other county leaders continue to clean up messes left over from his tenure.

Among other things, the council awaits word on whether anyone will face sanctions over a scheme to harass Reardon’s political enemies through social media and public records requests. Much of the mischief was conducted during work hours and using county resources, records show.

It’s up to Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney Rich Weyrich to decide whether criminal charges will be filed. While the council won’t have any role in determining the case’s outcome, Somers said he wants to talk to Weyrich’s office about the importance of the investigation for Snohomish County.

“I think the public would like to see that we take these things seriously and they’re not being swept under the rug,” Somers said.

Klein, like John Koster before him, is the council’s only Republican.

He and Ryan are already getting to work on issues that came up during the campaign.

Klein, a former Arlington city councilman, wants to prioritize an effort to designate an area between Arlington and Marysville for more intense industrial development.

If successful, the Arlington-Marysville Manufacturing Industrial Center could accommodate thousands of new jobs in aerospace and other advanced manufacturing fields.

“This is definitely something I’ll be pushing as much as I can,” Klein said. “Especially now that we’re going to get the 777X and the wing (production), it’s essential that we get that designation now.”

It’s up to the Puget Sound Regional Council planning group to approve the expanded industrial center.

Ryan, a former Mill Creek City Councilman and commercial real estate broker, wants to work with the sheriff’s office to improve deputies’ response times in the unincorporated areas.

“That’s direct feedback from all of the door-belling I did,” Ryan said. “I want to understand what the issues are. Is it staffing? Is it deployment?”

Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Alan Edward Dean, convicted of the 1993 murder of Melissa Lee, professes his innocence in the courtroom during his sentencing Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bothell man gets 26 years in cold case murder of Melissa Lee, 15

“I’m innocent, not guilty. … They planted that DNA. I’ve been framed,” said Alan Edward Dean, as he was sentenced for the 1993 murder.

Bothell
Man gets 75 years for terrorizing exes in Bothell, Mukilteo

In 2021, Joseph Sims broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home in Bothell and assaulted her. He went on a crime spree from there.

A Tesla electric vehicle is seen at a Tesla electric vehicle charging station at Willow Festival shopping plaza parking lot in Northbrook, Ill., Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022. A Tesla driver who had set his car on Autopilot was “distracted” by his phone before reportedly hitting and killing a motorcyclist Friday on Highway 522, according to a new police report. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Tesla driver on Autopilot caused fatal Highway 522 crash, police say

The driver was reportedly on his phone with his Tesla on Autopilot on Friday when he crashed into Jeffrey Nissen, killing him.

The Seattle courthouse of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. (Zachariah Bryan / The Herald) 20190204
Mukilteo bookkeeper sentenced to federal prison for fraud scheme

Jodi Hamrick helped carry out a scheme to steal funds from her employer to pay for vacations, Nordstrom bills and more.

A passenger pays their fare before getting in line for the ferry on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023 in Mukilteo, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
$55? That’s what a couple will pay on the Edmonds-Kingston ferry

The peak surcharge rates start May 1. Wait times also increase as the busy summer travel season kicks into gear.

In this Jan. 4, 2019 photo, workers and other officials gather outside the Sky Valley Education Center school in Monroe, Wash., before going inside to collect samples for testing. The samples were tested for PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, as well as dioxins and furans. A lawsuit filed on behalf of several families and teachers claims that officials failed to adequately respond to PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, in the school. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Judge halves $784M for women exposed to Monsanto chemicals at Monroe school

Monsanto lawyers argued “arbitrary and excessive” damages in the Sky Valley Education Center case “cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny.”

Mukilteo Police Chief Andy Illyn and the graphic he created. He is currently attending the 10-week FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia. (Photo provided by Andy Illyn)
Help wanted: Unicorns for ‘pure magic’ career with Mukilteo police

“There’s a whole population who would be amazing police officers” but never considered it, the police chief said.

President of Pilchuck Audubon Brian Zinke, left, Interim Executive Director of Audubon Washington Dr.Trina Bayard,  center, and Rep. Rick Larsen look up at a bird while walking in the Narcbeck Wetland Sanctuary on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Larsen’s new migratory birds law means $6.5M per year in avian aid

North American birds have declined by the billions. This week, local birders saw new funding as a “a turning point for birds.”

FILE - In this May 26, 2020, file photo, a grizzly bear roams an exhibit at the Woodland Park Zoo, closed for nearly three months because of the coronavirus outbreak in Seattle. Grizzly bears once roamed the rugged landscape of the North Cascades in Washington state but few have been sighted in recent decades. The federal government is scrapping plans to reintroduce grizzly bears to the North Cascades ecosystem. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
Grizzlies to return to North Cascades, feds confirm in controversial plan

Under a final plan announced Thursday, officials will release three to seven bears per year. They anticipate 200 in a century.s

Everett
Police: 1 injured in south Everett shooting

Police responded to reports of shots fired in the 9800 block of 18th Avenue W. Officers believed everyone involved remained at the scene.

Patrick Lester Clay (Photo provided by the Department of Corrections)
Police searching for Monroe prison escapee

Officials suspect Patrick Lester Clay, 59, broke into an employee’s office, stole their car keys and drove off.

People hang up hearts with messages about saving the Clark Park gazebo during a “heart bomb” event hosted by Historic Everett on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Clark Park gazebo removal complicated by Everett historical group

Over a City Hall push, the city’s historical commission wants to find ways to keep the gazebo in place, alongside a proposed dog park.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.