Among the items on the Tuesday, July 26 Edmonds City Council agenda: Discussing steps for filling the Position 1 seat left vacant with the July 18 death of Councilmember Kristiana Johnson and repealing the city’s gun storage ordinance, which was invalidated by the State Supreme Court.
The July 26 agenda suggests consideration of adding two additional questions to the council vacancy application form approved in 2019:
1. Tell us about your experience as an Edmonds resident.
2. How have you included others in important conversations from under-served or hard-to-reach populations in the past?
The proposed timeline for the appointment process is as follows:
– Application posting date: Friday, July 29
– Application deadline: Friday, Aug. 19
– Interview dates: Still to be determined, pending staff availability
– Date of nominations/voting/appointment: Set once interview dates are determined.
The city’s gun storage and unauthorized use ordinance,was proposed in July 2018 by then-City Council President Mike Nelson, and was subsequently enacted by a 5-to-1 council vote. Passage of the ordinance set the stage for a flurry of legal actions, rulings and appeals pitting gun rights advocates against the city. Opponents maintained that the ordinance was illegal, in that it violated the Washington State Preemption Statute (RCW 9.41.290), which gives the state exclusive authority over firearms regulations statewide.
In a unanimous decision in April 2022, the Washington State Supreme Court denied the city’s petition to overrule last year’s Appeals Court decision that effectively invalidated the ordinance.
The council’s Public Safety, Planning, Human Services and Personnel Committee, which includes Councilmembers Laura Johnson and Susan Paine, during a special meeting July 18 talked about what options might be available to the council prior to repealing the ordinance. The committee agreed to place the matter before the full council for further discussion.
Other items on the council agenda include:
– An update on development activities in the city.
– A report on construction bids for the Seaview Park Infiltration Facility Phase 2 Project.
– Award of a construction contract for the 76th Overlay Project.
– Consideration of staff requests to either add new employees or change certain jobs from part-time to full-time roles. Among the affected positions: a domestic violence coordinator, public disclosure specialist and public records associate.
In addition, the council is set to continue part 2 of its Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) training, a followup from the council retreat earlier this year.
The business meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in council chambers, Public Safety Complex, 250 5th Ave. N. Prior to that meeting, the council will hold a 6:15 p.m. executive session, closed to the public, to discuss collective bargaining.
Those who want to join the 7 p.m. meeting virtually in lieu of in-person attendance can click on or paste the following Zoom meeting link into a web browser using a computer or smart phone: https://zoom.us/j/95798484261. Or comment by phone: US: +1 253 215 8782 Webinar ID: 957 9848 4261.
Regular council meetings beginning at 7 p.m. are streamed live on the council meeting webpage, Comcast channel 21, and Ziply channel 39.
