The Mountlake Terrace City Council held a special meeting on Jan. 24 to determine issues of concern that the councilmembers would like to explore in greater detail during their upcoming annual work/study retreat in March.

Councilmembers each identified several projects or programs they would like to see included in the council’s work plan for the year ahead. City Manager Scott Hugill explained that those undertakings could then potentially be pursued over either a two-year time frame, which coincides with the municipal biennial budget period, or a six-year time frame that is associated with the City of Mountlake Terrace’s Comprehensive Plan and financial forecast.

Issues commonly identified by councilmembers included:

– Examining ways to address affordable housing and provide it locally

– Replacing the aging Recreation Pavilion and its facilities

– Providing support for economic development opportunities throughout the city, which includes efforts at attracting more businesses to Mountlake Terrace

– Further considering city zoning standards and also code enforcement efforts

– Continuing support for public safety measures and associated resources

– Funding maintenance programs for local infrastructure such as sidewalks, streets and city facilities

– Examining how to bolster the city’s communication and outreach efforts to residents and the public

– Developing additional long-term planning efforts to support and also scale along with the expected population growth in Mountlake Terrace

– Exploring a variety of partnerships that could help support local efforts and programs meant to address issues such as affordable housing, child care services and various capital improvement projects

– Leveraging existing public events and also exploring the potential of adding more regularly scheduled events that can attract visitors to Mountlake Terrace — such as the annual Tour de Terrace festival and the Arts of the Terrace Juried Art Show

Over the next several weeks, city staff and the city council’s visioning committee will gather additional materials about the matters pinpointed Monday night. Those will then be put into a work plan draft for the council to review and discuss further.

During its annual work/study retreat Sunday, March 6, the council will have in-depth conversations about developing specific strategies, policy goals and associated timelines for the issues they identified.

— By Nathan Blackwell