The Mountlake Terrace City Council at its Feb. 17 work/study session reviewed the results of a recently completed community satisfaction survey and also received the Mountlake Terrace Planning Commission’s 2021 accomplishments and 2022 work plan.

The survey is meant to identify what the city is doing well along with areas where it can improve residents’ “quality of life.” The results presented represent the percent of positive responses in which excellent or good were selected by participants. The responses received are then compared to national benchmarks from over 600 communities and are rated as being either higher, similar or lower.

Participants weighed in on a number of community livability issues such as economic development, community design, public safety, utilities, parks and recreation, mobility, natural environment, health and wellness, inclusivity and engagement, and education, arts and culture.

Regarding economic development, 63% of respondents rated the overall quality of business and service establishments as excellent or good. However, other related items such as employment opportunities, shopping opportunities and health care received ratings lower than the national averages. City Treasurer Mick Horton noted that the latest ratings for the vibrancy of the downtown/commercial areas, along with the overall quality of business and service establishments, continued to trend upward from previous survey results.

Residents reported that they are using public transportation at a consistently higher rate than the national benchmarks and the ease of doing so also exceeded those standards. Horton added that it’s anticipated the arrival of light rail service will drive that number even higher.

The survey also included a series of questions unique to Mountlake Terrace and related to the local economy. Approximately one-third of the respondents thought that encouraging businesses to relocate or expand their operations within Mountlake Terrace should be the city’s top priority. And about 20% thought that helping existing businesses is most important. Improving infrastructure was the top priority of 25% of residents.

When asked to rate how the city has done at being proactive about economic development, 60% of participants said that Mountlake Terrace had done an excellent or good job, and 85% rated the development of downtown as their top priority. Roughly two-thirds rated the development of Ballinger Park according to the Master Plan as either essential or very important. Meanwhile, 37% rated the importance of replacing the Recreation Pavilion as essential or very important.

Residents were less likely than those who lived in other communities to give positive evaluations for opportunities to attend special events and festivals, opportunities to attend cultural/arts/music events, adult educational opportunities, community support for the arts, and overall opportunities for education, culture, and the arts.

Two-thirds of respondents favorably rated K-12 education. And 40% gave excellent or good scores to the availability of affordable, quality child care, which is similar to the national benchmark. Public library services in Mountlake Terrace received positive marks from 80% of residents.

The following rating were all below the national average: Safety from property crime, engagement with local government and public meetings, affordability of quality food, affordability of quality health care, availability of preventative health services and availability of affordable quality mental health care.

A full report of the community satisfaction survey’s results can be viewed here.

The Mountlake Terrace Planning Commission presented its accomplishments for 2021 and also discussed its 2022 work plan with the city council.

Noted accomplishments included various zoning reviews and amendments such as updates made to the code for food trucks in Mountlake Terrace, a zoning text amendment concerning where medical establishments can be located in the Town Center, and code changes to allow carports and covered porches throughout the city. Additional updates to building and fire codes and an amendment to the city’s stormwater code were also highlighted.

The commission also helped with Comprehensive Plan updates and development processes including the Veterans Memorial Park Master Plan, the Recreation, Parks and Open Space Master Plan and the city’s engineering details and specifications

It also conducted reviews and approved of several construction projects such as the Willow Glenn Townhomes subdivision, the Velorum Cottage Homes subdivision and rezoning for the eight-unit housing development planned for 212th Place Southwest.

Items identified as high priorities in the planning commission’s 2022 work plan included the construction of affordable housing, multi-family tax exemptions, upcoming amendments to the city’s comprehensive plan, identifying and prioritizing subarea planning, preparation for the 2024 major comprehensive plan update, and an update to the hazard mitigation plan.

During discussions with the city council, several of the planning commissioners described the work plan as ambitious and acknowledged that many of the items involve processes that will take several years to complete. It was also noted that the commission will likely need additional resources such as city staff and other measures to help address items identified in the plan.

Commissioners stressed the importance of long-term planning for future growth and said the time to begin establishing that framework is now. Having affordable housing options, accommodating expected increases to the local population, planning for development that will occur throughout Mountlake Terrace after the Lynnwood Link light rail extension is completed, and also identifying various regional partnerships to help address such issues were said to be particularly crucial to that process.

The city council said it looked forward to working with the planning commission on the various issues identified in the work plan. Several on the council echoed comments from the commission that it is time to plan for the next 20 years of expected growth and development in Mountlake Terrace and that process will involve a lot of collaborative work over the next several years. The council also asked the planning commission to put together a list of the additional resources it thinks will be most helpful in those efforts moving forward.

In other business, city staff recommended the approval of a contract with Osborn Consulting Inc. for engineering and design work needed to replace a stormwater line at 52nd Avenue West and 212th Street Southwest.

Recent video inspection of the city’s stormwater infrastructure at the intersection indicates that two parallel stormwater pipes in the area are severely cracked and offset. As a result, tree roots have penetrated the stormwater pipes, causing partial blockages and requiring that maintenance crews cut the roots every few months  to prevent the pipes from becoming completely blocked. Frequent repairs are also required due to stormwater leaking from the cracked pipes that have caused the road surface and sidewalk to sink along the east side of 52nd Avenue West.

A gas main is located directly above one of the stormwater pipes, thereby complicating any repair or replacement work. City staff are not able to perform the full range of work needed for the project and the engineering division is not able to finish the tasks that it could do in such a timeframe to mitigate further damage to the road and sidewalk. The work order’s costs are covered under an existing agreement with Osborn Consulting Inc. for on-call stormwater engineering services that the council previously approved.

Stormwater Program Manager Laura Reed said fixing the two cracked pipes shouldn’t be deferred until later and that doing so will improve the location’s safety for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists. She added that it would also reduce long-term stormwater maintenance costs for ratepayers.

The council will vote on approval of the work order at its Feb. 22 regular business meeting. If approved, the engineering and design work is anticipated to be completed by January 2023. The not-to-exceed cost is nearly $133,000, which includes a 10% contingency. In order to defray costs, city crews would complete the necessary potholing work and traffic control required to verify pipe locations and depths.

The council also reviewed an interlocal agreement with the Washington School Information Processing Cooperative. The cooperative connects public agencies and schools to a network of technology partners, thereby leveraging its collective power to provide competitively-bid pricing on goods and services. The program is used for purchasing computer hardware and software.

City staff is interested in contracting with FreeDoc, which is a provider of digital recordkeeping and electronic content management. Approving the interlocal agreement would then allow the city to take advantage of the cooperative’s existing contract with FreeDoc. The council will vote on approval of the agreement as part of the consent calendar at its next meeting.

The city council will hold its next regular business meeting Tuesday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. It’s a day later than usual due to the President’s Day holiday. The meeting will include a review of the Mountlake Terrace Recreation and Park Advisory Commission’s 2021 accomplishments and 2022 work plan. See the agenda and information for watching/participating online here.

— By Nathan Blackwell