An agreement between the City of Mountlake Terrace and Sound Transit to complete the Transit Corridor Connection Project from Town Center to the new Link light rail station will be on the Mountlake Terrace City Council’s March 21 consent calendar, following a council discussion on March 7. 

Deputy City Manager Carolyn Hope presented the agreement between the city and Sound Transit for the project. The opening of the trail — which will run through Veterans Memorial Park — has been delayed until 2027 and will not coincide with the start of light rail service later this year.

In the agreement, Sound Transit will transfer the trail and utilities to the city and pay the city a $360,000 lump sum to complete the trail. The city will then be responsible for the trail land utilities.

Hope explained that Millstream MLT West, LLC, the company building the 425-unit Candela Apartments next to the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center, owns  the easement necessary for trail completion. Millstream will need the easement  for building construction until Dec. 31, 2026, meaning trail construction cannot begin until 2027.

Once the apartment building is completed, Millstream will transfer the easement to the city. Until then, transit commuters coming from the north and northeast of Veterans Memorial Park will have to walk around, traveling down 58th Avenue West to 236th Street Southwest.

Although the trail leading to the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center is delayed until 2027, the light rail project is progressing at full speed. You can read about the presentation given during the March 7 meeting here.

In other business, Community and Economic Development Director Christy Osborn and Building Official Matthew Gisle presented a review of the resolutions to amend building- and electrical-related permit fees, land use and development fees and civil engineering construction and development fees, followed by a public hearing.

Each year, the city council reviews and adopts fee schedules for development services, which include the review, permitting and inspection of land use and construction.

Osborn explained that the city has continued to try to reduce or eliminate fees, or “what we affectionately call mom-pop-type permits.” The revision is focused on single-family property owners trying to do small projects.

She explained that changes to development fees have been deferred for city council consideration due to the timelines associated with the Washington State Building Code Council’s code changes and permit software data.

Osborn said the current fee schedules use three general approaches to determining the permit fee: published valuation tables, fixed cost fees and cost for service fees. The methods have worked well, but only the published valuation tables consistently cover all costs.

The approaches are as follows:

Published valuation tables are used to determine building permit fees for new construction. The fee is based on the value of the work as determined by the local building valuation data published by the International Code Council. The valuation tables account for different building types and construction materials used. The same valuation tables are used throughout the state (adjusted for local factors), which provides a consistent and predictable permit fee and creates equitability. These fees generally cover the cost of staff services.

Fixed-cost fees have been used when the intent is to serve the community and encourage application for the permit, with no expectation of full cost recovery. Side sewer and special event permits are examples of fixed-cost permits, regardless of the actual value of the work or the amount of staff time required to administer, review, and inspect the work.

The third approach to developing a permit fee is to try and reflect the actual service cost. The permit fee consists of a non-refundable base fee and, in some cases, a trust deposit (refunded if not expended). 

The base fee is intended to cover the average number of staff hours needed to process that type of permit. Processing includes administering the permit from pre-submittal to close-out, plan checks, inspections, revisions, communications, public notices, memos and other related services. 

Staff hours are tracked for each application. Any hours beyond the number included in the base fee are invoiced at the adopted hourly rate; any remainder of the deposit is refunded.

Adopted fees intend to cover the service costs for most types of approvals and permits, with some fees reduced for “mom-and-pop” development activities where it is deemed better to have oversight of activity than cost recovery. 

The changes to the fee schedules in 2024 are:

— Adjust the technology fee from 3% to 5%.

— An increase in the hourly rate to $200 per hour to reflect the Seattle area consumer price index (CPI) for all urban consumers , costs of the average salary, benefits and associated costs with development review staffing, and comparisons to local cities’ fees.

— Adjust some fees to reflect the actual staff time required to process work more accurately, such as decreasing administrative time for some permits with electronic permit submission.

— Remove the requirement of a deposit (a “trust account”) for many permits and instead use a flat fee, which is intended to reduce the time and costs associated with administration and permit submission.

— Adding a temporary certificate of occupancy fee gives developers flexibility during the permit closeout process. This flexibility can allow some units to be occupied safely while the project is being finished.

— Fees regarding failed/missing inspections have been added to help recover the extra time for inspections and administrative follow-up on permits.

Gisle said there will be more mixed-use developments, allowing developers to start bringing funds during construction if the property can be maintained in a safe and work-like manner.

“But we also have to recover the costs, as it takes a lot more time on our end to make sure that they’re meeting those specific benchmarks and that these developments are being maintained safely,” Gisle said.

No one signed up for public comment regarding the permit fee changes.

The city council unanimously voted to adopt the resolutions.

Also during Thursday’s meeting, Deputy City Manager Hope presented the review for the letter of agreement for code compliance with Teamsters Local 763. The local represents police support, finance, public works, maintenance, and parks and facilities maintenance employees.

Hope explained that the city manager and administration recently moved code enforcement responsibilities and the two related staff positions from the police department to community and economic development. With that shift, the jobs’ titles will be changed, and the job description will be refined to eliminate police-related duties.

The changes required negotiating with Teamsters Local 763. Hope said the union and the city agreed to move the positions and titles and adjust the job descriptions, “assuming that we adjusted the salaries.”

The city looked at similar salary comparisons and agreed with a proposed salary structure.

The city conducted the market analysis, and the union and city representatives agreed to change the pay as follows:

The proposed wages and benefits of $269,889 is a $30,735 increase from the previous pay rate.

Hope said the city learned both positions would be vacant as of March 18 and expects the new staff to start in May, so the city staff is not asking for additional funds for the 2024 budget.

“I support this as the right thing to do; we need to do it, but we are going to have to make some tough decisions moving forward,” Mayor Pro Tem Bryan Wahl said. “It is going to be a very difficult, challenging budget cycle coming up as we look at how are we going to figure out how to make this all work.”

The city council unanimously passed the motion for the letter of understanding between the city and Teamster Local 736.

In other action during the March 7 meeting, the city council passed an ordinance amending the municipal code regarding billing, payment and delinquency for water, sewer and stormwater.

Finance Director Janella Lewis explained that the current code reads:

“All charges for each utility service shall be due and payable on or before the thirtieth day after the billing date. Any charges not paid before the thirty-first day after the billing date shall be delinquent. An additional charge of 10% of the current charges shall be added to any account not paid before the thirty-first day after the billing date.”   

This ordinance would change the section to: “All charges for each utility service shall be due and payable on or before the thirtieth day after the billing date. Any charges not paid before the thirty-first day after the billing date shall be delinquent. An additional charge of 10% of the current charges, not to exceed $25, shall be added to any account not paid before the thirty-first day after the billing date.”   

The city council unanimously voted to include the wording “not to exceed $25.”

Finally, the city council signed a proclamation recognizing Ramadan for 2024.

Ramadan is the holy month of fasting, spiritual renewal and reflection for Muslims worldwide. It is observed during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar year and lasts 29 to 30 days, depending on the timing of the crescent moon.

It is regarded as a time for increased awareness and giving to the global poor, sick and hungry, as well as bridging differences between people over a shared commitment to faith.

Accepting the proclamation was Imam Umar Holdridge of the Mountlake Terrace-based mosque Masjid Umar Al-Farooq.

“Though visitors to our mosque may think that it looks more like a United Nations meeting, our constituency represents the evolving face of the American landscape,” Holdridge said. “Our prophet, Muhammed, peace upon him, tells us not to diminish or leave any neighborly favor undone and so we’re looking forward to exchanging good favor with our neighbors and community.”

The next city council meeting will start at 7 p.m. on March 14 at Mountlake Terrace City Hall, 23204 58th Ave. W., Mountlake Terrace. 

To attend the meeting online, visit zoom.us/join and enter meeting ID 810 1113 9518; no passcode is needed.

To make a public comment remotely, complete the registration form within 24 hours of the meeting’s start at cityofmlt.com/FormCenter/City-Council-17/Remote-Public-Comment-Request-Form-12. 

To listen via telephone, call 1-253-215-8782 and enter the same meeting ID.

You also can view livestreamed meetings and past video recordings at www.youtube.com/cityofmlt. 

The agenda can be viewed here.

— By Rick Sinnett