EVERETT — It’s been two weeks since Snohomish County leaders vowed to find a speedy resolution to a parking fiasco threatening plans for a new courthouse.
No breakthrough appeared imminent by the end of last week, but all sides said they’re still talking.
Discussions continue. They could determine whether the $162 million, eight-story justice center gets built, moves to some other spot or is abandoned at great expense.
“The key to moving forward is to stick to the budget,” County Council Chairman Dave Somers said Friday.
Somers and other council colleagues have insisted that Executive John Lovick give them a recommendation on how he thinks the county should proceed.
The current crisis stems from the Everett City Council’s emergency vote in December to add new parking requirements in the downtown business district where the justice center would be built. While the old rules imposed no parking requirements on the county’s plans, the new ones require more than 300 spaces for the building.
County leaders said it would cost up to $45 million to build a garage with that much space — and effectively kill a project with an already strained budget.
The proposed building also would take out an existing lot with more than 130 parking stalls used by patrons of Xfinity Arena, which is just across the street.
The county claims the new building would create no new parking demands because it would only replace the 1967 courthouse, which is across Wall Street and a block to the west.
Earlier, the county discussed putting parking in the footprint of the old courthouse after it’s demolished. That no longer appears practical, because turning that land into parking would be too expensive, Somers said.
The county might be able to satisfy some, but not all, of the city’s parking requirements by clearing out space in the county’s underground parking garage that’s now used by fleet vehicles.
Another option might be some type of partnership to redevelop parcels fronting Hewitt Avenue on the back side of the future courthouse site. Mayor Ray Stephanson said that Deputy Executive Mark Ericks had left him with the impression that the county was planning something along those lines.
The mayor in January said he was surprised to learn that the county only planned to include 30 to 40 restricted parking spaces in the new building.
“I have talked with City Council members and county staff and I’m positive that we will come to a solution that will satisfy the city of Everett and the county,” County Councilman Brian Sullivan said.
The county has spent $7 million so far, more than half of that to buy out a half-dozen properties in the proposed footprint. Other expenses include architectural and legal contracts.
One of the problems with trying to back out now is the $75 million in bonds the county took out for the project in 2013. Paying off interest obligations, even if the county never spends a cent on actual construction, could add many more millions to the cost of pulling out.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.
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