Monroe street improvement bond celebration proves premature

Published 11:00 pm Thursday, November 6, 2008

MONROE — The celebration didn’t last long for some Monroe officials who believed that the city’s transportation bond was heading toward passage.

They thought the $7.2 million measure needed only a simple majority to pass, and election returns showed it easily clearing that hurdle. On Thursday, they learned that it actually needed a supermajority — or 60 percent — to pass and was actually failing.

That surprised city councilmen John Stima and Mitch Ruth, who said they were led to believe by city staff that the bond would need only 50 percent of the vote.

“Words can’t describe my disappointment,” Stima said. “We were given misinformation on this subject.”

Snohomish County Auditor Carolyn Diepenbrock said Thursday that the bond needs the supermajority to pass. The Herald, based on interviews with city officials, reported that the measure would require a simple majority in previous stories on the bond.

As of Thursday, the bond was failing 2,189 votes to 1,651 votes, or 57 percent to 43 percent. That’s based on 62 percent of the votes counted by county officials.

If approved, the bond would cost less than $9 per month for the owner of a $375,000 home. The payments are expected to continue over the next 20 years.

The measure, combined with other revenue sources, aims to pay for eight road projects to ease congestion and improve safety on Monroe streets. One project would build a roundabout, also known as a traffic circle, at the intersection of W. Main Street and Fryelands Boulevard.

Monroe’s finance director Carol Grey and city engineer Brad Feilberg said that they knew the supermajority requirement. They don’t know how some city leaders got to believe otherwise.

City attorney Phil Olbrechts said that most discussions about the bond happened during the City Council’s study sessions, which he usually doesn’t attend. Olbrechts added he doesn’t recall being asked by city officials about passage requirement for the bond.

City administrator Jim Southworth said he misunderstood the requirement.

“My impression was, when I heard about it on a council meeting, 50 percent,” Southworth said. “I can’t recall who provided the information.”

Ruth said that had he known the correct requirement that he would’ve voted against putting it on the ballot.

“I feel totally foolish because it’s a total waste of money,” he said.

Councilman Geoffrey Thomas said he knew the supermajority requirement and still supported the measure.

“I don’t want to speculate why other people thought it’s 50 percent rather than 60 percent,” Thomas said.

Since the council decided to let voters decide on the bond, the national economy has slowed significantly, causing layoffs and requiring people to tighten their belts, Thomas said.

“I can certainly understand that in today’s economy, people are less likely to vote for a transportation bond,” he said.

Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.