Mukilteo to pursue annexation

Published 5:19 pm Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The Mukilteo City Council decided to pursue an annexation that would add thousands of people into its borders and provide a commerical district that would help the city’s tax base.

The council voted 5 to 2 in favor of the annexation in a meeting that started late Monday but stretched into the early hours of Tuesday.

“There are risks with annexation, but I think there are opportunites as well,” Councilwoman Jennifer Gregerson said. “Annexation will allow us to ensure the gateways to our city are developed well.”

Councilmembers Tony Tinsley and Kevin Stoltz voted against pursuing the annexation.

More than a 100 people crowded into the meeting with some sitting on the floor and others watching from the hallway.

Even as city leaders voted Monday to continue pursuing a large annexation south of city limits, critics of the proposal loudly voiced their concerns.

Tinsley said that a study that favored annexation is two years old.

“The economy has melted down since two years ago,” Tinsley said. “What made sense then may not make sense anymore.”

The proposed annexation would add 11,000 residents and a commercial district on Highway 99 to what is currently a 20,000-person, mostly residential city. The neighborhoods of Lake Serene and Picnic Points are included in the proposal.

Residents in the neighborhoods must vote to join Mukilteo before the city could take over.

Councilman Stoltz said it was a mistake for Mukilteo officials to plan a large annexation just after building a new City Hall, while planning a brand new community center, and while combatting extensive infrastructure needs.

“If the council was really staying up on this stuff, and if finances were as important as they should be, there’s no way this would happen,” said Stoltz, who said the city is taking on $17 million in debt. “This council seems to have money to do just about anything, and that’s going to catch up to us.”

Residents who attended the meeting said they were concerned about more than just money.

Renee Ripley has lived in Old Town Mukilteo for over 40 years. Ripley’s grandmother was born on the city’s small waterfront, and her mother was born in Mukilteo, too.

“Being here for a lot of generations, this is a really close community with some really hard working people,” Ripley said Monday. “We have worked hard to keep the town small, clean and nice. Now, it’s going to be an extended Lynnwood.”

“This is a move in the wrong direction,” she said. “This is not what Mukilteo is about, or where we want to go.”

Making sure the newest parts of Mukilteo fit into the oldest parts is an important task, Gregerson said.

But it’s the long-term financial security offered by Highway 99’s commercial districts that makes sense, she said.

“People are concerned about making sure that as the city grows, that it’s a good thing for residents inside of the city as well. And I believe that is,” Gregerson said before the meeting. “With annexation, it gives us some economies of scale. It basically in the long-term improves the revenue picture.”