Esperance annexation to appear on ballot

Published 6:43 am Monday, March 3, 2008

Whether they like it or not, residents of Esperance again must decide to cast their lot – or not – with Edmonds.

The Edmonds City Council voted 6-0 on July 19 to proceed with an election to annex the one remaining “island” of unincorporated Snohomish County that’s completely surrounded by Edmonds. Councilman Jeff Wilson was absent.

Last month the council voted to pursue the action through the election method and hold a public hearing on the matter, which they did Tuesday night.

The earliest the vote can take place is Nov. 8, the date of the general election. Only Esperance residents will vote.

The Council decided on a two-part resolution. The first is a vote for or against annexation that will require a simple majority to pass. The second is a vote whether or not to accept the city’s bonded indebtedness, which will require 60 percent approval to pass.

It’s possible for annexation to pass and acceptance of bonded indebtedness to fail. In that case, the city council would decide whether or not to accept annexation without requiring Esperance residents to take on the indebtedness.

Dan Clements, the city’s chief financial officer, figured the owner of a $300,000 home will pay about $52 a year for the city’s public-safety bond indebtedness.

The next step is for the city attorney to prepare, and the council to accept, a resolution calling for an election. It then will be sent to the Snohomish County Boundary Review Board, which will begin a 45-day review period.

In the likely event the review board accepts the election request, it will be sent to the county auditor, who will set an election date.

The election is expected to cost Edmonds less than $11,000, Clements said.

The action followed a public hearing at which a mostly anti-annexation contingency voiced objections to being part of the city.

Of the 20 people who spoke, most had concerns about annexation signaling the end to what they see as a relatively bucolic way of life. A few said they welcome annexation and the improved fire, police and public-works services they trust will accompany it.

Victor Schultz echoed other Esperance residents’ fear that another layer of unnecessary government will “slip over us.” Government, Schultz continued, “tends to be a wonderful and awful thing. The time will come (for annexation)…it isn’t the time yet.”

Jeff Ward said he hadn’t felt the sense of community in Esperance of which anti-annexation people spoke. Edmonds, he added, is where he and his wife go to experience it.

Two residents grumbled about Edmonds’ outlawing of fireworks and limits on household pets.

Others said they are perfectly happy with county sheriff and fire response times, the length of which are common pro-annexation arguments.

Steve Koho, an Esperance resident who works for the city, pointed to puddles forming on streets after a heavy rain as an example of the need for city services.

“I’m watching the roads … go to hell … to let the chickens run free,” he grumbled in reference to past hassles about residents’ right to keep poultry.

Others expressed fear of encroaching development and the city attempting a land grab of the Esperance portion of Highway 99.

Mayor Gary Haakenson and Duane Bowman, head of development services, tried to calm fears by assuring the audience that annexed property would be zoned in a manner most closely aligned with its current status. Proposed pedestrian and traffic improvements along Highway 99 will be pursued whether or not annexation occurs, they told the audience.

A comprehensive breakdown of how annexation will affect Esperance residents economically and otherwise can be found on the city’s Web site, www.ci.edmonds.wa.us.