Everett council considers options on arena initiative

By Theresa Goffredo

Herald Writer

EVERETT — Everett City Council President Frank Anderson said he’d be surprised if the seven members of the council voted in a way that would jeopardize construction of a proposed $62.5 million hockey arena and event center.

So, the council will probably vote Wednesday to either delay taking action on or throw out a voter initiative that threatens to block construction of the Everett Regional Special Event Center on Hewitt Avenue.

A public hearing is scheduled so those council members can go over how to respond to the initiative, spearheaded by critics of the project who say too many historic buildings would be lost if the event center is built at Hewitt and Broadway.

Among the options the council will choose from are:

Adopt an ordinance that would prohibit construction of the project on Hewitt.

Allow residents to vote on whether to adopt the ordinance in an April 23 election.

Avoid taking any action until a judge determines the validity of the initiative.

Adopt a resolution that would declare the initiative invalid.

Though council members could vote on any one of these four options, their actions won’t stop a pending lawsuit filed last week against the city by the Everett Public Facilities District.

The PFD, created by the city to operate the event center, wants the court to throw out the voter initiative, claiming, among other things, that it’s too late to challenge the site.

Members of the Citizens for a Better Arena filed the initiative Feb. 8 because they believe the Hewitt Avenue location would mean the demolition of too many buildings that date back to Everett’s beginning.

The citizens group has hired Everett attorney Tom Adams to intervene in the matter.

Adams said Monday he believes the council is going beyond the scope of the city charter by not putting the matter to a vote or moving the project off Hewitt.

"The Everett charter limits the options available to the city council and according to the charter, the council does not have the option to delay the election or to declare the initiative invalid," Adams said.

Though complicated, the public facilities district has the right to sue the city. The district is a separate municipality and must file the lawsuit against the city, as opposed to the Citizens for a Better Arena group, because the city is the agency that can actually take action on the initiative.

Backers of the project believe it will provide a boost to the economy while revitalizing downtown Everett. The event center will be self-supporting through a combination of operating revenues and a state-mandated sales tax rebate paid out over 25 years. Additional revenue would come from existing county and city hotel/motel taxes and an admissions tax, the PFD said.

Damage the city would face if the initiative is allowed to go forward would be millions of dollars lost, including $36 million in sales tax rebates, the PFD alleges. To qualify for any state sales tax rebate money, dirt must be turned on the arena project before Jan. 1, 2003.

"We are too far along, and we can’t stop it," Anderson said. "There are too many issues that have been covered and too many hoops that have been jumped."

You can call Herald Writer Theresa Goffredo at 425-339-3097

or send e-mail to goffredo@heraldnet.com.