MUKILTEO – The decision has been made, once and for all.
After 13 years of discussion and delays, the Mukilteo City Council voted 5-2 Monday night to build a permanent City Hall on property it owns on Third Street in Old Town next to the Rosehill Community Center.
The vote wasn’t scheduled to take place. A discussion on possible city building configurations on the site turned into further discussion that turned into the vote.
The City Council in January left open the option of putting City Hall on part of a 12-acre, state-owned parcel in the 10600 block of 47th Place W. in Harbour Pointe.
The land could have become available to the city at little or no cost if a proposal in the Legislature to donate the land to nonprofit organizations is approved. The council’s vote eliminated that option.
The state land, appraised by Snohomish County at $3.7 million, still would be available to the Mukilteo Boys and Girls Club and possibly other groups if the plan is approved by state lawmakers.
Council members listened to a consultant’s presentation on four options for configuring City Hall and a recreation center on the Old Town site.
Two options involved saving Rosehill, and two involved tearing it down and putting up a new building. One option had Rosehill, a new community center and City Hall all on the 4.4-acre site.
The council did not settle on a configuration for the new City Hall campus. The city has yet to make a decision whether to refurbish the 77-year-old Rosehill center, originally built as a school, or replace it with a new building. A report on Rosehill’s condition is scheduled to be discussed by the City Council April 18.
Following the presentation on the configurations, seven residents went to the podium to call for City Hall to be placed on 47th Place W. Some said it would free up recreational space at the Old Town site.
“It seems like we’re fighting our elected representatives (on the City Hall issue) in the same way the entire community is fighting airport expansion” at Paine Field, resident Kevin Stoltz said.
Mayor Don Doran, a proponent of the Old Town location, said the city would be competing with three agencies – the Boys and Girls Club, the Mukilteo Family YMCA and the Mukilteo School District – for space on the parcel on 47th Place W.
Also, officials offered differing versions of how long it would take for the state land to be transferred to the city. Estimates ranged from a year to 18 months. The fate of the legislation is expected to be decided in April.
Further delay would cost the city in inflation and more rent at the former warehouse it has rented as City Hall since 1992 at 4480 Chennault Beach Road, officials have said. The city’s lease expires in 2007, and Doran said the landlord might not want to grant an extension.
The city estimates the cost of a new City Hall building at $5.5 million.
Councilwoman Lori Kaiser noted that the state site contains a wetland. “Less concrete adjacent to a Class 1 wetland makes me feel better,” she said.
And Doran said only six to eight of the 12 acres might be buildable.
Councilman Tony Tinsley, a proponent of the 47th Place W. site, said if the City Hall were to be two or three stories, it would reduce its impact on the property.
Officials have said the city’s new rules on wetland buffers, approved in January, would not preclude building on the site.
During the discussion, City Councilman John Sullivan made a motion to proceed with design and construction on the Third Avenue site. Sullivan, Kaiser, Cathy Reese, Bruce Richter and J. Paul Rand voted for the motion, while Tinsley and Jennifer Gregerson voted no.
Kathy Wisbeck, a leading proponent of putting City Hall on 47th Place W., said later she was disappointed with the decision. “I felt like they didn’t listen to the people,” she said.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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