BOTHELL — It’s a crowded field in the race for Bothell City Council with four challengers hoping to unseat four sitting council members.
Much is happening in Bothell. Over the next 25 years, a major redevelopment plan approved by the council last summer promises to bring a $670 million privately funded mix of condominiums and new retail storefronts to the city’s 200-acre downtown.
It also would extend Main Street across Highway 527, better known as the Bothell-Everett Highway, and expand the Park at Bothell Landing, among other changes.
Candidates generally support that redevelopment plan, though some challengers are critical of details such as building heights and the city’s agreement to purchase Northshore School District property downtown.
Position 1
Incumbent Joshua Freed, who is running against Joyce Wojcik, said he wants a second four-year term to see the downtown plan implemented.
Freed ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the state Legislature in 2004, losing to Rep. Mark Ericks.
He’s proud of his efforts to convince fellow council members to vote against a proposal that would have put the site of a new City Hall at the Park at Bothell Landing, which is being expanded.
Instead, a new City Hall will be built at its existing site, 18305 101st Ave. NE, by 2012.
Wojcik, who’s served 17 years on the planning commission, said she doesn’t like the way the downtown plan has evolved in the 3 ½ years it’s been in the works.
She is critical of the city’s agreement to buy 18 acres of school district property downtown. She’s also opposed to the density and building heights approved by the council.
“As taxpayers, we already own the school district property, so we sold the property and bought it back,” she said.
Position 3
Longtime Bothell resident Del Spivey says the city is “now coming to where the rubber meets the road” in its road and building projects.
Like Freed, Spivey wants to see those projects through.
His opponent, Gerry Gawne, said he likes the downtown redevelopment plan.
“What I’m not in favor of is combining many of these large projects to make them happen simultaneously,” he said.
Gawne doesn’t like the latest plan to replace sports fields at Pop Keeney Field with a parking lot.
“It’s a true social gathering place, far beyond the sports level,” he said.
Spivey said Gawne’s concerns are misplaced.
“Quite frankly, the city doesn’t own it,” he said of Pop Keeney Field. “Everybody’s known all along (the school district’s) going to have to provide parking.”
Position 5
Incumbent Patrick Ewing, 48, isn’t so sure the school district has to pave over any sports fields next to Pop Keeney Field.
He said he’d also like to see the downtown redevelopment plan through.
“We need to make sure we revitalize without spoiling the delicate balance we have downtown,” he said.
His opponent, Jennifer Armenta, 37, is most concerned about the city’s budget, public safety, the environment and traffic
“The thing about me that people need to know is I’m an independent thinker and I’m nobody’s puppet,” she said.
Armenta, a Bothell Chamber of Commerce board member, said she’s proud of the council for bolstering the city’s financial reserves, which she said helps to blunt the effects of the recession.
She said she likes the downtown redevelopment plan but thinks it’s important to remember there’s more to Bothell than Main Street.
Armenta’s campaign Web site is www.votearmenta.org.
Position 7
Sandy Guinn said the council has worked hard to ensure the city’s on firm financial footing.
The city paid off a loan, which boosted its bond rating and allowed it to refinance the bond at a lower rate, saving the city $530,000.
Right now, she said, the downtown isn’t particularly warm and inviting to drivers passing through.
“There’s no cohesiveness to it,” she said. “It’s not a place that says, ‘This is a nice place to spend an afternoon.’ ”
That should change when redevelopment is completed over the next five years. Those changes include moving Main Street further west, adding diagonal parking and street trees.
Tom Agnew said he’s running for Guinn’s seat mostly because of a single issue: emergency medical services.
Agnew, a retired firefighter, said it’s a mistake for the city to charge insurance companies for transporting patients to the hospital. It should pick up the tab.
“At church one day one of the guys came up to me and said his mom was afraid to call 911 because she got a bill,” he said. “I thought it was ludicrous that someone would be afraid to call.”
Agnew said the city’s spending more money than it should, adding that the city’s permitting process is antiquated and should be improved.
Agnew’s campaign Web site is www.citizensfor tomagnew.com. Guinn’s campaign Web site is www.sandyguinn.org.
Oscar Halpert: 425-339-3429, ohalpert@heraldnet.com.
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