City Council Briefs

Revised garbage contract approved

The Mill Creek City Council by a 6-1 vote Tuesday night approved a revised seven-year contract for garbage collection services.

The new contract with Waste Management gives those in the recently annexed area the same service as other city residents. It also means that single container recycling will take effect throughout the city this fall.

Mayor Pro-tem Terry Ryan was the lone opposing vote, largely because rates will increase between nine and 16 percent per month for residents of the city who were not annexed in December, he said.

During the meeting he made a failed motion to cut the amount Waste Management could charge based on changes in the consumer price index. Ryan was the only council member in favor of the change.

Resolution against dense growth

Mill Creek’s city council on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution urging the Snohomish County Council to adopt a six-month moratorium on residential developments that are inconsistent with the city’s standards.

The area in question is the city’s Municipal Urban Growth Area and pertains only to developments that do not meet city standards for lot size, street width and home design, for example.

Most of those developments are taking place west of the city, along the 164th Street SE corridor, community development director Bill Trimm said. Areas east of 35th Avenue SE are being developed in a manner consistent with city codes, Trimm said.

The resolution comes out of the South Snohomish County Cities organization that Mill Creek is part of.

“It really is an urgent matter,” said Ryan, who represents Mill Creek on the cities organization.

The resolution calls for a moratorium so city and county planners to work together to ensure consistent development in areas surrounding the city.

Winslow residents get good news

Residents of the Winslow neighborhood got some good news from the Mill Creek City Council on Tuesday.

A small group of Winslow residents showed up to Tuesday night’s meeting to urge the city to address concerns they have about things going on in Nickel Creek Park, such as drug use, drinking, loitering and “sex acts.”

“It seems to be a growing problem,” said Tom Young, who spoke before the Council during the public comment period. “The park adjoins our neighborhood, so we feel like (the park) is part of it.”

Residents also urged the city to consider putting up a fence around two retention ponds at the park. The ponds are created by dikes that have a drop of several feet on one side. Residents said children walk along the dikes.

Council member Mike Todd told Winslow residents that the city’s Capital Improvement Committee is considering the fence, which was first brought up by Winslow residents during a meeting of the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission. Todd said the fence will likely be approved, something Winslow residents at the meeting were pleased to hear.