The Edmonds City Council met on March 24, 2026, from 6:00 PM to 9:05 PM. The meeting included presentations from the Port of Edmonds and the Municipal Court, a finance update from the Mayor, approval of the consent agenda, confirmation of a new HR Director, a resolution of intent to vacate a portion of 84th Avenue West, and a discussion on options for the wayside horn at Dayton Street railroad crossing. Public comments addressed youth activity account funding, the Lynnwood Wastewater Treatment Plant, street vacation support, and red light camera ordinance compliance.
Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the March twenty-fourth edition of the Edmund City Council. I will call this meeting to order. Please join me in the flag salute. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to every public for which hands one nation under God. Thank you. Mr. Lani, can we have a roll call, please? Councilmember Eck. Councilmember Chen. Councilmember Barnett. Council President Dutch. Councilmember Olson. Councilmember Payne. Councilmember Nand. Anybody opposed, please raise your hand and say nay. And our first one is from our good friends at the port. Welcome. Okay. And on behalf of the Edmonds Port Commission, I thank you for the opportunity to speak with you tonight, especially being first up. That's great, thanks. I'm here with the Port's Executive Director, the literature literatively named Brandon Baker, who will also be presenting tonight, and our director of economic development, Brittany Williams, back there. I've been on the commission for just under one year, and I've been designated as the commission's liaison with the Edmunds City Council for 2026. So you may have noticed my attendance at your recent council meetings, and that's why I'm here tonight to explain a little bit about what a port is within the state of Washington, what port districts can do under the law. Then Executive Director Baker will speak about our port operations, and finally, I'll talk briefly about our upcoming activities this year, and the kickoff of our master planning process. Let's start with something basic but kind of confusing. For Edmonds, many people look at our beautiful marina and think that's the port. But there are ports in Washington that don't have water at all. Under RCW Title 53, which is the portion of state law that defines how ports are formed, governed, and license, and financed in Washington. Ports are public economic development agencies. Ports use land, infrastructure, and partnerships to grow jobs and commerce. Washington has 75 public ports, which is far more than any other state in the U.S., and that's because Title 53 is unique in its flexibility. It affords ports in pursuing economic development. For the Port of Edmonds, the marina is an important part of its economic development mission, but it's not the only part. We'll talk shortly about commercial properties that the port leases to local businesses, but looking outside of Edmonds to ports that are less land constrained, provides examples of the range of different things ports can do. The Port of Shallan Douglas is partnering with Microsoft to build data center infrastructure near Wenatchee. A couple of years ago, the Port of Skagit bought the former Northern State Hospital campus in Cedar Woolley to preserve historic buildings and turn the site into a mixed-use development centered on education, RD, and manufacturing. Some industrial ports partner with maritime training organizations for educational programs. All of these activities are possible because they fall within the broad economic development mission of ports. But importantly, the projects are in the public interest because, like you, we are accountable to the public. As a footnote to this, economic development by ports is not intended to supplant the private sector, but ports can take a long-term view when it comes to return on investment, and also have access to funding sources such as partnerships and government grants that the public uh the private sector might not. The Edmonds Port District boundaries were set in 1948 at a time the port, at the time the port was established, were a geographically small port district, including only part of Edmonds up to 92nd Avenue West and all of Woodway. So for those of you who have never had the opportunity to vote for a port commissioner, it's probably because you live on the other side of 92nd. The five commission members represent three areas within the port district, which you see here. And there are two at-large members. So the current port commission, Commissioner Cass is the current commission president. The role of the Edmonds Port Commission is to set policy and strategic direction and perform fiscal and asset oversight. It's the job of the executive director to lead a staff of about 30 employees to execute that direction and manage day-to-day operations of the port. The port owns about 30 acres of land, which you can see on the with the white dash line, on which our boat storage and marine support facilities, leased commercial property along Admiral Way, which is the main road that runs along the waterfront there. And at Harbor Square, also leased properties.