PSPHSP Committee Reviews WWTP Lab Technician Role and Westgate Zoning (August 19, 2026)
Edmonds City Council PSPHSP Committee Meeting - August 19, 2026
The Public Safety, Planning, Human Services, and Personnel (PSPHSP) Committee of the Edmonds City Council met on August 19, 2026, at 4:30 PM (agenda date August 18; meeting date per instruction). Council President Pro Tem Jen called the meeting to order. Committee members present included Councilmember Susan Payne, and city administration staff Rihanna Duarte and Joe Carter. The committee considered two items: revisions to the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Senior Laboratory Technician job description and an introduction to Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map and Zoning Map updates for the Westgate Neighborhood Center.
Consent Calendar
- The committee reached consensus to schedule the WWTP Senior Laboratory Technician job description revisions on the consent agenda for approval at the September 8, 2026 council meeting. There were no objections.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public provided testimony.
Discussion Items
- WWTP Senior Laboratory Technician Job Description Revisions: Joe Carter (Public Works and Utilities) presented the proposed revisions, noting that the changes align with a recent reorganization (maintenance supervisor and regulatory supervisor changes). The position title changed from 'Water Quality Analyst' to 'Senior Laboratory Technician' to better reflect the role's certifications and duties. Joe indicated that an internal candidate is already qualified and passionate about the lab side, and the position will first be offered internally under the Teamsters contract. Rihanna Duarte confirmed the internal recruitment process. Councilmember Payne asked about safety requirements (confined space, CPR, first aid, bloodborne pathogens) and whether such elements are clustered or spread throughout the description. Joe explained that safety requirements are included in all wastewater job descriptions due to the harsh environment, and that embedding them ensures staff cannot refuse training or duties. Councilmember Michelle (participating) asked whether 'Senior' implies a future 'Junior' position. Joe clarified that the title reflects a consolidation of previous roles (Lab Quality Analyst, Senior Lab Quality Analyst, Water Quality Analyst) after creating a Regulatory Supervisor position, and that retaining 'Senior' helps with recruitment flexibility.
- Introduction to Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map and Zoning Map Updates for Westgate Neighborhood Center: Stephanie (Planning and Development Services) presented in place of Brad Shipley and Director Cluxton, who were both ill. Stephanie noted that four parcels in the Westgate neighborhood hub were inadvertently 'orphaned' due to a scrivener's error that left them without a zoning designation after the previous designation was removed. The item was a first reading with no formal action requested; the next steps were outlined in Brad Shipley's agenda memo. Councilmember Payne expressed that the next steps are clear but noted the presentation will need to be more robust when it returns to council. President Pro Tem Jen summarized the schedule: August 18 (introduction), September 9 and September 23 planning board consideration and public hearing, followed by a formal recommendation to city council.
Key Outcomes
- The committee gave consensus to move the WWTP Senior Laboratory Technician job description revisions to the September 8, 2026 consent agenda for council approval. No dissent was recorded.
- The committee directed the administration to proceed with the next steps for the Westgate Comprehensive Plan updates as outlined in Brad Shipley's agenda memo, including planning board review, a public hearing, and a formal recommendation back to council by the end of 2026.
- The meeting was adjourned at 4:45 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Okay. This is Council President Pro Tem Jen and Nand. I'm client to order the August 18th, 2026 meeting of Edmund City Council Public Safety Planning, Human Services and Personnel Committee known as PSPHSP. And attendance, we have committee member, Councilmember Susan Payne, and members of the city administration, Rihanna Duarte and Joe Carter. So let's get started. And Joe, please take it away with committee business item 2.1 wastewater treatment plant. Oh, hello, Michelle. Council President Dosh is in attendance as well. Wastewater treatment plant, senior liberal laboratory technician job description revisions. Yeah. So recently, you know, we have gone through a re-org that you guys have we've done a few different things, the maintenance supervisor change, the regulatory supervisor change. And now we went back and we looked at the current job descriptions. And we needed to do a revision of this one to make more sense for the for the new structure. So we went through the job description. We went ahead and looked at all of the um we went and looked through all of the uh job description and uh I had Jeannie, who is the new regulatory supervisor also uh spend a lot of time on it, and we just thought these changes make uh more sense for what the current plant needs, and so we'd like to make those changes and also recruit for that position. Wonderful. Um so are you thinking that this won't be an internal promotion? You'll probably get someone from outside the organization. We currently have a operator that um has uh meets all the qualifications uh and is very passionate about the laboratory uh side of things. Um so we would probably do an internal recruitment first and see if uh that candidate does want indeed to be the water quality analyst. Very qualified, has a bachelor's degree, and um has uh has been kind of uh subbing right now why uh Jeannie moved into that new role. So we're hoping we're hoping she does, but you never know. Wonderful. Um is there any additional input you'd like to make Rayanne? Uh no, Joe is correct. Um, for the Teamsters contract, we'd open it up internally first. Um great, yeah. If we are able to grow our own staff, that's fantastic. Um, and then yeah, I appreciate Joe partnering with HR and reviewing taking the time to review all the job descriptions when he is staffing his positions and working with the staff to give input. Um, I know Jeannie uh McKinsey, who is the current supervisor, regulatory regulatory supervisor was um a huge source of help and input. So yeah. Wonderful. Um are there any questions or comments from the committee or our executium member? I I do have uh couple of questions. So I and um and I I'm really appreciative that that before you open things up that you do do a full review of the the job descriptions. It's a bit laborious, but um, you know, sometimes you have a person who's been in a position for a long time, and then when they leave, that's like, oh, that really does need some refreshing. So I I was looking at this, and in some of the work conditions, it describes um working in a confined or a classified space, and then um part of the the certifications, you need a CPR, first aid, AED, and a bloodborne pathogens card. Do we treat all these sort of safety elements um kind of spread throughout the entire um job description or do we tend to clump them? And maybe this is a question more for Ray Ann rather than Joe, but just curious. I mean, because then we also talk about PPE further down the the job description. So I know that there needs to be a lot of training support for confined spaces in in the classified confined space. And do we have confined spaces there at the wastewater treatment plant? My guess is probably yes. Yeah. Do you want to take your first remote or do you want me to um you can go ahead first if you'd like? Well, I mean, so we put those safety requirements in almost all of the wastewater uh job descriptions. I think they're in every single one, as far as I know. But uh, you know, we we kind of deal in a very harsh environment, and so even in the lab, there they have to kind of go to certain areas and get samples and stuff like that. So we put those requirements in there. So were you asking?
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