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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Everett City Council Meeting Summary – March 25, 2026

City Council & Committees — Wednesday, March 25, 2026

BodyEverett, Washington

SessionCity Council & Committees

DateWednesday, March 25, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 43:32

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:05

Good evening or good afternoon, residents of Everett Washington.

0:09

I'd like to call to order the Everett City Council meeting for March 25th, 2026 for information on council meetings and how to participate.

0:17

Please visit our website at Everwad.gov slash city council.

0:21

Clerk, will you please take the ball?

0:23

Mayor Franklin here.

0:24

Councilmember Zarlingo.

0:25

Here.

0:25

Councilmember Burbano.

0:26

Here.

0:27

Councilmember Twee here.

0:28

Councilmember Weir here.

0:29

Councilmember Bader.

0:30

Here.

0:30

Vice President Ryan here.

0:31

President Schwab.

0:32

Here.

0:33

At this time, I'd like to ask Councilmember Bader to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:54

And at this time, I'd like to ask Councilmember Weir to read the land acknowledgement.

0:59

The city wishes to acknowledge the original inhabitants of this place, the Stahokship people and their successors, the Talelep tribes, since time immemorial.

1:08

They have hunted, fished, gathered on, and taken care of these lands and waters.

1:12

We respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and honor their sacred spiritual connection with the land and the water.

1:19

We will strive to be honest about our past mistakes and bring about a future that includes their people, stories, and voices to form a more just and equitable society.

1:28

Thank you.

1:29

Well, good afternoon, Mayor.

1:31

Good afternoon, President Schwab, Council and Community.

1:35

Got a couple things today.

1:37

First, uh, we are honoring Dr.

1:39

Ronald Brown for 25 years of outstanding service and leadership as Everett Fire's medical program director designate.

1:46

Uh his experience, expertise, mentorship, and dedication have strengthened our fire department's EMS program and positively impacted generations of our first responders.

1:55

Thank you.

1:55

And Chief DeMarco is going to come forward and share more about his remarkable service.

2:01

Thank you.

2:02

Thank you, Mayor.

2:03

Good afternoon, Council Dave DeMarco Fire Department.

2:05

Uh, with me is Dr.

2:07

Ron Brown.

2:08

Um a medical emergency or trauma happens in the community.

2:13

Uh it we come and we do what we're supposed to do.

2:17

And most of the community's attention for whatever reason is focused on us.

2:21

We end up in the newspaper and the blogs and whatnot.

2:24

And and the accolades, you know, rightfully in many ways go to the firefighters.

2:29

But behind every good EMS system is a physician that actually knows what they're doing.

2:35

And uh for 25 years, Dr.

2:37

Brown has been supporting Everett Fire in a way that the community doesn't see.

2:43

But but for today, I wanted to bring him here today to give him the opportunity to thank Everett for for the opportunity to serve and for you to see the person behind the scenes who's made it possible for us to do what we do since I've been a paramedic.

2:56

I mean, this is the Ron has been doing this for a really, really long time.

3:00

He serves in this role.

3:01

He also is a retired now, but has uh provided dedicated services of emergency room physician at Providence for many years.

3:08

Um, and you know, many a quiet meeting.

3:12

Ron has scolded me on you know the medicine that I was or wasn't delivering, right?

3:16

And and so now, 25 years later, he's affected every paramedic and EMT that's passed through Everett in all of that time.

3:23

Um, and so uh I'll let him say a few words.

3:25

We have just a small token of appreciation to give Dr.

3:28

Brown today.

3:29

I'll just put that up here.

3:31

And uh on behalf of the Everett Fire Department and all of the citizens we serve, we say thank you.

3:37

So thank you.

3:38

Thank you.

3:38

And I'll give you an opportunity to say something if you like.

3:42

I was always comfortable being behind the scenes anyway, except for in the ER.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procedural███████████████████████████████████████39%

Public Engagement█████████████████████21%

Fiscal Sustainability█████████9%

Budget Equity Analysis████████8%

Public Safety███████7%

Public Transportation██████6%

Arts And Culture█████5%

Affordable Housing███3%

Personnel Matters██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Everett City Council Meeting – March 25, 2026

The Everett City Council met on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at 12:30 PM in the City Council Chambers. All council members were present except for one abstention on minutes. The meeting included recognition of Dr. Ronald Brown for 25 years of service as the Fire Department's medical program director, a moment of remembrance for Officer Dan Rocha (fourth anniversary of his death), public comment, council comments, and approval of a consent calendar. A key discussion centered on the first amendment to the 2026 city budget, and multiple ordinances were passed on third and final reading.

Consent Calendar

Approved claims against the city totaling $2,159,222.71 (period ending March 13, 2026).
Approved payroll claims of $6,168,592.61 (period ending March 7, 2026).
Authorized lease agreement with Ritchie Law PLLC at Everett Station.
Authorized Amendment No. 2 to the lease agreement with Bezos Academy at Everett Station.
Accepted a $25,000 donation from Cheryl Ann Seeley into the Fund for the Animals.
Authorized Amendment No. 2 to the 2024 Water Quality Grant Agreement with WA Dept of Ecology (not to exceed $3,765,954.75).
Authorized Amendment No. 1 to the PSA with KBA, Inc. for Port Gardner Storage Facility construction management (total $8,921,364).
Awarded construction contract for Lowell Riverfront Trail Improvements to OMA Construction, Inc. ($1,035,258).
Awarded construction contract for Main Library HVAC Replacement to Apex Mechanical LLC ($2,079,308).
Authorized PSA with Nash Consulting for management training.
Awarded Greely Street Water Quality Retrofit contract to SEI Neptune General Contractors ($475,187). a- Authorized call for bids for WPCF TFI Barscreen Repair. na- Authorized PSA with Traffic Data Gathering for citywide pedestrian and bicycle data collection.

Public Comments & Testimony

Max Vegarski (Woodinville, works in Everett) spoke about a partnership with Sam Mensimer to benefit Music for Life, a nonprofit that provides donated musical instruments to Everett public schools. He announced a benefit night at Sean O'Donnell's on April 23, 2026 (20% of food and non-alcoholic beverage sales donated). He encouraged instrument donations.
Written comments were submitted regarding the Everett Manufactured Housing Communities Zoning: over 20 individuals exprested support or concerns (list provided). One written comment about an outdoor event center was also noted.

Discussion Items

CB 2603-17 – First Reading: 2026 Budget Amendment No. 1 (Mike Bailey, interim finance director, presented). The amendment increases spending authority by approximately $7.5 million ($1 million general government, $6.5 million non-general funds). Key adjustments included:
- Carrying forward unspent funds from 2025 for specific purpose: human needs grants, drones for police, tree power program, street improvement ($696,058 from motor vehicle/gas taxes), vehicle purchase, library reservation, and COVID relief ($4.8+ million).n - New grant funds: $60,620 for legal (ingent defense cost increases), $200,000 for annexation planning, $50,000 for planning in Casio Road and downtown Everet association areas.n - The amended budget uses fund balance (general fund balance estimated at ~$50 million, up from budgeted $35 million) and new revenues.n - Staff also noted a staffing realignment following Lori Cummings's retirement and addition of Mike Fong, to support growth initiatives and revenue strategies. No formal action required on realignment.
- Councilmember Bader asked about restricted vs. unrestricted fund balance. Bailey clarified the $50 million estimate is unrestricted.
- The ordinance will have third/final reading on April 8, 2026.

Key Outcomes

Minutes of March 18, 2026 approved (6-0-1, Bader abstained).
Consent Calendar approved unanimously (7-0).
CB 2603-14 (2nd reading, creating Special Improvement Project "PGSF WMVD Storm and Combined Sewer Improvements") – passed to third reading April 1, 2026.
CB 2603-15 (1st reading, Evergreen Way Overlay) – passed to third reading April 8, 2026.
CB 2603-16 (1st reading, Dorn Avenue Drainage Improvement) – passed to third reading April 8, 2026.
CB 2603-17 (1st reading, budget amendment) – passed to third reading April 8, 2026 (not voted on final this meeting). a- CB 2602-10 (3rd reading, close Kiwanis Park Renovations) – adoptined (7-0). a- CB 2602-11 (3rd reading, amending Main Library HVA C Replacement appropriations) – adopted (7-0). a- CB 2602-12 (3rd reading, create Police Propert y Room Facility Tenant Improvement) – adopted (7-0). a- CB 2603-13 (3rd reading, amend utility payment late fees ordinance) – adoptined (7-0). Council members thanked utility department and noted improvements for reconnection after shutoff. a- Item 22 (Adopt update d Everet Transit Long Range Plan "Connecting Everet in 2045") – adoptined (7-0). Councilmember Bader encouraged incorporating input from non-riders.

Meeting adjourned at approximately 2:00 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening or good afternoon, residents of Everett Washington. I'd like to call to order the Everett City Council meeting for March 25th, 2026 for information on council meetings and how to participate. Please visit our website at Everwad.gov slash city council. Clerk, will you please take the ball? Mayor Franklin here. Councilmember Zarlingo. Here. Councilmember Burbano. Here. Councilmember Twee here. Councilmember Weir here. Councilmember Bader. Here. Vice President Ryan here. President Schwab. Here. At this time, I'd like to ask Councilmember Bader to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. And at this time, I'd like to ask Councilmember Weir to read the land acknowledgement. The city wishes to acknowledge the original inhabitants of this place, the Stahokship people and their successors, the Talelep tribes, since time immemorial. They have hunted, fished, gathered on, and taken care of these lands and waters. We respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and honor their sacred spiritual connection with the land and the water. We will strive to be honest about our past mistakes and bring about a future that includes their people, stories, and voices to form a more just and equitable society. Thank you. Well, good afternoon, Mayor. Good afternoon, President Schwab, Council and Community. Got a couple things today. First, uh, we are honoring Dr. Ronald Brown for 25 years of outstanding service and leadership as Everett Fire's medical program director designate. Uh his experience, expertise, mentorship, and dedication have strengthened our fire department's EMS program and positively impacted generations of our first responders. Thank you. And Chief DeMarco is going to come forward and share more about his remarkable service. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Good afternoon, Council Dave DeMarco Fire Department. Uh, with me is Dr. Ron Brown. Um a medical emergency or trauma happens in the community. Uh it we come and we do what we're supposed to do. And most of the community's attention for whatever reason is focused on us. We end up in the newspaper and the blogs and whatnot. And and the accolades, you know, rightfully in many ways go to the firefighters. But behind every good EMS system is a physician that actually knows what they're doing. And uh for 25 years, Dr. Brown has been supporting Everett Fire in a way that the community doesn't see. But but for today, I wanted to bring him here today to give him the opportunity to thank Everett for for the opportunity to serve and for you to see the person behind the scenes who's made it possible for us to do what we do since I've been a paramedic. I mean, this is the Ron has been doing this for a really, really long time. He serves in this role. He also is a retired now, but has uh provided dedicated services of emergency room physician at Providence for many years. Um, and you know, many a quiet meeting. Ron has scolded me on you know the medicine that I was or wasn't delivering, right?

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