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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Everett City Council Meeting Summary – June 24, 2026

City Council & Committees — Wednesday, June 24, 2026

BodyEverett, Washington

SessionCity Council & Committees

DateWednesday, June 24, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:00:07

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

0:06

Good afternoon, residents of Everett Washington and interested parties.

0:10

I'd like to call to order the Everett City Council meeting of June 24th, 2026 for information on council meetings and how to participate.

0:17

Please visit Everett Wah.gov slash city council.

0:21

For the record, Council President Schwab and Councilmember Bader will be attending today's meeting remotely, and I will be facilitating.

0:28

Please note that we do not allow comments of any kind on campaigning, whether for or against ballot measures or candidates running for office.

0:35

We also do not accept comments focused on personal matters that are unrelated to city business.

0:40

We ask our audience to refrain from clapping, cheering, or booing, and no signage of any kind is allowed in council chambers.

0:46

We also ask that everyone take a seat and not gather in our entryway area, with the exception of our police here.

0:53

Clerk, please take the role.

0:55

Mayor Franklin here.

0:56

Councilmember Bader.

0:59

Here.

1:00

Vice President Ryan.

1:06

Councilmember Barbano.

1:08

Here.

1:08

Councilmember Twee.

1:10

Excuse.

1:11

Councilmember Weir.

1:12

Here.

1:13

Councilmember Zarlingo.

1:14

Here.

1:15

President Schwab.

1:16

Here.

1:18

I'd like to ask Councilmember Weir to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:24

Pledge of allegiance to the planet of the United States of America.

1:28

And to Wildland for which it stands.

1:31

Web Nation under God.

1:33

Indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

1:38

I'd like to ask Councilmember Brabano to read our land acknowledgement.

1:44

The City Council wishes to know it, the original inhabitants of this place, the Stahovish people and their successors, the Tulalib tribes.

1:51

Since time immemorial, they have hunted fish, gather on and taken care of these lands and weathers.

1:56

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

2:03

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.

2:13

Thank you.

2:14

Good afternoon, Mayor Franklin.

2:16

Good afternoon, everybody.

2:19

So I've got a few comments today, but first I'd like to ask our parks and facilities director, Kimberly Moore to come up and share a brief update on improving uh travel safety in Thornton Sullivan Park and talk a little bit about our park uh shade shelters.

2:43

Good afternoon, Kimberly Moore Parks and Facilities Director.

2:46

Uh before I jump into the park presentation today, I wanted to first talk about our amazing parks team who have been hard at work.

2:54

Uh our workforce has been heavily focused on beautifying our gateways and our downtown area in preparation for the summer events.

3:03

Uh, these teams have been present and have supported Tyler and Kari for sorticulture for the four FIFA events and park teams will be out in force on July 4th for the festival at Legion Park.

3:18

Uh, we're also doing our annual cleanup in preparation for Jetty Island Days, uh, which starts on July 8th.

3:25

Uh, we're a little bit behind in our parks.

3:27

So if you notice some long grass or excessive weeds, please know that it's on our list to get to, and we hope to be fully caught up by mid-July.

3:36

Uh, the grass grows a lot faster than we can keep on uh in April and May, uh, especially in preparation for uh the additional FIFA events this year.

3:46

And so thank you for your patience.

3:48

Uh, for my presentations today, I'll be discussing parks plans for Thornton A.

3:53

Sullivan Park to improve safety, particularly between pedestrians and bike riders uh near the playground and along the Silver Lake Loop Trail within the park.

4:03

Uh, the second presentation will outline advantages and disadvantages of various shade structures and parks.

4:12

Uh the proposed changes at Thornton Sullivan Park would restrict access to the park for all riders of bikes, e-bikes, scooters, skateboards, e-moto's, and mini motorcycles.

4:26

We've seen a large influx in the use of many motorcycles and other electric-powered bikes and vehicles uh that are being operated by youth in the park grass, on the beaches, and even on the playground, uh, sometimes at speeds exceeding 15 miles per hour.

4:44

Uh, Thorntney Sullivan is a regional park destination and is very busy most days.

4:50

Uh, we do not feel that these uses are compatible, and we want to ensure that park pedestrians are safe to enjoy the park.

5:00

Riders with Thornton A.

5:01

Sullivan as their destination will be asked to dismount and walk their bike within the park limits.

5:07

Bike racks will be provided within the park at the most popular destinations, and signage will be placed at park entrances and within the park, notifying patrons of the new rules.

5:20

Riders, sorry, riders enjoying the Silver Lake Loop Trail will be routed away from the entrance of the park and onto the existing bike lanes on Silver Lake Road.

5:32

Riders can rejoin the loop trail by turning left onto 118th place southeast.

5:38

Crosswalk markings as well as signage will be added at the entrance of the park, where riders will be encouraged to proceed slowly and with caution.

5:49

At the entrance off 118th place, Silver Lake Loop Trail markings on the pavement as well as signage will point riders towards Silver Lake Road and point pedestrians into the park.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Parks and Recreation████████████████████████████28%

Charter Review███████████████████████23%

Public Transportation██████████████████████22%

Personnel Matters███████7%

Procedural██████6%

Economic Development██████6%

Technology and Innovation█████5%

Housing███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Everett City Council Meeting – June 24, 2026

The Everett City Council met on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at 2:00 PM in Council Chambers. Council President Schwab and Councilmember Bader attended remotely. The agenda included Mayor's comments and parks presentations, public comment, consent calendar approval, a city charter amendment first reading, and final action on the Everett Outdoor Events Center land acquisition ordinance. City Attorney David Hall attended his final council meeting before retirement.

Mayor's Comments & Presentations

Parks and Facilities Director Kimberly Moore presented proposed safety changes at Thornton A. Sullivan Park, including restricting all bike, e-bike, scooter, skateboard, e-moto, and mini motorcycle access, requiring riders to dismount, adding bike racks, signage, crosswalk markings, and chicane barriers at entrances, and rerouting Silver Lake Loop Trail riders onto Silver Lake Road. Moore cited youth operating motorized vehicles at speeds exceeding 15 mph near playgrounds and beaches as incompatible with pedestrian safety. Councilmember Zarlingo praised the plan.
Moore also reviewed permanent vs. sail shade structures. Everett has permanent shade structures in 10 parks and two sail shade structures. A permanent shelter costs $300,000–$500,000, requires maintenance, and is more vulnerable to vandalism; the Walter Hall Park sail shade project cost approximately $60,000. Moore and Mayor Franklin expressed support for sail shade structures as an affordable best practice. Councilmember Barbano opposed sail shades, saying permanent structures work year-round and are especially needed in District 4, an area with many low-income and immigrant residents.
Mayor Franklin announced that fireworks are prohibited in Everett, discussed the possible Everett/Community Transit merger and her demand that current paratransit service levels be maintained, introduced new Finance Director Chris Godwin (most recently finance manager for Seattle DOT, managing a $671 million budget), announced the launch of three pre-approved ADU designs, and highlighted the Challenge Seattle AI Permitting Partnership grant. She also honored David Hall for his 18 years as City Attorney.

Consent Calendar

Approved the minutes of the June 17, 2026 council meeting.
Approved all six consent items unanimously:
1. Resolution authorizing claims against the City of Everett in the amount of $5,654,573.09 for the period ending June 6, 2026, through June 12, 2026.
2. Contract award to Facet NW Inc. for RFP #2026-021 Tree Policy & Landscaping, a 2-year contract with an option to renew for an additional 2 years.
3. Easement Agreement between the City of Everett and 2718 Walnut LLC.
4. 2026 Professional Services Agreement with Rainier Environmental for whole effluent toxicity (WET) testing.
5. Acceptance of the Challenge Seattle AI Permitting Partnership Grant and authorization for the Mayor to sign the grant agreement.
6. Acceptance of the Office of Public Defense One-Time Innovation Grant for FY2027 and authorization for the Mayor to sign related agreements.
The five councilmembers voting (Weir, Barbano, Bader, Schwab, and Zarlingo) all voted yes.

Public Comments & Testimony

Alice Hedges submitted a written comment regarding the charter review committee, which was placed on the record.
Birna Reinemann, an Everett District 3 resident, spoke against the proposed Everett/Community Transit merger. She said DART paratransit service in its current state fails disabled and senior residents and asked the council not to sacrifice the well-being of paratransit users for a tax increase.
Dustin Graves of Lake Stevens, speaking on behalf of Everett Figure Skating Club, described concerns raised at the Everett Public Facilities District (EPFD) board meeting about delegated authority to Oak View Group (OVG) at the Everett Community Ice Rink, including billing practices, rate setting, exclusivity interpretations, and lack of documented board oversight. He asked the council to take the governance issue seriously.
Charles Burgess of Edmonds, representing Laborers Local 292, expressed full support for the Everett Outdoor Events Center, noting it would be built under a project labor agreement with local hire and citing the arena as a point of civic pride.

Council Comments & Reports

Councilmember Weir congratulated David Hall and noted the weekend's community celebrations.
Councilmember Barbano relayed constituent concerns about loud vehicles, parking, and fireworks, and asked about enforcement of the fireworks ordinance.
Councilmember Bader offered brief thanks.
Councilmember Zarlingo reported on the AWC conference, the Transportation Advisory Committee meeting (which unanimously forwarded proposed e-scooter and bicycle rules to the council), and a council neighborhoods meeting where fireworks enforcement was discussed.
Council President Schwab reported that the state auditor's annual audit process for Everett began Monday and that he and Councilmember Barbano attended the opening meeting. He also praised the Thornton A. Sullivan Park safety plan and the Challenge Seattle AI permitting grant.

Discussion Items

CB 2606-32 (2nd Reading): Ordinance amending the Edgewater Park Renovation Project (Fund 354, Program 084) to accumulate design and construction costs. No council comments were offered; the third and final reading is scheduled for July 1, 2026.
CB 2606-33 (1st Reading): Ordinance approving city charter changes for the November 3, 2026 general election. Jennifer Gregerson summarized the propositions: council eligibility changes (one-year residency for district seats, prohibition on holding other elected office, oath of office clarification); a minimum of 36 council meetings per year (twice monthly); aligning the civil service commission with state law so it applies only to police and fire; initiative and referendum changes including a 10% signature threshold, a petitioner committee, signature curing, and fiscal impact statements prepared by the finance director; charter review every five years; website notice as an alternative to newspaper publication; and term limits with a four-year gap after 12 years of service. Council discussion will continue next week, with the third and final reading expected July 15, 2026.
CB 2606-31 (3rd & Final Reading): Ordinance authorizing the acquisition of land and property rights needed for the Everett Outdoor Events Center, including the use of eminent domain if required, and authorizing the Mayor to initiate eminent domain proceedings and execute related agreements. Approved.

Key Outcomes

Approved the June 17, 2026 minutes and all six consent calendar items unanimously.
Received parks presentations and council feedback; no formal action was taken on parks changes.
Held the first reading of CB 2606-33 and scheduled further discussion and final action for July 15, 2026.
Adopted CB 2606-31 on final reading, authorizing the Outdoor Events Center land acquisition and eminent domain authority, with all five voting councilmembers voting yes.
Honored City Attorney David Hall on his final city council meeting before retirement.
No executive session was held.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, residents of Everett Washington and interested parties. I'd like to call to order the Everett City Council meeting of June 24th, 2026 for information on council meetings and how to participate. Please visit Everett Wah.gov slash city council. For the record, Council President Schwab and Councilmember Bader will be attending today's meeting remotely, and I will be facilitating. Please note that we do not allow comments of any kind on campaigning, whether for or against ballot measures or candidates running for office. We also do not accept comments focused on personal matters that are unrelated to city business. We ask our audience to refrain from clapping, cheering, or booing, and no signage of any kind is allowed in council chambers. We also ask that everyone take a seat and not gather in our entryway area, with the exception of our police here. Clerk, please take the role. Mayor Franklin here. Councilmember Bader. Here. Vice President Ryan. Councilmember Barbano. Here. Councilmember Twee. Excuse. Councilmember Weir. Here. Councilmember Zarlingo. Here. President Schwab. Here. I'd like to ask Councilmember Weir to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge of allegiance to the planet of the United States of America. And to Wildland for which it stands. Web Nation under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. I'd like to ask Councilmember Brabano to read our land acknowledgement. The City Council wishes to know it, the original inhabitants of this place, the Stahovish people and their successors, the Tulalib tribes. Since time immemorial, they have hunted fish, gather on and taken care of these lands and weathers. We'll respect their sovereignty, their right to self-determination, and honor their sacred spiritual connection with the land and weather. 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. Good afternoon, Mayor Franklin. Good afternoon, everybody. So I've got a few comments today, but first I'd like to ask our parks and facilities director, Kimberly Moore to come up and share a brief update on improving uh travel safety in Thornton Sullivan Park and talk a little bit about our park uh shade shelters. Good afternoon, Kimberly Moore Parks and Facilities Director. Uh before I jump into the park presentation today, I wanted to first talk about our amazing parks team who have been hard at work. Uh our workforce has been heavily focused on beautifying our gateways and our downtown area in preparation for the summer events. Uh, these teams have been present and have supported Tyler and Kari for sorticulture for the four FIFA events and park teams will be out in force on July 4th for the festival at Legion Park. Uh, we're also doing our annual cleanup in preparation for Jetty Island Days, uh, which starts on July 8th. Uh, we're a little bit behind in our parks. So if you notice some long grass or excessive weeds, please know that it's on our list to get to, and we hope to be fully caught up by mid-July. Uh, the grass grows a lot faster than we can keep on uh in April and May, uh, especially in preparation for uh the additional FIFA events this year. And so thank you for your patience. Uh, for my presentations today, I'll be discussing parks plans for Thornton A. Sullivan Park to improve safety, particularly between pedestrians and bike riders uh near the playground and along the Silver Lake Loop Trail within the park. Uh, the second presentation will outline advantages and disadvantages of various shade structures and parks. Uh the proposed changes at Thornton Sullivan Park would restrict access to the park for all riders of bikes, e-bikes, scooters, skateboards, e-moto's, and mini motorcycles.

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