City council passes public defender agreement, 5-1

The Mountlake Terrace City Council during its Feb. 20 meeting approved its contract with Feldman and Lee for public defender services, 5-1, with Councilmember Erin Murray voting against it.

Feldman and Lee, which serves as the city’s public defender, is requesting to renegotiate its $18,000-a-month contract to $26,500. That’s in anticipation of changes in Washington state’s new Standards for Indigent Defense and the decrease in full-time public defender caseloads to 300-400 misdemeanors a year.

The contract was removed from the consent calendar for a separate discussion during the Feb. 13 meeting.

“It kills me that I have to support this,” Mayor Pro Tem Bryan Wahl said. “I don’t understand why it costs nearly twice as much to defend the person we’re prosecuting.”

Wahl said that although the city has a contract with Feldman and Lee until Dec. 31, 2025, there is no guarantee that they will not use a contractual clause that allows the firm to withdraw services before then. Thus, the city would have no choice but to request proposals with bids possibly higher than those requested by Feldman and Lee.

Murray acknowledged the need for public defense but noted that the increase was roughly 47% and favored issuing a request for proposals.

City Manager Jeff Niten recommended accepting the contract and requesting proposals when the contract ends.

The agreement will be moved to the council’s next consent calendar.

In other businesses, the city council passed an agreement with Baker Tilly for long-range financial sustainability planning. The vote was 5-1, with Councilmember Laura Sonmore voting against the agreement.

The agreement was removed from the consent calendar during the Feb. 13 meeting for further discussion.

“We don’t need somebody to take off our watch and tell us what time it is,” said Sonmore, who  favored relying on city staff to conduct the work.

The services Baker Tilly would provide under the $99,500 contract are:

– Strategize with staff and city council before meetings with the council-appointed long-range financial sustainability task force.

– Collaborate with the city to recruit the task force and share updates with the community.

– Review the city’s financials and prepare strategies for consideration by the city council and the task force.

– Help the city develop a curriculum and conversation guide for the task force.

– Facilitate the task force.

– Create strategies and presentation materials for citywide community engagement activities and city council briefings.

– Prepare a long-range financial plan that includes the task force’s recommendations.

– Make recommendations for implementation steps to be taken by staff and city council.

Baker Tilly will prepare a report in coordination with city staff, including:

– Projected revenues and expenses.

– At least three potential expenditure reductions.

– At least three potential revenue increases.

– The impact of the proposals.

– A description of the public and city council engagement process.

– Final recommendations.

The agreement with Baker Tilly will be moved to the next consent agenda.

The council also issued a proclamation recognizing Ramadan. Councilmember Steve Woodard presented the proclamation to Imam Ahmed Mujeeb of Masjid Umar Al-Farooq.

“It is a matter of pride, and it is a matter of pleasure for us that you invited us, not only for me but for the entire community of Muslims in Mountlake Terrace,” Mujeeb said. “It reflects the multicultural and multiethnic spirit of the great American nation.”

The following items were unanimously passed by the council and will be moved to the next consent agenda:

– An agreement with Rico Tessandore for hearing examiner services. Tessandore has been the city’s hearing examiner since 2023. This contract extends the agreement until Dec. 31, 2027, with a $150 per-hour compensation.

– Code changes to MTMC 1.15 and 8.15. The changes were reviewed during the Feb. 13 meeting. No one signed up to speak during the public hearing. The changes will allow residents to camp in their backyards, set penalty caps and limit outdoor building material storage. The changes also define yards, heavy equipment, and unsafe conditions.

– Readoption of MTMC 19.125.020, which was reviewed on Feb. 6. No one signed up to speak during the public hearing. MTMC 19.125.020(D) was left off the proposed ordinance in error. Subsection D states, “For private recreational facilities in RS zones, parking shall be located on the same lot as the buildings or facilities it will serve. Parking on public streets shall not be counted toward parking requirements.”

– Lodging tax advisory committee recommendations. The committee recommended allocating $10,000 to Friends of the Arts and $20,000 to the Mountlake Terrace Chamber of Commerce. The remaining $20,000 of the $50,000 allotment would have gone to the now-defunct Tour de Terrace. The council will reopen the application window to find qualified recipients for the remaining funds.

– A $230,000 agreement with A and W Flooring will replace the Recreation Pavilion’s pool liner. Recreation and Parks Director Jeff Betz said the pool would need to be drained to perform the work, which would leave it out of service from May 12 to June 23, 2025. Betz said the city tried to push the repair until 2026, but the liner was deteriorating too quickly. A and W Flooring is based in Florida, but the pool liner is manufactured in Italy.

The next city council meeting will start at 7 p.m., Feb. 27, at Mountlake Terrace City Hall, 23204 58th Ave. W., Mountlake Terrace. To attend the meeting online, visit zoom.us/join and enter meeting ID 810 1113 9518; no passcode is needed.

To make a public comment remotely, complete the registration form within 24 hours of the

meeting’s start.

To listen via telephone, call 1-253-215-8782 and enter the same meeting ID.

You also can view livestreamed meetings and past video recordings at www.youtube.com/cityofmlt.

The agenda can be viewed here.