MLT Council OKs resolution supporting immigrants

Takeaways

• MLT City Council voted 6-0 to adopt a resolution affirming support for immigrants.
• City Council made three proclamations for February: Lunar New Year, Ramadan and Black History Month.

• Council voted 6-0 to adopt the $120,000 stormwater capacity grant that covers staff time and keeps water quality in the City’s stormwater system optimal.

• Council also voted 6-0 to adopt the City’s new employee handbook that includes updated time-off policies and employee rights and responsibilities.

About 100 people applauded in Mountlake Terrace City Hall Thursday after the City Council voted 6-0 to adopt a resolution affirming support for immigrants. Councilmember Erin Murray moved to adopt the resolution and Councilmember Sam Doyle seconded the motion.

Mayor Pro Tem Bryan Wahl was absent from the meeting.

Doyle said that she had received at least a dozen emails from Mountlake Terrace residents about issues related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and related issues. She shared a personal story about her sixth‑grade daughter, whose Latinx friend feared a relative might have been deported, adding that children already understand the word “deportation.”

“The power of the people is greater than the people in power – always,” Doyle said. “I urge you to find one thing that you can do locally here in Mountlake Terrace this month…to show what America can be, to show what Mountlake Terrace is, to show that we are respectful, we’re brave, helpful, curious, driven, welcoming, generous people. And don’t forget the most important words in the Constitution: ‘We the People’.”

The Council also made three proclamations for February: Lunar New Year, Ramadan and Black History Month.

Board members of the Multicultural Association of Edmonds (MAE) accepted the proclamation for Lunar New Year from Councilmember Kyoko Matsumoto Wright.

“We are honored to celebrate the heritage and vibrant spirit of the Lunar New Year with the City of Mountlake Terrace,” MAE Board President Karen Mei Butler said. “We invite you all to join us on Feb. 28 at Edmonds Center for the Arts for our free celebration where we aim to build community. The Year of the Horse ushers in a cycle of rebirth, rapid change and bold movement into the future and a hopeful shared humanity.”

Members of the Muslim community joined Councilmember William Paige in accepting the proclamation of Ramadan, including MLT community ambassador Madina Abdurashidova and Imam Mujeeb from Masjid Umar Al-Farooq, Muslim Association of Northwest.“I’m from Uzbekistan. My family and I immigrated to Mountlake Terrace in the summer of ’24 and since then, we’ve been absolutely trying to add diversity in our city, whether it’s performing at the Welcoming Week here at the City Hall or performing traditional Uzbek dance at the multicultural assembly Mountlake Terrace High School,” Abdurashidova said. “I’m very happy to be here today, and I want to thank you for welcoming my family, acknowledging my religion and recognizing my heritage.”

“It is a matter of pride and pleasure, not only for me, but for the whole community,” Mujeeb said. “We are here to thank the administration of the City of Mountlake Terrace for this Ramadan proclamation, and it reflects the multicultural and multi-ethnic spirit of [this] great American nation.”

In honor of Black History Month, the MLT Diversity Equity and Inclusion Commission (DEIC) honored three Black leaders on the Mountlake Terrace City Council: Mayor Steve Woodard and Councilmembers Paige and Doyle. They also recognized city staff member Bernadette Taylor Moses for creating a Black History Month video in the City Hall lobby.

The DEIC commissioners also recognized Mountlake Terrace High School Black Student Union Leader Tribecca Brazil and League of Women Voters of Snohomish County Outreach Committee Member Nadine Shanti.

“Being able to create opportunities for students, build bridges for them and help guide them to places that maybe their parents haven’t been…I’m just honored to be able to do that,” Brazil said.

Woodard highlighted the historical nature of the current City leadership, noting that Mountlake Terrace residents have elected their first African American mayor – possibly the first in Snohomish County. He added that there are now three African Americans serving on the Council for the first time, including one African American female councilmember (Doyle). He pointed out that this is the first time the Council has been primarily led by people of color.

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Stormwater capacity grant

The Council voted 6-0 to approve a resolution accepting a $120,000 stormwater capacity grant from the Washington Department of Ecology for the 2025-2027 biennium to support compliance with the city’s municipal stormwater permit. The funds will cover staff time and community-based water quality efforts, including pollution prevention, infrastructure monitoring and public education, with no matching funds required.

Environmental Programs Manager Patrick Hutchins said the stormwater capacity grant supports staff time needed for “meaningful community engagement,” allowing the City to educate and assist residents and businesses in preventing pollution. He highlighted how the funding enables personalized outreach, business inspections, and public education efforts at events like Juneteenth and National Night Out. 

Hutchins said that the funds can help solve problems, such as tracing the source of fecal bacteria in the northeast corner of Mountlake Terrace. 

“Those waters drain down to Scriber Creek, which eventually runs into Lake Washington…and that creek is under a regulation with The Department of Ecology, [which] limits the amount of this fecal coliform bacteria, Hutchins said, adding that this bacteria forms in the intestines of all warm-blooded animals. “Tracing the potential sources in Mountlake Terrace helps prevent the degradation of this stream downstream. So it helps us be a good neighbor.”

New employee handbook

The City Council voted 6-0 to adopt updated policies in the City’s employee handbook, which includes providing clear workplace expectations, defining employee rights and responsibilities, ensuring consistency and legal compliance, and promoting transparency and trust.

This is the first time personnel policies have been updated since 2011, addressing  outdated rules that led to compliance issues, inconsistent management and low employee morale.

Human Resource Manager Loren Hagstrom said a major substantive change is the expansion of the “day of choice” (floating holiday) benefit, which doubles the hours for full-time staff so they receive two days of choice per year. She said it is still “use-it-or-lose-it” and not paid out at separation – unlike vacation hours.

“This is a great opportunity to create greater equity for our employees while maintaining uninterrupted city services,” Hagstrom said. “Our workforce also observes a wide range of cultural, religious and personal holidays. A second day of choice provides an opportunity for employees to have equitable access to time off without restricting or without requiring them to use vacation like others would not have to. So this just creates more consistency and fairness across our organization.”

Councilmember Laura Sonmore pointed out that doubling the day-of-choice from eight to 16 hours creates about 1,200 hours of lost staff time per year.

“I’m just surprised that we’re adding that because I just went to the Financial Committee, and we’re looking at freezing compensations,” she said. “So I’m just trying to really understand where those extra eight hours are coming from when we are in such a tight hold on our city budget. And the argument is to retain people…to me, that’s not logical. I mean, I wouldn’t quit my job just because they’re not giving me an extra eight hours. And it has nothing to do with a floating holiday or your religion or whatever.”

Hagstrom acknowledged the budget constraints and said the extra eight hours of day of choice were developed and vetted with the executive leadership team – including the city manager and deputy city manager – and is part of a broader response to employee feedback about inequities and the gap between the City’s DEIC values and its policies. 

She gave an example where some employees would need to use vacation hours for Ramadan while others would not.

Hagstrom added that the cost of turnover would be about $25,000 to $40,000 per employee plus “lost institutional knowledge” and greater staff burnout.

Public comments

During public comments, several residents spoke in support of a resolution to support immigrants and protect civil rights. Audrey Meyer thanked City Manager Jeff Niten and Police Chief Pete Caw for addressing community fears about immigration enforcement.

“We need informed constituents. This is the time that we need elected officials at every level of government to stand together with their constituents and stand for democracy,” Meyer said. “We might not be in Minneapolis, but we definitely are not in a bubble.”

Sandra Duncan Clark emphasized the council’s role beyond financial stewardship, advocating for thoughtful policy-making and community engagement. 

“Our community looks to you as leaders entrusted with shaping the character, the stability and the overall tenor of our community,” Clark said. “Fiscal responsibility is important, but I believe that your role extends much beyond that.”

The Council meeting can be viewed on the City’s YouTube channel.