Mukilteo residents will get to weigh in on the issue of annexation this November, after the City Council narrowly approved putting Proposition 2 on the ballot.

In a nonbinding advisory vote format, citizens in the current city boundaries will be asked if they are for annexation, against it, or have no opinion.

The proposal would increase Mukilteo’s population by about 11,000, and roughly double the city’s commercial acreage.

The council will discuss the latest details at its Monday, Aug. 16, meeting, including the possibilities of adding the east side of SR-525 to the package, and the potential of annexing piecemeal, rather than all at once.

Since last time around, the financial picture has changed yet again. The strip club on Highway 99 closed its doors, and a card room has opened on the east side of Mukilteo Speedway, in the former Cherry Blossom restaurant space.

Those who opposed Monday’s 4-3 motion – Linda Grafer, Emily Vanderwielen and president Randy Lord – said it’s too soon in the process to take it to the public, too much information for voters to take in on an already-loaded ballot, and too burdensome for staff and council to gather the data and educate the public in less than three months.

“We’ve done a poor job getting the information out to citizens,” Grafer said. “We need to talk about staff time, setting up open houses and allowing people to get the facts, the real information. That’s my concern, having enough time to get the real information out.”

Grafer emphasized she does support putting the issue on the ballot when the time is right.
Tony Tinsley, who initiated Monday’s discussion, said the number of issues already on this November’s ballot is a positive, not a negative.

“With the senatorial races and statewide initiatives, this assures we’ll probably get the best indication of voter sentiment,” he said. “If we really care what our residents think, now is the time to find out.”

“By putting multiple items on the same ballot, we save money,” Kevin Stoltz agreed. “Educating the voters on the benefits of annexation is long overdue, so we probably should do it sooner than later.”

The annexation picture may change in coming months, both in the potential areas and the timeframe in which the city acquires its new land.

Mayor Joe Marine said he agrees that it makes sense to ask sooner rather than later.
“I just want to make sure we’re asking the right thing at the right time,” he said.

“We’ll get an answer, but I don’t think we’ll get the answer that will help us with all of the questions,” Lord said.

For example, many residents likely don’t realize that the east side of the Speedway could still be added to the annexation proposal, Lord said.

“So if residents say no, are they saying no to the last package that went before the BRB, or no to any form of annexation?” he said.

The decision should be based on the facts, rather than emotion, Lord said, and November is too soon to get all of the information to the voters.

“I’m in favor of putting it on the ballot, before spending huge amounts of money,” resident Charlie Pancerzewski said. “Most of us have had 8-10 things on our mind at once; we’re capable of coping with it.”

Most won’t dig in-depth into the issue anyway, Pancerzewski said.

In fact, Pancerzewksi was the only citizen who spoke Monday.

The issue of annexation has been on and off the table for years now, with multiple trips to the BRB and an appeal by Snohomish County Fire District 1 last fall of the board’s approval of the city’s most recent attempt.

FD1 successfully contested on the grounds that BRB member Lori Kaiser served on the council that agreed on the annexation package the board had approved.

“In terms of the city’s priorities, this is much, much, much more important than red light cameras,” Tinsley said of finally deciding the annexation issue.