Bill to end community councils dies in Senate committee; bill may return next session

The saga concerning the future of community councils in Kirkland and Bellevue took another unexpected turn in Olympia Friday, as it failed to get out of a Senate committee.

The bill looked like it was headed to the Senate floor just prior to the vote in the Senate Government Operations, Tribal Relations and Elections Committee late Thursday. But the measure failed to gain enough signatures to move ahead as it finished with three in favor and three against.

The bill, which passed the House 56-40 on Feb. 9, would have set an end to the councils, effective Jan. 6, 2014. The Bellevue Community Council and Kirkland?s Houghton Community Council are the only two of their kind left in Washington State.

But this may not be the end of the debate.

?I?ll think very seriously about bringing it up again,? said former Kirkland Mayor and current Rep. Larry Springer (D-Kirkland), who introduced the bill.

Springer said that with elections coming up the makeup of the Legislature will change: ?Things may look very different next session.?

The news was welcome to those in support of the community councils.

?It is great that our community was able to present a convincing argument to our legislators so they would see how important it is,? said Houghton Community Council member Georgine Foster.

Supporters of the bill say the councils violate the fundamental tenant of one person, one vote.

?The Community Council of Houghton retains land use veto power over the City of Kirkland?s land use decisions,? testified Springer on Tuesday. ?There are 10 or 12 regulations that are different in Houghton than in the rest of the City of Kirkland.?

But supporters of the councils say that they still have relevance to the current cities.

?I do not view my power as vetoing but problem solving,? testified Houghton Community Council member Lora Hein.

Hein took issue with the fact that things were playing out in Olympia and not in the two cities where the bill would have the most effect.

?It is not in this state?s business to deny people their rights,? said Hein.

Foster echoed those sentiments.

?We have always said it should not be dealt with in Olympia,? said Foster. ?If they can convince people in Houghton that we serve no purpose they would vote us out.?

Foster admitted that sentiment has been moving in that direction.

?There are some people in Houghton who do think it should be sunsetted,? said Foster. She added that she only wants the council to continue if the city as a whole feels it serves a greater purpose.

Many high profile Kirkland residents testified at the hearing on Tuesday.

?This is a contentious issue in Kirkland,? testified Kirkland City Councilman Bob Sternoff as a citizen in support of the councils.

Sternoff said that he was not there to represent the Kirkland City Council. He stated that the Kirkland Council voted to not take a stance on the issue.

?I am here representing the people asking ?why??? said Sternoff, who does not live in Houghton. ?? I like having another body to review issues.?

For Kirkland, the issue began more than 40 years ago when the former City of Houghton was annexed into Kirkland.

But those in support of the bill said that the long-term continuation of the Houghton Community Council was not intended.

?When we discussed this issue there was supposed to be a sunset on this bill in 10 years, for some reason, that didn?t show up on the bill and none of us caught that,? said Bill Woods, who served as Kirkland?s mayor from 1966-73. ?What happened to Houghton was they were bankrupt. We found $40,000 worth of unpaid bills that none of the Houghton residents knew existed. In 1968, that was a lot money. Citizens of Kirkland paid those bills and citizens who were not part of Kirkland continue to pay those bills.?

The neighborhood only has 6,000 people and could not sustain itself today as a city, testified Springer. Nona Ganz, a former Kirkland City Council member, testified that only 7 percent of Kirkland?s population lives in Houghton and that the community councils are tough on the city?s budget.

The issue was formerly brought to Olympia last year by Springer. An uproar occurred from Houghton residents as they claimed the bill was not brought in a transparent manner.

In response to the outcry, Springer helped to kill the bill but said he would bring it back up, in a deliberate manner during this session.

Editor Carrie Wood contributed to this report.

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Contact Kirkland Reporter Staff Writer Matt Phelps at mphelps@kirklandreporter.com or 425-822-9166 ext. 5052.

Source: http://feeds.soundpublishing.com/~r/kirall/~3/V0SNEQEgXF8/140373243.html

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