Lake Stevens council pauses on Community Transit shelter licensing, asks for more details

Laurie Erickson, the city’s public works analyst, presented a proposed facility license agreement with Community Transit that would allow the agency to install and maintain two standardized bus stop shelters on city-owned property in Lake Stevens. Erickson said the city would pay $15,600 total to acquire the two shelters, and Community Transit would maintain them during an estimated 10-year lifespan, performing annual inspections and repairs within asset-value limits.

The proposal covers two existing bus-stop locations: an eastbound shelter tied to the roundabout project on Twentieth Street Northeast (bus stop number 1633) and a northbound replacement near the elementary school at 120 Seventh Avenue Northeast (bus stop number 2753). Erickson said Community Transit will restore any site disturbed by installation and that either party could terminate the agreement; Community Transit would remove shelters and restore the site within 90 days of written termination.

The council’s discussion focused on operational details. Councilmember Daughtry asked whether the contractor that cleans existing shelters also handles cleaning and graffiti abatement for these new units; Erickson said she would verify the routine cleaning cadence with Community Transit. Councilmember Shipman pressed for written guarantees on response times and for clarity about reimbursement if Community Transit removes a shelter after the city pays for it. Director Erin Halverson said she expected the district to reimburse the city if Community Transit removed a city-financed shelter before the end of its useful life and promised staff would follow up in writing.

Other concerns included litter and overflowing trash receptacles, loitering and design choices that might discourage undesirable uses, and how the Twentieth Street stop would interact with future multifamily development and the roundabout design. City engineer Kim Klinkers said the shelter at Twentieth Street would be coordinated with the roundabout project and that the final shelter location could shift based on the roundabout design and queue-lane considerations. Klinkers also said Community Transit has limited shelter inventory and funding, which affects timing.

Rather than act on the agreement, the council requested written follow-up. Councilmembers asked staff to confirm (1) whether routine cleaning is included and who the contractor is (staff later identified the contractor Town and Country as responsible for trash removal and glass cleaning), (2) whether graffiti abatement is covered as part of maintenance or requires separate services, (3) whether Community Transit will reimburse the city if a shelter funded by the city is removed before the end of its useful life, (4) the expected response timeline for service requests and repairs, and (5) whether trash receptacles will be provided and how often they will be emptied.

Erickson and staff agreed to bring back updated language or an amended draft with those specifics and to provide the council an updated draft at a future meeting. No formal vote was taken on the license agreement at this meeting.