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Council delays retreat to spring, plans Washington, D.C. fly‑in and schedules follow-ups on city hall, courts, traffic cameras
Summary
Lake Stevens council members discussed delaying the annual council retreat to March or April, planning a Washington, D.C. fly-in tied to the National League of Cities (NLC) and EASC events in May, and flagged several planning items including a city hall consultant contract, traffic-camera initiative and court services agreement with Marysville.
City staff and councilmembers discussed retreat scheduling, a Washington, D.C. fly-in, and several multi-month planning items during the Jan. 7 Lake Stevens City Council meeting.
Staff recommended postponing the council retreat originally scheduled in January to March or April to allow substantive updates from consultants and staff. Deputy Clerk Caitlin Weaver read a list of long-term projects and said staff had just signed a contract with a consultant to design City Hall; staff recommended a later retreat so the council could review substantive updates on city hall design, traffic cameras, and the Cedarwood survey.
The council also discussed travel to Washington, D.C., and the National League of Cities (NLC) calendar. Councilmembers expressed support for a D.C. trip that would include a day of direct visits with state and federal legislators followed by participation in the EASC fly-in events. The EASC/NLC timeframe discussed was the second week of May (May 12–15), and the council discussed traveling on Sunday, meeting with legislators on Monday, then joining the EASC group Tuesday–Wednesday. Councilmembers noted potential calendar conflicts and asked staff to circulate date options to confirm availability.
On planning topics, the council said it would work with the city attorney on what it would mean to start municipal court services, noting an existing agreement with the City of Marysville for court services. Staff also identified the traffic-camera initiative as a project that would require additional council consideration at a future retreat.
Why it matters: Delaying the retreat allows more complete proposals and consultant input to be available for council deliberation. The proposed D.C. schedule aims to maximize direct meetings with legislators to pursue city priorities during the legislative season and related advocacy events.
