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Mukilteo council outlines 2026 legislative priorities including pickleball courts, park projects and ferry concerns
Summary
City staff presented Mukilteo's proposed 2026 legislative priorities: support for AWC items (indigent defense, transportation, housing supply, shared revenues) and local asks including funding for pickleball courts, police gate replacement, Japanese Gulch daylighting and a shovel-ready Harbor Pointe park. Council discussed chances, funding sources and next steps.
Mukilteo's mayor and staff reviewed the city's proposed 2026 legislative priorities at a Jan. 12 work session, emphasizing a mix of Association of Washington Cities (AWC) regional asks and several Mukilteo-specific projects councilmembers want the state to fund.
Steve, a city staff member who presented the memo, said the AWC priorities mirror prior years and include indigent defense, transportation, housing supply and shared revenues. He told council the city would again add local requests this year, including repeated requests for pickleball courts and a smaller ask to replace automatic gate openers at the police department.
The presentation noted that the pickleball court request is now the third consecutive legislative ask for that project. "This is our 3rd year that we've asked legislature," Steve said, reflecting sustained community demand but also the difficulty of winning limited grant funding. Staff reported an unsuccessful Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) application in a recent cycle, and warned competition is strong: "there was 17 applicants. We were 15th, and they funded 1 and a half with the money they had."
Councilmembers nevertheless argued for keeping the courts on the list. One member framed the ask as a strategic request to legislators: "If you don't ask, you'll never receive," saying repeated asks can raise a project's priority in Olympia.
Other local requests discussed included daylighting Japanese Gulch, which council members said has design work complete and is in permitting. One councilmember urged pressing the state senator to "make good on his promise" of prior funding; staff replied design and permitting steps are advancing and that the project ranks well for salmon-restoration considerations.
Members also discussed Harbor Pointe Village, described as a shovel-ready park with completed design but no parking, and transportation concerns tied to Mukilteo's busy ferry route and a future bridge replacement. Council asked staff to pursue meetings with WSDOT and to plan for business impacts during construction.
Council indicated it will balance regional AWC priorities with local asks and pursue state and federal grant opportunities where appropriate. Staff said they will forward resident concerns and follow up with legislators and agency partners.
The council did not take a formal vote on legislative priorities at the work session; staff will bring proposals back for final direction and potential action.
