MUKILTEO, December 18, 2023—The Mukilteo council approved restricting virtual public comments, a 2023 budget amendment with hundreds of thousands of dollars in increases, fifty-thousand dollars in 2024 Community Grants, and 13 organizations for no-cost facility use at its last Business Meeting for the year on Monday, December 18. The Council presented outgoing councilman Riaz Khan with a plaque for his years of public service.
Councilman Riaz Khan (right) with Mayor Joe Marine at the Mukilteo Business Meeting on December 18, 2023. Lynnwood Times | Mario Lotmore
Within one minute of the call to order, Mayor Joe Marine called an Executive Session. After an 18-minute closed-door meeting, Mukilteo Council Vice President Louis Harris motioned to only allow written public comments in lieu of oral remote public comments.
“I want to take the opportunity to make a motion before we get started with the majority of business,” said Vice President Harris. “It has come to our attention that there is a troublesome trend of people, anonymous people, disrupting meetings and using the cover of the First Amendment to espouse certain things unrelated to city business and cities all over the region. So, we wanted to get ahead of that by making a motion which I will do now to prevent oral comment virtually and only allow written comment via virtual attendance until we are able to update…our council comment rules.”
Councilman Riaz Khan seconded the motion, whose request later in discussion to limit oral comments by in-person attendees from three to two minutes was shot down.
Prior to the motion passing unanimously, Mukilteo Councilman Steve Schmalz clarified that starting at the current and future meetings that virtual attendees (those on Zoom) would only be able to submit public comments via email at elected@mukilteowa.gov. Also, the requestor must specify for their comment to be read.
During public comments, in-person members of the public expressed their dismay with the council’s decision. However, the Council acted within its authority per RCW 42.30.240. Ever since the October 7 terrorist attack against Israel by Hamas, a group of individuals have been exploiting public comment privileges within government meetings throughout Puget Sound spewing racist, homophobic, and antisemitic remarks.
“The resolution that just passed is premature in that no public comments were solicited, we have no history of disruptive behavior in our public meetings and it is discriminatory to a portion of the attending public attendees,” Ilona Bell Vann Duser commented on the City’s Facebook live feed of the council meeting.
Later in meeting, in a bit of irony and just minutes after sitting Councilman Schmalz voted to suspend oral comments of virtual attendees because of hateful speech, his wife Christine appeared to attack on the same feed as Duser, two engaged residents of the Mukilteo community who were attending the meeting in person calling their views “deadly,” “full of hate,” and “prejudice.”
City of Mukilteo Government Facebook live feed of the council meeting on December 18, 2023. SOURCE: https://fb.watch/p13l6XUXlO/.
“The Damoffs hog all public comments,” Christine Schmalz wrote. “Some of their views were deadly upsetting and full of hate and prejudice. But you are correct they have a right to speak but to what end?”
It is unclear to what specific “public comments,” past or present, by the Damoffs of Mukilteo Mrs. Schmalz was referring.
On December 20, 2023, The Lynnwood Times was notified by Mrs. Schmalz that what was posted to the Mukilteo City Council meeting Facebook feed was in error due to the autocorrect feature on her cellphone. The original post did not accurately reflect her views and below is the now edited version, replacing the words “deadly upsetting” with “very upsetting.”
The Council adopted Ordinance No. 1491, with a unanimous vote (6-0, Council President Elizabeth Crawford was absent from the meeting), amending the 2023 Budget for Facilities Maintenance, Fund 518, and formalizing a previous approved expenditure, adjusting award amount of Hotel/Motel Lodging Tax grant to the Lighthouse Festival City Staff Support.
The 2023 Year-end Budget Amendment addresses the following changes:
General Fund: Additional transfer-out to Facilities Maintenance, Fund 518, to increase various line-item expenditures by a total of $245,594.
Facilities Maintenance
Additional transfer-in from the General Fund to increase the Facilities Maintenance fund by $245,594.
Additional increase to City Hall expenditures: $18,794.
Additional increase to the Mukilteo Police Dept expenditures: $24,205.
Additional increase to the Mukilteo Fire Dept expenditures: $32,955.
Additional increase to Public Works expenditures: $41,186.
Additional increase to Recreation and Cultural Development expenditures: $77,509.
Additional increase in Hawthorne Hall Utilities expenditure: $860.
Additional increase for Lighthouse expenditures; $6,406.
Additional increase in Salary/Wages expenditures: $29,735.
Additional increase in Benefits expenditures: $8,427.
Additional increase in Facilities Maintenance general operating expenditure: $5,517.
Hotel/Motel Lodging Tax: Formalizing the approved Hotel/Motel Lodging Tax grant award to the Lighthouse Festival City Staff Support from $29,000 to $33,000. Staff incorrectly recorded the grant award as $29,000 instead of $33,000
Prior to the vote, Paul Ellis, Past Chairman and current Board member of the Mukilteo Chamber of Commerce, voiced his concern that the Community Support Grant Committee awarded $14,000 of $50,000 (28%) in grants away from businesses to the City of Mukilteo. The committee consisted of Council President Crawford, Council Vice President Louis Harris, and Councilman Jason Moon.
The Council voted unanimously, 6-0, to approve the following 2024 Community Support Grant recommendations:
City of Mukilteo Recreation & Cultural Services Senior Programs, $7,500
City of Mukilteo Recreation and Cultural Services Indoor Playground, $6,500
Mukilteo Firefighters Benevolent Fund Egg Hunt, $1,800
Mukilteo Seniors Association Osher, $2,000
Mukilteo Food Bank Refrigeration System Replacement, $7,950
South Mukilteo Rotary Foundation Rotary School Food Pantry, $2,000
South Mukilteo Rotary Foundation Rotary for Kids Holiday Shopping, $2,000
South Mukilteo Rotary Foundation Rotary Thanksgiving Baskets, $4,000
Mukilteo Mukfest Pirates of Salish Sea Mukilteo Mukfest Pirates, $1,250
Kiwanis Club of Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival Kiwanis Salmon Bake, $1,000
Mukilteo Police Foundation Police Activities League, Shop with a Cop, Chief for a Day, $4,000
Mukilteo Community Garden Mukilteo Community Garden Infrastructure Replacement Project, $1,500
Mukilteo Chamber of Commerce Connect Mukilteo Website, $1,500
Sound Salmon Solutions Environmental Education for Mukilteo Schools, $2,000
Mukilteo Family YMCA Community Nights at the YMCA, $3,000
Mukilteo Community Orchestra Mukilteo Consolidated School Student Musicians and Mukilteo Community Orchestra Joint Multigenerational Performance in Spring 2024, $2,000
Every year, the City of Mukilteo awards $10,000 in Community Grants. For both fiscal years 2024 and 2025, the award amount has increased to $50,000 each year following action from the City Council allocating American Rescue Plan Act dollars for that purpose.
A motion by Councilman Richard Emery to amend the list of the proposed Mukilteo co-sponsored facility use grant awardees to include one night for the Mukilteo Chamber’s annual Community Awards Gala failed after no other councilmember seconded his motion.
The City’s Co-Sponsorship program provides an opportunity for community members and groups to use facility space at Rosehill Community Center and the parks at no cost. These are nonmonetary awards and constitute facility use only.
The Council approved, 5-1, to the following recommended awards for City Co-sponsored facility use grants with Councilman Emery dissenting:
Project Linus Make a Blanket Day
Kamiak Performing Arts Booster Club Big Band Dance
Mukilteo YMCA Community Campaign Kickoff Fundraiser
Hugs for Ghana International Cultural Night Fundraiser
Packs for Kids Annual Luncheon Fundraiser
Mari’s Place for the Arts Annual Fundraiser
Mukilteo Chamber of Commerce Lunch Hour Speaker Series, Music at the Beach, and Beer Garden
Pathfinder Manufacturing Class of 2024 Graduation
Everett/Mukilteo Rotary Scholarship Luncheon
Mukilteo Little League Coaching Clinics
Mukilteo Lighthouse Quilters
Bloodworks NW, Blood Drive Series
Mukilteo Lighthouse Association for the Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival and Beer Garden
“This is a travesty,” Jim Tinsley, Board of Director, Mukilteo Chamber of Commerce, told the Lynnwood Times regarding the Council not approving the amendment to include one day for the 2024 Community Awards Gala.
Councilmembers Emery, Tom Jordal, Schmalz, and two Recreation Department staff (Dahl and Trofimczuk) reviewed and scored the co-sponsorship grant applications.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Article updated 5:15 p.m. on December 20, 2023, to reflect the edit due to an autocorrect error in a Facebook post by Christine Schmalz.
Mukilteo council suspends oral public comments for virtual meetings
MUKILTEO, December 18, 2023—The Mukilteo council approved restricting virtual public comments, a 2023 budget amendment with hundreds of thousands of dollars in increases, fifty-thousand dollars in 2024 Community Grants, and 13 organizations for no-cost facility use at its last Business Meeting for the year on Monday, December 18. The Council presented outgoing councilman Riaz Khan with a plaque for his years of public service.
Within one minute of the call to order, Mayor Joe Marine called an Executive Session. After an 18-minute closed-door meeting, Mukilteo Council Vice President Louis Harris motioned to only allow written public comments in lieu of oral remote public comments.
“I want to take the opportunity to make a motion before we get started with the majority of business,” said Vice President Harris. “It has come to our attention that there is a troublesome trend of people, anonymous people, disrupting meetings and using the cover of the First Amendment to espouse certain things unrelated to city business and cities all over the region. So, we wanted to get ahead of that by making a motion which I will do now to prevent oral comment virtually and only allow written comment via virtual attendance until we are able to update…our council comment rules.”
Councilman Riaz Khan seconded the motion, whose request later in discussion to limit oral comments by in-person attendees from three to two minutes was shot down.
Prior to the motion passing unanimously, Mukilteo Councilman Steve Schmalz clarified that starting at the current and future meetings that virtual attendees (those on Zoom) would only be able to submit public comments via email at elected@mukilteowa.gov. Also, the requestor must specify for their comment to be read.
During public comments, in-person members of the public expressed their dismay with the council’s decision. However, the Council acted within its authority per RCW 42.30.240. Ever since the October 7 terrorist attack against Israel by Hamas, a group of individuals have been exploiting public comment privileges within government meetings throughout Puget Sound spewing racist, homophobic, and antisemitic remarks.
“The resolution that just passed is premature in that no public comments were solicited, we have no history of disruptive behavior in our public meetings and it is discriminatory to a portion of the attending public attendees,” Ilona Bell Vann Duser commented on the City’s Facebook live feed of the council meeting.
Later in meeting, in a bit of irony and just minutes after sitting Councilman Schmalz voted to suspend oral comments of virtual attendees because of hateful speech, his wife Christine appeared to attack on the same feed as Duser, two engaged residents of the Mukilteo community who were attending the meeting in person calling their views “deadly,” “full of hate,” and “prejudice.”
City of Mukilteo Government Facebook live feed of the council meeting on December 18, 2023. SOURCE: https://fb.watch/p13l6XUXlO/.
“The Damoffs hog all public comments,” Christine Schmalz wrote. “Some of their views were deadly upsetting and full of hate and prejudice. But you are correct they have a right to speak but to what end?”
It is unclear to what specific “public comments,” past or present, by the Damoffs of Mukilteo Mrs. Schmalz was referring.
On December 20, 2023, The Lynnwood Times was notified by Mrs. Schmalz that what was posted to the Mukilteo City Council meeting Facebook feed was in error due to the autocorrect feature on her cellphone. The original post did not accurately reflect her views and below is the now edited version, replacing the words “deadly upsetting” with “very upsetting.”
The Council adopted Ordinance No. 1491, with a unanimous vote (6-0, Council President Elizabeth Crawford was absent from the meeting), amending the 2023 Budget for Facilities Maintenance, Fund 518, and formalizing a previous approved expenditure, adjusting award amount of Hotel/Motel Lodging Tax grant to the Lighthouse Festival City Staff Support.
The 2023 Year-end Budget Amendment addresses the following changes:
Supporting documents: AB 2023-176, AB 2023-176 Exhibit 1, AB 2023-176 Exhibit
2024 Community Support Grant Recommendations
Prior to the vote, Paul Ellis, Past Chairman and current Board member of the Mukilteo Chamber of Commerce, voiced his concern that the Community Support Grant Committee awarded $14,000 of $50,000 (28%) in grants away from businesses to the City of Mukilteo. The committee consisted of Council President Crawford, Council Vice President Louis Harris, and Councilman Jason Moon.
The Council voted unanimously, 6-0, to approve the following 2024 Community Support Grant recommendations:
Every year, the City of Mukilteo awards $10,000 in Community Grants. For both fiscal years 2024 and 2025, the award amount has increased to $50,000 each year following action from the City Council allocating American Rescue Plan Act dollars for that purpose.
Supporting documents: AB 2023-187, AB 2023-187 Exhibit 1, AB 2023-187 Exhibit 2, AB 2023-187 Exhibit 3, AB 2023-187 Exhibit 4
Co-Sponsorship Grant Awards
A motion by Councilman Richard Emery to amend the list of the proposed Mukilteo co-sponsored facility use grant awardees to include one night for the Mukilteo Chamber’s annual Community Awards Gala failed after no other councilmember seconded his motion.
The City’s Co-Sponsorship program provides an opportunity for community members and groups to use facility space at Rosehill Community Center and the parks at no cost. These are nonmonetary awards and constitute facility use only.
The Council approved, 5-1, to the following recommended awards for City Co-sponsored facility use grants with Councilman Emery dissenting:
“This is a travesty,” Jim Tinsley, Board of Director, Mukilteo Chamber of Commerce, told the Lynnwood Times regarding the Council not approving the amendment to include one day for the 2024 Community Awards Gala.
Councilmembers Emery, Tom Jordal, Schmalz, and two Recreation Department staff (Dahl and Trofimczuk) reviewed and scored the co-sponsorship grant applications.
Supporting documents: AB 2023-186, AB 2023-186 Exhibit 1, AB 2023-186 Exhibit 2, AB 2023-186 Exhibit 3.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Article updated 5:15 p.m. on December 20, 2023, to reflect the edit due to an autocorrect error in a Facebook post by Christine Schmalz.
Author: Mario Lotmore
Tell Us What You Think