MUKILTEO—Mukilteo Mayor Joe Marine was appointed by Snohomish County Cities on January 16 to represent all cities and towns within the county—except Everett with its designated seat—on the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC). Marine will serve as a member of the PSRC’s Growth Management Policy Board.
“Snohomish County, but cities in general, need to have a voice for advocating local control,” Mayor Marine told the Lynnwood Times. “Over the last few legislative sessions, Olympia continues to erode and take away our rights as cities. We have residents experiencing two months to get an appointment with their doctor and the courts are backlogged because of unbridled population growth.
“The infrastructure isn’t keeping up with growth expectations; next is going to be the electrical grid because the legislature is forcing new construction to go electrical—no gas. When you throw too many people in an area without the infrastructure to support it, this is what happens.”
According to its website, the prestigious PSRC is the central planning agency that “develops policies and coordinates decisions about regional growth, transportation and economic development planning within King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties.” Its 100 members include elected officials of the four counties, cities and towns, ports, state and local transportation agencies and Tribal governments within the Puget Sound region.
The Growth Management Policy Board develops policy addressing housing affordability, population growth, urban sprawl, and shoreline management just to name a few. This board also focuses on aligning multimodal transportation to growth management, whereas the Transportation Policy Board focuses on resolving specific transportation issues.
Representatives of Snohomish County Cities to the Puget Sound Regional Council are responsible to read all materials, prepare as needed by consulting with other cities, attend the monthly meeting in downtown Seattle to speak on SCC Cities’ behalf, and vote on all matters before the assigned PSRC’s boards to advance the interests of Snohomish County’s cities and towns.
Author: Mario Lotmore
