Committee sends water and wastewater inquiry to full council, asks staff to appear

The Everett City Council Committee on Community and Business Development voted March 11 to refer a resolution requesting information about the city’s water, sewage and wastewater infrastructure to the full City Council and to invite city staff to appear.

Councilor Gerlyn Halsy Chobin introduced the resolution in response to constituent concerns about whether the city’s systems can handle new construction and population growth. Councilor Elsey summarized the concern: "Is it sufficient to handle future development in the city and the increasing population?" Committee members noted that no representative from the water department was present; the record references communications from department staff (Mr. Meygan and Mr. Burley) indicating they were not in attendance.

Committee members moved and seconded a referral to the full council with the instruction to invite the water department, engineering department and planning staff to appear and discuss capacity and infrastructure needs. The committee voted in favor; the chair said the item will be referred with no recommendation. The referral directs staff to provide information and attend a future full-council meeting so elected members can review technical capacity and next steps.