At Monday night’s May 11th Snoqualmie City Council meeting, the council covered several significant items: a new council member was appointed, a moratorium ordinance on battery energy storage facilities was introduced, a police chief finalist was named, and a discussion of the city’s public comment camera policy was postponed.
Council Vacancy Filled
The council unanimously appointed Andre Testman to fill Position 6, left vacant when Councilmember Cara Christensen resigned in March. Councilmember Johnson, who made the motion, noted that 10 candidates applied and called Testman “ready to hit the ground running.”
Police Chief
Mayor Mayhew announced that he has conditionally offered the police chief position to Scott Miller of Arkansas, one of three finalists. Miller is currently undergoing a background check. The mayor said he expects to formally appoint Miller and bring the appointment to the council for ratification once the background check is complete.
BESS Moratorium Introduced
At the meeting, Mayor Mayhew introduced a moratorium ordinance on battery energy storage facilities within Snoqualmie city limits. He noted that a Snoqualmie moratorium would have no effect on the proposed Jupiter Power project, which is located in unincorporated King County, but said it was appropriate for the city to move forward with its own legislative process regarding whether such facilities should be permitted within city limits. He also said the continued focus on whether Snoqualmie should adopt a moratorium had become a distraction from the city’s work in the King County process
Councilmember Cotton noted that the council was “caught by surprise” by the introduction, though added they “might have been pushing for that document.”
The council went into a 20-minute executive session with legal counsel to discuss the ordinance before voting to waive the standard 72-hour notification requirement, allowing the ordinance to be read in for the first time.
Councilmember Wotton urged residents to be patient, noting that the appearance of fairness requirements under state law constrained what council members could say publicly. “We have to thread this very tight needle,” he said.
“This is a land use that is emerging. It’s one that’s created a lot of concern among our residents, and establishing the right policies with respect to this land use within our city limits is squarely something that a city council and a city can do,” Murphy said, also thanking the administration for being proactive in advancing the ordinance.
The council voted 5-1, with Councilmember Washington the lone dissenting vote, preferring to act on the ordinance that night rather than refer it to committee.
On the topic of Puget Sound Energy, PSE responded to the council’s earlier invitation to appear before council with a letter rather than a representative. Councilmember Murphy said the letter left him with more questions than answers and expressed disappointment that PSE did not appear. The council directed F&A to send another invitation to PSE to appear before the council, with Councilmember Cotton calling for a “strong and hearty” second request.
Camera Policy Postponed
The council briefly took up its rules of procedure regarding video streaming of public comment before Councilmember Murphy moved to send it to the Finance and Administration Committee, given the late hour. “This warrants significant consideration, and I don’t want it to be shoehorned here at the back of the meeting,” Murphy said. The motion passed, and the item will return through F&A before coming back to the full council.
