County Closer to Establishing New Home for County Museum

In 2008 a leaking roof damaged many of the over 10,000 items in the Snohomish County Museum of History's collection. The Snohomish County Council provided funding to repair and restore the items. In November 2008 the County Council entered into an agreement with the museum to store their entire collection in the basement of the Carnegie Building. Adequate storage required some preparation of the Carnegie Building basement including the purchase and installation of shelving.

"We were very fortunate that the state legislature had earlier authorized a recording fee that was dedicated to preserving local historical documents," said Councilmember Dave Gossett. "Without that funding key historical records could have been lost."

The museum was formed in 1954 to gather and share the heritage of the people and communities of Snohomish County and to explore the connections between the county's history and its contemporary life. The museum collected and made available to the public materials covering Snohomish county history prior to the damage in 2008. Since then the museum has lacked a space to display its items.

"We have worked with the museum since 2008 to identify a permanent display space," said Gossett. "Using the Carnegie Building was everyone's first choice, but major repairs were necessary."

In May 2008, Snohomish County applied for funding from the Heritage Capital Projects Fund, administered by the Washington State Historical Society, to initiate needed building renovations. The application highlighted the county's intent to use the building as the site of the Museum of Snohomish County History through a long-term lease agreement.

The grant required a 2 to 1 cash match from the county. The grant allowed the match to be in the form of dollars already spent for improvements related to the Carnegie Building. The expenditures for replacing the roof and other costs related to the building provided the match for the $665,667 grant. The $665,667 will mainly fund seismic improvements. The county does not plan to spend any additional funds for this project.

"I believe that preserving our history is very important for future generations," said Gossett. "It is really wonderful that in the 150^th years since the creation of Snohomish County we are closer to having a Museum to share all the past with all our residents."

County Reaches Agreement on Garbage

At a recent Public Works Committee meeting Matt Zybas, Solid Waste Director, informed the Council that Snohomish County had come to a resolution of the Bothell Annexation/Solid Waste issue.

Citizens in the area (see shaded area in link below) collected over 1,000 signatures on petitions supporting the annexation of the area by the City of Bothell. Bothell supported the annexation but the Boundary Review Board rejected the annexation for several reasons, one of which was that the garbage from the area after annexation would go to King County.

"Snohomish County invested millions of dollars in building new transfer stations to handle future garbage," said Councilmember Dave Gossett. "Those projects were bonded, and if the garbage flow went somewhere else our taxpayers were at risk."

The tentative agreement announced by Mr. Zybas maintains existing areas in terms of solid waste collections. Garbage from the current Bothell city limits would continue to go to King County; garbage from the proposed annexed area would continue to go to Snohomish County.

The next steps involve the finalization of several agreements. An agreement with the City of Bothell has been drafted and is currently under the City's review. An agreement between King and Snohomish County has also been drafted and King County's Prosecuting Attorney is in communication with Snohomish County's Prosecuting Attorney. King County is drafting an agreement with the City of Bothell as well. The master interlocal agreement will reference all the above agreements and is currently under legal review. Mr. Zybas said he expects the interlocal agreements to be submitted to Council in the near future.

"Everything is moving forward and in a more positive direction," said Gossett. "I really appreciate the efforts of Snohomish County staff and the leadership of King County Executive Dow Constantine and Council Chair Bob Ferguson in resolving this issue."

Waste Disposal in City of Bothell Map