Shoreline Council Agrees to Hire King County for Animal Services for Three More Years

The Shoreline City Council voted 6-1 Monday evening to approve a new three-year agreement with King County to provide regional animal services.

The new three-year term will begin Jan. 1, 2013.

The agreement provides for animal control, licensing and sheltering; one animal control officer will be stationed in Shoreline at the Shoreline Police Station.

King County is downsizing from four animal control service districts to three mainly because the city of Auburn is dropping its contract. 

All Councilmembers voted for the agreement except Chris Roberts who was the lone dissenter.

Other unanimous action taken by the Council, on Monday night consent calendar included:

•Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Contract with U.S. Bank for the City’s Banking Services

•Approval of Neighborhood Mini-Grant for the North City Neighborhood – Neighborhood Signs and Approval of Neighborhood Mini-Grant for the Meridian Park Neighborhood – Summerset Arts Festival Celebrating Ronald Bog

The North City Neighborhood Association will receive $1090 for neighborhood identity signs, to be installed by Public Works staff on streets that mark key entrance locations to the neighborhood.

Dr. Nola Moore, a North City Neighborhood Association representative, said the signs would be important to welcome people to North City and make it seem less isolated.

The Meridian Park Neighborhood Association will receive $3,000 for a new arts event entitled Summerset Arts Festival – Celebrating Ronald Bog at Ronald Bog Park. Cynthia Knox, project manager for the festival, said she was looking forward to having Shoreliners come to the event.

The meeting closed with a presentation by Bob Hartwig, the administrative services director, about the 2013 budget.

Amounts in the general fund are projections at this point, the end of year forecast for 2013 is about $33.6 million and the city is expected to have a $135,000 gap it will have to fill by dipping into its reserves.

Property assessments are expected to drop an average of 3 percent, which means less revenue for the city. However sales tax revenues are increasing up to nine percent in April compared to last year. A four percent of that increase is attributed to the Brightwater construction project.