Bothell City Council members said they felt residents had made their thoughts clear and officials simply decided not to fight the tide.
There will be no new Bothell City Hall in the Park at Bothell Landing. At its regular meeting Jan. 6, council voted unanimously to place a new city hall at the location of the current building, 18305 101st Ave. N.E.
While he made the motion to locate a new facility on the site of the existing building, councilman Joshua Freed said he initially favored the Bothell Landing location. But, as did several other members of City Council, Freed said public sentiment changed his mind and guided his vote.
Freed said placing city hall near the park actually would have aided the recreation area by adding parking nearby.
“There were pros and cons for each site,” added Mayor Mark Lamb. “This wasn’t a slam-dunk decision.”
Deputy Mayor Sandy Guinn said she “absolutely” supported the existing City Hall location. Echoing the comments of one of several residents who spoke at the meeting, Guinn said putting a municipal building near Bothell Landing would have changed the character of the adjacent park.
Of the half-dozen or so members of the public who spoke at the meeting, nearly all were in favor of keeping City Hall where it is. Several said they would much rather see expansion of the Park at Bothell Landing. Setting a new city hall near the landing never seems to have been popular with the audiences at council meetings. In July, about 30 people signed a petition asking that the park be left exclusively a park.
The Park at Bothell Landing is currently home to two registered historic landmarks, the Lytle House and the city’s first public-school building. Some residents argued a new city hall would overpower those structures. During previous discussions of the city-hall question, officials have said they set aside $38 million in the city’s capital-facilities plan for a 56,000-square-foot facility to house roughly 114 employees.
The city spent $5.6 million to purchase approximately 3 acres of commercial property — known as the Bothell-Beta site — near the Park at Bothell Landing for use in what’s been called the Crossroads project, otherwise known as the realignment of state routes 522 and 527. The Bothell-Beta site also was the alternative location for the new city hall.
One last potential location was the Anderson Building on Northshore School District property at 18603 Bothell Way N.E. That third option did not get a lot of attention at the Jan. 6 council session.
In the past, City Manager Bob Stowe has said he favored the Bothell-Beta location, but also said he was ready to support whatever decision council came up with.
“We have a rare privilege and opportunity,” Stowe said Jan. 6 regarding council’s actions on the city-hall project.
In response to council member questions, Stowe said the city does not own the land needed to connect the current City Hall location directly to SR 527, a particular concern of councilmember Tris Samberg.
Stowe added that while some amenities could be added to City Hall if Bothell controlled the additional property, a new building can be situated at the current location with or without frontage on SR 527.
