Members of the Enumclaw City Council have filled their ranks, choosing Steve Cadematori to occupy a vacant seat on the city’s governing board.
Position 1 has been vacant since January, when Morgan Irwin resigned from the council. He stepped away immediately after being chosen to fill a 31st Legislative District vacancy in the state House of Representatives.
Cadematori’s appointment will not be official until the next council meeting on March 27, when he will be sworn in.
Cadematori was chosen from a field of five applicants. Each was interviewed by sitting council members during their Feb. 27 meeting. Other candidates were Michael Boudreau, Anthony Wright, Deborah Costanich and David Halverson.
Cadematori was chosen March 13 after council members stepped into executive session – out of public view – to consider the slate of candidates. Resuming open session, a quick 4-2 vote confirmed the selection, with Mike Sando and Kimberly Lauk in opposition.
Cadematori and his wife have owned and operated Alta Crystal Resort near Greenwater for nearly 20 years. He has been a visible part of the business community, currently in his 11th year as a member of the Enumclaw Chamber of Commerce board of directors.
LEGISLATIVE REPORT
Prior to Cadematori’s selection, the council heard from the person he’ll be replacing. Irwin took a few moments to issue a legislative report at, approximately, the half-way point of the current legislative session.
A major issue of local interest, voiced by Mayor Liz Reynolds, is potential funding of a bridge across the White River that would connect the Foothills Trail between Enumclaw and Buckley.
“I’m really excited about our chances” of getting the necessary funding, Irwin said, citing the potential financial impacts of a fully-connected Foothills Trail as well as the political reality that comes with a continuous trail that passes through several legislative districts.
The bridge project finished with the No. 2 rating on a list of spending proposals by the state’s Recreation and Conservation Office.
But the reality, Irwin said, is a formal budget forecast hasn’t been received and nothing is assured.
Irwin said there are ”three huge issues in Olympia right now,” citing school funding, proposed legislation that would limit drilling of water wells and the much-publicized “ST3 debacle.”
The last item refers to the financial impacts associated with a voter-approved Sound Transit expansion plan. The large increase in local car-tab fees has caught many off-guard and sparked emotions.
Irwin said he supports a plan that would alter the “value structure” of vehicles, thus lowering annual fees.
Regarding school funding, Irwin said a couple of approaches have floated to the top, but neither will pass in their current form.
