Police chief to move on

Stanwood Police Chief Ty Trenary will be leaving Stanwood.

Trenary was promoted the role of captain of Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office’s North Precinct, in Smokey Point. He will also oversee the east precinct.

Mayor Dianne White announced Trenary’s new position at Thursday’s city council meeting.

White said she was happy for Trenary, but sad to lose him as Stanwood’s chief.

Trenary has served in Stanwood since 2008.

Trenary said he went back to college to earn the credentials to apply for captain, and it’s nice to know it paid off. Even so, he will miss Stanwood.

“It’s been a nice community to work in,” he said.

Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office is currently accepting letters of interest from lieutenants who would like to be Stanwood’s next police chief. Once a base of applicants is established, Trenary said, White and other city staff will be involved in the selection process.

Stanwood City Council also passed an ordinance reestablishing the salary commission.

Council members Elizabeth Callaghan, Tim Pearce and Roger Haskin voted against it.

Haskin said he felt the salary commission would create a “small group of individuals accountable to no one.”

Pearce agreed, noting, “Integrity is important to me.”

“We (council members) are accountable to the public,” he said.

As an example, he cited last year’s proposal to raise the mayor pro tem’s stipend. After multiple members of the public spoke against it, council opted not to implement the raise.

“The process is working,” Pearce said.

Councilman Leonard Kelley said, “We have yet to have someone show up at a meeting and speak in favor of not having a salary commission.”

On the contrary, people have voiced displeasure that it was disbanded.

Larry Sather, recently appointed to the planning commission, spoke Thursday night.

“From the point of view of ethics, I believe the council needs to avoid even the appearance of an ethical dilemma,” he said.

Councilman Rick Randall agreed.

“Almost everyone (on city councils around the area) is paid the same amount of money. Nobody is in it to get rich. But, also, almost everyone has a salary commission. It’s part of a system of checks and balances,” he said.

Callaghan said she was not in favor of the commission and didn’t think Stanwood needed to do what everyone else was doing.

Randall, Kelley, Matt Mc- Cune and Jenna Friebel voted in favor of the ordinance to reinstate the salary commission, and it passed four to three.

The salary commission will be comprised of five members, each serving threeyear terms; the first members, however, will be appointed in staggered terms of one, two or three years, for rotational purposes. The mayor will appoint members, with approval by council.

In other city council news:

• Kevin Hushagen, interim public works director, said the City Hall roof repair project should start this week.

He also congratulated his crew on their hard work and long hours during the snow.

“We were working 24 hours a day,” Hushagen said. “The crew did a very, very good job.”

With only two plows and three employees certified to drive them, there was a potential for high overtime bills. Only 42 hours of overtime were billed, though, as crews offered to use comp time and rotate shifts, Hushagen said.

• Mary Swenson, interim city administrator, said Gov. Chris Gregoire recently warned cities to expect further cuts to state funding.

Because of this, she explained, the city would need to keep a tight fist on its budget.

“It’s pretty gloom and doom down there (in Olympia) right now,” Swenson added. “I feel for the people making decisions, because they’re not easy ones to make.”

• White announced that Port Susan Food and Farming Center was in the process of applying for another grant.

Staff Reporter Jeremiah O’Hagan: 629-8066 ext. 125