Council decides against placing library de-annexation on the ballot

Published 9:43 pm Monday, April 8, 2013

Renton is still part of the King County Library System … for now.

After a 90-minute Committee of the Whole discussion and nine comments from the public, the Renton City Council on Monday essentially rejected a de-annexation vote, but due to procedural issues, the council chose to pull if from the agenda rather than vote.

However, the council was unanimous in discussion that de-annexation from KCLS was not the right move at this time.

The administration advised against de-annexation.

When the motion came up, however, the council opted to vote to simply remove it from the agenda and close discussion of the topic rather then voting it down.

While the discussion made it seem as though the two options were the same, any council member on the losing end of the measure – in this case de-annexation – could not re-introduce the measure at a later date.

According to Robert’s Rules of Order, which form part of the council’s by-laws, only a council member on the winning end of a measure can re-introduce it, so while it could be reintroduced later if it failed Monday, only those who were opposed to de-annexation could re-introduce it, making it highly unlikely.

The motion was brought forward as a means of discussion to allow the council to look at all possible options regarding KCLS and the rebuilding of two libraries in the city.

KCLS is scheduled to present a new design to the council at the April 15 meeting. The council will review and make a determination on the designs April 29. The April 22 meeting was canceled.

Check back on Tuesday for more on this story.