Marysville City Council news

•The council adopted the $352 million biennial budget. Major infrastructure projects include building the First Street Bypass in anticipation of the new Interstate 5/Highway 529 interchange and widening State Avenue north of 100th Street NE, extending the Ebey Waterfront Trail, and connecting Bayview Trail to the Centennial Trail. The budget also provides funding to add two new police officers in 2019 and 2020.

Mayor Jon Nehring and others thanked everyone for their work on it. Council Members Jeff Vaughan and Kamille Norton said they again are happy it could be done without a tax increase.

•Parks director Jim Ballew said grinding has been done on the golf paths at Cedarcrest Golf Course so Rotary train rides for the Tour of Lights will be smoother. The council also accepted a gift from Reece Construction that will provide an animated feature for the tour, which starts Dec. 7.

Ballew said a couple dozen entries will be in the Merrysville for the Holiday light parade Saturday night, including both Marysville Getchell and Marysville-Pilchuck high school marching bands. •Kyle Burgess and Matt Benjamin were named Volunteers of the Month. They were nominated by Risk Management director Diana Rose. The pair has been donating up to 35 hours a month to enhance emergency management communications. Burgess even donated money to purchase some equipment, and they both installed it as part of a new emergency communications plan. The radio equipment can be used if cell phones go down. Nehring thanked them for being major players in a program the city didn’t have a few years ago. Nehring also thanked Vaughan for his knowledge about ham radios that helped get the program going.

•Public Works director Kevin Nielsen said the state Transportation Improvement Board has given the city a $5 million grant to help with expansion of State Avenue from 100th Street north. He added the TIB has provided major funding for that entire project the past 20 years.

•Nehring reappointed council members Tom King and Stephen Muller to the Disability Board.