Edmonds' totem-pole lawsuit raises hackles

Edmonds Mayor Gary Haakenson said he was too busy responding to an angry citizenry yesterday to tend to other city business, like crafting a budget that addresses Initiative 747 cuts.

But saving money was precisely what was on the minds of those who called and e-mailed the mayor. Many suggested the city might spare itself $40,000 by dropping its lawsuit against resident Sydney Locke over a totem pole.

The city says it's still the pole's rightful owner — even though all it wants to do with the pole is throw it away again.

Haakenson concedes he's taking heat over the decision to sue to regain possession of the pole, which city officials had decided to throw away after the Edmonds Arts Commission determined it had no artistic value and wasn't carved by Native Americans. It was chain-sawed into pieces, dumped, then salvaged from a trash bin by Locke.

The mayor said the city has no intention of dropping the suit.

Nonetheless, Haakenson was surprised at the public reaction after yesterday's Seattle Times story on the lawsuit. Many questioned suing to regain property the city has said it intended to discard a second time.

Meanwhile, Locke said yesterday that a settlement offer he had presented months ago was no longer on the table. He said he offered to return the totem pole if the city apologized and covered the roughly $10,000 in legal fees he had incurred at that time. He also demanded that the city promise to save the pole.

The City Council met him part way two weeks ago by passing a resolution to find other uses for the pole, but only if Locke returned it before the lawsuit went to trial. The resolution says the city might auction off pieces of the pole or turn it into park benches.

But that's not likely to happen. Council President Dave Earling said any settlement requiring the city to foot Locke's attorney's fees is "unacceptable." Locke yesterday also said he's not interested in settling and has countersued.

So the trial is still set for Jan. 9, with the losing side facing the prospect of paying $40,000 to cover both parties' attorneys' fees.

Locke took the pole out of a trash bin at the demolition of the old Edmonds public-safety complex, where the pole had stood since the late 1980s. Locke, who was project manager of the demolition job, said he recognized the pole — it had stood in front of the old Totem House Fish 'n' Chips Restaurant in Edmonds' Westgate neighborhood in the 1970s.

Thinking it a piece of Edmonds history that should be preserved, Locke took the totem pole home to refurbish it

City Attorney Scott Snyder said city officials asked Locke repeatedly to give the pole back, but to no avail. He said the main reason they decided to sue earlier this year was because Locke violated the spirit of "representative government" by taking something that elected officials had opted to throw away.

Snyder also said the pole was a safety hazard because it had lead paint on it.

But Locke said he found the pole in a trash bin intended for regular construction debris, not hazardous waste.

The owner of the company in charge of the demolition said that he had salvaging rights for anything left on the site and that he gave Locke permission to take the pole.