January 2025
 Hello from Lynnwood City Hall!
It has been a busy start to 2025! With so much going on, we hope this newsletter will keep you informed of all the amazing things happening here in Lynnwood.
Next week is our State of the City and we would love you to join us!
The event is on Wednesday, February 26th, at 9 a.m. (doors will open at 8 a.m.) at the Lynnwood Event Center. I will provide my State of the City address that surrounds the theme of "A City with Purpose.” We are excited to have Frank Percival, President and CEO of the Lynnwood Chamber of Commerce, emcee our event.
Guest speakers at this year's event will include:
Nick Coelho, President, Lynnwood City Council
Mary Anne Dillon, Vice President of Programs, YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish
Olympia Edwards, CEO, Project Girl Mentoring Program
Representatives from City of Lynnwood departments will also have resource tables with information about upcoming events and available resources.
This event is free and open to the public. Join us as we come together to look ahead to the upcoming year!
Take care and be well,
Mayor Christine Frizzell
Development and Business Services
Comprehensive Plan Adopted: On January 27, 2025, City Council adopted the Imagine Lynnwood 2024 Comprehensive Plan. Imagine Lynnwood guides growth and development over the next 20 years and is a vital part of the city. With this adoption, City Staff are grateful for the community members who contributed to the Imagine Lynnwood Comprehensive Plan, whether you participated in Big Ideas month, stopped by our tables at one of the community events, or attend the public hearing, thank you!
To view the Imagine Lynnwood 2024 Comprehensive Plan and related documents, please visit https://www.lynnwoodwa.gov/Services/Apply-for-a-Permit/Planning-Zoning/Comprehensive-Plan-and-Subarea-Plans
Step Housing Approved by Council: Also on January 27th, Lynnwood City Council voted 5-1 to approve the STEP Housing code amendment ordinance. The code amendment incorporates HB 1220 (2021) into Title 21 of the Lynnwood Municipal Code, which requires jurisdictions to update their development regulations with respect to “STEP Housing”, which encompasses Emergency Shelters, Transitional Housing, Emergency Housing, and Permanent Supportive Housing.
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Take the Small Business Survey: DBS recently launched a Small Business Development Program. This program is focused on helping Lynnwood small businesses connect to resources that can help them grow and thrive. The program will offer a variety of assistance programs including development workshops, financial guidance and support accessing lending options, marketing and promotional support, and networking opportunities.
To better understand the needs of our businesses, we are conducting a Small Business Needs Survey. This survey will help the city learn how we can support and strengthen our commitment to fostering a thriving local economy. If you have a small business, please take our survey by visiting https://bit.ly/DBS-Survey.
Join the Small Business Development Workshop: Lynnwood DBS invites all businesses and entrepreneurs to the Small Business Basics Workshop on March 10th at the Lynnwood Library. This free workshop will provide you the opportunity to connect with resources such as the Small Business Administration, Small Business Development Center, and Washington Office of Regulatory and Innovation Assistance. This workshop is completely free to attend. Find out more information and RSVP here.
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Executive
Advocacy in Olympia: Mayor Christine Frizzell, Council President Nick Coelho, Council Vice President Josh Binda, Council Members David Parshall, Derica Escamilla and George Hurst, along with Assistant City Administrator Julie Moore travelled to Olympia on January 29, 2025, for a full day of meetings with our Legislators from the 21st and 32nd District to discuss and advocate for Lynnwood’s top priorities.
The City of Lynnwood now contracts with Gordon Thomas Honeywell Government Relations to bolster our efficacy in lobbying to our representatives in Olympia on the issues that matter the most to our city. When our legislators know our city priorities and community stories related to those priorities from residents and business owners, they are better equipped to represent our interests.
Each year, Lynnwood Officials develop the City’s Legislative Priorities. Looking forward to 2025, Lynnwood’s Legislative Priorities align with our community vision and strategic priorities to support our current services and build the future that the Lynnwood community seeks. We will accomplish this through realizing new efficiencies, forging partnerships, increasing equity, and remaining committed to fiscal sustainability and strategic priorities for a positive future. We focus our advocacy into two areas: project support and policy reform. 2025 Project Priorities include: Crisis Care Center, 196th/Scriber Creek Fish Barrier Removal, Poplar Way Bridge, Meadowdale Playfields Project, Waste Water Treatment Plant Upgrade, 42nd Avenue West Development, and the Lynnwood Public Facility District Plan. 2025 Policy Priorities include: Housing and Homelessness, Transportation and Infrastructure, General Government Advocacy, Safety, and Youth Advocacy.
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AWC Mayors Exchange: In January, Mayor Frizzell joined other Washington State Mayors for the Association of Washington Cities winter 2025 Mayors Exchange in Olympia. The Mayor’s Exchange is a great opportunity to updates from other cities, hear from AWC about their advocacy work with the Washington State Legislature, and be in an environment where we all could learn from each other's experiences and insights.
LEED: Community Partner Series: LEED (Lynnwood Employees Embracing Diversity) held their first discussion of 2025. For January, we invited Kresha Green from the YWCA. The discussion included a presentation about the history and mission of the YWCA to eliminate racism and empower women by providing (1) economic advancement, (2) health and safety, (3) housing, which include a location in Lynnwood. Afterwards, staff shared information on current projects/programs in the City and discussed possible opportunities to partner for 2025.
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Finance
Preparing for Comprehensive Financial Report: The Finance department is working hard to wrap up 2024 activity for preparation of our annual comprehensive financial report. Required tax forms for 2024 were sent out to all employees and vendors at the end of January.
Human Resources
We're hiring!: The City of Lynnwood has a variety of open employment opportunities, including part-time and full-time. Serve your community in Lynnwood as a public servant! Check us out at:
https://www.lynnwoodwa.gov/Jobs.
Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts
MLK Day of Service: On Monday, January 20th we celebrated our annual MLK Day of Service. Welcoming over 100 volunteers who braved the days chilly temperatures to make the MLK Day of Service a “Day On” rather than a day off. A special thanks to Mayor Frizzell, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, CEO and Executive Medical Director of Kaiser Permanente Dr. Linda Tolbert and Lynnwood Parks and Recreation staff for starting the day with your inspiring words. Volunteers from Kaiser Permanente, Family Global Peace Association, and dozens of community members came together to beautify the Mesika Trail through invasive species removal, tree planting, and litter cleanup.
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Recreation Programs: We host a Workout Party each quarter to showcase our incredible fitness classes. Classes include Group Power, Group Active, Zumba, Yoga, and more. Our workout party offers a way for new participants to try out a shortened version of a class, or regular participants can sneak a peek at the new routine. Each quarter, we have a range of 15-25 participants in each class; some choose to come for 1-2 classes, while others party all morning. We provide a fun atmosphere with motivating instructors, balloons, and snacks to keep the people moving. Our next workout party will happen in April. |
Aquatics: During closure week, we focused on essential maintenance and improvements to keep our facility in top condition. We regrouted the hot tub, replaced all underwater lights, rebuilt the filters, and completed a deep clean of the entire facility, including the back-of-house areas guests don’t see. These updates ensure that our facility remains a space we can all take pride in, offering a great and safe experience for everyone who visits.
Lynnwood Senior Center: January is a great month for LSC’s snowshoe trips because the snow is usually good. We went to Hyak, Pacific Coast Trail, and Steven’s Pass. A new weekly needle felting group got underway and are creating some remarkable pieces. Just for fun we worked with a business to go to on a Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre trip. The location was undisclosed to us—it could have been Seattle, Bellingham, anywhere. Imagine our surprise to find out it was scheduled right here in Lynnwood! Luckily there are many good times to be had in Lynnwood, and everyone went home happy.
Park Operations & Maintenance: So far in 2025 we continue to see a lot of gang style graffiti around several parks. This is very time consuming to remove or repaint, especially with the weather conditions during the northwest winter season. These are only a couple of the cases this year and both were done by the same group.
The weather was cold all through January and it allowed staff to focus on interior building improvements and cleaning along with 2025 deferred maintenance planning. Lots of work to complete as spring is around the corner. Pruning and tree care will take precedent as we begin February. Staff have 100’s of trees to prune in the short window to complete the work before we start to focus on landscaping and turf care.
During the MLK Day of Service over 125 volunteers showed up to give back to the community and plant 25 trees and native shrubs to improve the forest quality. Volunteers moved 68 tons of gravel and removed 5 yards of invasive plant material. It was great success!
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Police
Fred Meyer Theft Emphasis: On January 29, 2025, officers and detectives with the Lynnwood Police Department conducted a special retail theft emphasis at the Lynnwood Fred Meyer. During this 6-hour retail theft emphasis, Lynnwood officers made 14 arrests. During interviews, Lynnwood Detectives learned that at least 8 of the 14 arrested indicated they were not residents of Lynnwood. In one arrest, the comment was, “I got tipped off about this last night. About Fred Meyer, I was tipped off about how easy it was (retail theft), so that’s why I came in.” The Lynnwood Police Department is committed to making our city and our retail establishments a fun and safe place to shop. We want to remind everyone that retail theft is not tolerated in the City of Lynnwood. If you choose to commit retail theft in the City of Lynnwood, you will be held accountable to include the possibility of time in our jail. Lynnwood officers and detectives will be conducting additional retail enforcement details over the next few months.
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Public Works
Poplar Bridge Over I-5: The Poplar Bridge Project is currently at 100% design working towards advertisement. Currently Environmental Impact Studies are being reviewed by State Departments. According to the latest estimate all Environment Studies should be approved by June. This puts the project on target to go to advertisement by October 2025 and begin construction in January 2026.
For questions regarding Mayor's Memo, please email communications@lynnwoodwa.gov.
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