State of the County:
Working for the Future We
Choose
Great things are happening in
Snohomish County!
As you may know, I was a fisheries
biologist before I ran for public office. One of my first and favorite jobs was
working up at the Verlot Ranger Station, walking the back country mapping and
assessing the streams and rivers that produce our salmon.
I could see evidence of our history of
hard work, entrepreneurship, and creative energy across the county. I also saw
the rich abundance that provides a sacred home for Native Americans. We are all
very fortunate to live in a place with such history, abundance, and deep
beauty, and we have an obligation to ensure the future is as prosperous and
beautiful for generations to come.
How do we do that? Well we start by
having the appropriate priorities. For me, those are: a safe and flourishing
community, efficient and effective services, fiscal responsibility, a strong
and resilient economy, transportation infrastructure, and planning for growth.
We must always be looking forward, adapting to an ever-growing county. In each
of these priority areas, we have made progress in the last year, from the
partial activation of our emergency management system to address the opioid
epidemic, to the speeding up of permit processing times, to the start of
commercial air service at Paine Field. We are making significant progress on
the issues that matter to our residents.
I remain
extraordinarily proud of those who work on behalf of the residents of Snohomish
County. It’s not just the hard work they do every day solving problems and
delivering services, but also because of the generosity they exhibit toward
those who need help. The participation of county employees in the annual March
Against Hunger fundraising activities is a testament to how much they care
about our community. This year we raised almost $50,000 for the Everett Food
Bank. Families will be able to put food on their tables because they cared
enough to participate. On behalf of our entire community, I thank them for
their selfless efforts and generosity.
I’d like to
make another important point. Snohomish County government is only as good as
the people who do the work. In my almost two decades here, I have been
impressed time and again with the selflessness and effort of our workforce.
Throughout the county, there are people who have dedicated long careers to serving
our residents, and we are starting to see a significant number of retirements.
My office is no exception. Deputy County Executive Marcia Isenberg will be
retiring in May after 41 years of public service, 16 of those here in Snohomish
County. She has been a strong leader for the county and a valuable member of
our leadership team. She will be sorely missed. Also on the cusp of retirement
is Tom Rowe, after a 33 year career, most of that in PDS. Both Marcia and Tom would
have succeeded anywhere, since they are smart and hard-working public servants.
I am very grateful for their efforts and wish them well as they enter the next
stage of their lives.
For all of
you who, like me, are still on this side of retirement, we will continue to see
changes to our workforce in the county. We will adapt to those changes,
celebrate those who head into retirement, and continue to focus on our
priorities for serving the public. My thanks go to all those who help us create
the future we choose.
Fly Paine Field
For decades,
there has been vigorous and necessary debate about the prospect of commercial flights using
Paine Field. Now that those debates are behind us, the terminal is starting to
take shape (see photo above). We have finally begun to see the structure rise on Paine Field, and
it’s exciting for those who want an easier trip out of town for vacation or
depend on quicker access to flights for their business. The two gate terminal
will support approximately 24 flights per day, pending FAA approval. Three
airlines—Alaska, United and Southwest—have all made a commitment to fly out of
Paine Field. Some of the announced destinations include Las Vegas, Portland,
San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Denver with more announcements
expected later this year. The terminal’s operator, Propeller Airports, Inc., is
planning to launch service this fall. We are excited by the positive impact
this will have on our economy, moving traffic off of the I-5 corridor, giving
us a leg up in recruiting businesses, and otherwise strengthening Paine Field’s
role as the leading economic engine of our region.
Diversion Center
As part of
our work to address the opioid epidemic, we have worked in partnership with the
Sheriff’s Office, County Council, local service providers, state legislators
and Governor Inslee to move our Diversion Center pilot project closer to
reality. We are very grateful to Senator Palumbo and Reps. Hayes and Robinson for
their support in leading our efforts in the legislature. The idea is relatively
simple: replace high-cost incarceration with lower cost treatment and services.
The Diversion Center will be located adjacent to the county jail and will allow
us to co-locate treatment providers, housing assistance, job training and other
key services right where people will be housed. We plan to have 44 beds for men
and women.
With this additional tool, we will once again be leading the region
on this tragic crisis. We have too many of our neighbors and family members
suffering with opioid addiction and mental health challenges. The Diversion
Center will help us save law enforcement resources that are better spent going
after violent criminals and drug dealers.
Vision 2050
Earlier this
year, I held a meeting with mayors and other elected officials to talk about the
extraordinary growth predicted for Snohomish County over the next 30 years.
Demographers have projected an additional 250,000 people will move to Snohomish
County by 2050. That’s a lot of people, not to mention cars, housing, and other
impacts of growth. Working with the Puget Sound Regional Council, we will have
to make some tough decisions about how to handle development with our growing
population, particularly at a time of limited resources.
Earlier this
year, I invited elected officials from across the county to join me for a
Vision 2050 Summit to start the conversation about how we plan for this
expected growth. About 100 local elected officials and other leaders gathered to conduct very practical mapping
exercises, jump-starting our conversations on planning for growth. I very much appreciate the partnership with
Mayors Franklin and Tolbert, as well as many other local leaders. Our
core need is to find ways to preserve the place we all love while also planning
for additional people. The next few years will lay the groundwork for how we
will grow.
|
