Councilmember Nehring's June Newsletter

I hope you had an opportunity over Memorial Day weekend to pay your respects to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our freedoms. We had a beautiful Memorial Day with many ceremonies across the County to honor our fallen soldiers.  

In this month’s newsletter, I will highlight a meeting with Congresswoman DelBene about rural broadband, National Day of Prayer, our RAP Advisory Board meeting, an update on ARPA funding, my recent classroom visit, and our memorial bridge project.  

Broadband meeting with Congresswoman DelBene 

At the beginning of May, Councilmember Sam Low and I met with Congresswoman Suzan DelBene to discuss our ongoing work to expand rural broadband access in Snohomish County. Specifically, we shared the work that our Snohomish County Broadband Action Team has been doing. We are currently working on an analysis to identify projects which address the gaps in reliable, high-speed internet access. Once those projects are identified, we can pursue a combination of public and private investments to expand access. 

I appreciate the partnership with Councilmember Low as well as Congresswoman DelBene’s support of expanded broadband access for Snohomish County residents and businesses. 

National Day of Prayer 

May 6th was National Day of Prayer in Snohomish County. To honor this day, the County Council adopted Resolution 21-018, which you can read linked here. 

National Day of Prayer recognizes the importance of faith and prayer for many Americans to unite, guide, and heal during difficult times. The theme for this year’s day of prayer was “Lord pour out Your love, life, and liberty.” based on the scripture 2 Corinthians 3:17, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty;” 

I was honored to join National Day of Prayer ceremonies in Marysville and at the Snohomish County Campus in Everett and appreciate all of the residents and community leaders who joined us in praying for our communities and our country. 

RAP Advisory Board Meeting 

The Regional Apprenticeship Pathways (RAP) Advisory Board convened on May 18th to receive updates on the program and discuss the upcoming academic year starting this fall. The Advisory Board is made up of stakeholders from labor, industry, education, and community leaders and meets quarterly. 

At the meeting, we received a program update from Marysville School District staff, information about career readiness training and integration of adult learners from Everett Community College staff, and student recruitment efforts. We also shared the good news that funding for the RAP Program was continued by the legislature.  

At the meeting, Leonard Kelley from the Snohomish County Labor Council (SCLC) announced that the SCLC will be providing scholarships to RAP students entering their careers in the building and construction trades. We appreciate the support from the Labor Council and their generous offer of scholarships to our students.  

ARPA Funding 

Snohomish County will be receiving over $160 million from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) from the federal government to respond to COVID-19 and its impacts. Currently, the County Council is working with the County Executive to determine the most appropriate ways of invest those funds. I am focused on supporting our businesses which were negatively impacted by the Governor’s restrictions and supporting families who experienced job losses due to the pandemic.  

I am very interested in hearing community input on the best ways to appropriate these funds. If you have thoughts or ideas, please feel free to reach out to my office at nate.nehring@snoco.org. 

Jackson High School Visit 

On Friday, May 21st, I had the opportunity to join Councilmember Jared Mead for a virtual classroom visit with Mr. Truitt’s classes at Jackson High School. Councilmember Mead and I have had a series of these visits over the past couple of months to visit with high school students and talk about our work on the County Council and the importance of civil discourse and working in a bipartisan manner.  

We started these visits when we saw the deep divide in our national politics and decided that we needed to show the other side of politics at the local level. We are able to talk about how we can come together around shared values and ideas and that it is still possible, despite what you see on national news, to work together for the betterment of our communities.  

I always look forward to these classroom visits and look forward to more of them as well as some local town halls to talk about these important topics.  

Memorial Bridge Project 

For Memorial Day 2021, Executive Somers and I announced a new veteran’s memorial project in North Snohomish County. We are working on a memorial to honor the lives of Snohomish County veterans who have lost their lives in post-9/11 conflicts. The memorial will be integrated into the Haller Bridge crossing the Stillaguamish River.  

This memorial will be the first of its kind in Snohomish County specifically honoring recent lives lost in service to our nation and freedoms. In the press release (linked here), we announced that the County will be working with local artist Caroline Sumpter over the next year and will officially unveil the new memorial for Memorial Day 2022.  

I thank Executive Somers for his partnership on this project and look forward to honoring the brave soldiers who have recently lost their lives defending our freedoms.