Councilmember Nehring's January Newsletter

Snohomish County, Washington sent this bulletin at 01/01/2022 06:00 AM PST

Dear North County Neighbors,

Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed the holidays with family and stayed safe during the snow and cold weather earlier this week.

Happy New Year! I hope each of you had a Merry Christmas and enjoyed the holidays with family. I’m also hopeful everyone stayed safe during the snow and cold weather earlier this week. I would like to thank our great public works roads crew members who ran 24/7 operations to keep our county roads safe for travel.

Sales Tax Increase

Last month, the Snohomish County Council passed a 1/10 of 1% increase to the countywide sales tax for affordable housing. I opposed this action as I believe the issue should have been placed on the ballot to give the people a say in whether or not to raise taxes.

The vote passed 3-2 with Councilmember Low and I voting against the tax increase. I introduced an amendment that would have sent the issue to the ballot for a public vote. My amendment failed on a 3-2 vote. I also expressed concern with the rushed process used to pass the tax increase. The proposal was adopted just 2 weeks after it was introduced which is much faster than the timeline than we traditionally use for county business.

I penned an op-ed in the Everett Herald outlining my concerns prior to the vote which you can read here.

CLT Event

On December 1st, I visited the cross-laminated timber (CLT) facility in Everett with County Agricultural Coordinator Linda Neunzig (pictured below) and Darrington Mayor Dan Rankin to get a first look at the great work happening there. CLT is a new manufacturing strategy to produce affordable building materials for home construction.

The Town of Darrington will soon be home to this innovation with two new facilities which are being built to manufacture and process CLT. This project has been years in the making and highlights the great partnerships Snohomish County and the Town of Darrington have with non-profits and the business community.

The CLT manufactured in Darrington will help address the affordable housing crisis by providing affordable, quality building materials right here in North Snohomish County.

In The News

Sales Tax Coverage

Councilmember: Snohomish County sales tax increase getting ‘rushed with minimal transparency’ – MyNorthwest, Dec. 2

Snohomish County proposes sales tax hike without a vote to fund affordable housing – King 5, Dec. 2

Comment: Put sales tax increase for housing before voters – Everett Herald Editorial, Dec. 12

County poised to pass 0.1% sales tax as inflation hits 40-year high – Lynnwood Times, Dec. 13

Over 50 elected leaders demand a public vote on Snohomish County sales tax increase – Lynnwood Times, Dec. 14

County Council OKs sales tax for housing, behavioral health – Everett Herald, Dec. 15

Other News Articles

Buddy Bowl helps raise awareness against bullying – North County Outlook, Dec. 14

Snohomish County's priorities for upcoming legislative session – North County Outlook, Dec. 9

Low and Nehring sworn in for second terms on Snohomish County Council – Lynnwood Times, Dec. 22

Presentation to Fire Commissioners

I had the opportunity to join the Snohomish and Island County Fire Commissioners at their December 2nd meeting to provide an update from Snohomish County. At the meeting, I highlighted the status of COVID-19 in Snohomish County, our Economic and Workforce Recovery Task Force, Snohomish County’s 2022 budget, economic development efforts in the county, the Regional Apprenticeship Pathways (RAP) Program, transportation projects, broadband expansion efforts, our regional collaboration with SWISS, affordable housing issues, and public safety.

I always appreciate the opportunity to share the good work happening at Snohomish County to community groups and thank the Snohomish and Island County Fire Commissioners for the invitation. If you have a group which is interested in a future presentation, please feel free reach out to my office at nate.nehring@snoco.org.

Meeting Governor Hogan

On Friday, December 3rd, I had the privilege of meeting Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. Governor Hogan shared a message of working across party lines to get the job done in Maryland. He has the highest approval rating of any governor in the country and has managed to turn Maryland’s economy around from being 49th in the nation to 6th during his tenure.

I was honored to meet Governor Hogan and look forward to finding ways to bring some of that good work to Snohomish County and Washington State.

Broadband Action Team Meeting

The Snohomish County Broadband Action Team (BAT) met on Tuesday, December 7th to discuss funding opportunities for broadband expansion and updates on expansion projects. At the meeting, we heard from County Public Works staff on our application to the Washington State Broadband Office for an expansion project partnership with Ziply Fiber. The proposed project would cover over 6,000 households along the 530 corridor and rural Arlington. Staff also shared an update on the gap analysis the County is working on. In the new year, the County will be conducting a gap analysis to identify the specific projects which would need to be completed to expand broadband access across the county.

We also had an opportunity to hear from staff with Senators Cantwell and Murray’s offices. They spoke to the group about the new funding opportunities included in the federal infrastructure package and ways to prepare ourselves for those grant opportunities. We are excited about the potential to bring more broadband investment into Snohomish County in the coming years.

Stanwood High School Ribbon Cutting

Stanwood-Camano School District students officially have a new high school! On December 11th, I joined State Representative Greg Gilday, Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair, and members of the school community at the ribbon cutting for the new Stanwood High School. The new school looks great and will be a fantastic place for Stanwood-Camano School District students to learn for years to come.

Buddy Bowl

The Buddy Bowl is a youth exhibition football game to raise awareness of bullying and the importance of stopping bulling in schools. The second annual Buddy Bowl took place on December 11th at Marysville Getchell High School. The event was organized by Preston Dwoskin, who does public speaking on bullying and self-confidence building for youth. I had the pleasure of joining other elected officials and members of the public in attending the event and presenting a resolution from the Snohomish County Council. You can read the resolution here.

SWISS Legislative Briefing

As I have shared previously, SWISS is a regional collaboration of elected officials from Snohomish, Whatcom, Island, Skagit, and San Juan Counties. On December 16th, the SWISS group hosted a legislative briefing for our joint state legislative delegation. The SWISS region is covered by 9 legislative districts with Senators and Representatives from each district. We were joined by 16 legislators or legislative staff to discuss our priorities of broadband expansion, transportation improvements, and behavioral health investments. We also heard from legislators on their priorities for the upcoming session.

We extend a heartfelt thank you to the legislators and their staff who made the time to meet with us and learn more about our regional collaboration and priorities.

Oath of Office

At the November general election, I was elected to serve another 4-year term representing District 1 on the Snohomish County Council. On December 22nd, I took my oath of office for the next 4 years. A big thank you to Judge Rancourt for hosting us at the Cascade Court and administering the oath. I’m excited to continue serving the residents of North Snohomish County!

2022 Priorities Poll

I would like to hear from you about your priorities for the upcoming year. What do you think should be the top issues addressed by the Snohomish County Council in 2022? Take this quick survey (linked here) and let me know what you think.

I send out newsletters on a monthly basis to keep you informed about what I am working on and how I am representing the residents of North Snohomish County on the County Council. Please feel free to reach out to me at 425-512-4810 or Nate.Nehring@snoco.org.

Sincerely,

Nate Nehring

Snohomish County Council

3000 Rockefeller Ave., M/S 609
Everett, Washington 98201

8th floor, Robert J. Drewel Building
Phone: 425-512-4810
E-Mail: Nate.Nehring@snoco.org

Russell Wiita, Legislative Aide