Megan Dunn's eNewsletter
Snohomish County Council
3000 Rockefeller Ave., M/S 609
Everett, Washington 98201
8th floor, Robert J. Drewel Building
Phone: 425-388-3494
E-Mail: Megan.Dunn@snoco.org
Paula Rhyne, Legislative Aide
|
Hello Friends:
As we look back on 2021 and remember the highs and the lows, I’m extraordinarily grateful to all of us who have worked to persevere through these tumultuous times. I think we all thought that the pandemic would be behind us by now, and I’m hopeful that 2022 will be the year that we finally discover what the new normal looks like. I’m grateful for county staff for the amazing work that they have done this year to adapt and continue to provide top notch services to the public. Additionally, I’m grateful for staff at the Snohomish Health District who have worked so hard during this second year of the pandemic. As we move into 2022, please join me in recommitting ourselves to taking good care of each other.
As always, our office is here as a resource to you. You can also find me online on Facebook and Twitter. My office is committed to being responsive and helpful. If you have any comments or questions, please don’t hesitate to email me at Megan.Dunn@snoco.org. You can also call my office at 425-388-3494.
I hope you’re enjoying this holiday season!
It’s been an incredibly busy year! Here at the county we have worked hard to be nimble and make changes as new mandates emerged. Through all of the challenges, I’m proud of all of the accomplishments that I was able to make this year both through my role as a councilmember and as Vice-Chair for Council.
Here is my Top 21 in 2021 list!
1) Responded to 200 constituent inquiries
2) Attended nearly 170 council meetings including General Legislative Sessions, Public Hearings, Budget Forums, Budget Deliberations, and Committee Meetings
3) Voted on over 475 Motions, 80 Ordinances, and 50 Resolutions
4) Chaired 17 Operations/Conservation, Sustainability, and Recreation Committee Meetings
5) Hosted 11 County and Human Services Providers Calls for over 100 individuals and organizations
6) Appointed to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Local Government Advisory Committee and Environment, Energy and Land Use Steering Committee for National Association of Counties (NACo)
7) Allocated $80M in Federal ARPA Dollars for small business support, emergency housing and rental assistance outreach, and COVID response and recovery efforts, and passed a $1.2B county budget.
8) Volunteered in the community for over 30 hours including:
-
At the county’s mass vaccination and testing sites as a Medical Reserve Corp volunteer
-
At the Stuff the Bus event for donated school supplies
-
Handing out over 200 boxes of fresh food to eligible households with the Nourishing Neighborhoods program.
9) Facilitated and passed a Code Change to include a Tribal Land Acknowledgement at the second General Legislative Session each month
10) Nominated Demi Chatters to the Snohomish County Human Rights Commission and Hilary Moralez to the Districting Committee
11) Passed hazard pay for our grocery store workers
12) Championed the C-PACER Ordinance to provide low-cost financing for energy efficient commercial property retrofitting and upgrades
13) Passed Ordinance 21-098 which will provide transformational revenue to address housing affordability and the homelessness crisis in our county
14) Provided grant funds for the Everett Arboretum, REET Projects for public safety improvements, and a land study of Wood Creek Forest in Everett
15) Hosted a virtual Town Hall Event regarding vaccine access and information in Snohomish County
16) Toured a number of facilities including the Pioneer Human Services Treatment Center, Denny Youth Detention Center, Forterra’s new CLT facility at the Port of Everett, Boeing’s ecoDemostrator project, the Sno-Isle Skill Center, Recovery Café, and the 5G Farming Initiative
17) Attended the Overdose Awareness Vigil, attended ribbon cuttings for Housing Hope, the VOA foodbank distribution center, Sawyer Apartments at the Port of Everett, and Norton Terminal Groundbreaking
18) Visited/camped at over 10 County Parks including River Meadows, Flowing Lake, Meadowdale Beach renovation, North Creek Park, Smith Island, 10th Street Boat Launch, and McCollum Park
19) Read Juneteenth Proclamation in Marysville and the County’s Pride Resolution at the Monroe Pride Festival and passed a Resolution for skin cancer awareness after my personal diagnosis and minor surgery in March
20) Raised the Progress Flag for the first time in county campus history with support from local LGBTQIA+ advocacy groups
21) Served the residents of Snohomish County!
It has certainly been a tough year and I’m proud of all we have been able to accomplish together. Cheers to 2022!
 |
|
With Jonathan Burke from the Snohomish Health District and my Aide, Paula, while volunteering at the County's Mass Vaccination Site in April |
--
With Port of Everett CEO Lisa Lefeber at the Norton Terminal Groundbreaking |
|
 |
--
 |
|
Picking up trash at Edgewater Beach for Earth Day |
--
Reading the Snohomish County Pride Resolution at the Monroe Pride Festival |
|
 |
After years of input from our cities and outreach to residents, council introduced Ordinance 21-098 allowing Snohomish County to follow the lead of five other counties and seven other cities to enact a 1/10th of 1% sales tax to address affordable housing and sheltering needs in our county. To put this in perspective, it would be $0.01 (one cent) on a $10 purchase, or $1.00 on a $1,000.00 purchase. One-hundred percent of the revenue collected would go directly to fighting one of our county’s most pressing crises: housing affordability, homelessness, and behavioral health services. Taxpayers already pay a substantial amount to address the effects of homelessness in our communities through encampment clean ups, law enforcement, and jail costs. The money generated will be allocated based on the 5-Year Plan and help divert people towards housing and services that will support paths towards a more stable life, and progress will be measured through monthly and quarterly reporting from the Human Services Department.
Our current efforts addressing housing affordability and homelessness are clearly not adequate and the pandemic has only exacerbated the problem. Teachers, first responders, frontline workers, or other working-class families are finding it difficult to make ends meet because of the skyrocketing costs of housing. And all of us have passed by a person living in a tent, using bushes downtown as a bathroom, or a family sleeping in their car. It’s time to take a bolder and proactive approach before it’s too far out of hand. Local and national studies and polls have repeatedly echoed what I frequently hear from voters: It’s past time to address housing and homelessness issues in our county. Our County does not have enough emergency sheltering options or shelter beds, supportive long-term housing, or services for our residents in need. A sustainable funding source would solve this problem.
This Ordinance was passed at the December 15 public hearing. I was proud to vote in favor of the Ordinance because of the transformative effect it will have on housing and homelessness in our county.
On December 15, 2021, the Snohomish County Council unanimously passed Ordinance 21-097 creating a Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy and Resilience (C-PACER) program in Snohomish County. A C-PACER program provides a financial tool for commercial property owners to obtain low-cost financing for energy efficiency and natural disaster and fire resiliency upgrades that carry with the life of the property instead of the property owner.
I was proud to co-sponsor this legislation with Councilmember Mead and grateful for the hard work of county staff, other elected county representatives including Treasurer Brian Sullivan, Auditor Garth Fell and Assessor Linda Hjelle, and local stakeholders to establish this innovative program. This program will address climate change through incentivizing green building at little to no cost to the county and will go a long way to address the climate change crisis we are experiencing.
With the passage of this Ordinance, the county’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is will convene a stakeholder workgroup to develop a program guidebook and associated documents. After development, the guidebook will be brought back before council for approval and the county will be able to start accepting qualified applications by December of 2022.
Snohomish County Department of Planning and Development Services (PDS) is reaching out to let you know that the County is updating its Comprehensive Plan, and that there are key opportunities for your input.
Snohomish County is working towards a resilient, inclusive, and vibrant future so that all residents can thrive. What does this mean to you? Who do we want to be in 2044, and what should the county look like?
Let us know what you would like the county to look like by filling out this online form or emailing the project team directly at 2024Update@snoco.org. From now until February 25, 2022, they will collect your comments and work with you and other members of the community.
The Emergency Broadband Benefit is a temporary FCC program to help households struggling to afford internet service during the pandemic. Sign up by December 31 to receive benefits through March 1, 2022. Households are eligible to participate if they have an income that is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty level or participates in certain government assistance programs. For more information please visit www.fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit or call 1-833-511-0311.
Snohomish County’s Paine Field Airport Master Plan has been hosting an online open house for the public to attend to learn more about upcoming plans of the airport and to also provide comments and input. The online open house has extended through January 31, 2022, and all involved are eager to hear from the public.
Thank you for taking the time to read through my newsletter and for spending 2021 with me. There are a lot of exciting things in store for 2022 and I look forward to another great year with you, and for you.
|
