Councilmember Nehring's September Newsletter

Snohomish County, Washington sent this bulletin at 09/01/2023 06:00 AM PDT

Dear North County Neighbors,

National Night Out

On Tuesday, August 1st, communities across the country celebrated the partnership between first responders and community members at National Night Out events. I had the pleasure of attending the City of Arlington’s National Night Out event at Smokey Point Community Church. It was great to see so many neighbors out with their families to learn more about the work our police, fire, and other first responder personnel do to keep us safe. I appreciate the City of Arlington and all the community partners for putting on such a great event.

Stanwood-Camano Community Fair

The Stanwood-Camano Community Fair (The “Best Lil Fair in the West”) took place August 4-6 at the fairgrounds off Pioneer Highway. My family and I attended the fair and we had a great time exploring the exhibits, eating great fair food, and talking with other residents who were enjoying the day with their families.

At the fair, I also had the opportunity to join the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new restroom facilities at the fairgrounds. These new facilities were a much-needed project to improve the experience for all fairgoers and will be able to be used year-round as the venue is rented out to various community groups. Thank you to all the funding partners who helped make this project happen. Read more about the project and the ribbon cutting in this Stanwood Camano News article.

SWISS Strategic Planning Meeting

On Friday, August 11th, I attended the kickoff meeting for our SWISS Strategic Planning Initiative. SWISS is a coalition of county elected officials from Snohomish, Whatcom, Island, Skagit, and San Juan Counties. The mission of SWISS is to collaborate across county lines to advocate and partner on issues that affect each of our communities. The goal is to bring our collective efforts in addressing critical issues such as expanding broadband access, improving behavioral health, and addressing transportation challenges.

The strategic planning effort will help us identify specific, measurable goals and tasks which will help us develop solutions to these pressing issues. I am excited to be working alongside my peers from our neighbors to the north on this important project.

Imagination Library of WA Day

Last month, Governor Inslee proclaimed August 15th as ‘Imagination Library of Washington Day.’ The Imagination Library is a program founded by Dolly Parton that provides free books to children in Washington. The program, started in 1995, offers a free book to all children from birth to five years old every month.

This is a great program and we are fortunate to have this opportunity in Washington. Kiro 7 covered the proclamation here.

Marysville School District Admin. Retreat

I had the pleasure of joining the Marysville School District Administration Team at their retreat in August. At the retreat, the school district leadership team plans for the upcoming school year and develops strategies for addressing the needs of students and families in the district. I spoke to the group about both the challenges and opportunities facing educators, families, and students and also had a chance to highlight some of the important partnerships between the Marysville School District and Snohomish County. These partnerships include the Regional Apprenticeship Pathways (RAP) Program, early learning, and our annual Civic Education Day at the Snohomish County campus. I appreciate the dedication of staff and the commitment to serving students and families.

Conservation Futures Meeting

Each County Councilmember serves on about a dozen outside boards and committees. One of the committees I currently represent the County Council on is the Snohomish County Conservation Futures Program Advisory Board. This board is tasked with recommending funding from the Conservation Futures Fund to preserve open space, farm and agricultural land, and timber land. The team does great work partnering with property owners to preserve our natural environment and maintain viable farm and timber properties.

Earlier this year, I was elected to serve as Chair of the Conservation Futures Board. At our recent meeting in August, the board recommended projects for funding in the 2023 grant round. The board recommended approval of 10 projects with a total award amount of almost $9.4 million. Here is a full list of the projects which were recommended for grant funding:

Lund’s Gulch South Addition - $783,940
Chinook Marsh Acquisition - $752,037
South Slough Phase 2 - $161,800
Holly Neighborhood Nature Park - $2,211,760
Catherine Creek – Centennial Trail Connection - $888,648
Kellogg Marsh Valley Cooperative Acquisition - $1,072,000
North Ebey Island Acquisitions - $1,400,000
Mill Property at Snohomish River Regional Trail - $1,019,250
Lower Stevens Creek Land Acquisition - $187,750
Mee Property Acquisition - $879,375

This recommendation will be forwarded to the full County Council for approval as part of the County’s annual budget process.

Evergreen State Fair

The Evergreen State Fair has been running since Thursday, September 24th. The fair is still running and is open through Labor Day! If you haven’t had a chance to attend yet, I encourage you to check it out. There is still plenty of time to enjoy the animal and agricultural exhibits, concerts and races, carnival rides, and of course all the great fair food.

My family and I attended the fair earlier this week and had a great time enjoying all the fair had to offer. This year’s fair theme is “Small moments, big memories” and that really represents the impact the annual fair has on our community and visitors.

Learn more about all of the fair's events and offerings on their website at this link.

Building Bridges

Councilmember Mead and I are hosting our next “Building Bridges” event on Tuesday, September 12th at the Sno-Isle Library in Lynnwood. We would love to have you join us for a conversation about overcoming political polarization and addressing critical issues facing our communities. The details for the event can be found on the event flyer.

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
Councilman, District 1

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

8th floor, Robert J. Drewel Building
Phone: 425-388-3494
E-Mail: Nate.Nehring@snoco.org

Russell Wiita, Legislative Aide