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Earlier this week, Executive Somers released the County’s Housing and Behavioral Health Capital Fund, which is a plan for investments to preserve and build affordable housing and behavioral health facilities. This new revenue source will allow the County to invest approximately $114 million over five years to create 550 new units of affordable housing plus an additional 150 units of emergency bridge and permanent supportive housing. Funding will also be available to help expand the number and type of locally available behavioral health facilities.
“One of the foremost challenges we face as a state – and nation – is the housing crisis. Across our region, housing costs have risen astronomically over the last two decades, resulting in displacement and – in the worst circumstances – individuals and families entering street homelessness,” said Executive Somers. “A crisis of this scale and human impact requires urgent, bold action. That’s why we are using our one-time federal pandemic recovery funding and this new revenue to make significant capital investments to increase our affordable housing and behavioral health capacity.”
 For no household to spend more than 30 percent of their income toward housing, Snohomish County will need 143,182 additional affordable housing units by 2044 to accommodate pent up demand and this projected growth. Additionally, 32.4 percent of Snohomish County households are housing cost-burdened with a substantially larger percentage of renters being cost-burdened than homeowners.
Anyone interested can find more information here.
Executive Somers recently announced that Snohomish County is investing $1.5 million of its federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation into a digital equity initiative operated by Sno-Isle Libraries. This funding will increase the capacity of their loanable computer with hot spots by 750 devices and will expand their digital navigator program, which helps library patrons connect to the internet, troubleshoot tech issues, learn about online safety and get signed up for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which is a federal discount broadband program for income-qualified households.
“As we address the lack of broadband access in our community, a lot of attention is rightly paid to increasing infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, which is vital,” said Executive Somers. “However, another major barrier that exacerbates broadband inequities is lack of access to computers and internet affordability challenges. We’re using our federal recovery dollars to make important progress in addressing these barriers, and I’m grateful to our partners at Sno-Isle Libraries for their commitment to advancing digital equity.”
 Sno-Isle Libraries provides critical access to the internet and technology along with library staff to assist. Residents can check out laptops and Wi-Fi hotspots with a library card. All 23 Sno-Isle Libraries locations provide free Wi-Fi access for communities to browse and stream the internet.
Anyone interested can find more information here.
Over the last 10 years, multiple agencies have worked together towards maintaining and restoring Port Susan. This area offers important habitat for endangered species and is a refuge of biodiversity. A new website: Ten Years of Progress: Port Susan's Conservation Action Plan, celebrates recovery efforts and highlights key restoration actions in Port Susan as well as additional work that is still needed.
“Port Susan is one of Snohomish County’s environmental jewels and reflects the importance of preserving biodiversity and supporting endangered species,” said Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers. “Restoration efforts like the one undertaken at Port Susan is vital for protecting our environment and has broad benefits across our community and economy. I’m grateful to County staff and our community partners for the progress achieved to-date, and I encourage all residents to explore this website and learn more about Port Susan and its impact on our environment.”
Highlights of Port Susan conservation progress since 2012:
- 523 acres of river delta restored (more than 2.5 times the 10-year goal)
- Fish access restored to 1.75 miles of streams; this is crucial for threatened Puget Sound Chinook populations
- Nine shore-friendly workshops hosted, that helped educate more than 500 participants.
- 100 site visits to assess options to reduce shoreline hardening
Visit Ten Years of Progress: Port Susan's Conservation Action Plan to learn more about this project.
Snohomish County and Ventures recently celebrated the first 44 graduates of the Small Business Innovation Assistance (SBIA) program. SBIA provides technical assistance services coupled with microgrants to help Snohomish County-based small businesses recover from the effects of the pandemic as well as incentivize new, innovative ideas from start-ups and entrepreneurs. The program is funded by the County’s federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation.
“Our small business community remains the backbone of our main streets and local economy. They provide the goods and services that make our communities thrive,” said Executive Somers. “The Small Business Innovation Assistance program is boosting economic growth, job creation, and innovation across our county and helping business owners and entrepreneurs build long-term resiliency. Congratulations to all of the program graduates – I can’t wait to support your new businesses!”
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This graduation marks the completion of the Business Basics Course for the first cohort of SBIA participants. The eight-week course took place over the summer and covered the basics of business marketing, sales, financial management, and operations. Now that the graduates have completed the Business Basics Course, they are eligible for access to capital opportunities such as small business loans and grants as well as a targeted incubation program to support the development of startup businesses in the food and child care industries.
Ventures will be enrolling new SBIA participants for a winter cohort. Anyone interested in participating can visit https://www.venturesnonprofit.org/snohomish to learn more.
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