It’s been a great year on council and I am proud of the work that I have done this past year as I wrapped up my first term in office. Here’s a roundup of my top 23 accomplishments in 2023!
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Attended over 85 Council Administrative Session and General Legislative Session Meetings
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Chaired 14 Council Finance and Budget Committee Meetings
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Chaired 8 Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Board Meetings and a Board retreat
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Chaired the Snohomish County Board of Health and oversaw the Department policy integration into the county
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Chaired the County’s Lodging Tax Advisory Committee and awarded over $600,000 in tourism grants
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Continued the Monthly County and Human Services Providers Calls with support from the Office of Recovery and Resilience
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Attended National Association of Counties Conference in Washington DC and met with Senator Murray and Senator Cantwell to discuss support for Snohomish County’s legislative priorities
- Initiated county policy allowing for surplus vehicles to be donated to local non-profits
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Testified on different bills during the WA Legislative Session to support the county, including bills to add more District Court Judges and an annexation bill
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Spoke on various panels including for the Recovery Café, EASC Coffee Talks, Edge of Amazing, AIA Climate Summit Panel, People for Climate Webinar Panel, Parent Leadership Training Institute Graduation.
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Provided county updates at the Carl Gipson Senior Center, Mukilteo City Council, Everett Rotary, Evergreen Neighborhood Community meeting, Gold Bar Elementary Environmental Group, Cultural Futures Roadshow, WSU Master Gardener 50th Birthday, Snohomish Conservation District Partnership Breakfast and more!
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Attended the roll out of the final Boeing 747 with surprise guest John Travolta!
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Coordinated the 3rd Annual Pride Flag Raising event and celebration at the County Campus to kick off Pride Month
- Hosted the District 2 Administrative Session Meeting at the Mukilteo Library
- Attended a County Recovery Court session to witness the proceedings and treatment court
- Ribbon Cuttings and Groundbreakings: Housing Hope Twin Lakes, Faith Family Village, Meadowdale Beach Restoration and cake cutting for South Fork Bakery. And Precycle Judge, and was a Domestic Violence Services Thrift Shop Fashion Show Model!
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Coordinated meetings for the Communities Against Hate and Violent Extremism working group
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Volunteered over 20 hours for local organizations including Madres de Casino Road, Mukilteo Kiwanis, Summer Refugee Reading Program hosted by Refugee and Immigrant Services NW and Everett High School
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Toured the Snohomish Estuary (by boat), Treehouse Mental Health Services, Boeing Factory, VOA 988 Calling Center, local lumber sawmill, Denny Youth Center, Lynnwood MAC Treatment Center, Rise Up Academy, Republic Services Recycling Facility, and ZeroAvia
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Allocated $1.1M in Council District ARPA Funds to local organizations working hard to address the impacts of COVID.
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Appointed to the Washington Community Forestry Committee and the Tree Equity Committee
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Council passed 46 Resolutions
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Represented Snohomish County at the Dubai Airshow in United Arab Emirates.
Here's to a great 2024!
The recent weather event left many areas of Snohomish County under flood waters. Though the waters have receded, there is a lot of damage that has been left behind. Below are some resources that may be helpful for impacted communities:
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Snohomish County Emergency Management launched an online survey to gather information about damage to homes, businesses, and farms in Snohomish County. The data will help emergency managers to better understand where problems are concentrated and to make the case for recovery resources, including possible assistance and future mitigation projects.
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This page from the Snohomish County Health Department has public health information for weather-related events including flooding. If you had to return home after a flood, your food and water supply may be contaminated, and electrical appliances could be hazardous. Check out the tips and resources on this page for more information.
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If you have a food service business that was impacted by flooding, the Food Safety Team at the Health Department can provide guidance and answer questions. More info at this link.
As we wade our way through the rainy season, please be prepared. My family suffered through a devastating house flood in 2015, we lost a lot of personal items and we were displaced for several months. You can take steps to prevent some damage and avoid the heartache of this type of event. This guide has a quick checklist of to make sure you are ready in a flood event. And if flooding is in the forecast, please save and share our flood webpage for important updates and safety info.
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The City of Mukilteo recently launched a “Community Engagement Platform” web page for people to visit to stay up to date on opportunities and projects in Mukilteo. This site has information on projects that have been recently completed as well as ongoing projects, including the Downtown Waterfront Development. They currently have a survey to poll residents on proposed designs for new gateway and park signs. Kudos to the Mukilteo team for great outreach and community engagement.
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This past year I had the pleasure of serving as the Chair of the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee. Over the year we worked hard to support tourism in our beautiful county and I’m grateful for the work that we have done together to help tourism rebound. The Snohomish County Tourism/Seattle North Country Team recently shared their 2023 Tourism Stats from the first three quarters of the year. The numbers show:
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Over 3.7 million unique visitors came to the county
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Over 15.84 million visitor stays
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Almost 4,300 hotel room nights created from these visitors
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165,727 visitor days were created
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Totaling $10.2 million in total economic impact
I will likely be chairing the LTAC Committee again next year and I look forward to continuing supporting this industry.
I recently met with county commissioners from neighboring counties to discuss shared priorities and the upcoming legislative session. The Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) is a statewide organization that works to advocate for policies at the state level that impact our work as individual or regional county systems. The group included Lisa Janicki of Skagit County, Kaylee Galloway of Whatcom County, and Christine Minney of San Juan County. I appreciate the opportunity to collaborate on regional priorities and look forward to continuing to work together.
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With neighboring county commissioners and WSAC staff in Anacortes |
In celebration of Korean American Day coming up in January, there will be a bilingual story time with Mukilteo City Councilmember Jason Moon. The event will be on Saturday, January 13, from 11-noon and will include stories, songs, rhymes, and a craft that attendees can take home. I hope that you are able to join as well.
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Through my work coordinating the monthly County and Local Human Services Providers calls I was introduced to a fantastic organization called Madres de Casino Road. “Madres” means “mothers” but also stands for Mobilizing, Advocating for Dignity, Respect, and Education for Success. What started as a small organization has expanded to provide services that support and empower women in Everett’s Casino Road area. A recent addition to their services is a food bank that has served over 30,000 people experiencing food insecurity. Paula and I recently volunteered at one of their distribution days and I was inspired by the strong sense of community that is fostered in their space. Earlier this year with the news that their food distribution days were going to have to taper off due to funding, I was glad to provide $151,400 of my council ARPA allocation to help support their ongoing distribution. If you would also like to donate or volunteer, please visit their website. Here’s some pictures of the distribution day:
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From L-R: Paula from my office, myself, two nursing students who were volunteering, and Paula Marshall who's the Director of Madres de Casino Road |
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The Snohomish Conservation District’s annual online plant sale kicks off January 9th at 9 a.m. A variety of native plants will be available to help gardeners improve their outdoor space, including shrubs and evergreen trees. Plant order pickup is scheduled for March 9th and 10th at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds. For recommendations on how to successfully plant, watch this video. For more details, visit the Conservation District’s website or call 425-335-5634.
Snohomish County is planning for a resilient, vibrant, and inclusive future with its 2024 Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan). To accomplish that goal, the county makes periodic updates to its plan as required by Washington State’s Growth Management Act. The County creates a document for its Comp Plan to guide decisions while forging a vision on a variety of topics and services, including land use, transportation, housing, and capital facilities. The update will create a path forward for the next 20 years of population and employment growth.
The latest issue includes information on the planning commission process, 2023 summer public outreach efforts, the Draft Environmental Impact Statement open houses, and a FAQ such as how the Comp Plan will impact your property.
Including public input and sharing updates are important parts of the process. The Comp Plan e-newsletter provides the latest news and upcoming opportunities for public engagement. If you’d like to subscribe, ask a question, or provide a comment on the plan update, go to this link.
The Everett Public School District is offering a free six-week online course provided by Helping Families Thrive. The class runs each Thursday evening beginning on January 11th from 5:30 to 7 p.m. It’s designed for parents with children birth to 10 years old and provides effective tools backed by research. To register, email amayers@everettsd.org or call Abby at 425-385-4138.
A new clinic dedicated to low-barrier testing, treatment, and prevention services for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) officially opened Friday, December 1, at the Snohomish County Health Department. The clinic, at 3020 Rucker Avenue in Everett, adds crucial services:
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Testing for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, as well as both rapid testing and blood draws for HIV.
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Treatment options available for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis for individuals and their partners.
This expands on the Health Department’s existing STI program, which has been providing HIV testing, sexual health education, partner counseling, and referrals for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
As the Chair of the Snohomish Health Department’s Board of Health, I'm particularly glad to see this clinic re-open to help address the rise in STIs in the community. The clinic is open Monday through Friday from 8-3:30 and appointments are encouraged, but not required. More info here.
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With other speakers from the opening event. |
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