Mayor's Memo May 2024

Published on June 05, 2024

May 2024

Hello from Lynnwood City Hall!  

May was a busy month for the City as we gear up for what is shaping up to be a fun summer! Some of the highlights from this month include celebrating Eritrean Independence Day with local members of the Eritrean community and meeting with representatives of the Canadian government and the supermarket chain T&T, which recently announced its second U.S. location in the old Sprouts location next year. I also had the honor to speak and honor the families of servicemembers who had made the ultimate sacrifice for our country at this year’s Memorial Day event. 

I’m also very excited to invite you to our Community Open House on Thursday, June 13th, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Lynnwood Event Center. This event provides you with an opportunity to express your ideas about what you would like to see in your city. Representatives from our various departments will be available to answer your questions and let you know about what we do and the fantastic resources we have to help serve you. You can learn more about the event on our website. Mark your calendars!

Development and Business Services

Comprehensive Plan: Lynnwood’s Community Planning division recently updated City Council on the city’s Comprehensive Plan Housing, Land Use, and Community Design elements. These three elements are core components of the Comprehensive Plan. The Community Planning team will finalize the Comprehensive Plan later this year. 

A Temporary Certificate of Occupancy was issued for Sound Transit Lynnwood City Center Station was recently issued. This is a major milestone as we prepare for the start of passenger service which begins on August 30th. 

DBS has issued the Goddard School a Certificate of Occupancy as they have fully completed their project. 

Join our team!: Development and Business Services is currently recruiting for a Business Support Analyst. This role is responsible for improving business processes and finding ways to increase efficiency within the department. Those interested can apply online here. The application is open through June 2, 2024.

Executive

REDI Trained: The City of Lynnwood had more than 90 employees (including the Mayor and all Directors), participate in our first ever REDI (Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) training. REDI is a curriculum developed and approved by Lynnwood's Team REAL in collaboration with Practica Consulting as part of the City’s efforts to fulfill Strategic Priority 3 to “Nurture, Operational, and Organizational Excellence” within City staff.  

That training included discussions on why REDI matters to City staff and elected officials, shared definitions, the importance of personal connections, and an introduction to anti-oppression (i.e., anti-racist) frameworks.  

Team REAL is currently reviewing all the feedback we received from the REDI (Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Training and have plans to: 

• Incorporate the REDI e-learning into the new staff on boarding process 
• Finalize a REDI facilitators guide to train additional staff to facilitate conversations 
• Have REDI trained staff facilitate additional “deep dive” discussions on topics covered during the REDI training 

Finance

Comprehensive Report: The Finance Department completed and submitted the 2023 Annual Financial Comprehensive Report to the Washington State Auditor’s Office (SAO) before the deadline at the end of May. Work will now begin to prepare for the mandatory SAO audits that will begin in June and last for much of the year. This includes financial, federal and accountability audits for 2023. Audit reports for prior years can be found by visiting https://sao.wa.gov/reports-data/audit-reports and entering “City of Lynnwood” in the Government Name search field. 

Human Resources

The City of Lynnwood has approximately 20 open employment opportunities, including part-time and full-time. Serve your community in Lynnwood as a public servant! Check us out at:
https://www.lynnwoodwa.gov/Jobs.

Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts  

Scriber Lake Park Boardwalk Groundbreaking: On May 16, 2024, Mayor Frizzell, City Council, Parks & Recreation Board Chair Krause, community leaders and staff celebrated the groundbreaking for the Scriber Lake Park Boardwalk Trail Project. The Boardwalk Project will replace the existing woodchip trail with a new pin-pile boardwalk and update the asphalt trail and lookout to create a ½-mile, barrier free, loop trail around Scriber Lake. Scriber Lake Park closed for construction on May 28th and will remain closed for approximately one year. This project represents the City’s commitment to caring for aged infrastructure and making it more environmentally resilient.

Teens with a Cause: Teens with a Cause, our afterschool program tailored for middle school students, wrapped up activities for the school year. Throughout the year, our teens participated in a range of community service projects including organizing park clean-ups, coordinating food and book drives, hosting teacher appreciation events, crafting Valentines Day candy grams, creating blankets for Children’s Hospital, designing bookmarks for the Lynnwood Library, and engaging in various other endeavors. We extend a special thank you to College Place and Meadowdale Middle Schools for providing space for these activities after school hours. 

Park Rentals: In April, we fielded 326 requests for pool/room and park shelter reservations, averaging nearly 11 requests per day! Out of those, we successfully booked 123 requests. If you are planning a graduation, birthday bash, or family reunion, why not host it at one of our park shelters? Jumpstart your event planning by clicking on the following link: Park Shelters Rental.

Park Maintenance Projects: Park crews are out bringing up the splashpads, the annual flower beds are being planted and the flags are up at Wilcox Park. Staff have been out restriping parking lots and just completed all of them including all ADA stenciling. Annual planting beds at City entryways and the Civic Campus will be planted by mid-June. The Daleway and North Lynnwood Park splashpads are running daily 11:00am-7:00pm.  This is a great way to keep the little ones cool on a warm summer day! 

Human Services: On May 14, Lynnwood Human Services and Sno-Isle Library in Lynnwood hosted social service agencies to provide support and resources for residents. On May 15, in partnership with Lynnwood Human Services, American Heart Association and Optum Health, we hosted blood pressure screenings at the Lynnwood Food Bank, and provided free blood pressure monitors for participants with elevated blood pressure to take home. This was the first in a series of planned events throughout the end of the year to promote heart health in the community. 

Lynnwood Arts:The Lynnwood Artists Show featuring nine local artists ran through the month of May at City Hall. The People’s Choice winner was Jose Castro. The Arts Commission hosted the reception and posed with artists.

Lynnwood Artist Long Gao has been selected to create five paintings to hang on the banners at the new Sound Transit Light Rail Station when it opens in Lynnwood in August. Artwork: "The Holy Peak" by Long Gao.

Upcoming Events/Programs/Important Dates

Water Safety Fair  

Date: Saturday, June 22

Time: 9:15-11:15 a.m. 

Location: Lynnwood Recreation Center 

Grab free life jackets while they last and join us for a day packed with activities to boost your water safety knowledge. From boating and river safety to CPR and swim lesson placement tests, there's something for everyone. There will be a free Rec Swim for those who participate in the event. Registration is not required but recommended to reserve your spot. 

Celebrate! Music Festival 

Date: Friday, June 28

Time: 6:30-9:30 p.m. 

Location: Alderwood Mall Terraces 

For more information please visit our event page on the City’s website:  www.lynnwoodwa.gov/Community/Community-Events-Calendar  

Police

Coffee with a Cop: Huge thank you to Target and everyone who came out and said hello to us on May 16, at Coffee with a Cop! We handed out plenty of stickers and had some great conversations with community members. 

Verdant Health x Lynnwood PD Narcan distribution: On May 4, we partnered with Verdant Health for free Narcan distribution. The event was a success and over 100 Narcan kits were distributed.

Public Works

Top: L-R Lynnwood Mayor Jack Bennett, Council Members Lloyd Alkire and Walter Sprague, and City Supervisor Marvin Listoe at the Opening of the Waste Water Treatment Plant in 1963, Below L-R: John Ewell, Retiring WWTP Supervisor, Public Works Director Bill Franz, Mayor Christine Frizzell, and Tanner Boyle, WWTP Supervisor recreating the 1963 photo to commemorate the shut down of the incinerator earlier this month

Shutting Down Waste Water Treatment Plant Incinerator: “IT’S ALL OVER NOW”. Displayed in bold capitals, this phrase caught my attention from a newspaper clipping on the wall of the modest conference room at the wastewater treatment plant. Bob Lane, the journalist who wrote the 1963 article, used these words to emphasize the completion of the plant’s construction. Today, they carry a new weight as we prepare to shut down the nation’s first commercially used incinerator, which has been in service for over 60 years. This closure is not just an end, but the beginning of a new era. With our planned upgrades, we are set to embark on a pioneering journey that could set the tone for other wastewater treatment plants across the state that are due for major upgrades. “IT’S JUST BEGINNING”. 

Mid Block Crosswalk: On September 27th, 2022, the City of Lynnwood and City of Edmonds activated a new mid-block crosswalk with push-button beacons and new curb ramps across 76th Ave W at 200th St SW. This was a multi-agency with 100% In-House efforts to justify need, choose exact location, build forms and install concrete ramps, install signs with push buttons, and mark the pavement.

For questions regarding Mayor's Memo, please email communications@lynnwoodwa.gov.