More than a year after protests brought massive crowds to its meetings at city hall, the Lynnwood City Council was pleased to hear positive reports regarding Acadia Healthcare’s Lynnwood Comprehensive Treatment Center near the Alderwood Boys and Girls Club. The council also talked about Lynnwood’s land acknowledgment and the merits of hiring a lobbyist at its Wednesday work session March 20.

In January 2023, a proposal for the treatment center brought protesters to city hall. The clinic, which uses methadone to treat opioid addiction, was to be located about 500 feet from the Alderwood Boys and Girls Club. That drew criticism from area residents who criticized Acadia’s lack of transparency and outreach and also said the treatment center would be a safety issue for the club’s children.

Attempts to prevent or delay the clinic from opening failed. In response to safety concerns, Acadia hired two security guards to patrol the area during working hours and purchased a security system for the Alderwood club. 

The Alderwood Boys and Girls Club was represented by area director Ken Salem while Acadia was represented by Lynn Dee Bauer, the clinic’s director. Salem reported that, despite being inundated with concerned emails and phone calls for a few months after the protests, the boys and girls club’s experience with the clinic had been nothing but positive. 

“We had lots of parents and families in the area checking in with us, asking about, you know crime or anytime there [were] any issues at all in the city, they would ask us if we thought it was because of the clinic, looking for a quick easy blame,” Salem said. “And we, of course, would say that has nothing to do with them.” Salem said that communication was frequent and security guards would also stop by the club a few times per day to check in. 

When asked by Councilmember Nick Coelho if his opinion on these types of clinics had changed, Salem said that it had. He said he observed that those receiving treatment were  normal people whose addiction symptoms were alleviated to the degree that they could lead productive lives, often being treated before heading to work for the day. 

“And I’ve shared that with lots of people, who were very outspoken,” Salem said. “[Council President] George [Hurst] sat with me at a few of these meetings where…folks there that had one goal in mind that day– to call out every problem they could think of, even if it didn’t have to do with this situation and lay blame… We were wrong, you have to give people a chance.” Salem added that he’d also had conversations with parents who had been relieved that their fears did not come true. Councilmember David Parshall said that Salem’s words were powerful and complimented Salem’s willingness to change his mind as he learned. 

Hurst thanked the clinic for their services in Lynnwood. Mayor Christine Frizzell reported that according to the Lynnwood police, the only incident at the clinic was a single unruly patient who was not arrested. She also relayed data regarding the quantity of incidents within a two-block radius of the clinic: 272 in 2021, 293 in 2022 and 260 in 2023. Frizzell said that although the quantity of incidents was high, there was no increase since the opening of the facility. 

In other business, the council discussed the possibility of joining the National League of Cities (NLC). Hurst said that the cost for joining was relatively low, at $3,722. Benefits of joining include assistance with locating and applying for grants, networking opportunities and the ability to provide input into the league’s advocacy agenda. Hurst also said that the majority of the NLC’s meetings were on the East Coast, so travel allowances for councilmembers may require an increase.

Councilmember Josh Binda spoke about his experience attending an NLC conference in 2023, saying that the event had been educational by providing workshops and a forum for sharing viewpoints. 

The conversation turned to legislation and how Lynnwood could advocate for itself by hiring a state lobbyist. Lynnwood has a lobbyist who works in Congress, but does not have a representative in Olympia. The Association of Washington Cities (AWC), which Lynnwood belongs to, does lobby for legislature in Washington but not Lynnwood specifically. As a result, their legislative actions are more general. 

Hurst said that the cities of Edmonds and Mountlake Terrace do contract with a lobbyist, adding that lobbyist Debora Munguia had been recommended. Munguia shared a list of accomplishments with Hurst, one of which included a $125,000 grant she secured for a Shoreline park. The cost of a lobbyist is approximately $45,000-$50,000. 

Parshall said that Lynnwood was a unique city with unique needs and he was willing to explore the idea. Coelho said that the city does have representatives – their elected officials. He said that he would need more information on what the lobbyists would do–aside from organizing legislation– in order to support the idea, a notion supported by Councilmember Shirley Sutton.

Regarding the city’s land acknowledgment, Mayor Frizzell asked Lynnwood Equity and Social Justice Advisor Doug Raiford to work with community members to review the statement, which is read at the beginning of each city council meeting and other gatherings. Those who participated in the construction of the new statement included Connie Avalos-Galer, administrative assistant with the Lynnwood police, along with Lynnwood’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission members – as well as the Snohomish Tribe’s Mike Evans, also known as Waq́usqidəb.

While participants agreed there was nothing wrong with the land acknowledgement currently in use, some felt it was not personal to Lynnwood and lacked community input. The new acknowledgement was made after extensive research into indigenous history in the area. 

Presenters placed an emphasis on the fact that the land acknowledgement is a piece of what Lynnwood is doing; it does not replace actions that the city will take to support, collaborate with and advocate for the tribes. The revised statement reads as follows:

We acknowledge that the City of Lynnwood is located on the traditional lands of the Snohomish Tribe and the confederation of Tulalip Tribes and their families. For generations, these Indigenous communities have lived on this land, and we recognize, support, and advocate alongside them.

We also acknowledge the forced removal of Indigenous communities from their Homelands as a result of the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott. We understand that Land Acknowledgements are only the first step in our efforts to support Coast Salish tribes and educate non-Natives about their lived history. We strive to achieve this through building relationships with Indigenous communities, supporting Indigenous commerce, government-to-government partnerships, and lifting indigenous voices to create equity for all.

Through these actions, we hope to not only pay respect to the past but also collaborate in creating a sustainable future, hand in hand with the first protectors of our shared environment.

The final conversation of the evening was the prospect of a city financial audit, which has been discussed by the council several times. Councilmember Sutton made a motion in December to have staff bring to the council a list of external auditing services who could conduct such an audit, but it was  later rescinded when the council  determined the goal, scope and cost were unclear. 

Although Council Vice President Julieta Altamirano-Crosby and Councilmember Patrick Decker were absent, the council determined that it could not fully discuss an audit but expressed their thoughts anyway. 

Hurst said that he would be interested in a salary audit and added that Decker had previously advocated for an audit about whether Lynnwood’s government and staff were the right size.

Frizzell said that audits were expensive to commission and also occupied hundreds of hours of staff time. She said that prior studies were available for councilmembers’ viewing and that administrative staff were attempting to compile them for that purpose.

Parshall said he was confused and did not understand why the item was being brought to the council, as councilmembers had no indication or evidence that anything was wrong. He added that, unlike the lobbyist position, he did not see a potential benefit an audit would have for Lynnwood residents from an audit.

Coelho said that when dealing with situations like this, he focuses on potential outcomes. 

“If we do a salary/compensation study and we find that we’re paying people too little, are we going to raise the wages? Where’s that money coming from? If we’re paying people too much, are we going to implement pay cuts? How are staff going to take that?” Coelho said. 

–By Jasmine Contreras-Lewis