At its work session Aug. 8, the Lynnwood City Council heard six requests for using the city’s remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The council faces some tough choices ahead, however, as the requests totaled $997,806 and the city has only $812,307 left to allocate.

Lynnwood received approximately $10.9 million in ARPA funds in 2021, and council allocated the majority of it to fund police equipment and personnel, the Scriber Lake Park Boardwalk, residential street infrastructure and the Lynnwood Neighborhood Center. 

Most recently, the council allocated $388,432 to the parks and recreation department to combat increased graffiti and also distributed a total of $7,500 — $2,500 each – to the Northwest Veterans Museum, the Lynnwood-Alderwood Manor Heritage Association and the Sno-Isle Genealogical Society to recoup lost wages during the pandemic. 

Here are the new requests the council received Monday night: 

It has not yet been determined whether the Jean Kim Foundation and Clothes for Kids are eligible for ARPA funding, which is intended to ease hardships related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligibility will be determined by city administration prior to any votes for dispersal. 

Councilmembers had follow-up questions for some presenters. 

Councilmember George Hurst said that the Jean Kim Foundation’s mission was focused on housing insecurity but that the mission seemed to be shifting toward different goals and asked Director Sandra Means to clarify. 

Councilmember Josh Binda asked the ACCESS Project if it would be including people under the age of 25 in its board or partnerships, later saying that young people would be more receptive to those closer to them in age. Organization President Wally Webster said that ACCESS intended to provide a peer mentorship program and was working with Verdant Health to achieve this.

Councilmember Patrick Decker asked if the Keep Dreams Alive Foundation would be providing the classes to Lynnwood residents specifically, as the organization is not centered in the city and has previously provided its assistance to areas north of Lynnwood. Executive Director Dafne Powell confirmed that these classes would be provided to Lynnwood residents and mentioned that the curriculum would be tailored to educate these residents specifically. 

Hurst asked the Lynnwood Police Department how long the $20,000 would last them. Sgt. Lindsay Pool replied that it was hard to determine as the department had no data to base this on. 

“In previous years, we ran out of money before the winter months.” Pool said, adding that there was greater need for housing during winter because of the cold. She said that she believed it would be enough to last the year and that the department had once again received hotel vouchers. Council Vice President Julieta Altamirano-Crosby reaffirmed this question and asked if the incoming light rail would increase this need. Pool stated once again that this was not something she could accurately predict. 

Sessions asked if the Lynnwood Police Department had considered alternative avenues for funding as the current source of funding was not sustainable in the long term. Pool stated that she was not aware of any other options that police weren’t already utilizing and brought up the idea of implementing a provisional allotment into the city’s yearly budget.

The council will make a decision on the final ARPA allocations at a later date.

In other business, officials from Community Transit updated the council on the agency’s services. 

Of note, Community Transit will be changing bus routes to accommodate more people throughout Lynnwood and one of its major focuses is ensuring that riders have transportation to new light rail stations opening next year. Routes are planned to change sometime in 2024, though timing is variable depending on light rail construction. The planned changes include more frequent service and an express “network” to improve trips to Seattle, particularly during peak times. Additionally, the Swift Orange Line will add a rapid route between McCollum Park, Mill Creek, Ash Way Park and Ride, Alderwood Mall, Lynnwood Transit Center Light Rail Station and Edmonds College. It will also connect to the Swift Blue and Green lines.

Later, Community Transit discussed the success of its Alderwood Zip pilot service. The service is a “microtransit” option that brings ridership to individuals or small groups and connects them to destinations within a specified area – in this pilot, the Alderwood Mall area. Of the 1,083 customers that used the service since its inception last October, 72% took multiple trips. The average number of trips per person was about 18. Transit officials said that the Zip fulfilled each of its goals and recommended that the service continue and grow its fleet to accommodate more riders. Community Transit is currently seeking community input on the Zip Alderwood Shuttle via this survey. 

Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Sarah Olson presented the second of three briefings on the ParksLove project, this time focusing on the capital planning and evaluation portion of the development. The previous presentation to the council in June focused on the research and broader goals of the project. ParksLove received a $300,000 grant from the National Recreation and Park Association’s resilient park access grant program, with the goal of making Lynnwood’s parks more environmentally resilient and equitable. During the briefing, Olson described the project’s decision-making process, which quantified and prioritized the best use of park funds to reach as many individuals as possible. 

Olson said that the drafted projects would also be published for community input in mid-August through the Fair on 44th, which takes place on Sept. 9. Following this, a final list and ranking will be published and feedback on that will be accepted until Oct. 1. When complete, project staff will seek council adoption of the Park & Trail Capital Plan, which will contain a 12-year priority project list with implementation strategies.

Regarding the ongoing topic of regulations for essential public facilities, Community Planning Manager Karl Almgren provided the council with a preliminary draft ordinance that he said would update local zoning ordinances for compliance with state law to improve clarity. The updates are also designed to inform the community earlier in the essential public facilities application process and improve methodology for siting such facilities.

During her comments, Mayor Christine Frizzell announced Aug. 23 as the date of an upcoming gun buyback program at Lynnwood City Hall. The council in June approved allocating $15,000 in ARPA funds to host the program, which provides gift cards to those turning in unused firearms.  

–By Jasmine Contreras-Lewis