At its work session Feb. 21, the Lynnwood City Council spoke with Cub Scout Pack 59. In an effort to get a scout badge related to civics, a handful of boys asked members of the council questions about Lynnwood, the councilmembers themselves and how the government works. 

The Cub Scouts asked them why they chose to become councilmembers what the city council does and how the scouts personally could help the council. Council President George Hurst said that if scouts attended meetings and shared their opinions, it would help councilmembers understand how the community feels. Councilmember David Parshall added that the city always needs volunteers and mentioned that people would be cleaning Heritage Park sometime in the upcoming months. One inquisitive lad asked why the city doesn’t have bike lanes, as he and his friends enjoy cycling around town and sidewalks are supposed to be for pedestrians. 

Councilmember Patrick Decker said that he also liked biking around town and explained that the city wasn’t planned in advance, so it grew in different ways. He added that Lynnwood has plans to make the city center more pedestrian-friendly. Hurst said that Lynnwood and other local cities are trying to make more opportunities for alternative modes of transit.

Also on the topic of transportation, the council received a regular update from Community Transit about the Swift Orange Line, upcoming bus route changes and the success of the Alderwood Zip service. 

On March 30, Community Transit routes 115, 116, 196, 120 and 202 will be discontinued and replaced. Signage is being installed at relevant stops to inform riders of new routes. The changes are being made to reflect more flexible transit options and better connections such as the Swift Orange Line. 

The line will connect to the Swift Blue and Swift Green lines, providing east-west travel between Mill Creek and Lynnwood. Key destinations include McCollum Park, 164th Street Southwest, Alderwood Mall and Edmonds College.

For more details on the cancellation and new lines being implemented March 30, visit the Community Transit website. 

Two more service changes will occur at the end of August 2024 and March 2025. Presenters emphasized plans for informing riders of these changes ahead of time and implementing feedback as the year continues. A major factor in the new route designs is the Lynnwood Link light rail extension, scheduled to begin service in September 2024.

Community Transit said the Alderwood Zip service is a success. Zip is an on-demand shuttle providing individualized transit to those in the Alderwood area. The popularity led Community Transit to upgrade their fleet to a total of five shuttles. Decker noted that he had attempted to try the service but had been unable to book a ride due to availability issues. Parshall mentioned that local nurses have told him they are delighted with the project as it allows elderly patients to easily go to their medical appointments without requiring an on-call ambulance or other more expensive options. 

In other business, the council discussed uses and potential reallocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. In 2021, Lynnwood was the recipient of $10.9 million in ARPA money. Of that, $137,000 remains. 

The council discussed three requests for funding and one request for allocation. The Lynnwood Police Department was previously granted $15,000 in 2023 for the purchase of gift cards to be distributed in a gun buyback program. Unused gift cards totalling about $7,300 cannot be returned without significant loss due to fees, so police requested that the unused cards be given to property owners for the purpose of graffiti cleanup on their property.

Another police department request relates to a $1,857,877 allocation granted in 2022 for the purpose of hiring five new officers. The request for these new officers did not include funding for body cameras and tasers. To equip the officers, the department is requesting an additional $50,000.

Finance Director Michelle Meyer spoke to her department’s request for $74,000 to retain a part-time ARPA accountant through September 2025. The ARPA accountant position was originally funded for $125,000 in 2022. Of that, $45,000 remains, funding the position until August 2024. 

“Due to ongoing subrecipient reimbursement request processing, contract monitoring, federal reporting and state auditing requirements, an additional $74,000 is requested to fund the position,” Meyer wrote in her documentation. 

Finally, Meyer asked the council for clarification on a motion made by Councilmember Shirley Sutton in Dec. 2023. 

The motion called for staff to provide a list of three external audit services to the council so that they may complete a “full financial audit of the city”. During a previous discussion, Parshall asked if an additional audit was necessary, since there was no evidence that the city’s finances were being mishandled and an audit would cost taxpayers additional money. 

Meyer said that audits made by the state were already prorated, costing the city “around $170,000,” not counting thousands of staff hours. She asked the council to identify exactly what areas a second external auditor would be asked to review, in an effort to identify potential firms to acquire an estimate. 

Meyer also informed the council that additional money would need to be allotted from the city budget to cover the audit and addedthat staff would find the task taxing since it would add to their workload, which already includes state audit work and routine responsibilities. She offered to address any specific concerns.

Decker said that his interpretation of what Sutton was asking for was a departmental audit, rather than a financial audit of city finances. He elaborated on the concept by stating that such an audit would analyze if Lynnwood’s government was the right size and if they had the right amount of directors. Sutton concurred with what Decker said, but reread her motion.

“To request that the administration submit to the council for approval a list of at least three qualified audit services to complete a full financial audit of the city, the list to be presented no later than April 1, 2024, the scope of these services to be determined by the council in consortium with the selected service; should the administration fail to comply with the request, the council will direct the Finance Committee to select a qualified service for council approval.”

Parshall said that the motion was calling for a financial audit, which was insulting to the people being asked to provide a list of services.

Further action on Sutton’s motion regarding the audit – whether to amend it, cancel it or move it forward – must be taken during a business meeting, so the item is scheduled to be addressed Feb. 26.

Councilmember Nick Coelho and Mayor Christine Frizzell were absent from the Wednesday meeting. 

–By Jasmine Contreras-Lewis