The Lynnwood City Council met briefly Monday to discuss how the city’s federal pandemic relief funds should be spent and conduct a final review of proposed changes to the 2021-22 biennium budget. 

At its Nov. 29 work session, the council continued the ongoing discussion on how to use the $10.9 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds the city was allocated to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, the council has authorized staff to spend $882,000 to fill city staff vacancies, fund technology upgrades to stream public meetings online and purchase police-worn body cameras.

More than 100 requests remain that range from installing new ADA ramps across the city to helping those facing eviction or who have lost their jobs because of the pandemic. During the meeting, Strategic Planner Corbitt Loch presented the council with three options for deciding which requests will be chosen. Each one proposes using two scoring tools that will prioritize the requests to ensure they meet the criteria for funding under federal guidelines as well as the city’s guidelines.

All options include a scoring tool that would ensure the requests meet the criteria to qualify for the funds. While reviewing requests, Loch said staff will consider several factors, like the long-term versus short-term benefits, whether what’s being requested is already being offered elsewhere, how easy implementation would be, if it’s sustainable and if the request is supported by the community. 

Under Option 1, staff would refine the request list before bringing it back to the council for approval. Option 2 would include two to three councilmembers in the workgroup for reviewing requests, and Option 3 proposes including the city’s finance committee. Final decisions will be made by the council, Loch said.

“At the end of the day, the city council makes the decisions and it’s our job to give you good information so that you can make the best decisions that you choose,” he said. 

Requests will be reviewed and scored through December and then brought back to the council for approval between March and April 2022.

A second scoring tool would be used to track the funding for the requests. During a demonstration, Councilmember Patrick Decker explained how the council could use one of the tools to prioritize requests and track spending. That would help councilmembers identify a request they think should be prioritized, include the percentage that should be spent, and then label it as high, medium or low priority.

During the discussion, Council President George Hurst said since two new members would be joining the council in January, they should be included in the conversation as well. Councilmember Shannon Sessions said she preferred Option 2, which would allow some councilmembers to be part of the workgroups. Councilmember Julieta Altamirano-Crosby also said she liked Option 2.

Decker said that decisions regarding the ARPA funds should be data driven and made by the council and not staff. However, Councilmember Christine Frizzell said the council should — at least — include the city’s finance director in deciding how to spend the funds.

Sessions pointed out that many of the councilmembers had jobs that would prevent them devoting the amount of time needed to focus on prioritizing funding, so staff would need to be involved in the process.

“It would be a waste of time not to have (staff) included,” she said.

In other business, the council briefly discussed the mid-biennium budget review process. Each year, the council reviews proposed changes for items that could not be foreseen during the budgeting process.

This year’s proposed amendments include adding the city’s ARPA funds, including a grant for the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Department and changing how the city pays for rental equipment. Additionally, Finance Director Michelle Meyer confirmed that the city will receive $3 million from the Snohomish County Council to be used to construct the proposed Community Recovery Center. 

The recovery center is a proposed emergency mental health facility that will be located adjacent to the future Community Justice Center. The recovery center has garnered interest from state and county leaders, who have promised to invest in the project.

The council is set to approve the budget changes at its Dec. 13 business meeting.

The council also presented the city’s Honoring Excellence awards, created to recognize a city employee, a community member and a business that “demonstrates excellence, actively contributes to the community, and generally makes Lynnwood…a great deal more.” 

This year’s recipients included:

-Employee Award winner Kelly Schudde, Lynnwood Recreation Center supervisor

-Citizen Award winner Phong Nguyen, city volunteer and local business owner

-Business Award winner Harvy’s Bike Shop

Read more about the winners here.

Also during the meeting, Councilmember Decker was given the oath of office after winning the Nov. 2 general election. Decker was appointed to the Position 2 seat in June after former Councilmember Ian Cotton left before his term was completed. When Decker campaigned earlier this year, he was running for both the remainder of Cotton’s term and the full, four-year position. Since he won the general election, Decker was sworn in Monday night to hold the position until the end of the year. He will be sworn in again Dec. 13 — along with returning Councilmember Shirley Sutton and new Councilmember Josh Binda — for the full term.

–By Cody Sexton