The Lynnwood City Council meeting was packed to standing capacity Monday, Nov. 26 as friends, family and fans watched Betty Lou Gaeng being named the official City Historian of Lynnwood and presented with a key to the city.

Gaeng, 91, has played a key role in preserving the history of Lynnwood through her work with the Alderwood Manor Heritage Association, the Edmonds Historical Museum and the Sno-Isle Genealogical Society. Gaeng has also been a regular contributor with her “Looking Back” column for Lynnwood Today, My Edmonds News and MLTNews.

The proclamation highlighted Gaeng’s “first-hand knowledge of the Lynnwood-Alderwood Manor Area since the 1930s” and her work in “preserving historical facts and stories through her research in hundreds of article and books.”

It was not only the city council who praised Gaeng’s work protecting Lynnwood’s history.

“She’s a very hard worker, she’s got a memory that just does not stop,” said Jan Beam, past president of the VFW & Ladies Auxiliary for District 1.

Gaeng is not the only person in her family to have been recognized by the City of Lynnwood. She is a life member of the Walter A. Deebach VFW Post 1040 in Lynnwood, which is named after her father Walter Deebach.

“I know history, because I am history,” Gaeng said.

The city council also voted to approve the 2019-20 biennium budget. The budget was passed by a 5-2 vote (Councilmembers Shirley Sutton and George Hurst opposed) after Sutton expressed concerns the budget would not provide the police department with enough funding to add more officers to address Lynnwood’s growing public safety needs.

“We are absolutely addressing the needs of the police department,” said City Council President Ben Goodwin. “That is coming from the police professionals, the police chief and his department. We are delivering the expectations the police chief has asked of the city council.”

However, Finance Director Sonja Springer said additional officers are not necessary at the time. The matrix study (which helped determined the city’s budget needs) “did not recommend additional police positions, but it recommended some custody sergeant officer positions, which have been added to the budget,” Springer said.

In addition, Director of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts Lynn Sordel presented a check with proceeds from the Parks and Recreation Foundation Par 4 Kids Golf Tournament to the Foundation’s Loren Simmonds for the Recreation Benefit Fund.

“We are so pleased to be able to provide this check to you and to the city,” Sordel said.

Sordel also presented checks with proceeds from the EGGS-plore Lynnwood Auction to the Lynnwood Food Bank and Trinity Lutheran Church Neighbors in Need. The EGGS-plore Auction was a collaboration between the Lynnwood Arts Commission and the Parks Department, and showcased the works of 28 artists (eight of whom were from Lynnwood) throughout the city.

“We’re grateful to the Human Services Commission for selecting these two organizations,” he said.

Also in attendance of the city council meeting was Boy Scout Troop 304.

— Story and photos by Cody Sexton