Mayor's Memo March 2024

Published on April 09, 2024

Hello from Lynnwood City Hall! 

We are excited to bring you a recap of some of the things that happened last month at the City of Lynnwood. One major accomplishment I was particularly excited for from March was opening the Community Transit Swift Orange Line!   

This new Bus Rapid Transit line runs between Edmonds College and McCollum Park Park & Ride with stops throughout our community, including the Transit Center and the future Sound Transit Lynnwood City Center Light Rail Station. The party kept going on campus with a fun block party!   

The Orange Line provides opportunities and access to jobs, education, shopping, and more. Thank you to everyone involved in this project who made it under budget and ahead of schedule! We also want to thank our state and federal leaders who secured the funding to make this project a reality! 

As always, thank you for choosing Lynnwood.

Take care, 

Mayor Christine Frizzell 

Development and Business Services

Master Signage: The City Council recently approved a Master Signage Plan for Alderwood Towne Center, located on Alderwood Mall Boulevard, to provide updated signage, a new landmark sign, and shopping directional signs. Additionally, this agreement includes requirements for business wall signage.

Overhead Electrical Wires: City Council approved a code amendment to LMC 12.20, Undergrounding of Overhead Electric Wires, which will require new development within the City Center / Alderwood Regional Growth Center to underground overhead facilities, including electrical and telecommunications.

Regional Job Fair: On March 27, Lynnwood DBS partnered with Edmonds College, WorkSource, and the Lynnwood Chamber of Commerce to host another successful Lynnwood Regional Job Fair. This year’s event was our largest job fair, with nearly 700 job seekers attending to meet with over 60 employers. This community-benefit program highlights the importance of connecting local employers with those looking for open positions. DBS will evaluate the benefits of this event with our partners in hopes of hosting the job fair annually.

Employee Highlight: Shanwa Tatum was recently promoted to Permit Supervisor. Shawna has worked for the City of Lynnwood for 15 years and served as the Senior Permit Technician for the previous seven years. Shawna has been vital to the launch of the new SmartGov Online Permit Software System and improved efficiency and service for DBS customers through continuous process improvements.

Executive

Meeting with Federal Lobbyist: The City of Lynnwood contracts with Summit Strategies to provide Federal government affairs and lobbying strategy on behalf of our City in Washington, D.C. On March 25th, we hosted Partner Mark Dedrick from Summit Strategies for an update on the City’s major projects and initiatives. We also toured the under-construction Scriber Creek Trail Phase 2, the Lynnwood City Center Station, new private development and the City’s Community Justice Center. We closed the day with a presentation and discussion with the Lynnwood City Council on Federal engagement. The City’s partnership with Summit Strategies has been extremely beneficial in our efforts to secure federal grants and advocate for our City’s needs. 

State of the City now available: The 2024 Lynnwood State of the City recording is now available on our website. Click here to view this year’s event along with previous State of the City events.  

Meeting with First Consul General of India: We had the honor of meeting with Prakash Gupta, the first Consul General of India in Seattle, to discuss our community and how we can partner with and support our Indian community members. 

Finance

Updated Billing Options: City of Lynnwood Utility Billing customers now have a fee free option to make e-check or credit/debit card payments on their accounts through our new automated payment system by calling 425-670-5170 and selecting option 1. Our automated payment system is available 24/7; please have your account and customer number ready. 

Human Resources

HOT JOBS SHOWCASE: The City of Lynnwood has approximately 24 open employment opportunities, including part-time and full-time. Serve your community in Lynnwood as a public servant! Check us out at:
https://www.lynnwoodwa.gov/Jobs.

Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts

New Art Coming to Light Rail Station: In collaboration with Sound Transit Art Program, Coordinator Fred Wong assisted in selecting two Lynnwood artists, Long Gao and Sam Trout, for the Sound Transit banner project that will be displayed along the Lynnwood City Center Station promenade.   

Fair on 44th vendor applications are live and filling up! We welcome interested companies and organizations to join the fun and visit the Fair on 44th webpage to apply.  

“Deliberations” by Gregg Schlange

New Artwork: The Community Justice Center contractor has successfully installed five of seven art series pieces along the parking garage wall. The photo above is of the series “Deliberations” by artist Gregg Schlanger. 

Human Services Outreach: Human Services participated in two outreach opportunities, including the Community Transit Orange Line block party and a health and resource fair hosted by Edmonds College. These outreach events provided the City a chance to promote local resources and assist in getting our community connected. The Human Services Program, in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Licensing, and the Lynnwood Library, continues to partner on ongoing outreach using the DSHS Mobile Outreach Truck, providing essential services to the community. Additionally, in partnership with the American Heart Association and the Lynnwood Food Bank, Human Services will host blood pressure screenings at the Food Bank on April 10. Screened, eligible participants will also receive blood pressure monitors to take home to promote better health outcomes in the community.

Summer Camp Registration: We changed our summer camp registration process this year. On Thursday, March 7, we opened registration for Lynnwood residents and filled 80% of the available slots. We opened registration to non-residents on Friday, March 8, and the remaining slots for camp filled within 15 minutes. The demand for our summer camp remains strong. 

Lynnwood Senior Center Participation: Participation at is returning to and exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Most of our outdoor trips and tours are full, with waitlists. Due to high demand, we are working to bring back Saturday hours. 

Aquatics Hiring: Our Aquatics team continues to hire staff as quickly as they can. We have hired 108 lifeguards in the past year, with an average of 4 new employees hired every two weeks. The hiring is slowly allowing us to get back to being able to provide full capacities for all of our swims. 

Parks Maintenance Projects: Spring is coming quickly, and this has allowed crews to get a jump on things. We completed aeration verticutting and seeding at Meadowdale Playfields. This will help the natural turf hold up to the large weekend tournaments and daily rentals. Lynndale, Wilcox, and South Lynnwood Parks will also see turf restorative care and fertilizing this spring.
North Lynnwood Park has been the focus of many asphalt repairs and an ADA building upgrade. The trip hazards and uplifting roots have been removed from the circular pathway and the path has been realigned around some significant trees. This will allow them to grow without impacting the pathway. Crews have also performed extensive asphalt repair on the Interurban Trail. The crews put out 20 tons of asphalt between both sites.

New Interim Director: Joel Faber has been named Interim Parks, Recreation Cultural Arts Director. Joel has served as Recreation Superintendent since 2011. Prior to that he was a Customer Service Supervisor, Recreation Supervisor and Teen Programs Coordinator (1998 to 2011).

Don't forget about Paws in the Park!, Saturday, April 20, 2024, 10:00 a.m.-Noon, Lynndale Dog Park, 7512 Olympic View Drive

PRCA Department Excellence Awards for 2023: 

The Department presented its Excellence Awards for 2023 in March. Congratulations to award winners (pictured):