Council discusses parking spots at possible senior housing development, compensation for part-time employees

At its work session Feb. 5, the Lynnwood City Council talked about a senior housing proposal, reviewed results of a 2022 state audit and considered an employee incentive program proposed by city recreation staff.

A joint project between the Northwest Housing Preservation Group and Rotary Club of Lynnwood Service Foundation is proposing the construction of 36 additional units to an already existing senior living facility, Garden Senior Village, located at 6425 196th St. S.W. There will be a public hearing on the development at the council’s next business meeting, Feb. 12. 

The site currently has 121 affordable housing units allotted for seniors ages 55 and older; Tenants are allowed to move in at 50% of the Snohomish County median income. The 36 new units would also be subject to an existing affordable housing agreement, but at 60% county median income. Councilmember Patrick Decker asked if this median income could be adjusted to Lynnwood’s median income, as the City of Lynnwood’s income is lower than surrounding areas. Planner Joe LaBlanche said this would not be possible as the 1997 agreement – with a duration of 50 years – specifies its income limits are based on county data.

Decker then expressed concerns that 106 parking spaces planned for the facility would be insufficient for its residents. He acknowledged that the industry standard for parking spaces for senior housing is lower than that of the general population because fewer seniors drive or own cars, but said that residents who had guests could be inconvenienced if the parking lot fills. Decker also inquired about the presence of green space in the area so that residents could walk their dogs without having to travel far distances. 

Community Planning Manager Karl Almgren stated that project representatives would be speaking on the proposal during next week’s public hearing and would be able to address those details then. 

In other business, Human Resources Director Annie Vanderkooy brought forth a request based on concerns from the city’s parks, recreation and cultural arts department. Staff report that it is challenging to find high-quality, reliable employees to serve as lifeguards and camp counselors due to higher wages in nearby areas. Further, the employees they do find are often not able or willing to work as many hours as the job requires. As a result, fewer community members can be served by the city’s summer pool and camp programs. Each additional part-time lifeguard can allow 25 more swimmers into pools while each more camp counselor can allow 10 more kids to go to camp.

If the city was able to hire workers willing to work more hours, it would also reduce the number of employees required to run the services. 

Vanderkooy and parks employees offered an hours-based incentivization as a solution. Part-time employees would receive a bonus of $250 for 143 hours per quarter, or $750 if they work 273 hours. Councilmember Nick Coelho likened the incentivization program to a “consistency bonus” and said he’d seen the department’s struggle with employees not showing up with work. 

Decker asked what determined whether an employee had benefits. Vanderkooy answered that at some point in the past, it was determined that part-time employees working over 20 hours per week should receive benefits. She added that the city had decreased its number of part-time staff since this rule was implemented and that the few “stragglers” still working part time for the city were generally working between 30-35 hours a week. Decker said that the lack of incentivization for those benefitted employees could cause morale issues and that the part- time employees should be offered benefits in the interest of fairness. Frizzell said that the people interested in the position were largely young people who are still covered by their parents’ insurance. 

Among the other issues discussed by the council Feb. 5:

• A 2022 audit into Lynnwood’s finances conducted by the Washington State Auditor’s Office revealed no material misstatements or discrepancies in the city’s accounting. State auditor’s office representatives suggested some policy changes related to department management that they believed would reduce the chances of misstatements or errors. The 2022 audit cost Lynnwood about $170,000. The city’s next audit, estimated to cost $204,300, is scheduled to begin this spring. 
• In response to a previous request for an external audit by Councilmember Shirley Sutton, city administrative staff were asked to prepare a list of three external services that could conduct an additional audit into city finances. Councilmember David Parshall asked if an additional audit was truly necessary, since there was no evidence that the city’s finances were being mishandled and an audit would cost taxpayers additional money. Mayor Christine Frizzell said that the finance director would be meeting with the council to determine what it feels needs to be audited to get a better understanding of their request.

• Almgren and Senior Planner Catherine Kato updated the council on the 2024 Lynnwood Comprehensive Plan update, a document used to organize growth in the city. While the draft is comprehensive, it is not yet complete. Washington’s Growth Management Act requires cities to organize their plans this way and update the plan every 10 years. According to estimates made by the planning team, Lynnwood will have approximately 65,000 residents by 2044. Almgren and Kato explained the decision-making process and community outreach used to determine the plan’s priorities.

• The council discussed plans to acquire new board members for the Lynnwood Public Facilities District. Two of five spots on the board have been vacant since October, meaning that the board is unable to conduct business if even one active member is not present at any given meeting. Staff stressed the importance of promptly filling the vacancies as the due to the importance and scale of the District’s work in the city. 

Parshall, who serves as liaison to the district, said that the board had been unable to meet in January for this reason. He suggested the council consider at an upcoming meeting in two weeks the board’s recommendation of a candidate who had previously applied. Decker said that he would like to choose from a variety of candidates rather than moving on that candidate. Parshall argued that two weeks would give councilmembers enough time to nominate candidates for consideration, a sentiment Council President Hurst agreed with in his comments. Staff agreed that they would begin the public recruitment part of their campaign. 

• Mayor Frizzell spoke about the need to nominate a councilmember to serve on the Technical Advisory Committee of the Snohomish County Urban County Consortium from 2024-2026. Lynnwood is a member of the consortium but has not been represented thus far.

— By Jasmine Contreras-Lewis