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Key takeaways
- Council President shares what the City Council did during the annual Council Summit, including becoming more financially literate and addressing transportation infrastructure and homelessness.
- Council authorizes the mayor to access the $620,000 fund to build affordable housing at Lynnwood’s regional growth area.
- Councilmembers summarize their experiences serving as Council liaisons to internal and external groups.
In addition to canceling the City’s contract for the Flock Safety license plate reader system (see earlier story here), the Lynnwood City Council at its Feb. 23 business meeting heard Council President Nick Coelho’s highlights of the annual Council Summit held Feb. 22. The summit sets the Council’s legislative priorities and actions for the coming year.
Coelho said that this year’s summit was shaped by council turnover, with three new members and others who were only part way through their terms,
“We had a lot of work to do to lay a foundation of knowledge for working through this year,” he said. “In order to do that, we started out learning how to talk to one another.”
He thanked Councilmember Isabel Mata for hosting an active listening session, which got the Council “giddy” and ready to work.
Coelho said the Council – with the help of finance consultant Mike Bailey – reviewed the city budget and what to expect given the City’s current fiscal scenario.
During the summit, the Council discussed:
- The City’s Housing Action Plan, which addresses housing affordability and diversity
- “Connect Lynnwood,” a plan to improve walkability and diversify transportation in the city with the help from Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)
- Homelessness
- Adding more city amenities, such as food trucks at the Lynnwood light rail station and Meadowdale Playfield
- Adding more accessory-dwelling units (ADUs) on residential lots
- Annexation of unincorporated areas of Lynnwood
Coelho noted that annexation had been a stated council priority at the 2025 summit, but funding for an annexation consultant was cut during City budget reductions – and the council wasn’t consulted about the decision.
“We actually found out about [the cut] during the presentation about budget cuts. It was just a line item,” he said. “We asked a little bit further, and I feel like that was kind of taken away from us. So I would like to see later on, maybe in the next couple meetings.”
A recording of the entire summit can be viewed on the City’s website.
Rental assistance
The Council voted 7-0 to allow the City to spend up to $620,000 from Fund 146 for construction of affordable housing and providing rental assistance. That includes $500,000 for one or two affordable housing projects and $120,000 for a third-party contract to provide rental assistance.
Lynnwood Community Planning Manager Karl Almgren and Human Services Coordinator Kyle Ward told the Council that rental assistance has increased from $100,000 to $120,000, with $102,000 for rent assistance and $18,000 for administrative costs. Almgren told My Lynnwood News that this is not a total cost increase but an authorization to “expend funds on the administrative costs” of the rental assistance program.
He also said these 50-units of housing would be built in the city’s regional growth center, which is between Alderwood Mall and the Lynnwood light rail station.
Councilmember Isabel Mata asked if the City should offload fund management to the Affordable Housing Alliance (AHA) to save city staff time and resources. Almgren said he didn’t support that idea because the Housing Authority of Snohomish County (HASCO) – which works through AHA – is expected to be one of the applicants for the housing development. He said he wants to maintain a “fair and unbiased” review.
Council liaison reports
Each councilmember highlighted their roles and experiences with various city departments this year.
Coelho reported on his roles with the Finance Committee, LEOFF-1 Disability Board and as alternate delegate to the Puget Sound Regional Council’s (PSRC) Growth Management Committee.
“The utmost importance to us right now is rebuilding the Finance Committee’s expertise on the topics, being able to really drill down, look line by line, at how we’re spending our money,” he said.
Regarding the PSRC, Coelho said the committee is trying to know Lynnwood better as they study the differences among cities along Puget Sound “This is important because it’s a designation that enhances your ability to get grants and funding for economic development projects and a whole slew of things,” he said.
As a liaison to the Lynnwood Youth Council, Council Vice President Derica Escamilla said she is reaching out to high schools and speaking with their principals and counselors. In the next few weeks, she will be visiting schools at lunchtime to connect with students.
“We’re really, really excited about this and having youth representation and kind of connecting the bridge and the gap between what’s going on in their worlds, and you know what we’re seeing and how we can learn from them,” she said.
Escamilla said she is also rebuilding the Veterans Committee from the ground up, starting with outreach to veteran‑owned businesses, and is planning a first meeting with representatives from Heroes’ Cafe.
Councilmember David Parshall, who serves as liaison to the Public Facilities District, said there is “a lot of buzz and excitement about the District’s Master Plan,” which involves the block where the Lynnwood Event Center sits. He said the District’s executive director, Janet Pope, will present the plan’s details to the Council in March.
Parshall also sits on the Community Transit Board and Sound Transit Board, where he serves on both of their finance committees.
Mata reported on her work with the LEOFF-1 Disability Board, DEI Commission and Affordable Housing Alliance. She noted the planned June 6 Pride event and talked about two affordable housing projects: Scriber Place and Alliance Place.
She said the Scriber Lake housing will be the first housing type in Washington that is for students and their families and is fully subsidized with 52 vouchers. Alliance Place will consist of two buildings on either side of the restored stream adjacent to the Lynnwood light rail station. It is in pre-development and includes plans for 167 units that are mainly for workforce housing. Both buildings will have child care, behavioral health offices, a job-training kitchen and a cafe.
Mata said the total project cost is about $129 million with current funding including $2.5 million from the Amazon Equity Fund and $0.5 million from the Legislature. She added the City is hoping for another $2 million from the governor’s budget,
Mata is also a liaison to the Tourism Advisory Committee. She highlighted that GeekFest is coming to the Lynnwood Event Center in July and noted the ongoing work on parking and shuttle solutions around light rail ahead of the FIFA World Cup.
Councilmember Bryce Owings summarized the Planning Commission’s focus on improving the city’s response to recent parking issues near the transit station and making public transit access easier for residents. He also noted work to streamline ADU permitting and to create a dedicated business license framework for food trucks so they can operate legally and benefit the community.
As part of the Human Services Commission, Councilmember Robert Leutwyler talked about the Lynnwood Hygiene Center and the commission’s role in shaping it for maximum community impact. Leutwyler is also on the Parks and Recreation Board, which includes the ParksLove Project.
“They’ve got someone who is a rock star in the parks and rec department, who has been working very diligently making sure the playfields are being rented out to various leagues and tournaments,” he said.
Leutwyler suggested that an improvement in the park’s lighting and playfields would give the City a return on its investment.
Councilmember Chelsea Wright sits on the History and Heritage Board, which logged more than 111 volunteer hours in 2025, despite being a small group. She said the board is seeking more volunteers and hosts for Heritage Park, and she sees opportunities for more collaboration across boards and commissions.
Wright added that she is on the Snohomish County 911 Board, and her first meeting is scheduled in March.
Earlier in the meeting, six Lynnwood residents urged the Council during public comments to cancel the Flock Safety system.
Please don’t write in passive voice that leaves us wondering who cut the line item:
“Coelho noted that annexation had been a stated council priority at the 2025 summit, but funding for an annexation consultant was cut during City budget reductions – and the council wasn’t consulted about the decision.”