City's 2023 Goals Announced

Lake Stevens will focus its efforts on these four major deliverables this year. We've got the info for you in a post peppered with J425 video, internal documents and original photography.

Editor’s Note: Judging by social media, all Lake Stevens residents really want is a Trader Joe’s and a restaurant on the lake. And I’m sure the hero who delivers those items will be honored with a statue atop The Viking Drive-In. It doesn’t look like these deliverables are in the cards for 2023. That said, the City does have multiple irons in the fire. In this story, we lay out the four major issue areas on Mayor Brett Gailey’s agenda — and what (according to City Administrator Gene Brazel) the City plans to accomplish with regard to deliverables under each topic heading. This is a post chalk-full of resources: we’ve produced two original videos, a slew of photography and a significant amount of internal City documents, presented for your own review and decision making pleasure. Be sure to also check out our update on the playground safety upgrades/closures announced last week. Oh, and we’re down to our final two slots in the J425 AIR 5 Fundraiser. Will you consider joining the club and help get us flying again? - KTH

---

LAKE STEVENS - Earlier this week, J425 snuck you some notes out of the City Council’s special meeting, in which they reviewed City progress in 2022. (Just kidding the notes are public record.) However in that article, we promised to return to the topic in a few days, in order to lay out City plans looking forward. This is the fulfillment of that promise. Let’s take a look at City initiatives planned for the current year: the City’s major initiatives can broadly be viewed in four categories: Infrastructure Improvements, Economic development, Recreation/Quality of Life and Transportation Benefit District (TBD) projects — sidewalks and streets. More on each to follow.

Quick refresher: TBD is that voter-approved sales tax hike that gives the City ten years of locally-provided funding to play around with.

If you really like to get into the granular level of this stuff, you can always head over to the City Planning Department’s site or check out approved subarea plans, which serve as the road map the City follows with respect to long and medium term planning.

And one way to greatly impact quality of life is by making the City more walkable.

Quality of Life Improvements

TBD funding hits City coffers via a .2 percent sales tax approved by voters in November 2022. Think of this as a way to capture two cents on every ten bucks spent in the City. These pennies add up quick: The City estimates that the TBD will provide approximately $1.5 million per year. And while the City doesn’t need to wait to physically possess the money before planning how to spend it, that money will become real starting in June.

According to City Administrator Gene Brazel, the TBD funds are earmarked for