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Mukilteo Beacon INSIDE: Lending a helping hand … 9 Playing at the next level … 10
YO U R H O M E TO W N N E W S PA P E R
728 3rd St., Ste. D Mukilteo, WA 98275
Volume XXX
Number 40
April 27, 2022
Bringing the community together
American Rescue Plan Act funds
Council seeks ways to spend the money Capital projects could see a good chunk of federal cash by DAVID PAN reporter @ yourbeacon . net
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here appears to be strong support in the City Council for using a significant portion of the City’s remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for capital projects. During Monday’s Finance Committee meeting, the council received an update on the status of nearly $6 million the City is receiving from the federal government. The City previously approved ARPA funding for a number of programs, including an embedded social worker, police body cameras and IT support, upgrades to the council chambers and audio/video equipment, lodging tax funding/replacement, and utility assistance. Those expenditures total about $1.76 million. The council expressed support in the meeting for a finance software replacement, a resource/COVID navigator (0.5 FTE), business and nonprofit grants, a community outreach program, and additional funds for City IT infrastructure. The numbers discussed for these programs are subject to change and in some instances were just placeholders. The City will have a projected $3.1 million remaining in ARPA funding after the previously budgeted items and the programs that received support in Monday’s meeting. Capital projects generated strong support see
Above, Mukilteo Youth Advisory Committee Vice-Chair Chloe Lee talks with a group of children during Saturday’s beach cleanup event at Lighthouse Park. Below, Jacoby Johnson, 5, searches for trash between the logs on the beach.
Mukilteo Youth Advisory Committee organizes beach cleanup by DAVID PAN reporter @ yourbeacon . net
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ARPA FUNDS page 13 u
Beacon photos by David Pan
f you’ve noticed how nice the beach at Lighthouse Park looks these days, go ahead and thank the Mukilteo Youth Advisory Committee. Members of the City-sponsored group organized a beach cleanup on Saturday, a day after Earth Day. “It was perfect timing for us,” Vice-Chair Chloe Lee said. The Mukilteo Youth Advisory Committee (MYAC) is a group of high school students, who live in Mukilteo. MYAC has spearheaded several different projects, including social justice and mental health initiatives. “But this year we really wanted to focus
on bringing the community back together after the pandemic,” Lee said. ”This was one of our big projects.” MYAC members handed out garbage bags and gloves to participants, and also helped clean up the beach by picking up trash and waste. Members talked with children and their parents about MYAC and its different projects. Waste Management also had a booth where children could spin a wheel and win a prize if they answered a question correctly. The social justice committee, with the assistance of Councilmember Louis Harris, held a social justice seminar last year. Members also worked on a Native see
BEACH CLEANUP page 13 u
Major changes coming to Community Transit
Community Transit will be revamping its Arrival of light rail in Snohomish County in 2024 means CT will be redesigning its service bus service in 2024, coincidby DAVID PAN have a faster connection on light rail, which also ing with the arreporter @ yourbeacon . net will have the capacity to transport more people. rival of Sound Community Transit CEO Ric Ilgenfritz noted Transit’s light he Community Transit of 2022 is going to that 30% of the transit agency’s services had been rail system in look far different than the Community Transit going into Seattle. Snohomish of 2024. “There aren’t many transit agencies around the County. The arrival of Sound Transit’s light rail system in country where a major regional investment is Snohomish County in 2024 means Community going to come in place and take over a significant Photo courtesy of Transit no longer will be running buses to NorthCommunity Transit gate or downtown Seattle. Instead, passengers will see COMMUNITY TRANSIT page 3 u
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