By Nate Nehring
Snohomish County government spends millions of dollars per year on capital projects such as roads, parks and surface water.
There are many great projects being funded in North Snohomish County around Marysville and Arlington.
With assistance from department and council staff, the County Council passes six-year plans for investing in our communities.
In the next six years, we plan on funding $57 million in projects specific to North County. Snohomish County has a great network of parks that are enjoyed by our residents and visitors alike.
The six-year park improvement plan includes $26.2 million for projects in District 1 alone. One of the most meaningful park projects in North County is the State Route 530 Mudslide Memorial. After initial response and recovery was completed, county parks staff began meeting with families of victims and survivors to plan for and design a memorial at the site.
The memorial will include tributes to the Steelhead Drive and C-Post neighborhoods lost, the first responders and the community response.
I am thankful to community members who have been supportive of this project, as well as staff that is working to create a meaningful memorial to our neighbors lost in the 2014 tragedy. I was happy to see the city of Marysville partner with the Marysville Dog Owner Group to receive $5,000 from the County Council to fund repairs to the fencing at the off-leash dog park in Marysville.
We also have plans to make improvements to the Centennial Trail making much-needed improvements to culverts, making the trail more safe and accessible to users. Snohomish County has over 1,600 miles of county roads that are the responsibility of our Public Works Department to maintain. Our county roads in North County are especially important because they connect our rural residents with state and federal highways, as well as connecting our cities to these highways and each other. The six-year Transportation Improvement Plan includes $21 million in projects in North County. A significant investment will be made to improve 88th Street NE in Marysville east of I-5. We are also planning on drainage and culvert improvements on county roads around Arlington, including Jordan Road and Jim Creek Road. In addition to the capital improvement dollars spent on infrastructure, Snohomish County offers Community Heritage Grants to support projects that highlight and preserve our county’s great history. In 2017, projects in District 1 received over $20,000 in funding for historic preservation. The Stillaguamish Valley Pioneers Museum was able to digitize historical newspapers, increasing access to our history with modern technology. We were also able to fund a Pioneer’s Memorial through the Stilly Valley Genealogical Society.
I am proud of the many great projects Snohomish County has in North County and the investments we are making to improve our parks, roads and communities. Together, with all of our cities and communities, we are making North Snohomish County a better place to live, work and play.
Snohomish County Councilman Nate Nehring represents District 1, which includes Marysville and Arlington. Contact: Nate.Nehring@snoco.org/425-388-3494.
