EVERETT—Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin delivered her 2024 State of the City address on Thursday, March 21, to a record audience of approximately 400 at Everett Mall—the first time the state of the city has been delivered in South Everett. The City in partnership with the Economic Alliance Snohomish County, chose Everett Mall to showcase its revitalization—a major theme of in her address—as the property celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
Mayor Franklin began the evening by thanking the event’s sponsors, North Sound Media, the Boeing Company, Mortenson Construction, Alaska Airlines, Port of Everett, LISC Puget Sound and the Everett Mall, recognized and honored the Tulalip tribes, and expressed her appreciation to the Everett City Council and city staff.
She honored Everett’s rich history, from a forest between Port Gardner Bay and the Snohomish River, to a “booming mill town with industry dominating the waterfront.”
“Everett was and is a place where bankers rub elbows with tradespeople, a rough tavern might be next door to a classically designed theater. There is a sense of realness here; it draws people in and allows them to find where they belong. And that’s one of the things I really love about our city,” said Mayor Franklin.
Franklin noted that 2023 was a big year for Everett as far as developments go, from the waterfront to the riverfront, to even at the mall where she delivered her annual address, noting that these developments were the result of decades of careful planning, strategic collaborations, and bold investments to completely transform the city’s economy and create new opportunities for its community.
Education
Mayor Franklin reminded the audience that Everett had a school before it was even a city—the Broadway School which had one teacher, Emma Yule, and 26 students. Today Mukilteo and Everett school districts serve over 35,000 local students and these districts continue to grow today.
Both districts have invested heavily in kindergarten readiness programs, putting students on the right track of literacy, on time graduation, and success in life and their careers. There have been recent major investments in these efforts including $20 million from Snohomish County, she said.
“Ensuring their bright future requires us to balance priorities, thinking about the present while planning for the best possible tomorrow. And one of the best investments into our future is our education system,” said Mayor Franklin.
The Everett City Council invested $1 million from its ARPA dollars to fund Housing Hope’s new Tomorrow’s Hope Child Development Center. It also provided space at Everett Station to host the Everett Bezos Academy, that provides free preschool to 60 local kids, and provided financial support to Everett Community College’s Early Learning Center.
In 2023, Everett Community College opened its new resource center, launched a new four-year degree program, and began offering edge cybersecurity training.
Additionally, Washington State University’s Everett Campus rocket team qualified for the NASA Student Launch design challenge last year, and WSU recently began a new partnership with Amazon to provide local employee education.
Parks
The city of Everett has committed to having a park within a 10-minute walk for all our residents and are continuing to seek innovative options for making that happen, Mayor Franklin said.
Last year, the City finished the Silver Lake trail, added a new dog park at Jackson Park, and replaced the playgrounds at Thornton A Sullivan and Howarth parks. Everett also opened its first fitness trail at Hannabrook Park.
“Looking to the future, the parks team has additional great projects in the works, continuing our efforts to make these shared spaces more accessible and welcoming,” said Mayor Franklin. “We’re making improvements to the Loganberry Trails, installing a new, all abilities accessible playground at Wiggums Hollow and adding smart lighting to Jackson, Lions, Kiwanis and Clark parks that minimize light pollution while still promoting safety.”
Arts and Culture
Last year, the city of Everett unveiled a new sculpture, Stuart Nakamura’s ‘Aumangea,’ designed to reflect the community’s resilience during the pandemic.
Tulalip artist James Madison also created a new art installation for the Everett Municipal Building with a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. This art celebrates and honors the original inhabitants of the area, the sduhubš people, and shares part of their story and the culture of their successors—the Tulalip Tribes.
On April 11, the city will host the Wendt & Mayor’s Arts Awards on April 11 at the Everett Performing Arts Center, which the mayor said is “a great opportunity to reflect on the past year, celebrate our vibrant art scene, and recognize the people behind the art.”
Public Safety
Mayor Franklin recognized the city of Everett’s, approximately, 190 firefighters and six fire stations equipped with multiple fire engines, ladder trucks, aid cars, medic units—emphasizing that now all of Everett’s firefighters are certified in life support care and a number are full paramedics.
Last year Everett Fire Departments responded to more than 27,000 calls. Mayor Franklin noted the Fire Department is more important than ever, given the region’s opioid epidemic and the city’s rise in fentanyl-related overdoses.
As for law enforcement, Mayor Franklin swore in new Police Chief John DeRousse after former Chief Dan Templeman retired after 31 years of service.
To tackle an increase in violent crime in the region, the city of Everett launched its Violent Crime Unit last year which puts dedicated resources towards investigating serious incidents and they immediately have made a significant impact.
“This team’s work has led to numerous violent and dangerous offenders being apprehended—in one case, an offender with more than 10,000 fentanyl pills and a stolen gun in their possession. Thank you to our VCU for getting those illegal drugs and that individual off our streets, and your hard work to reduce violent crime across our city and region—helping keep our neighborhoods safer,” said Mayor Franklin.
Mayor Franklin, while adding that crime doesn’t stop at city lines, recognized the regional partnership with the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force, as being essential to stop the flow of deadly drugs into local communities.
Behavioral Health
The City of Everett has recognized the importance of behavioral health services, Mayor Franklin noted, incorporating social workers into the city’s police force, fire departments, and libraries.
“Incorporating social workers was a big step for our city, but now we want, and need, to think bigger. First, we are launching an innovative, new pilot program that will bring addiction treatment directly to those who need it the most, eliminating barriers to receiving help. Meeting people where they are—physically, mentally and emotionally—and bringing counseling, peer support and treatment to those on our streets is going to be a game changer and will save lives,” said Mayor Franklin.
Housing and Homelessness
Mayor Franklin explained that currently housing and homelessness is one of the city of Everett’s biggest challenge with nearly half of its residents devoting more than 30% of their income towards housing. For some, she said, it’s over 50%.
“We’re lacking diversity of housing options at all price points,” said Mayor Franklin. “Growth is inevitable and unavoidable, and it’s happening faster than we can even build the supply, creating many of the issues we’re seeing today. We must prepare for this growth and work collaboratively with our neighborhoods to welcome additional density and protect our quality of life.”
Over the past five years, the city of Everett has added over 2,400 housing units throughout the city with 2,200 more in progress.
Infrastructure
The largest infrastructure investment the city has made as of late, according to Mayor Franklin, is the city’s water system which now provides potable water to its residents, the Tulalip Tribes, and 75% of Snohomish County.
The City is also making strategic investments in other projects, like bridges, to maintain critical infrastructure and maximize the opportunity to incorporate additional public benefits. An example Mayor Franklin gave was Grand Avenue Park Bridge, which opened in 2020. The bridge serves an important function by carrying utility pipes while also providing improved pedestrian access to the city’s waterfront.
The city will begin construction on its Edgewater Bridge Replacement project that will ensure safe travel along West Mukilteo Boulevard for drivers, bikers, pedestrians and everyone who uses the roadway.
This year Everett will also complete its Point Industrial Center Bridge Study, moving the city one step closer to putting the City-owned property near the Snohomish River into productive use as a new green industry hub and home for public works.
After the minor league baseball team, the Everett AquaSox were elevated to a higher caliber of play upon making it to the finals last year, the city is also partnering with the team to either remodel its current Funko Stadium or build a brand new stadium downtown.
Transportation
The city of Everett is making strides towards developing its transportation system by preparing for Sound Transit’s Everett Link Extension and electrifying its bus fleet—with 19 electric buses in service and more on the way.
“We know light rail will bring growth and change, especially in South Everett. To prepare our community, we’re partnering with residents and business leaders locally to develop strategies to preserve affordability and the quality and character of our community. Our goal is to preserve what we have while creating new economic and growth opportunities for our local residents and businesses,” said Mayor Franklin.
Waterfront
Mayor Franklin recognized the Port of Everett redevelopments including welcoming Fisherman Jack’s, South Fork Bakery, Sound to Summit Brewery, the Muse, and Woods Coffee, with many more on the way.
For a more detailed report on the Port of Everett’s redevelopment plan read the Lynnwood Times special coverage by clicking this link.
Other misc. topics
Mayor Franklin also covered the U.S. Navy as being paramount to national security adding that in 2028 the city will start receiving the 12 Constellation-class frigates that are scheduled to homeport in Everett.
She recognized many healthcare facilities moving into Everett including the Everett Clinic, Seattle Children’s North, Community Health Center and more, while noting that Kaiser Permanente is currently expanding their Pacific Avenue campus with a massive redevelopment by Mortenson Construction.
Mayor Franklin also recognized the city of Everett’s robust library system for providing an “essential community service.”
“Everett always has and always will be a place for innovation, for making important things, starting businesses as well as families – building homes and creating community,” said Mayor Franklin in closing. “And we will remain a place that honors our past by living up to the legacy and values of those who came before us—and having an unwavering belief in what can be accomplished when we work together.”
