LYNNWOOD—At its Regular Business Meeting, on Monday, August 12, Lynnwood City Council approved the Lynnwood Police Collective Bargaining Agreements and unanimously authorized the mayor to reopen the confirmation process for Director of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts, preventing her interim appointee from permanently being appointed to the position, for now.

“I move that the city council direct the mayor to reopen the appointment and confirmation process for the position of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Director. The purpose is to bring forth three candidates for city council confirmation process per LMC Chapter 2.06,” Council President Hurst motioned which was seconded by Council Vice President Julieta Altamirano-Crosby.

Mayor Christine Frizell heard from former City of Lynnwood Executive Staff, residents and commissioners of the Parks & Recreation Board.

“The Board recommends the city council to follow formal recruitment process for candidates for the Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Director position, and to vet candidates with the community input,” Holly Hernandez, Commissioner on the Parks & Recreation Board read during public comment. “The motion passed unanimously [ at its August 7 meeting].”

Commissioner Thomas Krause, Chair of the Parks & Recreation Board, asked the council to reopen the confirmation process for the Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Director position, “require community involvement, expect transparency, and select the best possible candidate in a nationwide search.”

The mayor has been under intense criticism for appointing Parks Superintendent Joel Faber in March as interim Director of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts after the retirement of Lynn Sordel.

When Sordel retired, he shared that he left a comprehensive succession plan with Mayor Frizzell. But now the retired Lynnwood Parks & Recreation Director feels “disappointed” with Mayor Frizzell for neither following through on that plan, nor following its number one proposal regarding who would succeed him in his place—Deputy Director Sarah Olson.

Olson, a 26-year employee with Lynnwood announced, with “mixed emotions,” her resignation on July 29, four months after Mayor Frizzell’s decision to the interim appointment of Faber.

“Lynn’s plan and his support of Sarah to be ready to assume leadership apparently did not meet the administration’s approval,” said local resident Ted Heikel during comments on Monday. “The process was apparently short-circuited by the mayor and the assistant city administrator.”

“No openness, no transparency, no explanation,” Heikel added.

Former Lynnwood Parks & Recreation Director Lynn Sordel and former Assistant City Administrator Art Ceniza took to the podium to share their thoughts.

“Let the recruitment start again, do what is right, and have a community panel interview the finalist…get their feedback,” Sordel asked the council and mayor.

Ceniza shared that he is puzzled why Olson wasn’t selected as the interim Parks Director.

“When I left the city, I assumed that my position would be advertised, everyone would go through two or three rounds of interviews, and the panel would make a recommendation to the mayor and the mayor would make his or her final pick, and the council would interview the finalists,” Ceniza said. “In my case there was no process. As much as I respect Julie, who is doing a fine job, and Joel as the interim, I think whoever that person is [to fill the director vacancy] ought to go through the competitive process. This is best practices. I feel that if you do not so it that way, that opens the door to politicalization.”

Council President Hurst, during the meeting, provided a timeline of events regarding Faber’s appointment leading to Monday’s action preventing the mayor from permanently appointing Faber as Lynnwood Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Director:

• March 18, 2024, city council agenda listed that the council would be interviewing three candidates to fill the Lynnwood Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Director vacancy.
• The agenda was made public the week of March 15.
• At 5:30 p.m., Monday, March 18, the mayor called both council President and Vice President into a meeting where she informed them that there will not be any interviews and that she appointed Faber as interim Park’s Director.
• Council leadership, at its 6 p.m. council meeting had to inform council they will not be conducting interviews.

On June 10, 2024, concerned about the lack of language in the Lynnwood Municipal Code regarding interim appointments and lack of oversight by the council in the appointments, the council adopted Ordinance 3461, requiring the Parks Director along with other senior positions to be confirmed by majority vote of the council and defining conditions of an interim appointment.

“The concern is a precedent,” Hurst said. “But a future mayor could actually circumvent the appointment process by just starting to appoint directors on an interim basis; then after a few months, say I want to appoint them permanently.”

Hurst expressed that the resignation of Olson along with the recommendation of the Parks Board influenced his decision to support reopening the Lynnwood Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Director confirmation process.

After Council Vice President Altamirano-Crosby echoed Hurst’s concerns, the council unanimously voted to approve Hurst’s motion to reopen the appointment and confirmation process preventing Mayor Frizzell from permanently appointing Faber as Parks Director for now.

“We did a full recruitment back in January and February and there were not three candidates that were qualified to bring forward to council, and it was at that time that I appointed an interim Director with the idea that I would come back to council and determine where they wanted to go with that,” Mayor Frizell said after the vote.

The council then unanimously approved a motion extending by 90 days, her interim appointment from its September deadline to December.

LYNNWOOD POLICE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS

The City Council unanimously approved three collective bargaining agreements which encompass calendar years 2025 through 2027:

• Lynnwood Police Guild CBA – Officers and Sergeants
• Lynnwood Police Guild CBA – Support Services Employees
• Lynnwood Police Management Guild CBA

The City’s negotiating team reached tentative agreements with all three unions, and all three collective bargaining agreements were ratified by their respective members in mid-July.

 “To see council and community support for the work they [Lynnwood Police] are doing means a lot to us,” Police Chief Cole Langdon said about Monday’s unanimous decision. “I am deeply appreciative, and I feel gratitude for this.”

The Lynnwood Police Department is still down six officers, specifically Custody Officers.  Chief Cole is optimistic that with this new competitive agreement, he will now be able to hire qualified officers to be fully staffed.

The comprehensive financial impacts for the first two years of the contracts will be presented to the Lynnwood City Council next month when the preliminary 2025-2026 City biennial budget is presented.

Below is a summary of base wage increases for the Support Services Employees:

• 2025: 11.5%
• 2026: 4%
• 2027: 4%

Below is a summary of base wage increases for the Officers and Sergeants:

• 2025: 9.5%
• 2026: 4%
• 2027: 4.5%

The salary schedule for the base wage for Management Guild CBA was not included in the packet. According to the agreement, these are to follow Appendix A.

Inflationary and market pressures contributed to the wage increases the Lynnwood Times was told.