
Snohomish County Executive John Lovick had good news to share at Thursday’s Lynnwood Chamber meeting at Fairwinds-Brighton Court.
The unemployment rate in the county is down to 3.6 percent, a decrease of about 2 percent from the last time Lovick spoke at the Lynnwood Chamber meeting about a year ago.
Lovick also reported that the housing and automobile markets are strong. The state recently announced that the county will be receiving about $800 million as part of a transportation package.
What that means for Snohomish County residents, Lovick said, is that businesses will be able to get their goods to market, children will be able to get to school and there will be more jobs in the region.
But there still are problems that the government needs to address despite the improving economy and Lovick highlighted two initiatives from the county.
The unemployment rate among teenagers remains high and Lovick is developing a program that will target employers with the goal of finding ways increase jobs for young people.
Lovick also plans to hold a summit to address the increasing problem of the homeless in the county.
“We have to get a roof over the heads of our citizens,” Lovick said.
The first step to dealing with the issue is getting people off the streets and then trying to address the underlying issues, which often are related to mental illness and substance abuse, Lovick added.
To help deal with the homeless population, the county has plans to remodel a building next to the jail, which will serve as a resource for those released from the jail.
Lovick noted that there was a time in his life when he and his family were very close to becoming homeless.
“I could have become homeless,” Lovick said. “Homelessness, it touches all of us.”
Lovick praised those people who are working to help others in the community, both on a large and a small scale.
To the members of the Lynnwood Chamber, Lovick said, “A lot of the things you do to help people in the community mean a lot.”
Lovick told the audience that during last year’s Oso landside he received a letter of support and a $5 bill taped to the letter from a boy in Wisconsin. Lovick later called the school and found out that he came from a low income family and didn’t have a lot, but the boy still wanted to help the people of Oso.
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