City Council hears Chamber of Commerce update, emergency management and police quarterly report

The Mountlake Terrace Chamber of Commerce presented to the City Council during its Thursday work session an update of Chamber achievements and leadership transitions in 2025. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Aireal King highlighted two grants that the Chamber was working on from May to October:

• Small business and technical assistance: Funded from the Washington State Microenterprise Association, this grant offers a series of six expert‑led trainings and 10 hours of one‑on‑one technical assistance with recorded webinars that are translated into five languages. King said the project served 63 unique businesses, exceeding its goal of 60. The result was 13 jobs saved, four jobs created, four new businesses started and 40 businesses expanded.
• Lodging tax grant: King said this grant supported the September 2025 Wag Fest, which brought together about 50 vendors, sponsors and partners and drew an estimated 2,000 attendees from Mountlake Terrace and nearby cities, along with those from other regions including Portland, Oregon and Bellingham. 

“Although our timeline was extremely compressed and we did not have enough time to make it everything we wanted it to be, it turned out to be really amazing,” she said.

King said the timely process ensures that the Chamber remains in good standing with the funders. To continue the Chamber’s standards, she said a board member retreat was held to revise the organization’s mission, vision and core values. 

By the end of 2025, King said the Chamber had 72 members, including 33 new members and 32 network members. Approximately 25 to 30 members attend each networking event, she said. As of Dec. 15, the Chamber had 1,456 newsletter subscribers with an average open rate of 40% and hosted 12 networking events with total attendance of 304, she said.

The end of 2025 marked a major pivot for the chamber with a shift from being reactive to more strategic, focusing on long-term capacity and modernizing its infrastructure, King said. In addition, a board member retreat was held to revise the organization’s mission, vision and core values. 

Looking ahead to 2026, King said the Chamber is implementing a new all-in-one member management system – called Chambermate – to streamline operations and improve engagement. The board has begun reviewing bylaws, with revisions planned, and the Chamber is developing an updated marketing strategy aligned with city priorities. King said future efforts will also focus on streamlined workflows, new non-dues revenue streams, and increased communication with members and the community.

Councilmember Erin Murray asked why either a new or long-time business owner would join the Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber Board President Sarah Frost replied that the Chamber now offers more ways for businesses to gain visibility, such as ribbon cuttings and reopening events, which can draw new customers and strengthen community connections. The Chamber has also revamped its membership structure by increasing resources and opportunities to match updated fee levels.

In addition, Frost said the Chamber is also connecting“with nonprofits both to partner and support their values and our values, but also to connect them to other businesses and community members who would benefit from their projects or their programs or vice versa. For example, next week the Chamber is partnering with the Concerns for Neighbors Food Bank next week at its networking event.

Frost said the Chamber is working to rewrite what a networking event is like beyond the traditional, business-card handouts by creating casual, engaging events that teach networking skills. “That’s what we’re trying to do ,and do it in a very casual, fun way because it shouldn’t be intimidating to walk into [an event] and say, “Hi, my name is’.” 

Councilmember William Paige Jr. emphasized the importance of business retention and sustainability to the City of Mountlake Terrace and its residents. “My ask is that you keep that in mind for our residents and old businesses as well as what the government [and] the City is trying to accomplish,” he said. “But most importantly for these businesses, you find a way to make sure you keep track of those businesses. Because when you came on board, the first thing I thought, how are you going to make sure that these businesses – especially the new ones – will still be here a year from now?”

Details about membership are on the Chamber of Commerce website.

County emergency management plan

The Council also heard a report about the development and implementation of the MLT Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) in collaboration with Snohomish County. City Public Works Director Gary Schimek and Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management (DEM) Program Analyst Jayme Haselow talked about the creation of annexes for specific emergencies – such as earthquakes – and the importance of interagency coordination. 

Schimek said the City had worked with about 15 to 20 partner agencies – including utilities, the library and the American Red Cross – to develop practical, standardized questions that staff can use as a “playbook” during a crisis.

He said the annex outlines how the City will maintain situational awareness, communicate internally and externally, work with regional partners and manage key resources, such as water, equipment, vehicles and fuel. He said the goal is to reduce confusion and duplication, make it easy for any staff member to step in, and ensure the City can quickly identify needs, share resources and keep residents informed during an emergency.

Once the CEMP is adopted, Haselow said the annex will be submitted with other plans to the Washington State Emergency Management Division. Final submission expected in late March due to delays from the December floods. According to FEMA, annex means to “provide specific information and direction” in an emergency operation. It focuses on specific actions for a specific situation rather than looking at the plan as a whole.

Haselow said that emergencies are first handled by local responders, but if the incident grows, the City of Mountlake Terrace can activate its Emergency Operations Center to coordinate resources, share information and provide public updates. If more help is needed, the County can step in through its duty officer and county emergency management to bring in extra support and expertise. She said DEM is also expanding and planning with new evacuation, shelter-in-place and major earthquake response to better prepare communities for large-scale disasters.

Councilmember Laura Sonmore said that she was concerned that the City and staff may not be prepared to handle a major disaster, such as an earthquake – despite past staff training and efforts to hand out gas-shutoff wrenches.

Haselow said that the updated annex will go much deeper into addressing the specific emergency, such as identifying likely disruptions (communications, transportation, utilities) and setting expectations so basic actions can begin even when communication is down.

County Department of Emergency Management Deputy Director Dara Salmon added that the updated annex is a “big lift” that requires a high coordination of communications and work among many jurisdictions, tribes and different levels of agencies. She added this process is ongoing and cannot be done with one or more meetings.

Council will vote on the CEMP update adoption at the Feb. 5 meeting.

Police third-quarter report

MLT Police Chief Pete Caw, Cmdr. Scott King and Cmdr. Mike Haynes presented to Council the 2025 third-quarter police report. The data compares the third quarters of each year since 2021. Haynes, who oversees the patrol division, highlighted the 2025 numbers:

• Calls for service are less than 6,000, which has been a trend since 2023
• There were 385 calls for community-oriented policing (COP), which is less than half of 2023 and 2024 third quarters.
• Traffic stops have increased from 923 in 2021 and 1,217 in 2023 to 1,757 in 2025. Haynes said this is because the department had reintroduced a traffic safety officer.
• Vehicle prowls have dropped from 55 in 2021 to five in 2025.
• DUI has been trending upward since 2021.
• Violent crimes went up slightly. Haynes said the low number of incidents made the percentage jump appear larger, adding that overall, the community remains “very safe.”

Regarding community outreach, King said that the BlueBridge Alliance program allows officers to provide direct, on-the-spot financial help to people in need. Since the program began, he said the department has used $1,249 from the fund to assist community members and raised $1,110 to support it. 

King shared an example of an elderly fraud victim whose bank account was locked and who had only $10 left in his wallet. An officer used BlueBridge funds to fill his gas tank so he could get to his appointments while his finances were being resolved. 

“I thank the community for this involvement. Great program,” King said.

King added:

• Records staff processed 625 cases, 48 traffic collisions and 148 public disclosure requests.
• Animal control handled 12 cases and conducted four potentially dangerous dog hearings.
• Several officers completed instructor, field training, investigative and impaired driving certifications. 
• An evidence technician processed 351 pieces of evidence and destroyed 461 items.
• The department provided an active shooter training at the last Cops and Clergy event.

Mayor Steve Woodard said that he saw a drone flying over his backyard one night and disappeared over the City’s skyline. “Just saying, no regulations around this? Is there nothing we can do?” he said. “I mean, it seems inappropriate on so many levels, but again, I know it’s not necessarily what you can do.”

Caw acknowledged the privacy issues with drones. “I have concerns about that, but until the legislation catches up with reality, I think it’s something we’re just going to combat,” Caw said. “We also can intervene if necessary.”

Woodard also said that he heard from a legislator in Olympia that in some Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions, vehicles are treated as expendable “weight” and left abandoned after a person is taken, which strips families of their transportation and livelihood. Thus, abandoned cars become a city problem. He talked about an abandoned car from a recent ICE sweep in Mountlake Terrace and hoped their City did not immediately tow it without considering the circumstances. 

Caw said an abandoned car was left near MLT’s Grocery Outlet. He said he had spoken with other police chiefs and learned this is a common theme across many areas. 

“It’s most unfortunate, and just…the impact it has, the family, the community, and now this because we’re cleaning up someone else’s mess,” Caw said.

In other agenda times:

• Public Works Director Gary Schimek returned to discuss the approval of amendments to the wastewater and water comprehensive plans with Consor North America Inc. – an engineering and consulting firm. Staff is asking the council to approve a supplemental agreement amending the city’s existing $349,723 contract with RH2 Engineering Inc. for the Water Comprehensive Plan Update. This will also add FCS Bowman Company as a sub-consultant for financial and capital improvement analysis. 

The amendment adds $59,680, including a $10,000 management reserve, bringing the total contract amount to $409,403, which exceeds the city manager’s signing authority and requires Council approval. Council will vote on the amendments as part of their consent agenda on Feb. 5.

• The Council voted 7-0 to approve the 2025 payment claims totaling $1,002,224.51.
• City Manager Jeff Niten presented a draft of a statement from the City Council to address the ICE activity in Minneapolis, Minnesota, including the murder of Renee Nicole Good.
• During public comments, MLT resident George Stanton told the Council that he is concerned about the aging Recreation Pavilion pool and the risk of a sudden, costly repair that could force a permanent closure. “I think that we owe it to the community to be more transparent about the current status of the pool,” he said. “We need to engage the community sooner rather than later.”
  
  Stanton suggested forming a task force for the Recreation Pavilion pool similar to those for city budget issues. “I would love to help with that,” he said.

The full meeting can be viewed on the City’s YouTube channel.