City Council

City of Mount Vernon Special City Council Meeting Minutes September 30, 2025 Swinomish Casino & Lodge, 12885 Casino Drive, Anacortes The Skagit County Board of Commissioners met in a special joint session with the Cities of Anacortes, Burlington, Mount Vernon, and Sedro-Woolley on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, with Chair Lisa Janicki, Commissioner Ron Wesen, and Commissioner Peter Browning present. I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL: Skagit County Chair Lisa Janicki, Mayor Pro Tem Carolyn Moulton, Burlington Mayor Bill Aslett, Mount Vernon Mayor Peter Donovan, and Sedro-Woolley Mayor Julia Johnson called the proceedings to order at approximately 6:13 p.m. Councilmembers present from the City of Anacortes included Christine Cleland-McGrath, Carolyn Moulton, and Bruce McDougall. Councilmembers present from the City of Burlington included Elizabeth Turman-Bryant, Dr. Jesús Pérez-Linares, Kelsey Freeman, and James Stavig. Councilmembers present from the City of Mount Vernon included Andrew Vander Stoep, and Mary Hudson. Councilmembers present from the City of Sedro-Woolley included Kevin Loy, Allan Henderson, Paul Cocke, JoEllen Kesti, Joe Burns, and Nick Lavacca. Other staff in attendance included Skagit County Director of Strategic Initiatives Monica Negrila, Skagit County Public Health Assistant Director Sarah Hinman, Skagit County Senior Public Health Analyst George Kosovich, Skagit County District Court Judge Jenifer Howson, Skagit County Communications Coordinator Andrea Harrison, Skagit County Clerk of the Board Katie Williams, and Mike Bonetto from Tenfold Health. II. AGENDA: a) 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Joint Meeting with Cities of Anacortes, Burlington, Mount Vernon and Sedro-Woolley RE: North Star (Public Health, Chinook Conference Room, 301 Valley Mall Way, Suite 110, Mount Vernon) 1. Dinner & Networking (15 minutes) – 6:00 p.m. Dinner and networking was held from approximately 6:00 p.m. to 6:13 p.m. 2. Welcome & Agenda Overview (10 minutes) – 6:15 p.m. Mount Vernon City Council September 30 , 2025 Page 2 of 3 Chair Janicki shared her appreciation for the desire to serve collaboratively in a way that would jointly fund important programs for the community and thanked Councilmembers for their work on the Interlocal Agreement for consideration. Chair Janicki then introduced Director of Strategic Initiatives Monica Negrila. Ms. Negrila opened the public comment period. 3. Public Comments – 6:25 p.m. Susan Hill of Anacortes shared comments regarding the facilitation of a coordinated/integrated county- wide system for dealing with substance abuse and community fallout related to opioid addiction. 4. Draft Interlocal Agreement (ILA) Formalizing North Star (45 minutes) – 6:30 p.m. Director of Strategic Initiatives Monica Negrila provided a brief overview and background information on how the Draft Interlocal Agreement was initiated. She said that an initial Draft Interlocal Agreement had been created in 2023 to formalize North Star and noted that changes had been recommended and that implementation of changes began in 2024. Ms. Negrila shared that conversations had been restarted in early 2025 on formalizing the North Star Collaborative, and from June to September 2025 a Joint Meeting was held and an Interlocal Workgroup began working on the Draft Interlocal Agreement (ILA). Ms. Negrila provided an overview of the 2023 Draft Interlocal and said the purpose was to provide a collaborative forum for local jurisdictions to coordinate efforts around homelessness, housing, and behavioral health. She noted that two cities had signed the Agreement and two cities had requested amendments to implement: North Star Advisory Group Meetings – public meetings, with meeting agendas and minutes; City Council representatives were added to the North Star Advisory Group Meetings, and direct communication began with City Councils. Ms. Negrila said that when the conversation restarted in 2025 at a June 6 Joint Meeting there was consensus to consider formalizing the North Star Collaborative to form a regional partnership. The ILA Workgroup was formed which consisted of Councilmembers from each city: Councilmember Cocke (Sedro-Woolley), Councilmember Hudson (Mount Vernon), Councilmember Moulton (Anacortes), Councilmember Walters (Anacortes), Councilmember Stavig (Burlington), and Councilmember Pérez- Linares (Burlington) and the Mayors. The group finished their work on the ILA and a draft was sent to City partners and their attorneys for review. Ms. Negrila provided an overview of the 2025 Draft ILA and said that similar to the 2023 Draft ILA, it established a strategic partnership among the four cities and Skagit Couty to address homelessness, housing instability, and behavioral health challenges and noted that no funds were attached to the ILA. The Agreement and would be led by a Leadership Team to promote consensus-based decision making and coordination and would not create a separate legal entity or decision-making authority. She reviewed workgroup highlights that included commitment to regional collaboration, balance between prevention and urgent services, use of data to track progress, commitment to ongoing improvement and transparency, to include voices of people with lived experience, reduce jargon, and streamline language. Group discussion was held regarding initial impressions. Ms. Negrila outlined proposed next steps that included reviewing progress with the broader group at next Joint meeting, working with legal departments on revisions, scheduling an additional meeting of the ILA workgroup to review legal recommendations, and holding a Joint meeting on November 6 to review a final draft ILA with the broader group and identify steps for signatures. 5. Roundtable: Jurisdictional Cross-Sharing (30 minutes) – 7:15 p.m. Mount Vernon City Council September 30 , 2025 Page 3 of 3 Roundtable discussion was held regarding highlights and unique approaches from each jurisdiction, recent challenges, opportunities for regional collaboration since the last meeting, and looking ahead to 2026 for suggestions that could be incorporated into a future workplan. 6. Updates on Opioid Settlement Funds Proposals (10 minutes) – 7:45 p.m. Due to time constraints, this subject was not discussed and Ms. Negrila shared that she would email additional information regarding updates on Opioid Settlement Fund Proposals. 7. Summary & Next Steps (5 minutes) – 7:55 p.m. Ms. Negrila thanked attendees for their meaningful discussions and feedback and noted that the next Joint Meeting was scheduled for November 6, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. Link to Agenda, Draft Interlocal Agreement, and PowerPoint Presentation: https://www.skagitcounty.net/CountyCommissioners/Documents/AgendaPackets/09299025.zip III. ADJOURNMENT: Chair Janicki, Mayor Pro Tem Moulton, Mayor Aslett, Mayor Donovan, and Mayor Johnson adjourned the proceedings at approximately 7:57 p.m. Submitted by: Becky Jensen, City Clerk Approved: November 12, 2025