The Mayor of Marysville is Concerned

Mayor Jon Nehring has been incredibly responsive and is actively working with his constituents. Here is his response:

"Thank you for your email and for sharing your experiences and concerns. I share your concerns both as Mayor and as a homeowner in a nearby neighborhood that is close to Generations Church. I organized a meeting with the Pastor, Sarah Higgenbotham (she is responsible for the 24/7 staffing of this proposed project), our Police and others involved in this project. I was abundantly clear with my deep concerns in regards to this project and that our Police would have a zero tolerance policy to any criminal activity.

Ultimately, Generations Church can move forward with their 90 day pilot program under current law if it is on their private Church property as long as they meet certain conditions which will be reviewed carefully. This will likely be referred to a third party “Hearing Examiner” in accordance with the law to determine the 90 day pilot program. If so, this Hearing Examiner will hold a public hearing and take public testimony.

I believe that a number of communities have no recourse to potentially stopping “permanent” programs like this if they are on private Church properties per State of Washington law. Here, we were Grandfathered in with any entity having to go before the City Council only after a 90 day pilot to gain any further approvals. Before that, though, there is not much the city can do to stop a 90 day pilot program if they follow basic codes. I have on multiple occasions, and will continue to, voice my deep concerns to those involved and they are similar to all of the concerns that you have laid out here.

Again, thank you for sharing this and feel free to call me any time if you would like to discuss further."

Thank you Mayor Nehring. We appreciate your availability and support.