A Wood Creek project kick-off meeting was held on 4/29, led by Nick Bratton and Rebecca Schwartzman of Forterra. Attendees included interested parties from the county including Council Member Dunn, Tom Teigen, and Lisa Dulude; Paul Roberts (Everett City Council), Nick Harper (Everett Deputy Mayor), Paul McKee (Everett Real Property Manager), Valley View neighborhood representative George Lockeman, and members of the Save Wood Creek Everett group. This meeting served to introduce interested stakeholders and detail the upcoming process. The city of Everett will undertake geotechnical/wetland study and an archeological survey of the property. The city is still finalizing the scopes of work for the various site assessments. Once completed, the city will coordinate with Forterra for their input/feedback before proceeding. Deputy Mayor Nick Harper will communicate with us once he has a clearer timeline for when the field work can be completed. Forterra will begin to collect community and stakeholder input on the property, and begin to investigate public, private, and market-based funding approaches (carbon credits, mitigation credits, etc). The goal is to balance the desires of the community, public benefits, and fiduciary responsibility as Forterra presents options/ scenarios for uses and funding to the City. Forterra clearly communicated that their work is not determining any single outcome for the property. We await the next steps, which include the City setting up and scheduling the studies. Forterra will be gearing up public engagement work and planning outreach, including an in-person community meeting in August. The location of the meeting is in the Valley View Neighborhood on the corner of Hamlet Lane and 81st Place SE. More announcements regarding this important meeting will be coming soon. We anticipate another update meeting with Forterra after the geotechnical/ wetland studies have been completed. Get Involved! If you would like to join the efforts of Stewards of Wood Creek Everett, we welcome your participation! Please email info@savewoodcreek.org