Bothell unveils online council‑vision dashboard; staff reports progress on housing, parks, safety and behavioral health

City staff on Tuesday demonstrated a new public dashboard that displays metrics tied to Bothell's 2040 council vision and reported progress across the city's seven strategic focus areas, including housing, parks, transportation and public health. The study session was an update only; no council action was required.

The dashboard: Catherine Janssen, executive assistant to the city manager, and GIS analyst Sarah Burns showed a web application built with the city's existing ESRI tools that displays a set of chosen metrics for each of the seven vision areas. Burns said metrics are presented with a current value, a details tab and can show charts over time as figures are updated. Staff said the dashboard is live on the city website and will be updated roughly yearly; the data feed is currently managed manually.

Why it matters: The tool is intended to make progress measurable and transparent, and to give staff and the public a single place to check trends for things such as housing cost burden, safety improvements and other indicators. Staff emphasized the dashboard is a version‑1 product and that metrics and display will evolve.

Selected program updates announced at the study session: - Housing and downtown: Staff summarized the completed comprehensive plan work and said Canyon Park will be the first subarea to receive a focused update. Deputy mayor and staff reported attendance at a lieutenant governor's meeting exploring a pilot to convert commercial spaces (offices, strip malls) to residential uses; the governor's office will provide more details and select pilot cities to test affordability and conversion feasibility. Staff told council the lieutenant governor's study is due to report back by December 1 to the legislature. - Homelessness and human services: Council member Aldrichs relayed recent point‑in‑time data for King County cited at a coalition meeting: 71 percent of people experiencing homelessness were single adult males, 51 percent reported a disability, and shelter capacity in North King County showed roughly 9.6 people for every shelter bed. Staff also noted two crisis stabilization centers will open in Snohomish County (Lynnwood and Everett) within the year. - Behavioral health and opioid settlement funds: Staff said a behavioral‑health clinic contract has been executed with the YMCA; staff are coordinating services and will provide more details at an upcoming human services update. Council previously approved an opioid settlement strategy and staff said some funds will support related services. - Parks and regional facilities: Staff described ongoing work with the Northshore Regional Parks & Recreation Service Area (NPRSA). NPRSA has a maintenance/operations levy on the November ballot for continuing the existing senior and health/wellness facilities; the NPRSA board is separately studying whether to propose a future community‑center levy. City staff said any future park levy or community center funding would be separate and regional in scope. - Transportation and micro‑mobility: Staff reported the first package of transportation safety improvements is complete, and council will be briefed soon on downtown parking enforcement scoping and a micro‑mobility strategy. Staff are drafting a pilot on lowering residential speed limits to 20 mph and will present options for a Bothell circulator bus feasibility study on Oct. 7. Council members raised concerns about scooter/bike parking obstructing sidewalks and suggested designated painted pads or docking zones and stronger safety messaging.

Neighborhood coalitions and signage: One priority item ' "develop program designs to support community and/or neighborhood coalitions" ' drew questions about what the city should aim to create. Council asked staff to defer substantive work on formal neighborhood coalitions until a future council retreat so members can discuss goals and form a clear direction. Staff said they will instead continue work on a comprehensive signage strategy (including physical banners and wayfinding) to improve city communication.

Implementation, data and next steps: Staff recommended updating the dashboard on a regular schedule and said many metrics will be updated annually; the dashboard currently relies on manual data collection but could be expanded with automated feeds later. Multiple council members praised the progress tracker and staff work and asked for continued briefings as specific projects move toward implementation.

Speakers cited in this article are listed in the article's speaker section and include staff who presented the dashboard and council members who asked clarifying questions.