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Skagit County presents NorthStar regional plan; Mount Vernon council pledges continued engagement
Summary
Skagit County’s NorthStar initiative updated Mount Vernon City Council on 2025 priorities, including funding searches, governance, and task forces for housing, recovery and coordinated emergency response; council members expressed broad support and asked for clearer avenues for municipal input.
Monica Negrila, director of strategic initiatives for Skagit County, told the Mount Vernon City Council on Jan. 22 that the NorthStar regional initiative will focus in 2025 on increasing funding, strengthening governance and expanding task forces that coordinate housing and behavioral-health services.
Nut graf: NorthStar, launched in 2022 by the county commissioners and the mayors of four Skagit County cities, aims to reduce homelessness and improve behavioral-health responses by aligning municipal, county and community resources. Negrila told council members the collaborative has attracted more than $40 million in funding to date and is preparing a 2025 workplan to translate strategy into projects and services.
Negrila said the initiative rests on three strategic pillars: building durable governance and funding structures, creating a community-based system of care, and increasing stable housing supply. "No one in our communities has to live in their car or on the street," Negrila said. "Everyone can get and should get their services—mental health, substance-use disorder services or other supports—when they need them."
Negrila described three task forces that already meet: a housing task force with planning staff from municipalities to align land-use policy; a recovery task force; and a newer coordination task force that brings together fire, police, EMS and 911 to improve cross-jurisdictional response. She also noted that NorthStar hired staff for the initiative and that the collaborative model drew some structural inspiration from San Diego, while remaining unique in Washington for its formal municipal–county partnership.
Council members responded with questions about funding targets and local participation. Council member Gary Molinar asked whether NorthStar has a dollar goal for 2025; Negrila said the initiative had not set a specific target for the year but acknowledged the region needs substantial ongoing investment. "I think we should think about setting a goal," she said.
Multiple council members said they view NorthStar as beneficial. Council member Melissa said the initiative has removed silos and allowed cities to leverage shared funding; Council member Mary said the regional approach is producing incremental improvements downtown and beyond. Council member Hudson and others urged continued transparency and better mechanisms for council input; Negrila said she plans to propose options to the NorthStar leadership team to increase council engagement.
The council did not take formal action on NorthStar but expressed general support and requested follow-up on how municipal leaders can participate in decision-making and funding discussions.
