Residents urge action on COVID and national violence; Mountlake Terrace council asks staff to draft local statement

Residents used the public‑comment period at the Jan. 8 Mountlake Terrace council meeting to press the city on two separate concerns: public health and national incidents of violence.

Remote commenter Adam Sacae opened the public comment period by urging the council to treat ongoing COVID and influenza spread as a pressing local issue. "We're in a massive COVID wave," Sacae said, and he proposed specific steps: an educational public‑health campaign, distribution of N95 masks, placing air purifiers in public spaces (particularly schools), and community events teaching residents to build Corsi boxes. He framed uncontrolled spread as both a public‑health and economic justice issue that disproportionately affects marginalized people.

In person, a resident identifying herself as Adi urged the council not to remain silent about recent killings in other cities and asked the city to publicly honor lives lost. She warned against indifference and referenced historical examples of escalating violence to stress the importance of a civic response.

Several councilmembers responded during general comments and asked the city manager to prepare a draft statement focused on local impacts and community healing. Councilmember Sam Doyle said he "felt that as a city, we should do this" and pushed for the city to 'say something' rather than appear complicit by silence. Councilmembers debated precedent, staff workload and whether a standard protocol should guide future statements; the council agreed to have staff draft a locally focused statement for consideration at the Jan. 22 meeting.

Outcome: staff directed to draft a community‑focused statement and return it to council for review and possible publication.