2020/09/16 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

September 16, 2020 economy. We'll be doing this in partnership with Snohomish County, Greater Seattle Partners and the region as a whole to ensure major employers in aerospace recover and we retain a strong work force in our city. While we fight for aerospace, we'll also continue to assist and attract new businesses to invest here and make Everett their home. This will include an emphasis on jobs that support a green economy. The catastrophic wildfires scorching the west coast, and the horrific pollution they've been causing, are sadly becoming part of our new normal due to climate change. We will move ahead on the goals of our climate action plan, and especially on positioning Everett as a green economy hub for the future. A new "green" business I'm excited to welcome to Everett is inFarm. This German- based company is expanding its Washington presence with a new state-of-the-art facility in the Delta neighborhood. Their philosophy is that your food shouldn't travel more than you,so they will provide healthy hydroponically-grown herbs and salad greens, grown here in Everett, to local grocers. We're also building on our reputation as a leading manufacturing and distribution center. Amazon is constructing a new distribution center in the Port of Everett's Riverside Development, as well as a first-of-its-kind robotic distribution center in southwest Everett. These projects are expected to bring Amazon's total employment to over 800 in our city. I'll touch now on cultural arts, which have taken a hit this year. State rules to limit the spread of COVID required the cancellation of many activities, such as theater, festivals, live music, parades and events. We have, however, found other ways to support the arts in Everett and have plans for a strong return in 2021 when it is safe to do so. We will continue our work to get Everett designated as a Creative District through the State of Washington. This designation shows the world what a creative and thriving arts community we have and also comes with grant funding, signage and other tools we can use to grow the creative economy and support local artists.