Everett City Council Update: What’s the Deal with the Waits Motel?
Editor’s note: To keep up with what’s happening at the Everett City Council, contributing writer Angela Di Filippo will be sharing some updates to help keep us in the loop. First up, an update on some of the recent challenges and happenings at the Waits Motel in North Everett.
The Waits Motel has been a fixture on Everett’s Lombard Ave. for decades. A leftover from a bygone era where Everett had more of a market for short-term stay businesses, this motel has plagued its neighbors for almost as long as it’s been around, regardless of who’s owned the property at any given time. And, with hundreds of calls to the police every year for everything from gunshots to medical emergencies to general suspicious behavior, it’s no surprise as to why that general sentiment has persisted for years.
However, months ago, around April 2023, new management came in - Emily Simpson and Doug Modig - who made drastic changes. They removed the “troublemakers” and individuals leading to public safety concerns in the neighborhood. They actively collaborated with the police, fire department, and other city departments to address safety and quality of life concerns to ensure the Waits Motel was a safe place to live for residents, as well as added to the safety of its community. They also were interested in buying the location from its current owner as they, and their investors, had a clear vision for how the Waits Motel fit into Everett’s future.
This came to an end in July 2023 when the City declared the Waits Motel a blight and a threat to public safety and health. On July 12, 2023, the City Council adopted a resolution regarding this, moving forward the process of the City acquiring the Waits Motel property.
On July 19th, the Everett City Council held its first hearing regarding the condemnation of the Waits Motel. Many comments came from those in favor of the City condemning the property citing that the recent actions were “too little, too late” and that they had seen improvements for a short period of time in the past, but the general pattern always led back to an unsafe living situation for all. People were also adamant that Emily was doing good work and that the desire to see this property condemned was not, in any way, related to the success neighbors had seen during the past few months.
Comments in favor of the City’s acquisition of the Waits Motel waned as the weeks went on, though they stayed consistent in their messaging. By the last meeting, the majority of those sharing in public comment were adamantly in favor of keeping the Waits Motel and moving the condemnation to 6 months down the line, long enough to see if the work Emily and Doug were doing was making a difference or if this was simply another upswing of a long established cycle of blight. Those speaking in favor of keeping the Waits Motel included advocates, current residents, current neighbors, and investors. Their reasoning spread from this being different than other upswings in the past based on how safe they felt in the neighborhood, to suspicions of timing (i.e. this had been an issue for years so why did the City feel the need to move forward in this way right as a group was making improvements and expressed an interest in buying the property) but the request was always the same - to give time to let things improve naturally and build on the good work being done by Emily, Doug, and their team.
On August 2nd, after an extensive public comment, as well as an extended executive session, the Council voted in favor of condemning the Waits Motel, with only one member (Councilmember Vogeli) voting ‘nay’. Some members noted that their support of condemning the Motel was driven by the confidence they have in the relocation process, while other members noted they hoped the property would be used to support housing in that area.
So, if this was all decided on August 2, 2023, why bring it up now? On January 10th, 2024, during the standard City Council Meeting, the Council voted to approve the sale between the City and the current owner of the Waits Motel, making the action official. Emily Simpson was the only one to provide public comment, who warned residents of “government overreach” and provided a flower to each council member, asking them to give it to a “local soul whose heart conceives hope.”
Only time will tell how the property is used and how relocation efforts are successful but, what we know now, is that good people started a good thing on Lombard Ave. Hopefully, their efforts won’t have been in vain.
Angela Di Filippo currently works in State Social Services and recently earned her Masters in Industrial/Organizational Psychology with extensive training in evidence-based leadership coaching. Angela moved from North Carolina to Washington 6 years ago and has proudly called Everett her home for 5 of those years. When not helping others solve problems in creative and strength-driven ways, Angela enjoys her time painting, hiking with her terrier-mix, Indy, and eating waffles.
