Langley faces challenges similar to … La Conner

A woman is elected the new mayor of a small town on the edge of the Pacific Ocean in November 2023. “I think Langley is a very sweet, quaint town. It is not homogenous. (That’s) my experience,” Mayor Kennedy Horstman told the Weekly News in a joint interview with Director of Community Planning Meredith Penny March 21.

The city’s residents “are very different people passionate about a lot of things. They are not all in agreement. … We are all one community but there is a lot of diversity on views of the future,” Horstman believes.

Langley, a city of 1,148 residents, carries the moniker “The Village by the Sea.” Like La Conner, Langley’s economy is fueled by tourists from the Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, areas. A 45-minute interview resulted in this snapshot.

“Small cities and small towns that are in desirable locations have challenges,” Horstman volunteered. A four-year water, stormwater and sewer infrastructure project was on her mind first. The 2024 budget is $13.6 million but without this $8.3 million capital expense it becomes a $5.3 million budget.

La Conner’s 2024 budget for its 958 residents totals $9.1 million in expenditures, of which $4.3 million goes to the four water and wastewater treatment plant funds, leaving $4.8 million for other town expenditures..

“Financially, we are at a pretty challenging point,” Horstman said. “Staff for a long time has been doing lot with very little.” She wants to invest in technology as “an opportunity to help people become more efficient.”

Her city employs 20 people, including its police department. Finding staff, and retaining police, especially, is a problem.

Horstman starts her tenure as mayor and city administrator, seemingly more than a full-time effort. She has the resume as a management consultant for 25 years in the technology sector, emphasizing team building and improving service delivery.

“I ran for mayor because I have a business/tech background, I go into an organization to help and then put systems and people in place. My experience is we have solid departments, but we haven’t had good leadership (to bring them) together,” she noted.

Hiring a full time administrator is on her 2024 task list.

Residents see the huge challenges. Horstman appreciates “the engaged citizenry,” listing affordable housing, climate resilience and infrastructure leading their concerns. She understands “the process used for creating policy and plans is slow moving and opaque.” Citizen involvement with the city’s update of its comprehensive plan is a priority for her.

Community Planning Director Penny is optimistic. “People are talking, groups wanting to work for this. We need to unlock potential. The community is in favor, especially how that affects how businesses work because they don’t have staff. (They) worry that it might change character of Langley, we get a lot of engagement around that.”

Affordable housing tops Horstman’s list of challenges, but years of city work “on the planning side” put code changes in place. Priorities are accessory dwelling units, infill building on available lots and a planned unit development on a five-plus acre property.

Horstman pointed to “the pretty high percentage of affordable housing,” defining it as “mostly built 30-plus years ago” and primarily for seniors.

Moving to other topics, the two agreed there is a commitment to “the essential character of Langley – its historic downtown” and their strong preservation commission. Similarly, residents are emphasizing the Native American population, especially the Snohomish tribe. They noted Langley is a state creative district and “an artist town,” with adult and children’s theatres.

Like La Conner, there is an influx of Seattle-area “retired folks that bring professions and passions” with them. The coronavirus pandemic also brought younger families because parents could work remotely. That has created some “tension when we move forward in terms of vision,” the mayor said. “There are new folks and young folks as well as families that have been here a long time.”

And yet, Horstman said, school enrollment is declining. High school students, however, have led on the issue of climate resilience. The larger island community, represented in the Island Council of Governments, is collaborating to address common issues.

“There’s a big force behind declaring a climate emergency – not just within the town but the community around it. We are recognizing that the county is dealing with same problems,” Horstman stressed.

Penny agreed. “I think there’s real potential to take collaboration to a higher level. We could work on over the long term, social and environmental problems are only getting more complex. We have to maximize what resources we have – grant opportunities, we can make use of, get solid pattern of building out our plans, get into a regular pattern and rhythm planned development and implementation. … We need more emergency management and housing.”

Horstman’s final thoughts: “I expected this to be the most challenging job I ever had, and it is proving to be, but I also have faith in our community to come together. I have faith in our community to tackle these problems together … and bring people together.”