By Cary Shuman
Everett City Council President Robert Van Campen said Tuesday his health is “slowly improving” as he battles a case of COVID. “I got home Friday night late [from a business trip to Los Angeles] and I felt a little tired from the jet lag,” said Van Campen. “On Sunday afternoon into Sunday night, it was almost like I had zero energy. For a 24-to-36 period of time, I could barely function. Today [Tuesday] is the first time I feel like I can actually pick my head up.”
Van Campen watched Monday’s Council meeting in its entirety live on ECTV, stating that he was pleased to see his motion to allocate $10 million [from ARPA funds] passed by the Council. At the request of Councilor-at-Large Stephanie Smith in deference to Van Campen not being present at the meeting, the Council voted to postpone the vote on an order requesting $72 million for improvements to the old Everett High School building located at 548 Broadway. Van Campen said as the councilor for the neighborhood where the building is located, he has concerns about “the impact that multiple uses of this building are currently having on the neighborhood.”
Van Campen said he looks forward to having his questions about the project answered at the Sept. 9 meeting. He expects the Council to make a final vote on the issue at the meeting. “We have to confront this overcrowding problem in our schools,” said Van Campen. “I know we have to come up with a solution, and this is the solution that is currently before the Council.”