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City Council Regular Meeting Auto captions

Monday, April 7, 2025

7:00 PM · Council Chambers, 135 E. Sunset Way, Issaquah WA
Topics tracked across meetings:
City Council Vacancy Process, Amendments to City Council Rules of Procedure AB 9009 1/3
Central Issaquah Station Area Vision and Guiding Principles AB 8955 3/3
Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Month Proclamation ID 1809 2/2
2025 Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Funding Recommendations AB 9007 2/2
Section
Topic
3. SPECIAL BUSINESS
3a
Public Safety Telecommunications Week Proclamation ID 1807
5 min · packet pp.5
Topics: Public Safety
Staff report:
CITY OF ISSAQUAH Mayor's Office
3b
Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Month Proclamation ID 1809
5 min · packet pp.7
Staff report:
CITY OF v King County Sexual Assault WASHINGTON / Resource Center
3c
Food Waste Prevention Week Proclamation ID 1830
5 min · packet pp.9
Staff report:
SPECIAL BUSINESS c) CITY OF ISSAQUAH Mayor's Office
5. CONSENT CALENDAR
5a
Accounts: Payables and Payroll of April 7, 2025, $7,384,919.15 ID 1788
Approve · packet pp.11–36
Topics: Budget
Staff report:
Finance Department P.O. Box 1307 Issaquah, WA 98027 PH: 425-837-3050 www.issaquahwa.gov
5b
Minutes: City Council Regular Meeting, Feb. 24, 2025
Approve · packet pp.37–42
Staff report:
MOTION: Authorized the transfer of $482,687 from the City's 0.1% sales tax (HB 1590) Issaquah Housing Investment Pool (IHIP) funding to ARCH to fund and manage a contract with Life Enrichment Options (LEO) to purchase Emily House; and
5c
Minutes: City Council Committee of the Whole Meeting, March 10, 2025
Approve · packet pp.43–44
Staff report:
CONSENT CALENDAR c) 03-10-25 City Council Committee of the Whole Page (1) Minutes CITY OF ISSAQUAH City Council Committee-of-the-Whole 6:30 PM Council Chambers March 10, 2025 MINUTES 135 E. Sunset Way
5d
Minutes: City Council Special Meeting, March 31, 2025
Approve · packet pp.45–46
Staff report:
CONSENT CALENDAR d) 03-31-25 City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 1 CITY OF ISSAQUAH City Council Special Meeting – Joint Meeting with Issaquah School Board 6:00 PM Holly Street Early Learning March 31, 2025 Center 565 NW Holly St. MINUTES Issaquah, WA 98027
5e
Highwood & Westside Reservoirs Improvements (WT018), Change Order 1 AB 8970
Authorize Funding · packet pp.47–51
Topics: Budget
Staff report:
The city combined two CIP projects into one bid to reduce construction expenses. On March 18, 2024, the City Council awarded the construction contract for the Highwood Reservoirs and Westside Reservoir Retrofit project in the amount of $2,845,068.72 (including sales tax) to T Bailey, Inc. (AB 8798). A
5f
2025 Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Funding Recommendations AB 9007
Approve; Authorize Funding · packet pp.53–137
Topics: BudgetTourism
Staff report:
In the 2025-26 budget, the City Council approved an annual allocation of $50,000 from the Lodging Tax Fund to support tourism-related initiatives that draw visitors from over 50-miles. These funds are provided to businesses and nonprofits for services provided and do not need to be repaid. In late 2024, LTAC discussed and approved changes to the annual application to align with current conditions. These changes included focusing on the shoulder season and setting three funding levels for applicants to be more impactful. The focus on the shoulder season of October - April is when hotels and visitors are reduced. The decision to fund at three levels - $7,500, $10,000 and $15,000 - not only will be more impactful for initiatives, but will help invest in new and innovative ideas and support larger initiatives that draw beyond the 50-mile radius of Issaquah.
6. REGULAR BUSINESS
6a
Central Issaquah Station Area Vision and Guiding Principles AB 8955
Approve Resolution · 30 min · packet pp.139–180
Topics: Land Use
Staff report:
Over the last 20 years, the City’s population has more than doubled, bringing about new transportation opportunities and challenges which require new strategies to meet the city’s goals. Considering this growth, the city is seeking to take a proactive, transit-supportive approach to ensure that anticipated future roadway improvements support the long-term transit network.
6b
City Council Vacancy Process Debrief AB 9009
Direct Administration · 30 min · packet pp.181–183
Topics: Boards & Commissions
Staff report:
Certain steps of the City Council vacancy appointment process are outlined in Chapter 2.03 of the City Council Rules of Procedure. The City Council Rules provide for:  an online application  a verbal presentation from the applicants  the method of making the final nominations and appointment
9. GOOD OF THE ORDER
9a
Upcoming Council Meetings
0:12 Good evening everyone and welcome. I'm
0:14 calling the April 7th city council
0:16 meeting to order. Um and as a reminder
0:18 to those that are here with us and
0:21 watching online, we continue to have a
0:23 remote aspect to the these meetings.
0:26 Both staff and members of the public may
0:27 be participating in tonight's meeting
0:29 remotely via webex. First item in the
0:32 agenda this evening is the pledge of
0:33 allegiance and I invite you to join us.
0:38 I pledge algiance to the flag of the
0:41 United States of America and to the
0:45 stands nationy.
0:54 Thank you. What I might do if it's okay
0:57 with Trisha is reverse the order. Oh,
1:00 nope. Not going to reverse the order. Uh
1:01 we have some business tonight under
1:03 special business and I'm seeing some of
1:06 our staff walk in. The first item is ID
1:09 1807 public safety telecom
1:12 telecommunications week proclamation.
1:14 And I'd like to invite police dispatch
1:16 supervisor Trisha Bizy to the lectern
1:18 with council president Walsh.
1:27 Excellent. Well, I think there's a lot
1:30 to say about our police dis dispatch.
1:32 Um, I call you guys all the time and
1:36 just have a great opportunity to reach
1:40 someone who is there for our community.
1:43 And I think many of our community may
1:46 not recognize that we do have our own
1:48 police dispatch. You know, that's not
1:50 very common. A lot of organizations and
1:53 cities work with NorCom and have a
1:56 centralized dispatch, but we end up
1:58 having a dispatch that is very familiar
2:01 with our community, very familiar with
2:02 our officers, and has that personalized
2:06 connection to our community, and it's
2:08 something that I think we need to
2:10 recognize and really um appreciate. So,
2:13 I'll say that. and then the
2:15 proclamation. Whereas emergencies can
2:18 occur at any time that require police
2:20 services. And whereas an emergency
2:22 occurs, the prompt response of police
2:25 officers is critical to the protection
2:27 of life and preservation of property.
2:30 And whereas the safety of our police
2:32 officers is dependent upon the quality
2:34 and accuracy of information obtained
2:36 from citizens who telephone the Isqua
2:39 Communication Center. And whereas
2:41 professional police or professional
2:44 public safety telecommunicators are a
2:47 vital link for our community and are the
2:49 first and most critical contact our
2:51 citizens have with emergency services.
2:54 And whereas public safety
2:56 telecommunicators are the single vital
2:58 link for our police officers by
3:00 monitoring their activities by radio,
3:02 providing them information and ensuring
3:04 their safety. And whereas public safety
3:07 telecommunicators of the Isiqua
3:09 Communications Center have contributed
3:11 substantially to the apprehension of
3:13 criminals and whereas our dispatchers
3:16 exhibit compassion, understanding, and
3:19 professionalism during the performance
3:20 of their job. Now therefore, I, Council
3:24 Member Lindseay Walsh, on behalf of Mary
3:26 Mayor Mary Lou Polly, Mayor of the City
3:28 of Isiqua, do hereby proclaim the week
3:31 of April 13th to 19th, 2025 to be public
3:35 safety telecommunications week in the
3:37 city of Isiqua. And I invite the
3:39 community to join me in thanking Isqua's
3:42 dispatchers for their service and
3:43 outstanding
3:44 contributions. Excellent. Do you like to
3:47 make a few statements?
3:49 Absolutely.
3:50 I want to thank you guys for having us
3:52 today. I'm just here to express our
3:53 gratitude on behalf of the
3:54 telecommunicators um and and your
3:56 ongoing support for our profession. As
3:59 we approach National Telecommunicator
4:00 Week, I want to take this opportunity to
4:02 highlight just how much your support
4:04 means to the telecommunicators who work
4:06 tirelessly behind the scenes every day
4:08 to ensure our safety. Telecommunicators
4:11 are often the unseen lifeline in the
4:13 emergency situations, handling stressful
4:15 calls and providing that vital
4:16 coordination for first responders and
4:19 the public alike. Your recognition for
4:21 their work is essential not only during
4:22 telecommunicator week but throughout the
4:24 year. The telecommunicator week serves
4:27 as an important reminder to that
4:28 critical role these professionals play
4:30 in our community. Their dedication and
4:32 quick thinking and calm under pressure
4:34 help save lives and protect the
4:36 well-being of our community. It's during
4:38 this week that we can come together and
4:39 celebrate their hard work and their
4:41 dedication. But it is the yearround
4:43 support that truly makes a difference.
4:45 By continuing to provide resources, the
4:47 recognition and their contribution and
4:49 advocate for the tools that they need,
4:51 you are empowering these professionals
4:53 perform their at their very best. Your
4:55 support ensures that they are equipped
4:57 to handle emergencies with the
4:59 efficiency and skills our city does
5:00 require. I also want to personally thank
5:03 you for recognizing their efforts during
5:04 the telecommunicator week and our
5:06 ongoing commitment to improving their
5:08 working conditions. Your unwavering
5:10 support has a significant impact in our
5:12 ability to serve and protect the public.
5:14 I know not one not everyone wants to
5:16 hear about statistics, especially me,
5:18 but there's a couple numbers that I do
5:20 want to share with you guys that I think
5:21 are really important. The standard is
5:24 that a n 90% of all the 911 calls should
5:26 be answered within the 10 seconds during
5:29 peak hours and 95% of those should be
5:31 answered within 20 seconds. In 2022, the
5:35 average time that we were answering the
5:37 phone was at 7.36 seconds. In 2023, it
5:41 was 6.92 seconds. In 2024, it dropped to
5:44 5.42 seconds, and we're currently at
5:47 this year at 2.57 seconds. So, I want to
5:51 show you that it is a big difference
5:53 when you're on the other end of that 911
5:55 call and every second truly does count.
5:58 The reason I'm bringing this up is to
5:59 thank you for your continued support in
6:01 helping increase our staff. Without that
6:03 added support, we wouldn't be able to
6:05 answer those calls as quickly as we do.
6:07 Your commitment directly contributes to
6:08 our ability to respond effectively and
6:10 efficiently in these critical moments. I
6:13 believe I I'm sorry, I briefly want to
6:14 introduce a few of the team members that
6:16 I brought with me. I think you met Ryan.
6:18 He started with us in October 2023 and
6:20 he's now one of our training officers
6:22 and he is our training our newest which
6:24 is Kirsten. She has just started with us
6:27 last week but she does come uh with 10
6:30 years of experience. So we're very
6:31 excited to have her. Um again just thank
6:33 you for recognizing us during this
6:35 weekend. Always keeping us in mind.
6:37 Thank you Trisha. Thank you so much.
6:39 Yeah. Thank you. And uh we'd love to
6:42 have you all do a picture but don't
6:44 forget your mayor's an engineer and she
6:46 loves data. Thank you for slipping that
6:48 in. Love the data. Love the numbers.
6:50 Thank
6:59 you. Great
7:02 job. Thank you, Council President. The
7:05 next item we have this evening under
7:07 special presentations is ID 1809, Sexual
7:10 Assault Awareness and Prevention Month
7:13 Proclamation. I'd like to invite Karen
7:15 Sharp, chief operating officer for King
7:18 County Sexual Assault Resource Center to
7:20 the lectern with Deputy Council
7:22 President Michelle.
7:24 Yes, thank you. So Karen, thank you so
7:28 much for being here and thank you for
7:29 everything that you do. Whereas sexual
7:32 assault awareness and prevention month
7:34 calls attention to the fact that sexual
7:36 violence is widespread and impacts every
7:39 person in the community. And whereas
7:42 sexual assault is pervasive, every 68
7:45 seconds, someone is sexually assaulted
7:47 in the United States. And whereas black,
7:50 indigenous, and other people of color,
7:52 people living in poverty, LGBTQ plus
7:55 people, elders, people with
7:57 disabilities, and others who have been
7:59 historically oppressed are
8:01 disproportionately affected by sexual
8:03 violence in significant and complex
8:05 ways. And whereas sexual assault is
8:08 among the most underreported crimes for
8:11 many reasons, but survivors who are
8:13 already most marginalized face
8:15 additional barriers to reporting such as
8:17 language, immigration status, or
8:20 disability. And whereas ending sexual
8:23 violence requires us to address racism,
8:26 sexism, and all forms of oppression that
8:29 contribute to the perpetuation of sexual
8:31 assault. And whereas sexual violence
8:34 exists on a continuum of behavior that
8:36 includes racist, sexist, transphobic,
8:39 homophobic, abbleist, or other hate
8:42 speech. This ranges from rape jokes to
8:44 verbal harassment to physical assaults.
8:47 And whereas by working together as a
8:50 community, we can alleviate the trauma
8:52 of sexual violence by ensuring
8:54 supportive resources are available to
8:56 all survivors while standing up to and
8:59 actively disrupting harmful attitudes
9:01 and behaviors that contribute to sexual
9:04 violence. Now, therefore, I, Council
9:06 Member D. We shall on behalf of Mary
9:09 Lupali, mayor of the city of Isiqua, do
9:12 hereby proclaim April 2025 to be sexual
9:15 assault awareness and prevention month
9:18 in the city of Isiqua. And I encourage
9:20 all citizens to join me in this special
9:22 observance and join advocates and
9:25 communities across King County in taking
9:27 action to prevent sexual violence.
9:29 Together, we commit to a safer future
9:32 for all children, young people, adults,
9:35 and families in our community. In
9:37 witness whereof, I appear unto set she
9:40 has where to set her hand and seal of
9:43 the city of Isiqua this 7th day of
9:45 April,
9:46 2025. Would you like to say some words?
9:49 Here you go. Yeah.
9:53 Thank you so much. Really appreciate it.
9:55 My name is Karen Sharp and I'm the chief
9:58 operating officer at King County Sexual
10:00 Assault Resource Center, KARC for short.
10:02 a nonprofit that serves Isaakiqua and
10:05 all cities in King County. And I'm here
10:09 to accept this sexual assault uh
10:11 awareness month proclamation on behalf
10:14 of King County Sexual Assault Resource
10:16 Center. And first I just want to say
10:18 thank you for being part of the
10:20 solution. It's so important. And to
10:24 survivors in our community, I want to
10:27 say you are not alone. Sexual assault,
10:31 as uh you heard, is common. Half of
10:34 women and onethird of men have
10:36 experienced sexual assault in their
10:38 lifetime. People from marginalized
10:41 communities due to disability, race, or
10:44 ethnicity, or their gender or sexual
10:47 identity, to name just a few, are at
10:49 even greater risks. Chances are that you
10:53 know somebody who has been sexually
10:56 abused. The trauma of sexual assault is
10:59 something that could affect a survivor's
11:00 mental, physical, and behavioral health,
11:03 their ability to form healthy
11:04 relationships, remain in school, or in
11:07 the
11:08 workplace. But recovery from trauma, the
11:12 trauma of sexual assault is possible
11:15 with support. Kesark assisted 4,300
11:18 individual survivors and their families
11:20 in the last year alone. Almost half of
11:23 KEARK clients are teens and children.
11:26 And we know young people are the most
11:28 vulnerable to sexual assault and the
11:30 least likely to speak up about it and to
11:33 be believed when they do. I want to end
11:37 with another message to survivors. Free
11:40 and confidential help is available to
11:42 survivors or anyone who needs more
11:45 information. Our 24-hour resource line
11:49 is a good starting place and that number
11:53 88899 voice. You know, we always say we
11:56 can't change what we can't talk about.
11:58 So, thank you all for your leadership
12:01 and your willingness to be loud against
12:03 sexual assault. It's very appreciated.
12:06 Thank you.
12:10 Thank you, Karen. And thank you, Deputy
12:12 Council President. If you could hang on
12:14 there for a moment so our city
12:15 administrator can take the
12:21 picture. Thank you. The next item under
12:24 special business is ID 1830, food waste
12:26 prevention week proclamation. And I'd
12:28 like to invite solid waste program
12:30 analyst Sam Tarvin to the lectern and
12:33 also council member Jen. Thank you for
12:35 doing this.
12:45 Yeah, thank you so much Sam for being
12:47 here.
12:48 Um, okay. So whereas estimates show that
12:52 more than onethird of the food produced
12:54 in the United States goes un unsold or
12:56 uneaten and whereas Washington generates
12:59 an estimated 1.1 million tons of food
13:01 waste annually including 400,000 tons of
13:04 edible food disposed in landfills. And
13:06 whereas the production, transportation,
13:08 and handling of food waste has
13:10 contributed to significant
13:11 environmental, social, and economic
13:13 impacts, including approximately $218
13:16 billion per year in total global
13:18 economic loss associated with wasted
13:21 food. And whereas a family of four can
13:23 save an average of $1,500 annually by
13:26 reducing food waste in their home. And
13:28 whereas Washington's climate and food
13:30 waste reduction goals include the goal
13:32 to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030 and
13:35 to reduce at least half of edible food
13:36 waste by 2030. And whereas through the
13:39 Isiqua climate action plan, the city is
13:41 committed to diverting 70% of its
13:43 municipal solid waste away from the
13:45 landfill by 2030 and 90% by 2050. in
13:48 addition to partnering with local food
13:50 recovery organizations to food waste
13:52 reduction in Isiqua through technical
13:54 assistance and outreach. And whereas
13:56 reducing and preventing food waste
13:58 increases food security for Isiqua's
14:00 most vulnerable populations fosters
14:03 improved local agricultural
14:04 productivity, economic efficiency, and
14:07 conservation of resources and energy.
14:09 And whereas preventing food waste is a
14:11 valuable activity people and businesses
14:13 in Isqua can take to reduce
14:14 inefficiencies and make the best use of
14:17 food grown and manufactured for human
14:18 consumption. Now therefore, I, Council
14:21 Member Kelly Jeng, on behalf of Mary
14:22 Lupali, mayor of the city of Isiqua, do
14:25 hereby proclaim April 7th to April 13th,
14:28 2025 as Food Waste Prevention Week in
14:30 the city of Isiqua. And I encourage all
14:32 residents to observe this week by
14:34 committing to preventing and reducing
14:36 food waste in their homes, workplaces,
14:38 and
14:39 communities. And I'll hand it over to
14:43 Sam. Thank you, council, for having me.
14:45 So today is the first day of food waste
14:47 prevention week. Isiqua is a proud
14:49 official partner of this campaign that
14:51 aims to educate and encourage community
14:53 members to get involved in food waste
14:54 reduction in their homes, workplaces,
14:56 schools, and community. 40% of the food
14:59 in the US is wasted and almost half of
15:01 that wasted food is edible. Food waste
15:03 reduction is a powerful climate action
15:05 everyone can take and has direct
15:07 benefits to our local and global
15:08 community. The Isiqua solid waste
15:10 program is celebrating this week by
15:12 educating residents on food waste
15:14 reduction strategies, offering
15:15 resources, and hosting events. We
15:18 encourage everyone to take action to
15:19 reduce food waste in our community.
15:21 Thank you. Thank you, Sam. And thank
15:22 you, Council Member Jen. If you would
15:24 hang for a picture, that would be
15:25 wonderful.
15:35 That is the end of our special business,
15:37 but I do want to also thank our council
15:39 for always raising their hand to help
15:41 pro present these proclamations. The
15:43 mayor could stand up there and do it all
15:44 the time, but you're already tired of my
15:46 voice. So, it's very nice that when
15:48 something appeals to you and to your
15:51 values and our community values that you
15:53 stand up there and do this for our
15:54 community. So very very appreciative of
15:56 your volunteerism for this. We're going
15:59 to move on to audience comments. And
16:00 this is the time when members of the
16:02 public um may address council in person
16:05 or virtually. And if you've signed up in
16:07 advance to make comments, we'll call on
16:08 you first. If you're joining us
16:10 virtually and would like to make
16:12 comments, please raise your virtual hand
16:13 or send the host a chat message. If
16:16 you're in the room and you did not sign
16:18 up, I will ask for other speakers before
16:20 closing this portion of the meeting. And
16:22 city clerk, has anyone signed up to
16:23 speak this evening?
16:24 Yes. Thank you. Um, so if you are making
16:28 comments this evening, you're invited to
16:30 address the council regarding matters
16:31 that are directly related to Isiqua's
16:33 programs, projects, services, or events.
16:37 Comments related to political campaigns
16:39 are not permitted. And please direct
16:41 your comments to the whole council and
16:43 not individuals. And while this is not a
16:45 question and answer session, we will
16:47 contact you to follow up if needed. So,
16:50 when you are recognized, if you are a
16:52 virtual attendee, um, please unmute your
16:54 mic microphone. If you're in the room,
16:56 please step up to the center lectern and
16:58 press the button in the center. And I'll
17:00 I'll I'll start in a second. I have just
17:03 a few more lines to go. Thanks. Uh, make
17:06 sure you state your name and address or
17:08 relationship to the city. Speak clearly
17:11 and pause frequently and limit your
17:13 comments to five minutes. If you're
17:15 attending virtually and you do not
17:17 respond after your name or phone number
17:18 is called, or if we lose your
17:20 connection, we still need to proceed
17:21 with the meeting. Personal attacks,
17:24 obscene language, derogatory remarks,
17:25 and disruptive behavior will not be
17:27 permitted. And public comments, written
17:30 and verbal, are an important aspect of
17:31 the public process, and the city and the
17:33 council takes these comments seriously.
17:35 We thank you for taking the time to
17:37 address us. City clerk, who has signed
17:39 up to speak first? Kai Han. Kai Han, you
17:42 have the microphone. Thank you, ma'am.
17:44 Yeah, my name is a Kong Suk Khan. I'm
17:47 living in the
17:48 1695 Pineville, Isakqua, Washington. I'm
17:51 a resident. And then I have a matter
17:56 with the city of Isakqua of first degree
17:59 assault. And then I will going to read
18:01 to you what's happening. Then my journey
18:04 state that the male subject kicked the
18:06 front door side the bumper of my
18:09 vehicle. I observe a footprint on the
18:11 vehicle but did not observe any damage.
18:14 The male then come up to his window and
18:16 hit the back of his left hand at is it
18:20 was on the door. Hit his hand hard
18:23 enough for his driver's side window was
18:26 not able to roll up after the hit.
18:30 That's what stated. Here is my wife's
18:34 witnesses. My name is Minhong. I'm the
18:37 wife wife of Kong Khan and have raised
18:39 two children and live in Isaka as a good
18:42 citizen for 10 years. My family has
18:44 suffer a lot mentally due to the
18:46 incident that happened in the Costco
18:49 parking lot a while ago. That day I
18:52 tried to park in front of the tire
18:53 center to check change the tire before
18:56 going to the airport. I went to Costco
18:58 with the two cars and there was no place
19:00 to park. So me my husband saw an empty
19:03 spot and stood there so I could park.
19:07 When I was about to enter the parking
19:09 lot, my husband said that my wife should
19:12 park, but the man swear at him. My
19:16 husband said that my wife was behind
19:18 him, but the man tried to hit my husband
19:21 by moving the car twice and tried to hit
19:24 my husband with his car. I was so
19:26 shocked and panic with his deino. I
19:30 witnessed that there was no physical
19:32 contact in this situation. So this one
19:34 is the situation. I'm a 60 years old
19:37 man. I'm a ski instructor. I'm a
19:39 business owners and then my two kid is a
19:42 graduate isaka high school. My son is
19:45 fourth year university and my daughter
19:47 is going to college. I'm American
19:50 citizen. I will swear I didn't touch
19:54 anybody because at that time I'm too
19:56 busy to going to airport. I was sitting
19:59 like this. Stay at the microphone, sir.
20:02 Thanks. Because otherwise people will
20:03 not be able to hear you. I'd address the
20:05 city council meeting because under the
20:07 city council administration, you
20:13 observe the police department. I told
20:16 the police department many times even at
20:18 that time police said that both guys
20:21 charging so we can clear the issue. and
20:23 I find that I'm the only one charged for
20:26 degree assault with the lying. Lying is
20:30 a criminal matter. If I lying to the
20:34 council member or police department, I
20:36 will put maximize my penalty. Million
20:38 dollar penalty, my lifetime prison, I
20:42 will pull responsible. I'm not lying. I
20:45 didn't touch
20:46 him. If he's
20:48 lying, somebody has to do some justice.
20:52 And I called the same thing with the
20:54 prosecutor, please do something. And the
20:57 prosecutor said that provide the
20:59 evidences. But I didn't have one. So I
21:01 have a court to trial that is May 6.
21:04 That time I have to make a decide either
21:08 do I have to hire the attorney or not.
21:10 If I going to hire the attorney is a
21:12 $10,000.
21:14 Madame Mayor. Yeah. If I may um step in
21:17 just a moment.
21:19 um he's making some statements about a
21:21 criminal case and he could be
21:25 um harming his rights to
21:28 selfinccrimination. So, thank you.
21:29 Council member Joe, our attorney is
21:31 sitting here, so let's turn the
21:32 microphone over to her. Um Rachel, do
21:35 you want to make any comments about
21:36 concern about what our um testifier
21:40 might be doing? Well, I'm I'm not I
21:43 don't think any of us are in a position
21:44 to give him legal advice. That would be
21:46 inappropriate for me. So, um, hold on
21:48 just a second. I agree that
21:51 that he may be making statements that he
21:54 does, this is sounds like this is a
21:56 criminal matter and that it probably
21:58 would be better to do this in court
22:02 here. Give me one minute. But he does
22:03 have a first amendment right. So, if he
22:05 wants to say things that may incriminate
22:08 him later, that's going to be his right
22:10 to do so. Yeah. Here's what my my So, so
22:12 hang on one second. Um, city clerk, I I
22:15 think what I'd like to do is allow the
22:17 person testifying to be able to have all
22:19 the time. So, thank you for answering
22:21 the question. It's a good point, Council
22:23 Member Joe. However, I think we're going
22:25 to proceed and let him finish with his
22:26 time. Thank you, madam. Yeah, here's my
22:29 intention. If you are not going to do
22:31 anything, it's fine. I spend my money
22:33 for this cases, but city of Isaka is
22:37 liable because you are not prosecutor
22:40 liar. Somebody is lying to the police
22:43 department is a criminal matter. I tell
22:47 police department same thing they're not
22:49 going to do anything. Prosecutor they're
22:51 not going to do anything. I talked to
22:53 the judgy they say this she can't
22:56 reimburse. So I'm asking specifically
22:59 mayor or council members still we have a
23:02 time because we have a May sixes tell
23:05 the police department or prosecutor
23:08 department find the fact if I touch him
23:12 show me the evidence if not if I going
23:15 to the higher attorney that's a 10 to 10
23:18 the microphone so they can hear you. So,
23:20 I'm going to submit the reimbursement
23:22 plan. So, CD is liable for the all the
23:25 legal cost and my time. Thank you. Thank
23:28 you. Um, I see our attorney is back at
23:30 the microphone. The the city is not
23:32 going to speak to your your case or get
23:34 involved in your criminal matter, the
23:35 city council. It's not the place of the
23:37 city council to do that. We do recommend
23:39 that you do hire an attorney. Yeah. But
23:42 that's why I'm If I hire attorney, city
23:45 has to li all the cost. No, the city
23:48 does not. So, you can you can speak to
23:50 the your attorney about all of this.
23:52 What I would like to recommend is thank
23:53 you for your testimony. Very
23:55 informative. Um, and if uh our attorney
23:58 would like to step out and and answer
24:01 some questions because there may be some
24:02 basic information that is misunderstood
24:05 in this case, go ahead and do that. That
24:07 would be fine. Um, but otherwise, I'm
24:09 going to move on to see if there are any
24:11 other people testifying tonight. City
24:13 clerk. We do have one member of the
24:15 public with us virtually, but I don't
24:16 see that they're indicating a desire to
24:18 speak. Well, thank you. Um, and so
24:21 tonight we did hear from a resident who
24:24 is concerned with uh charges and are has
24:29 some questions about how all the process
24:30 will work. But I want to thank him for
24:32 coming in tonight and sharing with our
24:34 city council. I am not seeing anyone
24:36 else in the room this evening with a
24:37 desire to speak. I think our big crowd
24:39 was more for the special business part.
24:42 So, we are going to move on to the
24:43 consent calendar and I do not have any
24:45 remarks on the consent calendar items,
24:46 but I would like to give a chance for
24:48 committee chairs or chair designs who
24:51 would like to report on any of the
24:52 consent calendar
24:54 items. I'm looking around and not seeing
24:56 any reports. The consent calendar was
24:59 distributed to council in advance and if
25:01 authorized, the items on the consent
25:02 calendar will be considered together and
25:04 approved by one motion. Have the
25:06 payables and payroll been reviewed? They
25:09 have. They have. Thank you both. And
25:11 does any council member desire to remove
25:12 any item from the consent calendar and
25:14 consider it under regular
25:16 business? Not seeing an indication to do
25:19 so. Oh, um I am seeing something. Um
25:23 Council Member Jen, um I just wanted to
25:25 note for the record that one of the
25:28 recipients uh for the lodging tax
25:30 advisory committee funding is an
25:32 organization of which I am the board
25:34 president. Um, I talked with the city
25:36 clerk about it and it doesn't appear to
25:38 be an actual conflict of interest where
25:40 it needs to be taken off and voted
25:41 separately, but just wanted to note that
25:43 for the record and for transparency.
25:45 Thank you for saying that.
25:47 All right. Do I have a motion, council
25:50 president? I move we approve the consent
25:53 calendar as distributed. Second. It's
25:56 been moved and seconded. Is there any
25:58 council
25:59 discussion? Not seeing any. Council
26:01 member Jen, thanks for that
26:02 clarification. So the motion approved
26:05 before uh the motion before council is
26:07 to approve the consent calendar as
26:08 presented. All those in favor signify by
26:10 saying I. I. Those opposed.
26:28 Okay. Thank you, Council President.
26:31 We're going to move into regular
26:32 business. And the first item here is
26:36 AB9007-2025, Lodging Tax Advisory
26:38 Committee Funding Recommendations. Oh
26:41 gosh. Okay. Nope. Sorry. Did not get
26:43 removed. I am reading a script that
26:45 gives me many choices. So, I thank you,
26:48 city clerk. I'm going to move into AB
26:54 8955, Central Esqua Station Area Vision
26:57 and Guiding Principles. The request
26:59 before council this evening is to
27:01 consider and approve a resolution. And
27:03 I'm going to turn this over to senior
27:04 transportation planner Thomas Valdez.
27:07 Come on up to the podium and welcome.
27:17 Thank you, member and mayors and uh
27:19 sorry, thank you mayor and members of
27:21 the
27:30 council. I appreciate your time tonight.
27:33 My name is Thomas Valdres, senior
27:34 transportation planner. Uh tonight I
27:37 will be uh requesting uh the council to
27:41 uh please uh review and uh consider for
27:46 adoption the central Isqua stationary
27:48 vision and guiding
27:51 principles. This is a key milestone in
27:54 our efforts to prepare for Sound Transit
27:56 Skylink light rail project as well as to
28:00 guide long-term growth in central Isqua.
28:05 The goal tonight is
28:06 to seek your approval for this
28:09 resolution adopting the vision guiding
28:13 principles. As this council is well
28:15 aware, central Isqua and its urban core
28:18 was designated as a regional growth
28:20 center and we're expecting the majority
28:22 of housing growth and employment growth
28:25 between uh now and 2050 uh in this area.
28:30 This reinforces the idea that we really
28:32 need to be creating a wellplanned
28:34 station area that supports anticipated
28:37 growth as well as transit oriented
28:41 development. Ski link or the South
28:44 Kirkland Isqua Link light rail extension
28:47 has been planned uh for many years. In
28:50 2016, voters approved as part of ST3 the
28:55 creation of Ski Link. It will connect
28:58 South Kirkland through Belleview and
29:00 then finally terminating in central
29:03 Isqua. We're expecting to have service
29:05 in about
29:09 204144. In March of last year, council
29:12 approved the light rail planning guide.
29:15 This provides best practices and
29:17 near-term actions for the city to take
29:19 in order to prepare for Sound Transit's
29:21 project.
29:24 The first major step in this uh planning
29:27 guide was to develop a vision and
29:30 guiding principles. So we're here today
29:32 to create that first
29:35 step. So why are we creating a vision
29:38 vision a vision and guiding
29:40 principles beyond it being called for in
29:43 the planning guide? This really creates
29:46 the framework that we'll need to
29:48 evaluate future decisions.
29:50 things such as station location, the
29:52 track alignment needed for that station,
29:55 and then future action items such as
29:58 land use and zoning updates to support
30:00 development of that station
30:02 area. In addition, it helps us uh
30:05 advocate for the community when we
30:09 discuss uh various things with Sound
30:11 Transit. So, Sound Transit will be using
30:13 this uh just as a starting point um so
30:17 that they know what our aspirations are
30:19 and they can identify a projects that is
30:21 going to meet both local needs as well
30:23 as regional
30:28 needs. This project has really been a
30:30 culmination of over a year and a half of
30:32 public engagement. So, just to
30:35 summarize, we began by doing three
30:37 pop-up
30:38 events. These discussions with community
30:41 members started uh us down this line of
30:44 thinking about ways that light rail and
30:47 the station around the station area
30:49 around light rail um might affect the
30:51 community and the things that that the
30:53 community might be interested in. From
30:55 these three pop-up events, we created a
30:58 multilingual community survey. This was
31:01 taken in three languages in English,
31:03 Spanish, as well as Mandarin Chinese by
31:06 over 805 respondents from all around the
31:08 community and
31:10 beyond. There were many key themes that
31:12 we gathered from the community survey
31:15 and we used those and rolled these in to
31:17 develop seven focus groups. These focus
31:20 groups covered various topics and they
31:23 were comprised of over 28 members from
31:25 the community.
31:28 We took all these ideas, all these
31:30 diverse perspectives and then created a
31:33 culmination event. This was really the
31:35 impetus of the first version of the
31:37 draft that you see
31:38 tonight. Bringing all these ideas
31:41 together, we met and we discussed and
31:44 then we created that document.
31:47 That initial document was then brought
31:49 to the economic vitality
31:51 commission and then the the EVC economic
31:54 vitality commission provided feedback
31:56 which we rolled into future meetings. So
31:59 we met with the planning policy
32:01 commission who received the second
32:02 draft, human services commission and
32:04 equity board. The fourth draft was uh
32:07 reviewed by the transportation advisory
32:09 board and then the committee of the
32:10 whole saw multiple drafts of this.
32:15 The slide shows a summary of the
32:17 direction that was provided to to staff.
32:20 Um, all of which has been incorporated
32:22 into the version that you see
32:24 tonight. In summary, the document has
32:26 been uh made more simpler and uh plain
32:30 spoken while still retaining the key uh
32:33 meaning and um making it easier for lay
32:36 people to um to absorb.
32:39 Other items that were incorporated,
32:42 especially within uh the introductory
32:44 section, include providing guidance for
32:47 the path forward, emphasizing the need
32:50 to uh have public transit operational
32:53 needs considered, emphasizing the needs
32:56 of others outside of the community who
32:58 may be using light rail, as well as
33:02 emphasizing forward compatibility. In
33:04 the event that Ski Link is expanded uh
33:07 beyond isqua, we'll need to think about
33:09 how that extension might
33:14 occur. In front of you today uh as part
33:17 of the resolution and within exhibit A
33:21 is the light rail vision and guiding
33:23 principles.
33:27 So just to summarize the vision
33:29 statement talks
33:31 about central Isqua being vibrant and
33:33 well-connected hub and it's designed for
33:36 walkability and
33:38 sustainability. It has lots of diverse
33:40 housing and business opportunities and
33:43 it's a safe and welcoming and inclusive
33:48 space. There are three guiding
33:50 principles in this document. I'll start
33:52 with the first one which is
33:53 accessibility and connectivity.
33:56 This talks about central Isqua being a a
33:58 hub for
34:00 transportation, that it's safe and
34:02 accessible, that there's thoughtfully
34:04 placed parking, and that the
34:06 neighborhood is transit
34:09 friendly. The second area talks about
34:12 diverse uses and
34:14 experiences. This conveys that central
34:16 Isqua will have a balanced mix of
34:19 housing, businesses, and public spaces.
34:22 that there's amenities and essential
34:23 services that support daily
34:26 life. Sustainability is at the heart of
34:28 this as
34:32 well. The third principle
34:34 is community connection and
34:37 values. This talks about central Isqua
34:39 being welcoming that it's designed for
34:42 adaptable spaces with strong social
34:47 connections. Sustainability, safety, and
34:49 inclusivity are at the heart of this.
34:52 And we want to intentionally design this
34:54 area to uh enhance quality of
34:58 life. Lastly, as an urban center, it
35:01 would balance the growth uh and
35:03 community goals as
35:08 well. The administration is recommending
35:10 council approve this resolution adopting
35:12 the central Isqua stationary vision and
35:14 guiding principles. And I'll stop here.
35:16 Thank you.
35:18 Thank you, Thomas. I'm looking at
35:19 council to see if you have any
35:23 questions. Although
35:30 um no comments or questions. Great. Then
35:33 I am looking for a motion.
35:43 Okay. I move to approve resolution
35:46 number 2025-09
35:49 adopting the central Isiqua Station area
35:52 vision and guiding principles.
35:56 Second. Great. Thank you. It's been
35:58 moved and seconded. Is there any further
36:01 discussion?
36:02 Mr. president. I don't want it to seem
36:05 like there has been any backroom
36:08 conversation or any reason why we are
36:10 not making comments on this other than
36:12 it's come before council multiple times.
36:15 Most recently, um we just wanted to make
36:18 sure to include um some final comments
36:21 and adjustments. I think this has done
36:23 that very well and I think we're all
36:26 really looking forward to getting this
36:29 um into use and into practice. So I I
36:33 don't think our silence should be taken
36:35 as lack of support. More just we respect
36:39 the time and um have commented quite a
36:43 bit in the past. Thank you. Any other
36:46 comments or discussion this evening?
36:48 Deputy Council President. just a thanks
36:50 to staff for a really excellent uh
36:53 outreach and uh involving uh many
36:57 hundreds of Isipa residents uh in the
37:00 process of envisioning this. Um I always
37:03 love to see a terrific effort being made
37:05 and this was really outstanding. So uh
37:08 thank you for all the work that you did
37:10 on this. Thank you. Any other comments?
37:14 It has been moved and seconded to
37:17 approve
37:18 resolution 099 adopting the central ISO
37:22 station area vision and guiding
37:23 principles. All those in favor signify
37:26 by saying I. I.
37:28 Those opposed that carries seven and
37:31 Thomas. Thank you. And I think you heard
37:33 some nice compliments on the staff work
37:35 on this and I appreciate it. Well,
37:37 sometimes when they're quiet, it's
37:39 because they saw everything wanted to
37:41 see in it. So that's really great.
37:44 Um the next item of business this
37:46 evening is AB
37:49 00009. This is a agenda bill on the city
37:52 council vacancy process debrief. Um I'd
37:56 like to introduce this item by saying
37:58 that the vacancy process was a success.
38:00 We have a very qualified and talented
38:02 person sitting in our seventh chair. Um
38:07 and so we always I think as a best
38:09 practice kind of like to review the
38:11 process and talk things through. So
38:13 council has the opportunity to look at
38:15 the rules that they use to go types of
38:17 processes. We also know that reflection
38:20 is important and we did get some
38:22 fabulous feedback from other people who
38:24 were in the applicant pool. So now I'd
38:27 like to turn this over to city clerk
38:29 Tisha Gizer to present this
38:33 item. City Council Tisha Gizer, city
38:35 clerk. Um I don't have a lot to say
38:37 here. Uh we all experienced this process
38:39 fairly recently. Um, what I did want to
38:42 just remind you is that your council
38:45 rules have some provisions for this
38:47 process, but actually not much. So, what
38:49 the council rules say about filling a
38:51 vacancy is that um you'll meet to uh
38:55 approve a schedule and appointment
38:57 timeline, which you did back in
38:58 December, and then the rules say there
39:00 will be an online application. And then
39:02 they say that there will be an
39:04 opportunity for a verbal presentation,
39:05 10 minutes per person. And then they
39:08 provide the nomination and appointment
39:10 process. They don't really say anything
39:12 else about the vacancy. So, one of the
39:14 things that we were interested in uh
39:16 potentially hearing from you tonight is
39:17 if you would like um more uh in uh more
39:22 structure around this process in your
39:23 rules or if you like the flexibility. Uh
39:26 and then as the mayor shared just to to
39:28 get some input on this process, we did
39:30 send out a survey and heard from eight
39:32 of the 12 applicants and you were
39:34 provided their responses. A lot of them
39:36 centered around the question and answer
39:38 period on February 10th and then that um
39:40 narrowing of candidates. Um another
39:43 thing I just wanted to mention and I
39:44 took a look at today. Um there were 12
39:47 uh eligible applicants for this vacancy.
39:50 the average over the past seven uh
39:52 vacancies is eight and so it was a
39:55 little on the high side. Um the last
39:57 highest was I think 2018 we had 14
40:01 applicants but otherwise it's been you
40:03 know single digits. So that's just
40:04 something else to be thinking about in
40:06 the context of your conversation with
40:08 that. I will take a seat. Thank you city
40:10 clerk. Um, city clerk has also put
40:13 together a few questions that we can I
40:16 can use as prompts for conversation, but
40:18 I do want to say um it's exciting when
40:21 so many community members who have
40:23 volunteered and and we know them through
40:25 their commitments already show up to try
40:27 and fill a council vacancies. So, that
40:29 was very exciting. Thank you for that
40:31 data.
40:33 Um, so we have an op optional uh
40:37 additional motion this evening that we
40:39 can talk about as well. But first I'd
40:41 like to start with some prompting
40:43 questions and have you all just feel
40:44 free to indicate um your answers to
40:47 them. So we have a couple of questions
40:49 here. The first question is what
40:51 feedback do you have about this year's
40:53 vacancy process especially given the
40:55 high number of applicants? So, if you
40:57 have comments and thoughts about the
40:59 process and the high number of
41:00 applicants, please raise your mic.
41:02 Council member Mertz. Thank you, Madam
41:04 Mayor. Yeah, it
41:06 uh I mean, I guess we've had we had 14
41:09 not too long ago, but this this was a
41:11 startlingly well-qualified field. Um and
41:15 yet it it resulted in in some
41:17 frustrations, I think. And um for me
41:20 reading the comments uh from the eight
41:23 of the 12 who have uh who provided us
41:26 feedback, there were a couple of things
41:27 that stood out to me. Um having around
41:30 where we wind up with seven of the 12
41:33 advancing um I can see where uh I don't
41:39 I it felt very weird. Um, and it felt uh
41:44 if I was one of those five, I know there
41:45 were some really well-qualified people
41:47 that were in those five. Um, so uh and
41:51 the other is the comments that had to do
41:53 with um nom you the the the urge to get
41:58 nominations done quickly like the the
42:00 process that we use is such that there
42:03 is an advantage to being the first
42:04 person nominated. Um, and that feels
42:07 weird and not like uh it should we
42:09 shouldn't be having to race to get our
42:11 nominations in, right? I don't know how
42:14 I don't know how we solve that problem,
42:15 but that was that element that was
42:17 highlighted. Um, and also a related
42:20 question is the order of questions and
42:23 the fact that some folks got five
42:25 seconds to come up with an answer and
42:27 some folks had 20 minutes to come up
42:28 with an answer. So, those were the
42:30 things that I heard from the
42:32 participants that resonated with me that
42:34 I that I heard. I thought, "Oh, yeah."
42:36 Um, those are all things that I would
42:37 like to do better the next time that we
42:39 have. Thank you for sharing. I think
42:42 Council Member Ray just barely beat out
42:44 Council President Walsh. It's important
42:46 to be first.
42:48 Um, couple of of of thoughts. One is,
42:53 and I was I got this from reading the
42:55 comments, too, is you know, we get all
42:57 of our material ahead of time and we get
42:59 to think about it. and um giving people
43:02 the questions ahead of time I think
43:04 would have balanced some of the I'm
43:06 first or I'm last uh thing and it's also
43:09 a better emulation of the process that
43:11 we go through. So um from a just a
43:14 mechanical perspective I think that
43:16 that would be helpful. The other thing
43:20 that um strikes me, and this goes to the
43:23 city clerk's comments, is I like having
43:25 the flexibility to manage the process
43:27 because I went back and read the rules
43:28 of procedures, and they're very
43:30 um generic. Um but I think that's okay
43:33 because it's a difference because this
43:35 is my third. One was 14. I think the
43:38 next one was maybe five or six and the
43:40 next one was 12. And the process for 14
43:44 or 12 is not the same as you want for
43:46 five or six. So having the flexibility
43:50 um adapt to the situation is really
43:53 important, but I do think it is fair
43:55 that we give people a chance to think
43:57 about the information and the questions
44:00 we're going to be asking. Thank you,
44:02 Council President.
44:04 Yeah. Um in regard to the high number of
44:08 applicants and kind of how the process
44:11 went in that scenario, I actually think
44:13 that was wonderful. It was a good thing.
44:15 And in fact, I would credit it back to
44:19 partially um the fact that we had a Q&A
44:24 session um before applications were due.
44:27 People could come in, ask their
44:29 questions about what the process was
44:32 going to be like, what it was like being
44:34 in office, you know, and see the people
44:38 um face to face that they would be
44:39 working with. And so one of the things I
44:42 really would like to encourage is that
44:44 we consider adding that to our council
44:47 rules and of procedure that encouraging
44:51 the use of anformational session before
44:55 applications are due um is a way that
44:58 people can kind of help determine if
45:00 this is something that they want to go
45:02 for. And then the other thing I have
45:06 written down related to the 12
45:07 applicants is that obviously only one
45:09 person can be appointed to the vacant
45:13 seat and so that is difficult but we're
45:17 a little ways out from that and we have
45:19 seen several of these members either
45:21 express interest in running or apply for
45:25 boards and commissions and so I view
45:29 that as another element of success. us
45:32 that um you know we sent out a letter
45:35 afterwards saying thank you so much for
45:37 applying. We all very much um noted that
45:41 down in many of our comments that this
45:44 was a tough decision because there were
45:46 so many qualified folks. Um, and so I
45:50 think I will also second what
45:53 um, Council Member Ray said
45:57 about, you know, having the second round
45:59 of questions available ahead of the
46:01 meeting to allow for preparation more
46:04 likely mirrors um, our preparation
46:07 process. I think that's important. The
46:09 other things that I brought out um from
46:11 the feedback is that people were very
46:13 uncomfortable speaking from that central
46:15 podium with folks behind them. Um I
46:18 don't think that rises up to the point
46:20 of putting it in the rules of procedure,
46:22 but I think it's something important for
46:23 us to note.
46:26 Um,
46:28 and then I would say, well, I heard what
46:33 council member Ray said about wanting to
46:35 be able to be flexible depending on the
46:37 number of applicants and how you would
46:39 treat it differently. I do think it's
46:42 something where we could say, let's put
46:44 in our council rules of procedure, a
46:46 maximum of four people move through to a
46:50 second round. That way, if you have a
46:52 smaller group and you want to only do
46:54 two people or you don't want to do a
46:56 second round, that isn't a problem. But
46:59 I I would like to hear from other
47:02 council members whether you think that
47:03 is something that rises to the point of
47:05 putting it in the council rules of
47:07 procedure or not. Um because that was a
47:10 strong area of feedback that we received
47:13 from many of the applicants and I think
47:17 it's important for us to address it
47:18 here. Thank you, Council President.
47:20 Council member Hall and then Deputy
47:22 Council President. Oh, sorry, Council
47:24 Member Hall. Council member Jen, Deputy
47:26 Council President. Okay. Thank you. Um,
47:30 well, just to echo what you said, yes,
47:31 the process worked. We have an excellent
47:33 council member up here on the DEA. So,
47:35 um, you know, and and we are very much
47:38 the kind of council that always thinks
47:40 about where are the opportunities for
47:41 improvement. So, I think this is a good
47:43 thing. Um, just really quickly, a couple
47:45 things um to ditto. Um, I had also wrote
47:48 down that um, in speaking with some of
47:50 the candidates afterwards or during,
47:52 they felt really uncomfortable speaking
47:54 with people behind them. And so that's a
47:55 super easy fix. Nothing we have to put
47:57 in the rules though. Um, I also agree
48:00 about giving questions in advance. Um,
48:03 it's not really what we do um, often as
48:05 council, but sometimes it is. Sometimes
48:07 someone asks the question up on the day
48:10 we hadn't thought of before and we do
48:11 have to kind of respond in a new way. So
48:13 I almost hope in the future maybe we we
48:16 would do some mix of both where like
48:17 they're invited to come back. There were
48:19 three questions that they could prepare
48:20 for and three more that we thought up
48:22 ourselves on the dis or something.
48:25 Um I think
48:31 having it was really quick turnaround in
48:34 between executive session and going into
48:36 open session. And whether or not this
48:39 lives in the rules of procedure, having
48:41 some time and space between the two
48:43 sessions to collect one's thoughts and
48:46 think about what they'd like to say
48:47 would be really helpful because reading
48:49 over um the feedback that we received,
48:53 kind of some of my own reflections after
48:55 that first day and feedback from kind of
48:58 meetings I had with some of the
48:59 candidates afterwards as well. It's just
49:01 seemed like um almost all of the
49:04 problems could have been solved with us
49:06 just talking more up on the dis like
49:08 that first day in particular um when we
49:11 had advanced a candidate why did we
49:12 advance that particular candidate when
49:14 we advanced a big slate of candidates
49:16 why did we do that well we wanted to
49:18 recognize that there was amazing talent
49:19 and it's a very difficult challenge
49:21 before us even saying that I think would
49:22 have um put people's mind at ease a bit
49:25 more um when council members advance
49:27 multiple candidates why are they doing
49:29 it too because we're all showing up in
49:30 different ways Some of us are thinking
49:32 when I nominate someone, this is the
49:34 person I want to vote for. Some of us
49:35 are thinking when I nominate someone, I
49:38 just want to make sure that they're
49:39 included in the process. Both are right.
49:41 There's no wrong answer here, right? But
49:42 it's also just good to be able to speak
49:44 to that. Um, and then also after the
49:46 nominations, having this opportunity to
49:48 say, "Okay, now we have the slate. Do we
49:50 agree? Is this the right size? Maybe
49:52 let's take a minute and just discuss
49:53 about that." that. So I think a lot of
49:56 um opportunity for improvement kind of
49:58 lies in just being comfortable with the
50:00 very uncomfortable and just having the
50:02 conversation up here on the dis. Um and
50:04 so um I think it's a good idea to have
50:07 the conversation around should we put a
50:08 cap on the number of candidates that
50:10 move on to the next round. I think that
50:12 could also it could probably be solved
50:14 in a number of ways. Like that's one
50:16 option. Another could be to require a
50:17 second. that there could be that um we
50:20 just encourage council members to speak
50:22 to um why they're nominating someone or
50:25 or we encourage the council as a body
50:28 itself to speak to the size of a
50:29 particular slate. So um yeah, those are
50:32 kind of some of my thoughts, but again,
50:33 I mean, the process worked. We have a
50:35 good council member. We might be doing
50:36 it again in the future. So I'm really
50:38 glad that we're we're having this
50:39 conversation. Apparently we do it more
50:41 than any other city, I guess.
50:44 But you know, it is what it is. Uh,
50:46 Council Member Jen.
50:49 Great. Thank you. Um, yeah, I definitely
50:51 want to second what everyone was saying
50:52 about, you know, giving some of the
50:53 questions ahead of time because that is,
50:55 you know, preparing and doing your
50:56 homework is a key part of the job. And
50:58 the fact that that wasn't like
50:59 explicitly in the, you know, quote
51:02 unquote interview process does seem to
51:04 be um, not necessarily aligned with what
51:06 the job itself entails. Um, I think one
51:10 of the things, so I did pull up the
51:12 rules and procedures and this the
51:14 process of kind of narrowing down the
51:16 candidates actually is not explicitly
51:18 outlined at all. It just says um the
51:21 appointment process, you know, for the
51:24 voting on the nominations. So, I wonder
51:27 if it might actually be worth it to put
51:28 in a section in there about how like
51:30 some specific rules and how we narrow
51:31 down the candidates because I think, you
51:33 know, I I I think if there had been some
51:36 way that, you know, when there's seven
51:37 on there, I don't think anyone I don't
51:39 think there was like an agreed upon way
51:41 that some people could have been taken
51:42 off the list. And if you know, there's a
51:45 couple ways that I see you could do it.
51:47 You know, maybe limit it so that only
51:48 people can nominate only one. you can,
51:51 you know, nominate in second or you
51:54 could make it so that, you know, you
51:55 vote on everyone individually and then
51:57 each individual has to receive a
51:58 majority of votes to move on. So there's
52:01 a couple different ways of doing it, but
52:02 just because because I think, you know,
52:05 I what happened was that people got
52:08 nominated by one person and then the
52:10 slate got really large and then if
52:12 someone else nominated someone but then
52:14 oh what about this other person who
52:15 might have been equally good as this
52:17 person but you know they might have been
52:20 not like the top four or whatever. Um,
52:22 so I think you know there's a couple
52:23 different ways that we could do it, but
52:25 in general like having some more
52:26 mechanisms to determine if you know this
52:30 is actually the slate of candidates that
52:31 we want to move forward rather than
52:32 saying okay now we have seven and oh
52:35 actually now we're going to put two more
52:37 now it's nine and then that kind of you
52:39 know is not really the purpose of uh
52:42 doing that whole process. So, and I did
52:44 I thought um one another thing that
52:47 could have been useful was with the
52:49 speeches. One thing that I heard was you
52:51 know some some people had clearly like
52:53 asked you know what what's good to have
52:56 in the speech and touched on a couple
52:57 like specific areas. And I think if that
53:00 had been something that was just like
53:01 explicitly in, you know, the document is
53:04 like, oh, here you will have the chance
53:06 to make a speech and typically you
53:07 should try to cover these like four
53:09 areas, then I think that would also even
53:11 the playing field because, you know,
53:13 some people got like different advice
53:14 from different council members.
53:17 Thank you, Council Member Jang. Deputy
53:19 Council President.
53:21 Yes. uh keying off of Council Member
53:23 Hall and Council Member Jen, I I think
53:26 that um part of the lesson that we
53:29 learned or should have learned from this
53:31 process is we need to be more
53:33 transparent. We need to explain why
53:35 we're doing things. And I noticed some
53:37 remarks in here about why did we have
53:39 speech? Well, because part of council
53:42 member's job is public speaking. And so,
53:45 but I don't know that we explained that
53:47 clearly. That's the reason we want to
53:49 include that as part of the process.
53:51 Um, I also heard offline, not uh among
53:54 these comments, um, that at least one of
53:57 the candidates did not realize that they
53:59 could reach out to us and have a private
54:01 meeting beforehand. And, um, and so I
54:05 felt badly about that because people new
54:07 to the process may not just understand
54:10 that that's what what you do. And I got
54:12 to talk one-on-one with about seven or
54:14 eight of the candidates, but there were
54:16 four that didn't. and at least one of
54:18 them was because they didn't know that
54:19 that was what they were supposed to do.
54:21 So maybe when people apply, we could
54:24 have like an
54:26 automatic message that goes out and
54:28 says, "Here are some things you can do
54:30 to get ready. You can talk to any one of
54:33 the council members or all the council
54:35 members ahead of time and learn what it
54:37 is like to be a council member." So I
54:39 think uh the lesson I took away from
54:41 this is that we need to explain more why
54:44 we are doing things. Um on the issue of
54:47 narrowing down the applicants, part of
54:49 that is because we can't make decisions
54:51 in executive session. And so we have to
54:55 walk out here not really having had that
54:57 discussion about who we're going to vote
54:58 for. And so again, we need to be able to
55:01 explain that to people. We can't decide
55:03 in executive session. We can't take a
55:05 vote in executive session. And so yes,
55:07 it is a little bit messy. Um uh so and
55:12 I'm I guess that I would be on the side
55:14 of not including that in the rules of
55:17 procedures because I have a feeling it
55:19 would be the very first rule that would
55:20 be broken the next time around because
55:22 we don't know if there'll be 12
55:24 candidates next time or three candidates
55:27 next time or you know I I the
55:29 circumstances can be so different. you
55:32 could have one candidate that is
55:33 absolutely the most outstanding and
55:36 that's who you're going to pick right
55:37 away. So, um I think that writing in a
55:41 cap number is probably something that
55:44 wouldn't stand up over time. So, I
55:46 wouldn't be willing to put it into rules
55:49 of procedures. So, but I just think
55:52 throughout the whole process, we need to
55:53 think why are we doing this and then
55:55 let's talk to the candidates about why
55:58 we are doing it and make it the whole
56:01 process just more explicit, more
56:02 transparent. So, those would be my
56:05 comments. Thank you, Deputy Council
56:06 President. I think I counted correctly.
56:08 Uh, Council Member Joe, you may have
56:09 been the only person not yet to comment.
56:11 So, before I go back to Council
56:12 President, would you like to have a
56:13 comment?
56:15 Yes, thank you. Um, I would second uh,
56:20 council president, council deputy
56:22 president Barb Michelle's comment on um,
56:25 making the candidates aware that they do
56:27 have the ability to reach out to us to
56:28 have a meeting. Um, even to the point
56:31 where perhaps we provide a list of
56:33 emails and phone numbers as immediate
56:36 feedback to people that have applied and
56:38 said you're encouraged to reach out to
56:40 them and then um, sit down with them. I
56:42 I felt um in the means that that I had I
56:47 learned more from the candidates than
56:49 they probably learned from me. Um and I
56:51 think
56:53 that for council members, we are going
56:55 to be working with that person or
56:57 persons in the future. It's important
56:59 for us to be able to make sure that we
57:03 um have that um connection or
57:06 understanding in terms of their work
57:09 style. They understand our work style.
57:11 you know, there's there are all sorts of
57:13 different things you learn in a
57:14 conversation that aren't necessarily
57:15 something you can put into rules that
57:17 are out there. And so that kind of
57:18 brings to my second point that um I
57:21 would also agree with um the comment
57:25 that we may not want to be too
57:27 prescriptive in our rules. The rules
57:30 were rather general because each
57:32 situation's a little bit different,
57:34 right? And um you know, we had a large
57:38 number of candid candidates that were
57:40 all good candidates that you know, if
57:42 you were to do your NFL um you know,
57:45 fantasy football draft, you'd probably
57:47 draft three or four of them right in the
57:49 first round, right? And four or five of
57:51 them in the second round, they'd be your
57:53 pick. Um, so to mix metaphors, um, I
57:57 just think that we had a wealth of of
57:59 great candidates and the fantastic thing
58:01 is many of them are still engaged and do
58:04 want to remain involved whether that's
58:07 with the border commission or running
58:09 for council in the future. Um, and I
58:11 think that we as a council um, of course
58:15 want to have that deep bench. We want to
58:17 have that group of people that can come
58:18 in because you never know when I'm going
58:20 to get run over by a car or, you know,
58:22 something bad's going to happen. Someone
58:24 has to leave for whatever reason, right?
58:26 So, we want to have that deep bench
58:27 there. I'm being a little bit dark.
58:29 Sorry, dark today. Must be the weather.
58:32 I apologize. Very dark. But, um, the the
58:36 fact is that the bench needs to be deep
58:37 with good candidates are willing and
58:39 ready to step in, too. So, um I think
58:41 that the process that we had, while only
58:44 one person could win survivor style, we
58:47 have a number of other people that
58:49 are thinking about stepping up and we as
58:52 council members need to think about
58:54 encouraging them and giving them the
58:56 tools to make good decisions along the
58:58 way, both in their campaign and the
59:00 other steps that they're going to be
59:00 taking along the way. So, those are my
59:02 thoughts on the process. Thank you. That
59:04 is great. Thank you. And before I go
59:05 back to council president, um there have
59:08 been a couple of draft motions prepared
59:10 and we have heard a lot of great
59:12 comments tonight. Um I will go back to
59:15 council president, but I you didn't did
59:18 you not get to comment around two. Okay.
59:21 But uh what I would Oh, okay. But what I
59:24 would like to propose to is that when we
59:26 get through the comments, we may take a
59:28 five minute recess to allow myself and
59:30 the city clerk to regroup with council
59:32 leadership and come up with a proposed
59:34 motion that would work for all of you
59:35 after we've heard these comments. So,
59:37 council
59:39 president, so I've heard from folks the
59:42 interest in flexibility and not
59:46 providing to, you know, too much detail
59:50 in the council rules and procedure. I'm
59:53 wondering if people can
59:55 then respond
59:58 to do we feel like in a future situation
1:00:02 if we ended up with 12 members and we
1:00:05 had seven people nominated that that
1:00:09 would be an okay outcome. And if
1:00:13 not, how do
1:00:16 we make adjustments to that? I've heard
1:00:20 require a second. I've heard potentially
1:00:23 removing people from a slate. Another
1:00:25 option would be don't leave that first
1:00:28 night without narrowing down to a
1:00:30 certain number, even if you had to go
1:00:32 another round. I'm just wondering how
1:00:36 we take in the clear feedback from
1:00:40 applicants that it was pretty
1:00:42 uncomfortable and from people I've
1:00:44 spoken to in the community that it was
1:00:46 pretty uncomfortable to have potentially
1:00:48 seven um go through that. So, I don't
1:00:52 I'm not tied to the idea of putting
1:00:54 four, but I would love to hear other
1:00:57 ideas there so that we still address
1:00:59 this idea. Thank you. And I think it was
1:01:02 Council Member Hall and then Council
1:01:03 Member
1:01:04 Mertz. Council member Ray, Council
1:01:07 Member Hall, Council Member Mertz. Nope.
1:01:11 Get that thing down. Thank you, Council
1:01:13 Member Ray. We are on our way. All
1:01:15 right. Um, just to follow up on a couple
1:01:18 things. I think if we were to do
1:01:20 imprompt I'm just responding to things I
1:01:22 heard. If we were to do impromptu
1:01:24 questioning along with sending out
1:01:26 questions ahead of time um we should
1:01:28 have unique questions so that um each
1:01:31 person is not having the advantage of
1:01:34 being able to ponder a question where
1:01:35 someone else has to kind of come come
1:01:38 fast and furious on it. So um um if if
1:01:42 we went that way just we just have to
1:01:44 balance the playing field. That was
1:01:46 really the the the thing. Um, you know,
1:01:48 we didn't talk about other great things
1:01:50 that worked doing round two down on the
1:01:51 floor instead of the dis two thumbs up.
1:01:54 You know, that was really great. Um, and
1:01:56 I, you know, um, but to the council
1:01:59 president's question, and I worry about
1:02:01 overprescribing as council me being
1:02:04 overly prescriptive, as council member
1:02:06 Joe kind of touched on,
1:02:08 um, I I think that we could put in
1:02:12 something around what's the number to
1:02:15 carry. you know, there needs to be a
1:02:18 cut. Um, and seven, I think, was too
1:02:21 many. And part of the problem with seven
1:02:23 was it made the five that weren't, it
1:02:26 was very, very difficult on them. I
1:02:29 mean, just being really open about it.
1:02:31 So, because everybody knew we were going
1:02:32 to one, but when I I you know, I didn't
1:02:34 make that first cut, it's like um so I
1:02:37 worry about that.
1:02:39 Um, so I have a couple thoughts. One is
1:02:42 every council member
1:02:43 gets as many as one nomination, which
1:02:46 would give us a maximum of six. That
1:02:49 could be problematic, but I don't know
1:02:50 that it's not a bad idea to talk about
1:02:53 um you know, you need two two council
1:02:56 members to support you to move to to
1:02:58 round two. Um so that's a first and a
1:03:01 second. So something where you know, not
1:03:04 not only have I convinced one person,
1:03:05 but I've convinced two that I'm uh I'm I
1:03:08 should be moving into the second round.
1:03:11 um, but I don't know that I really want
1:03:14 to mess with the rules of procedure to
1:03:15 be really honest with you. I I kind of
1:03:16 like them the way they're written. I
1:03:18 think they give us flexibility. I think
1:03:20 there's some lessons learned that need
1:03:21 to be memorialized and uh and I would
1:03:25 look to the clerk to find a way to
1:03:26 memorialize them. And then some of the
1:03:27 mechanics we talked about like you know
1:03:30 telling people they can do this and
1:03:32 getting them this information I think is
1:03:33 also something that doesn't need to be
1:03:35 in the rules of procedure but can be
1:03:37 part of the the um process as defined by
1:03:42 the the clerk's office. So, um, so I'm
1:03:45 not really particularly inclined to want
1:03:47 to say let's go, u muck around with the
1:03:49 rules of procedure, but I am inclined to
1:03:51 say we should memorialize some of our
1:03:53 findings and, um, activate them next
1:03:56 time this happens. Council member Mertz,
1:04:01 thank you. Um, I I would have trouble
1:04:03 with four just because I think we would
1:04:06 be back to the thing of who nominates
1:04:08 first, right? and and you better get
1:04:10 your nomination in fast if if there
1:04:12 might be more than four. I love the
1:04:14 point about we should explain why. I
1:04:16 think maybe any motion by anybody on
1:04:19 that night should include a paragraph on
1:04:21 on why they're on why they're doing what
1:04:23 they're doing. I think that would be
1:04:24 helpful. Um, you know, we we're dancing
1:04:28 around this question about whether we
1:04:30 have one nomination or allow people to
1:04:32 do more than one nomination. I don't
1:04:34 feel particularly strongly about that.
1:04:37 if there's some other mechanism.
1:04:39 Seconding is a good idea. You know, I
1:04:41 got I cut my teeth on the Minnesota DFL
1:04:44 where tenacity was not the problem,
1:04:46 right? When we get to these three threes
1:04:48 and it's like who's going to back down
1:04:50 is not a great situation to get into.
1:04:52 But the way they do it in, you know, um
1:04:55 in state party politics is you winnow
1:04:58 down, right? If you have four people
1:04:59 left, after the next ballot, it's the
1:05:01 top three. Um that is one way to do it.
1:05:03 I I think seconding is probably the
1:05:05 gentlest way. um to to to to get a
1:05:09 smaller to get a smaller pool would be
1:05:12 my thought. Thank you.
1:05:14 So, Kelly, is that a comment or no? Yes,
1:05:18 council member. Um yeah, so I wanted to
1:05:20 second what council member Ray said. You
1:05:22 know, we don't necessarily have to put
1:05:23 things into the rules and procedures.
1:05:24 Currently, there's nothing in there
1:05:25 about how we narrow down the field at
1:05:26 all, but I think actually being very
1:05:28 clear about how it happens. um you know
1:05:31 for example the like nominating everyone
1:05:33 to the slate and voting on the slate as
1:05:34 a whole with no reasoning I don't think
1:05:36 is probably the way that we should do
1:05:37 that in the future but I think making it
1:05:39 really clear you know and even and I
1:05:43 actually don't remember if it was
1:05:44 explained to the candidates you know
1:05:46 okay here's here's going to happen
1:05:48 everyone's going to make the speech and
1:05:50 then this is the process to like
1:05:51 nominate people to the slate or not um
1:05:53 so I think just like giving being
1:05:55 extremely clear about the information
1:05:56 because I I mean I was not in the
1:05:58 executive session so we were all out
1:06:00 here speculating. It's like, "Oh, how
1:06:02 many people do we think are going to
1:06:03 make it to the next round?" And we all
1:06:04 were like, "Probably like three or
1:06:06 four." And then when it was seven, we're
1:06:07 like, "Wow, that was three plus four,
1:06:09 not three or four." Um, so I I think
1:06:13 just being very clear about kind of what
1:06:15 the expected outcomes of that are. And,
1:06:19 you know, more transparency is better.
1:06:20 That's one of the things that people
1:06:22 express as well. You know, we want more
1:06:23 transparency into why you're making the
1:06:25 decisions that you're making. Um, and
1:06:29 yeah, also on the rules and procedures,
1:06:31 I did note one thing. It says, it says
1:06:33 explicitly every candidate will have um
1:06:36 will be allocated 10 minutes to speak.
1:06:39 And I think we cut it down to 5 to 7,
1:06:44 but that's not technically in the rules.
1:06:45 So, I would maybe recommend changing the
1:06:47 rules to this may be addressed at the
1:06:50 discretion based on the number of
1:06:52 candidates or something like that. So,
1:06:54 great comments. Um, a couple of the
1:06:56 draft motions we have out don't
1:06:58 particularly suit the wonderful
1:07:00 conversation that you had. So, if the
1:07:02 council is in agreement, I would love to
1:07:04 pull the council leadership and the
1:07:05 clerk into the back room for a 5 to 10
1:07:08 minute recess so we can come up with a
1:07:11 motion that we think will work for
1:07:12 everything that you said. Mr. President,
1:07:15 I just want to make one comment um that
1:07:18 I heard about questions needing to be
1:07:21 unique. Um, I would like to point out
1:07:23 that in a candidate debate or forum that
1:07:28 isn't the case. And so that it is pretty
1:07:31 normal to have to differentiate yourself
1:07:33 after two or three people have spoken to
1:07:36 the same question. So I don't I wouldn't
1:07:39 say that's necessarily something that I
1:07:42 particularly would want to um
1:07:45 memorialize. So, and I saw a lot of head
1:07:48 nods. Oh, I'll come to Deputy Council D.
1:07:52 Michelle, but I saw a lot of head nods.
1:07:53 So, we'll go around with a few more
1:07:55 comments and then if you're okay with a
1:07:56 5 to 10 minute recess, we'll go in that
1:07:58 direction. Yeah, just, you know, having
1:08:00 run for office several
1:08:02 times. Um, yeah, a wealth of experience.
1:08:07 Um, having different questions. uh
1:08:10 unfortunately I think you could get the
1:08:12 charge that you've biased uh based on
1:08:15 the question that you give a particular
1:08:17 candidate and I'm thinking of an
1:08:19 interview I had many many years ago
1:08:20 where my background was education
1:08:22 transportation I never got asked those
1:08:24 questions you know and so I knew somehow
1:08:27 I wasn't going to get that endorsement
1:08:29 so so um you know you I we want to make
1:08:33 it as bias-free as we possibly can and I
1:08:37 think that's what why we ask the same
1:08:39 question to the same candidates. So,
1:08:42 so if uh I saw some general agreement,
1:08:45 let's call a recess at
1:08:47 8:08. Uh 5 to 10 minutes and I'll grab
1:08:50 council leadership, city administrator,
1:08:53 city clerk. We'll go in the back room
1:08:55 and we'll be right back.
1:09:05 Thank you very much.
1:25:27 with you. Blink the light if we are
1:25:30 ready to come back from our
1:25:32 break. There we go. Kind of weird, but
1:25:35 it works. So, we are back from our brief
1:25:39 recess and I do believe that we have um
1:25:44 a motion that uh council president would
1:25:46 like to put before you.
1:25:49 I would like to direct the
1:25:51 administration on the May 5th city
1:25:53 council me meeting to bring forward
1:25:56 amendments to the city council rules of
1:25:58 procedure around verbal presentation
1:26:01 length requiring nominees to have a
1:26:05 second and criteria that council should
1:26:09 discuss before applications are open.
1:26:13 Second. So we have a motion and a
1:26:14 second. council president and then
1:26:16 deputy council president would you like
1:26:17 to speak to it? Yeah. So um specifically
1:26:21 this is not putting any numbers into it
1:26:25 and it is clarifying the things that we
1:26:29 felt we heard strong interest in which
1:26:32 was verbal presentation length being you
1:26:35 know adjusting that to what our process
1:26:37 was um requiring the nominees to have a
1:26:40 second and then we created kind of a
1:26:43 catchall here that is criteria that
1:26:45 council should discuss before
1:26:47 applications are opened and so examples
1:26:49 of this might be whether we want to hold
1:26:51 an informational session, whether all of
1:26:53 the questions should be released to um
1:26:57 applicants before um what the questions
1:27:01 on an application would look like, you
1:27:03 know, things like that. The room would
1:27:05 be set up. Yeah. How the room would be
1:27:07 set up. And so those are some of the
1:27:10 things that we would discuss with
1:27:12 council ahead of opening the application
1:27:15 so that the information would be clear
1:27:17 to any applicants on what the process
1:27:19 would be like. But then there would be
1:27:22 other things and I think you can speak
1:27:23 to this that wouldn't be in the rules of
1:27:25 procedure but would be more you know
1:27:28 something that the clerk can note down.
1:27:30 So deputy council president. Oh thanks.
1:27:34 So, so basically this is a SOP a
1:27:37 standard operating procedure and it will
1:27:39 be our way of memorializing the
1:27:41 conversation that we just had and then
1:27:44 in future discussions memorializing
1:27:46 those we'll keep this SOP as a working
1:27:48 document not in the rules of procedure a
1:27:51 city clerk SOP right so for future
1:27:54 generations of clerk support and
1:27:57 consideration there'll be a list of best
1:27:59 practices that the council can go over
1:28:03 time. Any comments or questions? Seeing
1:28:06 a lot of nods like it.
1:28:09 Okay, great. So, if there is no more
1:28:12 discussion, it's been moved and seconded
1:28:13 to direct the administration at the
1:28:15 Mayfield city council meeting to bring
1:28:16 forward amendments to the city council
1:28:18 rules of procedure around verbal
1:28:20 presentation length requiring nominees
1:28:22 to have a second and criteria. I'm
1:28:26 friendly admin
1:28:27 considerations or criteria. We'll leave
1:28:30 it as criteria. criteria council should
1:28:31 discuss before applications are opened.
1:28:34 All those in favor of the motion say I.
1:28:36 I. Those
1:28:39 opposed. That carries unanimously. Thank
1:28:42 you. And thank you for allowing uh the
1:28:43 council leadership to take that break
1:28:45 after your thoughtful considerations.
1:28:47 You had a lot of great comments. We're
1:28:49 going to move to committee and regional
1:28:51 reports. And we'll start with council
1:28:52 member Jen. I don't have anything to
1:28:55 report at this time. Thank you, Council
1:28:56 Member Joe. Thank you, Madam Mayor. On
1:28:58 May 5th, the lodging tax advisory
1:29:00 committee will be meeting at 2 PM in the
1:29:03 afternoon at Spring Hill
1:29:05 Suites.
1:29:07 Um Cascade Water Alliance Board of
1:29:10 Directors will be meeting on April
1:29:12 23rd. Um the Cascade Water Alliance
1:29:16 Public Affairs Committee will be meeting
1:29:18 on May 7th. That concludes my report.
1:29:21 Thank you. Thank you, Council Member
1:29:22 Joe. Council Member Hall. Um thank you.
1:29:25 I have three short reports, so bear with
1:29:27 me. Um uh starting with planning,
1:29:30 development, environment. So the
1:29:31 planning, development, and environment
1:29:32 committee met last Tuesday, April 1st.
1:29:34 It was not an April Fool's joke. We did
1:29:36 have a meeting. Um the first item on our
1:29:38 agenda was COMM 0103, middle housing
1:29:41 draft regulations. So this is to come
1:29:43 into compliance with the new state
1:29:45 requirements around middle housing and
1:29:47 ADU development. So we all know the the
1:29:49 famous House Bill 1110 and 1337. So this
1:29:53 is that started back in uh February last
1:29:56 year and since then there's been a lot
1:29:57 of public engagement, a lot of um tours.
1:30:00 We we went on one of them and a lot of
1:30:02 touches at both planning policy
1:30:04 commission and PTE. Um it is scheduled
1:30:07 for tenative adoption at our May 19th
1:30:09 council meeting. But just a quick
1:30:11 overview of some of the major changes
1:30:12 that PPC recommended and then we
1:30:14 concurred with um with regard to middle
1:30:18 housing. Uh increase lot density to two
1:30:21 dwelling units per lot on all
1:30:23 residential lots. Allow four dwelling
1:30:25 units per lot if it's within a quarter
1:30:27 mile of a major transit stop or if one
1:30:29 unit is is affordable and they have
1:30:31 criteria for affordable unit means. We
1:30:34 have to allow um six different building
1:30:36 types and single family zones. duplex,
1:30:38 triplex, forplex, town homes, and
1:30:40 cottage housing. Um, two, three, four,
1:30:43 that's five. There's a sixth one, I
1:30:45 think, somewhere. Um, and then also, was
1:30:47 it cluster? Yeah, I think so. And then
1:30:50 there's, um, the proposal also includes
1:30:51 some requirements around parking, open
1:30:53 space, design standards, and then
1:30:55 matching different exemptions to single
1:30:57 family homes as well. Then for ADUs,
1:31:00 allowing two ADUs on one lot on in any
1:31:02 com configuration, removing the
1:31:04 requirement that the property own
1:31:06 property owner has to live on site and
1:31:08 then reassating the requirement that um
1:31:10 internal ADUs can be above a thousand
1:31:12 square feet. So again, you'll get much
1:31:14 more detail on May 19th, but in the
1:31:16 meantime, we did um Council President
1:31:19 Walsh and I did want to make sure that
1:31:21 um Valerie Porter and Kristen Leon and
1:31:24 all the planners and all the other staff
1:31:25 that touched us knew that they did an
1:31:28 outstanding job. They have been living
1:31:29 and breathing middle housing for so
1:31:31 long. So it was just great to see it
1:31:34 kind of come to a close and um I'm sure
1:31:36 you'll be very excited when it's before
1:31:37 council. Uh the second item on our
1:31:39 agenda was column 01 04. This was the
1:31:42 title 18 clarify amendments. So, um you
1:31:44 may remember as part of kind of our
1:31:47 reworking of title 18, we said, you know
1:31:49 what, we should identify and put things
1:31:51 off to the side when we need to update
1:31:52 it and and do that. This is us doing
1:31:54 that. So, these are really clarifying
1:31:57 home housekeeping um amendments that are
1:32:00 going through and um there'll be more
1:32:02 significant policy amendments coming up
1:32:04 later this year. Um, in fact, next month
1:32:06 our meeting is on May 6th and we will be
1:32:09 considering title 18 policy amendments
1:32:11 in the capital improvement plan since
1:32:14 that it is that time of year again. Um,
1:32:17 Eastside Fire and Rescue, our next Epher
1:32:20 meeting is this Thursday, April 10th. On
1:32:22 the agenda are updates on uh fire chief
1:32:25 recruitment and next steps for the
1:32:26 long-term policy ad hoc group. Um, we'll
1:32:29 also get an update on fire permit fees
1:32:31 and how that's going with the cities.
1:32:32 Sounds like Northbend is ready to uh
1:32:36 increase their fees and start passing
1:32:38 revenue on to Epher. And so next up are
1:32:41 Isaqua and Seamish. Um we'll have a
1:32:44 discussion of whether or not to give
1:32:47 contract agencies advisory seats on the
1:32:49 board, which is interesting, not
1:32:50 something we've done before. It kind of
1:32:52 came up a little bit during budget. And
1:32:54 the chief is going to start this
1:32:55 conversation with us. Uh and then we'll
1:32:57 also start a conversation around um
1:32:59 updating our public records fees just
1:33:01 like we did here at Isiqua. Um speaking
1:33:04 of just fire chief recruitment, quick
1:33:06 super quick update. We had our first um
1:33:08 or we had our kickoff meeting today with
1:33:10 the consultants um to go over the
1:33:13 schedule and kind of start talking for
1:33:14 steps. Um those first steps are really
1:33:17 stakeholdering and then developing the
1:33:18 profile of what the fire chief what we
1:33:21 want in a fire chief here in Epher.
1:33:23 There are two things I just want you to
1:33:24 like keep on your mind to be thinking
1:33:26 about over the next few weeks is like
1:33:28 who are the stakeholders that we want
1:33:30 our consultants to be meeting with and
1:33:32 getting feedback from? Of course, we've
1:33:34 got cities and fire districts and labor
1:33:36 groups and and the exec team and
1:33:39 regional partners, but if there's anyone
1:33:41 out of the ordinary that comes to your
1:33:42 mind, let me know or let anyone at Ephra
1:33:44 know so we can pass that information
1:33:46 along to the consultants. And then also
1:33:49 if there are any our consultant specific
1:33:52 question is what are the three to five
1:33:53 major issues that the fire chief will be
1:33:55 facing in the next six months. Obviously
1:33:58 we have our own ideas as a board but if
1:34:00 you have any other thoughts outside of
1:34:02 this big kind of long-term funding
1:34:05 question that's hanging over our heads
1:34:06 that we're talking about. Um please feel
1:34:08 free to let us know like core connect if
1:34:11 that's a really important thing over the
1:34:12 next six months that you think just yeah
1:34:15 let me know.
1:34:17 Um, and then last report, safety and
1:34:19 civics facilities task force. Um, so
1:34:22 Council Member Martz and I are on this
1:34:24 community task force. Thanks to the
1:34:25 mayor for appointing us. Um, we've now
1:34:28 met twice. Um, and it seems like
1:34:30 everyone's had an opportunity to tour
1:34:32 the police station in the jail. Um, and
1:34:35 they took a lot away from those tours.
1:34:36 They told us so. Um, so so far we've
1:34:39 just come up with some visioning
1:34:40 language around um, what we'd like to
1:34:43 Um, I was going to go through the list,
1:34:45 but maybe I won't. Um, and, um, we've
1:34:48 also got a kind of space needs
1:34:50 assessment on IPD and an intro to
1:34:52 potential site locations for city hall.
1:34:54 It's a lot of kind of backtracking some
1:34:56 of the work that we've done already, but
1:34:57 getting everyone up on the same page and
1:34:59 and you can just see how eager and
1:35:01 thoughtful these people on the task
1:35:03 force are. Like everyone is very eager
1:35:05 to speak and and it seems very bought in
1:35:07 that there's need here. So, um, um, in
1:35:11 the sense of urgency. So anyways, it's
1:35:12 just really great to be part of the
1:35:13 group and our next meeting is Tuesday,
1:35:15 April 22nd. That concludes my report.
1:35:17 That's great. Council member Bright. Uh,
1:35:18 no report this evening. Council Marks.
1:35:21 Thank you, Madame Mayor. The Sound
1:35:23 Cities Association Public Issues
1:35:25 Committee will be meeting this
1:35:26 Wednesday, April 9th at 7 p.m. Amongst
1:35:29 the topics that will be discussed,
1:35:31 there's going to be a legislation
1:35:32 legislative update. Um, there's going to
1:35:34 be a conversation about wastewater rate
1:35:38 proposal. Um I don't think the
1:35:40 conversation is going to be how happy we
1:35:41 all are uh with the proposal. Uh and
1:35:45 then there's been an SEA membership
1:35:47 survey and so they're going to be
1:35:49 looking at the uh results and and
1:35:52 parsing uh what they heard back from the
1:35:54 member cities. This concludes my report.
1:35:56 Oh. Oh, and uh the uh services, safety,
1:35:59 and parks meeting for April is canled.
1:36:02 Thank you. Thank you, Deputy Council
1:36:04 President D. Michelle. Thank you, Mayor
1:36:06 Paulie. So on March the 19th uh we had a
1:36:09 meeting of the regional transit
1:36:10 committee uh at the caucus prior to the
1:36:13 regional transit committee. I was uh
1:36:16 elected as uh chair of the sound cities
1:36:21 association regional transit committee
1:36:23 caucus and then subsequently right after
1:36:26 that I was elected vice chair of the
1:36:28 regional transit committee. And so the
1:36:31 chair of the regional transit committee
1:36:32 is always a King County council member.
1:36:35 Uh and council member Baron is uh
1:36:38 holding that position right now. So um
1:36:40 at any rate, that was a a great honor.
1:36:43 So in addition to the regular general
1:36:45 manager report, we received an overview
1:36:47 of Metro's research platforms. That was
1:36:49 one of the items on the agenda. Um and
1:36:53 uh then the third item was uh the one
1:36:55 that had the most interest and that is
1:36:58 that Metro is going to start enforcing
1:37:00 fair payment again. Uh in fact they
1:37:03 started it on a soft approach on May
1:37:06 March the 31st. So, it's already
1:37:08 underway and starting on March the 31st,
1:37:12 uh, people who don't pay their fairs
1:37:14 will get a warning and they will also
1:37:17 receive counseling about Metro's
1:37:19 numerous uh, uh, programs for lowincome
1:37:23 and uh, other uh, riders uh, who may
1:37:27 need supplemental help. Uh and then in
1:37:31 early May, they will begin tracking
1:37:33 non-payers. And for their first
1:37:35 infraction, non-payers will receive a
1:37:37 civil fine. Uh and then on their second
1:37:41 infraction, they will be uh trespassed
1:37:43 off the bus system. Uh they can appeal
1:37:46 that trespass. Uh but uh they're they're
1:37:50 serious about enforcing it. Lots of
1:37:52 questions from members of the regional
1:37:54 transit committee about how this was
1:37:56 going to be applied. I think most of the
1:37:58 questions um focused on how equitably
1:38:02 the system will be uh enforced and
1:38:06 assuring that it will not be targeting
1:38:08 any specific populations or
1:38:10 neighborhoods or regions of the metro
1:38:12 system. So um this is uh you know this
1:38:16 was a a change after five years of not
1:38:19 enforcing fairs they're going back to
1:38:21 that. Um, and then on March the 20th, I
1:38:24 attended the board of health. This I'm
1:38:26 learning from attending the board of
1:38:27 health that they have packed agendas.
1:38:30 And this one was the same. These are
1:38:32 two-hour meetings and the agenda of the
1:38:35 meetings often run over. So, I'm just
1:38:37 going to um focus in on Dr. Khan, who's
1:38:40 the director of Seattle King County
1:38:42 Public Health, his report. Uh we had
1:38:45 just the week of the meeting heard uh
1:38:47 that the secretary of the department of
1:38:49 health and human services is cutting
1:38:52 funding uh for health uh and that impact
1:38:55 in Washington state is around $160
1:38:57 million of reductions. Um Dr. Khan
1:39:01 focused on the impacts to behavioral
1:39:03 health services which um are the
1:39:06 services that uh target mental health
1:39:09 and substance abuse prevention and
1:39:11 substance abuse treatment. uh services
1:39:14 and he said these virtually the cuts at
1:39:17 this point will virtually wipe out those
1:39:20 services and these do not include the
1:39:22 cuts that are being proposed to Medicaid
1:39:24 or Medicare. These are just cuts to
1:39:26 public health services across the board.
1:39:29 So chair Moscada suggested that she
1:39:32 would be writing a letter that we of
1:39:34 support that we could be signing. I
1:39:36 haven't seen that letter yet and I
1:39:38 suspect that that's because um every day
1:39:42 changes are happening and it's probably
1:39:45 very very difficult to come up with a
1:39:46 letter that actually expresses exactly
1:39:49 what we're asking for at this point. Uh
1:39:52 but it was a dire a dire report. Uh Dr.
1:39:56 Khan, after Dr. cons report. We also
1:39:58 heard briefings on hazardous waste,
1:40:00 health outcomes for homeless
1:40:02 individuals, the state of health and
1:40:04 human services workforce, and a
1:40:06 legislative update. So, it was a very
1:40:08 full meeting. Um, this Thursday on April
1:40:12 10th, I'll be attending Eastside Human
1:40:14 Services Forum, and on April 11th, East
1:40:17 Side Transportation Partnership will
1:40:18 have its its monthly meeting. And that
1:40:20 ends my report.
1:40:23 Council President, thank you. The Puet
1:40:27 Sound Regional C Center's Growth
1:40:28 Management Policy Board met last
1:40:30 Thursday and continued all of the
1:40:34 diligent work on comprehensive plans. We
1:40:36 recommended certification of comp plans
1:40:39 for 13 cities. We also discussed how the
1:40:43 growth management policy board should
1:40:45 handle future situations because staff
1:40:48 um give us some information that some of
1:40:51 the future plans may not meet the
1:40:53 criteria for certification um
1:40:56 particularly related to housing or
1:40:58 transportation areas. And so we had to
1:41:00 figure out how we would handle either
1:41:02 conditional or non-certification
1:41:04 um recommendations. And then we also
1:41:07 received presentations on the regional
1:41:09 economic strategy update and the
1:41:11 comprehensive climate action plan for
1:41:13 the Puet Sound. And our next meeting is
1:41:16 May 1st. The King County affordable
1:41:18 housing committee also met last
1:41:20 Thursday. We approved comprehensive plan
1:41:23 comment letters for two cities and we
1:41:27 also heard about the growth
1:41:30 management planning council's approach
1:41:34 to housing growth target reconciliation.
1:41:36 And so Carnation and Snowquali have
1:41:39 requested the um adjustments to their
1:41:43 housing growth target um be adjusted and
1:41:46 so reporting on the recommendations
1:41:48 there and the next meeting there is also
1:41:51 May 1st. That concludes my report. Thank
1:41:53 you, council president. The next uh item
1:41:55 is the mayor's report. So there is no
1:41:57 executive session this evening. Um
1:42:00 Isiqua's 2025 community survey. Your
1:42:03 voice matters in shaping Isiqua's
1:42:05 future. Our community survey is a vital
1:42:07 tool that helps us understand your
1:42:09 priorities, concerns, and hopes for our
1:42:12 city. Whether it's parks, public safety,
1:42:14 housing, or transportation, your input
1:42:16 guides our decisions and investments. I
1:42:18 warmly invite you to take a few minutes
1:42:20 to complete the survey. Together, we can
1:42:23 ensure Isiqua remains a vibrant,
1:42:24 welcoming place for all. And residents
1:42:26 can find the survey on the city's
1:42:28 website or may also receive postcards
1:42:30 and requests to complete a survey by
1:42:32 standard mail. Thank you for helping us
1:42:34 build a stronger
1:42:36 community. We are currently recruiting
1:42:38 Fourth of July commission members. So,
1:42:40 join fellow Isqua community members to
1:42:42 help plan Fourth of July festivities.
1:42:44 Recruitment is still open for this
1:42:45 commission. Please contact the mayor's
1:42:47 office by email with your name and any
1:42:49 experiences that you wish to highlight
1:42:51 that would make an ideal member of the
1:42:53 commission. The first meeting is
1:42:54 anticipated to take place in late April.
1:42:57 And the sustainability fair is returning
1:42:59 on April 26th in celebration of Earth
1:43:02 Month. The third annual sustainability
1:43:04 fair will be held on April 26th at the
1:43:06 Pickering Barn from 9:00 a.m. to 2 p.m.
1:43:09 This year's event is shaping up to be
1:43:10 even bigger and better than last year's.
1:43:12 Check the city's website for sampling of
1:43:14 what is planned for the fair, including
1:43:16 a preview of the Isqua's Farmers Market.
1:43:18 You don't want to miss it. And we are
1:43:21 currently seeking Hall of Fame
1:43:22 nominations. Nominations are still open
1:43:24 for the Isiqua Hall of Fame award, a top
1:43:26 honor for making a lasting contribution
1:43:28 to our community. Each year, the mayor
1:43:30 and council presidents select a person
1:43:32 to induct into the Isiqua Hall of Fame
1:43:34 for their exemplary record of
1:43:35 inspiration, leadership, and service for
1:43:38 the Isqua community. The award will be
1:43:40 presented at the Chamber of Commerce's
1:43:42 annual Isqua Community Awards event on
1:43:44 June 3rd, and the deadline for
1:43:46 nominations is 5:00 p.m. April 30th. You
1:43:48 can submit nominations at
1:43:51 isquawwah.govnominate. That concludes
1:43:53 the mayor's report. So, we're going to
1:43:55 move into good of the order. I do have
1:43:56 some meetings to announce, but I want to
1:43:58 give an opportunity for any council
1:43:59 members to speak. Council President,
1:44:01 thank you. Just a quick note that
1:44:04 council member Jiang has been uh
1:44:07 appointed as our alternate member to the
1:44:09 East Side Transportation Partnership.
1:44:11 So, just wanted to make sure to notify
1:44:14 everyone publicly on that. Thanks. Thank
1:44:16 you for that, Council President. Council
1:44:18 member Joe.
1:44:20 Thank you, Madam Mayor. Um, Saturday
1:44:22 morning was a heartwarming event as I
1:44:26 was able to uh work side by side with uh
1:44:29 35 volunteers in Confluence Park as they
1:44:33 celebrated Arbor Day. Um, they planted
1:44:35 75 trees that morning. We had volunteers
1:44:37 that were as young as first graders and
1:44:40 a person who was over 70 participating
1:44:43 with us. Um, great event. Thanks to uh
1:44:46 Dan Hints from the urban forestry as our
1:44:49 urban forestry supervisor for putting
1:44:51 that together along with the other staff
1:44:53 members that gave their Saturday to help
1:44:55 uh repair the damage from the bomb
1:44:57 cyclone. It was a great event and I hope
1:45:00 we continue to do Arbor Day events in
1:45:02 the future. Thank you. Thank you,
1:45:03 Council Member Joe. Any other comments?
1:45:05 I have a couple that I want to do before
1:45:06 the dates.
1:45:09 Oh, sorry. City administrator at your
1:45:13 convenience. Oh, sorry. I just have a
1:45:15 item for good of the order. Then do your
1:45:16 good of the order item and then I'll
1:45:18 chime in. Thank you very much. Um I've
1:45:21 been looking for a consultant to do a
1:45:24 city council uh retreat in January of
1:45:28 2026 and have found one and uh would
1:45:31 like to reserve a date of January 31st,
1:45:35 2026. Um this would be uh bringing in a
1:45:38 firm that uh specializes in uh these
1:45:42 type of retreats. uh a consultant would
1:45:44 come meet with each of you uh ahead of
1:45:47 time to get a sense of where you think
1:45:49 the year is going in 2026. Uh they would
1:45:53 then facilitate a uh probably again a
1:45:56 threequarter day discussion and also
1:45:58 bring a visual facilitator uh who would
1:46:01 capture the uh discussions in in
1:46:03 graphical form uh up on on butcher
1:46:06 paper. So uh we need to put a deposit
1:46:08 down on this. So, I just wanted in the
1:46:12 absence of of of mayor serving at that
1:46:16 point, I thought in talking with the
1:46:17 council president uh would just bring
1:46:19 this up to make sure that there was no
1:46:21 objections or if that date at this early
1:46:24 stage is a problem for anyone. If not,
1:46:26 would uh would we would put down the
1:46:29 deposit, save the date. There are
1:46:31 hundreds of communities wanting to do
1:46:33 this sort of work in January and
1:46:35 February and want to grab uh want to
1:46:38 grab the date. So,
1:46:40 Not seeing any. Yeah, lots of nodding
1:46:42 heads. Looks good. Very good. Thank you,
1:46:44 Council Member Ray.
1:46:47 He's perfect for it.
1:46:49 Um, so I have a couple of topics I
1:46:51 wanted to share. And one is, um, very
1:46:54 high level, working its way down to the
1:46:56 King County Parks level, which is a very
1:46:58 specific one. Um, many of the tables
1:47:00 that I sit at with mayors around our
1:47:02 region or around the country recognize
1:47:05 that there is so much uncertainty right
1:47:07 now and so much anxiety with so many
1:47:10 different things, whether it's federal
1:47:11 level funding being withheld or
1:47:13 cancelled. Um, it's uh state uh
1:47:18 discussions about significant gaps
1:47:20 between revenues and funding. The county
1:47:23 council talking about the same funding
1:47:24 challenges. um all levels of government
1:47:27 not knowing whether or not federal
1:47:28 funding is coming through this year or
1:47:29 not. Um I commend this council and your
1:47:32 ability to recognize that the decisions
1:47:34 you're making in 2025 are totally
1:47:38 wrapped up in this chaotic little
1:47:40 circle. Um and that makes it really
1:47:43 difficult. But we don't know what we
1:47:44 don't know yet. We do not know where the
1:47:46 pain points are going to be. Uh what the
1:47:48 pain will be for 2025, let alone 2026
1:47:51 and beyond. And so I appreciate the work
1:47:54 that you all put in making your current
1:47:56 decisions in that very chaotic
1:47:58 framework. It's difficult. It's awful.
1:48:01 Um I am thinking of doing some community
1:48:02 messaging out to some of our community
1:48:04 members, whether they work for a
1:48:06 nonprofit that is losing its funding or
1:48:08 USAD consultant who fired everybody
1:48:11 within five days. All those different
1:48:13 kinds of things. I feel like our
1:48:14 community is very very anxious and uh
1:48:17 it's our job as elected officials to
1:48:19 keep our finger on the pulse and uh
1:48:22 listen because people are very upset
1:48:24 right now and very confused. Working my
1:48:26 way down to the King County Parks Levy,
1:48:29 um Council Member Mertz represents you
1:48:31 at the SCA public issues committee. He
1:48:33 went to I think one of the best meetings
1:48:35 I've ever sat in on on pick where many
1:48:39 many cities um provided feedback to King
1:48:42 County's staff that the proposed initial
1:48:46 levy format was not as hoped. Um several
1:48:50 issues. One is we all recognize in these
1:48:52 chaotic times anybody looking for a tax
1:48:54 increase is
1:48:55 really that's that's a maybe potentially
1:48:59 a little bit crazy. So the original
1:49:01 proposal came out with a significant tax
1:49:03 increase as well as um at the first
1:49:06 proposal nine cents of every dollar
1:49:08 collected in Isiqua would come back to
1:49:10 Isqua Parks. Um after lengthy
1:49:13 conversations with um the regional
1:49:15 planning regional policy committee um
1:49:18 the needle didn't move very much. So the
1:49:20 needle moved a smidge and so there's
1:49:22 going to be some push back from some
1:49:25 cities, some no positions from other
1:49:28 cities. Uh but this is a tough tough one
1:49:31 to support. And so if the council is
1:49:34 willing, we can have our parks director
1:49:36 talk about um the proposal, the
1:49:40 alternate proposal and where we landed
1:49:42 just to provide more information. But I
1:49:44 think this is going to get a lot of
1:49:45 media and I think you guys are going to
1:49:46 be asked a lot of questions about it. So
1:49:48 again, taking this in context of 2025 is
1:49:51 a horrible chaotic year. um got to put a
1:49:54 lot of thought into what we want to
1:49:55 bring to the public and when we want to
1:49:57 bring it and when we want to ask them
1:49:58 for more money when we don't know what
1:50:00 money we're not we're already not going
1:50:01 to get for critical human services. So
1:50:03 we don't know where our pain points are
1:50:05 yet. And I appreciate that this council
1:50:07 during co demonstrated that same kind of
1:50:09 big picture thinking of let's think
1:50:12 about what could go wrong and let's just
1:50:15 be cautious with how we reach out to our
1:50:17 community and talk. But also, thank you
1:50:19 very much for being out in the community
1:50:20 and thank you very much for listening to
1:50:22 the concerns and anxiety that in my 12
1:50:25 years of elected service I've never seen
1:50:26 at such a high level in so many
1:50:28 different places. So, uh, Council Member
1:50:30 D. Michelle and I will share some
1:50:32 information with you shortly on a
1:50:34 convening that was held with the
1:50:35 nonprofit community, human services
1:50:37 nonprofit community, which is really
1:50:40 staggering, staggeringly tough place
1:50:42 right now. So, those are my items.
1:50:44 Council President,
1:50:46 speaking of the level of uncertainty, I
1:50:48 just wanted to recognize
1:50:50 the estimated 700 person crowd um that
1:50:54 was here on Saturday um at the hands-off
1:50:57 protest and how first of
1:51:01 all how interesting it was to see people
1:51:05 lining up and the community response to
1:51:08 that. But I also wanted to take a moment
1:51:09 to thank the organizers for doing such a
1:51:12 wonderful job of making sure that people
1:51:15 stayed out of the streets and stayed
1:51:17 safe and they protected the um the
1:51:22 driveways in and out and just did a
1:51:24 wonderful job
1:51:26 of creating a good experience for those
1:51:30 who were at the rally and those who were
1:51:33 just driving into town and didn't know
1:51:35 that it was going on. So kudos all
1:51:37 around on that. Any other good of the
1:51:40 order? Well, thank you for all that you
1:51:43 do. We are adjourned at uh
1:51:47 8:52. Have a great day. Oh, you know
1:51:49 what? Never mind. Sit. I have a few
1:51:52 little meetings I forgot to mention.
1:51:53 Sorry, sorry, sorry. I got too excited.
1:51:58 Uh or maybe I don't. Yes, I do. So,
1:52:01 there is a regular council meeting on
1:52:02 Monday, April 21st. And we're asking
1:52:05 council to arrive at 6:30 because we're
1:52:06 thinking this will be our picture photo
1:52:09 night. Uh we hope to have the photo
1:52:11 outside behind city hall. If the weather
1:52:13 doesn't cooperate, we will do the photo
1:52:15 inside in council chambers. Um, the
1:52:18 anticipated agenda items for that
1:52:19 meeting include the Squawk Mountain on
1:52:21 motorized improvement project, yay, 2023
1:52:24 24 budget reauthorizations, the first
1:52:27 2526 budget amendment, and Monday, April
1:52:30 28th, there will be a city council
1:52:32 committee of the whole anticipated
1:52:33 agenda items include the state
1:52:35 legislative update, taxing authority,
1:52:37 and other revenue sources from the
1:52:39 windstorm follow-up. And there's no
1:52:41 executive session. And now you are
1:52:43 released at 8:50.

Attendance

Council / Members (7)
Barbara de Michele
Zach Hall
Kelly Jiang
Russell Joe
Tola Marts
Chris Reh
Lindsey Walsh
Staff (2)
Wally Bobkiewicz, City Administrator, Andrea Snyder, Deputy City Administrator, Rachel Bender Turpin, City Attorney
Tisha Gieser, City Clerk