City Council Regular Meeting · Tuesday, January 20, 2026 · City Council Digest

4. CONSENT CALENDAR

Accounts: Payables and Payroll of Jan. 20, 2026, $4,375,532.86 ID 1934

Carried 6-0

Approve · packet pp.7–17

Topics: Budget

▶ Watch from 4:42 Open packet at p.7 ↗

Staff report:

Finance Department P.O. Box 1307 Issaquah, WA 98027 PH: 425-837-3050 www.issaquahwa.gov

Roll call:

Moved by Council President de Michele · seconded by Deputy Council President Marts

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Lindsey Walsh

Minutes: City Council Special Meeting, Dec. 2, 2025

Carried 6-0

Approve · packet pp.19

▶ Watch from 4:46 Open packet at p.19 ↗

Staff report:

CONSENT CALENDAR b) 12-02-25 City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page (0000) CITY OF ISSAQUAH City Council Special Meeting – Social Gathering 6:00 PM Flat Iron Grill, 317 NW Gilman December 2, 2025 MINUTES Blvd Ste 28, Issaquah, WA

Roll call:

Moved by Council President de Michele · seconded by Deputy Council President Marts

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Lindsey Walsh

Minutes: City Council Regular Meeting, Jan. 5, 2026

Carried 6-0

Approve · packet pp.21–25

▶ Watch from 4:49 Open packet at p.21 ↗

Staff report:

CONSENT CALENDAR c) 01-05-26 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page (0000) CITY OF ISSAQUAH City Council Regular Meeting 7:00 PM Council Chambers, 135 E. January 5, 2026 MINUTES Sunset Way, Issaquah WA

Roll call:

Moved by Council President de Michele · seconded by Deputy Council President Marts

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Lindsey Walsh

Minutes: City Council Special Meeting, Jan. 12, 2026

Carried 6-0

Approve · packet pp.27–28

▶ Watch from 4:53 Open packet at p.27 ↗

Staff report:

CONSENT CALENDAR d) 01-12-26 City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page (0000) CITY OF ISSAQUAH City Council Special Meeting 6:30 PM Council Chambers, 135 E. January 12, 2026 MINUTES Sunset Way, Issaquah WA

Roll call:

Moved by Council President de Michele · seconded by Deputy Council President Marts

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Lindsey Walsh

Collective Bargaining Agreement with Public, Professional and Office-Clerical Employees and Drivers (Teamsters 763) re: One Year Contract Extension AB 9069

Carried 6-0

Approve · packet pp.29–60

▶ Watch from 4:56 Open packet at p.29 ↗

Staff report:

The City's current collective bargaining agreement with the Public, Professional and Office-Clerical Employees and Drivers (Teamsters 763) expired on December 31, 2025. The City and the Public, Professional and Office-Clerical Employees and Drivers (Teamsters 763) have a mutual interest in extending the current contract through December 31, 2026.

Roll call:

Moved by Council President de Michele · seconded by Deputy Council President Marts

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Lindsey Walsh

Appointments to Cascade Water Alliance Board Position AB 9104

Carried 6-0

Approve Resolution · packet pp.61–63

Topics: WaterBoards & Commissions

▶ Watch from 5:00 Open packet at p.61 ↗

Staff report:

Approve the resolution designating representatives to serve on the Cascade Water Alliance Board of Directors.

Roll call:

Moved by Council President de Michele · seconded by Deputy Council President Marts

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Lindsey Walsh

Petty Cash Authority & Imprest Fund Authorization AB 9110

Carried 6-0

Approve Resolution · packet pp.65–69

Topics: Budget

▶ Watch from 5:03 Open packet at p.65 ↗

Staff report:

The Police Department regularly conducts undercover narcotics investigations that require immediate, discreet access to cash for drug buys, evidence purchases, and confidential informant payments. These activities cannot be accommodated through traditional purchasing or reimbursement processes.

Roll call:

Moved by Council President de Michele · seconded by Deputy Council President Marts

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Lindsey Walsh

2026-2031 King County Parks Levy Agreement AB 9111

Carried 6-0

Authorize · packet pp.71–79

Topics: ParksBudget

▶ Watch from 5:07 Open packet at p.71 ↗

Staff report:

Since 2003, King County sought and received voter-approved levy funding to support the parks maintenance and park capital needs of the King County Park System. Park levies were again approved in 2007 and 2013 and 2019. Within each of these levies, the County has allocated a small portion of the funds to the 35+ cities within the county that steward and operate their own city park systems. These 35+ city park systems serve a primary role in the broader system as they are most often the parks most adjacent to the neighborhoods and communities where the majority of county residents live and work.

Roll call:

Moved by Council President de Michele · seconded by Deputy Council President Marts

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Lindsey Walsh

King County Independent Force Investigation Team (IFIT) Interlocal Agreement Second Modification AB 9119

Carried 6-0

Authorize · packet pp.81–87

▶ Watch from 5:10 Open packet at p.81 ↗

Staff report:

On Jan. 30, 2019, the Washington State Legislature unanimously approved the requirement of an independent investigation of any police use of force that results in death, great bodily injury, or substantial bodily injury. The independent investigation is to be performed by a law enforcement agency not involved in the incident and is required to decide whether, under all the facts, circumstances, and information known to the officer at the time, a similarly situated reasonable officer would have believed that the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent death or serious physical harm to the officer or another individual.

Roll call:

Moved by Council President de Michele · seconded by Deputy Council President Marts

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Lindsey Walsh

5. PUBLIC HEARING

Issaquah School District's 2026 Levies, Feb. 10 Special Election Ballot Items AB 9134

Carried 6-0

Conduct Public Hearing; Approve Resolution · 30 min · packet pp.89–123

Topics: BudgetSchoolsElections

Open packet at p.89 ↗

Staff report:

Three of the Issaquah School District's levies will expire in 2026 if they are not renewed by voters.

Roll call:

Moved by Council President de Michele · seconded by Councilmember Nichols

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Walsh

6. REGULAR BUSINESS

Informational Update: WSDOT Fish Passage Project ID 1956

30 min · packet pp.125–145

Topics: TransportationWater

▶ Watch from 5:14 Open packet at p.125 ↗

Staff report:

City Administration and the Washington State Department of Transportation will provide an update on the multi-year fish passage project and illustrate anticipated traffic impacts along West Lake Sammamish Parkway, NW Sammamish Road and Newport Way that will persist for the next few years.

City Council Vacancy, Position No AB 9133

Carried 6-0

Conduct Interviews · 60 min · packet pp.147–182

Topics: Boards & Commissions

▶ Watch from 27:48 Open packet at p.147 ↗

Staff report:

The Administration recommends that the City Council fill the City Council Position No. 2 vacancy.

Roll call:

Moved by Councilmember Walsh · seconded by Councilmember Jiang

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Walsh

7. EXECUTIVE SESSION

Executive Session: Qualifications of Appointment per RCW 42.30.110(1)(h) ID 1960

Topics: Boards & Commissions

▶ Watch from 1:12:58

8. REGULAR BUSINESS, CONTINUED

City Council Vacancy, Position No. 2 Make Appointment

Topics: Boards & Commissions

11. GOOD OF THE ORDER

11a

Upcoming Council Meetings

packet pp.183–191

▶ Watch from 2:55:31 Open packet at p.183 ↗

Staff report:

Entity 2026 Delegate 2026 2nd Delegate 2026 3rd or Alternate A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH) Elected Officials Council Lindsey Walsh Cascade Water Alliance (CWA) Board Mark Mullet Russell Joe Greater Issaquah Chamber of Commerce Liaison Russell Joe Wally Bobkiewicz Eastside Fire and Rescue (EFR) Board Lindsey Walsh Tola Marts Eastside Human Services Collaborative Barb de Michele Eastside Transportation Partnership (ETP) Kelly Jiang Kevin Nichols King County Cities Climate Collaboration (K4C) Lindsey Walsh Kelly Jiang Kokanee Work Group Lake Sammamish Kokanee Interlocal Management Committee Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Chair Russell Joe Sound Cities Association (SCA) Public Issues Committee (PIC) Tola Marts Kelly Jiang Water Resource Inventory Area 8 (WRIA 8) Salmon Recovery Council

11b

2026 City Council Appointments ID 1957

5 min

Topics: Boards & Commissions

▶ Watch from 2:56:34

3727 segments .txt ↗

0:13 ↗ start the week.

0:14 ↗ >> We're preparing for the

0:15 ↗ >> Oh, wait.

0:19 ↗ >> Welcome everyone.

0:21 ↗ >> Welcome everyone. I call the Jan 20th

0:22 ↗ city council meeting to order. There are

0:24 ↗ no excused absences tonight. And the

0:27 ↗ first item in the agenda is the pledge

0:28 ↗ of allegiance. So you're welcome to join

0:30 ↗ us in the pledge of

0:31 ↗ >> allegiance

0:35 ↗ to the flag

0:37 ↗ of America and to the republic for which

0:40 ↗ it stands. One nation

0:43 ↗ indivisible with liberty and justice for

0:46 ↗ all.

0:51 ↗ >> The next item on the agenda is audience

0:53 ↗ comments. And tonight we have both a

0:58 ↗ public hearing and then the general

0:59 ↗ meeting. And so the first audience

1:01 ↗ comments are for the general meeting and

1:03 ↗ then we'll have more audience comments

1:05 ↗ related to the public hearing. Uh those

1:08 ↗ of you who signed up in advance will be

1:09 ↗ called on first. If you're joining us

1:11 ↗ virtually, you would like to make

1:12 ↗ comments, please raise your virtual hand

1:14 ↗ or send the host a chat message. And if

1:16 ↗ you're on the phone, star three is the

1:18 ↗ magic number to get you in. Uh if you're

1:21 ↗ in the room, do not sign up, there will

1:22 ↗ be an opportunity for you to raise your

1:23 ↗ hand if you'd like to speak before I

1:26 ↗ close this portion of the meeting. The

1:29 ↗ public hearing agenda bill 9134 about

1:33 ↗ school district 2026 levies for the

1:34 ↗ February 10th special election. Comments

1:36 ↗ on that item will be made during the

1:38 ↗ public hearing later on this meeting.

1:40 ↗ And so first clerk, are there anyone

1:42 ↗ signed up to speak for the general

1:44 ↗ audience comments?

1:45 ↗ >> Yes.

1:47 ↗ >> Right. Go ahead. you can start calling

1:50 ↗ up who you have.

1:51 ↗ >> Okay. The first is Errol I'm sorry, Earl

1:54 ↗ Pigot.

1:56 ↗ Is Earl here in the room?

1:59 ↗ Okay. And he is not with us virtually.

2:02 ↗ Uh so next we have Kaylee Jake.

2:04 ↗ >> Okay. And Kaylee, I think you know the

2:06 ↗ drill, but you know if if you get out of

2:09 ↗ line, I will start waving at you

2:12 ↗ >> as you should. Um so I'm Kaylee Jake.

2:15 ↗ I'm the executive director and founder

2:17 ↗ of the garage, which is what brings me

2:19 ↗ to you today. I was here a couple weeks

2:21 ↗ ago for the um signing in, no, the

2:25 ↗ swearing in of the council and the new

2:28 ↗ mayor, and it made me very nostalgic um

2:31 ↗ for all the council meetings that I've

2:33 ↗ attended. So, I just wanted to give you

2:36 ↗ a little snapshot of the garage and what

2:39 ↗ you all have done for us um these last

2:43 ↗ 10 years since we started planning, 7

2:46 ↗ and 1/2 years since we've been open.

2:49 ↗ Um so, we have served more than 1,900

2:53 ↗ unduplicated teens. We've had more than

2:56 ↗ 80,000 visits. Our case manager who

3:00 ↗ started in January of 23 has served more

3:04 ↗ than 114 teens

3:07 ↗ and our therapists have served more than

3:09 ↗ 95.

3:11 ↗ So this is an incredible impact and I

3:16 ↗ just I was thinking back on the first

3:17 ↗ time I presented to you all and I was so

3:21 ↗ nervous and dear to Tola said you can

3:24 ↗ sit at the table and I said oh thank god

3:27 ↗ I don't have to stand at a podium. So,

3:29 ↗ I've gotten better. But I just want to

3:31 ↗ say that um you know the the partnership

3:36 ↗ that we have had these last 7 and 1 half

3:38 ↗ 10 years has been amazing. The teens

3:42 ↗ that you've impacted with your support

3:45 ↗ is a lasting impact and I just could not

3:49 ↗ be more proud to be in this city doing

3:53 ↗ this work with you all. So, I just want

3:55 ↗ to say thank you.

3:58 ↗ Thank you very much

4:00 ↗ and clerk. And the comments we're

4:02 ↗ targeting for those who aren't as

4:04 ↗ experienced as Kaylee is is three to

4:06 ↗ five minutes for the comments. But go

4:07 ↗ ahead, cler.

4:08 ↗ >> Um, mayor, we had someone join us from

4:10 ↗ the public virtually, and I just want to

4:11 ↗ make sure that is not uh Earl Pigot, who

4:14 ↗ is the person who' signed up to speak

4:16 ↗ first tonight. If that is you, Earl,

4:19 ↗ please press star three, which will

4:21 ↗ indicate to me that you'd like to make

4:23 ↗ public comments.

4:25 ↗ Otherwise, no one further has signed up

4:27 ↗ in advance

4:30 ↗ and I'm not seeing any indicators from

4:32 ↗ our phone and caller.

4:33 ↗ >> Okay. Is there anyone else in the room

4:35 ↗ who wants to speak the general portion,

4:37 ↗ not the public hearing? Okay. Not seeing

4:41 ↗ any. So, now we're going to move on to

4:42 ↗ the consent calendar. I do not have any

4:45 ↗ remarks on the consent calendar. Are

4:47 ↗ there any committee chairs or chair

4:48 ↗ designs who would like to report on any

4:50 ↗ of the consent calendar items?

4:55 ↗ Not seeing any, the cons consent

4:56 ↗ calendar was distributed to the council

4:58 ↗ in advance. If authorized, the items on

5:00 ↗ the consent calendar will be considered

5:01 ↗ together and approved in one motion.

5:04 ↗ First, have the pay payables and payroll

5:06 ↗ been reviewed?

5:07 ↗ >> They have.

5:08 ↗ >> That's affirmative. Does any council

5:10 ↗ member desire to remove any items from

5:12 ↗ the consent calendar and consider it

5:14 ↗ under regular business?

5:17 ↗ Not seeing any. So, that brings us to

5:19 ↗ that time for a motion.

5:22 ↗ Uh, Council President D. Michelle. Go

5:23 ↗ ahead.

5:24 ↗ >> Thank you, Mayor Mullet. I move that the

5:26 ↗ council adopt the consent agenda as

5:27 ↗ presented.

5:29 ↗ >> Second.

5:30 ↗ >> There's a motion and a second. All those

5:32 ↗ in favor say I.

5:34 ↗ >> I.

5:37 ↗ >> All those opposed, nay. And that passes

5:40 ↗ unanimously.

5:42 ↗ The next item of business is the public

5:44 ↗ hearing. This is agenda bill 9134

5:46 ↗ district levies 2026 February 10th

5:49 ↗ special election. and we're going to

5:50 ↗ have city clerk Tisha Geyser Geyser

5:53 ↗ present this item.

5:57 ↗ >> All right. Uh, city council, this is

6:00 ↗ Tisha Geyser, city clerk. I'm here to

6:01 ↗ just provide a very brief uh

6:03 ↗ introduction to the resolution that you

6:05 ↗ have in your agenda packet. Um, so as

6:08 ↗ you know, as elected officials, you have

6:10 ↗ limited ways that you can um weigh in on

6:12 ↗ ballot items, but one of the allowable

6:14 ↗ ways is to pass a piece of legislation

6:16 ↗ at an open meeting. And the important

6:18 ↗ thing at this open meeting is that uh

6:21 ↗ both opponents and proponents of the

6:23 ↗ ballot items have an equal opportunity

6:26 ↗ to speak. And that applies to um the

6:28 ↗ public and that also applies to you as

6:30 ↗ members. Um which is why we've noticed

6:32 ↗ this item as a public hearing tonight.

6:34 ↗ So at your last council meeting, Council

6:36 ↗ Member Nichols made a motion directing

6:38 ↗ the administration to prepare a

6:40 ↗ resolution in support of the Isiziqua

6:42 ↗ School District's three levies which are

6:44 ↗ on the February 10th special election

6:46 ↗ ballot. Uh, and so that is what is in

6:48 ↗ your packet and what is before you

6:50 ↗ tonight. Um, as I just mentioned, um,

6:53 ↗ there are three propositions on the

6:55 ↗ ballot in February. Um, I was briefly

6:58 ↗ trying to pull up the summary titles of

7:01 ↗ them. They were included in your agenda.

7:03 ↗ So, proposition one is the replacement

7:05 ↗ for educational programs and operations

7:08 ↗ levy. Proposition two is the replacement

7:10 ↗ capital projects levy regarding

7:12 ↗ technology and crit critical repairs.

7:15 ↗ And the third one is proposition number

7:18 ↗ three, which is the school bus levy. The

7:20 ↗ first two propositions are four-year

7:22 ↗ levies. The third one is a one-year

7:23 ↗ levy. And uh I understand that the

7:26 ↗ school district estimates that the

7:28 ↗ combined total of these levies would

7:30 ↗ equate to $39 per $1,000 of assessed

7:34 ↗ valuation. Uh with that, uh I am open to

7:38 ↗ questions. However, I think more

7:40 ↗ fittingly, we do have some um school

7:42 ↗ district representatives here tonight.

7:43 ↗ if the council has questions following

7:45 ↗ the public hearing. Thank you.

7:50 ↗ >> Okay, we're now going to open the public

7:52 ↗ hearing at 7:08.

7:55 ↗ And so the same rules we mentioned

7:57 ↗ before, if you're joining us virtually,

7:58 ↗ you can send a message via chat. And if

8:01 ↗ you're in the room and did not sign up,

8:02 ↗ you will be have a chance to speak after

8:04 ↗ we call on the first few folks who did

8:06 ↗ sign up early. And so Tisha, do you want

8:09 ↗ to call up the first of the signes?

8:11 ↗ >> Sure. The first person who signed up in

8:13 ↗ advance is Seviva Kierleti.

8:17 ↗ Is Seviva here?

8:20 ↗ Okay. The next person is Dona Uzel.

8:24 ↗ Coming up, Dona. Thank you. Met my wife

8:27 ↗ many times and Kelly. She's spoken

8:30 ↗ highly of you.

8:35 ↗ >> Hi, I'm Donna Uzel and good evening

8:38 ↗ council members, mayor. Uh while I serve

8:41 ↗ as the president of the Isiqua Education

8:43 ↗ Association, I actually am here tonight

8:46 ↗ as a resident of Isiqua Highlands and a

8:49 ↗ proud parent of a student at Isqua High

8:51 ↗ School. Four years ago, my family uh

8:56 ↗ decided to move to Isiqua specifically

8:58 ↗ because of the reputation of our

9:01 ↗ schools. Like so many of my neighbors, I

9:04 ↗ moved here because this community

9:06 ↗ prioritizes its children. And I'm here

9:09 ↗ tonight to urge the council to vote in

9:11 ↗ favor of the resolution pre before you

9:14 ↗ supporting the renewal of the school

9:16 ↗ district's three levies on the February

9:18 ↗ ballot.

9:19 ↗ Our students need a well-rounded quality

9:22 ↗ education now more than ever. These

9:25 ↗ levies are not just extras, they are

9:28 ↗ essentials. They secure the resources

9:30 ↗ our children rely on every day like our

9:34 ↗ school nurses, critical building

9:36 ↗ repairs, classroom technology, dual

9:39 ↗ language programs, special education,

9:42 ↗ transportation, and so much more.

9:45 ↗ State funding alone does not cover the

9:48 ↗ reality of our modern education.

9:52 ↗ Families move here for our schools and

9:55 ↗ our property values and community health

9:58 ↗ depend on their success. We cannot

10:01 ↗ maintain this standard of excellence

10:04 ↗ without community investment. So I ask

10:07 ↗ tonight the council to stand with our

10:09 ↗ students and educators by officially

10:12 ↗ supporting the renewal of these levies

10:14 ↗ in the resolution. Thank you. Thank you,

10:20 ↗ >> Janet Kelly.

10:27 ↗ >> Janet witnessed Indiana Hooer fans

10:30 ↗ taking over the Sunset Hill House last

10:32 ↗ night, which was fun.

10:33 ↗ >> Go Hooers.

10:35 ↗ Good evening, mayor and council members.

10:37 ↗ My name is Janet Kelly, and I'm here

10:39 ↗ tonight to express support for renewal

10:41 ↗ of the Isiqua School District three

10:43 ↗ levies. By way of background, I have two

10:46 ↗ children, one here tonight in the Isiqua

10:48 ↗ School District. I'm involved in

10:51 ↗ volunteers for Isiqua Schools. I serve

10:54 ↗ on the board of two organizations that

10:56 ↗ have endorsed the levies, the Isiqua

10:58 ↗ Schools Foundation and the Isiqua

11:00 ↗ Chamber of Commerce.

11:02 ↗ I've served on numerous advisory

11:04 ↗ committees for development of the school

11:06 ↗ bond and levy proposals for the last

11:08 ↗ halfozen years. And like Dona, I moved

11:10 ↗ here for the school system. My husband

11:13 ↗ actually went to Challenger and um

11:15 ↗ Beaver Lake Middle School. So really

11:18 ↗ rooted in this uh community and I feel

11:21 ↗ passionately as well about funding our

11:23 ↗ schools. While I was not part of the

11:26 ↗ levy committee this time around, I did

11:28 ↗ do my own homework to understand how

11:31 ↗ these levies would improve education for

11:34 ↗ our students and teachers in the

11:36 ↗ classroom. And I'm here tonight for

11:38 ↗ three primary reasons that I believe

11:40 ↗ will make a difference should the levies

11:42 ↗ be passed. The first is academic

11:46 ↗ opportunities are expanded. I think over

11:48 ↗ the last few years we've been asking

11:50 ↗ more and more of our educators and our

11:52 ↗ students um and the school facilities

11:55 ↗ themselves and we've kind of lost sight

11:57 ↗ of the core value of the educational

11:59 ↗ system which is academic opportunity. So

12:02 ↗ these levies will allow for a seven

12:04 ↗ period classroom in the high schools.

12:07 ↗ And I think if the we want our kids to

12:09 ↗ get jobs either right out of high school

12:11 ↗ or go to colleges that they want to go

12:13 ↗ to, we need to focus on more academic um

12:17 ↗ opportunity at the schools.

12:19 ↗ The capital levy is necessary for

12:22 ↗ critical repairs. And speaking more from

12:25 ↗ a community perspective, our kids

12:27 ↗ deserve safe, dry, and warm places to

12:31 ↗ learn every day, right? We can't speak

12:34 ↗ on behalf of all the people out there

12:36 ↗ that don't um may not be paying

12:38 ↗ attention to this, but I think from just

12:39 ↗ a core value perspective, this community

12:42 ↗ should be supporting our teachers and

12:44 ↗ our students in those classrooms, and

12:46 ↗ critical repairs are funded as that

12:49 ↗ levy. And then lastly, from really more

12:52 ↗ of a business perspective, I think the

12:54 ↗ transportation levy is critical,

12:56 ↗ employers in this community rely on

12:59 ↗ dependable transportation to help ensure

13:02 ↗ that their employees can make it to work

13:05 ↗ on time and buses are a critical part of

13:07 ↗ that. just like us as business owners in

13:10 ↗ the community that need to make

13:12 ↗ investments in our own maintenance um

13:15 ↗ for whether it's our fleet or

13:17 ↗ businesses. I think the school district

13:18 ↗ is doing the same by investing in the

13:20 ↗ transportation system. So, I would

13:22 ↗ encourage you to um support the uh

13:27 ↗ ordinance tonight. Thank you.

13:32 ↗ Next, we have uh Christy Santa Domingo.

13:38 ↗ Hello. Uh, good evening, mayor and

13:41 ↗ council members. My name is Christy

13:43 ↗ Santa Domingo and I've been a public

13:45 ↗ school teacher for 20 years and I

13:48 ↗ currently teach in the Isiqua school

13:49 ↗ district and I have two kids who attend

13:51 ↗ Skyline. Uh, I'm here tonight to ask for

13:54 ↗ your endorsement for the Isiqua School

13:56 ↗ District levies. These levies are

13:58 ↗ essential to the day-to-day operation of

14:00 ↗ our schools and to the well-being of our

14:02 ↗ students and staff. As you know, the

14:05 ↗ state does not fully fund public

14:07 ↗ education, leaving a gap that requires

14:09 ↗ local levy funding. That funding

14:11 ↗ supports hundreds of staff positions

14:13 ↗ that directly affect instructional

14:15 ↗ support, student safety, health service,

14:18 ↗ and clean functioning schools. As an

14:21 ↗ educator, I see the positive impact of

14:23 ↗ the EPNO levy firsthand. I see it when

14:26 ↗ students have access to counselors, when

14:28 ↗ they need to see the school nurse, when

14:30 ↗ they receive special education services,

14:33 ↗ and when students can participate in

14:34 ↗ athletics, clubs, and activities that

14:36 ↗ keep them connected and engaged. The

14:39 ↗ capital levy maintains our existing

14:41 ↗ buildings, funding critical repairs,

14:43 ↗ safety upgrades, and technology, not new

14:46 ↗ construction. The transportation levy

14:49 ↗ ensures students can get to and from

14:50 ↗ school safely and reliably.

14:53 ↗ If these levies do not pass, the outcome

14:55 ↗ would be catastrophic for our schools,

14:58 ↗ resulting in deep cuts to staff,

15:01 ↗ services, and programs that students and

15:03 ↗ families rely on every single day. These

15:06 ↗ are renewal levies. They maintain the

15:08 ↗ current tax rate. Ballots are arriving

15:11 ↗ this week. Election day is February

15:13 ↗ 10th. A yes vote means stable schools,

15:16 ↗ supported educators and staff, and safe,

15:19 ↗ welcoming learning environments for our

15:21 ↗ students. I respectfully ask the Isiqua

15:24 ↗ City Council to endorse these levies and

15:26 ↗ stand with our students, families, and

15:28 ↗ educators. Strong schools mean strong

15:31 ↗ communities. Thank you for your time and

15:33 ↗ for your commitment to public education.

15:35 ↗ Thank you.

15:36 ↗ >> Thank you very much,

15:38 ↗ >> Kurt Strickland.

15:48 ↗ Council, good evening and mayor.

15:51 ↗ Uh, I'm here to oppose the referendum on

15:55 ↗ the schools. I'm curious in terms of

15:58 ↗ decision making of

16:01 ↗ where I've I've heard that there's 12%

16:04 ↗ less students than we had 5 years ago.

16:08 ↗ If that's the case, then why are we

16:09 ↗ applying all our funds, whatever, to a

16:12 ↗ new high school, uh when possibly we

16:15 ↗ should be looking at other alternatives.

16:18 ↗ Um I I know this is rather quick on my

16:22 ↗ side, but uh uh I know there's a lot of

16:25 ↗ other homeowners I've spoken with that

16:26 ↗ increases in taxes, of course, is

16:29 ↗ something they're definitely looking at

16:30 ↗ during this time period. Um, I I don't

16:34 ↗ doubt the uh ability and the uh of the

16:37 ↗ Isiqua school system to produce good

16:40 ↗ students. My kids went through it and I

16:42 ↗ uh wish to say that that's all I'm here

16:45 ↗ standing for is that there's other

16:46 ↗ people out there, residents who are

16:48 ↗ going to be the burden of this tax

16:50 ↗ increase. That's all. Thank you.

16:52 ↗ Appreciate it.

16:54 ↗ >> Thank you very much. And just this was

16:56 ↗ my mistake but do please state your name

16:59 ↗ and your relationship to the city with

17:01 ↗ your like your address where you live

17:04 ↗ for the comments as well. Thanks.

17:06 ↗ >> Yeah.

17:07 ↗ >> Got it. Thank you.

17:10 ↗ >> No one further has signed up in advance

17:12 ↗ to make comments.

17:15 ↗ >> Is there anybody else in the audience

17:16 ↗ who would like to make comments? Harlon,

17:18 ↗ come on up.

17:27 ↗ We're city council. We don't do

17:28 ↗ homework. Haron, come on. Well,

17:31 ↗ >> then you can look at it and know instead

17:33 ↗ and they don't have to listen to me. Uh,

17:35 ↗ so my name's Harlland Gallinger and I am

17:37 ↗ speaking here tonight on behalf of this

17:39 ↗ school board and I am a resident

17:43 ↗ address. It's 1316 235th Place Southeast

17:46 ↗ Smamish.

17:48 ↗ So in your packet tonight, there are a

17:50 ↗ couple of items. uh and we were are

17:53 ↗ requesting your support and partnership.

17:56 ↗ I think this is a one of the rare

17:57 ↗ opportunities for us to publicly talk

18:00 ↗ about our partnership because as you've

18:03 ↗ heard other of your residents speak,

18:05 ↗ most people move here for our schools

18:07 ↗ and it's a privilege to work together uh

18:10 ↗ to have an outstanding school system. I

18:12 ↗ would argue based on our current

18:14 ↗ graduation rates and test scores, the

18:16 ↗ best school system in the state of

18:17 ↗ Washington. And uh that should be

18:20 ↗ something that this city is very proud

18:21 ↗ of.

18:23 ↗ This current tax rate is uh 309 today in

18:27 ↗ 2026. This is a renewal levy. There is

18:30 ↗ no increase to the tax rate. What's also

18:33 ↗ important to know is uh there is nothing

18:37 ↗ for a high school building in this. This

18:39 ↗ is a renewal levies for uh our 400 plus

18:44 ↗ staff positions that we staff above what

18:46 ↗ the state provides us for

18:49 ↗ school counselors, for school nurses,

18:52 ↗ for security. You'll see in the critical

18:54 ↗ repairs levy are the top items that were

18:57 ↗ part of the bond from a couple years ago

19:00 ↗ that are the safety measures that our

19:02 ↗ community has asked for at our high

19:03 ↗ schools. If you walk into any one of our

19:06 ↗ elementary schools, you have to be

19:08 ↗ buzzed in to get in or middle schools.

19:10 ↗ Our high schools are uh freely open. And

19:13 ↗ what we want to do is bring the same

19:15 ↗ level of access to our high school

19:17 ↗ campuses that exist currently in our K

19:19 ↗ through8 buildings.

19:22 ↗ And then uh lastly, uh this community

19:24 ↗ has uh had very uh keen interest in

19:28 ↗ electric buses, and this investment in a

19:30 ↗ one-year levy would allow us to further

19:32 ↗ those investments. uh in order to uh add

19:36 ↗ that to our fleet. So u I'm happy to

19:40 ↗ answer any questions that may come up at

19:42 ↗ this point.

19:44 ↗ >> Thank you.

19:44 ↗ >> Excellent. Thank you very much. And we

19:46 ↗ will if the council has questions, we'll

19:47 ↗ do that after we close the public

19:49 ↗ hearing. Is there anybody else in the

19:50 ↗ room who would like

19:53 ↗ Okay. Oh, Jay, come on up.

20:03 ↗ My name is Jay Sternoff. I live at 22611

20:06 ↗ Southeast 44th Place in uh Isiqua.

20:14 ↗ My uh first experience in uh the uh

20:19 ↗ Isqua school district goes back some 50

20:22 ↗ years and uh I four of my five children

20:26 ↗ went to school in Isiqua. So I know the

20:29 ↗ reputation of this district.

20:32 ↗ With that said, uh

20:36 ↗ many things have changed within this

20:38 ↗ cross school district, but most

20:40 ↗ importantly,

20:42 ↗ some of you are new members to this

20:44 ↗ council. Some have been on the school

20:47 ↗ board and believe definitely in public

20:51 ↗ service. I believe that this forum that

20:53 ↗ we have tonight uh presenting the school

20:57 ↗ uh levy uh is very important. I believe

21:01 ↗ the community should have a discussion

21:03 ↗ pro and con. However,

21:07 ↗ all of you ran as nonpartisan

21:10 ↗ candidates. The school board is

21:12 ↗ nonpartisan candidates. The uh school

21:16 ↗ levy is nonpartisan. And therefore, it

21:20 ↗ is my belief, even though it might not

21:23 ↗ be technically illegal, by endorsing one

21:27 ↗ side or another, it may shut out some of

21:30 ↗ the citizens of the city of Isqua.

21:33 ↗ And similar to that, the city of Seamish

21:37 ↗ has stated, at least some of the council

21:39 ↗ members, there is not going to be an

21:41 ↗ endorsement pro or con. uh Newcastle is

21:45 ↗ not going to make a endorsement pro or

21:48 ↗ con and I just ask all of you as public

21:52 ↗ servants I absolutely appreciate your

21:55 ↗ presentation and of allowing pros and

21:59 ↗ cons to speak on the issue but that

22:03 ↗ should be kept to yourselves. If any of

22:05 ↗ you who've been involved in the past or

22:07 ↗ currently want to get involved in this

22:09 ↗ school levy, I suggest you do so. But

22:13 ↗ doing it as part of the city of Isiqua

22:17 ↗ is just is not appropriate for a

22:20 ↗ non-partisan

22:22 ↗ ballot measure. Thank you.

22:25 ↗ >> Thank you, Jake. Is there anybody else

22:27 ↗ in the room who would like to speak?

22:29 ↗ Going once, going twice. Not seeing any

22:33 ↗ at this point. We will close the public

22:37 ↗ hearing

22:40 ↗ and got to go back at 7:23.

22:43 ↗ Um,

22:47 ↗ okay. Now we're to city council. Uh,

22:52 ↗ does the council have any questions they

22:54 ↗ want to ask at this point in time?

23:01 ↗ Uh seeing any there's no questions I

23:05 ↗ will then say is there a motion?

23:08 ↗ Thank you. I move to approve resolution

23:11 ↗ number 2026-04

23:14 ↗ supporting the Isiqua School District's

23:16 ↗ levies propositions

23:18 ↗ excuse me proposition number 1 2 and

23:21 ↗ three scheduled for the February 10th

23:24 ↗ 2026 special election.

23:28 ↗ Second.

23:29 ↗ >> Okay, there is a motion and a second. Is

23:32 ↗ there any council discussion?

23:35 ↗ Council member Nichols.

23:41 ↗ >> Uh, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, first of

23:43 ↗ all, I would like to be direct about

23:45 ↗ what is on this ballot. This levy is

23:48 ↗ entirely unrelated to the construction

23:49 ↗ of a new high school, and I think that's

23:51 ↗ important to to recognize and actively

23:54 ↗ communicate to the public. These three

23:56 ↗ levies fund operations, maintenance, and

23:59 ↗ transportation for the schools we

24:01 ↗ already have. These are not the measures

24:03 ↗ measures from last year concerning the

24:05 ↗ construction of a new high school. Uh

24:07 ↗ the EPO levy covers 17% of daily

24:09 ↗ operations. These are teachers, nurses,

24:12 ↗ counselors, the seven uh period high

24:14 ↗ school day, and the state mandated

24:16 ↗ mandated special education services that

24:18 ↗ are currently underfunded by

24:20 ↗ approximately $10 million a year. And

24:22 ↗ this levy closes that gap.

24:24 ↗ The capital levy fixes aging

24:26 ↗ infrastructure. Capital does not mean

24:28 ↗ new construction. It means critical

24:30 ↗ repairs. I have stood in a portable

24:33 ↗ classroom during dropping off my kids,

24:35 ↗ felt something dripping on me. Uh I've

24:37 ↗ looked up and realized the roof was

24:39 ↗ leaking. These things happen. These are

24:41 ↗ old buildings. It's understandable that

24:42 ↗ they happen, but we have to pay to

24:44 ↗ continue to repair them. The

24:46 ↗ transportation levy, the third of the

24:48 ↗ three levies, keeps buses running

24:49 ↗ safely.

24:52 ↗ I also want to be uh direct about the

24:55 ↗ role of city councils in supporting

24:57 ↗ these kinds of measures. RCW42.178555

25:01 ↗ specifically empowers and encourages

25:03 ↗ municipal bodies to weigh in on ballot

25:06 ↗ measures that affect our communities.

25:08 ↗ Our schools are our community. Their

25:11 ↗ success is success.

25:13 ↗ These renewals are at a stable tax rate

25:16 ↗ below our 20-year average. They are not

25:18 ↗ a tax increase. and I support this res

25:20 ↗ resolution.

25:21 ↗ >> Thank you very much. And we're not going

25:23 ↗ to call on people as I thought I saw the

25:25 ↗ microphones go up. I maybe sadly have

25:26 ↗ our council president D. Michelle.

25:29 ↗ >> Thank you so much. Um uh I won't repeat

25:33 ↗ what council member Nichols said uh

25:35 ↗ about the um about the levies. Uh they

25:39 ↗ are renewal levies. Uh they do not raise

25:42 ↗ the tax rate at at any uh uh by any

25:45 ↗ means. And they are really really

25:47 ↗ important. and they are 17% of the

25:50 ↗ annual funding coming from local levies

25:52 ↗ that support our schools. I do want to

25:54 ↗ address the question that's been raised

25:57 ↗ about why uh the city council is uh

26:00 ↗ weighing in on this uh measure and I

26:03 ↗ just lost my talking points. Just a

26:05 ↗ moment here. Um

26:09 ↗ let's see.

26:14 ↗ There we go. Um the question is always

26:17 ↗ raised why is the city engaged in

26:18 ↗ supporting uh school funding? And my a

26:21 ↗ answer is simple but twofold. First, in

26:24 ↗ the city of Isiqua, between five and

26:26 ↗ 6,000 residents are students in Isiqua

26:29 ↗ public schools. They are our

26:32 ↗ constituents even though they don't

26:34 ↗ vote. Uh and we need to attend to their

26:36 ↗ well-being as we do with all other

26:38 ↗ residents. Second, the city and all of

26:41 ↗ its residents benefit from having a

26:43 ↗ highly sought-after, excellent school

26:46 ↗ system. It attracts new families, new

26:49 ↗ businesses. It attracts a highly

26:51 ↗ educated citizenry, which we all benefit

26:54 ↗ from, a strong tax base, and community

26:56 ↗ health. And though we may not see these

27:00 ↗ benefits uh on a daily basis, they are

27:03 ↗ there adding so much to the vibrancy of

27:05 ↗ our community. It is very well

27:08 ↗ documented that healthy schools are

27:10 ↗ important for healthy cities. It's been

27:12 ↗ documented over and over again. And I'd

27:14 ↗ like to think that healthy cities are

27:16 ↗ important for healthy schools. The

27:18 ↗ partnership between the city of Isiqua

27:20 ↗ and the Isiqua School District has been

27:22 ↗ in place for over a hundred years and

27:24 ↗ it's added immensely to making the city

27:27 ↗ a special place where people care. I too

27:30 ↗ will support the resolution. Thank you.

27:32 ↗ >> Thank you, Deputy Council President

27:34 ↗ Marks.

27:35 ↗ >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor, um, I think this

27:38 ↗ question of why city council should be

27:40 ↗ involved is important, so I'm going to

27:41 ↗ take a different stab at it. Short

27:43 ↗ answer is nobody lives here because of

27:45 ↗ the weather.

27:46 ↗ Long answer, um, I'm from White Bear

27:49 ↗ Lake, Minnesota, and in 1980, um, you

27:52 ↗ could buy a just a beautiful house in

27:53 ↗ White Bear Lake, or maybe you buy a

27:56 ↗ house on the southwest side of the Twin

27:57 ↗ Cities, a dino. In the intervening

27:59 ↗ years, White Bear made the transition

28:01 ↗ from a growth city to a sustainable

28:03 ↗ city. Um but it it got off the ball for

28:07 ↗ the school systems. The school system

28:09 ↗ stopped uh voters stopped funding um

28:13 ↗ school levies. When that happened, young

28:16 ↗ parents stopped coming to the town. And

28:18 ↗ now, while White is still a beautiful

28:20 ↗ city, um the suburbs on the southwest

28:22 ↗ side, like Adina, if you know anything

28:24 ↗ about the Twin Cities, even though it's

28:26 ↗ the same older housing stock, um it's

28:30 ↗ much uh it's much healthier community

28:32 ↗ because you still had an influx of young

28:34 ↗ parents. And that's what this is really

28:36 ↗ about for me. I moved to this city

28:38 ↗ specifically because of the education

28:40 ↗ system. I was in Minnesota, public

28:42 ↗ education snob. I was in the best school

28:44 ↗ district in the best state in the

28:46 ↗ country and I wanted a great education

28:47 ↗ for my kids and boy did I get it. Um, so

28:50 ↗ now it's my responsibility to help bring

28:52 ↗ that for future generations. So I'm

28:54 ↗ going to support this levy. Thank you,

28:56 ↗ >> Council Member Walsh.

28:59 ↗ >> Thank you. Gosh, going after these uh

29:01 ↗ three speakers, you've said it

29:03 ↗ beautifully that this is a city

29:06 ↗ responsibility to understand that our

29:10 ↗ community thrives not just because of

29:14 ↗ the roadways and the parks and the sewer

29:18 ↗ infrastructure that we provide as a

29:20 ↗ city, but also the things that we do to

29:24 ↗ draw in new residents um and to educate

29:28 ↗ our future workers And so I I will just

29:31 ↗ uh echo many of those things, echo the

29:34 ↗ idea that many of us moved here because

29:37 ↗ of the great schools and that that is a

29:40 ↗ commitment that we need to um continue

29:42 ↗ to make. And then from my perspective as

29:45 ↗ a parent of a student at Gibson who

29:49 ↗ which is directly funded um by this levy

29:52 ↗ and the school district CTE programs. I

29:55 ↗ just really recognize that the state

29:57 ↗ level of funding does not provide what

30:00 ↗ our community expects in the quality of

30:04 ↗ education. And if these levies

30:09 ↗ do not pass and other similar funding

30:12 ↗ does not pass, I think our community

30:14 ↗ would be absolutely shocked at the

30:17 ↗ losses that our students would have to

30:19 ↗ go through and thus um that would hurt

30:22 ↗ our reputation as a community and our

30:24 ↗ ability to um bring those in. So I

30:26 ↗ recognize the importance of these three

30:28 ↗ levies and I will support this

30:30 ↗ resolution.

30:31 ↗ >> Thank you, Council Member Jen.

30:34 ↗ >> Great. It is very hard to go after such

30:37 ↗ amazing speakers. But I guess I'll talk

30:38 ↗ a bit about my experience with this

30:40 ↗ levy. So I had the opportunity to serve

30:42 ↗ on the community levy advisory committee

30:43 ↗ with council member Nichols. And through

30:45 ↗ that process really you know we dove

30:47 ↗ into detail over six long meetings into

30:49 ↗ what exactly is in the levy. And you

30:51 ↗ know the capital repairs it's like

30:54 ↗ there's a roof on a school that is 30

30:56 ↗ years old that is leaking. You know the

30:58 ↗ kids are getting dripped on or they have

31:00 ↗ to put buckets in the classrooms. That's

31:01 ↗ not a good learning environment. that is

31:03 ↗ not what our community expects and we

31:05 ↗ need to fund those. There are also

31:07 ↗ things in the original proposal that we

31:09 ↗ removed. For example, having Wi-Fi on

31:11 ↗ school buses that seemed a bit

31:12 ↗ extraneous. That's not in there anymore.

31:14 ↗ And so, um there's also things that

31:16 ↗ would be really great that were not in

31:17 ↗ there because of the focus on fiscal

31:19 ↗ sustainability and staying within that

31:21 ↗ $39 uh per,000 of assessed value tax

31:24 ↗ rate. for example, expanded bilingual

31:26 ↗ education I think would be awesome, but

31:29 ↗ you know, in this levy, that's not

31:30 ↗ something that was able to be included

31:31 ↗ due to the other pressing priorities. So

31:33 ↗ I think you know based on those

31:35 ↗ discussions that we've had in that group

31:36 ↗ with dozens of other members of the

31:39 ↗ community representing educators,

31:40 ↗ community members, um you know elected

31:43 ↗ officials, I think what we ultimately

31:45 ↗ came to was a good compromise of you

31:48 ↗ know making sure that we have the

31:49 ↗ educational opportunities that our

31:51 ↗ community expects of why folks moved

31:53 ↗ here for our kids. Um and I also want to

31:57 ↗ mention you know what uh director

31:59 ↗ Gallinger mentioned which is the

32:00 ↗ partnership between the city and the

32:02 ↗ school district. I think you know for

32:05 ↗ those of us who are in local government

32:07 ↗ you know sometimes we can get into this

32:08 ↗ mindset of oh this is a school district

32:10 ↗ thing or this is a city thing but to the

32:12 ↗ average member of the public people want

32:15 ↗ local government that works. We want

32:16 ↗ kids to be able to go to school. We want

32:18 ↗ kids to be able to go to school and stay

32:20 ↗ safe warm and dry in their buildings and

32:21 ↗ learn and all those types of things. And

32:24 ↗ so for us as as a city and school

32:26 ↗ district, you know, I think there's a

32:29 ↗ lot more opportunities to work together

32:30 ↗ to get um outcomes that serve our

32:33 ↗ community in the best way possible. And

32:34 ↗ I think in this way, you know, showing

32:36 ↗ support for funding our most important

32:39 ↗ educational priorities that are not

32:42 ↗ sufficiently funded by the state is a

32:43 ↗ key part of uh maintaining that

32:45 ↗ partnership and I look forward to

32:46 ↗ working more closely with our

32:49 ↗ schoolboard members moving forward on

32:51 ↗ other topics of interest. So, I will be

32:54 ↗ voting to support this as well.

32:55 ↗ >> Thank you, Council Member Joe.

32:58 ↗ >> Thank you. Um I'm going to talk about

33:00 ↗ the um educational programs and

33:04 ↗ operations levy. Um I have uh two kids,

33:09 ↗ two young adults that are in the system

33:11 ↗ right now. One's 19 and one is 16 and um

33:16 ↗ uh both of them have struggled with uh

33:19 ↗ mental health issues and have needed

33:21 ↗ counseling and support during their time

33:24 ↗ in schools. And we struggled as parents

33:27 ↗ to get them the support they needed in

33:30 ↗ the schools. And what the school

33:32 ↗ district had was basic,

33:35 ↗ but it was enough. It was enough to get

33:38 ↗ things

33:40 ↗ settled down, diagnosed so that we as

33:43 ↗ parents could then help our kids. Um, my

33:48 ↗ eldest had to go through the alternate

33:50 ↗ program of going to Running Start,

33:53 ↗ Belleview College, rather than going

33:55 ↗ through the high school system. Um, but

33:57 ↗ the support system was there to help her

34:00 ↗ launch with that. Um, and I owe a great

34:04 ↗ debt to the the school district for

34:05 ↗ doing that. My youngest has a a

34:08 ↗ condition which zaps his energy daily.

34:10 ↗ Um it's called POTS. And the school

34:13 ↗ district has been very accommodating for

34:16 ↗ his health condition as well as his

34:18 ↗ ADHD.

34:20 ↗ Um the education programs and operations

34:23 ↗ levy is not enough. We heard from Kaylee

34:26 ↗ Jake this evening that the garage

34:28 ↗ provides mental health programs for

34:30 ↗ students and they went through the

34:32 ↗ numbers and the people that go through

34:33 ↗ counseling. Um what she didn't mention

34:36 ↗ is that the garage now has one of their

34:38 ↗ counselors in the school at the high

34:41 ↗ school in Gibson on a regular basis

34:44 ↗ working with the school because that

34:46 ↗ program needs to be augmented and the

34:48 ↗ two need to work together. Um this

34:50 ↗ education programs and operations levy

34:53 ↗ um will then allow that to continue to

34:56 ↗ happen. Um will give the basic

34:59 ↗ foundation for people that are having

35:00 ↗ trouble. Um, and I think it's very

35:03 ↗ important that we continue to do that.

35:05 ↗ Also, the the zero the the seven um

35:09 ↗ period school um

35:13 ↗ capacity is is very important. My my

35:15 ↗ youngest um loves to sing and it's the

35:19 ↗ only thing that's kept him grounded in

35:21 ↗ school and allows him to still go to

35:24 ↗ school. um he goes to zero hour for his

35:28 ↗ choir and we have to get him there at 7

35:31 ↗ in the morning um four days a week and

35:34 ↗ it is a pain but because he's doing that

35:37 ↗ because he's been in the program in the

35:38 ↗ high school for two years I've seen him

35:40 ↗ grow in different ways that he wouldn't

35:43 ↗ get from a sports program or from any

35:45 ↗ academic program. So, um, these added

35:49 ↗ things, what we think is added things in

35:51 ↗ this in this levy are so important to

35:55 ↗ allow our school district to maintain a

35:57 ↗ high level of service and a great level

35:59 ↗ of education for all of our people, all

36:03 ↗ of our children, all of our young people

36:04 ↗ growing up in this community. And I hope

36:07 ↗ that uh everyone would vote for it as I

36:09 ↗ am this evening. Thank you.

36:10 ↗ >> Thank you very much, Council Member Joe.

36:12 ↗ With no further discussion, the motion

36:14 ↗ before the council is to approve

36:16 ↗ resolution number 2026-04 supporting the

36:18 ↗ Isqual school district levies

36:20 ↗ proposition numbers 1,2 and three

36:21 ↗ scheduled for the February 2026 special

36:24 ↗ election. All those in favor, please say

36:26 ↗ I.

36:27 ↗ >> I.

36:28 ↗ >> I.

36:29 ↗ >> All those oppose? Nay. And that passes

36:32 ↗ unanimously. And thank you Martin from

36:34 ↗ the school district for being here to

36:36 ↗ answer questions. But you didn't they

36:38 ↗ did not need to phone a friend tonight.

36:39 ↗ though, but we appreciate you taking the

36:41 ↗ time to show up just in case. We'll now

36:43 ↗ move on to regular business,

36:45 ↗ ID1956,formational

36:48 ↗ update from WASHDOT on the fish passage

36:51 ↗ project. And here's a spoiler alert for

36:53 ↗ the council. There is road misery ahead

36:55 ↗ for Isqua residents in 2026. So, I would

36:58 ↗ advise you pay attention so you can

37:01 ↗ understand the level of road misery

37:02 ↗ that's coming. And public works director

37:04 ↗ Emily Moon.

37:24 ↗ We need to get it music we can play in

37:27 ↗ the background while we try to figure it

37:28 ↗ out. Something calming and relaxing.

37:32 ↗ >> That's right.

37:37 ↗ >> There we go.

37:41 ↗ >> Good evening. I am Emily Moon, the

37:42 ↗ public works director. I'm joined this

37:45 ↗ evening by a few people on the project

37:48 ↗ team. Uh Matt Ellis, our utilities

37:50 ↗ engineering manager, is with me. We also

37:53 ↗ have a representative Matt Rue from

37:56 ↗ Atkinson, the construction company that

37:59 ↗ is the contractor for WASHDOT.

38:01 ↗ And we have Chris Brown who is our city

38:06 ↗ liaison. uh that's the best title I can

38:09 ↗ come up with for him. But he's he's our

38:11 ↗ primary conduit with wash, a city

38:15 ↗ contract um entity that is helping us

38:18 ↗ facilitate this project.

38:27 ↗ I have a new laptop and it's just not

38:30 ↗ happy.

38:33 ↗ Okay. So, tonight we're just going to

38:34 ↗ give you a status update on the fish

38:37 ↗ passage project. We were here months

38:40 ↗ ago. Uh it gave you an overview of the

38:43 ↗ entirety of the project. This is

38:45 ↗ multi-year, multi- roads that are

38:48 ↗ impacted and um some work that the city

38:52 ↗ has to do in advance of the project.

38:54 ↗ We'll give you an update on that.

38:57 ↗ And uh we will talk about road closures

39:00 ↗ as the mayor suggested. There are many

39:02 ↗ that are coming. We are at a very

39:05 ↗ critical point in this project. This is

39:07 ↗ a pivotal moment where the city is

39:10 ↗ wrapping up its kind of precursor work.

39:13 ↗ Matt will talk about that in a moment.

39:16 ↗ And we're ready for wash to uh start

39:19 ↗ their construction activities. You may

39:21 ↗ have noticed some work already in the

39:23 ↗ I90 median to prepare for that. More is

39:26 ↗ coming on either side of I90 on local

39:29 ↗ roads and we'll talk about those impacts

39:32 ↗ shortly. But just a reminder, this

39:35 ↗ project is being undertaken as a result

39:38 ↗ of the federal injunction. All the work

39:40 ↗ needs to be completed by 2030. So we

39:44 ↗ have many years of disruption in our

39:46 ↗ community ahead of us.

39:52 ↗ Again, a refresher on the project

39:54 ↗ locations. The two primary locations

39:57 ↗ that wash out will be working in are in

39:59 ↗ the vicinity of the crossing for Lewis

40:02 ↗ Creek by Lakemon

40:04 ↗ and in the vicinity of uh West Village

40:08 ↗ Park and Schneider Creeks as they're

40:10 ↗ being combined before they cross I90 and

40:14 ↗ uh go across Northwest Mammoth Road into

40:16 ↗ the lake.

40:20 ↗ And with that, I'll have Chris come up

40:21 ↗ and talk through the next slides.

40:32 ↗ All right, thank you very much. Um, I'm

40:35 ↗ just going to quickly talk about uh what

40:37 ↗ we're looking at for construction. Uh,

40:39 ↗ as Emily mentioned, it's going to be a

40:42 ↗ couple years of fun. Um, four new

40:44 ↗ bridges. Uh, we're going to have a new

40:46 ↗ roundabout, and I'll show you a picture

40:48 ↗ of all this stuff here in a minute so

40:49 ↗ you can understand what we're talking

40:51 ↗ about. Um, we are going to have detours

40:54 ↗ in place, especially when we do the

40:55 ↗ local road work. Um, there'll be some

40:58 ↗ local street closures at the same time

41:00 ↗ to get that done. And there are some

41:02 ↗ utility impacts um on the Lewis Creek

41:05 ↗ side. Those are going to be uh done by

41:08 ↗ Washcott. And then also they're going to

41:10 ↗ relocate uh one of the BIP lines for the

41:14 ↗ uh CWA out of Belleview as that runs

41:17 ↗ through the through the Newport work.

41:19 ↗ So, thank you for letting me be the

41:22 ↗ expert at this, getting the right

41:24 ↗ button. Um, so this is a photograph of

41:27 ↗ the area. So, you can see starting from

41:31 ↗ uh Lankmont, there's going to be a new

41:33 ↗ connection at that point. And then

41:36 ↗ you're going to cross over uh the first

41:38 ↗ bridge there at Lankmont, that white

41:41 ↗ parag parallelogram there you see on the

41:44 ↗ page. And then further to the east is

41:47 ↗ the new roundabout that's going to be

41:49 ↗ built. Um so that takes care of the

41:51 ↗ roundabout in one of the bridges. Uh the

41:54 ↗ next two bridges are up on I90 eastbound

41:57 ↗ and westbound which is the work that

41:59 ↗ Atinson's currently preparing for. And

42:02 ↗ then the last bridge uh in this sequence

42:05 ↗ is on Westlake Seamish Parkway and uh

42:08 ↗ the relocation of the uh Isqua waterline

42:12 ↗ will take place in that location.

42:15 ↗ >> Are there any questions on that slide?

42:17 ↗ People

42:17 ↗ >> sure go back.

42:19 ↗ >> Deputy President Marts.

42:22 ↗ >> Thank you. Lewis Creek, you're showing

42:25 ↗ that in the new system, it's going to

42:29 ↗ run underneath the on-ramp. It's going

42:32 ↗ to cross underneath the on-ramp twice.

42:34 ↗ It doesn't currently do that, right? It

42:36 ↗ runs between the on-ramp and the loop to

42:39 ↗ the west.

42:41 ↗ >> That is correct.

42:42 ↗ >> So, what tell me why we're making it

42:45 ↗ more complicated and what that's going

42:47 ↗ to do to make things better. So, we

42:50 ↗ moved it further to the east to give

42:52 ↗ space for the riparian corridor.

42:54 ↗ Basically, to give us a bigger footprint

42:56 ↗ for a better stream. In its current

42:58 ↗ configuration, it's too close to that to

43:01 ↗ one of the on-ramps that you see there.

43:03 ↗ And if we would have come in and done uh

43:06 ↗ the width of stream that we needed to uh

43:08 ↗ meet the needs for the riparian

43:09 ↗ corridor, we would have had to take out

43:11 ↗ parts of that ramp as well. So, it was

43:13 ↗ just the least impactful place to put

43:15 ↗ the stream and get the biggest benefit

43:18 ↗ that we could. So it'll be a better

43:20 ↗ salmonic bearing stream when it's done.

43:22 ↗ Is that That's the That's the

43:25 ↗ >> That's the goal. Yes.

43:26 ↗ >> Thank you,

43:27 ↗ >> Council Member Walsh.

43:28 ↗ >> Thank you. Um I know on the north side

43:32 ↗ when we're talking about the uh further

43:34 ↗ down on Northwest Seamish, there was

43:37 ↗ conversation about how that bridge

43:39 ↗ height is going to be quite a bit higher

43:41 ↗ than the um existing roadway. Is that

43:45 ↗ also happening on the Westlake Seamish

43:48 ↗ Parkway? Um, at that point, is that

43:51 ↗ going to be a up and down basically much

43:55 ↗ higher?

43:56 ↗ >> Uh, it will be raised a little bit. Uh,

43:58 ↗ it's about six feet, I believe. And the

44:02 ↗ purpose of that was just to to increase

44:04 ↗ that distance. So, um, as you're coming

44:06 ↗ around that corner, you can you can see

44:08 ↗ better. Um and again as you mentioned to

44:12 ↗ get the stream up high enough to where

44:13 ↗ that uh there's enough passage

44:15 ↗ underneath

44:16 ↗ >> so that there's light underneath the

44:17 ↗ bridge. Okay. So that even that small of

44:20 ↗ a bridge on that Westlake Samesh Parkway

44:23 ↗ is going to raise six feet and then

44:27 ↗ reduce back down.

44:28 ↗ >> Yep. And then goes back down.

44:29 ↗ >> Okay. Thank you.

44:32 ↗ >> Oh, Council Member Joe.

44:34 ↗ >> Thank you. Um couple questions.

44:37 ↗ >> Sure. one, as I recall, there was uh

44:40 ↗ some concern about the ownership of the

44:43 ↗ bridge or the jurisdiction along that

44:46 ↗ that road there. Has that been talked

44:48 ↗ about and resolved?

44:50 ↗ >> Uh you're talking about on Newport?

44:52 ↗ >> Yes.

44:53 ↗ >> Okay. Um we're currently talking to

44:56 ↗ WashDOT about that. Um the roundabout

44:58 ↗ location is um eventually going to be uh

45:02 ↗ owned and maintained by uh WashDOT.

45:04 ↗ That's what the city would like

45:06 ↗ obviously since they're building their

45:07 ↗ roundabout there. In terms of uh the

45:10 ↗ transfer of property, uh we worked

45:12 ↗ through some uh access rights only at

45:15 ↗ this point, but the acquisition of the

45:17 ↗ property and the acquisition of those

45:19 ↗ access rights is still being worked on.

45:22 ↗ >> So, just so the audience at home can

45:24 ↗ understand, we're talking about the

45:26 ↗ section of road between Lakemont and the

45:29 ↗ roundabout. Is is that correct in terms

45:31 ↗ of whether that was going to be uh city

45:34 ↗ owned or whether that was going to be

45:36 ↗ controlled and owned by the state? Is

45:38 ↗ that correct?

45:39 ↗ >> Yes. In this in this area right here.

45:41 ↗ >> Okay. Okay. And there is there is uh

45:43 ↗ certain sections especially right where

45:45 ↗ the roundabout ties in with the entrance

45:48 ↗ to the to the development there where uh

45:51 ↗ some of that rightway is current

45:53 ↗ currently city of Isiqua rightway and we

45:56 ↗ would uh desire to transfer that over to

46:00 ↗ uh the state so that they're responsible

46:02 ↗ for maintaining it um and not the city.

46:05 ↗ >> But that has not been resolved up to

46:06 ↗ this point. Is that correct?

46:07 ↗ >> Uh no it is not. As I mentioned, uh

46:10 ↗ access rights along here because they

46:12 ↗ wanted to limit access rights just to

46:14 ↗ make sure that uh the roundabout could

46:16 ↗ operate safely and that process is is

46:19 ↗ ongoing, but we still have yet to hear

46:22 ↗ from the state on the acquisition of the

46:24 ↗ of the particular parcel.

46:26 ↗ >> Okay.

46:27 ↗ >> Thank you.

46:28 ↗ >> When I was looking for an apartment, I

46:30 ↗ uh looked at the nice apartments that

46:32 ↗ are right there just to the south of the

46:33 ↗ roundabout. How do people that live

46:36 ↗ there still get access during

46:37 ↗ construction?

46:39 ↗ >> Um, so for this construction, the lanes

46:41 ↗ are just going to be shifted. Uh, there

46:44 ↗ will be no permanent lane closures. So

46:46 ↗ the two lanes in each direction will be

46:49 ↗ maintained and they'll build the

46:50 ↗ roundabout in and the bridge in phases

46:53 ↗ to keep those open. Uh there will be

46:55 ↗ obviously some uh slowdowns. You know,

46:58 ↗ people drive through, oh look what's

46:59 ↗ going on. They're going to be looking.

47:00 ↗ But in terms of roadway capacity, it's

47:03 ↗ going to remain the same.

47:04 ↗ >> Thank you. One last question.

47:06 ↗ >> Um

47:07 ↗ I'm the liaison to the Chamber of

47:09 ↗ Commerce and they've been a little

47:10 ↗ concerned about the traffic Armageddon

47:13 ↗ that could be coming if we were to shut

47:15 ↗ down both the north and the south access

47:17 ↗ lanes around I90. Um could you um just

47:22 ↗ let the public know in terms of what's

47:24 ↗ in the materials that you'll be keeping

47:26 ↗ one of those lanes, either the north

47:28 ↗ lane or the south lane open at all times

47:30 ↗ during this construction and kind of

47:31 ↗ shift them around so that um we're not

47:33 ↗ causing both a backup on 90 and a backup

47:37 ↗ on the side roads.

47:38 ↗ >> Um yeah, so the the I90 work is all

47:41 ↗ going to be done through lane shifts. Uh

47:44 ↗ that's going to be happen later uh or

47:47 ↗ I'm sorry in early February is planned

47:48 ↗ right now. Um if you have more specific

47:51 ↗ questions I'll ask Matt but uh it's a

47:53 ↗ little weather dependent right because

47:54 ↗ we have to tie in striping and sort that

47:56 ↗ sort of thing but all that work will be

47:59 ↗ done with shifted lanes. Um the work on

48:02 ↗ the on the Newport side will also be

48:04 ↗ done through shifted lanes. So there'll

48:06 ↗ be no no permanent lane closures. There

48:09 ↗ may be some intermittent night closures

48:10 ↗ just for critical stuff, but uh nothing

48:13 ↗ during the day.

48:14 ↗ >> Okay. So, just in general, if if people

48:18 ↗ wanted to go not on the freeway, they

48:20 ↗ could either take the north road that

48:22 ↗ goes toward the state park if you're

48:24 ↗ heading east or the road with the

48:26 ↗ roundabouts on, but they both will not

48:28 ↗ be closed at the same time. Is that

48:30 ↗ correct?

48:30 ↗ >> That's correct.

48:31 ↗ >> Okay. Thank you very much.

48:32 ↗ >> Mhm.

48:37 ↗ Oh, Council Member Nichols,

48:39 ↗ >> go ahead.

48:40 ↗ >> Oh, sorry. Can you go back to Matt for a

48:41 ↗ second?

48:42 ↗ >> Yep.

48:43 ↗ >> Okay. Uh, this is a very detailed

48:45 ↗ question. If you don't know the numbers,

48:46 ↗ it's okay. But, um, the on looking at

48:49 ↗ Westlakes Mammish Parkway Southeast. Um,

48:52 ↗ I I wanted to know if you know how wide

48:54 ↗ that section is. And the the context for

48:56 ↗ this is that I am I'm very interested in

48:59 ↗ understanding the the impacts of this

49:02 ↗ particular project on rel on the related

49:05 ↗ multimodal transportation improvements

49:07 ↗ that we would like to do in that area,

49:08 ↗ specifically bike and pedestrian

49:10 ↗ improvements. Um and the phasing

49:12 ↗ associated with that and just

49:14 ↗ understanding the magnitude of how big

49:16 ↗ is this thing. Um do we really need to

49:18 ↗ delay some of those improvements for

49:20 ↗ this in particular or do we not? uh

49:24 ↗ understanding just physically how big is

49:26 ↗ this thing would I think be helpful for

49:28 ↗ that conversation.

49:30 ↗ >> Um yeah and are sure you're talking

49:32 ↗ about in terms of the width of the

49:34 ↗ bridge there in its final configuration

49:36 ↗ or the current width of the road?

49:39 ↗ >> Yeah. So left right in the orientation

49:42 ↗ of this photo um what's what what kind

49:45 ↗ of real estate are we talking about

49:47 ↗ there on the in the very top section?

49:50 ↗ >> Yeah. Um, so on Westlake Sams Parkway,

49:53 ↗ you've got uh a lane in each direction.

49:55 ↗ I'm not sure how wide it is. My guess is

49:57 ↗ probably around 11 ft. And then you've

49:59 ↗ got four to six foot shoulders on either

50:02 ↗ side of the roadway in that area. Um, in

50:07 ↗ uh further to the um sorry, further to

50:10 ↗ the east on Northwest SAM is where those

50:13 ↗ multimodal improvements at least in the

50:15 ↗ near term are going to be occurring

50:17 ↗ right after this project is over. But I

50:19 ↗ think you're probably referring to uh

50:21 ↗ future improvements, correct? To the to

50:24 ↗ the section of road between north on

50:27 ↗ Westlake Center property. Is that

50:28 ↗ correct?

50:29 ↗ >> Uh really any improvements. And I I

50:31 ↗ don't want to have to I don't want to

50:32 ↗ make it go there right now, but just so

50:34 ↗ so how long of length of roadway is this

50:36 ↗ that we're talking about? So

50:38 ↗ >> Oh, that we're modifying here.

50:40 ↗ >> Yeah,

50:41 ↗ >> it's fairly short. So it starts it

50:44 ↗ starts right at this at this

50:46 ↗ intersection basically and that's where

50:48 ↗ the the road starts to be be lifted up a

50:51 ↗ little bit. Um the sorry let me get it

50:54 ↗ to the right spot. I can't see it on my

50:55 ↗ screen. So from this intersection here

50:58 ↗ um and then uh you go over the bridge

51:02 ↗ and then basically the road ties back in

51:05 ↗ uh just before the driveway of this

51:07 ↗ house right there. If you can see that.

51:09 ↗ >> Yeah. It it would be if I again I don't

51:11 ↗ want to put you on the spot right now. I

51:13 ↗ appreciate you probably don't have this

51:14 ↗ number but since it's this is a a

51:17 ↗ infrastructure project that may be

51:18 ↗ delaying some multimodal transport

51:21 ↗ improvements. Uh it would be good to

51:23 ↗ understand the magnitude of that if

51:24 ↗ that's 50 ft long 100 ft long etc. Um we

51:28 ↗ can maybe address that at a future time.

51:30 ↗ >> Yeah I can I can follow up with Emily

51:32 ↗ with me to some exact numbers if you

51:34 ↗ want.

51:36 ↗ Council member, we have done our best to

51:38 ↗ try to make sure, especially on the

51:41 ↗ eastern portion of this project, that

51:43 ↗ there's forward compatibility to the

51:45 ↗ city's northwest Seamish non-motorized

51:48 ↗ improvement project. Further to the

51:50 ↗ west, this is not within the project

51:53 ↗ locations for that same uh multimodal

51:56 ↗ project that has uh been designed at

52:00 ↗ this point. Certainly future we are

52:03 ↗ hopeful that we can extend those

52:06 ↗ non-motorized improvements all the way

52:08 ↗ to the city boundary on the west side.

52:10 ↗ So we have an eye toward that. Uh we

52:12 ↗ have what real estate we have to work

52:14 ↗ with but as we working with Atkinson and

52:18 ↗ wash dot we have expressed to them what

52:21 ↗ our desires are for that segment and we

52:24 ↗ hope to have uh preserved enough space

52:26 ↗ to provide for that non-motorized

52:29 ↗ mobility in the future.

52:31 ↗ But we can get you some uh exact

52:33 ↗ cross-sections so that you'll have a

52:35 ↗ better sense.

52:38 ↗ >> Okay. Go ahead, Chris. You can keep

52:40 ↗ going to the next slide.

52:41 ↗ >> Okay. So, we'll jump to the next slide.

52:44 ↗ Again, I'll talk to this stuff on the

52:46 ↗ picture as well. Um again, it's about a

52:48 ↗ two to three year process. This is for

52:50 ↗ West Village Park in Schneider. Uh this

52:53 ↗ includes three bridges and we'll show

52:55 ↗ you the stream alignment. And this also

52:58 ↗ includes a local road bridge, Northwest

53:00 ↗ Sam Road. Again, we're going to have uh

53:04 ↗ we will have a full closure on Northwest

53:06 ↗ Sam, and I'll talk about that in a

53:07 ↗ minute. Uh and there will be detours in

53:09 ↗ local streets, closures as well. Um

53:12 ↗ there will be uh there was utility

53:15 ↗ impacts. Um that sewer was uh is and is

53:20 ↗ nearly relocated on Matt's project,

53:22 ↗ which we'll talk about in a minute. And

53:24 ↗ then uh the city water on the northwest

53:26 ↗ sand bridge will be uh relocated by wash

53:29 ↗ and then just ongoing coordination with

53:32 ↗ the non-motorized project which will

53:34 ↗ follow on the heels of this project when

53:36 ↗ the after the bridge is built.

53:41 ↗ Um, so this is the other project. You

53:44 ↗ can see, um, and I'll try to put this on

53:47 ↗ the You can see the the stream coming

53:50 ↗ down here. And then all this blue line

53:52 ↗ that you see is going to be, uh, rebuilt

53:55 ↗ stream bed. So, the the West Valley West

53:59 ↗ Village Park stream here and the one

54:03 ↗ coming in from Schneider over here, if I

54:06 ↗ can get the mouse to slow down, uh will

54:08 ↗ be combined and then the two uh orange

54:11 ↗ sections that you see there. Uh and then

54:13 ↗ the last bit of orange here on the top

54:16 ↗ are the three bridges on I90. So, you've

54:18 ↗ got one for I90 eastbound, one for I90

54:21 ↗ westbound, and then a new bridge on

54:23 ↗ Northwest SAM. Um, similar to the work

54:27 ↗ on Lewis Street, the I90 work, bridge

54:30 ↗ mainline work will be done uh in lane

54:33 ↗ shifts, similar to what you're going to

54:35 ↗ see on the uh at Lewis Creek. Um, so

54:38 ↗ those will be moved over. Um, so traffic

54:41 ↗ will just be shifted there on the

54:43 ↗ Northwest Sand Bridge. Um, that will

54:46 ↗ require a full closure and right now

54:48 ↗ that's planned for about 120 days. Um a

54:52 ↗ as you mentioned the the road on the

54:54 ↗ other side will remain open. So that

54:56 ↗ that is those two uh routes are not

54:59 ↗ closed at the same at the same time.

55:04 ↗ And then there's a new stream alignment

55:06 ↗ uh basically from the top of the Jordan

55:07 ↗ section there uh all the way down to all

55:10 ↗ the way down to the lake.

55:15 ↗ >> Council member Joe.

55:17 ↗ >> Thank you. Um

55:19 ↗ I'm one of the representatives to

55:21 ↗ Cascade Water Alliance and uh the

55:23 ↗ Belleview is pipeline uh runs through

55:25 ↗ that area. Could you talk about the

55:26 ↗ impacts to that pipeline and what's

55:29 ↗ being done to help mitigate them?

55:31 ↗ >> Um there's no direct impacts on the on

55:35 ↗ the um Schneider side of the of the

55:38 ↗ crossing. The only impact there is one

55:40 ↗ of the city's water lines. Uh but the uh

55:44 ↗ VIP line is being relocated on the

55:48 ↗ Newport Bridge and that's uh currently

55:51 ↗ in design with them and we're working

55:52 ↗ with their team to wash is working with

55:55 ↗ that team to to get that redesigned and

55:57 ↗ again that will happen uh in the second

56:01 ↗ phase essentially of the bridge

56:04 ↗ construction at Newport with the shifted

56:05 ↗ lanes. Obviously, we have to have a

56:07 ↗ bridge to put it on and then it'll get

56:09 ↗ put on that bridge and then they'll

56:10 ↗ they'll build the other half. But no no

56:12 ↗ no direct impacts on the on the

56:14 ↗ Schneider side of things.

56:16 ↗ >> Okay. And um one of the other pieces of

56:19 ↗ the conversation was um who was

56:21 ↗ responsible for moving that pipeline and

56:24 ↗ who was going to be paying for that?

56:25 ↗ Have we sorted that out?

56:28 ↗ >> Um yeah, for the for the one on Newport

56:30 ↗ that has been that has been s sorted

56:33 ↗ out. Uh the other section of Newport

56:36 ↗ that was uh more controversial uh that

56:40 ↗ was uh removed from the project and

56:42 ↗ that's still an ongoing discussion with

56:44 ↗ the state and that is for the bridge

56:46 ↗ that we're not going to actually build

56:49 ↗ and that's this little uh white section

56:52 ↗ right here. So that's an ongoing

56:55 ↗ discussion with the state that's yet to

56:57 ↗ be resolved.

56:58 ↗ >> Okay. Thank you for the information. I

56:59 ↗ appreciate it. Mhm.

57:00 ↗ >> Council member Jane.

57:02 ↗ >> Um, going off council member Nichols

57:05 ↗ question earlier. So, I was trying to

57:06 ↗ figure out where exactly on the map this

57:08 ↗ is, and I think it it's a little tilted,

57:10 ↗ so I got briefly confused. But so to

57:13 ↗ clarify this orange section is the one

57:18 ↗ that is basically the barrier test doing

57:19 ↗ the northwest seamish motorized

57:21 ↗ improvements because or not sorry

57:23 ↗ non-motorized improvements because that

57:25 ↗ project is basically going to go until

57:27 ↗ you know east from 193rd PL southeast.

57:30 ↗ Is that correct? And then this other

57:32 ↗ Lewis Creek one it's farther to the

57:34 ↗ west. So that's not related to the non

57:37 ↗ northwest improvement. Okay, that was my

57:39 ↗ only question. I was just making sure

57:41 ↗ that my understanding of that was

57:42 ↗ correct.

57:43 ↗ >> You are correct.

57:44 ↗ >> Thank you.

57:47 ↗ >> All right. I think we can go next slide.

57:51 ↗ >> Um that's my last one and I'll and

57:55 ↗ >> Oh, you want to pass it? All right.

57:57 ↗ >> I failed to introduce Tom Pierce from

58:00 ↗ WASHDOT. Tom is part of their

58:02 ↗ communications staff. I want to thank

58:04 ↗ Chris for stepping in and presenting.

58:07 ↗ This is a washd project. Um the city is

58:10 ↗ very active in helping to facilitate uh

58:14 ↗ especially communication efforts but

58:16 ↗ this is a moment in time where we are

58:18 ↗ switching from city's precursor

58:21 ↗ activities like relocating the Newport

58:24 ↗ sewer and handing it over to wash to

58:26 ↗ make sure that wash can carry forward

58:28 ↗ the rest of the project. But as you have

58:30 ↗ seen Chris has been a phenomenal liaison

58:33 ↗ for the city. So, with that, I'll pass

58:36 ↗ it to Matt

58:37 ↗ >> and Tom. We have an auto forward on all

58:39 ↗ complaints. They're just going to go

58:40 ↗ directly from our city email to yours.

58:45 ↗ >> All right. Good evening. And I apologize

58:47 ↗ in advance. My part of the presentation

58:49 ↗ is going to get a little geographically

58:51 ↗ confusing. So, just remember Newport is

58:54 ↗ to the south and that part of the work

58:56 ↗ is by exit 13 and northwest Mammish Road

58:59 ↗ turns into West Lakes Parkway. West

59:02 ↗ Lakes Mish Parkway is the part near exit

59:05 ↗ 13 and northwest Mammish road is between

59:08 ↗ 13 and 15.

59:10 ↗ All right, this is the project that uh

59:12 ↗ this is the Newport sewer relocation

59:13 ↗ project. And this is the project the

59:15 ↗ city needed to complete to support the

59:17 ↗ fish passage project at Schneider and

59:19 ↗ West Village Park Creek. And to give a

59:21 ↗ very brief summary, the sewer line

59:23 ↗ collects all sewer for properties in the

59:25 ↗ southwest quadrant of the city,

59:27 ↗ including Montro, uh the Lakemont

59:29 ↗ Orchards condos, and Spamish Hills

59:30 ↗ condos. The sewer line originally

59:32 ↗ traveled through the wash dot ride

59:34 ↗ ofway. Uh wash dot plans to reroute West

59:36 ↗ Village Park Creek as Chris showed on

59:39 ↗ the last slide uh and required the

59:41 ↗ realignment of the sewer line. Uh the

59:43 ↗ sewer needed to be routered to city

59:45 ↗ rideway within Newport Way.

59:47 ↗ Unfortunately, due to the depth of the

59:48 ↗ sewer main, challenging soils and

59:50 ↗ presence of a hill that we needed to go

59:52 ↗ through, we needed to utilize a special

59:54 ↗ boring process to complete the work.

59:56 ↗ This included boring pits that were 30

59:58 ↗ ft deep, as you can see in the picture.

1:00:00 ↗ uh and utilizing a special boring

1:00:02 ↗ process that used a much larger boring

1:00:04 ↗ machine than the sewer mane that we

1:00:05 ↗ installed. So, for context, we used a

1:00:07 ↗ 54inch casing pipe to carry a 12-in

1:00:10 ↗ sewer main. And you can kind of see the

1:00:12 ↗ guy at the bottom of the pit there, uh

1:00:15 ↗ driving that boring machine, and there

1:00:16 ↗ was a guy inside scooping things out.

1:00:20 ↗ Uh, all right.

1:00:23 ↗ So, the new Newport sewer project is on

1:00:26 ↗ track. All boring is complete, and the

1:00:28 ↗ sewer pipe is in. Uh they are completing

1:00:30 ↗ they just completed the p uh pouring

1:00:32 ↗ grout between that carrier pipe and the

1:00:34 ↗ sewer main and are presently starting to

1:00:37 ↗ back fill around the deep manholes that

1:00:38 ↗ are being installed. The closure will

1:00:40 ↗ last until fe February 15th as they

1:00:43 ↗ complete all punch list items, complete

1:00:45 ↗ the back fill and restore the roadway.

1:00:48 ↗ The wash fish passage project is in the

1:00:50 ↗ middle of design and beginning to do

1:00:51 ↗ some work on the freeway to shift

1:00:53 ↗ traffic into a new alignment as the

1:00:55 ↗ bridges are installed.

1:00:57 ↗ Work is progressing in the design of the

1:00:59 ↗ two uh stream crossings at Schneider

1:01:01 ↗ West Village Park Creek and Lewis Creek.

1:01:03 ↗ And I will present on a later slide the

1:01:05 ↗ schedule for each of these. Uh at the

1:01:07 ↗ same time, the city is working on the

1:01:08 ↗ design and preparation for construction

1:01:10 ↗ of both the new Northwest Famish Road

1:01:13 ↗ non-motorized improvement project and

1:01:15 ↗ phase one of the Newport SR900 to 54th

1:01:18 ↗ Street project. Utility improvements are

1:01:21 ↗ currently undergoing uh for the design

1:01:23 ↗ of both roadways uh including a new

1:01:26 ↗ water line on Newport Way and the

1:01:28 ↗ replacement of water and sewer in

1:01:29 ↗ preparation of the SR900 phase one

1:01:32 ↗ project and those are city utility

1:01:34 ↗ projects. Uh the city is actively

1:01:37 ↗ coordinating with washd and all

1:01:38 ↗ thirdparty franchise utilities that need

1:01:41 ↗ to be relocated for all the above

1:01:43 ↗ projects. One challenge that I will be

1:01:46 ↗ highlighting in a few slides is the

1:01:47 ↗ traffic impacts necessary for these

1:01:49 ↗ utilities to relocate and coordinate to

1:01:52 ↗ ensure simultaneous closures don't occur

1:01:54 ↗ at the same time, potentially stranding

1:01:56 ↗ residents without a safe and clear point

1:01:58 ↗ of ingress or egress from their

1:01:59 ↗ neighborhood. As I mentioned, the I90

1:02:02 ↗ median preparations are set to occur in

1:02:04 ↗ the next couple weeks to shift traffic

1:02:06 ↗ over so's design builder Atkinson uh can

1:02:10 ↗ come in and build their bridges. This

1:02:12 ↗ will require exit closures and lane

1:02:14 ↗ reductions on the freeway, but that's

1:02:16 ↗ only overnight for like one night. And

1:02:18 ↗ that'll happen in midFebruary for the

1:02:20 ↗ two times that they shift things over.

1:02:29 ↗ So the uh as we look at specifically at

1:02:31 ↗ uh local street impacts, there will be

1:02:33 ↗ quite a bit of activity in 2026 on both

1:02:36 ↗ Newport Way and Northwest Mish Road. We

1:02:39 ↗ have made a requirement that a full

1:02:40 ↗ closure and detour cannot occur on both

1:02:42 ↗ Newport Way and Northwest Mammish

1:02:44 ↗ Road/West Lakesmesh Parkway at the same

1:02:47 ↗ time. However, there will be impacts on

1:02:49 ↗ both. Uh on Northwest Mish Road, utility

1:02:51 ↗ impacts are projected to start in midfe

1:02:54 ↗ February right after we finish the

1:02:56 ↗ Newport sewer project and extend through

1:02:58 ↗ May. This work will commence once the

1:03:00 ↗ Newport sewer project is has been

1:03:02 ↗ completed. uh util utility impacts again

1:03:05 ↗ are not city facilities but the dry

1:03:07 ↗ utilities such as telecommunications and

1:03:10 ↗ Puget Sound energy gas and power. Uh

1:03:12 ↗ this work will require a combination of

1:03:14 ↗ single lane closures and one full

1:03:16 ↗ closure uh of Northwest mesh road for

1:03:19 ↗ about six weeks as one of the utilities

1:03:21 ↗ for under the the new bridge

1:03:23 ↗ foundations. On the heels of this wash

1:03:26 ↗ dot's design builder will close the road

1:03:28 ↗ between July and November to construct

1:03:29 ↗ the bridges.

1:03:33 ↗ Uh this is not the only time that the

1:03:35 ↗ road will be closed. In 27 and 2028,

1:03:38 ↗ work will occur in the Lewis Creek

1:03:39 ↗ crossing requiring a full closure uh

1:03:42 ↗ closer to exit 13 uh near the Timberlake

1:03:45 ↗ Park neighborhood for the West Lakes uh

1:03:47 ↗ on West Lakes Me Parkway. The road will

1:03:50 ↗ be closed between December 27 and June

1:03:54 ↗ 2028.

1:03:56 ↗ The franchise utilities are focusing all

1:03:58 ↗ their attention on the Schneider and

1:04:00 ↗ West Village Park Creek crossing

1:04:02 ↗ presently and have not started design

1:04:04 ↗ for the for uh the location at Lewis

1:04:06 ↗ Creek yet. So, we don't know the level

1:04:08 ↗ of impacts or duration. Staff continue

1:04:10 ↗ to engage and be in meetings so we can

1:04:12 ↗ provide the most accurate information uh

1:04:15 ↗ regarding th those impacts in the

1:04:16 ↗ future. Uh as all these as all this goes

1:04:20 ↗ on, work will occur on Newport Way at

1:04:22 ↗ the Lewis Creek crossing near exit 13.

1:04:24 ↗ Utilities are scheduled to begin in

1:04:25 ↗ February uh and last through June 2026

1:04:29 ↗ and construction on the bridge is

1:04:31 ↗ anticipated from July 2026 through

1:04:33 ↗ November 2027. This work is planned to

1:04:36 ↗ occur through lane shifts and shoulder

1:04:38 ↗ closures and presently no long-term lane

1:04:41 ↗ closures is anticipated at this

1:04:43 ↗ location, though short duration lane

1:04:44 ↗ closures will probably be needed as

1:04:46 ↗ traffic is flip-flopped at different

1:04:48 ↗ locations.

1:04:50 ↗ All right.

1:04:52 ↗ So, uh, here's a visual chart of

1:04:54 ↗ closures and traffic impacts for both

1:04:56 ↗ Northwest Mammoth Road and Newport Way

1:04:59 ↗ for 2026.

1:05:01 ↗ Green are city projects. Orange is

1:05:05 ↗ washinson

1:05:06 ↗ uh, fish passage work and red/ammon

1:05:10 ↗ uh, are uh, the franchise utilities. And

1:05:13 ↗ then uh light color slash the stripes if

1:05:15 ↗ you can see that are lane closures and

1:05:18 ↗ dark colors are full closures. Uh this

1:05:21 ↗ shows the Newport sewer project ending

1:05:23 ↗ in February followed by utility impacts

1:05:25 ↗ on both Newport Way and Northwest West

1:05:28 ↗ Smeamish Road. The work on Newport is

1:05:30 ↗ primarily in shoulder and as I mentioned

1:05:32 ↗ before the work on Northwest Semeish

1:05:34 ↗ Road will require lane closures from

1:05:36 ↗ February through May uh with one

1:05:38 ↗ projected six-week closure uh in March

1:05:40 ↗ and April. Uh, one thing to highlight is

1:05:43 ↗ the work on Schneider Creek at Northwest

1:05:45 ↗ Meish Road will occur at the same time

1:05:47 ↗ as the work on Lewis Creek at Newport.

1:05:49 ↗ However, Newport work uh is a lane shift

1:05:51 ↗ as I mentioned.

1:05:54 ↗ All right, next slide. And for long-term

1:05:58 ↗ uh long range construction impacts, uh

1:06:00 ↗ here's an expanded look at uh impacts to

1:06:02 ↗ Northwest Meish Road/Westlakes Meish

1:06:05 ↗ Parkway and Newport Way. Um, I want to

1:06:07 ↗ highlight the city's planned projects

1:06:09 ↗ and how those slip in with the work that

1:06:12 ↗ uh, wash is doing as well as the utility

1:06:14 ↗ work. In mid 2027, Newport Way SR900 to

1:06:18 ↗ 54th phase 1 will begin. This has a

1:06:21 ↗ federal grant and must occur during this

1:06:22 ↗ timeline. Phase one starts at SR900 and

1:06:25 ↗ heads west for approximately 1,000 ft.

1:06:29 ↗ Uh most of this work will require a

1:06:31 ↗ single lane closure but will have a

1:06:32 ↗ short duration full closure uh as they

1:06:34 ↗ work on a culvert. Before that work

1:06:37 ↗ begins the city needs to relocate water

1:06:38 ↗ and sewer facilities out of the way. We

1:06:41 ↗ also plan to extend water at a different

1:06:42 ↗ location on Newport and this work will

1:06:45 ↗ require lane closures. Uh as this work

1:06:48 ↗ occurs, work will occur on the wash fish

1:06:50 ↗ passage work at Lewis Creek on Westlakes

1:06:53 ↗ Parkway near the Timber Timberlake

1:06:54 ↗ neighborhood. This will be a full

1:06:56 ↗ closure uh from December 27 through June

1:06:59 ↗ 2028.

1:07:01 ↗ As at this time, we do not know the

1:07:03 ↗ extent of the impacts for franchise

1:07:04 ↗ utilities. Uh but we'll put that

1:07:07 ↗ information in in 2027. Presently, we're

1:07:09 ↗ showing that from July through November.

1:07:12 ↗ Uh and once the Lewis Creek project on

1:07:15 ↗ Westlake Center Parkway is installed and

1:07:17 ↗ the road is open, the city plans to

1:07:19 ↗ start construction on the Northwest Sam

1:07:21 ↗ non-motorized improvement project uh

1:07:23 ↗ from the state park to SR to 193rd place

1:07:26 ↗ in mid 2028. We're still figuring out

1:07:28 ↗ the traffic control for this part of the

1:07:30 ↗ project. And then again one thing to

1:07:32 ↗ note is uh this just represents uh

1:07:35 ↗ impacts to city streets and not freeway

1:07:39 ↗ which will have again lane shifts not

1:07:42 ↗ clo not lane reductions but will have

1:07:45 ↗ some impacts

1:07:47 ↗ >> because it's safe to say the main point

1:07:50 ↗ I think for our community in this

1:07:51 ↗ calendar year is full lane closure

1:07:54 ↗ northwest Samish road and for basically

1:07:56 ↗ six weeks in March and April and then

1:07:59 ↗ closed again from July

1:08:01 ↗ through November. So obviously for those

1:08:02 ↗ communities south of Lake Seamish,

1:08:05 ↗ that's going to be the really big impact

1:08:06 ↗ that's going to hit them very soon.

1:08:09 ↗ Correct.

1:08:17 ↗ >> Okay. Matt talked a little bit about

1:08:19 ↗ this, but just to underscore, there's a

1:08:21 ↗ lot that we are trying to orchestrate.

1:08:24 ↗ um utility replacements for our own road

1:08:27 ↗ projects and other projects, pavement

1:08:30 ↗ management on uh Newport Way Southwest,

1:08:33 ↗ and then phase one of the Newport Way

1:08:36 ↗ SR900 to 54th project. So, um we are

1:08:40 ↗ keenly aware of our own timetables and

1:08:44 ↗ are working very closely with Atkinson

1:08:46 ↗ and Wash DOT to make sure that we can

1:08:48 ↗ achieve all of our goals on the

1:08:50 ↗ construction front.

1:08:55 ↗ Wanted to also

1:08:57 ↗ share that we are doing all that we can

1:08:59 ↗ to try to get the word out. Um it is a

1:09:02 ↗ complex picture. We've given you all the

1:09:04 ↗ nitty-gritty ugly details tonight. Um we

1:09:07 ↗ are going out into community and trying

1:09:10 ↗ to give simplified picture. Try to give

1:09:13 ↗ as much uh certainty about when things

1:09:16 ↗ are happening so people can plan. One of

1:09:19 ↗ the ways that we are doing that, we're

1:09:20 ↗ holding our next neighborhood meeting on

1:09:23 ↗ the north side of I90 for South Lake

1:09:25 ↗ Seamish neighborhood on February 5th at

1:09:29 ↗ Sunset Elementary. We are using all of

1:09:32 ↗ our available resources to push out uh

1:09:35 ↗ that notice and we really encourage

1:09:38 ↗ community members whether you live

1:09:40 ↗ adjacent to I90 or not to sign up for

1:09:44 ↗ notify me alerts on the city's website.

1:09:47 ↗ You can also check out the city's web

1:09:49 ↗ pages about city projects. Follow us on

1:09:53 ↗ social media, look at the Isqua Insider

1:09:56 ↗ newsletter, and also wash has their own

1:09:59 ↗ alerts that you can sign up for. But we

1:10:01 ↗ just highly encourage everyone to try to

1:10:04 ↗ uh access as much information as you can

1:10:06 ↗ because timetables change, some are

1:10:08 ↗ weather dependent, and we'll do our best

1:10:11 ↗ to get the word out. But uh as much as

1:10:13 ↗ people can also help self-service a

1:10:15 ↗ little bit that that would be great.

1:10:18 ↗ And with that happy to take any

1:10:21 ↗ additional questions.

1:10:23 ↗ >> Any questions? And I think Nichols I

1:10:25 ↗ think it's very clear once the window in

1:10:28 ↗ mid 28. I mean the plan is to definitely

1:10:30 ↗ do the non-motorized improvements from

1:10:33 ↗ you know the state park to 193rd. I

1:10:35 ↗ think that is full steam ahead and it

1:10:37 ↗ will happen I think as quickly as we can

1:10:39 ↗ try to make it happen given all this

1:10:41 ↗ other work that's going on. Council

1:10:43 ↗ member Joe,

1:10:45 ↗ >> thank you. Um Director Moon, could you

1:10:47 ↗ give just a little uh preview of um the

1:10:50 ↗ parties that will be at the meeting at

1:10:52 ↗ Sunset Elementary? Uh will it be washed

1:10:56 ↗ out? Will it be staff? If you could just

1:10:58 ↗ kind of um let the community know.

1:11:01 ↗ >> Absolutely. So, we will have

1:11:03 ↗ representatives from WashDOT, from

1:11:05 ↗ Atkinson, uh, and then city staff will

1:11:08 ↗ be there. And we'll be talking not only

1:11:09 ↗ about the fish passage project, but

1:11:12 ↗ about city projects that might be of

1:11:14 ↗ interest to that neighborhood in

1:11:16 ↗ particular, and that would include the

1:11:18 ↗ Northwest Sam nommotorized project.

1:11:20 ↗ >> And will it just be a lecture where you

1:11:24 ↗ guys are just talking about things or

1:11:25 ↗ will there be displays of each of the

1:11:27 ↗ projects where people can ask questions

1:11:28 ↗ and talk with the principles? Yeah,

1:11:31 ↗ we're we're doing it our typical

1:11:33 ↗ openhouse style. So, there'll be a

1:11:34 ↗ presentation at the very beginning to

1:11:36 ↗ make sure everybody has basic facts

1:11:39 ↗ about the projects and then we will

1:11:41 ↗ allow time for people to mingle, answer

1:11:44 ↗ questions of the subject matter experts,

1:11:46 ↗ take a closer look at maps, etc.

1:11:49 ↗ >> Great. Thank you very much.

1:11:52 ↗ >> Okay, I don't see any other questions.

1:11:55 ↗ So, this isformational only. We're not

1:11:57 ↗ taking any action. Like I said, when

1:12:00 ↗ people complain, we will send them to

1:12:01 ↗ wash.

1:12:04 ↗ And with that, thank you very much,

1:12:07 ↗ Emily. And we'll move on to Jenna Bill

1:12:10 ↗ 9133, the city council vacancy position

1:12:13 ↗ number two. So, at the January 12th

1:12:15 ↗ special city council meeting, the city

1:12:17 ↗ council heard presentations from 12

1:12:18 ↗ residents who applied for the vacancy

1:12:20 ↗ council position number two that was

1:12:22 ↗ previously held by Zack Hall, who is now

1:12:24 ↗ representing us in the state

1:12:25 ↗ legislature. We're going to see Zack

1:12:27 ↗ tomorrow. That should be nice. After the

1:12:28 ↗ presentations and deliberations, the

1:12:30 ↗ city council will move four finalists

1:12:31 ↗ forward to the second round of

1:12:33 ↗ interviews which will occur tonight.

1:12:36 ↗ Tonight's meeting, each of the remaining

1:12:38 ↗ applicants will be interviewed one at a

1:12:39 ↗ time and ask the same series of

1:12:41 ↗ questions. Applicants, we like to

1:12:43 ↗ request that you step into the side room

1:12:46 ↗ off the lobby until it is your turn to

1:12:47 ↗ be interviewed. So, you do not hear the

1:12:49 ↗ questions in advance. Don't move yet.

1:12:51 ↗ We're going to finish the Once you've

1:12:53 ↗ completed your interview, you are

1:12:54 ↗ welcome to stay in the room. After the

1:12:57 ↗ interview, city council will go into

1:12:58 ↗ executive session which is a closed

1:12:59 ↗ session where they can discuss the

1:13:01 ↗ qualifications of the applicants. After

1:13:03 ↗ the closed session, we will reopen the

1:13:05 ↗ public meeting. The city council is then

1:13:06 ↗ expected to vote to make the

1:13:08 ↗ appointment. That person will then be

1:13:09 ↗ sworn in and take their seat at the dis

1:13:12 ↗ right in real time. And council

1:13:15 ↗ president, uh, would you like to discuss

1:13:17 ↗ the questions or interview timing with

1:13:19 ↗ the city council before we begin the

1:13:20 ↗ interviews?

1:13:22 ↗ >> Uh, yes. We'd like to have that

1:13:23 ↗ discussion. uh and we'd like to ask the

1:13:25 ↗ candidates to uh be sequestered before

1:13:28 ↗ we have that conversation and uh uh

1:13:30 ↗ we'll discuss uh the questions uh

1:13:33 ↗ briefly and then uh begin the

1:13:35 ↗ interviews.

1:13:37 ↗ >> Should I share them with the order of

1:13:39 ↗ the interviews yet or should we wait?

1:13:41 ↗ >> Uh I think that's okay.

1:13:44 ↗ >> Yeah, go ahead and share. We we had the

1:13:46 ↗ city clerk do a completely random draw

1:13:48 ↗ of what the order would be and it came

1:13:52 ↗ up with Katie Hurt, Paulair, Landon

1:13:54 ↗ Halverson, Jeff Newell is the order of

1:13:56 ↗ the four. But we will ask I think as

1:13:59 ↗ council president D. Michelle said if

1:14:00 ↗ all four can step out now so we can chat

1:14:03 ↗ about these questions and then we'll get

1:14:05 ↗ you back in as quickly as possible.

1:14:10 ↗ Council

1:14:27 ↗ President D. Michelle.

1:14:30 ↗ >> So, I'll just give you a little preview

1:14:32 ↗ of how we got to the questions that we

1:14:34 ↗ have and then uh we wanted to give time

1:14:36 ↗ for uh discussion or changes. Uh so

1:14:40 ↗ deputy council president uh Martz and I

1:14:42 ↗ worked on these based on questions that

1:14:44 ↗ were asked uh a year ago u at our last

1:14:48 ↗ appointment and uh we um talked about

1:14:52 ↗ timing as well. Uh we're thinking that

1:14:55 ↗ uh we're proposing that we uh provide 20

1:14:58 ↗ minutes for each candidate and uh that

1:15:00 ↗ there are five questions. They should be

1:15:02 ↗ able to answer that in uh the 20 minutes

1:15:06 ↗ because there are five questions and

1:15:07 ↗ there are six of us. Uh I'm suggesting

1:15:10 ↗ that we start with council member

1:15:11 ↗ Nichols for the first candidate and go

1:15:14 ↗ to here and then we'll start with uh for

1:15:16 ↗ the second candidate uh council member

1:15:18 ↗ Jen and that way we'll just rotate

1:15:20 ↗ around so everybody gets a chance to ask

1:15:22 ↗ questions. Um and so that's the proposal

1:15:25 ↗ in front of you. If you would like to

1:15:26 ↗ make suggestions for changes to the

1:15:29 ↗ questions or um the timing, uh uh now is

1:15:33 ↗ the time.

1:15:37 ↗ >> Council member Joe,

1:15:38 ↗ >> I had a question about number five. Um

1:15:41 ↗ after hearing from the other candidates,

1:15:43 ↗ why should we pick you? If they're

1:15:44 ↗ sequestered, how are they going to hear

1:15:46 ↗ from the other candidates?

1:15:47 ↗ >> Oh, I think it meant after we are

1:15:49 ↗ hearing from uh in other words, how

1:15:52 ↗ after hearing from the under Why should

1:15:54 ↗ we pick you? that we've heard from the

1:15:56 ↗ other candidates and why should we pick

1:15:57 ↗ you? That's my understanding of it.

1:16:00 ↗ >> I see. So after we've heard from all the

1:16:02 ↗ candidates, we're asking each of them to

1:16:04 ↗ come back and ask that question.

1:16:06 ↗ >> No. Uh it's uh after we have heard from

1:16:11 ↗ all the candidates, why should we pick

1:16:13 ↗ you? Yeah, we're we're asking that to

1:16:16 ↗ the candidate. Um maybe it needs to be

1:16:20 ↗ rewrote, rewritten. I mean, having heard

1:16:23 ↗ from the other candidates, why should we

1:16:25 ↗ pick you up, you know, in in in totality

1:16:29 ↗ of because they've heard from each other

1:16:31 ↗ earlier in the process as well. So, it's

1:16:33 ↗ just in the order that they're coming.

1:16:34 ↗ We're not hearing from all the

1:16:36 ↗ candidates first before we ask that

1:16:37 ↗ fifth question.

1:16:38 ↗ >> Right.

1:16:39 ↗ >> Okay. Thank you.

1:16:40 ↗ >> Right. Yeah. Good clarification. Any

1:16:42 ↗ other council

1:16:44 ↗ >> question?

1:16:45 ↗ >> Yeah. I think we heard a little bit of

1:16:47 ↗ feedback from the candidates last time

1:16:49 ↗ that they did not like the idea of

1:16:51 ↗ trying to compare themselves to each

1:16:54 ↗ other um and that thought that that was

1:16:56 ↗ our responsibility. So I would prefer

1:16:58 ↗ the fifth question not mention the other

1:17:01 ↗ candidates and just um ask them to

1:17:04 ↗ summarize why we should pick them.

1:17:05 ↗ Great.

1:17:06 ↗ >> Um

1:17:07 ↗ >> okay thank you.

1:17:07 ↗ >> That seems to be approved. So the fifth

1:17:10 ↗ question

1:17:11 ↗ >> okay

1:17:12 ↗ >> will be changed to why should we pick

1:17:13 ↗ you? Yeah, that sounds good.

1:17:17 ↗ >> Anything else?

1:17:21 ↗ >> You got to watch it out for Council

1:17:22 ↗ President D. Michelle. She is a pen

1:17:24 ↗ thief. So, I've learned this. I will

1:17:26 ↗ bring two pens the next meeting.

1:17:30 ↗ Okay. And

1:17:33 ↗ oh,

1:17:34 ↗ >> this is this is just Sorry, Council

1:17:36 ↗ Member Nichols.

1:17:37 ↗ >> This is just process. So, there's six

1:17:39 ↗ questions, five questions, and six of

1:17:41 ↗ us. you want from a process standpoint.

1:17:46 ↗ >> Are we rotating? Sorry. Like

1:17:48 ↗ >> I'm sorry. So there's only five

1:17:50 ↗ questions, but there's six of us. So

1:17:52 ↗ we'll start with you for the first

1:17:53 ↗ candidate and go to uh Deputy Council

1:17:56 ↗ President Marts. And then for candidate

1:17:58 ↗ number two, we'll start with Council

1:18:00 ↗ Member Jen and go to me.

1:18:02 ↗ >> Okay. Got it.

1:18:02 ↗ >> Candidate number three, we'll start with

1:18:04 ↗ Council Member Joe and so forth. Right?

1:18:06 ↗ So we all end up being able to ask

1:18:08 ↗ questions. We just don't have enough

1:18:10 ↗ questions for each one of us to ask.

1:18:13 ↗ >> Council member Jane.

1:18:15 ↗ >> Um, can I propose another wording

1:18:17 ↗ change?

1:18:18 ↗ >> Sure. Um, so for number two, the

1:18:22 ↗ currently reads, "One of the issues that

1:18:23 ↗ is at a crisis point is housing and the

1:18:25 ↗ affordability and cost of living." Um, I

1:18:29 ↗ feel like that

1:18:32 ↗ is a bit of a leading question and I

1:18:34 ↗ would prefer if we could say it in a way

1:18:37 ↗ similar to number three which is

1:18:39 ↗ something like you know one of the big

1:18:41 ↗ issues in our region is housing

1:18:42 ↗ affordability and cost of living. How

1:18:45 ↗ would you address this or you know how

1:18:46 ↗ do you propose that we address this? Um,

1:18:48 ↗ so could we also change the wording on

1:18:50 ↗ that one?

1:18:51 ↗ >> Right. How about uh the public has told

1:18:53 ↗ us that housing just just the same

1:18:55 ↗ wording as number three. The the public

1:18:58 ↗ has told us that housing and

1:19:00 ↗ affordability uh and cost of living are

1:19:02 ↗ important

1:19:04 ↗ >> challenges for the city.

1:19:06 ↗ >> Yeah.

1:19:06 ↗ >> Okay.

1:19:07 ↗ >> Great.

1:19:09 ↗ >> Is everyone writing down those changes

1:19:11 ↗ in real time?

1:19:14 ↗ >> No.

1:19:16 ↗ >> Oh, I think Tisha is going to print them

1:19:18 ↗ and redistribute.

1:19:20 ↗ >> Wow. Wonderful. Here we go. All right.

1:19:23 ↗ >> I'm getting a thumbs up from that. Nice.

1:19:26 ↗ >> Thank you. Uh, any other changes,

1:19:29 ↗ suggested changes or

1:19:33 ↗ I'm not seeing any.

1:19:36 ↗ >> Okay. And so, we want to bring in Katie

1:19:40 ↗ her for

1:19:43 ↗ >> Yes. And, uh, to clarify, would you like

1:19:44 ↗ me to set the timer for 20 minutes and

1:19:47 ↗ have that visible to them? Is thatable?

1:19:49 ↗ >> Yes. Let's set the timer for 20 minutes

1:19:52 ↗ and we'll just explain like

1:19:54 ↗ >> there's Yeah.

1:19:57 ↗ >> Okay. And Oh, do you want to give each

1:20:01 ↗ candidate a little bit of a preview like

1:20:03 ↗ 20 minutes, five questions? Okay.

1:20:05 ↗ >> Yeah.

1:20:09 ↗ >> You want them to stand there?

1:20:10 ↗ >> Yeah.

1:20:12 ↗ >> Or do you guys want

1:20:15 ↗ to do that?

1:20:17 ↗ >> Yeah, I'll do that.

1:20:26 ↗ Yep. I think K you were just discussing

1:20:28 ↗ your location. I think the the first

1:20:31 ↗ vote we made was over there.

1:20:34 ↗ Uh and so

1:20:37 ↗ you're going to have a 20 minute timer.

1:20:39 ↗ There's going to be well there's five

1:20:41 ↗ questions and so just keep in mind the

1:20:44 ↗ goal is to get through all five

1:20:45 ↗ questions and so you can kind of pace

1:20:48 ↗ yourself I guess as we go through and we

1:20:53 ↗ are going to start with council member

1:20:56 ↗ Nichols.

1:20:59 ↗ Oh, yes. Go ahead, Katie.

1:21:01 ↗ >> Briefly, u

1:21:04 ↗ five questions. Are each of you going to

1:21:06 ↗ be asking a separate question or am I

1:21:09 ↗ getting all five questions?

1:21:10 ↗ >> You're going to get us, you're going to

1:21:11 ↗ get them one at a time. That's a really

1:21:13 ↗ good question. So,

1:21:13 ↗ >> okay. And then the 20 minutes starts as

1:21:16 ↗ soon as the first question is going to

1:21:18 ↗ start it. Yeah. So, we're just going to

1:21:20 ↗ ask the first question. After you answer

1:21:23 ↗ that question, we'll go to the next

1:21:24 ↗ council member and keep going through.

1:21:26 ↗ And I think we think it should fit

1:21:28 ↗ within the within the time aotment.

1:21:30 ↗ >> I will do my best.

1:21:31 ↗ >> All right. Hey, I like it.

1:21:34 ↗ >> First off, thank you so much for your

1:21:36 ↗ time and your effort and your

1:21:37 ↗ thoughtfulness in preparing and for

1:21:39 ↗ coming to us with your application and

1:21:41 ↗ your your desire to serve. Um, our first

1:21:43 ↗ question for you, uh, there are a lot of

1:21:46 ↗ issues in front of the city council and

1:21:48 ↗ none of us can know everything. What is

1:21:50 ↗ one issue facing the city that you don't

1:21:52 ↗ know very well and how will you learn

1:21:54 ↗ more about it?

1:21:58 ↗ I will say that there's plenty of issues

1:22:00 ↗ in front of the city council that I

1:22:02 ↗ don't know very well and how I will

1:22:04 ↗ learn more about it. Um but one in

1:22:07 ↗ particular that came up today was um the

1:22:10 ↗ u the mobility plan. Um mobility u

1:22:15 ↗ nonmotorized mobility is something that

1:22:17 ↗ is incredibly important to me. I think

1:22:18 ↗ I've mentioned it to a number of you in

1:22:20 ↗ our conversations. Um both my my

1:22:24 ↗ husband's a a bike rider. He has an

1:22:27 ↗ electronic bike, uses the bus system. Um

1:22:30 ↗ my uh younger brother is somebody who

1:22:32 ↗ will never drive and uh requires use of

1:22:37 ↗ alternative forms of mobility in order

1:22:39 ↗ to uh get around town and get around

1:22:43 ↗ town safely. So that that is something

1:22:46 ↗ that

1:22:48 ↗ is something that I definitely want to

1:22:51 ↗ learn more about. Some of the more

1:22:53 ↗ nitty-gritty things like you were

1:22:54 ↗ talking about like how many feet and I'm

1:22:57 ↗ like yeah that's a really good question.

1:22:59 ↗ Um, obviously looking at the actual

1:23:03 ↗ plans, um, talking with people, the uh,

1:23:08 ↗ Cong, uh, Council Member Nichols and

1:23:10 ↗ Council Member Yang, and I know that

1:23:12 ↗ both of you have been involved in those

1:23:15 ↗ things, talking with the two of you

1:23:17 ↗ more. Um, but yeah, I'm going to reserve

1:23:20 ↗ some more of my time because I'm nervous

1:23:22 ↗ I'm not going to get through everything.

1:23:24 ↗ >> Oh, you're good, Council Member Jane.

1:23:26 ↗ >> Great. Thank you. Um, the public has

1:23:28 ↗ told us that housing, affordability, and

1:23:30 ↗ cost of living are important challenges

1:23:32 ↗ facing the city. Speak to what you know

1:23:34 ↗ about housing, what you see as the

1:23:35 ↗ problems, and any ways you would want to

1:23:37 ↗ address that while in council.

1:23:39 ↗ >> Absolutely. Um,

1:23:42 ↗ when I was looking to purchase a home in

1:23:45 ↗ 2017, I don't know if any of you, the

1:23:47 ↗ rest of you, were trying to purchase a

1:23:48 ↗ home in 2017, but people were coming in

1:23:51 ↗ with all cash offers and waving

1:23:53 ↗ everything. and all cash offers hundreds

1:23:56 ↗ of thousands of dollars over asking. Uh,

1:23:58 ↗ Isiqua is obviously an incredibly

1:24:00 ↗ desirable place to live. Um, increasing

1:24:03 ↗ the amount of housing that we have is

1:24:08 ↗ the most clearly economic way to meet a

1:24:13 ↗ demand is to increase supply. As you

1:24:16 ↗ increase supply and you have to look at

1:24:18 ↗ what are the roadblocks to why is supply

1:24:21 ↗ not increasing? So, by having

1:24:25 ↗ conversations with developers, what was

1:24:27 ↗ the thing that stopped you from uh not

1:24:30 ↗ bidding here? Uh we I've talked with

1:24:33 ↗ some of the council members about uh

1:24:34 ↗ feedback that they have gotten as like

1:24:37 ↗ stepbacks and things that is this

1:24:40 ↗ actually a something that is a purpose

1:24:45 ↗ like is there a purpose behind the

1:24:48 ↗ roadblock or is it something that Yeah.

1:24:51 ↗ you know what, we really don't need this

1:24:54 ↗ part of um in the permitting process or

1:24:57 ↗ we don't there's not really a need for

1:25:01 ↗ this thing. Um

1:25:04 ↗ and

1:25:07 ↗ removing some of those barriers to

1:25:10 ↗ development. Um doing it of course with

1:25:13 ↗ a purposeful way. Usually if there is a

1:25:15 ↗ rule in place, there was a reason for

1:25:17 ↗ that rule at some point in time. I would

1:25:19 ↗ like to know what the reason for that

1:25:21 ↗ rule is. Does that reason exist anymore?

1:25:23 ↗ A lot of times it doesn't exist anymore.

1:25:27 ↗ So, um

1:25:29 ↗ increasing supply, talking with

1:25:31 ↗ developers as to why um supply is not

1:25:34 ↗ increasing.

1:25:37 ↗ I I now I'm talking in circles, so I'm

1:25:40 ↗ going to go ahead and move on.

1:25:42 ↗ >> You're doing great. Okay, Council Member

1:25:44 ↗ Joe. The public has told us that traffic

1:25:46 ↗ and mobility are critical challenges for

1:25:48 ↗ the city. How do you see the problem?

1:25:50 ↗ And in a time of reduced city revenues,

1:25:53 ↗ how would you prioritize city mobility

1:25:55 ↗ investments?

1:25:57 ↗ >> Yeah.

1:25:59 ↗ Yeah. Traffic sucks. I mean, but traffic

1:26:03 ↗ is traffic is people. So are people try

1:26:09 ↗ every car, every vehicle, every um

1:26:12 ↗ bicycle is a person who's trying to get

1:26:14 ↗ somewhere. And that's often times what I

1:26:17 ↗ tell myself when I'm struck in traffic.

1:26:19 ↗ I am also part of traffic.

1:26:22 ↗ So is there a way to get more people

1:26:25 ↗ into less vehicles such as um through

1:26:28 ↗ bus systems? Um my younger brother uses

1:26:32 ↗ the bus system a lot. Um, my husband

1:26:35 ↗ uses the bus system every single day.

1:26:38 ↗ Um, how do we get

1:26:41 ↗ what is the problem? Is it the problem

1:26:44 ↗ people traveling through isqua that's

1:26:47 ↗ our primary issue when we're talking

1:26:49 ↗ about it? Um, or is it people trying to

1:26:52 ↗ get around Isiqua? I live on Squawk

1:26:55 ↗ Mountain and I was trying to get to uh

1:26:58 ↗ Tibbitz Creek Manor for the strategic

1:27:01 ↗ planning committee and it took me

1:27:04 ↗ 30 minutes. I could have walked faster.

1:27:07 ↗ I probably should have. In fact, once

1:27:10 ↗ the uh once the weather got better and

1:27:15 ↗ it wasn't pitch black, I did end up up

1:27:17 ↗ walking because it's significantly

1:27:20 ↗ uh quicker.

1:27:23 ↗ That was an issue of 900 um because and

1:27:27 ↗ people trying to get just to turn on to

1:27:30 ↗ Newport Way. But I'm getting into the a

1:27:34 ↗ microcosm of um to explain a larger

1:27:37 ↗ problem.

1:27:40 ↗ How can we get more people to

1:27:43 ↗ transition towards other alternative

1:27:45 ↗ forms of transportation? Uh

1:27:49 ↗ speaking of the multimodal, the thing

1:27:51 ↗ that I want to learn more about that

1:27:53 ↗ from uh uh council member Nichols

1:27:56 ↗ question.

1:27:59 ↗ So

1:28:01 ↗ yeah it when we when we are addressing a

1:28:05 ↗ traffic problem not all traffic problems

1:28:08 ↗ are the same. So

1:28:12 ↗ to try and have one solution for traffic

1:28:16 ↗ is not

1:28:19 ↗ really a solution. It is looking at

1:28:21 ↗ different addressing them as different

1:28:24 ↗ problems. separating them out as

1:28:26 ↗ different problems to see if we can

1:28:28 ↗ start making

1:28:30 ↗ pushing different levels um

1:28:34 ↗ to affect the whole.

1:28:36 ↗ >> Yeah.

1:28:37 ↗ >> Okay. Excellent. And Council Member

1:28:39 ↗ Walsh,

1:28:40 ↗ >> thank you. You're doing great. I know

1:28:42 ↗ this is nerve-wracking. It's a scary

1:28:44 ↗ idea. I'm going to say the question. If

1:28:46 ↗ you need me to repeat it, let me know.

1:28:47 ↗ >> Sure. Thank you. Um, if you were given a

1:28:49 ↗ million dollars, not personally, but to

1:28:52 ↗ spend on a community project and were

1:28:54 ↗ told that the project had to be

1:28:56 ↗ completed by the end of your 2-year

1:28:59 ↗ term, what would you choose to spend the

1:29:01 ↗ money on?

1:29:08 ↗ Uh, wow. Million dollars. See, a million

1:29:12 ↗ dollars sounds like a lot of money until

1:29:14 ↗ you actually start looking at budgets.

1:29:18 ↗ And then

1:29:21 ↗ because I'm just I

1:29:24 ↗ as referenced earlier I do not know

1:29:27 ↗ everything. I know many things about an

1:29:30 ↗ inch an inch thick. So

1:29:34 ↗ if given a million dollars

1:29:39 ↗ honestly one that just pops into mind is

1:29:44 ↗ what can you actually complete? also in

1:29:47 ↗ a year. So there's there's many parts of

1:29:50 ↗ this problem. Uh or complete in two

1:29:53 ↗ years. Two years isn't a lot of time. A

1:29:56 ↗ million dollars sounds like a lot of

1:29:58 ↗ money. It's not a lot of money. If I

1:30:00 ↗ wanted to really be able to say like

1:30:02 ↗ stamp something and be like, I did this

1:30:04 ↗ with a million dollars in two years.

1:30:06 ↗ Honestly, probably like a dog park. A

1:30:08 ↗ dog park serves a lot of of serves a lot

1:30:12 ↗ of people. Lots of people have dogs.

1:30:15 ↗ My mother and I share a dog because, you

1:30:18 ↗ know, that felt like the responsible

1:30:21 ↗ thing to do when we both travel often.

1:30:24 ↗ Um, and dog parks honestly bring people

1:30:28 ↗ together. It sounds like a it can sound

1:30:30 ↗ like a silly thing, but when I'm at a

1:30:33 ↗ dog park, I talk to my neighbors. I do.

1:30:36 ↗ And I get to know oftentimes I come away

1:30:40 ↗ knowing the dog's name and a lot about

1:30:41 ↗ the dog a lot more than I know the

1:30:43 ↗ person. But I'm trying to do better with

1:30:44 ↗ that.

1:30:45 ↗ Um,

1:30:47 ↗ but yeah, if given given two years and a

1:30:50 ↗ million dollars, that's probably what I

1:30:51 ↗ would do. Would that be my number one

1:30:53 ↗ priority as a council member? Probably

1:30:56 ↗ not. But given the confines of the

1:30:58 ↗ question, I think in law school they say

1:31:01 ↗ don't fight the hypothetical. So that's

1:31:03 ↗ what I'm going to do.

1:31:04 ↗ >> Hey, I have three dogs. We love our dog

1:31:06 ↗ parks. And Council Member Marks,

1:31:08 ↗ >> thanks. And Katie, your final question.

1:31:12 ↗ Why should we pick you?

1:31:14 ↗ Why should you pick me?

1:31:18 ↗ And I realized that I really sped

1:31:21 ↗ through those first questions because

1:31:23 ↗ >> you're doing fine. No, brevity is a

1:31:24 ↗ positive thing, not a negative thing.

1:31:27 ↗ >> Yeah. And actually, that's one of the

1:31:30 ↗ reasons to pick me. I feel like I say

1:31:34 ↗ what needs to be said and then I stop

1:31:36 ↗ talking. I don't particularly enjoy

1:31:39 ↗ hearing myself speak. I would rather

1:31:42 ↗ listen to people and then not repeat

1:31:46 ↗ what has already been said. One of the

1:31:48 ↗ benefits of going first. Um

1:31:53 ↗ I'm pleasant to work with. I would say

1:31:56 ↗ um

1:31:58 ↗ I like to be efficient. Having

1:32:02 ↗ two young kids has increased that desire

1:32:06 ↗ to be efficient. There is only so much

1:32:10 ↗ time in life and there is only so much

1:32:13 ↗ sleep to be had. I do not want us our

1:32:17 ↗ meetings to go well into the night.

1:32:20 ↗ Sometimes that's necessary. I am fine

1:32:23 ↗ with that. I have pulled many

1:32:25 ↗ all-nighters.

1:32:26 ↗ But I didn't pull many all-nighters. I

1:32:30 ↗ really try to manage my time efficiently

1:32:34 ↗ and well, and I also have no problem

1:32:38 ↗ saying the words, "I don't know. I don't

1:32:41 ↗ know, but I would like to find out." I

1:32:43 ↗ have to say it to my clients often, and

1:32:45 ↗ it's not a particularly fun thing for an

1:32:47 ↗ attorney to say, "I don't know." But I

1:32:50 ↗ will say it saves a lot of time and it

1:32:53 ↗ saves a lot of mistakes.

1:32:57 ↗ And

1:32:58 ↗ if you have any other questions for me,

1:33:02 ↗ >> I think that's great. I will say someone

1:33:04 ↗ with six kids, I also efficiency is very

1:33:06 ↗ important. The more you have

1:33:08 ↗ >> six kids have to be

1:33:10 ↗ >> the I think that was excellent and I

1:33:13 ↗ think we're all set and you are more

1:33:16 ↗ than welcome to stay. Oh, really?

1:33:18 ↗ >> Yes, you're allowed to stay. I think

1:33:20 ↗ once you go, you can stay. I think the

1:33:22 ↗ the goal is we don't so everyone

1:33:25 ↗ basically is hearing the questions for

1:33:27 ↗ the first time. It seemed unfair last

1:33:29 ↗ time that the people who went later

1:33:30 ↗ already heard the questions and so with

1:33:32 ↗ that we're going to go ahead and bring

1:33:34 ↗ in Paulair. Thank you very much.

1:33:35 ↗ >> I'm going to go grab my stuff though.

1:34:10 ↗ Okay, Paul, I think we we decided this

1:34:13 ↗ was the designated spot over there. And

1:34:18 ↗ so

1:34:20 ↗ the rough format as Katie just learned

1:34:22 ↗ is there is five questions. Each council

1:34:25 ↗ member is going to rotate through.

1:34:27 ↗ Obviously there's six council members,

1:34:28 ↗ so we're kind of going through our own

1:34:29 ↗ special rotation to kind of spread the

1:34:31 ↗ wealth. And you'll have 20 minutes in

1:34:34 ↗ total. You do not need to take the full

1:34:36 ↗ 20 minutes, but we just wanted to make

1:34:37 ↗ sure people felt like they weren't

1:34:38 ↗ rushed to answer the questions. But we

1:34:40 ↗ will go ahead and start with Council

1:34:43 ↗ Member Jane.

1:34:45 ↗ Great. Thank you, Mayor Mullet. Paul,

1:34:47 ↗ thank you so much for all the time and

1:34:48 ↗ effort you've dedicated to this process

1:34:50 ↗ thus far. Um, and I'll just jump

1:34:53 ↗ straight into the questions so as not to

1:34:54 ↗ eat up too much of the 20 minutes. Um,

1:34:56 ↗ so first question is, there are a lot of

1:34:58 ↗ issues in front of the city council and

1:35:00 ↗ none of us can know everything. What is

1:35:02 ↗ one issue facing the city that you don't

1:35:04 ↗ know very well and how will you learn

1:35:06 ↗ more about it?

1:35:08 ↗ >> Thank you for the time and the question.

1:35:11 ↗ I'd say um the strongest thing is going

1:35:15 ↗ to be a lot of the specifics of things

1:35:17 ↗ that have been done in a lot of

1:35:19 ↗ different areas. I'll focus specifically

1:35:20 ↗ on traffic because obviously that's one

1:35:22 ↗ of the biggest areas of concerns in our

1:35:25 ↗ community and their surveys and

1:35:27 ↗ obviously the mechanics and the science

1:35:29 ↗ of traffic is extremely complicated in

1:35:32 ↗ terms of the flows and how you deal with

1:35:35 ↗ the different um systems to keep cars

1:35:37 ↗ moving but people safe. And obviously

1:35:40 ↗ since it is so important to this

1:35:42 ↗ community, a lot of work has been done.

1:35:44 ↗ And getting into the where I would feel

1:35:47 ↗ weakest is getting into the history of

1:35:48 ↗ what has been tried and what has maybe

1:35:50 ↗ worked or not worked and wanting to

1:35:52 ↗ really dig into that. Whenever I've, you

1:35:53 ↗ know, kind of started this process,

1:35:55 ↗ there was a lot of me trying to look at

1:35:56 ↗ the past and trying to get a good sense

1:35:58 ↗ of of in a lot of different topics what

1:36:02 ↗ what this council has attempted, what

1:36:04 ↗ this city has attempted, and what has

1:36:06 ↗ worked and what has failed because I

1:36:07 ↗ think those are some of the best

1:36:08 ↗ teachers, you know, in terms of the work

1:36:10 ↗ we do. And so how I would, you know,

1:36:13 ↗ progress with that is obviously go to

1:36:15 ↗ the experts, go to the people who have

1:36:16 ↗ been here, but really dig in like I mean

1:36:18 ↗ I'd already started that process of

1:36:19 ↗ trying to like go back through city

1:36:21 ↗ councils and focus on a topic and try

1:36:22 ↗ and find the best you know discussions

1:36:24 ↗ that happened to get that um you know I

1:36:27 ↗ am as an accountant I'm very much a

1:36:29 ↗ researcher. I part of my job is every

1:36:31 ↗ day going in and digging into things and

1:36:33 ↗ so that you know I would apply those

1:36:35 ↗ skills to this and that is I'd say the

1:36:37 ↗ area I'm weakest in but where I would

1:36:39 ↗ probably then dive in first because if

1:36:41 ↗ that's where I see a weakness I'm

1:36:42 ↗ wanting to go um expand on my knowledge

1:36:44 ↗ on that.

1:36:45 ↗ >> All right, that's excellent. Uh Council

1:36:47 ↗ Member Joe,

1:36:48 ↗ >> thank you. The public has told us that

1:36:50 ↗ housing and affordability and cost of

1:36:52 ↗ living are important.

1:36:55 ↗ speak to what you know about housing,

1:36:57 ↗ what you see as a problem and any ways

1:36:59 ↗ you would want to address that on the

1:37:01 ↗ council.

1:37:02 ↗ >> Yeah, housing, you know, as you know,

1:37:05 ↗ someone who fought the housing to get

1:37:07 ↗ into this community have seen it. You

1:37:09 ↗ know, housing is a global problem at

1:37:12 ↗ this point. You know, I feel we've

1:37:14 ↗ gotten to this point where, you know,

1:37:15 ↗ there was a sense, you know, post World

1:37:17 ↗ War II of this expansion. and the

1:37:20 ↗ suburbs and you know the world got very

1:37:22 ↗ very widespread but we got very very car

1:37:25 ↗ focused and what we've done is we've

1:37:26 ↗ spread our footprint so wide that

1:37:30 ↗ without really increasing quantity and

1:37:32 ↗ now everybody needs a house and anywhere

1:37:34 ↗ that's desirable it's expensive no

1:37:36 ↗ matter the age of the house the status

1:37:38 ↗ of the house people are just uh have to

1:37:42 ↗ spend ridiculous amounts to get into

1:37:44 ↗ anywhere they actually want to be and so

1:37:46 ↗ I think how you This is obviously

1:37:49 ↗ something that no one city can deal

1:37:51 ↗ with. It is going to involve partners.

1:37:53 ↗ You know, I appreciate, you know, the

1:37:55 ↗ work that the city is doing regionally

1:37:57 ↗ um with ARCH and things of that sort,

1:37:59 ↗ but we have to tackle I feel the biggest

1:38:02 ↗ thing is getting more supply and more

1:38:04 ↗ density is the only way you can start

1:38:06 ↗ tackling this problem is that people,

1:38:09 ↗ you know, people want to live in Isiqua

1:38:11 ↗ but can't. You know, I literally wasn't

1:38:13 ↗ sure I would be able to and I had more

1:38:15 ↗ resources than a lot of people. And so

1:38:18 ↗ the simple fact of the matter is you

1:38:19 ↗ need uh a quantity of houses in a

1:38:22 ↗ certain area in order to be successful

1:38:24 ↗ at that. You know, where I would tackle

1:38:26 ↗ it here is that, you know, I believe in

1:38:29 ↗ constantly having a good flow and a a

1:38:32 ↗ cycle of people into a community and you

1:38:34 ↗ need a wide and diverse range of people.

1:38:36 ↗ So you need not just people with huge

1:38:37 ↗ resources, you need the young families

1:38:39 ↗ who don't have much, you know, so you

1:38:41 ↗ need, you know, affordable housing, you

1:38:42 ↗ need apartments, you need town houses,

1:38:44 ↗ you need single family homes. And so I

1:38:47 ↗ would want to put in efforts to uh

1:38:50 ↗ increasing that supply here and whatever

1:38:52 ↗ tools we could use to do that. You know,

1:38:54 ↗ I understand that there have been, you

1:38:56 ↗ know, there's a lot of this city is has

1:38:59 ↗ a lot of character and a lot of charm

1:39:00 ↗ and we have certain uh codes and stuff

1:39:03 ↗ like that that are important to us, but

1:39:04 ↗ I would want us to really make sure

1:39:06 ↗ we're focused on like what the intent of

1:39:08 ↗ those of those regulations were and not

1:39:12 ↗ necessarily the letter so that we can

1:39:13 ↗ allow more diverse housing and more

1:39:16 ↗ things to actually get accomplished. And

1:39:18 ↗ that's where my goals would be is to

1:39:20 ↗ actually get things developed in this

1:39:22 ↗ town while still obviously meeting the

1:39:24 ↗ spirit of what this town is.

1:39:26 ↗ >> Excellent. Council member Walsh.

1:39:30 ↗ >> Thank you. Um let me know if you need

1:39:32 ↗ anything repeated. Uh the public has

1:39:35 ↗ told us that traffic and mobility are

1:39:38 ↗ critical challenges for the city. How do

1:39:41 ↗ you see the problem? And in a time of

1:39:44 ↗ reduced city revenues, how would you

1:39:47 ↗ prioritize city mobility investments?

1:39:51 ↗ >> Um, as far as I see the problem, I mean,

1:39:53 ↗ I already briefly touched on it. You

1:39:54 ↗ know, it is the biggest problem in the

1:39:56 ↗ city and it affects everyone so

1:40:00 ↗ directly, you know, everyone has to

1:40:01 ↗ drive at some point during the day. Um,

1:40:03 ↗ but the solutions to traffic are not

1:40:06 ↗ just in widening the road and things

1:40:08 ↗ like that. While there are, you know,

1:40:10 ↗ different technologies and things like

1:40:11 ↗ that you can do, uh, it's a multi-prong

1:40:16 ↗ approach you have to do. You know,

1:40:17 ↗ housing ties into traffic because the

1:40:19 ↗ more people that can live that can work

1:40:21 ↗ and live here, the less they have to

1:40:23 ↗ drive, you know, downstart to go to

1:40:25 ↗ where they live. And so you have to

1:40:28 ↗ tackle traffic is not just looking at

1:40:30 ↗ roads, not just not looking at uh, you

1:40:34 ↗ know, intersections and things like

1:40:35 ↗ that. you have to address the full you

1:40:37 ↗ know you have to do a lot of different

1:40:38 ↗ things to reduce cars to focus on public

1:40:40 ↗ transportation to do a lot of different

1:40:41 ↗ aspects so you know in terms of how and

1:40:44 ↗ in terms of a limited resources I would

1:40:46 ↗ apply it's like I would be looking at

1:40:48 ↗ our resources across the board like I

1:40:50 ↗ said housing could reduce traffic other

1:40:52 ↗ areas can reduce traffic as well um I do

1:40:55 ↗ think you know mobility is important and

1:40:57 ↗ it always needs to be a factor in our

1:40:59 ↗ decisions but I think we need to be sure

1:41:02 ↗ we're looking at it in a broad diverse

1:41:05 ↗ way and not just a single road, a single

1:41:07 ↗ closure, a single traffic point. Um, you

1:41:10 ↗ know, other areas even involve if we can

1:41:12 ↗ encourage more, you know, remote work,

1:41:14 ↗ you know, because it's, you know, those

1:41:15 ↗ tight specific times where things get

1:41:17 ↗ bad. So, there are lots of areas we can

1:41:19 ↗ tackle it that's not just budget

1:41:21 ↗ focused, that's not just construction

1:41:23 ↗ focused, I feel.

1:41:25 ↗ >> Excellent. And Deputy Council President

1:41:28 ↗ Marts.

1:41:31 ↗ >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

1:41:33 ↗ Paul, if you were given a million

1:41:35 ↗ dollars to spend on a community project

1:41:38 ↗ and were told that the project had to be

1:41:40 ↗ completed by the end of your two-year

1:41:42 ↗ term, what would you choose to spend the

1:41:45 ↗ money on?

1:41:50 ↗ As you know, a million dollars is tricky

1:41:53 ↗ on a large budget like this. It's not,

1:41:55 ↗ you know, huge. you know, we can't, you

1:41:57 ↗ know, uh, build, you know, we can't

1:41:59 ↗ build the new city hall or fund, you

1:42:01 ↗ know, the police station, which is what,

1:42:02 ↗ you know, if we had a large sum of money

1:42:03 ↗ is what I would like to do. Uh, so when

1:42:06 ↗ you have a million dollars, um, the

1:42:10 ↗ areas I think

1:42:12 ↗ I would want to do it to, you know, it's

1:42:15 ↗ the same kind of when you have a

1:42:16 ↗ personal budget of you have some sort of

1:42:17 ↗ influx, kind of the wish list type of

1:42:19 ↗ item, something that the city was not

1:42:21 ↗ expecting and would not normally get to

1:42:23 ↗ do. Uh so as far as which I'm trying to

1:42:29 ↗ moment to think of I think I had a

1:42:30 ↗ specific project of you know I care a

1:42:34 ↗ lot about community spaces. I care a lot

1:42:36 ↗ about parks. I care a lot about the

1:42:39 ↗ creeks to peak system that wants to

1:42:40 ↗ connect the park system and you know as

1:42:44 ↗ a where my personal votes would be is

1:42:47 ↗ into something like that something very

1:42:49 ↗ community focused and that the community

1:42:50 ↗ could get a real tangible benefit out

1:42:52 ↗ of. So perhaps it's a, you know, it's a

1:42:55 ↗ park improvement, a connection

1:42:56 ↗ improvement, it's a um it's something

1:43:00 ↗ the community could really see that we

1:43:02 ↗ would not normally be able to do in a

1:43:04 ↗ standard budget is where I would like

1:43:07 ↗ something like that to go.

1:43:10 ↗ >> Excellent. And I think our last question

1:43:12 ↗ goes to Council President D. Michelle.

1:43:14 ↗ >> Great. Thank you, Paul. And our last

1:43:16 ↗ question is very short. Uh why should we

1:43:19 ↗ pick you?

1:43:21 ↗ Uh why should you pick me? Uh I feel um

1:43:24 ↗ that you know it's important to have a

1:43:27 ↗ you know well-rounded city council that

1:43:28 ↗ can represent a lot of different

1:43:29 ↗ viewpoints and a lot of different skill

1:43:31 ↗ sets. And the viewpoints and skill sets

1:43:33 ↗ that I feel are maybe unique to me or at

1:43:35 ↗ least the unique mix to me. One is

1:43:38 ↗ obviously, you know, I'm a CPA. I love

1:43:40 ↗ spreadsheets and numbers. I'm not scared

1:43:43 ↗ to dig into stuff. While I don't do

1:43:45 ↗ government accounting, you know,

1:43:46 ↗ government budgets is something I

1:43:48 ↗ studied and had to create myself. And I

1:43:51 ↗ feel I could dive in quite well and give

1:43:55 ↗ a lot of insight into our own budgets or

1:43:57 ↗ anything that dealt with any kind of

1:43:58 ↗ financial or you know dense you need a

1:44:01 ↗ spreadsheet type matter. The other skill

1:44:03 ↗ I have in that regard though too and not

1:44:05 ↗ just in the terms of the digging in the

1:44:07 ↗ analysis and stuff like that is that in

1:44:09 ↗ my job I think where I've excelled in

1:44:12 ↗ terms of my peers is in the how I can

1:44:15 ↗ relate that to my clients how I can

1:44:17 ↗ explain that to my clients. My clients

1:44:18 ↗ regularly come to me because they're

1:44:20 ↗ very stressed out by their prior

1:44:22 ↗ accountants and they hear that I can

1:44:23 ↗ make them feel calm and that's what I

1:44:25 ↗ do. And so I feel that I would also have

1:44:28 ↗ a skill at relating that to the people

1:44:30 ↗ of what their government and what the

1:44:32 ↗ money and what the budgets are doing for

1:44:33 ↗ them. And that is a skill that I feel

1:44:35 ↗ that that is unique to me. In addition

1:44:38 ↗ to that, uh I am a Mexican-American and

1:44:41 ↗ that is a cultural group that often is

1:44:43 ↗ gets rather underrepresented and even in

1:44:45 ↗ this day and time could be a useful

1:44:47 ↗ perspective to have on this council. Uh

1:44:50 ↗ I am

1:44:52 ↗ a uh person that is this is probably the

1:44:57 ↗ highest level of office I would ever

1:44:58 ↗ seek. I am here for Isiqua and here for

1:45:01 ↗ Isiqua in the long term. I I care about

1:45:04 ↗ making sure the isqua of 2050 is great

1:45:06 ↗ and that's my entire goal with being

1:45:09 ↗ here. Uh so I think those skills plus

1:45:13 ↗ some of the others that have been

1:45:14 ↗ discussed in terms of my written

1:45:15 ↗ materials make me uh a great addition to

1:45:18 ↗ this group and could give a unique

1:45:20 ↗ perspective that would be helpful in the

1:45:21 ↗ future decisions being made.

1:45:23 ↗ >> Excellent. Thank you very much Paul. Uh

1:45:25 ↗ well done. And I think same offer to you

1:45:28 ↗ that we gave to Katie is you are more

1:45:29 ↗ than welcome to stay and watch as

1:45:33 ↗ >> and

1:45:35 ↗ you guys are both getting brevity

1:45:36 ↗ points. So this is good. Everyone's

1:45:38 ↗ being very efficient. Who says

1:45:40 ↗ government's not efficient and who works

1:45:42 ↗ in his Okay. Landon Halverson will be

1:45:45 ↗ the next one to come in. They just seem

1:45:49 ↗ to know magically. Oh, you have a secret

1:45:51 ↗ system. I like it. Your secret system is

1:45:54 ↗ working quite well.

1:45:59 ↗ I can do that.

1:46:01 ↗ >> That's Landon. The vote is you're over

1:46:04 ↗ here.

1:46:05 ↗ >> Here.

1:46:05 ↗ >> There.

1:46:07 ↗ >> And the format

1:46:10 ↗ is No, you're standing up there.

1:46:12 ↗ >> Sorry.

1:46:12 ↗ >> Oh, you're good.

1:46:14 ↗ >> So, there will be five questions. We're

1:46:16 ↗ going to rotate through the council of

1:46:18 ↗ And we have six council members. So, we

1:46:19 ↗ have a little system to make sure

1:46:20 ↗ everyone gets to share the wealth. And

1:46:22 ↗ so, you will get five questions. You

1:46:25 ↗ have 20 minutes total. You not obviously

1:46:26 ↗ need to use the 20 minutes. Other people

1:46:28 ↗ have not been using the 20 minutes, but

1:46:29 ↗ we didn't want anyone to feel that they

1:46:31 ↗ are rushed. And we're going to go one

1:46:33 ↗ question at a time. And we're going to

1:46:35 ↗ start with Council Member Joe.

1:46:38 ↗ >> Thank you, Mayor Mullet. Uh Landon,

1:46:40 ↗ first, thank you for taking part in this

1:46:43 ↗ process. It's uh not an easy process,

1:46:46 ↗ and we appreciate all the effort that

1:46:48 ↗ you've done to fill out the

1:46:49 ↗ questionnaires and meet with us along

1:46:51 ↗ the way. So, thank you for uh devoting

1:46:54 ↗ this time to the city of Isiqua on these

1:46:56 ↗ important issues. There are a number of

1:46:58 ↗ issues uh in front of the city council

1:47:00 ↗ and none of us can know everything. What

1:47:03 ↗ is one issue facing the city that you

1:47:05 ↗ don't know very well and how will you

1:47:07 ↗ learn more about it?

1:47:11 ↗ That's a great question. First of all,

1:47:12 ↗ uh members of council, Mr. Mayor, uh

1:47:15 ↗ city staff, thank you so much for

1:47:16 ↗ facilitating this this evening. Thank

1:47:18 ↗ you for for taking the time to hear me.

1:47:20 ↗ Um absolutely you know there are there

1:47:22 ↗ are many things about all sorts of

1:47:24 ↗ different city issues that I am not

1:47:25 ↗ particularly um knowledgeable on. One

1:47:28 ↗ thing in particular that I would really

1:47:30 ↗ like to take a deep dive into this year

1:47:32 ↗ um is uh water and sewage. Uh I

1:47:35 ↗ understand that that is something that

1:47:36 ↗ is uh really integral to our city um

1:47:39 ↗ whether that be planning um just

1:47:41 ↗ day-to-day operations um and I really

1:47:43 ↗ would like to understand that better um

1:47:46 ↗ uh on a variety of different fronts. Um

1:47:49 ↗ I would also like to understand um a

1:47:51 ↗ little bit of infrastructure planning uh

1:47:54 ↗ better as well. I found uh the

1:47:56 ↗ presentation um from Wadot tonight very

1:47:59 ↗ informative, very high level. Uh and

1:48:01 ↗ there were some things there uh where I

1:48:03 ↗ certainly would have had questions if I

1:48:04 ↗ had had the opportunity to ask

1:48:06 ↗ questions. Um so I would say on some of

1:48:08 ↗ those um nitty-gritty infrastructure

1:48:10 ↗ type questions, I would really like to

1:48:12 ↗ better understand that um and how it

1:48:13 ↗ integrates into city planning.

1:48:15 ↗ >> Excellent. Thank you very much, Council

1:48:17 ↗ Member Walsh. Did that work better with

1:48:19 ↗ the mic off? No. Okay, good. Okay,

1:48:22 ↗ Council Member Walsh.

1:48:23 ↗ >> Great. Thank you. Let me know if you

1:48:25 ↗ need anything repeated. Um, but the

1:48:28 ↗ public has told us that housing

1:48:30 ↗ affordability and cost of living are

1:48:33 ↗ really important. Uh, speak to what you

1:48:36 ↗ know about housing, what you see as the

1:48:39 ↗ problem, and any ways that you would

1:48:42 ↗ want to address that on council.

1:48:45 ↗ Absolutely. Uh for most families in

1:48:48 ↗ Isqua, housing will be the single

1:48:50 ↗ biggest expense uh that they have in any

1:48:52 ↗ given year, if not one of the top three

1:48:54 ↗ biggest expenses that they have in in in

1:48:56 ↗ any given year. Generally speaking, the

1:48:58 ↗ recommendation is that households spend

1:49:00 ↗ 30% of their income on housing. Um most

1:49:03 ↗ people of course, especially in our

1:49:04 ↗ area, spend more than that. Um and are

1:49:07 ↗ of course they're considered rent

1:49:09 ↗ burdened or um cost of housing burdened.

1:49:12 ↗ Um we have a mix of housing here in

1:49:14 ↗ Isiziqua. We have one of the most

1:49:15 ↗ diversified housing mixes here in Isiqua

1:49:17 ↗ uh relative to our peer cities in the

1:49:19 ↗ region. Um mix of uh different types of

1:49:23 ↗ single family, multif family, but also a

1:49:25 ↗ mix of renters and owners. I personally

1:49:28 ↗ am a renter. I have rented here in

1:49:29 ↗ Oldtown for uh 7 years now. Um and I

1:49:33 ↗ believe that we need a diversified

1:49:35 ↗ housing mix uh to serve both current

1:49:36 ↗ residents and future residents. I think

1:49:38 ↗ it's important that um we create transit

1:49:41 ↗ oriented development um so that our

1:49:43 ↗ housing and our transit systems are in

1:49:44 ↗ alignment with one another. Um something

1:49:46 ↗ that I talk about frequently is that um

1:49:48 ↗ the cost of a car is also very expensive

1:49:51 ↗ um for families. Um AAA says about

1:49:54 ↗ $1,000 a month. Um which is why it's

1:49:56 ↗ really important that we have transit

1:49:58 ↗ options near housing and that that's

1:50:00 ↗ integrated as part of the discussion. Um

1:50:02 ↗ that's not to say that there's not a

1:50:04 ↗ place um at all for single family homes

1:50:06 ↗ in Isqua. There absolutely is. Um but we

1:50:08 ↗ need to ensure that um future

1:50:10 ↗ development uh is conducive to um the

1:50:14 ↗ the plans that the city has put forward

1:50:15 ↗ whether that be central isqua plan or

1:50:17 ↗ others ensuring that we're meeting our

1:50:19 ↗ our 2044 housing targets housing goals

1:50:21 ↗ uh and ensuring also that we're creating

1:50:23 ↗ the type of density that will be

1:50:24 ↗ conducive to light rail when it comes to

1:50:26 ↗ our city.

1:50:28 ↗ >> Excellent. And I thank Council President

1:50:31 ↗ Marts.

1:50:33 ↗ >> Thank you. Now, the public has told us

1:50:35 ↗ that traffic and mobility are critical

1:50:38 ↗ challenges for the city. How do you see

1:50:40 ↗ the problem? And in a time of reduced

1:50:42 ↗ city revenues, how would you prioritize

1:50:44 ↗ city mobility investments?

1:50:47 ↗ >> Absolutely. Um, I'm very passionate

1:50:50 ↗ about getting traffic moving. It is

1:50:51 ↗ something I care about and something

1:50:52 ↗ that I have cared about for a long time

1:50:54 ↗ as a city resident who lives off Front

1:50:56 ↗ Street and regularly experiences the

1:50:58 ↗ traffic backups that we have in the

1:50:59 ↗ city. Uh, I would say uh there's a

1:51:02 ↗ couple of things. Um there are uh

1:51:05 ↗ limited things that we can do within the

1:51:07 ↗ bounds of current infrastructure. Things

1:51:08 ↗ like smart lights um that are are

1:51:10 ↗ marginally helpful. But really um it

1:51:12 ↗ goes back to what I was saying about

1:51:13 ↗ transit oriented development. Ensuring

1:51:15 ↗ future development uh is accessible or

1:51:18 ↗ close to transit uh and ensuring that we

1:51:20 ↗ have multimmodal um uh transportation

1:51:23 ↗ options for residents here in Isiqua.

1:51:25 ↗ Last year uh 2025 I was able to

1:51:28 ↗ participate in a grant program through

1:51:29 ↗ the Washington State Department of

1:51:30 ↗ Transportation to get an ebike. Um prior

1:51:33 ↗ to that I was not very familiar with um

1:51:35 ↗ our multimmodal transportation options

1:51:37 ↗ here in Isiziqua. Since then um my views

1:51:41 ↗ not necessarily on multimodal

1:51:42 ↗ transportation but on the ways that our

1:51:45 ↗ city what what our city is currently

1:51:46 ↗ doing and the ways they can be better

1:51:47 ↗ has very much changed. Um I use those

1:51:50 ↗ trails those routes every single day. um

1:51:52 ↗ and and want to ensure that we can show

1:51:55 ↗ more residents, especially young

1:51:57 ↗ residents like myself, um that we have

1:51:59 ↗ options, things like ebikes, um that are

1:52:01 ↗ faster ways to get around. And

1:52:02 ↗ especially when we talk about things

1:52:03 ↗ like the road closures that are coming

1:52:05 ↗ up, residents are going to have

1:52:06 ↗ questions. What can I do? What can I do

1:52:08 ↗ to ensure that I can get to and from the

1:52:10 ↗ places I'm going? Um and showing them

1:52:12 ↗ options like an ebike, I think, is

1:52:14 ↗ really important. So, talking about an

1:52:16 ↗ ebike library, working with our local

1:52:18 ↗ businesses um to potentially get some

1:52:20 ↗ sort of ebike sharing program, I think

1:52:22 ↗ that all of that goes into the traffic

1:52:24 ↗ mitigation. Finally, I would also say

1:52:27 ↗ that um I want to continue to uh work

1:52:30 ↗ with King County um and other uh

1:52:33 ↗ regional transportation coalitions to

1:52:35 ↗ see what we can do about creating

1:52:36 ↗ additional ride share programs,

1:52:38 ↗ additional um uh um uh additional bus

1:52:44 ↗ stops where where people can can park

1:52:46 ↗ their cars, um parking rides um and

1:52:49 ↗ additional options so that people can

1:52:51 ↗ get around.

1:52:52 ↗ >> Excellent. And Council President D.

1:52:54 ↗ Michelle,

1:52:56 ↗ >> thank you. Uh, London, if you were given

1:52:59 ↗ a million dollars to spend uh on a

1:53:02 ↗ community project and you were told that

1:53:04 ↗ the project had to be completed uh by

1:53:06 ↗ the end of your two-year term, uh what

1:53:09 ↗ would you choose to spend the money on?

1:53:11 ↗ >> Gosh, that's a great question. Um I

1:53:14 ↗ think well, the first thing I would do

1:53:16 ↗ is try to understand why exactly voters

1:53:18 ↗ approved that million dollars. Uh and uh

1:53:21 ↗ and do my best to stick to that. Um, but

1:53:23 ↗ in the event it just popped out of thin

1:53:25 ↗ air and uh it was truly a serendipitous

1:53:28 ↗ situation, uh, I suppose I would

1:53:30 ↗ probably invest on multimodal options on

1:53:32 ↗ Gilman, um, I really think that that is

1:53:34 ↗ something that I would like to see for

1:53:36 ↗ the future of Isiqua, um, for a couple

1:53:38 ↗ of different reasons. One, I think that,

1:53:40 ↗ um, you know, with Gilman Village, all

1:53:42 ↗ of the other shopping that we have

1:53:43 ↗ there, that is a really great avenue to

1:53:45 ↗ connect, um, east and west. I know that

1:53:48 ↗ some people take Newport. Um there's a

1:53:50 ↗ whole bunch of reasons why I would say

1:53:51 ↗ as someone who both bikes and drives, I

1:53:53 ↗ prefer Gilman. Um also with light rail

1:53:56 ↗ coming, um ensuring that we have

1:53:58 ↗ infrastructure set up so that as soon as

1:54:00 ↗ people are getting off light rail,

1:54:01 ↗ wherever that is, um somewhere in

1:54:04 ↗ central Isqua, they're able to walk and

1:54:06 ↗ access other neighborhoods. Um so I

1:54:08 ↗ would definitely invest in that. I bike

1:54:10 ↗ down that route pretty much every day or

1:54:12 ↗ near every day. The big issue is that on

1:54:15 ↗ Gilman, um especially as you're getting

1:54:17 ↗ down towards Newport, there there are no

1:54:19 ↗ bike lanes. Um so I currently bike on

1:54:21 ↗ the sidewalk. Um which is fine, but it's

1:54:23 ↗ not a great solution. Um so I would say

1:54:25 ↗ that uh that would be one thing that I

1:54:27 ↗ would try to do if I had a million

1:54:28 ↗ dollars.

1:54:30 ↗ >> Nice. And Council Member Nichols, you

1:54:33 ↗ get the last question.

1:54:36 ↗ >> Thank you. And uh my question is very

1:54:38 ↗ brief. Um why should we pick you?

1:54:41 ↗ >> It's a great question. Uh, I believe

1:54:44 ↗ that the council should strongly

1:54:46 ↗ consider my application because I deeply

1:54:48 ↗ care about this city. I deeply care

1:54:50 ↗ about its residents and I deeply care

1:54:52 ↗ about making an impact. We're living in

1:54:54 ↗ uncertain times and we need leaders who

1:54:57 ↗ are really genuinely committed to

1:54:59 ↗ listening to residents, putting the

1:55:01 ↗ needs of people first, and ensuring that

1:55:04 ↗ we're really fighting for every single

1:55:06 ↗ person who lives in our city. Uh, I love

1:55:09 ↗ Isaakqua. I've had the opportunity to

1:55:11 ↗ experience it um through many different

1:55:13 ↗ facets whether that be through a student

1:55:15 ↗ uh or as a student as a recent college

1:55:17 ↗ graduate as a young professional um I've

1:55:20 ↗ experienced had the blessing of

1:55:21 ↗ experiencing isqua um in many different

1:55:24 ↗ capacities um and uh would definitely

1:55:27 ↗ want to bring those experiences to

1:55:29 ↗ council. Um and finally I would just say

1:55:32 ↗ um kind of continuing on with that my

1:55:34 ↗ passion for service uh I would take this

1:55:36 ↗ role seriously. I would show up each day

1:55:39 ↗ um with the goal of doing my very best

1:55:41 ↗ work recognizing that uh it's it's city

1:55:43 ↗ residents uh who are counting on high

1:55:45 ↗ quality work every day. Uh and I would

1:55:48 ↗ would seek to take this as seriously as

1:55:50 ↗ I possibly could to ensure that our

1:55:51 ↗ residents uh have really strong good

1:55:54 ↗ representation like they currently do.

1:55:56 ↗ >> Excellent. Thank you very much. Well

1:55:58 ↗ done. And as you get the same offer, you

1:56:01 ↗ can stay and and watch as we bring in

1:56:04 ↗ our final candidate, Jeff. I'm looking

1:56:08 ↗ at Tisha, a worker magic system here.

1:56:24 ↗ Come on in, Jeff. And I think the the

1:56:27 ↗ vote was it's the podium over there with

1:56:29 ↗ a little red light on. Yes. And the

1:56:33 ↗ format is there's going to be five

1:56:34 ↗ questions. We're going to rotate through

1:56:36 ↗ the council of where they start. I think

1:56:38 ↗ council member Walsh is starting this

1:56:40 ↗ one. And there's 20 minutes total. No

1:56:43 ↗ one is using the 20 minutes. We didn't

1:56:44 ↗ want anyone to feel rushed in their

1:56:46 ↗ answers, but you you will. So I think

1:56:48 ↗ you'll feel like you have plenty of time

1:56:50 ↗ to answer the five questions. And we are

1:56:52 ↗ going to start with Council Member

1:56:54 ↗ Walsh.

1:56:55 ↗ >> Yes, thank you. I will start with just

1:56:58 ↗ genuinely appreciating the fact that you

1:57:01 ↗ put yourself out there. Um we really

1:57:03 ↗ understand that this is not an easy

1:57:06 ↗ situation to stand up in front and be

1:57:08 ↗ pelted with questions. Um so thank you

1:57:12 ↗ very much for coming out and doing this

1:57:15 ↗ and committing.

1:57:16 ↗ >> I appreciate you guys uh learning and

1:57:18 ↗ adapting. I think this format is much

1:57:20 ↗ more conducive. Uh

1:57:21 ↗ >> fantastic for a discussion.

1:57:22 ↗ >> We will definitely take the uh input

1:57:24 ↗ afterward. You know, we learn from uh

1:57:27 ↗ all of this. So, um I will give you the

1:57:30 ↗ question. If you need me to repeat

1:57:32 ↗ anything, please let me know.

1:57:33 ↗ >> Okay.

1:57:34 ↗ >> Um there are a number of issues in front

1:57:38 ↗ of the city council and none of us can

1:57:41 ↗ know everything.

1:57:43 ↗ So, we want you to talk about one issue

1:57:46 ↗ facing the city that you don't know very

1:57:50 ↗ well and how will you learn more about

1:57:53 ↗ it?

1:57:55 ↗ >> That's a good one. I think

1:58:00 ↗ I I I know the one because I was driving

1:58:03 ↗ around the other day. I don't I don't

1:58:06 ↗ understand

1:58:07 ↗ um the in depth for lack of a better

1:58:11 ↗ term zoning and permitting as far as

1:58:14 ↗ what's allowed in what areas of Isiqua.

1:58:16 ↗ We we have a lot of challenges like

1:58:18 ↗ where are we going to put sound transit

1:58:19 ↗ and where can we put the affordable

1:58:20 ↗ housing and why don't we do this and

1:58:22 ↗ people are always you know we're talking

1:58:24 ↗ over coffee hey how come we're not doing

1:58:25 ↗ this and why is this building there and

1:58:27 ↗ why can't we do more this year and and

1:58:30 ↗ recently that was something I thought I

1:58:32 ↗ need to I need to spend some more time

1:58:34 ↗ with Wall-E or whoever that is get a

1:58:36 ↗ crash course on how do we determine what

1:58:38 ↗ is the land land use for Isiqua. So, for

1:58:41 ↗ something like that, that would be

1:58:43 ↗ definitely put the reading cap on um and

1:58:46 ↗ and do a crash course, both learning the

1:58:49 ↗ the rules and the RCWs and the

1:58:51 ↗ ordinances that dictate what those may

1:58:54 ↗ be, but then also talking about what

1:58:55 ↗ that really means and how do they get

1:58:57 ↗ changed and and how do they fit into the

1:58:59 ↗ strategic plan. I I got a feeling a lot

1:59:02 ↗ of it falls back hopefully to well this

1:59:04 ↗ is the strategic plan and from that

1:59:05 ↗ everything should stem from that based

1:59:07 ↗ upon where we want the new uh evergreen

1:59:10 ↗ forward and where we want to put this

1:59:12 ↗ type of facility or this type of

1:59:14 ↗ housing. So, I think that's the the area

1:59:16 ↗ that I think about like I need to get

1:59:18 ↗ more up to speed on that both out of

1:59:20 ↗ curious curiosity as a citizen, but

1:59:23 ↗ especially um being part of a

1:59:25 ↗ decision-making board um that's going to

1:59:27 ↗ come across those types of land

1:59:28 ↗ development issues.

1:59:30 ↗ >> Excellent. Now, Deputy Council President

1:59:33 ↗ Marks.

1:59:34 ↗ >> Thank Thank you, Mr. Mayor. The public

1:59:37 ↗ has told us that housing and

1:59:38 ↗ affordability and cost of living are

1:59:41 ↗ important. speak to what you know about

1:59:43 ↗ housing, what you see as the problem. In

1:59:46 ↗ any ways you would want to address that

1:59:48 ↗ on the council.

1:59:50 ↗ >> Um, for me, thank you, Councilman March.

1:59:53 ↗ Um, for me, it it and I think I might

1:59:57 ↗ have mentioned it last week. I want my

1:59:59 ↗ daughter to be a teacher. Well, she's

2:00:01 ↗ going to be a teacher. I want to be able

2:00:02 ↗ to to move here and afford to be here.

2:00:04 ↗ Um, I want folks that live that work in

2:00:08 ↗ Isiqua, whether it's our police force,

2:00:10 ↗ whether it's a small business owner, um,

2:00:13 ↗ I want them to be able to afford to live

2:00:16 ↗ in a reason in reasonable accommodations

2:00:18 ↗ in our community. And I'm not as

2:00:20 ↗ confident that that is going to be as

2:00:22 ↗ easy as it's been in years in years

2:00:24 ↗ past. Um I think that is it's it's so

2:00:27 ↗ integral to keep our community vibrant

2:00:29 ↗ that we have folks that are here that

2:00:32 ↗ are spending here that are working here.

2:00:34 ↗ All those things are going to support

2:00:35 ↗ each other. Uh how we go about doing it

2:00:38 ↗ is we is we use data is the first thing

2:00:40 ↗ and that would be an answer to a lot of

2:00:42 ↗ the things that I think will come across

2:00:43 ↗ is let's look at the metrics and the

2:00:44 ↗ data. I know we don't always have it,

2:00:46 ↗ but when we do, like the dashboard on

2:00:48 ↗ the website that I went down a rabbit

2:00:51 ↗ hole in last week, uh there is a lot of

2:00:53 ↗ information out there, and I think we

2:00:54 ↗ leverage that. I think we talk to

2:00:56 ↗ experts. I think we look at what our

2:00:57 ↗ neighboring communities are doing, good

2:00:59 ↗ and bad, for examples, uh um of what we

2:01:03 ↗ can prioritize and what we can work on.

2:01:06 ↗ And then we we listen to both the

2:01:08 ↗ constituents. We listen to developers. I

2:01:10 ↗ think it was it was council member Walsh

2:01:13 ↗ talked about uh developer roundts and

2:01:16 ↗ other communities doing um I think any

2:01:18 ↗ type of those types of dialogues that we

2:01:20 ↗ can have are going to hopefully bring

2:01:22 ↗ about the wisdom of crowds and we'll

2:01:23 ↗ come up with some ideas to to make it so

2:01:27 ↗ our next generation our kids uh our

2:01:31 ↗ folks that we want to move into this

2:01:32 ↗ area can afford to do it reasonably.

2:01:36 ↗ >> Excellent. Council President D. Michelle

2:01:41 ↗ There we go. Thank you. Um, the public

2:01:44 ↗ has told us that traffic and mobility

2:01:46 ↗ are critical challenges for the city.

2:01:48 ↗ How do you see the problem? And in a

2:01:51 ↗ time of reduced city revenues, how would

2:01:53 ↗ you prioritize city mobility

2:01:55 ↗ investments?

2:01:57 ↗ >> I I I thank you, council member um de

2:02:00 ↗ Michelle. Um,

2:02:02 ↗ again, we go back. Let's let's figure

2:02:06 ↗ out the most efficient programs that we

2:02:08 ↗ have out there through King County

2:02:10 ↗ Metro, through through ride share,

2:02:12 ↗ through the other programs that we have.

2:02:14 ↗ Let's look at the data. If we have to

2:02:15 ↗ prioritize and we've got a finite budget

2:02:17 ↗ for that, which I know we do, let's get

2:02:19 ↗ the information that we know we have.

2:02:21 ↗ Let's look at the data. Let's talk to

2:02:22 ↗ the experts to understand where this is

2:02:25 ↗ working, where the investment is paying

2:02:27 ↗ off and getting the best return on

2:02:29 ↗ investment and start from there. uh as

2:02:32 ↗ far as um determining where our our

2:02:36 ↗ limited budget should go. Could you

2:02:38 ↗ repeat the second part? I want to make

2:02:40 ↗ sure I cover that as well.

2:02:44 ↗ >> Thank you. Um and in a time of reduced

2:02:46 ↗ city revenues, how would you prioritize

2:02:48 ↗ city mobility investments?

2:02:50 ↗ >> Okay, it's it's and and I and and thank

2:02:53 ↗ you for restating it. It helped me

2:02:55 ↗ refocus. Um I I think it's important and

2:02:59 ↗ something that I was thinking about when

2:03:00 ↗ we talked about um what committee

2:03:02 ↗ positions are open based upon the new

2:03:04 ↗ the new council member. I think almost

2:03:08 ↗ everything we look at from our strategic

2:03:10 ↗ plan to the guiding principles of

2:03:13 ↗ Isukqua mo it all comes back to

2:03:16 ↗ mobility. It really dawned on me. I

2:03:17 ↗ think there's other things we talk about

2:03:18 ↗ and we all we all advocate for strong

2:03:21 ↗ public safety and our support of our

2:03:24 ↗ incredible community police force and

2:03:25 ↗ all those things, but really when you go

2:03:27 ↗ back to all of it, the mobility that

2:03:29 ↗ allows people to get here to work at

2:03:31 ↗ Costco headquarters, to work at Arya

2:03:32 ↗ headquarters, to get to school, to get

2:03:35 ↗ to small businesses, um and and those

2:03:38 ↗ things that enables everything else um

2:03:42 ↗ on the guiding principles in the

2:03:43 ↗ strategic plan, we have to start with

2:03:45 ↗ the ability of people to get in and

2:03:47 ↗ around Isiqua, whether it's by bike,

2:03:49 ↗ whether it's by foot, whether it's by

2:03:51 ↗ metro, whether it's by um vehicles,

2:03:54 ↗ those types of things. That has to be

2:03:56 ↗ the priority. And I think maybe if we're

2:03:58 ↗ wondering about another policy or

2:04:00 ↗ another ordinance or things that we're

2:04:03 ↗ looking at, we should fall back to that

2:04:05 ↗ and and look at what can we do to make

2:04:07 ↗ sure that there is mobility enabling

2:04:10 ↗ whatever that might be.

2:04:13 ↗ >> Excellent. And Council Member Nichols

2:04:20 ↗ Thank you. Um, if you were given a

2:04:22 ↗ million dollars to spend on a community

2:04:25 ↗ project and we're told the project had

2:04:27 ↗ to be completed by the end of your

2:04:28 ↗ two-year term, what would you pick to

2:04:30 ↗ spend the money on? That's like, well,

2:04:32 ↗ this is going to be Thank you, Council

2:04:34 ↗ Member Nichols. This is going to I'm

2:04:35 ↗ biased. Uh, and Paul and Paul probably

2:04:38 ↗ maybe said some of the same. I'm on the

2:04:39 ↗ parks board. So, I think I I would

2:04:41 ↗ definitely uh lean towards

2:04:44 ↗ um

2:04:46 ↗ a place or a

2:04:50 ↗ structure or for lack of a better word

2:04:53 ↗ that brings the community together,

2:04:55 ↗ brings all the different aspects of our

2:04:57 ↗ community together. Um I know there are

2:05:00 ↗ dramatic needs in other areas, but the

2:05:03 ↗ first thing that came to mind when I

2:05:04 ↗ thought about if we had that, what could

2:05:05 ↗ we do? if we could enhance an ability to

2:05:08 ↗ where we bring when I think of the the

2:05:10 ↗ concerts on the lawn or I think of

2:05:12 ↗ Tibetz Park or or uh all the different

2:05:15 ↗ aspects or Timberlake those things. I

2:05:18 ↗ think something that was a benefit for

2:05:20 ↗ the community that brings people

2:05:21 ↗ together that you could have an economic

2:05:24 ↗ aspect as well to bring revenue back

2:05:27 ↗ into the community from outlying areas.

2:05:30 ↗ Um I think something of that effect

2:05:32 ↗ would be the uh would be the uh the

2:05:35 ↗ right answer. I would of course normally

2:05:36 ↗ say let's get our mobility path finally

2:05:39 ↗ done from uh South Lake Seamish, but I

2:05:42 ↗ know that that's in there and it's been

2:05:44 ↗ funded. Uh but I think something to that

2:05:46 ↗ effect would be would be uh where I

2:05:48 ↗ would want to place that.

2:05:49 ↗ >> Excellent. And I think our last question

2:05:52 ↗ of the night goes Council Member Jen.

2:05:54 ↗ >> Great. And this one is very short

2:05:56 ↗ question. Why should we pick you?

2:05:58 ↗ >> Um thank you, Council Member Jen. Um,

2:06:03 ↗ you know, right now I think we just, uh,

2:06:06 ↗ if I have to boil it all down, I think

2:06:08 ↗ we just saw it on that presentation. Um,

2:06:10 ↗ I want to be the first member from South

2:06:13 ↗ Lake Seamish community, the 1300

2:06:15 ↗ households. Um, the 3,000 people that

2:06:20 ↗ live in the eight neighborhoods that

2:06:21 ↗ make up South Lake Seamish that were

2:06:23 ↗ annexed 20 years ago that were dying for

2:06:25 ↗ the mobility path. We know it's coming

2:06:27 ↗ and I'm glad Council Member Nichols

2:06:28 ↗ asked about it. Um, but boy are we going

2:06:31 ↗ to be disrupted in the next two years. I

2:06:34 ↗ did some quick math during that

2:06:36 ↗ presentation and I think the average

2:06:38 ↗ ride from my neighborhood's going to add

2:06:40 ↗ 15 minutes to get to the city each way.

2:06:42 ↗ So that's a half hour. If you've got a

2:06:45 ↗ kid going to school, that's going to be

2:06:46 ↗ two and a half hours a week. That's 10

2:06:48 ↗ hours a month. um this is going to be a

2:06:51 ↗ big deal to everybody that's in that

2:06:53 ↗ area that already feels a little

2:06:54 ↗ disconnected quite frankly due to the

2:06:56 ↗ lack of representation over the last

2:06:58 ↗ couple decades due to just the it's not

2:07:01 ↗ willful it's just what what is that

2:07:03 ↗ thing over there what is that place way

2:07:05 ↗ out there um I think it's just uh so I

2:07:08 ↗ think the the main thing I want to bring

2:07:10 ↗ is I want to represent all those folks

2:07:12 ↗ that live in that area all those

2:07:14 ↗ households I don't think they're our

2:07:16 ↗ needs are that much unique from Sycamore

2:07:18 ↗ or Talis or Montro any of those areas

2:07:20 ↗ But I think there is a distinct nature

2:07:22 ↗ to them and I want them to be able to

2:07:24 ↗ have that. I want to possibly be um like

2:07:28 ↗ uh Mayor Mullet was. Mayor Mullet was

2:07:30 ↗ the first council member from the

2:07:31 ↗ Highlands and the floodgates opened up

2:07:32 ↗ and involvement followed and many of and

2:07:35 ↗ some of you are from the Highlands that

2:07:36 ↗ then are on the council. Same thing has

2:07:38 ↗ happened in Talis the last 1015 years.

2:07:40 ↗ One council member gets on the gets on

2:07:42 ↗ the council and others follow. I'd like

2:07:44 ↗ to be that person to not just give them

2:07:48 ↗ the voice uh but also even encourage

2:07:51 ↗ even more involvement than that

2:07:52 ↗ community already has right now. Um I

2:07:55 ↗ think it's going to be a a very busy uh

2:07:58 ↗ uh two years with all the issues but

2:08:00 ↗ then especially the impact that's going

2:08:03 ↗ to have in those areas. Um, I think

2:08:05 ↗ that's that's probably the main why I

2:08:08 ↗ why I, uh, got excited about this, uh,

2:08:11 ↗ when I heard again, um, ironically, um,

2:08:14 ↗ former council member Hall, he grew up

2:08:16 ↗ in the in in, uh, in South Lake, uh, but

2:08:18 ↗ then he moved once he became a council

2:08:20 ↗ member out of there. So, it's it's kind

2:08:22 ↗ of maybe it's fitting that it's his

2:08:24 ↗ spot. And when I heard that it was

2:08:25 ↗ opening, I thought uh, we have an

2:08:27 ↗ opportunity, the community, to get a

2:08:29 ↗ little bit louder voice, I think. And

2:08:31 ↗ it's going to be two-way. I think

2:08:32 ↗ there's going to be a lot of

2:08:33 ↗ communication that the city can do and

2:08:35 ↗ myself as a as a council member could do

2:08:37 ↗ to help communicate uh and walk us

2:08:40 ↗ through what's going to be a real

2:08:41 ↗ challenging two years for all those

2:08:43 ↗ residents.

2:08:44 ↗ >> All right. Excellent. Thank you very

2:08:46 ↗ much. And that concludes all of our

2:08:49 ↗ questions. And I think for

2:08:52 ↗ >> folks

2:08:53 ↗ who were watching on TV at home, I think

2:08:56 ↗ it is what you just saw is once again,

2:08:59 ↗ I'm sound like a broken record from the

2:09:01 ↗ meeting last week, but how fortunate we

2:09:03 ↗ are. I think we just saw four candidates

2:09:05 ↗ who did an impressive job under pressure

2:09:07 ↗ answering questions they did not have in

2:09:09 ↗ advance. And we did learn from the last

2:09:12 ↗ time around that everyone had to kind of

2:09:14 ↗ answer them on the spot this time

2:09:15 ↗ because nobody did get an advanced

2:09:17 ↗ preview from being in the room as others

2:09:19 ↗ answer the questions. But everyone did

2:09:21 ↗ an excellent job. I mean, I'm just going

2:09:23 ↗ to say that was really impressive. And

2:09:25 ↗ kudos to everyone for putting in all the

2:09:28 ↗ time and effort. We will now go into

2:09:31 ↗ executive session, discuss

2:09:32 ↗ qualifications of the appointment per

2:09:33 ↗ RCW42.30.110

2:09:37 ↗ uh1H. The close session is expected to

2:09:39 ↗ take approximately 20 minutes. If it is

2:09:41 ↗ extended, uh it may be extended. If it

2:09:44 ↗ is extended, uh Tisha will come out to

2:09:46 ↗ make that announcement that we're

2:09:47 ↗ extending it. The city council is

2:09:49 ↗ planning to act after the close session.

2:09:51 ↗ It's part of an open meeting to make the

2:09:53 ↗ appointment. And uh executive session is

2:09:56 ↗ closed to the public. Uh the council,

2:09:59 ↗ it'll be held upstairs where we did in

2:10:00 ↗ the same place last week. And we are now

2:10:03 ↗ going to go into executive session at

2:10:06 ↗ 9:10 p.m. The at 9:10 p.m. the session

2:10:10 ↗ will start in roughly the next 5 or 10

2:10:12 ↗ minutes. Uh so we have time to move

2:10:14 ↗ upstairs. And with that we are at

2:10:17 ↗ recess.

2:10:28 ↗ >> I'm sure I'm sure he did as well.

2:10:48 ↗ Hi Rachel.

2:41:07 ↗ We are back in open session at 9:41

2:41:11 ↗ p.m. At this point, the city council can

2:41:14 ↗ nominate individuals to the appointment.

2:41:17 ↗ Are there any comments before the

2:41:18 ↗ nominations are made?

2:41:23 ↗ Deputy Council President Martz.

2:41:26 ↗ >> Thank you. Uh I will go to the as the

2:41:31 ↗ longest serving member on the council I

2:41:34 ↗ I keep a running total of uh this

2:41:38 ↗ process. This is the ninth version of

2:41:40 ↗ this. And so I just want to tell the

2:41:43 ↗ applicants in 2011 Joe Forner, Nina

2:41:46 ↗ Milligan, Mary Lou Paulie, and Paul

2:41:48 ↗ Winterstein were not appointed to the

2:41:50 ↗ city council. In 2013, Mary Lou Pauly uh

2:41:54 ↗ was again not appointed to the council

2:41:57 ↗ along with a fellow named Bill Ramos. In

2:41:59 ↗ 2014, Bill Ramos was again not appointed

2:42:02 ↗ to the city council. In 2016, Justin

2:42:05 ↗ Walsh was not appointed to the city

2:42:06 ↗ council. in 2018 with 14 applicants,

2:42:11 ↗ Lindseay Walsh and Zack Hall were not

2:42:13 ↗ appointed to the city council. So, uh

2:42:16 ↗ just consider that um because for for

2:42:19 ↗ three of you, this will be an an

2:42:21 ↗ interesting chapter in your uh

2:42:24 ↗ engagement with the city. Thank you.

2:42:28 ↗ >> Right. Thank you. And are we ready to

2:42:30 ↗ make nominations? As a reminder,

2:42:33 ↗ nominees need to be made by one council

2:42:35 ↗ member and seconded by another. Council

2:42:38 ↗ member Walsh.

2:42:40 ↗ >> I would like to nominate Paul Adair.

2:42:44 ↗ >> Second.

2:42:45 ↗ >> Okay, there's been a motion and a

2:42:48 ↗ second.

2:42:50 ↗ Are there any other nominations at this

2:42:52 ↗ point in time? Not seeing any. The

2:42:55 ↗ nominations are closed. Are there any

2:42:57 ↗ discussion?

2:42:59 ↗ Council member Walsh.

2:43:01 ↗ >> Thank you. Um really tough decision with

2:43:07 ↗ 12 members who went through um

2:43:09 ↗ interviews, 14 who applied four who were

2:43:13 ↗ bravely came back to us and stood up

2:43:17 ↗ there and answered questions that were

2:43:19 ↗ peppered at you that you had no previous

2:43:22 ↗ experience with. um as looking at these

2:43:27 ↗ candidates, you know, I think one of the

2:43:29 ↗ things we were looking for is um someone

2:43:34 ↗ who adds some experience. And so, one of

2:43:38 ↗ the things that spoke to me about Paul's

2:43:41 ↗ experience um as a CPA and the ability

2:43:44 ↗ to look at some of the numbers, as much

2:43:46 ↗ as I am a spreadsheet geek myself, uh I

2:43:49 ↗ am not necessarily a budget or numbers

2:43:52 ↗ person. And so, um, that spoke to it. I

2:43:56 ↗ also just very much appreciated your

2:43:59 ↗ ability to speak to the needs of the

2:44:02 ↗ community on housing and mobility,

2:44:05 ↗ um, parks and connectedness. Um, all of

2:44:09 ↗ those things I think just very well

2:44:11 ↗ represents, um, the needs of the

2:44:13 ↗ community. And so, very much wanted to

2:44:16 ↗ appreciate and thank you for applying.

2:44:23 ↗ All right. And with that,

2:44:26 ↗ all those in favor of Paulair as the

2:44:30 ↗ nominee, please say I.

2:44:32 ↗ >> I.

2:44:35 ↗ >> All those opposed, nay, that is

2:44:37 ↗ unanimous. And Paulair is appointed as

2:44:40 ↗ the next member of the Isqua City

2:44:41 ↗ Council.

2:44:43 ↗ [Applause]

2:44:45 ↗ And and before we swear in Paul up here,

2:44:48 ↗ I do want to once again say to the other

2:44:50 ↗ candidates that we are very appreciative

2:44:53 ↗ of all the time and effort you put into

2:44:54 ↗ this process and it is quas a very

2:44:57 ↗ blessed community to have this many

2:44:58 ↗ people who are willing to put in the

2:45:00 ↗ time and effort you guys have done. I

2:45:01 ↗ really appreciate it.

2:45:19 ↗ Yeah. Okay.

2:45:22 ↗ >> I state your name. Oh, wait. Please

2:45:24 ↗ raise your right hand and repeat after

2:45:25 ↗ me.

2:45:25 ↗ >> Okay.

2:45:26 ↗ >> I state your name.

2:45:27 ↗ >> I Paul Agnosio Rodriguez Adair.

2:45:30 ↗ >> Having been duly appointed the city of

2:45:32 ↗ Esqua council position number two.

2:45:33 ↗ >> Having been duly appointed to the c to

2:45:35 ↗ the council position number two. do

2:45:37 ↗ solemnly swear

2:45:38 ↗ >> do solemnly swear

2:45:40 ↗ >> that I will faithfully and impartially

2:45:42 ↗ >> that I will faithfully and impartially

2:45:44 ↗ >> discharge the duties of this office

2:45:46 ↗ >> discharge the duties of this office

2:45:48 ↗ >> according to the law

2:45:49 ↗ >> according to the law

2:45:50 ↗ >> and to the best of my ability

2:45:51 ↗ >> and to the best of my ability

2:45:53 ↗ >> that I will support

2:45:54 ↗ >> that I will support

2:45:55 ↗ >> the Constitution of the United States

2:45:57 ↗ >> the Constitution of the United States

2:45:58 ↗ >> and the Constitutional Ls of the State

2:46:00 ↗ of Washington

2:46:01 ↗ >> and the Constitutional Laws of the State

2:46:02 ↗ of Washington

2:46:03 ↗ >> and all local ordinances

2:46:05 ↗ >> and all local ordinances this.

2:46:06 ↗ >> Congratulations.

2:46:09 ↗ [Applause]

2:46:28 ↗ We are going to take a brief fivem

2:46:30 ↗ minute recess so we can get council

2:46:32 ↗ member Adair set up. Why don't we do a

2:46:34 ↗ photo?

2:46:34 ↗ >> Let's do a photo.

2:50:03 ↗ Okay, we are back in open session at

2:50:06 ↗ 9:50

2:50:09 ↗ p.m. We're now going to go to the next

2:50:11 ↗ order of business with the committee

2:50:13 ↗ regional reports. And council member

2:50:15 ↗ Adair, do you have a committee report?

2:50:17 ↗ I'm just kidding.

2:50:19 ↗ We all have 38 seconds. So, we're going

2:50:22 ↗ to go to Council Member Nichols.

2:50:23 ↗ >> Uh, thank you, Mr. Mayor. I have a very

2:50:25 ↗ brief report. Uh, two things to note.

2:50:27 ↗ So, I was appointed to the East

2:50:28 ↗ Transportation Partnership. Uh, and, uh,

2:50:31 ↗ I was pleased to support the election of

2:50:32 ↗ our new vice chair, Council Member Jen.

2:50:34 ↗ Uh, she has the, uh, the full report on

2:50:36 ↗ that. And also, uh, appointed to, uh,

2:50:39 ↗ King King Conservation District. Uh, no

2:50:41 ↗ meetings yet thus far, but I will report

2:50:43 ↗ on that out on that next month.

2:50:45 ↗ >> All right. Excellent. Council member

2:50:46 ↗ Jay.

2:50:47 ↗ >> Great. Thanks, Council Member Nichols.

2:50:48 ↗ Um, as he mentioned, I was voted as the

2:50:51 ↗ new vice chair for the East Side

2:50:52 ↗ Transportation Partnership. We had our

2:50:54 ↗ first meeting of the year on Friday,

2:50:56 ↗ January 9th. Um, the three topics that

2:50:59 ↗ we did were first discussing some of the

2:51:00 ↗ potential topics for 2026. I think one

2:51:03 ↗ of the ones to keep an eye on is that

2:51:04 ↗ there's potentially going to be a ballot

2:51:06 ↗ measure to support King County Metro.

2:51:08 ↗ And I think one of our priorities as a

2:51:10 ↗ you know east side transportation

2:51:11 ↗ partnership is to get some you know some

2:51:13 ↗ of our local priority bus routes in that

2:51:15 ↗ ballot measure because you know as we've

2:51:17 ↗ seen with Metroflex we really do not

2:51:18 ↗ have funding at the local level to

2:51:20 ↗ support this and so kind of tacking that

2:51:22 ↗ on to regional ballot measure is going

2:51:23 ↗ to be a huge priority for me as vice

2:51:24 ↗ chair. We also approved a letter on our

2:51:27 ↗ federal priorities which is going to be

2:51:29 ↗ sent to our congressional delegation. Um

2:51:31 ↗ and then we also received an update on

2:51:33 ↗ the regional transportation plan from

2:51:35 ↗ PSRC the Puet Sound Regional Council.

2:51:37 ↗ So, there's some um you know,

2:51:38 ↗ opportunities to provide public comment

2:51:40 ↗ on that which I can forward along. Um I

2:51:43 ↗ was also appointed to be a member of the

2:51:45 ↗ governing board for the King County

2:51:46 ↗ Regional Homelessness Authority. Um so

2:51:48 ↗ that's very exciting. I met with the new

2:51:50 ↗ or I guess she's been there for like a

2:51:52 ↗ year now, but the CEO, um Kelly Kinson,

2:51:54 ↗ and we're going to be having a full day

2:51:56 ↗ board retreat sometime in February. The

2:51:57 ↗ date has not been set yet. Um, I was

2:52:00 ↗ also appointed as an alternate for the

2:52:03 ↗ King County uh flood district advisory

2:52:06 ↗ committee. So, more to come on that as

2:52:08 ↗ well. That concludes my report.

2:52:11 ↗ >> Council member Joe,

2:52:12 ↗ >> thank you. Um, with tonight's

2:52:14 ↗ appointment as an alternate for the

2:52:15 ↗ Cascade Water Alliance. Um, their next

2:52:18 ↗ board meeting is January 28th, 3:30 p.m.

2:52:22 ↗ U February 4th, the public affairs

2:52:25 ↗ committee will be meeting. I will

2:52:26 ↗ continue on the public affairs committee

2:52:29 ↗ going forward into 2026. Um,

2:52:33 ↗ city administrator Bob Quitz and I met

2:52:35 ↗ with the chamber board uh last Friday.

2:52:38 ↗ Um, just one thing to note on your

2:52:40 ↗ calendar. I'm sure you already have on

2:52:42 ↗ there is the state of the city address

2:52:44 ↗ on the 26th of February. Um, the chamber

2:52:48 ↗ will be putting that together and I hope

2:52:50 ↗ everyone can attend to hear the vision

2:52:52 ↗ that our mayor will have for this

2:52:54 ↗ upcoming year.

2:52:56 ↗ uh lodging tax advisory committee will

2:52:58 ↗ be meeting on February 23rd. Grant

2:53:01 ↗ applications are open right now to get

2:53:03 ↗ funding for shoulder season activities.

2:53:06 ↗ So that's not the high summer season,

2:53:08 ↗ but um the the time before and the time

2:53:11 ↗ after where we have uh low attendance or

2:53:13 ↗ low uh um uh occupancy in our hotels. So

2:53:18 ↗ um if you're interested in applying for

2:53:20 ↗ those, reach out to um our economic

2:53:23 ↗ development department. they can help

2:53:25 ↗ you with that. And u if the that

2:53:29 ↗ concludes my report. Thank you.

2:53:30 ↗ >> Excellent. Council member Walsh.

2:53:33 ↗ >> Thank you. Um I've been appointed to the

2:53:36 ↗ new regional coalition for housing or

2:53:38 ↗ ARCH elected officials council. So I

2:53:40 ↗ will learn what those meetings are and

2:53:42 ↗ how we can contribute as elected

2:53:45 ↗ officials to um an organization that

2:53:47 ↗ does a lot of our affordable housing. Um

2:53:50 ↗ and then I'm also on the affordable

2:53:52 ↗ housing committee for King County. That

2:53:55 ↗ um committee because we had a previous

2:53:57 ↗ year's where we were very focused on

2:53:59 ↗ comprehensive plans. This year um

2:54:02 ↗ because all of those have gone through,

2:54:03 ↗ we only meet quarterly so we're not

2:54:05 ↗ meeting until March. And then the third

2:54:07 ↗ piece is Eastside Fire and Rescue. Um I

2:54:11 ↗ am the vice chair there. And uh really

2:54:14 ↗ in the last meeting we talked about um

2:54:17 ↗ board priorities trying to get a set of

2:54:20 ↗ understanding of what our priorities

2:54:22 ↗ were. The um administration talked about

2:54:25 ↗ a few things such as the budget,

2:54:27 ↗ long-term financing or funding

2:54:29 ↗ strategies including um potential

2:54:31 ↗ transition to an RFA model, the facility

2:54:35 ↗ needs for headquarters, regional growth,

2:54:38 ↗ etc. So that was just um presenting the

2:54:41 ↗ ideas. We're going to get the feedback.

2:54:42 ↗ So, if you have any ideas of what you

2:54:45 ↗ think the priorities should be for East

2:54:47 ↗ Side Fire and Rescue Board, I would love

2:54:49 ↗ to hear that. Um, and then that is going

2:54:51 ↗ to be decided at our next meeting in

2:54:54 ↗ February. And that concludes my report.

2:54:57 ↗ >> Excellent. Deputy President Marks.

2:54:59 ↗ >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. The Sound Cities

2:55:02 ↗ Association public issues committee will

2:55:04 ↗ not be or did not meet in January, but

2:55:06 ↗ the Sound Cities Association Board of

2:55:08 ↗ Directors will be meeting um at a

2:55:11 ↗ unusual time tomorrow morning at 9:00

2:55:13 ↗ a.m. Uh it's going to be a remote

2:55:15 ↗ meeting due to the AWC city action days

2:55:19 ↗ and so many uh uh board of directors

2:55:22 ↗ participating in that. Um and it's

2:55:24 ↗ really housekeeping uh appointments and

2:55:26 ↗ assignments. uh the services, safety,

2:55:29 ↗ and parks committee. Um I suspect that

2:55:31 ↗ after good of the order this evening, I

2:55:33 ↗ will no longer be the chair. U but I

2:55:35 ↗ believe uh if all goes uh to fruition, I

2:55:38 ↗ will be subbing for the chair. Uh it's

2:55:42 ↗ actually a pretty full agenda. COOM202

2:55:45 ↗ is housing investment pool funding

2:55:47 ↗ recommendation. Uh COOM206

2:55:50 ↗ park rules and regulations codification

2:55:52 ↗ introduction. And finally, always one of

2:55:55 ↗ my favorites, uh, 0207 arts grant

2:55:57 ↗ recommendations. This concludes my

2:55:59 ↗ report.

2:56:01 ↗ >> Council President, President D.

2:56:02 ↗ Michelle.

2:56:03 ↗ >> Thank you so much. Um,

2:56:06 ↗ uh, I have been appointed as an

2:56:08 ↗ alternate to the Pugesan Regional

2:56:09 ↗ Council Transportation Policy Board and

2:56:12 ↗ we had a meeting on January the 8th. Uh,

2:56:14 ↗ we received a legislative update. It was

2:56:16 ↗ a pretty typical January meeting. uh we

2:56:19 ↗ had an overview of the TPB and we

2:56:21 ↗ conducted some administrative business

2:56:23 ↗ and talked about items for the 2026 work

2:56:26 ↗ plan. Uh but one thing I would like to

2:56:28 ↗ bring to your attention is that the

2:56:30 ↗ Putisan Regional Council is holding its

2:56:32 ↗ annual meeting on May the 28th and I

2:56:35 ↗ hope you'll put that on your calendar. I

2:56:37 ↗ attended last year. It was really

2:56:38 ↗ informative and the focus uh this coming

2:56:41 ↗ year is going to be on transportation.

2:56:44 ↗ So, um they're they will have a regional

2:56:46 ↗ transportation plan that they'll be

2:56:48 ↗ presenting to the body. So, I hope

2:56:49 ↗ everybody will put that on their

2:56:51 ↗ calendar. Uh I was also appointed to the

2:56:53 ↗ regional transit committee. This is my

2:56:55 ↗ fourth year, I believe, on that. And uh

2:56:58 ↗ I currently serve as the vice chair of

2:57:01 ↗ the regional transit committee and chair

2:57:03 ↗ of the sound cities association caucus.

2:57:06 ↗ Um the meeting however this month was

2:57:09 ↗ cancelled because of the AWC conference.

2:57:12 ↗ Uh there was a conflict. So, we will not

2:57:14 ↗ be meeting until February. And then

2:57:17 ↗ finally, I was appointed to my second

2:57:19 ↗ year on the Seattle King County Board of

2:57:21 ↗ Health. And uh last year I was an

2:57:23 ↗ alternate alternate and this year I'm a

2:57:25 ↗ voting member. And our meeting was uh

2:57:28 ↗ rescheduled to January the 29th. So I'll

2:57:31 ↗ report on that at our February meeting.

2:57:34 ↗ And that concludes my report.

2:57:36 ↗ >> Thank you. The next item of business is

2:57:38 ↗ the mayor's report. I did attend the

2:57:40 ↗ Peterson Regional Council Growth

2:57:41 ↗ Management Planning Board meeting this

2:57:44 ↗ month and next month we will be up for

2:57:46 ↗ our regional center designation to have

2:57:48 ↗ it re-uped. And so staff I've already

2:57:50 ↗ seen has prepared that they the meeting

2:57:53 ↗ we went to last week there was 12

2:57:55 ↗ cities. Eight kind of got reapproved

2:57:58 ↗ recommendations without any changes and

2:58:00 ↗ four were told the things they wanted to

2:58:02 ↗ see different. So, I think our goal is

2:58:04 ↗ at the February meeting to fall into the

2:58:06 ↗ the group that gets suggested

2:58:08 ↗ reappointed based on what we've

2:58:09 ↗ submitted. Um, boards and commissions

2:58:12 ↗ applications are open and if you're

2:58:14 ↗ interested in making a difference in our

2:58:15 ↗ community or looking for a volunteer

2:58:16 ↗ opportunity, consider applying to serve

2:58:19 ↗ on a city board or commission. We are

2:58:21 ↗ accepting applications to positions on

2:58:23 ↗ 13 advisory boards that provide policy

2:58:26 ↗ input on issues ranging from equity to

2:58:28 ↗ transportation. Those applications are

2:58:30 ↗ open up until 11:59 p.m. Not midnight.

2:58:34 ↗ Midnight's a minute too late. 11:59 p.m.

2:58:36 ↗ on February 15th, 2026. And you can get

2:58:39 ↗ more information on the city's website,

2:58:40 ↗ isquawa.gov.

2:58:42 ↗ The community meeting this Saturday, uh,

2:58:44 ↗ January 24th, 11:00 a.m. at Gibson Hall

2:58:47 ↗ is to discuss recent events related to

2:58:49 ↗ immigration officials return to Isukqua.

2:58:51 ↗ I'll be joined by King County Council

2:58:52 ↗ Chair Sarah Perry, some members of the

2:58:54 ↗ Isqua City Council, members of our state

2:58:56 ↗ legislative delegation. We're going to

2:58:58 ↗ share available information and answer

2:59:00 ↗ residents questions. This meeting will

2:59:01 ↗ be held at Gibson Hall, 150 Newport Way

2:59:04 ↗ Southwest by the hatchery. And that will

2:59:07 ↗ begin at 11:00 a.m. And that concludes

2:59:10 ↗ the mayor's report and our final item of

2:59:14 ↗ business is good of the order. ID1 1957

2:59:18 ↗ 2026 city council appointments. Council

2:59:22 ↗ President D. Michelle, would you like to

2:59:23 ↗ announce the appointments?

2:59:25 ↗ >> I do. I don't have them in front of me,

2:59:26 ↗ but I think I know them by heart at this

2:59:28 ↗ point. So, um uh and then I will have a

2:59:32 ↗ motion uh to uh approve. So, the

2:59:35 ↗ appointments at uh uh at this point are

2:59:39 ↗ uh for the planning, development, and

2:59:41 ↗ environment committee. Uh chair would be

2:59:43 ↗ council member Jen and the other members

2:59:45 ↗ will be council member Barts and Council

2:59:48 ↗ Member Nichols. Uh for the mobility

2:59:50 ↗ committee, the chair will be council

2:59:52 ↗ member Joe. uh myself and council member

2:59:55 ↗ Adair.

2:59:57 ↗ Thank you for your service.

3:00:00 ↗ And then for the services, safety, and

3:00:02 ↗ parks uh committee, uh council member

3:00:05 ↗ Walsh will be the chair and council

3:00:06 ↗ member Barnes uh will be serving on that

3:00:09 ↗ uh committee and council member Nichols.

3:00:12 ↗ Um and so uh because of the uh rules

3:00:16 ↗ that we currently have regarding um uh

3:00:20 ↗ the deputy council president uh not

3:00:23 ↗ serving in on two committees and and he

3:00:26 ↗ is willing to do to serve on two

3:00:28 ↗ committees. Uh I am going to move to

3:00:31 ↗ approve an exception to the city council

3:00:33 ↗ rules of procedure section 2.04 04

3:00:36 ↗ appointment standing committees to allow

3:00:39 ↗ a member of council leadership to be

3:00:40 ↗ appointed to two standing committees in

3:00:42 ↗ 2026.

3:00:44 ↗ >> Is there a second?

3:00:45 ↗ >> Second.

3:00:46 ↗ >> Seconded by council member Joe. Is there

3:00:48 ↗ any council discussion?

3:00:51 ↗ Not seeing any.

3:00:54 ↗ >> Oh, Council President E. Michelle.

3:00:56 ↗ >> Okay. First of all, thank you to

3:00:57 ↗ everybody. Uh I I it is just such a

3:01:00 ↗ pleasure to work with uh this group of

3:01:02 ↗ individuals and uh it took uh a lot of

3:01:05 ↗ discussion and talking of where do

3:01:07 ↗ people want to serve and so forth but we

3:01:09 ↗ arrived there and I really think we've

3:01:11 ↗ got a very strong lineup for this year.

3:01:14 ↗ Uh I also wanted to mention that uh we

3:01:16 ↗ have approved uh um an audit committee

3:01:20 ↗ and we did not seek members for the

3:01:22 ↗ audit committee because um the city

3:01:25 ↗ clerk and I are going to work on a

3:01:26 ↗ charter for that committee. uh what

3:01:28 ↗ exactly are they going to do? How many

3:01:30 ↗ times are they going to meet? And when

3:01:31 ↗ we get that charter uh ready for your

3:01:33 ↗ approval and after we've approved it,

3:01:36 ↗ then we will seek members to the audit

3:01:38 ↗ committee. Um and so uh I know that

3:01:41 ↗ there will be some um we we will be

3:01:45 ↗ working on some word smithing for the

3:01:47 ↗ council rules of procedure in addition

3:01:49 ↗ to the audit committee. There are some

3:01:51 ↗ other adjustments that need to be made.

3:01:53 ↗ Um, so, uh, anyway, thanks to everybody

3:01:56 ↗ and, uh, we're looking forward to a

3:01:58 ↗ really great year. Thank you,

3:02:00 ↗ >> Council Member Walsh.

3:02:02 ↗ >> Yeah, I will just note this is, I

3:02:04 ↗ believe, our fourth year, um, with these

3:02:06 ↗ rules. It's our fourth time um, having

3:02:09 ↗ this exception and so I hope that we

3:02:12 ↗ will have a chance to address this,

3:02:14 ↗ which I'm sure we will, just noting that

3:02:17 ↗ this has historically been our practice

3:02:20 ↗ um, by right, not by rule. So

3:02:24 ↗ >> very good point. Uh there's no further

3:02:26 ↗ discussion. The motion for the council

3:02:27 ↗ is to approve an exception of the city

3:02:29 ↗ council rules and procedure section 2.04

3:02:31 ↗ appointment standing committees to allow

3:02:33 ↗ a member of the council leadership to be

3:02:34 ↗ appointed to two standing committees in

3:02:36 ↗ 2026. All those in favor say I.

3:02:39 ↗ >> I.

3:02:41 ↗ >> All those opposed? Nay. That passes

3:02:43 ↗ unanimously. Does anyone else have

3:02:45 ↗ anything else for good of the order?

3:02:49 ↗ Deputy President Marks.

3:02:51 ↗ >> Sure. I I just want to say I was really

3:02:54 ↗ impressed tonight hearing so as a

3:02:56 ↗ longtime SCA member um hearing so many

3:02:59 ↗ of you and the new appointments that

3:03:01 ↗ people have and uh I'll be excited as

3:03:04 ↗ Paul gets opportunities. Um Isiqua we

3:03:08 ↗ are back up to punching above our weight

3:03:10 ↗ so to speak. um so many of us involved

3:03:12 ↗ in so many critical regional um

3:03:15 ↗ committees and and you know thinking

3:03:18 ↗ back historically over the years and and

3:03:20 ↗ back to Mayor Fryzinger um who got us on

3:03:23 ↗ on this path of of of always being well

3:03:26 ↗ represented regionally it just warms my

3:03:28 ↗ heart so much. So I just wanted to I was

3:03:30 ↗ just really moved to hear it from so

3:03:32 ↗ many people and to think about um Paul

3:03:34 ↗ joining that uh that rich tradition.

3:03:37 ↗ >> I could not agree more. It's it's a good

3:03:39 ↗ future ahead. Okay. So, I'd like to

3:03:41 ↗ announce the next upcoming council

3:03:43 ↗ meeting will be February 2nd at 7:00.

3:03:45 ↗ The anticipated agenda items are the

3:03:47 ↗ 2025 Arch Trust Fund. And with there

3:03:50 ↗ being no other further business before

3:03:53 ↗ this council, we are adjourned at 10:04.

Approved minutes

Extracted from the next meeting's packet, where this meeting's minutes were approved as a consent-calendar attachment.

Open PDF

Attendance

Council / Members (6)

Barbara de Michele

Kelly Jiang

Russell Joe

Tola Marts

Kevin Nichols

and Councilmember Lindsey Walsh

Staff (2)

Wally Bobkiewicz, City Administrator, Andrea Lehner, Deputy City Administrator

Rachel Bender Turpin, City Attorney

Motions and votes (4)

approve the consent agenda as presented.

Moved by Council President de Michele · seconded by Deputy Council President Marts

Carried 6-0

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Lindsey Walsh

Approve Resolution No. 2026- 05, supporting the Issaquah School District’s levies, Proposition Nos. 1, 2 and 3, scheduled for the February 10, 2026, special election.

Moved by Council President de Michele · seconded by Councilmember Nichols

Carried 6-0

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Walsh

Approve an exception to the City Council Rules of Procedure Section 2.04, Appointments, Standing Committees, to allow a member of Council leadership to be appointed to two standing committees in 2026.

Moved by Council President de Michele · seconded by Councilmember Joe

Carried 7-0

In favor: Paul Adair, Barbara de Michele, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Walsh

Appoint Paul Adair to Council Position No. 2.

Moved by Councilmember Walsh · seconded by Councilmember Jiang

Carried 6-0

In favor: Barbara de Michele, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Walsh