City Council Regular Meeting · Monday, June 15, 2026 · City Council Digest

3. SPECIAL BUSINESS

Juneteenth Day Proclamation ID 2029

5 min · packet pp.5

▶ Watch from 17:51 Open packet at p.5 ↗

Staff report:

SPECIAL BUSINESS a) CITY OF ISSAQUAH Mayor's Office 130 E. Sunset Way WASHINGTON Issaquah, WA 98027 425-837-3000 issaquahwa.gov

Recognition of Hall of Fame Recipient Fred Nystrom ID 2035

5 min

▶ Watch from 20:07

Recognition of Deputy City Administrator Andrea Lehner ID 2054

5 min

▶ Watch from 22:23

5. CONSENT CALENDAR

Accounts: Payables and Payroll of June 15, 2026, $6,958,541.77 ID 1969

Carried 7-0

Approve · packet pp.7–14

Topics: Budget

▶ Watch from 30:16 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 Marts · seconded by Councilmember Joe

In favor: Paul Adair, Erika Boyd, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Lindsey Walsh

Minutes: City Council Special Meeting, April 20, 2026

Carried 7-0

Approve · packet pp.15

Previously discussed: City Council Regular Meeting · May 4, 2026 City Council Regular Meeting · May 9, 2026

▶ Watch from 35:40 Open packet at p.15 ↗

Staff report:

CONSENT CALENDAR b) 04-20-26 City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page (0000) CITY OF ISSAQUAH City Council Special Meeting 5:30 PM Rainier Trail Dog Park, next to April 20, 2026 Issaquah Community Center, MINUTES 301 Rainier Blvd S, Issaquah

Roll call:

Moved by Council President Marts · seconded by Councilmember Joe

In favor: Paul Adair, Erika Boyd, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Lindsey Walsh

Minutes: City Council Regular Meeting, May 18, 2026

Carried 7-0

Approve · packet pp.17–20

Previously discussed: City Council Regular Meeting · May 4, 2026 City Council Regular Meeting · May 9, 2026

▶ Watch from 41:03 Open packet at p.17 ↗

Staff report:

CONSENT CALENDAR c) 05-18-26 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page (0000) CITY OF ISSAQUAH City Council Regular Meeting 7:00 PM Council Chambers, 135 E. May 18, 2026 MINUTES Sunset Way, Issaquah WA

Roll call:

Moved by Council President Marts · seconded by Councilmember Joe

In favor: Paul Adair, Erika Boyd, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Lindsey Walsh

Minutes: City Council Committee of the Whole Meeting, June 8, 2026

Carried 7-0

Approve · packet pp.21–22

▶ Watch from 46:27 Open packet at p.21 ↗

Staff report:

CONSENT CALENDAR d) 06-08-26 City Council Committee of the Whole Page (0000) Minutes CITY OF ISSAQUAH City Council Committee-of-the-Whole 6:30 PM Council Chambers, 135 E. June 8, 2026 MINUTES Sunset Way, Issaquah WA

Roll call:

Moved by Council President Marts · seconded by Councilmember Joe

In favor: Paul Adair, Erika Boyd, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Lindsey Walsh

Washington State Historical Society Heritage Capital Grant Program Application AB 9206

Carried 7-0

Approve Resolution · packet pp.23–27

▶ Watch from 51:51 Open packet at p.23 ↗

Staff report:

The City of Issaquah seeks to update the HVAC system at the historic Issaquah Depot by decommissioning the existing natural gas furnace, installing energy efficient heat pump systems, and adding insulation to the facility as needed.

Roll call:

Moved by Council President Marts · seconded by Councilmember Joe

In favor: Paul Adair, Erika Boyd, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Lindsey Walsh

Declaring Issaquah a Purple Heart City AB 9208

Carried 7-0

Approve Resolution · packet pp.29–32

▶ Watch from 57:15 Open packet at p.29 ↗

Staff report:

Cities across the country declare themselves to be 'Purple Heart' cities to honor the sacrifices of the recipients of the Purple Heart. This is a public, educational gesture in support of the military veteran community.

Roll call:

Moved by Council President Marts · seconded by Councilmember Joe

In favor: Paul Adair, Erika Boyd, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Lindsey Walsh

6. PUBLIC HEARING

2027-2032 Six-Year Transportation Improvement Program AB 9135

Carried 7-0

Conduct Public Hearing; Approve Resolution · 40 min · packet pp.33–110

Topics: Transportation

Previously discussed: Mobility & Infrastructure Committee · May 14, 2025 Transportation Advisory Board · Mar 25, 2026 Environmental Board · Apr 16, 2026

Open packet at p.33 ↗

Staff report:

The Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) outlines the City’s six-year plan for transportation capital projects, including estimated costs, funding sources, and anticipated timelines for planning, design, right-of-way, and construction. It serves primarily as a planning and funding strategy—identifying projects eligible for federal, state, and local funding— while actual funding decisions are made through the City’s biennial budget process. Project timing and priorities may change over time due to funding availability, project readiness, coordination with partner agencies, and updated cost estimates. A more detailed overview of the TIP, including how projects are prioritized and funded, was presented to the Transportation Advisory Board at their January meeting.

Roll call:

Moved by Council President Marts · seconded by Councilmember Joe

In favor: Paul Adair, Erika Boyd, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Walsh

10. GOOD OF THE ORDER

10a

Upcoming Council Meetings

▶ Watch from 1:15:41

11. EXECUTIVE SESSION

11a

Executive Session Pending/Potential Litigation per RCW ID 2039

15 min

▶ Watch from 1:16:39

11b

Executive Session - Qualifications of an Applicant for Public Employment per RCW 42.30.110(1)(g) ID 2057

15 min

▶ Watch from 1:16:57

1796 segments .txt ↗

0:15 ↗ Look at that. We're right on time.

0:19 ↗ Welcome everyone. I'll call the June

0:21 ↗ 15th uh Isqua City Council meeting to

0:22 ↗ order. And there are no excused absences

0:25 ↗ this evening. And we're going to start

0:27 ↗ with the pledge of allegiance. So I

0:29 ↗ welcome you to join me.

0:33 ↗ I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

0:36 ↗ United States of America and to the

0:38 ↗ republic for which it stands, one nation

0:42 ↗ under God, indivisible, with liberty and

0:45 ↗ justice for all.

0:49 ↗ >> And our first item of business tonight

0:51 ↗ is going to be ID 2035, recognation of

0:55 ↗ recognition of Isqua Hall of Fame

0:56 ↗ recipient Fred Nestrom. So Fred, I'm

0:59 ↗ going to have you meet me up front at

1:00 ↗ the podium.

1:19 ↗ So tonight we recognize Fred Nestrom as

1:21 ↗ an inductee into the Isqua Hall of Fame.

1:23 ↗ For more than 40 years, Fred has been a

1:25 ↗ tireless volunteer and community leader.

1:27 ↗ His decades of service with the Isqua

1:29 ↗ Schools Foundation, the Rotary Club of

1:31 ↗ Isqua, and many other community efforts

1:33 ↗ have positively impacted countless

1:34 ↗ community members. Fred represents the

1:36 ↗ very best of Isqua, and we are grateful

1:38 ↗ for his lifelong commitment to helping

1:40 ↗ others. On behalf of the city of Isqua,

1:42 ↗ thank you very much, Fred, for your

1:44 ↗ extraordinary contributions and

1:45 ↗ congratulations on this welldeserved

1:47 ↗ honor. And we have a certificate. We're

1:51 ↗ going to do a photo.

1:54 ↗ All about the photos.

1:58 ↗ And to show how efficient city of Isqua

2:00 ↗ government is, the Hall of Fame plaque

2:02 ↗ behind council member Boyd already has

2:04 ↗ Fred's name on there. Has already

2:07 ↗ happened and

2:11 ↗ it's all yours. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh

2:14 ↗ to the council members, to Trisha, to

2:17 ↗ Wall-E, and to my fellow citizens, it's

2:20 ↗ a real honor for me to be here tonight.

2:23 ↗ Um when we Marty and I arrived here

2:28 ↗ 42 years ago, Esiqua was a very

2:31 ↗ different community. It has grown

2:34 ↗ beautifully. Thanks a lot to people who

2:37 ↗ were once sitting in chairs who decided

2:39 ↗ to get involved,

2:41 ↗ ended up on council positions or other

2:44 ↗ places where their vision could help

2:47 ↗ Isiqua grow. with me tonight. My wife

2:51 ↗ Marty in the bright blue dress.

2:55 ↗ >> Marty, you have to wave.

2:56 ↗ >> Yeah.

2:58 ↗ I have um my cousins Peter and Lorie

3:02 ↗ Skogland from Minnesota. And I would

3:04 ↗ like to say that they flew out for this,

3:07 ↗ but actually they're taking a cruise to

3:08 ↗ Alaska and just happen to be in town.

3:11 ↗ But I think that counts really. And my

3:14 ↗ daughter McKenna. I can't say enough

3:17 ↗ good things about McKenna. She's the one

3:20 ↗ who nominated me, much to my surprise,

3:24 ↗ and then did my acceptance speech at the

3:27 ↗ community awards banquet because Marty

3:29 ↗ and I were celebrating our 40th wedding

3:31 ↗ anniversary in Hawaii. And had we known,

3:35 ↗ we still would have stayed in Hawaii.

3:39 ↗ And behind them, or next to them, Matt

3:42 ↗ Funk and Ally Shields, McKenna's

3:44 ↗ roommates. They are new Isiqua residents

3:47 ↗ over the last two or three years. So,

3:49 ↗ we'll see if we can get them hooked into

3:51 ↗ some volunteer work. Uh I think they're

3:53 ↗ ripe for it.

3:56 ↗ This has been a wonderful journey for

3:59 ↗ our family in town.

4:01 ↗ It's been through a lot of ups and downs

4:04 ↗ from people loving and hating trees all

4:06 ↗ the way through to where we are with

4:08 ↗ some of the bigger more substantive

4:11 ↗ issues. Um, I want to point out um

4:16 ↗ particularly Marty and Chris Felstead. I

4:19 ↗ don't see him here yet. Um, Chris was

4:22 ↗ the commander of our police department

4:23 ↗ for many years. And after we lost our

4:26 ↗ son Tyler in 94 to suicide, we tried to

4:31 ↗ figure out how can we a heal, but how

4:35 ↗ can we give back to the community in a

4:37 ↗ way that changes things? And we found

4:40 ↗ out that the fifth grade teachers could

4:43 ↗ already identify students who weren't

4:45 ↗ going to make it through school. They

4:47 ↗ weren't going to get out of high school.

4:49 ↗ So we focused on them. We cobbled

4:51 ↗ together a scholarship and we chose the

4:55 ↗ DARE student of the year/titerister

4:58 ↗ memorial scholarship

5:01 ↗ and we introduced it in front of all

5:03 ↗ their classmates. And when we announced

5:06 ↗ the winner of this dear student of the

5:07 ↗ word, there were audible, you know,

5:10 ↗ surprise on most students face because

5:12 ↗ the person who got it was not a leader.

5:16 ↗ They weren't the most popular. They were

5:18 ↗ sometimes the quiet kid who sat in the

5:21 ↗ back of the room and didn't say didn't

5:23 ↗ say much. But we said the reason they

5:26 ↗ got it because they had great leadership

5:28 ↗ potential.

5:30 ↗ And then Chris few days later would take

5:32 ↗ the students out for lunch and ends up

5:34 ↗ having to be it was the community awards

5:37 ↗ banquet. So they got to be introduced in

5:39 ↗ front of the whole community have their

5:41 ↗ picture taken in the Isiqua press and

5:46 ↗ take a guess now out of the 50 students.

5:50 ↗ Oh pardon me I there's one other thing

5:52 ↗ we sent them to camp or Kyla for a week.

5:56 ↗ Um and we raised money through Rotary

5:59 ↗ and friends donations and again we

6:03 ↗ positioned it was because of their

6:05 ↗ leadership potential.

6:07 ↗ Over the years we sent 50 kids and each

6:10 ↗ one was an atrisisk kid. And anybody

6:13 ↗ want to venture or guess on how many

6:15 ↗ have made it out of high school?

6:18 ↗ What percentage or number?

6:21 ↗ Well, I'll help you out.

6:23 ↗ 100% of them graduated from high school.

6:26 ↗ And it wasn't any magic. The the real

6:29 ↗ sauce that made the whole thing work was

6:32 ↗ for us as outsiders to see something in

6:36 ↗ that child that they didn't see in

6:38 ↗ themselves.

6:40 ↗ And when they hit dark times in their

6:43 ↗ lives, they could remember, I was I was

6:46 ↗ given an award for leadership potential.

6:49 ↗ And it helped pull them through.

6:51 ↗ So that's probably the thing that I'm

6:54 ↗ proudest of of the things that I've done

6:56 ↗ over the years and we've been kicking

6:59 ↗ around the idea, is it time to start

7:02 ↗ that again because the problem hasn't

7:03 ↗ gone away. So humbly thank all of you.

7:07 ↗ Thanks to the community. It's been a

7:10 ↗ great place to live and I plan to stick

7:13 ↗ around for a little bit longer. Thank

7:15 ↗ you very much.

7:26 ↗ See, that shows why Fred was so

7:28 ↗ deserving of the award. That's a great

7:30 ↗ story. I had not heard that story

7:31 ↗ before. Uh we next want to do ID 2054,

7:35 ↗ recognition of deputy city administrator

7:37 ↗ Andrea Leonard. And before we have

7:40 ↗ Andrea, yes, you can come on up. And uh

7:42 ↗ but before we have our city

7:43 ↗ administrator uh Wall-Ally make

7:45 ↗ comments, we are going to invite Souami

7:47 ↗ Mayor Jim Mayhew to come up and uh he is

7:49 ↗ asked to address the council. Mayor

7:51 ↗ Mayhew, the lectern is yours. Yes,

8:00 ↗ mayor. Um council members, thank you for

8:02 ↗ allowing allowing me a moment to join

8:04 ↗ you this evening. For those who may not

8:07 ↗ know me, I'm Jim Mayhew, mayor of

8:09 ↗ Snowqualami.

8:11 ↗ I'm here this evening because your

8:13 ↗ deputy city administrator, Andrea

8:15 ↗ Leonard, has accepted an appointment to

8:18 ↗ serve as Snowquami's next city

8:19 ↗ administrator.

8:21 ↗ On behalf of the residents of

8:22 ↗ Snowqualami, I want to thank you for the

8:24 ↗ role that you've played in Andrea's

8:27 ↗ development as a local uh government

8:29 ↗ leader and for the opportunities you

8:32 ↗ provided her throughout her career. Over

8:35 ↗ 12 years with Isqua, Andrea was given

8:37 ↗ opportun opportunities to grow as a

8:39 ↗ leader, uh take on increasing

8:41 ↗ responsibility

8:43 ↗ and help guide one of our region's

8:44 ↗ leading cities.

8:46 ↗ As Snowqualami conducted its search for

8:48 ↗ a new administrator, it became clear

8:50 ↗ that Andrea possesses the leadership,

8:53 ↗ judgment, and experience needed for the

8:55 ↗ role.

8:57 ↗ While we are fortunate, she is fortunate

8:59 ↗ that she has accepted the appointment,

9:01 ↗ uh that opportunity is in many ways a

9:04 ↗ reflection of the investment you made in

9:06 ↗ her throughout her career. The good news

9:08 ↗ is that Andrea is not leaving the

9:10 ↗ region. uh the relationships,

9:12 ↗ partnerships, and collaboration that are

9:15 ↗ so important among neighboring

9:16 ↗ communities will continue and I know

9:19 ↗ both of our cities will benefit from

9:21 ↗ that. Thank you for the opportunities

9:24 ↗ you provided Andrea throughout her

9:25 ↗ career and for the investment you made

9:27 ↗ in her development as a local government

9:30 ↗ leader. The experience she gained and

9:32 ↗ the contributions she made here have

9:34 ↗ prepared her for this next chapter of

9:36 ↗ public service. We look forward to

9:39 ↗ working with her and continuing the

9:41 ↗ strong relationships between our two

9:43 ↗ cities.

9:52 ↗ Wally, it's all yours.

10:08 ↗ Uh first uh let me say Mr. Mayor that

10:11 ↗ was a incredible first of all thank you

10:14 ↗ for coming but that was an incredible

10:16 ↗ remarks. Uh I've been doing this a long

10:18 ↗ time. I've never heard of a mayor from

10:20 ↗ another community coming and saying such

10:22 ↗ kind things about uh uh taking a staff

10:25 ↗ member from his community. So

10:29 ↗ it takes the edge off just a little bit.

10:31 ↗ Um, Andrea uh first came uh to Isiqua on

10:36 ↗ April 23rd, 2012 as the city's economic

10:39 ↗ development manager, a st position she

10:42 ↗ filled for 5 years. Uh and then after uh

10:45 ↗ some time where she thought the grass

10:47 ↗ was greener in another uh Seattle area

10:50 ↗ community, Andrea was rehired on April

10:52 ↗ 16th, 2019 as the deputy city

10:55 ↗ administrator. So uh with those two

10:57 ↗ stints and as you know we have several

10:59 ↗ folks around who have had multiple

11:01 ↗ stints um we count them all together. So

11:04 ↗ 12 years uh serving the residents of

11:07 ↗ Isiqua. Uh as economic development

11:09 ↗ manager uh she was very involved in the

11:11 ↗ uh growth of the presence of Costco here

11:14 ↗ in the community. U she uh began the

11:17 ↗ reimagining and finally redevelopment of

11:18 ↗ pedestrian park uh and the updated uh

11:21 ↗ downtown streetscape. Uh Andrea also uh

11:24 ↗ used I think one of the the most

11:26 ↗ important qualities of any economic

11:28 ↗ development manager and that's love and

11:30 ↗ I think she was well known and continues

11:32 ↗ to be well known of reaching out and

11:33 ↗ connecting individually with businesses

11:35 ↗ and that was another mark of her time as

11:38 ↗ economic development manager. Uh she

11:40 ↗ then came back in 2019 as deputy city

11:42 ↗ administrator. Um, and there are several

11:45 ↗ things I want to talk about, but really,

11:48 ↗ uh, the transit oriented development

11:49 ↗ opportunity center project is probably

11:53 ↗ her greatest legacy. I was hired as your

11:55 ↗ city administrator toward the end of

11:57 ↗ 2019. Um, and one of my first meetings

12:00 ↗ with council president Mart was, "So,

12:02 ↗ what's going on with that to OC

12:05 ↗ project?" And I went to Andrea and she

12:08 ↗ said, "Well, you know, we haven't heard

12:10 ↗ much about it. You know, I think it's

12:11 ↗ just dead." And I said, 'Well, no, we we

12:14 ↗ we got to continue to work on that. Uh,

12:16 ↗ and Andrea said, 'Well, maybe I can look

12:18 ↗ into it. Um, and she regretted that that

12:22 ↗ and when she took took a POS meeting for

12:24 ↗ me. I think those were the two things

12:26 ↗ when she reflects on her time in a spa.

12:28 ↗ Um, but, uh, her tenacity, her refus

12:33 ↗ refusal to hear no on that project is

12:36 ↗ the single most important reason, uh,

12:38 ↗ that we are going to be having a

12:40 ↗ groundbreaking for that project this

12:41 ↗ summer. So, Andrea, uh, I'll talk about

12:44 ↗ some more accomplishments in a moment,

12:45 ↗ but we really need to pause and thank

12:47 ↗ you for your contribution to this

12:50 ↗ community that will be here for a very

12:51 ↗ long time. So, thank you for everything

12:53 ↗ you did to bring the TODC project to

12:55 ↗ school.

13:00 ↗ Uh, in addition, she's kind of sprinkled

13:03 ↗ her magic in all sorts of departments.

13:04 ↗ She worked with our community planning

13:06 ↗ and development department uh, to kind

13:08 ↗ of help bring it. If you recall, it was

13:10 ↗ development services. Uh she helped

13:12 ↗ reimagine that as our community planning

13:14 ↗ and development department, bringing

13:15 ↗ more of our engineering expertise in

13:17 ↗ house. Uh and really helped lay the

13:19 ↗ groundwork for the title 18 update. Uh

13:22 ↗ she worked with our public works

13:23 ↗ department, serving at one point as

13:24 ↗ interim director uh as we merged the two

13:27 ↗ departments, public works engineering

13:28 ↗ and public works operations together and

13:31 ↗ established a more collaborative working

13:32 ↗ relationship between our engineers and

13:34 ↗ our operators. Um she worked with this

13:37 ↗ the staff advisory boards, community

13:39 ↗ task forces, almost too many uh to name,

13:41 ↗ but dealing with infrastructure and CIP

13:44 ↗ and budget over the course of her time

13:46 ↗ here. In addition to serving as interim

13:48 ↗ public works director, she also did a

13:50 ↗ year as interim finance director. Um and

13:52 ↗ then uh icing on top of the cake uh

13:55 ↗ helped save light rail. So Andrea, by

13:58 ↗ any measure, uh your time here in Isiqua

14:02 ↗ has been extraordinary. uh you always

14:05 ↗ focus on the staff. You have been the

14:07 ↗ great keeper of our salmon values and

14:09 ↗ whenever we've had a tough issue arise

14:12 ↗ uh she always points to the salmon

14:13 ↗ values and says you know what how do we

14:16 ↗ measure what we're doing against those

14:18 ↗ values. Um, it's been one of the great

14:20 ↗ pleasures uh and honors of my career in

14:23 ↗ local government to work with you uh

14:25 ↗ during our time together in this. And on

14:27 ↗ behalf of uh all of us, Mayor Mullet has

14:30 ↗ a presentation.

14:35 ↗ We now get to do the thing you're

14:37 ↗ normally watching and that's you receive

14:39 ↗ a plaque.

14:41 ↗ So, how uh Wally, did you want to

14:49 ↗ Oh,

14:50 ↗ >> he's getting a whole He's mixing it up.

14:52 ↗ The highest tribute.

15:02 ↗ >> Okay, now the mic is yours.

15:08 ↗ Well, uh, thank you so much.

15:13 ↗ Uh, you know, I had some remarks

15:16 ↗ prepared, but I think Wall-E pretty much

15:18 ↗ said it all in terms of all of my uh uh

15:22 ↗ things that really I have done with the

15:24 ↗ support of this council, past councils,

15:27 ↗ and really a lot of the community um

15:30 ↗ including uh Mr. Nestrom

15:32 ↗ and my economic development today has

15:34 ↗ worked a lot on tourism together. So, um

15:36 ↗ I really just would like to take the

15:38 ↗ opportunity to say thank you. Thank you

15:40 ↗ uh to um all the members of the

15:43 ↗ community who I have been able to work

15:45 ↗ with and learn side by side as we've

15:47 ↗ done some really amazing things together

15:49 ↗ which I think Wally listed off a bunch

15:51 ↗ of them. Um, this community has a wealth

15:55 ↗ of smart, engaged community leaders who

15:58 ↗ all have a very deep love for this

16:00 ↗ community and I'm just have been honored

16:02 ↗ to serve them and to work with them. Uh,

16:05 ↗ including members of council, staff, uh,

16:08 ↗ Wall-E and, uh, Mayor Mullet. So, I just

16:12 ↗ want to say thank you and, uh, thank you

16:14 ↗ for the enormous amount of trust that

16:16 ↗ you have placed in me to tackle the hard

16:18 ↗ stuff and some really fun stuff along

16:19 ↗ the way. um and also for the shared

16:23 ↗ enthusiasm in terms of protecting and

16:25 ↗ maintaining the quality of life that we

16:26 ↗ all enjoy in Isiqua. It's very hard for

16:29 ↗ me to leave uh but I will just be a

16:32 ↗ short trip down the road and really look

16:35 ↗ forward to working with you all as a

16:36 ↗ neighbor. Thank you.

17:49 ↗ Okay. The next item of business is ID

17:51 ↗ 2029, the Junth day proclamation. I want

17:53 ↗ to invite Annie Hudson Knight, a board

17:55 ↗ member and secretary of the Onyx Fine

17:57 ↗ Arts Collective and Gallery to Lectern.

18:00 ↗ Come on up.

18:05 ↗ Come on here.

18:10 ↗ >> Whereas Junth recognizes and

18:12 ↗ commemorates the day of June 19th, 1865

18:15 ↗ when enslaved African-Americans in

18:17 ↗ Galveston, Texas were informed of their

18:19 ↗ emancipation by the Union Army over 2

18:22 ↗ years after President Abraham Lincoln

18:23 ↗ issued the Emancipation Proclamation

18:25 ↗ ending 246 years of chatau slavery. And

18:29 ↗ whereas slavery was formally abolished

18:30 ↗ in the United States by the ratification

18:32 ↗ of the 13th amendment on December 6th,

18:34 ↗ 1865. And whereas on June 19th, 1866,

18:38 ↗ the freed African-Americans in the state

18:40 ↗ of Texas celebrated the first Jubilee

18:42 ↗ Day, the holiday we now known as Junth.

18:45 ↗ And whereas Americans continue the

18:47 ↗ tradition of celebrating Junth

18:49 ↗ Independence Day, as inspiration and

18:50 ↗ encouragement for future generations.

18:52 ↗ And whereas while celebrating Junth is

18:54 ↗ partly about celebrating the liberation

18:56 ↗ of African-Americans, no true

18:58 ↗ celebration can be achieved without our

18:59 ↗ commitment to working together toward

19:01 ↗ equity for all and expanding economic,

19:04 ↗ educational, and career opportunities

19:05 ↗ for everyone in our community. Now,

19:07 ↗ therefore, I, Mark Mullet, mayor of the

19:09 ↗ city of Isqua, do hereby proclaim June

19:11 ↗ 19th, 2026 to be Junth day in the city

19:14 ↗ of Isqua, and I invite the community to

19:15 ↗ join me in the celebration of freedom

19:17 ↗ and commitment to eliminating prejudice

19:20 ↗ everywhere. How many years has this quad

19:22 ↗ been celebrating Junth?

19:25 ↗ >> I don't know the answer to that.

19:26 ↗ >> A couple or or like three years or

19:29 ↗ something like that?

19:29 ↗ >> I think. Yeah, I think two or three. I

19:31 ↗ thought so. Yeah.

19:33 ↗ >> Okay. We're going to do a photo and uh

19:35 ↗ and this is yours to keep the

19:38 ↗ proclamation.

19:38 ↗ >> Oh,

19:43 ↗ thank you.

19:44 ↗ >> Go ahead. You can make your remarks.

19:46 ↗ >> Okay.

19:49 ↗ Oh, I'm so happy to be here. Um, we're

19:53 ↗ so happy having our third art exhibit in

19:55 ↗ Isiqua titled Eyewitness to Greatness,

19:59 ↗ the joys of black arts creativity.

20:01 ↗ That's the title. And we have 14 artists

20:05 ↗ participating in 24 uh works of art on

20:08 ↗ display. It's so good to be at Isiziqua

20:11 ↗ Highlands Blakeley Hall Gallery for the

20:13 ↗ second time and so happy to be here

20:16 ↗ third year. I like coming to Isizakiqua.

20:19 ↗ I was born here in Seattle 78 years ago.

20:22 ↗ I mean in the in Washington 78 years

20:24 ↗ ago, but I like driving to Isiziqua.

20:27 ↗ It's it's like going to another country.

20:32 ↗ >> It's so cool. Yeah. And and I live in

20:34 ↗ Bonnie Lake. But anyway, um uh my

20:38 ↗ brother and uh artist Robert Lever

20:40 ↗ Horton um had uh out of Washington

20:44 ↗ exhibits um one in Sacramento,

20:47 ↗ California in a first time

20:49 ↗ African-American fine art show in autumn

20:52 ↗ 2004. This is part of inspirations for

20:55 ↗ the start of Onyx Fine Arts Collective

20:57 ↗ and Gallery Onyx and in and then the

21:00 ↗ other one was in Baltimore, Maryland in

21:02 ↗ the winter of 2005 at their 10-year

21:06 ↗ Baltimore Black Heritage Art Exhibit.

21:09 ↗ And we were so impressed with that. We

21:11 ↗ because there just weren't there weren't

21:14 ↗ venues that were uh having um uh art

21:19 ↗ exhibits

21:21 ↗ as a as a as a settled

21:25 ↗ situated venue to to celebrate art uh uh

21:31 ↗ African-American artists work and

21:33 ↗ everything. And so we were so impressed

21:35 ↗ to go to that place in in uh Baltimore

21:37 ↗ because it was 10 years old doing that.

21:39 ↗ We thought, "Wow." And the one in

21:41 ↗ Sacramento uh California was that was

21:44 ↗ the first time. I don't think they've

21:45 ↗ they've done that consistently since

21:48 ↗ then. But anyway, um

21:52 ↗ the

21:55 ↗ African-American Fine Art Show in autumn

21:57 ↗ 2004 in Baltimore 2005.

21:59 ↗ Um, Robert was so inspired by these and

22:02 ↗ while he and I were there at the

22:04 ↗ Baltimore exhibit, he said, "When we get

22:07 ↗ home, let's invite artists I know to a

22:09 ↗ meeting to offer them an annual art

22:11 ↗ exhibit to support them as

22:12 ↗ African-American artists." So, we met

22:15 ↗ several at the Rainineer Beach Library

22:16 ↗ in South Seattle and began our first

22:19 ↗ exhibit with seven of them in June 2005

22:23 ↗ at Artist Gallery of Seattle in Pioneer

22:25 ↗ Square where Robert had a membership. We

22:29 ↗ named it Northwest African-American Art

22:32 ↗ Show. By 2007, artists who exhibited

22:36 ↗ with us said we should expand the

22:38 ↗ exhibit to do several exhibits a year

22:41 ↗ versus one annual. And Robert and I were

22:44 ↗ impressed with we we we were wishful

22:46 ↗ that uh people would join us and help us

22:49 ↗ to expand and help us to stay here a

22:51 ↗ lifetime and and and be a venue that's

22:54 ↗ that's here for a for life. And so um

23:00 ↗ we agreed and they renamed it Onyx Fine

23:04 ↗ Arts Collective and Gallery Onyx. We're

23:06 ↗ now celebrating 21 years of existence

23:09 ↗ and so happy that artists expanded us

23:12 ↗ and uh two of our artists are our

23:15 ↗ president and vice president now. They

23:18 ↗ helped start Onyx

23:22 ↗ and we have exhibited uh 800 plus

23:24 ↗ artists by now. So, we're we're just so

23:27 ↗ happy. But now there are a lot more

23:30 ↗ several more um uh art galleries and

23:34 ↗ exhibits that that happened for a

23:36 ↗ African-American artist. Uh whereas in

23:39 ↗ 2005 there weren't any. But now there's

23:42 ↗ several and we're happy about that, too.

23:44 ↗ We're just so happy to be here. And I

23:46 ↗ love coming to Isiziqua. It's such a

23:48 ↗ especially Isqua Highlands. It's so

23:50 ↗ different. It's it's beautiful. The the

23:55 ↗ architecture is beautiful, the houses,

23:57 ↗ the businesses. It's just gorgeous. And

24:00 ↗ I love driving and coming to good scenes

24:02 ↗ like this, you know. Yeah. Thank you.

24:06 ↗ >> Wonderful. Yeah.

24:23 ↗ Oh, Council President Marks 2021 Annie.

24:26 ↗ So, this is yes, five years. And the

24:30 ↗ next item on the agenda is audience

24:32 ↗ comments. And so, for those of you who

24:35 ↗ signed up, you will be called on first.

24:36 ↗ And if you're virtual or on the phone,

24:39 ↗ you can also make audience comments. If

24:41 ↗ it's on the phone, it's star three. And

24:43 ↗ uh and we are going to have a public

24:45 ↗ hearing tonight on the six-year

24:46 ↗ transportation improvement program. And

24:48 ↗ uh and there will be a chance for

24:50 ↗ comments during that public hearing

24:51 ↗ later in the meeting as well. And city

24:55 ↗ clerk, is there anyone signed up for

24:56 ↗ audience comments?

24:58 ↗ >> Yes. Excuse me. Dave Wgner,

25:01 ↗ >> Dave, you know the drill.

25:09 ↗ >> There we go. Thanks, Lindsay. Uh, good

25:12 ↗ evening, council. Uh, my name is David

25:14 ↗ Wagner. I'm a citizen of Isiqua. Uh,

25:18 ↗ live up on Providence Point. The address

25:20 ↗ is 22529

25:22 ↗ Southeast 42nd Terrace.

25:26 ↗ I've lived in Isiqua since 1945.

25:29 ↗ Uh, so I don't know that there's anybody

25:33 ↗ in the room that beats that.

25:35 ↗ Andrea, I got some bad news. And the bad

25:38 ↗ news is uh Isaac and I are members of

25:43 ↗ American Legion Post 79 in Snowqualamy.

25:47 ↗ So you'll see us again. I promise.

25:52 ↗ Um I also have some other bad news. Uh

25:57 ↗ do you know that today a B-52 crashed at

26:00 ↗ Edwards Air Force Base and that killed

26:03 ↗ eight uh airmen? So, we're sorting

26:07 ↗ through all that and I can tell you as a

26:09 ↗ veteran that anytime that happens, uh we

26:13 ↗ all hurt because uh there are comrades.

26:17 ↗ So, if you do pray, please uh include in

26:21 ↗ your prayers tonight the prayers for

26:24 ↗ those families of those eight airmen.

26:27 ↗ And uh

26:30 ↗ and this is just a sad sad day for us.

26:34 ↗ I want to talk to you about Purple

26:36 ↗ Hearts. Tish called me not too long ago

26:39 ↗ asking me, "How many Purple Heart

26:42 ↗ awardes do we have?" Well, first and

26:46 ↗ foremost, let me tell you, none of us

26:49 ↗ got into the service hoping we would win

26:52 ↗ a Purple Heart. Okay?

26:55 ↗ We have probably hundreds out there. I

26:59 ↗ can tell you for our VFW post 3436

27:03 ↗ that we don't have as many. In fact,

27:06 ↗ right now I'm the only one that I know

27:10 ↗ of. So, uh, those numbers are limited.

27:14 ↗ But I want to remind you of something

27:16 ↗ very important.

27:18 ↗ You got a monument right over by the

27:21 ↗ senior center. And on that monument,

27:23 ↗ there's 19 names.

27:26 ↗ Two from World War I. They both got

27:29 ↗ awarded Purple Hearts postumously.

27:34 ↗ There's uh 13 from World War II.

27:38 ↗ 12 of them probably got I wasn't there.

27:42 ↗ Probably got the Purple Heart

27:44 ↗ postumously.

27:46 ↗ One did not. It was a female wasp. She

27:50 ↗ was in training and I am working very

27:54 ↗ very hard to see her get her awards. Uh

27:59 ↗ she's buried in Lake View Cemetery in

28:02 ↗ Seattle. She was killed in a head-on

28:06 ↗ collision on April 16th, 1944.

28:10 ↗ I was born two weeks before that on

28:13 ↗ April 2nd, 1944.

28:16 ↗ But I feel like I know her. I've

28:20 ↗ I'm obsessed with her history and what

28:24 ↗ happened to her. And there's four that

28:27 ↗ were in Vietnam.

28:29 ↗ One EMTT Macdonald and Mayor I think I

28:34 ↗ uh talked to you at one time about how

28:37 ↗ important EMTT was. He's the only MIA

28:40 ↗ that we have from Isakqua missing in

28:44 ↗ action.

28:46 ↗ What you're going to do is pass this

28:49 ↗ ordinance to make this wonderful city we

28:53 ↗ call home a Purple Heart city. You can't

28:58 ↗ even believe what that means to a Purple

29:01 ↗ Heart uh awardee like myself that my

29:05 ↗ hometown is going to be a Purple Heart

29:08 ↗ city.

29:10 ↗ uh especially for our VFW post. They're

29:13 ↗ extremely excited about that. So,

29:17 ↗ whatever magic it is you have to do,

29:20 ↗ please do that tonight. I think you're

29:22 ↗ going to talk about it tonight. At least

29:24 ↗ that's what I saw on the agenda. And I

29:27 ↗ want you to know that our VFW post is

29:30 ↗ extremely honored that you'll remember

29:33 ↗ them.

29:34 ↗ Please uh don't forget our eight airmen

29:37 ↗ and thank you for allowing me to do

29:39 ↗ this.

29:41 ↗ >> Thank you very much Dave and thank you

29:42 ↗ for bringing that to our attention that

29:44 ↗ that was an option to pursue the p

29:46 ↗ purple heart city designation. Uh city

29:49 ↗ clerk next.

29:51 ↗ >> Yes. Uh no one else has signed up in

29:53 ↗ advance. We do have a few members of the

29:55 ↗ public with us virtually but I don't see

29:57 ↗ that any of them are intending to make

29:58 ↗ comments.

29:59 ↗ >> All right. If you're in the room, you

30:01 ↗ want to speak now, wave your hands

30:03 ↗ around orever

30:05 ↗ hold your peace.

30:07 ↗ Okay, with that, audience comments are

30:09 ↗ closed for now. And

30:13 ↗ we're going to now go to the next item,

30:16 ↗ which is our consent calendar. I do not

30:18 ↗ have any remarks on the consent

30:20 ↗ calendar. Do the committee chairs have

30:22 ↗ any remarks on the consent calendar this

30:24 ↗ evening? Looking looking, not seeing

30:26 ↗ any. Uh

30:30 ↗ with that, the consent calendar was

30:31 ↗ distributed to the council in advance.

30:32 ↗ If authorized, the items of consent

30:34 ↗ calendar will be considered together and

30:35 ↗ approved by one motion. Have the

30:37 ↗ payables and payroll been reviewed?

30:40 ↗ >> They have.

30:42 ↗ >> All right. Does any council member want

30:44 ↗ to remove any items from the consent

30:45 ↗ calendar considering under regular

30:47 ↗ business?

30:49 ↗ Not seeing any, I will wait to see if

30:52 ↗ there's a motion. Council President.

30:54 ↗ >> Mr. Mayor, I move we adopt the consent

30:57 ↗ calendar as listed in our agenda this

30:58 ↗ evening.

30:59 ↗ >> Second.

31:00 ↗ >> All right. There has been a motion and a

31:03 ↗ second. All those in favor, please say

31:05 ↗ I.

31:06 ↗ >> I.

31:08 ↗ >> All those opposed, no. And that passes

31:11 ↗ unanimously.

31:12 ↗ Now, the next item of business is public

31:14 ↗ hearing agenda bill 9135, the 2027 2032

31:18 ↗ six-year transportation improvement

31:19 ↗ program. We will now conduct the public

31:22 ↗ hearing. The public hearing on the TIP

31:23 ↗ was conducted on the June 1st city

31:24 ↗ council meeting. The city council then

31:26 ↗ moved to continue the hearing to

31:27 ↗ tonight's meeting. Before moving the

31:29 ↗ public hearing, I'd like to invite

31:30 ↗ Transportation Engineer Manager John

31:31 ↗ Mortensson to provide another

31:34 ↗ presentation.

31:43 ↗ Thank you very much, Mayor. Good

31:45 ↗ evening, council members. I'm John

31:46 ↗ Mortonson, transportation engineering

31:48 ↗ manager.

32:14 ↗ Tonight I'm here to talk about the

32:16 ↗ six-year transportation improvement

32:18 ↗ program.

32:22 ↗ The purpose of tonight's item is to

32:24 ↗ review the updates to the 2027 to 2032

32:28 ↗ transportation improvement program,

32:30 ↗ continue the public hearing on the

32:32 ↗ transportation improvement program as

32:34 ↗ required by state law, and to provide a

32:37 ↗ little bit of additional information

32:38 ↗ based on the discussion from two weeks

32:40 ↗ ago.

32:45 ↗ I want to remind the council the themes

32:47 ↗ of this update, which are to emphasize

32:50 ↗ smaller scale, easier to implement

32:52 ↗ projects, prioritizing maintenance over

32:55 ↗ new construction, and the more extensive

32:57 ↗ use of debt, specifically

33:00 ↗ funded by the transportation benefit

33:02 ↗ district sales tax that does sunset in

33:05 ↗ the future.

33:11 ↗ So as part of giving a little bit of

33:12 ↗ more background, I want to talk about

33:15 ↗ the diff how when the tip was put

33:19 ↗ together, the thought process on

33:21 ↗ balancing the different modes of

33:22 ↗ transportation. As many of you know, the

33:24 ↗ mobility action plan and the

33:26 ↗ transportation element of the

33:27 ↗ comprehensive plan. Those two documents

33:29 ↗ are really tied together and they talk a

33:31 ↗ lot about building up a network that has

33:33 ↗ a lot of multimodal modal choices

33:35 ↗ whether it's transit so people can take

33:37 ↗ bus or light rail

33:39 ↗ or bicycle so people can take their kids

33:43 ↗ to

33:45 ↗ daycare on their cargo bike. Um walking

33:48 ↗ that way people can walk to go see their

33:51 ↗ neighbors or to the grocery store

33:53 ↗ hopefully. Um or also by car. And the

33:57 ↗ the goal is to give it where residents

34:00 ↗ and people who work and come to Isqua to

34:03 ↗ play that they have transportation

34:04 ↗ options, but right now for most Isqua

34:07 ↗ residents, the only option that they

34:09 ↗ have is to travel by car. And so they're

34:13 ↗ having to deal with the brunt of the

34:14 ↗ traffic congestion that the city

34:16 ↗ experiences.

34:18 ↗ And they've been asking for relief. And

34:20 ↗ the

34:22 ↗ community survey from last year, the

34:24 ↗ highest priority from that survey for

34:27 ↗ the city to work on was the flow of

34:29 ↗ traffic on the city streets.

34:36 ↗ And I also want to talk a little bit

34:38 ↗ about the puzzle that was put together

34:40 ↗ for the different revenue sources and

34:44 ↗ that a lot of thought and intention was

34:45 ↗ to put to identify revenue so that way

34:49 ↗ this community could have the maximum

34:51 ↗ benefit. And so projects were matched

34:54 ↗ with different funding sources, whether

34:56 ↗ it's an outside granting agency

34:59 ↗ identifying projects that meet the

35:01 ↗ community's values that are good

35:03 ↗ candidates for our funding partners, but

35:05 ↗ also to utilize the funding sources that

35:07 ↗ the city does have, whether it's the

35:09 ↗ traffic impact fees or the pedestrian

35:11 ↗ and bicycle mitigation fees with the

35:15 ↗ eligible projects. And so I say all this

35:18 ↗ because while it is possible to move

35:20 ↗ revenue from one project to another, it

35:22 ↗ is difficult because

35:24 ↗ project A will have one funding source

35:27 ↗ and project B wouldn't be a good

35:30 ↗ candidate for that funding source from a

35:32 ↗ granting agency or is just not eligible

35:36 ↗ to do that. So I just wanted to put a

35:38 ↗ little bit of context into the revenue

35:40 ↗ puzzle that was put into this six-year

35:42 ↗ TIP.

35:46 ↗ And I also want to talk a little bit

35:47 ↗ about the different bicycle

35:49 ↗ improvements. And some of it is or items

35:52 ↗ that are in the six-year tip. And I also

35:54 ↗ want to call out something that we're

35:56 ↗ doing outside of the six-year

35:57 ↗ transportation improvement program. And

35:59 ↗ that is we're working on updating the

36:01 ↗ street standards to um incorporate the

36:05 ↗ latest for bicycle design, especially at

36:09 ↗ intersections because for bicyclist that

36:10 ↗ is a dangerous place to be at. So, that

36:13 ↗ is something that behind the scenes

36:15 ↗ we're working at um on and it'll be

36:19 ↗ implemented. Um but I also want to

36:22 ↗ highlight some of the all ages and

36:24 ↗ abilities bicycle facilities that will

36:26 ↗ be open for riders during the six-year

36:30 ↗ transportation improvement program time

36:32 ↗ frame. And the first one's the Northwest

36:34 ↗ Seamish Road non-motorized project. This

36:36 ↗ is going to construct a shared use path

36:38 ↗ from 193rd place to Lake Samish State

36:42 ↗ Park. And then the next one's the TR22A

36:46 ↗ Newport Way. This is the first phase of

36:49 ↗ the SR900 to 54th Street project. And so

36:52 ↗ the first phase will go from 17th or

36:54 ↗ SR900.

36:56 ↗ And it'll go to the I want to say the

36:59 ↗ 1800 block. It's going to go about 8 or

37:01 ↗ 900 ft to the west. and it'll have

37:05 ↗ painted bike lanes and then a shared use

37:07 ↗ path. The the shared use path is the one

37:10 ↗ I'm going to highlight as the all ages

37:12 ↗ and abilities, not the painted bike

37:14 ↗ lanes, but they'll serve different

37:16 ↗ bicycle users. And then the Newport Way

37:19 ↗ Maple to Sunset project, the first phase

37:21 ↗ would have protected bike lanes and

37:24 ↗ we're showing it from Maple to south of

37:26 ↗ Holly. And then a small project is

37:30 ↗ extending the shared use path that the

37:33 ↗ Juniper Trail that right now it stops at

37:36 ↗ 7th and going to continue it on to New

37:39 ↗ to Newport Way so that way it can tie in

37:41 ↗ to the improvements on Newport Way.

37:46 ↗ And there have been a lot of questions

37:47 ↗ about project TR12. This is the

37:49 ↗ intersection improvement project at

37:52 ↗ Front and Sunset. And so right now the

37:55 ↗ way that the signal is configured, it's

37:58 ↗ a very inefficient signal and it has

38:01 ↗ what's called split phases where when

38:04 ↗ traffic that is eastbound gets to the

38:06 ↗ signal and they get the green because

38:09 ↗ there's one lane for all of three

38:10 ↗ different directions, people turning

38:12 ↗ left, going straight, and turning right,

38:14 ↗ it means that most of the other

38:17 ↗ movements can't happen at the same time.

38:20 ↗ And so if you think about a intersection

38:22 ↗ is it's only as efficient as its weakest

38:25 ↗ link. Well, this is the weakest link.

38:26 ↗ And that's what this project is really

38:28 ↗ working on is the weakest link to help

38:31 ↗ make this intersection more efficient.

38:34 ↗ It will help move transit. It'll also

38:36 ↗ help residents get around town. Um, but

38:40 ↗ there are also some concerns about

38:42 ↗ pedestrian safety because in order to do

38:44 ↗ it on the southwest corner, we'll most

38:47 ↗ likely need to lose the existing curb

38:49 ↗ bulb out.

38:51 ↗ The good news is that um

38:55 ↗ there's room to put a curb bulb out on

38:57 ↗ the northeast corner, which actually

38:59 ↗ when looking at the traffic counts, it

39:01 ↗ has more pedestrians crossing on the

39:04 ↗ northeast corner than on the

39:08 ↗ southwest corner. But other safety

39:11 ↗ countermeasures are going to be

39:12 ↗ implemented as part of this project. One

39:14 ↗ of them is leading pedestrian interval.

39:16 ↗ This is where the pedestrians are given

39:18 ↗ a three or 4 second head start before

39:21 ↗ traffic in the parallel direction are

39:23 ↗ given a green which gets the pedestrians

39:25 ↗ out in the intersection in a more

39:27 ↗ visible

39:28 ↗ position. And then I mentioned how this

39:31 ↗ intersection because of its current

39:33 ↗ configuration it's inefficient. And so

39:37 ↗ that limits what we can do with the

39:39 ↗ signal timing. So if you think about it,

39:41 ↗ and I'm just going to say let's say that

39:43 ↗ there's 2 minutes for the signal to go

39:46 ↗ through all the different movements. So

39:48 ↗ that's what its cycle is. And so you've

39:51 ↗ got 2 minutes and you're trying to

39:52 ↗ figure out how to best handle the users,

39:56 ↗ whether it's the cars, the buses, or the

39:59 ↗ pedestrians. Well, there's ways that you

40:01 ↗ can make it better for the cars. You

40:04 ↗ could say, "Well, we've got a lot of

40:06 ↗ cars going in the southbound direction,

40:09 ↗ so instead of two minutes, we're going

40:10 ↗ to have two and a half minutes of a

40:13 ↗ cycle." But then for the pedestrians,

40:16 ↗ you have a longer time to wait to cross.

40:19 ↗ Uh, you could also say, well, we're just

40:21 ↗ going to keep it at two minutes because

40:22 ↗ we want to optimize it for the get it

40:25 ↗ have it better for the pedestrians, but

40:27 ↗ then you only have so much time to play

40:30 ↗ with when you have an inefficient leg to

40:32 ↗ an intersection. So, by making this

40:34 ↗ intersection more efficient, it'll allow

40:37 ↗ the traffic engineers who put together

40:39 ↗ the signal timings plans for the city to

40:43 ↗ have more flexibility, whether it's

40:45 ↗ shorter wait times for pedestrians,

40:47 ↗ whether it's faster movements for the

40:49 ↗ bus, that there's it just has a lot of

40:52 ↗ flexibility. And so um right now this

40:56 ↗ project we have a traffic consultant

40:58 ↗ working on doing an evaluation to see we

41:01 ↗ know for sure that the eastbound leg is

41:05 ↗ inefficient and also looking at okay

41:08 ↗ should we also do the parallel

41:09 ↗ improvements on the westbound leg or not

41:13 ↗ and it's going to be a datadriven

41:15 ↗ process. It's going to utilize the goals

41:18 ↗ in the mobility action plan and the

41:20 ↗ priorities and it once it goes to

41:24 ↗ design, this will be a project that will

41:26 ↗ emphasize pedestrian safety and the

41:29 ↗ environment for the pedestrians will be

41:31 ↗ safer once the project is completed than

41:34 ↗ it is today.

41:40 ↗ The recommendation from the

41:41 ↗ administration is to approve resolution

41:45 ↗ 2026-15

41:47 ↗ adopting a six-year transportation

41:49 ↗ improvement program and directing the

41:52 ↗ same to be filed with the state

41:54 ↗ secretary of transportation.

41:58 ↗ The timing and next steps went over this

42:00 ↗ last time where it went to the

42:02 ↗ transportation advisory board and then

42:04 ↗ environmental board mobility and

42:06 ↗ infrastructure committee. We began the

42:08 ↗ public hearing two weeks ago on June

42:10 ↗ 1st. Tonight, the public hearing has

42:13 ↗ been continued

42:15 ↗ with the plan of adoption of the

42:18 ↗ six-year transportation improvement

42:19 ↗ program. There is a June 1st or not June

42:22 ↗ 1st, July 1st deadline to file the TIP

42:26 ↗ or to actually adopt it and then send it

42:29 ↗ to the state of Washington. And then the

42:32 ↗ timeline that staff are looking at are

42:34 ↗ is the July 31st because there is a

42:38 ↗ grant program and the administration is

42:41 ↗ pursuing three grants um for different

42:43 ↗ projects and that is part of applying

42:46 ↗ for this grant program with the

42:48 ↗ transportation improvement board. The

42:50 ↗ projects do need to be on the approved

42:52 ↗ six-year transportation improvement

42:53 ↗ program.

42:56 ↗ And with that, that concludes my

42:58 ↗ presentation.

42:59 ↗ >> All right. Thank you very much, John.

43:01 ↗ And with that, at 7:42, we're going to

43:04 ↗ go ahead and open the public hearing and

43:07 ↗ we will give another opportunity at this

43:09 ↗ point for audience comments on this

43:13 ↗ topic. Uh, city clerk, is there people

43:16 ↗ signed up to speak?

43:17 ↗ >> Yes, the first person signed up is John

43:19 ↗ Girt.

43:19 ↗ >> All right, John, come on up.

43:26 ↗ Uh, hello, my name is John Gert. I am a

43:29 ↗ 32 resident in the same house, but we

43:32 ↗ were only part of Ishqua for a little

43:34 ↗ over 20 years as we were annexed in. Uh

43:37 ↗ we live in South Cove and because of

43:40 ↗ that, the project TR28 is definitely

43:43 ↗ high on our list. Although I'll have to

43:46 ↗ say I was a little disappointed in the

43:47 ↗ way it was passed as the council picked

43:50 ↗ the most expensive version of the plan

43:53 ↗ as opposed to the one that I feel was

43:55 ↗ the safest. Uh it it because it puts the

43:59 ↗ bicycle traffic and the pedestrian

44:01 ↗ traffic on the same pathway, requiring

44:04 ↗ bicycle p uh traffic coming east on Lake

44:08 ↗ Spamage Parkway to cross the street and

44:11 ↗ then get on the trail and then cross

44:13 ↗ back to get in normal bicycle traffic

44:15 ↗ lane. also disappointed that while we

44:18 ↗ were promised when we were annexed in uh

44:22 ↗ pedestrian uh routes into the city, that

44:27 ↗ 193rd is not that close to where we

44:29 ↗ live. Uh the south whole South Cove area

44:32 ↗ goes all the way to Sunset Elementary

44:35 ↗ School. Sunset Elementary School has

44:37 ↗ kids living less than a tenth of a mile

44:39 ↗ away that can't walk safely to school.

44:42 ↗ Uh, you know, I think that's a an

44:44 ↗ opportunity for the school district to

44:46 ↗ uh, you know, cut back on the number of

44:48 ↗ buses they need. I think the I I'm so

44:51 ↗ happy that the project's under the way.

44:53 ↗ Schneider Creek is actually moving and

44:55 ↗ something's going to happen there, but I

44:57 ↗ think the longer term plan, somebody

44:59 ↗ looks at how do we extend it from 193rd

45:02 ↗ all the way to the traffic circle at

45:04 ↗ Sunset Elementary.

45:06 ↗ Thank you.

45:08 ↗ >> Thank you very much.

45:13 ↗ Landon Halverson is next.

45:21 ↗ >> Thank you, members of council. I

45:22 ↗ appreciate it. I no longer have isqua

45:24 ↗ symphony practices on Monday, so I get

45:26 ↗ to be present for public comment, which

45:28 ↗ I'm fortunate uh or or thankful for. Uh

45:30 ↗ really, I I wanted to speak a little bit

45:32 ↗ more on uh TR12. I was very thankful for

45:35 ↗ the staff presentation um and uh for the

45:38 ↗ information he provided. Uh but just a

45:40 ↗ little bit more on that. The first thing

45:41 ↗ I want to share is I've had the

45:42 ↗ opportunity to connect uh with several

45:44 ↗ dozen neighbors. Uh and the first thing

45:46 ↗ is that I absolutely agree with um the

45:50 ↗ conclusion that neighbors are worried

45:51 ↗ about traffic. Uh traffic continues to

45:54 ↗ be something that is arguably the

45:56 ↗ biggest issue for folks uh here in the

45:58 ↗ Oldtown neighborhood. Um for those on

45:59 ↗ council who don't know, I live here in

46:01 ↗ the Oldtown neighborhood just about 500

46:03 ↗ feet that way. Um, so this is uh this

46:05 ↗ part of the project is is something that

46:07 ↗ that really impacts us. Um, so for for

46:10 ↗ folks of all different ages, income

46:12 ↗ groups, backgrounds, that's a really big

46:14 ↗ thing. Uh, the second thing that is

46:16 ↗ really really important for Oldtown

46:17 ↗ residents from a variety of of walks of

46:19 ↗ like life is preserving our sidewalk

46:22 ↗ space. Uh, the first thing I want to say

46:24 ↗ just individually, I was very happy in

46:26 ↗ the presentation to see something about

46:27 ↗ a bulbout on the northeast corner. I

46:29 ↗ think any sort of design that is made

46:32 ↗ for this project needs to prioritize um

46:35 ↗ pedestrian safety of course, but also

46:37 ↗ really um ensuring that that corner that

46:40 ↗ those four corners to the best extent

46:42 ↗ possible remain pedestrian friendly. As

46:44 ↗ an Oldtown resident, I look at that as

46:47 ↗ really being kind of the intersection,

46:48 ↗ the corner of our Oldtown. Uh, and it's

46:50 ↗ something that we've been able to

46:52 ↗ create, or I shouldn't say we, that the

46:53 ↗ people who have came before me were able

46:55 ↗ to create, um, where they were able to

46:57 ↗ create a really walkable, vibrant

46:59 ↗ community that I know we as current

47:00 ↗ residents want to, uh, protect because

47:03 ↗ it's something that makes us unique.

47:04 ↗ There are not many cities, uh, like us

47:06 ↗ that have this unique, uh, beautiful,

47:09 ↗ walkable old town. Snowqualami is

47:11 ↗ another city that has one. I hope

47:12 ↗ they'll, you know, do their due

47:14 ↗ diligence to protect it. But in any

47:15 ↗ case, uh, working on our city here,

47:18 ↗ working to protect that for everybody.

47:20 ↗ Um, mentioned small town walkability.

47:23 ↗ Uh, and then finally, one option that I

47:25 ↗ would encourage council to consider both

47:27 ↗ for pedestrian safety and just to ensure

47:29 ↗ that pedestrians are able to get across

47:31 ↗ as efficiently as possible is

47:32 ↗ considering the introduction of a

47:33 ↗ traffic scramble. Now, I will be the

47:35 ↗ first to say that I am not a huge fan of

47:37 ↗ the traffic scramble on Juniper and

47:39 ↗ Gilman. Um, I often find that it holds

47:42 ↗ things up. It feels a little bit

47:43 ↗ frustrating when it's for one person.

47:45 ↗ Um, and frankly, my frustration with

47:48 ↗ that comes more from the way that that

47:49 ↗ intersection is designed and the lack of

47:51 ↗ traffic on that intersection. I've

47:53 ↗ always said that I feel if there's any

47:54 ↗ one intersection in our city that should

47:56 ↗ have some sort of traffic scramble, it's

47:58 ↗ front and sunset. Uh, particularly

48:01 ↗ during peak times. When I talked with

48:03 ↗ neighbors about uh doing it alternating

48:05 ↗ during peak times, a lot of folks

48:07 ↗ questioned whether or not that would be

48:08 ↗ necessary or feasible. A couple folks

48:10 ↗ questioned whether or not that would

48:11 ↗ confuse drivers and others who use that

48:13 ↗ intersection to have rules where it's a

48:15 ↗ scramble sometime and not a scramble

48:17 ↗ others. Um, I think it's fair to say,

48:19 ↗ you know, folks want that consistent,

48:21 ↗ but it would be something that I would

48:22 ↗ uh encourage folks to consider,

48:24 ↗ especially as we think about the

48:26 ↗ long-term trajectory of what we want

48:27 ↗ Oldtown to be, what we want Front Street

48:29 ↗ to look like in Sunset. For me

48:31 ↗ personally, as an Oldtown resident, I

48:33 ↗ would encourage you to think about a

48:34 ↗ future um where Oldtown becomes even

48:36 ↗ more walkable um and even more

48:38 ↗ accessible. We don't want to see cars go

48:40 ↗ away, or at least I don't want to see

48:42 ↗ cars go away in Oldtown. But I do want

48:44 ↗ to make sure that whether you get around

48:45 ↗ by bike, uh by bus, um eventually by

48:48 ↗ light rail or whatever mode of transit

48:50 ↗ you get around with, um that you're able

48:52 ↗ to do that efficiently and effectively.

48:54 ↗ Um so just kind of in summary, uh

48:57 ↗ congestion remains top of mind for folks

48:59 ↗ here in Oldtown. That's something that I

49:01 ↗ have yet to hear somebody say, "Yeah, I

49:02 ↗ don't think traffic is that bad." Um it

49:04 ↗ especially during peak times here on

49:06 ↗ Front Street is. Um, and then finally,

49:09 ↗ uh, the only other thing that I would

49:10 ↗ caution council against or or caution

49:12 ↗ council to maybe consider and think

49:14 ↗ about is that while it's very important,

49:17 ↗ uh, to improve the efficiency of

49:19 ↗ intersections and improve the way the

49:20 ↗ efficiency of the way that people get

49:22 ↗ around in our community, when you do

49:24 ↗ that for an intersection or for an area

49:26 ↗ that is already predominantly pass

49:28 ↗ through, you have the potential side

49:31 ↗ effect of incentivizing more pass

49:33 ↗ through traffic through our community.

49:34 ↗ So, I just wanted to also really quickly

49:36 ↗ remind members of council um that as

49:38 ↗ part of the ST3 plan, they are opening

49:40 ↗ new toll lanes between Belleview and

49:42 ↗ Reton. Um that I believe will uh shift

49:44 ↗ traffic uh away from Front Street uh and

49:48 ↗ Isizakqua Hobart and towards uh the new

49:50 ↗ toll lanes and 169 um as as that gets

49:53 ↗ built out. Um so I think there are uh

49:55 ↗ larger regional transportation projects

49:57 ↗ that are happening right now that are

49:59 ↗ likely to shift the flow of traffic in

50:01 ↗ our communities. Um, and I would

50:02 ↗ encourage council to think about those

50:04 ↗ things as they designed this

50:05 ↗ intersection as well. Thank you.

50:07 ↗ >> All right. Thank you very much.

50:11 ↗ >> No one else has signed up to speak.

50:14 ↗ >> Okay. Is there anybody else who didn't

50:16 ↗ sign up and does want to make comments

50:17 ↗ for the public hearing?

50:20 ↗ Okay. Not seeing any. Uh, council, is

50:24 ↗ there any objection to closing

50:27 ↗ the public hearing at this time and then

50:29 ↗ going to council questions?

50:31 ↗ Uh

50:36 ↗ okay. I will then

50:42 ↗ okay so we are now going to close the

50:44 ↗ public hearing.

50:45 ↗ We will now I think give John a chance

50:49 ↗ to come back up and we will go through

50:51 ↗ council questions on the tip.

50:58 ↗ And I see we have Deputy President Jen

51:00 ↗ is online and

51:04 ↗ I am looking around not seeing

51:08 ↗ any questions.

51:10 ↗ Oh, Council Member Nichols.

51:13 ↗ >> Thanks. Um, first of all, thanks for the

51:16 ↗ the presentation and putting this all

51:18 ↗ together and and uh taking the feedback

51:20 ↗ over the the various touch points this

51:21 ↗ has had. Um I've I've got a question on

51:24 ↗ the uh indirect uh aspects of this in

51:29 ↗ terms of the impact of the total cost of

51:31 ↗ the the total dollar value of the tip

51:33 ↗ and how that impacts our traffic impact

51:35 ↗ fees. Um could you

51:38 ↗ help educate us on how direct that

51:41 ↗ relationship is?

51:46 ↗ >> Great question. I I'll start at a high

51:49 ↗ level generic

51:51 ↗ answer and then try and find tune it

51:55 ↗ down to this specific scenario. So the

51:58 ↗ way that our traffic impact fees are

52:00 ↗ calculated, there's a list of projects

52:01 ↗ that are

52:04 ↗ the traffic impact fee projects and then

52:06 ↗ they're divided up into ones that add

52:09 ↗ new transportation facilities where none

52:12 ↗ exist. So basically building the street

52:14 ↗ grid in central Isiqua. There's so there

52:18 ↗ are those projects and then there are

52:20 ↗ the projects that are in the fee

52:23 ↗ schedule that add a turn lane or a

52:28 ↗ second southbound lane on Newport Way.

52:30 ↗ And so the ones that add a facility

52:33 ↗ where none exist, they are 100%

52:36 ↗ trafficked impact fee eligible. And the

52:38 ↗ ones that

52:41 ↗ are enhancing an existing facility,

52:44 ↗ they're about 35%. and I don't remember

52:46 ↗ the exact amount. So the way it's

52:48 ↗ calculated is you have the list of the

52:51 ↗ projects,

52:53 ↗ then the percentage that is eligible for

52:56 ↗ traffic impact fees, and then you

52:58 ↗ subtract out the assumed grants, and

53:00 ↗ then you come up with a total total

53:02 ↗ dollar value. And then the traffic

53:06 ↗ impact fee looks at the land use and

53:10 ↗ how it's going to change over the next

53:14 ↗ I'm going to say 20 years. I don't

53:15 ↗ remember exactly how many it is. And it

53:18 ↗ says, okay, there's going to be this

53:20 ↗ many trips. And then it's converted to

53:23 ↗ people trips or person trips, which is

53:26 ↗ about 1.51

53:28 ↗ person trips per vehicle trip. And then

53:31 ↗ it's just a little bit of math. And so

53:34 ↗ you take the total dollar value and you

53:36 ↗ divide it by the number of trips and you

53:38 ↗ come up with the rate and then it's

53:41 ↗ converted into a table for developers to

53:44 ↗ you use when they apply for building

53:47 ↗ permits. Now, the city has not done a

53:50 ↗ rate study since 2019, and

53:55 ↗ so I don't anticipate that this

53:57 ↗ transportation improvement program

54:00 ↗ directly will feed into the next rate

54:03 ↗ study. I know that's something that will

54:04 ↗ happen soon, but I think that there will

54:07 ↗ be a lot of policy discussions on, okay,

54:11 ↗ is this project really needed? and um

54:16 ↗ looking at

54:18 ↗ what goes into that calculation. So I

54:22 ↗ guess the answer is I don't anticipate

54:24 ↗ taking the dollar values from this

54:27 ↗ transportation improvement program and

54:29 ↗ doing the math to calculate a new

54:30 ↗ traffic impact fee. I would like to look

54:33 ↗ at the project list, especially the

54:35 ↗ long-term project list, very carefully,

54:38 ↗ understand the impacts of building or

54:40 ↗ not building a project and then

54:44 ↗ do the math. Um, knowing that it is a

54:47 ↗ priority of this council to lower the

54:49 ↗ traffic impact fee. So that that is the

54:51 ↗ approach that I would like to take for

54:52 ↗ it. Did I answer your question?

54:56 ↗ >> Uh, partially. That was a great start.

54:59 ↗ So just specifically, so things like uh

55:02 ↗ for example, a topic we've discussed a

55:04 ↗ couple times recently, the the I90 um

55:07 ↗ crossing. So

55:10 ↗ having that in our tip versus not at the

55:13 ↗ moment, are you saying that does or

55:15 ↗ would not impact our near-term traffic

55:17 ↗ impact fees?

55:19 ↗ >> It will not impact the near-term. Um,

55:22 ↗ and then I will say that

55:24 ↗ just because a project is a capacity

55:28 ↗ building project does not mean that a

55:31 ↗ city council needs to include it in its

55:34 ↗ math for doing the traffic impact fee.

55:36 ↗ So, we can leave the I90 crossing

55:38 ↗ project in there and then if it's still

55:41 ↗ in there when we do the math, we can say

55:45 ↗ the council can say, I shouldn't say we,

55:47 ↗ the council, you guys can say we don't

55:49 ↗ want to include this project in the math

55:51 ↗ and then it's not in the math and then

55:52 ↗ the fees lower. So, you're you're not

55:55 ↗ binding yourself to include a project in

55:58 ↗ the calculation tonight.

55:59 ↗ >> Okay. And we would do that when we next

56:01 ↗ revise our fee schedule. Is that when do

56:04 ↗ we do that, I guess?

56:08 ↗ I'm going to say over the next two

56:10 ↗ years. I I don't know the exact date. I

56:12 ↗ know there's a lot of work that

56:13 ↗ community planning and development is

56:15 ↗ doing to uh incentivize housing and

56:19 ↗ building. I I watched a council meeting

56:21 ↗ where you guys gave a lot of feedback on

56:23 ↗ that and included in that was wanting to

56:26 ↗ lower traffic impact fees. So, I don't

56:28 ↗ know the exact timing of it tonight, but

56:30 ↗ I'll say over the next two and year and

56:32 ↗ a half to two years.

56:34 ↗ >> All right. Thank you.

56:35 ↗ >> And I can second that. I think our goal

56:37 ↗ is to have it done at some point in

56:38 ↗ 2027. I don't know if at what point in

56:41 ↗ 2027 that it be done, but I think it

56:43 ↗ does involve us. I mean, there is

56:46 ↗ consultant work involved to basically do

56:48 ↗ the traffic impact fee process,

56:51 ↗ but is going to happen

56:54 ↗ for sure. Uh, are there any other

56:57 ↗ questions?

56:59 ↗ Council Boyd, I can't tell if that

57:01 ↗ that's that far mic is not up right.

57:05 ↗ Okay.

57:08 ↗ Okay. Not seeing any other questions. I

57:11 ↗ will look to see if there Oh.

57:15 ↗ Oh, Deputy President Jen.

57:19 ↗ >> Hello. Um, thanks for letting me join

57:21 ↗ remotely today as I'm not feeling well.

57:23 ↗ Um, so we heard some feedback from folks

57:26 ↗ in Oldtown that they're interested in

57:28 ↗ having a pedestrian scramble. Is that

57:29 ↗ something that could be included in TR I

57:32 ↗ believe 28 as it exists now or would it

57:35 ↗ have to be an amendment to the project?

57:39 ↗ >> So you're talking about the front and

57:41 ↗ sunset project. Is that right deputy

57:43 ↗ council president? Okay.

57:45 ↗ >> It is something that could be included

57:46 ↗ in the project and right now we are

57:49 ↗ doing a traffic evaluation and updated

57:52 ↗ cost estimate on the project and as part

57:55 ↗ of it we are looking at a scramble

57:57 ↗ intersection. That said, the city also

58:00 ↗ looked at it in 2018 and at the time the

58:04 ↗ recommendation was not to do a scramble

58:06 ↗ because of what it would do to east west

58:09 ↗ traffic on sunset and I don't remember

58:12 ↗ the exact I think it was like 10 minutes

58:15 ↗ of delay which I think um yeah that's

58:17 ↗ what the model says. I think at that

58:19 ↗ point people were going different

58:20 ↗ directions. But point being that it was

58:22 ↗ really harmful to the east west traffic

58:25 ↗ on sunset. But that said, sometimes

58:28 ↗ things change over the last eight years

58:31 ↗ or maybe some assumptions were made that

58:34 ↗ are no longer true. So I think it's a

58:36 ↗ worthwhile endeavor to look into it.

58:38 ↗ It's something that the transportation

58:40 ↗ advisory board has mentioned multiple

58:42 ↗ times. So, we're turning that over that

58:44 ↗ stone and um we'll see where the

58:48 ↗ evaluation leads.

58:50 ↗ >> Yeah. And I think I could say that our

58:52 ↗ plan was if the project does go forward

58:55 ↗ that once you have the intersection

58:57 ↗ improved, you're going to revisit the

58:59 ↗ signal timing to find out what's ideal

59:01 ↗ for that section. And so, I think

59:03 ↗ everything's on the table during that

59:04 ↗ revisiting of the signal timing. Uh

59:06 ↗ Council Member Walsh,

59:09 ↗ >> thank you. Um, John, I asked over email,

59:11 ↗ but I want to kind of make sure to

59:13 ↗ surface here. So, um, this is a

59:18 ↗ transportation improvement plan. So,

59:21 ↗ this is not a budget. This is not

59:25 ↗ project approval, but can you kind of

59:27 ↗ talk about what the difference is there?

59:29 ↗ And so for some of these projects where

59:32 ↗ we've heard specific questions on it,

59:35 ↗ what are the additional touch points

59:37 ↗ that we will have as a council before

59:40 ↗ money is spent, before the project is

59:44 ↗ completely approved, etc.

59:46 ↗ >> Yeah. So the the next big touch point

59:48 ↗ for council is the budget. And as you

59:51 ↗ mentioned, Council Member Walsh, that

59:53 ↗ this is a plan, and

59:56 ↗ come later on this year, you guys are

59:59 ↗ going to be working really hard to

1:00:00 ↗ develop a budget, and that's where

1:00:03 ↗ things get funded. It's a two-year

1:00:05 ↗ budget, and this um you'll be making the

1:00:08 ↗ decisions. You'll have the

1:00:10 ↗ transportation improvement program as a

1:00:12 ↗ starting place, but it still needs to go

1:00:16 ↗ through the budgeting process. And then

1:00:18 ↗ I would I'm going to also mention an

1:00:20 ↗ indirect touch point in that council had

1:00:23 ↗ a big hand in shaping the transportation

1:00:25 ↗ policies whether it's the transportation

1:00:27 ↗ element of the comprehensive plan or the

1:00:29 ↗ mobility action plan. And so those

1:00:32 ↗ documents and the priorities and the

1:00:33 ↗ goals feed into the design. So we might

1:00:36 ↗ not come to the council and say give us

1:00:39 ↗ feedback on this particular aspect but

1:00:41 ↗ we're going to go to the document that

1:00:44 ↗ the council adopted and use it as

1:00:47 ↗ guidance to say okay as we are

1:00:50 ↗ considering this design we need to meet

1:00:53 ↗ these goals that the city has for

1:00:55 ↗ transportation. And then uh depending on

1:00:57 ↗ the size of the design consultant

1:00:59 ↗ contract it may go to council or it may

1:01:02 ↗ not. And then u the construction

1:01:05 ↗ contract well I guess on projects where

1:01:08 ↗ we have a grant that council approves

1:01:11 ↗ grants. So for example the front and

1:01:13 ↗ sunset project we are anticipating a

1:01:16 ↗ grant. If the city is successful the

1:01:19 ↗ results will be known in early November

1:01:21 ↗ that

1:01:22 ↗ administration will want to jump on

1:01:25 ↗ getting council to authorize the mayor

1:01:27 ↗ to sign the grant agreement. And then u

1:01:31 ↗ the big one will be uh approving the

1:01:34 ↗ construction contract for the project

1:01:36 ↗ and then accepting the project

1:01:39 ↗ afterwards. So those are the big

1:01:41 ↗ anticipated council touch points.

1:01:45 ↗ >> All right. Thank you very much. Okay.

1:01:49 ↗ Not seeing any other questions. I will

1:01:51 ↗ ask to see if there's motion. Council

1:01:52 ↗ president Marks.

1:01:54 ↗ >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I move to approve

1:01:56 ↗ resolution number 2026.

1:01:58 ↗ Sorry. Say that again. 2026-16

1:02:02 ↗ adopting a six-year transportation

1:02:04 ↗ improvement program and directing the

1:02:06 ↗ same to be filed with the state

1:02:07 ↗ secretary of transportation.

1:02:09 ↗ >> Second.

1:02:10 ↗ >> There's been a motion and a second. Is

1:02:13 ↗ there any further discussion?

1:02:17 ↗ Not seeing. The motion where the council

1:02:18 ↗ is to approve resolution number 206

1:02:21 ↗ adopting a sixear transportation

1:02:23 ↗ improvement program and directing the

1:02:24 ↗ same to be filed with the state

1:02:26 ↗ secretary of transportation. All those

1:02:28 ↗ in favor, please say I.

1:02:30 ↗ >> I.

1:02:31 ↗ >> I.

1:02:32 ↗ >> All those opposed, no.

1:02:35 ↗ And that passes unanimously. The next

1:02:38 ↗ item of business is regular business,

1:02:40 ↗ which we don't have regular business

1:02:42 ↗ items tonight. Before we go to the

1:02:44 ↗ committee reports, uh, city

1:02:46 ↗ administrator, do you want to speak? I

1:02:48 ↗ think Dave mentioned the Purple Heart

1:02:50 ↗ City process. I know we've done some

1:02:52 ↗ research. You want to update the council

1:02:53 ↗ of what this process looks like?

1:02:55 ↗ >> Yes. Thank you, Mr. Premier, members of

1:02:57 ↗ the council, uh the city has taken its

1:03:01 ↗ major step and that is to adopt a

1:03:02 ↗ resolution uh indicating that it would

1:03:05 ↗ like to become a a a Purple Heart city.

1:03:08 ↗ Uh we then forward that resolution uh uh

1:03:11 ↗ to the Purple Heart uh society which

1:03:14 ↗ maintains a list of that. Uh they then

1:03:17 ↗ make signs available that we can post at

1:03:19 ↗ entry points to the city. Uh in August

1:03:22 ↗ is the annual Purple Heart Day. uh and

1:03:24 ↗ we're working uh with the VFW and others

1:03:27 ↗ to identify as many uh Purple Heart

1:03:29 ↗ recipients who are residents of the city

1:03:31 ↗ of Isiqua uh to join us uh at the city

1:03:34 ↗ council in August uh for that. So u the

1:03:37 ↗ the city has really taken the major step

1:03:39 ↗ this evening uh by uh self- adopting

1:03:42 ↗ which we then just register with the

1:03:44 ↗ society.

1:03:46 ↗ >> Thank you very much for that update.

1:03:48 ↗ We're now going to go to the committee

1:03:49 ↗ reports. Uh, Council Member Boyd,

1:03:54 ↗ >> thank you. Um, I am, uh, I had my first

1:03:57 ↗ Epher board meeting last week, so I'll

1:03:59 ↗ defer. I'm an alternate, so I'll defer

1:04:00 ↗ to my fellow uh, regular members of

1:04:03 ↗ that. And then, uh, I am have one more

1:04:09 ↗ uh, round to clear to be appointed to

1:04:12 ↗ the um, PSRC Transportation Policy

1:04:14 ↗ Board. So, still not on that yet, but

1:04:16 ↗ stay tuned.

1:04:18 ↗ >> Excellent. Council member Bair.

1:04:21 ↗ >> All right. I actually have three reports

1:04:23 ↗ today. Uh where's the quick one? Uh the

1:04:27 ↗ services, safety, and parks committee

1:04:29 ↗ meeting that was scheduled for tomorrow

1:04:30 ↗ has been cancelled due to lack of agenda

1:04:32 ↗ items. So that next meeting is now

1:04:34 ↗ scheduled for July 21st.

1:04:37 ↗ Uh second report uh as part of being on

1:04:40 ↗ East Side Fire um the while the larger

1:04:43 ↗ meeting will defer to council member

1:04:44 ↗ Walsh. Uh I'm also on the financial and

1:04:46 ↗ administrative committee of East Side

1:04:48 ↗ Fire and we had a meeting on June 9th

1:04:50 ↗ which to kick off the budget process for

1:04:53 ↗ 2728 uh where we went over the process.

1:04:56 ↗ We did the they presented kind of their

1:04:59 ↗ initial asks and status. Um it's the

1:05:02 ↗ first meeting and we're working on de

1:05:04 ↗ you know to develop and finalize the

1:05:05 ↗ budget along with our partners. Uh this

1:05:08 ↗ first draft proposed is not a small

1:05:12 ↗ increase at the moment. Um but there's a

1:05:15 ↗ lot more digging and work to be coming

1:05:18 ↗ with that. So I will have more detail as

1:05:21 ↗ we go further into that process and as

1:05:24 ↗ that number gets adjusted. Uh but there

1:05:28 ↗ there is work to be done there. Um then

1:05:31 ↗ my third report is that um because uh uh

1:05:35 ↗ council president uh uh Mars was uh ill,

1:05:38 ↗ I was stepped in to do the SCA pick. Um

1:05:41 ↗ so I was representative uh and the main

1:05:44 ↗ agenda items was the solid waste rate

1:05:47 ↗ response letter to be sent to King

1:05:48 ↗ County SWD due to their recommendation

1:05:50 ↗ for an 8.5% rate increase. Um, while

1:05:54 ↗ this is slightly less than their

1:05:56 ↗ original proposed rate, it's still a big

1:05:57 ↗ jump and raises affordability concerns,

1:06:00 ↗ especially when coupled with the other

1:06:01 ↗ increases going on. So, the committee

1:06:03 ↗ approved proceeding with a response,

1:06:04 ↗ which will be drafted and amended uh in

1:06:07 ↗ the next meeting. Um, we also reviewed

1:06:10 ↗ uh responses to the SEA's survey on the

1:06:12 ↗ December 25 flood response and how

1:06:14 ↗ different jurisdictions felt about the

1:06:16 ↗ response and what could be better. Um

1:06:18 ↗ overall response during the during the

1:06:21 ↗ event was mostly adequate but with some

1:06:23 ↗ minor challenges. Um uh that the big

1:06:25 ↗ kind of concerns was the communication

1:06:27 ↗ and coordination afterwards uh being a

1:06:29 ↗ bit inconsistent and a fair amount of

1:06:31 ↗ uncertainty on who or what entity was

1:06:33 ↗ handling the different recovery tasks.

1:06:35 ↗ So there was some desire for some better

1:06:38 ↗ regional planning and coordination and

1:06:40 ↗ to get better prepared for future

1:06:41 ↗ events. Uh and that concludes my reports

1:06:44 ↗ for today.

1:06:44 ↗ >> All right. Uh, Council Member Nichols.

1:06:48 ↗ >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. The King County

1:06:50 ↗ King County Conservation District

1:06:51 ↗ Advisory Committee met on uh, April,

1:06:54 ↗ sorry date correct?

1:06:59 ↗ On June 9th, uh, we discussed several

1:07:02 ↗ topics. Uh, principally, the King County

1:07:03 ↗ Local Food Initiative, uh, process

1:07:05 ↗ that's underway to encourage, uh, local

1:07:07 ↗ food production as well as the King

1:07:09 ↗ Conservation District urban forest

1:07:10 ↗ health uh, projects that are underway.

1:07:12 ↗ Um, happy to answer any other questions

1:07:14 ↗ on those if they come up. And uh, that's

1:07:16 ↗ that concludes my report.

1:07:19 ↗ >> Right. Council Walsh.

1:07:20 ↗ >> Thank you. Uh, the planning,

1:07:22 ↗ development, environment committee met

1:07:24 ↗ on June 2nd. We approved the goals and

1:07:27 ↗ outcomes chart for um kind of our

1:07:30 ↗ two-year land use um, improvements and

1:07:33 ↗ we moved three areas forward. Um, those

1:07:36 ↗ will come to council on June 29th. So,

1:07:38 ↗ I'll share more on that discussion um

1:07:41 ↗ later, but it was the clarifying

1:07:43 ↗ amendments um first approach to

1:07:45 ↗ stepbacks and opening open amenity

1:07:48 ↗ spaces. And so, the next meeting for PTE

1:07:51 ↗ is on July 7th. Uh East Side Fire and

1:07:54 ↗ Rescue, we met last th Thursday. Um the

1:07:58 ↗ agenda included three items. Celebrating

1:08:00 ↗ uh retirements and commendations.

1:08:02 ↗ Considering a response on the Cascadia

1:08:05 ↗ Ridge Resilience Energy Storage Project

1:08:08 ↗ or BES, um which we decided wasn't

1:08:10 ↗ necessary since uh we already contribute

1:08:13 ↗ uh commentary there. And then obviously

1:08:15 ↗ the big one, the next steps on the

1:08:17 ↗ long-term governance and financing

1:08:19 ↗ options. Um the board had a really

1:08:22 ↗ nuanced conversation um where each

1:08:25 ↗ member was asked for um kind of the

1:08:28 ↗ benefits and drawbacks of each of the

1:08:31 ↗ variations. We did not provide a

1:08:33 ↗ preferred option um but we did direct

1:08:35 ↗ the chief to start education of member

1:08:38 ↗ cities and fire districts um as they

1:08:41 ↗ will be the uh decision makers for the

1:08:44 ↗ next stage. And then we also asked him

1:08:46 ↗ to come back with um some additional

1:08:50 ↗ presentation ideas where we're showing a

1:08:53 ↗ floor and a ceiling of what the

1:08:55 ↗ possibilities would be for costs um and

1:08:58 ↗ what the timeline would look like. Um

1:09:02 ↗ and then two small reports um the

1:09:05 ↗ regional coalition for housing uh arch

1:09:08 ↗ committee of electeds. The next meeting

1:09:10 ↗ is July 23rd. I don't have an agenda for

1:09:13 ↗ that. and the King County affordable

1:09:15 ↗ housing. Um, next meeting is July 9th,

1:09:18 ↗ but I will miss it due to an overlap

1:09:21 ↗ with East Side Fire and Rescue. That

1:09:23 ↗ concludes my report.

1:09:24 ↗ >> All right, Council Member Joe.

1:09:26 ↗ >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Three quick items.

1:09:28 ↗ The June mobility and infrastructure

1:09:31 ↗ committee was cancelled. The next

1:09:33 ↗ committee will next time the committee

1:09:35 ↗ will meet will be July 14th. U, the

1:09:38 ↗ agenda has not been set yet. for Cascade

1:09:40 ↗ Water Alliance. The board me the board

1:09:42 ↗ meeting is the 24th of June and June

1:09:45 ↗ 16th tomorrow will be the finance

1:09:47 ↗ committee meeting that I'll be

1:09:48 ↗ attending.

1:09:50 ↗ Lodging tax advisory committee last item

1:09:52 ↗ will be scheduled for July 20th. They

1:09:55 ↗ are opening up as I think I mentioned in

1:09:57 ↗ the last meeting $100,000 in new

1:09:59 ↗ spending uh for the second shoulder

1:10:01 ↗ season and uh grants can be up to

1:10:04 ↗ $55,000

1:10:06 ↗ I believe. Um, so any organizations that

1:10:09 ↗ would want to uh apply are encouraged to

1:10:11 ↗ do so. And uh that concludes my report.

1:10:14 ↗ Thank you.

1:10:15 ↗ >> Council remarks.

1:10:17 ↗ >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. The uh Sound

1:10:19 ↗ Cities Board of Dire Sound Cities

1:10:22 ↗ Association Board of Directors will be

1:10:23 ↗ meeting this Wednesday morning, 10:00

1:10:25 ↗ a.m. till noon at Renton City Hall. Uh

1:10:27 ↗ we have a couple of items on the agenda.

1:10:30 ↗ One is uh to hopefully adopt the solid

1:10:33 ↗ waste response letter that council

1:10:35 ↗ member deer mentioned earlier that is

1:10:37 ↗ coming out of pick. Uh the other is to

1:10:41 ↗ uh do appointments to committees and

1:10:43 ↗ hopefully get uh our council member on

1:10:46 ↗ PSRC TPP. So uh

1:10:50 ↗ uh not a lot on the agenda but a couple

1:10:52 ↗ things near and dear to Isiqua. That

1:10:53 ↗ concludes my report.

1:10:56 ↗ >> Well, thank you very much. Uh oh, Deputy

1:10:59 ↗ President Chang. Sorry, there we are.

1:11:03 ↗ Sorry, that was user error by me.

1:11:04 ↗ >> One uh quick report for tonight. The

1:11:07 ↗ East Side Transportation Partnership met

1:11:09 ↗ last Friday, June 12th, at Woodenville

1:11:12 ↗ City Hall. We received um presentations.

1:11:15 ↗ We received two presentations. One was

1:11:16 ↗ from the Port of Seattle about the

1:11:18 ↗ airport expansion at what they are

1:11:21 ↗ calling the SEA airport, otherwise known

1:11:23 ↗ as SeaTac, but they are officially

1:11:24 ↗ trying to be branded by their

1:11:26 ↗ threeletter airport code. Um, and from

1:11:29 ↗ King County Metro on the Metro's Next

1:11:31 ↗ Stop uh plan, which is basically how

1:11:33 ↗ Metro plans to expand service over the

1:11:36 ↗ next 10 years or so if they're able to

1:11:38 ↗ secure additional funding. With their

1:11:40 ↗ current funding situation, Metro is

1:11:42 ↗ expecting to face a fiscal cliff by

1:11:44 ↗ around 2029. And so, uh, Metro is also

1:11:46 ↗ going to be presenting to the King

1:11:48 ↗ County Council and there's some talk on,

1:11:49 ↗ you know, how they are going to try to

1:11:51 ↗ fill this budget gap. So, more to come

1:11:53 ↗ there. And that concludes my report.

1:11:56 ↗ >> All right. Thank you very much. Uh, the

1:11:59 ↗ mayor's items. We are pleased to

1:12:01 ↗ announce last week that Steve Milelet

1:12:03 ↗ will be the new chief of police uh for

1:12:06 ↗ the city of Isiqua. He has 35 years of

1:12:08 ↗ experience that goes to a town sort of

1:12:10 ↗ similar to Isacross called South Lake in

1:12:12 ↗ Texas which is in between Dallas and and

1:12:15 ↗ Fort Worth. He was also chief in

1:12:17 ↗ Belleview for 6 and a half years. He was

1:12:18 ↗ in an Akran Ohio and Warthingington,

1:12:20 ↗ Ohio and would be moving back to an area

1:12:23 ↗ that he loves. Uh the goal is to have

1:12:25 ↗ the new chief starting on July 16th. Uh

1:12:28 ↗ I think you will get a chance to meet uh

1:12:31 ↗ Chief Millet uh at the end of this month

1:12:34 ↗ I think is the plan. Uh he will be here.

1:12:36 ↗ So for the June 29th council meeting, I

1:12:38 ↗ think our goal is to have confirmation.

1:12:41 ↗ Uh it's I was at the National Mayor's

1:12:43 ↗ Conference last week and we did receive

1:12:46 ↗ an honorable mention from United States

1:12:47 ↗ Conference of Mayors for our Brazilian

1:12:49 ↗ subs. So I I thought it seemed like a

1:12:51 ↗ very common sense idea, but evidently

1:12:53 ↗ it's a little more unique than we

1:12:54 ↗ realized and and so it was a nice perk

1:12:58 ↗ for our community to be acknowledged for

1:13:00 ↗ the idea of having these resilient hubs

1:13:02 ↗ placed throughout a community. and we

1:13:04 ↗ saw during the bomb cyclone that they

1:13:06 ↗ paid dividends. Uh the Junth celebration

1:13:09 ↗ will be at Blakeley Hall this Thursday

1:13:11 ↗ night from 7 to 9:00 and I will be there

1:13:14 ↗ and encourage everyone who wants to to

1:13:17 ↗ attend and the Onyx Fine Arts Collective

1:13:19 ↗ will also be there. Uh their exhibition

1:13:21 ↗ is called Eyewitness to Greatness. We

1:13:24 ↗ also have Fenders on Front Street this

1:13:26 ↗ Sunday, Father's Day, on June 21st, 8:00

1:13:28 ↗ a.m. to 3 p.m. Live music and cool cars

1:13:33 ↗ and yes, Burger Master's open so you can

1:13:35 ↗ get a Burger Master burger while you do

1:13:36 ↗ Fenders on Front Street. Uh we'll see I

1:13:39 ↗ think it's going to be over 100 classic

1:13:40 ↗ and vintage cars will be there. Uh

1:13:43 ↗ ebikes try and apply event. There is a

1:13:46 ↗ window of opportunity that open today

1:13:48 ↗ from June 15th to June 29th is where

1:13:50 ↗ residents are eligible for a rebate on

1:13:52 ↗ ebikes. Uh the event we're going to do

1:13:55 ↗ is pedal forward east side uh try and

1:13:57 ↗ apply event. This is going to be

1:13:59 ↗ Thursday, June 25th from 4:00 to 7:00

1:14:00 ↗ p.m. at Pickering Barn. So you can ride

1:14:02 ↗ a variety of different types of bikes,

1:14:04 ↗ but we do want to make sure people know

1:14:06 ↗ that there are going to be local bike

1:14:08 ↗ shops where you can get ebike grants

1:14:10 ↗ where you can get rebates ranging from

1:14:12 ↗ $500 to $2,000. Uh so that is really

1:14:16 ↗ exciting. I would also like to highlight

1:14:18 ↗ that since we last met on June 1st, we

1:14:20 ↗ do have the isquest spotlight is up and

1:14:22 ↗ running and live and uh I encourage

1:14:24 ↗ folks to check that out at

1:14:26 ↗ isquestpotlight.org.

1:14:28 ↗ I'm not exactly sure what their website

1:14:29 ↗ is. And and one piece of not so great

1:14:32 ↗ news, I did go to testify in person at

1:14:34 ↗ the King County Transportation Benefit

1:14:35 ↗ District last Friday as the King County

1:14:39 ↗ Council benefit District Committee,

1:14:42 ↗ which is the same exact same members as

1:14:44 ↗ the King County Council, did approve a

1:14:46 ↗ 0.1% sales tax. We had been encouraging

1:14:48 ↗ them to adopt the council member Fain

1:14:51 ↗ amendment, which would have given cities

1:14:53 ↗ like Isqua a larger portion of that

1:14:55 ↗ funding. And that amendment

1:14:58 ↗ did not pass. It failed on a 5-4 vote.

1:15:00 ↗ Our council member uh Perry did support

1:15:03 ↗ the amendment, but at the end of the

1:15:05 ↗ day, it was

1:15:07 ↗ and so it was myself and deputy mayor uh

1:15:11 ↗ Black from Kirkland was there, but there

1:15:13 ↗ was a lot of people who did show up at

1:15:14 ↗ that meeting from Seattle who pushed

1:15:16 ↗ back really hard about the suburban

1:15:19 ↗ cities getting uh a slightly larger, you

1:15:22 ↗ know, than just their programmatic

1:15:23 ↗ funding share. And so that being said,

1:15:26 ↗ with its passage, I do think we will

1:15:28 ↗ receive roughly $230,000

1:15:31 ↗ of this $100 million tax when it goes

1:15:34 ↗ into effect. It would have been nice if

1:15:35 ↗ the number was higher, uh, but the

1:15:37 ↗ number was not. With that, let's go to

1:15:41 ↗ good of the order.

1:15:45 ↗ Not seeing any good of the order. Uh, I

1:15:48 ↗ will say our next council meeting is

1:15:50 ↗ June 29th. Uh, anticipate an agenda

1:15:52 ↗ item. Squa school district joint use

1:15:54 ↗ agreement, the park bond renewal uh for

1:15:56 ↗ the November general election. Title 18

1:15:59 ↗ land use code uh amendments and then we

1:16:02 ↗ will have this is exciting. The purchase

1:16:04 ↗ and sale agreement will be in front of

1:16:06 ↗ the council for the opportunity center

1:16:09 ↗ project. And so we do have a number

1:16:11 ↗ finally. It's in the ballpark of $7.5

1:16:14 ↗ million. We do have that money set aside

1:16:16 ↗ from years and years of planning and

1:16:19 ↗ saving going back to Council Member John

1:16:21 ↗ Writtenhouse in 2008. That million

1:16:24 ↗ dollars will finally get a chance to be

1:16:25 ↗ spent and and so we will have that for

1:16:28 ↗ you at the next meeting. Uh

1:16:31 ↗ what what was I looking at here? Uh

1:16:34 ↗ okay, I think that is good of the order

1:16:36 ↗ from my side. We are now going to

1:16:39 ↗ executive session. So, the council is

1:16:40 ↗ going to executive session this evening

1:16:42 ↗ to discuss pending/potential litigation

1:16:45 ↗ per RCW42.30.110

1:16:48 ↗ parenthesis 1 hyphen I I cannot read and

1:16:52 ↗ qualifications of an applicant for

1:16:53 ↗ public employment for RCW42.30.110

1:16:57 ↗ uh parenthesis 1 parenthesis G. And this

1:17:01 ↗ is a closed session expected to take

1:17:03 ↗ roughly 20 minutes. So, we will be in

1:17:06 ↗ executive session until 8:40 p.m. Uh, it

1:17:10 ↗ may be extended. If we do decide to

1:17:13 ↗ extend it, the clerk will make an

1:17:14 ↗ announcement. There is no action

1:17:16 ↗ anticipated to occur after the executive

1:17:19 ↗ session. So, this session is closed to

1:17:21 ↗ the public and we now go to executive

1:17:23 ↗ session at 8:17 p.m.

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 (7)

Paul Adair

Erika Boyd

Kelly Jiang

Russell Joe

Tola Marts

Kevin Nichols

and Councilmember Lindsey Walsh

Staff (4)

Wally Bobkiewicz, City Administrator

Andrea Lehner, Deputy City Administrator

Rachel Bender Turpin, City Attorney

Tisha Gieser, City Clerk

Motions and votes (2)

approve the consent agenda as presented.

Moved by Council President Marts · seconded by Councilmember Joe

Carried 7-0

In favor: Paul Adair, Erika Boyd, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Lindsey Walsh

MOTION: Approve Resolution No. 2026-16, adopting a Six-Year Transportation Improvement Program and directing the same to be filed with the State Secretary of Transportation.

Moved by Council President Marts · seconded by Councilmember Joe

Carried 7-0

In favor: Paul Adair, Erika Boyd, Kelly Jiang, Russell Joe, Tola Marts, Kevin Nichols, and Councilmember Walsh