City Council Special Meeting · Monday, January 12, 2026 · City Council Digest

2. PUBLIC COMMENT

City Council Vacancy, Position No. 2 hrs. Hear Verbal Presentations AB 9133

packet pp.5–100

Topics: Boards & Commissions

Open packet at p.5 ↗

Staff report:

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

Executive (Closed) Session: Discuss qualifications of appointment per RCW 42.30.110(1)(h) Please note, this portion of the meeting is closed to the public ID 1959

packet pp.2

Topics: Boards & Commissions

Open packet at p.2 ↗

Staff report:

b) ID 1959 - Executive (Closed) Session: Discuss qualifications of appointment per RCW 42.30.110(1)(h) Please note, this portion of the meeting is closed to the public. c) Potential Narrowing of Applicants

Potential Narrowing of Applicants

1797 segments .txt ↗

0:06 ↗ Welcome everyone. I call the January

0:08 ↗ 12th special city council meeting to

0:09 ↗ order. The purpose of this meeting is

0:11 ↗ your presentations for the applicants

0:13 ↗ for the city council vacancy and council

0:15 ↗ member Marts will be attending remotely.

0:19 ↗ And yes, there he is waving.

0:22 ↗ LA last week I was I was having some

0:24 ↗ challenges with the microphone system. I

0:26 ↗ was the mayor of Struggle Town. Tonight

0:28 ↗ there's no room but for improvement with

0:30 ↗ my microphone skills and we're going to

0:33 ↗ start with public comment just so to be

0:35 ↗ clear the agenda bill is to have the

0:38 ↗ applicants come up to speak. So the

0:39 ↗ public comment is something we [snorts]

0:41 ↗ do at every city council meeting. I

0:42 ↗ don't know how many people are actually

0:43 ↗ going to be here today but you can do it

0:45 ↗ in person. You can do it remotely. You

0:47 ↗ can do it on the phone. And city clerk,

0:49 ↗ do we have anybody signed in? I'm

0:51 ↗ guessing not, but I want to check.

0:52 ↗ >> We don't have anyone signed in. We do

0:54 ↗ have a couple folks with us virtually,

0:56 ↗ but um if you're with us,

0:58 ↗ >> so if you're with us virtually, yes, you

0:59 ↗ can raise your virtual hand or if you

1:02 ↗ want to make public comment, please let

1:04 ↗ us know now. Otherwise, we will move on

1:07 ↗ to our agenda bill item.

1:10 ↗ Okay. So, with that, public comment is

1:14 ↗ closed. So, the purpose of today's

1:16 ↗ meeting is a city council vacancy.

1:17 ↗ That's agenda bill 9133.

1:20 ↗ City Council has a vacancy because

1:22 ↗ position number two was council member

1:24 ↗ Zach Hall who was appointed to the state

1:26 ↗ legislature [snorts] and we now have 90

1:28 ↗ days from January 1st to make an

1:29 ↗ appointment. We are moving with a sense

1:31 ↗ of urgency trying to do this in the

1:33 ↗ month of January and we received 15

1:35 ↗ applicants for the vacancy. Three of the

1:37 ↗ applicants have withdrawn. So we will

1:39 ↗ hear presentations from the remaining 12

1:42 ↗ applicants. After the presentations

1:44 ↗ occur, the city council will go into

1:46 ↗ executive session, which is a closed

1:47 ↗ session where they can discuss the

1:49 ↗ qualifications of the applicants. After

1:52 ↗ that closed session, we will reopen the

1:54 ↗ public meeting. The city council is then

1:56 ↗ expected to vote to move forward roughly

1:58 ↗ three to four of the applicants to the

1:59 ↗ next round of interviews, which will

2:00 ↗ then be on January 20th. And with that,

2:04 ↗ let's get to the presentations. You'll

2:05 ↗ have three to five minutes for your

2:07 ↗ presentations. We're going to have you

2:08 ↗ start from over here at the lect turn.

2:11 ↗ And our first presenter is Jason Voss.

2:23 ↗ It's always a pleasant surprise when

2:25 ↗ someone with a last name like voice gets

2:27 ↗ chosen first for anything.

2:30 ↗ So, and I'm sure council member Walsh,

2:32 ↗ you could probably relate to that.

2:35 ↗ I want to begin by thanking the city

2:37 ↗ administrator, city staff, mayor Mullet,

2:40 ↗ and the Isiqua City Council for having

2:42 ↗ this appointment process.

2:44 ↗ And with three to five minutes to

2:46 ↗ present, I'm going to jump right in. So,

2:49 ↗ two points, why I believe I would be the

2:52 ↗ most effective appointee and areas of

2:54 ↗ interest if I were to obtain it.

2:58 ↗ To the first point, I believe I would be

3:00 ↗ the most effective appointment because

3:03 ↗ for the last eight years, I've basically

3:04 ↗ been your understudy.

3:07 ↗ PPC's work often mirrors that of council

3:09 ↗ and also informs your own work. Uh your

3:14 ↗ improtor appears time and again on

3:16 ↗ different policies that swim upstream

3:18 ↗ from the planning policy commission to

3:21 ↗ your deis.

3:23 ↗ The task forces that I've been fortunate

3:24 ↗ enough to be a part of cover a wide

3:27 ↗ range range of different topics which

3:29 ↗ again has informed council's work. This

3:32 ↗ was everything from a once in

3:33 ↗ aundred-year pandemic emergency

3:36 ↗ emergency funding

3:39 ↗ as well as the strategic plan update and

3:41 ↗ last year's safety and civic facilities

3:44 ↗ task force which dealt exclusively with

3:47 ↗ the police department as well as city

3:49 ↗ hall.

3:51 ↗ I believe now is the time to lean on

3:53 ↗ that understudies experience, knowledge

3:56 ↗ of current events and city priorities,

3:58 ↗ relationships with city staff, as well

4:01 ↗ as relationships with the wider

4:03 ↗ community uh that I've gotten to know

4:05 ↗ over these past eight years.

4:08 ↗ to the second point as far as priorities

4:10 ↗ that I would like to see and help

4:12 ↗ implement is our city has struggled with

4:15 ↗ affordability and accessibility

4:18 ↗ um for our workforce and we're starting

4:21 ↗ to see unfortunately younger families

4:22 ↗ who are getting out of college not able

4:25 ↗ to make isqua their home as well as

4:28 ↗ retirees who are trying to age in place

4:30 ↗ that haven't been able to do it because

4:31 ↗ of the high cost

4:33 ↗ th those are a couple things and

4:35 ↗ obviously we've been doing a lot of work

4:36 ↗ these past two years with middle

4:38 ↗ housing, um different various types of

4:41 ↗ more housing for our city, everything

4:43 ↗ from town homes to cottage homes, all

4:46 ↗ the work that we've basically been doing

4:47 ↗ with Arch. And again, I want to say

4:48 ↗ that's been in the last two to three

4:50 ↗ years.

4:51 ↗ We need more middle housing. Everybody

4:53 ↗ knows it. And again, happy to be a part

4:56 ↗ of that conversation.

4:59 ↗ continued expansion of Isiziqua's creeks

5:01 ↗ to peaks, which if done properly um may

5:05 ↗ have the double benefit of helping

5:06 ↗ mobility issues here in the city, as

5:09 ↗ well as preserving our green spaces, our

5:11 ↗ Alps and trails,

5:13 ↗ and of course, the big consequential

5:15 ↗ conversation of light rail that's going

5:17 ↗ to be coming that we're starting to plan

5:20 ↗ for now in earnest with U senior planner

5:23 ↗ Valdres and others in the city. Um, you

5:26 ↗ know, we have a unique opportunity

5:27 ↗ because we have the benefit of being

5:30 ↗ able to see other cities go first as

5:33 ↗ well as having some time before our

5:37 ↗ station um should come it to

5:40 ↗ construction. So again, that's going to

5:42 ↗ be a big conversation. It's going to

5:44 ↗ change the way our city looks and feels,

5:47 ↗ and I'm looking forward to those

5:48 ↗ conversations. and then continued

5:51 ↗ conservation of our treasures like our

5:53 ↗ school district, our public safety, and

5:55 ↗ our quality of life. I believe it was

5:57 ↗ council member Martz last year him and I

6:00 ↗ were having a conversation at the safety

6:02 ↗ civic task force uh that isqua we're

6:05 ↗ very fortunate that continues to top

6:07 ↗ best cities in the US and in 2021 CNN

6:11 ↗ ranked Isiziqua as the fourth best place

6:14 ↗ to live in the US. These are thing all

6:17 ↗ these are things all of us can be proud

6:18 ↗ of.

6:20 ↗ So I want to leave you with this. When a

6:23 ↗ performer at the village theater is

6:25 ↗ absent or unable to perform their

6:27 ↗ duties, the producer turns to the

6:30 ↗ understudy.

6:32 ↗ They don't look towards friends or

6:34 ↗ people with the ulterior motives. They

6:36 ↗ always go with the understudy, the

6:39 ↗ person who's been quietly doing the work

6:42 ↗ all along.

6:45 ↗ For eight years, I've been that

6:46 ↗ understudy, contributing to the city and

6:48 ↗ helping to inform the council's own

6:50 ↗ work. If the goal is to put together the

6:53 ↗ best production, to put together the

6:56 ↗ best city council on behalf of this

6:58 ↗ city's residents, then I believe that

7:00 ↗ choice is clear and I believe the record

7:02 ↗ shows that I am that person. Thank you.

7:08 ↗ >> Thank you very much, Jason. Clearly CNN

7:11 ↗ had us off by three rankings, but we'll

7:13 ↗ work on that for next year.

7:16 ↗ Okay. Hi. May is next.

7:31 ↗ Is that good?

7:33 ↗ All right. Well, good evening everybody.

7:35 ↗ Um, I'm just going to start with um, my

7:38 ↗ name is Haime Fardo and um, what I bring

7:41 ↗ to the table is uh, collaboration.

7:45 ↗ I bring community. I bring voice. Most

7:48 ↗ spaces like this aren't meant for folks

7:50 ↗ like myself that look like me. Um, first

7:52 ↗ generation MexicanAmerican. And I say

7:54 ↗ that because that drives my work. It

7:56 ↗ drives what I do when it comes to

7:58 ↗ equity, inclusion, belonging, and so

8:00 ↗ forth. Um, I've been the chair for our

8:04 ↗ human services here at city of Isiqua

8:07 ↗ for the last uh year and plus. I've been

8:09 ↗ involved with the human services for

8:11 ↗ about four to five years and um so I

8:14 ↗ would bring that type of work into the

8:16 ↗ council. Um it I I want to say this too

8:20 ↗ is in those uh decision- making there's

8:23 ↗ about 600,000

8:25 ↗ resources that we fund back to the

8:26 ↗ community. It's always very difficult to

8:29 ↗ make decisions when there's about a $1.1

8:31 ↗ million of requests that are coming from

8:33 ↗ the community. And so with that said, we

8:36 ↗ I I do want to um give a lot of praise

8:39 ↗ and uh props to our uh human services

8:42 ↗ commission because those are very

8:44 ↗ heartful heartfelt decisions that we try

8:46 ↗ to make and are mindful to our

8:48 ↗ communities that are the most

8:49 ↗ disfranchised or marginalized. Um so I

8:52 ↗ wanted to make sure in terms of my

8:53 ↗ commitment to the city of Isiqua as

8:55 ↗ well. Uh aside to that um in terms of my

8:58 ↗ professional experience

9:00 ↗ I've been involved in the social work. I

9:03 ↗ got my masters from social work policy

9:05 ↗ from UDub. Um I've been involved with uh

9:08 ↗ multiple grants from federal, state,

9:10 ↗ local. Uh in addition to that, I've been

9:13 ↗ the juvenile justice for 14 plus years

9:15 ↗ where uh seeing handinhand how

9:19 ↗ behavioral health services align with

9:21 ↗ law enforcement. Uh which meant working

9:23 ↗ with elected judges. Uh Judge Lucas who

9:26 ↗ passed away was a mentor of mine, first

9:27 ↗ African-American judge at Snomish

9:29 ↗ County. So I would bring that kind of

9:31 ↗ lens into this position. Um

9:40 ↗ I want to say this that this position I

9:42 ↗ do not take lightly in the sense of

9:44 ↗ always leaning with the heart. What I

9:45 ↗ would bring is uh and I saw the our

9:48 ↗ strategic plan which is very similar to

9:50 ↗ our human services strategic plan which

9:52 ↗ means uh there's a lot of work being

9:54 ↗ involved and that's a guiding star to

9:56 ↗ the work we do. Um, so very similar to

9:58 ↗ the human services, but what I what I do

10:00 ↗ want to express real quick, um, this

10:03 ↗ work is very critical, especially in

10:06 ↗ today's administration,

10:08 ↗ how federal administrations that how we

10:11 ↗ deal as a local to our community is very

10:13 ↗ critical and important to me. One of the

10:15 ↗ things I would be doing as best I can is

10:17 ↗ having a lot of community circles, a lot

10:20 ↗ of community connections to ensure that

10:22 ↗ we're hearing all voices across city of

10:25 ↗ Isiqua. I've been a resident for here

10:27 ↗ for 20 plus years. Uh it's very uh and

10:30 ↗ dear to my heart. Uh even being in the

10:33 ↗ human services was something that I kind

10:35 ↗ of contemplated. But when I got involved

10:37 ↗ with the city of Bellev, I was a paid

10:39 ↗ internship there where I saw the human

10:41 ↗ services grow and then city of Isiqua on

10:44 ↗ the back side. How do we develop and

10:45 ↗ grow our human services? So I would also

10:47 ↗ bring that kind of lens into uh this

10:50 ↗ position. But I want to say this um for

10:52 ↗ me it's connection culture and bringing

10:55 ↗ equity to all the policies that we have

10:57 ↗ to make to ensure even to the housing

11:00 ↗ situation that we're we're we're working

11:02 ↗ with the most impacted folks in our uh

11:06 ↗ city of Isiqua community. Thank you.

11:09 ↗ >> Thank you very much.

11:13 ↗ Next we have Dieago.

11:24 ↗ Good evening everyone.

11:26 ↗ My name is Dioenge. Like all of you, I

11:29 ↗ feel grateful and blessed to live in

11:30 ↗ Isiqua and I've been moved to serve our

11:32 ↗ city. I recently ran for Isiqua City

11:35 ↗ Council and I while I did not win my

11:37 ↗ race for position number five, I believe

11:40 ↗ I was able to meaningfully reach our

11:42 ↗ community. I shared my values openly

11:45 ↗ through several position statements and

11:47 ↗ participations in town hall in a way

11:49 ↗ that earned 3563

11:51 ↗ votes. I received more votes than any

11:54 ↗ other challenger in the contested city

11:56 ↗ council member race after public vetting

11:59 ↗ of my financials, backgrounds, values,

12:01 ↗ and ideas.

12:04 ↗ As I said to all of you during my

12:06 ↗ campaign, our only true ambition should

12:08 ↗ be to serve our community, especially

12:10 ↗ those most in need. While Washington DC

12:13 ↗ might seem far away from Isiqua, federal

12:15 ↗ policies are being felt sharply and

12:17 ↗ devastatingly by our neighbors directly,

12:19 ↗ by families facing food insecurity, and

12:22 ↗ by those targeted by ICE while simply

12:25 ↗ trying to drop their children off at

12:26 ↗ school. Too many American families are

12:29 ↗ one crisis away from losing their next

12:30 ↗ meal, their home, their foothold. We

12:34 ↗ have the agency to care for one another,

12:36 ↗ to give each other opportunity, grace,

12:39 ↗ and the support we all deserve. I too am

12:41 ↗ a first generation immigrant and a proud

12:43 ↗ US citizen with deep appreciation for

12:46 ↗ America's ability to bring people from

12:48 ↗ different backgrounds together to build

12:50 ↗ something special. That's why I ran to

12:52 ↗ ensure Isiqua remains a place where

12:54 ↗ everyone feels that they belong and that

12:56 ↗ they can thrive. Professionally, my

12:59 ↗ career has I spent my career helping

13:02 ↗ people uh bringing people together to

13:04 ↗ solve complex challenges, whether by

13:07 ↗ securing Ford Foundation grants to

13:09 ↗ launch a nonprofit in ethical corporate

13:11 ↗ governance, managing a billion-dollar

13:13 ↗ client portfolio in a Fortune 5

13:16 ↗ subsidiary and more recently leading

13:18 ↗ strategic initiatives at Cornell Law

13:20 ↗ School and Seattle University.

13:22 ↗ Throughout all those experiences, my

13:25 ↗ most the most lasting solutions come

13:27 ↗ from listening first, leading

13:29 ↗ transparently, and always keeping people

13:31 ↗ at the center. Like you, I chose Isiqua

13:35 ↗ to be our home because of our vibrant

13:38 ↗ community spaces, our beautiful parks,

13:41 ↗ and our exceptional quality of life. And

13:43 ↗ as our city grows, we need leadership

13:45 ↗ that balances progress with innovation

13:48 ↗ and preservation and development with

13:50 ↗ sustainability.

13:52 ↗ As I shared throughout my campaign, my

13:53 ↗ three priorities are promoting

13:55 ↗ deliberate and inclusive housing

13:56 ↗ strategies. ISiqua families deserve the

13:59 ↗ chance to put down roots without being

14:01 ↗ priced out. That means smarter zoning

14:03 ↗ reforms, transit oriented development

14:04 ↗ near our transit center, and mixed

14:06 ↗ income neighborhoods. I also believe in

14:10 ↗ uh transforming underused commercial

14:12 ↗ corridors into vibrant third places. But

14:15 ↗ affordability alone, as I mentioned

14:17 ↗ throughout the campaign, is not about

14:20 ↗ building more housing units. It's about

14:22 ↗ strengthening families economic

14:23 ↗ foundations. And therefore, I advocate

14:26 ↗ for living wages, local job creation,

14:28 ↗ and access to affordable childare and

14:30 ↗ healthcare so families can afford stable

14:33 ↗ housing, but with dignity. Second,

14:36 ↗ reducing transit congestion. Topic very

14:39 ↗ dear to all of us. There's tremendous

14:41 ↗ opportunity in improving and maximizing

14:42 ↗ our underutilized transit center while

14:45 ↗ championing flexible work policies that

14:47 ↗ reduce congestion. Um, and there's

14:50 ↗ opportunity to to prioritize protected

14:53 ↗ bike lanes and um um um planning our

14:58 ↗ neighborhoods around people, not just

15:00 ↗ about cars. Finally, my priority is

15:02 ↗ sustainable energy independence. We must

15:05 ↗ invest in clean and resilient energy

15:08 ↗ systems. That means expanding solar

15:10 ↗ adaption adoption, supporting

15:12 ↗ neighborhood battery storage, and

15:13 ↗ preparing for smart grid infrastructure

15:16 ↗ that ensures reliability during peak

15:19 ↗ demand.

15:21 ↗ My this position what I said throughout

15:25 ↗ my campaign, this is not about us. I

15:28 ↗ believe that we have the resolve to

15:30 ↗ invest in building community and

15:32 ↗ stewarding our environmental heritage in

15:34 ↗ a compassionate, sustainable, and

15:36 ↗ inclusive way. Isqua doesn't need to

15:38 ↗ reinvent itself. I said this again and

15:41 ↗ again. It just needs to be itself. But

15:43 ↗ that authenticity requires action, not

15:46 ↗ just aspiration.

15:48 ↗ Throughout my campaign, I heard a lot

15:50 ↗ about what the city council cannot do.

15:51 ↗ And I understand the need to temper

15:53 ↗ expectations and recognize the scope of

15:55 ↗ our limited power. But local government

15:57 ↗ transcends politics. And now more than

16:00 ↗ ever, many of our neighbors are scared,

16:02 ↗ hungry, without hope. I know that

16:04 ↗ there's a lot we can't control. And I

16:06 ↗ know there's a lot of minutia and

16:07 ↗ bureaucracy in day-to-day running of a

16:09 ↗ city. But I also know and I also believe

16:12 ↗ that the true measure of a successful

16:14 ↗ community is whether everyone feels

16:16 ↗ safe, seen, valued, and heard. And I

16:21 ↗ want to build that future together.

16:22 ↗ That's why I'm here. Thank you. There

16:24 ↗ you go. Thank you very much.

16:27 ↗ Next, we have Ted. Oh,

16:33 ↗ welcome, Jeff. We get to call you out

16:34 ↗ when you walk in late.

16:44 ↗ >> You hear me? Yeah. Okay. Hi, my name is

16:46 ↗ Ted Cerak. Um, I've [clears throat] been

16:49 ↗ living in Isqua for about 13 years now.

16:51 ↗ I lived in Samish for about five years

16:54 ↗ before that. Wife and I, we first

16:56 ↗ looking for a home to buy a house around

16:58 ↗ this area. We basically found um I told

17:01 ↗ my [clears throat] wife she's in the

17:01 ↗ back back here, but basically uh there

17:04 ↗ was a house, there's housing up on the

17:05 ↗ very top of the mountain because I hike

17:07 ↗ there all the time and she's like, "No,

17:09 ↗ come on. You look up there, there's

17:10 ↗ nothing up there." So we drove up there

17:12 ↗ and lo and behold, there's a whole

17:14 ↗ beautiful neighborhood called Forest

17:15 ↗ Room. So basically house became

17:17 ↗ available. We bought it 13 years ago and

17:19 ↗ we just love it. And so we kind of fell

17:21 ↗ in love with this area and for for a

17:24 ↗ couple reasons. One is basically the

17:26 ↗ culture. So Isiqua is so unique and so

17:28 ↗ different. There's this kind of weird

17:30 ↗ interesting culture between big tech and

17:31 ↗ small businesses and all the state parks

17:34 ↗ and nature and everything around. It's a

17:36 ↗ lifestyle, right? It's like living, we

17:38 ↗ like to joke it's like living in the REI

17:39 ↗ catalog and [clears throat] it kind of

17:41 ↗ is, right? So we spent most and even

17:44 ↗ during COVID, we spent more time walking

17:46 ↗ than driving anywhere. So basically

17:47 ↗ walking down the mountain. Neighbors

17:49 ↗ make fun of us. Maybe you've seen us, I

17:50 ↗ don't know, walking around Isiqua, but

17:52 ↗ we walk up and down our mountain about

17:54 ↗ 10, 12 miles over the weekends on

17:56 ↗ Saturdays and Sundays and pretty much

17:58 ↗ end up making rounds around talking to

17:59 ↗ neighbors, talking to small businesses.

18:02 ↗ The stories we've learned from people I

18:04 ↗ I don't recognize everybody here, Mayor

18:05 ↗ Paulie for sure, but basically, but

18:07 ↗ there's a lot of people that we met in

18:09 ↗ this town that basically have

18:10 ↗ interesting stories. Um, so it's it's

18:14 ↗ really a lifestyle and a kind of way of

18:16 ↗ life and I really feel that basically we

18:18 ↗ need to make sure we preserve that. So

18:20 ↗ there's a lot of challenges basically

18:21 ↗ with the growth and everything that's

18:24 ↗ happening. Um, and also be able to

18:27 ↗ manage that with kind of the small town

18:29 ↗ feel that Isiqua gives. Um, it's a

18:31 ↗ beautiful city and so we so much fell in

18:33 ↗ love with it. And some of the other

18:35 ↗ things I basically really enjoy is um

18:38 ↗ [clears throat] is the local theater and

18:40 ↗ basically all the little art events. I'm

18:42 ↗ also a local artist and basically I sell

18:44 ↗ artwork on the wine and art walks and

18:46 ↗ things like that. So basically so it's

18:48 ↗ something that basically is just a

18:49 ↗ lifestyle for us and we just want to

18:50 ↗ make sure we keep it preserved. Um so

18:54 ↗ why I'm here today is basically uh after

18:56 ↗ 20 years working in high-tech I

18:58 ↗ basically worked at Microsoft, Intel,

19:00 ↗ Salesforce. Um I was a product designer,

19:03 ↗ a lot of patents on a lot of different

19:04 ↗ things and I spent a lot of time solving

19:07 ↗ really complex problems with a lot of

19:08 ↗ different stakeholders internationally

19:10 ↗ working in countries like you know

19:12 ↗ Italy, Denmark, all over the world. And

19:14 ↗ one thing I learned is basically

19:16 ↗ everybody thinks very differently.

19:17 ↗ There's a lot of different opinions and

19:19 ↗ cultures and you have to really

19:20 ↗ understand how basically people think.

19:22 ↗ Um and that's something I've been very

19:23 ↗ good at in my last 20 years working in

19:25 ↗ tech. Um, and so as a result, I

19:29 ↗ basically thought maybe this is a good

19:30 ↗ opportunity for me to kind of give back

19:32 ↗ after working in tech. Well, first me

19:34 ↗ back up one step. Basically, I started

19:36 ↗ working at um for Northwest University.

19:38 ↗ So, we teach now. Both my my wife and I

19:40 ↗ teach at Northwest. Um, and we both

19:44 ↗ teach in the technology area. So, we're

19:45 ↗ building out a human- centered design

19:47 ↗ program there. Um and it's something

19:49 ↗ that changing from tech into basically

19:51 ↗ teaching has been a really blessed

19:53 ↗ experience where you got to actually

19:54 ↗ mentor and build into new students and

19:57 ↗ teach them and basically mentor them and

19:59 ↗ it's been really amazing growing

20:00 ↗ experience and I thought the next level

20:02 ↗ is really kind of serving in something a

20:04 ↗ little more higher capacity like serving

20:06 ↗ isqua in whatever capacity that leads me

20:09 ↗ basically but bringing that kind of

20:11 ↗ high-tech problem solving and I see a

20:13 ↗ lot of issues that basically happened

20:15 ↗ became more politically active when we

20:16 ↗ saw what happened with the PA fossa that

20:18 ↗ started to happen with the water supply.

20:20 ↗ We saw a lot of issues in our

20:21 ↗ neighborhood with basically when they

20:23 ↗ were doing repaving efforts that

20:24 ↗ basically like there was a lot of

20:25 ↗ quality issues with that and you start

20:27 ↗ to kind of notice a lot of things that

20:29 ↗ basically like this need to have make

20:31 ↗ sure to have a set of eyes that can go

20:32 ↗ deep into problems and that's the way I

20:34 ↗ work right I go really deep and really

20:35 ↗ holistically um into and understand from

20:38 ↗ other people. So that's one thing I

20:40 ↗ really do really well and that's listen

20:41 ↗ to people like yourself and people like

20:43 ↗ the residents and talk to people like

20:45 ↗ understand exactly what all the issues

20:47 ↗ are and not my own opinion but kind of

20:49 ↗ form a better holistic understanding of

20:51 ↗ it and then basically once you have a

20:53 ↗ better understanding then you can start

20:55 ↗ suggesting some solutions. Um and that's

20:57 ↗ an area that basically like I feel I

20:59 ↗ could kind of bring that expertise into

21:00 ↗ it. Um and that and basically just be

21:04 ↗ able to work with a lot of different

21:06 ↗ kinds of people over the years. Um and

21:09 ↗ just knowing so many people now in

21:10 ↗ Isiqua that we kind of set down roots

21:12 ↗ with. Um so I know there's two areas

21:15 ↗ that basically I feel passionate about

21:16 ↗ and that's basically like infrastructure

21:18 ↗ of understanding all the multiple pieces

21:19 ↗ that have to be built out in order to

21:20 ↗ support the sustain makes make sure

21:22 ↗ isqua sustainable with all the growth.

21:24 ↗ Um and the other is basically um fire

21:27 ↗ and rescue and water quality and just

21:30 ↗ the environment. We're very strong on

21:31 ↗ conservation and so that's very

21:33 ↗ important is us to keep make sure we

21:35 ↗ don't have situations that kind of you

21:37 ↗ know that threaten that kind of uh like

21:39 ↗ kind of the what happened with POS and

21:41 ↗ stuff like that. So so those are some

21:43 ↗ things that basically I can bring to the

21:44 ↗ table um if I can serve in government in

21:47 ↗ some way. Thank you.

21:49 ↗ >> Wow, that's an aggressive beep. Like

21:51 ↗ that's okay. It's good. Uh thank you

21:54 ↗ very much, Ted.

21:56 ↗ Next we have Landon. [clears throat]

22:09 ↗ Good evening, Mr. Mayor and members of

22:11 ↗ council. Thank you for taking the time

22:12 ↗ to be here today to listen uh to what I

22:15 ↗ have to say uh and to hear my

22:17 ↗ application. I'm seeking appointment to

22:19 ↗ the Isiqua City Council because I care

22:20 ↗ deeply about our community, its

22:22 ↗ residents, and our future. And I want to

22:24 ↗ be part of the solutions that move

22:26 ↗ Isiqua forward and that support the

22:28 ↗ future of every resident. I live I have

22:31 ↗ lived here in Oldtown for 7 years and

22:33 ↗ continue to live here because of its

22:34 ↗ walkability, safety, natural beauty and

22:37 ↗ regional connectivity to cities like

22:38 ↗ Belleview, Seattle, uh places like

22:41 ↗ SeaTac and beyond. I believe that many

22:43 ↗ of these benefits are not coincidental,

22:45 ↗ but rather the result of careful

22:47 ↗ planning on the part of you and the

22:49 ↗ individuals who have come before you.

22:52 ↗ Professionally, I work as a regional

22:54 ↗ account manager for Lehi, a national

22:55 ↗ company focused on worker safety,

22:57 ↗ including for employees right here in

22:58 ↗ Isiziqua at places such as Derryold and

23:01 ↗ Costco. Previously, I was a teacher at

23:03 ↗ East Side Catholic High School where I

23:05 ↗ taught high school business and

23:06 ↗ marketing. Uh this is an experience that

23:08 ↗ absolutely helped shape my uh dedication

23:11 ↗ to servant leadership uh and helping

23:13 ↗ others reach their full potential.

23:16 ↗ Outside of work, you'll sometimes see me

23:17 ↗ playing my violin with the Isiqua

23:19 ↗ Philarmonic. I'm a proud member of our

23:21 ↗ local Philarmonic where you'll sometimes

23:22 ↗ see me riding my ebike on our trails. Uh

23:25 ↗ these of course inform my love for the

23:27 ↗ arts and for outdoor recreation. When

23:29 ↗ thinking about some of the biggest

23:30 ↗ issues facing us today, housing and land

23:33 ↗ use issues are central uh particularly

23:35 ↗ in the context of the central isqua

23:37 ↗ plan. I strongly support allowing for a

23:39 ↗ range of housing types with an emphasis

23:41 ↗ on transit oriented walkable development

23:43 ↗ that aligns with the city's long-term

23:45 ↗ goals. I also support continued

23:47 ↗ modernization of our development code so

23:49 ↗ that good projects aren't lost due to

23:50 ↗ outdated regulations. Uh something we

23:53 ↗ saw uh last year when a mixeduse

23:55 ↗ opportunity was given away to a gas

23:56 ↗ station. I want to help ensure that our

23:58 ↗ code supports the goals that this

24:00 ↗ council has already set. In addition,

24:02 ↗ I'm a strong advocate for transit

24:04 ↗ oriented development near our transit

24:05 ↗ center and comp and support the

24:07 ↗ completion of our TOD project there.

24:09 ↗ Last year I had the opportunity to tour

24:11 ↗ the Together Center in Redmond with

24:12 ↗ council president D. Michelle and now

24:14 ↗ Council Member Nichols, which reinforced

24:15 ↗ for me how coordinated planning can

24:17 ↗ deliver housing services and

24:19 ↗ transportation in a fiscally responsible

24:21 ↗ and safe way. I plan to continue

24:23 ↗ learning from peer cities and applying

24:25 ↗ those lessons locally should I have the

24:26 ↗ opportunity to be appointed.

24:28 ↗ Transportation and infrastructure are

24:30 ↗ also key priorities for me. I believe

24:31 ↗ Isizakiqua should move full steam ahead

24:33 ↗ with light rail planning, including

24:34 ↗ advocating for an additional I90

24:36 ↗ crossing as part of the station. I will

24:38 ↗ support continued coordination with

24:39 ↗ Sound Transit to protect and expand our

24:41 ↗ bus routes such as the 271 and the 554,

24:44 ↗ uh, which are consistent, of course,

24:45 ↗ with existing city transportation plans.

24:47 ↗ I support public safety initiatives and

24:49 ↗ believe that that should be a continued

24:50 ↗ priority. Uh, as a longtime resident, I

24:53 ↗ support ensuring our police and Epher

24:54 ↗ have the resources they need to keep

24:56 ↗ Isiqua safe. Uh, I don't support budgets

24:58 ↗ that reduce funding for critical public

25:00 ↗ safety services like our police and

25:01 ↗ fire. uh and I believe that our planning

25:03 ↗ should be contingent on the fact that we

25:05 ↗ are facing uncertainties at the federal

25:07 ↗ level. I'm also committed to supporting

25:09 ↗ our small businesses. I served on the

25:11 ↗ economic vitality commission for two

25:13 ↗ years uh working closely with local

25:14 ↗ business owners throughout Isiqua. I

25:16 ↗ believe that our local business owners

25:18 ↗ on Gilman uh or in Gilman village uh in

25:21 ↗ uh on and on French Street are the

25:23 ↗ backbone uh of our business community

25:24 ↗ and indeed contribute to our identity as

25:26 ↗ a city. And so ensuring that they have

25:28 ↗ the resources that they need to be

25:30 ↗ successful is something that's really

25:31 ↗ important to me. Finally, as an Oldtown

25:34 ↗ resident, I'm excited about the future

25:37 ↗ of our city's historic core, the place

25:38 ↗ where we are now. Whether that be

25:40 ↗ widening the Rainer Trail, restoring our

25:42 ↗ trolley, especially in the winter, uh,

25:45 ↗ and expanding investments into

25:47 ↗ walkability along Gilman, I support

25:49 ↗ investments that truly create the more

25:51 ↗ connected, multimodal vision that isqua

25:54 ↗ has set for decades. uh particularly

25:56 ↗ again as we plan for light rail and

25:58 ↗ growth. I would be honored to serve the

26:00 ↗ city uh as a member of city council and

26:02 ↗ help advocate for Isiqua's continued

26:05 ↗ growth, continue to advocate for all of

26:07 ↗ our residents and ensure that this is a

26:08 ↗ truly wonderful place to live for all

26:11 ↗ different types of people irrespective

26:12 ↗ of where they work, what they look like,

26:14 ↗ who they are, who they love, or any

26:16 ↗ other delineator.

26:20 ↗ My goal is to be thoughtful, fiscally

26:22 ↗ responsible, and focused on the needs of

26:23 ↗ our residents, prioritizing the

26:25 ↗ breadandbut issues of our city, while

26:26 ↗ also ensuring that residents who are

26:28 ↗ excited about new initiatives know that

26:30 ↗ they have a seat at the table and that

26:31 ↗ the sky is the limit. Thank you, and I

26:34 ↗ appreciate your time and consideration.

26:36 ↗ >> Thank you very much, Landon.

26:39 ↗ Next, we have Katherine.

26:43 ↗ Oh, you're up, Catherine.

26:47 ↗ >> [laughter]

26:52 ↗ >> Okay, this is on. Wonderful. All right.

26:54 ↗ Thank you.

26:57 ↗ Good evening, council members, staff,

27:00 ↗ Mayor Mullet, fellow applicants, fellow

27:02 ↗ neighbors, and a special hello to my

27:05 ↗ girls who said that they are watching at

27:06 ↗ home. Uh they think it's pretty cool

27:09 ↗ that mom gets to be on TV today.

27:11 ↗ [laughter]

27:12 ↗ Uh, my name is Katherine Hurt, but

27:15 ↗ everybody calls me Katie. I first moved

27:17 ↗ to Isiqua in 1994.

27:20 ↗ Uh, and had lived and went to school at

27:23 ↗ the public schools here at Isiqua Valley

27:26 ↗ Elementary, Clark Elementary, Isiqua

27:28 ↗ Middle, and Isiqua High School, where

27:31 ↗ then I went on to get my degrees in

27:33 ↗ economics and political science at the

27:35 ↗ University of Washington, and my JD at

27:38 ↗ Seattle University. I have been in

27:41 ↗ practice as an attorney for 13 years now

27:45 ↗ and I have been behind this podium two

27:48 ↗ times. Uh the first was in 2019 the

27:51 ↗ first time that I applied for and uh

27:54 ↗ council member Walsh is nodding her head

27:57 ↗ because she was the one selected. Great

28:00 ↗ choice by the way. She's still here. Um,

28:04 ↗ and many things have changed in the

28:09 ↗ actually seven years. I wrote down six.

28:11 ↗ Uh, in the seven years, uh, first of

28:14 ↗ one, I no longer have a baby. I now have

28:16 ↗ a seven-year-old and a 5-year-old who

28:18 ↗ both go to Isaqua Valley Elementary.

28:21 ↗ I those two schoolage kids who have

28:24 ↗ many, many questions. And through those

28:28 ↗ questions, I have learned many things. I

28:31 ↗ have als I also have seven more years of

28:33 ↗ legal practice under my belt in which I

28:36 ↗ have done litigation. I talk with the

28:38 ↗ public a lot. Uh and I um am able to

28:46 ↗ take in a lot of information from a lot

28:48 ↗ of very emotional people,

28:51 ↗ marry it with the law and come up with

28:53 ↗ multiple solutions that we can move

28:56 ↗ forward towards goals.

28:59 ↗ Communicating complex legal issues to

29:01 ↗ members of the general public who are

29:03 ↗ very emotional is a difficult skill and

29:08 ↗ I work with laws. I work with people. I

29:13 ↗ work with questions, curiosity and clear

29:15 ↗ communication.

29:17 ↗ The second time that I was behind this

29:20 ↗ podium was for the strategic planning

29:22 ↗ committee presentation.

29:25 ↗ I so enjoyed that work. I specifically

29:29 ↗ enjoyed my work in the infrastructure

29:32 ↗ committee. I learned more in those eight

29:36 ↗ weeks than I learned in the previous 30

29:38 ↗ plus years

29:41 ↗ about city governments, how this city in

29:44 ↗ particular works, and what our goals and

29:46 ↗ priorities are moving forward.

29:49 ↗ [snorts]

29:50 ↗ After the presentation, that excitement

29:53 ↗ and passion did not go away. My work

29:57 ↗ felt very unfinished. I want to continue

29:59 ↗ the work. It would be a great honor to

30:02 ↗ join you behind the dis to help shape

30:05 ↗ this wonderful place that we all call

30:07 ↗ call home. And thank you for your time

30:10 ↗ and consideration. Thank you.

30:15 ↗ >> Thank you very much, Katie. Okay, next

30:17 ↗ we have Paul.

30:29 ↗ Hello, my name is Paul Ignasio Rodriguez

30:33 ↗ Adair. Yes, it's a long name. I am a CPA

30:36 ↗ with my own small accounting practice. I

30:38 ↗ have two small children, one in

30:40 ↗ elementary and one in preschool. I grew

30:42 ↗ up in a Texas town in the desert with

30:44 ↗ literal tumble weeds rolling through

30:46 ↗ town. So to be here and happy in this

30:49 ↗ green, beautiful space is something that

30:52 ↗ I deeply cherish. And I'm somebody that

30:54 ↗ believes if you love something, you step

30:56 ↗ up and work for it. So here I am. I'm

30:59 ↗ currently on the parks board and

31:01 ↗ recently completed the public safety and

31:02 ↗ civic facilities task force. My wife is

31:05 ↗ currently on PPC and is advocacy

31:07 ↗ director for the PTA. As you probably

31:09 ↗ guessed from my job, I love numbers,

31:11 ↗ data sets, and spreadsheets. But because

31:14 ↗ of my work, I don't just know about

31:15 ↗ formulas and bottom lines. I know how

31:18 ↗ those numbers relate to people and their

31:20 ↗ lives. I know how budgets shouldn't just

31:22 ↗ cut costs, but invest in real tangible

31:25 ↗ goals for both the short term and the

31:26 ↗ long term. I also have a deeply held

31:29 ↗ conviction that the strongest towns are

31:31 ↗ the ones that welcome, connect, and

31:33 ↗ support everyone, no matter their

31:35 ↗ background, resources, or way of life.

31:38 ↗ My perspective on council would be to

31:40 ↗ consider what good we're doing

31:41 ↗ specifically for the people of our

31:43 ↗ community and if our choices are

31:45 ↗ encouraging interaction, increasing

31:47 ↗ accessibility, and other social vitality

31:49 ↗ markers. Are we making sure everyone

31:52 ↗ feels supported and a part of the place

31:54 ↗ that they can call home?

31:56 ↗ Three areas in particular I hope to help

31:59 ↗ are housing, the police station, and the

32:02 ↗ budget. The primary economic driver of

32:04 ↗ any town are the people that live there.

32:06 ↗ But every day people are getting priced

32:08 ↗ out of the opportunity to do that here.

32:10 ↗ We need more housing that is more varied

32:12 ↗ in type, size, and cost. I would support

32:15 ↗ and work to make changes to our codes

32:17 ↗ and permitting, making it easier to and

32:19 ↗ cheaper to build here. But I would want

32:22 ↗ to do so in a thoughtful way. Concrete

32:24 ↗ box housing and strip malls are cheap

32:26 ↗ and easy to build, but they don't build

32:27 ↗ a place that people actually want to

32:29 ↗ stay in. So I would want updated and

32:31 ↗ streamlined code made with intention.

32:34 ↗ intention to build homes, businesses,

32:36 ↗ and places that people want to live,

32:37 ↗ linger, and connect in rather than just

32:39 ↗ pass through. You know, I believe that

32:42 ↗ government needs to have a guiding hand

32:43 ↗ on development, but that also perfect

32:45 ↗ can be the enemy of good, and I'd rather

32:47 ↗ have more housing than gas stations, as

32:49 ↗ we've seen recently.

32:51 ↗ I also know that we must deal with the

32:53 ↗ issue of the police station. My time on

32:55 ↗ that task force showed me that the

32:56 ↗ police station has severe problems. And

32:59 ↗ if is to grow as we expect and want, we

33:02 ↗ can't continue to maintain public safety

33:03 ↗ without expanding their space. But where

33:06 ↗ to put city hall, how to pay for it,

33:07 ↗ these are difficult choices that are

33:09 ↗ going to have a huge impact on the isqua

33:11 ↗ 20 to 50 years from now. So we have to

33:13 ↗ get this right. And as someone who came

33:15 ↗ to that task for to that task force with

33:17 ↗ doubts but whose mind was changed by

33:20 ↗ being there, I feel I can both help

33:21 ↗ determine that solution and show the

33:23 ↗ public why they need to do this. Last is

33:26 ↗ the budget, which you'd guess from my

33:28 ↗ job. But one of my priorities on my

33:30 ↗ budget is going to be making sure we are

33:32 ↗ preparing proper contingencies for the

33:34 ↗ troubled times we face. Due to the chaos

33:36 ↗ of the federal government, towns like

33:38 ↗ ours are going to be largely on our own.

33:41 ↗ And as more unprecedented times hit us,

33:43 ↗ we need to make sure we have the

33:44 ↗ resources to take care of this

33:45 ↗ community.

33:47 ↗ Finally, one last thing I feel compelled

33:49 ↗ to say during this opportunity to speak

33:51 ↗ to you all is that as the federal

33:53 ↗ government becomes more and more

33:54 ↗ aggressive towards our neighbors and our

33:56 ↗ co-workers, it's going to be up to those

33:58 ↗ in local government to step up and

34:00 ↗ protect them. when ICE is coming to our

34:02 ↗ daycarees and taking parents or worse,

34:05 ↗ as we've seen in the news recently, we

34:07 ↗ we absolutely

34:09 ↗ can't stand by and do nothing. So, I

34:11 ↗ implore this council and these city

34:13 ↗ leaders to have a response and action

34:15 ↗ plan in place and ready to protect our

34:17 ↗ residents and help dispel fears in the

34:19 ↗ community. People deserve to feel safe

34:21 ↗ here and that their leaders are standing

34:23 ↗ up for them.

34:25 ↗ In closing, I came here today because I

34:28 ↗ feel the next few years are pivotal

34:29 ↗ point for our town's future. But I also

34:32 ↗ feel this town and its people are

34:34 ↗ special and unique. That we can meet

34:36 ↗ this moment and that we can show our

34:38 ↗ people that the government can work and

34:39 ↗ deliver for them. And if this council

34:42 ↗ feels I can help, I would be honored to

34:44 ↗ do so for my community and my home.

34:47 ↗ Thank you for your time and

34:48 ↗ consideration.

34:49 ↗ >> Thank you very much, Paul.

34:53 ↗ Next up, we have Connie.

35:08 ↗ >> Good evening and uh thank you to the

35:11 ↗ council, to the mayor for this

35:12 ↗ opportunity to present my qualifications

35:14 ↗ for consideration.

35:16 ↗ Based on our time constraints, there's

35:18 ↗ four areas I would like to touch on

35:20 ↗ briefly.

35:22 ↗ I'm a novice at this. So, first about

35:24 ↗ me, born and raised in the Chicago

35:26 ↗ suburbs, uh I fell in love with the

35:28 ↗ Northwest on a driving vacation um back

35:32 ↗ in the 90s. And in 2000, I was given the

35:35 ↗ opportunity to relocate here for a

35:37 ↗ position with Kico Phillips. I settled

35:40 ↗ in Isiqua and have fallen in love with

35:42 ↗ the city and everything about continuing

35:45 ↗ to make it better.

35:47 ↗ Um, I'm single, love to travel, hike,

35:50 ↗ read mysteries, historical fiction, love

35:53 ↗ to read. Uh, I currently volunteer at

35:55 ↗ the Washington Talking Book and Braille

35:58 ↗ Library, uh, recording books for the

36:00 ↗ blind, and I've also, uh, volunteered at

36:03 ↗ HopeLink. I live in the Seamish Hills

36:06 ↗ complex and have been a member of its

36:08 ↗ board of directors for the past 15

36:10 ↗ years, and I'm currently serving as its

36:12 ↗ president. I was also involved in

36:14 ↗ community theater for 15 years and on

36:17 ↗ and off stage roles and a member of the

36:20 ↗ board of directors uh for several years

36:22 ↗ there. Second, my experience. It's clear

36:27 ↗ that several highly qualified candidates

36:29 ↗ have presented this evening thus far.

36:32 ↗ And though I have no direct experience

36:34 ↗ in council or other city administrative

36:36 ↗ functions, I'm confident that my career

36:39 ↗ experience will lend itself uh to that

36:42 ↗ of a council person. My career has been

36:45 ↗ spent in supply chain management. I've

36:48 ↗ procured and managed construction and

36:50 ↗ facility services contracts for such

36:52 ↗ diverse industries as telecom,

36:55 ↗ petroleum, biotech, and aerospace.

36:59 ↗ I'm a recent retiree from Boeing. Um,

37:02 ↗ roles within that environment included

37:04 ↗ procurement of construction services,

37:07 ↗ most notably in charge of teams

37:09 ↗ selecting contractors for the design and

37:12 ↗ construction of the 787 manufacturing

37:14 ↗ facility in South Carolina. Excuse

37:17 ↗ [clears throat] me. Additionally, I was

37:20 ↗ sub contracts subject matter expert

37:23 ↗ assigned to assist with a closure of a

37:25 ↗ construction project for the Indian Air

37:27 ↗ Force. uh in New Delhi. I've managed

37:31 ↗ suppliers and contractors to work within

37:34 ↗ internal customer budgets while

37:36 ↗ maintaining the overall project

37:38 ↗ objectives.

37:39 ↗ My team bid, awarded and managed

37:42 ↗ multiple contracts totaling 900 million

37:45 ↗ to complete the 787 facility I

37:48 ↗ referenced. I believe this speaks to my

37:51 ↗ ability to support uh budgeting efforts

37:53 ↗ for the city.

37:55 ↗ My role as a subject matter expert

37:58 ↗ involved coordinating and conducting

38:00 ↗ meetings that encompassed the internal

38:02 ↗ customer, multiple suppliers, and

38:05 ↗ executive management to ensure that all

38:07 ↗ parties were aligned as the status of as

38:10 ↗ to the status of contract and supply

38:12 ↗ milestones.

38:13 ↗ I see coordinated communication as a key

38:17 ↗ factor in working within the council and

38:20 ↗ with Isiqua citizenship and with the

38:22 ↗ many businesses, charities, developers,

38:25 ↗ and legal experts who interact with the

38:27 ↗ city on a regular basis.

38:30 ↗ Based on my experience serving in

38:32 ↗ multiple board positions, I'm accustomed

38:34 ↗ to meeting deadlines, addressing

38:36 ↗ budgetary concerns, and working with my

38:39 ↗ peers to make decisions and address

38:41 ↗ issues as needed. [clears throat]

38:44 ↗ Third, the strategic plan. I'm

38:47 ↗ interested in all facets of the

38:49 ↗ strategic plan. However, there's some

38:50 ↗ particular issues that I'm passionate

38:52 ↗ about and others have spoken of them as

38:55 ↗ well. And based on the 2025 survey, so

38:58 ↗ are 75% of Isiqua's population.

39:02 ↗ The quality of land use, planning, and

39:05 ↗ zoning. There's currently 13

39:07 ↗ developments in various stages of

39:09 ↗ planning right now, mostly town homes,

39:12 ↗ rental units, and senior rental

39:14 ↗ facilities.

39:16 ↗ None of these appear to address

39:17 ↗ affordable and accessible housing for

39:19 ↗ those seniors and disabled individuals

39:22 ↗ desiring to live independently.

39:25 ↗ such as condo or townhouse facilities

39:27 ↗ with elevators that might accommodate

39:30 ↗ their lifestyle.

39:31 ↗ Um infrastructure and traffic flow. The

39:35 ↗ need to address uh this is required to

39:38 ↗ support the planned population growth of

39:40 ↗ all of these uh uh units that we're

39:44 ↗ putting out. Improved quality of public

39:47 ↗ transportation within the city. Um, is

39:50 ↗ the metroflex intracity transit option

39:53 ↗ being used effectively? Has it been

39:56 ↗ communicated effectively? Is there more

39:58 ↗ that we can do with that? And finally,

40:01 ↗ what I see as perhaps the most essential

40:03 ↗ qualification for this position is the

40:06 ↗ ability to communicate effectively, to

40:09 ↗ maintain open and honest communication

40:11 ↗ within the council, to be an active

40:13 ↗ listener to members opinions and

40:15 ↗ resident concerns.

40:18 ↗ >> Time please wrap up. Okay, I just had

40:20 ↗ one sentence left, but that's all right.

40:22 ↗ Okay, I wanted to say and to effectively

40:25 ↗ communicate the council's positions

40:27 ↗ externally as necessary. I believe my

40:30 ↗ experience lends itself to this role and

40:32 ↗ I hope to serve Isiqua residents as a

40:34 ↗ council member.

40:35 ↗ >> Thank Thank you very much, Connie.

40:38 ↗ And next we have Antoine.

40:48 ↗ Hello. Thank you. First time here.

40:55 ↗ Good evening, council president, council

40:58 ↗ members, mayor Mullet, and all of our

41:02 ↗ neighbors. My name is Antoine Pin.

41:06 ↗ Thank you for the opportunity to speak

41:08 ↗ to you

41:10 ↗ about why I am seeking an appointment

41:15 ↗ as council position number two and how I

41:21 ↗ would serve the community I live in.

41:25 ↗ I'm a proud Isiqua resident of over 10

41:28 ↗ years.

41:31 ↗ I'm a husband and a dad.

41:35 ↗ I am a civic volunteer

41:38 ↗ and the current president of the

41:40 ↗ Washington State Geocaching Association.

41:45 ↗ A role that has me organizing

41:47 ↗ familyfriendly

41:49 ↗ outdoor events,

41:51 ↗ stewarding our parks, our waterways, and

41:55 ↗ our trails.

41:58 ↗ and partnering with local groups to

42:01 ↗ connect people to this place that we all

42:05 ↗ love.

42:08 ↗ My path to public service started with

42:12 ↗ hands-on

42:14 ↗ community work.

42:16 ↗ I've led large volunteer teams,

42:21 ↗ coordinated complex events without much

42:24 ↗ fanfare,

42:27 ↗ and learn to listen first, which is

42:30 ↗ probably the most important part.

42:34 ↗ Professionally, I'm a certified wine

42:36 ↗ maker

42:38 ↗ and I've spent decades in the wine and

42:42 ↗ spirits industry

42:44 ↗ from

42:46 ↗ making the wine to brand development,

42:51 ↗ marketing,

42:53 ↗ um, imports, exports, retail leadership.

42:58 ↗ I even

43:00 ↗ uh broke a world record for selling the

43:03 ↗ most expensive single bottle of whiskey

43:06 ↗ to one person from one independent store

43:08 ↗ here in Isiqua to a resident in the

43:11 ↗ Highlands. 76 and a half thousand.

43:16 ↗ Yeah. Which basically means that I

43:20 ↗ understand small business realities,

43:24 ↗ the supply chain, compliance, and the

43:27 ↗ importance of clear, honest

43:30 ↗ communication with customers,

43:33 ↗ stakeholders,

43:34 ↗ but more importantly, residents

43:37 ↗ and my neighbors.

43:40 ↗ Personally,

43:44 ↗ I'm a French American. I'm comfortable

43:46 ↗ in English. I'm comfortable comfortable

43:49 ↗ in French. And I'm com comfortable in

43:53 ↗ all cultures.

43:57 ↗ I value Isiqua's growing diversity very

44:00 ↗ much. As an avid geocacher,

44:05 ↗ an experienced sailor, and an ice hockey

44:08 ↗ enthusiast, I bring energy and teamwork

44:10 ↗ to everything I do, and I never turn

44:13 ↗ away hope.

44:16 ↗ Isqua is at an inflection point. We're

44:20 ↗ managing growth, investing in mobility,

44:23 ↗ caring for our environment,

44:26 ↗ and strengthening our neighborhood feel.

44:30 ↗ I'm applying because I've been doing the

44:33 ↗ connective work on the ground, helping

44:36 ↗ groups coordinate, recruiting

44:39 ↗ volunteers,

44:40 ↗ and stewarding public spaces.

44:44 ↗ And I want to bring that practical, that

44:46 ↗ practical bridgebuilding

44:49 ↗ mindset to policy decisions.

44:53 ↗ My northstar is simple.

44:56 ↗ a transparent process,

44:58 ↗ pragmatic solutions,

45:01 ↗ and community trust.

45:07 ↗ You will see me in the places where

45:11 ↗ residents already gather at Pickering

45:14 ↗ for the farmers markets,

45:16 ↗ on the trail heads down the street where

45:19 ↗ Bill used to run every day.

45:23 ↗ hatchery events helping Mark count fish

45:27 ↗ chapter meetings, chapter meetups

45:30 ↗ actually,

45:32 ↗ and environmental park cleanups.

45:36 ↗ Isiqua is a special is special. We're a

45:40 ↗ small town with big responsibilities

45:43 ↗ and that balance demands council members

45:47 ↗ who can work shoulder-to-shoulder

45:50 ↗ with staff,

45:51 ↗ community partners, and residents, says

45:56 ↗ residents.

45:58 ↗ I'm ready to do the work practically.

46:01 ↗ I'll stop there. Respect everyone else.

46:04 ↗ >> Thank you very much, Antoine. We

46:05 ↗ appreciate that.

46:06 ↗ >> Thank you, everyone.

46:08 ↗ Next we have Fred.

46:19 ↗ Dear Mayor, staff and councilmen,

46:22 ↗ Isqua is my home, and it's been my home

46:26 ↗ for 42 years.

46:30 ↗ I often moved with my parents so often

46:33 ↗ that I never felt that I had a hometown.

46:37 ↗ And that changed in 1984

46:40 ↗ when as a newly single dad tugging along

46:45 ↗ two young school boys, we moved to

46:48 ↗ Isiqua.

46:49 ↗ And I did it with intention.

46:52 ↗ I wanted to put finally my tap routt

46:56 ↗ deeply down into a community. And I did

46:59 ↗ that by beginning to volunteer.

47:02 ↗ And the more that I volunteered, the

47:06 ↗ more I learned about the community.

47:09 ↗ And I also had the intention

47:13 ↗ of making certain that I did my small

47:17 ↗ part to help guide decisions so that

47:22 ↗ Isiqua would become progressively a

47:25 ↗ better and better place for my kids to

47:29 ↗ come back to.

47:31 ↗ When we got here, there were 7,500

47:35 ↗ of us in the community, and it's grown

47:38 ↗ slightly since then.

47:41 ↗ Um,

47:42 ↗ the more I gave in volunteering,

47:47 ↗ I got more back from the community.

47:50 ↗ Unexpectedly,

47:53 ↗ I was humbly blessed by being selected

47:56 ↗ as a uh citizen of the year,

48:00 ↗ volunteer of the year,

48:03 ↗ communicator of the year.

48:06 ↗ Um, but perhaps the most significant

48:10 ↗ award that I was ever given, the most

48:13 ↗ meaningful to me was receiving the

48:16 ↗ Golden Apple Award from the Esqua School

48:19 ↗ Foundation for 15 years worth of

48:23 ↗ dedication to kids in the school

48:25 ↗ district.

48:27 ↗ Now, the awards and their recognition

48:29 ↗ are wonderful. They warm your heart.

48:31 ↗ They give you something to hang in your

48:33 ↗ hallway.

48:34 ↗ But the real importance was knowing that

48:37 ↗ my time and effort made a difference in

48:41 ↗ the lives of some of the people that we

48:43 ↗ touched.

48:45 ↗ And it helped me

48:48 ↗ create that better and better community

48:51 ↗ slowly over time. Again, a small piece

48:55 ↗ of that.

48:57 ↗ But my taproot now is deeply in Isua.

49:01 ↗ Um, and it's established as my very

49:04 ↗ first hometown.

49:08 ↗ Now,

49:10 ↗ recently I retired

49:12 ↗ and I have the time, the energy, and the

49:15 ↗ spirit to give to this open seat on the

49:20 ↗ city council.

49:23 ↗ Um,

49:24 ↗ I have no further political obligation,

49:27 ↗ not obligations, inclinations. I I'm not

49:31 ↗ using this as a stepping stone. Um, but

49:34 ↗ I want to be able to

49:37 ↗ ensure that I can take my 40 years of

49:40 ↗ insight in the community and help apply

49:43 ↗ it in a way to decisions that give us a

49:46 ↗ continual

49:48 ↗ uh improvement curve in the life of our

49:51 ↗ community for the next 40 years.

49:56 ↗ We were asked to talk about three

49:58 ↗ things.

50:00 ↗ and mine will be slightly different than

50:02 ↗ what I've heard tonight.

50:04 ↗ The [clears throat] first one comes

50:05 ↗ under communications.

50:07 ↗ Uh my professional background helps me

50:09 ↗ to see things that may not be uh evident

50:13 ↗ to you at first. And the first one is

50:17 ↗ that we're going to have an online

50:19 ↗ newspaper in town shortly.

50:22 ↗ And with any new change in a in a

50:26 ↗ community like this, it has a pros and a

50:28 ↗ cons. The pros are they may well be able

50:32 ↗ to help us knit back together the

50:34 ↗ community some of the community values

50:37 ↗ that we've lost since 19 Yeah. 2017

50:42 ↗ when the Isiqua Press was closed. The

50:45 ↗ negative will mainly fall on you and

50:48 ↗ that's for the first time in nine years.

50:52 ↗ Your decisions, your deliberations, and

50:55 ↗ your decisions will be translated to the

50:59 ↗ community through the eyes and the ears

51:00 ↗ of a Cub reporter.

51:03 ↗ That's different.

51:06 ↗ Now, unless you do something to reach

51:10 ↗ the citizenry directly and explain

51:14 ↗ yourself, you're at

51:16 ↗ risk of losing your own narrative.

51:20 ↗ There is a lot that goes on.

51:24 ↗ That's not five minutes, Mark.

51:26 ↗ >> That was five minutes, R. [laughter]

51:30 ↗ >> So, um I I don't want you to risk your

51:33 ↗ narrative. And I'm I'm here to say that

51:35 ↗ with my background, I think we can help

51:38 ↗ develop

51:40 ↗ ways to directly reach our citizens to

51:45 ↗ explain in detail the kinds of things

51:47 ↗ that you're looking at. the

51:49 ↗ decision-making process and how you're

51:51 ↗ looking out for their general interests

51:53 ↗ and help them be as informed and elect

51:57 ↗ electric

51:58 ↗ elected.

52:00 ↗ You know what I'm It's hard when to

52:02 ↗ staring at me in [laughter]

52:03 ↗ his screen.

52:04 ↗ >> He has that effect on people.

52:05 ↗ >> Uh it's hard to be as informed a

52:09 ↗ citizenry as we can possibly get

52:14 ↗ the

52:15 ↗ >> We have to wrap up. Sorry. We have to We

52:17 ↗ have

52:17 ↗ >> That was five minutes. That was five

52:18 ↗ minutes. Yeah. So,

52:19 ↗ >> I thought you got to be sure.

52:20 ↗ >> No, no, no.

52:21 ↗ >> Thank you very much.

52:22 ↗ >> Thank you very much.

52:23 ↗ >> Other two were transportation and

52:26 ↗ the uh extension of the um light rail.

52:31 ↗ Thank you.

52:32 ↗ >> Thank you very much. And next up we have

52:34 ↗ Adam.

52:43 ↗ Testing. It's done. Are you guys awake?

52:47 ↗ Long night. All right. Good evening,

52:49 ↗ council members, mayor, former mayor,

52:52 ↗ city staff, fellow applicants. It should

52:56 ↗ come as no surprise by this point in the

52:57 ↗ night that I, Adam Fuch, am an applicant

53:01 ↗ for the vacant city council position.

53:04 ↗ Uh, I prepared a 15minute speech for

53:06 ↗ tonight, kind of like Fred, and uh, at

53:09 ↗ the end of which you were all but

53:10 ↗ guaranteed uh, to achieve enlightenment.

53:13 ↗ Uh, unfortunately, I had to cut most of

53:15 ↗ it for time. Uh so let's get on with uh

53:18 ↗ as you've heard from other applicants

53:20 ↗ tonight, Isiqua is a tremendous place to

53:22 ↗ live and the council is doing a

53:24 ↗ wonderful job. Uh it is the nature of

53:27 ↗ the duality in which we live that that

53:29 ↗ is both true and false. Some members of

53:32 ↗ our community thrive uh and others

53:35 ↗ struggle.

53:36 ↗ Uh we are continually faced with the

53:38 ↗ truths that we are doing a good job uh

53:41 ↗ and that we can do better.

53:43 ↗ When I first came to Isiqua in the late

53:45 ↗ the late 90s, it was a quieter place. Uh

53:48 ↗ the population has since doubled. With

53:51 ↗ that growth, we've seen great benefits.

53:53 ↗ So, we have worldclass restaurants. We

53:55 ↗ have immersive arts and culture and

53:57 ↗ multiple corporate headquarters.

54:00 ↗ Uh but growth comes with challenges as

54:02 ↗ well. So many in our community face a

54:04 ↗ lack of housing affordability and heavy

54:07 ↗ traffic largely induced by insufficient

54:09 ↗ infrastructure to support the growth in

54:11 ↗ neighboring cities.

54:14 ↗ Housing growth throughout King County

54:16 ↗ has not kept up with population growth.

54:18 ↗ Uh so recent data has shown about 50,000

54:21 ↗ housing units deficit relative to the

54:25 ↗ number of households in King County. Uh

54:28 ↗ so in computer science we learn about

54:30 ↗ the pigeon hole principle. you don't

54:32 ↗ have enough pigeon holes for all the

54:33 ↗ pigeons. Some of the pigeons don't get a

54:34 ↗ pigeon hole. Uh and so what that means

54:37 ↗ is that uh some members of our society

54:40 ↗ face uh a lack of affordable housing uh

54:43 ↗ and some of them face homelessness

54:45 ↗ largely because there's not enough

54:47 ↗ housing.

54:50 ↗ So uh my house value has grown uh but my

54:56 ↗ kids' friends have had to move away

54:58 ↗ in search of stability. Housing

55:02 ↗ affordability is experienced unevenly

55:04 ↗ across the population. Uh within the LEO

55:07 ↗ organization, uh I currently lead a task

55:09 ↗ force dedicated to updating the

55:11 ↗ strategic plan. Uh so LEO, which several

55:14 ↗ folks have uh participated in

55:16 ↗ volunteering with LEO in the past. I

55:18 ↗ really appreciate that. Uh LEO provides

55:20 ↗ housing for dozens of individuals with

55:22 ↗ developmental disabilities uh who need

55:25 ↗ community support to live their best

55:27 ↗ lives. uh but hundreds more in our area

55:30 ↗ are at risk.

55:34 ↗ The economics of housing have never been

55:36 ↗ simple and there is no optimal solution.

55:39 ↗ Nonetheless, the city has a

55:40 ↗ responsibility to ensure that the system

55:42 ↗ works for all members of society and we

55:45 ↗ must simultaneously

55:47 ↗ celebrate our successes and address our

55:49 ↗ deficiencies.

55:51 ↗ City code is a living thing.

55:55 ↗ In the security world, we study the rate

55:57 ↗ at which our adversaries evolve

56:00 ↗ and we learn to match them with defenses

56:03 ↗ that adapt just as fast.

56:06 ↗ In city government, adversaries may be

56:08 ↗ private interests that are mis

56:10 ↗ misaligned with the public trust.

56:12 ↗ Emergent behaviors from a growing

56:14 ↗ population uh or threats of a changing

56:16 ↗ environment.

56:19 ↗ The hundreds of city staff, volunteers,

56:21 ↗ and elected officials have shown they

56:23 ↗ are capable of amazing work at the helm

56:25 ↗ of the city given the right tools and

56:27 ↗ organization.

56:29 ↗ As a member of council, I would advocate

56:32 ↗ for tools like codified tests that

56:34 ↗ represent our vision, predictive models

56:37 ↗ for traffic and for the economics of

56:39 ↗ development that help us to avoid

56:40 ↗ unintended consequences,

56:43 ↗ and process improvements to explore and

56:45 ↗ adjudicate bills and amendments more

56:47 ↗ efficiently.

56:49 ↗ I don't know where we'll end up on the

56:51 ↗ issues in five or 10 years. Uh but I'm

56:54 ↗ willing to bring to the table the drive

56:55 ↗ to fairly represent all of Isiqua,

56:58 ↗ the creativity to find novel solutions,

57:01 ↗ and a diversity of experience to solve

57:04 ↗ harder problems

57:06 ↗ as we figure it out together.

57:10 ↗ I have contributed to the well-being of

57:12 ↗ the nation as a member of the

57:14 ↗ intelligence community. I've built a

57:16 ↗ company from scratch as an entrepreneur.

57:19 ↗ I've optimized the development and

57:21 ↗ operations of massive scale computing

57:23 ↗ services as a principal engineer. And

57:26 ↗ I've volunteered in our community to

57:27 ↗ advance noble causes close to home.

57:30 ↗ I will continue to serve Isiqua with

57:33 ↗ hard work and dedication, whether as a

57:35 ↗ member of city council or otherwise.

57:38 ↗ Sorry, that came out as more of a threat

57:40 ↗ than I intended. Um, but thank you for

57:43 ↗ considering me for the opportunity.

57:45 ↗ All right. Thank you very much, Adam.

57:47 ↗ Really appreciate that.

57:50 ↗ Okay, our final presenter tonight is

57:53 ↗ Jeff.

58:00 ↗ Good evening, everyone. It's nice to see

58:02 ↗ you. Good evening, Mayor Mullet, council

58:04 ↗ members, hardworking CIC city of Isiqua

58:06 ↗ staff, and really, really impressive

58:09 ↗ fellow applicants. Uh you guys are you

58:11 ↗ guys have great great choices here to

58:13 ↗ make tonight. you're going to be in good

58:14 ↗ shape regardless. I'm Jeff Newell and

58:17 ↗ one of my favorite things about Isukiqua

58:18 ↗ is how much of its beauty and

58:20 ↗ acquaintance have not changed since my

58:22 ↗ parents first drove my sister and I here

58:24 ↗ in 1980. Very few cities in our area can

58:27 ↗ make that proud claim. I believe it

58:29 ↗ stayed that way through a little bit of

58:30 ↗ luck and a lot of good planning and

58:32 ↗ leadership by folks like you all.

58:34 ↗ Leadership that I want to contribute to

58:36 ↗ along with my wife Jennifer who works

58:38 ↗ for the Isqua school district. We've

58:39 ↗ raised our two daughters in Isukqua.

58:41 ↗ I've coached youth teams here, hosted

58:43 ↗ conventions here, worked here, commuted

58:45 ↗ here, volunteered here, recreated and

58:48 ↗ thrived here, and I currently serve on

58:49 ↗ the parks board. I want to sustain all

58:52 ↗ that we love about Isiqua. To do this,

58:55 ↗ I'll bring my background in journalism,

58:57 ↗ technology, consulting, sales, and army

58:59 ↗ leadership to the council. The common

59:01 ↗ thread woven throughout these careers

59:02 ↗ has been the art of listening. Nothing

59:04 ↗ is learned by talking. Only

59:06 ↗ understanding through listening to many

59:08 ↗ voices will lead to successful solutions

59:10 ↗ to challenges and problems. My 27 years

59:13 ↗ in the state's National Guard and Army

59:15 ↗ reserves enhanced my ability to work

59:17 ↗ with people from all different

59:18 ↗ backgrounds and beliefs. And once an

59:20 ↗ understanding was achieved, it was then

59:22 ↗ about connecting the right people to

59:24 ↗ move forward with executing a plan and

59:26 ↗ solution. Connecting people is what I've

59:28 ↗ done for as long as I can remember. Some

59:29 ↗ of you have seen this firsthand. These

59:32 ↗ connections have happened organically

59:33 ↗ and through involvement in our beautiful

59:35 ↗ city. I want our city to provide options

59:37 ↗ for diverse groups of people when it

59:39 ↗ comes to living here. I believe that

59:41 ↗ with properly planned development

59:43 ↗ equaled with open spaces and community,

59:45 ↗ we can sustain and even enhance what

59:47 ↗ makes this so special. Parks, trails,

59:51 ↗ front street, Gilman village, and others

59:53 ↗ can coexist with affordable housing and

59:55 ↗ districts designed for economic growth.

59:57 ↗ I'll work towards an Isiqua where all

59:59 ↗ our citizens can both work and live

1:00:01 ↗ here. My senior at IHS, Hi Live, is

1:00:04 ↗ going to be a teacher. When she is, I

1:00:06 ↗ want her to be able to afford to live

1:00:08 ↗ here. She can then join the thousands

1:00:10 ↗ that frequent our small businesses that

1:00:12 ↗ both employ so many of our residents and

1:00:14 ↗ also provide steady revenue for our

1:00:16 ↗ programs and services, small businesses

1:00:18 ↗ that deserve our support. Along with

1:00:20 ↗ affordability, I believe there are

1:00:22 ↗ several key issues that are facing our

1:00:23 ↗ city that I want to work on. Number one

1:00:26 ↗ is maintaining our incredible police

1:00:27 ↗ department. I'm so I was so impressed to

1:00:29 ↗ learn recently that they unlike many

1:00:32 ↗ nearby communities answer all calls.

1:00:34 ↗ That is such a great service to our

1:00:35 ↗ community. We need to ensure we keep the

1:00:37 ↗ community involved force and find them

1:00:39 ↗ room for operations.

1:00:41 ↗ The other issues I would lean into

1:00:42 ↗ include mobility. I support and agree

1:00:45 ↗ with another I90 crossing. The one we

1:00:47 ↗ did 10 years ago has been a gamecher for

1:00:49 ↗ folks like me that live north of I90.

1:00:52 ↗ Speaking of north of I90, I love my

1:00:54 ↗ neighborhood of South Lake Seamish.

1:00:56 ↗ Since we were annexed 20 years ago, our

1:00:58 ↗ approximately 1,400 households have been

1:01:00 ↗ under reppresented on this council.

1:01:03 ↗ Although this community is actively

1:01:04 ↗ engaged with city organizations, it

1:01:06 ↗ remains physically disconnected due to

1:01:08 ↗ the lack of safe pedestrian and bicycle

1:01:10 ↗ routes to the downtown that we all know

1:01:12 ↗ about. It's it's contributed to a

1:01:14 ↗ broader sense of separation.

1:01:16 ↗ I want to be a strong advocate not just

1:01:18 ↗ for South Lake, but for other

1:01:19 ↗ underrepresented areas such as Montro

1:01:21 ↗ and South Isiqua, both of those who are

1:01:24 ↗ equally seeking out representation and

1:01:27 ↗ for those that haven't felt involved or

1:01:29 ↗ listened to in the past. This year is

1:01:32 ↗ going to be a big budgeting year for

1:01:33 ↗ Isqua. I want to bring my experience as

1:01:35 ↗ a small business leader, an army

1:01:37 ↗ commander that dealt with a nine figure

1:01:39 ↗ uh budget and also my current role. I

1:01:42 ↗ also served as a fiduciary for employee

1:01:44 ↗ 401k plan. So, I know what it's like to

1:01:46 ↗ keep constituents best interests in mind

1:01:48 ↗ when making tough financial decisions.

1:01:51 ↗ I've coached my kids sports teams here.

1:01:52 ↗ I was the YMCA expedition lead for

1:01:55 ↗ Isiqua. I've hosted conventions here. I

1:01:57 ↗ volunteered at Sunset Elementary School,

1:01:59 ↗ the Isqua Food Bank, Isqua High School.

1:02:01 ↗ [snorts] All these involve bringing

1:02:03 ↗ people together, and that's what I love

1:02:04 ↗ to do. In the process, I've gotten to

1:02:06 ↗ know many citizens. Um, I've got

1:02:08 ↗ friendship with folks from Providence

1:02:10 ↗ [clears throat] Point to Squawk

1:02:11 ↗ Mountain, Montro to Greenwood Point, the

1:02:13 ↗ Highlands to Oldtown. And while I

1:02:15 ↗ appreciate the friendships, this is not

1:02:17 ↗ about popularity. I value their thoughts

1:02:19 ↗ and regular input when they share their

1:02:21 ↗ questions and opinions on Isiqua issues.

1:02:24 ↗ They're the ones that are living,

1:02:25 ↗ teaching, working, and running small

1:02:26 ↗ businesses and volunteering in this

1:02:28 ↗ city. It's kind of like I have an

1:02:30 ↗ impromptu task force every week when we

1:02:32 ↗ get together. Um, I know this is going

1:02:34 ↗ to be a really busy year and an

1:02:36 ↗ important year for the council. So, the

1:02:38 ↗ new council member needs to be ready to

1:02:40 ↗ quickly step in, roll up sleeves, and

1:02:42 ↗ work well with the six of you. I'm that

1:02:45 ↗ person, and I hope to serve Isqua in

1:02:46 ↗ that capacity. Thanks for your

1:02:48 ↗ consideration of this application.

1:02:52 ↗ >> All right. Thank you very much, Chef.

1:02:53 ↗ And I think what we saw tonight is

1:02:58 ↗ I think a lot of people look at Isqua

1:03:00 ↗ and they think of the natural scenic

1:03:02 ↗ beauty from the Isqua Alps, but I think

1:03:04 ↗ those of us who live in this community

1:03:05 ↗ realize a lot of the beauty of Isaac

1:03:07 ↗ comes from the passion and love the

1:03:09 ↗ residents have for this community. I

1:03:12 ↗ mean, having grown up in Doug will have

1:03:13 ↗ a vacancy on our school board or city

1:03:15 ↗ council and we'd have to twist arms to

1:03:16 ↗ get one or two people to apply. And so

1:03:19 ↗ to have something like tonight where you

1:03:21 ↗ have 12 well-qualified applicants who

1:03:24 ↗ you can really feel the love for this

1:03:26 ↗ community that came from all 12 of you

1:03:28 ↗ and we really do genuinely appreciate

1:03:31 ↗ everybody applying for this position

1:03:33 ↗ tonight.

1:03:35 ↗ We will now go in executive session.

1:03:37 ↗ This is just qualifications. the

1:03:38 ↗ appointment. It's RCW42.30.110

1:03:43 ↗ and

1:03:45 ↗ we don't have an exact [clears throat]

1:03:47 ↗ time frame on this. The close session is

1:03:49 ↗ supposed to take approximately 30 to 60

1:03:52 ↗ minutes. It may be extended. If time is

1:03:53 ↗ extended, the clerk will come out and

1:03:55 ↗ make an announcement. Um, the city

1:03:57 ↗ council is planning to act after the

1:03:58 ↗ close session as part of the open

1:04:00 ↗ meeting to narrow the applicants moving

1:04:02 ↗ forward. And like I said before, I think

1:04:03 ↗ our goal is to try to get down to three

1:04:06 ↗ or four applicants to move on to the

1:04:07 ↗ January 20th meeting. And uh if you

1:04:10 ↗ don't want to stay around, the clerk

1:04:12 ↗ will email out a list of the finalists

1:04:13 ↗ after tonight's meeting. And the

1:04:15 ↗ executive sessions are closed to the

1:04:17 ↗ public. And council members, we will be

1:04:19 ↗ going upstairs. I think council member

1:04:21 ↗ Marts, we're going to transfer you up

1:04:23 ↗ there virtually. and we will now go in

1:04:26 ↗ to executive session at 7:34 p.m. The

1:04:29 ↗ executive session will officially start

1:04:31 ↗ in 10 minutes to allow time for everyone

1:04:33 ↗ to get settled in upstairs. Thank you

1:04:35 ↗ very much.

1:04:48 ↗ need

1:04:52 ↗ and chocolate.

1:05:29 ↗ I'm not sorry.

1:25:24 ↗ Wow.

1:26:15 ↗ heard that

1:26:17 ↗ he

1:26:59 ↗ The whole cafeteria

1:27:52 ↗ experience.

1:28:05 ↗ And then

1:28:27 ↗ cousins.

1:29:43 ↗ We meet up

1:30:03 ↗ He's

1:30:13 ↗ like, "Are they going to do

1:31:14 ↗ This is

1:31:21 ↗ what I did.

1:31:32 ↗ It worked out.

1:35:39 ↗ They're

1:35:57 ↗ everywhere.

1:36:04 ↗ an old

1:36:35 ↗ better.

1:36:59 ↗ I think

1:37:03 ↗ that's

1:37:21 ↗ or they take over.

1:37:31 ↗ >> Oh yeah.

1:37:37 ↗ Very

1:37:54 ↗ happy.

1:38:15 ↗ I knew

1:38:36 ↗ I don't know.

1:39:26 ↗ Oh, no. I don't think they're

1:39:28 ↗ >> Well, no.

1:39:39 ↗ I heard

1:39:46 ↗ probably.

1:57:51 ↗ Arsen, I'm giving you the not so subtle

1:57:53 ↗ hint that we may be ready to go back.

1:58:03 ↗ We are back in open session at 8:28

1:58:06 ↗ p.m. And I want to first say there's one

1:58:11 ↗ time I'm really glad that I'm on the

1:58:12 ↗ mayor side instead of the council side.

1:58:14 ↗ It was tonight because it's hard when

1:58:16 ↗ you have this many qualified people to

1:58:18 ↗ go through the process. And I was glad

1:58:20 ↗ that they had to make that difficult

1:58:21 ↗ decision. I [laughter] was just there in

1:58:23 ↗ the room to monitor everything that was

1:58:25 ↗ going on. And this we like I said as I

1:58:28 ↗ iterated before this is we're very

1:58:30 ↗ fortunate in this community to to have

1:58:32 ↗ the number of qualified applicants we

1:58:34 ↗ get for an open council seat. And with

1:58:36 ↗ that council president DM Michelle would

1:58:38 ↗ you prefer to nominate people to a slate

1:58:40 ↗ or try to do nominations individually

1:58:42 ↗ one at a time?

1:58:44 ↗ >> U Mayor Mullet uh the council would like

1:58:46 ↗ to nominate to a slate.

1:58:48 ↗ >> Okay. So, with that, is there a motion

1:58:51 ↗ to nominate one of the applicants to the

1:58:54 ↗ slate to be voted on as a full group?

1:59:00 ↗ >> Oh, Council Member Jang.

1:59:03 ↗ >> Um, I would like to nominate Paul Adair.

1:59:08 ↗ >> Is there a second?

1:59:11 ↗ >> Second.

1:59:12 ↗ >> Okay. So, there's a nomination and a

1:59:15 ↗ second for Paulair. Are there any other

1:59:18 ↗ nominations? Council member Nichols.

1:59:21 ↗ >> I would like to nominate Landon

1:59:22 ↗ Halverson.

1:59:25 ↗ >> Council member Jen.

1:59:27 ↗ >> Second.

1:59:28 ↗ >> Okay. So, there's a nomination, a second

1:59:30 ↗ for Landon Halverson. Oh, do we have

1:59:34 ↗ council

1:59:36 ↗ member Mart's back?

1:59:39 ↗ Oh, okay. Sorry. Okay.

1:59:41 ↗ >> I'm here.

1:59:43 ↗ >> And I had my hand raised.

1:59:45 ↗ >> Sorry.

1:59:47 ↗ User error. I did better on the

1:59:50 ↗ microphone. Doesn't mean I'm managing

1:59:51 ↗ the Zoom stuff very well. Council member

1:59:53 ↗ Marts.

1:59:54 ↗ >> Yes. I'd like to nominate Katherine

1:59:56 ↗ Hurt.

2:00:01 ↗ >> Council member Joe.

2:00:02 ↗ >> Second.

2:00:03 ↗ >> Okay. There's a nomination. A second for

2:00:05 ↗ Katherine Hurt. Are there any other Oh,

2:00:08 ↗ Council Member Joe.

2:00:10 ↗ >> I'd like to nominate Jeffrey Newell.

2:00:15 ↗ Second.

2:00:16 ↗ >> There's a second.

2:00:19 ↗ >> Are there on the nominations at this

2:00:21 ↗ time?

2:00:25 ↗ Okay, this is the final call. Okay. So,

2:00:28 ↗ the slate of candidates that we have

2:00:34 ↗ to be discussed is going to be Katherine

2:00:37 ↗ uh Landon Halverson, Katherine Herk,

2:00:39 ↗ Paulair,

2:00:40 ↗ and Jeff Newell as a slate to go forward

2:00:43 ↗ to the January 20th council meeting for

2:00:47 ↗ the final round of considerations. Are

2:00:50 ↗ there any comments,

2:00:52 ↗ >> Council Member Walsh?

2:00:54 ↗ Well, I will just once again say um this

2:00:58 ↗ is a very difficult process to go

2:01:00 ↗ through a really really difficult to see

2:01:03 ↗ so many qualified applicants and um I

2:01:07 ↗ like Kelly have been on the other side

2:01:09 ↗ of this and so recognizing how hard it

2:01:13 ↗ is to put yourself out there, how hard

2:01:15 ↗ it is to

2:01:17 ↗ feel like you want to serve the

2:01:19 ↗ community and to know that there's only

2:01:20 ↗ one position on council. And so much

2:01:23 ↗ like in previous times, um I will just

2:01:26 ↗ say

2:01:28 ↗ there may only be seven seats on

2:01:30 ↗ council, but there are hundreds of seats

2:01:33 ↗ on our boards and commissions. And so

2:01:36 ↗ the community is richer um through that.

2:01:39 ↗ I certainly got a lot of experience and

2:01:42 ↗ was able to give back to the community

2:01:43 ↗ by being on the planning policy

2:01:45 ↗ commission. So, um, starting with that

2:01:48 ↗ and just saying gosh, thank you for

2:01:52 ↗ putting all of your voices out there.

2:01:54 ↗ Um, we are better as a community for it.

2:02:00 ↗ >> Council member Jen.

2:02:02 ↗ >> Yeah, I just want to reiterate, you

2:02:03 ↗ know, I was on the other side of this

2:02:05 ↗ not too long ago, and I think, you know,

2:02:08 ↗ it's very nerve-wracking to be here in

2:02:10 ↗ this room while we're up there, you

2:02:12 ↗ know, talking behind your all's backs.

2:02:14 ↗ Um, but as you know, some of the

2:02:17 ↗ applicants mentioned, we're so blessed

2:02:18 ↗ to be in a community where there's so

2:02:20 ↗ many folks who know, you know, are

2:02:22 ↗ deeply invested in the future of our

2:02:24 ↗ community and want to put themselves out

2:02:25 ↗ there to serve our community in this

2:02:27 ↗ way. And even though, you know, this

2:02:29 ↗ time we really were only able to move a

2:02:32 ↗ small subset of folks forward into the

2:02:34 ↗ next stage of the process. I really want

2:02:35 ↗ to encourage everyone who, you know,

2:02:37 ↗ applied at this time to stay involved,

2:02:38 ↗ whether it be through, you know, boards

2:02:40 ↗ or commissions, volunteering on task

2:02:42 ↗ forces, or volunteering with other

2:02:44 ↗ groups throughout the community. There's

2:02:45 ↗ so many ways to contribute to the

2:02:47 ↗ community, give back, not just serving

2:02:49 ↗ on city council. And so, I really want

2:02:51 ↗ to encourage everyone to stay involved

2:02:53 ↗ um in whatever way uh you can.

2:02:56 ↗ >> Council remarks.

2:02:59 ↗ >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. you know, it's a

2:03:01 ↗ it's a brutal process when there's 12

2:03:03 ↗ applicants, 12 well-qualified

2:03:05 ↗ applicants, and only one person gets it.

2:03:07 ↗ So, I'll I'll say the thing that I say

2:03:09 ↗ kind of every time. This is the ninth

2:03:11 ↗ appointment that I've been part of. And,

2:03:13 ↗ [clears throat] you know, Paul

2:03:14 ↗ Winterstein didn't get appointed and

2:03:17 ↗ Mayor Paulie didn't get appointed and

2:03:19 ↗ state senator Ramos didn't get appointed

2:03:22 ↗ twice. So, you know, I'll say what I

2:03:25 ↗ said to everybody who who wanted to talk

2:03:27 ↗ to me individually, which is this is a

2:03:29 ↗ milestone in your engagement with the

2:03:31 ↗ city. The fact that you came forward and

2:03:33 ↗ wanted to get appointed to the council,

2:03:36 ↗ you wound up, all of you wound up

2:03:38 ↗ learning more about the issues and about

2:03:41 ↗ your vision of your role in the city

2:03:43 ↗ than you had before you started that

2:03:45 ↗ process. And so, you know, other folks

2:03:47 ↗ went on to great leadership roles in the

2:03:49 ↗ city and I encourage you to stay

2:03:51 ↗ engaged. Thank you.

2:03:54 ↗ >> Thank you very much. Any other

2:03:58 ↗ comments? Okay. All those in favor of

2:04:01 ↗ the slate moving forward, please say I.

2:04:04 ↗ >> I.

2:04:05 ↗ >> I.

2:04:06 ↗ >> All those opposed, nay.

2:04:09 ↗ And that passes. And so for those four

2:04:12 ↗ individuals, uh, if you're not here

2:04:14 ↗ tonight, our city clerk will contact you

2:04:17 ↗ as well to let you know to be ready for

2:04:18 ↗ the January 20th council meeting. And

2:04:22 ↗ with that we are journed.

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 (Attended Virtually)

Kevin Nichols

Lindsey Walsh

Staff (2)

Wally Bobkiewicz, City Administrator, Andrea Lehner, Deputy City Administrator, Rachel Bender Turpin, City Attorney

Tisha Gieser, City Clerk

Motions and votes (1)

Appoint Proceed with the slate of candidates: Paul Adair, Landon Halverson, Katherine Hurt and Jeffrey Newell.

Moved by Councilmember Joe · seconded by Deputy Council President Marts

Carried 6-0

In favor: de Michele, Jiang, Joe, Marts, Nichols, Walsh