Human Services Commission · Wednesday, June 18, 2025 · City Council Digest

3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes of May 21, 2025

packet pp.3–4

Open packet at p.3 ↗

Staff report:

APPROVAL OF MINUTES a) 05-21-25 Human Services Commission Minutes CITY OF ISSAQUAH Human Services Commission 6:30 PM Steelhead Room, 235 1st Ave. May 21, 2025 MINUTES SE, Issaquah

4. AGENDA ITEMS

Bridge Disability Ministries, Meyer Medical Equipment Center: Human Services Non-Profit Organization Presentation

20 min · Brenne Schario, Executive Director

Topics: Equity

▶ Watch from 24:16

Issaquah Community Services, Financial Assistance Program: Human Services Non-Profit Organization Presentation

20 min · Carol Schneider, Board President Cris Wilkinson, Board Vice President · packet pp.5–16

Topics: Equity

▶ Watch from 40:47 Open packet at p.5 ↗

Staff report:

1. Background: Light rail planning activities to date 2. Study purpose and anticipated timeline 3. Anticipated Board engagement

Central Issaquah Station & Alignment Study Introduction Presentation

30 min · Thomas Valdriz, Sr. Transportation Planner

Topics: Land Use

▶ Watch from 57:18

1740 segments .txt ↗

0:32 ↗ items that we should

0:33 ↗ um no no call to order items and um

0:37 ↗ public comments.

0:38 ↗ I did not receive any public comments.

0:41 ↗ All right. So, as I was mentioning, I I

0:43 ↗ welcome the groups. Uh one of the things

0:45 ↗ I'm very honored today to have two

0:46 ↗ folks, two community organizations are

0:48 ↗ back there with Bridge Disability

0:50 ↗ Ministry and Isaquat Community Service

0:53 ↗ Financial Assistance Program with Carol

0:55 ↗ and uh Bin. Uh so one of the things with

0:58 ↗ the human services commission that um we

1:01 ↗ took upon this journey was um as we're

1:04 ↗ working working and assisting with grant

1:06 ↗ applications making recommendations. So

1:09 ↗ I want to make sure I I applaud our

1:10 ↗ human services commission as as well as

1:13 ↗ we make recommendations to the the mayor

1:15 ↗ and so forth. One of the opportunities

1:17 ↗ we got out of that is to ensure that we

1:20 ↗ get to know our community members to

1:22 ↗ ensure that we're making a collective

1:24 ↗ impact where the funds are going and

1:26 ↗ also to bridge more of the services with

1:29 ↗ our mission, vision, and values. So,

1:32 ↗ we're very honored to have again uh Miss

1:35 ↗ Bren and Carol. And I want to make sure

1:38 ↗ too is that it is uh we're having

1:41 ↗ dialogue as well. So feel free to have

1:43 ↗ Q&A um as we kind of go into our

1:46 ↗ presentation.

1:48 ↗ Um and then we do want to get something

1:49 ↗ real quick out of the order for approval

1:51 ↗ of minutes. Um

1:54 ↗ so this will be just human services

1:56 ↗ commission. Sorry, we kept it on the

1:57 ↗ agenda.

1:58 ↗ Um I know the the minutes got attached

2:01 ↗ to our email. Were there any corrections

2:03 ↗ from the human services commission

2:05 ↗ around uh for our minutes from uh May

2:07 ↗ 21st 2025?

2:10 ↗ looking at our commission meetings to

2:12 ↗ focus on there.

2:14 ↗ I move that we accept the minutes.

2:19 ↗ Okay. Thank you so much.

2:20 ↗ Thank you all.

2:25 ↗ So without further, we're going to

2:27 ↗ welcome um Miss Bin from Bridge

2:29 ↗ Disability Ministry. Uh if you want to

2:32 ↗ come up and give a overview of your

2:34 ↗ program.

2:37 ↗ Thank you so much.

2:45 ↗ Did you do a part one?

2:47 ↗ Yep. Right here. I'm just going to get

2:49 ↗ set up for you. And then Bren, where

2:50 ↗ would you like to stand? Would you like

2:51 ↗ to be behind the podium?

2:53 ↗ I would. Yeah.

2:54 ↗ Yep. You're good to go.

2:55 ↗ Okay.

2:58 ↗ Also, share with the teams.

3:00 ↗ Oh okay.

3:04 ↗ Thanks, Kyle. think it for the win.

3:07 ↗ Okay. Um, good evening everyone. Thank

3:11 ↗ you for this opportunity to share our

3:14 ↗ work. I'm Brent Shario, the executive

3:16 ↗ director of Bridge Disability

3:18 ↗ Ministries.

3:20 ↗ Okay. So um

3:22 ↗ for individuals living with disability

3:25 ↗ they've reported that although their

3:28 ↗ disability provides them or may give

3:32 ↗ them much discomfort and difficulty they

3:35 ↗ report many report that the one thing

3:38 ↗ the greatest barrier to them leading

3:41 ↗ happy fulfilled lives is marginalization

3:43 ↗ and social isolation from the greater

3:46 ↗ community. So um you know we believe

3:49 ↗ that um building welcoming communities

3:53 ↗ for every individual's gifts are

3:55 ↗ knowledge and their challenges as well

3:58 ↗ and providing them with just with not

4:03 ↗ just the ability to be present but the

4:05 ↗ opportunity to provide to you know to

4:09 ↗ the opportunity to contribute to

4:10 ↗ community life makes a real difference.

4:13 ↗ And we're very proud and honored to be

4:16 ↗ able to serve more than 3,000

4:19 ↗ individuals every year. And we do this

4:22 ↗ by um a lean staff. It's going to

4:26 ↗ change.

4:27 ↗ We're going to um we do this um with a

4:30 ↗ lean staff of about 15 team members and

4:33 ↗ over 350 volunteers.

4:36 ↗ So um you know, we

4:42 ↗ did I not

4:43 ↗ play that. I did play it, right?

4:46 ↗ Yeah. Um Yeah. So, um

4:51 ↗ Okay, it's playing like right.

4:53 ↗ It wasn't playing earlier. Now,

4:57 ↗ Oh okay.

4:58 ↗ Okay. Sorry about that.

4:59 ↗ There's a noise. There's a noise.

5:03 ↗ I'm going to just minimize

5:05 ↗ this.

5:06 ↗ Okay. Got it.

5:07 ↗ And then if you need it more, thank you.

5:10 ↗ Thank you. Thank you. Okay. All right.

5:12 ↗ So um we do this with a team a lean

5:15 ↗ staff of um 15 16 including me team

5:18 ↗ members and over 350 volunteers. We

5:22 ↗ provide refurbished medical and mobility

5:24 ↗ equip equipment for folks to

5:26 ↗ successfully navigate their communities

5:28 ↗ and homes through our medical equipment

5:31 ↗ center. Um we are legal guardians to

5:35 ↗ about 44

5:37 ↗ um people with complex disabilities and

5:40 ↗ many of whom do not have anyone else to

5:42 ↗ look after their best interest. And we

5:44 ↗ do this through our guardianship agency.

5:47 ↗ Spiritual connections. We partner with

5:49 ↗ 20 more than 20 faith communities to

5:52 ↗ host social events and to do outreach

5:54 ↗ for people who may not a be able to

5:56 ↗ leave their homes for whatever reason.

5:59 ↗ We believe that the feedback and that

6:03 ↗ the feedback I don't know how to take

6:04 ↗ out that thing but you'll see it. Can I

6:08 ↗ Yeah. We believe that the feedback of um

6:11 ↗ of um

6:14 ↗ we believe that the feedback and input

6:16 ↗ of the people we serve is critical to

6:18 ↗ our success. So we always look for new

6:21 ↗ ways um we constantly look for new ways

6:24 ↗ to um gather, connect and support one

6:29 ↗ another. And we do this through our

6:30 ↗ spiritual connections ministry. Our

6:33 ↗ annual impact last year 2024 we impacted

6:37 ↗ 2700 lives provided them with more than

6:41 ↗ 5,200 medical and mobility equipment. We

6:45 ↗ touched the lives of almost 400 friends

6:48 ↗ with disabilities and their caregivers

6:51 ↗ and we supported and advocated for 44

6:54 ↗ guardianship agencies.

6:59 ↗ I'm just going to let you love on that

7:00 ↗ slide for a minute.

7:05 ↗ So um

7:08 ↗ and how can people access Bridges

7:11 ↗ services you ask? Okay. And we make our

7:14 ↗ services accessible through multiple low

7:17 ↗ barrier entry points. We do outreach.

7:20 ↗ Okay, I'm going to just do that. We do

7:23 ↗ outreach. Um, for example, we reach out

7:26 ↗ to a number of adult family homes,

7:29 ↗ usually adult family homes that already

7:32 ↗ have guardianship client residents in

7:34 ↗ them, and we invite the rest of the

7:36 ↗ residents to our social events. Um, our

7:40 ↗ bridge center, our physical location in

7:42 ↗ Redmond, um, is open to anyone who may

7:45 ↗ need equipment. We also have delivery

7:48 ↗ service to those who may need them for

7:50 ↗ families to certain areas, um, to

7:53 ↗ families and individuals, partner

7:55 ↗ referrals. Um, we collaborate closely

7:59 ↗ with hospitals, churches, public

8:02 ↗ entities like the city of Isiqua, the

8:05 ↗ Office of Public Guard, DDA, and private

8:09 ↗ agencies and nonprofits like the

8:11 ↗ Northwest Access Fund. Um, for those

8:14 ↗ with access to phone and the internet,

8:18 ↗ they can find us there. We endeavor to

8:21 ↗ answer phone calls and respond to emails

8:23 ↗ within 48 hours. Endeavor is the key

8:26 ↗ word.

8:28 ↗ So, but we do we do really try hard. Um,

8:31 ↗ community word of mouth. I still believe

8:33 ↗ that bridge is the east side's bestkept

8:36 ↗ secret. Although year over year, we have

8:39 ↗ an increasing number of new clients that

8:42 ↗ reach us through word of mouth. And of

8:44 ↗ course, we have multilingual team

8:46 ↗ members who are proficient in Spanish,

8:49 ↗ Swahili Portuguese French and

8:51 ↗ Tagalog.

8:55 ↗ and I will let you watch the rest of

8:58 ↗ this short video to get a taste of

9:01 ↗ social events with our friends with

9:02 ↗ disabilities.

9:07 ↗ The next slide will be the city of

9:09 ↗ Isiqua's data.

9:12 ↗ There we go. The is city of Isiqua is

9:16 ↗ one of the King County cities that fund

9:18 ↗ our Meyer Medical Equipment Center. In

9:20 ↗ 2023, we serve a little over a 100 isol

9:24 ↗ residents with 31 of those served during

9:28 ↗ the first quarter. In 2024, let me just

9:32 ↗ stop that for a second. In 2024, we

9:36 ↗ served a little under 194 residents of

9:39 ↗ Isiqua and in the first quarter served

9:42 ↗ only 17 residents. So far in 2025 in Q1,

9:48 ↗ we've served 34 ISO residents, double

9:51 ↗ last year. We expect to surpass the

9:53 ↗ total of last last year's total by the

9:57 ↗ end of this year.

10:05 ↗ So um

10:07 ↗ what changes do we anticipate and what

10:10 ↗ opportunities do we do we see? Okay. Um,

10:17 ↗ with the potential loom of Medicaid

10:19 ↗ funding cuts, we anticipate the growing

10:23 ↗ gap in access to essential medical

10:27 ↗ equipment and support services,

10:30 ↗ particularly

10:32 ↗ for lowincome residents with low-income

10:35 ↗ individuals with living with

10:37 ↗ disabilities. And um we believe that

10:40 ↗ bridge is uniquely positioned to

10:43 ↗ respond. Our meer medical equipment

10:45 ↗ center um is a crit offers critical and

10:49 ↗ cost-effective solution by providing

10:52 ↗ items like wheelchairs, walkers,

10:55 ↗ hospital beds um to those who may no

10:59 ↗ longer qualify for Medicaid funding. Um

11:02 ↗ we see this we find this as a key

11:04 ↗ opportunity to expand our reach and to

11:07 ↗ also meet urgent community needs. Um the

11:11 ↗ reduction in support services may also

11:15 ↗ increase the vulnerable the

11:17 ↗ vulnerability

11:18 ↗ among um people with cognitive abilities

11:22 ↗ um especially those with no family

11:26 ↗ advocates.

11:28 ↗ Um this highlights the importance the

11:31 ↗ growing importance of a guardianship

11:33 ↗ agency.

11:39 ↗ you know, the shifting landscape, Bridge

11:42 ↗ has the opportunity to step in with

11:45 ↗ practical support and um thanks to city

11:49 ↗ partners like the city of Isiqua, we can

11:53 ↗ help fill critical service gaps and

11:56 ↗ build a

11:58 ↗ stronger, more inclusive safety net for

12:00 ↗ the community, if you will.

12:05 ↗ So going on to challenges and successes

12:12 ↗ at Bridge Disability Ministries. Okay,

12:15 ↗ my ch my thing isn't sliding yet. Okay.

12:23 ↗ Okay, there you go. Um our greatest

12:26 ↗ challenge um is funding and staffing.

12:30 ↗ Two issues that are deeply connected. um

12:34 ↗ without

12:36 ↗ consistent and continued support um we

12:41 ↗ struggle to

12:43 ↗ provide the wages that can compete with

12:46 ↗ for-profit organizations, right? And um

12:51 ↗ you know um

12:54 ↗ our work isn't transactional. It's a

12:57 ↗ lifelong,

13:00 ↗ it's built on long-term relationships

13:03 ↗ and deep community trust. And so

13:07 ↗ the need for sustainable funding isn't a

13:10 ↗ budget issue for us. It's a people

13:12 ↗ issue. And in February 2025, Bridge took

13:18 ↗ the bold move forward to moving into a

13:22 ↗ larger consolidated facility in Redmond.

13:25 ↗ This space allows us to streamline our

13:28 ↗ operations, improve service delivery and

13:31 ↗ and expand um you know our capacity to

13:37 ↗ respond to the growing community need.

13:40 ↗ It also

13:41 ↗ allows for cross ministry support and um

13:45 ↗ it provides our staff and our volunteers

13:48 ↗ a more functional and welcoming work

13:52 ↗ environment.

13:54 ↗ Um, one, and speaking of volunteers, one

13:57 ↗ of our greatest strengths is our vol the

13:59 ↗ incredible power of our volunteers. As I

14:02 ↗ mentioned earlier, we have 350

14:05 ↗ volunteers in 2024.

14:08 ↗ Well, we're also on track to meet that

14:11 ↗ this year as well. So their dedication

14:15 ↗ and heart allows us to

14:18 ↗ stretch our resources and um maintain

14:22 ↗ service even the phase of staffing

14:25 ↗ challenge.

14:27 ↗ So by investing in people, staff,

14:30 ↗ volunteers and the individuals we serve,

14:33 ↗ we're building a stronger and more

14:35 ↗ resilient bridge.

14:39 ↗ um you know and but continued support is

14:42 ↗ still essential so that we are able to

14:45 ↗ ensure that we can retain talent and

14:48 ↗ grow our impact. And this is where the

14:52 ↗ support of the city of Isiqua is very

14:55 ↗ very much um appreciated because your

14:59 ↗ continued support allows us to do just

15:01 ↗ that is continue growing.

15:07 ↗ Um

15:09 ↗ so thank you so much for um helping and

15:13 ↗ investing in our vision um and our

15:15 ↗ mission and being a partner

15:18 ↗ um for

15:21 ↗ about four years three bianials. Yeah.

15:25 ↗ So um I'm going to leave you with a

15:29 ↗ short video. Our contact information is

15:31 ↗ above our short video. This is one of

15:33 ↗ our events for our friends with

15:35 ↗ disabilities that is with our that was

15:38 ↗ hosted by our faith community partners.

15:41 ↗ And you can see a sample of of

15:45 ↗ um what we how we engage them and how we

15:49 ↗ really really improve our own lives as

15:51 ↗ well.

16:00 ↗ That's my son.

16:02 ↗ I'm still

16:49 ↗ Okay,

16:51 ↗ stop. Right.

16:54 ↗ Thank you so much. Um, yeah, I can watch

16:57 ↗ that video over and over.

17:02 ↗ Yeah, this is a great time.

17:03 ↗ commissioners from both commission.

17:05 ↗ Please, if you have any questions about

17:08 ↗ uh uh bridge ministry, disability

17:11 ↗ ministries and their services um one of

17:13 ↗ the big services they provide for isqua

17:15 ↗ that we fund u through human services is

17:18 ↗ equipment. So, um, wheelchairs, walkers,

17:22 ↗ um, if somebody had a surgery and you

17:25 ↗ need some, uh, bathroom assistance, um,

17:28 ↗ changing their facilities there, um,

17:30 ↗ they're a great resource for our

17:31 ↗ community, um, that clearly is a use and

17:34 ↗ access. So, thank you for that

17:36 ↗ presentation.

17:37 ↗ Great. Any questions?

17:38 ↗ Yeah. So your 400 um

17:44 ↗ what percentage would you say need some

17:46 ↗ type of Medicaid benefit now?

17:49 ↗ Okay. So um 75% of the people we serve

17:55 ↗ place 27 271

17:59 ↗ people we serve in 2024 and 75% of those

18:03 ↗ are moderate to low income

18:06 ↗ which is six and 60% of that 75% is low

18:10 ↗ to extremely low income. We do not have

18:14 ↗ da on who accesses Medicaid. Um but um

18:18 ↗ you know if that's something that uh but

18:21 ↗ the reason I bring it up um is because

18:26 ↗ we hear it often this first quarter that

18:29 ↗ is all that the people come in talking

18:31 ↗ about.

18:34 ↗ It's all that they talk about that that

18:36 ↗ that they're so so grateful that we're

18:39 ↗ there because they they they

18:42 ↗ um they they worry about losing um some

18:47 ↗ of their um sources and benefits.

18:54 ↗ Really served in his support area, but

18:56 ↗ did you see it's all a groupside? Did

18:58 ↗ you provide support? No. Um no. So um

19:02 ↗ obviously I always say that anywhere we

19:05 ↗ are geographically that city will have a

19:08 ↗ disro disproportionate amount number of

19:10 ↗ people um we serve when we were in

19:13 ↗ Belleview the bulk of the people in the

19:16 ↗ east as from out of revenue we're seeing

19:20 ↗ a lot of revenue um we see a lot of

19:24 ↗ Seattle um people um um yeah and um we

19:29 ↗ work with D E S downtown emergency

19:33 ↗ services and um mainly in Mville. Um so

19:38 ↗ um we see a lot of Seattle um and um

19:42 ↗ King County predominantly

19:46 ↗ um we serve of course but we have other

19:49 ↗ people from um Paris.

19:55 ↗ I currently

19:58 ↗ I'm going to piggy back off that first

19:59 ↗ question

20:02 ↗ and it sound like you might not have the

20:03 ↗ answer for this but I'm just very very

20:04 ↗ curious. So the funding that you get

20:06 ↗ currently booster of Medicaid which is

20:09 ↗ state which you're you're saying is

20:11 ↗ going to go away.

20:12 ↗ No we don't get funed I don't we don't

20:16 ↗ take Medicaid money at all.

20:18 ↗ Okay.

20:19 ↗ So most of it is local money from city

20:21 ↗ of Redmond

20:22 ↗ and private funding fundraising. Um

20:26 ↗ um the bulk is from individual

20:29 ↗ donations. Yeah. And then um the next

20:32 ↗ one is from fundraising events. Um uh

20:37 ↗ grants is in our funding stream, revenue

20:41 ↗ stream. Third, churches are more um so

20:45 ↗ it's individual arrangements,

20:47 ↗ fundraisers. Um service fees are out of

20:51 ↗ ship. It doesn't cover anything. It's so

20:56 ↗ concerned.

21:02 ↗ Yeah.

21:15 ↗ And that's what we're seeing in the

21:17 ↗ sport.

21:23 ↗ Sorry, one more question. You mentioned

21:26 ↗ staffing challenges. Can you talk a

21:28 ↗ little bit more about why why you're

21:31 ↗ seeing a stacking challenges?

21:33 ↗ Yeah. Um

21:36 ↗ particularly in my medical equipment

21:38 ↗ center. Um our our guardianship agency

21:42 ↗ has long-term staff members and team

21:44 ↗ members virtual connections longterm.

21:47 ↗ I've been there 11 11 11 years. Um with

21:50 ↗ our Meer Medical Equipment Center, the

21:53 ↗ technicians

21:54 ↗ um they move on to

21:58 ↗ higher paying for our jobs, you know. Um

22:02 ↗ and um so we train them for medical

22:05 ↗ equipment repair. Um uh however, how we

22:10 ↗ do that is we

22:12 ↗ we um target um people who

22:18 ↗ who make flexible hours um a a pre a

22:23 ↗ priority and that's us. um seniors who

22:26 ↗ are looking for added hour um income

22:31 ↗ and who have the um the uh ranch real

22:36 ↗ house.

22:38 ↗ I obviously don't

22:42 ↗ but um yeah and and and and stuff like

22:45 ↗ that but we see the staffing um

22:48 ↗ challenges there. The turnover is highly

22:51 ↗ there. Um um

22:56 ↗ it's our engineering level. Um

23:02 ↗ we have to we have to increase the um

23:06 ↗ the wages for the support supervisors

23:08 ↗ for the supervisors to be able to get

23:11 ↗ that to wages that we can.

23:17 ↗ The good news is that that um year over

23:22 ↗ year we're um our revenue streams our

23:25 ↗ funding from there is increasing as

23:28 ↗ well. So I think that um uh many of our

23:32 ↗ funders recognize the need and the like

23:35 ↗ I said um 70% 75% of the people we serve

23:38 ↗ are moderate to low income and a great

23:41 ↗ majority of that is low to very low.

23:45 ↗ Thank you.

23:49 ↗ It was such a pleasure to meet you all

23:51 ↗ and thank you once again for inviting

23:53 ↗ me. Um I would love to share our work

23:55 ↗ again maybe next year.

23:58 ↗ Thank you very

24:07 ↗ Yeah, go for it.

24:09 ↗ All right. Again, thank you so much for

24:11 ↗ coming and sharing the great work that's

24:13 ↗ been happening. uh Bran. Um the next

24:16 ↗ folks we have on our agenda item is uh

24:18 ↗ Isaakqua News Service Financial

24:21 ↗ Assistance Program

24:23 ↗ and it's I have Carol and Chris. Make

24:26 ↗ sure I get that right. Welcome. Welcome.

24:32 ↗ Thank you.

24:33 ↗ Absolutely.

24:39 ↗ And thank you so much for having us here

24:41 ↗ tonight. It's great to be able to share

24:43 ↗ our story with you um and to share our

24:46 ↗ grades

24:52 ↗ a very long time. Um I'm Carol

24:55 ↗ Schneider. I'm the current president at

24:57 ↗ ICS. This is Chris Wilkinson, the

25:00 ↗ current vice president. and she's going

25:03 ↗ to start us off with some information

25:05 ↗ about the organization and then um

25:08 ↗ afterwards we can take questions uh if

25:11 ↗ things come to mind in the opportunity

25:22 ↗ services um we our tagline is neighbors

25:26 ↗ helping neighbors because it's true we

25:29 ↗ are people volunteers from the Isqua

25:32 ↗ school district area. We don't just

25:34 ↗ serve the city of Isiqua and um helping

25:38 ↗ with donations from the Isiqua school

25:42 ↗ district area like the city of Isqua

25:44 ↗ like individual donors like um

25:47 ↗ organizations throughout Isqua that give

25:49 ↗ us money um helping people in the Isiqua

25:53 ↗ school district. So it truly is

25:55 ↗ neighbors helping neighbors.

25:57 ↗ Our mission for a long time has been

26:01 ↗ over 50 years has been to keep um

26:06 ↗ providing emergency financial

26:08 ↗ assistance. Keeping the roof over

26:11 ↗ people's heads, keeping towel on, water

26:13 ↗ on um and more and more increasingly

26:17 ↗ saving them from addiction. Um it's

26:20 ↗ becoming a bigger and bigger issue. it.

26:25 ↗ You get these panic phone calls, you

26:27 ↗ know, they're turning on. Do you know

26:29 ↗ what it's like to have your water turned

26:31 ↗ off? Well, fortunately, I don't, but I

26:34 ↗ can imagine. And um and the gratitude

26:37 ↗ that we get by being able to solve these

26:40 ↗ problems for people is immense. And

26:42 ↗ that's what keeps us going. Um we have

26:45 ↗ clients choosing, I paid the I got my

26:48 ↗ kids food, so that's why I couldn't pay

26:50 ↗ the power bill this month. or um a

26:53 ↗ variety Carol will talk about a variety

26:55 ↗ of reasons. We also help with gas

26:57 ↗ vouchers which is time for consuming for

27:01 ↗ us as volunteers but um appreciated by

27:04 ↗ our clients. We give B gas vouchers to

27:07 ↗ our own ICS clients. the ones that are

27:10 ↗ referred from the homeless um um

27:15 ↗ outreach

27:16 ↗ here from food and clothing be

27:22 ↗ but we have been an all volunteer

27:25 ↗ organization. The good thing about that

27:28 ↗ means that almost every dollar goes to

27:31 ↗ our clients. I mean, and thanks to this

27:35 ↗ law for providing us a space to exist in

27:38 ↗ that would have been a huge um um

27:42 ↗ expense for us. It um

27:46 ↗ it is a challenge because we have to

27:49 ↗ keep attracting new volunteers and

27:52 ↗ training new volunteers because it is

27:54 ↗ not easy work. It is complicated work

27:57 ↗ that involves um computers and

28:00 ↗ technology and people skills and um

28:04 ↗ knowing resources. It's and and then

28:07 ↗ retain retaining our um volunteers and

28:10 ↗ so it's good but luckily we have

28:13 ↗ dedicated ones and it's not just working

28:15 ↗ in the office. It's doing reputations.

28:18 ↗ It's doing our books. It's filling out

28:20 ↗ the taxes. it's um doing the

28:23 ↗ pre-processing that takes place before

28:25 ↗ we can even start on a client. So um or

28:28 ↗ all the tech work we have, you know,

28:31 ↗ volunteers that do that for us. So and

28:34 ↗ often

28:36 ↗ have to rely on them. Go ahead. Thank

28:38 ↗ you.

28:40 ↗ So who who do we help? Who comes to us?

28:44 ↗ And I'd say the biggest reason that we

28:46 ↗ hear are health issues. uh they can be

28:49 ↗ chronic health issues and that result in

28:52 ↗ disability. They can also be um

28:55 ↗ short-term. You know, if you are living

28:59 ↗ on $1,000 a month and if your rent is

29:03 ↗ $800 a month and you're an hourly worker

29:07 ↗ and you get the flu,

29:09 ↗ then you can miss a week. You don't have

29:12 ↗ money for rent at that point if you've

29:14 ↗ had the flu. I mean, it it's just

29:17 ↗ astounding how the most ordinary little

29:20 ↗ things um in in a society that in some

29:23 ↗ ways is not terribly supportive of a

29:26 ↗ real life. And a piece of that is for

29:30 ↗ single parents. Uh they have to put

29:33 ↗ taking care of their children first.

29:35 ↗ That's what we all want them to do. But

29:38 ↗ if they stay home to take care of their

29:40 ↗ children, they can lose their job for

29:43 ↗ missing a day or two of work. and then

29:45 ↗ they can't take care of their kids at

29:47 ↗ all. So, we hear all of these kinds of

29:50 ↗ stories of just what happened that

29:52 ↗ derailed a a, you know, very functioning

29:56 ↗ lifestyle and had them pick up the phone

30:00 ↗ to call us.

30:02 ↗ Um, elderly or lowkilled residents,

30:05 ↗ certainly we see more of of them than

30:09 ↗ than I guess than I would have expected

30:12 ↗ before I started volunteering at ICS. Um

30:16 ↗ and surprisingly

30:18 ↗ uh people who are waiting for assistance

30:22 ↗ so they get sick and they do qualify for

30:26 ↗ all kinds of help and it takes three or

30:30 ↗ four months for the paperwork to go

30:32 ↗ through

30:34 ↗ and they have to pay the rent in those

30:36 ↗ three or four months. So there's um it's

30:41 ↗ again it's small things that are kind of

30:43 ↗ surprising. And then um the one that you

30:46 ↗ can't see there is just things going

30:48 ↗ wrong. Um your car needs to be repaired.

30:52 ↗ You can't go to work if you don't repair

30:54 ↗ your car. So you have to do that. But

30:56 ↗ then you don't have money for the rent

30:58 ↗ or the utilities.

31:02 ↗ So who have we helped? Um these are

31:06 ↗ figures on the two uh left columns from

31:10 ↗ 2024.

31:12 ↗ Um the first column is throughout the

31:15 ↗ isqua school district which includes uh

31:17 ↗ many pieces of other cities and then the

31:20 ↗ middle column is within isqua city

31:23 ↗ boundaries and the right column was the

31:26 ↗ first quarter of 2025.

31:30 ↗ So our total for uh uh total households

31:34 ↗ 472

31:36 ↗ households and we count them as a

31:39 ↗ household if we can reasonably figure

31:42 ↗ that that they have paid up their

31:45 ↗ balance and we get confirmation of that

31:47 ↗ from the apartments so that they are not

31:50 ↗ evicted. That would be a lot of lot of

31:53 ↗ families on the streets. 350 of those

31:57 ↗ are here in the city is aqua and you see

32:01 ↗ it's it's certainly overbalanced for

32:03 ↗ that partly I think it's our name um but

32:07 ↗ it's also our history uh you know people

32:11 ↗ people hear from people who have known

32:13 ↗ us for years for generations at this

32:16 ↗ point 50 plus years is a long time

32:21 ↗ 1363

32:23 ↗ residents total

32:25 ↗ Overall

32:26 ↗ 708 adults, 657 children.

32:31 ↗ And of the families, 446 of those 472

32:38 ↗ households have an AMI of 50 or less. So

32:44 ↗ these, you know, these are not people

32:46 ↗ who have a lot of choices. they would

32:49 ↗ rather do many things than talk to us

32:53 ↗ about the embarrassing facts of their

32:55 ↗ lives. So we try to be as supportive as

32:58 ↗ we can as we go through this.

33:02 ↗ Um the numbers between the first quarter

33:04 ↗ of this year um as 25% of the whole year

33:10 ↗ for is last year are very similar. Uh so

33:14 ↗ we're not we're not seeing any

33:16 ↗ reduction. Um

33:18 ↗ and unfortunately we would love to be

33:20 ↗ seeing a reduction.

33:23 ↗ Um and then the funds that are

33:26 ↗ distributed through ICS. Um again we

33:30 ↗ have um the and these are numbers for

33:34 ↗ the whole well the first line is the

33:38 ↗ whole school district and that's almost

33:40 ↗ $300,000 we were able to distribute and

33:44 ↗ first quarter this year in Isiqua it's

33:47 ↗ 74,000

33:49 ↗ for um for within or rather that was the

33:53 ↗ whole school district.

33:55 ↗ within this is aqua city limits 213,000

33:59 ↗ last year 54,000 in the first quarter of

34:04 ↗ this year we also uh arrange payment for

34:09 ↗ utility bills through Puget Sound Energy

34:13 ↗ that was worth 121,000

34:16 ↗ uh last year we don't have numbers for

34:18 ↗ this year and another uh fund that we

34:21 ↗ can distribute for Salvation Army for60

34:24 ↗ $64,000 last year. There is um just an

34:29 ↗ astounding amount of moon.

34:32 ↗ Um

34:34 ↗ so we're thanking you on the behalf of

34:38 ↗ all of those people who are sitting in

34:42 ↗ their homes tonight,

34:44 ↗ hopefully watching TV with their feet up

34:48 ↗ more likely. Yeah.

34:51 ↗ Um because because you've helped,

34:54 ↗ because you're here, because is aquas,

34:57 ↗ the kind of community that reaches out

35:00 ↗ to all of its members um and helps.

35:06 ↗ Uh we're again so grateful for the

35:08 ↗ office space and given that we're all

35:12 ↗ volunteer,

35:14 ↗ we have very few expenses. We work

35:17 ↗ really hard not to have expenses.

35:20 ↗ Um, we, you know, if people are giving

35:24 ↗ away little pads of paper in the grocery

35:26 ↗ store for some reason, we pick those up

35:29 ↗ and take them to ICS to use for our

35:33 ↗ scratch pads. We're we really, you know,

35:36 ↗ hold this to an art form because

35:40 ↗ every dollar we do not spend otherwise

35:44 ↗ on office space, on staff, on scratch

35:48 ↗ pads, every dollar goes direct to our

35:52 ↗ clients.

35:54 ↗ Um, we also get wonderful telephone and

35:57 ↗ internet um from the city of Isiqua. and

36:00 ↗ against budget gift. Uh that could take

36:03 ↗ an awful lot of our budget just for

36:05 ↗ those things and advice, counsel, and

36:09 ↗ connections. All kinds of help. Hannah

36:12 ↗ especially has been amazing when we need

36:15 ↗ help. She she's so new to step in. But

36:19 ↗ perhaps maybe most of all is the $30,000

36:23 ↗ a year that we get from the city of

36:25 ↗ Isiqua to help with the money that we

36:29 ↗ put back into the community.

36:33 ↗ Did I miss anything, Chris? I would just

36:36 ↗ say concerns for the future are just

36:38 ↗ like everybody else. We don't know

36:41 ↗ what's happening with funding and again

36:43 ↗ as clients who lose money for their um

36:48 ↗ whatever they're on um then it's going

36:51 ↗ they're going to need more help from us

36:52 ↗ and so your funding

36:57 ↗ people in the community really truly I

37:00 ↗ mean we get the large check from you

37:03 ↗ some money from city of Samish we get a

37:05 ↗ few grants that we get is qual women's

37:09 ↗ club gives us a little money. The food

37:11 ↗ bank gives us a little money. Um but

37:14 ↗ mainly it's just people out in the

37:16 ↗ community and um and so that's it's very

37:20 ↗ tolerant that way. You know,

37:22 ↗ that's only 10% of what you guys give

37:24 ↗ out.

37:25 ↗ Well, the money that we get as a city of

37:28 ↗ isqua grant, the 30,000 um is only 10%

37:33 ↗ of the total we give out. It means one

37:35 ↗ of the things all of our volunteers do

37:37 ↗ is fundraising

37:39 ↗ because uh we can only we can only give

37:42 ↗ up what we have and that's um and and

37:46 ↗ the need is is really quite astounding.

37:50 ↗ How many people did you take care of

37:52 ↗ again? I'm sorry.

37:53 ↗ Sure.

37:56 ↗ Oh, I'm so proud that I got that.

37:59 ↗ um 1363

38:02 ↗ residents of the Isiqua school district

38:06 ↗ and it was 972

38:10 ↗ um of the city of Isiqua.

38:13 ↗ So, you know, we think of Isiziqua as

38:17 ↗ this place that has, you know, so so

38:20 ↗ much money, all those rich people living

38:22 ↗ there. Um and and certainly some are and

38:25 ↗ they are giving money to to support us

38:28 ↗ to support the bridge ministries. Um

38:32 ↗ which is an absolutely fantastic thing.

38:35 ↗ But but 446

38:39 ↗ families out of 472

38:43 ↗ having an AMI of 50 or less.

38:46 ↗ There's a just a huge number of people

38:50 ↗ who do not have a lot of money.

38:53 ↗ And Chris was saying, you know, as we're

38:54 ↗ concerned, what happens?

38:57 ↗ Our funding pretty much comes from

38:59 ↗ individuals from the city. I we do not

39:02 ↗ get federal money. We are not worried

39:05 ↗ about losing federal money because we

39:08 ↗ don't have any. Uh but we're worried

39:11 ↗ about our clients

39:13 ↗ losing uh their f federal benefits.

39:17 ↗ You know, uh what happens if that is

39:20 ↗ reduced? if social security is reduced,

39:24 ↗ um if lowincome housing support is

39:26 ↗ reduced, then all those expenses go up.

39:31 ↗ Or on the other side, we're worried

39:32 ↗ about people who lose their jobs. Um

39:36 ↗ people who uh who are doing fine until

39:40 ↗ their job disappears and then they don't

39:44 ↗ have the the funding anymore. Um and

39:48 ↗ then they come to us and and I don't

39:52 ↗ know how we could, you know, increase

39:54 ↗ the funding that we get. We work pretty

39:57 ↗ hard to get the funds we have. I just we

40:00 ↗ we tap every place we can think of. Uh

40:03 ↗ so I I don't know if there's more. Yes.

40:08 ↗ Do you find that from year to year that

40:12 ↗ a number of the families you work with

40:15 ↗ each year

40:16 ↗ are repeat are repeats?

40:18 ↗ We do have repeat customers. Yes, we do.

40:21 ↗ And do you have a program?

40:24 ↗ I'm only asking this. At one point I

40:25 ↗ worked with an organization that had

40:27 ↗ like an emergency assistance program and

40:29 ↗ we did something similar in that regard

40:31 ↗ helping people stay in their house but

40:33 ↗ we also like the second time we enroll

40:35 ↗ them in a program for minimal save like

40:39 ↗ a a way to encourage

40:42 ↗ savings so that maybe two years from now

40:44 ↗ if it happened they would have some

40:46 ↗ cushion. Is there anything that that you

40:48 ↗ were able to do in that regard? And I

40:49 ↗ know it's super hard like most of this

40:51 ↗ it's just not possible maybe not I was

40:55 ↗ just curious

40:56 ↗ I think old link has those kind of

40:58 ↗ resources but they're a big organization

41:01 ↗ and they do have paid staff and stuff

41:04 ↗ to to do that but no but what we do have

41:07 ↗ we have a very dedicated volunteer who

41:09 ↗ keeps up our resource list um and so we

41:13 ↗ are able to refer our clients on they

41:16 ↗ need medical equipment we're going to

41:18 ↗ send them to bridge um they need this.

41:20 ↗ Um so we do do that for them. Um it's

41:24 ↗ really it's very tempting just on a

41:27 ↗ personal level to step in and say you

41:29 ↗ used your credit card today.

41:33 ↗ But um but we don't of course cuz we're

41:36 ↗ professional but um you know to worry

41:39 ↗ about that that future but we have so

41:41 ↗ many people that are just on the edge.

41:43 ↗ Oh, anything that happens.

41:47 ↗ Um, so curious, just a little back in my

41:49 ↗ head, the households each receive around

41:51 ↗ 600 bucks. Um, if you extrapolate it

41:55 ↗ out, but is there sort of a cap that you

41:58 ↗ allow? Say one household could only have

41:59 ↗ a,000 and then or is it

42:02 ↗ We do have a cap and we we vary the cap

42:06 ↗ depending on our funds.

42:10 ↗ Um and but we haven't actually done that

42:13 ↗ for at least a year now. And we do not

42:16 ↗ give more than $700 uh in any one

42:20 ↗ distribution in a six month.

42:23 ↗ Yeah. One we can give yeah twice a year.

42:26 ↗ We can do once every six months. We do a

42:29 ↗ lot of partnering with other

42:30 ↗ organizations. St. Vincent Depal we

42:33 ↗ partner with a lot um and with the food

42:37 ↗ bank we partner um so that when when we

42:42 ↗ can't fill the need we can give them a

42:44 ↗ list of places to go to um to get

42:48 ↗ assistance. You know none of this none

42:51 ↗ of this is ideal. You know, if I was

42:54 ↗ designing a society, we wouldn't exist

42:58 ↗ because they wouldn't need us or people

43:01 ↗ who, you know, live for

43:04 ↗ 5 10 years in desperate poverty. They

43:08 ↗ would have some other way of getting

43:10 ↗ money than emergency financial

43:12 ↗ assistance.

43:14 ↗ Um, but there isn't.

43:17 ↗ So, so we do what we can

43:22 ↗ um in the for the situation that the

43:25 ↗ client's in.

43:29 ↗ One more question.

43:31 ↗ All set. Thank you so much.

43:34 ↗ Yes. Thank you. Take it.

43:35 ↗ Yeah.

43:43 ↗ Well, thank you commissioners for

43:44 ↗ sitting in um our human services

43:47 ↗ presentations. Our organization um our

43:50 ↗ city funds 48 nonprofit organizations in

43:52 ↗ a bianium uh funding cycle. This

43:55 ↗ commission h has the heavy weight of uh

43:59 ↗ making funding recommendations. And so,

44:01 ↗ um, we had over $2 million in requests

44:04 ↗ and only 640,000 to provide. Um, so they

44:08 ↗ worked very hard, um, last year to make

44:10 ↗ those recommendations. This year, we,

44:13 ↗ um, are doing our presentations from our

44:15 ↗ nonprofits to learn more about where the

44:17 ↗ funding is going. So, we appreciate you

44:19 ↗ all sitting in learning more about our

44:21 ↗ amazing nonprofits in our community. Uh,

44:23 ↗ we wouldn't be able to sustain this

44:25 ↗ amazing, beautiful community without

44:26 ↗ these nonprofits doing incredible work.

44:29 ↗ So um just thank you again for um

44:32 ↗ participating in that portion of our

44:34 ↗ meeting. Um we are I'm going to invite

44:37 ↗ Hy to keep us moving. Just wanted to

44:39 ↗ kind of say that word. So thank you all.

44:44 ↗ You want to add a little bit what

44:45 ↗ Hannah's talking about. Um I would

44:47 ↗ encourage folks to um look our strategic

44:50 ↗ plan for human services. It was our

44:52 ↗ first ever strategic plan being uh

44:54 ↗ enacted and impacted. So just because of

44:58 ↗ some hard decisions being made around

45:00 ↗ human services and uh four of the

45:02 ↗ categories we identified during

45:04 ↗ engagement with folks and our nonprofit

45:07 ↗ folks was physical and behavioral health

45:11 ↗ continuum including housing

45:12 ↗ affordability and homelessness and then

45:15 ↗ three cultural specific services and

45:17 ↗ language access and four communities

45:20 ↗ resources. So, as we are navigating the

45:24 ↗ challenges and conflicts and concerns

45:26 ↗ around um budget realities is also

45:30 ↗ making sure we're sticking to our four

45:32 ↗ priorities when it comes to our grant

45:34 ↗ application. So, that's something I want

45:36 ↗ to make sure I I echo clearly because it

45:39 ↗ is important as we are dealing with our

45:41 ↗ budget realities and making sure we're,

45:43 ↗ you know, helping our isqua folks. Um,

45:46 ↗ just wanted to put that out there before

45:48 ↗ we we go in. Um

45:51 ↗ and then uh I want to say this is my

45:52 ↗ third time with you Mr. Valdez. Uh we

45:55 ↗ have Mr. Valdez for our central Isaac

45:58 ↗ station alignment study introduction

46:00 ↗ presentation uh presentation right?

46:03 ↗ Y

46:03 ↗ um

46:06 ↗ thank you.

46:08 ↗ You should be all set.

46:09 ↗ Yeah.

46:12 ↗ Hello. I'm back. Um it's great to see

46:14 ↗ you all. uh very familiar faces for many

46:17 ↗ of you but also some some new ones. Um I

46:20 ↗ am Thomas Valdres. I'm senior

46:22 ↗ transportation planner. Today I'll be

46:24 ↗ talking about a study that we're kicking

46:26 ↗ off this month uh which is the central

46:28 ↗ Isqua station and alignment study. So

46:31 ↗ we'll begin by giving a brief

46:35 ↗ introduction on the work that we've done

46:37 ↗ so far over the last decade or so. Um,

46:39 ↗ I'll talk about the purpose of this

46:41 ↗ study in particular, our 18-month

46:44 ↗ timeline, and the ways that we hope to

46:46 ↗ engage with both of these commissions.

46:51 ↗ So, this slide uh shows the timeline.

46:55 ↗ Oops, excuse me. Uh, that we've had uh

47:00 ↗ Oh, cool. I'm just going to move it

47:02 ↗ right here. Um, yeah. So, over the last

47:04 ↗ decade, we've been planning for growth

47:06 ↗ in central Isiqua. Central Isqua is

47:10 ↗ where we expect most of the growth over

47:12 ↗ the next 25 years to occur. So in 2012,

47:16 ↗ the city uh created the central Isqua

47:19 ↗ plan. Um this talks about the

47:21 ↗ neighborhood being a walkable,

47:23 ↗ sustainable and urban uh village uh

47:26 ↗ area. In 2015, a portion of that was

47:30 ↗ designated as a regional growth center.

47:32 ↗ Um so just a a subset. In 2016, voters

47:36 ↗ approved a ballot measure to bring light

47:39 ↗ rail service to Isiqua. And over the

47:42 ↗ last couple years, we've developed some

47:44 ↗ documents that are helping us plan for

47:46 ↗ that.

47:53 ↗ So, this is central Isiqua. Um, and the

47:55 ↗ green area is the area that we're

47:57 ↗ interested in for this study. Uh, so

47:59 ↗ this green area is where we're expecting

48:01 ↗ the majority of jobs and housing to

48:03 ↗ occur. And I'll just have my cursor

48:05 ↗ here. Um, so this is approximately like

48:09 ↗ the Costco area where Costco

48:12 ↗ headquarters is. Um,

48:16 ↗ great. Thank you. So yeah, again, this

48:18 ↗ is a the area that we're interested in

48:21 ↗ and we're expecting light rail service

48:23 ↗ to occur here somewhere.

48:30 ↗ In uh 2016, voters approved uh ST3. Many

48:34 ↗ of you have seen this slide so many

48:36 ↗ times. Um Sound Transit 3 is a ballot

48:39 ↗ measure that is bringing light rail to

48:41 ↗ Isiqua um but also connecting the

48:43 ↗ region. Um so from South Kirkland

48:45 ↗ through Belleview, uh going out to

48:47 ↗ Eastgate and ending in central Isqua.

48:53 ↗ And last year uh council adopted the

48:57 ↗ light rail planning guide. Um this

48:59 ↗ document talks about the things that

49:01 ↗ we're thinking of as we're preparing to

49:03 ↗ chat with Sound Transit. Um so we are

49:05 ↗ expecting Sound Transit to approach us

49:08 ↗ as early as 2027. And so this document

49:11 ↗ talks about our strategy at very high

49:13 ↗ level things that we're thinking about

49:15 ↗ um in particular is being at the end of

49:18 ↗ the line and the the challenges and

49:19 ↗ opportunities that come with that.

49:25 ↗ Last year, actually sorry, two months

49:28 ↗ ago, um we developed a vision and

49:30 ↗ guiding principles document and this was

49:32 ↗ created after a year and a half long

49:35 ↗ process of working with the community.

49:37 ↗ We had so many conversations. We

49:40 ↗ developed focus groups. Uh we had online

49:42 ↗ surveys that were taken by over 800 uh

49:45 ↗ residents. Um really got a large amount

49:49 ↗ of feedback that is all available on the

49:51 ↗ website. there's a document that sort of

49:52 ↗ summarizes um everything that went into

49:54 ↗ that, but this was adopted a couple

49:57 ↗ months ago and we're really excited to

49:58 ↗ use it. This is going to be um the

50:01 ↗ cornerstone of this study that we're

50:03 ↗ going with.

50:07 ↗ So, this study that's kicking off this

50:10 ↗ month, uh ultimately the goal is to

50:12 ↗ create one document. This will be our

50:15 ↗ planning report. The planning report is

50:18 ↗ going to identify the one preferred

50:20 ↗ location that the community uh hopes to

50:23 ↗ go with. Um as we use the vision and

50:26 ↗ guiding principles to benchmark where

50:28 ↗ we're at. So uh just going through the

50:31 ↗ deliverables of this uh this document is

50:35 ↗ going to have existing conditions as

50:36 ↗ well as future forecasted conditions for

50:38 ↗ central Isqua. what we're expecting in

50:41 ↗ terms of growth and development, um the

50:44 ↗ uh infrastructure that we will expect,

50:46 ↗ um those sorts of things.

50:48 ↗ Using the vision and guiding principles,

50:50 ↗ we can then create a list of uh criteria

50:55 ↗ that we can use to essentially score up

50:59 ↗ to six alternative locations where light

51:02 ↗ rail might be an option.

51:05 ↗ We're going to talk with the community,

51:06 ↗ do a really robust uh set of

51:09 ↗ conversations. Uh I'm I have an open

51:12 ↗ door policy, so anybody that wants to

51:13 ↗ talk to me about this, I'm happy to meet

51:15 ↗ one-on-one. Um but really want to vet

51:17 ↗ out lots of good options, u narrow it

51:20 ↗ down to six and really talk those

51:21 ↗ through to see what's going to be a good

51:23 ↗ fit for the community. Ultimately,

51:26 ↗ council is going to approve um the one

51:29 ↗ single location that will best realize

51:32 ↗ the vision and guiding principles

51:34 ↗ document and hoping to finish that by

51:37 ↗ the end of 2026.

51:41 ↗ So, with both of these uh commissions,

51:44 ↗ hoping to have about three meetings with

51:47 ↗ you all. Um but again, happy to meet

51:49 ↗ one-on-one as as needed. Um the three

51:52 ↗ touch points that we're anticipating are

51:54 ↗ today uh as we get into in the nuts and

51:58 ↗ bolts of the study hoping to come back

52:00 ↗ at the end of the year um to talk about

52:02 ↗ the vision and guiding principles um

52:05 ↗ evaluation criteria so that we can score

52:08 ↗ projects. Um importantly we want to do

52:10 ↗ this before we actually look at any

52:12 ↗ locations. We don't want to like sort of

52:14 ↗ rightsize it uh based off of the

52:17 ↗ options. we we want to make sure that um

52:19 ↗ you know the criteria that we've

52:21 ↗ developed uh is thoughtful before we

52:24 ↗ actually like dig into like the uh

52:27 ↗ locations. Um so this this should help

52:30 ↗ um us better understand the community

52:32 ↗ needs before we um you know try to try

52:35 ↗ to find an option that would uh best fit

52:37 ↗ those.

52:39 ↗ Uh

52:41 ↗ in the early part of 2026 we'll start

52:44 ↗ looking at those six locations. I would

52:47 ↗ love to come back to both of these

52:48 ↗ groups um individually and we'll talk

52:51 ↗ about the options that we've looked at

52:53 ↗ and potentially look at refining some

52:55 ↗ options.

52:57 ↗ We are expecting by the as early as

53:00 ↗ 2027, Sound Transit will be beginning

53:02 ↗ their planning process and so we're

53:05 ↗ hoping to finish this up by the end of

53:07 ↗ 2026 to be ready for that. We we don't

53:10 ↗ know in particular when some transit

53:12 ↗ will begin but as early as 2027. So this

53:15 ↗ uh report which is essentially the major

53:17 ↗ deliverable um will be updated as needed

53:20 ↗ so that it's uh ready to go um when

53:23 ↗ they're ready to begin their process.

53:28 ↗ That's all I have. Um would love to

53:30 ↗ answer any questions or or receive any

53:32 ↗ comments you have. But um also again

53:35 ↗ happy to chat with anybody uh offline if

53:39 ↗ you'd prefer just one-on-one

53:40 ↗ conversations.

53:43 ↗ That counts. Um, you said that the

53:47 ↗ Sound Transit's going to come

53:48 ↗ potentially come to the city in 2027 and

53:51 ↗ that's when you deliver your uh

53:53 ↗ proposals proposed location. Does Sound

53:56 ↗ Transit have veto over that or is this

53:58 ↗ going to be

54:01 ↗ so where do you want it? We want it

54:03 ↗ here. Done deal, right? Or does Sound

54:05 ↗ Transit, yeah, I don't think that's

54:07 ↗ feasible. We're going to

54:08 ↗ Yeah, that's a great question. And Sound

54:10 ↗ Transit is the decision maker. So

54:13 ↗ we are in an advocacy position. Um our

54:16 ↗ goal is to have an option identified and

54:20 ↗ the documentation to show these are the

54:23 ↗ reasons why this location works great

54:25 ↗ for the community. Um so our goal is to

54:28 ↗ have a win-win uh you know really

54:30 ↗ centering on local needs while also

54:33 ↗ acknowledging that they have regional

54:35 ↗ priorities too. So our goal is to try to

54:37 ↗ hit both of those marks. Um, but

54:40 ↗ ultimately we're in an advocacy role.

54:42 ↗ Sound Trans is the decision maker and

54:45 ↗ the option that we present to them is an

54:48 ↗ option that should meet their needs as

54:51 ↗ well as ours. Um, and the end result may

54:56 ↗ not be exactly what we're hoping to get,

54:59 ↗ but at least they'll know where we're

55:01 ↗ coming from. So there's no question on

55:03 ↗ in their minds as to like what we're

55:05 ↗ looking for. And a lot of the a lot of

55:07 ↗ the hang-ups, a lot of the um a lot of

55:12 ↗ the reasons why a project may get uh

55:15 ↗ overrun in terms of cost or time is just

55:18 ↗ from those like initial things like the

55:20 ↗ communication. So we're getting in front

55:23 ↗ of it. We're saying this is what we want

55:25 ↗ and hoping to get something like that

55:28 ↗ exactly or similar at the end.

55:30 ↗ Yeah. Do you have any Oh, I'm sorry.

55:32 ↗ Go ahead. I'll leave as you might be

55:34 ↗ asked for. Um, so do you have any

55:35 ↗ anecdotal information about let's say

55:39 ↗ Redmond? It's just

55:42 ↗ um I I have a location, one of my

55:43 ↗ businesses is right there where the

55:45 ↗ terminal is going to terminate and uh

55:49 ↗ that wasn't where it was initially

55:50 ↗ thought was going to be. So did the city

55:52 ↗ before plan and get trumped by? Did they

55:55 ↗ get um overruled by

55:59 ↗ Sound Transit, Sound Central? We're

56:00 ↗ going to go here irrespective of what

56:02 ↗ your wishes are.

56:03 ↗ Yeah, most most of the cities that have

56:05 ↗ done a process like this um they've

56:08 ↗ identified general locations. So, we're

56:11 ↗ not saying specifically it needs to go

56:13 ↗ on this parcel. Um but there's been a

56:16 ↗ lot of success particularly um you know

56:18 ↗ Redmond um Federal Way Snowomish County

56:22 ↗ has a couple locations. These are all uh

56:25 ↗ cities or municipalities that have done

56:28 ↗ the pre-work to identify areas that are

56:31 ↗ going to be good opportunities. Um so

56:35 ↗ we're going to be careful not to um you

56:38 ↗ know overly prescribe where something

56:39 ↗ could go. Uh but we're just really

56:42 ↗ identifying these are some great

56:43 ↗ locations both from an opportunity

56:45 ↗ perspective in terms of like writership.

56:47 ↗ Um, but we're also like the city in

56:49 ↗ particular, we're interested in

56:51 ↗ placemaking and making sure that like it

56:54 ↗ feels like the centraliz vision. Um, and

56:58 ↗ for many years, Sunransit has not

57:00 ↗ thought about um, you know, providing

57:02 ↗ rail in terms of like where you're at,

57:04 ↗ like the placemaking aspect. They're

57:06 ↗ they're concerned about um, getting

57:08 ↗ riders getting people to sit down in

57:11 ↗ their in their trains. Um, so we're

57:13 ↗ interested in like threading the needle

57:14 ↗ between both of those and hoping that by

57:17 ↗ identifying early like this is what

57:19 ↗ we're looking for, we can have a win-win

57:21 ↗ situation. Appreciate that. Thanks.

57:28 ↗ What do you see is the biggest challenge

57:31 ↗ in trying to identify these

57:36 ↗ conceptual locations?

57:38 ↗ I think the biggest challenge is going

57:41 ↗ to be thinking about the operational

57:43 ↗ needs of a station. Um, and so one of

57:47 ↗ the ways that we're hoping to address

57:49 ↗ that is, uh, we've we've created a group

57:54 ↗ that I'm calling ski team. Um, just for

57:57 ↗ fun. Uh but it's going to include some

58:00 ↗ transit, King County Metro, um WASHDOT,

58:03 ↗ the Washington uh Department of

58:05 ↗ Transportation, who has the right of way

58:08 ↗ along I90. Um all of these uh agencies

58:11 ↗ that would have something to say about

58:14 ↗ it. We're trying to get them ahead of

58:16 ↗ it. uh even before Sound Transit's

58:18 ↗ formal project starts, we want to know

58:21 ↗ all the operational aspects of what King

58:24 ↗ County Metro would need to have

58:26 ↗ connected buses and like sort of the the

58:29 ↗ land capacity or like the the land needs

58:31 ↗ that they would have or like, you know,

58:33 ↗ things that they're thinking about. You

58:35 ↗ know, by 2030, uh they're hoping to have

58:37 ↗ all their buses electric. And if we're

58:40 ↗ end of the line, like what does that

58:41 ↗ mean? Do they need charging facilities?

58:44 ↗ um if we're under the line, maybe people

58:46 ↗ need to use the restroom. So, like what

58:48 ↗ what does that need? Like what is the

58:50 ↗ space for that? So, we're thinking about

58:52 ↗ all these things. Um things that most

58:54 ↗ people don't think about. We'd want to

58:56 ↗ like really dig into have a pretty good

58:57 ↗ idea um when Sound Transit is ready to

59:01 ↗ design their facilities like sort of

59:02 ↗ what what might be needed and what the

59:05 ↗ constraints and opportunities could be.

59:06 ↗ So, we're trying to get all those ideas

59:08 ↗ out before so that we have a pretty good

59:10 ↗ idea. Yeah. I would assume King County

59:13 ↗ Metro is who's going to be responsible

59:15 ↗ for bridging the gap between the

59:16 ↗ termination end of the line and the

59:18 ↗ highlands. I would assume.

59:21 ↗ Right. So the the location will be in

59:24 ↗ central Isqua, but obviously a large

59:26 ↗ portion of the population is in

59:27 ↗ Highlands. Um so we're going to want to

59:30 ↗ think about operational needs like

59:31 ↗ getting fast buses between highlands,

59:34 ↗ but that would be King County Metro.

59:36 ↗ That would be King County Metro. Um

59:37 ↗ Sound Transit also has buses it would

59:40 ↗ connect. So feasibly they could have the

59:43 ↗ um

59:44 ↗ the parking rate,

59:44 ↗ right?

59:45 ↗ Yeah. Yeah.

59:48 ↗ When you brought up the map, you pointed

59:50 ↗ to a specific area. You said somewhere

59:52 ↗ around here. Is it around Costco area?

59:55 ↗ Is it

59:56 ↗ Sorry, I the cursor was just I there was

59:58 ↗ so much going on. Just the green box is

1:00:00 ↗ what I meant.

1:00:02 ↗ Yeah, I I was referring to I think

1:00:06 ↗ we're going to put it. So I'll just

1:00:07 ↗ screw with you now.

1:00:09 ↗ Yeah. So, um I think most people in the

1:00:12 ↗ community are aware of where Costco

1:00:13 ↗ headquarters is. So, that's where I was

1:00:15 ↗ circling. But I I don't mean anything by

1:00:17 ↗ it. I just mean the green area is where

1:00:20 ↗ we assume.

1:00:21 ↗ And you said you narrowed them down to

1:00:23 ↗ six share.

1:00:26 ↗ We we don't we have not narrowed down

1:00:28 ↗ any. We haven't looked at any at all.

1:00:31 ↗ The light rail planning guide Oops.

1:00:35 ↗ Um the light rail planning guide talks

1:00:37 ↗ about four locations at a very high

1:00:40 ↗ level idea. So this is potentially four

1:00:44 ↗ locations we'll look at. Um we want to

1:00:46 ↗ leave space for other ideas that come

1:00:49 ↗ out through the process. So we're scoped

1:00:52 ↗ for six. Um, council

1:00:54 ↗ was we really appreciate council

1:00:57 ↗ budgeting for this project and we would

1:01:00 ↗ have loved to entertain a thousand ideas

1:01:04 ↗ but budget is so constrained we we're

1:01:06 ↗ limiting it to six. We're going to chat

1:01:08 ↗ about um you know how how we how we vet

1:01:12 ↗ these ideas but six is the um what we're

1:01:17 ↗ you know going to have budget for

1:01:19 ↗ basically. Yeah.

1:01:21 ↗ We're hoping that

1:01:23 ↗ we're hoping that they do come to

1:01:25 ↗ approach in 2027. What's been what do

1:01:27 ↗ you think is the window of time? Do you

1:01:29 ↗ think it might be more like 29? Do you

1:01:31 ↗ think you have any sense of that or how

1:01:33 ↗ that's worked with other cities?

1:01:35 ↗ I I really don't, but we're I think

1:01:37 ↗ we're trying to be optimistic here. Um,

1:01:40 ↗ understanding that Sound Transit, we all

1:01:42 ↗ know, has had some some issues with with

1:01:45 ↗ timing. Um, but if we don't plan

1:01:49 ↗ Yeah. in the earliest, then they could

1:01:52 ↗ be ready and will be too late. Um, so

1:01:55 ↗ our goal is to keep this evergreen

1:01:57 ↗ finished by 2026. If it takes longer for

1:02:01 ↗ them, we're going to keep updating our

1:02:02 ↗ document, make sure that our assumptions

1:02:04 ↗ hold truth. Um, but this document should

1:02:07 ↗ be ready to go when they're ready.

1:02:15 ↗ Oh,

1:02:19 ↗ it somebody help.

1:02:22 ↗ Should I maybe stop sharing with that?

1:02:23 ↗ Oh,

1:02:26 ↗ okay.

1:02:27 ↗ Yeah.

1:02:30 ↗ Presentation forward

1:02:33 ↗ meeting. Were you

1:02:38 ↗ are you?

1:02:40 ↗ Yeah. I just wanted I wanted to see

1:02:41 ↗ Yeah. Go ahead, Manny.

1:02:46 ↗ Hello, Thomas. Um, Manny Brown here. Um,

1:02:50 ↗ the key words lately has been u AI and I

1:02:54 ↗ just wondering if uh you guys have used

1:02:56 ↗ that tool to put all your information in

1:02:59 ↗ and see what it spits out. And um you

1:03:03 ↗ know I also saw on there a date of 2044

1:03:07 ↗ which at my age it probably doesn't

1:03:09 ↗ matter but um

1:03:12 ↗ we're uh do you use that tool to find

1:03:15 ↗ out what it thinks or

1:03:20 ↗ you know what would be the best uh

1:03:22 ↗ places to put this

1:03:26 ↗ AI is is an interesting uh tool uh but

1:03:30 ↗ there's so many biases in we really

1:03:31 ↗ can't rely on it. Um, so

1:03:35 ↗ yeah, I I think you know ultimately AI

1:03:37 ↗ can be helpful in some ways, but

1:03:40 ↗ ultimately it's going to be about

1:03:41 ↗ chatting with people and um we do have a

1:03:45 ↗ consultant team. I can't speak to how

1:03:48 ↗ they do it, but um yeah, ultimately it's

1:03:51 ↗ going to be about, you know, using the

1:03:53 ↗ the data that we have available. Um

1:03:56 ↗ making sure that we check our

1:03:57 ↗ assumptions. Um so much of this work is

1:04:01 ↗ about learning from others. So we intend

1:04:03 ↗ to uh you know the the cities that we

1:04:07 ↗ talk to Redmond, Federal Way, um Snomish

1:04:11 ↗ counties, uh we're really like we're

1:04:13 ↗ trying to like base our information on

1:04:16 ↗ the work and the successes that other

1:04:20 ↗ cities have done using a proven method.

1:04:24 ↗ We're hoping to also emulate that as

1:04:26 ↗ well. Um the second question you had

1:04:30 ↗ Yeah. I mean I believe uh best way to go

1:04:32 ↗ is with personal contact for sure, but I

1:04:35 ↗ just wondering if it was um something

1:04:37 ↗ you guys were using.

1:04:40 ↗ Thank you.

1:04:45 ↗ So So you've got the light rail station

1:04:49 ↗ that you have to plan for. Then there's

1:04:51 ↗ also the I90 overcropping.

1:04:54 ↗ Mhm.

1:04:54 ↗ And having to converge both of them and

1:04:58 ↗ to fully understand

1:05:00 ↗ the impacts of both on a particular

1:05:03 ↗ location.

1:05:06 ↗ How do you know that you're having

1:05:07 ↗ you're getting all the information for

1:05:09 ↗ that to make a decision now without

1:05:13 ↗ having there? Certainly I can imagine

1:05:15 ↗ there's going to be a lot more

1:05:16 ↗ information too when Sound Transit

1:05:18 ↗ comes.

1:05:20 ↗ Yeah, I would say that the the goal of

1:05:23 ↗ this study is to

1:05:25 ↗ be compatible with the N90 crossing. Um

1:05:29 ↗ 90 crossing is meant to have forward

1:05:30 ↗ compatibility

1:05:32 ↗ between the station wherever that goes

1:05:35 ↗ um and then wherever the crossing is. So

1:05:38 ↗ um we certainly want to make sure that

1:05:40 ↗ we're connecting both sides of central

1:05:42 ↗ Isqua which are that's that's currently

1:05:45 ↗ a huge issue for development. um can't

1:05:48 ↗ get people on either side. Uh well, so

1:05:51 ↗ um making sure that the area is walkable

1:05:53 ↗ is also going to necessate that we have

1:05:56 ↗ a good crossing for central ESPA. So

1:05:59 ↗ we're going to make sure that they're

1:06:01 ↗ both thoughtful and they're thought

1:06:03 ↗ together. Yeah.

1:06:06 ↗ So you mentioned the scope of work or

1:06:08 ↗ you mentioned consultants. What's the

1:06:09 ↗ scope of work that the consultants are

1:06:11 ↗ doing for you? And then where does the

1:06:12 ↗ small business community in this

1:06:14 ↗ conversation as far as that the scope of

1:06:16 ↗ work? is looking at as far as like

1:06:18 ↗ relevant presentation. How are you

1:06:19 ↗ incorporating conversations with the

1:06:21 ↗ small business and businesses?

1:06:23 ↗ Sure. So the scope of work is what

1:06:26 ↗ you've seen in front of you. So the

1:06:28 ↗ consultant team will do the existing

1:06:30 ↗ conditions analysis, future conditions

1:06:32 ↗ analysis.

1:06:34 ↗ We've asked them to create um the uh

1:06:40 ↗ the uh let me get my notes here. Uh I

1:06:43 ↗ have the PowerPoint app here.

1:06:46 ↗ uh

1:06:48 ↗ see

1:06:50 ↗ there's the criteria development. So the

1:06:53 ↗ consultant team will work uh with

1:06:56 ↗ internal uh you know city of Isqua folks

1:07:00 ↗ as well as the ski team the the agency

1:07:03 ↗ partners. Um that's going to be sort of

1:07:05 ↗ the first draft and then we'll run that

1:07:07 ↗ through boards of commissions. Um, I'm

1:07:11 ↗ hoping to do lots of popup events and if

1:07:14 ↗ you have access to uh any groups that

1:07:17 ↗ want to chat with me, I'm would love to

1:07:20 ↗ do that. Um, we've been chatting with

1:07:23 ↗ anybody. Uh, we went to a small business

1:07:27 ↗ uh

1:07:28 ↗ what was it called? Uh, it the small

1:07:31 ↗ business open house I think in February.

1:07:34 ↗ Um, talked to people there. That was in

1:07:36 ↗ the Highlands. Um we we had a table at

1:07:40 ↗ bike everywhere day in May. Um happy to

1:07:43 ↗ go to any events. Um I I love talking

1:07:46 ↗ about this topic so I could talk about

1:07:48 ↗ it indefinitely. Um yeah other other

1:07:52 ↗ scope uh that the consultant team will

1:07:53 ↗ be doing is uh looking at uh station

1:07:56 ↗ locations. Um these are also going to be

1:07:58 ↗ vetted through committees. Um and yeah,

1:08:01 ↗ happy to chat with anybody about any of

1:08:04 ↗ these things.

1:08:07 ↗ On a related note, and you're probably

1:08:08 ↗ already bringing this to us, but um the

1:08:10 ↗ chamber um and engaging um with them and

1:08:14 ↗ having them bring the business community

1:08:17 ↗ because they're connected with large

1:08:19 ↗ businesses large and small.

1:08:21 ↗ I I still thought Sorry.

1:08:24 ↗ Yeah. Yeah. Would love to chat with

1:08:25 ↗ them.

1:08:26 ↗ Yeah. Community. Yeah. And same with

1:08:29 ↗ you. We're between the two of us, I

1:08:31 ↗ think.

1:08:32 ↗ Yeah,

1:08:34 ↗ that sounds great. Um, I currently have

1:08:36 ↗ a list I have an email list going of

1:08:38 ↗ interested parties. It's um slowly

1:08:41 ↗ getting bigger. Um, I I'm about like uh

1:08:46 ↗ overending information, but as this

1:08:48 ↗ project kicks off, I do want to start

1:08:50 ↗ keeping people updated on this. We just

1:08:52 ↗ haven't kicked off yet. Um, but yeah,

1:08:54 ↗ I'm I'm interested. uh la last year, I

1:08:58 ↗ believe it was last year, maybe two

1:08:59 ↗ years ago, um as we were doing the

1:09:01 ↗ transit study, was talking to the

1:09:03 ↗ Quantis group. So, I plan to chat with

1:09:05 ↗ them. Um yeah, I'd love to talk to

1:09:08 ↗ everybody. So, yeah.

1:09:14 ↗ So you mentioned a little bit about okay

1:09:16 ↗ Kingtown County is looking to invest

1:09:18 ↗ potential electric buses but with this

1:09:21 ↗ station can you talk a little bit more

1:09:22 ↗ about what is planning to do but making

1:09:25 ↗ sure it's so sustainable and it means

1:09:27 ↗ sort of sustainability plan

1:09:30 ↗ I can't speak specifically to the

1:09:32 ↗ sustainability plan that's um sort of

1:09:35 ↗ not my department but I I do know a

1:09:37 ↗ little bit about sustainability in

1:09:39 ↗ transportation

1:09:41 ↗ um yeah like we're we're interested in

1:09:44 ↗ like I I would say more than most

1:09:46 ↗ communities in sustainability. Um it's a

1:09:49 ↗ cornerstone of the vision and grinding

1:09:50 ↗ principles for the central co-op uh plan

1:09:54 ↗ for the station area. Um yeah, I mean

1:09:58 ↗ transit is inherently more sustainable

1:10:00 ↗ than driving and we'd love to see more

1:10:02 ↗ people riding in transit. Um the

1:10:05 ↗ facilities themselves are not defined

1:10:07 ↗ yet um in terms of like the the station

1:10:11 ↗ itself. Uh but uh I believe it's 1% of

1:10:17 ↗ Sound Transit's um overall project

1:10:19 ↗ budget does go to art. Um, so one way

1:10:23 ↗ that we could sort of promote um

1:10:25 ↗ sustainability and like sort of the um

1:10:28 ↗ that the Isqua feel that we we all love

1:10:31 ↗ is we could use uh or like Sound Transit

1:10:34 ↗ could potentially use that with local

1:10:36 ↗ artists um to sort of promote the the

1:10:40 ↗ vibe that we're trying to go with. Um so

1:10:43 ↗ yeah

1:10:44 ↗ has like ten and looked at the actual

1:10:48 ↗ impacts building establishation would

1:10:50 ↗ have

1:10:51 ↗ I see. So is your question about the

1:10:53 ↗ construction impacts?

1:10:55 ↗ I see.

1:11:00 ↗ Yeah. These are all things that we want

1:11:01 ↗ to think about but we just haven't

1:11:02 ↗ gotten to that point yet. Yeah. And some

1:11:05 ↗ transit does um they do think about

1:11:07 ↗ that. there's this whole environmental

1:11:10 ↗ review process that will look into that.

1:11:12 ↗ Um I know there's a lot of concern about

1:11:16 ↗ like CO2 emissions with like

1:11:17 ↗ constructing um you know using concrete

1:11:20 ↗ and such. So these are all things that

1:11:22 ↗ some transit will be looking at. Um but

1:11:25 ↗ ultimately uh you know getting cars off

1:11:28 ↗ the road and making central Isqua like

1:11:30 ↗ really walkable is going to really help

1:11:32 ↗ with a lot of that.

1:11:44 ↗ of driving

1:11:48 ↗ etc. could change

1:11:51 ↗ the vision.

1:11:57 ↗ I don't know that the vision changes too

1:11:59 ↗ much with electric vehicles

1:12:02 ↗ ultimately. Um, you know, electric

1:12:04 ↗ vehicles are producing less greenhouse

1:12:07 ↗ gas emissions, but they still need to

1:12:10 ↗ use the road and, you know, there's

1:12:13 ↗ rubber in the tires and um that can harm

1:12:17 ↗ our, you know, fish that we love so

1:12:19 ↗ much. So, um, you know, ultimately

1:12:23 ↗ having a walkable neighborhood where

1:12:25 ↗ there's jobs and housing nearby that

1:12:27 ↗ people can enjoy. Um, I think all these

1:12:31 ↗ things are really going to be pretty

1:12:33 ↗ timeless for Central Isqua. Um, that

1:12:37 ↗ being said,

1:12:40 ↗ this uh, you know, station will not be

1:12:42 ↗ here for another 20 years. Um, and we do

1:12:46 ↗ want to leave space for growth. Um, so

1:12:48 ↗ hoping to have the station, you know,

1:12:51 ↗ not overprescribe and leave some space

1:12:53 ↗ for like, you know, the need that comes

1:12:56 ↗ in the future.

1:13:04 ↗ We talk about sustainability measures

1:13:06 ↗ and looking into the future. As Thomas

1:13:09 ↗ said, think about self-driving cars.

1:13:11 ↗ Those are we anticipate going to use the

1:13:14 ↗ roadways more efficiently, but it's

1:13:16 ↗ still, as Thomas indicated, there's

1:13:18 ↗ still a lot of people that are going to

1:13:20 ↗ need to move through this region and

1:13:21 ↗ transit is still what we anticipate to

1:13:24 ↗ be the most efficient way to do that.

1:13:26 ↗ Um, just because we're packed in a

1:13:28 ↗ little tighter on these trains. And so

1:13:31 ↗ um so as we look ahead this project

1:13:34 ↗ right now that Thomas is talking about

1:13:36 ↗ looking at station area locations

1:13:39 ↗ um providing those recommendations to

1:13:41 ↗ sound transit that is we're we're way

1:13:44 ↗ before design of the station itself and

1:13:47 ↗ so I I think we don't anticipate

1:13:50 ↗ self-driving cars electric vehicles to

1:13:53 ↗ change the station locations as we get

1:13:56 ↗ closer to actual design and completing

1:13:59 ↗ design of the stations. That's when

1:14:01 ↗ we're going to have to also think about

1:14:02 ↗ how does this station that's going to be

1:14:05 ↗ around for at a very small minimum of 50

1:14:08 ↗ years, probably more like a hundred

1:14:09 ↗ years, how is that going to accommodate

1:14:12 ↗ the future and changes in technology. So

1:14:15 ↗ that's going to get more into specific

1:14:17 ↗ design elements along with sustainable

1:14:20 ↗ construction uh elements, right? So,

1:14:22 ↗ we're just at the phase of saying, okay,

1:14:25 ↗ we know it's going to be in this big

1:14:26 ↗ green box essentially.

1:14:28 ↗ Where in this green box do we think it's

1:14:31 ↗ going to be? And then as we move forward

1:14:32 ↗ in design and kind of continue to make

1:14:34 ↗ progress on finding out exactly what

1:14:36 ↗ this is going to look like, that's when

1:14:38 ↗ the details of are we using recycled

1:14:40 ↗ concrete? Uh that's in the details of

1:14:43 ↗ how is this going to accommodate future

1:14:44 ↗ technology and changes because electric

1:14:47 ↗ buses um and whatever the trains are

1:14:51 ↗ going to be running on in 125 years. I

1:14:54 ↗ think you can even try to imagine that

1:14:56 ↗ that's when those design choices are

1:14:57 ↗ going to become really important. But we

1:14:59 ↗ are we're still quite a few years away

1:15:01 ↗ from those things. And that's that's how

1:15:03 ↗ we try to think about this in

1:15:05 ↗ iterations. You know, what do we know

1:15:07 ↗ now that we can put this together and

1:15:08 ↗ figure out okay where can we put this?

1:15:10 ↗ um let's look at locations and then

1:15:13 ↗ let's think about um those design

1:15:15 ↗ choices and everything once we get to

1:15:17 ↗ that phase of the development.

1:15:19 ↗ There's been some really great examples

1:15:21 ↗ like in in Belleview and Redmond um

1:15:24 ↗ those communities have really added a

1:15:27 ↗ lot of character to their stations that

1:15:28 ↗ could otherwise look pretty like brutal

1:15:30 ↗ and gray. Um, so, you know,

1:15:33 ↗ understanding that we love the outdoors,

1:15:36 ↗ we love salmon, we love trees, um, you

1:15:39 ↗ know, we love riding our bikes on the

1:15:41 ↗ trails. Like these are all opportunities

1:15:43 ↗ that we can really think about as we're

1:15:45 ↗ designing the station,

1:15:56 ↗ but because you guys were talking about

1:15:57 ↗ this plan and that you're looking to

1:16:00 ↗ present to sound transit and so I guess

1:16:02 ↗ my question as you're looking to create

1:16:05 ↗ the station planning report, are you

1:16:06 ↗ taking into consideration like what what

1:16:09 ↗ a station near the creek for example

1:16:11 ↗ impacts, right? Versus like a station

1:16:13 ↗ like farther away concrete. So if you

1:16:15 ↗ have like my question, are you guys

1:16:17 ↗ taking a sustainability view into

1:16:19 ↗ consideration as one of the areas that

1:16:21 ↗ you're looking at as part of the report?

1:16:23 ↗ Yes,

1:16:24 ↗ we are. Yep. Yeah.

1:16:26 ↗ Yeah. So Sound Transit will do a

1:16:28 ↗ full-blown environmental review.

1:16:30 ↗ However, we're also doing our own, but

1:16:32 ↗ it'll just be a tiny review. So, we'll

1:16:34 ↗ we'll understand like you can't be near

1:16:37 ↗ a you know a creek if you're right next

1:16:40 ↗ to a creek. Uh you know there's issues

1:16:42 ↗ that come with that. Um also like

1:16:44 ↗ structurally there could be some issues

1:16:46 ↗ with the facility itself. So we're going

1:16:49 ↗ to we're going to dive into these and

1:16:51 ↗ just at a very high level identify fatal

1:16:54 ↗ flaws about where a station probably

1:16:57 ↗ should not even look at uh being. Um,

1:17:00 ↗ Sound Transit is going to do an even

1:17:02 ↗ deeper analysis and we're not trying to

1:17:04 ↗ compete with that. But we just want to

1:17:05 ↗ know like at a pretty high level like

1:17:08 ↗ probably shouldn't put a station here

1:17:09 ↗ because it's probably not going to work

1:17:11 ↗ for these reasons and you could probably

1:17:13 ↗ put it here because it would work for

1:17:14 ↗ these reasons. So that's that's kind of

1:17:17 ↗ at a high level where we're trying to

1:17:18 ↗ get at. But sustainability definitely is

1:17:20 ↗ we're very interested in making sure

1:17:23 ↗ we're not doing any harm. Yeah. And is

1:17:25 ↗ also like a people kind of lens included

1:17:27 ↗ in this as well like within

1:17:29 ↗ sustainability and impact we have in all

1:17:31 ↗ communities in those areas.

1:17:32 ↗ Yep. Absolutely. And uh we're hoping to

1:17:35 ↗ chat with as many people as possible so

1:17:37 ↗ that we definitely know we're ticking

1:17:39 ↗ all the boxes. We want to make sure that

1:17:41 ↗ we've talked to everybody that wants to

1:17:42 ↗ talk to us. Um I'm going to try to go to

1:17:45 ↗ places where people are and like if

1:17:47 ↗ anybody

1:17:48 ↗ identifies something that I haven't

1:17:50 ↗ thought about or that our team hasn't

1:17:52 ↗ thought about, we'd love to hear that.

1:17:53 ↗ Yeah.

1:18:08 ↗ just seeing you know what's happening

1:18:10 ↗ now people have just like extreme like

1:18:13 ↗ what drags posit on is that people like

1:18:15 ↗ oh well I want this to go here and like

1:18:17 ↗ getting the land owners to cooperate and

1:18:19 ↗ my sense is that the city of local land

1:18:21 ↗ owners incl probably people will be more

1:18:23 ↗ willing to talk to the city than to talk

1:18:24 ↗ to Sound Transit which is like you know

1:18:26 ↗ multi-county theater organization. So

1:18:28 ↗ that's something that we're looking into

1:18:30 ↗ at all in terms of like oh you know

1:18:31 ↗ here's where we think the state should

1:18:33 ↗ go and also like here's where you can

1:18:35 ↗ route the station where or route the

1:18:38 ↗ rail where members are actually.

1:18:41 ↗ Yeah, it's a a really great point. And

1:18:43 ↗ you know, one thing that we've seen with

1:18:45 ↗ a lot of these projects is in the 11th

1:18:48 ↗ hour, an additional idea comes in and

1:18:51 ↗ that can really like add three years to

1:18:53 ↗ the project. And so we're we're really

1:18:56 ↗ we're trying to vet some like up to six

1:18:59 ↗ locations that could be viable options

1:19:03 ↗ and would love to just stick to the plan

1:19:06 ↗ whatever we choose to rally behind. Um

1:19:11 ↗ acknowledging that Sound Transit is

1:19:13 ↗ going to have their own process. Um but

1:19:15 ↗ if we can really like have these

1:19:17 ↗ conversations early, have people think

1:19:19 ↗ about what this means for them. Um,

1:19:22 ↗ we're going to have all these

1:19:23 ↗ conversations with the, you know,

1:19:25 ↗ developer, property owner, uh, groups

1:19:27 ↗ that own a lot of the land in central

1:19:29 ↗ Isqua to really like help them think

1:19:32 ↗ about like light rail coming and sort of

1:19:35 ↗ what that means. Um, if we can have

1:19:38 ↗ these conversations early, we can, you

1:19:40 ↗ know, we can keep our uh, all parties

1:19:43 ↗ informed by the time that Sound Transit

1:19:46 ↗ is ready. Um, and you know, hopefully

1:19:49 ↗ that we can help Sound Transit at least,

1:19:52 ↗ you know, we can do what we can um to

1:19:54 ↗ help them like keep to their schedule

1:19:56 ↗ and their their budget and all that.

1:20:06 ↗ Any more comments? Any questions?

1:20:10 ↗ Again, happy to chat after this. Um, I

1:20:14 ↗ think a lot of people have a lot of

1:20:15 ↗ feelings about this, a lot of thoughts,

1:20:17 ↗ but I'm anybody that wants to talk to

1:20:19 ↗ me, happy to do it.

1:20:22 ↗ Thomas, is there anything more you could

1:20:24 ↗ highlight to us about community

1:20:25 ↗ engagement moving forward, whether it's

1:20:28 ↗ with the property owners or community

1:20:29 ↗ members as we move forward and trying to

1:20:33 ↗ select a preferred alignment?

1:20:35 ↗ Yeah, thank you, Andrea. Um, yeah, so

1:20:38 ↗ you know, our timeline is through the

1:20:40 ↗ end of 2026.

1:20:41 ↗ Uh we're going to have a couple open

1:20:43 ↗ houses. Uh we haven't scheduled those

1:20:45 ↗ yet, but once we kick off and once the

1:20:47 ↗ consultant team is ready to roll, we can

1:20:50 ↗ start planning all this. Um again, I'll

1:20:53 ↗ be going to the boards and commissions a

1:20:55 ↗ couple times over the next 18 months. Um

1:20:58 ↗ council is going to see this. Uh we're

1:21:01 ↗ going to have, you know, a lot of

1:21:03 ↗ opportunities. I'll be out in the

1:21:05 ↗ community. Um, and I'll be doing a lot

1:21:08 ↗ of these uh one-on-one conversations as

1:21:11 ↗ well as meeting with uh groups like

1:21:12 ↗ Kuanis, um, the chamber. Um, any tips

1:21:16 ↗ you have about meeting with people, I'm

1:21:18 ↗ happy to do it. I'll make time to do it.

1:21:20 ↗ Um, I think the the goal is to just

1:21:23 ↗ share as much information as possible

1:21:25 ↗ and try to try to get as many uh ideas

1:21:28 ↗ out here so we can really think about

1:21:30 ↗ this uh pretty thoroughly because this

1:21:32 ↗ project is like the biggest project the

1:21:34 ↗ Isqua will see in the next 50 100 years.

1:21:38 ↗ Yeah. So, we got to do it right.

1:21:44 ↗ Okay. Thanks so much.

1:21:57 ↗ Thank you, Thomas. I hope to see you

1:21:58 ↗ soon. Give the updates. Um, the next

1:22:02 ↗ thing we had on the agenda was uh any

1:22:04 ↗ announcements from the group.

1:22:07 ↗ Look at our commissioners. Manny, any

1:22:10 ↗ announcements from you, Commissioner

1:22:12 ↗ Lori?

1:22:14 ↗ Here we go. All right. We're going to

1:22:16 ↗ adjourn our meeting at exactly 7:57 June

1:22:21 ↗ 18. Our next meeting is July 16. And uh

1:22:25 ↗ thank you so much economics Vitality for

1:22:27 ↗ joining our joint session today.

1:22:29 ↗ Thank you.

1:22:32 ↗ EC member you have about minutes to

1:22:36 ↗ stay.

1:22:40 ↗ All right.

Approved minutes

Extracted from the next meeting's packet, where this meeting's minutes were approved as a consent-calendar attachment.

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Attendance

Council / Members (9)

Jaime Fajardo

Manny Brown

Maury Edwards

Madeline Fish

Huma Mohibullah

Jaydianette Ramirez

Ray Manahan

Beau Pulliam

Trish Bloor, excused

Staff (7)

Hannah Roberts, Human Services

Coordinator Andrea Snyder, Deputy City Administrator

Jack Pedlow, Economic Development Coordinator

Thomas Valdriz, Sr. Transportation Planner

Brenne Schario, Executive Director

Carol Schneider, Board President

Cris Wilkinson, Board Vice President

Recommendations & actions (2)

Sentences extracted from the narrative containing words like recommended, requested, directed, moved, or approved. Best-effort — verify against the full minutes for context.

Commissioner Edwards motioned to approve the minutes of May 21, 2025 as presented.
Commissioner MOHIBULLAH seconded the motion, there was unanimous consent to approve the minutes as presented.