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.

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