2026-09-22 - City Council Study Session (2)

00:28Good evening. I am calling this meeting

00:29to order. This is a Redmond City Council

00:31study session held on Tuesday, September

00:3422nd, 2026, commencing at 700 p.m. All

00:38council members are in attendance.

00:40Council member Procria is online. Mayor

00:42Bernie will not be in attendance

00:44tonight. There are five items on the

00:47agenda. The um municipal operations

00:50center project update validation summary

00:52and recommendation

00:542027 2028 bianial forecast financial

00:58forecast the 2027 2032 capital

01:02investment program review the

01:04continuation of that conversation from

01:07our last study session the housing and

01:10human services action plan and council

01:12talk time. So the first item is the

01:15municipal operations center project

01:16update and Chris Stanger, interim public

01:18works director, will kick us off. Thank

01:20you, Chris.

01:22>> Thank you, council president, and good

01:23evening, council members. Uh, as

01:26introduced Chris Stinger, public works

01:28side, uh, joining me tonight is the

01:31parks director Loren Hamilton,

01:34project manager Amy Kim from Capital

01:37Projects team. We're also joined by our

01:39progressive design build team from Lee

01:41Crutcher Lewis and Miller Hall, Duncan

01:44Howard from the Lewis side and Claire

01:45Renick from the Miller Hall side. And

01:48then online, if there's any permitting

01:51type of questions, we have the acting

01:53development service director, Jason

01:55Lynch. So joined by a a cast uh tonight

01:59to present um the validation maintenance

02:03and operations center or campus

02:05redevelopment project. And tonight's

02:08presentation follows the completion of

02:10the validation phase and provides an

02:13overview of where we are headed as the

02:16project transitions into phase one

02:18design. Next slide, please.

02:22The purpose of tonight's presentation is

02:24to provide a summary of the validation

02:26phase, share the outcomes of that work,

02:28and outline the path forward as the

02:30project moves into design. The

02:32validation phase provided an opportunity

02:35for the city and progressive design

02:37build team to further define the project

02:39requirements, confirm the project

02:41approach, and make sure we remain

02:43aligned with the project goals, budget,

02:45and overall schedule. Tonight is also an

02:48opportunity to provide council with

02:50visibility into where we are in the

02:52process and upcoming decision points as

02:55the project advances. Next slide,

02:58please. So these are the primary goals

03:01that are guiding the MOC project.

03:04One slide back. Thank you. Uh first, we

03:07want to create a multi-gener

03:09generational facility for our current

03:11and future public servants. That means a

03:14facility that is durable, adaptable,

03:17easy to maintain, and designed to evolve

03:19as the city's needs change. Second, we

03:23want to create a sustainable and

03:25functional workplace that supports staff

03:27well-being, collaboration, and changing

03:29workflows.

03:31The MOC will bring a uh multiple

03:33divisions together. So, the layout and

03:36adjacencies are important. We want to

03:38reduce physical and operational barriers

03:40between the teams and create

03:42opportunities for staff to work together

03:44more efficiently and ultimately serve

03:46the public more effectively.

03:49Then finally, we're looking at the

03:51project through a long-term lens in the

03:53context of Redmond 2050. The goal is to

03:56create a forward-looking campus that

03:58maximizes sustainability, capac

04:01capacity, and infrastructure readiness

04:03and provides a facility that can serve

04:05the gener uh city for generations. These

04:08goals have guided the validation phase

04:10and will continue to guide the design as

04:12we move forward. And finally, uh slide

04:16four for me.

04:18Slide here shows the overall project

04:20schedule and where we are today. So as

04:23stated we have completed the validation

04:25phase which is the initial phase of the

04:27progressive design build process. So

04:30during the validation the city and the

04:32design build team work together to

04:34confirm the project requirements, scope,

04:37schedule, risk and cost assumptions

04:39before advancing into the next phase. So

04:42now we are transitioning into phase one

04:45design and preconstruction.

04:47As part of phase one, the design build

04:49team will advance the design, continue

04:52to refine the project scope and cost,

04:54coordinate permitting, and develop the

04:56work necessary to prepare for

04:58construction.

05:00You'll see phase one NTP on the

05:02schedule. NTP stands for notice to

05:05proceed. This is an authorization for

05:07the design build team to begin the work

05:10associated with phase one. project will

05:13then move through permitting and early

05:15works while the design and construction

05:17approach continue to be developed.

05:20You'll also see GMP which stands for

05:23guaranteed maximum price. This is a

05:26major milestone associated with

05:27establishing the construction price

05:29before moving into primary construction

05:31phase. Following that that the project

05:34moves into phase two construction

05:35followed by project closeout. So the

05:38current schedule anticipates substantial

05:41completion by May 2030 right around the

05:44corner. So at a high level validation is

05:46complete. We are bringing uh beginning

05:48phase one design and pre-construction

05:50and focus now is advancing the design

05:53refining the scope and cost completing

05:56permitting and early work and preparing

05:58for construction. And with that I'm

06:01handing it over to Director Hamilton.

06:04>> Thank you Chris. Uh so I'm going to

06:06start talking a little bit about scope.

06:08As we talked about earlier today in

06:10committee, um validation does three

06:12things for us in the progressive design

06:14build process. It uh validates our

06:17scope, our schedule, and our budget. So

06:18Chris just talked about our schedule. Uh

06:21as you'll notice that that timeline did

06:23move up from previous touch points um by

06:28how long we we were previously in 2031.

06:32Correct. Yeah, we

06:34>> six months. So, we we um were able to

06:37move the completion up approximately six

06:39months as we went through the

06:40validation. And this is simply because

06:42information becomes more clear. It helps

06:43us understand the project a little bit

06:45better. The next piece that we're going

06:47to talk about is scope. And that's going

06:48to be over the next four slides or so.

06:50And so, the new MOC is really looking to

06:52replace our outdated facilities with the

06:54resilient and future flexible campus.

06:56Our current campus has been peacemeal

06:59over the decades. Um, and if you have

07:01toured it uh recently at all, you will

07:04notice that there are um teams that are

07:06in buildings that were never meant to be

07:08permanent. Uh, and so we are really

07:10looking forward to replacing these

07:11facilities uh in a way that is designed

07:14for long-term operational excellence.

07:17One thing that's important to note is

07:19that there are a handful of functions

07:20that at this time will be remaining at

07:22the existing site. Those three items are

07:25decant, fuel island, mineral bins, and

07:28salt storage. Uh and so in the red um on

07:32this diagram you'll see those red

07:34outlines. Those are the ones that will

07:36be maintained. The ones that are

07:38outlined in blue have the ability or the

07:41would not be too difficult to decouple

07:44and to um demolish and or surplus. And

07:47so uh the design build team is still

07:49working on squeezing this down. The

07:53biggest item that will remain on site is

07:55the decant facility. uh the decamp

07:57facility does not have the potential to

07:59move on to the new uh site that we have

08:03brought on at H Highleberg. Uh there is

08:06not space at that site for that program

08:08and so it will maintain there. The two

08:10others which are the fuel tank and the

08:13mineral bins are under further study uh

08:15and we'll be able to bring more

08:17information. there are going to be the

08:19potentials for um reducing out those

08:23other facilities uh as we continue on

08:26through the project as well

08:31at the new MOC. It's our Am I on the

08:34right side? Did I skip?

08:40Oh, got it. Okay. Sorry. We were we're

08:43making sure we're on the same slides

08:45here. Uh at the new MOC, the prior prior

08:48priority is going to be to centralize

08:50all public works, parks, fleet

08:51maintenance, and fire fleet maintenance

08:53staff at the MOC. Um the consolidation

08:57of this high use program at the new MOC

08:59will include workspaces, training

09:01spaces, fleet maintenance shops, labs,

09:03and frequent frequently accessed fleet.

09:10The new site which we have purchased and

09:12are designing the new MOC on will be a

09:14full redevelopment of the site and

09:16operation structures. It will have storm

09:18water infrastructure, vehicle wash

09:20facilities, vehicle and maintenance and

09:22equipment storage and other ancillary

09:24structures that will support the

09:25operational requirements of our crews.

09:28EV charging and surface parking is also

09:30included. The operations building which

09:33you see on the bottom in blue is going

09:35to be a new two-story mass timber

09:37building and it will house the people

09:39really. These are going to be our office

09:41building. This is going to be our office

09:43building that includes conference rooms,

09:45training rooms, kitchenetses, touchdown

09:47spaces, offices, etc.

09:51and our lockers. Sorry, that's an

09:52important one. Uh the operations

09:54building which you see in orange is a

09:56new one-story building. It will have

09:57shared use shops, labs, warehouse space,

10:00and storage functions. And so the design

10:01build team is working hard with the

10:03crews and the teams out at the MOC to

10:05ensure that adjacencies in these spaces

10:07are appropriate and working to the

10:10greatest um ability. The last is the

10:12operations building, which you'll see in

10:14pink. This is a new one-story building

10:16with um high high bay fleet maintenance

10:21areas, two pullthrough heavy duty bays,

10:23and eight tandem pullthrough medium duty

10:25bays. So this is where all of our fleet

10:27maintenance will happen and this will be

10:29both um citywide fleet as well as fire

10:32fleet is going to uh consolidate on this

10:34site in the future.

10:38Sustainability is a topic of continued

10:40conversation. Uh an important thing to

10:43note is that lead which is the

10:46certification that we discuss most often

10:48in this room is really targeted for

10:51people focused facilities. office

10:53buildings in particular. And so right

10:56now we are targeting the administrative

10:58building as lead gold. Uh it says lead

11:01v5 gold. They just updated their

11:03certifications. And so we are targeting

11:05lead v5 gold. Lead is not

11:09easily applied to maintenance and

11:11operations facilities or things that are

11:13more similar to infrastructure and

11:15public works types uses. And so the team

11:18is actively studying different

11:20certification methods uh to be able to

11:23meet our gold goal of lead gold or

11:26equivalent. And so we want to be really

11:28clear that we are not diminishing or

11:31overlooking our sustainability goals

11:33here, but we are going to have to be

11:35looking at different ways to um attain

11:38them. uh the sustainability manager

11:40Jenny Liebeck and Laida Harris who's our

11:42facilities and park sustainability

11:44program manager are working very closely

11:46with the team to understand what are the

11:48ways that we're wanting to have these

11:50green standards built into the MOC. Uh

11:53and so we are looking at different

11:54things such as Envision which is uh what

11:57Sound Transit uses for a lot of their

11:58projects uh and different zerocarbon um

12:02certifications as well. So this is still

12:04under study. Um but we are shooting for

12:08lead V5 gold on the people building and

12:12then looking at equivalent

12:13certifications for the other facilities

12:15and the site as a whole.

12:19Now that we've talked about schedule and

12:21scope, we're going to talk a little bit

12:23about budget. The new MOC, thank you

12:26Amy, uh is currently targeted at a

12:29budget of 268.5

12:31million. This has eliminated our

12:34dispersed operations need. It has

12:36eliminated the parking garage need and

12:38we have been able to fully incorporate

12:40fire fleet. This number does look

12:43different than what we have talked about

12:45and one of the reasons for that is

12:46because of the purchase of the new of

12:48the new site. Um there were dollars that

12:51were already built into the budget for

12:53dispersed operations and that was helped

12:56cover a portion of it. Um, but finance

12:58has worked with us to ensure that we can

13:00cover that additional $18.5 million in

13:03the project budget so that we can move

13:05on to that new site and fully outfit the

13:07site for the future of the maintenance

13:09and operations center.

13:15To date, we have engaged with city

13:17council um as follows. Uh, we did the

13:21validation contract approval with you

13:23all in Q4 of 2025. We've been doing

13:26quarterly updates. We were with you in

13:28Q1 uh of 2026. In Q2, we did the phase

13:31one approval for the contract. Um and

13:34then we were with you just recently in

13:37Q3 doing a study session update as well.

13:40Looking forward, there's going to be

13:42some decision points for city council

13:44and we want to make sure that it's

13:46understood. Um this graphic is busy and

13:48really small. My apologies, but you'll

13:51continue getting updates on a quarterly

13:53basis through the CIP update. Uh, in Q1

13:56to Q2 of 2028 will be the GMP approval,

14:00which is the Oh, it went away.

14:04There we go. Thank you, council

14:06president. Get the guaranteed maximum

14:07price for this project. And so that will

14:10need to come to council for approval.

14:12And then in Q2 of 2028 will be the phase

14:152 contract which will allow the design

14:16build team to continue their work.

14:22At that this point that is all of the

14:25information that we have to share. We're

14:26happy to answer questions. We also have

14:28Claire and Duncan here who are ready and

14:29willing to answer questions um as they

14:32have are really the experts on the

14:34design build side.

14:37>> Thank you so much team. Uh council who

14:39would like to kick us off? Council

14:40member Sony.

14:44>> Thank you so much. Uh I have a question

14:46specifically with the old site because

14:49it's still going to have our fuel island

14:52tick facility and material salt mineral

14:55bins. Now once everything has moved to

14:58to the new facility

15:00and and when we did took a tour for the

15:03old sai it's still big. So the cost of

15:05maintaining that site with just these

15:07limited um uh you know limited

15:10facilities isn't that going to be large

15:13or is there a plan that eventually these

15:16will also moved to the new MOC site you

15:19know any costing or anything associated

15:21with that?

15:21>> Yeah that's a great question. Thank you

15:23council member. So there are two items

15:25that we're hoping to either be able to

15:27move onto the new site or consolidate in

15:29a different way on the current site and

15:30that's the mineral and salt bins and the

15:32fuel island. And so that's something

15:34that the design build team is actively

15:36exploring is how do we reduce our

15:38footprint on the current site. Decant is

15:40a tricky one. It's a newer um piece of

15:43infrastructure for us. It's in really

15:45good working condition and there is not

15:47space on the new site for that to move

15:50over to that site. Um and so we will

15:54need to maintain it on the current site

15:56or it will be need to be moved to a

15:58different site if we ever wanted to

16:00fully vacate that site. Um the hope is

16:03though to minimize our impact on that

16:06site so that we can surplus some of that

16:08land and sell it so that we're not

16:10maintaining that full parcel. Uh what

16:12that looks like is still to be

16:14determined. Those things are still under

16:16study, but that is the um long-term goal

16:19is to minimize our use of that site and

16:21be able to um surplus that that space if

16:25that is what council chooses.

16:29Did you have a follow-up, Council Member

16:30Sony?

16:32>> So, now assuming there will be a staff

16:34travel time between both of these sites,

16:36I hope that has been taken into

16:38consideration into the budget.

16:39>> These two sites are extremely close

16:41geographically and we worked really

16:43closely with the the staff to understand

16:45what the impact would be of those two

16:47things being separated. This is from

16:51staff's perspective extremely low

16:53impact.

16:55Thank you, Council Vice President. Thank

16:58you, Chair. Um, director, thank you for

17:00that clarification and and, uh,

17:02expanding out on that. And thank you to

17:04my colleague, Council Member Sony for

17:06bringing up the question because as we

17:07were talking, I was uh uh trying to find

17:11in my notes because I was under the

17:13understanding that by purchasing the H

17:16Highleberg property that then we would

17:19be able to have the the current property

17:23go to surplus um and with the

17:26understanding that the TAMP facility is

17:27a phenomenal asset that we have and

17:29understand that we would we would need

17:31to move it over there. So, this is the

17:33first that I'm seeming to be hearing.

17:35So, I was trying to find it in my notes

17:37to to be able to go back to, but I'm

17:40kind of caught off guard because this is

17:42the first that I'm hearing that no,

17:44we're going to hang on to both

17:45properties and decant's going to stay

17:46there. Understandably, but again, the

17:49first that we're hearing it. Yes, I

17:51understand that this um may be a shift

17:55from what some of your previous

17:57understandings were. I was able to meet

17:58with a handful of you prior to today to

18:01kind of preview this because um it did

18:04become clear to me that that was not

18:05something that was fully understood by

18:07council. I can't necessarily fully

18:10account for why that is um as I was not

18:13um in some of those conversations that

18:15were had with you all previously, but

18:17what I can tell you is that we are doing

18:19all that we can to minimize the impact

18:21and to surplus as much of that property

18:23as we can. The only way we could

18:25reasonably move all of everything off of

18:28our current site and onto the new site

18:30is Can you go back to the map that shows

18:32the storm water, please?

18:36Or one of them. I know there's a few.

18:37Yeah, that's a great one. So, the only

18:39way that that is even potentially

18:41feasible is that um is a storm water

18:44detention vault up in the top left. That

18:47would need to be undergrounded into a

18:48large underground vault. And then we

18:50would need to put a parking garage on

18:52this site to be able to maximize that

18:54space. Um, according to our design build

18:57team, um, and if you have more

18:59questions, you can press on Claire a

19:01little bit, Claire and Duncan on this is

19:02that that would be in the range of $40

19:04to $50 million to accomplish those two

19:06things. And so, um, that was not the

19:10direction that was taken, but that is

19:12the only way that that would be

19:14attainable at this point.

19:16>> Thank you. Thank you. Lots of hands. I

19:19saw council member Sony and then council

19:20member for

19:22excuse me council member parsy my

19:24apologies. So um following up on the

19:27questions that my colleagues asked I

19:29think um I also am going to say from my

19:32memory not from my notes I do remember

19:35that um and my memory can be mistaken so

19:39please correct me um I remember that one

19:42of the premise of um the decision to

19:45move to H Highleberg was that we would

19:47be able to surplus this current property

19:51but what I'm hearing now is that decan

19:54not only So I don't have a problem with

19:56keeping decan because of um the it's um

20:00it has further life to live. Um, but I

20:03think we had the understanding and

20:06information that council received that

20:09the decant could be moved to H

20:11Highleberg, but from what I'm hearing,

20:13DECANT actually cannot move to H

20:15Highleberg because of uh the current um

20:19um location of H Highleberg and for

20:21environmental reasons, we can't support

20:23DECAN in H Highleberg as it is. Um so it

20:27would be really helpful to bridge that

20:29gap between um this because I think um

20:32that was part of the understanding as we

20:34purchased the property. So I want to

20:36make sure if it was incorrect

20:38information or how we can bridge that g

20:41bridge that gap it would be really

20:42helpful. And also um

20:46I do recall and correct me if I'm wrong

20:50um that in part of the financial

20:52decisions that we made in purchasing the

20:55land was um the assumption that we would

20:58completely sell this property. So if

21:01that's a change from that plan, I would

21:03really want to make sure that we

21:05document it. And I understand that um

21:07Director Hamilton, you weren't in the

21:09room, but I think there are others who

21:11were in the room and I would love to

21:13make sure that this is a big purchase

21:15and this is a big financial decision. Um

21:17I want to make sure that we have proper

21:19continuity and I understand that

21:21director we lost a previous director but

21:23the mayor was available in the room with

21:25us um at previous times and I do think

21:28it's important to make sure that we have

21:29continuity.

21:32>> Thank you, Council Member Sony. Uh yeah,

21:34can I address to because there were two

21:37pieces to what she um just shared. So um

21:40I agree with you on the budget and the

21:42continuation of that information. Um I

21:46don't like surprising folks. That's not

21:48something I I don't love coming into

21:50council chambers and surprising this

21:52table of um people. Uh I respect the

21:55work that we do together and I hope that

21:56as we move through this project, we can

21:59pre prevent that. And so that's what I

22:01can commit to you and what what Chris

22:02can commit to you as we move forward is

22:04that we can really try to make sure that

22:06we're being transparent and clear. Um

22:09from a decant perspective, uh my

22:12understanding is that the main driving

22:13factor that we are not moving decamp

22:15over is because of space. Um Claire and

22:19Duncan, I don't know if there's

22:20environmental factors that have come

22:22into play and if you could speak to

22:23those uh because I'm not.

42:40propped on to if we can provide it as

42:42part of the project we would love to do

42:44so we're going to balance that with the

42:45other priorities we hear um the other

42:48thing I'd point out is that for anything

42:50battery storage and advanced

42:51technologies the reality is that

42:53technology is advancing so quickly that

42:55if we buy something today it's likely

42:57not the best use of your money. Uh that

42:59technology is getting less expensive. It

43:01is beginning to perform better. It is

43:03getting smaller. There are all sorts of

43:05things that are happening in that space.

43:07That meant that when we had to evaluate

43:09what's the right thing to guarantee as a

43:12validation baseline, scope, schedule,

43:14budget versus what's something that's

43:15aspirational, that's a piece that we are

43:18still holding very very dearly and

43:20really tracking diligently, but didn't

43:22make sense as a as a baseline promise.

43:25Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate that

43:28commentary and the chance to come back

43:29uh and just keep an eye on the subject,

43:31especially since I I do believe our

43:34community's nearest and dearest values

43:35live and breathe at the MOC. Um and

43:38there is uh such a great opportunity to

43:41advance our um emission reduction goals

43:44through the redevelopment of this

43:45campus. So that's for my part. Okay, for

43:47round two, the first hand I saw was

43:49council vice president Nova Kamina.

43:51>> Thank you. um

43:54appreciate the conversation and how we

43:55advanced and we're we're looking

43:56forward. So I I feeling a little some

44:00sort of way about taking us back for a

44:02second because I had a follow-up on uh

44:04the decant and uh maintaining the

44:07existing site with a very scaled down

44:09operation and that was just to get clear

44:12on what are we estimating the remaining

44:15life on our decant. So then we're

44:16thinking about how long would we be

44:18hanging on to at least a portion of of

44:21that property. Um so we can already

44:24start somewhat thinking about or maybe

44:26holding in our back pocket the the idea

44:29of um when when it comes time to surplus

44:32was this cost taken into consideration

44:35while coming up with the budget. Um uh

44:39so if we are not you know if you're not

44:41planning to sell then does it impact our

44:43budget like you know where's this gap

44:45going to be filled?

44:46>> That's a great question. Um we don't

44:48have a current idea of the full value of

44:50the site. We haven't done any studying

44:52on that. Um as far as I know and I'll

44:55look we have not taken into account the

44:57sale of that property into any budget

44:59whether it bec or otherwise. So per code

45:03that the sale of that property goes back

45:05into the CIP budget. we have not

45:07accounted for that sale in the CIP

45:09budget as we see it. So there's no hole

45:11to fill and so it'll be under further

45:13study of you know how do we parcel it

45:16out? What's the total sale and and how

45:18is that money used?

45:20Yeah, I apolog

45:26uh for you know for the pond in case if

45:29you want to move the decan facility

45:31there and then the reason why I was

45:33asking this cost is like if it makes

45:36more sense to have uh you know

45:39everything there together based on like

45:41the cost of this thing if it's like

45:43selling and then building up there as

45:45one one property versus this

45:48>> and um uh for this property. There was a

45:51second uh concern was because of the

45:54underground contamination.

45:56So, you know, I may want to hear more

45:59about that if that has been taken into

46:01considerations and what has been and any

46:03update on that part.

46:05>> Uh we can have further conversations and

46:07share more information with council. uh

46:10as we went through validation and

46:12understood the cost and the impact of

46:15undergrounding that storm water and not

46:18just as CLA was sharing not just on our

46:20budget but also on our environmental

46:22goals and um the embodied carbon that

46:25that puts into the site. Uh we did not

46:28explore a whole lot more past that

46:30because the determination was that that

46:32was going to be a really impact.