2026-10-29 - City Council Study Session Meeting

08:38We're live.

08:40>> I'm calling this meeting to order. This

08:42is a special meeting of the Redmond City

08:44Council held on Thursday, October 29th,

08:462026, commencing at 6 p.m. Council

08:49members in attendance are Council

08:50President Stewart, Council Vice

08:52President Newwea Camina, Council Member

08:54Foresight, Council Member Critzer, and

08:56Council Member Sony. and we're expecting

08:57our last two council members any minute

08:59now.

09:01There is one item on the agenda tonight,

09:03the preliminary 2027 20228 bianial

09:06budget council deliberations number

09:08three. Attachments to this item were

09:11added to the agenda after it was

09:12published. An appended agenda with links

09:14to the attachments are accessible online

09:17via the meetings information center and

09:19a QR code is available for scanning at

09:21the entrance to chambers. Council member

09:23Critzer, the presiding officer of

09:25finance, administration, and

09:27communications committee of the whole,

09:28will chair this portion of the meeting.

09:31Council member Critzer, take it away.

09:35Thank you so much and uh welcome back to

09:38everyone who's been following our budget

09:39process. Again, as as uh we have said on

09:42some of the other nights, I just want to

09:44start by opening with gratitude um to

09:47all the staff that are here and to

09:48everyone who's been working on this

09:50budget, toward the council for the

09:51thoughtful deliberations thus far. Um

09:54tonight, our goal is to go through as

09:57much as possible um of the items. We

10:00have 20 items um for uh final

10:04deliberation that are are items that we

10:06wanted to have more discussion on and we

10:08wanted to make decisions on before we uh

10:10could move towards a passage of the

10:12budget. Um and as a reminder, we just

10:15per our council ground rules at this

10:17point, these are the final items that

10:19that we'll be reviewing um uh since uh

10:23we brought up any new items during the

10:25first couple sessions of the budget

10:27process. Um, so we'll be walking through

10:30each of these items and, um, and so, uh,

10:34and we'll be and I will be trying to

10:35move us along, um, but also make sure

10:37that we have enough time for discussion

10:39on these items that that we have. Um,

10:42the goal is for this this meeting to

10:43last no more than three hours. Um, and I

10:46will, uh, check in with with the council

10:49should we go longer than that or need to

10:51go longer than that. Um, all right. So,

10:54um, we'll start, I guess, with the first

10:56item on the list. We're just going to go

10:58through the items in the order that you

11:00should see in the council deliberations

11:02matrix. Um, there was one item that

11:05actually we're going to be adding to the

11:06matrix um that is now added uh that had

11:09been listed as closed. Um, one item that

11:12that was on the matrix but was listed as

11:14closed, it should have been listed as

11:15open, which was around pavement

11:16management. So, we will also be covering

11:18that item as part of deliberations. Any

11:20items that are listed as closed are

11:23items that we had made some decisions

11:25about um during the budget process

11:27already and and move to a final decision

11:30on. Um all right, so let's get started

11:33with the first item on the agenda, which

11:35is continuing our discussion about um

11:38the new department for development

11:40services. Um uh the council has spent

11:43quite a bit of study session time on

11:45this item. Um and uh and in order for uh

11:50this to move forward, if if we do want

11:52it to move forward with uh the changes

11:54in the budget and the changes to the

11:56FTEES and staffing, um we we would need

11:59to make that decision as part of the

12:01budget process. Um and so uh so I I

12:05think it so as part of this um

12:07deliberation, we're coming back to it um

12:09to get feedback from the council. I

12:11think we've had a lot of chance to ask

12:13questions. Hopefully many council

12:15members have had the chance to talk

12:16offline with staff and mayor about this.

12:18Um so unless the the mayor or um or

12:23finance director has any comments on

12:25this um we can we can open it up. Um I

12:28thought we could start by um going

12:31around and uh getting a sense from

12:33council members if you're ready to move

12:35forward on this um as proposed

12:38um or uh have other comments on this.

12:43Um, is is there anything that you wanted

12:45to say here, Director Cochran? Okay,

12:47great. Um, and maybe we'll just go

12:49around the table. I'll I'll start with

12:50Council Member Sony, and we can go

12:52around um uh to share where you're at on

12:56this item.

12:58>> Uh, thank you so much, chair. Um I am in

13:01favor of um you know having this new

13:05department and uh I've looked into a lot

13:08of details and based on my conversations

13:11also a couple of weeks back in our one

13:15of the meetings with the developers as

13:16well as um you know we have been talking

13:18about even the tenant protection. I

13:21believe why it is important because we

13:23always talk about affordable housing

13:26which is our bigger targets for bringing

13:27it in our in our city but for the

13:30developers we have to also make housing

13:33a affordable until unless that's

13:35happening it is very difficult to build

13:38more houses build more affordable

13:40housing and at the same time also

13:42thinking about the tenant protections

13:44it's like if a if housing is affordable

13:47to developers it is going to have a

13:50positive impact even with our tenants,

13:52even with our the communities that are

13:54going to move in. Uh on top of that, we

13:57have a big target. We have a big

14:00commitment to make sure that our

14:02permitting process is streamlined. Now,

14:05how are we going to do that? We are

14:06expecting the same results uh the

14:10different results doing the same thing.

14:11I think it is high time for us to do

14:14something different to expect different

14:17results and I in my opinion that is what

14:20this new department is going to bring

14:23in. Uh do we have everything in place?

14:27Maybe not. You know there is lot of

14:29change management that will be required

14:31to come in as we make progress because

14:34we can put up a good department on paper

14:37but to implement it in the real practice

14:39would require a lot of change

14:41management. It will require to align

14:44ourselves and to keep ourselves open as

14:48we move as we move on. So this is very

14:51critical for us and I strongly I

14:54strongly support this and at the same

14:55time I would also like to see a visible

14:59permitting process metrics and measures

15:01so that that is visible even for uh our

15:05our general uh constituents outside to

15:07see you know how this is how this is

15:09helping and if it is not helping then

15:11definitely this becomes a big

15:13accountability but as of now I think I

15:15want to um you know I want to strongly

15:18support this

15:20Thank you. Um, we'll go next uh to

15:23council member. Well, actually, we could

15:24go to council member Parker. I don't

15:26know if you're you're ready to comment.

15:27We can go the

15:29>> Can you can you give me one minute?

15:30Sorry.

15:30>> Give you a moment. We'll go to council

15:32member Parsy.

15:33>> I um support us in terms of the growth

15:37initiatives that we have and in terms of

15:40um the um acknowledgment of the fact

15:43that our permitting is not currently as

15:45fast as we would like it to be. However,

15:48I have hesitations that um I cannot

15:51support this initiative because of um I

15:54can kind of go over a quick summary of

15:56those. I believe that the um um the

16:00effort and the investment that we're

16:01making is not proportionate to the size

16:03of the problem that we have. I gave the

16:05example of we have a flat tire. We're

16:08replacing the car. It looks like um I

16:11have some concerns that we have not

16:13evaluated at least in the public

16:15meetings. I have not um seen yet um

16:17evaluation of different proposals and

16:19approaches and pros and cons of them and

16:21we've only seen one main approach.

16:24That's another concern for me. Some of

16:26the other concerns that I have I've

16:27shared before with you all. Um they are

16:30around um our abil our existing

16:33initiatives. We're making some major

16:34investments with our capital projects.

16:36We're making some major investments like

16:39teen center and uh those are hundreds of

16:42millions of dollar projects and u with

16:45um capital division of public works

16:47moving and with many other divisions

16:49moving. I do have some concerns about

16:51those current um the current line of

16:54work moving as streamlined as it is now

16:57today and um and so there is a question

17:00of why now why at this size. Um I did

17:03share those concerns earlier. So I would

17:06have loved to see if there's there could

17:07have been an opportunity for us to at

17:09some point get a different kind of

17:10opportunity to evaluate. Um I haven't

17:13seen that. So I don't feel uh confident

17:15to be able to support this initiative um

17:18as it is today. But I'm uh in support of

17:21supporting this initiative in other

17:24measures that could be more

17:25proportionate to the size of the problem

17:26that we have.

17:28>> Thank you. Um, Council Member Pria, we

17:31are um going around to share our

17:33thoughts on whether we'd like to move

17:35forward in this budget process with the

17:37new department for development services.

17:39Um, would you like to weigh in?

17:41>> Uh, yes. And has everybody else on

17:43council already weighed in? Okay. I'm

17:45sorry. Can you give me just one more

17:46minute to to get ready?

17:47>> Um, I'll go to Council President

17:48Stewart.

17:53>> Thank you so much. Um, I prefer

17:56sometimes as council president to speak

17:58toward the end because um, I want to

18:02make sure that the team moving forward

18:05um, is able to speak.

18:07Um, since it is my turn to be called on,

18:10I will repeat some of my comments from

18:13our last special meeting. Um, that

18:15really hits on both of the previous

18:17comments made by my colleagues and I

18:20respect both of those comments a lot.

18:22Um, I appreciate that the wisdom of the

18:26city staff who've been through multiple

18:28reorgs and have been trying to make

18:32solutions that are smaller and less

18:33drastic than this work. Um, and at the

18:37same time, our state

18:39uh permitting timelines, which most of

18:41us around this table actually supported

18:43the speeding up of, um, are have a time

18:46limit on us being able to speed up

18:49permitting timelines. and as a result

18:52save money for everyone involved um

18:54including the city, including the folks

18:56who are building housing and including

18:59um our our very own capital projects. Um

19:02so I really appreciate the wisdom of the

19:05city staff who have come forward in the

19:08previous conversations to say we've

19:10tried it. This is where we need to head

19:12next. Um, I acknowledge that it it

19:15really is too bad that it uh we lost the

19:18opportunity to receive full analysis um

19:21on the uh proposed solution and that

19:25there was a a really long gap and we

19:28weren't able to get all of our questions

19:30answered. I think at this point it's

19:33most helpful to reframe the conversation

19:36as is. Um the reorg is not the win. the

19:41reduced timelines and costs are what

19:43we're actually chasing. So from here, I

19:46think council member Sony spoke to this

19:48very well. Um,

19:51if we're going to make this change at

19:53this time, it's going to be important

19:55that we are able to track performance

19:58from here. And I mean from the very

20:00beginning knowing that there's a lot of

20:02change management that needs to occur um

20:05and that council needs to be kept up to

20:06date on what those uh steps are in the

20:10next phase so that by the end of the

20:12year we're clear on the performance

20:14target that we're chasing and as was

20:16previously introduced by council member

20:18Sony um having quarterly updates on

20:21development service activity citywide.

20:23Um I really appreciate uh her

20:26contribution on that. So, um I will

20:31support the uh proposal so that we can

20:36begin to do the work. Um and I wish I

20:39could do so more confidently than I am,

20:41but all of that just makes me very eager

20:44to be involved um and kept up to date

20:47and to be able to help celebrate the

20:50progress that we think and hope can be

20:53can be made here.

20:54>> Thank you. Thank you, council vice

20:56president.

21:01>> Chair, would we like to check in with

21:03council member Pria?

21:05>> We can we can come back to council

21:07unless you want to go now. Council

21:09member Pakria.

21:11>> I'm okay with either

21:13>> if you'd like to go. Go ahead.

21:16>> Yeah. So, I want to thank all of my

21:18colleagues for the contributions they've

21:20shared so far. Um, I would like to voice

21:23uh my strong support for this

21:24department. Um, and I'll start with a

21:28fundamental reason why I ran for council

21:30is the fact that, you know, I barely

21:34know anyone in my generation who was

21:36born and raised in Redmond, uh, who can

21:38afford to actually have any kind of

21:40property investment stake in the city

21:42that they that they were born and raised

21:43in.

21:45you know, I ran for council to try and

21:47implement the policies that we had

21:50written down in our comprehensive plan.

21:52You know, um 29,760

21:55new housing units by 2050. Um I was

21:58really proud to see that this city had

22:00some of the most ambitious housing

22:02targets out of almost any city in

22:04Washington state. And I appreciate the

22:09analogy of a flat tire. Um, but I don't

22:11think that permitting is necessarily a

22:14flat tire. I actually equate it more to

22:18uh a broken engine. I think that our

22:20car's engine is broken down. Um, and we

22:22still need to finish out the last full

22:25leg of this road trip. Um, and I also

22:28think that our job as council is to act

22:31as the board of directors for the city,

22:34right? None of us know every single step

22:36in the process of how a housing permit

22:38is filled. Um, that's that's the job of

22:41city staff. And if city staff is

22:43advocating for this, they believe that

22:45this will reduce permitting times. I

22:47support that because I think this is

22:49what's needed to actually fix the engine

22:51in our car and get us driving that last

22:54leg of the road trip, which is getting

22:56to those almost 30,000 housing units by

22:582050. Um, so I'm in support of of this

23:01department. Um, I do also want to see

23:04very regular check-ins on the status of

23:07permitting and I think that

23:10if it's not working,

23:12um, we need to take swift action because

23:14this is a big change.

23:18>> Thank you. And now we'll go back to

23:19Council Vice President Nova Camina.

23:21>> Thank you, Chair. Um,

23:23thank you to to the the thoughts and the

23:27continued conversation that we've had

23:28around this. Um there I think that we

23:32are all in agreement with we need faster

23:37permitting speeds. We need to make it

23:39easier to to to to get housing built uh

23:44both by the developer community as well

23:46as our homeowners.

23:50I'm in complete agreement with with that

23:52that we need faster times. Um, I am in

23:56support of getting towards the goal.

24:00I do have concerns about the way that

24:01it's being executed. I've got concerns

24:04about the process that we've been in.

24:08And

24:10even if we we have um I believe it was

24:14uh one of our directors had said

24:18creating the the culture of success

24:21and I do believe that that's what we

24:23should be doing.

24:24Um,

24:26and I want to make sure that that should

24:29we go forward with this that we've got

24:31things in place that are going to

24:33support the folks that are going to be

24:35responsible.

24:37If it's going to be the the director

24:39team that's going to be responsible for

24:40this, if it is going to be um the COO or

24:44mayor that's going to be ultimately

24:46responsible, then we've got to find out

24:48like what what is going to be put in

24:50place because I I do understand that

24:52we're going to be um the analogy was

24:56used building the plane as we fly with

24:58this and I understand that sometimes we

25:00need to take that risk in order to do

25:02that.

25:03But going back to having a a culture of

25:07success and making sure that the folks

25:10doing the work have what they need to

25:11succeed

25:14also

25:16it's us that's going to need to give an

25:18account to the decisions that we make.

25:21So in in doing that I mean it's it's

25:24definitely a risk um because uh as it

25:28was said earlier we didn't have the the

25:31the opportunity to to do deeper analysis

25:33in this um and then if if we go forward

25:38with this what do we need to have put in

25:41place to feel confident in it so that

25:46we're also not casting a shadow of doubt

25:49over the staff. enough and saying, you

25:52know, but empowering them to shine as

25:55brightly as they can and bring their

25:57genius and and have this truly succeed.

26:01So, I'm I'm for it moving forward as

26:05long as we've got plenty of checks in

26:08there and and the council from this

26:10point moving forward being brought along

26:12in appropriate ways. of course, um

26:15nothing outside of our purview, but so

26:17that we we do have that check-in because

26:19it's not just about the money, but it's

26:22also about the morale of our staff and

26:26wanting to we're doing other work, good

26:28work, to make sure that that that is

26:30addressed and and building a healthy

26:34culture. And I think that making sure

26:36they've got the tools to succeed in it

26:38is also part of that.

26:41>> Thank you so much, Council Member

26:42Foresight. Thank you. Um I really

26:45appreciate the comments of both uh

26:47council president and council vice

26:48president. Um the process did not feel

26:51as inclusive as it could have been and

26:54uh now we're in a very precarious

26:56situation because we have to make a very

26:58um big decision on a tight deadline and

27:03the implications are right at our

27:05doorstep. Um I do support streamlining

27:08our permitting process. I've heard how

27:11much easier it is in other cities and

27:13the bottlenecks that are created. Um,

27:18but I I do have general concerns. Uh, my

27:21biggest concern is the uh capital

27:25division being a part of this um org

27:29chart. Uh there's the potential for

27:33responsibilities for construction and

27:35the same the same group that's

27:37responsible for construction doing the

27:40permitting as well and

27:42potential for

27:45um

27:48not quite sure what the right word is at

27:50this moment but there's potential for

27:52conflict I will say and I really would

27:55be more interested in seeing the

27:58proposal with that um division removed

28:03from it. I think it's the responsible

28:05thing to do to hold people accountable.

28:07I think it's a fiduciary responsibility

28:09that we as a council have and I think

28:11it's as the policy makers I think it um

28:14is the responsible thing for us to do

28:16for the city. it the problem we are

28:19mostly trying to solve for is for our

28:22outside community and not for um our

28:24internal permitting and if there are

28:26bottlenecks internally within

28:28departments through having the capital

28:30division not as part of that then that's

28:32something that I think the staff and the

28:35leadership can work through um but just

28:38from a conflict of interest perspective

28:40for community members seeing this I

28:42think for me to be comfortable moving

28:44forward that change needs to

28:49Thank you. Um and I guess I'll weigh in

28:52with my thoughts and then um maybe I

28:53heard a couple questions in there that

28:55I'll pose to the mayor and staff um in

28:58case we can have those those questions

29:00resolved and then we can can decide uh

29:03where we're at on this. Um I'll note

29:05that I um am in support of moving

29:08forward. Um really appreciate my

29:10colleagues thoughts on this um and the

29:12conversations we've had. I do think um

29:15that this is is a a challenge and it's

29:18actually an opportunity for Redmond to

29:20lead to show a new way of doing things

29:23and of saying we are going to take a

29:25bigger step to try to address something

29:28that cities across the state are trying

29:30to address as well. Um we received an

29:33email from the housing development

29:34consortium um this or this afternoon and

29:39one of the things that they noted they

29:40called it an innovative new approach to

29:42the entire permitting and approval

29:44system and I think that it this is an

29:46opportunity for us to innovate um to

29:48think about this differently. Yes, I I

29:50would agree with my colleagues that um

29:53it would have been great for us to have

29:54started earlier on these discussions so

29:57we didn't end up at at this place where

29:59there are so many um additional still

30:01questions. I'll also say that I think if

30:05we in this budget decide that we're

30:09going to move forward with this, we can

30:11it doesn't mean it's the end of the

30:13conversation. we can build in uh and

30:16actually and one thing that is a

30:17question is that I would have for the

30:19administration is is and maybe we could

30:21get that with passing this with the

30:23budget if we were to do that would be um

30:27you know what asurances could we get in

30:29advance of our budget adoption of the

30:32types of commitments from the

30:33administration for accountability

30:35reporting measures um for the council uh

30:39the the periodic natur the nature of of

30:42the cadence of check-ins

30:44um as well as uh kind of the way the

30:46plan for how we would be engaged. Um so

30:48that way we can in particular since we

30:52will be doing something new be able to

30:54track on how effective it is, what the

30:57challenges are and I think I would ask

30:59the administration if we do move forward

31:01with this to have transparency with us

31:03about what's working, what's not, how

31:06we're fixing it because we we would be

31:08trying something new. But I'm up for

31:10trying something new in order to um be

31:13able to uh deliver on the promises of

31:16Redmond 2050 um for both uh to be able

31:19to create more housing and especially

31:21more housing affordability um for our

31:23community. Um so that's where I'm at. I

31:25guess one question so I guess I will

31:27pose the question. And it sounded like

31:28there were several questions about um

31:31the potential for commitments from from

31:34the administration around accountability

31:37reporting measures um and in particular

31:39the council's involvement in the process

31:42going forward as well as um you know

31:45what kinds of things can be put in

31:46place? How do you envision um what will

31:48be put in place to support those

31:50responsible for executing on it? And

31:52then I think the last question that I

31:53heard I'll just throw those all out

31:54there. We can start with those. But I

31:56will note I think the other question was

31:57really if you want to speak to why we do

32:00see the capital division in this

32:01proposal.

32:02>> Right. Um I will actually bring up

32:07maybe Jeff or Jason around the capital

32:10because they are the zip or Chris one of

32:12one of you who will speak to capital.

32:14I'm going to warn you of that. Um the um

32:18the check-ins. Absolutely. Um uh my plan

32:22is to have um the monthly check-ins at

32:26the committee of the whole, the planning

32:28and public works committee. I would

32:29imagine that would be the right place

32:31for it. Um but we can have that

32:32discussion about which which uh

32:34committee of the whole would be right

32:35for it. That seems correct. Um and uh

32:38and then um those will be you like

32:41general updates every month um in part

32:43at least for the first I would say good

32:45six months of the year to make sure that

32:48um we are giving you the kind of brief

32:50updates that are needed and then my plan

32:52is to put on the study session calendar

32:54quarterly updates about how things are

32:56going um in order to get more in-depth

32:59discussion about what's going well and

33:01what's what's what we're challenged with

33:03and what we're moving forward on. Um,

33:05and then the other thing I'll say is,

33:07um, the team already has the ability to

33:10track permit processing. Um, and my goal

33:14is to make that, um, a more easily

33:17accessible tool for my team as well as

33:20the community to see how things are

33:21going. And so I will talk with um the

33:25team in and TIS to see if we can find a

33:27better more um user friendly way to uh

33:31collate all of that information to help

33:33track um how we are progressing in this

33:36work. Um so those are um the reporting

33:39will be uh regular and stringent um and

33:43fullfeatured and I look forward to the

33:45council sharing um topics in particular

33:48that they want to make sure they're

33:50getting apprised of. I think I have a

33:51pretty good idea based on these

33:52conversations and questions. Um, but

33:54we'll we are planning to have very

33:56regular check-ins. Um, I think quarterly

33:59for more in-depth ones in part because

34:02um, I would say at at those three-month

34:04intervals, we'll be able to see um, are

34:06we needing to make adjustments um, and

34:09what does that look like? Um, we'll also

34:11be able to give information on feedback

34:14we've been receiving from our community

34:16that's using these services as well. So,

34:18um, that feels like a a predictable, um,

34:24path forward for reporting. Um, but I'm

34:26I'm interested, um, from the council if

34:29that feels like, um, not enough or too

34:31much or if that feels about right. Um,

34:33and of course, we can always adjust

34:34those as well. But I'd love to have

34:37someone come up and talk about capital

34:38unless Kelly wants to do it. Kelly, I'll

34:40>> actually I'll pause there for a second

34:42just to get any feedback. If council

34:44members, do if anyone has um feedback of

34:47specifically if there's anything that

34:49you would add in because I I could

34:51imagine if we wanted to move forward

34:52with this, we could get um this written

34:55down set of commitments around um

34:58timelines uh um reporting cadence um and

35:02metrics that are currently proposed. Um

35:04if there are any specific metrics or um

35:07specific requests that you would have

35:08for that um if you'd like to to share

35:10that at this moment.

35:14uh council council president Stewart

35:17>> and let the record show that council

35:19vice president raised her hand at the

35:21same time and we often speak uh with the

35:22united voice. Uh thank you Mayor Bernie

35:25for acknowledging the challenges that

35:26we've had and the commitments for this

35:28three-part plan for the updates moving

35:31forward. Um I don't know the names of

35:33the metrics off the top of my head.

35:34They're in a matrix somewhere. Um one of

35:37the I believe it was the second matrix

35:38that council received. uh we were able

35:40to see the type of permit requested and

35:45current performance or or some data

35:48about that as we go through this

35:50process. I think it's helpful to monitor

35:53current performance. If we have a

35:55performance metric today, that's great

35:57also to be able to see the delta, but I

35:59also understand that we may um not know

36:03all of the performance metrics for all

36:05permit types until we get a little bit

36:06deeper into the weeds. Um, so I I would

36:10say if we are going to seek something in

36:11writing, which might be a good idea, um,

36:13that the information could be found in

36:15that matrix. Thank you.

36:18>> Thank you, Council Vice President Novak

36:19Camina.

36:20>> Thank you. Um, yes. And, um, that I

36:23actually have a a report from the

36:25Washington State Department of Commerce

36:26up um that that does show our our

36:29performance numbers. So, um, I wanted to

36:32add to that, um, as far as what what we

36:36would like to see and I wanted to put it

36:39out to council. Um, typically when we

36:41take on something of this size, uh,

36:44whether it's coming from a

36:46recommendation, a large recommendation

36:47from one of our commissions or from

36:49staff, there tends to be a minority

36:51report that is also um, created for

36:55transparency. Is that something that the

36:57council would like

37:00to request

37:03>> a minority report from the council or

37:05minority report from the from the staff?

37:09>> Um

37:11it yes I will I guess I'll ask um is

37:14that I I'm I don't believe I've seen a

37:16minority report from the staff before.

37:18Can can you give just an example of

37:20where we've seen that before? I was I

37:22was thinking about that as I said I

37:23remember seeing it several times from

37:25from commissioners from various

37:28commissions

37:28>> commissions

37:29>> and thinking about um you know what what

37:33are some concerns that perhaps we can

37:37learn from um and what because we're

37:41we're taking a look at at this and we're

37:44saying okay what are the risks we're not

37:49and if there was risks that were

37:51identified along the way. You know, have

37:53they and I think that this probably

37:55would have come out in analysis with

37:57with more time with it and perhaps

37:59that's something instead of that that we

38:02can get to, but understanding what were

38:04some of the risks that that were

38:06identified and what was the conversation

38:09around it? Had it been talked through,

38:11what was the the

38:13um the solution that was brought forth

38:15to address those risks?

38:18>> Thank you and thank you for clarifying.

38:20I appreciate it. Um I I do believe uh we

38:24it was one of the answers in our matrix.

38:26Uh we had asked a question of how did we

38:28assess the risk, but we didn't

38:29necessarily get all the details. So

38:31potentially we could get, you know, the

38:33list of risks that were assessed and

38:35then the mitigation strategies that are

38:37proposed for addressing those risks um

38:40delivered to council. Is that would that

38:42be?

38:42>> Absolutely. And thank you, Chair, for

38:43for getting through the weeds of of my

38:46of my words this evening. Thank you. Uh,

38:49Mayor Bernie, would you do you think

38:50that that would be something that we

38:51that the council would be able to

38:53receive in terms of

38:54>> Yes.

38:55>> Um, I do think assess.

38:57>> Yeah, thank you. I think I think we have

38:58a brief um we we have um some of that

39:02information and um we can um take a look

39:05and see if we have more to share, but I

39:07will have to we'll um I'll have to see

39:10what's available

39:11>> and perhaps that could be something that

39:13could be integrated into the report

39:15backs. So if we kept that list, what I'm

39:18hearing is also that list of things that

39:19we are going to be watching and to say

39:22are any of these risks emerging as we're

39:26uh in in reality as we're actually

39:28moving into this and how are are we

39:30seeing them show up or are they being

39:32effectively mitigated? Do we need to do

39:33something else?

39:34>> Absolutely. And and with the lens of

39:37being as proactive as we can again

39:40looking for how many how many ways can

39:42we set this up to succeed. Sure. And and

39:46might I through the chair get some a

39:48little clarification? So or or offer

39:50something and see if this is a fit or

39:52not. Um ideally I I think what I'm

39:56hearing from you is ensuring that you're

39:59not just getting the good news but the

40:01challenges that are happening.

40:02>> Absolutely.

40:03>> Okay. And so what um I don't know if I

40:07can get it together in the next few

40:08days, but what I would propose is not

40:11just a commitment for the timeline of

40:13reporting, but um some general ideas

40:17about the areas that you will receive

40:20reports on, including

40:22um challenges, emerging challenges that

40:25we're seeing and any mitigation we're

40:29doing based on where we are. And so we

40:31could see that over time about how we

40:34are perceiving challenges um and then

40:37how they're moving. I I you know I off

40:39the top of my head I could say one of

40:41our challenges that I foresee is um if

40:44this goes forward making when we make

40:46the switch are there you know our

40:49concerns are are there places where we

40:51are um

40:54um not uh

40:57we're missing because we're shifting

40:58around like what are what were those

41:00areas that we are like oh there's this

41:03area we moved you know people moved and

41:06then we were not able to do this and as

41:08timely manufact things things like that

41:09and that's really general and vague

41:11because I'm not a perimeter but um but

41:14things like that is what what you're

41:15kind of asking to see. Would that be

41:17would that be kind of encompass what

41:19you're thinking? Yes.

41:20>> Okay, that would be great. Yeah, we I

41:21have absolutely no problem with that. I

41:23think that um to uh to Council Member

41:26Chitzer's um uh what she said about this

41:30being innovative. When it's innovative,

41:31there are also risks that you have. You

41:33need to keep track of them. But if we

41:35can do a good job of not just moving

41:36forward but also um sharing and and

41:40working through those risks um then then

41:42that we can be a model for other cities

41:43too um to to

41:46you know continue this effort.

41:48>> Absolutely. And I and I think that that

41:49the timing of the real estate market

41:52right now is um not in the favor of

41:56sellers but perhaps for for this

42:00this innovative um

42:05adventure is going to be uh to our

42:08benefit because it will give us a little

42:11bit more time if we're not processing

42:13the the the same volume. So hopefully um

42:17that will give us a little bit of grace

42:19in our timing.

42:22>> Thank you. Um and so to address the

42:25question around um the capital division,

42:27I see we have um our interim public

42:30work. Oh, apologies. Um, Council Member

42:32Fraa,

42:33>> I mean, I I did have a couple of other

42:36um, go ahead.

42:37>> Uh, pieces of data that I that I would

42:38like to to see when we get those

42:40quarterly reports. I'm not sure if this

42:42is the appropriate

42:43>> Feel free. Go ahead. Um, you know, I I

42:47think that we should um track basically

42:53the four peritting areas required by the

42:55Growth Management Act. Um I would like

42:57to see um those numbers get to us

43:00quarterly. Um so particularly the um

43:04percentage of permits um marked as

43:06complete within 28 days. I'm going to

43:08read off the rest which is the uh the

43:11notice of application window the days to

43:13the final decision and then whether or

43:15not with the new law we actually have to

43:17refund. I'd like to see these numbers

43:19quarterly um instead of annually uh as

43:21is required by GMA. uh understanding

43:24that you know um maybe the first quarter

43:26it's going to be difficult um but I

43:28would like to see these numbers

43:29quarterly I think it's harder to

43:32uh if we get qualitative reports um it's

43:35going to be harder to actually see

43:37progress as opposed to quantitative

43:39reports um also understanding that you

43:42know not every permit is created equal

43:44not every type one permit is created

43:46equal even um so taking averages may not

43:49paint the full story but I still think

43:50that's better than only getting

43:52qualitative reports

43:55Thank you, Council Member Pria. And uh

43:57it occurs to me that if the council

43:58wants to move forward, um maybe the the

44:01first the first thing the council could

44:03work on would or we could work on within

44:06the council would be to bring back a a

44:09longer set of metrics um and then get

44:12additional council feedback on that as

44:14well. So you could look at those

44:15quantitative qualitative metrics and in

44:17particular be able to track them

44:18year-over-year. you could see how if

44:21we're moving forward to something new,

44:22it compares to say the percentage of

44:24permits being processed in a month um

44:27compared to the previous year or

44:28something like that. So, but you could

44:30we could take those as well um as part

44:32of the the upcoming process.

44:35Mayor Bernie, did you have a comment on

44:36that?

44:37>> Yeah, I I think actually that's a really

44:38great idea. Um I would I would suggest

44:41that um January, February, whenever we

44:43have time in a study session, one of the

44:45first study sessions is to have that

44:47conversation and then the team can share

44:49what we're already collecting data on.

44:51What does it look like? I I do think

44:53that council member pria that we are

44:55already reporting to commerce on those

44:58numbers. Um but I can't see behind me,

45:01Jason, where is he? Is that a nod? He's

45:06going to tell me. Um and um but then we

45:09can um have some um

45:13um subject matter expert discussion on

45:16what what we're looking at um and what

45:19would be a good path forward

45:22uh interim director Lynch, would you

45:24like to share?

45:26>> I will say we are reporting out to the

45:27Department of Commerce which we are

45:28tracking exactly what you're talking

45:30about. 5290 identifies the land use

45:32actions that have to be processed within

45:34the 28 days. We're reporting out on

45:36that. We're currently also tracking and

45:38reporting out on every permit that we do

45:40uh every Tuesday uh every week. So,

45:42we're averaging about 200 reviews a week

45:45right now, which is totaling

45:46approximately just over 10,000 reviews a

45:48year. So, we do track that every week.

45:51So, we do have data related to that. And

45:52then also the Department of Commerce

45:54report is sent out, excuse me, to the

45:56Department of Commerce and we do post

45:57that as well.

46:00>> Council member Pakria, just a quick I

46:02know. So, we have to report to the

46:04Department of Commerce those numbers

46:05annually. Um, but I I was just asking

46:08with regards to uh the quarterly updates

46:10that we get as council if we can like

46:12like for example the the weekly updates

46:14that you're talking about, do those have

46:16all of those metrics as well, the 28

46:18days. Um, they have their metrics of

46:20whether the review is overdue or has

46:23been completed on time. So yes, they

46:24have the their individual workflows and

46:27we're tracking the timelines related to

46:29the timeline that is in the system on

46:31the back end of how long we have to do

46:32those reviews. So yes, we're tracking

46:34it. The indication is either yes, we're

46:35meeting it or no, we're not and we

46:37report on both.

46:38>> Okay. So we can definitely get those

46:39numbers then quarterly.

46:40>> You can.

46:41>> Great. Thank you.

46:43>> Thank you. Um so let's move on to the

46:45the question about the capital division

46:47and then I think I'm going to move us to

46:49um give some direction after that. Um,

46:53interim director Stinger.

46:57>> All right. Uh, may we repeat that,

46:59Captain? the question uh was and and I

47:02know uh council member Fors raised this

47:04so um if if I don't get it exactly right

47:08um feel free to to jump in here but I

47:10think there was a concern raised of why

47:12the capital division needs to be

47:14included and uh in particular or or why

47:18when you were designing this this new

47:20department um did you feel that the

47:22capital division really would be

47:24optimally included um there versus

47:27staying where it is in public works.

47:29Okay. Well, I'll take you all back to

47:31October 20th. Um I'll reiterate a lot of

47:35the things that I talked about that uh

47:37that night. U as a team uh the capital

47:42um portion was brought up into it. Uh so

47:45when that problem came um I'm glad that

47:49I'm hearing growth management act

47:50because uh when that problem was set at

47:54the table for me and looking at matrix

47:57originally it's 5290 we're talking about

47:59permitting timelines and and whatnot.

48:02But when we're looking at this

48:04opportunity to create this new

48:07department which is going to take

48:09private and public development

48:12um review inspections permitting

48:16um and taking a look at capital um one

48:19of the things when we're talking about

48:21the growth management act of the 20,000

48:24plus housing the 20,000 plus jobs you

48:27had a 2044 deadline that I read off and

48:30then the 2050 deadline of what what we

48:33are mandated to bring. That is a

48:35considerable amount of infrastructure.

48:38Um right now public works has about

48:42three and a half billion to4 billion

48:43dollars of infrastructure. Um so that as

48:47of now the director of public works and

48:50the team build, operate, protect,

48:52maintain all that. uh taking a look at

48:56the future and looking at I mean that's

48:59a huge amount of infrastructure that

49:02whether it's public or private it goes

49:05on our roads it uses our utilities and

49:08eventually that private development

49:10becomes ours um we we take that you know

49:15once once that is done and we we accept

49:17it. So, taking a look at a future state

49:21and one of the considerable examples

49:23that we looked at was the city of

49:25Mary'sville and their engineering

49:27services department. Um, that they don't

49:30have a public works anymore. It's a

49:32utilities and maintenance operations

49:34department um that primarily focus on

49:38operations and maintenance maintaining

49:40their billions of dollars worth of

49:42infrastructure

49:43as well as um working with the capital

49:46divisions to build those plans there. So

49:49when looking at this problem here is

49:51when you have

49:53um an opportunity like this where the

49:57owner of uh the permitting, the owner of

50:01the construction,

50:03uh the owner of the public and the

50:05private review. you can work on the

50:08front end with development to see

50:10opportunities that right now um a lot of

50:14our projects are more reactive because

50:17development comes in. We're not we're

50:20working two different angles there. Um

50:22meaning that we're operating and

50:24maintaining. We're looking at reviews.

50:27It's a wide spectrum of work. Uh whereas

50:30this division upfront that capital team

50:33can work with that utility engineering

50:36team that looks at the the public and

50:38the private they can get these

50:40development agreements in and then seize

50:42opportunities that we have

50:44infrastructure in this area that we can

50:46align capital projects with. So that's

50:49one of the one of the future states that

50:52would help out Redmond in that way to

50:55where we can partner with private

50:57development. um to expand. Maybe what we

51:01could get for 100 million, maybe we can

51:03expand at a 125 million and and uh make

51:07that capital that we receive grow and

51:10function because

51:13uh our infrastructure has to grow with

51:15that growth management act. um and

51:19having

51:20that synergy inside that department to

51:24make all those decisions and then have

51:26those service level agreements and that

51:28working with the operations and

51:30maintenance side um can set Redmond up

51:34for 2050 and beyond. Um not saying that

51:38it doesn't work right now, but we have

51:42to look at that future state and that

51:44was going into the room the problem. um

51:47that bringing in capital for a future

51:50state was going to solve or at least be

51:54set Redmond up in a better position to

51:56solve that.

52:00Council member Percy,

52:03>> I would like to double click on the item

52:06that uh council member Foresight brought

52:08up and ask the question of if we can get

52:11information along with the reports of um

52:15transparency around decisionmaking

52:17process to show us that new development

52:20will not uh cost um will not be a cost

52:23burden to the residents and development

52:26will fund uh growth. Um I'm curious if

52:29um that's the direction that generally

52:31council is uh supportive of and if so if

52:34we can get um

52:36um information about that along with the

52:38reports.

52:42>> Is there any response to that?

52:44>> Uh I'm I think if for clarification

52:48you're saying um are you asking about

52:50development paying for their permit

52:52processes?

52:53>> No.

52:54>> Can can you clarify council member

52:56Percy?

52:58Yeah. So, for example, um with a large

53:00development, for example, um potentially

53:03public sewage lines pro potentially

53:05public utility lines could need to be

53:08replaced for the whole street. Maybe we

53:10need larger utility lines to be able to

53:12support that development. I want to make

53:14sure that we don't first permit

53:17something and then realize that uh oh we

53:20need to go back and change the utilities

53:23and ultimately have that be a cost to

53:26the public um and discover that later

53:28on. So I want to make sure that we have

53:30transparency around the decision making

53:32around the fiscal um responsibility to

53:35make sure that um growth funds

53:37development.

53:39Thank thank you and and I would just say

53:41one piece that I that I would refer to

53:43in our kind of comprehensive plan is

53:45around our concurrence um requirements.

53:48So as we have growth that we actually

53:50have requirements around what that uh

53:53what type of infrastructure needs to go

53:55along with it um and and part of what

53:57would I imagine guide uh the work of of

54:00our staff is is those plans that we've

54:02put in place. Um so that's just a

54:04comment for myself. Uh Council President

54:06Stewart.

54:06>> Yeah, thank you so much. Um, in fact,

54:07council leadership is meeting with the

54:09mayor tomorrow to begin discussing. Um,

54:11we not only need to review the agendas

54:13that are going to get posted tomorrow

54:14afternoon, but we also, um, are going to

54:16start looking at 2027 and our, um,

54:19agenda setting. Um, I really appreciate

54:22your question, Council Member Parcy,

54:23because one of the questions I've been

54:25talking to um the mayor and the council

54:28vice president about is um being

54:31strategic in picking some study sessions

54:33and staff reports in the early part of

54:35the year that are educational and

54:37helpful to all of us. So, I actually

54:38think a study session on how does

54:40development pay for development in the

54:42city of Redmond um would be a a good uh

54:45opportunity for us to just study that

54:47topic and pull all the policy together

54:49and um have a night where we study that

54:51topic if that would uh be fair. I think

54:54um having it as a discrete study topic

54:57for an evening makes a lot of sense to

54:58me.

55:00>> Thank you. Yeah. So, so I'll reiterate

55:03there um uh potentially putting on on

55:06the study session early um how

55:08development pays for infrastructure and

55:10development uh the impacts of

55:11infrastructure on development as well.

55:14Um wonderful.

55:16>> I was going to say thank you for that

55:17clarification. That was really helpful.

55:18Uh council member Sony

55:22>> uh I may also want to see I know ready

55:25updates we are getting it regular but

55:29with this department change what we have

55:31seen from the results um from the

55:33service that were conducted for RII. I

55:36would like to ensure that we are also

55:39tracking how our teams are being

55:42impacted how our um you know some of

55:45those goals are being impacted. Is it

55:47like you know growing? So keeping a

55:49close eye on some of those goals uh and

55:53numbers is something would be very

55:54critical for us to sure because end of

55:57the day we have we have our staff and we

56:01have to ensure that we are not creating

56:02more trouble or challenges for them.

56:05>> Thank you. So it sounds like a request

56:07as well around kind of some of the staff

56:09satisfaction or other types of culture

56:11data in addition to um some of the

56:14performance data around um around

56:17development as well. Um council member

56:19Foresight,

56:20>> thank you. Um I appreciate the

56:23conversation around why the capital

56:26division was brought into this. I

56:28understand um how much more smoothly it

56:31can go in in the field. My concern is

56:34more around when it's our own capital

56:39project and the ability for

56:43we're just going to let this one this

56:45one's just going to happen. And so what

56:47are our transparency mechanisms for that

56:50and our accountability mechanisms to

56:52make sure that we um and please don't

56:56misconstrue. I'm not saying I don't

56:57trust staff. just saying there there is

57:00opportunity there and I want to make

57:02sure that we have built into this

57:04accountability metrics um to make sure

57:07that those kinds of instances can't

57:10happen and if they do happen that people

57:11are held accountable for it.

57:13>> So the question is how do we ensure that

57:15on our own capital project we're

57:16following our own rules and permitting

57:19processes

57:20um and have transparency on that? I am

57:23going to defer it over to uh interim

57:27director Lynch um since he's a subject

57:30matter expert on what comes in on that

57:32development side.

57:41Thank you for that question. Uh

57:43currently right now in the capital side

57:44when they submit plans they go through

57:46the civil review group which is the

57:47development services department. They

57:49are then after they are reviewed they

57:51are done by the city engineer and that

57:53is a cursory review. Again you're coming

57:55back to when we talked about safeguards

57:57you're talking about people's ethics and

57:58their licenses for ensuring that they

58:00comply with the city standards. One of

58:02the biggest things that we have heard

58:03from the public and we strive to

58:05continue to meet is that we hold oursel

58:07accountable to the same standards as we

58:08do the general public. So there are many

58:10safeguards within that the there are

58:12manager levels that are reviewing that

58:13for code compliance and then there again

58:15there is a uh QCQA check by the city

58:18engineer at the end and there's also

58:20engineers in each of the review

58:21categories that are reviewing that. So

58:23there is a guarantee and a compliance

58:24for uh code that is applied at the time

58:28of the review and then the last review

58:30portion is the actual field staff that

58:32are out there that are from different

58:34groups and departments. So one

58:36department being in the planning

58:37department is actually out doing the

58:38inspections and then the maintenance

58:40group which is represented from the

58:41public works is inheriting at the end.

58:43So there's duplication of efforts and

58:45ensuring that we meet those standards.

58:47>> Okay. That's how it is now. Is that how

58:49that's how it is now currently? Right.

58:51>> That is how it is now.

58:52>> So

58:52>> and it would continue to be that way.

58:55>> Okay.

58:57>> I I

58:58>> more questions.

58:58>> I get where she's coming from. Um,

59:02I think that probably the best way to um

59:06to help like ensure that we have those

59:09safeguards cuz I have there's I have

59:11your same concerns. Um, I will share

59:14that some of those challenges exist as

59:17we are right now. So, I would suggest

59:20that I don't think we can answer your

59:22question exactly tonight, but I do think

59:24um in the beginning of the year as we're

59:26talking about like how do we bring this

59:27forward um I think we should bring

59:30forward a example of an internal project

59:34and the changes that we will see um in

59:37order to ensure that we have that um

59:40that the city is following the same

59:42process or the same codes and everything

59:44as as an external and I think that by

59:46going through uh more thoroughly. Um you

59:50will see that the safeguards in place

59:51and it will also help us acknowledge

59:53where we need to ensure there are even

59:55better safeguards than we have right

59:56now.

59:59It sounds like that that may address the

1:00:00concern and perhaps we can loop that

1:00:02back into what we're hearing uh

1:00:04repeatedly from council here around

1:00:06wanting to have um reporting if we could

1:00:09have reporting back on um on how much on

1:00:13kind of instances in which we are

1:00:15running through our own processes and uh

1:00:18and where we are actually adhering to

1:00:20those internal standards. Uh maybe it's

1:00:22you bring that first example, but we

1:00:24also could periodically as well get that

1:00:27um reported back.

1:00:29Um all right, council. Well, so it's

1:00:32sounding like uh it's sounding like part

1:00:35of the the decision going forward here

1:00:37would that I I will ask if if where

1:00:39council members are at um is whether

1:00:42council members would be good with us

1:00:43moving forward with um including this

1:00:46this proposal as part of the budget um

1:00:50uh with the contingency that we receive

1:00:54in writing um a summary of commitments

1:00:56and we could look at those uh we could

1:00:59have any comments on that at the final

1:01:00deliberation. s as well, but that we

1:01:02could put into the final package um

1:01:05moving forward with this uh to be able

1:01:08to um uh include it included to start it

1:01:12as as soon as next year. Um, so I will

1:01:16just ask if council members um if we

1:01:19have that contingency and some many of

1:01:21the things that were discussed included

1:01:23um would uh if we can do a show of

1:01:26thumbs of whether you'd support us

1:01:28moving forward to include this in the

1:01:30back budget package for um adoption.

1:01:39All right, I'm seeing five thumbs. So,

1:01:41we will include it for the budget

1:01:43adoption and then we'll also um

1:01:45hopefully get the followup um of those

1:01:47commitments as well.

1:01:50All right. So, moving on to the next

1:01:51item that that one was a longer item and

1:01:54hopefully we will uh we will um be able

1:01:57to move a little more quickly I think on

1:01:58some of these other items uh to get

1:02:00through here. But I did want to make

1:02:01sure we had enough time for this

1:02:03discussion. And I just want to say that

1:02:05I really appreciate every council

1:02:07member's perspective on this and also

1:02:09this will continue to be a group process

1:02:11and group effort going forward as as we

1:02:13move forward on it. Thank you. Um so the

1:02:16next item is the maintenance and

1:02:17operations center rebuild project uh

1:02:19budget. Um originally we had actually

1:02:22closed this item out um and had directed

1:02:25to move to the 268 number um but there

1:02:29are some updates from director Cochran

1:02:31um that she wanted to give to us. So, we

1:02:33reopened this item so that Director

1:02:35Cochran can come back to us with a

1:02:37little bit more nuance.

1:02:38>> Thank you very much. Um, my um request

1:02:41is that council um leave the budget as

1:02:44it is reflected in the preliminary

1:02:47budget at $250 million.

1:02:50um and allow uh the city a little bit

1:02:53more time to come forward with um the

1:02:56correct uh funding sources to match the

1:02:59cost allocation of the total project.

1:03:03Um when the project uh funding structure

1:03:07was first put in place, it was based on

1:03:11um how the original MOC property was

1:03:14acquired, repairs and additions that had

1:03:17made been made since then, assumptions

1:03:21about um what we were building. As the

1:03:25project has moved forward and um

1:03:29decisions have been made, the scope of

1:03:32what we are delivering no longer is in

1:03:34alignment with the funding sources that

1:03:36we have in place. The best example that

1:03:39I can give you is in regards to the

1:03:41decamp facility. It was once assumed

1:03:43that we would be building um or

1:03:46rebuilding you know a a decant facility.

1:03:49It is now remaining on the site that it

1:03:51is. And so that means that the storm

1:03:54water utility no longer needs to

1:03:56contribute as much as it was to the

1:03:59project. And therefore we have some

1:04:01costs that are shifting around. We still

1:04:05have um some to learn about what that

1:04:08final cost allocation will look like.

1:04:11had an opportunity to meet with the

1:04:13project team this afternoon and they

1:04:15think within the next couple of weeks we

1:04:17can have a really good assessment of

1:04:20where what exactly impacts are. I've

1:04:24expected this. This is not a surprise.

1:04:27um timing I was a little unsure of. Um

1:04:30and I would prefer that we adopt the

1:04:36budget, allow time to thoughtfully work

1:04:39through um the updated funding strategy,

1:04:42be able to understand what impacts are,

1:04:45both good and bad, to the funds that are

1:04:47impacted, and be able to provide you

1:04:49with a thorough um overview and update

1:04:52of what's occurring. I um will come back

1:04:56to council as soon as information's

1:04:58available with the public works

1:05:00department. Whether that's in a

1:05:01committee in November or January, we'll

1:05:04get to you as soon as as we can. Um but

1:05:07that is that is my ask is to let us um

1:05:10get a a formal um budget change in front

1:05:13of you that we can um review.

1:05:18>> Thank you. Um and we'll go to questions.

1:05:20Council President Stewart,

1:05:22>> Director Cochran, I really appreciate

1:05:24you bringing this forward. Um, it's

1:05:26unfortunate that we are doing two hard

1:05:29conversations backtoback and I I do

1:05:31think we'll get to the fun parts uh here

1:05:33in the next few items. Um,

1:05:37this is an unfortunate consequence of

1:05:39the change um that council learned about

1:05:42after purchasing the H Highleberg

1:05:44property that we would have to still

1:05:45retain the current property in order to

1:05:48fully deliver services through a now

1:05:50combined property.

1:05:53And I have complete confidence that if

1:05:57Director Cochran's advice is to take

1:05:59more time to get to get the number as

1:06:02right as possible, um that we should do

1:06:05that. I um I have a question, Director

1:06:08Cochran. Um because the cost allocation

1:06:12we know will need to be reduced in the

1:06:17utilities. Um, is it fair to say that

1:06:20the general fund forecast with revenues

1:06:23and expenses that we saw in the prelim

1:06:26prior to the budget deliberations um

1:06:29will be somewhat negatively impacted by

1:06:31needing to rely on the general fund to

1:06:33do more for the MOC

1:06:35potentially? Um, it it is at this point

1:06:40and like I said, we have more to figure

1:06:42out. it is shifting costs to not only

1:06:45the general fund but also um the water

1:06:48utility. There is still a lot to be

1:06:51learned um in the general fund side of

1:06:54things. As um I I've mentioned I've I've

1:06:56had some time to identify what some

1:07:00potential solutions are. Um we do have a

1:07:03opportunity to recognize additional

1:07:05one-time money to fill the gap in um on

1:07:08the general fund side of things. I'm not

1:07:11sure yet that that's necessary or the

1:07:13best change, but that is probably the

1:07:16the direction that we would look at

1:07:18first.

1:07:20>> Understood. Thank you so much. Um, so it

1:07:23seems to me like although we had the

1:07:25best of intentions with the 268, would

1:07:27we be setting ourselves up for

1:07:28potentially multiple budget adjustments

1:07:31if we were to do that? So again, um, I

1:07:34trust Director Cochran. I I appreciate

1:07:36you bringing you and your team bringing

1:07:37this forward and the MOC remains uh

1:07:40really important and I look forward to

1:07:43um us being able to work on this with

1:07:44you as soon as it makes sense. Thank

1:07:46you.

1:07:48>> Thank you. Um so uh council members are

1:07:52are there other questions for director

1:07:53Cochran on this item? Council member

1:07:55Pakria.

1:07:58>> Um thank you for bringing this forward

1:08:00and I I appreciate the presentation. I

1:08:02was wondering, I'm looking at the

1:08:04response in the matrix, um, if council

1:08:07wants to increase the total budget to

1:08:09268 a.5 million, um, revenue

1:08:12placeholders can be put in place. Um, I

1:08:16was wondering if I could get

1:08:16clarification on what revenue

1:08:18placeholders, um, we're looking at

1:08:20because, you know, my concern is that

1:08:2517 and a or 18.5 million is a lot of

1:08:28money, right? We're actually going to

1:08:29debate like

1:08:32six or seven items later on in the

1:08:34evening. Um that altogether sum up to

1:08:37like less than 10% of that, right? And

1:08:40these are onetime items. Um so I if

1:08:43we're going to potentially make budget

1:08:45adjustments of that kind of magnitude, I

1:08:47would want to be very very clear on what

1:08:49those adjustments would look like.

1:08:51Um so when I um was writing this

1:08:55response, I had not yet had a chance to

1:08:58meet with the project team and one of

1:09:00the things I was very concerned about is

1:09:03um the necessity of increasing the

1:09:06project budget at this time for the for

1:09:09the project itself. I wanted to ensure

1:09:11that um there wasn't an interruption to

1:09:15any decisions or progress or permitting

1:09:17or talking about the project at all. So

1:09:21if if there were to have been an impact

1:09:23to the project itself and council did

1:09:26not, you know, want to take on that risk

1:09:29and wanted to adjust the budget, what I

1:09:31would re would have recommended is that

1:09:34we keep the cost share that we currently

1:09:37have in place um and utilize that to get

1:09:42to um the 268 and come back with a

1:09:45budget adjustment to correct that in the

1:09:49future.

1:09:50So we would have been kind of adding to

1:09:52the revenues um and then coming back and

1:09:56fixing that at a later time. It is

1:10:00um often we can utilize um one-time

1:10:04funds as a placeholder or uh perhaps um

1:10:09a possibility of issuing debt as a

1:10:11placeholder. It's really just a way of

1:10:14um increasing the revenues in the budget

1:10:17document to um to move forward in the

1:10:19process. I would much rather wait and do

1:10:23it appropriately um and not have to do

1:10:25any corrections or changes.

1:10:31>> Council Vice President Nova Kamina.

1:10:33>> Thank you. um

1:10:37question. I I I just realized as we've

1:10:40got these two these these two um topics

1:10:43back to back

1:10:45um for anybody who is listening and I

1:10:48don't know who is going to be best to

1:10:50answer this mayor it might be you and

1:10:52sorry to put you on the spot without a

1:10:55you know hey this is what I'm going to

1:10:56bring up um

1:10:59we've got these two two topics back to

1:11:02back one we're saying hey we know that

1:11:05there's some risks let's move forward.

1:11:08This one we're saying, hey, we know that

1:11:11there's some risks. Let's slow it down.

1:11:13So, to to help to help our community

1:11:16kind of follow along with this, can are

1:11:18can you speak to that or

1:11:21because it it it seems like without

1:11:24without the public going into deep

1:11:27detail, it looks like we're taking two

1:11:29very different approaches.

1:11:33Um I will do my best on the fly to

1:11:36answer this. Um

1:11:39the development server the the new

1:11:42department um is a risk because it's a

1:11:46change and we have amazing people in

1:11:49place. We have um a lot of a lot of work

1:11:53that have gone into like moving this

1:11:55forward and we can uh adjust as we're

1:11:59moving because it's how they work,

1:12:01right?

1:12:02Um the MOC is a very large extremely big

1:12:08investment of the city and once we start

1:12:13moving forward with planning and

1:12:15building it's not something you can

1:12:17adjust after that. So it's a you know

1:12:20it's a it's a big capital project and so

1:12:24ensuring that we have the funding

1:12:26correct I I think we're still moving

1:12:27forward with it. We're not actually

1:12:29slowing the where we are in design or

1:12:33anything like that down, but we're

1:12:35wanting to make sure that we have the

1:12:37financial structures in place that will

1:12:41fund it appropriately. And I think for

1:12:43the listening, there's more detail, but

1:12:46for the listening public, we can use

1:12:48like storm water funds to build things,

1:12:51capital things if it's related to storm

1:12:53water. Um but we can't use storm water

1:12:55funds to build things if it's related to

1:12:58um parks as an example which because

1:13:02parks are at MOC too. So, um, all

1:13:06Director Cochran is is saying is with

1:13:08these, um, changes in what will be at

1:13:11the site, we want to ensure that we're,

1:13:13um, putting our financial pieces in

1:13:15place exactly as they should be so that

1:13:18we know as we continue to move forward

1:13:21if we need to bond, we'll know how much

1:13:24we need to bond. That those are the two

1:13:26differences.

1:13:27>> Absolutely. And I I appreciate you um uh

1:13:30breaking that down a bit because again

1:13:33because they they are being presented

1:13:35side by side and it seems like two to

1:13:37two opposite approaches um to to have

1:13:40have the public because I I I know that

1:13:42there's a lot of folks listening to our

1:13:44conversations over deliberations so that

1:13:47they can understand the the two

1:13:49approaches and and why they seem

1:13:51opposite but that there's reason for it.

1:13:54>> Thank you. And I think I guess just to

1:13:57to clarify, it seems like in both

1:13:59options the council will be would be

1:14:02doing a budget adjustment. The question

1:14:04is how many different adjustments? Um

1:14:07and that in some ways it'd be more

1:14:08streamlined to just do the 250 number

1:14:11and then we' be able to do one

1:14:13adjustment. Is that correct?

1:14:16>> Yes.

1:14:18>> Okay. Um other other questions um are

1:14:22there concerns on this? Um otherwise um

1:14:26I'll just ask the council since

1:14:28originally we had said let's move to the

1:14:29268 number um whether there is support

1:14:33for um actually leaving the 250 number

1:14:36um that appears in the budget.

1:14:39Okay, great. Seven thumbs then. All

1:14:41right. So we'll move on to the the next

1:14:43um the next item. Uh Council Member

1:14:45Pakria.

1:14:46Um I had just one item I I wanted to

1:14:49bring up. Um which is do we have any

1:14:52like this is a situation that's that's

1:14:54rapidly changing right I mean this

1:14:56project went from 225 250 um 268 and

1:15:01these are tens of millions of dollars.

1:15:03Do we have any kind of contingency plan

1:15:06um for you know let's say we discover

1:15:09that there is another issue with the

1:15:12property we've just purchased uh

1:15:14purchased and for that for reasons

1:15:17unbeknownst to us right now uh the

1:15:19project size balloons to $300 million

1:15:21right do we have a contingency plan in

1:15:24place for situations like that right now

1:15:26>> the project itself has a couple of

1:15:28contingencies and I will let the project

1:15:31team be the experts in that that there

1:15:33is a portion that is um managed by the

1:15:36design build and there's a portion

1:15:37that's managed by the city. We also have

1:15:40contingencies within our capital fund

1:15:43that are um reflective of the size of

1:15:47this project. So, we've been working to

1:15:50build up reserves and contingencies

1:15:52within our CIP so we do have the ability

1:15:56to be flexible and reactive when we need

1:15:58to. Um

1:16:01there's a lot of things that can happen,

1:16:02but we are doing our best across all

1:16:05funds to make sure that we can be

1:16:07nimble, be flexible, and especially um

1:16:11uh react to changes with this project. I

1:16:14um I did have, like I said, have a

1:16:17chance to meet with the project team

1:16:18this Well, I'll let Lorine speak. Thank

1:16:20you, Director.

1:16:21>> Director [laughter] Hamilton,

1:16:23>> that was great, Kelly. Thank you. Um I

1:16:25was going to uh good evening parks

1:16:29director Loren Hamilton. Um I think the

1:16:31piece that I would add is that this is

1:16:33where the design build project delivery

1:16:35method comes in really um handy I guess

1:16:38I would say. Um it allows through the

1:16:41validation process to have realtime cost

1:16:45implications for the decisions that are

1:16:46being made and that carries through

1:16:48design. So we're very used to in these

1:16:50types of projects going design design

1:16:54let's cost it value engineer it down

1:16:57design design cost it bring it down. Um

1:17:01that is not how progressive design build

1:17:03works. It's more circular. It's more of

1:17:06a loop uh where it refineses more and

1:17:08more down. Uh and so that's one of the

1:17:11really positive parts is that as we

1:17:13learn more and more about the site, as

1:17:15we learn more and more about project um

1:17:18issues that come up because they as you

1:17:21know are bound to do so um we are able

1:17:24to cost those very quickly and

1:17:26incorporate them into the project,

1:17:28understand the contingency impact and

1:17:30make decisions as we go as opposed to

1:17:32waiting for kind of one big value

1:17:34engineering exercise. So, while those

1:17:37risks absolutely continue to exist, um

1:17:41our current studies do not show any

1:17:43significant issues. We've been doing

1:17:44geotech. We've had trenching happening

1:17:46out on site. We are definitely um full

1:17:48steam ahead. Haven't seen any

1:17:50significant issues yet, but if they come

1:17:52up, one, we'll make sure that we're

1:17:54communicating. We'll work with finance,

1:17:55but also um the progressive design build

1:17:58process really does allow us to

1:18:01incorporate those things into real time

1:18:03and make decisions as we go around

1:18:05How might that impact our FFN? How might

1:18:08that impact another design decision down

1:18:09the road so that we can um really target

1:18:13the project budget um to the end of the

1:18:16project?

1:18:18>> Thank you so much. Do a quick followup

1:18:20and then I'm going to move us on since

1:18:22we already

1:18:22>> just a quick followup is then do we have

1:18:24any kind of hard financial cap on the

1:18:28project? I mean uh

1:18:30>> we are we are designing and building to

1:18:33268.5.

1:18:34So that is the validated project budget

1:18:37at this time and that is what all signs

1:18:40are pointing to. So um we continue to

1:18:43meet with our design build team and that

1:18:45is the budget that we are continuing to

1:18:46align to

1:18:48>> and at this time we do not see a large

1:18:49risk that shows that we will not meet

1:18:51it.

1:18:52>> Okay. So we think as of right now

1:18:54>> as of right now

1:18:55>> is the everything we know.

1:18:57>> Okay. Thank you.

1:19:00>> Thank you. And

1:19:02I I also want to acknowledge part of the

1:19:04reason we wanted to make sure that this

1:19:05came came up and and came up early in

1:19:07these deliberations is just to continue

1:19:10to have good communication and

1:19:12transparency on this project and

1:19:14anything related to the finances as well

1:19:16as the development of this project and I

1:19:18know um hopefully we'll we'll we'll be

1:19:20continuing that as well as we move

1:19:22forward with the council in particular.

1:19:23So thank you. Um the third item on uh

1:19:27that's on our deliberation matrix is um

1:19:30we uh decided to move forward with um

1:19:33having Redmond uh be um the initiator of

1:19:38the a new revenue option um based on the

1:19:41HB2442

1:19:44um tax um for uh child and family

1:19:47services sales tax. Um, so the council

1:19:51did request for some detail to come back

1:19:53on the exact expenditures um, and some

1:19:56of the potential options to also support

1:19:59that um, as well. So, I'll turn it over

1:20:02to director Cochran to give us the

1:20:03update on this um, and just to uh, re to

1:20:07affirm with council the direction that

1:20:09we want specifically with the

1:20:11expenditures related to that and other

1:20:13general fund proposals.

1:20:15>> I would like to call actually Sarah Fee.

1:20:18She is the subject matter expert on this

1:20:20um particularly in regards to the

1:20:22expenditures.

1:20:25It's HB2442.

1:20:27>> Uh interim director Allen.

1:20:44Okay. So, um, wanted to, uh, check in.

1:20:48Yeah. So, uh, the council had requested

1:20:50a little bit more information. One, um,

1:20:53item was about when and how this might,

1:20:56uh, take effect. And so, we were able,

1:20:58as you know, this happened very quickly,

1:21:00uh, from the county. And so, we've been

1:21:02doing our best to, um, gather facts. And

1:21:04so, we were able to learn that in their

1:21:06um, ordinance. It does not have uh, the

1:21:09three-year expiration date, but that's

1:21:11something they, uh, the county did um,

1:21:13also still adopt. And so their intention

1:21:15is to have um the uh fund sunset in

1:21:20three years. And so the recommendation

1:21:21that finance and city staff are putting

1:21:23forward is for um the council to um tie

1:21:27it to what the county does. And so um

1:21:30with the recommendation that you all put

1:21:32of wanting to make sure that Redmond

1:21:34captures and uses this resource if it's

1:21:36going to be something that's happening

1:21:37regardless, which it is from the county.

1:21:40And then if they sunset it in three

1:21:41years, then the council could take that

1:21:43action as well to sunset it if the

1:21:45county does as well. So there's not

1:21:47additional um

1:21:49uh uh impact on uh Redmond residents.

1:21:53And then the second part of it, which

1:21:54I'll just finish, was there had been a

1:21:56request around what the funds might be

1:21:58used for and um we uh staff are

1:22:01recommending that we do an RFP process

1:22:03since this will be kind of a limited um

1:22:06uh fund for this next bianium. And then

1:22:08if it's something that the county

1:22:09continues to do, we would incorporate it

1:22:12into our overall human services um

1:22:14grants. So we did look at potential

1:22:16options. Um and there are a lot of

1:22:17options. Um we would not be supplanting

1:22:19any funds. This would be an addition to

1:22:22and um that's one of the reasons why

1:22:23having an additional staff person to

1:22:25help run that RFP process would be

1:22:27really helpful. And just to clarify, the

1:22:29RFP process would be um to provide

1:22:33potentially subsidies or other types of

1:22:35support to child care and before and

1:22:37after school programs.

1:22:39>> We would use the exact language that the

1:22:40county um has as well. And then we would

1:22:42come back with what um similar to how we

1:22:45did the joint human services

1:22:46recommendations, how it came to council,

1:22:48we would come to council with the grants

1:22:50um that were uh selected.

1:22:52>> Okay. And um can you also speak to the

1:22:55FTE as well? and then I'll I'll go to

1:22:57questions.

1:22:59uh in addition to uh yeah and the FTE

1:23:03the FTE would um run help run this

1:23:06process and so as I think we've shared

1:23:08with the council we already we have

1:23:09increased our human services fund and

1:23:11that is quite a lot of process and we've

1:23:13been able to um manage that currently

1:23:15but since this would be an additional

1:23:17amount um we're requesting an a FTE to

1:23:22help um manage that additional process

1:23:24for for this bianium and then if it's

1:23:27something that the county says is to

1:23:28continue then we will likely come

1:23:30forward with the budget request in the

1:23:31next bianium to have it be an ongoing

1:23:33position

1:23:34>> and this so this would be a limited

1:23:35duration employee with onetime funds

1:23:37>> correct

1:23:38>> great thank you um council president

1:23:40Stewart

1:23:40>> yeah thank you so much um once again the

1:23:43council is not uh taking action to raise

1:23:46sales taxes but to keep sales taxes at

1:23:48home for this uh specific need so um I

1:23:53really appreciate uh the staff thinking

1:23:55on the proposal I still have a few

1:23:57questions Um, and I want to acknowledge

1:24:00that we are at a tipping point with our

1:24:01human services capacity. Absolutely. Um,

1:24:04and I appreciate that the thought so far

1:24:07has been around if we were to apply

1:24:09these dollars through a new uh our

1:24:12distribute these dollars through a new

1:24:13RFP process, we would need more humans

1:24:15on the team to help us do that good

1:24:17work. Um, however,

1:24:20um, another area of tension in our city

1:24:24is our cost recovery policy. Um, and we

1:24:28have child

1:24:30care services via um, what goes on at

1:24:35the Redmond Senior and Community Center.

1:24:37Um, as well as our summer camp

1:24:39programming if we're able to be that

1:24:41creative. Um, all parents know that

1:24:43summer is the most expensive 3 months

1:24:46and most difficult child care 3 months

1:24:49um, of of the year. And so I'm still

1:24:52curious about the opportunity to collect

1:24:55these revenues and redistribute them as

1:24:59reduced fees and potentially scholarship

1:25:02fees uh for child care that happens in

1:25:06the city and through city programs such

1:25:07as our summer camps.

1:25:09>> Um I can answer that initial question.

1:25:11So we did check in with parks. I think

1:25:13it is 2 days since we had the initial

1:25:16kind of thoughts and really difficult to

1:25:18say whether we'd be able to spend that

1:25:19full amount which is I think we can

1:25:20continue to look into it. The best guess

1:25:23we have right now is that there would

1:25:24still likely be an excess amount that we

1:25:26would want to do a more community

1:25:28request for proposals for and so that

1:25:30could end up being an option and we can

1:25:32come back to the council with that. But

1:25:33I think we're going to need a little bit

1:25:34more time to develop that. But either

1:25:36way, I think we are going to be having

1:25:38some amount of um need to put those

1:25:40funds in addition to maybe internal

1:25:42programs. But um we would also want to

1:25:44support some of the other really

1:25:46important programs that are happening.

1:25:48>> Absolutely. So just for time, I would

1:25:50say I'm I'm interested then if we wanted

1:25:53to take a certain approach for the first

1:25:55year and and then include the additional

1:25:58dollars in the existing RFP process for

1:26:01the next biania um to maybe use them two

1:26:05different ways. Um, and my most critical

1:26:09question for Director Cochran is um, do

1:26:12we need to determine how we will spend

1:26:14the dollars before we adopt the

1:26:15ordinance?

1:26:16>> No.

1:26:17>> And I if we are not able to solve this

1:26:19today, um, then I would welcome seeing

1:26:21this back in FAC at the very beginning

1:26:23of the year.

1:26:24>> Yeah, that sounds that sounds like a um

1:26:26like a good idea. We can put it on the

1:26:28the parking lot um to ensure that that

1:26:30it gets put on the agenda for the the

1:26:33future. Um, Council Member Percy,

1:26:36>> I also um

1:26:40want to echo the same um thoughts and

1:26:43concerns. Um, in the first two years of

1:26:46this tax being proposed, um, if we move

1:26:49forward with an FTE, we would be using

1:26:52more than 50% of um, this revenue for

1:26:56just internal operations for um, to have

1:27:00an FD. And I would love to see us um

1:27:03bring kind of as much value to the

1:27:05public as we can and distribute as much

1:27:08of that uh directly to the public as we

1:27:11possibly can. So I would love to see

1:27:14other avenues of how we can spend this

1:27:17money effectively. Um so um I would be

1:27:22supportive of that the same direction.

1:27:24Do you mind if I chime in on that?

1:27:25>> Yeah, if you can clarify on that. I

1:27:27think to be clear too, what we heard

1:27:28when we came forward to the council was

1:27:31also an interest in adding capacity to

1:27:33our human services team and that we

1:27:35already and like we didn't know this

1:27:37fund was going to be come become

1:27:38available. we were already in that point

1:27:41of saying that probably in the next

1:27:42bianium we'd be requesting additional

1:27:44support and we have work that they can

1:27:47be doing other than just this um fund

1:27:49and I think because we're in that inter

1:27:51interim period so they could help with

1:27:54uh further actions on the human services

1:27:56plan definitely need further support on

1:27:58with the team uh for the current grants

1:28:01because those have doubled since we've

1:28:03had it but we have the same amount of

1:28:04staffing so I think we saw this as kind

1:28:06of hitting two birds with one stone both

1:28:08from what we'd heard from the council of

1:28:10wanting to have some additional support

1:28:12with also having the these additional

1:28:14funds. And so if that's not the

1:28:16direction of the council, I'll turn it

1:28:18over. But um you know, we can go from

1:28:20there. The um FTE is not proposed to be

1:28:23funded from the sales tax revenue. Um

1:28:26the FTE is um proposed to be funded from

1:28:29general fund surplus. So when the tax

1:28:31dollars come in, they will be going

1:28:32completely out to the community keeping

1:28:35um the burden on the general fund.

1:28:38Did you have a a a comment or um did you

1:28:42>> I uh I understand the different sources

1:28:45of the funding and the different buckets

1:28:47but I just think the distribution of uh

1:28:49the money from my perspective is um

1:28:54>> 100% of the tax revenue will go to the

1:28:58towards the services. Okay,

1:29:00>> I understand.

1:29:01>> Thank you council member Sony.

1:29:04uh I know that we cannot decide on how

1:29:07this money will be used but I just want

1:29:09to make a point or a statement uh

1:29:11whenever we are doing it. There is lot

1:29:15of funding that has been already given

1:29:16from our human services to the different

1:29:18organizations those who are stepping

1:29:20forward this money I just to have an

1:29:24inequity towards all the other

1:29:25organizations uh that they are doing it.

1:29:28I would love to see some more

1:29:31constructive and creative ways where

1:29:33this funding can be used rather than

1:29:35just again giving it through the same

1:29:37organizations that has already received

1:29:39the funding uh because that that way we

1:29:43are welcoming the newer approach and and

1:29:45some more work. So I just wanted to make

1:29:47that as a comment.

1:29:48>> Thank you. And my understanding is that

1:29:50this funding can't actually go to

1:29:52anything that we previously uh already

1:29:56had been planning to grant to. So it

1:29:58would have to be to a new use

1:29:59>> to new things. Correct.

1:30:01>> Uh Mayor Bernie.

1:30:03>> Yes. Um I mean I obviously see that

1:30:06there um is an is an opportunity to have

1:30:08a probably a much more robust discussion

1:30:10about opport you know where this this

1:30:14money could go. Um and so I think that

1:30:17um I think it was council president's

1:30:19idea about having a conversation um was

1:30:22in the beginning of the year sometime at

1:30:24the beginning of the year just to at FAC

1:30:26to try to like um come up with some

1:30:28ideas and then do some vetting and kind

1:30:30of figure out the path in part because

1:30:31we will not be collecting this money

1:30:32until April um if we move ahead with

1:30:35this which I sounds like council wants

1:30:37to move ahead with this. Um so that's I

1:30:39think I think that is worth a really

1:30:40good discussion and and I think January

1:30:42is a great time to have that. Um I think

1:30:44this the second piece of this um and

1:30:47it's probably not great that they're

1:30:49bundled together, but the the

1:30:51opportunity to hire a uh limited

1:30:53duration um from some of the um excess

1:30:56general fund. Um I will just share um to

1:31:00what um interim director Allen had

1:31:03mentioned. We do have we really only

1:31:05have two human services staff who have

1:31:08been doing um a tremendous amount of

1:31:10work and we have not added to that

1:31:13staff. Um, and we want to kind of think

1:31:15about future proofing our department.

1:31:18And um, as a so as a separate ask, um,

1:31:22um, I I do I would love for the council

1:31:24to approve of that limited duration in

1:31:26in human services to help us out not

1:31:29just with this, which is some money, but

1:31:31really with all of our programming and

1:31:33um, I think it will help future proof

1:31:35the city from from a staffing standpoint

1:31:37as well.

1:31:38>> Thank you. Um I will just weigh weigh in

1:31:41here on on this uh FT with with my

1:31:44perspective as well. Um since I don't

1:31:46see other hands raised. Um, so I since

1:31:50I've been on the council, we have

1:31:53repeatedly come up when the council has

1:31:55wanted to allocate more money to

1:31:57different needs on human services with

1:31:59sometimes capacity constraints where

1:32:01this at some point the staff says you

1:32:04could allocate the money but we wouldn't

1:32:06have enough capacity to to do the work

1:32:08to distribute it. And uh when we did our

1:32:12human services strategic plan several

1:32:14years ago um at that time I asked do we

1:32:17have enough staff capacity with two

1:32:19staff for a city of our size to meet the

1:32:21needs that we're seeing and that we're

1:32:22approving as part of this plan when we

1:32:25now have looked uh at updating our our

1:32:28human services plan and combining it

1:32:29with the human services housing plan. I

1:32:31asked that question again. And uh so I'm

1:32:34really glad to see this proposal and I

1:32:36think what is great about this proposal

1:32:39is it allows us to see what new capacity

1:32:42will actually help us to do and thinking

1:32:44about things like also distributing more

1:32:46of the community resilience funds and

1:32:48other types of things that come up. Um,

1:32:50even if if we think about the other

1:32:52types of needs that that we talk about

1:32:54with housing and human services in

1:32:56general, if we add one more person to

1:32:59the team and we see what those results

1:33:00are, but we do it with a limited

1:33:02duration employee, it gives us the

1:33:04ability to see what those results are

1:33:07um, and to see if things work better.

1:33:08So, if it turns out that we don't need

1:33:10it, then it's a limited duration

1:33:12employee. the council could make a

1:33:14different decision in a future budget,

1:33:15but if I'm hearing that that we actually

1:33:18have the capacity um potentially in

1:33:20general fund surplus one-time funds to

1:33:23be able to do it, I would really support

1:33:25us adding that FTE to both support this

1:33:28as well as our other human services

1:33:29needs.

1:33:31Are there other comments? Otherwise, I

1:33:34will um just ask whether um it's we

1:33:37already did approve the amount for the

1:33:39um uh we already did approve to move

1:33:42forward to keeping these dollars um

1:33:44under our control. Um the question is

1:33:47whether there is um support from the

1:33:50council to move forward with the

1:33:51proposal around the one FTE. Um and I'll

1:33:54ask for thumbs on that.

1:34:01I'm seeing four thumbs on that. Five

1:34:03thumbs on that. Okay. Um, did you have a

1:34:07question, Council Proa?

1:34:09>> I did have a question and uh this is

1:34:11with regards to um what the county is

1:34:15doing um with the rest of the bill 2442.

1:34:18Um because I think it wasn't just a

1:34:210.01% sales tax. I I I don't know the

1:34:24specifics and this is why I'm asking,

1:34:25but I think there was a flood control

1:34:27aspect. Um there were a number of other

1:34:30like small a rental uh a rental car

1:34:33sales tax. A number of other

1:34:35>> point of order. Madam Chair, I believe

1:34:37that we've um said that we are going to

1:34:40keep our questions limited to decision

1:34:42questions that would help us make

1:34:43decisions this evening. And this is a

1:34:46contextual question regarding um a

1:34:48policy that the county's already

1:34:49adopted.

1:34:50>> I appreciate that. I'll let council

1:34:51member Pria finish his question and then

1:34:53we'll get the answer in the matrix.

1:34:55Appreciate that. Can you finish your

1:34:57question?

1:34:57>> Yeah, just uh what is the county doing

1:34:59with every other revenue option uh that

1:35:01was provided with this bill?

1:35:03>> We can follow up with information on

1:35:05that.

1:35:05>> Great. Thank you so much. Uh Council

1:35:08President Stewart.

1:35:09>> Yes. May I have a a reflection of the

1:35:10record? I the council just gave

1:35:12direction to um I just want to confirm

1:35:15that I understand correctly to move

1:35:18forward with hiring an additional uh

1:35:22limited duration FTE for human services

1:35:24that was not presented in the

1:35:26preliminary budget but is new as of this

1:35:28matrix and then also to distribute

1:35:30revenues from HB 2442

1:35:33uh via the additional capacity that that

1:35:35created. Is that correct?

1:35:37>> Yes. which means there is no additional

1:35:39conversation needed at FAC in January.

1:35:43>> I think I think there would still be

1:35:44additional conversation needed. Uh I was

1:35:48based on the assumption that we would

1:35:50also follow up on the FAC conversation

1:35:52of how that would be distributed.

1:35:53>> If we want if the record can reflect

1:35:55that as well, that would be great. Um

1:35:57that you'll be coming back to be able to

1:35:58get the specifics on how those get

1:36:00distributed. And it sounded like also

1:36:02part of the process both the council can

1:36:04have a touch on on directing how that

1:36:07will go and then we'll also get updates

1:36:10as that process moves forward.

1:36:12>> Yep. And then I think we'll also be able

1:36:13to share more of what the county is also

1:36:15doing and what other cities have decided

1:36:17to do at that time as well since this is

1:36:18all happening pretty quickly.

1:36:21>> Great. Thank you so much for that

1:36:23clarification, Council President. Um on

1:36:25to the next item on the agenda. the um

1:36:29uh the council has uh considered whether

1:36:32we um would want to fund a new software

1:36:36improvement um that would change the way

1:36:38that we do recordings and tech

1:36:41management for our council meetings and

1:36:43in council chambers. Um, and we have uh

1:36:47um

1:36:48>> remind me of your your title.

1:36:50>> Uh, deputy of equity and strategic

1:36:51services.

1:36:52>> Uh, Zach Hoover here um uh to be able to

1:36:56share with us some more context about

1:36:57this. Originally, I will note this was

1:36:59going to come to the finance

1:37:01administration communications committee

1:37:02at the next touch, but we realized

1:37:04that's actually the day that we wanted

1:37:06to pass this budget. So, instead, we're

1:37:08going to have Zach present tonight um

1:37:10and uh and be able to get a little bit

1:37:13more information. The council also

1:37:14received some information um in advance

1:37:17about this change, but we can get some

1:37:19questions answered and then decide

1:37:20whether or not we want to budget for

1:37:21this.

1:37:22>> All right. Good evening, council. So,

1:37:24this is the Granicus fully managed video

1:37:26solutions um project. So, this would be

1:37:29to um really about delivering um

1:37:33availability and access to the

1:37:35decision-m process for all public

1:37:37meetings that happen within council

1:37:39chambers. Um in my assessment this the

1:37:42transparency the resiliency uh the

1:37:46capacity and I'll talk about some of the

1:37:48benefits of this project uh briefly do

1:37:50outweigh some of the operational risks

1:37:52that were brought up in the PSHs on

1:37:53October 20th. So, first um the primary

1:37:56benefit of this is that it would allow

1:37:59um an uh Granicus to provide a off-site

1:38:03director that would manage um and and

1:38:06switch the multi- camera um that are

1:38:08surrounding city council chambers today.

1:38:10Um mix those, encode those and then

1:38:13provide city staff a feed so that we can

1:38:15continue to provide Facebook, YouTube,

1:38:18and RCTV live during public meetings. Um

1:38:21we did run the numbers and on average

1:38:23it's about 11 public meetings a month.

1:38:27So uh as I highlighted in PSHs on

1:38:29October 20th today um how we currently

1:38:32do it it is

1:38:34uh dependent on availability of uh

1:38:37limited number of staff who have

1:38:39experienced um or have experience in

1:38:41producing the AV that currently goes on

1:38:43in council chambers. Um there has been

1:38:47uh several issues where um those staff

1:38:50either have um become sick and we have

1:38:54had notice to the public that we will

1:38:56not be able to produce that meeting

1:38:58live. We have recorded that there are

1:38:59some redundancies in place and then

1:39:01posted them on our agenda management um

1:39:04and legisar after the fact. But again

1:39:06there has been some issues and this

1:39:08solution would help solve for that. The

1:39:10other um couple of benefits that this

1:39:12solution does provide is with the

1:39:14upcoming ADA um and WCAG which is the

1:39:18web content accessibility guidelines uh

1:39:20requirements and compliance that the

1:39:22federal government has uh put forth that

1:39:24will take place in April of 2027. This

1:39:27solution would provide live and recorded

1:39:29captioning. It would support live

1:39:31translation into Spanish um as well as

1:39:34closed captioning capabilities for

1:39:35YouTube and Facebook as well as RCTV.

1:39:39Um, so that would improve that access

1:39:41for residents who are not physically

1:39:42here in council chambers.

1:39:45I I would say that no technology

1:39:47solution would eliminate all operational

1:39:49risk. [clears throat] So I did in the

1:39:52information that I sent to council last

1:39:54night highlight a transition plan which

1:39:56would include a um in January of 2027.

1:40:01So when we would go live with this, we

1:40:03would still be able to have our

1:40:05full-time staff or our supplemental AV

1:40:07support here in council chambers so that

1:40:09any issues that were to arise or come

1:40:12up, we would have that redundancy in

1:40:14place.

1:40:15Um if council were to want to extend

1:40:18that, that is something that we could

1:40:19also discuss.

1:40:21During the installation, we would have

1:40:23um that would take place in December

1:40:25when there is a council recess. we would

1:40:27have different validations, testings,

1:40:29trainings, rehearsals as well as that

1:40:31over overlapped like in the first month

1:40:32that I discussed with um the players at

1:40:35hand. So that would be our TIS team, our

1:40:37communications team, our AV help support

1:40:39as well as Granicus' um off-site

1:40:41directors.

1:40:43The the other benefit to this, in my

1:40:46opinion, is a staff capacity. And I want

1:40:49to be clear and transparent with council

1:40:51that this is not a cost savings

1:40:52initiative. It is um and again it for

1:40:55the record we would not be eliminating

1:40:56any full-time staff. It would be allow

1:40:59our current staff who have dedicated

1:41:01about a seventh of their time to running

1:41:04AV for public meetings to allow that

1:41:06additional support throughout the year

1:41:08to highlight on some of the additional

1:41:10communications capabilities that our

1:41:12talented staff could do. Um, for

1:41:13instance, they could continue to work on

1:41:15our short form video um and other

1:41:18projects that that individual works on.

1:41:21This

1:41:22um

1:41:24also is a benefit to our clerk's office.

1:41:26So, in the current capacity and and how

1:41:29we currently conduct meetings after the

1:41:31fact, our city clerk's office does do uh

1:41:34timestamping as well as trimming the

1:41:36video so that when it is live and it

1:41:37goes back on to our agenda management

1:41:40platforms when someone wants to look at

1:41:42an agenda item, they can just click a

1:41:44button and it automatically takes them

1:41:45to that specific point in the, you know,

1:41:48two three-hour meeting. So, that is

1:41:50something that is manually done by our

1:41:51city clerk's office. it takes about 30

1:41:53minutes to 45 minutes per public meeting

1:41:56to do that. This solution would be able

1:41:58to do that um within the contract and in

1:42:00scope. So that would also free up time

1:42:01from our city clerk's office as well.

1:42:05Cost and procurement. Oh, one of the

1:42:07other questions that was raised during

1:42:08PSHS um was the location of the off-site

1:42:11director and I was able to um confirm

1:42:14with Granicus that is uh in their

1:42:16Dallas, Texas operation center. They as

1:42:18well they do have an emergency operation

1:42:20center in Dennis, Texas. However, I will

1:42:22just say again for full transparency,

1:42:24Granicus is a multiund million dollar

1:42:26enterprise and so they do have staff

1:42:28located um and distributed throughout

1:42:30the world. Um so I wanted to share that

1:42:34as well. Um

1:42:38I think that's what I have and and happy

1:42:39to answer any questions that that

1:42:40council has.

1:42:42>> Thank you so much, Council Member Parcy.

1:42:45>> Thank you. Um I'll start with saying

1:42:47that I am in support of this. Um I do

1:42:50remember that um we requested to see

1:42:52what other cities would um were using

1:42:55this tool um so we could see examples of

1:42:58how effectively they're running it. I

1:42:59don't recall seeing that in my email. So

1:43:01if you did share that um please um if I

1:43:04would appreciate if you could send that

1:43:05again so we can evaluate it. Oh, you Oh,

1:43:08I'm sorry. I didn't see that. Uh thank

1:43:10you. Um um the note that I have is about

1:43:13um public transparency is paramount for

1:43:15the council and for residents who rely

1:43:17on our live streams and recordings and

1:43:20that is our way to stay connected with

1:43:22our community and inform the public. So

1:43:24reliability of this service is critical

1:43:26and I want to make sure that we set

1:43:28goals to have 100% live stream and

1:43:30recording success and actually track and

1:43:33report that throughout the year. Um and

1:43:36I would love to see if um you know you

1:43:38mentioned that um roughly 17th of staff

1:43:41time would be made available and they

1:43:43would be able to do things like um

1:43:45creating uh short short videos and uh

1:43:47create content to uh connect the city

1:43:50with the public. Um I actually have

1:43:52noticed that the council hasn't had a

1:43:54lot of time uh to have content um

1:43:58created to show the public and connect

1:44:00with the public. For example, um I think

1:44:03council could potentially benefit from

1:44:05having our um council community

1:44:08conversations and other kind of

1:44:10opportunities where we connect with the

1:44:12public to have that um use to maybe use

1:44:16a portion of the staff time that come

1:44:18becomes available for that purpose to

1:44:19connect the council with the public. So

1:44:22those are the two asks that I have um

1:44:23along with this if um there's interest

1:44:26and um opportunity.

1:44:28>> Yeah, just to hit on that. So yes, I was

1:44:30able to provide the um references that

1:44:32Granus provided. Yes, thank you. Um

1:44:34second, I I agree with you and that's

1:44:36part of why I think that this would be a

1:44:38good solution and a good investment for

1:44:41the city of Redmond. Um we have very

1:44:43talented staff and that has that would

1:44:45open up additional communication

1:44:46support. Um I would want to discuss that

1:44:49with council what that would look like

1:44:50because anytime that you do open up a

1:44:52new communication channel, I just want

1:44:53to make sure that that's um within our

1:44:54current capacity. But yes, we would be

1:44:56able to open up additional communication

1:44:58streams if that person does not have to

1:45:00deal with public median AV support.

1:45:04>> Thank you. Other questions? Council

1:45:06member Parka.

1:45:08>> Thank you. And I appreciate um the very

1:45:10comprehensive um uh references that that

1:45:13you sent. Um the one area that I'm a

1:45:16little bit confused by is the cost

1:45:17comparison um matrix. Um which I I wish

1:45:22um we could we could show this to the

1:45:24public. But I I see an annual I'm

1:45:28looking at one row that says um our

1:45:30in-house mechanism has is between 21,000

1:45:33and 30 34,000 um per year. Uh and then

1:45:38this solution is about $100,000 a year

1:45:40with the $200,000 startup cost. Um does

1:45:44that 21,000 does that first row number

1:45:47does that include the staff time or is

1:45:49that

1:45:51>> Yes. So, uh, and I'm more than happy to

1:45:53to provide this graph or this table in a

1:45:55matrix after the fact so that people can

1:45:57see for the record. Um, yeah. So, this

1:45:59is this is in relation to, you know,

1:46:01it's it's tough to get a a real we

1:46:04averaged the time spent for public

1:46:06meetings. So, we looked back at the last

1:46:08few years and so that range that I gave

1:46:10was dependent on, you know, from month

1:46:12to month. Obviously, meeting times

1:46:14change. And so, um, we wanted to provide

1:46:16the hourly rate that this that our

1:46:18current staff plus supplemental support,

1:46:21um, would go towards funding, you know,

1:46:23the AV component of this as well as that

1:46:26higher end. Um, did I did I answer your

1:46:28question or no?

1:46:29>> Yes. And if if that's the case, then

1:46:33what advantages? I mean, we get some

1:46:36technological advantages like you

1:46:37mentioned the Spanish translation. Um,

1:46:39but this this seems to me um like

1:46:42getting relatively the same service for

1:46:45three to 5x the cost. Um, and that does

1:46:48not seem like a good deal to me.

1:46:50>> I I would I would uh suggest some of the

1:46:53things that I had referenced. So, I

1:46:55think the big one is is this upcoming

1:46:57WCAG web content accessibility

1:46:58guidelines compliance issue that's

1:47:00that's coming for us in April of 2027.

1:47:04This would provide us in addition to

1:47:06what our communications TIS and other

1:47:08departments have already put in place

1:47:10such as you know we have a very robust

1:47:12plan for alt text we've included doc

1:47:14access for our PDF viewers etc. This

1:47:17would help us be in compliance with this

1:47:20upcoming massive um uh federal

1:47:24guidelines that are coming our way. I

1:47:25would say that yes on a on a per cost

1:47:28comparison basis it it is not like for

1:47:31like we would pay more for the service

1:47:33but I believe with the capacity the

1:47:35upcoming ADA guidelines the um

1:47:39consistency and redundancy and

1:47:40resilience of having someone

1:47:43able to provide live streaming and maybe

1:47:47going back to council member Parsey's

1:47:48question yes my goal would be that 100%

1:47:50of the meetings are live streamed and

1:47:52publicly streamed that that would be my

1:47:53goal Um but having those as benefits I

1:47:57do think outweigh um the investment that

1:48:00we would put forward in this in this

1:48:01case.

1:48:02>> Thank you. Council President Stewart.

1:48:05>> Thank you. Uh for the record, I will

1:48:07support whatever the will of the council

1:48:08is on this item. I really appreciate um

1:48:12uh the direction that Council Member

1:48:13Parcy gave particularly on performance

1:48:15of the system and needing to be able to

1:48:17give folks the information that they

1:48:19need. Um I appreciate also the remarks

1:48:22made by my colleagues in earlier

1:48:24conversations um about skepticism um of

1:48:28of the solution particularly I think

1:48:30because um the staff retirement that

1:48:33ultimately led to this uh conversation

1:48:36um was well known and and could have

1:48:38been planned for. I do feel like the the

1:48:41point for council to actually be

1:48:42involved in giving direction was prior

1:48:45to um accessing and putting together a

1:48:48bid for a third party. Um and I and I

1:48:51say that also to to call back to the

1:48:54table something we didn't spend a lot of

1:48:56time on um when we deliberated um some

1:49:00of the service enhancements earlier in

1:49:02the season. Um but in addition to um

1:49:05potentially outsourcing this work from

1:49:07the communications department, we also

1:49:10um agreed to convert the limited

1:49:12duration World Cup communication

1:49:14positions uh to permanent positions

1:49:17which were also created with the intent

1:49:19to provide council more communications

1:49:22support. Um and I appreciate that my

1:49:24colleagues brought that up earlier too.

1:49:26So um I would encourage uh folks to make

1:49:29sure that they have their questions

1:49:30asked and answered. this compliance

1:49:32issue seems really important and like

1:49:34that this could work um but also

1:49:36understand that we are um for the third

1:49:38time tonight in a in a tough spot

1:49:40because the conversation probably could

1:49:42have happened earlier. Thank you.

1:49:45>> Thank you. Any other questions?

1:49:49Council member Sony.

1:49:51uh just for the compliance perspective

1:49:53suppose if we don't move ahead and we

1:49:55continue with this

1:49:57what percentage of compliance if if we

1:50:01know we are still uh like you know what

1:50:04is what is a portion of the compliance

1:50:06that we have it right now in terms of

1:50:08the percentage with our existing system

1:50:11>> uh just for clarity you're asking what

1:50:13is our current level of compliance with

1:50:15what the WCAG standards would be in

1:50:18April 2027 that we're currently

1:50:21that we currently have. I I don't know

1:50:23off the top of my head. I could I could

1:50:27attempt to get that number for you and

1:50:29reply to council.

1:50:31>> Yeah. I just want to understand what is

1:50:33that gap that we are trying to fill in

1:50:35by putting this additional these dollars

1:50:38just that gap if it's just a small delta

1:50:41that small delta with this big amount is

1:50:44it worth spending? I think that's that's

1:50:46what is like you know thing that's

1:50:47that's the data that I want to know. Uh

1:50:50sorry council member could you could you

1:50:51restate that just so I can be clear on

1:50:53on a response for you?

1:50:55>> So basically in terms of the compliance

1:50:58>> yes

1:50:58>> with our existing system say if we are

1:51:015% away from being compliant with uh uh

1:51:05the requirements that will be from April

1:51:072027 is it worth to put this much money

1:51:10for that just 5% gap or can we improve

1:51:14our existing system that's what I'm

1:51:16trying to understand.

1:51:17>> Thank you for that. Um

1:51:22I I want to choose my words carefully

1:51:23because with the upcoming requirements

1:51:25it's not

1:51:28what percentage you are compliant. You

1:51:29you have to be compliant for all all

1:51:32aspects of it. Um I again I don't know

1:51:34off the top of my head there is a a

1:51:36document and there has been federal

1:51:37guidance that has been issued that

1:51:38displays the the extensive amount of

1:51:41rows that city governments have to be

1:51:43compliant for. And so I'd be more than

1:51:45happy to follow up and and help try to

1:51:47answer that question for you.

1:51:49>> To to reframe the question, um I I would

1:51:52just ask if we decided to not adopt this

1:51:55change, um is there a path forward to

1:52:00become compliant standards?

1:52:03>> Yes. And it would likely involve

1:52:06additional staff time

1:52:09on our communications and likely our TIS

1:52:12teams to

1:52:14to make that happen if we don't have the

1:52:17>> that be significant like a large amount

1:52:19or would it be somewhat I guess the size

1:52:23[laughter] that we're talking about here

1:52:25Mayor Bernie

1:52:26>> I can't totally answer that question but

1:52:28I will tell you that um this the

1:52:31deadline for this is now what when is it

1:52:34>> April 26 2027

1:52:36>> yeah he knows like the date of it

1:52:38because this was supposed to happen this

1:52:41year and there I I talked to cities all

1:52:44over the country [clears throat] and

1:52:46everyone was struggling to figure out

1:52:48how to meet that demand no matter how

1:52:50the size of the city. Um I was I would

1:52:53say I was thrilled when I heard that we

1:52:54actually could have a solution that get

1:52:56us to this accessibility problem. Um so

1:52:59we can get to it without this. Um I I I

1:53:02think that we could we will have a plan

1:53:04to do that, but um to have a solution

1:53:07that gets us there is is is actually um

1:53:11is good news. Um

1:53:14but this is uh the the the demands of

1:53:17this accessibility is is a lot beyond a

1:53:20lot of cities to be honest and

1:53:22technology a lot of things that are

1:53:24available right now. So, um, and I and

1:53:27I'm sorry I don't have any like more

1:53:28definitive statement on that, but I do

1:53:30know that this has been a big stressor

1:53:32for cities. Um, you know, my ask like

1:53:34recently was like, do you think they

1:53:35might delay it again? Um, because it is

1:53:37such a big challenge for cities to meet

1:53:39those to meet the accessibility

1:53:41requirements. Um, I would like to be

1:53:43able to do it without the push from the

1:53:45federal government, but um, this is one

1:53:47way for us to get there.

1:53:50>> Okay. Thank you so much for for that

1:53:51information. Um, council members, I'll

1:53:53ask if um, uh, if you can give a thumbs

1:53:57up if you would like to move forward

1:53:59with funding this in the BTI. You have a

1:54:01a comment, council member for size.

1:54:04>> Thank you. Um, just real quickly, I did

1:54:06read some of that ADA code and it looked

1:54:09like it was more about live translations

1:54:12and there was more leniency around line

1:54:14live translations. That said, I did not

1:54:16read the entire code. So, I'm sure there

1:54:18are parts that we do need to um

1:54:20maintain. And during the course of this

1:54:22conversation, I went to the city of

1:54:24Richland's website. I've been looking at

1:54:26since they're already using this. Um it

1:54:28looks like it's working very well. You

1:54:31get the presentation popping up along

1:54:33with the commenters. Um, I think for my

1:54:36own

1:54:38ability to move forward with this, which

1:54:41I still do have reservations, um, I

1:54:43would want to know what the plan is for

1:54:47maybe it's early next year where we hear

1:54:49the plan for when something does go

1:54:52wrong in the room. Um, I definitely want

1:54:54to see that. We just experienced it a

1:54:56few weeks ago. want to make sure that uh

1:54:59we don't get caught unaware when

1:55:02something does occur um here in the room

1:55:05physically. I understand we'll have

1:55:07someone for a month, but in all of my

1:55:09time here, we had not had very many of

1:55:11those instances and we just experienced

1:55:13it. So, it's very fresh.

1:55:15Mayor Bernie,

1:55:18>> we haven't had many instances where we

1:55:20didn't have a personnel to cover it, but

1:55:21we've actually had a lot of technical

1:55:23issues that I realized that we probably

1:55:26didn't share with council um many of the

1:55:28things that we've had. So, I I was

1:55:30having a conversation today about um I

1:55:32think we need to keep better uh metrics

1:55:34around all of these things and and at

1:55:36least keep track of it. Um but um yes,

1:55:39but that was probably the most

1:55:40significant when we had an illness and

1:55:42didn't have coverage. Um but you know

1:55:45depending on a person to be here at

1:55:46night is also has a has risk to it as we

1:55:49know in the system. So, um I'm not I'm

1:55:51trying not trying to define your answer

1:55:52for you or make your decision for you,

1:55:54but

1:55:56we would have probably been served us

1:55:58ourselves better if we had shared with

1:55:59you more um when we have had challenges

1:56:01over the years and what it's looked

1:56:03like. And and I would just add I you

1:56:05know more than happy to provide a set of

1:56:07KPIs or metrics um on [clears throat]

1:56:11uptime issues etc. so that it is very

1:56:14transparent for council and community on

1:56:16this.

1:56:18>> Thank you. appreciate that. Um, so

1:56:21council, I'll I'll ask again. Um, uh,

1:56:25please give a a thumbs to if you thumbs

1:56:28up if you would like to see um, this

1:56:31move forward in the BTIP um, in the

1:56:34budget.

1:56:40I'm counting three.

1:56:44Um I think uh it's not going to move

1:56:47forward in the budget at the moment.

1:56:53Um all right. So um we have we're going

1:56:56to move on to the next item. I think um

1:56:58actually I'm going to call now for a 7

1:57:01minute recess um before we move to the

1:57:03next item. Um so we will adjourn or we

1:57:06will resume at 8 o'clock.

2:06:15>> [laughter]

2:06:16>> Great to meet you.

2:06:20I know.

2:06:48All right. Um, when we're ready, if we

2:06:49can be brought back to life.

2:06:55>> Well, second

2:07:27Thank you so much. Um so we are back

2:07:29with the council's uh budget

2:07:31deliberations. Um we're on number five

2:07:34on the matrix um which is the Derby Day

2:07:37community bike ride. The council

2:07:39requested some options um to potentially

2:07:42add funding to reestablish a community

2:07:44bike ride at Derby Days and we have our

2:07:46parks director Loren Hamilton here to um

2:07:49share some options with the council.

2:07:51>> Good evening, city council. Um we have

2:07:54put together a few preliminary options.

2:07:56Uh those options were put into the

2:07:59issues matrix on line 26. uh in case you

2:08:02didn't see that over there. Um staff

2:08:06have put together three options for what

2:08:08a community bike ride element could look

2:08:09like. Um any external or any bike ride

2:08:13will require an external event producer

2:08:15as we discussed earlier this week and

2:08:17would also require extra staff resources

2:08:19to lead this element. This would be in

2:08:22the form of either overtime li um or

2:08:25supplemental uh staffing throughout the

2:08:28um event season. Um, these options could

2:08:30include a Friday element. Uh, our staff

2:08:33have named it the ride Redmond to the

2:08:35races that connects city hall to the

2:08:37Veladrome. Uh, this option would be

2:08:39approximately $50,000 and is a 6.4 mile

2:08:43um, bike ride. A reduced loop ride

2:08:45through downtown to Marrymore, which is

2:08:47approximately a $25,000 ask for 5.6

2:08:50miles. Both of these remain mainly on

2:08:53trails, both King County and Redmond

2:08:55trails. um or a Saturday morning ride

2:08:58that would start at Astera Park and end

2:08:59at the city hall campus. This is the

2:09:01most expensive and the longest um option

2:09:04at $60,000 and 8.8 miles. Uh due to the

2:09:08short turnaround, we do not have

2:09:09significant amounts of details around

2:09:11what this program would look like or

2:09:13which one we would see as most feasible

2:09:16from a permitting standpoint, from a

2:09:18execution standpoint, from an event

2:09:21producer standpoint. We don't really

2:09:22have any of those details. The request,

2:09:24as I understood it, was to bring back

2:09:26what do we think it would take from a

2:09:27financial standpoint to execute on this

2:09:30initiative. And so those are the item um

2:09:32options that staff have brought back to

2:09:34you tonight.

2:09:35>> Thank you. And just for the listening

2:09:36public, would you be able to screen

2:09:38share that issues matrix item so that

2:09:41way um you want me to do it, Haley?

2:09:43>> Since I I don't think it's in the the

2:09:44matrix that we're showing right now.

2:09:48[snorts]

2:09:51And while we're doing that, um, I'll go

2:09:53to council questions. Council member

2:09:54Foresight.

2:09:55>> Thank you. I would support any of these

2:09:57directions, um, with the understanding

2:10:00that I want to think bigger. Um, I and a

2:10:04five mile bike ride or an eight mile

2:10:06bike ride is not really what I was

2:10:09thinking. Um, I was thinking of the kind

2:10:12of bike rides that I used to do where

2:10:14you would travel to a city, you would

2:10:15book a hotel, you would stay overnight.

2:10:17This would help with our lodging tax.

2:10:19Um, this would help with our, you know,

2:10:21tourism for restaurants. Um, so I love

2:10:25this as a start, but I want to think

2:10:27bigger in the future where we get like a

2:10:2930 mile, 50 mile, 80 mile bike ride and

2:10:31maybe it we coordinate with King County

2:10:33or Samish or other things, other cities,

2:10:36but for the start of bringing back a

2:10:38community bike ride, I'm in.

2:10:40Uh, [snorts] sorry. Yes, I should have

2:10:42started with that. This is a first year

2:10:45attempt. I do also think it's important

2:10:48to note that we will likely, if the goal

2:10:50is a community bike ride, always have a

2:10:52shorter option. Not many people, though

2:10:56I'm married to someone who loves to ride

2:10:5850 miles on a weekend. Uh, a lot of

2:11:00people um are not going to be make that

2:11:02super accessible. So, we will also

2:11:04always have that smaller community

2:11:05element because we heard that that was

2:11:07the largest hope from council was that

2:11:09was that community element to the bike

2:11:11ride. Speaking of that, just real

2:11:13quickly, I would love for it to be back

2:11:15around Lake Seamish like it used to be,

2:11:16and that's about 14 miles.

2:11:19>> Thank you, Council Member Percy.

2:11:22>> I support and echo um what my colleague

2:11:25mentioned. I also wanted to add that I

2:11:28would love um so this um derby day

2:11:31started as a community event, a

2:11:33grassroots movement and um with a

2:11:36history coming from the community and I

2:11:38would love to see us kind of tapping

2:11:40into the power of the community and the

2:11:42story of how Derby Day started and kind

2:11:44of the history of um where Redmond has

2:11:47come through the years with Derby Days.

2:11:49And I also support um thinking bigger uh

2:11:53with uh bringing the community along

2:11:55with the kind of spirit of derby days

2:11:57which is around biking

2:12:01>> council me council president Stewart.

2:12:04>> Thank you. Um like my colleagues I think

2:12:07it's really important that uh my

2:12:08colleagues who have spoken so far I

2:12:10think it is important that we um deliver

2:12:12on this. It is the number one request at

2:12:14the Derby Days booth that the council

2:12:16hosts the last few years on the front

2:12:17porch. I do have a question about um for

2:12:20the size and scope um that was able to

2:12:23be um pencled in the last couple of

2:12:25days, what the funding source uh for

2:12:28that might be and if we believe this

2:12:30potentially to be a good partnership

2:12:32opportunity for a local sponsor, maybe

2:12:34attracting new sponsors to Derby Days.

2:12:38Um I will let uh Director Cochran speak

2:12:41to the funding source. From a

2:12:42sponsorship standpoint, we are always

2:12:44looking for uh new sponsors. I will say

2:12:46that um in recent years we have had

2:12:49relatively consistent sponsorships, not

2:12:51significant increases, particularly as a

2:12:55lot of other events and options have

2:12:57kind of cropped up within the city. Um

2:12:59we would continue to look for those

2:13:00types of revenue sources, but um one of

2:13:03the reasons that this has not yet come

2:13:05back is our inability to find a

2:13:07community partner to operate it or a

2:13:09sponsor to cover it. And so that's why

2:13:11it has not um happened at this point. So

2:13:14we will continue to look for those items

2:13:16but um they have not come into fruition

2:13:18in the last 5 years.

2:13:21>> Council vice president Nova Kamina.

2:13:23>> Oh director

2:13:24>> director Cochran. Yes. The funding

2:13:26sources please.

2:13:27>> I appreciate Director Hamilton's answer

2:13:29and we can move on. But I think that um

2:13:32I understand that C council's goal is to

2:13:35ultimately have this be an ongoing item

2:13:38and something that the county the county

2:13:40the city um you know can uh count on

2:13:43consistently as part of our derby days

2:13:45event. And I think right now what I

2:13:47would recommend is that we fund it as

2:13:49one time until we can figure out how to

2:13:51establish what where it is that we're

2:13:53going um and then figure out sort of a

2:13:55longer term ongoing uh strategy to

2:13:57support it whether it's through

2:13:59additional partnership with ELTAC

2:14:01understanding what it is that we could

2:14:04um gather from community sponsorships

2:14:06and then determining where where does

2:14:08the city want to um contribute and and

2:14:11at what level. I think for um the 2728

2:14:15bianium um there is one-time dollars

2:14:18that we can put towards that um and then

2:14:21work in the next budget setting to

2:14:22really narrow in on what's working.

2:14:27>> Thank you. Appreciate that. Um Council

2:14:29Vice President Nova Camina,

2:14:31>> thank you. Um I I appreciate the staff

2:14:35uh turning something around and and

2:14:37getting creative in just a matter of

2:14:39days. Truly appreciate that. I do like

2:14:41the idea of um starting at Astera and

2:14:45ending at city hall. So we're kind of

2:14:47connecting um areas of Redmond and uh

2:14:51incorporating that so that it's not just

2:14:52strictly in downtown and continuing to

2:14:55grow it. Um, I've had some

2:14:57conversations, um, as somebody who does

2:15:00like to spend their Sunday mornings

2:15:03doing crazy bike rides, um,

2:15:06having conversations with some of the

2:15:08the bike shops, our local bike shops,

2:15:10and that, um, a couple of them had

2:15:13shared that they're they're starting to

2:15:14have conversations amongst themselves to

2:15:17how do we get this to move forward to

2:15:18where even if it's a smaller community

2:15:20event. So, I know that that even from

2:15:23their perspective, they're very hungry

2:15:26for something like this and I'm sure

2:15:28would be open to a conversation.

2:15:31[snorts]

2:15:31>> Thank you. And council member Sony, did

2:15:33you have your hand up?

2:15:36>> Yeah, I um totally support this, but uh

2:15:39can we involve Move Redmond or you know

2:15:43similar organizations

2:15:45uh that are involved as as a community

2:15:47partners in this?

2:15:50Um yes, as we approach the um event, we

2:15:53would reach out to community partners

2:15:54such as um Move Redmond, uh bike shops

2:15:58uh in the community and others to

2:16:00include them within this element.

2:16:04>> Thank you. Um Council Member Foresight,

2:16:06>> just briefly wanted to add that for the

2:16:09future thought, I'm not suggesting that

2:16:11this should necessarily be a free event.

2:16:13Um we're very used to paying an entry

2:16:16fee for longer bike rides.

2:16:19Yes, and that is absolutely a

2:16:20consideration particularly if it was

2:16:22longer. Um, even the lake going around

2:16:24Lake Seamish, we actually did explore

2:16:26that postcoid because that has we have

2:16:28talked about this a few times. Um, and

2:16:31that was actually extremely challenging

2:16:33from a um a traffic control standpoint,

2:16:36which is one of the reasons we didn't

2:16:38pursue it. That being said, those larger

2:16:40races that have more of that type of

2:16:42traffic control do have different fee

2:16:44structures um and people who are very

2:16:46good at running them. So, uh, definitely

2:16:49in our, um, thought bank for the future.

2:16:53>> Great. Thank you. And, um, as as was

2:16:56mentioned at the top of of this item, I

2:16:58will just say, um, it's been many years

2:17:00that we have been hoping that perhaps a

2:17:02community group would bring back and and

2:17:05work on this. Even last year, we had the

2:17:06hope that that we would see an a

2:17:09community group do this. And so it the

2:17:11proposal now from council is for the

2:17:13city to be able to bring this back um

2:17:15and to budget for that um so that we can

2:17:17move it forward. Um from what I'm

2:17:20hearing uh because there's a couple

2:17:22options in here. I'll put out the option

2:17:24which is the highest number that you

2:17:26have in in there and uh with the

2:17:29potential for if the council wanted to

2:17:31move forward with adding say a $60,000

2:17:34budget for this of one-time funds um

2:17:37that uh that we could have uh the parks

2:17:40director come back to committee of the

2:17:41whole early in uh in the year to be able

2:17:45to talk about the details or or at at a

2:17:48future meeting um to actually uh

2:17:51allocate talk about the specific

2:17:52specifics of the bike ride. Um, so we

2:17:55could make the budget decision now and

2:17:56then work out the details afterwards if

2:17:58that works. Um, from the park side, I

2:18:01won't

2:18:01>> that would be our preference at this

2:18:03point is a a budgeted amount and then

2:18:05staff would work through those details

2:18:07and we would um come to council with

2:18:09updates uh at pees in the new year.

2:18:12>> Great. Um, council member for Oh, I see

2:18:14a thumbs up. Okay.

2:18:16>> Just wanted to know real quickly, is

2:18:17that a 60,000

2:18:19bianually or annually?

2:18:21>> Oh, yes. annual.

2:18:23>> So 120,000 in in one time funds. That's

2:18:28>> that's

2:18:28>> I appreciate the the specification

2:18:30there. So yeah, 60K for for a single

2:18:33event and then and we'll do this in one

2:18:35time funds. It also gives us as by doing

2:18:36it the one time we can do for two years

2:18:38and then update as needed.

2:18:41>> And it really allows staff to understand

2:18:43what is needed. I think we haven't done

2:18:45this we haven't done this format

2:18:48ever in recent years. So, we really are

2:18:51going to be figuring out a lot as we go.

2:18:53So, um we'll we'll be able to continue

2:18:55to report back to council on that.

2:18:57>> Great. So, I'll ask council members, is

2:18:58there support for moving forward with a

2:19:01$120,000

2:19:02bianial allocation for um community bike

2:19:05ride at Derby Days? Seven thumbs.

2:19:09>> Um all right. All right. Well, we'll

2:19:10look forward to seeing that back at PES

2:19:12and we'll be excited to share it with

2:19:14community about that one because it's a

2:19:16is a very frequently discussed.

2:19:20>> Um, great. Okay. Well, um, bringing us

2:19:22to the next item on the agenda. Let me

2:19:24actually just bring my notes back up

2:19:26here.

2:19:29Hold on just a moment. Apologies.

2:19:34Here we are. Council baseline budget is

2:19:36the next item on the agenda. So, um, the

2:19:39council wanted a chance to hear about

2:19:41the assumptions that went in and the

2:19:43details that went into the baseline

2:19:45budget. Council members have a print out

2:19:46of the baseline budget right in front of

2:19:48them [snorts] uh here. Um, and perhaps

2:19:52we can actually share this on the screen

2:19:53as well. Um, so the listening public can

2:19:56want can follow along with us. Um, and

2:19:58I'll ask our staff to just um give us a

2:20:01brief walkthrough of the assumptions

2:20:03that have gone into uh the B council

2:20:06baseline budget and then I'll also ask

2:20:07council leadership if they have any

2:20:08other comments as well.

2:20:10>> Thank you, council. Um, with us is

2:20:12Daniel Morgan. He is the um financial

2:20:15analyst that oversees the council's

2:20:18budget and he'll walk you through um how

2:20:20the baseline budget was developed and um

2:20:23how it currently looks.

2:20:27Good evening everyone. Um so I'm Dana

2:20:29Morgan. Uh so with the baseline budget

2:20:32in front of you, it starts just

2:20:33sectioned out by the uh positions. So

2:20:35the personnel. Um so the the difference

2:20:38that you'll see is a decrease, but it's

2:20:41really just an administrative position

2:20:42moving to a different uh NBU, a

2:20:45different division. And so um it's not

2:20:49actually, you know, a decrease in amount

2:20:51or anything. It's just the number of

2:20:52FTEEs uh in the legislative budget. And

2:20:56then going down the rest of the items,

2:20:59uh the council contingency

2:21:02uh does decrease a little bit, but

2:21:04everything else stays uh roughly the

2:21:07same. We had looked at this back in

2:21:09April May timeline. Um and we looked at

2:21:13a 4-year historical of how the cancel

2:21:15council contingency was used. Uh and it

2:21:18really had never been used to the

2:21:19fullest amount. So, we settled on uh the

2:21:223,000 per year amount.

2:21:24And then going down uh you'll see that

2:21:27the professional services uh is the

2:21:3140,000. It dropped to 20,000, but really

2:21:33it's just a reshuffleling of the amount.

2:21:36You'll see it goes up significantly in

2:21:39the printing services and the rental or

2:21:42lease of equipment and property. And

2:21:43it's really just to reallocate um for

2:21:46the same purposes, but just being more

2:21:47accurate with what accounts uh that

2:21:49money lives in. So, it's about the same

2:21:50amount just more accurately budgeted.

2:21:55And with that, uh the one last thing is

2:21:59that the travel and the tuition and

2:22:01training did also go up to just account

2:22:03for increased cost, increased travel. Uh

2:22:06and with that, I will open it up to

2:22:07questions.

2:22:08>> Thank you. And can you clarify what

2:22:10position moved? Um

2:22:14>> uh that was the executive assistant. the

2:22:17executive assistant um in the executive

2:22:19office or the the um legislative

2:22:22coordinator.

2:22:23>> It's the legislative coordinator

2:22:24coordinator. It shouldn't I don't it

2:22:26should not be in your budget because

2:22:28it's managed through the exec

2:22:30department. Um and also it this is just

2:22:34your council salaries now which is what

2:22:35should be in this budget. So that's the

2:22:37only change.

2:22:37>> So it's a correction for the proper way

2:22:40that it it should have been accounted

2:22:42for.

2:22:42>> Yes.

2:22:43>> Okay. Thank you. Just wanted to have

2:22:45that clarification before we open up for

2:22:47questions. Um, council leadership, would

2:22:49you like to comment on this? Um, I'll

2:22:51start with Council President Stewart.

2:22:53>> Sure. Thank you so much.

2:22:55>> Yes, thank you so much. And um,

2:22:58yes, there was a meeting in April Mayish

2:23:01when we uh, looked at the four-year

2:23:03history that the staff had provided um,

2:23:05looked for some adjustments. The change

2:23:08in the FTE is new as of um, as of that

2:23:12that previous conversation. Um I want to

2:23:15just comment on two things. Number one,

2:23:17um the some of the shifting in the

2:23:19expenses is related to our quarterly

2:23:23council conversations. Um and sometimes

2:23:26those require, you know, table rentals

2:23:28or tent rentals or the like. And so um

2:23:31as we got going in the last bianium,

2:23:33that was something that we uh hadn't

2:23:35budgeted for um in in the way that we

2:23:38are using those dollars now. And so

2:23:39there's a shift. Um

2:23:42uh and then training, travel and tuition

2:23:45and registration. Um we just continue to

2:23:48work our way back to a preandemic uh

2:23:50allocation. Prior to the pandemic, uh

2:23:53the council uh did travel to more

2:23:55conferences and the like. That was a

2:23:58reduction during the pandemic and every

2:24:00year since or every since we've been um

2:24:03working our way forward, but other than

2:24:05that, this is our budget. So looking

2:24:06forward to everyone's ideas. Council

2:24:08vice president.

2:24:09>> Thank you. Um yes, all of what council

2:24:12president had had just mentioned and um

2:24:15another note on there for the tuition

2:24:17training and registrations. Um we knew

2:24:19that there was going to be a little bit

2:24:21of ramp up time to get us back up to

2:24:24pre- pandemic um conference attendance

2:24:26and that. So, and knowing that we needed

2:24:29to um make sure that all council members

2:24:32had the same the same access to

2:24:35education and wanting to invest those

2:24:37dollars in our council education.

2:24:42>> Any questions from the council?

2:24:44>> Council member Foresight.

2:24:47Given what we know currently about

2:24:50travel expenses and um some of these uh

2:24:53national conferences are

2:24:56we have to fly there. Um do we have did

2:24:59we recently look at this number compared

2:25:01to current travel data or is this just

2:25:03based on our own historicals?

2:25:08Uh when we do the budget, we do look at

2:25:11the costs from the previous banium and

2:25:12just historical and just with those

2:25:15rising costs, it did look like we that

2:25:17is why we bumped it up um another 10,000

2:25:19to hopefully adjust for the increased

2:25:21expectations.

2:25:24>> Council member Parkria,

2:25:26>> thank you. Uh, so I see that with the um

2:25:29change in designation of the legislative

2:25:31coordinator, uh, the salaries um line

2:25:34item went down, but I'm wondering why

2:25:35the benefits line item went up by about

2:25:38$50,000. Um,

2:25:41yeah, just just the accounting around

2:25:43around that.

2:25:45>> Generally, the cost of medical benefits

2:25:47have grown from 2025 to 2026 uh, sorry,

2:25:512728. So that's that's the reason you

2:25:54see that difference.

2:26:00Council member Parcy.

2:26:02>> Um there have been a couple of instances

2:26:05where um I spoke with the community for

2:26:08example and they had um relatively small

2:26:12asks for the council. For example, one

2:26:15of the things that I heard from the

2:26:16community was um free public spaces and

2:26:20meeting rooms that they could come in

2:26:22similar to how the library has meeting

2:26:24rooms for the public. Um we have the

2:26:27city hall, we have many city buildings

2:26:29that we can potentially open our doors

2:26:31to the public. Um and in my

2:26:34conversations with um the administration

2:26:37what I heard was um you know why don't

2:26:40you use the council budget for kind of

2:26:42supporting this the rollover from

2:26:43council budget. So, I am curious if we

2:26:47want to kind of allocate more council

2:26:50budget to potential um I don't know if

2:26:53there's potential like midyear

2:26:54consulting requirements or midyear kind

2:26:57of funding um of other things that we

2:27:00might want to support that could be

2:27:02appropriate to add to the council

2:27:04baseline budget for um a reserve that we

2:27:07could spend it in those manners. Um I

2:27:11would love to hear my council's thoughts

2:27:12on that to see if that could be an

2:27:14additional line item here.

2:27:18>> Thank you. So it sounds like um what

2:27:20you're proposing would be something

2:27:23related to either the contingency or

2:27:25perhaps the next item which the next

2:27:27item focused specifically on events but

2:27:29we have discussed in that that next item

2:27:31in in the events about being able to pay

2:27:34for to help to support spaces. actually

2:27:37to the question if the question is about

2:27:39spaces I would ask our parks director to

2:27:41speak up but I think that was an example

2:27:44um so can you clarify um what the

2:27:47proposed um bucket you are proposing

2:27:50here would be would it be increasing the

2:27:53contingency

2:27:54>> or would it be a different

2:27:55>> I'm open to either being a completely

2:27:58different line or being under a

2:28:00contingency either one is fine with me

2:28:05>> Council President Stewart

2:28:07Yeah, thank you so much. And if the

2:28:09chair needs to integrate this in some

2:28:11way with the next item on the

2:28:12deliberation matrix, that's going to

2:28:14make a lot of sense. Um, Council Member

2:28:16Parcy, would it be fair to say that your

2:28:18proposal is to add to the council budget

2:28:22in order to subsidize free and reduced

2:28:25cost room rentals? No. So then I'm not

2:28:28clear I'm not clear on the ask. So I'd

2:28:31like to clarify. And also just generally

2:28:34um a thought while I have the mic is I

2:28:37really would um support the contingency

2:28:39being the contingency. Say we have a

2:28:41cost overrun with travel or something

2:28:42like that and if there's a program

2:28:44element that needs to be on a different

2:28:46line um then it should probably live on

2:28:47a different line.

2:28:49>> So Council Parcy, can you specify what

2:28:52you believe the purpose of this uh new

2:28:55set of funds would be and how the

2:28:58council would decide upon those?

2:29:00>> Yeah. So, um I can give you a completely

2:29:03different example for um for example,

2:29:05council could midyear um come across

2:29:09community needs um discovering um

2:29:12priorities that weren't previously

2:29:14budgeted for that are relatively small

2:29:16expenditures that we could quickly

2:29:19prioritize. Um so that would be um funds

2:29:22for for example if there was a policy

2:29:25item that came up and we wanted

2:29:27potentially consulting for um to go for

2:29:30an RFB if we didn't have staff support

2:29:33at the time or other things that you

2:29:36know from the community emerging needs

2:29:38that we want to support. So that is the

2:29:40kind of vision. Um if uh there is

2:29:43interest from the council to support

2:29:45something like that to have an a

2:29:47separate uh council um emerging um

2:29:51emerging needs uh fund.

2:29:58>> Council member Pakria,

2:30:01>> I would be very interested in adding

2:30:02that line item. um maybe emerging needs.

2:30:05I'd be interested in classifying it just

2:30:07as, you know, a miscellaneous um line

2:30:10item, but I think it would be uh

2:30:12constructive for us as a council to have

2:30:16access to some small amount of funds um

2:30:19that we can spend on items that that

2:30:22that do emerge if we if we concur

2:30:24amongst ourselves as a council.

2:30:30>> Are there other comments on this? Um,

2:30:34all right. I will just uh Council

2:30:36President Stewart.

2:30:37>> Yeah. I don't want the chair to call for

2:30:39thumbs, so I'm going to speak [laughter]

2:30:42because I would I would hate to for it

2:30:44to be a binary conversation. I really

2:30:46think um now a [clears throat] better

2:30:49understanding u the the request here. I

2:30:53really think that um we should pick this

2:30:56up with the next item and potentially

2:30:58making a change to the next item as

2:31:00presented. Um because if there

2:31:04um is interest in a programmatic

2:31:07uh element,

2:31:09uh moving item number seven structurally

2:31:12into the council budget makes a lot of

2:31:14sense to me and it may not be exactly

2:31:16what's what's written there. Um so if

2:31:19there's window to leave the door open to

2:31:20that, I would appreciate that.

2:31:23>> If the council's amendable, we can loop

2:31:25in the next item as well. Um and so I

2:31:28will just introduce that that one here.

2:31:30um since it was also one of my proposals

2:31:33but we can also have have director

2:31:35Cochran speak to it. Um so in the last

2:31:37bianium we had the community based

2:31:39events innovation fund which was a pilot

2:31:41fund to look at whether we could support

2:31:44new or um innovative new elements to um

2:31:47existing community events or or new

2:31:49community events. Um and uh and so the

2:31:53the proposal that was brought back was

2:31:55potentially to not continue that, which

2:31:57it doesn't appear as an as an

2:31:58enhancement in our current budget, but

2:32:00to consider adding an enhancement um in

2:32:04the council budget that uh because I

2:32:07think the the vision of it was um

2:32:09similar to part of what Council Member

2:32:11Parcy is bringing up that we often hear

2:32:13from community um groups that want to do

2:32:16an event um and would love to see city

2:32:18sponsorship um or have small needs or

2:32:21support potentially for things like

2:32:23space um or other types of things and

2:32:26where the council u might be able to

2:32:28help to support that that piece in the

2:32:30community and some of those needs. Um so

2:32:33uh the the thought was that that we

2:32:35could instead of of adding the

2:32:36enhancement where it had been would be

2:32:38to add an enhancement of say $25,000 in

2:32:41the council budget. It was $25,000 last

2:32:43time um for sponsorships. I could see it

2:32:46being community needs and sponsorships.

2:32:48So that way you could have a little

2:32:49flexibility. Um so I'd just make that

2:32:52proposal and um we can discuss that. Did

2:32:54you have anything you wanted to say

2:32:55about it, Director Cochran? Okay, great.

2:32:58Um Council Member Foresight,

2:33:00>> thank you. Um yes, fully support this as

2:33:02I spoke to last time. Um and pivoting

2:33:05this to that community sponsorship. I

2:33:07would even suggest if we can find it to

2:33:10be 30,000, I would love that. Um, and

2:33:14just for a little historical context

2:33:15with our council contingency, we have at

2:33:19the end of every bianium traditionally

2:33:21used that money to help a community

2:33:23organization that needs uplifting. Um,

2:33:26but the the drawback on that is we can

2:33:29only use it one time. Um, we can't

2:33:32repeat the same organization. So,

2:33:34opening up this new fund would allow us

2:33:37to um repeat um community sponsorship

2:33:42that uh really does prove value for this

2:33:46innovation, for the space needs, for

2:33:48growing their organization. So, fully

2:33:50support.

2:33:51>> Thank you. And actually, I appreciate

2:33:53the point that you just made um because

2:33:55and I think to a point the council

2:33:57president made earlier, if we establish

2:34:00this fund, um then we could actually

2:34:02leave our contingency to be a true

2:34:04contingency and the council could um if

2:34:08we wanted to allocate the money now, the

2:34:10council could spend time in the upcoming

2:34:12bienium putting bounds around what this

2:34:15could be spent on, what the process is

2:34:17for deciding since usually our process

2:34:19for deciding with the contingency is we

2:34:21get to the very end of the bienium and

2:34:23we see how much was left that we didn't

2:34:24spend on other contingent needs and then

2:34:27we decide in one of our last meetings.

2:34:30Um but instead we could be a little bit

2:34:31more proactive and have a process around

2:34:34it if we went this way. Um so I will

2:34:37stop proposing on it and I will ask are

2:34:38there are there other other questions or

2:34:40comments?

2:34:44Uh Council President Stewart.

2:34:47>> Yeah, thank you so much. Um

2:34:49I think this makes this direction makes

2:34:52a lot of sense. Um I do want to call

2:34:54attention contextually to um that

2:34:58council was delivered a balanced budget

2:35:00and we have added to the expenditure

2:35:02side um without taking from the other

2:35:05side too terribly much. Um so I am

2:35:10cognizant of that and aware of that. I

2:35:12also want to balance um make sure that

2:35:14we just consider for a moment balancing

2:35:16the overall workload of the council in

2:35:19the new year. Um we're going to talk

2:35:21about it momentarily, but we still have

2:35:24the community stability fund dollars

2:35:26that were allocated in the current

2:35:28bienium to distribute. And so I wonder

2:35:32if it might make sense to in the in the

2:35:36council workflow, knowing that there's

2:35:38other things to accomplish also, uh to

2:35:41pick this conversation up once we've

2:35:44been able to finish distributing those

2:35:45dollars. Um, that way the funding is

2:35:49used to respond to new emerging needs

2:35:51after those needs have have been

2:35:53addressed, in which case we could

2:35:55potentially actually shrink it back um

2:35:58to closer to like 15,000 um knowing that

2:36:02we shouldn't hold dollars on the side if

2:36:04we might not be able to expend them uh

2:36:06expediently. Curious reactions to that.

2:36:11>> Council member Parsy. Um I think we

2:36:14actually had an opportunity where we

2:36:16reduced the current budget from line

2:36:19item four for council chamber software.

2:36:22Uh so that was one item that I think you

2:36:25know we we did remove some items. So

2:36:27there might be some room for us to

2:36:29explore um this additional funding but I

2:36:31will leave that to director um Cochran

2:36:33maybe to kind of um speak more of.

2:36:37>> Yeah director Cochran.

2:36:38>> Yeah that is correct. So, um, of the

2:36:41dollars from, um, the item number four,

2:36:46um, we've applied 120,000 to, um, the

2:36:50derby days and sort of just keeping

2:36:52track, um, until you are in the red from

2:36:54there. Then I will raise my hand and

2:36:57I'll say, beep beep. So 120,000 of the

2:37:02one-time dollars out of the 200,000 and

2:37:05then we still have the hundred,000 of

2:37:07ongoing

2:37:09>> as well. Um uh Council President

2:37:11Stewart.

2:37:11>> Yeah, thank you. And just to correct in

2:37:13case I got this wrong, but in my notes,

2:37:15the 3.9 million in eight new FTEEs and

2:37:18the 2.5 million in startup costs for

2:37:20development services are in addition to

2:37:22the preliminary budget or they are

2:37:24included in the preliminary budget.

2:37:32They they're include they're they will

2:37:34be included. Um

2:37:36>> are they in the balanced budget as we

2:37:38received it?

2:37:40>> The 2.5 is in the development reserves.

2:37:42Yes, it is a balanced that way and the

2:37:453.9 is a service enhancement which we

2:37:47are hoping to be funding with the um

2:37:50development fees.

2:37:53>> Understood. Okay. Thank you.

2:37:54>> So super. So yes. So that was that's

2:37:57neutral. Um yes, thank you.

2:38:01>> So that to yeah to clarify that decision

2:38:03is neutral. Actually I think one

2:38:04question that I will just clarify um the

2:38:07the new FTE that that uh we talked about

2:38:10for um human services or the limited

2:38:13duration FTE. Um where is that accounted

2:38:16for? Just so we are

2:38:17>> that is in item number three. It would

2:38:20be um $311,000

2:38:22for the 2728 bienium.

2:38:25>> Right. But the the funds for it

2:38:27>> it so when we kicked off budget

2:38:30deliberations last week I had sort of

2:38:32put a placeholder out there of 500,000

2:38:34just waiting to understand what level of

2:38:36position we would be looking at. Um a

2:38:39planner position has been identified. So

2:38:41there is there's some additional funds

2:38:43um there as well that can be um either

2:38:46put back towards some of the items we

2:38:49talked about.

2:38:50>> Yep. Yep.

2:38:51>> So you've already identified you will

2:38:53let us know. will

2:38:54>> at which point we have to make this

2:38:55decision. I think it will come later as

2:38:58we continue on, but we we can we should

2:38:59consider this um knowing that it's

2:39:01adding up.

2:39:02>> Um council member Foresight,

2:39:03>> thank you. Um I had actually identified

2:39:06a different funding source potential uh

2:39:08which was that 66,000 from the fire that

2:39:10we crossed off. So that was what I had

2:39:13initially identified for this. Perfect.

2:39:16Um, and I would not be in favor of us

2:39:19spending those other the other monies

2:39:21that we have set aside because this is a

2:39:23completely different need in my mind.

2:39:25Um, this is for actively responding to

2:39:28current community events that need to

2:39:29happen and the other one is for

2:39:32community stability, food, housing, that

2:39:34sort of thing.

2:39:37>> Thank you. Um,

2:39:39actually I will just call back on the

2:39:41council president because I think uh

2:39:43that that wasn't how I interpreted what

2:39:45what you were saying uh about the the

2:39:49work um component. Uh can you clarify

2:39:51that?

2:39:52>> Yeah, I um am just acknowledging that

2:39:55the community stability fund is work we

2:39:57need to wrap up and this work matters

2:40:00too. the sequencing of which might mean

2:40:03um

2:40:05in in one interpretation that it would

2:40:07be uh appropriate on our behalf to

2:40:09finish spending the dollars we have

2:40:11before starting on these ones. They are

2:40:13for different uses um but there will be

2:40:15work involved in deciding how to spend

2:40:17both uh through through different

2:40:18processes and so just looking out for

2:40:20council workflow but um agree that we

2:40:23should move forward with this item and

2:40:25system systemically get it into the

2:40:27council budget as a program. Thanks.

2:40:30>> Great. And uh so I will just say it

2:40:33sounds like we have two two proposals on

2:40:35the table in terms of the actual funding

2:40:37amounts. Um so I'm going to take thumbs

2:40:40on both and know that you should raise

2:40:42your thumb for the one that you actually

2:40:43want. So I will note we'll um do for

2:40:4615,000 and then for 30,000

2:40:49um which I I hear are the two proposals

2:40:51here. And to clarify for both of these

2:40:53um it sounds like we could call this the

2:40:56community needs and sponsorships um

2:40:58fund. Does that I guess I'll I'll first

2:41:01ask does community needs and

2:41:03sponsorships fund sound like the right

2:41:04name. Thumbs on that.

2:41:07Okay, seeing seven thumbs on that. Um

2:41:10and then I'll I'll ask um uh for council

2:41:13members that would like to see 15,000

2:41:15allocated to this line item.

2:41:20I see three thumbs there for that one.

2:41:23And then um uh for council members who'd

2:41:25like to see 30,000 allocated to this.

2:41:29Okay, it looks like 30,000. Um, so we'll

2:41:32move forward.

2:41:34Um, okay. Next item on the

2:41:37>> Yes, go ahead.

2:41:38>> I am following but I just want to make

2:41:39sure. So you um the communitybased

2:41:44innovation fund which has been renamed

2:41:46is now going to reside within the

2:41:47council baseline budget

2:41:49>> and it would be the community needs and

2:41:50sponsorship

2:41:51>> correct line

2:41:52>> and then it's going to be for 30,000 for

2:41:53the bienium

2:41:54>> and the council will need to do the work

2:41:57to identify the process for allocating

2:41:59those funds.

2:42:00>> Okay. And then

2:42:01>> it would be at council discretion.

2:42:02>> Okay. And then you haven't yet approved

2:42:06your budget though. It's kind of like

2:42:07you amended your budget. Now you

2:42:09Thank you. I appreciate you calling that

2:42:11out. Yeah. Thank you. Um so now I'll ask

2:42:13council if with that change um if uh if

2:42:17there is support for moving forward with

2:42:20the budget as presented

2:42:24thumbs. I see seven thumbs. Um Council

2:42:27President Stewart,

2:42:28>> thank you so much, Madam Chair. Just one

2:42:30final comment. Um, this is probably a

2:42:33lot of folks's first time ever seeing

2:42:34the council budget. And actually, this

2:42:36was the first time. Um, it was probably

2:42:38Haley or someone else brilliant from the

2:42:39finance team that really condensed it

2:42:41down to just two columns for us to look

2:42:42at today. Oh, someone else. Okay. Thank

2:42:44you so much. Really appreciate [gasps]

2:42:45that. Um, I just wanted to make the

2:42:47offer that um, you know, council

2:42:49leadership, we are working with Hazel to

2:42:51get regular updates and reporting back

2:42:53on the council budget. We can add this

2:42:55to the FAC agenda at any time. So we do

2:42:58not have to talk about it tonight, but

2:42:59in the future if council would like to

2:43:00see, you know, updates coming through as

2:43:03readonly items or something like that in

2:43:04the council packet, we are happy to

2:43:05accommodate. Thanks.

2:43:08>> Thank you. Um and I'm ask our parks

2:43:10director, Loren Hamilton, to um come

2:43:13join us for the next item.

2:43:17Um, so the next item is uh revisiting

2:43:20the proposal to add $100,000 to the CIP

2:43:23to fund the um to fund TOT lot andor

2:43:27play infrastructure pilots around the

2:43:29city. Um, and I'll ask Director Hamilton

2:43:32to speak to the details on um how you

2:43:35would see this um being executed and if

2:43:38and the feasibility of this and then

2:43:40would also ask then director Cochran

2:43:42just to speak to the potential funding

2:43:43source for this. Um absolutely. So this

2:43:47item um is something that we have talked

2:43:51about here at council in various forms

2:43:53um to increase play infrastructure

2:43:56within in particular our urban cores.

2:43:58This can be really challenging because

2:44:01land is not um always available for

2:44:04large playground infrastructure. or they

2:44:06often take a lot of space um and take

2:44:08passive recreation space and or there

2:44:11simply isn't land available in the areas

2:44:13where um we are seeing the highest

2:44:16densification. So one of the solutions

2:44:18to this is to look towards um smaller

2:44:21infrastructure, smaller play structures

2:44:23um and smaller play elements uh on

2:44:26existing land. So, um, one idea which

2:44:30has not been fully vetted and yet is an

2:44:32idea so that we can all envision it

2:44:33together is on the Redmond Central

2:44:36connector in the downtown core, we have

2:44:38large stretches of land. Uh, and so if

2:44:42you have ever been to larger cities,

2:44:43Chicago is a a good example of the um,

2:44:46Riverwalk. They have linear playgrounds

2:44:49along their trails. Uh, and they are

2:44:51literally as opposed to in a big cluster

2:44:53in a line. uh they're smaller elements

2:44:56often um and very accessible for all

2:44:58ages. And so as we're looking at this

2:45:00fund, we would be looking at elements

2:45:02such as that. Um also elements that

2:45:05serve uh younger kids as well as older

2:45:07kids. Um there's a lot of elements that

2:45:10really are just not that um expensive

2:45:12and some don't even have significant

2:45:13safety features that are needed because

2:45:15they may not be significant climbing

2:45:17features or swinging features. And so um

2:45:20it's very feasible. We don't know

2:45:22locations. We would work with the

2:45:24community to identify locations with the

2:45:26goal of being able to find spaces um

2:45:30ideally in the downtown core and in Over

2:45:32Lake. Over Lake continues to be

2:45:33challenging, but that is a challenge

2:45:35that we are excited to take on to look

2:45:37for opportunities out there to see where

2:45:39we could um implement some of this as

2:45:41well. So, um in the new year, if this

2:45:44was approved, well, in the next bianium,

2:45:46if this is added, um we will work to

2:45:48incorporate it into our work plan. it is

2:45:50not currently in our work plan. So we

2:45:52will need to assess that and find where

2:45:55it can most reasonably sit within the

2:45:57next bianium. Uh and there will be a

2:45:59community engagement element where we

2:46:00will simply need to identify locations

2:46:02that are feasible. Uh and then where

2:46:05those spaces um are and what the

2:46:08elements will be and then we will

2:46:09execute.

2:46:11>> Thank you. Kelly got the money.

2:46:13>> I do. So um for the compending the

2:46:15funding component of this there are some

2:46:17miscellaneous funding sources in the uh

2:46:20park cip that are unallocated. So some

2:46:23interest revenue and some rebate um

2:46:26revenue that came in after projects were

2:46:28done. So we do we do have um enough in

2:46:31order to be able to allocate and a

2:46:33holistic project of 100,000.

2:46:35>> Great. Thank you so much. And I will

2:46:37also note um since not everyone may have

2:46:39followed our first conversation on this

2:46:41that um when we met with our our parks,

2:46:43trails, and recreation commission, they

2:46:45identified this as a big priority,

2:46:47especially that we don't have as many

2:46:49spaces for our our youngest um

2:46:51playground goers uh and uh youngest uh

2:46:54folks in our community. Um so being able

2:46:57to create more of this, especially in

2:46:58Overlake and the downtown core um was a

2:47:00priority and something that they had

2:47:02wanted to engage with the the staff on.

2:47:04So, this might be us, this would give us

2:47:06the opportunity to budget uh a pot of

2:47:09money to support work that then could be

2:47:11supported by our parks, trails, and

2:47:12recreation commission as part of that

2:47:13community engagement as well. Um,

2:47:17council member Parsy,

2:47:19>> I support moving forward with this. I

2:47:21think there is opportunity to um support

2:47:24the families who are coming to Redmond,

2:47:26welcome the um children who are growing

2:47:29up in our city and create opportunities

2:47:32for uh the community to come together,

2:47:34use our public spaces more effectively.

2:47:37Um so um and also serving on the parks,

2:47:40trails and recreation commission, I uh

2:47:42did hear this from the commission

2:47:44directly as well as the community and I

2:47:47would be supportive of moving forward

2:47:49with this. Um, I would love to see if we

2:47:52can um create um clusters rather than

2:47:56small uh separate um units because I

2:47:59think um having clusters will bring the

2:48:02community together and it is a value for

2:48:04me to make sure that we create public

2:48:06spaces where we can connect um and that

2:48:10the element of connecting was a big part

2:48:12of um our parks plan as well as uh

2:48:14Redmond 2050. So I do want to make sure

2:48:17that if we do invest in things um they

2:48:20would be elements in that can bring the

2:48:22community together in one place and have

2:48:25everyone connect. Uh so that would be

2:48:27really important for me if um we can

2:48:29make sure to do that. Um I would just

2:48:32like to clarify. So the goal would not

2:48:33be to have disparit pieces that are

2:48:35spread throughout the trail. It would be

2:48:37to have clusters but they would not take

2:48:39up as much space as a traditional

2:48:40playground. So, for example, we're

2:48:42currently um under design for

2:48:44replacement of the Hartman Park

2:48:46playground. That's what people usually

2:48:48think of when we talk about a playground

2:48:50as a massive playground development.

2:48:52What we're talking about is smaller

2:48:53clustered elements um in more of a

2:48:56linear fashion as opposed to a clustered

2:48:58fashion. Uh but would still bring that

2:49:00connection in community. So, um I

2:49:02appreciate the opportunity to clarify

2:49:04the intent of that comment.

2:49:08>> Council President Stewart,

2:49:09>> this one feels easy. We've been talking

2:49:10about it since January. I approve.

2:49:14>> So, it sounds like uh we're calling for

2:49:16the thumbs here. Um so, council members

2:49:19uh in support. Great. Um so, we'll move

2:49:21forward with this. Thank you so much. Um

2:49:24and I'm really excited about that. So,

2:49:27um uh the next item uh on the agenda is

2:49:31tourism promotion area funding. Um,

2:49:33let's do this and then after this item,

2:49:36um, just we'll want to do a time check

2:49:38with council since we're coming up on

2:49:40three hours for this meeting. Um, but

2:49:42we'll move on this one. Um, and, uh, we

2:49:46will hear from interim director Allen.

2:49:50>> Uh, thank you. Uh, so this item is, as

2:49:52the council is aware, there are two, uh,

2:49:54tourism funding sources and programs

2:49:56currently in Redmond. the um lodging tax

2:49:59um also known as LTAC and then the

2:50:01tourism promotion area TPA dollars. This

2:50:04request um prepares the city to serve as

2:50:07a interim managing organization for the

2:50:09Redmond zone of the TPA while a Redmond

2:50:12destination management organization the

2:50:14DMO uh is created. So funding for this

2:50:17program would come from the TPA

2:50:19assessment. So it's at no additional

2:50:20cost to the city city. Uh the position

2:50:23is needed in order to ensure we are

2:50:25administering the dollars as have been

2:50:27recommended by the Belleview Redmond

2:50:29Tourism Promotion Area Board uh and uh

2:50:32is adopted by um the Belleview City

2:50:34Council and which will happen later this

2:50:36year. Um a study and creation of the

2:50:39destination management organization is

2:50:40also proposed to take over the tourism

2:50:42programming in Redmond in future years

2:50:44and we'll be sure to include the council

2:50:46in those deliberations um um as as that

2:50:49continues.

2:50:52So uh thank you so much. So just to

2:50:55reiterate this would be fully

2:50:56reimbursed. It would just be budgeting

2:50:58for a new position and this would be

2:51:00taking over the uh organizational or the

2:51:02the management responsibilities from

2:51:04what one Redmond is is currently doing.

2:51:06>> Correct. One one Redmond um has asked to

2:51:09focus more of its time on destination

2:51:11sales and specific tourism parts of

2:51:13development um while reducing its time

2:51:15on the administrative functions that

2:51:17this has created. Um this will also

2:51:19create greater efficiencies for us um

2:51:21with the city of Redmond with the

2:51:22lodging tax uh funds and um uh again

2:51:27Belleview would be reimbursing the city

2:51:28and the city will be likely

2:51:30subcontracting with one Redmond for um

2:51:33on some of this ongoing work as well as

2:51:35other contractors but it would all be um

2:51:37reimbursed through the city of

2:51:38Belleview.

2:51:40>> Thank you. Um, and I will just take a

2:51:42moment to uh note on this. Um, having

2:51:44served as Eltac chair this year and

2:51:46having uh watched the intersection

2:51:49between the TPA and the ELTAC that I I I

2:51:51do think that this would be um actually

2:51:53beneficial for um our overall um kind of

2:51:57look at at tourism uh management um to

2:52:00be able to have some of this this

2:52:01alignment um as well and and having that

2:52:04bringing this within the city if the

2:52:06staff thinks that this this capacity

2:52:08would cover it. Um

2:52:11uh comments questions um council member

2:52:14Sony

2:52:16>> so for the FTE is this going to be from

2:52:20the general funds or from this like you

2:52:22know what portion will be going towards

2:52:23the operational cost? Um, I might look

2:52:25to finance, but our understanding is

2:52:27that we would the FTE, this is just

2:52:29council would be approving the FTE

2:52:30authority. The funding would be coming

2:52:32from the TPA assessment. Um, and we

2:52:35would be re um uh asking for

2:52:38reimbursement from Belleview for the

2:52:39work that this FTE is doing. And so

2:52:41their work would be solely focused on

2:52:43working on the um TPA functions. There

2:52:46should be no general fund impact. It

2:52:49should be completely revenue neutral.

2:52:51Should be

2:52:56Council President Stewart.

2:52:57>> Yeah, thank you. I just um maybe I'm

2:53:00missing something in my notes, but I

2:53:01just don't remember us discussing this

2:53:03one before. So, um couple of question.

2:53:05We haven't discussed it before.

2:53:06>> We have not discussed this before.

2:53:08>> Okay. I'm not crazy. Awesome. Um one of

2:53:10my questions then on the staff member

2:53:14council would approve the staffing

2:53:16allocation, but the reimbursement will

2:53:18come from the city of Bellev. Is the

2:53:20work being done in the city of Belleview

2:53:22or by someone here at the city of

2:53:24Redmond?

2:53:24>> So, it would be done by folks at the

2:53:27city of Redmond.

2:53:28>> Okay.

2:53:29>> Yep.

2:53:29>> And is that staff member currently

2:53:31someone we have on staff or it be a new

2:53:33position?

2:53:34>> It'd be a new position. So, we would be

2:53:36hiring for that position. And what this

2:53:38would look like is similar to how we

2:53:40have a staff position that's dedicated

2:53:41to working with the ELTAC committee and

2:53:44providing reports and the funding and

2:53:46tracking and marketing and all of the um

2:53:48work that goes there. this position

2:53:49would be dedicated to ensuring that they

2:53:51were providing reports to the BRTPA

2:53:55um tracking the invoices with the

2:53:56subcontractors and all of that work

2:53:58scope.

2:53:59>> Yeah. And and to be clear, one Redmond

2:54:02may end up being one of the

2:54:03subcontractors to deliver the the

2:54:05services of doing things like tourism

2:54:07promotion. So,

2:54:08>> um, uh, Mayor Bernie,

2:54:10>> and just the money comes from Belleview

2:54:12because in organizing this TPA,

2:54:16um, that was the agreement we made is

2:54:19that Belleview would manage it. Um, and

2:54:22that that is why it says it comes from

2:54:23Bellev, but it actually comes from our

2:54:26tax dollars from the city of Redmond

2:54:28>> from the

2:54:29>> the interlocal agreement.

2:54:30>> Yes. Yes. Yeah, to be clear, um all all

2:54:33of these um the revenues are collected

2:54:36and all the revenues that are collected

2:54:38in Redmond go to Redmond and are

2:54:40directed by the Redmond members of the

2:54:42TPA board. Um and so essentially we

2:54:46would be administering that to the to

2:54:48where they allocated it. Um council

2:54:50member Parsy,

2:54:52>> I have a question. So um when we hire a

2:54:55candidate um there is cost associated

2:54:58with hiring often ten of tens of

2:55:01thousands of dollars associated with um

2:55:04going out for looking for candidates

2:55:06hours to interview and um more. Um I'm

2:55:10curious if the cost of hiring is also

2:55:13included in the reimbursement or not.

2:55:17>> We could include that as an

2:55:19administrative cost and would work with

2:55:21finance on that. Council

2:55:24Vice President Nova Camina.

2:55:26>> Thank you, Chair. Um, just a clarifying

2:55:29question since we we haven't seen this

2:55:31before and I'm following along best that

2:55:35I can right now. Um, so this is as a

2:55:39result of

2:55:42one Redmond wanting to focus

2:55:45on money or visitors coming in

2:55:49destination.

2:55:51However, they might be one of the

2:55:53contractors for this.

2:55:55>> Yes. So, the um Oh, go ahead, Mayor.

2:56:00[laughter]

2:56:01So currently when Redmond is managing

2:56:02this and what we have found out in an

2:56:04evaluating is there's a lot of overhead

2:56:06administrative work that goes along with

2:56:08this to ensure that they're being it's

2:56:10being compliant and um one Redmond is is

2:56:13working on just focusing on the one

2:56:15Redmond things and then we found that

2:56:16the TPA is really a lot of work. Um and

2:56:19so we've been in discussion with them

2:56:21about what would be the best way to

2:56:22manage these dollars to ensure that they

2:56:24go back to tourism in the city of

2:56:26Redmond. And um and uh we believe that

2:56:31the best way to be to hire someone in

2:56:33the city of Redmond to manage the TPA to

2:56:35be able to do all of those

2:56:36administrative things that are required

2:56:37for this and and the other work as well.

2:56:40But it's it I think it will be it will

2:56:42go to a better product in the end for

2:56:44the TPA itself and for our hotels to get

2:56:46back what they want to get back out of

2:56:48it. Does that kind of answer am I I feel

2:56:51like you heard looking at me so I must

2:56:52be not quite I'm glad that you can read

2:56:54my face.

2:56:55>> Yeah. [laughter]

2:56:56Um kind of because I I I follow along up

2:57:01to the point of then what would be the

2:57:03work that we would be contracting back

2:57:05to them?

2:57:06>> Oh well they could apply for different

2:57:08things. we're going to define that scope

2:57:09with them. So, that's kind of the next

2:57:10step. And one of the reasons why this is

2:57:12the first time council is hearing that

2:57:14this is because we reached this

2:57:16agreement uh just this week. And we also

2:57:18still need to talk to the hotel years

2:57:20about this. So, what like the like I

2:57:22said, we're going to be coming back to

2:57:24the council to kind of report overall on

2:57:26the work, but we wanted to ensure that

2:57:28we could start um the administrative

2:57:31duties in the new year because one

2:57:32Redmond's contract with um Belleview as

2:57:35the current managing organization will

2:57:36end December 31st. And so, we will need

2:57:39to start negotiating with the city of

2:57:41Belleview for the contract um in uh this

2:57:44upcoming month. And so we will be sure

2:57:46to come back to the council with more

2:57:47information both on that contract as

2:57:50well as any subcontracts that we would

2:57:52be doing.

2:57:53>> And to clarify some of the things might

2:57:55be for example there's like a you know a

2:57:58marketing campaign to try to get they

2:58:00they had a focus on getting people who

2:58:02love dogs to come to Redmond. Um and so

2:58:05putting that out there creating dog

2:58:06friendly events so that more people want

2:58:08to come here those types of things.

2:58:10Absolutely. They might do something like

2:58:11that.

2:58:11>> Social social media handle Redmond

2:58:14Unleashed. Yeah, it lots of fun. Very

2:58:16creative and I appreciate that. Um,

2:58:19chair, is it possible for us to request

2:58:22and and I know we're let's see what

2:58:24number are we at? Nine. Um, we've got

2:58:28some ways to go, but if there is

2:58:30anything that we haven't seen yet just

2:58:32to be um it be noted at at the beginning

2:58:37as as it's being presented, you know, we

2:58:39we haven't taken a look at this. This is

2:58:41new. Um, so that it's uh you three hours

2:58:44in and I'm I'm speaking for myself

2:58:47personally. I I don't know if if our

2:58:49colleagues are feeling the same. Um, but

2:58:51it's it's difficult for me at this hour

2:58:54to be thinking, okay, did we cover this

2:58:56before? Am am I [laughter]

2:58:59am I okay?

2:59:01>> I appreciate that. And I think this is

2:59:03the only item that is in uh that's

2:59:05remaining in here or that actually was

2:59:07>> okay.

2:59:08>> Was added other than that we added back

2:59:10the the MOC item unless there's anything

2:59:12else that that you wanted to flag. Um

2:59:15>> I don't know if the tenant protections

2:59:16one is new.

2:59:17>> That one is not new.

2:59:18>> Okay, that's not new. Um and then I I if

2:59:21I might um and um ideally we this not

2:59:24would not have been a new item. We've

2:59:26been kind of working negotiating to see

2:59:28if we've been able to do this. And what

2:59:29we really want to do is is just get the

2:59:32approval for the allocation for it and

2:59:34then more to come.

2:59:35>> Absolutely. And in a standalone, I I

2:59:38completely understand that it's um this

2:59:40council has just had uh several

2:59:42unexpected things that we've been

2:59:43processing. That's the only reason why.

2:59:46>> Thank you. And I think this is this is

2:59:47the only item on the list that that was

2:59:49added. it I think it was mentioned when

2:59:51we had talked about um last week when we

2:59:54talked about um the TPA. I I do believe

2:59:57it was mentioned but I don't think that

2:59:59we noted it as something that was coming

3:00:01back for deliberations. I will also note

3:00:04that I I think part of the reason this

3:00:06has emerged in recent times is because

3:00:09of very recent decisions by also the one

3:00:11Redmond board um to say we're not going

3:00:15to do this function anymore. Um and

3:00:17Mayor Bernie and I were a part of that.

3:00:19I had I had reported that back at the

3:00:21council meeting. Um but we didn't know

3:00:23kind of what the and and I think I'd

3:00:25mentioned there was discussion about the

3:00:26city taking this on, but we didn't know

3:00:28what that was going to look like um

3:00:30until we now saw this come up. But I

3:00:32appreciate it and um if there's anything

3:00:34else in the in the budget process that's

3:00:36going to be new, I'll flag that. But

3:00:37hopefully we can avoid that because I

3:00:39think we just want to close out the

3:00:40items that are on here. Thank you.

3:00:43Um Council Member Pria.

3:00:46>> Thank you. And I'm going to be honest, I

3:00:48do not understand two aspects of this

3:00:50item. So number one is uh the actual

3:00:54dollars. Um so these are Redmond

3:00:57taxpayer dollars that because of our ILA

3:01:00um the city of Belleview is reimbursing

3:01:03us. Um up to an estimated $985,000.

3:01:07Where did this number $985,000

3:01:10come from? Is that what the Redmond tax

3:01:14payers have paid? And if so, if they

3:01:17have paid that much, we probably want to

3:01:19utilize all of it and make sure we're

3:01:21utilizing all of it. So that that's my

3:01:22first question. And then my second

3:01:24question is what are the actual options

3:01:27that are being presented to us now? Uh

3:01:29because I see, you know, we're given the

3:01:31option to hire out an FTE uh to go and

3:01:35and help out with tourism in Redmond.

3:01:38But if we just have $985,000 to go help

3:01:41out with tourism in Redmond, I'm sure

3:01:43there are other options that we could be

3:01:45looking into. Um, so first of all, like

3:01:47what is this number?

3:01:49These are all Redmond taxpayer dollars.

3:01:51And what what options do we have here?

3:01:53>> And coun council members, I'm just

3:01:55actually I'm just going to propose that

3:01:56potentially we do a goound because it

3:01:58seems like there's several more

3:01:59questions on this. we could gather them

3:02:01and we could bring this back um for the

3:02:03the next deliberations with some

3:02:05additional answers to questions that

3:02:08that council members have on this item

3:02:09since it is our our first touch on it.

3:02:11>> I did I did I did want to make very

3:02:13clear it it's a $2.50 tax that the

3:02:16hotels decided to put on their own

3:02:18hotels. So it's not taxpayers generally.

3:02:21It's the hotels chose to add an

3:02:24additional two $2.50 anytime someone

3:02:27books a room. And so that is why this

3:02:30funding mechanism is a little bit

3:02:31separate. Um

3:02:32>> and this the hotels in Redmond,

3:02:34>> correct? And so we can um provide you a

3:02:37draft. There's a lot more context from

3:02:39when the city signed [clears throat] the

3:02:41um ILA, the hotels petitioned the city

3:02:43of Belleview and the city of Redmond to

3:02:45create this um form of funding. And so

3:02:48we can give you more context on that,

3:02:50but I just wanted to ensure that to

3:02:52correct the record that it's not a

3:02:53general tax. It's a um $2.50 50 cents

3:02:56the hotels decided to put on themselves.

3:02:58>> And I do think that because a lot of the

3:03:01council members weren't here when the

3:03:02council uh established that um maybe

3:03:05some of that information would be

3:03:07helpful for council. So if we could get

3:03:09before the final deliberations a memo or

3:03:12some I think some additional information

3:03:15um with some links to information about

3:03:17the TPA as well as um an outlining about

3:03:21um the proposed position. I think that

3:03:23would be helpful for the council and we

3:03:24can hopefully we can come back in a a

3:03:27shorter manner but I will go around and

3:03:28just ask everyone if you can ask your

3:03:30questions and then um deputy interim

3:03:33director Allen can take those down and

3:03:35we can come back. Um council parsy

3:03:39>> I think I would uh really appreciate a

3:03:41more detailed write up if that can be

3:03:43sent in an email with kind of clear uh

3:03:46details about the financials uh the

3:03:48purpose the alternatives that um can be

3:03:51considered. Um, I think just some more

3:03:52detailed information would be really

3:03:54helpful.

3:03:55>> Thank you, Council Member Fors.

3:03:58>> I was just going to add for our newer

3:03:59colleagues that to take advantage of

3:04:01this um tourism promotion area funding,

3:04:04we had to go into an interlocal

3:04:06agreement with Bellev. So, it's tax

3:04:08dollars from the hotel in Bellev, tax

3:04:10dollars from the hotel in Redmond. And

3:04:12we knew we would have this kind of

3:04:13struggle of figuring out how to collect

3:04:15this funding, how to manage and

3:04:16distribute this funding. So this is our

3:04:19second year of it. Third year of it,

3:04:21maybe third year.

3:04:23>> Third year. And so we're still going

3:04:24through those growing pains. So this to

3:04:26me is very natural part of this process

3:04:29and I support moving forward.

3:04:32>> Thank you. Um Council President Stewart,

3:04:34>> thank you. Just um for the additional

3:04:36follow-up information, these aren't

3:04:38necessarily my questions alone, but uh

3:04:40questions that I think would deliver

3:04:42good context. What's a TPA? When did we

3:04:44enter the ILA? doesn't need to be

3:04:46changed as a result of this. And I do

3:04:48know that there have been bits of

3:04:49information that have been shared

3:04:50through committee reports over the last

3:04:52few months as related to the ELTAC. So

3:04:55when was the when did the ELTAC um get

3:04:58briefed on these items and what feedback

3:04:59did the ELTAC have in order to help

3:05:01inform the decision and what was the

3:05:04decision um by the one Redmond board uh

3:05:06that the city has two seats on? Thanks.

3:05:10>> Thank you. Um so we'll move on from this

3:05:13item. We're going to leave this item

3:05:15open um and we will come back to it. Um

3:05:18thank you in advance interim director

3:05:20Allen for for bringing that back and I'm

3:05:22happy to also follow up with you um on

3:05:25this item as well.

3:05:26>> Thank you. And I recognize that this is

3:05:28a new topic for council and we knew that

3:05:30you would have a lot of questions and

3:05:31we're dedicated to coming back and

3:05:33helping to answer them and we appreciate

3:05:35you working with us to try and meet a

3:05:37lot of various timelines that are

3:05:38happening right now.

3:05:40>> Great. Thank you. Um so council uh per

3:05:44our ground rules we have uh we had had

3:05:47put in our our uh rules that we had

3:05:49hoped to keep our meetings between two

3:05:51to three hours. We are at 3 hours right

3:05:53now. Um and we have an additional um

3:05:58remaining 10 items to discuss. Um and so

3:06:04uh we could spend some more we could if

3:06:06we the council wanted we could extend

3:06:09another hour to be able to get through

3:06:11some more of these items um which might

3:06:13shorten our meeting next Thursday. Um uh

3:06:17we could also um wrap up shortly. I

3:06:21would propose if we are going to move

3:06:23towards wrapping up shortly and then

3:06:25doing the rest of the items next time um

3:06:28that we do cover the tenant protections

3:06:30item just because there's some feedback

3:06:32that that we wanted uh as the

3:06:34subcommittee to be able to bring back

3:06:36for the next deliberation

3:06:38um uh from the council tonight. Um, so I

3:06:42will just ask council members whether um

3:06:45whether there's interest in going for

3:06:47another hour to cover um a variety more

3:06:50items. Um, and I'll take thumbs on that

3:06:53and then uh knowing that the other

3:06:55option I will give will be um to cover

3:06:58just tenant protections and then come

3:06:59back to the rest of the items in the

3:07:01next deliberation.

3:07:03Uh so let's start with um going for one

3:07:06more hour.

3:07:11All right. Um, so, uh, and are council

3:07:14members, uh, in support of, uh, doing

3:07:17the tenant protections item and then,

3:07:20um, and then wrapping it up. Okay,

3:07:23great. Um, so we will move to that one.

3:07:27Um, and I will turn it over to um our um

3:07:31council uh subcommittee chair um council

3:07:34procria um for the tenant protection

3:07:36subcommittee to share um the

3:07:38recommendations. Um and we'll note we

3:07:42sent this out to the council earlier

3:07:44today. Apologies we didn't get it out

3:07:46sooner. We were trying to gather

3:07:47community feedback um as well as get

3:07:50some additional staff input um to bring

3:07:52the most whole recommendation to you.

3:07:55Um, but we'll turn over to Councilman

3:07:56Park. It looks like Council Park, I may

3:07:58share screen here.

3:07:59>> Yes, thank you. I'm actually just

3:08:00joining the the team's meeting right now

3:08:03to share my screen.

3:08:14Okay, perfect. Um, I have it up on my

3:08:16screen and I'm hope folks on on council

3:08:19are able to pull it up. Um, Council

3:08:21Member Critzer had sent this out in an

3:08:23email earlier today. Uh, and we

3:08:25apologize again for the um, the late

3:08:27notice on this, but we're very excited

3:08:29to hear your feedback. Um, so

3:08:32essentially there are two items to this

3:08:35presentation today. Uh, number one is

3:08:38going to be uh, the new FTE proposal

3:08:41with regards to um, our subcommittee.

3:08:45Um, what we've been working on, so the

3:08:47scope of work, the classification, and

3:08:49the budget. Uh and then the second item

3:08:52uh is uh going to be additional possible

3:08:55funding for um ELAP and renters

3:08:59assistance on the east side. So our

3:09:02proposal is establishing a new FTE

3:09:05position in this budget that's focused

3:09:07on developing and implementing um tenant

3:09:09protections and housing stability

3:09:11policies. um coordinating access to

3:09:14renter information and advocacy advocacy

3:09:16assistance and you know evaluating

3:09:19whether our proposed ordinances and our

3:09:21proposed protections are actually

3:09:23effective. Uh this position is going to

3:09:25be housed in the planning and community

3:09:27uh development human services division.

3:09:30Uh and they're going to be tasked with

3:09:32um actually conducting research um so

3:09:34studying developing and developing and

3:09:37recommending um datadriven tenant

3:09:39protection and stability policies. um

3:09:42actually going ahead and drafting the

3:09:44code amendments um with regards to these

3:09:47policies. Um conducting stakeholdering

3:09:49as well. Um so convening and

3:09:52facilitating tenants, advocates,

3:09:55landlords um and making sure that all

3:09:58voices are heard, particularly um

3:10:01renters and folks from lower income

3:10:03households. um trying to make sure we're

3:10:06including as well residents with um

3:10:08limited English proficiency and

3:10:10residents who have experienced um

3:10:12displacement or legal challenges uh in

3:10:14this process. Uh building relationships

3:10:17with our local landlords um to ensure

3:10:19that um they are supporting possible

3:10:23policy implementation um and then

3:10:26providing technical assistance to

3:10:29residents in Redmond. So, this is not

3:10:31going to be a position that provides

3:10:33legal advice, but would connect and

3:10:35support um renters um in getting

3:10:38connections to to referring them to ELAP

3:10:40and referring them to other departments

3:10:43um in the city of Redmond with regards

3:10:44to code compliance. And then the final

3:10:46item they're going to be uh tasked with

3:10:48is also strengthening our communication

3:10:50behind um landlord uh tenant tenant

3:10:53protections in Redmond. Um so for

3:10:55instance updating our website um

3:10:57creating a new one-pager uh drafting a

3:11:00possible renters's rights handbook. Um

3:11:02and then we are we want to make sure

3:11:04that this position uh is accountable to

3:11:07council. U so this position would be

3:11:10tasked with providing quarterly updates

3:11:11to council on policy development

3:11:14particularly policy development uh not

3:11:17just with regards to the city of Redmond

3:11:18but also the state and the federal

3:11:20government. um you know there's going to

3:11:22be a lot moving likely in the state next

3:11:24year in the state legislative session.

3:11:26So we want this person to be uh apprised

3:11:28of what's going on there if we're able

3:11:31to get them hired. Um that brings me to

3:11:33the next point is that we want hiring to

3:11:35begin in Q1 of 2027. Uh we want this FTE

3:11:39to begin employment uh by no later than

3:11:41June of 2027.

3:11:43Um,

3:11:46so yeah,

3:11:48that's uh this section here is kind of

3:11:53uh what they would do with regards to

3:11:57coordination with city staff. Um, we did

3:12:00hear some feedback from tenant uh from

3:12:03advocates that this section three here

3:12:06in the document um was kind of too wide

3:12:11of a scope of work uh to the point where

3:12:14these tasks may actually interfere with

3:12:17u this FTE's ability to do what were

3:12:20regarded as the more important tasks of

3:12:22research and development of housing

3:12:24policy. Um so wanted to make sure that

3:12:26that feedback was brought into this

3:12:28meeting. Um we also wanted to talk about

3:12:30the classification options. Uh so this

3:12:33position right now in the budget uh is

3:12:36classified as a program administrator.

3:12:38Uh but with consultation with staff um

3:12:42we we looked at options uh of

3:12:45classifying this as a a senior planner

3:12:48or a principal planner. Um I think both

3:12:51the subcommittee and staff have come to

3:12:53the conclusion that we would like this

3:12:55position to be a principal planner level

3:12:58uh just so that they have you know

3:13:00experience working with and developing

3:13:02code um in a in a more rigorous fashion.

3:13:05Um so this would be a $40,000 budget

3:13:08increase compared to what is pres what

3:13:10was already presented in the banual

3:13:12budget.

3:13:13Um

3:13:15yeah, so that's kind of the mechanics

3:13:17behind the position. And then we have an

3:13:19additional budget enhancement proposal

3:13:21uh for legal services uh that was not

3:13:24included in the budget. Um so we we

3:13:27talked with ELAP about whether or not

3:13:30the actual tenant assistance uh if if

3:13:33they could open a program to actually

3:13:35work out and help with tenant

3:13:37assistance. Um and what they got back

3:13:40with uh for us is that you know they

3:13:42generally want to stay within the zero

3:13:45to 400% of the federal p uh poverty

3:13:48limit which is around 0 to 80% of AMI in

3:13:51Redmond. Um so that would be like the

3:13:53scope of any kind of program um that

3:13:57they would want to work with us on. Uh

3:14:00but they did say we could consider

3:14:01funding um half an FTE. So $75,000 per

3:14:05year, $150,000 for the bienium um in

3:14:09conjunction with another city that would

3:14:11also fund half an FTE um to provide this

3:14:14scope of work um particularly for

3:14:17addressing these policy needs uh

3:14:19throughout the east side. Um so yeah, I

3:14:22think tasks ahead for council or

3:14:25anything in this document. Um any we we

3:14:28want to hear your feedback on the scope

3:14:31of work classification and budget asks

3:14:33in this document with regards to the

3:14:35FTE. Uh and then as well as your

3:14:38feedback on whether or not uh you want

3:14:41this additional budget enhancement for

3:14:43for ELAP. Um, so please my my fellow

3:14:46subcommittee members feel free to to

3:14:48chime in or or staff to to chime in. Uh,

3:14:52but yeah, we will open up to questions

3:14:54now.

3:14:54>> I'll comment briefly and then I'll also

3:14:56call on council forth if if she has

3:14:58anything and then I'll also ask uh uh

3:15:01interim director Allen to share a little

3:15:03more context on the ELAP um piece as

3:15:05well for the council just in terms of um

3:15:09what would be helpful as in particular

3:15:11tonight from the council. one as as um

3:15:14council pria said thoughts on whether

3:15:17this scope um seems correct. Um and then

3:15:20I think the second piece as we called

3:15:22out here what we're we would propose to

3:15:24do is if the council um does want to

3:15:27move forward once we get kind of the

3:15:29clarification on this we would create a

3:15:31budget proviso um related to this

3:15:34position um to ensure uh that would

3:15:37require the inclusion of of the scope in

3:15:40the job description. um also that the

3:15:42hiring begin in Q1 of 2027 and that the

3:15:46um FTE begin employment by June of 2027

3:15:49just to to ensure since we we've heard a

3:15:51lot of um concern from community and I

3:15:54think from the council about how do we

3:15:56ensure that this work moves forward. So,

3:15:59but we would want to get um uh council's

3:16:02feedback on what should be in the scope

3:16:04of that proviso and we can bring back

3:16:06for the next deliberations an actual

3:16:08draft of that proviso for the council to

3:16:10review um should the council want to

3:16:12move forward on this. Um and then I

3:16:14would just note uh that section three I

3:16:17think there was a little confusion

3:16:18around this. I think what it was really

3:16:20trying to say is that we've gotten um is

3:16:24that there there is buyin from these

3:16:27other departments that say if this

3:16:29position got a community member who came

3:16:32to them saying there's a code

3:16:33enforcement issue, they could work with

3:16:34code enforcement. If they had someone

3:16:36who was looking to navigate housing

3:16:39services, they could work with the

3:16:40homeless outreach team if they or if

3:16:43they were having human services needs,

3:16:44they could get connected. And similarly

3:16:46on communications they may that they

3:16:48could draft um something like a

3:16:50renters's rights handbook and

3:16:51communications would work with them to

3:16:53design it. Um so so that's kind of part

3:16:56of the vision is that they would work

3:16:57with this position. Um so it's more just

3:16:59kind of that that supportive

3:17:00infrastructure.

3:17:02Um Council Member Foresight and then oh

3:17:04sorry Council Prio would you like to

3:17:05follow up?

3:17:06>> I I did have one other item um of

3:17:08feedback from the advocates I wanted to

3:17:11mention but um Council Member Foresight

3:17:13if you want to jump in. Um I also wanted

3:17:15to mention that with regards to the the

3:17:18budget proviso um there were discussions

3:17:20around you know actually adding in

3:17:24deadlines for some of these items right

3:17:26so with regards to for instance um

3:17:28creating a one pager or updating the

3:17:30website um adding in timelines um for

3:17:34these tasks but we um in this

3:17:37conversation and as a subcommittee as

3:17:38well we want to balance that with making

3:17:41sure that as council member forth often

3:17:43says this position is set up for

3:17:45success. Um so um that was I I just

3:17:48wanted to throw that out there as

3:17:49another um discussion that we had um

3:17:52with with advocates.

3:17:54>> Council member Fors

3:17:56>> I for for the sake of time I will say I

3:17:58think you both summed it up nicely.

3:18:00>> Great. And so we'll just go over to um

3:18:02interim director Allen if you can just

3:18:04clarify um what we've heard from ELAP um

3:18:07and the recommendation should council

3:18:10want to add an enhancement around legal

3:18:12services.

3:18:13>> Yep. So um uh thanks for the question.

3:18:15So based on the council feedback we

3:18:17received previously. We reached out to

3:18:19ELAP and I would say it's still a

3:18:21dynamic and ongoing uh conversation

3:18:23we've had two meetings. uh met with

3:18:24Jerry yesterday and um found that they

3:18:28there's kind of two options I would

3:18:29maybe recommend to the council if what

3:18:31if that's something you would like to

3:18:32add is either um funding that um.5 uh

3:18:36FTE which they would only be able to

3:18:38serve people at the 40% poverty income

3:18:41level which is about 80% of the area

3:18:43medium income for King County to give

3:18:45you um the estimate and then um uh that

3:18:49would be 75,000

3:18:51uh per year so 150,000 Um or um the

3:18:55other um item is that um ELAP had

3:18:59requested in the human services fund uh

3:19:01to go up to 80 uh,000 and we recommended

3:19:05funding them at 20 because there are a

3:19:07lot of other needs in the human services

3:19:09fund and so council could um choose to

3:19:11do that instead. And what we heard from

3:19:13ELAP is that if you chose to fund the

3:19:160.5 FTE, then they would be putting um

3:19:19uh their full they would be able to have

3:19:21more full focus on supporting the number

3:19:23of Redmond residents um with that

3:19:26additional capacity versus um the other

3:19:29funding that we do is pulled funding

3:19:30with other cities. And so we have kind

3:19:32of caps that they uh are reached at. So

3:19:36hopefully that adds a little bit more

3:19:37context. Um I'm happy to report back

3:19:40more. Thank you, Council Member

3:19:42Foresight.

3:19:43>> I know it was two meetings in a very

3:19:45short amount of time. Did we have any

3:19:47opportunity to reach out to Kirkland or

3:19:49Belleview to see if they would be

3:19:50interested in funding that other half

3:19:52position?

3:19:52>> Um, we did not reach out to them because

3:19:54we asked ELAP if they would like us to

3:19:56do that yet and they said they'd prefer

3:19:58to kind of understand where Redmond's

3:20:00trying to go first and then um in um

3:20:03future years we might be able to reach

3:20:04out to them. The other thing I'd say too

3:20:06is that I think with this position,

3:20:08something we were talking to ELOP about

3:20:10was um because before we were trying to

3:20:13look at expanding beyond just the 80%

3:20:15too and maybe what that need would be

3:20:17and um learning a lot about the way

3:20:19legal services are provided in the last

3:20:22week and there's kind of a different

3:20:23program that uses uh private attorneys

3:20:26to provide supports for people who are

3:20:28at moderate incomes. And so there I

3:20:30think um what I was clear with is

3:20:32there's more deliberation that needs to

3:20:33happen there. And so we'd prefer to work

3:20:35with cities in this um um upcoming

3:20:39budget cycle and maybe propose that as

3:20:40something as we're able to learn a

3:20:42little bit more about how that might

3:20:43work.

3:20:46>> Council President Stewart.

3:20:48>> Well, thank you so much to the

3:20:49subcommittee and the staff um and

3:20:51everyone for working on this. Really

3:20:53easy to follow um and read. So, I'll

3:20:55just share my my uh feedback. I think

3:20:58the um number one piece of feedback I

3:21:00have on the scope of the position um is

3:21:05boy golly that person's going to be

3:21:07really busy. So um [laughter]

3:21:09having um uh it it will be really

3:21:13important for the supervisor of this

3:21:15position um and the person in the

3:21:18position to have really uh clear

3:21:20understanding of which deliverables

3:21:22could be achieved on what timeline. Um,

3:21:25and it's super exciting to have

3:21:26dedicated resources, but um, uh, it did

3:21:30strike me that, um, one of the pieces of

3:21:32community feedback was, um, that a piece

3:21:35of this was, uh, a bit broad in the

3:21:37sense, um, uh, that that struck a chord

3:21:40with me, someone who, um, has experience

3:21:43supervising uh, teams of teams of folks.

3:21:45So overall, uh, I think the direction is

3:21:48great. Um I think at the moment this

3:21:50does call for a proviso and so I support

3:21:53seeing a draft come back for that. I

3:21:55additionally um want to remind the

3:21:56council that we are um well that we have

3:21:59a brilliant colleague uh council member

3:22:01Sony. Um, Council Member Sony, uh,

3:22:03earlier this week, she and I had our

3:22:05monthly check-in, and one of the things

3:22:06that she had actually asked, um, me to

3:22:09represent, um, when we meet to, uh, with

3:22:12the mayor tomorrow to talk about

3:22:13planning for next year is, um,

3:22:15potentially adding a slide to our

3:22:17quarterly fiscal updates, financial

3:22:20updates. Um, that just helps us track

3:22:22better um, of all the new positions

3:22:25funded in this budget, what's hired,

3:22:27what's not, what's the status. Um, so

3:22:29that was an idea I was planning to bring

3:22:30tomorrow. We also could back that up

3:22:32with fiscal policy if we needed and I

3:22:34really just think at the moment this

3:22:36proviso is signaling that this is a

3:22:38council that uh values a culture of

3:22:41transparency. So I support that. Um

3:22:44regarding the classification I support

3:22:46whatever the supervisor of this position

3:22:49needs this position to be. Um, and if

3:22:51that is the recommended principal

3:22:53planner, as long as we can keep that,

3:22:55it's currently presented in the

3:22:56preliminary budget as an ongoing

3:22:58position, and it would be my priority

3:22:59that we could keep that. Regarding the

3:23:02ELAP um uh conversation, I think this is

3:23:05an idea that's still cooking. Um, and I

3:23:08really feel for that um, executive

3:23:10director of a nonprofit uh, organization

3:23:13who um, would love the opportunity to

3:23:16continue a conversation about expanded

3:23:18services um, and also would need some

3:23:21additional commitments. So, in my mind,

3:23:22this makes a lot of sense to have our

3:23:26new uh, staff member, our new lead on

3:23:28this area continue to keep this

3:23:30conversation alive. Um and we consider

3:23:33uh a distribution from the community

3:23:35stability fund that we're pulling

3:23:36forward um in the current bienium into

3:23:39uh the next bianium to potentially

3:23:42partner with other cities uh to pull

3:23:44this off. But I think there's still a

3:23:45little bit of work to do here. Thanks.

3:23:48>> Thank you. And thank you for that

3:23:49reminder because that about the

3:23:51alignment with the community stability

3:23:52fund if we're going to be rolling it

3:23:54over that that might be something where

3:23:56we don't have to make this decision now

3:23:58because we actually would already have

3:23:59it in the budget. Um I I'll I will just

3:24:02ask interim director Allen if you can

3:24:04speak to uh your recommendation based on

3:24:07the scope that that the council

3:24:10subcommittee has drafted. Um as who

3:24:13would be the current supervisor um

3:24:15ultimately I I guess you wouldn't be the

3:24:17maybe the direct supervisor but the top

3:24:19supervisor at the moment.

3:24:20>> Yeah, absolutely. And um I think I would

3:24:22recommend based on what I've seen that a

3:24:24principal planner and given the amount

3:24:26of uh uh focus that I'm hearing the

3:24:30council and community has with this

3:24:32position, I would want someone to come

3:24:33in who has fantastic experience and is

3:24:36going to be compensated well and work

3:24:38well with community partners and has

3:24:39that. And [clears throat] so that that

3:24:40would be my recommendation. Um the other

3:24:43thing I I would like to maybe make a

3:24:45request of the council is um I noted in

3:24:47this document that you shared there's um

3:24:50quite a bit in the budget proviso. Um

3:24:52and I my request would be um that I

3:24:55think uh our department has shown very

3:24:57good um follow through with what council

3:25:00has requested and coming back and having

3:25:02good community engagement and um that we

3:25:05will continue to do those things. And

3:25:07so, but and um I understand that the

3:25:09council wants to ensure that you do see

3:25:11the work that comes through this

3:25:12position. And so, I would just ask um

3:25:15that you uh uh limit maybe the proviso

3:25:19to um it being around the hiring date. I

3:25:22think I have some concerns around

3:25:24absolutely en encourage council

3:25:26leadership to be engaged and we know

3:25:29sometimes it's difficult to get on

3:25:30schedules and so if that's in the

3:25:31proviso that it has to happen it might

3:25:33also create conflict for us to get the

3:25:36position on boarded on time and so I

3:25:38think I'm just a little worried with um

3:25:40including too many specifics in the

3:25:42proviso and we'll actually uh absolutely

3:25:45will commit to working with the

3:25:46subcommittee or council and coming and

3:25:48providing those um but just don't want

3:25:50you all to vote on something that then

3:25:52you might have to come back and vote and

3:25:53change in order to get to the same goals

3:25:55that you're looking for.

3:25:57>> Council President Stewart.

3:25:58>> Yeah. Uh Director Allen reminded me of

3:26:00one more comment and then you won't have

3:26:01to call on me again. Um I actually

3:26:03really thank you for mentioning the the

3:26:05subcommittee. I did note in the first

3:26:07bullet point. Um there's additional

3:26:09reference to the subcommittee continuing

3:26:12to be the primary point of contact um

3:26:16for the new position in in terms of

3:26:18leazing with the council. And I just

3:26:20wanted to flag for the council this was

3:26:22work that would happen next year, but

3:26:24that would require a new um charter of

3:26:26the subcommittee. The subcommittee is

3:26:28temporary and as evidenced by this body

3:26:30of work has fulfilled its charter and so

3:26:32that would be a conversation we would

3:26:33just need to have in the new year.

3:26:35Thanks.

3:26:36>> Thank you, Council Member Sony.

3:26:40>> First of all, thanks to staff and the

3:26:42subcommittee for bringing up this thing.

3:26:44This was much much required. Uh we

3:26:46definitely have to work on the tenant

3:26:48protection. Um specifically for the for

3:26:52um the new FTE I would actually like you

3:26:55know as director Alan me mentioned u we

3:26:58should hire a senior person a little

3:27:00person who has an inexperience because

3:27:02this is the first time we are going to

3:27:03set up the foundation and a person

3:27:06having the right set of an inexperience

3:27:08is is really needed and I would also

3:27:12highly emphasize like when a person is

3:27:13coming on board should do a study a

3:27:16feasibility study or a costbenefit study

3:27:19to understand like you know how is it

3:27:20being operated today what are the gaps

3:27:23and come up with some of the suggestions

3:27:25to fill in some of those gaps so that we

3:27:27are able to operate better and then you

3:27:29know working in uh along with the

3:27:32subcommittee to put up some strategies

3:27:35in place so that these gaps can be

3:27:37filled so I'm in totally support uh or

3:27:41in favor of having this FD and the

3:27:43recommendations made uh by the

3:27:46subcommittee thank you so much

3:27:48>> thank Thank you. And actually one note

3:27:50I'll say as a followup to council

3:27:52president's point about the

3:27:53subcommittee. Um part of the reason why

3:27:55we proposed in the proviso to say that

3:27:58council leadership be the ones engaged

3:28:00in reviewing the job application and

3:28:01final candidates is just because uh to

3:28:04with the alignment of time there might

3:28:06be flux or change in the subcommittee at

3:28:08some point or the need to renew the

3:28:10charter. So it'd be better to just have

3:28:11it be in council leadership's bucket.

3:28:14Um other Do you have your hand up?

3:28:16Council member Parcy. Go ahead.

3:28:19Oh, and then

3:28:20>> sorry, I did want to know or ask the

3:28:22councilman. It would, from my knowledge,

3:28:24it would be the first time that council

3:28:25members would be uh uh providing and

3:28:29reviewing job applications and being a

3:28:31part of an interview process for a city

3:28:34employee at like a at this kind of

3:28:36level. And so, I just wanted to share I

3:28:38think that that adds extra um

3:28:43uh maybe intensity to that kind of

3:28:45interview process. And so I just wanted

3:28:46to kind of name that. And again, of

3:28:48course, this position will be working

3:28:50with you and we'll work with leadership,

3:28:52but I would ask that we have the trust

3:28:54to interview who we think would be the

3:28:57best candidate. And I'm happy to share

3:28:59those with you, but I have some concerns

3:29:01with having um uh council members be a

3:29:05very large part of that interview

3:29:07process. Um so just wanted to name that

3:29:10as well.

3:29:11>> Thank you. I appreciate that. And um I

3:29:13think the way it is written, it is

3:29:15written to ensure that council

3:29:17leadership is apprised of of who is

3:29:20being chosen as it notes to ensure

3:29:22alignment with council direction. So

3:29:23just to make sure that the types of

3:29:25candidates that are being reviewed might

3:29:27be the skill sets would align. I I

3:29:29totally understand the uh the

3:29:30perspective there. Um so would be

3:29:33interested to get the council's thoughts

3:29:34on that as well. Um, and I will note I

3:29:36think the only example of this is the um

3:29:40the legislative coordinator um where

3:29:42council leadership has has had some

3:29:44input into that, but that also is a

3:29:46position that directly works with

3:29:48council. Um, council vice president. Oh,

3:29:51no, we we were going to council member

3:29:52Parsey. Go ahead.

3:29:54>> I had some questions uh to for the um

3:29:57subcommittee. Uh I wanted to see if it

3:30:00would be possible for um us to come back

3:30:03and look at the outcomes that we could

3:30:05achieve with this. I see a lot of

3:30:08different um kind of directions and

3:30:11responsibilities and

3:30:14um

3:30:15work types of work that this um role is

3:30:19uh looking to do. And I would love to

3:30:21see if we can align on outcomes that we

3:30:24can um expect uh from this um a little

3:30:28bit more in a quantitative way. So we

3:30:31can kind of look back and say by the end

3:30:33of the year if we look back here's

3:30:35things that this person can achieve. Um

3:30:38what I am trying to kind of center my

3:30:41hopes around is that what if we write a

3:30:44policy that doesn't achieve that

3:30:47outcomes. What if we want to kind of

3:30:49write a policy? I want to have a end

3:30:51goal to look back and say, could this

3:30:54policy help us get there? And I would

3:30:57love to see if the subcommittee can kind

3:30:58of present um outcomes that we can kind

3:31:01of use as a guiding first align on and

3:31:04then use as a guiding uh principle as we

3:31:07um get updates about this program.

3:31:11>> Council member, council vice

3:31:12presidentina.

3:31:13>> Thank you, chair. Um that that was a

3:31:15wonderful segue. Thank you. Um, Council

3:31:17Member Parsy on that. Um because my my

3:31:20question was um similar but nuanced in

3:31:23that uh we

3:31:29what what is going to be most effective

3:31:31and what what what is the outcome that

3:31:33we're looking for and that is for our

3:31:35renter community um especially uh those

3:31:39that are at 80% AMI and below all of

3:31:42them but also especially that because

3:31:44the resources are so tight um that

3:31:47whatever policy and codes that we create

3:31:49are then therefore enforced. It's

3:31:52wonderful if we have a policy, but it's

3:31:54useless if we can't enforce it. And is

3:31:57this going to get us

3:31:59closer to that? Is this going to create

3:32:02that outcome? Um because I think that

3:32:04that's ultimately the the outcome that

3:32:06that we want is um for not only to have

3:32:09the the policies in place and also then

3:32:12have the resources and capability to

3:32:15enforce that. So I I um I I I definitely

3:32:19would like to to to see that. Um and my

3:32:22my second question is just a a super

3:32:25fast one and that is uh it calls out

3:32:28tech support. Um

3:32:31and part of the the responsibilities and

3:32:35I'd just like to know more about that

3:32:37provide technical assistance

3:32:39because especially in the land of

3:32:40Redmond that could mean a myriad of

3:32:42things.

3:32:45I can speak to the the first question

3:32:47and then I might ask um interim director

3:32:49Allan to speak to the second one. Um the

3:32:52last bullet on um page one I think

3:32:55addresses especially the enforcement

3:32:57piece and we talked at length about this

3:32:59um because originally we had thought

3:33:00actually about establishing the position

3:33:03to help to follow up on things like

3:33:05enforcement like a housing ombbuds. Um

3:33:08and we realized that we really need a

3:33:10policy position to help us to establish

3:33:13the policies as well as establish more

3:33:15enforcement mechanisms and then also to

3:33:18so it says potentially sc like scoping

3:33:20an aligned housing on bbudsman model. So

3:33:22this position could actually help to

3:33:24scope that work um going forward to both

3:33:27uh look at at the enforcement mechanisms

3:33:29and then what the potential staffing or

3:33:32other support for enforcing those would

3:33:34be um and and also like what are the

3:33:37tools you need to be able to um to track

3:33:40all that such as a housing registry that

3:33:42those are the types of things that they

3:33:43might be able to look at as well um as

3:33:47as kind of potential scope. So um and I

3:33:50will just ask on the the second question

3:33:51and and then we'll come back. Um

3:33:55uh the second actually I'm just

3:33:57>> I can jump in on that. I believe the

3:33:59question was around what a technical

3:34:00assistance means. Um and then there's

3:34:02also a note here that says it does not

3:34:04provide legal assistance and that's to

3:34:06clarify that we get a lot of um Q alerts

3:34:08that come in and so our customer service

3:34:10desk will send that in and sometimes

3:34:12they're able to answer us questions.

3:34:14sometimes um it ends up coming up um to

3:34:17staff and so this person um would uh be

3:34:21the lead for any of those additional

3:34:23questions that come up through and that

3:34:24and I've helped answer a number of them.

3:34:26It's a tenant saying hey I don't quite

3:34:27understand what this ordinance means or

3:34:30um can you explain to me how that

3:34:32interacts with the states um like recent

3:34:35bill and so that's what a lot of that

3:34:36information is. So, it's them being

3:34:38knowledgeable about um landlord tenant

3:34:40laws and being able to support um

3:34:42tenants and knowing um where they can

3:34:44find information and what that

3:34:46information really means. And the reason

3:34:47we put the legal part in there is that

3:34:49we are always clear to explain to the

3:34:51resident that we're not providing legal

3:34:52advice, but making sure they understand

3:34:54the resource.

3:34:58>> Thank you. Um, Council Parcy,

3:35:01>> I have one more question about um this

3:35:05position and our investment in housing.

3:35:08Um, so initially, I'll be honest, I was

3:35:12hoping for a one-year investment to kind

3:35:15of get us to a level that we're more

3:35:17comfortable with uh rather than having a

3:35:19year-over-year investment in this area.

3:35:22But based on the recommendation from

3:35:24staff and subcommittee um we heard that

3:35:27it is recommended it is um it is good

3:35:31for us to come back and revisit our

3:35:33housing policies and have a continued

3:35:35investment. So I'm what I want to

3:35:38understand is is it possible and what

3:35:41are your thoughts about council kind of

3:35:44reserving a little bit of um planning?

3:35:47So, what I'm worried about is this

3:35:49position being merged into everything

3:35:51else that planning department does and

3:35:53in the future council having to come

3:35:55back and uh support housing um this this

3:35:59effort in a different way. So, I'm

3:36:01curious if there is opportunity for us

3:36:03to kind of safeguard um this line of

3:36:07work in a way uh long term so that we

3:36:10don't have to come back and potentially

3:36:12fund another similar position in the

3:36:14future. I'm curious to hear if there's

3:36:17council thought on that or staff input.

3:36:20>> Council member Pria, I think I just

3:36:22maybe want to speak to a couple of the

3:36:24points raised by council vice president

3:36:26of Kamina and council member Parsy. Um I

3:36:30think you know some of the aspects that

3:36:32we could consider putting in the

3:36:33proviso. Um part of this part of the job

3:36:36of of this person is to go out and

3:36:39gather the data, right? So, I don't know

3:36:41if we could necessarily add quantitative

3:36:45measures um with regards to outcomes for

3:36:48renters right now because we don't have

3:36:50all the data and that's something that

3:36:51we want um this person to help us help

3:36:53with is gathering that data, looking at

3:36:56enforcement mechanisms. Um but I I do

3:37:00think with regards to protecting this

3:37:02scope of work, um there are a couple

3:37:04things. So, one of the things that's

3:37:05that's that's in here already uh is the

3:37:07quarterly updates to council, right? We

3:37:10want to have quarterly and and this can

3:37:11be maybe even more frequent if if that's

3:37:13what council desires, but quarterly

3:37:15updates to council with regards to the

3:37:17landscape of tenant protections. Um the

3:37:20enforcability of our current tenant

3:37:22protections

3:37:23um and with regards to other

3:37:26quantitative measures, you know, part of

3:37:27the the scope of work presented here is

3:37:29with regards to stakeholdering. Um we

3:37:32could have quantitative measures with

3:37:34regards to um stakeholdering. I think

3:37:37that's something we could put in a

3:37:39budget proviso.

3:37:43>> Council Vice President Nova Camina.

3:37:45>> Um,

3:37:53it's not that I don't know what I want

3:37:54to say is that it's a challenging

3:37:57conversation

3:37:59because what we're hearing from

3:38:00community is that we need something now.

3:38:05And perhaps I'm I'm misunderstanding,

3:38:08but it seems like if we're going to have

3:38:10this this position

3:38:12to come in and scope how we could

3:38:15enforce,

3:38:17but we've got constituents that are

3:38:19asking us, but what are we what can we

3:38:21do right now for the issues that they're

3:38:24already facing?

3:38:26And we are a majority renter community.

3:38:33So, we're going to go back to our

3:38:35community and say, "Hang on. Yes, we're

3:38:37bringing somebody in and we're investing

3:38:38all this money, but you're not going to

3:38:41see a result for I mean, how long are we

3:38:44looking at?"

3:38:47>> Sorry, just to clarify, the goal of this

3:38:50position will be to work on council

3:38:52policies on ten new tenant protections

3:38:54or updating our tenant protections,

3:38:56including updating enforcement

3:38:57mechanisms as soon as it starts. So,

3:39:00that that would be the the the goal. the

3:39:02the future would be if they identified

3:39:05that we needed say an additional staff

3:39:07person to monitor enforcement mechanisms

3:39:09that the council were to pass. So if the

3:39:11council were to say we're going to add

3:39:13more more enforcement beyond what we

3:39:15currently have or even just based on the

3:39:18existing and they would be identifying

3:39:19for example uh as as noted here um in

3:39:23working with things like code

3:39:25enforcement if and and with kind of the

3:39:28other pieces within the organization of

3:39:32the existing enforcement mechanisms.

3:39:33Should they get a um a complaint or a

3:39:36request, they would be able to refer

3:39:38them to the right city person um and

3:39:40support or andor legal support on those

3:39:43things. But um but just there would be

3:39:46opportunity for even further should the

3:39:47council say in the next bianium want to

3:39:49add another position that we're just

3:39:51like a what a housing onbuds person is

3:39:54in other cities for example is just

3:39:56investigating complaints of violations

3:40:00of um of of existing tenant protections.

3:40:03But since um but but I think the

3:40:06recommendation would be that we need to

3:40:08actually develop more of the policies on

3:40:09tenant protections. So we focus on those

3:40:11in strengthening those through having

3:40:13this position and then you could

3:40:15envision the future one. It would be an

3:40:17immediate address.

3:40:18>> Thank you for that clarification and and

3:40:20I think also um more will come out with

3:40:22the outcomes when you come back next

3:40:25week.

3:40:27Is that correct?

3:40:30>> Um which which outcomes are you

3:40:33referring to? Um, Council Member Parcier

3:40:35asked for um for a list of what are the

3:40:38outcomes that we can expect.

3:40:40>> Yeah, we can we can try to get back to

3:40:42you on on that next week.

3:40:44>> Okay. Thank you.

3:40:46Yes, I I would respectfully say that the

3:40:48council spent a lot of time and actually

3:40:50gave us direction to come back with this

3:40:52scope of work based on the outcomes that

3:40:54I think the council identified, which

3:40:55was wanting to be able to um have fewer

3:40:58barriers to developing policy to um

3:41:01being able to address the common

3:41:02challenges that have been brought to us

3:41:04by renters in the area. Um and so and I

3:41:08would just say in terms of capacity of

3:41:09the council subcommittee um I'd

3:41:12personally love to just focus on getting

3:41:13this budget proviso right. Um if the if

3:41:16the because I what I understood from the

3:41:18council is that the reason we actually

3:41:20are looking at this position is because

3:41:21we identified the outcomes we wanted to

3:41:23see and that and that we thought that

3:41:25actually having some staff support would

3:41:27help this. Um so I would I guess I would

3:41:31push back a little bit on asking the

3:41:32subcommittee to do that in the upcoming

3:41:34week. Um, council member for

3:41:35>> Yeah, thank you for articulating that so

3:41:37well because I was not able to wrap my

3:41:39head around that. Um, so appreciate

3:41:41that. Um, and I we did there was a lot

3:41:44of work put into this kind of job

3:41:46description. And I think at this point

3:41:48since we did bring a lot of those

3:41:50outcomes into building this job

3:41:52description in conjunction with staff

3:41:54that any further layers of outcomes I

3:41:58would hope would come from the staff

3:42:00side since we're setting the direction,

3:42:02we're setting the policy, we already

3:42:04kind of did that high level touch on

3:42:06those outcomes. anything deeper than

3:42:08that I think kind of is out of our out

3:42:11of our scope. Um so I would trust that

3:42:14staff would be able to to do that work.

3:42:17Um and I also hear the need of um the

3:42:21immediate funding and that's why I want

3:42:23to bring us back down to that ELAP

3:42:25conversation. Um I would be in support

3:42:28of as director Allen pointed out we have

3:42:31some money set aside. we could fund uh

3:42:34the $80,000 that's in the current human

3:42:36services ask. I think that would be an

3:42:38excellent start since we don't know if

3:42:40other cities are going to be willing to

3:42:42partner on that half position. Um I

3:42:45think that's a great conversation for us

3:42:46to be having throughout the next bienium

3:42:48with our neighboring cities to say,

3:42:51"Hey, we know this is a need. Maybe we

3:42:54can get all three cities to work

3:42:56together and actually make this a really

3:42:58big program for our three cities." Um,

3:43:01but for me, for right now, I would

3:43:03prefer we move forward with what's in

3:43:05front of us and um, having that ELAP

3:43:08conversation as well.

3:43:10>> Council President Stewart.

3:43:12>> Yeah, thanks so much. I think it's yes

3:43:14and um, I appreciate the questions uh,

3:43:16from my colleagues and um, the the

3:43:21intent to stay focused on the outcomes

3:43:23and making change in people's lives. As

3:43:25I said before, this is a really full uh

3:43:29role description as well. And if we get

3:43:31the expert that we're aiming for in the

3:43:33position, they're going to have some

3:43:35opinions about uh which outcomes can be

3:43:37achieved in which order. And um as we

3:43:40would for all city staff, I want to I

3:43:42would want to trust that that expert um

3:43:44could could be um a source of guidance

3:43:47for um not just the city but the

3:43:49community on that. And lastly, I just

3:43:52want to um take a moment to recognize um

3:43:56that the proposal in front of us and the

3:43:58proviso language that it looks like we

3:44:00will be able to bring back um next week

3:44:03is um a piece of the investments in

3:44:07making housing more affordable, more

3:44:10stable, um and more available to our

3:44:13community. everything from um shelter

3:44:16during severe weather events through uh

3:44:19deeply affordable housing, which we're

3:44:21probably not going to get to tonight,

3:44:22and our ability to make a direct

3:44:23investment in that. 34% of the human

3:44:26services budget that was presented last

3:44:28week um is going to housing stability,

3:44:31including rent and mortgage relief um

3:44:33for those who find themselves in need of

3:44:35that. Um and then we are adding this

3:44:37additional position as well as the

3:44:39dollars for the study to take place

3:44:41which is in the original service

3:44:43enhancement. So I think all along the

3:44:45continuum. Oh and then we approved

3:44:48tonight reorganization of development

3:44:50services to process permits faster and

3:44:53uh more cheaply to build more housing.

3:44:54So um all along the continuum I think

3:44:57that this council could be really proud

3:44:59of um taking a piece of uh every need

3:45:03and addressing it in some way through

3:45:04this budget. Thanks.

3:45:07>> Thank you. Um so council um to to be

3:45:11able to um get some feedback so that the

3:45:15coun the subcommittee can come back I

3:45:17think for the next deliberation. Um I

3:45:21will first ask um if there is um general

3:45:25support for the new scope and um the

3:45:29proposed

3:45:30classification

3:45:32at a planner principal which would be in

3:45:35which would include a $40,000 um

3:45:38increase in ongoing funds. And actually

3:45:40I will pause here to affirm with our um

3:45:44uh with our finance director um if the

3:45:47the option on on that and and we can

3:45:50come back to the actual details of where

3:45:51we fund that out of but whether there's

3:45:54additional potential funds at the moment

3:45:55for that.

3:45:56>> Yes.

3:45:57>> Okay. Um

3:46:00so so just in terms of the new

3:46:03classification

3:46:05um and and general scope of work we can

3:46:08um certainly take um edits on that scope

3:46:12of work um and additional pieces to that

3:46:15but um whether there's support for that.

3:46:23Okay so uh six thumbs on that. Um and

3:46:27for us for us moving forward that um and

3:46:29then actually one thing that we did not

3:46:31go over that we could spend some time on

3:46:34uh but but that might be easier if um we

3:46:36got input on is the possible job title

3:46:38because we would be changing the job

3:46:40title from housing navigator um program

3:46:43administr administrator to um uh to a

3:46:48principal uh planner um and then have

3:46:51some other name after it. So there are

3:46:53three possible titles we put in there.

3:46:56um some that kind of range from a little

3:46:58more broad to a little more specific. Um

3:47:00and we received some feedback from

3:47:02advocates saying they'd prefer to be

3:47:04specific to make sure that the scope

3:47:06stays focused on on it being specific,

3:47:08but curious to get people's thoughts on

3:47:10that. Council President Stewart,

3:47:11>> I think we need to choose a title um

3:47:13that helps best recruit the candidate

3:47:15that we're looking to find and the

3:47:17second option uh principal planner,

3:47:19rental services and housing policy makes

3:47:21the most sense to me.

3:47:24>> Great. Other comments on that?

3:47:28Council member Parsy,

3:47:30>> I agree and I don't think it would be

3:47:32best for council to make a decision on

3:47:34the title necessarily tonight. I think

3:47:36deciding on the scope of work and future

3:47:38of the scope of work to be supported is

3:47:40more important in my mind.

3:47:43>> Okay. So, I'm I'm hearing not hearing

3:47:46other um concerns about it. For now,

3:47:48what we can do in the proviso would be

3:47:50use the rental services and housing

3:47:51policy since the council will get

3:47:53another bite at the apple um next week.

3:47:55If anyone comes back and wants to um

3:47:58share additional thoughts on that title,

3:48:00we can come back to it at that time. Um

3:48:03and then I think the other thing that we

3:48:05would need would be in terms of the

3:48:07scope of the proviso. Um it's been

3:48:10discussed uh including um from our

3:48:12interim uh planning director um the

3:48:16potential of what gets included in

3:48:17there. Um so uh I I will just I'll

3:48:22actually open it up for discussion in

3:48:23case council members want to offer any

3:48:26um proposals of change from what is

3:48:28written in here um based on on what

3:48:31we've heard. Um, as well as noting what

3:48:33council proa noted, which is whether the

3:48:36coun whether the council would like to

3:48:38keep the scope as is uh written, whether

3:48:42you'd want to see us add even more

3:48:44specifics on say deliverables in a um in

3:48:48a proviso or whether you'd prefer to see

3:48:52us just really focus on um the hiring

3:48:56timeline as part of the proviso. Um,

3:48:58Council Member Foresight,

3:48:59>> I'm uh interested in just keeping it to

3:49:02the hiring timeline because I think the

3:49:04body of work is a lot and that's going

3:49:07to need to be sorted out by the

3:49:09qualifications of the hire, the um their

3:49:13manager looking at the body of work

3:49:15altogether. Again, I want to set this

3:49:17person up for success and I want to get

3:49:19them in as quickly as possible. Also, I

3:49:20would like to keep the proviso limited

3:49:22to the expedient hiring and I completely

3:49:27hear Director Allen's um feedback. So,

3:49:30making sure that um council leadership

3:49:33is engaged but um not a uh hindrance to

3:49:38getting this position hired by that

3:49:41date. Council

3:49:43President Stewart,

3:49:44>> I agree with Council Member Foresight

3:49:46and truly when I offered my support of

3:49:48the proviso, I hadn't seen that last

3:49:50sentence, so my apologies. Uh, a light

3:49:52touch that meets the intent is uh,

3:49:55acceptable. Thanks.

3:49:58>> Great. Um, council member Sony,

3:50:03>> I b I want to ask how are we doing it

3:50:06with the other FD positions? Are we

3:50:08going into those many details like you

3:50:10know what's the general guidance that we

3:50:11have uh like you know with the similar

3:50:14kind of a positions in my opinion we

3:50:16cannot go into the too much nitty-gritty

3:50:20details so at this level I personally

3:50:22feel like you know this is good however

3:50:24I do have a question for the elap I

3:50:26wanted to ask uh suppose if we we go

3:50:29ahead with the with with.5 uh FT right

3:50:33now but before the second banium if we

3:50:36are able to have the conversations with

3:50:38the other cities and they agree to

3:50:40support and suppose if they come in

3:50:44between in the next uh one year, can we

3:50:46still include them like you know that

3:50:48way our budget will just you know will

3:50:50be distributed with them or we have to

3:50:52wait for the full banium to be over so

3:50:54that we can uh work with them.

3:50:58>> Mayor Bernie,

3:50:59>> I would just suggest for that to add

3:51:01some flexibility into what it is you

3:51:04want to fund. um you can do kind of a

3:51:06startup here and with the idea that

3:51:09we'll explore this person will this

3:51:11person will explore um how how what's

3:51:14best for that partnership and what that

3:51:16looks like that would be budget for it

3:51:18with the intent of what it should be we

3:51:20put those in our budget notes um and

3:51:22then work toward this goal of what this

3:51:25is I get a nod from my interim director

3:51:28but that that would be my suggested as

3:51:30far as like getting the budget to move

3:51:31forward and very clear on the intent of

3:51:35Okay, thank you. Um, are there any other

3:51:37comments on the proviso? I just wanted

3:51:39to close that out. Um, so it sounds like

3:51:41on the proviso, um, the proposal that I

3:51:44I heard between, uh, council members

3:51:47would be for the proviso to focus on,

3:51:50um, the hiring, uh, beginning in Q1 of

3:51:532027. um and that the FTE begin

3:51:56employment by no later than June 2027

3:51:59unless otherwise off authorized by the

3:52:01council and that council leadership be

3:52:03engaged um as part of the hiring process

3:52:07but not necessarily but take out a

3:52:09little bit of the the detail um and we

3:52:12can we can figure out the right language

3:52:14for that um that ensures that that there

3:52:16would be some connection but not

3:52:18necessarily um out of the strong

3:52:21ordinary.

3:52:23>> Thank you. I think this is a good point

3:52:24why by having clear simple language

3:52:27would be better because I took that away

3:52:29as you were going to be on the hiring

3:52:30panel and you meant a different thing

3:52:31and if that was what the language that

3:52:33was adopted in the budget provides it's

3:52:34like when the state adopts something

3:52:36that then we're later asking for a

3:52:38trailer bill and that takes time and so

3:52:40I uh that's why I appreciate council um

3:52:43trusting that we will work with you and

3:52:45ensure the outcomes that you're looking

3:52:47for. We again this work is in um the

3:52:50exact language for in here is what you

3:52:52asked for in the housing and human

3:52:54services action plan. This person their

3:52:56first thing would be to do what is that

3:52:58action item um along with the council.

3:53:01We will include quarterly updates as a

3:53:03part of our regular housing updates and

3:53:05this will be an item on that. And so um

3:53:07just want to let you know that and we'll

3:53:10be doing that work and I I I just hope

3:53:11it doesn't need to be in the budget

3:53:13proviso. So recognizing the direction

3:53:17that we're hearing and I will affirm it

3:53:19with the council would be that we

3:53:20wouldn't include adding the scope above

3:53:22in the job description. What we can do

3:53:24with this budget though is include this

3:53:26document if the council is generally

3:53:29supportive of which we already got the

3:53:30general support for the scope. So it can

3:53:32be attached with the budget materials.

3:53:34So that way the direction is on the

3:53:36record from the council on what we'd

3:53:38like the scope to be of the role.

3:53:40>> That sounds great.

3:53:41>> And then the provisor would be limited

3:53:43to that. that smaller scope that um the

3:53:45council has requested. Um okay. So I

3:53:49will based on what I just described of

3:53:51of the the smaller scope with also

3:53:54adding this document to the um to the

3:53:58direction given from council in the

3:54:00budget packet. Um uh is there support

3:54:03for moving forward with that option?

3:54:07Great. So, we will come back with the

3:54:09actual language and get the final um

3:54:12direction from council at the next

3:54:14budget deliberation.

3:54:16And then I think the only last item on

3:54:18here which um I think there's there's a

3:54:22few options around the ELAP funding. Um

3:54:24and we could come back to this because I

3:54:26think we are going to have opportunity

3:54:28to talk about different types of funding

3:54:31options for other items that we might

3:54:33think about what funding is available.

3:54:35Um but if the council wanted to, we

3:54:37could provide direction tonight on

3:54:38whether we'd like to pursue um the

3:54:41$150,000

3:54:43for the bienium um for the 0.5 FTE, the

3:54:47$60,000 to just um increase the funding

3:54:51to the full request for ELAP um as part

3:54:53of human services budget or just waiting

3:54:57um and looking at at allocation later in

3:55:00the bienium. So um I will start with

3:55:04just waiting and looking at the

3:55:05allocation in the bianium actually and

3:55:08the fourth one will be if uh if council

3:55:10members want to talk about it more um at

3:55:12the next uh at the at the next

3:55:14deliberation we could hold off on this.

3:55:16So um did you have a comment council

3:55:18president Stewart or were you about to

3:55:19raise your thumb on one? I'm happy to

3:55:22make a comment which is um that

3:55:26>> maybe we should discuss it more. Um but

3:55:29I do support I wouldn't frame it as just

3:55:32waiting until later in the benium and

3:55:34I'm truly not picking on anyone. It's

3:55:35just late at night. Um I I do just want

3:55:38to call uh I even I used it. See there

3:55:40we go. Um, I do want to call attention

3:55:43to the community stability dollars that

3:55:45we've been holding this whole bienium

3:55:46and haven't spent for a purpose that

3:55:49sounds a lot like stability for our

3:55:50renters. So, that's why I'm really in

3:55:53favor. Uh, we've had we've had a lot of

3:55:54talk in these deliberations about making

3:55:56best use of taxpayer dollars. We're

3:55:58currently holding these dollars for

3:56:00purposes like this and so that's why it

3:56:02makes a lot of sense to me that um we

3:56:04allow the idea to mature and be able to

3:56:06make a distribution from that funding

3:56:08source. Thanks. Uh, Council Member Fors.

3:56:11>> Yeah, I'd be in favor of [snorts]

3:56:13going ahead and fully funding, this

3:56:15might be a little different from what

3:56:16Council President Stewart said, but

3:56:18fully funding that um, ELAP ask in our

3:56:21current human services

3:56:23ask

3:56:24schedule. Um and then um having this new

3:56:28person uh really dig in and look into

3:56:31and make those connections and build

3:56:33those relationships with our neighboring

3:56:34cities to bring back uh that ask for the

3:56:38next bianium or we could do a budget

3:56:40adjustment if we could do it sooner but

3:56:42maybe just not having that as part of

3:56:43this budget.

3:56:45>> Okay. Um, council member Parkria,

3:56:49>> I would probably be in favor of

3:56:52postponing this discussion until we come

3:56:56back with the proviso and then we're

3:56:58also able to discuss um an item related

3:57:00to the community stability fund um at

3:57:03our next session.

3:57:05>> I think since there's there are it seems

3:57:07like there's a little more discussion to

3:57:08be had um let's uh let's table this and

3:57:12we will plan to look at it again in

3:57:14further deliberation. Um and I think

3:57:16that but that I think that gives us

3:57:17enough direction we can come back to the

3:57:19council um with with the proviso

3:57:22language um in the next session and then

3:57:25we will also revisit the elab funding

3:57:28and with that we'll close that out. I

3:57:30had asked the council earlier if we

3:57:31wanted to go till 10. We did end up

3:57:33going till 10. Uh [laughter]

3:57:35so um but I think this was really great

3:57:37to be able to cover this item and

3:57:38hopefully we can have a very short

3:57:40discussion on this and be able to finish

3:57:42all the other items next week. Um, so

3:57:44with that, uh, I will close out. Um, and

3:57:47I'll ask Director Cochran, is there any

3:57:49other comment you have that you wanted

3:57:51to share?

3:57:51>> Thank you for all of your time and get

3:57:53home safely and we'll see you next

3:57:54Thursday.

3:57:55>> Great. Thank you so much, council. Um,

3:57:58and I will turn it back to Mayor Bernie

3:58:00uh to close out the meeting.

3:58:01>> Great. Thank you so much. Um, very

3:58:03robust discussion. Thank you, everybody.

3:58:04Um, and thank you, Council Member

3:58:06Foresight, for the treats and staff for

3:58:09the treats. Help us get it through get

3:58:10us through the night. Um, I just want to

3:58:13remind everyone that, uh, next week we

3:58:16have a bit of an adjusted schedule. Um,

3:58:18we have our council meeting on Monday,

3:58:21November 2nd, um, at 7:00 p.m. because

3:58:24Tuesday is election night. Uh, remind

3:58:27community members that, um, we have a

3:58:29dropbox right in front of city hall and

3:58:31we've made sure that people don't park

3:58:33out there. And so be careful when you

3:58:34drop off your ballots if you're walking

3:58:36or riding or biking or driving. Um, it's

3:58:40a very busy box. I've seen it being used

3:58:42uh very much over the last few weeks. Um

3:58:45I'm looking forward to um continued use

3:58:47of the dropbox. We also have one at

3:58:49Marymore Village for those that live on

3:58:51the other side of town and I know

3:58:52there's others throughout our area. Um

3:58:54and then our next and currently

3:58:58scheduled final budget special meeting

3:59:00is next Thursday at six o'clock. So, I'm

3:59:03hopeful that we'll get through the rest

3:59:05of council's deliberations at that time.

3:59:08And then the following week on uh

3:59:11Tuesday, November 10th, we have

3:59:14hopefully depending on how next Thursday

3:59:17goes, a special meeting at 6:30 to adopt

3:59:20the budget. So, that is uh the hope. Um

3:59:25am I missing anything?

3:59:27>> All right. Um so, um keep that in mind.

3:59:30um staff and council um for the getting

3:59:33through the rest of it and uh on our

3:59:34progress of all of that. And um with

3:59:37that, we are adjourned.

3:59:42I always wanted

3:59:43>> Well, now you did. I don't

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