[0:49] Okay, then.

[0:51] >> Are we good?

[0:58] It's 7:00 p.m. on Monday,

[1:00] August 17th, and I call this regular

[1:03] city council meeting to order.

[1:05] Uh Council Member McNally Martinez, will

[1:07] you lead us in the flag salute, please?

[1:12] » I pledge allegiance

[1:14] >> to the flag

[1:15] of the United States of America.

[1:17] And to the republic for which it stands,

[1:20] one nation under God, indivisible, with

[1:23] liberty and justice for all.

[1:31] » All Um

[1:35] Uh all council is here with exception of

[1:37] Council Member Turnis.

[1:39] Uh she's asked uh

[1:41] to be excused. Can I get a uh

[1:44] Can I get a motion to excuse her?

[1:46] Yes, Council Member Poor.

[1:48] >> Move to excuse Council Member Turnis's

[1:52] uh absence.

[1:53] >> Second.

[1:55] >> It's been It's been moved in second and

[1:57] all in favor.

[1:58] >> Aye.

[1:59] Any opposed?

[2:00] Motion passes.

[2:02] All right, next item on the agenda is

[2:04] citizen participation and we have uh two

[2:07] people who have signed up today.

[2:12] And I can't read your handwriting. I'm

[2:14] sorry. It looks like your last name is

[2:16] Jones.

[2:19] Oh, Susan Johnson. Oh my gosh.

[2:22] >> [laughter]

[2:23] >> It depends on which personality comes

[2:26] out.

[2:26] >> [laughter]

[2:27] >> Okay, well, I've never seen this one

[2:29] before.

[2:29] >> I'm laughing. I write left-handed.

[2:32] >> Okay.

[2:32] >> All right.

[2:34] Thank you, sir. Susan Johnson Milton.

[2:37] It was a treat to see all the youth in

[2:40] the parade this year. It felt like just

[2:43] a small town and we're surrounded by

[2:45] this massive growth.

[2:47] Isn't that the truth?

[2:49] I mean, it really felt it this weekend.

[2:52] The Parks Board pickleball scramble was

[2:54] loads of fun for us and the people

[2:57] involved. Teenagers and adults played.

[3:00] The winners were given medals, gold,

[3:02] silver, and bronze. We ended around 2:30

[3:05] p.m., cleaned up, and took the equipment

[3:08] down to the city tent in the lower

[3:10] field.

[3:11] I was a little bit mystified that the

[3:14] city booth

[3:16] abutted the right side of the stage when

[3:19] you face it from the tent where people

[3:22] sit with that speaker reverberating as

[3:25] hard and loud as it did.

[3:28] I loved the music. I even danced and I

[3:31] think they got photos of me.

[3:32] Unfortunately, don't tell my husband.

[3:34] But, however, conversation was

[3:37] impossible at the city tent. Staff

[3:40] needed to wear earplugs for the auditory

[3:43] protection from the sound of the stage.

[3:46] And I mean, they were right at the

[3:47] stage. Framework, who worked with the

[3:50] city on our growth management plan was

[3:52] there also with their information. Our

[3:55] planning staff had very important

[3:58] information to share with the citizens

[4:00] and glean comments on their opinions,

[4:04] especially in re to the proposed tree

[4:07] canopy ordinance.

[4:09] My opinion is the city booth should not

[4:11] be hidden. It should be close to the

[4:13] entrance of any event. Two tents were at

[4:16] the entranceway along Oak Street in the

[4:19] lower park. At the time I was there, I

[4:21] did not see anybody present.

[4:24] This is sad because it diminished the

[4:26] role of the city and its info

[4:29] that it wants to have to interact with

[4:32] our citizens and to answer any

[4:33] questions, especially re planning

[4:36] uh and our zones with framework being

[4:39] there.

[4:40] Another thing I heard is um and my

[4:43] comment is this, the lack of golf carts,

[4:46] which we have had in the past, citizens

[4:48] so enjoyed the interaction riding with

[4:51] the volunteers and talking about Milton

[4:54] days in past years and meeting new

[4:56] people. That climb up to the street

[4:59] parking up at the school or higher up

[5:02] Oak is very hard on some people.

[5:05] And I'm not talking about me.

[5:08] And who on some people who are not

[5:09] considered eligible for ADA. In the

[5:12] past, there were four to five carts that

[5:15] were always busy.

[5:17] In fact, even the ones that were used by

[5:19] the mayor and one other staff person

[5:22] would be called into need to move people

[5:24] up and down and it was a constant flurry

[5:27] up and down Oakway and maybe around

[5:30] lunchtime it settled down. I want to

[5:33] thank you, council members Hall, Cedar,

[5:35] Roberts, and Martinez for being in the

[5:37] parade and meeting her constituents

[5:40] at Milton days.

[5:42] To the events committee, you should be

[5:44] proud of their first Milton days and

[5:47] take kindly suggestions for the future.

[5:50] It is You know, I'm from the south and

[5:53] one of our sayings is it's not necessary

[5:55] to throw out the dishwater.

[5:58] It's or required to start anew without

[6:01] considering the past successes. The old

[6:04] provides a map to build on as time and

[6:07] needs change, but the old doesn't need

[6:09] to be cast aside entirely. Thank you. It

[6:12] was a very good weekend for many, many

[6:14] people and I'm glad it was successful.

[6:17] >> Thank you. Just to let you know, I did

[6:20] play chauffeur for most of the day. So,

[6:23] I did I did shuttle a lot of people back

[6:26] and forth. Okay, the second person

[6:29] that's on our sign up sheet is John and

[6:32] I'm sorry I can't read your last name.

[6:33] Could you please let us

[6:35] I'm sorry.

[6:36] >> Tedrick.

[6:38] t e d r i c k, Tedrick.

[6:41] >> Thank you, Tedrick.

[6:43] >> I

[6:44] moved here about 18 years ago and build

[6:47] a uh

[6:48] run-down home

[6:50] off of Taylor Street and I love the

[6:52] little small town that it has been.

[6:55] And it's a great place to live and I

[6:56] wouldn't live anywhere else. And

[6:59] so,

[7:00] the reason I'm here is in opposition of

[7:02] the 2801

[7:05] Redwood Street.

[7:06] You guys are wanting to rezone that

[7:08] property.

[7:09] And so,

[7:11] my opinion is

[7:14] that we need more small homes for people

[7:16] to live in city Milton, not apartments.

[7:19] I I know we have apartments right here

[7:20] at the end of

[7:22] Taylor Street and that was a great piece

[7:25] of property to build it and it looks

[7:26] like a very nice

[7:28] 15-18 units that they're building. My

[7:31] worry is that

[7:33] Taylor's a small street. You got a lot

[7:35] of speeders. You got a lot of this. You

[7:37] got a lot of that. You already have the

[7:39] Ukrainian school that's going to go in

[7:40] there. That's going to be a jungle full

[7:43] of people when that opens up and I I

[7:45] don't

[7:46] have anything against the owners that

[7:48] own that property

[7:50] because when you sell

[7:52] to

[7:54] make it a different zone and you're

[7:55] going to make more money. I understand

[7:57] that. I don't have anything against

[7:58] that, but I think

[8:00] that place would serve better

[8:03] to put 16 to 24 houses in there that the

[8:05] houses are need to be in the city of

[8:08] Milton. Small houses that people can

[8:10] afford if you can afford a house at all

[8:12] anymore and there's lots of nice little

[8:14] houses that were built right across the

[8:16] street where that fence is and I think

[8:20] they should do a a small impact

[8:23] statement on that.

[8:25] They don't have to do it. They could do

[8:27] a partial impact statement to see if

[8:29] zoning that would put in there. I can't

[8:31] imagine them zoning that 4.04 acres and

[8:35] putting a store in there. I just got I

[8:37] just can't see that happening.

[8:40] At the very least I could see maybe some

[8:42] condos or something like that. I don't

[8:45] necessarily have any grudge against

[8:46] that, but I think

[8:49] family homes are well needed in this

[8:51] place and that would be a good place

[8:53] where you could put either 10 and 12

[8:54] bigger homes or you could put

[8:58] uh uh

[8:58] 16 to 24 smaller sized mid homes. In my

[9:02] opinion it is that we need smaller

[9:04] houses for people to move in the city of

[9:06] Milton, not a bunch of complexes that

[9:09] they already have. They already have a

[9:11] busy complex right next door and if they

[9:14] were to build a condo system or

[9:16] apartment system it would be I think in

[9:18] my opinion just too close to each other. Too many people

[9:22] coming in and out of there. My opinion

[9:24] is to stay with the single family homes.

[9:28] All right, that's all I got to say.

[9:29] Thank you.

[9:30] >> Thank you, Mr. Tedder. You're welcome.

[9:32] All right, those were the only two

[9:33] people that signed up on our list. Is

[9:35] there anyone else in the audience that

[9:36] would like to address the council this

[9:37] evening?

[9:39] Yes, please come forward.

[9:45] » Jacqueline Whalen, Milton, Washington.

[9:48] I wanted to uh

[9:50] thank the folks who did the work for the

[9:52] event over the weekend.

[9:54] It was lovely to see so many people

[9:56] engaging with one another without a

[9:58] phone right there in their face. It was

[10:00] sweet.

[10:01] I do have another comment and I wish to

[10:03] direct it to public works but the

[10:06] administration as well.

[10:08] >> [clears throat]

[10:08] >> We have an electric department. We've

[10:10] got really smart people with

[10:11] electricity. This city really needs an electric system that

[10:19] allows amplifiers at the stage but when

[10:22] it hits a certain level of sound the

[10:25] electricity cuts off.

[10:27] When you can be in your house over 700

[10:30] ft away from the event

[10:32] and be able to sing along

[10:35] that's

[10:36] very loud, very unnecessary.

[10:40] And I really wish we would take the

[10:42] issue of noise pollution much more

[10:44] seriously.

[10:47] So, that's the request on that.

[10:50] We've got the department. We need to do

[10:52] it.

[10:53] There was a lot of concerns about the

[10:55] stage going in. Last year there wasn't

[10:57] the noise problem. This year there

[10:59] really was.

[11:01] Secondly, regarding microphones

[11:05] I really hope that the administration

[11:07] and staff can do something more so that

[11:11] we can have

[11:13] a recording system and broadcasting

[11:15] system

[11:17] that doesn't seem to have so many

[11:19] opportunities for things to fail.

[11:22] Last meeting

[11:24] portions of citizen comment were not

[11:25] recorded.

[11:27] Planning commission meeting, sadly

[11:30] it's not the first time the recording

[11:32] didn't happen.

[11:34] I am 1,000% confident that the person

[11:37] operating the system is doing the best

[11:39] they can. I assume the problem is with

[11:43] the system.

[11:44] So, I ask the administration, please

[11:47] >> [laughter]

[11:48] >> could we could we get our tech people to

[11:49] take a look at this and help people who

[11:52] are

[11:53] doing so many different things at the

[11:55] front desk there,

[11:56] help them to be more successful by

[11:58] having a broadcast system

[12:01] that really

[12:03] makes it clear whether microphones are

[12:05] operating, whether things are being

[12:07] recorded. That would be a real plus.

[12:09] Because I know staff is really trying to

[12:11] do their best with what they've got and

[12:14] uh

[12:15] I do hope council will support

[12:19] making things better. Thank you.

[12:22] >> Thank you. Uh anyone else wish to

[12:24] address the council this evening?

[12:27] All right, seeing none, uh we will move

[12:29] on to additions and deletions. Are there

[12:31] any requested additions or deletions

[12:33] from the agenda this evening?

[12:36] All right, seeing none, we will move on

[12:39] to the consent agenda. May I get a

[12:42] motion to approve the consent agenda?

[12:46] Council member Cedar.

[12:47] >> Move to approve the consent agenda as

[12:49] presented.

[12:50] >> Second.

[12:52] >> It's been uh moved by Council member

[12:54] Cedar and seconded by Council member

[12:56] Port to

[12:58] uh approve the consent agenda. All in

[13:00] favor?

[13:01] >> Aye.

[13:02] >> Any opposed?

[13:04] Motion passes unanimously.

[13:06] All right, moving on to presentations.

[13:08] The first uh presentation we have this

[13:10] evening is from Judge Allen.

[13:14] Welcome.

[13:15] >> Thank you.

[13:21] See how this works.

[13:24] Um I am Sandy Allen. Uh there's a lot of

[13:27] new council members that I don't think

[13:29] I've met. Um and I appreciate you having

[13:33] me here. I'm the judge. I've been the

[13:35] Milton judge for 20 years, and this is

[13:38] Ellen Adaberry, and she is the uh Milton

[13:41] and Puyallup court administrator.

[13:44] So, um I'm here to you to talk to you

[13:46] today about the Milton Drug Court. Uh we

[13:50] received funding from the Administrative

[13:54] Office of the Courts for uh their um

[13:58] fiscal year, which is July 26th of or

[14:01] July of 2026 through June of 2027.

[14:06] So, we've received funding from them,

[14:09] and I want to talk to you. Oops.

[14:12] Little bit too far.

[14:22] Okay, I want to talk to you about how we

[14:25] got here. Um the uh

[14:28] back in 2021,

[14:31] our uh Washington State Supreme Court

[14:34] found our drug laws unconstitutional.

[14:37] And then for about a period of 2 years,

[14:40] Washington State didn't have any drug

[14:42] laws at all. Um when the legislature uh

[14:46] reenacted the drug laws on July 1st of

[14:49] 2023,

[14:51] uh they made the uh drug offenses, the

[14:54] majority of them misdemeanors instead of

[14:57] uh felonies. So, what used to be in

[15:00] superior court is now in the district

[15:03] and municipal court um courts of limited

[15:06] jurisdiction. So, the maximum penalty is

[15:09] 180 days and a $1,000 fine. You lose

[15:13] your right to possess firearms if you're

[15:15] convicted.

[15:16] And over the last 3 years since the new

[15:19] laws have been in place, we have had

[15:21] over 240

[15:23] drug charges filed in the city of

[15:26] Milton.

[15:27] And the motor the majority of those uh

[15:30] Tiper was involved.

[15:32] So um

[15:34] he's an active uh part of the Milton

[15:37] Police Department. So

[15:45] can I do this again?

[15:49] Third time's a charm of not pushing too

[15:51] much.

[15:57] So uh we uh found the need to start a

[16:00] drug court. I went to the administrative

[16:02] office of the courts, provided the

[16:03] statistics for Milton.

[16:06] Um and our efforts to do kind of a

[16:08] modified drug court without any funding.

[16:12] So we had previously um done a resource

[16:15] court every one time a month where we'd

[16:18] bring in peer support um navigators and

[16:22] people from treatment agencies to come

[16:25] in and try to work with defendants to

[16:27] get them evaluated and um

[16:30] get the defendants the help that they

[16:32] needed. It wasn't sufficient. Um so then

[16:36] we tried it to bring in treatment

[16:38] evaluators every court hearing to try to

[16:40] work with defendants to get them

[16:42] evaluated. And again found that um the

[16:45] number of cases were just overwhelming.

[16:48] So we um went to the state and asked

[16:50] them to support Milton for a drug court.

[16:54] Um we need to recognize that there is a

[16:58] problem

[17:00] with addiction that needs to be solved

[17:02] and no matter what the punishment we do

[17:05] unless we treat the underlying problem,

[17:08] we're not going to get them out of the

[17:10] system.

[17:12] So the drug court model um

[17:15] invokes judicial oversight

[17:18] um on a actually more regular basis than

[17:21] a normal court appearance along with

[17:23] intensive treatment and then support

[17:26] through our court case coordinator and

[17:30] peer navigators to help work them

[17:33] through the system to hopefully get them

[17:35] back to being productive citizens and

[17:38] not continuing to re-offend.

[17:42] We are planning on having our drug court

[17:45] the first and third Tuesdays of every

[17:47] month. We're adding additional court day

[17:50] on a Thursday one time a month to make

[17:53] up for the time that we're going to be

[17:55] needing to

[17:57] have the drug court up and operational.

[18:14] So we received

[18:15] $204,000

[18:18] from

[18:19] administrative offices of the courts as

[18:22] pass-through funding to operate the

[18:24] court. Most of the funding is through

[18:27] personnel

[18:29] costs.

[18:31] We also received a significant amount

[18:33] for recovery support and that is helping

[18:37] with housing, food assistance, hygiene

[18:41] products,

[18:43] bus passes, the things that people need

[18:47] that are addicted to drugs to get them

[18:50] to the resources where they can get

[18:52] help. We also

[18:54] received

[18:56] almost $15,000 in treatment resources.

[19:00] That's to a pay for the drug

[19:02] evaluations,

[19:05] pay for treatment that might not be

[19:06] covered by insurance, to do the drug

[19:09] testing that we need to do regularly

[19:11] within the drug court,

[19:14] um pay for toxicology screening, and

[19:17] those types of items.

[19:20] And feel free to jump in if you guys

[19:22] have any questions.

[19:26] Uh [clears throat] the biggest category

[19:27] is personnel costs. Um

[19:31] the

[19:32] my my salary, the prosecutors, the

[19:35] public defenders. There's additional

[19:37] costs that the city of Puyallup will

[19:40] incur by um Milton taking on this

[19:45] um task of doing a drug court.

[19:49] Um but probably the biggest um expenses

[19:52] and the biggest needs are the uh case

[19:54] coordinator case manager, which is going

[19:57] to be a half-time contract position.

[20:01] And the case manager

[20:05] um works with the drug court

[20:07] participants, um coordinates their

[20:09] treatment, helps them with outside

[20:11] resources, and coordinating all of that,

[20:14] and also collects data and reports um

[20:18] all of the data to the administrative

[20:20] office of the court so they can track

[20:22] everything that we are doing in the drug

[20:25] court.

[20:26] And then the other position that we've

[20:28] been um contract that we can contract

[20:31] and hire that we have funding for is a

[20:33] peer specialist. And what a peer

[20:36] specialist is is a recovering addict

[20:39] that has been trained by DSHS to work

[20:43] with um

[20:45] people that are going through the drug

[20:46] court process and be their advocate and

[20:51] support them in their treatment and

[20:53] their struggles and

[20:55] um

[20:56] reach out with the group and the court

[20:57] team to be their advocate and support

[21:00] them.

[21:04] So, what we need from council

[21:08] and mayor

[21:10] is for you to um accept the pass-through

[21:14] funding from the contract with AOC that

[21:16] has been executed.

[21:19] Um we need to create the necessary

[21:21] funding buckets so we can properly track

[21:24] the funds that are coming in and out.

[21:27] Um we need to work with the city of

[21:30] Puyallup to amend the contract with the

[21:33] city of Puyallup to um add the drug

[21:36] court in.

[21:38] And we also need to approve um

[21:42] my amended contract that allows for the

[21:44] addition additional funds for operating

[21:47] the drug court. And approve the

[21:49] amendments to the contracts for the

[21:52] public defenders and the prosecutors.

[21:55] So, there's a lot of work to be done

[21:59] um and a lot of things that I need help

[22:02] with from the city in order to get this

[22:05] to move forward.

[22:07] So,

[22:09] I'm happy to answer any questions and

[22:12] I've got Allen here as backup if you

[22:14] guys have questions that I don't have

[22:16] answers to.

[22:18] >> Yes, Councilmember Reed.

[22:19] >> Thanks for being here, Judge. Uh for the

[22:21] AOC funding, is there any time

[22:25] that they placed on that? By which I

[22:27] mean, you know, if we approve

[22:29] pass-through funding this year and kind

[22:31] of can have our contract amended so that

[22:33] it's reflecting that when we renew it

[22:34] every year, could AOC pull back the

[22:36] funding and thereby create a situation

[22:39] where we're funding the drug court

[22:40] directly?

[22:42] >> The funding for this year is guaranteed.

[22:46] Yeah. So, and each year they do a

[22:48] renewal and they've simplified the

[22:50] renewal process. I know that all of the

[22:53] courts that were prior

[22:55] um that had been funded prior got funded

[22:57] again for this year. And we would know

[23:01] um

[23:02] we would know if our funding was going

[23:04] to be terminated.

[23:06] But I would expect from past years that

[23:09] it

[23:10] they're supportive of it. Do you

[23:16] » So every year they look to continue to

[23:19] support the courts that are already live

[23:21] and going. So um if the funding if the

[23:24] state continues to get the funding for

[23:26] therapeutic courts, then Milton will

[23:29] continue to receive that funding. Um the

[23:31] contracts that are being submitted um

[23:34] with the amendments have to do with it

[23:37] um

[23:37] being sunsetted if for some reason

[23:40] uh Milton did not receive the funding.

[23:43] Um but the intent and the idea behind it

[23:45] is to continue to support more and more

[23:47] courts um to have a successful

[23:49] therapeutic court model um because as a

[23:51] state they notice that it is an

[23:53] epidemic that needs to be treated. Um so

[23:57] while there is a potential, um it's it's

[24:01] less likely. Um I can tell you for uh

[24:04] Puyallup I think this is our

[24:07] fourth year of having um money supported

[24:10] uh for therapeutic court. Um and so

[24:14] their push is to get more people live.

[24:15] So one of their main things is to get

[24:17] Milton um going successful for their

[24:20] Milton Drug Court program.

[24:23] >> Yeah, that's great. Uh thank you for

[24:24] that. Uh and I'll just just to grant

[24:27] that I don't have any more questions,

[24:28] but I just want to say I also understand

[24:30] that AOC has that goal of implementing

[24:33] um and I think this is a very important

[24:35] funding priority statewide. Even if it

[24:37] was Milton funding I would suggest we do

[24:39] it because in my experience

[24:41] which is limited, but drug court has

[24:42] been very successful. Um but I I did

[24:45] that when I was in law school, I helped

[24:46] with that and that was

[24:47] 16 17 years ago and it was successful

[24:50] then. It's only proved more successful.

[24:51] I'm aware of various various studies on

[24:53] the issue. It's very good. So I really

[24:54] appreciate you doing this and getting it

[24:56] working for Milton, because those 240

[24:58] cases those aren't

[25:01] other people. Those are Milton

[25:02] residents, and we should be helping

[25:03] them. So, thank you for bringing this

[25:05] forward.

[25:06] >> Thank you.

[25:08] >> Yes, Councilmember Mounts.

[25:13] » Thank you for being here.

[25:14] >> Thank you.

[25:15] >> I just wondered if you would speak um a

[25:18] little bit to the budget allocation. It

[25:21] looks like there's almost 26,000

[25:24] going to housing, food, bus passes,

[25:28] and hygiene, evaluations, treatment, and

[25:30] testing, which

[25:32] I just looking at the looking at the

[25:35] goals of the program,

[25:37] I would think that

[25:39] the bulk of the funding would go toward

[25:41] those things, but it's 26,000 out of

[25:44] 204,000. So, if you could just speak to

[25:46] that a little bit, is that enough money

[25:49] for those services?

[25:53] » A lot of the um budget money that we use

[25:57] is to supplement

[25:59] um what the uh participants will have. A

[26:03] lot of them we help them get their um

[26:06] identification. We help them get medical

[26:09] insurance. And so, it gets them the

[26:12] evaluations that might not be in covered

[26:14] by insurance, but the majority of the

[26:17] services that they will get will be

[26:20] covered by their medical insurance for

[26:22] the alcohol and drug treatment. And so,

[26:24] this is used to supplement that.

[26:27] >> So, this is like the state um

[26:30] medical

[26:32] insurance. I I'm assuming that a lot of

[26:35] the participants aren't working and

[26:37] getting

[26:39] insurance coverage from their employers,

[26:41] right?

[26:41] >> Yeah.

[26:42] Um so, I will tell you that a lot of

[26:45] this budget is based um modeled off of

[26:47] Puyallup's as well. Again, we've been

[26:49] successfully doing Puyallup for a

[26:51] handful of years now. Um and then we had

[26:53] a grant when we launched in PUALP. Um,

[26:55] what we're finding is the majority of

[26:57] folks once they get support with the

[26:59] insurance that we don't end up covering

[27:00] it under um, our funding um, because

[27:03] they are eligible for the state's

[27:05] insurance to get the evaluations and

[27:07] treatments. Um, so far we have yet to

[27:09] have to stand in to do that piece. Um,

[27:11] the additional pieces that we have to

[27:12] get do is more of the support function.

[27:15] Um, that is getting them to treatment

[27:17] facilities, getting them to court. Um,

[27:19] that's where the bus passes come in. Um,

[27:21] doing the random UAs to help keep them

[27:23] accountable. Um, doing other sorts of

[27:26] classes for them. So, it's more of the

[27:28] other support um, where you see the cost

[27:31] in there. Um, so the bulk of all these

[27:34] programs is always personnel um, because

[27:37] it's it takes close management um, of

[27:40] this money and to make sure that

[27:42] participants are held accountable and

[27:44] can be successful through this program.

[27:46] And so hence that's why the majority is

[27:48] through that personnel. And yes, it

[27:50] while it might seem low, we just do our

[27:51] best um, to be um, good stewards of the

[27:55] public funds and um, we try to just, you

[27:58] know, be

[28:01] utilize the funds available to support

[28:03] the participants. And so that money will

[28:05] probably grow um,

[28:08] cuz and you more people will start to,

[28:11] you know, we start filing more people

[28:12] through this program. Ideally we will be

[28:15] able to help more folks. So,

[28:19] » Does that answer your question?

[28:20] >> Yes, thank you.

[28:23] » Yes, Council Member Hall.

[28:26] >> So, how do you rate how the system's

[28:29] going? Say you come back in a year, what

[28:32] kind of statistics can you um, are you

[28:34] going to show us um, what we've done?

[28:38] >> [laughter]

[28:38] >> Administrative Office of the Courts

[28:40] requires us to keep statistics. Um, so

[28:44] we will keep track of the number people

[28:47] that enter, the number of people that

[28:50] entered into treatment, the number of

[28:53] people that reoffended or commit new

[28:55] offenses, a number of people that

[28:57] dropped out of treatment. Um those are

[29:00] all statistics and the number of people

[29:02] that graduated, hopefully a lot.

[29:06] Um those are the statistics that we will

[29:08] track, that we're required to track with

[29:10] the administrative office of the courts.

[29:13] Are there other things that we

[29:15] Uh so those are we we're mandated when

[29:18] we're using those funds to keep track

[29:20] and so we will be able to come back and

[29:23] present that data to you also to

[29:25] hopefully show our successes.

[29:28] >> Yeah, I look forward to that.

[29:31] » Any additional questions? Comments?

[29:35] >> Comment.

[29:37] >> Yes.

[29:38] Chief.

[29:39] >> Um

[29:40] first of all, let me say that I I um

[29:42] support drug courts. I think they're a

[29:44] great thing and I want to thank Judge

[29:45] Allen and Ellen

[29:47] for doing their

[29:49] this work and going to AOC and

[29:50] soliciting and and making us eligible

[29:52] for this program.

[29:54] And then one of the things that I want

[29:55] to talk about because I also have

[29:58] helped start a drug court in my previous

[30:00] jurisdiction where I was the elected

[30:01] sheriff and um

[30:03] one of the things that we look at, of

[30:05] course, is the

[30:07] um

[30:08] if you want to see how healthy your

[30:09] population is, go and look at your jails

[30:11] and try to figure out why incarceration

[30:13] and recidivism is occurring.

[30:15] And uh

[30:17] one of the things is there's a some

[30:19] facts out there and this is estimates uh

[30:22] that six out of 10 people are dealing

[30:24] with some kind of substance abuse issue.

[30:26] And 41% of those people will have a a

[30:28] coexisting condition, meaning mental

[30:30] health and substance abuse.

[30:32] And one of the things is is this program

[30:34] focuses on treatment rather than

[30:36] incarceration because I can tell you

[30:37] that incarceration is one of the most

[30:39] expensive

[30:41] ways to deal with uh individuals that

[30:44] are struggling

[30:45] um in society for a variety of reasons,

[30:48] whether it's substance abuse, mental

[30:49] health, socioeconomic, or just plain old

[30:52] uh deviant behavior and lack of

[30:54] accountability. And so,

[30:56] my experience with the drug courts has

[30:57] been very positive, and

[31:00] I can tell you that again, estimation

[31:02] that you look at, the recidivism for

[31:04] drug court is 11%

[31:07] to 46% versus 34 to 79% when you look at

[31:11] people that are not getting any kind of

[31:13] treatment. So,

[31:15] our uh jail population just here at the

[31:18] misdemeanor level is about a quarter of

[31:19] a million, and we're probably maybe hit

[31:21] 250,000

[31:23] um because uh we're having a a lot more

[31:26] people that are in need, and we have not

[31:28] had the tools to be able to focus on um

[31:32] providing resources to these individuals

[31:34] that are suffering with mental illness

[31:35] and substance abuse. And the coexisting

[31:38] condition, meaning what it means is is

[31:40] that either maybe they were mentally ill

[31:42] and they started doing drugs to deal

[31:43] with their mental illness, or maybe they

[31:45] started

[31:46] doing drugs, and it was voluntary, but

[31:48] then it moved into the realm of creating

[31:50] a mental a permanent mental illness. And

[31:52] so, by having drug court, we can

[31:54] identify these individuals that are uh

[31:57] good candidates that we can provide some

[32:00] rehabilitation services and focus on

[32:02] treatment rather than incarceration. And

[32:05] then, if you were to take the numbers,

[32:06] and you were to to loosely subtract the

[32:09] 46% recidivism rate from the 79

[32:12] uh percent uh recidivism rate um at the

[32:15] both highest levels of recidivism

[32:17] between the two um in our current

[32:20] budget, uh that's potentially about

[32:22] $70,000 that we would save on rather

[32:25] than incarceration and providing

[32:26] treatment, and hopefully reduce these

[32:28] individuals from being habitual

[32:30] offenders. So, I just wanted to remark

[32:32] that I'm a big proponent. I've seen it

[32:34] work. It's been a very successful,

[32:36] and I'm very proud to be a part of a

[32:38] city that is

[32:39] uh

[32:40] considering this and I'm very uh proud

[32:42] to be a partner with the courts and with

[32:44] the judge to be able to

[32:46] hopefully facilitate this program. So,

[32:49] it makes sense and my recommendation to

[32:52] council is that you should support this.

[32:55] >> Thank you, Chief.

[32:57] Anyone else?

[33:00] Judge Allen, thank you very much for for

[33:02] coming this evening.

[33:03] >> Thank you. I appreciate it.

[33:05] >> and staff will be working with you, I'm

[33:07] sure, uh going forward.

[33:09] >> Okay.

[33:10] On the next steps and the so on.

[33:12] >> yeah.

[33:12] >> Okay.

[33:13] Um

[33:16] Perfect.

[33:17] >> [laughter]

[33:17] >> Thank you for your time.

[33:17] >> Thank you. I appreciate it.

[33:19] >> We've got the paperwork, we're preparing

[33:21] it, and bringing it forward to council

[33:23] as an agenda item. And we'll let you

[33:24] guys know when that happens if you

[33:26] decide you want to be here for

[33:27] >> quick question. Who should be the

[33:29] contact person where No,

[33:31] um

[33:32] >> [laughter]

[33:36] » Everybody's pointing fingers.

[33:38] >> [laughter]

[33:38] >> Um to work with the city of Puyallup on

[33:40] amending the contract. I don't know who

[33:42] that would be the

[33:44] um

[33:45] the key person that would get with them.

[33:47] Is it our city attorney? Are they

[33:50] >> It's usually the mayor, city attorney,

[33:51] and myself that we go over review the

[33:54] contract. Um but uh Michelle is on the

[33:57] finance end of it, so.

[33:59] >> Right. So, okay, well, we'll talk off

[34:02] record about next steps of who's going

[34:05] to be working with Puyallup and getting

[34:07] that

[34:08] >> Yeah.

[34:08] >> done.

[34:10] All right.

[34:11] >> Perfect.

[34:11] >> Thank you so much for having me. I

[34:12] appreciate it.

[34:13] >> Thank you very much.

[34:16] » Thank you.

[34:18] >> All right, the uh next item on our

[34:20] agenda is another presentation um

[34:22] on the state of the Pierce County

[34:24] Library.

[34:27] I'm sorry, I don't have any names. So,

[34:28] if you could please introduce

[34:29] yourselves.

[34:30] >> Happy to do so. Good evening, Mayor,

[34:32] council members. My name is Gretchen

[34:34] Caserotti. I'm the executive director of

[34:36] Pierce County Libraries.

[34:38] Um and with me this evening is Chad

[34:40] Harper, who's the library operations

[34:42] supervisor at our Milton Edgewood

[34:44] branch. And Steve, our regional services

[34:46] manager, is helping to pass out copies

[34:48] of the presentation, which I understand

[34:50] you all have print copies of this

[34:52] evening.

[34:53] Thank you so much for giving us some of

[34:54] your um time on the agenda this evening.

[34:57] Uh it's with great pleasure that we get

[34:58] to come out into the various

[35:00] incorporated cities that are annexed

[35:02] into the Pierce County Library system.

[35:04] Go ahead, next slide.

[35:05] Um and just share a little bit about

[35:07] what's happening in the library. Uh I

[35:09] started in this role in 2022 and um have

[35:13] had the chance to work across Pierce

[35:15] County, the 2,000 square miles from the

[35:17] mountain to the sound of our service

[35:19] area. If you're not familiar, Pierce

[35:21] County Library system is a junior taxing

[35:23] district. Um similar to the way school

[35:25] districts are structured, we have a

[35:27] governing body, a board of five

[35:29] trustees, and um we we serve the annexed

[35:33] cities within and the unincorporated

[35:35] areas of Pierce County. Not Puyallup uh

[35:38] and not Tacoma, um but the other cities

[35:40] within. So, pleased to be able to come

[35:42] out and share what's happening, meet the

[35:44] elected representatives, and answer

[35:46] questions that anyone might have about

[35:48] the the happenings in the Pierce County

[35:50] Libraries.

[35:52] Um go ahead, next slide.

[35:53] So, when it comes to finances, um we've

[35:56] been working hard in recent years to

[35:59] ensure that the library is increasing

[36:00] our transparency around um the taxpayer

[36:03] funds that fund the organization. We are

[36:06] about 97, 98% funded completely by

[36:09] property taxes. Um by state law, there

[36:11] are very few revenue opportunities for

[36:13] library districts in the way that

[36:15] municipalities enjoy.

[36:17] Okay, you do have copies.

[36:19] Um

[36:20] and uh so, we are very heavily reliant

[36:22] on that. And as you are all aware with

[36:24] the 1% property tax cap in the state of

[36:26] Washington. Um, our revenues are limited

[36:29] while expenses continue to grow. And

[36:31] similar to your um,

[36:33] drug court, um, the majority of our

[36:34] costs go to personnel. About 66% of our

[36:37] annual budget each year is to the people

[36:40] who make the magic happen. We would

[36:41] otherwise just have buildings with books

[36:44] uh, around the Pierce County. And um, we

[36:46] all know that you can uh, you can have

[36:49] access to things, but then when you have

[36:51] meaning, context, and support is where

[36:53] um, people really have more value uh, to

[36:56] what the library can bring to a

[36:57] community. Um,

[36:59] we uh, also have um, invested in more

[37:03] transparency around the platform. So,

[37:05] not just coming out to share with our

[37:07] um, our representatives in this in the

[37:09] county, but we have launched using

[37:10] ClearGov. And so now anyone can view the

[37:13] library's um,

[37:14] funding in the budget uh, budget brief

[37:16] documents that are available on the

[37:18] website. And also through the um, SAO

[37:21] for the state of Washington has a

[37:22] financial intelligence tool. So, you can

[37:24] also see where the money went. Um, and

[37:27] um, really excited to continue to move

[37:29] in that direction. Currently we're at 33

[37:31] cents per thousand of assessed value.

[37:33] And since I've been here that number

[37:34] hasn't changed. We've been really

[37:36] working to control expenses in the

[37:38] ever-increasing environment um, and

[37:41] knowing that we have no new revenue to

[37:42] accommodate that. Um, so we've currently

[37:44] held at 33 cents uh, for the recent few

[37:47] years.

[37:48] Uh, let's see. Next slide, please. The

[37:51] small bit that is self-generated um,

[37:53] we're really grateful to have such great

[37:55] supporters in in um, formal structures.

[37:59] So, we have a Pierce County Library

[38:00] Foundation. And every October we do a

[38:03] fundraiser which is actually fun. It is

[38:06] a trivia bee um, where we all get

[38:08] together and you get to nerd out um, for

[38:11] a good cause. Our foundation provides

[38:12] the support for book giveaways to

[38:14] children in the summer as well as a

[38:16] variety of other supports at the local

[38:18] level in the individual branches as well

[38:20] as for the system. And then we also have

[38:22] uh Friends of the Library groups um and

[38:25] Chad will tell you a little bit about

[38:27] ways that community members can get

[38:28] involved at our local branch here with

[38:31] the Friends group.

[38:35] » Hello. Um we have a really amazing, very

[38:38] active uh Friends of the Library

[38:40] organization that we share with the Fife

[38:43] branch. We're the Fife Milton Edgewood

[38:46] um Friends of the Library. We do um

[38:49] periodically we have a book sale. People

[38:52] uh people from the community come in and

[38:53] donate uh books that people can come

[38:56] into the branch and it's a little bit on

[38:58] the honor system. We have a little box

[39:00] for people to put in cash or a QR code

[39:03] if they want to Venmo the Friends of the

[39:06] Library to um

[39:07] to buy used books. And then we uh the

[39:11] librarians pull the money together and

[39:13] work with our uh our volunteers with the

[39:17] Friends of the Library to support um

[39:20] various programs. People if we want to

[39:22] have a speaker or a presenter uh come in

[39:25] to one of our programs um and if they

[39:27] have a speaking fee of some kind the we

[39:31] are able to pay them from the Friends of

[39:34] the Library funds.

[39:37] Next slide.

[39:40] Um sorry.

[39:41] Um just a little bit more about the

[39:43] Milton Edgewood branch. We were built in

[39:46] 2011. I think we're one of the newer

[39:48] branches in the system. Um last year we

[39:52] had a little bit more than 60,000 people

[39:54] come through our doors and check out um

[39:59] almost 83,000 books and materials.

[40:01] That's books, music CDs, physical

[40:03] audiobooks, DVDs, um as well as

[40:06] magazines as well. We have 11,677

[40:11] card holders and last year we had 48

[40:14] classes and events and almost 500 people

[40:18] in our community attended those events,

[40:20] as well. And then

[40:24] » And and excited to see the system

[40:26] growing that number overall. So, many

[40:28] libraries in America um in the

[40:30] post-pandemic environment are still

[40:32] working to return to pre um pre-COVID

[40:36] use. And in the time that I've been

[40:39] here, we've worked really hard with the

[40:40] new strategic plan in particular to

[40:42] build an internal system around

[40:44] programs. Um a lot of folks will come to

[40:47] library programs, even if they don't

[40:48] have a library card. You might have a

[40:50] grandparent who's helping to watch the

[40:51] kids on the weekend come to a storytime,

[40:54] or um a senior that works at a uh lives

[40:57] at a facility, and they bring a group in

[40:58] for a program. Um and so, we look at a

[41:01] variety of metrics, and programs is an

[41:03] incredible strategy for people to come

[41:06] and discover new things at the library

[41:07] and connect with their community. So, we

[41:10] are going to be very excited to come

[41:11] back next year and let you know that

[41:13] those numbers are increasing uh in 2026.

[41:15] And as a system, that new strategic plan

[41:17] um was a refresh with our mission,

[41:19] vision, and values. The Board of

[41:21] Trustees approved that in 2025, and

[41:23] we're continuing to work forward and

[41:25] implement that in our operations and

[41:27] annual plans. Um I want to especially

[41:30] call out the um organizational value of

[41:33] transformative hospitality. And just um

[41:35] Council member Cedar, what I was hearing

[41:37] from you, for example, is we really want

[41:39] everyone who walks through our door, no

[41:40] matter where they come to from where

[41:43] they're at in their life, to feel

[41:44] welcome, to feel valued, to have a

[41:46] really personalized experience um where

[41:49] the staff are really meeting that

[41:50] person's needs, and that looks different

[41:53] for everybody. Every person who walks in

[41:55] the door is has got a whole life outside

[41:58] of this one interaction. Um and so,

[42:00] we're really leaning into that as an

[42:02] organizational value and how we want

[42:04] that to inform the services that the

[42:06] staff deliver every day.

[42:08] Next slide, those major goals include

[42:11] strategic partnerships, which is another

[42:12] reason why we're here.

[42:14] Um really looking to um break down

[42:16] siloed walls and and silos

[42:19] uh across the county where um you know,

[42:22] we're also working with peer navigators

[42:24] in some of our library branches. Um and

[42:26] in fact uh looking to be bringing in

[42:29] social work and to our practices and um

[42:32] partnering with law enforcement across

[42:34] the county. So, we really want to be

[42:35] purposeful and intentional in the way

[42:37] that we approach our partnerships um

[42:39] from everything from nonprofits to local

[42:42] governments, um as well as looking at

[42:44] important things to people across the

[42:46] county around environmental goals,

[42:49] practical financial goals um to make

[42:51] sure that our library operations are

[42:53] going to be able to be sustained into

[42:54] the future. So, that's just a snapshot

[42:56] of our of our new strategic goal areas

[42:59] and couple of things coming up we want

[43:01] to tell you about and we'll get out of

[43:03] your hair.

[43:05] >> We try to have our librarians work

[43:07] really hard to

[43:09] Sorry. Try to have programs that meet um

[43:12] all age groups and all interests. Um we

[43:15] have an adult Medicare awareness class

[43:17] that is coming up. I would expect that

[43:19] to be very very popular. A few weeks ago

[43:22] we had a sort of an intro to estate

[43:25] planning. Uh we had an outside group

[43:27] come in and we were able to provide the

[43:30] space for that. Um

[43:32] but by the time the library branch

[43:34] opened we had a line that snaked kind of

[43:38] around the shopping mall where we are

[43:40] located. I think we had 50 people

[43:41] waiting to come in and then about

[43:43] another 20 came in shortly after the

[43:45] program started.

[43:46] Um so, I would expect this to attract a

[43:49] similar number of people. We do have a

[43:52] very active and robust book club that

[43:54] meets once a month and I don't remember

[43:57] what this month's book club book is. I

[44:00] should have looked it up before I came

[44:01] here.

[44:03] Personal librarian. Thank you. Yeah.

[44:06] Thank you.

[44:07] That entirely unplanned, I promise.

[44:10] Um

[44:12] >> [clears throat]

[44:12] >> Yeah.

[44:13] We have a couple STEAM programs. Um one

[44:16] geared for um

[44:18] younger kids or kids of all ages um for

[44:20] a kids discovery lab program on

[44:22] Wednesday the 26th, and then one that's

[44:24] geared towards the teens in your life.

[44:26] Uh it's called a fantasy job board. And

[44:28] then we uh we have

[44:31] weekly story times every Monday from

[44:34] 10:30 to 11:15, story time for babies.

[44:37] Um come in with your little ones and

[44:39] hear a really fun story. And then we

[44:41] also have a master gardeners uh program

[44:43] for teens as well that's focused on

[44:46] sustainability.

[44:50] No close?

[44:51] >> This impact story.

[44:52] >> Oh, sure. Uh I'm going to share an

[44:54] impact story that I thought of on the

[44:56] way here because it happened just this

[44:58] past Saturday, and I think it's kind of

[44:59] cool. Um we had on Friday we had someone

[45:03] come in who I'd never seen in the

[45:04] library before. They came in with a very

[45:07] um

[45:08] uh

[45:09] very haphazardly collected group of

[45:12] papers in a torn envelope and said,

[45:14] "Someone dropped these outside of the

[45:15] library, and I have no idea whose they

[45:17] are, but they seem important because

[45:19] they have things like birth certificates

[45:21] and a driver's license and other things

[45:23] in it."

[45:24] And so I thanked them for that, and then

[45:27] another staff member and I went through

[45:29] it to see if we recognized a name.

[45:31] Fortunately, because we didn't recognize

[45:33] the name, uh we found the driver's

[45:36] license in the pile.

[45:38] Um we recognized the photo of the

[45:41] patron, and I said, "I know who this

[45:44] person is because he comes in almost

[45:46] every single evening." And so the next

[45:48] evening, Saturday evening before I had

[45:50] left, he was in uh sitting at one of the

[45:52] tables in the branch just like he always

[45:54] is. And I went over to him and I said,

[45:56] "Did you happen to lose something very

[45:58] important outside the library?" And he

[46:01] says, "Well, what do you mean?" And I

[46:02] said, "Well, someone came in and said

[46:05] they had found this sitting laying on

[46:07] the sidewalk from outside the branch."

[46:09] And he says, "I'm not sure." And I said,

[46:10] "Well, let me go show it to you." So, I

[46:12] brought it out of our safe and I said,

[46:14] "Does this look familiar?" And he said,

[46:15] "Oh my god, this is filled with super

[46:18] important documents that I needed to

[46:20] send down to California to get my

[46:22] passport, blah blah blah blah blah." And

[46:25] so, we were able to reunite him with

[46:27] driver's license, bank cards, uh a lot

[46:30] of checks to be deposited, his birth

[46:31] certificate, and a lot of very important

[46:34] uh applications. And so, I like to

[46:36] think, yes, we're building with books

[46:38] and DVDs, but at the end of the day, I

[46:40] always think libraries are there to help

[46:43] people first and foremost. And so, um

[46:45] that was one of my more favorite

[46:47] stories.

[46:47] >> people turning it in.

[46:51] >> Thank you, Jen.

[46:52] >> Thank you all so much. We'd be happy to

[46:54] stand for any questions that you all

[46:55] might have. Um appreciate your time.

[46:58] >> Yes, Councilmember Roberts.

[47:01] >> Thank you, Mayor. I just had a question

[47:02] about the uh fantasy job board. What is

[47:04] that? It shows a teens uh teams STEAM

[47:07] program. I'm just curious what that is.

[47:11] >> Go ahead.

[47:12] >> I'm honestly not too sure.

[47:14] >> [laughter]

[47:15] >> I I know that the teen programs do a lot

[47:18] with envisioning futures and youth

[47:20] development. So, while I don't know the

[47:22] details of this particular program,

[47:24] similar to like a fantasy football

[47:26] league, um they do a lot of really

[47:27] active programming with youth that make

[47:29] them like I don't What's the term?

[47:31] Gamify?

[47:32] >> Okay.

[47:32] >> Um and so, like our youth volunteer

[47:35] programs are also looking at what, you

[47:37] know, what are you good at and what do

[47:38] you want to do with your life? So, my

[47:40] assumption is that it's in that vein of

[47:43] making it fun to envision a future.

[47:45] >> Okay. Um do you know the age range? I

[47:47] mean, it says teens, so I'm assuming 13

[47:49] on.

[47:50] >> Yeah.

[47:50] >> I'm just curious for my own personal

[47:52] sign, that's all.

[47:53] >> [laughter]

[47:53] >> To get them off the screen, that's all.

[47:55] >> Yeah. Because it's a STEAM activity and

[47:58] it's a fantasy job board, I'm going to

[48:00] make an educated guess pulling from my

[48:02] school librarian days and say maybe it's

[48:05] an activity where

[48:07] STEAM science, technology are

[48:10] coming up with ideas for

[48:13] fantasy science-y jobs that might exist

[48:16] in the future that they might want to

[48:18] invent or apply for someday. I don't

[48:20] know.

[48:21] >> [laughter]

[48:22] >> Sure, why not?

[48:22] >> But generally teen programs are yeah, 13

[48:24] to 18. And no one gets carded for that.

[48:27] So if they're like 12 and a half,

[48:29] they're probably going to be fine.

[48:31] Parents get to choose or 19.

[48:33] >> Thank you.

[48:36] Any additional questions or comments?

[48:40] Thank you very much for coming this

[48:42] evening.

[48:42] >> a great evening.

[48:42] >> Thank you.

[48:48] All right. The next item on our agenda

[48:50] this evening is a public hearing

[48:53] uh for the comp plan amendment and

[48:55] zoning map. It's on page 15 of your

[48:58] packet and planning manager Stollsteimer

[49:01] will be presenting this item.

[49:03] >> Thank you. Um

[49:04] >> [clears throat]

[49:04] >> this was introduced at the last meeting.

[49:07] Um to this is for the public hearing

[49:09] portion that is required.

[49:11] Um there will be It is on the agenda if

[49:14] there's any discussion, it won't be on

[49:16] for adoption until the first meeting on

[49:18] October. Just a quick recap. Um so the

[49:23] comprehensive plan, this is a joint

[49:25] hearing because there's a

[49:28] um

[49:29] comprehensive plan future land use map

[49:31] change and the corresponding zoning.

[49:33] They are tied together, so the comments

[49:36] can be received together. There's two

[49:37] parts to the comp plan. The first is the

[49:40] map proposal and it is tied to the

[49:43] private um request for 2801 Redwood

[49:47] Street to change from urban residential

[49:50] multi-family to uptown mixed use on both

[49:53] the future land use map and the zoning

[49:55] map. Just a refresher, it's currently

[49:58] zoned for

[49:59] multi-family which is apartments. But

[50:03] it's more at the density of 12.

[50:06] Where if it goes to the mixed use, it

[50:08] would be more of a density. It could go

[50:09] up to potentially 30.

[50:12] It also would have the potential of

[50:14] commercial uses if um

[50:17] the applicant if the current applicant

[50:20] is looking at housing but by changing it would change.

[50:24] It would give those options at some

[50:25] point. Just a quick

[50:27] point out

[50:29] for the council, their application forms

[50:33] is on page 73 and 74

[50:36] where they basically they're kind of

[50:38] making their argument. The idea that it

[50:40] does allow for

[50:42] a variety of

[50:44] um

[50:45] housing. There is a charge in the state

[50:48] as well as the comprehensive conference

[50:50] of plan to look to make sure that we

[50:52] have a mixed variety of both types of

[50:54] housing and pricing range of housing.

[50:56] And so um

[50:58] you know, there are parts of the

[50:59] majority of our city is single family

[51:01] homes. There's also some parts that are

[51:04] intended to be the more mixed use, the

[51:07] more apartments, a little bit higher

[51:08] density.

[51:10] Um and so there they have kind of worked

[51:12] through their how they feel like they

[51:15] meet the criteria for that. Um the

[51:17] second kind of half of the conference of

[51:20] plan amendments is the six-year capital

[51:23] improvement plans. I did go through and

[51:25] we should have um as at last time

[51:29] it sort of should have the most current

[51:31] numbers. I was thinking there was a

[51:33] question related to that. I was thinking

[51:34] Dustin will be back by today but Dustin

[51:36] is not back till Wednesday. So if there

[51:38] is any specific questions about the

[51:40] capital improvement plan, we can get

[51:42] those answered before October.

[51:44] Um

[51:45] so there is that. So at that point I

[51:48] will stop and we're able to open up the

[51:50] public hearing. And then, like I said,

[51:52] after the public hearing, the first

[51:53] agenda item is discussion if the council

[51:56] has anything they wish to discuss or ask

[51:58] questions on.

[52:01] » Okay. Um it is 7:51

[52:05] p.m. and I uh open the public hearing.

[52:08] Is there anyone

[52:10] uh in the audience that would like to

[52:11] speak on this item? Yes, please come

[52:13] forward.

[52:14] Please give your uh your name and city

[52:16] for the record.

[52:17] >> [snorts]

[52:19] » Good evening. My name's Taylor Wyman.

[52:23] I am

[52:24] real estate advisor for Roy Skinner and

[52:27] his family. I'm here on behalf of the

[52:30] land use comp plan change.

[52:34] So, any of you guys are familiar with

[52:36] what we've requested. Obviously, the

[52:38] Skinner family's owned this property for

[52:41] since 1986.

[52:45] And I know I've been in real estate for

[52:47] a little over 10 years now. Obviously,

[52:49] housing development can always be a

[52:50] little

[52:51] contentious, kind of depending on where

[52:53] it is.

[52:54] New development, not everybody loves.

[52:57] Um so, I understand

[53:00] Ted's position.

[53:01] Um obviously, if you have lived

[53:02] somewhere for a while,

[53:04] own a single family home, maybe you

[53:05] don't want new development next door.

[53:09] I think, obviously, looking at this

[53:12] from kind of the city's perspective and

[53:14] the comp plan, reviewing that,

[53:16] you know, over the next 20 years,

[53:18] looking forward,

[53:19] I don't see the city's

[53:21] determined

[53:22] that this area along Meridian Avenue

[53:25] is designed to be the mixed-use kind of

[53:29] center of the city.

[53:30] All right, you want the retail, you want

[53:32] it to be walkable, you want apartments,

[53:34] you want people to have a place to live,

[53:35] go out to eat, um you know,

[53:38] entertainment of that sort. So, I see if

[53:40] you, know, if you're looking at the map,

[53:41] you can see down, all right, if you look

[53:43] down 28th Avenue

[53:45] all the way down to Taylor Street,

[53:48] right, it's a pretty straight line.

[53:50] And then, this property in question,

[53:53] I'll see it would if that line continued

[53:55] would go right through it. But, I'll see

[53:58] with the map zoning and how you design

[54:00] it,

[54:01] you're not going to have two zones for

[54:03] one parcel. So, it went around it, you

[54:05] know, if it had gone through or if it

[54:07] was multiple parcels, you know, you

[54:09] probably would have maybe 2/3 of that

[54:11] parcel would be the Uptown mixed-use

[54:14] zoning versus the urban residential.

[54:17] Um so, and obviously like one of the

[54:20] main concerns would be impact to

[54:23] neighboring properties. I'll see to the

[54:26] east, you have already you know, Uptown

[54:29] mixed-use to the south, it's Uptown

[54:31] mixed-use. To the north, you have both

[54:34] Uptown mixed-use and then one

[54:36] kind of similar older single-family home

[54:39] that's URM. Uh and then you have the

[54:41] dock at Surprise Lake,

[54:43] which is obviously a large 330-unit

[54:46] apartment apartment complex to the west.

[54:48] So,

[54:49] you kind of you know, it's designed, you

[54:51] have the huge apartment complex. I think

[54:53] it would make sense

[54:54] um

[54:55] to increase the density from right now

[54:57] it's 36.

[54:59] You go to 90 units, I'll see it brings

[55:01] in, you know, more homes, more families,

[55:03] more people that are going down Meridian

[55:05] Corridor, spending money, going out to

[55:07] eat, kind of improving that. Um

[55:10] and also it's one of one of the few

[55:12] developable developable parcels along

[55:15] that corridor that's not already retail

[55:17] or um some buildings already on it.

[55:21] Thank you. So, I appreciate it.

[55:23] >> Thank you very much.

[55:24] >> Uh yeah. Happy to answer any questions.

[55:26] Um

[55:27] I don't know if I can do that.

[55:28] >> Not in a public hearing.

[55:29] >> Okay.

[55:30] >> All right.

[55:30] >> Well, I appreciate your time and your

[55:32] consideration.

[55:33] >> Thank you.

[55:33] >> Anyone else uh

[55:35] wish to testify in the hearing.

[55:39] Yes, please come forward. State your

[55:41] name and and uh

[55:44] city for the record, please.

[55:46] >> Jacqueline Whalen, Milton, Washington,

[55:48] speaking as an individual citizen.

[55:51] And just request uh

[55:53] and discussion from staff

[55:56] on a question that I didn't really hear

[55:59] answered, which was

[56:00] really clarifying the distinction

[56:03] between someone putting in an

[56:04] application

[56:06] versus a zoning designation. What is the

[56:08] guarantee that the application is what

[56:11] actually will take place?

[56:13] And uh if staff could please comment on

[56:19] could a zoning change be done with

[56:22] conditions? I'm just like a master plan

[56:24] kind of thing. So, those were questions

[56:26] that citizens were asking me and I just

[56:28] wanted to pass them along. Thank you.

[56:31] >> Thank you.

[56:32] Any Anyone else like to testify this

[56:35] evening?

[56:37] Seeing none,

[56:39] I close the public hearing at 7:55.

[56:45] All right, moving on to our regular

[56:47] agenda.

[56:48] Um the first item on our

[56:51] regular agenda is on page 47 of your

[56:54] packet. It's the comp plan amendment

[56:55] ordinance 2146-26.

[56:59] And

[57:02] » Um again, I

[57:03] >> And the planning manager stopped there.

[57:05] >> So, um Like I said, both um A and B are

[57:08] on here. If there's any um further

[57:10] questions or discussions, this is

[57:12] legislative. So, it means that um

[57:15] it is the planning commission um made a

[57:20] rec- makes a recommendation. Council

[57:22] gets to make the final decision. Um

[57:25] there is

[57:27] some recommended criteria to kind of

[57:29] look at, but in general, the the plan is

[57:33] the council's discretion. So, you get to

[57:36] make that decision on if you feel like

[57:38] this fits within the overall

[57:41] comprehensive plan and then follow up.

[57:44] Um and to the a couple of the one

[57:47] question that you know, I said I kind of

[57:49] addressed the other the

[57:51] first comment that was earlier tonight

[57:52] just the idea that um

[57:55] it is zoned right now for apartments. It

[57:57] would be a higher density apartments.

[57:59] Um

[58:00] under the what they're proposing. Um I

[58:03] will clarify that again.

[58:06] There is no you can't link it to that

[58:08] per se. If you make the comprehensive

[58:10] plan amendment change and you make the

[58:12] zoning change, it does allow whatever is

[58:15] in that use table under that zone. So,

[58:18] you can't condition it or anything. Um

[58:22] so,

[58:24] there is that. Um at that point, I will

[58:26] see if there's just any other further

[58:28] dis- questions for me or discussion

[58:30] amongst the council. Um like I said,

[58:32] it's not on for action. It'll come back

[58:35] in October for that. It's still under

[58:37] state review.

[58:40] » Yes, Council member

[58:41] McNally Martinez.

[58:42] >> I just have a quick question. Do you

[58:44] know why that property wasn't zoned that

[58:46] way originally being that it's right on

[58:48] the edge? Is there a formula that's

[58:50] used?

[58:50] >> No, it was um

[58:53] so, that kind of line right down there

[58:56] um

[58:58] most some of this was actually light

[59:00] industrial.

[59:02] And so, um

[59:05] the feeling was that didn't make sense

[59:07] to light industrial on the corner. This

[59:09] was already multi-family. So, we just

[59:11] left it as multi-family. It didn't it we

[59:14] just left that one. That wasn't one we

[59:15] were looking at changing. Um

[59:19] but we did change all of this to away

[59:22] from light industrial. Again, did not

[59:24] make sense to um match what was above

[59:28] which was sort of going to be that um,

[59:29] mixed use.

[59:31] >> There was no specific reason for that.

[59:33] >> no specific, it's just that's what it

[59:34] was and there was no um,

[59:37] you know, what we were looking at

[59:38] change, you know, there was definitely

[59:39] some some areas that just didn't that

[59:42] felt like needed to be changed. Um, but

[59:44] some areas if there wasn't a clear

[59:46] reason to, we didn't.

[59:50] » Any Any additional questions? Yes,

[59:52] Councilmember Mounts.

[59:55] » Thank you. And thank you for the

[59:58] really helpful chart on page 79.

[1:00:02] My understanding, and I think you just

[1:00:04] told me this, um, told us this,

[1:00:06] is it could be used for multi-family

[1:00:08] dwelling units, child care centers,

[1:00:10] religious institutions,

[1:00:12] adult family homes, restaurants,

[1:00:14] mercantile, personal professional

[1:00:16] services,

[1:00:17] and offices, those types of things.

[1:00:20] Would that,

[1:00:21] um,

[1:00:22] of course, logically require

[1:00:26] new roads to go in, coming coming out on

[1:00:28] Taylor, probably, so there'd be

[1:00:31] um, an exit onto Meridian and an exit

[1:00:35] onto Taylor. It's probably really

[1:00:38] premature for these

[1:00:40] kinds of questions, but I drove over

[1:00:42] there today and and I took a look at

[1:00:44] that area.

[1:00:45] Um,

[1:00:46] >> Yeah, so whatever, um,

[1:00:49] at this point, what you would be doing

[1:00:51] is simply saying, could those uses

[1:00:54] change? And yes, when we go to our use

[1:00:56] table,

[1:00:57] um,

[1:00:58] right now it's under URM,

[1:01:02] which for the most part is primarily

[1:01:04] just residential uses. It'll be moved to

[1:01:07] UMX, which is both residential and there

[1:01:09] are some commercial, quite a few

[1:01:11] commercials, because it is mixed use.

[1:01:13] Um, anything that they would still have

[1:01:16] to go through the four the full land use

[1:01:18] application process. So, depending on

[1:01:21] what it is,

[1:01:22] um

[1:01:23] in most most likely whatever they do,

[1:01:25] it's going to be a major um site plan.

[1:01:27] So, application's going to come in.

[1:01:30] Um it will be reviewed by, you know, and

[1:01:33] they will be required to have a traffic

[1:01:35] impact study. They will be required to

[1:01:38] show us all of where they're going to

[1:01:39] put roads, how they're going to deal

[1:01:40] with storm, how they're going to deal

[1:01:42] with parking, all of that. It gets

[1:01:44] reviewed by our engineers. Um notices go

[1:01:47] out um 500 ft to all of property owners.

[1:01:51] If there's enough interest, we would

[1:01:53] hold a neighborhood meeting. That's sort

[1:01:54] of an option depending on how many

[1:01:56] people are interested in that um if they

[1:01:58] want more information. And then like I

[1:02:00] said, it it uh um everything goes

[1:02:03] through the planning department, the

[1:02:04] community development department, but it

[1:02:06] um we're looking for fire to say yes,

[1:02:09] this looks good. The engineers to say

[1:02:11] yes, this looks good. Our traffic

[1:02:13] engineers saying yes, this looks good.

[1:02:15] Utilities. And then um and usually what

[1:02:18] they get is an approved site plan if it

[1:02:19] meets all the criteria. They may have

[1:02:21] some conditions. And then they then they

[1:02:23] go through civil, which is the fine-tune

[1:02:26] actual approving of exactly where those

[1:02:28] lines are going to go, and then building

[1:02:30] construction. So.

[1:02:32] >> So, thank you for that. And if I can

[1:02:34] piggyback on that, um given what Council

[1:02:37] member Cedar said last week,

[1:02:40] we're looking to strike a balance

[1:02:41] between affordable housing and urban

[1:02:44] development and commercial and canopy

[1:02:49] preservation. There's a lot of trees on

[1:02:51] that lot. It looks like that whole

[1:02:52] corner is wetlands. Um

[1:02:56] how would you how how would we or how

[1:02:59] would I

[1:03:00] strike that balance because it's a a

[1:03:03] large parcel given that that the

[1:03:05] Skinners own those three parcels

[1:03:07] together. And if it's zoned for future

[1:03:10] development, we're losing a big chunk of

[1:03:13] residential

[1:03:16] potentially. I mean, if we if we approve

[1:03:18] the zoning change, there's nothing to

[1:03:20] stop them from doing more commercial

[1:03:22] than there is

[1:03:24] residential, right?

[1:03:26] >> So, yeah, so um

[1:03:31] the

[1:03:33] just to kind of

[1:03:35] again

[1:03:36] until things are approved and final

[1:03:39] there's always things. But, the current

[1:03:41] proposals this right this property right

[1:03:43] here um

[1:03:44] is currently under contract with it is

[1:03:47] commercial and it's under contract with

[1:03:48] a commercial business and at that point

[1:03:50] I think that's going through. So, what

[1:03:53] this current um

[1:03:54] proposal is tied to would be this lot

[1:03:57] and this lot and this one is already um

[1:04:01] uptown mixed-use.

[1:04:03] Um so, yes, it

[1:04:05] you know, the current plan would be the current proposal

[1:04:09] is that it would be multi-family at a

[1:04:11] higher density than you can do um under

[1:04:14] multi-family. So,

[1:04:17] if but yes, once it's changed, if that

[1:04:20] deal fell through, somebody else could

[1:04:22] potentially look at it for something

[1:04:24] else.

[1:04:28] » Thank you.

[1:04:29] >> Councilmember Massie, do you have

[1:04:31] >> Thanks.

[1:04:32] Uh so, I think that the tool

[1:04:34] well, as I stated last week or whenever

[1:04:36] we talked about this, I'm I'm opposed to

[1:04:38] this.

[1:04:39] Um I I think the tool to guarantee that

[1:04:41] this is used for residence is is called

[1:04:43] a development contract under RCW 36.70B

[1:04:48] 170

[1:04:50] sequentially after that. Um

[1:04:52] that would guarantee that any rezone is

[1:04:55] under a contract that goes with the

[1:04:56] property and can't be used for

[1:04:58] commercial uses.

[1:05:00] But, even if we were to do that and

[1:05:02] guarantee that this is used for

[1:05:03] high-density residential in this area,

[1:05:06] you know, into the future, it still

[1:05:08] doesn't solve the problems that come

[1:05:10] with a rezone. And those problems, you

[1:05:13] know, we just heard some from

[1:05:14] Councilmember Mounts, but

[1:05:16] the other people around there, the

[1:05:17] setback gets reduced to virtually

[1:05:19] nothing, the building height increases

[1:05:20] exponentially. Um the the trees are

[1:05:23] going going to be gone. I mean, it just

[1:05:25] it's so counter to what we are trying to

[1:05:27] do.

[1:05:29] And I I don't see any compelling reason

[1:05:30] to do it. I appreciate, you know,

[1:05:33] um Mr. Skinner having a representative

[1:05:35] here. And I appreciate that he bought

[1:05:37] those three lots at I'm I'm sure a quite

[1:05:40] a deal back in the '80s. Um and that

[1:05:42] they're worth a lot right now, but

[1:05:44] that's not what our zoning code is meant

[1:05:46] to do. And as soon as we rezone, we lose

[1:05:49] control, even if we try to put something

[1:05:51] some attachment to the property.

[1:05:53] And frankly, with even with the best

[1:05:55] intentions right now,

[1:05:56] 15, 20, 25 years, if that turns in it

[1:05:59] becomes more profitable to make that a

[1:06:01] self-storage unit, then that's what

[1:06:03] it'll be. And I think that we have a

[1:06:05] duty, because I've never talked to a

[1:06:06] constituent who says they want more high

[1:06:09] density on the corridor reading quarter.

[1:06:11] That's what Edgewood has done, and I've

[1:06:13] heard nothing in the time I've been on

[1:06:14] council, but we don't want that. We want

[1:06:17] gentle density if we have to have it.

[1:06:19] And increasing the density there is not

[1:06:21] gentle density. So, I'm adamantly

[1:06:23] opposed to this. I've not heard any

[1:06:25] compelling reason to support it. Thanks.

[1:06:28] >> Any additional questions or discussion?

[1:06:33] All right, so this is going to be going

[1:06:36] to the planning commission?

[1:06:37] >> No, it'll come back to the council in

[1:06:39] October.

[1:06:40] >> Okay.

[1:06:40] >> For um action, which could, again, uh

[1:06:42] council has the authority to

[1:06:45] um approve, with, you know, changes or

[1:06:50] amendments, or deny.

[1:06:52] >> Okay. Will there be any more public

[1:06:54] hearings?

[1:06:55] >> There's not public hearings. Um the city

[1:06:57] I mean, council usually does take

[1:06:59] comment on an action item.

[1:07:01] So, and it is legislative, so it's it's

[1:07:04] like if you go through a hearing

[1:07:05] examiner, there it's quasi-judicial, you

[1:07:07] have to be very

[1:07:09] careful how you do things cuz it's sort

[1:07:11] of like a judge. With legislation, you

[1:07:13] are allowed to talk to constituents,

[1:07:14] even talk to the applicant

[1:07:16] as long as you're not doing a quorum or

[1:07:18] something, so

[1:07:19] it does have a little bit more

[1:07:21] flexibility.

[1:07:23] But yeah, it'll come back to council.

[1:07:24] And like I said, we always usually we

[1:07:26] take comment before action. So, if

[1:07:28] there's

[1:07:29] >> All right.

[1:07:30] Thank you. So, we will move on to

[1:07:34] regular agenda item B, the zoning map

[1:07:36] ordinance

[1:07:38] on page 77, and this is a discussion

[1:07:40] item.

[1:07:41] >> Is there anything additional or was it

[1:07:44] covered under comprehensive plan?

[1:07:47] We're all good.

[1:07:48] >> Are we good? Okay.

[1:07:50] Then let's move on to

[1:07:53] item C, which is an action item on page

[1:07:55] 85,

[1:07:57] budget amendment ordinance, and

[1:08:01] Finance Director Robeck will be

[1:08:04] presenting this item for us.

[1:08:06] >> Thank you, Mayor and Council. The

[1:08:08] proposed ordinance provides adjustments

[1:08:10] to the 2026 budget as adopted by City

[1:08:12] Council in December of 2025.

[1:08:15] This is the second ordinance amending

[1:08:17] the 2026 budget and reflects changes

[1:08:19] that have occurred since adoption of the

[1:08:21] original budget. These adjustments are

[1:08:23] detailed in the accompanying exhibits A

[1:08:26] and B.

[1:08:27] Exhibit A is a modification to the wage

[1:08:29] scale for one position title only. If

[1:08:32] approved, this amendment would change

[1:08:34] the position title of planning manager

[1:08:36] to community development director. This

[1:08:39] new title better aligns with the

[1:08:40] position's current duties and

[1:08:42] responsibilities,

[1:08:44] and more information regarding this

[1:08:45] position is included in the next agenda

[1:08:47] item 8D.

[1:08:49] This ordinance was presented at the

[1:08:51] study session on August 10th for first

[1:08:53] reading.

[1:08:55] And I'd be happy to answer any questions

[1:08:59] once And a motion is made.

[1:09:03] >> All right, would somebody like to make a

[1:09:04] motion? Yes, Council Member Roberts.

[1:09:06] >> Thank you, Mayor. Uh move to adopt the

[1:09:09] ordinance 2144-26

[1:09:11] amending the 2026 budget as detailed in

[1:09:14] exhibits A and B.

[1:09:17] >> Second.

[1:09:21] » Oh, okay.

[1:09:23] I'll give it to Council Member Hall.

[1:09:25] Is that right? Okay.

[1:09:26] Um Council Member Roberts, would you

[1:09:27] like to speak to your motion?

[1:09:29] >> Um I would not. Thank you.

[1:09:31] >> Okay.

[1:09:33] Council Member Hall, would you like to

[1:09:34] speak to your second?

[1:09:36] >> I appreciate this coming to Council.

[1:09:39] Um

[1:09:40] we're always looking to

[1:09:46] keep up with

[1:09:48] um what our workers are doing and the

[1:09:51] jobs they're doing um and make sure that

[1:09:54] um they align

[1:09:56] with with the city needs.

[1:09:58] Um I've personally worked with

[1:10:02] Angie Angeli uh for number of years and

[1:10:05] she's a hard worker and deserves

[1:10:13] » All right. Any uh additional discussion?

[1:10:19] Uh Council Member Cedar.

[1:10:21] >> Thanks. Um I I noticed that we dropped

[1:10:23] the economic portion of that. What was

[1:10:26] the decision for that?

[1:10:28] >> There actually wasn't a decision. The

[1:10:30] information that was provided to me when

[1:10:32] I created the budget amendment had the

[1:10:34] economic development in there and I was

[1:10:38] later corrected that um or that

[1:10:41] information was later corrected and so

[1:10:43] we we

[1:10:44] um

[1:10:45] I it was just it was a correction and not a

[1:10:49] conscious decision.

[1:10:51] >> Uh understood. Thank you. I I think it's

[1:10:52] a good title. I think it matches what um

[1:10:55] Planning Manager Stahlnacker and

[1:10:57] hopefully Director Stahlnacker does

[1:10:59] works very hard for the community.

[1:11:00] Um I have a question about on page 93,

[1:11:03] which is regarding fund 503, information

[1:11:05] technology fund.

[1:11:08] Um I notice here, and maybe I don't know where this originated, the

[1:11:13] adjust budget for new website hosting

[1:11:15] and AI agent services.

[1:11:18] $44,000. Can you tell me about that that

[1:11:20] line item?

[1:11:21] >> Um possibly the mayor can help me a

[1:11:24] little bit with this as well. Um we're

[1:11:26] transitioning

[1:11:28] to a new website host, and this is kind

[1:11:31] of the the front end for setting up that

[1:11:34] new website host. So, our old website

[1:11:37] hosting

[1:11:39] costs will go away and these will

[1:11:41] replace it. It's just that there's a bit

[1:11:44] of a crossover period

[1:11:46] in 2026, where where we have both the

[1:11:50] implementation of the new system and

[1:11:52] paying the remainder um

[1:11:54] of the old system. I don't know if

[1:11:56] there's anything

[1:11:57] >> uh

[1:11:58] there's been a lot of complaints about

[1:11:59] our website and about how hard it is to find things. And so, we have we have

[1:12:05] looked um

[1:12:06] out to other cities and what other uh

[1:12:11] vendors are out there. And we have found

[1:12:14] one. This is

[1:12:18] uh it's about What was it we just paid?

[1:12:21] It's about $28,000,

[1:12:23] I believe. Um

[1:12:25] that we're that we're it's an upfront

[1:12:27] fee in order to pay uh for them to

[1:12:31] design and

[1:12:34] implement. And it should take between 6

[1:12:36] and 8 months.

[1:12:38] So, it's it's a it's a one-time charge

[1:12:41] to to essentially rebuild our website. And

[1:12:46] part of that website is going to have an

[1:12:47] AI agent that will um, that will crawl

[1:12:51] the site and and you'll be able to ask,

[1:12:54] um,

[1:12:55] >> Um,

[1:12:56] I feel like

[1:12:57] >> English prompts and and it will be able

[1:12:59] to go through all of the ordinances and

[1:13:02] everything that's available on the

[1:13:03] website and give a, uh,

[1:13:06] an English answer

[1:13:07] to, um,

[1:13:09] to the query. So, if somebody says, "Do

[1:13:12] I need a,

[1:13:13] uh,

[1:13:14] do I need a permit to build a fence?"

[1:13:18] It will not just give you a link to that

[1:13:21] area of the code, it will actually tell

[1:13:23] you, um, what you need to do in the

[1:13:25] process you would need to do in order

[1:13:27] to, um, to do that. And it will also,

[1:13:30] uh, take away, um,

[1:13:32] it will, should, I'm hoping that it will

[1:13:34] take away,

[1:13:35] uh,

[1:13:36] the, the need for people to call into

[1:13:38] the city and, and use staff time,

[1:13:42] uh,

[1:13:43] to be able to walk people through this

[1:13:45] because, again, the biggest complaint

[1:13:46] that that I have heard from people is

[1:13:49] that they can't find anything on on our

[1:13:51] website and so they're calling in and

[1:13:54] asking staff uh, to tell them what to

[1:13:57] click on in order to get what they're

[1:13:58] looking for. So,

[1:14:00] um, I'm just trying to, uh, make the

[1:14:02] website, uh,

[1:14:03] much more user-friendly

[1:14:05] and, uh,

[1:14:06] and ultimately free up some, uh, some

[1:14:09] staff time. So.

[1:14:10] >> Okay. So, this wasn't something that was

[1:14:12] budgeted for in our original budget,

[1:14:13] correct?

[1:14:15] >> That's correct. Yes, yes.

[1:14:16] >> So, it, obviously, it's it's below our

[1:14:18] threshold for approval, but

[1:14:21] Right.

[1:14:21] >> Um, yes, because the it it is it's two

[1:14:24] pieces. There's the website hosting

[1:14:26] piece and then the AI agent piece. And

[1:14:29] so, each of those,

[1:14:30] um, the those are distinct individual

[1:14:33] pieces, um,

[1:14:35] and

[1:14:36] contracts or invoices that were under,

[1:14:39] um,

[1:14:40] the separate council approval level of

[1:14:42] 40,000.

[1:14:42] >> Yeah. I'll just note that, you know, I

[1:14:44] found that line and I went back and

[1:14:46] reviewed to try to figure out where that

[1:14:47] came from and I was a little troubled

[1:14:48] that it wasn't actually kind of briefed

[1:14:50] in here cuz 44,000 like it's not

[1:14:52] nothing. That's a big budget adjustment.

[1:14:54] So, you know, just moving forward, I

[1:14:55] would appreciate like having that right

[1:14:57] up front. Um

[1:14:59] it felt a little hidden here since it

[1:15:01] doesn't appear in the ordinance that

[1:15:02] we're passing

[1:15:03] and it doesn't appear in the previous

[1:15:05] ordinances for the budget. So.

[1:15:07] Thank you.

[1:15:08] >> Thank you.

[1:15:09] >> Sure. Noted.

[1:15:11] Um

[1:15:12] and it's it's not going to be that much

[1:15:15] in this budget year. The other half is

[1:15:18] going to be

[1:15:19] in next year. So, we probably didn't

[1:15:22] really even need to make it this big,

[1:15:24] but

[1:15:25] we weren't sure at the time

[1:15:27] um

[1:15:28] until we got the contract and found out

[1:15:30] that they

[1:15:31] were were paying for it in thirds. So.

[1:15:34] >> Yeah, sorry. And and I would note I

[1:15:36] think it's a good I mean

[1:15:37] modernizing our website's a good idea.

[1:15:39] Ho- hopefully get like a little clippy.

[1:15:42] >> [laughter]

[1:15:44] >> Let's hope not.

[1:15:48] All right. Um any further discussion?

[1:15:52] Okay, it's been uh moved by

[1:15:55] Councilmember Robertson and seconded by

[1:15:56] Councilmember Hall

[1:15:58] uh to adopt ordinance

[1:16:00] Oh, I'm sorry. This is an action item.

[1:16:02] Is there anyone from the audience that

[1:16:04] would like to uh

[1:16:05] comment to Council before this is voted

[1:16:07] on?

[1:16:10] All right. Again,

[1:16:11] uh it's been moved by Councilmember

[1:16:12] Robertson seconded by Councilmember Hall

[1:16:15] to adopt ordinance 2144-26

[1:16:18] amending the 2026 budget as detailed in

[1:16:21] exhibits A and B. All in favor?

[1:16:24] >> Aye.

[1:16:25] >> Any opposed?

[1:16:27] Motion passes unanimously.

[1:16:30] Okay, moving on to

[1:16:33] item D, title change to the community

[1:16:35] development director on page 95 of your

[1:16:37] packet. This is an action item.

[1:16:39] And looks like I am presenting this

[1:16:42] item.

[1:16:45] Um

[1:16:46] tonight I am asking for your

[1:16:47] confirmation of [clears throat] Angeli

[1:16:49] Stonelake

[1:16:50] as the city of Milton's Community

[1:16:52] Development Director. Angeli has served

[1:16:54] as our planning manager for the past 5

[1:16:56] years. And I'm requesting that we make

[1:16:59] this title change to formally recognize

[1:17:01] the level of responsibility she has been

[1:17:03] carrying and the leadership she has

[1:17:04] demonstrated.

[1:17:06] Uh this is not simply a change in title.

[1:17:09] This is a recognition of the expertise,

[1:17:11] experience, and leadership Angeli has

[1:17:13] brought to the city of Milton and the

[1:17:16] expanded role she will continue to

[1:17:18] provide with within our organization.

[1:17:21] Angeli brings a strong educational and

[1:17:23] professional background to this

[1:17:24] position. She holds a Bachelor of

[1:17:26] Science in Geography and Regional

[1:17:28] Planning with a minor in Political

[1:17:30] Science. She is also currently pursuing

[1:17:33] a Master's degree in Management and

[1:17:35] Leadership through Western Governors

[1:17:37] University.

[1:17:38] Angeli uh recently graduated from the

[1:17:41] Northwest Women's Leadership Academy, a

[1:17:43] leadership development program

[1:17:45] associated with the City and uh County

[1:17:47] Management Association. Uh this

[1:17:50] leadership training has further

[1:17:52] strengthened her ability to work

[1:17:53] collaboratively, manage complex issues,

[1:17:56] communicate effectively, and provide

[1:17:58] strong leadership in municipal

[1:18:00] environment.

[1:18:02] Uh most importantly, Angeli brings more

[1:18:04] than 20 years of professional experience

[1:18:07] in urban and city planning, long-range

[1:18:09] planning, and environmental design.

[1:18:11] Her experience gives her a broad

[1:18:14] understanding of how planning decisions

[1:18:16] affect not only the individual projects,

[1:18:19] but also the long-term growth,

[1:18:20] development, infrastructure, and quality

[1:18:22] of life of the entire community.

[1:18:26] Her expertise includes comprehensive

[1:18:28] planning, land use issues, development

[1:18:30] regulations, long-range planning,

[1:18:32] environmental considerations, and the

[1:18:35] many competing interests that come with

[1:18:37] a responsible community development.

[1:18:39] These are areas that require both

[1:18:41] technical knowledge and the ability to

[1:18:43] work effectively with residents,

[1:18:44] property owners,

[1:18:46] uh developers, elected officials, and

[1:18:48] other agencies.

[1:18:50] The community development director

[1:18:51] position is an important leadership role

[1:18:53] within our organization.

[1:18:55] This position is responsible for

[1:18:57] overseeing the city's planning and

[1:18:59] community development functions,

[1:19:01] supporting uh responsible growth and

[1:19:03] development, working with residents and

[1:19:05] businesses, coordinating development

[1:19:07] activities, and helping ensure the

[1:19:08] city's planning and development

[1:19:10] processes are uh conducted

[1:19:12] professionally, efficiently, and in

[1:19:14] accordance with applicable laws and

[1:19:16] regulations.

[1:19:19] In my uh it is my honor this evening to

[1:19:21] request the affirmation of council to

[1:19:24] support my decision to appoint Angely

[1:19:26] Stalnecker as community development

[1:19:28] director and approve the corresponding

[1:19:31] title change.

[1:19:32] During her five years as Milton planning

[1:19:34] manager, Stalnecker uh uh

[1:19:37] planning uh manager Stalnecker has

[1:19:39] demonstrated professionalism, knowledge,

[1:19:42] and dedication to our community. She has

[1:19:44] developed a strong understanding of

[1:19:46] Milton's unique planning needs,

[1:19:48] our community priorities, and the

[1:19:49] challenges associated uh with uh

[1:19:52] managing growth while maintaining the

[1:19:54] character and quality of life that our

[1:19:57] residents value.

[1:19:58] She has also demonstrated the ability to

[1:20:00] take complex planning and development

[1:20:02] issues and work through them in a

[1:20:05] thoughtful and professional manner. Her

[1:20:07] experience allows her to look beyond the

[1:20:09] individual application or project and

[1:20:12] consider the broader impact on the

[1:20:14] community and the city's long-term

[1:20:16] goals.

[1:20:17] Her contributions have not gone un- gone

[1:20:20] unnoticed.

[1:20:21] In uh 2024, Angely was recognized as the

[1:20:25] City of Milton's Employee of the Year.

[1:20:28] I believe that recognition speaks to the

[1:20:30] level of commitment, professionalism,

[1:20:33] and service she has consistently

[1:20:35] demonstrated to our organization and our

[1:20:38] community.

[1:20:39] In making this recommendation, I want to

[1:20:41] share that I have spoken with members of

[1:20:43] our senior leadership team, as well as

[1:20:45] members of our community.

[1:20:47] There is a high level of confidence in

[1:20:49] Angelie's ability, uh

[1:20:51] professionalism, and judgment. I believe

[1:20:54] it is important to formally recognize

[1:20:56] the leadership role she has already been

[1:20:58] providing and give her the appropriate

[1:21:00] title

[1:21:01] and authority to continue that work.

[1:21:04] On a professional level, I have had the

[1:21:06] opportunity to work with Angelie and

[1:21:08] observe her professionalism, dedication,

[1:21:10] and commitment to the city of Milton. I

[1:21:13] have seen firsthand her willingness to

[1:21:15] take on challenges, work collaboratively

[1:21:18] with others, and uh

[1:21:20] help move important projects forward.

[1:21:23] I also believe that Angelie's extensive

[1:21:25] planning background provides the city

[1:21:27] with an important level of institutional

[1:21:29] knowledge.

[1:21:30] As Milton continues to experience

[1:21:32] development and faces increasingly

[1:21:33] complex planning and community

[1:21:35] development issues,

[1:21:36] having a leader with her depth of

[1:21:38] experience is a significant asset to our

[1:21:41] organization.

[1:21:43] I believe this title change

[1:21:44] appropriately reflects the ability uh

[1:21:47] that the level of responsibility Angelie

[1:21:50] has been uh

[1:21:52] taking on and provides the city with a

[1:21:53] strong and experienced leader

[1:21:56] uh for our community development

[1:21:57] functions. As mayor, I am very pleased

[1:22:00] to have Angelie Stahlnacker as a

[1:22:01] permanent member of my leadership team.

[1:22:04] I believe the city of Milton will

[1:22:05] benefit greatly from her experience,

[1:22:07] technical expertise, leadership

[1:22:09] abilities, professionalism, and

[1:22:11] continued commitment to our community.

[1:22:14] Therefore,

[1:22:15] Council, I I respectfully request your

[1:22:18] affirmation and approval of my

[1:22:19] appointment of Angelie Stahlnacker as

[1:22:21] Community Development Director for the

[1:22:23] city of Milton.

[1:22:26] Yes, Council member

[1:22:29] >> Move to approve the confirmation of

[1:22:31] Angeli Stallnecker to the position of

[1:22:33] community development director.

[1:22:36] >> Second.

[1:22:39] » Uh it's been moved by Council member

[1:22:41] Hall and seconded by Council member uh

[1:22:43] Poor. Council member Hall, would you

[1:22:44] like to speak to your

[1:22:46] motion?

[1:22:46] >> Again, um Angeli is available. I mean,

[1:22:50] she has

[1:22:52] I've seen her work on Sundays. I've seen

[1:22:54] her work Saturdays. I've seen her work

[1:22:56] all this weekend um

[1:22:58] for multiple days talking to people. Um

[1:23:01] her dedication to the citizens and the

[1:23:04] city

[1:23:05] um

[1:23:07] is above reproach.

[1:23:11] » Thank you, Council member Poor. Would

[1:23:12] you like to speak to your second?

[1:23:14] >> Thank you, Mayor.

[1:23:16] That's twice you had to beat me to the

[1:23:18] uh punch there.

[1:23:19] >> [laughter]

[1:23:20] >> Sorry.

[1:23:20] >> Um

[1:23:21] Mayor, thank you for presenting that uh

[1:23:24] honor honored words and um

[1:23:27] everything that you shared on how hard

[1:23:29] she works and serves the community. Um

[1:23:31] all the hats she has to wear and thank

[1:23:33] you for um

[1:23:35] awesome endorsement.

[1:23:37] Hard to follow that.

[1:23:38] >> [laughter]

[1:23:39] >> Um I personally can attest that Angeli

[1:23:41] has been wonderful to work with. Um

[1:23:44] you know, the biggest thing I've worked

[1:23:46] with her on is the tree ordinance and

[1:23:49] she's been very kind, patient, um

[1:23:52] been able to come and compartmentalize a

[1:23:54] lot of the different questions and also

[1:23:57] uh helped me with different areas. Um

[1:24:00] and especially being a new council

[1:24:02] member, I feel that your presentations

[1:24:04] have been really wonderful in general

[1:24:06] across the board. And just really

[1:24:08] appreciate um how kind you are and and

[1:24:11] how hard it is to wear so many different

[1:24:14] hats and you probably do the work of

[1:24:17] several positions.

[1:24:19] Um and so I appreciate that you took the

[1:24:22] time to honor so much of what she does.

[1:24:24] Thank you.

[1:24:25] And thank you for your service.

[1:24:28] >> Any additional discussion? Yes,

[1:24:29] Councilmember

[1:24:33] » I just want to acknowledge with

[1:24:34] gratitude putting the job description in

[1:24:38] writing so that it becomes part of the

[1:24:39] record and it's a

[1:24:41] very complex job description.

[1:24:45] For sure.

[1:24:47] >> Councilmember Roberts.

[1:24:48] >> Thank you, Mayor. Um just on a personal

[1:24:50] note, thank you uh for all you do. Thank

[1:24:52] you for meeting on with me on Friday um

[1:24:55] when the city's closed. I really

[1:24:56] appreciate all you've done again to uh

[1:24:59] reiterate the sentiment of John uh

[1:25:01] Councilmember Poor, being a new

[1:25:03] Councilmember. I mean, you're a pleth-

[1:25:05] plethora plethora of knowledge. So, um

[1:25:09] using all your information, all your

[1:25:11] knowledge, all your extensive uh

[1:25:12] education, etc. has been extremely uh

[1:25:15] helpful. So, thank you for that.

[1:25:18] >> Any additional discussion?

[1:25:22] Seeing none, it's been moved by uh

[1:25:24] Councilmember Hall and seconded by

[1:25:26] Councilmember Poor to approve the

[1:25:28] confirmation of Angeli Salnecker to the

[1:25:30] position of Community Development

[1:25:31] Director. All in favor?

[1:25:34] >> I.

[1:25:35] >> All opposed? Any opposed?

[1:25:38] Motion passes. And I forgot to ask if

[1:25:41] the audience wanted to

[1:25:43] say anything.

[1:25:44] >> [applause]

[1:25:53] » ALL RIGHT.

[1:25:55] MOVING ON TO item E, the Salary

[1:25:58] Commission Ordinance on page 103. It's

[1:26:00] an action item and uh Finance Director

[1:26:04] Robeck will be presenting this item.

[1:26:07] >> Thank you again, Mayor and Council.

[1:26:09] Compensation for city council members

[1:26:11] has been fixed at $400 per month since

[1:26:14] at least 2002.

[1:26:16] Since [snorts] this amount has been

[1:26:17] unchanged for over 20 years, staff is

[1:26:19] proposing the establishment of a salary

[1:26:21] commission to review the compensation of

[1:26:23] elected officials.

[1:26:25] This ordinance was presented at the

[1:26:27] study session on August 10th for first

[1:26:29] reading. Some minor language changes

[1:26:32] were made and a requirement that salary

[1:26:34] commission member members be residents

[1:26:36] of the city was added based on

[1:26:38] discussion at that at this meeting. Um

[1:26:41] the primary language changes were uh

[1:26:44] changing wages and benefits to just

[1:26:47] compensation. I think those were the

[1:26:48] only um text changes other than adding

[1:26:52] uh

[1:26:53] the requirement that the residency

[1:26:55] requirement. Um I'd be happy to take any

[1:26:58] additional questions uh once a motion is

[1:27:00] made.

[1:27:03] » Would anyone like to make a motion? Yes,

[1:27:05] Councilmember Recede.

[1:27:06] >> Uh move to adopt ordinance 2145-26

[1:27:10] establishing a salary commission.

[1:27:14] » Second.

[1:27:19] » Councilmember Recede, would you like to

[1:27:20] speak to your motion?

[1:27:22] >> Rather than ask leading questions, I'm

[1:27:24] just going to say the things that I

[1:27:25] think are important, which is that

[1:27:28] the the council's pay, nobody here is

[1:27:30] doing it for the pay, and this is the

[1:27:32] alternative

[1:27:34] um to council setting its own pay in the

[1:27:36] future. So, this is an independent

[1:27:38] commission

[1:27:39] that the citizens can then have a

[1:27:40] referendum on

[1:27:42] if if they see fit. So,

[1:27:45] I I think this is a good thing for

[1:27:46] moving forward to hopefully increase

[1:27:48] council participation, more citizens

[1:27:50] willing to join without viewing it as a

[1:27:52] strain on time, and actually being

[1:27:54] fairly compensated for the work that

[1:27:55] goes into this. So, um yeah, happy to

[1:27:58] see this.

[1:27:59] >> Councilmember Roberts, would you like to

[1:28:00] speak to your second?

[1:28:02] >> Uh yeah, so I just reiterate the same

[1:28:04] sentiments as uh Councilmember Recede.

[1:28:06] Uh it's been a long time since anybody

[1:28:07] in councils uh got an change, but again,

[1:28:10] we're we're all doing this uh you know,

[1:28:12] because we love to help out the

[1:28:13] community, etc. So, um this does allow

[1:28:16] the opportunity to potentially have any

[1:28:19] kind of increase or decrease for that

[1:28:20] matter. So, uh yeah, it's it's uh it's

[1:28:23] due. So, thank you.

[1:28:25] >> Any additional discussion? Council

[1:28:27] member Hall.

[1:28:30] » I agree we all deserve it. Um we work

[1:28:34] hard.

[1:28:35] Um I feel like this was premature. I

[1:28:38] really think it should have happened

[1:28:39] after budget or

[1:28:41] at least we knew what the budget is for

[1:28:44] next year. Um because this will not come

[1:28:46] back to council.

[1:28:49] This will be enacted, correct?

[1:28:53] And

[1:28:55] that

[1:28:58] gives me pause, um because our first job

[1:29:01] is really the budget.

[1:29:04] Um

[1:29:06] and we have no way of knowing what the

[1:29:07] costs

[1:29:09] could be.

[1:29:10] Um but again, you can't do it without it

[1:29:13] because you can't do the budget. So,

[1:29:15] it's

[1:29:17] it it makes me nervous.

[1:29:21] Um

[1:29:23] we could cause

[1:29:25] farther deficit to the budget.

[1:29:28] >> Finance Director Rubik, um

[1:29:30] I I believe [clears throat]

[1:29:32] that if anything were to happen, it

[1:29:35] would happen prior to the budget

[1:29:38] being enacted, correct?

[1:29:40] >> Um yeah, well, the the budget I I'm I'm

[1:29:43] not sure how quickly the I've never been

[1:29:45] involved with the salary commission

[1:29:47] before. I'm not sure how quickly um

[1:29:50] people could be appointed and a decision

[1:29:52] could be made. Um the budget is due to

[1:29:55] be adopted um

[1:29:58] set to be adopted either the first or

[1:29:59] the second meeting. It's usually at the

[1:30:01] first meeting in December. Sometimes um

[1:30:04] it has been the the meeting. Uh so, if

[1:30:07] all of that could happen before that, I

[1:30:09] could incorporate it into the 2027

[1:30:11] budget

[1:30:14] for approval.

[1:30:15] >> I I believe I saw it's 60 days

[1:30:19] >> once once appointed. Yes.

[1:30:21] >> Once appointed, 60 days.

[1:30:23] >> Mhm. With the option to extend that with

[1:30:27] council approval.

[1:30:29] >> Oh, we could extend it.

[1:30:33] Okay. All [clears throat] righty. Thank

[1:30:34] you.

[1:30:36] >> Any additional discussion?

[1:30:40] This is an action item. Would anyone

[1:30:42] from the audience like to speak on this

[1:30:43] issue before the council votes?

[1:30:46] Yes, please come forward.

[1:30:51] » [laughter]

[1:30:54] » Um okay. I have some comments on it. So,

[1:30:59] I dislike the timing of it. I'm not

[1:31:01] against salary commissions. Um I looked

[1:31:04] into it when we were going through the

[1:31:06] salary thing back in 2020.

[1:31:09] Um what concerns me is because there is

[1:31:13] no guardrails on this, the state doesn't

[1:31:17] limit um like it does with Pierce County

[1:31:20] or with counties, the increase.

[1:31:23] Um

[1:31:24] since it's been so long, if council

[1:31:27] would be willing to at this point do

[1:31:31] something, at least you know within your

[1:31:33] budget what you're willing to do, and

[1:31:36] then next time appoint a salary

[1:31:38] commission, just to bump it up somewhat.

[1:31:42] Um to me that seems more reasonable.

[1:31:45] And the other concern I had is with the

[1:31:48] ordinance, under duties and process,

[1:31:51] item C,

[1:31:53] the salary increase shall be effective

[1:31:56] on the next payday for city employees

[1:31:58] once it's confirmed. Shouldn't it

[1:32:01] acknowledge the referendum process?

[1:32:04] Meaning you have to wait the 30 days

[1:32:07] and then it would be on the next day.

[1:32:12] Cuz you I don't know can you claw back

[1:32:15] if it if the referendum happens. I

[1:32:18] wasn't sure.

[1:32:20] So, cuz this this ordinance doesn't

[1:32:23] mention the referendum process at all.

[1:32:26] So, thank you.

[1:32:30] » Yes.

[1:32:32] Please come forward.

[1:32:35] » Susan Johnson did I said Ditto. That's

[1:32:39] not my last name.

[1:32:40] Ditto. I agree. Um I don't think this is

[1:32:44] the time. I understand that we are under

[1:32:49] in the city for our council many many

[1:32:52] years. And I'm not opposed to a raise.

[1:32:55] I'm opposed right now because we do not

[1:32:58] know what the economy is going to be. We

[1:33:00] don't know what grants are going to come

[1:33:03] in. I I I think because there's so much

[1:33:06] uncertainty in our economic condition in

[1:33:10] the United States right now, this isn't

[1:33:12] the time. Wait till 23. If you're doing

[1:33:16] a three-year budget proposal concept or

[1:33:19] two-year,

[1:33:20] we don't have enough data right now with

[1:33:24] what's going to happen economically in 2

[1:33:26] years.

[1:33:27] So, I agree that maybe if y'all want to

[1:33:30] give yourself a little something, but

[1:33:32] we've got more increasing in this coming

[1:33:34] budget

[1:33:36] than income and different things

[1:33:38] happening. It looks like the cost to

[1:33:41] drug that the drug courts were going to

[1:33:43] get money, but there's still going to be

[1:33:44] costs associated with everything.

[1:33:48] This is not the time. We're getting

[1:33:49] taxed more. The people are we have to do

[1:33:53] the public safety tax.

[1:33:56] And I think regular citizen

[1:34:00] understands,

[1:34:01] you know, you've given your time and

[1:34:04] your effort and believe me, I've done a

[1:34:06] lot of years in this city since I moved

[1:34:09] here in 2009.

[1:34:11] And I remember being [clears throat] on

[1:34:12] council at 400 and I said, "Gee, with

[1:34:14] the hours I put in, hmm, that comes down

[1:34:17] to a cent a minute."

[1:34:19] Because I'm committed to the city. So,

[1:34:21] don't get me wrong. I understand.

[1:34:24] But I think

[1:34:26] the common person says, "I'm not getting

[1:34:29] anything right now, either. It's just

[1:34:32] hard right now economically for so many

[1:34:35] people."

[1:34:36] So, I'm asking to say yes, I agree. I

[1:34:38] think we should have had one before.

[1:34:41] And it didn't happen. I'm saying, go

[1:34:44] ahead and do one, but put it for a year.

[1:34:46] Again, the ref

[1:34:47] referendum's very important to note and

[1:34:50] documentation.

[1:34:52] So, I'm just asking you to delay it.

[1:34:55] Let's see what 27 is like

[1:34:59] and try to set it for 2028.

[1:35:03] I I think it's really important because

[1:35:04] I think we're going to be

[1:35:06] really hit, and that's just my bias,

[1:35:09] more with costs, taxes, and economic

[1:35:12] stress. Thank you.

[1:35:17] » Yes, anyone else? Yes, please come

[1:35:18] forward.

[1:35:23] » Jacqueline Whalen, Milton, Washington.

[1:35:25] Thank you for the opportunity to

[1:35:26] comment. I'll do the word

[1:35:29] text issue

[1:35:31] on page 106 of 114.

[1:35:34] I'm curious to know what an official is.

[1:35:36] Does that mean someone from the Civil

[1:35:38] Service Commission can't be on the

[1:35:42] salary commission? Just a question.

[1:35:44] There's nothing in there that talks

[1:35:46] about grounds for removal from the

[1:35:48] commission. Some cities do list that.

[1:35:52] Uh

[1:35:53] duties and process uh paragraph A

[1:35:57] um there should be some better wording

[1:35:59] in there.

[1:36:00] Um it's missing uh well, I'll just go to

[1:36:03] the sentence. The salary commission

[1:36:05] shall convene and determine the

[1:36:06] compensation paid

[1:36:08] to the mayor and city council within 60

[1:36:11] days of confirmation

[1:36:13] by the city council. It just there needs

[1:36:15] some extra words like

[1:36:17] the city council their confirmation uh

[1:36:20] for the I can put it in there later.

[1:36:21] It's it's equivalent to what is in C

[1:36:26] where it talks about

[1:36:28] a date within the time frame of when the

[1:36:31] commission

[1:36:33] was confirmed by city council.

[1:36:36] So, sorry about my muddied uh comment

[1:36:39] there.

[1:36:40] Uh but C

[1:36:42] um

[1:36:42] this these two paragraphs don't jive.

[1:36:45] If you're saying that the review and

[1:36:47] determination time

[1:36:49] uh has to happen in 60 days

[1:36:52] and C says within the 60 days

[1:36:57] the turn determination has to be turned

[1:36:58] in, you still have a whole legal

[1:37:00] process, you still have the referendum

[1:37:01] process. There's no real due date.

[1:37:05] I've seen some cities that talk in terms

[1:37:08] of the commission shall meet at such and

[1:37:10] such a month. They shall meet on certain

[1:37:12] days. Their work shall be due by such

[1:37:14] and such a date. That gives time for

[1:37:16] legal that gives time for a referendum

[1:37:20] process because referendum as I

[1:37:22] understand it is limited to certain

[1:37:24] elections. So, there's there's just a

[1:37:26] lot of

[1:37:28] I know this is based on some another

[1:37:30] city's code but uh there's just a lot of

[1:37:34] open space in there for me.

[1:37:36] Um

[1:37:37] the premise that more money's going to

[1:37:39] make more candidates, I don't know.

[1:37:41] Where's the proof? How much money is

[1:37:43] that going to take? The people who are

[1:37:45] going to be on the salary commission,

[1:37:46] where do they get their education? What

[1:37:48] I mean is it just look around? There is

[1:37:50] no competition here. You can't say,

[1:37:53] "Well, I'm going to go be the mayor in

[1:37:55] such and such a city." You are mayor

[1:37:57] where you reside. So, competition isn't

[1:37:59] a factor if that's the thinking of

[1:38:02] here's why we should be doing more.

[1:38:04] Um

[1:38:06] who's the staff liaison? There's just

[1:38:08] there's been no real presentation of how

[1:38:10] this thing is to work given the fact

[1:38:13] that we've never done it before. It'd be

[1:38:14] kind of nice to know what we're getting

[1:38:16] into. Thank you.

[1:38:18] >> Thank you.

[1:38:20] Any additional

[1:38:21] public comment before the vote?

[1:38:25] All right, seeing none.

[1:38:28] It's been moved by Council Member Cedar

[1:38:30] and seconded by Council Member Roberts

[1:38:32] to adopt uh ordinance 2145-26

[1:38:36] establishing a salary commission. All in

[1:38:38] favor?

[1:38:39] >> I.

[1:38:40] >> Any opposed?

[1:38:42] >> Nay.

[1:38:43] >> Okay.

[1:38:45] It's

[1:38:46] passed. What do we have? Uh 5 to 1.

[1:38:53] All right.

[1:38:54] The next item on the agenda is item 8F

[1:38:57] on page 109 of your packet, the police

[1:39:00] vehicle surplus resolution 26-2006.

[1:39:04] And uh Chief Hernandez will be

[1:39:06] presenting this item for us.

[1:39:09] >> Good evening, Council and guests.

[1:39:10] Tonight uh bringing before you a

[1:39:12] recommended action to approve resolution

[1:39:15] 26

[1:39:16] 2006 declaring obsolete police equipment

[1:39:19] to be surplussed and authorized and

[1:39:20] disposed.

[1:39:22] Um many years ago uh we went through an

[1:39:25] amortization process and uh we agreed as

[1:39:29] a

[1:39:30] you agreed as a legislative body

[1:39:32] that it made more sense when a car's

[1:39:34] value um depreciates to the point that

[1:39:38] the repairs are more than the value of

[1:39:40] the vehicle that we go ahead and surplus

[1:39:43] those vehicles and this vehicle has

[1:39:45] reached that service life. It's 12 years

[1:39:47] old, has 83,000 miles on it. And so

[1:39:50] tonight what I'm asking is the

[1:39:52] authorization to go ahead and dispose of

[1:39:53] this vehicle.

[1:39:57] All right.

[1:39:58] I'd entertain a motion at this time.

[1:40:02] Council member Cedar.

[1:40:05] >> I move to approve resolution 26-2006

[1:40:08] declaring obsolete police equipment to

[1:40:09] be surplus and authorizing the disposal

[1:40:11] of same.

[1:40:16] » Council member Cedar, would you like to

[1:40:17] speak to your motion?

[1:40:19] >> No. I always appreciate you bringing

[1:40:20] this forward and our robust discussions

[1:40:22] about the fleet. Thanks, Chief.

[1:40:24] >> Council member Moss, would you like to

[1:40:25] speak to your second?

[1:40:27] >> Thank you for keeping track.

[1:40:30] » Any additional discussion?

[1:40:32] Council Council member Hall.

[1:40:35] >> Chief, that is one of the best cars

[1:40:38] to drive

[1:40:39] because when you sit in it, you go down

[1:40:42] into it, you feel like you're in a cage

[1:40:45] and you it it is very comfortable. Um

[1:40:47] but yes, they do get squeaky and wonky

[1:40:51] and steering is

[1:40:54] hard to drive.

[1:40:55] Um but

[1:40:57] it was a good car.

[1:41:00] » It'll be available for sale.

[1:41:02] >> [laughter]

[1:41:03] >> What was that?

[1:41:04] >> I said it would be available for sale.

[1:41:07] >> No, it would be available.

[1:41:08] >> yes.

[1:41:09] >> [laughter]

[1:41:10] >> Okay.

[1:41:11] Uh Council member Roberts.

[1:41:12] >> When?

[1:41:14] >> [laughter]

[1:41:15] >> When will it be for sale?

[1:41:17] >> Uh what we usually do is we invite um at

[1:41:20] least five people

[1:41:22] or five companies. We put out an

[1:41:24] advertisement to place a bid and so

[1:41:28] um

[1:41:29] then whoever the highest bidder is is

[1:41:30] the one who gets the bid.

[1:41:32] So.

[1:41:34] >> Yeah, anyone out there interested, uh

[1:41:36] feel free [laughter] to

[1:41:37] contact the city.

[1:41:39] Any additional discussion?

[1:41:43] It's an action item. Is there anyone in

[1:41:44] the audience that would like to speak on

[1:41:46] this issue?

[1:41:48] Okay, seeing none. It's been moved by

[1:41:50] Council Member Cedar and seconded by

[1:41:52] Council Member Mounts

[1:41:54] to approve resolution 26-2006

[1:41:57] declaring obsolete police equipment to

[1:41:59] be surplus and authorizing the disposal

[1:42:02] of same. All in favor?

[1:42:03] >> Aye.

[1:42:04] >> Any opposed?

[1:42:06] Motion passes unanimously.

[1:42:09] All right.

[1:42:11] Moving to council reports.

[1:42:14] Council Member Roberts.

[1:42:16] >> Thanks, Mayor. I just like to thank the

[1:42:19] events committee for a great showing of

[1:42:21] Milton Days. I'd like to thank Kylie

[1:42:25] personally for all that she's done for

[1:42:26] that.

[1:42:28] She worked a lot with the vendors and I

[1:42:29] appreciate all the work because I mean

[1:42:30] we had great food, great vendors, etc.

[1:42:33] So, we put on a a good show. And I've

[1:42:35] been living in Milton for 12 years and

[1:42:36] this is the first time I've had the

[1:42:37] opportunity to actually attend Milton

[1:42:40] Days. So, it was a a good time.

[1:42:43] So, yeah, thank you

[1:42:44] to to everybody that was part of the Milton Days.

[1:42:48] >> Council Member Mounts.

[1:42:50] >> Ditto. Can I do that?

[1:42:52] >> [laughter]

[1:42:53] >> Ditto. It was It was uh

[1:42:56] very interesting to go to Milton Days

[1:42:58] and I enjoyed the bouncy houses and the

[1:43:03] kids. They all had a good time. I agree

[1:43:06] with some of the earlier comments,

[1:43:08] public comments that were made for

[1:43:11] points of refinement. And

[1:43:13] just nice to see the community

[1:43:16] come together.

[1:43:18] >> Thank you. Council Member Cedar.

[1:43:21] >> I Milton Days was great. Thanks so much

[1:43:23] for everyone

[1:43:25] putting together, being there. Just

[1:43:26] great to see the community come

[1:43:27] together. A lot of great comments.

[1:43:30] >> Council Member Poor.

[1:43:32] >> Nothing.

[1:43:33] >> All right. Councilmember Hall?

[1:43:36] >> I'd like to thank the city for National

[1:43:38] Night Out. Um police department

[1:43:42] um

[1:43:44] great job, bouncy house,

[1:43:47] um the touch-a-truck.

[1:43:50] Um that is probably the most kids I've

[1:43:54] ever seen at any event for City Milton.

[1:43:58] Uh events was fun. Um yes, there is some

[1:44:01] room for refinement. Um I think we

[1:44:03] probably need to go through um jobs for

[1:44:07] who's responsible for what.

[1:44:11] Um and

[1:44:14] so the volunteers understand that the

[1:44:17] city employees are the ones

[1:44:19] they go to.

[1:44:22] » Councilmember McNally-Martinez?

[1:44:24] >> Um I just want to ditto on the Milton

[1:44:26] Days. I was very impressed with the

[1:44:28] vendors and the volunteers. Um

[1:44:30] I work for a city that has a lot of paid

[1:44:32] staff that does a lot of the jobs that I

[1:44:35] saw volunteers doing 100% by themselves,

[1:44:38] and I appreciate that, and um thank you

[1:44:41] for doing that for our community.

[1:44:46] » All right. Moving on to director

[1:44:48] reports. Uh

[1:44:50] I was going to say planning manager

[1:44:51] Stallnecker, but uh

[1:44:55] I'm sorry. What is your new title?

[1:44:57] >> Director.

[1:44:58] >> [laughter]

[1:44:58] >> Director. I'll just call you Director

[1:45:00] Stallnecker.

[1:45:04] » Um

[1:45:05] a couple things real quick. Uh following

[1:45:07] up for Milton Days, um

[1:45:10] since Dustin's not here, I will do a

[1:45:11] shout-out to the crew who was there

[1:45:14] early, was there late. They set up, they

[1:45:17] tore down, they were there throughout

[1:45:19] the day picking up garbage and doing

[1:45:20] stuff. Um they were really helpful, and

[1:45:23] um and they

[1:45:26] and that's sort of a volunteer I mean,

[1:45:28] we need people to do it, but we sort of

[1:45:29] start with who wants to do it. And I

[1:45:31] appreciate all of them that were there.

[1:45:33] Um, yeah, there was some

[1:45:35] um

[1:45:38] some adjustment at the last minute that

[1:45:39] had that kind of got us tucked in the

[1:45:41] corner

[1:45:42] um

[1:45:43] between the fish and the stage and

[1:45:46] um

[1:45:47] it was fine. I mean, it was loud.

[1:45:49] >> [laughter]

[1:45:50] >> And um it was you know, we probably

[1:45:52] didn't reach as many people as we would

[1:45:53] have liked. We did get to talk to a lot

[1:45:54] of people in line for the fish. So, that

[1:45:56] was good. A lot of kids came over. Um

[1:45:59] Framework was there kicking off the um

[1:46:03] the climate's information um

[1:46:06] and so we got surprise surprise the

[1:46:08] number one thing people definitely

[1:46:10] always care about is sidewalks and bike

[1:46:13] connections and then obviously

[1:46:15] um

[1:46:16] trees and safe parks and all of that.

[1:46:19] So, we will kind of process some of that

[1:46:22] um

[1:46:23] and we'll be looking at um

[1:46:25] some an outreach or a

[1:46:27] We're working on

[1:46:29] um a committee that will sort of

[1:46:31] cover a lot of the different, you know,

[1:46:33] getting the Puyallup Tribe involved, um

[1:46:36] different agencies involved, different

[1:46:38] residents involved to help guide some of

[1:46:41] that work. So, that's all coming.

[1:46:43] Um we just switching to Planning

[1:46:45] Commission um

[1:46:47] I we just heard today that it's not on

[1:46:50] YouTube. Um

[1:46:52] it is a new person that's running it.

[1:46:54] She is pretty sure it recorded. Her fear

[1:46:56] she didn't click the thing that launched

[1:46:59] it onto YouTube. So, we have an email

[1:47:02] out to our tech people. They will look.

[1:47:04] Sometimes it defaults and saves it on

[1:47:07] the computer and if you don't hit the

[1:47:09] right button to make sure it gets

[1:47:12] posted. So, fingers crossed we have the

[1:47:15] recording um

[1:47:16] and that we can post it later. Um and

[1:47:19] her and I will go through it again and

[1:47:21] make sure we're hitting all of those

[1:47:22] boxes. So, apologize for that. Um and

[1:47:26] then we are another thing with planning

[1:47:27] commission. I will be gone the week of

[1:47:30] September 8th for a conference and

[1:47:32] that's when the next regularly scheduled

[1:47:34] planning commission is. So, the planning

[1:47:35] commission is basically moving that to

[1:47:38] August 26th. So, a week from Wednesday

[1:47:40] we will do

[1:47:42] um

[1:47:43] that meeting will sort of take place of

[1:47:45] the September meeting. Um we are talking

[1:47:47] we are um reviewing some the kind of the

[1:47:50] next proposal for trees that the city

[1:47:53] council kick um sent back to them, as

[1:47:56] well as looking at some um

[1:47:59] updates to definitions and table of uses

[1:48:01] and stuff. So, that'll all be coming

[1:48:04] back in September. So,

[1:48:07] um I think that's it. And then thank you

[1:48:08] for all the nice words.

[1:48:11] » Thank you. Um Finance Director Robey.

[1:48:14] >> No comment.

[1:48:15] >> Chief Fernandez.

[1:48:16] >> Uh just want to reiterate National Night

[1:48:19] Out was great and really want to thank

[1:48:21] Jessica and Nils for all the hard work

[1:48:22] that they did and it's the biggest

[1:48:24] turnout that I've seen in 12 years that

[1:48:26] I've been here. So, we'll continue with

[1:48:28] that tradition every year

[1:48:30] and make it bigger. And it was nice to

[1:48:32] meet and greet with the community.

[1:48:33] Milton Days was great and want to thank

[1:48:36] all the volunteer staff and all the help

[1:48:38] that they provided, the events

[1:48:39] committee, and a special shout out to

[1:48:42] Jessica, Nils, and Tim for their

[1:48:44] tireless effort on the staff end of

[1:48:47] coordinating and working with the events

[1:48:49] committee to get this all pulled

[1:48:51] together.

[1:48:52] And uh we have a tentative agreement

[1:48:54] with the guild where we're waiting their

[1:48:56] vote and so I'll be bringing the uh

[1:48:59] hopefully a completed uh and ratified

[1:49:02] agreement back for council's

[1:49:03] consideration. And uh we're quite

[1:49:05] pleased with uh

[1:49:08] the bargaining and how fast it was able

[1:49:10] to happen.

[1:49:12] And

[1:49:13] if you say something, if you see

[1:49:14] something, say something.

[1:49:16] And together we're stronger.

[1:49:19] >> Thank you, Chief.

[1:49:21] Um

[1:49:22] I noticed that we do have one of the

[1:49:24] members of our events committee here,

[1:49:26] and if

[1:49:28] you'd indulge me, I'd like to give her a

[1:49:31] hand for

[1:49:33] >> [applause]

[1:49:37] » for putting together a great Milton

[1:49:39] Days, and

[1:49:41] six of the seven members were brand new,

[1:49:44] and so

[1:49:45] they

[1:49:48] I'm impressed. Thank you so very much.

[1:49:51] Um

[1:49:53] I was a chauffeur on for most of the day

[1:49:57] for Milton Days. I was

[1:49:59] taking vendors back and forth uh

[1:50:02] to parking at the in the morning and

[1:50:04] also in the afternoon.

[1:50:06] And

[1:50:08] the comments that I got in the afternoon

[1:50:10] were that the repeat vendors were saying

[1:50:13] that it was the the best Milton Days

[1:50:16] that they had experienced so far.

[1:50:20] And that uh

[1:50:23] that they were looking forward to next

[1:50:24] year. And so

[1:50:27] yeah,

[1:50:28] the events committee and the city staff

[1:50:30] that supported them

[1:50:32] did a wonderful job. And thank you so

[1:50:34] very much, and thank you to the

[1:50:35] community for making it such a success.

[1:50:38] Um with that is there

[1:50:41] anything else for this evening?

[1:50:44] Okay. Uh seeing that all agenda items

[1:50:46] have been concluded, I adjourn this

[1:50:48] meeting at 8:00

City Council Meeting 8/17/26

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