[0:01] You ready, Stephanie?
>> Okay.
[0:05] Uh, good evening everyone and uh,
welcome to the August 18th, 2026 meeting
[0:12] of the West Richland Count City Council.
I will call the meeting to order at 6
[0:17] PM. And before we get started, I'm going
to ask our city clerk, Miss Stephanie
[0:22] Hog, to read the hybrid meeting ground
rules and then call roll for city
[0:26] council.
>> Thank you, mayor. Tonight's meeting will
[0:29] be held in person with a virtual meeting
component. If you are participating
[0:33] virtually, please make sure the name
shown at the bottom of your video view
[0:37] is the name you would like the mayor to
use. You can change this by
[0:40] right-clicking on your video view and
selecting rename. Audience members
[0:44] present in the council chambers will be
called upon first during public comment
[0:48] periods. Those participating remotely
should virtually raise your hand if you
[0:52] wish to speak. To virtually raise your
hand, click on participants and then
[0:56] click on raise hand. If you are
participating by phone only, press
[1:00] asterk 9 to raise your hand. Please
limit comments to three minutes. And
[1:05] just a note that this is the last
meeting um that we will be accepting
[1:09] virtual comments. Um and more
information on the new process will be
[1:14] published on the city's website and
shared on social media uh which will go
[1:18] into effect for our meeting on September
1st.
[1:22] All right, roll call. Fred Brink
>> here.
[1:25] » Richard Bloom
>> here. David Cole
[1:27] » here.
>> David Fedto
[1:29] » here.
>> Kate Moran
[1:31] » present.
>> Dan Richie
[1:33] » here.
>> John Smart
[1:35] » here.
>> Ben Stoker
[1:37] » here.
>> All right. Thank you, city clerk. And
[1:41] now I will ask council member Cole to
lead us in the pledge of allegiance.
[1:45] Please
[1:50] » flag of the United States of America and
to the republic for which it stands. One
[1:56] nation under God, indivisible, with
liberty and justice for all.
[2:04] » Thank you, Council Member Cole. Uh,
council, you have an agenda before you.
[2:09] Are there any changes to the agenda?
Hearing none, may I have a motion to
[2:15] approve the agenda as presented?
>> I move to approve the agenda as
[2:19] presented.
>> Second.
[2:21] » Have a motion and a second to approve
the agenda as presented. All in favor,
[2:25] please say I. I.
>> I.
[2:27] » Any oppose, say no. Motion carries.
Thank you, councel. And uh
[2:32] presentations. We have one presentation
this morning. I'm going to ask our
[2:36] finance director, Miss Aaron Gwyn, to
present the financial report for the
[2:40] first quarter of 2026.
Miss Gwyn.
[2:45] » All right. Thank you, Mayor Brink. Good
evening, council citizens. Uh this
[2:49] evening I'm presenting the 2026 first
quarter financial report. The flow will
[2:55] be similar to the reports I've given in
the past starting with an overview of
[3:00] the economic update followed by specific
financial information regarding the
[3:05] general fund followed by the other
funds.
[3:08] Uh for the first overview of the economy
slide uh we'll start with the
[3:13] unemployment which was increased to 5.2%
2% in Benton County. Uh, another
[3:19] economic indicator is the
um consumer price index um
[3:26] which nationally had a 12-month
percentage increase of 3.3% when
[3:31] comparing March of 25 to March of 26.
This is slightly up from 2.7 in
[3:37] December. Uh Seattle metro is a little
bit higher even at 3.9%
[3:43] uh which was up from 3.1.
Uh the trend is hovering around 3% range
[3:49] which is a more normal inflation rate
compared to recent years.
[3:54] Uh locally we look at city's building
activity. Single family permits issued
[4:00] in the first quarter were up 63% for the
same time period last year with 31 new
[4:05] single family homes and multifamily were
also up with 12. In terms of revenue
[4:11] generated, the city received more than
two and a half times the amount of
[4:16] building permit revenue that it did
first uh quarter last year.
[4:22] Uh this is another view of the new
single family home permits. Uh the bar
[4:27] graph shows the years in comparison and
the green line showing the addition uh
[4:32] of assessed valuation
for first quarter. Uh the city's single
[4:37] family home permits are higher than the
past three years. Uh this graph also
[4:43] demonstrates the volatility of the
building industry.
[4:47] Uh the next several slides look at
specific details regarding the general
[4:50] fund. This slide shows where the money
comes from in terms of budget. Uh you
[4:55] can see for general fund revenue is
generated from taxes at 68%.
[5:01] Uh the primary sources are sales tax,
property tax, and utility tax.
[5:08] Here's a view of the general fund
revenue collected. Uh the city collected
[5:12] 16% more revenue in 2016 compared to
2025.
[5:16] Uh sales tax and building permit revenue
were both saw significant increases at
[5:22] 13.7%
and 269%.
[5:27] Uh these increases help offset the
decrease in charges for services.
[5:34] So when reviewing trends, it's important
to look at how we're doing compared to
[5:39] what was budgeted. Uh, in addition to
the year-to-year changes, this slide
[5:43] compares the budget to what was
collected through first quarter of 26.
[5:47] The general fund collected approximately
64.3%
[5:51] of budgeted revenues. We're aiming for
about 62.5%
[5:56] at this point in the budget.
Um, so we're on track to meet our
[6:02] projections.
These next two slides will take a look
[6:06] at sales tax revenue. As shown in the
previous slide, uh sales tax increase
[6:12] 13.7% compared to the prior year.
Here's another view uh with the
[6:19] different business sectors. Construction
sector increased 27% and represents um
[6:25] just under a third uh 31% of sales tax
collected. Uh retail is another large
[6:32] sector increased by 4% and it represents
uh 35%
[6:38] of sales tax from the city.
Another major revenue source in the
[6:43] general fund is utility taxes. Overall
utility tax revenue decreased 3%
[6:48] compared to first quarter of 2025.
Um a second look at the utility tax. So
[6:55] water, sewer, storm, and garbage taxes
also increases. While your electric and
[7:00] gas, telephone, and cable were all
decreases, which we've seen in the past
[7:05] with the electrical, it tends to,
especially the coming out of the winter
[7:09] tends to depend on how cold it is.
Another major general fund revenue
[7:16] source is property tax which increased
1% compared to the same time period but
[7:21] the majority of these taxes are
collected in the second and fourth
[7:24] quarters.
So where does your money go? Most
[7:30] expenses in the general fund are for
public safety at 46% of our budget. Um
[7:37] this is pretty close to the 50% mark but
slightly under. And a lot of that has to
[7:43] do with the big transfer out at 8% which
we're still transferring money out for
[7:47] the well two and well three project.
[7:54] Um another look by department on where
your money goes. Uh total general fund
[7:58] expenditures
were at 56% for the banual budget as a
[8:04] general guide. Again we're looking for
something below the 62 and a half%. So
[8:09] again, uh on track.
Um the city has special revenue funds
[8:15] for street streets, park impact,
criminal justice, and library.
[8:20] This graph displays the major revenue
source for each fund.
[8:25] Uh every special revenue source saw an
increase on first quarter. Uh you'll see
[8:30] the park impact saw the most significant
increase. Um, this is primarily due to
[8:36] issuing the building permit to the
Copper View Apartments and it was their
[8:41] park impact fee that they paid for that.
Uh, this is a picture of the special
[8:47] revenue fund expenditures. The two
significant differences in the first
[8:52] quarter are in the criminal justice fund
105 and the library fund both saw
[8:58] increases in expenditures.
The criminal justice fund is mostly due
[9:03] to the increase in the transfer out to
cover police personnel uh costs
[9:08] associated with PST funds.
And the library increase is primarily
[9:14] due to the contract costs associated
with Mid Columbia.
[9:26] So next we'll look at our capital
project funds. This slide outlines the
[9:30] funds and their purposes. So, fund 301.
Um,
[9:38] this fund holds the state route 224
project as well as real estate excise
[9:43] tax for REIT one. Uh fund 302 is REIT 2
funds primarily for pavement
[9:49] preservation and fund 355 is the
transportation improvement program where
[9:55] most of that is transportation impact
fees
[10:00] for revenues for project funds. We have
seen activity pick up in fund 301. Uh
[10:06] this is primarily due to the state route
224 project and the revenue coming in
[10:11] from the state to reimburse the project
costs.
[10:14] The other two funds uh remain fairly
flat in the first quarter.
[10:20] The primary source
of funds 301 and 302 come from real
[10:26] estate excise tax. There was a 33%
increase through first quarter 26
[10:32] compared to 25.
Uh the bottom portion of the graph in
[10:36] the slightly darker blue uh reflects
what the rece received through first
[10:41] quarter and the lighter blue on top or
teal uh for the rest of the 2026 bar
[10:47] reflects what we have budgeted for the
year.
[10:53] [clears throat] Revenues for fund 355
are traffic impact fees. Uh the city
[10:58] received more than budgeted uh amount
for the year in the first quarter. Uh
[11:04] the primary source of these funds
uh were collected again from the
[11:08] copperview apartments.
[11:12] Uh this graph shows expenditures for
capital project funds uh through first
[11:17] quarter. Spending again has picked up in
fund 301 which is the state route 224
[11:22] red mountain project. And these last few
slides take a closer look at our utility
[11:27] funds for water collections uh increased
2%.
[11:33] Uh we had approximately 6,52 water
utility counts build at the end of
[11:38] March.
Uh sewer collections increased 6%
[11:44] uh primarily due uh to new residents
this past year and some rate increases.
[11:52] Uh here's an image of our irrigation.
Irrigation decreased 4%. Um this is a
[11:59] really small utility and pretty volatile
and the timing of payments uh on this
[12:04] one. I think we'll see see it pick up in
quarter two.
[12:09] Uh this graph displays storm water
collections up 8% compared to first
[12:14] quarter of 25.
uh again due to increase in rates and
[12:19] increase in number of residences.
And the last utility revenue is solid
[12:25] waste up 5% also primarily due to rate
increases. And this final slide is a
[12:32] view of the utility fund expenditures.
Most funds were fairly flat with the
[12:37] exception of the water sewer fund which
had some larger projects including well
[12:43] two and three.
[12:50] Thank you, Miss Gwyn. Uh, council, do
you have any questions for our finance
[12:54] director?
[12:57] Council member Smart.
>> Yeah, I was just wondering, you said,
[13:01] um, Aaron, uh, 6,52 water connections.
Um, what was it prior to this year
[13:09] roughly?
>> Um, I think December was around five. We
[13:14] were at the 5900 mark, maybe 5960 or so.
>> Oh. Uh, when we build these apartment
[13:22] complex, is that a is that a water
connection for each unit or is it for
[13:25] each or for the whole? That's a great
question for
[13:29] » No, I don't think we count for the water
connections. No. Uh, not per unit. We
[13:35] don't count those ones.
>> Okay. Thank you. And then we count them
[13:39] on [clears throat] the water uh not when
the building permit is issued but it
[13:43] would be when the water meter is
dropped.
[13:46] » Right. Okay. Appreciate that. Thanks.
>> Mayor Prom Bloom.
[13:52] » Um actually this isn't for Eric. Um you
you Erin, you you said that there was a
[13:59] traffic impact fees mainly from the
apartment. Um Rosco, what are we going
[14:04] to spend those on? What what
improvements? There have been a lot of
[14:08] concerns about the apartments and what
their impact's going to be on uh
[14:12] Belmont.
>> It it goes into the 355 fund, so I can't
[14:16] tell you exactly what it is, but you can
look at the the projects that are funded
[14:20] in there.
>> Okay.
[14:21] » Uh my guess um
I I don't remember, but there's a number
[14:28] of projects that are 355, and I'd say
it's spread out through multiple
[14:33] projects.
[14:37] Any other questions?
[14:41] » All right, Council Member Moran.
>> Thank you. I have to get that out
[14:46] faster. Um, I'm just wondering as a
general, I know that um, we ask in the
[14:53] past or I've asked in the past if we
could get copies of these to our email,
[14:57] but especially with me noticing for mine
that I'm running out of space more and
[15:02] more. Is there any way just to put this
on the website so that we all so that we
[15:07] wouldn't have to have it in each of our
emails so that it's that file times
[15:14] seven or eight? Um would we be able to
just put that and save some space on our
[15:20] servers?
>> Miss Sydney.
[15:28] All right.
>> Thank you. That would be fantastic if we
[15:31] could do that.
[15:34] No other questions. All right. Thank
you, Director Gwyn. Um, we'll now move
[15:39] on to the consent agenda. Tonight's
consent agenda includes payment of the
[15:44] bills, approving minutes from the
regular meeting of August 4th, 2026.
[15:49] Motion to authorize West Richland Chief
of Police to apply for the cops
[15:53] community policing development micro
grant. Motion to authorize West Richland
[15:59] Chief of Police to submit the Criminal
Justice Training Commission ESHB 2015
[16:04] Public Safety uh program grant
application
[16:09] and then ordinance uh to amend the 2025
2026 bianial budget. At this time, I'll
[16:16] hear any public comment on these
particular items only. Please, if
[16:20] there's anyone that would like to speak
to an item on the consent agenda, please
[16:24] come to the podium and kindly state your
name and city of residence for the
[16:29] record. And please limit your comments
to 3 minutes.
[16:34] Seeing no one here in the chamber, I
will turn to our online participants. If
[16:38] there's anyone attending online that
would make like to make a comment
[16:42] pertaining to the consent agenda items,
please raise your virtual hand or you
[16:47] may press star 9 if you're calling by
telephone. The city clerk will recognize
[16:51] you and you'll have three minutes to
provide your comments.
[16:58] I see no one online. So, seeing no
comment, council, may I have a motion
[17:03] for the consent agenda?
>> I move to approve the consent agenda as
[17:06] presented. Second.
>> Have a motion and a second to approve
[17:10] the consent agenda. All in favor, please
say I. I.
[17:14] » Any oppose, say no. Motion carries.
Thank you, councel. All right. Here we
[17:19] have the first period for public
comment. And this is for items not on
[17:24] tonight's agenda. If you wish to make
comments, please come to the podium.
[17:28] Kindly state your name and city of
residence. And I please ask that you
[17:32] restrict your comments to three minutes.
[17:41] Good evening. I'm Chelsea Blair. I'm a
resident of Richland, Washington. Um,
[17:46] but I am here to say thank you to all of
you, to Mayor Brink and to city council,
[17:50] to the staff of West Richland. I am the
board president of the Mid Columbia
[17:54] Children's Museum. Um, I just want to
take a minute to say thank you for your
[17:58] enthusiasm for the project of bringing a
steam centered hands-on children's
[18:03] museum to the community and specifically
to West Richland. Uh, we're incredibly
[18:08] excited about this partnership for the
enthusiasm that you showed about the uh
[18:12] growing the future of West Richland and
the entire Tri Cities community. Uh, the
[18:16] decision to pursue this public private
partnership reflects that shared belief
[18:19] in investing in our children and
investing in the future of our
[18:22] community. Uh we're so very grateful
that the your amazing city staff and all
[18:28] of you um are supportive of that mission
and the mission that it it grows the
[18:34] community in an economic way. It grows
that workforce development. It grows our
[18:37] families, the quality of life in our
community. We're excited to be your
[18:40] neighbor. We're excited to welcome the
rest of the community and the Mid
[18:44] Columbia and visitors into West Richland
to be part of the Mid Columbia
[18:48] Children's Museum and to see all the
amazing things that West Richland has to
[18:52] offer. Um, and we're just excited to be
here. It's been a three-year journey for
[18:57] us to bring this mission to fruition and
having an address and a location and a
[19:02] partner in this project through West
Richland really is just a testament to
[19:07] the excitement of the community. Um, so
thank you. It will take all of us and
[19:11] this is the first big step to show that
this really is a community project. Um,
[19:16] and we are so excited to be your
neighbors. Thank you.
[19:20] » Thank you, Miss Blair.
>> Is there anyone else who'd like to make
[19:24] comment present here in chambers?
Please.
[19:30] » Hello. I would also like to second that.
I'm really excited. Oh, I'm Anna from
[19:35] Westland. Thank you. And I would I'm
very excited about the idea of a
[19:39] children's museum nearby. So that is
awesome. And I'm here today because I
[19:44] wanted to hear your thoughts um
eventually on what your thoughts are on
[19:48] considering a moratorum. I listened in
on the last meeting and I heard your
[19:52] responses to data centers and I'm
grateful for your openness and about the
[19:56] issue. I hear you that you do care about
what gets put in West Richland and I
[20:00] know that you want to put don't want to
put anything here that negatively
[20:03] affects our environment or our health. I
heard Council Member Richie state that
[20:08] Washington has stringent regulations.
And while that sounds promising, it
[20:12] doesn't ensure that the regulations will
protect our unique area. We need time to
[20:17] research and put policies in place that
uniquely apply to our area. I also heard
[20:22] the comment that if an application gets
put in, we will have a lot of
[20:25] opportunities to have our voices heard
in regards to data centers. While we are
[20:29] grateful that for that opportunity, we
do not want to wait for an application
[20:33] to have our voices heard on this. We
want to put policies in before an
[20:37] application. We want the developers to
work within our guidelines rather than
[20:41] trying to convince us that their
existing guidelines are sufficient.
[20:45] We need a moratorum. I heard similar
comments from council member Smart. I
[20:50] heard you say that there is a
possibility that more modern data
[20:54] centers are bringing their own power and
then some. Quoted. So there is a
[20:58] possibility that having a data center
locally may actually enhance our power
[21:01] supply. I don't know. Now, we won't know
unless we see a proposal. I want to
[21:05] focus on the idea that we are waiting
for a proposal to learn more about
[21:08] what's being put in. We need to get
ahead of this. We need to put policies
[21:12] in place that give us a peace of mind so
we know that we are protected from the
[21:16] start. A moratorium is a step that is
necessary in every town with a data
[21:20] center. I believe this move will show us
citizens that our concerns are a
[21:24] priority to you. It will show us that we
are more important than the timets of
[21:29] large corporations and that you're
representing the constituents of this
[21:33] city. Personally, I don't think there is
enough information to know for a fact
[21:37] that we won't be negatively impacted by
a hyperskll data center here. However,
[21:42] regardless if we are allowing one here
or not, we need a moratorum to give us
[21:45] time to research more. Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[21:51] » Is there anyone else present here
tonight that would care to make comment?
[21:58] Good evening. Um, my name is Josh
[clears throat] Lozano. For the record,
[22:02] I live here in West Richland. I also
work in West Richland up the road at
[22:06] Bettona, um, the electric cooperative
that provides power to, uh, the city of
[22:11] West Richland. Um, I'm here to today to
also address the topic of of data
[22:17] centers in our service territory, West
Richland in particular. Uh, and really
[22:22] the first thing that I want to say is
that I appreciate the council and their
[22:27] your willingness to listen to uh to the
community on this topic. Um, I certainly
[22:33] appreciate the transparency. Uh, and I
also want to say that I I believe that
[22:38] there are many concerns within our
community and and so those those
[22:42] concerns should be listened to and and
they are deserving of careful and
[22:46] transparent review. Um, you know, I'm no
expert on the topic of all things uh
[22:52] data centers, but you know, I do have a
bit of knowledge on the energy side of
[22:57] things. Uh, I do have the privilege, as
I said, of working for Bentona as the
[23:02] director of energy policy. And so I I
want to say that Benton REA is certainly
[23:07] working to ensure that there are
safeguards in place for members to
[23:12] protect existing members. Um, you know,
in fact, we have a general policy in
[23:17] place that essentially states that, uh,
data centers will bear all the cost
[23:21] associated with their their growth and
development here in our communities. Uh,
[23:26] and those costs include many things.
They include the power supply. Uh, but
[23:31] in addition to the power supply, that
would include willing that power uh,
[23:36] into our communities. And that's going
to also cover transmission and
[23:40] distribution services, any system
upgrades that are needed, uh, including
[23:44] engineering, operations, maintenance,
uh, and other project related expenses
[23:49] and financial risk. Uh, existing members
will not be responsible for subsidizing
[23:56] data centers or any large load for that
matter. uh you know we believe that our
[24:01] our members uh should be protected and
and we want to ensure that that takes
[24:05] place and we're we're working towards
that effort through policy. Uh and so
[24:09] existing members will not be left
responsible in the event that the
[24:14] infrastructure or power commitments are
not fully um you know uh come to
[24:19] fruition. Uh and so I do want to talk
about rates as well. Um, you know,
[24:25] there's a a recent study that I want to
quote and I have that study here. It's
[24:31] an E3 study. I can leave that with the
clerk or I can email that as well. Uh,
[24:36] but essentially properly structured data
center loads can actually generate
[24:40] revenue uh that meet and exceed the
utility's cost of service. And so this
[24:46] study points out, it looks at a handful
of local data centers. it points out
[24:50] that um they can generate surplus value
beyond the cost of service. Uh so this
[24:56] surplus can be used to offset shared
system cost and create downward
[25:00] pressures. So I believe that's by
I will
[25:06] » if I could um just to be fair to
everyone I just have to ask you to stop
[25:10] but there's a second comment period if
you wish to finish.
[25:12] » Absolutely. Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[25:18] There anyone else present that'd like to
make comment?
[25:21] I'll move to our virtual attendees. Uh
if there's anyone attending virtually
[25:25] who would like to make comment, please
raise your virtual hand. You may also
[25:29] press star 9. City clerk will then
unmute you and you will have three
[25:33] minutes to provide your comments.
[25:39] I see no one virtually wishes to make
comment. Do you, Stephanie?
[25:44] » I do not see anyone. No. All right, then
we'll close this public comment period.
[25:48] As I mentioned, we do have a second one
later on in the meeting. So, we'll move
[25:52] on to ordinance, resolutions, motions,
and public hearings. The first item is
[25:56] ordinance 18-26,
admissions tax.
[26:00] City clerk Stephanie Hog will present
the staff report.
[26:04] » Thank you, Mayor and Council. As
discussed during the council retreat
[26:08] back in April, council has been looking
at opportunities to diversify general
[26:12] fund revenues and identify revenue
sources that can help support city
[26:16] services while minimizing the impact on
residents. At that retreat, council
[26:21] discussed the possibility of reinstating
an admissions tax and directed staff to
[26:25] bring regulations forward for
consideration. [clears throat] West
[26:29] Richland actually has some history with
an admissions tax. Shortly after
[26:32] incorporation, the town at that time
council adopted an admissions tax in
[26:37] 1955. That tax remained in place until
1959 when it was repealed and the city
[26:44] has not imposed an admissions tax since
that time. Washington law authorizes
[26:49] cities to levy an an admissions tax and
the ordinance ordinance before you
[26:53] tonight would create a new chapter 3.88
88 of the West Richland Municipal Code
[26:58] and establish a 5% admissions tax on
qualifying admission charges to places
[27:03] of amusement and entertainment within
the city. For perspective, a 5% tax
[27:09] would be would add 25 to a $5 admission,
$1 to a $20 admission, and $2.50 to a
[27:17] $50 admission. The ordinance also
includes a number of exemptions
[27:21] including qualifying activities
sponsored by schools, government
[27:25] agencies, and bonafide charitable and
nonprofit organizations. It establishes
[27:30] the process for collection and
remittance of the tax along with
[27:34] business licensing, recordkeeping,
enforcement, penalties, and an
[27:38] administrative appeal process. The
finance director would be responsible
[27:42] for administering the program. Revenue
collected through the admissions tax
[27:46] would be deposited into the city's
general fund and could be used to
[27:49] support general municipal services. At
this time, staff has not estimated a
[27:54] specific annual revenue amount because
that would depend on the number and size
[27:58] of qualifying events held within the
city. Staff recommends approval of
[28:02] ordinance 1826 creating chapter 3.88 of
the West Richland Municipal Code to
[28:07] provide for the levy and collection of
an admissions tax. And one note, the um
[28:13] copy of the ordinance that was included
in packets, I noticed that in section
[28:17] two, it's it indicates uh that it will
go into effect 5 days after publication,
[28:23] but in fact, the intent is that it is
effective January 1st, 2027.
[28:29] Thank you.
>> Thank you, Miss Hog.
[28:33] Um, we will now hear in-person comments
on this particular topic and then
[28:37] virtual comments. If anyone present
tonight would like to step to the podium
[28:41] and make a comment, please do so and
kindly limit your comments to 3 minutes.
[28:47] Seeing no one, I'll turn to our virtual
attendees. If there's anyone attending
[28:50] virtually who would like to comment on
this particular ordinance, please raise
[28:54] your virtual hand or press star 9 and
kindly limit your comments to three
[28:59] minutes.
I see no one virtually. Do you see
[29:04] anyone, Stephanie?
>> I do not.
[29:06] » All right, council, it's your turn. May
I have a motion, please?
[29:10] » I move to approve ordinance 18-26
creating chapter 3.88
[29:15] of the West Richland Municipal Code to
provide for the levy and collection of
[29:19] an admission tax.
>> Second. Have a motion and a second.
[29:23] Council, any discussion on this topic?
[29:27] Seeing none, call for the vote. All in
favor of passing ordinance 1826,
[29:33] please say I.
>> I.
[29:36] » Any oppose, say no. All right. Motion
carries. Thank you, councel. We'll move
[29:41] on to our next item, adopting the
economic development element of the
[29:45] comprehensive plan. Planer Colin Cortez
will provide the staff report. Mr.
[29:51] Cortez.
[29:58] [sighs and gasps] Good evening,
honorable mayor and members of council.
[30:01] Uh for those in the audience, my name is
Colin Cortez and I present to you on
[30:06] agenda item 8. Uh starting with the
economic development element. Uh as you
[30:12] probably remember, the comprehensive
plan periodic update project is ongoing.
[30:16] Specifically, it's an update of the
comprehensive plan that dates from 2017.
[30:21] And tonight, we will be discussing in
total four different elements of the
[30:25] plan. uh element being a term used to
the various chapters uh various topics
[30:30] within the plan.
Uh the purpose specifically for each
[30:36] element is to review new and revised
goals and policies and secondly to
[30:41] obtain a council majority agreement uh
through passage of the draft resolutions
[30:46] that are included with the elements in
your agenda packet. Uh for context,
[30:51] later this year there will be a public
hearing with a draft ordinance for
[30:55] adopting the whole of the updated
comprehensive plan uh that's scheduled
[31:00] for December 15th in order to meet the
state deadline of end of the year to
[31:05] have a new comprehensive plan and to be
in keeping with the terms of the grant
[31:09] from the state funding the project.
about the economic development element
[31:14] in particular. Uh the element contains
almost verbatim the same goals, policies
[31:20] and texts as something called the econom
economic development plan which city
[31:25] council had last revised back in October
2013.
[31:29] Uh so for this reason uh given that
there was a clear policy direction from
[31:34] the council and pastimes staff simply
revised the goals and policies in the
[31:38] economic development element to add
references to this development plan.
[31:43] Those references didn't exist previously
and also updated the demographic
[31:48] employment and financial statistics in
the element.
[31:52] Uh leading up to this point, the
planning commission met July 23rd and
[31:56] recommended the city council adopt the
economic development goals and policies
[32:00] that you find in your packet. The
council community development
[32:05] subcommittee met July 21st and
recommended due pass for the goals and
[32:09] policies
and as specified in the staff report.
[32:15] And then lastly, both the subcommittee
and the commission recommend that this
[32:19] evening the council adopt um or I should
say accept more precisely the economic
[32:25] development goals and policies.
>> Thank you, Mr. Cortez. I'll now hear
[32:31] public comment on this particular topic.
If there's anyone here present that
[32:35] would like to make comment on this item,
please come to the podium, state your
[32:39] name and and residence for the record.
Seeing no one, I will turn to our
[32:45] virtual attendees. If there's anyone
attending virtually who would like to
[32:48] make comment, please raise your virtual
hand or press press star9 on the
[32:52] telephone. City clerk will unmute you
and I kindly ask that you limit your
[32:57] comments to three minutes.
I see no one online. Do you see anyone,
[33:02] Stephanie?
>> I do not.
[33:05] » All right. Council, may I have a motion,
please?
[33:11] I move to pass resolution number 47-26
accepting the economic development
[33:16] element goals and policies for the 2026
update of the comprehensive plan.
[33:22] » Second. All right. Have a motion in a
second. Any uh comments, questions from
[33:27] council.
Seeing none, council, we have a motion.
[33:32] Oh, we do. I'm sorry, Miss Moran. Go
ahead.
[33:35] » Thank you. Um, just going back to the
fact that uh this is based off of the
[33:42] economic development plan that was last
revised in October 2013.
[33:47] Um, we've we've gone over this before,
right, in a couple of workshops
[33:53] previously. A lot
>> we have and and that is a stale
[33:57] document. I think that's what you're
getting at is a 2013 document, right? It
[34:00] is very stale. Uh, we didn't have
funding. the state didn't provide
[34:05] funding for us to go out and update that
document. So, until we have the proper
[34:09] funding to go do so, um it's just
continued to be stale and will be so
[34:13] until we've got funds to go and update
that economic development plan. Um
[34:20] hopefully someday in the near future we
can do that. But meantime,
[34:24] we just updated, as Colin mentioned, the
statistical data, made sure that the
[34:28] document was correct and accurate and up
to date
[34:34] » and it meets all of the current state
requirements for what we need to have in
[34:37] our comp plan.
>> Yes, ma'am.
[34:39] » Okay, that's all I need to hear.
>> Council member Smart.
[34:44] Yeah. So, thank you. Um so Eric on this
plan or uh there are a lot of words that
[34:52] say encourage. So, it's asking the city
to encourage business climate um
[35:00] encourage uh business growth um achieve
vibrant commercial are I just want to
[35:07] make sure that it's clear that this is
not a um this is not a statement of
[35:13] action but a statement of goals and and
sort of spirit of our operation and that
[35:18] if there's um specific action that would
be taken on one of these goals that it
[35:26] would be that it was going to cost us
money, frankly, that it would be brought
[35:29] to council as a proposal and that we
would get to see that before it just
[35:34] gets done behind the scenes. That that's
correct.
[35:38] » That is the common practice, sir.
>> Awesome. Thank you. I just wanted to get
[35:41] that on record. Appreciate it.
[35:46] » Yes. Yes. I can be a stickler.
So,
[35:50] » thank you, Council Member Smart. Uh,
seeing no other comments, council, all
[35:54] in favor, please say I. I.
>> Any oppose say no. All right. Motion
[35:59] carries. Thank you again, councel. Next
item on the worklist for tonight is
[36:04] adopting the parks and recreation
element of the comprehensive plan. Once
[36:08] again, I'll ask planner Colin Cortez to
present the staff report
[36:15] about the second element. A little bit
of background. So the city adopted the
[36:21] parks and recreation master plan 2023
2028 uh back in May of 2023.
[36:27] So because this is a fresher document
that clearly outlined policies regarding
[36:32] parks um staff updated the much older
parks element accordingly uh pretty much
[36:37] to reflect the information about parks
in the parks plan to be in the parks
[36:42] element. Uh the planning commission
admit May 14th and recommended that city
[36:48] council adopt the revised element
that was in your packet and specifically
[36:54] to adopt the goals and policies found in
the parks element.
[37:02] Thank you very much Mr. Cortez. Um we'll
now hear public comment on this
[37:07] particular item. Once again, if there's
anyone present uh who would like to make
[37:11] public comment on this item, please come
to the podium, state your name and
[37:15] address for name and resident, city of
residents. For the record, please limit
[37:19] your comments to three minutes.
>> Josh Lozano again, uh resident of the
[37:24] city of West Richland. And I just want
to say that I reviewed the plan and you
[37:28] know, I grew up in a small community and
I think we had one park, the city of
[37:32] Granger, uh well two parks. we had the
dinosaur park and then we had another
[37:36] park where we held the cherry festival
which they no longer do unfortunately.
[37:41] Um and so moving to the Tri Cities and
moving to West Richland in particular,
[37:46] uh I just found it really just welcoming
to see so many parks and the various
[37:51] neighborhoods and have a three-year-old
son and we spend time we used to live up
[37:55] on Collins Ridge. We used to spend a lot
of time at Flattop Park. Uh we now live
[38:01] uh right off of South Highland and so we
we visit both of the parks on South
[38:05] Highland uh go to the bombing range
complex. Um and it's just it's really um
[38:11] really good to see that the city is
investing time and effort and funds into
[38:15] uh amenities like parks that families
can enjoy. So I just encourage you to
[38:19] continue to look at uh investing in
those parks and in green spaces and uh
[38:25] places for families to continue to enjoy
our our local community. So, thank you.
[38:31] » Thank you, Mr. Lozano. Is there anyone
else present that who would like to make
[38:34] comment on this item?
>> All right. Seeing none, I will turn to
[38:39] our virtual attendees. If there's anyone
attending virtually who would like to
[38:42] make comment on this particular item,
please raise your virtual hand or press
[38:46] star 9 on the telephone and kindly limit
your comments to three minutes.
[38:53] I see no one online. Do you see anyone,
Stephanie?
[38:57] » I do not.
All right, council. May I have a motion?
[39:06] » I move to pass resolution number 48-26
accepting the park parks element goals
[39:12] and policies for the 2026 update of the
comprehensive plan.
[39:16] » Second.
>> All right, have a motion to second. Any
[39:18] council comments, questions?
>> Council member Richie.
[39:25] » Thank you, Mayor. Uh, I'd like to echo
the comments that Mr. Lozano made. Uh,
[39:30] this is one of the things that makes
West Richland a great place to live.
[39:35] And, um, I've lived here for going on 40
years, and this is one of the reasons.
[39:40] And when you walk down to the park with
your grandson in tow, your five-year-old
[39:45] grandson in tow, and he can't wait to
get there and then take a bus ride, hey,
[39:50] it it it just doesn't get any better
than that. So bottom line being that uh
[39:54] this is it's imperative that this is one
of the things that we take care of in
[40:00] ensuring the quality of life in in the
city of West Richland. Thank you.
[40:05] » Thank you, Council Member Richie.
Council Member Moran.
[40:10] » You um I would also like to echo this
and I have been recently going to a lot
[40:14] of parks because I just started playing
uh an app game that involves a lot of
[40:20] walking around. It's It's not the one
you're probably thinking of. It's the
[40:24] one that that one's based off of. But
needless to say, I have become very
[40:28] appreciative of all of the trees that we
have in all of our parks because I am
[40:32] very pasty white and the sun hurts me if
I walk around too long without trees.
[40:37] So, thank you,
>> Council Member Smart.
[40:43] Yeah, I certainly appreciate parks. I
think that was one of the things that
[40:46] drove me to be on the city council back
in 2015 actually was to protect our
[40:50] parks. Um I'm now in a position to
protect our budget as well. And so
[40:56] again, similar to the question I had
last time or just to bring it out front
[41:00] on page 171 on the last paragraph of our
packet um this is the uh red corrected
[41:09] version of the text. Um,
last paragraph indicates that West
[41:14] Richland should consider expanding ser
city services and addressing emergency
[41:20] emerging community needs for a
formalized recreation program as future
[41:26] resources allow. Creating a standalone
parks and recreation department will
[41:31] require dedicated ongoing funding for
staffing and program costs.
[41:36] Uh that's all very true and uh but I I
don't suspect this will happen anytime
[41:42] soon. I I understand why it's in there,
but um you know I will I will vote in
[41:48] favor of this um uh uh resolution. Um
but I have been a stickler on having
[41:58] the local government
fund recreation programs. I have no
[42:03] problem with recreation facilities. And
I also question at this time whether or
[42:09] not um a separate department is
necessary versus I I'm not sure that
[42:16] taking care of the parks for a town of
18,000 people or even 20 um rises to the
[42:22] to the level of a department head. So,
I'm just a little leerary about that and
[42:26] I just want to make that clear. Um, I'm
not saying no and I'm not saying yes.
[42:30] And I know this isn't doing either
either. But, um, it's something I wanted
[42:34] to point out because, um, I think as
citizens in a small town, unless we do
[42:40] run into a pot of gold somewhere, um,
there are so many other things that need
[42:44] to be funded besides having a city fund
a baseball coach or a softball coach
[42:50] when when that should can easily be done
privately and with the support of local
[42:55] businesses. So, that's just a comment.
Um, hope I'm not throwing wet rags on
[43:00] the parade here, but I will vote in
favor of this resolution. Thank you.
[43:05] » Thank you, Council Member Smart. Uh, as
staff is preparing the 2728 budget, I
[43:11] can assure you there will be no coaches
in the city budget.
[43:16] » Excellent. All right. So, um, no other
comments. Um, council, we have a motion
[43:23] and a second for resolution 4826. All in
favor, please say I. I.
[43:27] » I.
>> Any oppose, say no. All right. Motion
[43:30] carries.
Next thing to tackle is adopting the
[43:35] capital facilities element of the
comprehensive plan. Once again, um, I'm
[43:41] going to ask planner Colin Cortez to
present the staff report.
[43:46] » Thank you. And I can say even though we
live in a city, it takes a village. And
[43:50] by that I mean for this element in
particular, it's not just the city of
[43:53] West Richland, but a whole number of
other governments and service providers
[43:56] and agencies were involved in updating
this because as you can imagine, the
[44:01] very boring sounding phrase capital
facilities involves a lot of stuff that
[44:05] we take for granted. Um that makes
public life civilized and possible. Um
[44:12] more specifically uh public schools for
instance coordination with public
[44:15] libraries, fire stations, police
stations, emergency medical services and
[44:19] other city buildings. And with
consultant help and particularly the
[44:23] help of the public works director, we
comb through the various types of
[44:28] services described in the element uh the
information and demographic information
[44:33] as well and thoroughly updated that uh
to present to you this evening as part
[44:37] of your packet. Uh, and I'd add also
that the planning commission had held a
[44:41] meeting July 23rd and recommended the
city council adopt the element goals and
[44:47] policies in your packet.
>> All right. Thank you very much, Mr.
[44:52] Cortez. Is there anyone present here in
chambers who would like to comment on
[44:56] this particular item? If so, please come
to the podium.
[45:01] Seeing no one, I'll turn to our virtual
attendees. Is there any anyone attending
[45:06] virtually who would like to comment on
this particular item? If so, please
[45:10] raise your virtual hand or press star 9
on your telephone so the city clerk may
[45:15] recognize and unmute you.
I see no one online. Do you see anyone,
[45:22] Stephanie?
>> I do not.
[45:24] » All right, seeing no one. Uh, council,
may I have a motion on this particular
[45:30] topic? I move to pass resolution 4926
adopting the capital facilities element
[45:36] goals and policies for the 2026 update
to the comp of the comprehensive plan.
[45:44] » Is there a second second?
>> Oh, several seconds.
[45:49] » Point of information. Uh just to be
clear, is it acceptable to say
[45:55] approve rather than accept for this
[46:02] uh that I cannot answer specifically.
City clip.
[46:06] » Um so the motion is intended to approve
the resolution which the action of the
[46:12] resolution is to accept that portion of
the plan.
[46:17] » Right. It's just that what was said was
move to pass a resolution approving the
[46:24] capital facilities element.
I'm sorry. adopting the capital
[46:28] facilities element. So, it's okay to say
adopting for that. Okay. Thanks. Just
[46:33] want to make sure.
>> I didn't notice.
[46:35] » Yeah. All right.
>> Thank you, Council Member Moran. So, I
[46:38] have a motion in a second. Council, any
discussion on this topic?
[46:44] » All right,
Council Member Smart. I'm I'm forced to
[46:50] uh stick with my critique here. Um on
page uh 191
[46:57] um we it it has a goal policy goal five
policy M which is provide adequate space
[47:04] for community interaction fellowship and
recreation. Uh consider the feasibility
[47:09] of providing a community center. Um and
and then uh that's that's just the only
[47:14] point that I that I have there. Um, I
I'm I'm hopeful and I'm assured that
[47:22] that we won't actually put money into
considering the feasibility of a
[47:26] community center until that's brought
before council as a topic of
[47:29] consideration. Is that correct?
>> That is correct. And this is not a new
[47:33] goal or policy. It's a redundancy from
the last one, just rolling it over. So,
[47:37] yes, as as stated previously, John, that
is the standard procedure. If there is
[47:42] something that's in here that would
require funding that council's directed
[47:46] to move forward with, it would come
forward to council for approval to fund
[47:50] that project.
>> And that happens before we invest staff
[47:54] time and considering or any significant
staff time in considering such a thing.
[47:58] » Absolutely. Wasting staff time is not on
our agenda.
[48:02] » Very good.
>> We don't have enough of that.
[48:04] » Thank you, sir. Appreciate that comment.
That's all I had. All right. I see no
[48:10] other comments. Council, we have a
resolution. We have a motion to pass
[48:14] resolution 4926. All in favor, please
say I.
[48:18] » I.
>> Any oppose say no.
[48:21] » All right. Motion carries. All right.
Last bit of business is sitting before
[48:24] us now, and that is to adopt the climate
element of the comprehensive plan. I
[48:32] will once again ask Mr. Cortez to
present the staff report.
[48:39] I'll take a little longer to describe
this one because it's new and
[48:43] interesting to say the least. So, the
climate element is newly required by
[48:48] state government. Uh, specifically, the
Washington State Department of Commerce
[48:52] indicates that climate elements
throughout the state must address a
[48:56] minimum of six topics that are codified
in statute.
[49:00] Um leading up to this a major objective
was to adapt policies uh created by a
[49:07] regional consortium. So namely
throughout the tri cities a number of
[49:11] governments got together in concert to
come up with a whole bunch of potential
[49:15] policies that would conform with state
law. And that led to a spreadsheet from
[49:20] which uh city of West Richland staff
chose and winnowed down to a certain
[49:25] number of policies that went through a
number of local reviews to get to this
[49:30] point. Um a little bit more about that.
The Climate Commitment Act of 2021 is
[49:37] passed by the legislature and it was
Benton County, cities of Kenowick,
[49:42] Pasco, Richland, and this city uh with
the assistant of the Benton Franklin
[49:47] Council of Governments that came up with
the spreadsheet of potential policies.
[49:51] Um that regional consortium handled
technical analyses about whether it
[49:55] would meet statute, handled a degree of
public engagement, and came up with a
[50:00] very handy spreadsheet. That spreadsheet
found its way to the community
[50:04] development subcommittee meeting through
city staff which gave its opinion on
[50:08] which goals were more amendable um for
consideration.
[50:12] Um that happened on May 26 and councelor
Spar in particular was instrumental in
[50:17] recommending uh specific uh goals and
policies uh which were indicated in the
[50:22] staff report. The planning commission
then met June 11th and made its own
[50:27] recommendation for specific goals and
policies for that spreadsheet. Following
[50:31] that, the community development
subcommittee met again on July 12th or
[50:35] excuse me, 21st and uh after considering
with the commission and recommended uh
[50:41] came up with a new recommended set of
policies that reconcile the
[50:45] recommendations
and recommended due pass for the goals
[50:49] and policies that are in your packet
tonight. Uh overall the policies relate
[50:54] to risks such as extreme heat, flooding,
greenhouse gas emissions, uh reduction
[51:00] thereof, water conservation, and
wildfire. And most importantly, they do
[51:05] comply with these six uh six statutory
requirements. Uh and I'll stress that as
[51:10] the staff report indicates, policy
number four is the only one that meets
[51:14] uh one of the statutory requirements
specific to greenhouse gas emissions
[51:18] reduction. So it does have to be
adopted. Um, other than that, that's
[51:23] climate in a nutshell.
>> Right. Thank you, Mr. Cortez. I'll now
[51:29] open this topic up for public
discussion. Is there anyone here that
[51:32] would like to make comment?
Seeing no one present in the room, I'll
[51:37] turn to our virtual attendees. There's
anyone attending virtually who'd like to
[51:41] make comment, please raise your virtual
hand or press star 9. Kindly state your
[51:47] name and city of residence for the
record.
[51:52] I see no one online. Do you see anyone,
Stephanie?
[51:56] » I do not see anyone. No.
>> All right. So, with no public comment,
[52:01] council, may I have a motion?
>> I move to pass resolution number 50-26
[52:06] accepting the climate element goals and
policies for the 2026 update of the
[52:11] comprehensive plan.
>> Second. All right. Council questions,
[52:15] comments that have not yet been
addressed in the staff report.
[52:23] Council member Richie.
>> Thank you, Mayor. Uh, so now my
[52:28] understanding, what I heard a moment ago
is that the state sent us a list. We
[52:33] took and amended that list, consolidated
that list. Was it then sent back to the
[52:40] state for review? My question, my
question wants to make sure that we hit
[52:43] all the high points that they require.
So you'll notice in the in the element
[52:49] there towards the end where you have all
the goals um in one of the columns it
[52:52] lists each of the six requirements that
we're supposed to hit. And so as Colin
[52:58] mentioned the very last one hits all of
all three within a certain section
[53:02] that's required and then the other three
are a mixture of the other three
[53:06] requirements that we're supposed to have
updated. So yes, we do we haven't sent
[53:11] it to the state yet. That doesn't happen
until towards the end. So, we'll be
[53:14] sending that into them for their
blessing and and yes, you meet all of
[53:18] the criteria. So, should they disagree
with any of this, we'll be bringing back
[53:23] some modifications um at that point in
time. But we believe uh from our review
[53:28] that we meet all of those requirements.
I have had multiple conversations with
[53:32] Department of Commerce just to make sure
I understood that very principle because
[53:36] um the direction given to staff was is
that we didn't want to go overboard
[53:40] here, that we wanted to keep this very
focused. So we we kept it very focused.
[53:45] » Excellent. Thank you,
[53:49] » Council Member Moran.
[53:53] » Can't even get my name out. Uh I would
just like to give a big thank you to
[53:59] staff because with this being a new one,
I'm sure this one required the most
[54:02] amount of work. So thank you for that.
And I am especially very happy to see
[54:07] the part that talks about the tree
canopy because again this skin is not
[54:12] doing well in the sun and I would really
like to be a little bit more active
[54:15] outdoors when it's not freezing outside.
So thank you for this to all of the
[54:20] staff
>> here. Prom Bloom.
[54:25] » Well, I'd like to see the mulching
practices in the policy. Uh, as I've
[54:31] said, we need to have aation of the
soils here. And
[54:37] unfortunately, Richland's compost is not
the best in the world, but I did get a
[54:44] truck two truckloads delivered to my
property before I put in my grass. But
[54:49] it did help. And uh I I still think we
need to focus that on the new
[54:55] development that they you know let's not
plant grass on sand because it's kind of
[55:01] tough.
Um but um it there is a a reference to a
[55:07] tree planting program.
Do we have a tree planting program
[55:12] ongoing?
No. Okay. Thank you.
[55:19] Right.
Second question. Go ahead, Council
[55:23] Member Murray.
>> Actually, uh, just more of a statement.
[55:26] You know, one of those ways to not have
to worry about abading your soil is if
[55:29] you have a non-monoculture
and have a lot of the native plants out
[55:34] instead, which actually is less
expensive and doesn't require you to mow
[55:38] it all the time. And it can stay green
with just a little bit of water. I'm
[55:42] just saying, you don't have to amend
your soil if you want the native plants
[55:45] and they're pretty.
>> Thank you. With no other comments, I
[55:50] will ask council for a vote on
resolution number 50-26.
[55:55] All in favor say I, please.
>> I.
[55:58] » Any oppose say no. All right. Motion
carries. That gets us through uh that
[56:03] part of the agenda. We have no
unfinished or new business. So, we will
[56:06] turn to our second public comment
period. If there's anyone present here
[56:11] that would like to step up to the podium
and make comment, uh please do so at
[56:16] this time. kindly limit your comments to
three minutes.
[56:22] Think you're the only one, Josh.
>> Monop monopolize the tech.
[56:26] » If you would just restate your name as
>> Josh Lozano, city of West Richland. Um,
[56:32] speaking on behalf of Benton REA, my
employer. Uh, I just want to wrap up the
[56:37] remarks on the potential for uh, rate
benefits. Um the E3 study I that I cited
[56:44] further found that large load
investments can also support uh much
[56:49] needed grid expansion and modernization
uh improve system capacity and
[56:54] reliability uh local infrastructure
investments as well and the development
[56:59] of new power supply resources including
advanced nuclear geothermal and long
[57:05] duration energy storage. Um you know
this topic data centers it it presents
[57:10] legitimate questions that deserve
careful and transparent review uh from
[57:16] an electric utility perspective. Bettona
does have policies in place to manage
[57:21] the financial uh risks and operational
risks and with the right safeguards in
[57:27] place as we have a well structured
project um can certainly protect our
[57:34] existing membership. uh while also
contributing to grid investments and
[57:38] long-term uh rate stability. Uh Benton's
approach is is simple. Protect existing
[57:45] members, preserve reliability, and
require large loads to pay for
[57:50] themselves. Thank you for your time.
Appreciate it.
[57:53] » Thank you, Mr. Lozano. Is there anyone
else present that would like to make any
[57:56] additional comment?
All right. Seeing no one, I will turn to
[58:00] our virtual attendees. If there's anyone
attending virtually who would like to
[58:04] make public comment, please raise your
virtual hand or press star 9. Our city
[58:09] clerk will unmute you. Kindly ask that
you state your name and city of
[58:13] residence for the record. And please
limit your comments to three minutes.
[58:19] I see no one attending online who wishes
to make comment. Do you, Stephanie?
[58:24] » I do not.
>> All right. We'll now turn to staff and
[58:28] council reports. I'm going to look over
to my right. Staff members, anyone care
[58:33] to make comment? I will start with
public works director Slade.
[58:38] » Thank you, Mayor Brink. Uh just two
quick items. Uh tomorrow I'll join
[58:42] council member uh Smart. We've got a uh
legislative transportation tour. So this
[58:48] is with Good Roads. We'll be meeting in
Pasco and uh taking our legislators uh
[58:54] local. And we also have Representative
Fi who's the house chair of the
[58:58] transportation uh commission will be
there um touring. Um Westerson doesn't
[59:05] have a project. That's a good problem to
have because uh SR224 Red Mountains
[59:10] fully funded and so is our uh Keen Road
widening project. So those came off so
[59:14] we'll still participate in it but uh we
don't have a project on the list. So
[59:18] that's tomorrow evening and then uh
followed by a dinner meeting. Um, the
[59:23] other one is, uh, I'll make it public.
Uh, the email went out to council so
[59:28] they know that the Keen Road Van Geese
roundabout will be open not this Friday,
[59:32] but next Friday, uh, August 28th. So,
the contractor continues to make great
[59:36] progress. We delayed it a few days. I
kind of jumped the gun getting that date
[59:40] out there, but there's some extra
concrete that needs to be poured that we
[59:43] don't want to have to close down the
roundabout at a later date. So, we're
[59:46] going to give them a couple extra days,
open it up on Friday. Uh, we're still
[59:49] ahead before school opens. So, but
there's a lot of people that'll be glad
[59:52] that they can not have to do that detour
down Paradise and be able to go through
[59:56] it, but projects moving forward still on
schedule and and under budget. So, thank
[1:00:01] you.
>> All right. Thank you, Mr. Slade. Uh,
[1:00:04] community development director Mendall.
>> Sorry for the late name. I didn't want
[1:00:09] to feel left out with everyone else
speaking tonight. But, um, no, I do have
[1:00:12] a couple things. One, uh, thank you,
council, for your support as we go
[1:00:16] through these comprehensive plan update
elements. I know they're um a lot to
[1:00:20] chew on, but at least you're getting
them in elephant bite- sizes and not
[1:00:24] having to eat and choke the whole
elephant down in one meeting. So, um if
[1:00:28] you do have questions, again, feel free
to reach out as we're going through the
[1:00:31] process. Happy to have those
conversations. Uh you know, I appreciate
[1:00:35] John. He's been very involved in a lot
of this with his his input on climate
[1:00:39] change particularly and and we
appreciate his insights there. Um and
[1:00:44] help so that we don't get hung up,
right? I mean, that's that's a big point
[1:00:47] is we don't want to get hung up here in
the meeting. So, your questions, your
[1:00:51] your involvement early on is important
and we appreciate uh and I appreciate
[1:00:56] you being involved there. Also want to
thank uh the Mid Columbia Children's
[1:00:59] Museum being here tonight too. Um you
know, they made their press release last
[1:01:04] week. It was very exciting. We are very
excited that they are here um as the
[1:01:08] economic development uh department as
well um as the community development.
[1:01:13] It's very important to have these kind
of cornerstone pieces in our community.
[1:01:19] Uh they will drive economic development.
Having them be here, similar to the
[1:01:23] racetrack being here does drive some
economic development. They're going to
[1:01:27] be driving economic development for us
as well by bringing children to our
[1:01:33] community, which then maybe we get a
Chuck-E-Cheese. Who knows, right? I'm
[1:01:36] not saying that they've talked to me
because they haven't. But maybe we will
[1:01:39] and maybe we will get other those types
of businesses that come in because of
[1:01:45] that museum being here. And my my
estimation is and I'm sure Chelsea can
[1:01:49] testify to this, but I believe that
we're going to be pulling from within
[1:01:53] 200 miles um kids to come to this
facility and enjoy and participate in
[1:01:59] West Richland. And so that's that's a a
big deal for us and we're excited to
[1:02:03] have that. Plus, we beat Richland so you
know in the in the proposal. So that
[1:02:07] always makes us feel good. Um and then
lastly, uh with regards to the data
[1:02:12] centers, I just encourage anyone that
has questions about what the data
[1:02:16] centers, you know, about them, how it
might impact the city. Um happy to talk
[1:02:22] with them, happy to sit down and have a
face to face and go over any questions.
[1:02:25] I know council all of you u and I have
had conversations about it at some point
[1:02:30] uh when answering your questions. I
invite the community to do that as well.
[1:02:34] Uh because for instance for noise, we
already have a noise ordinance that
[1:02:38] would make sure that they aren't going
to be impacting the neighbors. There's a
[1:02:42] 200 foot setback additionally that
council approved that would require them
[1:02:45] to set back 200 feet from the property
line to help with that noise mitigation.
[1:02:49] So there's there's things out there that
that are being said. there's information
[1:02:53] that's being shared that I just would
love to have a conversation with people
[1:02:56] about and have that face to face to go
over those questions that they have to
[1:03:01] maybe help them understand that while
there are and and and that as Josh
[1:03:05] mentioned there are a lot of
justification for concerns uh but I
[1:03:09] believe that our code is very robust the
state code is very robust but if there's
[1:03:14] any policies that they believe we should
be looking at that we should have that
[1:03:18] conversation and I'd love to hear what
those policies are that they're
[1:03:22] considering we need to look at. So, I'll
leave it at that.
[1:03:28] » Finance Director Gwen.
>> Yeah, I just want to let you know uh the
[1:03:33] state auditors have started their audit
um for I guess it's really three audits.
[1:03:39] So, financial uh accountability as well
as a single audit for all the federal
[1:03:45] funds we've spent. So you guys will
probably council will see an email from
[1:03:51] one of our auditors uh inviting you to
an entrance conference. I don't know
[1:03:56] some time in the near future.
>> Police Chief Fry.
[1:04:01] » Thank you, Mayor and Council. Um
tomorrow I will be speaking at the
[1:04:06] Chamber of Commerce on um some crime
statistics and different things that are
[1:04:10] going on in the community and some of
our events that we are planning for. And
[1:04:14] I'd also like to give a shout out to um
Detective Magna who just cleared a
[1:04:20] federal case that was um quite large
drug case and he did a great job
[1:04:26] preparing for that and working with um
federal prosecutors on that to um help
[1:04:31] keep drugs out of our community and it's
been a long ongoing one. But it's always
[1:04:36] important to have a um finalization on
those and and he did a great job doing
[1:04:40] that.
>> Right. and I'll turn to councel.
[1:04:49] » All right. Um, council member Stoker, I
will start with you.
[1:04:53] » Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, couple things.
I
[1:04:58] sorry to see that, uh, Mr. Cortez left.
So, if you could pass on to him that I
[1:05:02] certainly appreciated. uh the extra
effort he goes through this evening
[1:05:06] presenting to us four elements of the
agenda pretty pretty uh ostentatious
[1:05:12] pretty pretty large task to take on. So
definitely pass that on to him. Um
[1:05:19] uh I also wanted to mention too that um
as was mentioned earlier tonight's
[1:05:26] meeting is our last remote citizen
comment. So, um,
[1:05:31] I'd hoped we'd get some comments coming
in from the remote people, but I guess
[1:05:37] if you have nothing to say, you have
nothing to say.
[1:05:40] Also, to Mr. Smart, um, I've coached a
lot of kids sports. I did grid kids,
[1:05:47] little league, Tri City girls fast pitch
softball, Richland Reck Park or Parks
[1:05:53] and Wreck, uh, basketball. never got
paid. So, I don't think you'll have to
[1:05:58] worry about a a coaches uh requiring
funds.
[1:06:04] So my last piece I want to bring up is
um so recently we had quite a discussion
[1:06:11] on fireworks and um one of the things
that got me curious is uh when we saw
[1:06:17] the flyer that listed
uh our sister cities including ourselves
[1:06:23] uh different dates for when sales are
allowed
[1:06:27] and um
Richland, Pasco and Kenowick allow
[1:06:32] fireworks sales
um the period before New Year's Eve and
[1:06:37] we don't
um I went and looked up their code.
[1:06:42] Richland and Kenowick are word for word
the same. Kenowick just swapped out the
[1:06:45] word city of Richland for city of
Kenowick. Well, it basically says the
[1:06:49] sale and discharging of fireworks within
the city of Kenowick or Richland shall
[1:06:54] be in accordance with Washington state
fireworks law chapter 70.77 RCW and
[1:06:59] chapter 212-17
whack unless otherwise provided in this
[1:07:04] section which there is nothing about
sales throughout the rest of their
[1:07:08] section. Pasco from what I can see
basically copied and pasted what is in
[1:07:13] RCW70.77.395.
[1:07:17] And um
so the one thing that the RCW states
[1:07:22] that ours does not allow for is that um
from 12:00 noon to 11:00 p.m. on each
[1:07:28] day from the 27th of December through
the 31st of December of each year
[1:07:34] fireworks are sales are allowed. Our
code says fireworks may not be sold or
[1:07:40] may be sold in incorporated areas of the
city of West Richland during the period
[1:07:44] commencing at 12 noon on the 28th day of
June of each year and ending at 12 noon
[1:07:50] on the sixth day of July each year.
Now, we may be out of compliance here
[1:07:56] because the state RCW actually says ends
on the fifth day of July, not the sixth.
[1:08:02] So, we may have to rewrite this whole
sentence. But um with this, I would like
[1:08:08] to make a motion that either in the
September 1st meeting or the September
[1:08:13] 15th meeting, this be put on the agenda.
And we will either copy and paste what's
[1:08:19] in the RCW or add the portion that says
and from 12:00 noon to 11:00 p.m. on
[1:08:25] each day from September or from the 27th
of December through the 31st of December
[1:08:31] of each year.
Yeah.
[1:08:36] I would second that. All right. Clarify.
Council member Stoker, you would like
[1:08:40] staff to develop change to the fireworks
ordinance allowing sales uh in
[1:08:46] accordance with RCW for the New Year's
Eve period December 27th through January
[1:08:53] » December 31st.
>> December 31st. Okay. Correct.
[1:08:56] » All right. I do have a second on that.
So like all other procedure, I'll open
[1:09:02] this up for discussion uh among council
members. Are there any council members
[1:09:06] who wish to speak on this particular
topic?
[1:09:10] So council member Fedto,
>> if we're going to talk about this again,
[1:09:15] let's make the switch from finance
director to community development
[1:09:18] director for permitting as well like we
talked about, but never passed at the
[1:09:22] last ordinance.
>> I would accept that.
[1:09:29] Are there other comments on this
particular motion and second?
[1:09:34] Uh, Council Member Moran.
>> Yes. Um,
[1:09:38] I don't recall since I've been on
council in 2020 ever hearing anybody ask
[1:09:45] for this. So, I'm just not sure why this
is being brought up. Um, it
[1:09:53] just seems like we're adding more
problems than
[1:09:59] what we already have to me. So, it just
without people asking, I haven't seen
[1:10:05] any emails asking for it. I'm just
concerned that this is something that's
[1:10:10] just a we want to have fireworks more
often, more and more often. And while I
[1:10:15] will say I would rather have fireworks
in December than in July, I would rather
[1:10:20] not have it in both times because it is
very expensive to do so
[1:10:26] when you have things that you have to
prepare for your animals and everything
[1:10:31] else. It's just going to cost me more
money and I don't like it. So that's
[1:10:36] what I got to say about that.
[1:10:42] » Yeah. So I I actually like this idea
whether it's been asked by the community
[1:10:48] or not. And the reason is because um
first of all, if I've said before that
[1:10:54] I've had friends that move from states
where there is no regulation on
[1:10:59] fireworks restrictions on particular
days, right? You know, they can shoot
[1:11:03] fireworks off 365 days a year, birthday
parties, corporate events, whatever.
[1:11:08] Um, and and what I've learned from
discussing that that that uh that
[1:11:15] terrain of of psychology is that when
the 4th of July comes around, it's not a
[1:11:22] huge deal. I mean, they celebrate the
4th of July for sure, but it's not
[1:11:26] everybody expending a year's worth of
fireworks energy in one night. Um, and
[1:11:32] so for so that's reason number one that
I I like the idea of of allow making it
[1:11:38] easier for people to um get some of this
out of their system in January when it's
[1:11:43] like foggy and wet and damp and it's
good luck trying to start a fire around
[1:11:47] here in the in the grasslands. Um, but
the other the other reason is that
[1:11:52] people store fireworks, okay? Like they
buy all these fireworks in the
[1:11:56] summertime before the 4th of July and
then they stash the rest of them. Where
[1:12:00] do they put them? I mean, very few
places. I bet they don't put them in
[1:12:04] fireproof safes. Um, they're going to
stash them on some shelf in their garage
[1:12:09] where kids can get to them throughout
the year. Uh, heat can get to them. They
[1:12:14] can become degraded. Maybe they get
forgotten for a couple of years. Um, and
[1:12:19] that that probably um I don't know.
Fortunately, we haven't had any issues
[1:12:24] with that. I don't know of any structure
fires that have started from stored
[1:12:28] fireworks, but but this but if it has, I
mean, this would help maybe eliminate
[1:12:32] some of that. So, and the other thing is
it just seems to do no harm. I mean, it
[1:12:36] might give a chance for some of the
nonprofits to make an extra buck in the
[1:12:40] middle of the year or the beginning of
the year. Um I I it would be interesting
[1:12:46] to see if it actually in increases the
number of people that launch fireworks
[1:12:51] on um the first of the year. Uh but but
I guess they already do and um I I I
[1:13:00] think it's probably the safest time of
year to do it. So anyway, I would
[1:13:04] support this motion. Thank you.
>> Um Council Member Cole wish to speak on
[1:13:11] this topic?
>> Yep.
[1:13:13] » I I really [clears throat] didn't. had
my here, but I I would just
[1:13:18] » spare a whole lot of repeating what's
already been said is I think this is a
[1:13:22] good idea and I support it.
>> Council member Richie
[1:13:26] » and for myself, I've said it before, say
it again. Consistency. We're
[1:13:31] inconsistent. The cities have painted
this this problem. We've created this
[1:13:36] problem because we're all inconsistent.
Nobody does it the same way. And so what
[1:13:40] you do is you drive the problem from one
place to the other. Right. And so I
[1:13:45] would argue to be consistent with our
sister cities. And this may not be where
[1:13:49] we stop. Maybe there's other ways that
we can be consistent with fireworks and
[1:13:54] and help to alleviate some of that
problem.
[1:13:58] » Thank you. Um yes, second round. Council
member Stoker, you you're up first.
[1:14:05] » Well, I just wanted to say that um first
I think Ruditerate what I think Mr.
[1:14:09] Smart already said was that fireworks
are already being discharged on New
[1:14:15] Year's Eve. So, I don't know how this is
necessarily going to change that um as
[1:14:20] far as how it affects other people. Um
but secondly uh I have been approached
[1:14:27] um by one entity that sells the
fireworks and um you know they don't
[1:14:33] like the fact that the other cities do
allow it and so those they tend to I
[1:14:38] don't know if competition is the right
word because they're over there and
[1:14:42] we're over here but you know they're
wondering why we don't allow [snorts]
[1:14:46] firework sales at this time that the
other cities do. Personally,
[1:14:51] um I mean no knock to our sister cities,
but I like to be a little more free than
[1:14:57] they are possible.
[1:15:02] » Thank you. Um I will say it is
interesting that the one organization
[1:15:06] that has spoken with you is the one that
would profit off of it, but um for me
[1:15:12] when it comes to this, yes, we do allow
it. But if we're going to allow the
[1:15:19] selling of fireworks
a day, couple days before we actually
[1:15:24] allow them to be discharged, I can
automatically see people saying, "Oh,
[1:15:29] well, they're being sold." Well, so we
should be able to light them off at this
[1:15:33] time, not remembering or realizing or
caring that it's only on the one day. So
[1:15:42] I Yeah. And while I will say that yes, I
agree that storing them during the win
[1:15:49] during the summer, I believe there was
somebody whose
[1:15:53] I think it was their garage burnt down
in West Richland. It was off right off a
[1:15:58] bombing range if I remember correctly
because of stored fireworks. So, I will
[1:16:02] say yeah, that is a problem. But I would
think that if we're going to sell
[1:16:06] fireworks before the
uh before the New Year's, I would much
[1:16:12] rather prefer us have the sale of
fireworks, especially because so few
[1:16:17] people do have it just be that day of
just because I can automatically see
[1:16:22] people lighting them off early. Thank
you.
[1:16:28] I don't see any other cards up for
discussion on the topic. So, I'll just
[1:16:32] reiterate the motion just to make sure
uh I have it clear. Um but a motion has
[1:16:40] a motion has been presented and second
is for staff to develop uh a change to
[1:16:45] the fireworks ordinance to allow for
sales in accordance with the RCW for the
[1:16:49] period of December 27 December 31st. and
alternate
[1:16:56] » with a change also for uh going yeah
permitting with the uh
[1:17:02] » finance to community development. Well,
did that have a second?
[1:17:06] » I'll second that
>> right
[1:17:10] » now.
[1:17:14] Yes, let's let's do it formally. Let's
vote on unless there's a comment on this
[1:17:19] amendment. All right. Go ahead, Mayor
Pro. The other question comes down to is
[1:17:24] the question of whether we allow to the
sixth or the fifth consistent with state
[1:17:30] rags.
>> We can't be broader than state record.
[1:17:34] » Correct.
>> We are broader. That's
[1:17:37] » we are now and not and so we're out of
complaint. Yes. It's I copied it right
[1:17:41] out of our municipal code. It says the
sixth.
[1:17:51] » Yeah.
I will I will direct staff to look at
[1:17:55] that and confirm that and if in fact we
are out of compliance as you stated
[1:18:00] we'll make the appropriate amendments as
well for council to consider.
[1:18:05] All right.
So uh we have
[1:18:11] » amendment.
>> Yes.
[1:18:12] » We're going to vote on the amendment to
change the permitting from finance
[1:18:16] director to community development. So
that is the first vote. A yes vote is to
[1:18:22] make that change. A no vote is against
that change. All right. All in favor say
[1:18:28] I.
>> Oh, I'm sorry. Just to clarify, it's not
[1:18:30] to to take action to do the change, but
to bring back for to bring back for
[1:18:34] action.
>> Correct.
[1:18:38] » All in favor say I.
>> I.
[1:18:41] » Any opposed? Okay. And then finally on
the main motion to bring it to staff to
[1:18:47] prepare appropriate ordinance changes
with regard to firework sales during the
[1:18:52] authorized New Year's Eve period.
All right. A yes vote is in support of
[1:18:59] that. A no vote is against that. All in
favor say I. I.
[1:19:03] » I.
>> Any opposed?
[1:19:05] » No. I so I will ask staff to make the
appropriate uh draft the appropriate
[1:19:11] ordinances for staff's approval for
council's review and approval.
[1:19:16] » That that includes looking at the dates
for the July.
[1:19:20] » Yes. If there is an error, we will
correct that administratively too.
[1:19:24] » Very good.
>> Right. Any other comments, Council
[1:19:28] Member Stoker?
>> That is all. Thank you. Oh, well, there
[1:19:32] will be some more of these forthcoming.
I have some others in mind that I'd like
[1:19:36] us to address.
>> You know what? I welcome that
[1:19:38] opportunity.
>> So, since we've opened this can of
[1:19:40] worms, we're going to move that way.
>> All right. Um, any other general
[1:19:45] comments
from council? Council member Morant.
[1:19:50] » Thank you. Um, I will just caution if we
remember our staff is rather overwhelmed
[1:19:55] with things that we've tasked them to do
that I'm pretty sure our parking lot is
[1:20:01] fairly large right now of all of the
things that staff has been tasked to do.
[1:20:05] So, my concern is if we bring about
these that we might be using up staff
[1:20:12] time that could be used for bigger
necessary things in order to comply with
[1:20:17] state laws. Um, so I would just caution
against that. Uh, but for my comments, I
[1:20:24] will say uh I'm I would like to I'm I'm
very appreciative that you're here, Mr.
[1:20:30] Lozano. Um, and something that I've been
thinking about for a while that I'm
[1:20:35] hoping maybe can happen uh after
speaking with someone who has been on
[1:20:40] the Native Plant Society. I believe he
was the founder of it and also uh is
[1:20:46] very familiar with the conservation
districts that there is a hope that
[1:20:50] perhaps Benton REA the conservation
districts and the native plant society
[1:20:54] could work together especially with the
amount of water usage that's going on to
[1:21:00] work towards helping to find a solution
for our members so that they wouldn't
[1:21:05] have to spend as much money on watering
their yards. I know that when I was in
[1:21:10] the Navy and stationed in San Diego that
SDG& had a program specifically for
[1:21:18] assisting folks in going from a
monoculture of just having grass that
[1:21:22] required a lot of water to allowing for
more native plants that didn't require a
[1:21:29] lot of watering. Um, I'm I'm not certain
if incentives are something that could
[1:21:34] be in play, but that would just be
something interesting and maybe even
[1:21:37] just a um a
I can't remember the name of the word,
[1:21:43] but where you have a garden that shows
off how it looks near Bentonier,
[1:21:47] especially if you want to beautify the
site. Um, so that's something that I
[1:21:52] would love to talk more to you about.
Second, um I would again like to thank
[1:21:56] the police department and animal control
for putting out the microchip reader. I
[1:22:01] think that is fantastic. I personally
had an experience over the weekend where
[1:22:06] a friend of mine thought for sure that
this cat they found was abandoned in the
[1:22:11] apartment complex they were at because
it was scratching at this door that had
[1:22:15] been abandoned. The apartment behind it
had been abandoned. So I was like, well,
[1:22:19] you know, I can take it to verify the
chip reader and foster it. if not. And I
[1:22:24] had it chip read and we found the owner.
It was just in another part of the
[1:22:28] apartment complex. So, also a big
reminder, if you find an animal, make
[1:22:32] sure you check the microchip before you
just decide you're going to adopt it or
[1:22:37] believe that it was abandoned or put out
on purpose. Uh, but thank you again to
[1:22:45] the policeart the police department for
that. Um, I would also like to applaud
[1:22:50] the police department for looking at the
grants. I think it's really important
[1:22:52] that we look at these grants that are
out there um because they can be
[1:22:57] beneficial to us, especially since they
don't have to be repaid. Those are big
[1:23:02] for us. Um let's see. I did not bring my
special eyes, so I'm trying to read my
[1:23:08] handwriting here. Three, four. Oh. Um
talking about when I was using that when
[1:23:14] I'm using this app for this game, I
would just really like to say that the
[1:23:18] parks are looking really good. Um, I am
appreciating how green they are. Uh, the
[1:23:26] trees have been fantastic. I have been
basically running from shade to shade
[1:23:31] under each tree so that I can play this
game. And it's nice that I don't have to
[1:23:35] run far. So, that is very appreciated.
Uh, let's see. So, when it comes to
[1:23:42] meetings that I've been to, uh, I was
just last week at the Ben Franklin
[1:23:47] Transit Board. uh big discussion item
that we had was July's fair free. Uh we
[1:23:53] have asked the staff to go back and from
that uh figure out okay how much would
[1:23:59] it actually cost if it would be a
positive or a negative thing to the
[1:24:05] transit to continue with fair free
because it does cost a lot of money in
[1:24:09] order to try and collect money. Um but
it did seem like it was a big hit.
[1:24:14] writership was up significantly. Uh, and
I think we might even try it sometime in
[1:24:20] the fall when schools are in session so
that we can have those numbers as well
[1:24:24] to make a good decision for that. Uh,
let's see. Next Friday, I'm going to go
[1:24:30] to the BF Ben Franklin Council of
Governments meeting. Uh, it is hybrid as
[1:24:35] always. It is going to be on Friday next
week starting at 10. And then finally, I
[1:24:40] will say that uh in advance, I'd like to
let you know that the Tuesday after
[1:24:45] Labor Day, I will not be in attendance.
I will be on uh I will probably be in
[1:24:51] Seattle airport if I'm not on a flight.
So, I will not be here. So, let's please
[1:24:55] not make any big decisions while I'm
gone. Thank you.
[1:25:01] » Thank you, Council Member Moran. Uh
Council Member Richie.
[1:25:06] » Thank you, Mayor. Um,
on the subject of fireworks, I want to
[1:25:11] uh uh let everybody know that there are
summaries that were uh put together by
[1:25:16] the West Richland Police Department as
well as our Benton County Fire District
[1:25:21] uh uh chief. And so those are available.
If you want to know what the exact
[1:25:26] statistics were with regards to fires
across the 4th of July, they're
[1:25:31] available and I'd be happy to help you
get hooked up with those. Uh, one of the
[1:25:35] things I want to be sure and point out
is that the chief in his report talks
[1:25:41] about how when there were complaints
that the officers went out and educated
[1:25:46] the citizens and then after that that
complaint went away. That was not a
[1:25:51] problem anymore. Too often I think
that's what the problem is is it's not
[1:25:55] malicious but rather just uninformed
individuals.
[1:26:00] um data centers. I'm not convinced yet
that a moratorium is needed. Uh we don't
[1:26:06] have a project. Um when we get a project
and we can we can look at what it is
[1:26:11] we're we're talking about. Right now
you're just speculating. And so and and
[1:26:17] one of the things that I keep seeing is
that they keep we keep talking about
[1:26:20] what's going on down at Boardman and in
Oregon. And I'll tell you right now,
[1:26:25] that's not applicable to the state of
Washington. what happened down there.
[1:26:29] That may be a concern that you might
want to ask the question, but the state
[1:26:32] of Washington is going to look into that
with our our our EPA uh uh our SEIPA
[1:26:39] checklist and our environmental impact
statement checklist. And and I encourage
[1:26:43] you to to go and look and review those.
I also encourage you to go visit a data
[1:26:49] center. And that's what I'm going to do.
I'm going to go visit a data center. I
[1:26:52] want to find out more about it. I want
to see what they've got going. I want to
[1:26:56] hear what the local community has to say
about it because they're the ones that
[1:27:00] are living the dream right now and and
can come back and and give us real time
[1:27:04] data uh with regards to to what's really
going on. So uh I'm encouraging
[1:27:09] everybody to prep your questions and get
ready for it. And and last and I'll shut
[1:27:14] up is uh kudos uh uh uh to our economic
director Menhal uh that children's
[1:27:21] museum in West Richland. I am excited.
I've got a five-year-old that's like 10
[1:27:27] minutes away from that and and and I
just When's it open? Do you know when
[1:27:31] it's going to open?
[1:27:35] » Okay. So, let me know and and we'll be
there when the doors open. Thank you.
[1:27:41] » Uh Council Member Cole.
>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um couple of
[1:27:46] things live. Um let me find my notes.
Um, week before last, I attended a
[1:27:54] two-day training session put on by the
Association of Washington Cities uh that
[1:28:00] helped was geared towards council
members um in the budgeting process. So
[1:28:07] my hope is that even though it's only
two days and I don't know everything
[1:28:12] there is to know about budgeting, I know
a little bit more and maybe I can be
[1:28:17] kind of earn my keep with Aaron and and
and the rest of the finance committee
[1:28:22] members. Uh second thing I just I want
to say I regret that I wasn't here last
[1:28:27] meeting um
because I was in training. Um and I
[1:28:33] don't I'm not playing old ground. I just
want to say that um I I hope that
[1:28:38] there's a better solution. I know that
uh council took a vote on um turning off
[1:28:44] the citizens opp uh ability to uh to
speak uh in from the remote capabilities
[1:28:53] and uh I'm committed to finding some
other hopefully we can come up with a
[1:28:59] better solution than just shutting it
off. Um, I want to also say thank you.
[1:29:05] We are super stoked that you're here.
There's a four-year-old and a 5-year-old
[1:29:10] who've taken the word no from my
vocabulary, we'll be we'll be taking
[1:29:14] them, too. Uh, and I want to thank u Mr.
Lozano. Um I I think that um the
[1:29:22] information that we can get like that as
it pertains to power needs for data
[1:29:27] centers and how that impacts us um
because
[1:29:32] when I mean we need to listen to what
what people are telling us but we also
[1:29:37] need to you know if we're saying hey we
want to enact some policies you know
[1:29:42] that with with respect to regulating
data centers we could use some
[1:29:46] suggestions on what that looks like at
least I could. Um, thank you.
[1:29:52] » All right. Thank you, Council Member B.
Council Member Pedto.
[1:29:56] » Thank you, sir. Um, yeah, last week
Chelsea came presented to my Rotary Club
[1:30:00] and I believe we were the first to hear
the message after the announcement.
[1:30:04] Alino. Um, so if you want more
information, she will also be talking
[1:30:09] tomorrow at the Westeron Chamber lunchon
um to a group of excited Chamber Lunchon
[1:30:16] attendees uh about the upcoming museum
uh as well as uh Kevin Lewis Visit Tri
[1:30:22] Cities. Iron Man is September 20th uh
well 18 19 181 1920 they'll be in town.
[1:30:29] Um, so if you live anywhere near uh
Bombi Ramp Paradise, um, be prepared to
[1:30:37] have a little traffic delay on Sunday,
but please be respectful of the of the
[1:30:41] riders. Um, this is a huge economic boom
for the Tri City region as a whole last
[1:30:47] year with 7.5 million of estimated
spending brought to the region. Uh, but
[1:30:51] that again is going to be September
18th, 19th, but the actual race is on
[1:30:55] the 20th, but we'll see riders on the
road, so just be careful.
[1:30:58] Uh it's all thank you
blue.
[1:31:05] » All right. Okay.
>> You're welcome.
[1:31:08] » Which
[1:31:11] Okay. Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Mayor and
Mayor Prom. Appreciate that. Uh uh just
[1:31:17] pair it with the same thanks Chelsea for
bringing the Mid Columbia Children's
[1:31:20] Museum here. That's totally awesome. and
I was uh thrilled since the first time
[1:31:26] it uh was presented to us as an option.
So that's great. I also want to thanks
[1:31:31] Josh for sticking around because I want
to thank you for the tour yesterday of
[1:31:35] the new Bentonier dig down the road
here. That was that's a very impressive
[1:31:40] building and um just really appreciate
the investment in our community and I
[1:31:44] think it's going to serve us all well.
Um, other than that, uh, I don't think I
[1:31:49] have anything else. Um, but just to say
that West Richland is a great place to
[1:31:54] live. I mean, I constantly I've been on
travel for a couple weeks, different
[1:31:59] places, and um I and even places that
have trees and I wouldn't trade this for
[1:32:06] anything. This is a great place. We have
Well, we have well manicured park trees.
[1:32:11] Yes. But other than that, um, as far as
data centers go, I'll just mention I I
[1:32:15] believe we're being very vigilant and I
do appreciate all of the comments. I
[1:32:20] encourage specifics. I I would like to
parrot the the thing that I think Mr.
[1:32:26] Richie said and and others is that, you
know, we we are uh I I personally am
[1:32:32] very anxious to have a a very um
specific list of questions and concerns.
[1:32:39] Um, and then, uh, if there's data to
back up a concern, if there's
[1:32:44] information or a study or something like
this, I heard one just the other day
[1:32:47] about low frequency vibrations, and it's
like, okay, I haven't heard of that one
[1:32:51] before. Um, where where's the
information about that? That's what I
[1:32:55] want to see is I want to see the
detailed information so that we can um,
[1:33:01] if a proposal comes to bear, we can
challenge the proposer on those specific
[1:33:06] issues. Um, so I'm all about keeping
West Richland a great place to live and
[1:33:13] uh and hopefully if any project like
that or any other large um project comes
[1:33:18] to bear that it would be an enhancement
to our to our community and not a
[1:33:22] detriment for sure. So that's the end of
my comments. Thank you.
[1:33:28] » Mayor Pro Timble.
>> Well, I'll start off with the uh news I
[1:33:32] shared with you and Mr. Smart. Uh the
department of energy has basically
[1:33:37] decided to blow up the Hanford advisory
board. Um and as such I don't know if I
[1:33:44] will be on the board or Mr. Smart will
be on the board. If we are on the board
[1:33:50] we will no longer be representing West
Richland. Uh we would be just citizens
[1:33:57] commenting on what's going on. Um, I
personally do not believe this is
[1:34:04] beneficial to the Department of Energy,
but that's just what they're doing. Um,
[1:34:10] not necessarily the Hanford Advisory
Board was that beneficial,
[1:34:15] but it had a function. Um uh in addition
to that uh as far as uh data center goes
[1:34:23] um my son is living the dream because
he's dealing with 10 data center
[1:34:29] proposals in Cheyenne and has 10 active
data centers. So um he shares with me
[1:34:37] the nightmares and the and the
some of the insights. Uh uh so from that
[1:34:46] standpoint
I do not see other than the one comment
[1:34:52] I recently received and shared with uh
Mr. Medall
[1:34:57] uh relative to groundwater impacts out
on the on the ranch. Um I I really don't
[1:35:06] see and from what he's telling me
there's some economic quirks that I
[1:35:11] might talk a little bit with Benton REA
and the mayor uh relative to electrical
[1:35:18] issues
uh on-site offsite that type of stuff.
[1:35:22] But um there's not that much of an
impact. It's a big freaking building.
[1:35:29] That's about it. So um if the water
issue gets you know groundwater
[1:35:36] discharge if that's coming up
should be
[1:35:42] uh I mean groundwater withdrawal would
be the bigger issue uh for any data
[1:35:48] center that would go out there. So
that's about it. Thank you.
[1:35:54] » All right. Thank you Mayor Prom Bloom.
Just a couple short things uh for me. I
[1:35:58] want to thank once again Josh uh
Loausano for the tour in addition to
[1:36:03] Council Member Smart, Council Member
Richie was there. Several staff members
[1:36:07] were there, but appreciate the time that
you uh the CEO and other members of
[1:36:12] staff put in. It was very informative.
Um, of course, uh the uh Children's
[1:36:17] Museum, enough has well, no, not enough
has been said about that yet. Um, I'm
[1:36:23] I'm so uh proud to know that West
Richland beat out several other
[1:36:29] jurisdictions and uh and I appreciate
the board's wise decision uh in choosing
[1:36:35] our site. But I also appreciate
council's support on this endeavor, the
[1:36:39] chamber's support on this endeavor.
Truly was a team effort and I know our
[1:36:44] city's committed to making this work and
work for generations. So, thank you very
[1:36:49] much. Um,
we have uh open u open house or what
[1:36:55] what we're calling grounds for
conversation uh with myself with uh
[1:37:00] director or excuse me with director
Slade and with council member SMT at
[1:37:06] Yolks on Saturday September 12th. All
three of us will be there in the morning
[1:37:11] from 9:30 to about 11. Uh it's just an
open conversation. any citizens that
[1:37:17] want to come by uh and uh talk with us,
uh you're welcome to do so. And uh I
[1:37:24] invite you all to come out there. We'll
be in the uh the cafeteria dining area
[1:37:28] of Yolks, which is to the right as you
enter the Yolks on Bombing Range Road,
[1:37:33] not the Yolks in Richland, the Oaks here
in West Richland. And lastly, I will
[1:37:38] just remind council we have a special
meeting planned for next Tuesday at
[1:37:43] 5:30. So uh please be sure to attend. It
is important. It will be primarily an
[1:37:49] executive session. So that is all I
have. I appreciate everyone spending
[1:37:54] time with us this evening. It is 7:38
and I will adjoin adjourn the meeting.
[1:38:00] Thank you.