[0:11] The public works and library

[0:12] Committee meeting to order, um,

[0:14] tonight, let's First up is

[0:16] Isaac with a library update.

[0:18] All right, this will be a quick

[0:20] library update. You have a lot

[0:22] of things on your agenda. Uh,

[0:24] there is me holding a snake

[0:25] when reptile lady was in the

[0:26] library, which was a very

[0:29] successful event, so. Um, a

[0:31] couple of interesting things we

[0:32] tried this last period. We did

[0:34] plant bingo at Farms Star and

[0:36] Brewing. Uh, we filled up the

[0:38] place with people competing to

[0:40] win plants of all things. Um,

[0:42] it was a really nice, uh, kind

[0:43] of library tie-in event. We're

[0:45] trying more of these kind of

[0:47] experimental outside of the

[0:48] library, uh, gatherings, and

[0:50] this is a good place to start.

[0:52] Uh, Farmstrong definitely said

[0:54] if we want to do Plant Gringo

[0:57] every month, we We could

[0:58] totally support that endeavor

[1:00] because it was, you know,

[1:01] successful for them as. Well,

[1:03] um, and it, it was a lot of fun

[1:05] and it was nice to be able to

[1:06] tie the like agricultural

[1:08] history of Skagit into an event

[1:10] like this, you know, a lot of

[1:11] the education was about what

[1:13] grows here and what works here,

[1:14] you know, as we sort of, you

[1:16] know, did that, uh, uh thing,

[1:17] so it was lovely. Um, Summer

[1:20] reading, uh, did really well.

[1:22] We had 1100 signups at the time

[1:27] I made these slides 1 1,104, uh

[1:29] so that was a really good, uh,

[1:32] successful year, um, and we had

[1:34] really good attendance at

[1:35] programs, so high participation

[1:38] in the events we did, um, as

[1:40] well, um, in terms of like kids

[1:42] in the community, we get about

[1:46] 4200 enrollees from the school

[1:48] district into our library

[1:49] program. So, you know, we're

[1:51] definitely kind of past that 4%

[1:53] of all kids in the community

[1:55] are kind of involved in summer

[1:56] reading, which is a, was a real

[1:59] solid number, you know,

[2:00] considering, you know. The

[2:02] limited age group that we apply

[2:04] it to, so. Um, uh, yep, so

[2:08] reptile lady was at the library

[2:10] We had 352 children um there.

[2:13] It was a wonderful event. Uh,

[2:15] we had a great tea and stories

[2:16] program at White Branches, um,

[2:19] and our raffles, uh, supported

[2:21] things like Lego sets and

[2:22] printed bird houses, and all in

[2:24] all, 73 kids won a prize for

[2:27] completing the summer reading

[2:30] program, so it was really uh

[2:31] fun, including back a slide.

[2:33] This is the kid who won our

[2:35] summer reading mascot, and I

[2:37] took it home, so. You know.

[2:39] Nice. You always have two now

[2:41] and one goes into the archives

[2:42] and one goes home to some kid's

[2:44] house, so it's a coveted prize

[2:46] for sure. Uh, another thing we

[2:48] had this summer was our teen

[2:49] intern, um, our teen intern was

[2:51] a really cool grant funded

[2:52] program that you guys approved,

[2:54] and we really appreciated

[2:56] having that uh funding. Uh, her

[2:57] sort of final project was a

[2:59] little, uh, art gallery, um,

[3:02] that we created in the library

[3:04] full of like little kids' art.

[3:05] Uh, it was really fun and one

[3:08] of those great things to also

[3:10] have a library board to approve

[3:11] each one of those designs and

[3:12] make sure that our public

[3:15] displays meet all of the

[3:16] guidelines. lines that, you

[3:18] know, Kevin would want is so

[3:20] that we don't, you know, have

[3:21] problems in the future. Um, Uh,

[3:23] we did, uh, some events in the

[3:26] park. Uh, we made healing balm

[3:27] and it was really fun, um, and

[3:30] we made a pinatas in the park,

[3:32] which I thought was a great

[3:33] idea because the last time we

[3:35] made pinatas in the library, I

[3:37] was finding glue and little

[3:38] pieces of oil paper in the

[3:41] library for about 6 months. So

[3:43] like that's a great

[3:44] collaboration, right? You know,

[3:46] uh, but 153 people came to that

[3:49] event and it was a really like

[3:50] a good Italian. Um, with the

[3:54] community, um. And then finally

[3:57] uh, kind of to close out, we

[3:59] had a papermaking, um, and this

[4:02] you know, past little time, you

[4:03] know, that, of course, really

[4:06] ties into book and bookmaking

[4:08] and just kind of, you know, the

[4:10] joy of reading thing in a

[4:11] physical form, but it was also

[4:13] really fun to make these kind

[4:14] of textured past papers with

[4:16] your sort of natural imprints

[4:18] um with the kids, um, and about

[4:19] 50 people came, so that was,

[4:21] that was good as well. Uh, our

[4:23] civics academy, we have two

[4:25] things kind of coming up, uh,

[4:26] one of which is really set in

[4:28] stone, which is, uh, Wednesday,

[4:30] October 21st, we're gonna work

[4:32] with uh the League of Women

[4:32] Voters to have a civics trivia

[4:34] night that will either be the

[4:36] kickoff or the conclusion of

[4:37] our like first two events, um,

[4:40] and then we have our Civics 101

[4:44] um, that is right now

[4:46] tentatively scheduled for

[4:47] November 11th, but we're

[4:48] looking for a new, um, date

[4:50] with the presenter. So

[4:51] hopefully, we'll kind of

[4:53] finalize that detail. and start

[4:55] to advertise to the public here

[4:56] uh, very shortly. Can I ask a

[4:57] quick question about that. You

[4:59] know, the hard thing is they're

[5:01] on Wednesdays, and that's our

[5:02] council night. Yes, I also that

[5:04] was a problem. OK, thank you.

[5:06] Thank you for noticing. Yes, we

[5:08] will, if, if these two are not

[5:11] um accessible the next ones

[5:14] will be like scheduled on like

[5:15] a more routine, like Thursday

[5:16] night, which would be our

[5:18] normal presentation. It was

[5:20] this presenter this time that

[5:21] kind of created that challenge.

[5:22] Thank you. Absolutely. Any

[5:27] other questions? Any questions

[5:29] for Isaac? All right, I'm gonna

[5:32] kind of scoot along here

[5:33] because they're, like I said,

[5:34] there is a full agenda. At the

[5:36] moment. Yes, there is, and

[5:38] thank you so much for your

[5:41] update, especially not bringing

[5:43] the snake. Very happy about

[5:44] that. Oh Oh look at that. Um,

[5:46] next up is our, um, A

[5:49] presentation from, I want to

[5:51] make sure I've got this right.

[5:53] sgadget cleaners Morgan, Curry,

[5:56] and City of Mount Vernon Public

[5:58] Works, Chris. Is that correct?

[6:01] And in what order are we doing

[6:02] this? Yeah, it's correct. What

[6:04] order are we doing this? She's

[6:06] first. Morgan's first. She's

[6:07] first. OK, so prior to bringing

[6:10] Morgan up, though, if it's OK.

[6:11] I just wanted to kind of

[6:12] clarify that in my humble

[6:13] opinion, this should be one of

[6:16] many conversations regarding

[6:17] what you're about to hear. OK,

[6:19] to sit there and get 10 minutes

[6:21] from Morgan. 10 minutes from me

[6:23] and then make a decision. I

[6:26] Sure. You could do that, but I

[6:28] would sit there and say that

[6:30] there are other issues that

[6:32] need to be discussed that I'm

[6:34] not discussing as in regards to

[6:35] land use parcels, um, size of

[6:39] city growth that require

[6:41] probably some other directors

[6:43] to be involved in that

[6:46] conversation. So with that, I

[6:48] will introduce uh to come on up

[6:50] She's the executive director

[6:53] for Skagit Gleaners, and she

[6:54] will provide a all you need to

[6:55] do is just hit the down arrow

[6:57] there. Cool, and you are going

[7:00] to be ready to rock and roll.

[7:01] Thanks. Do you want your

[7:03] glasses? Sure thing I can use

[7:04] my. Oh no, I'm good.. Cool. Hey

[7:08] everyone, thank you for having

[7:10] me tonight. I first, I'm gonna,

[7:11] before I go into my slides, I

[7:14] want to preface by saying. I

[7:15] think that gleaners has had a

[7:17] pipe dream years that one day

[7:19] we would eventually be able to

[7:22] buy the land that we're on.

[7:23] This is a dream of my

[7:24] predecessor before me, and with

[7:26] the previous mayor, they talked

[7:27] about it casually, and then I

[7:30] did warn Mayor Donovan a few

[7:31] months ago that I was still

[7:33] coming at it, so, um, like this

[7:35] might be um a big plan

[7:37] presentation for a lot of you,

[7:38] but really this has been

[7:41] something that our board has

[7:42] been thinking about for years

[7:43] and we felt that it was our due

[7:44] diligence. to make sure that we

[7:48] completed a full feasibility

[7:50] study and a full plan to even

[7:52] see if this was possible, how

[7:54] can this building look on this

[7:55] piece of land, and then we

[7:58] wanted to go to the city with a

[7:59] with a full plan and, and a

[8:01] full information to be able to

[8:02] make an educated decision on if

[8:04] this would even work, if, if

[8:06] the city decides no, that's

[8:06] totally fine with us. We'll,

[8:08] we'll just move on to our, our

[8:11] plan B. So I wanted to preface

[8:13] by, by saying that and we'll

[8:14] just jump on in. So recently we

[8:15] work. worked with Dan Peter

[8:17] Zala from Trico, and then we

[8:18] have Julie Blatzi here, and I

[8:20] also want to introduce Ron Won.

[8:22] He's on our board. He's here in

[8:24] the audience tonight and I

[8:25] don't. I think I have any other

[8:27] board members here, um, anyway,

[8:29] so the skagic cleaners who we

[8:30] are, most of you know who we

[8:32] are, but we're a food recovery

[8:34] and rescue organization in

[8:37] Mount Vernon. Last year we kept

[8:38] 2 million pounds of food out of

[8:40] the landfill. We redirect that

[8:42] food to local families who use

[8:43] it right away. If you look at

[8:46] the total amount of um uh

[8:47] atmosphere or uh environmental

[8:48] impact that we're making in our

[8:49] community, we take about 1200

[8:51] metric tons of CO2 through

[8:53] rescued and recovered food. We

[8:55] divert it out of our

[8:56] community's atmosphere and onto

[8:58] people's tables, so that's the

[8:59] equivalent of keeping about 287

[9:01] passenger vehicles off the road

[9:02] for an entire year. We're

[9:03] really focused on food recovery

[9:07] and rescue efforts, but also

[9:09] feeding our local community. We

[9:11] are the largest community

[9:12] cooperative food recovery

[9:13] organization in the state of

[9:15] Washington. Our model is

[9:17] actually being copied across

[9:19] the country, um, and we work

[9:20] very, very closely with a lot

[9:22] of big, big retailers and

[9:23] manufacturers in the area, a

[9:24] lot of gro Grocery stores, a

[9:26] lot of distributors, a lot of

[9:28] restaurants, and also, of

[9:29] course, a lot of farms. One of

[9:32] the unique things about scalic

[9:33] cleaners is that we operate as

[9:34] a community cooperative, so

[9:37] everyone who uses the services

[9:38] at our facility also

[9:39] contributes to the overhead of

[9:41] the organization. Everyone

[9:42] everyone volunteers and

[9:43] everyone pitches in a nominal

[9:45] shared donation, which helps

[9:46] change the narrative around

[9:48] food access and receiving food.

[9:50] It really creates a community

[9:51] cooperative where people are

[9:52] benefiting from the work that

[9:55] they're putting in, and it

[9:56] helps level the playing field

[9:57] of, of food access. We are

[9:59] currently positioned on at 1021

[10:01] Riverside Drive. We're in a

[10:03] city-owned building on

[10:04] city-owned land. We've been

[10:06] there, I think, maybe 15 years.

[10:07] I've been there for 10 years

[10:09] and we were there for some time

[10:10] before I got there. Um, and we

[10:14] love the fact that we've been

[10:16] able to stay in this facility.

[10:18] It's, it's done us some great,

[10:20] uh, it's done some wonders for

[10:21] us over the years, but we're,

[10:24] we're, it's time for us to, to

[10:26] move into a bigger facility,

[10:27] and we're also just having some

[10:30] um, you know, just some, some

[10:31] cosmetic and some structural

[10:33] issues with the building, and I

[10:35] we're, we're growing out of the

[10:37] existing space. I've included

[10:39] some photos as as to what some

[10:41] of those cosmetic. challenges

[10:42] are or structural challenges

[10:44] are, but lo and behold, the

[10:46] existing almost 10,000 square

[10:47] foot building is aging and it's

[10:50] operationally inadequate. The

[10:52] parking lot is inadequate. We

[10:53] have semi trucks coming in when

[10:55] people are trying to cross

[10:56] through the parking lot. We

[10:57] have large loads coming in. We

[10:59] have a forklift operated. What

[11:00] we really need is just a larger

[11:03] facility with designated

[11:04] receiving and storage areas.

[11:06] And so here we go into our

[11:09] conceptual plan, the vision. We

[11:11] are proposing that we would

[11:12] like to build a new facility on

[11:14] the existing land if the city

[11:16] is willing to partner with that

[11:18] project. And it would allow us

[11:21] to be able to extend the, the

[11:23] footprint of, of the facility

[11:24] to about 32% larger than what

[11:26] we have today, so it gives us

[11:29] almost a little over 13,000

[11:31] square feet. It would allow us

[11:33] to maintain our client choice

[11:34] market where we would

[11:35] distribute produce, dry goods,

[11:38] dairy, bakery meat, frozen

[11:39] items. It would also allow us

[11:42] to receive and sort our

[11:43] backhouse operations for all of

[11:45] our food. It would allow us to

[11:47] have our thrift store and in

[11:49] addition to what we do with

[11:50] food, we also receive. surplus

[11:52] thrift store items from the

[11:53] community and redistribute it

[11:55] to families who use our

[11:56] services. It's all part of the

[11:59] membership plan. There's no

[12:00] extra cost to use our, our

[12:02] thrift store. We call it the

[12:04] gratitude Galleria because

[12:05] thrift store confuses people.

[12:06] They think they have to pay

[12:09] extra for it. They really don't

[12:11] It's all part of the membership

[12:13] plan. It would allow for 63

[12:14] parking stalls and we would

[12:16] also add accessible and EV

[12:17] ready parking stalls in the

[12:20] parking lot. We would make the

[12:21] building ADA compliant

[12:23] throughout, and then it could

[12:24] also be a potential FEMA

[12:26] designated community muster

[12:26] point during emergencies, and

[12:29] this was really important

[12:31] during the, the, uh, 2025 flood

[12:32] that we saw in quarter 4. I,

[12:34] there was just a lot of need,

[12:35] an idea or a thought of if if a

[12:37] helicopter had to come in and

[12:38] drop food or for any emergency

[12:39] purposes, where, where could

[12:42] that food be dropped or where

[12:43] could that food go? We're

[12:44] working with all the other food

[12:47] banks in Skagit County to help

[12:49] iron out some of those details,

[12:51] and our site, our facility was

[12:52] one idea that that was proposed

[12:55] Here are some photos of what

[12:56] the new building could look

[12:57] like, don't get hung up on the

[12:59] color. I was told the color

[13:01] could change, um, but this

[13:03] gives you a visual of, of, uh,

[13:04] most of you have been to our

[13:06] facility, so you, I mean, you

[13:08] probably have an idea of where

[13:10] it's at, um, but this road

[13:11] right there on the right-hand

[13:12] side, that's actually Alder

[13:13] Lane, so if I'm staring at the

[13:15] building, the, my back would be

[13:17] facing Riverside Drive or

[13:18] Habitat for Humanity. Morgan, I

[13:19] go back to, would you mind? I

[13:21] really like the flying car,

[13:22] right? That's gonna come with

[13:24] the building, I know it is. Uh,

[13:29] here's the conceptual program

[13:31] inside. I won't go into the

[13:33] details because I still have a

[13:35] lot of other slides, and I get

[13:36] excited about this, so I'm, I

[13:37] can talk a lot, but here's the,

[13:40] here's the plan. The one thing

[13:41] I want to say is that in these

[13:42] plans, we've incorporated a

[13:44] community classroom where we

[13:44] would make it free for other

[13:47] nonprofits to use this as a

[13:49] gathering space and then to do

[13:51] education programs, food

[13:53] preservation programs, more of

[13:53] that community hub that we

[13:54] really need to see in in this

[13:55] central of Mount Vernon. Here's

[14:00] the side that you're probably

[14:01] most interested in. So you can

[14:03] see where it says existing

[14:04] building existing building

[14:05] that's where we're at right now

[14:07] that, and we're proposing to

[14:08] have the building be on the

[14:10] further west end of the lot,

[14:11] you'll see that. Can I show you

[14:13] guys on this? Oh yeah, right

[14:15] here. So this dotted line right

[14:17] here, that's the property line

[14:18] right there, and so there's,

[14:20] there's gonna be two asks out

[14:21] of this. One, would the city be

[14:24] willing to entertain the idea

[14:25] of selling us this land, and

[14:26] then 2, with the city be

[14:27] willing to extend the property

[14:30] line so that we can build.

[14:32] Right here, and then we would

[14:34] demo the existing building and

[14:36] I even told Trico to include

[14:38] the floodgates in here. So

[14:38] these are all the floodgates

[14:40] that can still be housed on the

[14:42] property if need be. Here are

[14:44] just some other really cool

[14:46] photos of the proposed building

[14:47] Here's a bird's eye view. This

[14:49] right here is Alder Lane. These

[14:50] are the railroad carts that are

[14:52] right here and then further

[14:53] this way is Riverside Drive. Oh

[14:56] yeah, so like, that way, that's

[14:59] Riverside Drive. I think, oh,

[15:00] here, that's supposed to be the

[15:02] habitat for Humanity store

[15:03] right there. Um, here are some

[15:05] more photos. Do you see that we

[15:06] have a receiving area back here

[15:08] so this is where semi trucks

[15:10] would go behind the building,

[15:12] come around, and then there's a

[15:13] way that they would back in

[15:14] right here to receive, uh, to

[15:16] drop off food. This would be a

[15:18] receiving area for our thrift

[15:19] store, and this is all client

[15:21] parking. So why it matters,

[15:23] obviously we're, we're growing

[15:25] exponentially. We've seen an

[15:26] incredible increase in members

[15:28] needing our services, using our

[15:30] services, wanting to use our

[15:31] services, so we just need to,

[15:32] to grow and expand to meet

[15:33] community need. Uh, we also

[15:36] want to add more community

[15:38] gathering spaces like the

[15:39] classroom, we want to increase

[15:41] and improve our safety

[15:42] throughout the building and,

[15:43] and we also just want to have

[15:45] an intentional building that's

[15:46] designed for long-term growth.

[15:48] And also a permanent home

[15:49] strength in Skagic cleaner's

[15:50] ability to serve Mal Vernon

[15:52] residents and the broader

[15:54] Skagit community for decades to

[15:56] come. Here are all the

[15:57] different ways in which us

[15:59] being in that, um, us using

[16:00] that land for the Skagic

[16:02] Cleaners building aligns with

[16:02] the city of Mount Vernon

[16:04] Comprehensive Plan. I won't go

[16:08] into all of them, but we did,

[16:10] we, we wanted to be intentional

[16:12] with the plan and make sure

[16:13] that this really was something

[16:14] that aligns with what the city

[16:15] of Melbourne and says that they

[16:16] they want to do. And here's our

[16:20] R2 requests. So would the city

[16:22] consider selling the currently

[16:23] leased. Property and would the

[16:25] city consider a lot line

[16:26] adjustment to create visible

[16:28] development, and here's all the

[16:30] work of the feasibility that

[16:31] we've done. Again, we wanted,

[16:34] we were, we didn't want this to

[16:35] be a pipe dream any longer. We

[16:37] wanted to come to the city with

[16:38] a fully fleshed out plan of how

[16:40] this could look, what it could

[16:41] do, what it would mean for the

[16:43] community, will it, you know,

[16:44] just meet the basics. Will it

[16:45] fit? Will it meet our needs on

[16:48] the existing land. So this is

[16:50] all the great work that we've

[16:52] done, and here are some

[16:53] proposed next steps if the city

[16:54] does give us some permission to

[16:56] move forward. I won't get into

[16:57] these details. right now, but

[17:00] we are, we're operating on a

[17:02] long time frame, so we're

[17:03] hoping that we would be

[17:04] breaking ground in 5 years.

[17:06] This isn't something that we

[17:08] need an answer on anytime soon,

[17:10] like what Chris Phillips said.

[17:11] What we're looking for, um,

[17:13] right now. Is just some

[17:14] guidance on whether or not this

[17:15] could be a possibility, um,

[17:16] it's never, it's not our

[17:18] intention to, you know, go head

[17:19] to head with the city. We love

[17:21] the city, we love the city

[17:23] staff, we, we want to do what's

[17:25] best for the city. I just think

[17:27] that this could be a really

[17:28] cool project, uh, a

[17:29] collaborative project where we

[17:30] can make something great out of

[17:32] that space, something that

[17:34] increases food access that

[17:35] aligns with the comprehensive

[17:37] plans that revitalizes

[17:38] Riverside Drive and really just

[17:39] re-enters the hub of Mount

[17:41] Vernon and just does something.

[17:44] different with that space, and,

[17:45] and I'll, I'll stop there

[17:46] because I'm out of time, but

[17:48] yeah, and question I questions

[17:49] and answers questions? Yes, OK,

[17:51] awesome. OK. All right. Thanks,

[17:53] Morgan. Yeah. So on The other

[17:55] part of this is that When I

[17:57] wrote this brief and you looked

[17:58] at it probably over the weekend

[18:00] was, you know, I didn't want it

[18:02] to be a Saturday Night Live

[18:03] skit of Point Counterpoint for

[18:05] those of you old enough to

[18:07] remember that, OK, that's not,

[18:09] not the intent. Um, so, Oops.

[18:15] There we go. Quick. There we go

[18:21] OK, so Morgan provided hers.

[18:24] I'm just going to share with

[18:26] you some thoughts from the

[18:27] city's perspective, OK. Um,

[18:29] there were a few planning

[18:30] considerations that I think the

[18:32] council should take a look at

[18:34] before making a decision. So at

[18:36] the end of the day, I'm not

[18:37] here to sit there and say yay

[18:39] or nay, uh, I would just sit

[18:42] there and tell you that uh from

[18:44] a city perspective completely

[18:46] or from a public works

[18:46] perspective, not a city, um,

[18:51] overall, I mean, we're very

[18:52] supportive of gleaners. I mean,

[18:55] what a positive impact that

[18:56] they have for our city and our

[18:58] residents. It's kind of hard to

[19:00] sit there and argue with what

[19:01] what they've done, um,

[19:02] significant. impact on the food

[19:04] waste reductions, um, waste

[19:06] aversion impact on that and,

[19:08] and our environment, the

[19:09] financial relief to working

[19:12] families and farm farm families

[19:13] that are here, um, diverse

[19:15] outreach to a variety of

[19:16] marginalized communities, and

[19:17] then one thing you forgot, how

[19:19] about your community garden? OK

[19:21] Hey, you know, just to say, big

[19:23] fan. Mhm. But For the decision

[19:27] makers that are here, this is

[19:30] something that you have to

[19:32] consider, and I'll use just one

[19:33] example before we go in there.

[19:35] My town, city of Anacortes,

[19:37] where I live, just recently

[19:38] ended up repurchasing a piece

[19:41] of property that they sold low,

[19:42] and now they're buying high for

[19:44] $3 million in order to

[19:47] repurpose because 5 councils

[19:49] ago. Said they didn't need the

[19:51] land and surplused it. So what

[19:53] I would offer to you is that

[19:55] there should be probably some

[19:56] more conversation to be had

[19:58] because of the issues and

[20:00] concerns that Morgan has

[20:01] brought up. Although in my

[20:03] prior life I was a land use guy

[20:05] We really need to have

[20:07] development services involved.

[20:09] I have absolutely no idea on

[20:11] the parcel of property that's

[20:12] there at a BLA, a boundary line

[20:14] adjustment, can be done to it.

[20:17] I don't know if it can be

[20:18] bifurcated if it already has.

[20:19] There's legalities that go

[20:21] along with this, that Chris

[20:22] Phillips has absolutely no idea

[20:24] But I think that would be

[20:26] something doing the due

[20:27] diligence that counsel would to

[20:28] direct the city to go to do

[20:30] that would be worthwhile. Um,

[20:32] another option in here too is

[20:34] when you're looking at that

[20:35] particular land. There may be.

[20:37] Other Things that are on that

[20:39] property that will require

[20:40] remediation at some point in

[20:42] time. That is part of the

[20:44] information that Morgan shared

[20:45] with you, but if the, as you

[20:47] guys know with the old seed

[20:48] factory, the reason we couldn't

[20:49] develop the southern end of

[20:50] that is because the property

[20:54] was hot, and what I mean by

[20:55] that, it had to be remediated,

[20:56] and there were certain things

[20:57] that had to be done with that,

[21:00] OK? So, what I offer to you

[21:03] here is just a few options,

[21:04] just. Chris Phillips' thinking

[21:06] and uh you can take it, what it

[21:09] is, but again, I would just say

[21:10] that further conversation would

[21:10] be required. City retained the

[21:13] property and why do I mention

[21:15] about city retaining the

[21:15] property. Well, y'all are right

[21:17] in the middle of doing a

[21:19] comprehensive plan. We're

[21:20] looking 20 years down the road

[21:22] of what's happening. I shared

[21:23] with you last week when I

[21:24] talked to you at the Public

[21:26] Safety Committee meeting. We

[21:28] haven't hired a new employee in

[21:30] public works in 20 years. If

[21:32] you're going to be increasing

[21:33] the capacity of what it is that

[21:35] you're asking me or my

[21:36] predecessor to do, um, you're

[21:37] going to be sitting there

[21:39] taking a look at. More

[21:40] operations, more fleet Me

[21:42] mechanic, more solid waste and

[21:45] where are they going to be done

[21:47] ? So as part of this, I would

[21:50] offer you a land use analysis

[21:52] would probably be a good

[21:53] portion of what you would

[21:55] require in here so that you can

[21:56] see what city owned land is in

[21:58] the area of the floodwall, and

[21:59] I do appreciate the 18

[22:01] containers being able to be

[22:03] stored on the eastern end of

[22:04] the property which is closest

[22:05] to the railroad, because right

[22:08] now you get the full experience

[22:09] of, of the rail. coming through

[22:11] as much as it does, so it would

[22:12] make sense to put them on the

[22:14] western side of the property.

[22:17] So I would just offer you that

[22:19] as, as another portion or

[22:20] another consideration. Um, the

[22:21] temporary relocation of flood

[22:23] containers to the old public

[22:24] library. So for instance, if it

[22:27] was a 1 to 2 year gleaner

[22:29] deconstruction, reconstruction.

[22:31] We have an area to go ahead and

[22:34] put those 18 containers that

[22:35] actually help us out because

[22:37] it's closer to where the action

[22:39] is, you know, to be able to do

[22:41] that. Second or lastly, there

[22:43] are some of the other parts, uh

[22:45] um, uh, keeping gleaners open,

[22:46] you know, with one of the

[22:48] options here, you could be

[22:49] working out of the old building

[22:50] While the new building is being

[22:51] built, the 18 containers come

[22:54] downtown once the new building

[22:55] is completed, you deconstruct

[22:58] the old building, make that a,

[22:59] you know, do some other parking

[23:02] that's in there, and then you

[23:04] can reposition the 18

[23:05] containers to their original

[23:06] location and we kind of go that

[23:09] way. I did have in your

[23:10] presentation on Thursday, pro

[23:12] and con, and I thought pro and

[23:13] con was a little toothy, you

[23:14] know. How about some planning

[23:18] considerations, you know, this

[23:20] is for decision makers to make.

[23:22] Order some things to consider,

[23:23] you know, gleaners continue to

[23:26] work out of the building as I

[23:28] just mentioned, you know, um.

[23:29] By doing this particular option

[23:31] it saves them rental fees from

[23:33] having to go and rent a

[23:34] facility for a period of time

[23:35] while construction is going on

[23:37] that may encumber them in a way

[23:39] that they don't need to be. Um,

[23:42] the flood container storage is

[23:44] maintained. Hey, that's no

[23:46] problem for me. I think again

[23:47] from the city perspective, you

[23:48] want to have them closer to the

[23:50] to the area where the action's

[23:52] going to be, and this option

[23:53] would allow that. The city

[23:55] maintains property rights so

[23:57] that in the future, you know,

[23:58] the public works department,

[23:59] whether it's staff, facilities,

[24:01] equipment, and services that

[24:03] property can be repurposed,

[24:04] maybe on the eastern side for

[24:05] something that the city would

[24:06] need. OK, so I think again you

[24:09] can get to yes. Um, there are

[24:11] other considerations and

[24:12] factors that are in there, um,

[24:14] personally, I think the

[24:15] outright sale would not

[24:17] necessarily be the best way to

[24:18] go and do business just because

[24:19] again, if you're looking to

[24:22] grow. I don't have anywhere

[24:24] else to grow to provide the

[24:25] support to what you all are

[24:27] desiring to do. Um, Another

[24:30] option or another consideration

[24:32] here too is future state

[24:33] organic law impacts, OK? Just

[24:36] like Olympia is driving the

[24:38] Growth Management Act, much to

[24:39] your chagrin. They they are

[24:41] also doing the same thing with

[24:43] an unfunded requirement for

[24:44] organics, which you will be

[24:45] able to, will be presenting in

[24:47] the 2027-2020208 time frame for

[24:48] your dancing and dining

[24:49] pleasure, OK? We, we're, we're

[24:54] working on how to mitigate that

[24:56] as well because it's an

[24:57] unfunded requirement that's

[24:57] going to be coming to us as a

[25:00] city, our businesses, and our

[25:02] Residence. Hm. Option two,

[25:04] again, a common theme here,

[25:05] city retained the property.

[25:07] Gleaner's old facility gets

[25:09] demoed. PW moves the containers

[25:12] to the eastern portion of the

[25:13] property. Cleaner's bills on

[25:14] the western site, and then

[25:16] Gleaners opens, and this one,

[25:18] this is where we talk about

[25:19] them having to go somewhere to

[25:21] to rent a place for a few years

[25:23] while all this is going on.

[25:25] It's an option. It's not the

[25:26] preferred option, but it is an

[25:28] option that is out there. The

[25:29] flood container storage is

[25:31] maintained at the current

[25:32] location so we don't have to

[25:34] actually move it, you know,

[25:36] downtown anywhere we could keep

[25:36] it right where it is. Cleaners

[25:40] would be required to rent space

[25:41] during the deconstruction

[25:43] construction phase, and then

[25:44] future commercial and

[25:45] residential development impacts

[25:46] I just again for your

[25:48] consideration, that hasn't

[25:48] changed from the first option.

[25:52] The next one is um city sells

[25:53] the property to gleaners as or

[25:56] leases it as some type of a

[25:57] public private partnership

[25:58] venture. OK, um. We looked at

[26:01] this in 2017 with all the

[26:04] parking spaces that are located

[26:07] up along the riverfront that

[26:08] once the Library Commons was

[26:09] done. This was when I was

[26:11] developing services director

[26:12] and getting into what does a

[26:15] PPP look like, and I'll just

[26:16] let you know, all roads. that

[26:18] gentleman right over there.

[26:19] There are more legalities that

[26:21] go on with the public-private

[26:24] venture to better understand

[26:25] what are the impacts, what are

[26:26] the do's and don'ts. It, it's a

[26:30] very, I think, um, complicated

[26:32] and endeavor, not that it can't

[26:34] be done, but it's one that, if

[26:36] we consider that there are

[26:37] legalities to take a look at

[26:39] from a contractual standpoint,

[26:41] OK, from, from that perspective

[26:44] Um, the city ultimately loses

[26:46] again or possibly could lose

[26:48] valuable property during the

[26:50] commercial and residential

[26:51] expansion. You have a decreased

[26:54] footprint for PW laydown sites

[26:55] for the future. So there are

[26:57] some concerns that come in that

[26:59] but like I said, this would be

[27:01] more of a, uh, probably some

[27:02] type of a multifaceted

[27:05] department conversation with

[27:06] the public and the council on

[27:08] how we go about doing this

[27:10] public-private venture. It

[27:11] would be the first time, as I'm

[27:14] aware, in the city of Mount

[27:15] Vernon that it would be done,

[27:17] and some of the things to

[27:19] consider here. OK, when we're

[27:20] looking at this is The

[27:23] financial risk and funding

[27:25] vulnerabilities because it is a

[27:27] joint type of a project, so

[27:28] there would be financial risk

[27:31] and vulnerability or um um yeah

[27:33] vulnerability that's associated

[27:34] with that, that maybe the city

[27:35] doesn't want to take on. But

[27:38] that is something to discuss,

[27:40] uh, it could have some mission

[27:42] creep. It could have some

[27:44] governance issues as related to

[27:46] that, but all would have to be

[27:47] spelled out. Legally with all

[27:49] the legalities that come to

[27:50] this. Bean use piece that I

[27:51] have to it, and then also

[27:55] contractual obligations. What

[27:56] we've done from PPP-like

[28:00] development, one can consider

[28:02] the YMCA, if you recall for

[28:04] those members who were on the

[28:05] board or counsel at that time,

[28:07] you know, we were looking at a

[28:10] donating of funds and things in

[28:12] there, and gosh, how legally

[28:13] could we sit there and make

[28:14] this contribution with getting

[28:17] something back for the public

[28:18] use. This is kind of in that

[28:21] essence of, you know, Mount

[28:22] Vernon residents received so

[28:23] many vouchers, so that they

[28:25] could go in and utilize the

[28:27] YMCA. For the Mount Vernon

[28:28] Library Commons projects that

[28:30] both Julie is aware of and

[28:31] Kevin. The county. And Careful,

[28:36] all three. We basically, you

[28:38] know, in this condition the

[28:40] redevelopment of that county

[28:43] parking lot such that we, and I

[28:44] think it was a 10 year period

[28:47] of time, had to basically build

[28:49] what we were going to build and

[28:53] put it to the use that we said

[28:54] contractually we were going to

[28:55] do, and if you recall, Kevin

[28:56] was asking on numerous public

[28:57] works committee meetings of

[29:00] when are we done, Chris, so

[29:02] that he could do the language

[29:03] back to the county so that we

[29:06] own the property now. There's

[29:08] something that's similarly

[29:10] could be done in this regard

[29:11] with that, but again, Similar

[29:13] And this would have to be, you

[29:14] know, vetted out by the council

[29:17] with direction to city staff as

[29:20] well as partnering with the

[29:21] gleaners is. How does that look

[29:23] ? And quite frankly, I don't

[29:25] know. But it is something that

[29:27] you should consider, in my

[29:28] opinion. The risks again, you

[29:31] got the contractual obligations

[29:32] You've got long term

[29:33] commitments. I use my example

[29:35] with uh with Can't Afford Us,

[29:37] you know, what was it $300,000

[29:39] sell ended up being a $3

[29:42] million buy. Wow, that's not

[29:44] the way that you would like to

[29:46] go and do business, nor would

[29:47] you probably like counsel's,

[29:49] you know, maybe 10 years from

[29:50] now looking back at the

[29:52] decisions that you make and the

[29:53] diligence that took into that.

[29:55] I just ask you for that

[29:56] consideration. There could be

[29:58] performance metrics that are

[29:58] provided with that again with

[30:00] the number of services that

[30:02] that they provide, and then it

[30:04] has to be, in my opinion, fully

[30:05] transparent with the public.

[30:07] Cool, open kimono, if you will.

[30:09] Sorry for the analogy there.

[30:11] Public hearings have to be in

[30:12] there. And it has to be clear

[30:15] communication with partnership

[30:16] with not only us, the city, and

[30:19] gleaners, but also the public

[30:21] we serve. They have, they have

[30:23] to know what's going on with

[30:24] that and have a viable voice

[30:25] with that as well. And with

[30:27] that, That's what I have for

[30:29] you, and we, Can you standing

[30:31] up here ready for any questions

[30:34] that you may have, um. Which

[30:37] could also include further

[30:38] conversation at other committee

[30:41] meetings in the future. Who

[30:42] wants to go first? Who has a

[30:44] question to start with? Noor,

[30:45] go ahead. Um, I like, I like

[30:48] this game of, uh, let's throw

[30:50] out pipe dreams and see what,

[30:53] what sticks, um. One of the

[30:55] things that that I have always

[30:58] wondered about. Traveling down

[31:00] I-5 and looking to the east and

[31:03] seeing. Our city shop there. I

[31:08] always cringe a little bit, and

[31:10] I, I imagine, I wonder what it

[31:12] would be like to drive into

[31:13] Bellingham on the Samish exit.

[31:18] And see the Bellingham City

[31:20] shop there. How different that

[31:22] would be. To see that, and um,

[31:27] When, when I see that property.

[31:31] I imagine. Some high rises,

[31:36] pedestrian boulevard. Having,

[31:38] you know, because we know we

[31:39] want more densification. We

[31:42] know we want to drive. Uh,

[31:45] residents to our downtown.

[31:47] Having that walkability, having

[31:49] that access to the riverwalk to

[31:52] everything we have downtown

[31:54] there, um, certainly we would

[31:56] have to find another place for

[31:58] our shop, and I'm going to take

[32:01] advantage of having one of the

[32:03] commissioners here, but I

[32:04] certainly could imagine a

[32:09] scenario where we could buy

[32:09] some of the county fairgrounds,

[32:11] and they could find another

[32:12] spot for, for a new and

[32:15] improved fairgrounds, um, and

[32:16] so. I'm throwing all of my pipe

[32:19] dreams out there. That is a,

[32:22] that is, but I certainly, I

[32:24] certainly would hope that we

[32:27] can envision a Mount Vernon

[32:29] without having our city shop in

[32:31] that location. Cause like I

[32:33] said, I, I just, I see it and I

[32:37] cringe that that's if you're

[32:38] threatening me with having a

[32:40] brand new public works facility

[32:42] that's down on the county

[32:44] grounds. You can count me in.

[32:47] So that's, that's my pipe dream

[32:49] that I will throw out there. Go

[32:51] ahead, Andrew. Um, and I hope

[32:54] this is OK. Um, I don't know

[32:56] where the rest of the council's

[32:57] at, and I, I know that we're

[32:59] not going to do a boat and

[33:00] we're not going to do any of,

[33:01] any of that official sort of

[33:03] business, um, as far as I'm

[33:04] concerned, I would be ready to

[33:06] start down pathways to see if

[33:07] gleaners could take this over,

[33:08] and I'd be interested in how we

[33:12] do that. And so if the rest of

[33:14] council wants to do that, I'd

[33:15] be interested in in knowing

[33:16] that or not. Basically I'm

[33:17] seeing if we got 4 votes to to

[33:19] continue down this pathway or

[33:21] not. Well, OK. Anybody else?

[33:25] Respectfully, go ahead, thank

[33:28] you for asking that question,

[33:29] Andrew. I feel like we are in a

[33:31] very, very, very early stages,

[33:34] and for me, that's moving a

[33:38] little fast, but that's just me

[33:39] I, I just, we need to take a

[33:41] look at the city's property.

[33:45] And really figure out. Where we

[33:47] can do all this. Navvo, I agree

[33:50] with you. I came on council and

[33:51] thought, let's move this. Let's

[33:52] move, you know, the city shop

[33:54] away from the, the freeway, but

[33:58] Where? That's, you know, that's

[34:00] part of the problem. I don't

[34:02] want to see cleaners go

[34:04] anywhere. The work that they do

[34:06] and, and Morgan is absolutely

[34:08] phenomenal. Um, So I just, but

[34:10] I do just feel like it's a

[34:12] little soon for me. Oh sure,

[34:14] and I respectfully, that's one

[34:16] vote. That's perfect. So I

[34:18] think I have 2, is anybody else

[34:19] willing to Oh, I would like to

[34:24] know a little bit more about

[34:26] the boundary line and what else

[34:28] is there. So like. There is

[34:30] something that pops up. I would

[34:31] like to have a little bit more.

[34:33] Research on the property just

[34:34] to make sure something doesn't

[34:37] pop up because I would hate for

[34:39] to say, OK, Morgan, go for it,

[34:41] and then something else pops up

[34:42] or we find out we can't do it

[34:44] or there's some other impact

[34:46] I'd like to dig into it a

[34:48] little bit farther. And then

[34:52] You know, make our decisions

[34:53] from there, but Yes, I mean,

[34:57] I'm all for like. Moving the

[34:59] fairgrounds to see Willy and

[35:01] move in some other stuff like,

[35:03] if we're gonna get on there,

[35:04] then property we don't own.

[35:08] Exactly you here here? I am. I,

[35:12] I, and, Randy, did you wanna

[35:14] pipe in? Yeah, so I think we're

[35:19] at this point looking at what

[35:21] possible options are. And I

[35:22] don't I don't think we're any

[35:26] of them are mature enough to.

[35:28] For me to have any weight on.

[35:30] You know, at this point, they

[35:32] all sound like good options. So

[35:34] I think We learned more and

[35:36] maybe they get narrowed a

[35:38] little bit. Mhm. Hannah. Um, Um

[35:46] I mean, I, I'm obviously fine

[35:47] with learning more. Maybe we

[35:49] can get something on the

[35:51] schedule with Steve or Kevin or

[35:53] somebody to talk about the

[35:55] options. Um um, I am Open to

[35:58] selling it to cleaners, I think

[36:00] it would be. A huge loss if

[36:04] gleaners went to Burlington or

[36:07] see Julie or Some other city

[36:09] this not as good, um, I also

[36:12] want to say I do not support

[36:15] the fairgrounds going to any

[36:17] other city. People in Mount

[36:20] Vernon. Um, and then, so I'll

[36:22] say that I too very much

[36:23] support the cleaners. I

[36:25] volunteer. I, I'm there. I was

[36:27] there today volunteering, so I

[36:29] know the constraints of the

[36:31] building and what they could do

[36:32] with a bigger building. We are

[36:35] also charged with being good

[36:36] stewards of Mount for Mount

[36:38] Vernon, the entire city of

[36:40] Mount Vernon and their property

[36:42] Um, I I am not at the point

[36:45] where we have to be cognizant

[36:46] of also the work that we've

[36:48] already got on the plates, our

[36:50] development services and our

[36:50] city attorney. We we can't just

[36:54] keep adding things without

[36:55] taking something away, so we

[36:57] have to be really cognizant of

[36:58] what we're asking them to do. I

[37:00] certainly want to have more

[37:02] discussions. I want to know

[37:03] more about the land. I want to

[37:05] know, uh, how this, how this

[37:06] might magically work for both

[37:08] of us because I don't want you

[37:09] to move either, Morgan. So, um,

[37:11] but I just want to make sure.

[37:13] We have to be doing what's the

[37:14] best for the city. Yeah, that's

[37:16] our, that's our charge um as a

[37:18] council. So we do need, we need

[37:20] to do a lot more investigation

[37:21] and a lot more studying, but

[37:23] it's certainly very um.

[37:28] Intriguing and exciting to

[37:29] think about. Yes, sir, if I

[37:31] could offer. That's something

[37:33] here would be. Um, it is budget

[37:35] season. Although this is a

[37:39] wonderful conversation. I think

[37:40] I think Doug, oh, there we go,

[37:42] my colleague Doug Valuski would

[37:43] say, I think over the next

[37:44] probably 1, you all will have

[37:48] every Wednesday talking budget.

[37:50] What I would offer to you if

[37:51] counsel is amenable would be

[37:53] the Public Works Committee

[37:55] meeting in December. It's the

[37:57] 2nd Wednesday in December that

[38:00] we could come back if you have

[38:02] questions, I would please

[38:03] encourage you to email me with

[38:06] those questions are. I do have

[38:07] the boundary line adjustment,

[38:09] the property, the land use

[38:11] analysis piece to it. If

[38:12] there's any other council

[38:13] member that has other things

[38:15] that you would like counsel to

[38:17] research, I'm sorry. He for

[38:18] research. City staff to

[38:20] research we that, that gives us

[38:21] an opportunity while you're

[38:24] deliberating budget to be able

[38:25] to do some of the fact finding,

[38:27] we can tee it back up on

[38:28] December, whatever that is, and

[38:31] that 2nd Wednesday. And we can

[38:33] have a conversation about that

[38:35] and then to Council member

[38:38] Hudson's Point, we can put it

[38:39] into a work plan. We could

[38:41] actually get some traction

[38:42] behind what it is that we're

[38:44] looking to do. Love the

[38:45] conceptual drawings. Trichovas

[38:47] here, the building and the cost

[38:49] estimates, Lord knows that's

[38:50] not going to get any cheaper

[38:52] between now and 5 years from

[38:53] now with the fundraising that

[38:54] we go on to it, but at least

[38:56] counsel will have an

[38:56] opportunity because the

[38:58] comprehensive plan should be

[38:59] done by then. You will have

[39:03] that option of being able to

[39:04] factor in some of the other

[39:05] things that are associated with

[39:08] it, and then we can come back

[39:10] to you and kind of go through

[39:11] that on a, a nice, maybe every

[39:12] other month type of battle

[39:13] rhythm to Get to some point

[39:16] where you all make a decision

[39:17] about that. Morgan, would I,

[39:19] would it be fair for me to say

[39:20] that people could reach out to

[39:23] you as well with quip, any

[39:24] questions they have? Yeah,

[39:26] absolutely. So our whole

[39:27] feasibility plan up to this

[39:29] point was just to see if

[39:30] building on our on the existing

[39:32] land was possible, um,

[39:36] depending on the vibe of

[39:37] tonight, we were going to move

[39:39] to research other possible

[39:43] locations to see where that

[39:43] might be. We did some

[39:45] preliminary research. Nothing

[39:46] in Mount Vernon, totally met

[39:48] our needs, so we. We were

[39:50] looking at Burlington, um, so

[39:51] like the sooner the better we

[39:53] get that guidance so then we

[39:54] can continue on with our 55

[39:56] year long capital campaign, but

[39:59] I'm also very interested in in

[40:01] learning more as well if there

[40:03] is another, you know, if there

[40:04] is a way that we could work out

[40:08] being on city land still and

[40:10] and making it collaborative, my

[40:12] only hesitancy with that is

[40:14] that sometimes that makes it

[40:15] really hard to get capital

[40:16] grant funding from the state

[40:17] because we have. To own the

[40:20] land. So that is just one

[40:23] consideration unless the city

[40:24] wants to like give us some tax

[40:26] money to pay like then then,

[40:28] you know, like that's just like

[40:30] there are exceptions like if we

[40:32] get, if we get like tied into

[40:34] like a 100 year lease or

[40:35] something like that, where it

[40:38] shows that we're gonna be able

[40:38] to keep the space for a while,

[40:41] so yeah, but those are all

[40:42] things that that we just need

[40:43] to like talk about more. Did I

[40:45] answer your question? I don't

[40:48] know you did. I, I just wanna

[40:49] make sure you're, and I, I have

[40:51] no doubt You were. I just

[40:53] wanted to clarify that you were

[40:55] available for questions too.

[40:57] And if I'm getting community

[40:58] questions or questions from

[40:59] counsel just full transparency.

[41:01] I will make sure that I share

[41:02] them with Morgan so she could

[41:03] see what the question is, what

[41:05] the due diligence was behind it

[41:08] And after some time, what the

[41:09] actual response is.. And then

[41:11] that can be factored in as well

[41:13] So fully open as far as the

[41:15] communication piece goes. Any

[41:17] other, uh, go ahead, Anna. I

[41:18] just want to thank you both for

[41:20] your presentations and thank

[41:21] the couple of Gleaner's board

[41:23] members that are here in the

[41:25] crowd. Thank you. Thank you

[41:28] Thank you you Thank you. Thanks

[41:30] Morgan. to, yeah, look forward

[41:32] to working in the future, yeah.

[41:33] Morgan, are you coming back for

[41:35] 1590? Uh, yeah. Excellent. So

[41:42] council member Hudson, I will

[41:44] let you know just because I

[41:44] thought we might get done a

[41:46] little bit early I do have some

[41:47] the rest of the, I don't, I

[41:49] don't have my entourage behind

[41:50] me. You just got me. It's just

[41:52] for you. But I can, I can

[41:54] muscle through the next 20

[41:55] minutes with the update from

[41:57] Blaine as well as my update and

[42:00] Frank's update. You've got 15

[42:02] minutes. You got it. go go, OK.

[42:05] So, update on the library

[42:06] comments. Just. Yeah. Real

[42:09] quick. Oh, is that. Hm. Uh, as

[42:10] we talked about last, Week, 4th

[42:12] floor traffic coating complete.

[42:14] The rotating, and I had a good

[42:18] conversation with Julie on neon

[42:19] and what we're doing with the

[42:21] neon subcontractor because that

[42:23] is the one hanging chad that is

[42:25] out there. Going back to that

[42:27] Gore Bush thing in Florida

[42:28] anyway, so that's what we got

[42:30] going there. The wastewater

[42:32] rate study we went through this

[42:35] I just want to make sure that.

[42:37] Counsel's direction for me was

[42:39] counsel approve. Counsel would

[42:41] like me to bring to counsel.

[42:43] Full city council at the next

[42:46] city council meeting, scenario

[42:49] 5 with the quarterly water

[42:50] worth updates that we talked

[42:54] about during last week's

[42:54] meeting. And then the other one

[42:57] with the connection fees was

[42:59] basically. When we got to it,

[43:00] the one slide that I

[43:03] inadvertently did not select,

[43:04] which I wasn't sure. Council

[43:06] member Beaten that this is what

[43:08] you were looking for or were

[43:11] you looking more for the impact

[43:12] study piece, like for all

[43:14] impact fees, but this gives you

[43:15] the breakdown of where our

[43:19] current connection fee is on

[43:20] the far left. What would be the

[43:22] max allowed, and from what I

[43:24] heard from counsel last week

[43:25] was they would like to pursue

[43:28] increasing the connection fee.

[43:30] By $1000 next year. The next 2

[43:34] years or the next 2 years, OK.

[43:37] 1000 for the next two years,

[43:38] and we can reevaluate at that

[43:40] particular time with the

[43:41] development that is going on.

[43:44] Is that an appropriate number

[43:46] or not, but this gives you the

[43:48] the other comparison cities

[43:51] that are around of where their

[43:53] particular fees are, and one of

[43:55] the questions that did come up

[43:58] was Anna Cortes and how they

[43:58] got their number, and I shared

[44:01] that with you as well that

[44:02] Consultant provided. Anacortes

[44:04] of city council dismissed the

[44:06] consultant, and they came up

[44:08] with that particular fee. For

[44:10] them. So that's what I had

[44:14] right there and marry what I

[44:15] need or council member Hudson,

[44:16] what I need to add to this is

[44:19] not only 2027, but 2028 as well

[44:21] And then the second bullet

[44:23] would be, we would come back

[44:25] and dialogue in 2028. To

[44:27] discuss what this future

[44:29] connection fees look like for

[44:31] 2029 with the water, yes you

[44:34] had something. Can you go back

[44:35] to that one slide, please, that

[44:37] one. So, so what popped into my

[44:39] head over the weekend, and, and

[44:42] I know just like I know each

[44:43] city in the county is very,

[44:45] very different when we get

[44:46] compared to the various cities.

[44:48] Um, but I look at like Everett,

[44:51] um, which is a larger city, and

[44:53] I don't understand how are they

[44:54] getting away with 4274. Which

[44:57] is More than half. Less I mean,

[45:03] I see where I'm going with this

[45:04] I'm just trying to understand.

[45:05] I know there's a whole formula

[45:07] that we came up with, and that

[45:09] may be the rationale behind it

[45:11] is when you take a look at the

[45:13] definitions that we had in here

[45:16] and what the buy-in is, their

[45:17] system may be something that is

[45:19] completely Different from just

[45:21] from a standpoint of the

[45:23] factors that come into it than

[45:25] what what ours are, since it's

[45:27] a larger city. Um, I would

[45:30] offer you too that like Oak

[45:31] Harbor is another one that is

[45:34] relatively low, um, but they

[45:37] just built like this brand new

[45:39] wastewater treatment plant over

[45:41] there, and their rates though,

[45:42] if you remember from remember

[45:45] from right remember from

[45:46] remember from right. So their

[45:49] decision from a council

[45:50] perspective was, in my opinion,

[45:50] put it on the The weight is on

[45:53] the um residents of Oak Harbor,

[45:55] not necessarily the developers

[45:57] of Oak Harbor. They have a

[45:58] different background you have

[46:00] no idea if that's what's

[46:01] happening or not. Can we not

[46:02] conjecture, please? Well,

[46:05] actually I do know about that

[46:07] because as base commander at

[46:10] Oar or Naval Air Station Wubi

[46:12] Island. We were working with

[46:15] the city and we opted not to

[46:17] buy into their system due to

[46:18] the price. Got you. So I do

[46:20] know about that one. I don't

[46:21] know about the conjecture about

[46:23] Everett. 100%. In, in all

[46:26] fairness, it was probably not a

[46:27] fair question for me to ask of

[46:28] you, so my apologies. But if

[46:31] you want me to do the due

[46:33] diligence and reach out to

[46:34] these and how they got their

[46:35] connection fees. I will be more

[46:37] than happy to share with

[46:39] counsel on that. You've got

[46:40] more than enough on your plate.

[46:42] I'm not going to add any more,

[46:43] OK. Thanks, Chris. Sure. So I

[46:46] got my guidance here for the,

[46:47] the rate study piece. I just

[46:48] got that. OK. Um, other things

[46:51] I had just from the Capital

[46:53] projects engineer was just

[46:55] letting you know that the

[46:56] overlay project is on schedule.

[46:58] They've been paving at night,

[47:00] so if you go down Old 99 this

[47:02] evening, they will be paving

[47:04] down there, doing, doing the

[47:05] job there. 30th Street

[47:06] Improvements were at about the

[47:08] 60% design we received that

[47:11] city staff is reviewing those

[47:12] At at this particular time.

[47:15] Riverside 1 and 2 at the 90%,

[47:17] uh, and we're in the process of

[47:18] the re-obligation of funding

[47:20] dealing with SCOG, all the

[47:20] paperwork is in. We've got

[47:23] comment back from Skog that we

[47:24] can utilize those funds for

[47:25] more of the design work that's

[47:28] going on. Those are ongoing as

[47:30] well, and we had a meeting

[47:31] today dealing with caution

[47:33] trail 3, again, 60% milestone

[47:34] there. Uh, this gets into a

[47:37] nexus between utilizing federal

[47:39] money regarding the PSE role

[47:40] with lighting. So this project

[47:44] we will most likely be taking

[47:48] out of the federal requirements

[47:49] It will be a locally run

[47:50] project here and we will

[47:53] revisit and stages 2 and 4 to

[47:54] nest them with the 30th Street

[47:56] project that's going on there

[47:58] for just connection and all

[47:59] that. Impact to funding and

[48:04] everything like that

[48:04] inconsequential, but there are

[48:06] some programmatics that are

[48:07] behind that that Frank wanted

[48:09] me to bring up. Uh, Division

[48:10] Street feasibility and scoping.

[48:12] I've got more to follow on this

[48:14] with KPFF. Um, we've got some

[48:16] other work that's happening

[48:16] with 10th and Warren and 18th,

[48:19] um, we got the advertisement

[48:20] for design is going out this

[48:21] particular month with design to

[48:24] be done fall winter and then

[48:25] summer time frame next year for

[48:27] construction. We've got the ADA

[48:30] transition plan in full review,

[48:32] full work. We should be having

[48:34] our first plan review of that

[48:36] in October, bringing that to

[48:38] council by the end of the year.

[48:40] Blackborough Road Extension

[48:41] study. We're still continuing

[48:43] on it and again reviewing

[48:45] vertical alternatives. How's

[48:47] that? Because it's pretty steep

[48:49] slopes that are over there.

[48:50] Great. And we anticipate that

[48:51] being completed by the end of

[48:52] the year as well, and then

[48:53] bringing to you, um, the 26, 27

[48:56] overlay and ADA improvements at

[48:59] the end of September. So for

[49:03] the 536 bridge, this is one

[49:04] that we're looking for guidance

[49:05] from counsel. OK, the project

[49:08] management and everything, we

[49:09] met with KPFF. We've gone

[49:11] through a variety of different

[49:13] conversations with them trying

[49:15] to scope. The actual plan for a

[49:19] bridge replacement. That's the

[49:22] price tag. Right there that you

[49:24] see. We had allotted about 200

[49:28] to $250,000. They came back

[49:32] with a project of about 882. So

[49:35] within this, and this is just

[49:38] for just briefing you, we'll

[49:39] come back again next month

[49:40] during the Public Works

[49:41] Committee meeting to look for

[49:44] more of an answer, but this was

[49:45] a little sticker shock for us,

[49:46] and we went through and met

[49:48] with the contractor on this.

[49:51] The study really provides a

[49:53] unique situation that we have

[49:55] here, um, KPFF and their team

[49:57] have done a very good job

[49:59] scoping and sizing the project

[50:01] for Mount Vernon. Um, again,

[50:03] the public engagement that was

[50:06] requested, um, mixing public

[50:07] events with online events, the

[50:09] language translation and a

[50:11] variety of materials that the

[50:13] city and public could engage

[50:14] with in lieu of multiple

[50:16] consulting public events We

[50:19] took a look at that, um, and

[50:20] our current scope. So with the

[50:22] current scope, the pros, what

[50:25] we have there, as we know we

[50:27] have a known public safety

[50:28] concern with the bridge. We

[50:30] have some minor scope fee and

[50:31] reduction possibilities, but

[50:32] they're not very substantial

[50:34] from what Frank and I have gone

[50:35] through. Additional funding

[50:38] availability for local

[50:40] transportation sources. We

[50:41] could look for, which would be

[50:42] the transportation Benefit

[50:43] district. When that passes in

[50:46] November, this would be an

[50:47] opportunity for us to leverage

[50:48] some of that funding to

[50:49] complete the study. Bridge

[50:51] fixes are going to have to be a

[50:53] long timeline to deliver, and

[50:54] it may be again 10 plus years

[50:57] because we don't own the bridge

[50:58] but there may be some

[50:59] alternatives that come out of

[51:01] this study that we may be able

[51:03] to pursue in order to encourage

[51:05] either Wazdat. Our local

[51:07] officials, Representative

[51:09] Larson, our senatorial staffs,

[51:10] to see if there are any

[51:12] earmarked funds that we could

[51:13] utilize with the study's

[51:14] results. Has, there's no

[51:17] current suitable external

[51:19] funding option. Additional

[51:22] unplanned costs could be a

[51:24] budget amendment for something

[51:26] in 27. And again, does the

[51:28] priority justify the expense

[51:29] now? That would be, does the

[51:31] juice, is the juice worth the

[51:32] squeeze type of a thing. Second

[51:35] part of this is looking at

[51:38] sacrifices to reduce the scope,

[51:40] and we looked at a variety of

[51:42] ways to stay within the

[51:43] $200,000 budget that you

[51:44] provided to us. Um, We could go

[51:47] through that and get a quicker

[51:49] study. It may not have all the

[51:51] bells and whistles that KPFF is

[51:52] offering that we think are good

[51:55] alternatives. however, the cons

[51:57] to this would be it's a much

[52:01] more superficial outcome be

[52:02] less credible for state or

[52:06] federal funding in that regard.

[52:08] It could be a missed

[52:09] opportunity in the sense that

[52:11] again we know there's times

[52:13] when the government has gone

[52:14] out and done something, and

[52:15] we've told you, oh, we think we

[52:17] could do it for this much. And

[52:20] then another portion of a study

[52:21] or something else needs to be

[52:22] done. Is it worthwhile just to

[52:24] go ahead and just do it, get it

[52:26] done. $800,000 and then we

[52:28] actually have a feasibility

[52:28] study that we could use for

[52:30] state and federal nexus, and it

[52:32] will include, I got you, all of

[52:33] the other, uh, opportunities

[52:35] with engaging with the public.

[52:38] Uh, we could postpone the

[52:39] effort. It is an option, uh,

[52:41] and, and wait until we actually

[52:42] build up enough capital in

[52:45] there or revenue to be able to

[52:47] conduct this which could push

[52:49] us out another year or two. And

[52:51] with that, uh, that kind of is.

[52:55] It for that particular portion

[52:57] of it. So I just wanted to

[52:59] bring it up to you that again,

[53:00] it was like 4 times the amount

[53:01] of what we were looking for for

[53:03] cost initially. Frank and I

[53:04] will be back again next and I

[53:06] will make sure I know this was

[53:08] part of your, your briefing

[53:09] just to make sure that you had

[53:11] that last two items, if you

[53:13] notice that the Army Corps of

[53:15] Engineers were working on the,

[53:16] on the part of the just south

[53:20] of Lions Park that work has

[53:20] been completed. They

[53:22] refortified a good portion of

[53:27] the revetment that's over there

[53:29] on the east side of the river.

[53:32] All that work has been

[53:34] completed, and I think that

[53:36] basically covers everything.

[53:37] With 2 minutes to go pending

[53:41] your questions. Questions for

[53:42] Chris. Anybody? Guess not.

[53:46] Thank you, Chris. Thank you.

[53:47] Thank you, Chris Franken, blain

[53:50] all rolled into one. OK, so I

[53:53] think, um, The next thing is a

[53:59] truck, sorry, bringing up my

[54:00] agenda again. Miscellane any

[54:03] miscellaneous type? Agenda

[54:07] requests tonight. We'll go

Public Works & Library Council Committee Meeting | September 9, 2026

Transcript