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Welcome, everyone, to our Richmond City Council. Let's start today by a roll call.

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Jennifer, can you help us with that?

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Mayor Pro Tem Van Dyke.

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Present.

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Council Member Holton.

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Present.

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Council Member Jones.

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Here.

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Council Member Meyer.

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Council Member Samuel.

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Present.

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Council Member Witten.

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Here.

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Mayor Richardson.

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Can I have a motion to excuse Council Member Meyer and Mayor Richardson?

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So moved.

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Second.

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All those in favor?

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Aye.

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Aye.

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Aye.

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Any opposed?

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Okay.

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Let us start with our Pledge of Allegiance.

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I've asked Councilmember Witton to help us with that today.

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I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, nation

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under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

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I am very excited for the presentations we have today.

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They're wonderful.

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We're going to start. Chief Piltre, I believe, is going to introduce, pardon me.

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What's the agenda?

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You know, that's a good one. I always seem to miss that one.

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Thank you, Ryan. Let's approve today's agenda.

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Can I have a motion to approve our agenda?

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Second.

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So move.

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Sorry.

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Second.

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Great. Let's see.

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And we'll need a consent vote on that.

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All those in favor?

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Aye.

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Any opposed?

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Great.

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Okay now because I'm really excited about the presentations we'll get into those

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chief come on up. We'll start with the first one.

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Good evening Mr. Mayor Pro Tem

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and City Council. It's my pleasure tonight to introduce a number of officers

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including a four-legged one for the Police Department. So I'll start this

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evening with Officer Smith and his partner. Officer Smith has been in

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law enforcement for 11 years and has served in various roles including

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training patrol, field training officer, street crimes, and as an instructor in numerous

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different positions.

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His partner, K-9 Cody, is a two-year-old Belgian Malinois raised in the Netherlands selected

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for his high drive and sociable demeanor.

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For the past several months, they have been living and training together and have logged

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over 400 hours of training as they prepare to certify as a patrol K-9 team.

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I'll also add two other things.

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Thanks.

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This is a commitment not only by Officer Smith but his family because Cody lives with them

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all the time.

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So he's now part of their family.

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Another thing I'd like to point out is the cooperation, another example of the cooperation

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between our organization and allied organizations around here.

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We do not have a significant cultural history within our organization for canine handlers.

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And so, going down and choosing the proper canine was an important step.

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And the Pasco Police Department was kind enough to volunteer one of their experienced canine

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handlers who flew down to Southern California and spent a few days down there while they

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made the choice in helping us out.

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And that's just one example of the cooperation that we do get from our allied agencies

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and hope we always reciprocate in that case.

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Thanks.

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But again, that's Officer Smith and his partner, Cody.

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Thanks, Matt.

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Thank you and welcome.

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Next, I'll start with officers that we've recently hired and then also five of those

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you're going to meet this evening, graduated from the Academy this morning.

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So they're very excited to be out of that.

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It's now my time to tell them that the hard part comes to FTO, not just the Academy,

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but perhaps they know that.

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I'll start with Darius Bunch.

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coach.

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Darius grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and Buford, Georgia and went on to earn his bachelor's

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degree from West Liberty University.

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A dedicated athlete, he competed as a collegiate wrestler and became a three-time All-American.

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After completing his degree, he spent four years coaching college wrestling and continues

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to give back to the sport as a volunteer coach with Kamiakin High School Wrestling.

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Darius moved to the Tri-Cities in 2025 to be closer to his girlfriend and is

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enjoying building his life in the community. In his free time he enjoys

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walking, weightlifting, and spending time with family. Thank you, Darius.

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Leo Gallardo. Leo was born in Argentina and later moved with his family to

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Matawa, Washington, where he attended high school. After graduation, Leo

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relocated to Utah, where he spent more than 15 years in the oil and gas

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industry before transitioning to education. In addition to his civilian

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career Leo proudly served in the Air Force Reserve as an emergency and

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training manager. In his role he worked as part of a team that directly

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responded to emergencies and managed training for more than 130 military

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personnel. Outside of work he enjoys spending time with his wife and children

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and grandson. He is also actively involved in his church where he serves in

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various roles.

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Thank you, Leo.

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Clayton Rice.

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Originally from Vermont, Clayton moved to Washington

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at age 16 and went on to proudly serve five years

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in the United States Marine Corps

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after enlisting in 2008.

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After his military service, Clayton

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made the Tri-Cities home in 2013

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and built a strong professional background

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in the heavy equipment industry,

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working as a diesel mechanic, low-boy driver,

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and in equipment sales.

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Now a Richland resident, Clayton

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lives here with his wife and three children and is excited to return to public service

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and give back to the community he calls home.

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Thank you, Clayton.

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J. I. O. Amma.

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Officer I. O. Amma was born and raised in Kenwick and is called the Tri-Cities home for most

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of his life.

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He brings four years of experience from Coyote Ridge Corrections and is a proud United

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States Marine Corps veteran.

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J. has lived in the Tri-Cities with his wife since 2019 and enjoys road trips,

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camping with family and friends and bringing their dog along for adventure.

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Thank you.

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Mason Martinelli. Mason grew up in North Bend, Washington and recently

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made the move to Richland. He brings experience from working as a security

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officer at Swedish Hospital in Seattle along with hands-on work as part of a

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crawl space and attic cleanup and reinstallation crew. Outside of work

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Mason enjoys fishing, golfing, camping and off-roading with friends and

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And he's excited to explore everything the Tri-Cities has to offer.

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Thank you, Mace.

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Cassie Martinez.

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Officer Martinez began her public service career in 2020 with the Department of Correction,

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serving as a community corrections officer before pursuing her goal of becoming a police

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officer.

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In 2021, she joined the West Richland Police Department, where she proudly served the

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community for more than three years.

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Cassie brings a strong educational background to the Richland Police Department, holding

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a bachelor's degree in social sciences with an emphasis in criminal justice, psychology,

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and business administration. When she's not serving the community, Cassie enjoys spending

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time with family, traveling, and seeking out new outdoor adventures and experiences.

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Thank you.

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Finally, the Richland Police Foundation has

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some gifts for our new members. This evening we'll be giving them out in the lobby,

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but I wanted to give the president of the Richland Police Foundation a moment to

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just say a few words. So I ask Christine Ortega to come on up.

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Thank you Chief Pilcher. Good evening to the City Council and to the

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officers. On behalf of the Richland Police Foundation, we extend our warmest

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welcome and reaffirm our ongoing commitment to supporting the Richland

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Police Department. As a token of our appreciation and community spirit, the

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Foundation is pleased to present each of you with a welcome basket filled

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with items generously provided by local businesses and organizations. We hope it offers a small,

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yet meaningful introduction to our vibrant community. Thank you for your dedication to

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serving Richland. We look forward to working together to strengthen the safety and well-being

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of our community. Thank you.

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Thank you again for this opportunity to make these introductions.

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We'll all step out so the council can continue with this agenda.

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Thank you.

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Thank you and really welcome to the city.

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I hope that here in their graduation and the foundation, everyone has been able to express that we genuinely appreciate you being here and we support you when we care about you.

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Welcome to Richland.

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Thanks, chief.

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Isn't it wonderful to have all the families, especially the little ones?

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That just makes my day.

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This is great.

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The next part of representation is we're going to have a proclamation about America 250 and

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our month of proclamation.

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I'm going to bring this proclamation down to Wendy, I believe, here.

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Just a moment.

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I feel underdressed.

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It was wonderful.

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Yeah, more than that, a few of them, this is great, thank you, and thank you.

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So, this proclamation says, whereas on July 4th, 2026, United States of America will commemorate

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the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, marking two-and-a-half

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centuries of liberty, democracy, and the enduring principle that all people are created

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equal, and whereas following the Treaty of Paris in 1783, the Northwest Ordinance

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of 1787, established a framework for territorial governance and the admission of new states

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to the Union, laying the foundation for the eventual creation of the state of Washington

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in 1889.

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And whereas in 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition commissioned by President Thomas

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Jefferson traveled along the Columbia River through an area that would one day become

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Richland, linking our communities to the earliest of the American Republic and

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westward exploration and whereas the city of richland was established as a town site in 1905

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incorporated as a city in 1910 and attained a first class city status in 1958 and whereas as

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richland holds a unique place in american history having been selected by the united states army

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in 1943 as the home of the community for handford engineering works where scientists

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engineers and workers made critical contributions to the Manhattan Project that helped bring

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the end to World War II to a close and shape the course of freedom for future generations.

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And whereas the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution founded in 1890 in

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the non-political women's service organization whose members are lineal descendants of

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the patriots of the American Revolution and whose Columbia River chapter was organized

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on March 17, 1949, continuing a tradition of historic preservation, education, and

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patriotism within our community, and whereas the 250th anniversary of the

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signing of the Declaration of Independence provides an opportunity to

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reflect upon our nation's history, honor the contributions and sacrifices of

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generations of Americans, and renew our commitment to the democratic ideals

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upon which the United States was founded. Now therefore, on behalf of Theresa Richardson and

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by the power vested in her as the mayor of City of Richland, I do hereby proclaim July 2026 as America

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250th month in the City of Richland.

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And it was sort of, I have here to, oh yes, actually well,

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I have here to set my hand in cause to fix this, the official seal of City of Richland

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on this Wednesday, 16th of June, 2026.

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Congratulations.

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This is so exciting to celebrate.

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This is wonderful.

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Great, come on up, you can have.

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That's okay, do you want a picture too?

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Randy, could you take a picture of them?

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Or Drew?

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Got it?

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Wonderful, it is a great day.

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Let's continue with our public hearing portion.

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Clerk Rogers, can you read the portion

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on public hearings and public comments.

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The purpose of a public hearing is to give the audience an opportunity to address council

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members concerning the subject for which the hearing is convened.

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This process is an official on-the-record communication geared toward giving city council information

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and opinions to consider in its decision-making process.

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While council welcomes hearing from you, please know that the public hearing process

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is not designed for interactive dialogue with council members or for posing questions

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expecting an immediate response.

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Many questions require an opportunity for research and deliberation.

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For this reason, council will not provide immediate responses to comments, questions, or concerns raised during hearing.

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To provide an orderly process, audience members who wish to speak should raise your hand and wait to be acknowledged by the mayor pro tem.

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Approach a lectern when invited to do so. Begin by clearly stating your full name and address for the official record.

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And after speaking, write your name and address on the record sheet.

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To ensure every participant an opportunity to be heard, public hearing comments will be

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limited to three minutes per speaker.

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The public comment period where the audience is allowed to comment on agenda items or other

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topics follows the same guidelines with a slight difference that speakers are to announce

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their full name and their city of residence before speaking.

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For this section, each speaker will be limited to two minutes to present their comments.

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The time prompter placed on the lectern will alert each speaker with an amber light

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when 15 seconds remain. To signal the end of a speaker's time to speak, a red light

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will flash and a buzzer will sound. In the interest of time, Council asks that you do

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not duplicate comments already made by another speaker. Instead, please confirm your agreements

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with statements previously made. Council also asks that speakers conduct themselves

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respectfully so that all participants feel welcome and have an opportunity to be

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heard. Please avoid interruptions, personal attacks, or disruptive behavior. When

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inappropriate the mayor pro tem may refer certain topics raised during the

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public comment period to deputy city manager for additional review and action

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please note that if a speaker intends to provide counsel with any documents as

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part of a presentation the documents must be handed directly to the city clerk

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for distribution and the purpose of tonight's public hearing is to is to

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consider the proposed surplus and authorizing relinquishment of a storm

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00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:54,360
silver easement lying within 608 Williams Boulevard, resolution number 202683. Thank you.

247
00:16:55,760 --> 00:17:04,500
Thank you, Jim. So I'll open up the public hearing for 202683 at 617. Is there anyone here

248
00:17:04,500 --> 00:17:06,580
that would like to provide comment on this?

249
00:17:10,990 --> 00:17:15,490
Okay, we'll close that at 617 as well. And now we'll

250
00:17:15,490 --> 00:17:22,550
open it up to our public comment portion. I'll open that up at 17. Is there anyone here that

251
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would like to provide public comment? Yes, go ahead first.

252
00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:40,240
I'm here really tonight because

253
00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:49,160
I'm concerned about our dealing with Atlas agro and I wanted to go through everything we know

254
00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:55,620
that has happened to date involved in this company. It was founded in 2021 in Switzerland

255
00:17:55,620 --> 00:18:04,120
at about the time that Joe Biden, President Joe Biden, was promoting the green hydrogen

256
00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:07,200
projects to the tune of about $7 billion.

257
00:18:08,260 --> 00:18:14,740
So this company that was formed at about that time had some executives or had some people

258
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who had worked on conventional fertilizer plants, and they jumped right on it, hey,

259
00:18:19,500 --> 00:18:24,820
you know, United States is subsidizing this, and let's get over there and be a part

260
00:18:24,820 --> 00:18:32,580
of it. So all of a sudden, they turn up, they also get at this point in time, this company

261
00:18:32,580 --> 00:18:39,960
gets an investment from an Australian investment firm for $325 million. As far as I can tell,

262
00:18:40,120 --> 00:18:45,600
that's only any money they've gotten. I could find no other information in the internet

263
00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:53,240
about any other funding for this organization. So richly decides in 2024, this is booming

264
00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:58,260
coming along now, hey, let's go, go, go, and decides to give them $20 million tax break

265
00:18:58,260 --> 00:19:00,600
to Atlas Agro for this fertilizer plant.

266
00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:07,140
And at the time, the firm didn't make any bones about the fact they couldn't even produce

267
00:19:07,140 --> 00:19:12,980
the fertilizer without at least a $1 a unit subsidy for everything they turned out.

268
00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:18,620
So it's totally dependent on subsidies and grants and all this to get going.

269
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one. So in 2025 we get a whole new president. He starts cutting programs and that one was

270
00:19:27,660 --> 00:19:36,240
the first one that went. Seven million gone. So Atlas Agro in 2025, also they have another

271
00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:44,320
project that's at about the same point in time as ours exactly in Brazil. And in December

272
00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:49,600
Remember, they were advertising for funding for it because it needs one million down there

273
00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:54,360
and they're in exactly the same spot down there that we are up here.

274
00:19:54,820 --> 00:19:56,880
They haven't advanced any further.

275
00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:04,940
So this company has never completed a project in its whole existence.

276
00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:12,800
So now they want 2.1, I want three minutes please because that's what everybody else

277
00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:13,700
in this town gets.

278
00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:23,500
1.1 billion and 500 million for the data center, right now they need 2.6 billion dollars.

279
00:20:24,020 --> 00:20:25,240
Where's that coming from?

280
00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:25,900
I don't know.

281
00:20:26,460 --> 00:20:28,500
So anyway, are we going to go down the rabbit hole?

282
00:20:30,910 --> 00:20:31,430
Thank you.

283
00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:34,640
Who else?

284
00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:35,280
Please.

285
00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:45,100
First off, in defense of Randy doing the three minutes, I was told last year when

286
00:20:45,100 --> 00:20:49,600
I asked about the whole three-minute thing that if we asked for three minutes we

287
00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:55,380
would be given that. So she wasn't technically entitled to that. That's what Mayor Rop Richardson

288
00:20:55,380 --> 00:21:01,080
had told me. Anyways, my name is Connie and I'm a resident of Richland. Councilmembers,

289
00:21:01,220 --> 00:21:07,680
I am here yet again to say no to this Atlas agro data center deal resolution number 2026-84.

290
00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:15,160
This project needs 350 megawatts. That's enough electricity for 150,000 homes. Where

291
00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:16,620
Where is all that power coming from?

292
00:21:17,260 --> 00:21:18,880
No one has fully explained that.

293
00:21:19,060 --> 00:21:21,320
If they take that much, what's left for us?

294
00:21:22,100 --> 00:21:25,940
Again, data centers use huge amounts of water in our dry part of Washington.

295
00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:29,580
We can't afford to waste on a company that has never built anything.

296
00:21:30,620 --> 00:21:33,060
Atlas Agro was founded in 2021.

297
00:21:33,420 --> 00:21:38,780
They have not built a single thing, not a fertilizer plant, not a data center anywhere

298
00:21:38,780 --> 00:21:39,460
in the world.

299
00:21:40,020 --> 00:21:41,980
First, they promised a fertilizer plant.

300
00:21:41,980 --> 00:21:46,800
Then the grants fell through and now they're scrambling with this data center as a backup plan.

301
00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:53,060
A local newspaper asked, if this is creative or desperate, I say it's desperate.

302
00:21:53,300 --> 00:21:57,480
How can we risk our power and our water for a company with a zero track record?

303
00:21:57,940 --> 00:21:59,940
I don't trust them and neither should you.

304
00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:05,280
They are promising less than 50 permanent jobs for a $500 million project.

305
00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:09,760
This is not a good deal for our community, but here's what really worries me.

306
00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:15,260
money. What happens when they walk away? This is a foreign start-up with no track record.

307
00:22:15,420 --> 00:22:20,300
If they leave in five years because their real plan failed or because they find cheaper

308
00:22:20,300 --> 00:22:25,540
power elsewhere, who pays to decommission this facility? And who pays to replace the

309
00:22:25,540 --> 00:22:30,240
power and water they took from us? The city manager says we won't be on the hook, but

310
00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:35,720
a verbal assurance is not a legal binding contract. Council members, if this falls

311
00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:40,780
through after we have already spent money on the BPA engineering work, who pays for that?

312
00:22:41,140 --> 00:22:43,980
Or does that come back on Richland taxpayers like me?

313
00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:49,080
And one more thing, if they couldn't even get a fertilizer plant off the ground, what

314
00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:53,000
makes anyone believe they can run a 350 megawatt data center?

315
00:22:53,700 --> 00:22:59,280
I am asking you, vote no on this agreement, protect Richland's power, our water and

316
00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:04,560
our taxpayers, show us that you truly care about this community and not the money.

317
00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:05,660
Are

318
00:23:11,510 --> 00:23:14,450
there more comments? Yes, in the back there.

319
00:23:21,580 --> 00:23:25,640
Hi, Council. I'm Layla Krobak, 1523 Haynes.

320
00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:34,880
I understand that Council is excited about the proposed new fertilizer plant and funds for a new police station.

321
00:23:35,740 --> 00:23:40,500
I understand that data centers across the nation are considered to be necessary infrastructure.

322
00:23:41,820 --> 00:23:44,980
My concern is that data centers are being built rapidly.

323
00:23:44,980 --> 00:23:50,560
and with very little regulation for quality control and environmental impact.

324
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:55,880
Our city was built as a result of the Wild West of the Atomic Age.

325
00:23:56,660 --> 00:23:58,120
We made a very big mess.

326
00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:01,220
We are still cleaning up this mess.

327
00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:06,200
Surely we know better than to rush into another big mess.

328
00:24:07,140 --> 00:24:15,860
I request that council slow the pace of the project to allow for regulation to be put

329
00:24:15,860 --> 00:24:21,000
into place with consideration for the quality of life of the residents.

330
00:24:22,420 --> 00:24:26,480
Bridgeland is an awesome community with a strong economy.

331
00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:28,400
Let's not be so hasty.

332
00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:30,200
Thank you.

333
00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:33,720
Thank you. I appreciate your comments.

334
00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:35,760
Are there others?

335
00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:40,280
Yes. Let's go, sorry, in the back row first and we'll come to you next.

336
00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:55,440
Hi, I'm Natalie Williams and I'm a Pasco resident and I'm 99301.

337
00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:59,180
I will write my address on the paper.

338
00:25:00,500 --> 00:25:07,300
I'm wanting to come in to support everyone that is worried about the data centers coming

339
00:25:07,300 --> 00:25:07,700
in.

340
00:25:08,860 --> 00:25:13,340
I'm mainly worried about the future of our water and the pollution of our water.

341
00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:20,120
I'm understanding that there's way more other things, but that's the part that really

342
00:25:20,120 --> 00:25:26,920
scares me the most is that our habitats or our aquifers or whatever I'm not sure

343
00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:31,240
all the things that could go involved but there's wastewater that comes with

344
00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:36,960
these and there's a lot high water usage so I just want to make sure that we

345
00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:42,520
understand oh and then the heat there's a lot of heat that's produced so I'm

346
00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:45,800
trying to follow along the science and trying to figure this all out and

347
00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:49,700
there might be maybe down the road maybe 10 years from now maybe there'll

348
00:25:49,700 --> 00:25:54,520
be safe ways of doing this. But for right now, it doesn't seem safe. Thank you.

349
00:25:55,360 --> 00:26:00,260
I really appreciate your comments. Thank you. Yes, I believe you were next.

350
00:26:07,210 --> 00:26:11,910
Hi, my name is Jamie Starrook. I'm a Richland resident and I will put my

351
00:26:11,910 --> 00:26:16,950
address on there. Okay, I'm going to begin tonight with what may seem like

352
00:26:16,950 --> 00:26:20,890
off-topic history facts, but the parallels will soon be easy to draw. As

353
00:26:20,890 --> 00:26:25,030
early as the 1920s, manufacturers of asbestos knew their products caused

354
00:26:25,030 --> 00:26:30,070
negative health impacts, but there were millions of dollars of potential profit at stake and

355
00:26:30,070 --> 00:26:30,790
they said nothing.

356
00:26:31,730 --> 00:26:35,630
The EPA did not even do a sweeping ban until 1989.

357
00:26:36,490 --> 00:26:41,730
The continuing consequence of entrusting cutthroat corporations who care more for profits than

358
00:26:41,730 --> 00:26:48,150
people's lives each year kills 255,000 people who die from asbestos-related illnesses.

359
00:26:48,690 --> 00:26:51,070
Will data centers be history repeating itself?

360
00:26:51,070 --> 00:26:56,250
Health, as you can imagine, what disturbs me most is that about data center development

361
00:26:56,250 --> 00:26:59,210
is the lack of long-term health impact studies.

362
00:26:59,710 --> 00:27:04,030
As our elected officials, not jeopardizing the health of your city's citizens should

363
00:27:04,030 --> 00:27:05,890
be a bare minimum requirement.

364
00:27:06,310 --> 00:27:10,870
Yet with all the potential negative health consequences, data centers have shown nationwide.

365
00:27:11,290 --> 00:27:15,690
Atlas Argo is still being considered by you, and there are no long-term health

366
00:27:15,690 --> 00:27:17,290
impact studies to be seen.

367
00:27:17,290 --> 00:27:23,190
Worse yet, Atlas Argo is a foreign company with zero experience building and maintaining

368
00:27:23,190 --> 00:27:23,990
a data center.

369
00:27:24,390 --> 00:27:29,030
Health consequences related to data center development from companies with experience

370
00:27:29,030 --> 00:27:34,710
include Memphis, Tennessee now has an F in air quality post Elon Musk data center.

371
00:27:35,290 --> 00:27:40,410
Amazon's closed loop system contaminated the water in Boardman and Metta turned the

372
00:27:40,410 --> 00:27:42,270
water brown in Morgan County, Georgia.

373
00:27:42,270 --> 00:27:47,930
We in Richland have yet to hear a full detailed plan for water consumption and safety from

374
00:27:47,930 --> 00:27:48,670
Atlas Argo.

375
00:27:49,070 --> 00:27:54,990
An additional hidden hazard is the very understudied infrasound, which are sounds you can feel

376
00:27:54,990 --> 00:27:55,850
but not hear.

377
00:27:56,650 --> 00:28:02,210
They have been shown to cause depression, migraine, diminished cardiac function, hemorrhage,

378
00:28:02,310 --> 00:28:04,590
and developmental disorders in children.

379
00:28:04,850 --> 00:28:09,110
There's an apartment complex as well as a daycare, roughly 1.2 miles away from

380
00:28:09,110 --> 00:28:10,190
Atlas Argo sites.

381
00:28:10,190 --> 00:28:16,510
These residents and children do not deserve to be guinea pigs for big tech, nor do any residents in our city.

382
00:28:17,170 --> 00:28:17,730
Thank you.

383
00:28:18,990 --> 00:28:20,170
Thank you for your comments.

384
00:28:24,650 --> 00:28:26,970
Who melts? Who else? Yes, go ahead.

385
00:28:36,100 --> 00:28:41,680
Hello, my name is Heather Sheldon. I will be writing my address on that as well. Thank you for your time this evening, City Council.

386
00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:49,640
I am here to request you deny and turn away any data center applications or pushing for the production of data centers.

387
00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:58,100
Since I know you as a whole will refuse to do so, I would like to urge a minimum one-year moratorium on data center building and planning.

388
00:28:58,660 --> 00:29:09,480
While I do not need to have a reason or statistics to request this, as I know our general population would side with me on this, I will give you a few as a courtesy.

389
00:29:10,340 --> 00:29:14,760
AgroAtlas has never successfully erected any building much less a data center.

390
00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:20,660
Their intentions to build a fertilizer factory or a data center or both feels like a plot

391
00:29:20,660 --> 00:29:22,320
to poison our land and our people.

392
00:29:22,980 --> 00:29:27,940
We should not be forced to pick a poison from a company that does not have our communities

393
00:29:27,940 --> 00:29:29,560
best interests in mind.

394
00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:34,240
Our aquifers are struggling to support our growing population.

395
00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:40,340
And a data center should not be given access to what little potable water we have.

396
00:29:40,340 --> 00:29:45,340
We should also not be doing business with a company that does not have any successes

397
00:29:45,340 --> 00:29:52,460
to tout, especially with Agro Atlas, as previously stated, being established since 2021.

398
00:29:53,140 --> 00:29:54,660
Five years, no successes.

399
00:29:55,180 --> 00:29:56,680
Why would we do business with that?

400
00:29:56,680 --> 00:30:00,000
What business is to be done with a company that has no

401
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:06,720
Nothing to prove. May I remind you who your elected officials, the town of Festus, Missouri

402
00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:14,400
recalled half of their city council who decided to push through a $6 billion data center despite

403
00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:19,740
the general public's objections. If you too would love to be greeted with the opportunity

404
00:30:19,740 --> 00:30:25,420
of being recalled, then please go forward with the pushing forward of this horribly

405
00:30:25,420 --> 00:30:30,240
plan data center and or fertilizer factory despite not knowing the

406
00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:34,240
environmental economical and health impacts this wonderful community that

407
00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:39,580
you serve will suffer. Otherwise I strongly suggest you put forth and vote on

408
00:30:39,580 --> 00:30:46,780
a minimum one-year moratorium. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Let's see we

409
00:30:46,780 --> 00:30:47,600
have another in the back row.

410
00:31:02,590 --> 00:31:06,350
I'm Paul Fraser. I'm a resident. I dress down.

411
00:31:07,250 --> 00:31:18,390
I also am opposing Resolution 2026-84 and the one thing that no one's really brought up they've

412
00:31:18,390 --> 00:31:26,070
talked about the power usage but in data center communities across the country utility rates have

413
00:31:26,070 --> 00:31:30,210
gone up between 8% and 242%.

414
00:31:31,100 --> 00:31:35,630
So we're doing something that's creating

415
00:31:35,630 --> 00:31:38,790
very small amount of jobs that's going

416
00:31:38,790 --> 00:31:41,750
to make the cost of living for our whole community higher.

417
00:31:44,070 --> 00:31:51,410
And then also, there are environmental effects

418
00:31:51,410 --> 00:31:53,010
that a lot of people have alluded to,

419
00:31:53,010 --> 00:31:59,430
but the use of water seems deeply troubling for this project. Thank you.

420
00:32:01,050 --> 00:32:02,870
Thank you for your comments. They're appreciated.

421
00:32:05,030 --> 00:32:06,290
Who else? Are there others?

422
00:32:07,550 --> 00:32:08,690
Yes, in the back. Go ahead.

423
00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:24,540
Hello. I'm Carrie. I'm a resident of Richland.

424
00:32:26,180 --> 00:32:33,240
I don't really have anything specific additional to add in

425
00:32:35,610 --> 00:32:37,190
addition to the comments already

426
00:32:37,190 --> 00:32:45,990
made but I would like to say that I also am here to oppose any data centers in Richland

427
00:32:45,990 --> 00:32:50,150
or its environs and the fertilizer plant as well.

428
00:32:50,150 --> 00:32:54,390
Well, I think these businesses are creating very few jobs.

429
00:32:55,250 --> 00:33:02,590
The money that they will produce is going to benefit very few people, and the risks are

430
00:33:02,590 --> 00:33:09,390
something that is going to affect all of us as Richland residents, especially our children

431
00:33:09,390 --> 00:33:16,530
and our grandchildren, with the huge environmental impacts that especially the data centers

432
00:33:16,530 --> 00:33:17,030
carry.

433
00:33:17,030 --> 00:33:33,480
So I think we need to really take a hard, hard look at long-term risk over short-term benefit for very few people.

434
00:33:34,180 --> 00:33:35,600
Thank you. I appreciate your comments.

435
00:33:39,630 --> 00:33:40,190
Yes, over here.

436
00:33:43,290 --> 00:33:46,050
Hi, my name is Donna Davis, and I'm a resident of Richland.

437
00:33:46,510 --> 00:33:51,550
If you were at the mic, people that are online can hear you better. That would be great.

438
00:33:51,550 --> 00:33:56,610
I'm a resident of Richland. I own property. I own a number of investment properties and

439
00:33:57,230 --> 00:34:03,010
I wanted to show you, if you can see this, this is my new grandbaby and she's adorable.

440
00:34:03,290 --> 00:34:08,810
She is three months old and this proposition that you guys are wanting to do is going to

441
00:34:08,810 --> 00:34:10,110
completely affect her.

442
00:34:13,650 --> 00:34:17,070
And all of you that have kids, it's going to affect your kids.

443
00:34:17,890 --> 00:34:21,230
And all of you that you have grandkids, it's going to affect your grandkids.

444
00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:24,080
Thank

445
00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:24,260
Thank you.

446
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:25,700
Thank you.

447
00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:29,060
Who melts?

448
00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:31,540
Yeah, go ahead in the back.

449
00:34:43,820 --> 00:34:44,860
I'm Angie Marlowe.

450
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:46,680
I live on St. Street here in Mitchelon.

451
00:34:47,160 --> 00:34:48,060
I'm a crier.

452
00:34:48,980 --> 00:34:51,580
I'm afraid these are just going to kill our property values.

453
00:34:52,060 --> 00:34:55,240
I have worked my tail off to pay off my house.

454
00:34:57,140 --> 00:35:00,340
This will kill the property value of my house.

455
00:35:02,980 --> 00:35:05,160
I've been a teacher for 25 years.

456
00:35:05,760 --> 00:35:06,460
For why?

457
00:35:06,460 --> 00:35:08,680
You're going to flush that down the toilet.

458
00:35:10,300 --> 00:35:15,040
All my money, all my hard work, please say no.

459
00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:16,680
Nobody wants this.

460
00:35:17,040 --> 00:35:17,380
Nobody.

461
00:35:17,940 --> 00:35:18,240
Nobody.

462
00:35:20,420 --> 00:35:21,000
Thank you.

463
00:35:21,500 --> 00:35:21,900
Thank you.

464
00:35:27,490 --> 00:35:28,030
Who else?

465
00:35:28,950 --> 00:35:29,310
Do we have more?

466
00:35:29,490 --> 00:35:29,610
Yes.

467
00:35:29,750 --> 00:35:30,250
Please, right here.

468
00:35:30,870 --> 00:35:30,950
Yeah.

469
00:35:35,940 --> 00:35:36,400
Hi, sir.

470
00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:37,380
I don't have anything prepared.

471
00:35:37,500 --> 00:35:38,380
I wasn't planning on speaking.

472
00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:41,240
And I'm from West Richland, but it affects me too.

473
00:35:41,700 --> 00:35:46,060
And I just want to remind everyone that if you vote for this data center, you

474
00:35:46,060 --> 00:35:47,680
have betrayed everyone in this community.

475
00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:57,140
If you do this, you have put all of us at risk, you've put the kids at risk, like you.

476
00:35:57,440 --> 00:36:00,780
We are the most toxic super fun site in the country because of Hanford.

477
00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:02,380
I was born deformed.

478
00:36:02,520 --> 00:36:04,100
I know lots of people that have health problems.

479
00:36:04,440 --> 00:36:06,980
You are just duplicating that again for the next generation.

480
00:36:07,180 --> 00:36:11,040
Like, I'm a millennial, there's nothing left life, and for me, like, we got screwed

481
00:36:11,040 --> 00:36:14,140
a long time ago, but we're trying to save the next generation.

482
00:36:14,140 --> 00:36:20,220
please don't do to them part of what was done to us so please please vote no

483
00:36:20,220 --> 00:36:24,040
and if you do vote for this you've betrayed your office your people and the

484
00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:26,400
country. Thank you for your comments.

485
00:36:31,120 --> 00:36:34,540
Who else? Yeah we'll go here and we'll come

486
00:36:34,540 --> 00:36:35,440
next. There

487
00:36:40,720 --> 00:36:46,040
my name is Sheldon Miller I'll throw my address on there. I tried

488
00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:49,860
doing some searches for what this data center is gonna be all about and it was

489
00:36:49,860 --> 00:36:52,100
is very vague and hard to read through.

490
00:36:53,300 --> 00:36:55,200
And all I'm hearing about data centers going out

491
00:36:55,200 --> 00:36:58,080
throughout the US is mostly just AI data centers,

492
00:36:58,520 --> 00:37:00,020
which if you're familiar with coding,

493
00:37:00,940 --> 00:37:04,520
the more recent AI stuff is actually more inefficient.

494
00:37:05,060 --> 00:37:07,120
So the fact that they need these bigger data centers,

495
00:37:07,660 --> 00:37:10,580
it's like, if you punch in two plus two on a calculator,

496
00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:12,700
it can just instant call it,

497
00:37:13,300 --> 00:37:16,040
but like an AI data center is like asking it

498
00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:18,340
what's two plus two and using the entire power

499
00:37:18,340 --> 00:37:20,380
or in your home because instead of just giving you math,

500
00:37:20,960 --> 00:37:23,360
it searches everything in the data center.

501
00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:26,360
It's got like the worst written coding

502
00:37:26,780 --> 00:37:30,100
for call and function that like a lot of programmers have seen.

503
00:37:30,780 --> 00:37:32,280
So they're horribly inefficient

504
00:37:32,280 --> 00:37:35,500
and like I'm just generally opposed to you

505
00:37:35,500 --> 00:37:37,140
if it is an AI Identity Center, absolutely.

506
00:37:38,100 --> 00:37:40,360
But as far as normal data centers are concerned,

507
00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:41,780
we already have plenty.

508
00:37:43,780 --> 00:37:45,240
It's just not really efficient.

509
00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:46,660
I've heard the other side of the argument,

510
00:37:46,660 --> 00:37:50,880
the only positive thing anyone in the entire community I've ever heard say

511
00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:56,320
positively in this notion is it took us a few tries to get to the moon but I feel

512
00:37:56,320 --> 00:38:00,520
like that's even a bad comparison because at least when we were trying to get to

513
00:38:00,520 --> 00:38:05,100
the moon people were forward thinking not leaning back on the AI asking the

514
00:38:05,100 --> 00:38:09,360
AI how to make itself more efficient watching it become less efficient and

515
00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:14,260
then just being like the AI said it's got to be right so I think it's a

516
00:38:14,260 --> 00:38:17,180
horrible idea for Richland to try and pull on a data center.

517
00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:19,320
Thank you.

518
00:38:22,850 --> 00:38:24,110
So I think there was another here.

519
00:38:31,860 --> 00:38:32,120
OK.

520
00:38:32,580 --> 00:38:36,040
My name is Kayla Madson, and I am a resident of Richland.

521
00:38:36,260 --> 00:38:38,180
And I'll write my address down on the form.

522
00:38:38,640 --> 00:38:40,540
And I just want it to be on the record

523
00:38:40,540 --> 00:38:42,360
that I agree with everything that's

524
00:38:42,360 --> 00:38:44,880
been said about the data centers.

525
00:38:45,420 --> 00:38:46,800
I strongly oppose them.

526
00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:49,300
And I would just like to ask all of you

527
00:38:49,860 --> 00:38:53,280
what the health and safety of our community, of your kids,

528
00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:59,680
your grandkids, your friends, what the, you know, all of the beautiful, you know,

529
00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:04,740
the things to do in our community from the river, from the parks, like what are

530
00:39:04,740 --> 00:39:10,000
those all worth to you? Our agriculture business is massive. It's beautiful and

531
00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:13,800
wonderful and what happens to that when that goes down the drain, when there's

532
00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:16,960
no clean drinking water, when the air is polluted, when our temperatures rise,

533
00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:20,660
when people's houses that they've worked their whole life to buy and are

534
00:39:20,660 --> 00:39:26,080
so excited about and have just paid off what happens when they're useless and no one wants

535
00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:28,480
to buy them and the resale value is terrible.

536
00:39:29,260 --> 00:39:35,840
These are things that have massive consequences and I feel like it's not being thought through

537
00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:36,460
well enough.

538
00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:42,480
I think that there is not enough research being done on it and I strongly feel that

539
00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:46,780
this will negatively impact every single person in our community and everyone's

540
00:39:46,780 --> 00:39:52,680
just focused on short-term gain and not focusing enough on the long-term the

541
00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:58,660
detrimental impacts that will have and will persist for decades hundreds of

542
00:39:58,660 --> 00:40:02,860
years just like people have said with Hanford everyone pushed forward with

543
00:40:02,860 --> 00:40:06,460
that didn't fully understand it and then now we're still cleaning it up

544
00:40:06,460 --> 00:40:10,880
and there's we have the cancer rates in our area are much higher than other

545
00:40:10,880 --> 00:40:15,980
places because no one understood that and now we are having to deal with

546
00:40:15,980 --> 00:40:21,040
And that's going to be the same exact thing with this if you guys move forward with this

547
00:40:21,040 --> 00:40:27,580
So I strongly urge you all to please think about the people who you are elected to serve and protect and

548
00:40:28,420 --> 00:40:34,500
Just everybody's well-being in our community. And so thank you for your time. Thank you. I appreciate that

549
00:40:38,580 --> 00:40:39,800
Who else would like to speak?

550
00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:41,860
Yeah, right here

551
00:40:47,550 --> 00:40:51,630
Hello, my name is a John Davis. I live in Richland. I'll put my address down

552
00:40:53,870 --> 00:40:59,930
Everybody's been commenting on the water, and I just want to expand on that our agricultural

553
00:40:59,930 --> 00:41:05,610
grow zone has become a zone hotter, which means we will be using more water.

554
00:41:06,410 --> 00:41:11,670
Our already struggling water table will be further stressed by this.

555
00:41:12,490 --> 00:41:17,670
With Hanford, we are consistently finding and cleaning up leaks, spills, things that

556
00:41:17,670 --> 00:41:20,790
happened long ago that we thought we'll fix it in the future.

557
00:41:21,690 --> 00:41:24,270
And we are trying to.

558
00:41:25,180 --> 00:41:27,910
But our water table is struggling.

559
00:41:28,110 --> 00:41:32,430
And what happens when you increase that workload

560
00:41:32,840 --> 00:41:37,130
on something that's already practically at its wit's end?

561
00:41:39,340 --> 00:41:40,680
The math doesn't add up.

562
00:41:42,900 --> 00:41:45,280
We are richland.

563
00:41:45,280 --> 00:41:47,740
And we have many neighbors that are farming communities.

564
00:41:49,140 --> 00:41:53,000
We can think about ourselves and we need to think as human beings about our neighbors.

565
00:41:55,570 --> 00:41:56,090
Please.

566
00:41:58,110 --> 00:42:00,450
Don't, don't put an AI data center here.

567
00:42:00,550 --> 00:42:01,730
Don't put a data center here.

568
00:42:02,390 --> 00:42:07,770
We know the trouble that they cause for the local water tables and rivers and lakes

569
00:42:07,770 --> 00:42:11,110
and the water pressures and the clean water and the tainted water.

570
00:42:12,710 --> 00:42:13,910
We already know this.

571
00:42:15,350 --> 00:42:16,550
Please don't bring it here.

572
00:42:17,750 --> 00:42:18,330
Thank you.

573
00:42:22,990 --> 00:42:23,910
I thought I saw another.

574
00:42:24,090 --> 00:42:24,830
Was there another hand?

575
00:42:25,370 --> 00:42:27,170
I think he was up and then we'll come up here.

576
00:42:27,350 --> 00:42:27,810
Yes, go ahead.

577
00:42:36,900 --> 00:42:37,800
My name is Chad Williams.

578
00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:38,880
I'm a Pasco resident,

579
00:42:39,180 --> 00:42:41,160
but I feel very strongly about this subject,

580
00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:42,060
about the data centers.

581
00:42:42,580 --> 00:42:46,160
And, frankly, we take water for granted.

582
00:42:46,320 --> 00:42:47,100
We're a first world country.

583
00:42:47,380 --> 00:42:48,600
I've been in third world countries

584
00:42:48,600 --> 00:42:49,340
and I've lived there.

585
00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:52,100
And the things that you have to do

586
00:42:52,100 --> 00:42:54,680
to be able to make your water potable

587
00:42:55,140 --> 00:42:58,660
is not something that I want my children to have to deal with, right?

588
00:42:58,900 --> 00:43:03,080
And so right now, we don't think about those things because we have it and we take it for granted.

589
00:43:03,560 --> 00:43:08,640
We've all talked about all the resources that we have and that could be taken away as well as health.

590
00:43:09,420 --> 00:43:13,080
And another big one was the financial aspects of this too.

591
00:43:13,240 --> 00:43:19,000
And one of my big thoughts to all of this is, well, who benefits from this data center?

592
00:43:19,260 --> 00:43:22,540
It's certainly not the residents. The residents don't gain much from this at all.

593
00:43:22,540 --> 00:43:26,520
So, who really gains from this agreement right here?

594
00:43:27,160 --> 00:43:32,240
And so, I think that this particular agreement, if followed through with, would really be like

595
00:43:32,240 --> 00:43:35,140
treating a frostbite in tow by amputating an entire leg.

596
00:43:35,640 --> 00:43:39,880
And so, I don't think that this is going to, I really don't think this is going to

597
00:43:39,880 --> 00:43:44,660
benefit the residents at all, and I think this will be a stain on Richland's history,

598
00:43:45,080 --> 00:43:49,400
and I think it'll be something that is regretted or if it's followed through with.

599
00:43:49,400 --> 00:43:58,680
And so I'd urge upon the well-meaning commissioners and council folks to be able to do what is

600
00:43:58,680 --> 00:44:04,420
correct for your residents, for your constituents please, because we count on you guys to make

601
00:44:04,420 --> 00:44:09,640
good decisions and we appreciate y'all when you do good decisions, okay?

602
00:44:10,020 --> 00:44:14,880
Just think about your family and think about those people that all come behind all

603
00:44:14,880 --> 00:44:20,000
of us, when we're dead and gone, the rest of our posterity are going to need to be able

604
00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:22,900
to count on you to have made decisions for them.

605
00:44:23,020 --> 00:44:23,300
Thank you.

606
00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:24,320
Thank you.

607
00:44:26,720 --> 00:44:27,180
Yes.

608
00:44:27,340 --> 00:44:27,520
Go ahead.

609
00:44:38,710 --> 00:44:39,670
Richland, Washington.

610
00:44:41,990 --> 00:44:45,990
I used to teach my students in American history class to always follow the money.

611
00:44:46,970 --> 00:44:53,210
And I've always thought, since this began, that was very interesting that Richland

612
00:44:53,210 --> 00:44:59,490
has said that they're planning to pay for the new police station headquarters with 20

613
00:44:59,490 --> 00:44:59,970
million dollars.

614
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:06,840
dollars from the proceeds of the sale that's still pending. And I'm wondering what kind of

615
00:45:06,840 --> 00:45:16,580
motivation other than making money from the sale of that land the city council has. I would

616
00:45:16,580 --> 00:45:22,740
love to hear each one of you explain what your personal reasoning is for even wanting

617
00:45:22,740 --> 00:45:30,620
this to happen but sometimes I imagine it's just money from the sale of the

618
00:45:30,620 --> 00:45:35,880
land so that's all I had to say and I just think it's interesting that you've

619
00:45:35,880 --> 00:45:39,980
already said already earmarked the money from the sale of this land to go

620
00:45:39,980 --> 00:45:43,340
build the new police headquarters I think that's putting the cart before the

621
00:45:43,340 --> 00:45:44,640
horse thank

622
00:45:46,780 --> 00:45:52,300
you for your comments are there others happen

623
00:45:54,320 --> 00:45:55,300
to take more yes

624
00:46:04,370 --> 00:46:09,490
Mayor Pro Tem Van Dyke, members of the council, I'm Sean O'Brien, I'm a resident of Kennewick,

625
00:46:09,770 --> 00:46:12,630
but proud former resident of Richland.

626
00:46:13,470 --> 00:46:14,730
It's good to be with you all this evening.

627
00:46:16,170 --> 00:46:22,450
I've been listening very intently to all of the remarks tonight because if I was just

628
00:46:22,450 --> 00:46:27,910
tuning in for the first time as a member of the community, I would think that you

629
00:46:27,910 --> 00:46:32,030
all were deciding tonight on whether you were voting for or against a data center.

630
00:46:32,030 --> 00:46:36,310
It's my understanding that the resolution before you this evening is simply to move

631
00:46:36,310 --> 00:46:41,110
forward on what is actually a transmission line for economic development and power for

632
00:46:41,110 --> 00:46:42,010
the city as a whole.

633
00:46:42,370 --> 00:46:46,290
And it's simply an agreement process with the Bonneville Power Administration that you

634
00:46:46,290 --> 00:46:50,130
all are considering, which would set the way for economic development, power growth

635
00:46:50,550 --> 00:46:52,990
to power our community for many years to come.

636
00:46:53,170 --> 00:46:58,330
So I would just encourage you all to, I recognize there's a lot of strong emotions.

637
00:46:58,330 --> 00:47:01,870
I think it's really important that we have this community dialogue.

638
00:47:02,770 --> 00:47:03,310
And forgive me.

639
00:47:03,450 --> 00:47:04,450
I didn't identify myself.

640
00:47:04,770 --> 00:47:10,790
I am the executive director of the Tri-Cities Energy Forward Alliance, a subsidiary of Tridek,

641
00:47:10,890 --> 00:47:12,350
our local economic development organization.

642
00:47:12,850 --> 00:47:18,650
We have been strong supporters of the Atlas Agro fertilizer plant, an incredibly innovative

643
00:47:18,650 --> 00:47:23,130
project to provide clean fertilizer for our nation's farmers for years to come.

644
00:47:24,110 --> 00:47:26,290
Again, I hear a lot of emotion tonight.

645
00:47:26,290 --> 00:47:30,390
And I think it's important that we have these opportunities to engage in this dialogue, but

646
00:47:30,390 --> 00:47:35,190
I also want to make sure that we recognize tonight is simply regarding a piece of the

647
00:47:35,190 --> 00:47:39,570
process regarding building a transmission line to help power our community.

648
00:47:40,250 --> 00:47:44,390
And really the data center conversation I think is one that's going to continue

649
00:47:44,390 --> 00:47:45,490
on for many years to come.

650
00:47:45,830 --> 00:47:49,550
I think we have an incredible amount of expertise right down the road at Pacific Northwest

651
00:47:49,550 --> 00:47:54,350
National Lab where I think we could continue to lean on the experts when it comes to

652
00:47:54,350 --> 00:47:59,290
the actual scientific data and any impacts of that kind of growth.

653
00:47:59,530 --> 00:48:03,350
So just really appreciate your consideration this evening of this important step forward

654
00:48:03,350 --> 00:48:07,690
on making sure that we have the power needed for our community, let alone all of the other

655
00:48:07,690 --> 00:48:08,670
projects that come with it.

656
00:48:08,890 --> 00:48:09,370
Thanks so much.

657
00:48:10,730 --> 00:48:11,170
Thank you.

658
00:48:12,030 --> 00:48:12,870
Are there other comments?

659
00:48:20,940 --> 00:48:23,580
We have one back here, but I think I'll pass.

660
00:48:24,200 --> 00:48:25,200
I do like his enthusiasm.

661
00:48:26,160 --> 00:48:31,020
Okay, I think with that, we'll close our public comments at 6.49.

662
00:48:31,720 --> 00:48:34,820
Maybe just on a personal note, I appreciate community involvement.

663
00:48:35,240 --> 00:48:41,020
We don't see that enough of people that come and care, and we really do genuinely appreciate you coming and caring. Thank you.

664
00:48:42,560 --> 00:48:47,940
We'll move on to City Clerk Rogers. Would you read our consent calendar, please?

665
00:48:47,940 --> 00:48:48,580
The

666
00:48:51,880 --> 00:48:55,720
items on the consent calendar have been distributed to the City Council in advance

667
00:48:55,720 --> 00:48:59,940
for reading and study are considered to be routine and will be enacted by one motion

668
00:48:59,940 --> 00:49:01,360
of the Council with no discussion.

669
00:49:01,880 --> 00:49:06,540
Council members may transfer individual items to items of business for deliberation before

670
00:49:06,540 --> 00:49:06,980
voting.

671
00:49:07,540 --> 00:49:12,320
Starting with the minutes, we have the approval of the June 2nd, 2026 City Council regular

672
00:49:12,320 --> 00:49:13,020
meeting minutes.

673
00:49:13,420 --> 00:49:15,200
There are no ordinances for first reading.

674
00:49:16,120 --> 00:49:22,500
Ordinance for Second Reading and Passage include Ordinance number 202613, rezoning approximately

675
00:49:22,500 --> 00:49:32,900
8.38 on platted acres identified as parcel number 134982010595008 from agriculture to

676
00:49:32,900 --> 00:49:36,300
medium density residential small lots and limited business.

677
00:49:36,880 --> 00:49:42,820
Ordinance number 202614, amending the 2026 budget to provide for additional appropriations

678
00:49:42,820 --> 00:49:50,120
funds and various city funds. Under resolutions for adoption, we have resolution number 202679

679
00:49:50,120 --> 00:49:55,980
accepting surface transportation block grant funds for the Gage Boulevard and Leslie Road

680
00:49:55,980 --> 00:50:01,960
intersection improvements project and transportation alternative program grant funds for the systemic

681
00:50:01,960 --> 00:50:08,460
pedestrian crossing safety improvements phase two project. Resolution number 202680 authorizing

682
00:50:08,460 --> 00:50:13,240
a service agreement with InfoSend Inc. for utility, bill print, and mail services.

683
00:50:14,120 --> 00:50:20,160
Resolution number 202681, awarding commercial facade improvement grant funds to the Downtown

684
00:50:20,160 --> 00:50:24,520
Business Improvement District for improvements to 710 the Parkway.

685
00:50:25,300 --> 00:50:31,700
Resolution number 202682, authorizing a grant application to the Washington State Recreation

686
00:50:31,700 --> 00:50:36,700
and Conservation Office for improvements at the Horn Rapids Athletic Complex.

687
00:50:36,700 --> 00:50:47,220
Resolution number 202685, authorizing an interagency agreement with the Washington State Department of Ecology for Waste-Tire Removal Funds.

688
00:50:47,800 --> 00:50:55,140
Resolution number 202686, authorizing addendum number 3 to the 2017 Metro Interlocal Agreement.

689
00:50:55,760 --> 00:50:57,640
And then lastly, expenditures for approval.

690
00:50:57,640 --> 00:51:07,240
we have the expenditures from May 1, 2026 to May 31, 2026 for $41,007,129 and 21 cents. Thank you.

691
00:51:08,380 --> 00:51:14,040
Thank you. Council, are there any items that we would like to pull for further business?

692
00:51:16,910 --> 00:51:17,150
Okay,

693
00:51:17,290 --> 00:51:21,230
if there's no items to be pulled, I need a motion and a second.

694
00:51:22,250 --> 00:51:24,690
Moved to approve the consent agenda as presented.

695
00:51:25,110 --> 00:51:25,390
Second.

696
00:51:25,950 --> 00:51:29,210
Wonderful. We'll need a roll call for that. And Jen, can you help us with that?

697
00:51:31,740 --> 00:51:33,220
Mayor Pro Tem Van Dyke.

698
00:51:33,980 --> 00:51:34,180
Hi.

699
00:51:34,500 --> 00:51:34,720
Excuse me.

700
00:51:34,960 --> 00:51:35,680
Council Member Holton.

701
00:51:36,060 --> 00:51:36,240
Hi.

702
00:51:36,500 --> 00:51:37,180
Council Member Jones.

703
00:51:37,440 --> 00:51:37,580
Yes.

704
00:51:37,880 --> 00:51:38,640
Council Member Samuel.

705
00:51:38,980 --> 00:51:39,220
Hi.

706
00:51:39,760 --> 00:51:41,100
And Council Member Whitney.

707
00:51:41,540 --> 00:51:41,680
Hi.

708
00:51:41,980 --> 00:51:42,300
Thank you.

709
00:51:43,120 --> 00:51:43,840
Thank you.

710
00:51:44,200 --> 00:51:47,980
That was a unanimous vote and that concludes our consent agenda.

711
00:51:48,480 --> 00:51:50,580
We would now like to move on to items of business.

712
00:51:50,940 --> 00:51:57,520
Our first item is ordinance number 202615 amending chapter 9.12 of our Richland

713
00:51:57,520 --> 00:52:01,800
new municipal code related to miscellaneous crimes to add to RMC 912-140

714
00:52:01,800 --> 00:52:07,500
failure to supervise a child unlawful. I think Chief Pilcher is here and has an

715
00:52:07,500 --> 00:52:10,920
opportunity to answer any further questions. We did discuss this in our

716
00:52:10,920 --> 00:52:14,420
last meeting and this would be a second reading but it's an opportunity to

717
00:52:14,420 --> 00:52:18,940
just see if there's any clarifications. Council, are there any further

718
00:52:18,940 --> 00:52:24,360
questions or comments? Go ahead, Ryan. I would just like to say that I would

719
00:52:24,360 --> 00:52:32,900
Also, I fully support this. My position hasn't changed. I still see that, in my opinion, 9-12-140-A

720
00:52:32,900 --> 00:52:38,220
Section 2, the first half of the sentence, the failure to exercise proper parental control of a child

721
00:52:38,220 --> 00:52:43,880
12 years, major younger by leaving a child without adults revision for an unreasonable period of time

722
00:52:43,880 --> 00:52:49,300
is a little bit ambiguous and causing quite a bit of consternation amongst the public and our constituents

723
00:52:49,300 --> 00:52:57,000
and I think it's unnecessary, I would gladly support this with the first half of that section stricken.

724
00:52:58,200 --> 00:52:58,880
That's all I have to say.

725
00:53:01,880 --> 00:53:04,380
Are there further comments? Pat?

726
00:53:05,940 --> 00:53:15,680
Well, people who have contacted me have worried about getting arrested for their children walking to school,

727
00:53:16,060 --> 00:53:18,240
things like going to the park, going to the grocery store.

728
00:53:18,240 --> 00:53:26,240
but it clearly says the child violating any law of the United States and so I

729
00:53:26,240 --> 00:53:32,860
think for the most part you know they are satisfied that they're people that

730
00:53:32,860 --> 00:53:37,600
are responsibly allowing their child to do responsible things are not a

731
00:53:37,600 --> 00:53:41,840
concern and it's not going to be arrested

732
00:53:43,960 --> 00:53:47,000
for this. Sure. Chief, do you

733
00:53:47,000 --> 00:53:50,420
Do you have any responses or any clarifications to what's been expressed?

734
00:53:50,880 --> 00:53:51,980
I do have some clarification.

735
00:53:52,740 --> 00:53:57,660
And actually, the reasonable standard is used very commonly throughout law.

736
00:53:58,240 --> 00:54:02,720
And I can read some wording from child neglect from the RCW.

737
00:54:03,000 --> 00:54:06,920
Under Washington State law, child neglect involves a pattern of conduct, behavior, and action

738
00:54:06,920 --> 00:54:11,440
that demonstrates a serious disregard for consequences and poses a clear and present

739
00:54:11,440 --> 00:54:13,500
danger to the child's health, welfare, and safety.

740
00:54:13,500 --> 00:54:19,460
The legal system evaluates these factors to assess the reasonableness of a parent's

741
00:54:19,460 --> 00:54:19,720
action.

742
00:54:20,220 --> 00:54:25,200
I do believe it's important to have a reasonableness clause in this because the amount of time a

743
00:54:25,200 --> 00:54:31,040
child who's 11 years old can be left unattended and unsupervised is far different than the

744
00:54:31,040 --> 00:54:34,220
amount of time that a two-year-old can be left unattended.

745
00:54:34,720 --> 00:54:40,260
And so this allows officers to and requires officers to present some context as to

746
00:54:40,260 --> 00:54:41,400
why they've taken this action.

747
00:54:41,400 --> 00:54:45,400
This is very common in law enforcement in both the use of force and another

748
00:54:45,400 --> 00:54:54,260
example are vehicle pursuits. The RCW mandates restrictions on vehicle

749
00:54:54,260 --> 00:54:59,180
pursuits but does allow them. Within law enforcement however it's incumbent upon an

750
00:54:59,180 --> 00:55:02,180
officer and a supervisor to then explain why they continue to pursue.

751
00:55:02,440 --> 00:55:05,560
There's a wide variety of circumstances that influence that. It could be

752
00:55:05,560 --> 00:55:09,040
everything from weather to traffic to the severity of the offense.

753
00:55:09,040 --> 00:55:15,520
The same applies here, taking into context why a child and under what circumstance a child

754
00:55:15,520 --> 00:55:16,500
was unsupervised.

755
00:55:16,740 --> 00:55:20,860
And again, as I say, that's very different between an 11-year-old and a 2-year-old.

756
00:55:21,320 --> 00:55:27,220
And so placing some sort of very specific time frame on it would, let's say hypothetically

757
00:55:27,220 --> 00:55:28,120
it was 15 minutes.

758
00:55:28,400 --> 00:55:32,520
I'm not advocating that or saying that's reasonable, I'm just saying that that would

759
00:55:32,520 --> 00:55:33,160
be an example.

760
00:55:33,160 --> 00:55:38,080
Then the question would be what changed between minute 14 and minute 15?

761
00:55:38,800 --> 00:55:43,160
And then at that point an officer would have to provide an explanation.

762
00:55:43,560 --> 00:55:52,220
Instead here that is written into the RMC that an explanation, context, reason for the action must be articulated

763
00:55:52,220 --> 00:55:55,440
so that the reasonableness standard can be met.

764
00:55:55,920 --> 00:55:58,640
And so I do believe it is important under these circumstances.

765
00:55:59,900 --> 00:56:00,780
Thank you, Chief.

766
00:56:01,660 --> 00:56:02,240
Further comments?

767
00:56:03,300 --> 00:56:03,900
Brian?

768
00:56:04,420 --> 00:56:08,720
Just so we can assure there are constituents that this unreasonable

769
00:56:09,200 --> 00:56:11,440
standard isn't just something that's going to be a whimsical.

770
00:56:11,720 --> 00:56:15,860
This is something that is applied throughout law enforcement and is

771
00:56:15,860 --> 00:56:18,840
established by case law and other procedures.

772
00:56:19,400 --> 00:56:23,600
So this isn't going to be something that's just a seat of the

773
00:56:23,600 --> 00:56:28,860
pants swims on the whim of whatever officer is there at the time.

774
00:56:29,340 --> 00:56:34,700
So our constituents can be assured that they're not going to be arrested for allowing their

775
00:56:34,700 --> 00:56:40,480
kids to go play at the park or like I was when I was a kid, allowed to bicycle all over

776
00:56:40,480 --> 00:56:46,300
town with just a bunch of my friends completely unsupervised even though we probably did

777
00:56:46,300 --> 00:56:49,600
put ourselves in some less than safe situations.

778
00:56:50,620 --> 00:56:58,060
I just want to be able to ensure to our constituents that those fears are invalid.

779
00:56:58,920 --> 00:56:59,840
That is correct.

780
00:57:00,240 --> 00:57:03,280
We are not going to be arresting people for allowing their children to go play in the

781
00:57:03,280 --> 00:57:03,520
park.

782
00:57:04,380 --> 00:57:09,260
And as the RMC states, it has also a connection with criminal activity.

783
00:57:10,080 --> 00:57:15,000
An example, a child is unsupervised and is committing an act of graffiti.

784
00:57:15,000 --> 00:57:18,400
then we would then take that child,

785
00:57:18,520 --> 00:57:19,400
re-contact the parents,

786
00:57:19,900 --> 00:57:22,760
and also issue a warning to that parent.

787
00:57:23,000 --> 00:57:26,360
And that warning will have a clear explanation of why,

788
00:57:26,560 --> 00:57:29,520
but also will have resources that can be provided

789
00:57:29,520 --> 00:57:32,560
to that parent to help them under those circumstances.

790
00:57:33,000 --> 00:57:35,220
Further, we've had lengthy conversations

791
00:57:35,220 --> 00:57:38,220
with our city prosecutor to ensure

792
00:57:38,220 --> 00:57:41,040
that indeed this is properly worded.

793
00:57:41,120 --> 00:57:43,120
They are prepared to take steps

794
00:57:43,120 --> 00:57:49,780
and enforcement if necessary, but also a clear understanding that it has to be a reasonable

795
00:57:49,780 --> 00:57:52,360
act and enforcement action.

796
00:57:53,160 --> 00:57:57,820
And arresting a parent because their child is playing at the park is inherently unreasonable.

797
00:57:59,640 --> 00:58:06,440
Chief is it possible to give a few more examples just for context of what things it would

798
00:58:06,440 --> 00:58:09,060
not be or would be applicable to?

799
00:58:09,060 --> 00:58:12,680
There has been a lot of understandable passion about this.

800
00:58:13,220 --> 00:58:16,760
May some more examples of what wouldn't this be applicable to,

801
00:58:16,940 --> 00:58:19,900
or what an officer probably wouldn't pursue in reasonableness?

802
00:58:20,280 --> 00:58:23,320
Well, for instance, a discussion of a child walking to school.

803
00:58:23,560 --> 00:58:26,420
Again, there is no criminal connection to that whatsoever.

804
00:58:27,160 --> 00:58:32,320
Actions by children that are normal, reasonable, that we're all accustomed to,

805
00:58:32,740 --> 00:58:36,160
and that do not entail any kind of criminal action.

806
00:58:36,160 --> 00:58:41,840
And the fear that the parent is going to then be arrested is not our intent.

807
00:58:42,100 --> 00:58:47,340
We would then re-contact that parent or contact that parent and issue the warning so that

808
00:58:47,340 --> 00:58:53,260
they would understand why we're making contact, why we've taken the steps we have, and so

809
00:58:53,260 --> 00:58:55,780
that they can then be aware of it and then comply.

810
00:58:56,360 --> 00:59:03,500
And that is our goal, is not to either issue citations to children or to arrest

811
00:59:03,500 --> 00:59:03,940
parents.

812
00:59:06,080 --> 00:59:07,300
Are there further comments?

813
00:59:10,990 --> 00:59:12,990
I would just like to say I think my questions have been satisfied.

814
00:59:13,410 --> 00:59:13,990
Okay, great.

815
00:59:15,650 --> 00:59:17,250
Is there a motion to approve?

816
00:59:19,660 --> 00:59:20,340
So moved.

817
00:59:21,200 --> 00:59:21,680
Second.

818
00:59:22,760 --> 00:59:24,540
This requires a roll call.

819
00:59:25,620 --> 00:59:27,380
Can you help us with the roll call please?

820
00:59:28,860 --> 00:59:30,320
Mayor Pro Tem Van Dyke.

821
00:59:30,540 --> 00:59:30,760
Aye.

822
00:59:31,040 --> 00:59:31,820
Council Member Holton.

823
00:59:32,240 --> 00:59:32,420
Aye.

824
00:59:32,660 --> 00:59:33,320
Council Member Jones.

825
00:59:33,580 --> 00:59:33,760
Yes.

826
00:59:34,500 --> 00:59:35,340
Council Member Samuel.

827
00:59:35,720 --> 00:59:35,940
Yes.

828
00:59:36,180 --> 00:59:36,960
Council Member Whitten.

829
00:59:37,300 --> 00:59:37,440
Aye.

830
00:59:38,980 --> 00:59:44,660
Thank you, Chief. And thanks, Council. I appreciate it. All right, we are on to item business number

831
00:59:45,760 --> 00:59:52,580
202683. And this is declaring surplus and authorizational authorizing a boy, sorry, authorizing

832
00:59:52,580 --> 00:59:59,080
with the liquidation of a stormwater easement lying within 608 Williams Boulevard. Carlo was here

833
00:59:59,080 --> 00:59:59,980
for with this.

834
01:00:01,010 --> 01:00:02,910
I'll turn it over to you, sir.

835
01:00:12,450 --> 01:00:14,890
Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem and Council.

836
01:00:21,710 --> 01:00:24,550
So, this resolution

837
01:00:24,550 --> 01:00:34,810
is to authorize surplus and relinquishment of an easement. Just as a matter of background,

838
01:00:35,370 --> 01:00:41,030
earlier this year, Council passed a resolution authorizing a stormwater reimbursement agreement

839
01:00:41,030 --> 01:00:49,990
with HAPO at this location for them to install a stormwater line in order to

840
01:00:49,990 --> 01:00:58,130
avoid or in order to move the stormwater away from their building that

841
01:00:58,130 --> 01:01:02,950
they're planning on building. There is an existing easement there that allows

842
01:01:02,950 --> 01:01:06,970
the structure to be placed on top of some critical infrastructure being the

843
01:01:06,970 --> 01:01:13,190
water line and part of this was sort of correcting the mistakes of the past and

844
01:01:13,190 --> 01:01:20,550
getting that stormwater out of from being under that building. So in that

845
01:01:20,550 --> 01:01:25,550
stormwater reimbursement agreement the city said we would relinquish the

846
01:01:25,550 --> 01:01:30,050
existing stormwater easement at that location upon completion of the

847
01:01:30,050 --> 01:01:35,410
relocated stormwater facility and that HAPO would grant us an easement for

848
01:01:35,410 --> 01:01:39,270
relocated stormwater line so the stormwater line is still staying on the property just not under a

849
01:01:39,270 --> 01:01:47,210
building and and now HAPO has installed that line and the city has accepted its installation

850
01:01:47,210 --> 01:01:57,690
and the abandonment of the old line and this is the location in yellow that's where the old line

851
01:01:59,290 --> 01:02:05,470
was right under that building and even though it was demolished and a new building put in

852
01:02:05,470 --> 01:02:11,510
exact same location and the new line is the one highlighted in blue around the

853
01:02:11,510 --> 01:02:15,390
building. That is the location of the new stormwater line.

854
01:02:19,430 --> 01:02:19,830
So the public

855
01:02:19,830 --> 01:02:27,150
hearing was held this evening and no comments were heard from the public. The

856
01:02:27,150 --> 01:02:32,410
new easement has already been prepared so in conjunction with this

857
01:02:32,410 --> 01:02:36,830
relinquishment when we file the relinquishment with the county the

858
01:02:36,830 --> 01:02:45,630
the new easement will also be filed with the county at the same time. So staff is

859
01:02:45,630 --> 01:02:50,170
recommending declaring surplus and authorizing relinquishment of the

860
01:02:50,170 --> 01:02:52,930
stormwater easement line within 608 Williams Boulevard.

861
01:02:54,970 --> 01:02:55,930
Thank You Carlo.

862
01:02:56,570 --> 01:02:58,310
Are there questions or comments from council?

863
01:03:03,010 --> 01:03:05,450
I have one actually. These

864
01:03:05,450 --> 01:03:10,010
happen every so often. How is the process for our citizens to be able to

865
01:03:10,010 --> 01:03:16,190
go through and request this. How's that, how's that going? It's going okay so one

866
01:03:16,190 --> 01:03:21,830
of the things that we've changed from previous years is that we've now combined

867
01:03:21,830 --> 01:03:28,070
as trying to combine as many relinquishments into one council meeting

868
01:03:28,070 --> 01:03:31,890
as possible so on a quarterly basis we're bringing all of our relinquishment

869
01:03:31,890 --> 01:03:38,630
requests that happen in that quarter that staff can reasonably recommend to

870
01:03:38,630 --> 01:03:42,630
Council, we're putting them all together.

871
01:03:42,930 --> 01:03:46,070
So sometimes some residents need to wait.

872
01:03:47,050 --> 01:03:48,990
We get a lot of relinquishment requests,

873
01:03:49,190 --> 01:03:52,390
and a lot of times we cannot recommend relinquishing it,

874
01:03:52,570 --> 01:03:57,110
one because there is an existing utility in the easement,

875
01:03:57,490 --> 01:04:01,690
and we still need that authorization to be there.

876
01:04:03,050 --> 01:04:07,670
And, or we do have a future project planned

877
01:04:07,670 --> 01:04:11,230
And that requires us to keep that easement for some reason.

878
01:04:12,190 --> 01:04:16,110
And so those are times that we would deny it at the staff level

879
01:04:16,110 --> 01:04:21,010
and not even bring it to council because of those reasons.

880
01:04:21,370 --> 01:04:23,890
And in the cases that we can approve it,

881
01:04:23,990 --> 01:04:27,190
we do cycle it around all staff that

882
01:04:27,190 --> 01:04:30,330
have utilities for their comments.

883
01:04:30,710 --> 01:04:33,830
And then we do bring it to council

884
01:04:33,830 --> 01:04:38,130
if we do get affirmative answers from all of the utilities.

885
01:04:38,710 --> 01:04:40,390
I understand the batching quarterly.

886
01:04:40,730 --> 01:04:50,390
What's the typical timeframe of a citizen expressing a concern about an easement to resolution-ish?

887
01:04:53,420 --> 01:05:00,040
It could be in a matter of days if we get a really quick turnaround from staff.

888
01:05:00,040 --> 01:05:06,940
could be a few weeks if there is a more complicated issue at play. This one was

889
01:05:06,940 --> 01:05:12,100
and in particular this one was more complicated because it required some

890
01:05:12,100 --> 01:05:15,900
actions to be done before we could recommend a front-enquishment to

891
01:05:15,900 --> 01:05:21,880
council. So between the time we get the request and the time that we

892
01:05:21,880 --> 01:05:27,550
actually say yes we can bring it to council it it's usually within a

893
01:05:27,550 --> 01:05:32,110
weeks. Thank you. Appreciate that. Other thoughts, other comments from Council?

894
01:05:33,390 --> 01:05:40,750
All right, can I have a motion? I move that we accept resolution number 2026-83.

895
01:05:42,330 --> 01:05:47,830
Second. Wonderful. Roll call vote is needed. Oh no, this is a consent. Excuse me, we can do

896
01:05:47,830 --> 01:05:54,810
consent on this one. So all those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That's unanimous.

897
01:05:54,810 --> 01:06:01,070
Thank you, Carlo. Clint, I think you're up. We're going to address Resolution 2026-84.

898
01:06:02,090 --> 01:06:03,330
I'll let you read through it.

899
01:06:20,130 --> 01:06:22,370
Well, he's going. It's okay. I'll read the name of this one.

900
01:06:22,430 --> 01:06:26,790
This one is Authorized and Reimbursable Agreement with Bonneville Power Association Administration

901
01:06:26,790 --> 01:06:32,450
for Engineering and Procurement Activities associated with the Line and Load Interconnection Request

902
01:06:32,450 --> 01:06:39,050
on number L0534 Atlas Agro and a BPA Second Cost Allocation Agreement

903
01:06:39,050 --> 01:06:41,390
with Atlas agro data energy LLC.

904
01:06:42,590 --> 01:06:44,730
Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem and council members.

905
01:06:45,170 --> 01:06:50,130
Yes, tonight the site of business item is on two agreements.

906
01:06:51,490 --> 01:06:54,530
They pertain to transmission line agreements

907
01:06:54,530 --> 01:06:56,730
with Bonneville and Atlas agro

908
01:06:57,350 --> 01:07:02,910
and they are identified in resolution 2026-84.

909
01:07:07,030 --> 01:07:07,950
So how did we get here?

910
01:07:09,850 --> 01:07:19,790
In 2015, there was a DOE land conveyance of 1,641 acres from the city to the, excuse me,

911
01:07:19,930 --> 01:07:26,110
from DOE to the city of Richland to the Port of Benton and additional 300 acres to Energy Northwest.

912
01:07:26,930 --> 01:07:33,650
2021, we also identified this Northwest Advanced Clean Energy Park as part of the

913
01:07:33,650 --> 01:07:40,330
a targeted urban area for the city's strategic priorities of economic development.

914
01:07:46,190 --> 01:07:52,170
Where is the Northwest Advanced Clean Energy Park, NACEP? It is shown here in yellow,

915
01:07:52,610 --> 01:08:00,030
and this comprises the 1641 acre area. And then on the right-hand side also, you can see

916
01:08:00,550 --> 01:08:07,970
the area in the red and black dashed area, that's the Northwest Advanced Clean Energy Park

917
01:08:07,970 --> 01:08:15,230
within the city limits, an urban growth area. The three areas down below in green

918
01:08:15,230 --> 01:08:23,350
are the areas that two on the left Atlas agro has land option on and the one on

919
01:08:23,350 --> 01:08:30,090
the right is the one that is identified for the Atlas agro's

920
01:08:30,090 --> 01:08:33,510
Pacific Green Fertilizer Facility and that's on Port of Benton land.

921
01:08:39,120 --> 01:08:39,620
This is

922
01:08:39,620 --> 01:08:46,020
This is not the first reimbursable agreement for transmission that has come before council.

923
01:08:46,760 --> 01:08:56,480
In 2023 council considered a preliminary engineering agreement with Bonneville and that was to

924
01:08:56,480 --> 01:09:06,280
do the 5% engineering as well as a partner agreement between the city and Atlas Agro

925
01:09:06,280 --> 01:09:14,040
for the cost reimbursement or for the cost allocation of that preliminary engineering.

926
01:09:15,020 --> 01:09:23,580
With that, Atlas Agro has paid $6.2 million towards the reimbursable agreement.

927
01:09:24,900 --> 01:09:34,200
And tonight we have the second engineering and equipment procurement agreement for consideration.

928
01:09:34,200 --> 01:09:39,700
And these agreements total of $51.3 million.

929
01:09:40,340 --> 01:09:44,580
There's some additional numbers that are identified in the staff report.

930
01:09:45,900 --> 01:09:50,560
But they are to continue advancing the transmission line design

931
01:09:51,060 --> 01:09:53,860
and order the long lead item materials.

932
01:09:54,460 --> 01:09:56,480
That's the extent of the agreements.

933
01:09:57,200 --> 01:10:02,500
They don't build a data center and they don't put the parameters on the data center.

934
01:10:02,500 --> 01:10:13,060
Why do we need to consider these agreements? You'll recall that electrical equipment has

935
01:10:13,060 --> 01:10:24,380
had significant supply chain disruption and the time frame for receiving electrical equipment

936
01:10:24,380 --> 01:10:32,140
of this magnitude for a 500 kV or 230 kV equipment is 200 weeks. So if the equipment

937
01:10:32,140 --> 01:10:39,600
was ordered today, it would take 200 weeks, almost the end of 2029 before that equipment would arrive.

938
01:10:40,560 --> 01:10:46,620
And so there's a significant amount of time between now and then for additional planning

939
01:10:46,620 --> 01:10:54,160
and discussion. So the two agreements tonight, the first one is the BPA Reimbursable Agreement

940
01:10:54,700 --> 01:10:59,880
and it's between the city and BPA. And then the second companion agreement is the second

941
01:10:59,880 --> 01:11:03,120
cost allocation agreement between the city and Atlas Agro.

942
01:11:03,740 --> 01:11:08,720
There will be future agreements for funding, additional funding for the transmission, line

943
01:11:08,720 --> 01:11:17,060
construction and design, and there'll be additional planning agreements as well.

944
01:11:17,640 --> 01:11:19,060
I'll talk about those here in a minute.

945
01:11:19,060 --> 01:11:20,180
So,

946
01:11:25,200 --> 01:11:35,520
this slide provides an identification of a draft route for the 500KV transmission line

947
01:11:35,520 --> 01:11:43,900
coming down to the city's northwest advanced clean energy park. It would be a consist of

948
01:11:43,900 --> 01:11:53,880
two 500 kV lines, substation transformers, two 500 to 230 kV transformers, and that substation's

949
01:11:53,880 --> 01:12:00,480
been identified by Bonneville, it's called Triton substation, and it would provide 1,300 megawatts

950
01:12:00,480 --> 01:12:09,000
of capacity for the city and to do economic development and serve loads in the northwest

951
01:12:09,000 --> 01:12:10,500
West Advanced Clean Energy Park.

952
01:12:16,200 --> 01:12:19,700
So how do these, how do the costs flow between

953
01:12:19,700 --> 01:12:25,400
these agreements between BPA and the city? So this diagram is supposed to help

954
01:12:25,400 --> 01:12:33,580
clarify that. These, these, there is a 51.3 million dollar payment that would be

955
01:12:33,580 --> 01:12:38,820
made over time and I'll break down the costs and the timeframe on that, but

956
01:12:38,820 --> 01:12:43,120
those would be made as a third-party payment directly to Bonneville. Those

957
01:12:43,120 --> 01:12:49,700
payments and those costs would not flow through the city. So the city's costs to Bonneville

958
01:12:49,700 --> 01:12:55,900
for these agreements would be $0. We're not planning to pay anything towards these to BPA

959
01:12:55,900 --> 01:13:02,880
for these agreements. They are considered a reimbursable agreement with Bonneville and

960
01:13:02,880 --> 01:13:10,980
when load is applied after the if this equipment is all built and constructed and load is

961
01:13:10,980 --> 01:13:16,160
applied. If there's enough load that's applied credit transmission credits would

962
01:13:16,160 --> 01:13:21,160
come back from Bonneville to the city and then the city would would would plan

963
01:13:21,160 --> 01:13:28,860
on reimbursing Atlas agro for that investment. So what happens if if the

964
01:13:28,860 --> 01:13:34,480
city or if these payments are not made? That's a question that comes up

965
01:13:34,480 --> 01:13:39,620
on this. The way these agreements were written with Bonneville and with

966
01:13:39,620 --> 01:13:46,640
Atlas aggro is that they're prepayments. If the payment is not made, the work doesn't

967
01:13:46,640 --> 01:13:52,820
get done. The work from Bonneville and the ordering of the materials only happens if

968
01:13:52,820 --> 01:13:55,200
the payments have been made.

969
01:13:57,490 --> 01:14:00,090
So the city's obligation is only for the work that has

970
01:14:00,090 --> 01:14:06,410
been paid, not for any work that hasn't been paid. And I'll pause on that and I'm

971
01:14:06,410 --> 01:14:08,710
I'm sure there'll be some questions on that,

972
01:14:08,890 --> 01:14:13,410
but the whole intent is to eliminate the risk

973
01:14:13,410 --> 01:14:15,550
to the city for costs.

974
01:14:20,710 --> 01:14:22,790
Timelines, these timelines are strictly

975
01:14:22,790 --> 01:14:27,410
for showing for the transmission line

976
01:14:27,410 --> 01:14:29,910
and the agreements that are here.

977
01:14:31,510 --> 01:14:34,530
The top portion is June 2026,

978
01:14:35,170 --> 01:14:37,350
is there are the two agreements

979
01:14:37,350 --> 01:14:45,030
that are being considered by Council tonight and the long-lead time materials,

980
01:14:45,210 --> 01:14:52,550
LLTM, they are the critical path for all construction going forward of any Atlas

981
01:14:52,550 --> 01:14:57,830
agro data center, any fertilizer, any construction in the Northwest Advanced

982
01:14:57,830 --> 01:14:59,010
Clean Energy Park.

983
01:15:00,000 --> 01:15:06,020
That timeframe to order for the materials to come in sets all the critical path for anything

984
01:15:06,020 --> 01:15:11,400
going forward, and that's why these agreements are before you tonight.

985
01:15:12,220 --> 01:15:18,720
The bullets below the June 26th are how the progress payments are to be made, the prepaid

986
01:15:18,720 --> 01:15:26,400
progress payments on these agreements, and how they're split up between the long-lead

987
01:15:26,400 --> 01:15:30,680
time materials, and then the engineering design portion of it.

988
01:15:31,580 --> 01:15:38,900
Bonneville is projecting that they could complete, and them and their contractors could complete

989
01:15:38,900 --> 01:15:44,040
the design in November of this year for, excuse me, 30% design.

990
01:15:44,640 --> 01:15:50,660
But there's additional agreements that will need to come forward before council to continue

991
01:15:50,660 --> 01:15:54,780
the design from 30% to 50% to 100%.

992
01:15:54,780 --> 01:16:02,880
And that's the third bullet down. There are going to be future steps for consideration and I'll talk more about these on the next slide.

993
01:16:03,320 --> 01:16:18,300
Last two bullets are talking about the future on this. There are some contingent projects that need to be built and finished before any of Atlas Agro or any of this Triton substation could come online.

994
01:16:18,300 --> 01:16:23,940
and that is the South Tri-Cities Reinforcement Project. Bonneville is

995
01:16:23,940 --> 01:16:29,040
building that in the Horse Heaven Hills for Weber Canyon substation. It will be

996
01:16:29,040 --> 01:16:35,700
it'll provide the reinforcement to the Tri-Cities transmission 115 network

997
01:16:35,700 --> 01:16:46,740
that is overloaded during heavy loads and and so so for Triton to come on

998
01:16:46,740 --> 01:16:51,620
tri-city, self-tri-city's reinforcement needs to be completed and that's scheduled to be completed by

999
01:16:51,620 --> 01:17:00,680
Bonneville December of 2028. The last item on the bulletin is what I'm penciling in is if we ordered

1000
01:17:00,680 --> 01:17:06,900
the equipment today this is approximately when the long line excuse me long lead time materials

1001
01:17:06,900 --> 01:17:11,320
would arrive so we're almost stuck in 20-30 time periods for this.

1002
01:17:17,660 --> 01:17:19,680
There are future agreements

1003
01:17:19,680 --> 01:17:24,840
that are going to come before us and as well as the definitive agreements that

1004
01:17:24,840 --> 01:17:29,200
I've mentioned before. Chevrons on the left, you know, they call them Chevrons,

1005
01:17:29,520 --> 01:17:32,920
but you know before it kind of looked like a shovel to me, but before that

1006
01:17:32,920 --> 01:17:36,180
Chevron could go in the ground, there's a lot of steps that need to be

1007
01:17:36,180 --> 01:17:41,320
completed. And what we're talking about today is the transmission line.

1008
01:17:41,900 --> 01:17:46,240
And that's that first Chevron and specifically the first bullet is the

1009
01:17:46,240 --> 01:17:53,440
cost allocation agreements for the first 30% but there would be additional cost

1010
01:17:53,440 --> 01:17:57,860
allocation agreements that would need to complete the 30 to 100% design and then

1011
01:17:57,860 --> 01:18:02,020
ordering the remaining equipment. There would need to be facilities agreements

1012
01:18:02,020 --> 01:18:08,220
for the construction of it. Power. Power is a big one and and as has been

1013
01:18:08,220 --> 01:18:12,590
mentioned these are the whole Northwest Advanced Clean Energy Park is

1014
01:18:12,590 --> 01:18:20,670
is predominantly going to be large loads. And Bonneville has some language that restricts

1015
01:18:20,670 --> 01:18:28,550
them specifically on large loads. And that's a new large single load and is defined in the

1016
01:18:28,550 --> 01:18:36,410
1980 Northwest Power Act. And that was – it's identified as anything over 10 average

1017
01:18:36,410 --> 01:18:45,510
megawatts. And these three green areas down there, they represent 350 megawatts, 300 megawatts,

1018
01:18:45,510 --> 01:18:55,570
and 300 megawatts in them. So they're all well into the new large single load category.

1019
01:18:56,350 --> 01:19:02,950
And the Northwest Power Act, 1980 Northwest Power Act prohibits any of those, any of

1020
01:19:02,950 --> 01:19:12,490
that power to being provided by or from the federal hydrosystem or, excuse me, from the

1021
01:19:13,000 --> 01:19:14,170
federal resources.

1022
01:19:15,110 --> 01:19:21,610
And so the power itself can't come from Bonneville and it can't come from the FCRPS, Federal

1023
01:19:21,610 --> 01:19:22,930
Columbia River Power System.

1024
01:19:23,630 --> 01:19:30,670
So each one of these customers that would occupy or build in that NAISF Northwest Advanced

1025
01:19:30,670 --> 01:19:36,150
Clean Energy Park would have to bring their own power contracts, provide their own power contracts,

1026
01:19:36,350 --> 01:19:45,190
and it cannot come from BPA. And the advantage on that is, is it helps to insulate our customers,

1027
01:19:45,450 --> 01:19:53,590
our residents from any cost subsidies or cost increases. There are additional

1028
01:19:53,590 --> 01:19:58,350
retail electric service agreements. Of course, there'd have to be financial security agreements

1029
01:19:58,350 --> 01:20:05,470
for any power contracts. And then I did want to add this third chevron over on the left-hand side.

1030
01:20:06,050 --> 01:20:10,970
There are water agreements, sewer agreements, solid waste agreements, transportation agreements

1031
01:20:10,970 --> 01:20:19,730
that are all going to have to come before council with regard to development in the Northwest

1032
01:20:19,730 --> 01:20:25,630
Advanced Clean Energy Park. So there is time to, and there will be plenty of council action

1033
01:20:25,630 --> 01:20:30,590
for consideration on those. There's SEPA, there's NEPA, there's permitting. There's

1034
01:20:30,590 --> 01:20:38,690
many more steps coming. So in summary tonight, we have two agreements, transmission line agreements,

1035
01:20:38,990 --> 01:20:44,270
one between Bonneville and the city and the second between the city and Atlas Agro.

1036
01:20:44,730 --> 01:20:53,070
They're identified by resolution number 2026-84 and I'd answer any questions if there are any.

1037
01:20:53,070 --> 01:20:54,030
Thank

1038
01:20:56,150 --> 01:21:02,950
you, Clint. Are there questions from Council? Pat. Just to clarify, our

1039
01:21:02,950 --> 01:21:07,650
agreement, are we just saying that they can build these lines on the city

1040
01:21:07,650 --> 01:21:13,370
property? Is that essentially what it is? These agreements are to fund Bonneville

1041
01:21:13,370 --> 01:21:19,310
to design a transmission line in a substation and order the equipment.

1042
01:21:22,890 --> 01:21:23,610
It

1043
01:21:23,610 --> 01:21:29,510
where the transmission lines would be built across the Northwest Clean Energy Park.

1044
01:21:29,890 --> 01:21:35,250
But if we're not funding it as a city, why are we voting to fund it?

1045
01:21:36,450 --> 01:21:44,770
We are funding the design of the transmission line and the long lead items.

1046
01:21:45,090 --> 01:21:49,350
We have identified transmission corridors across the Northwest Clean Energy Park

1047
01:21:49,350 --> 01:21:54,730
for this infrastructure that would be served from the Triton substation to

1048
01:21:54,730 --> 01:22:01,390
our customers. So this is this is what allows the transmission to come down

1049
01:22:01,390 --> 01:22:09,310
to our area and then we have plans and corridors identified for the

1050
01:22:09,310 --> 01:22:14,350
transmission lines to be served from the Triton substation to our customers.

1051
01:22:14,350 --> 01:22:22,290
But I don't understand, since we're not responsible for funding, why we're voting to

1052
01:22:22,290 --> 01:22:22,590
fund.

1053
01:22:23,810 --> 01:22:25,950
Maybe I'll answer this.

1054
01:22:26,450 --> 01:22:31,810
The reason why is Atlas Agro cannot be direct served by Bonneville.

1055
01:22:33,010 --> 01:22:38,350
That's another thing that was eliminated in the 1980 Northwest Power Act is direct

1056
01:22:38,350 --> 01:22:45,370
served to industry. And so for Atlas Agro data center, for anything that's going to

1057
01:22:45,370 --> 01:22:52,030
go in that Northwest Clean Energy Park, they have to be served through the City of Richland.

1058
01:22:52,450 --> 01:22:59,590
So we will be the utility that serves those customers. And we buy that transmission

1059
01:22:59,930 --> 01:23:07,270
or that connection through from Bonneville. So we're kind of the middle person between

1060
01:23:07,270 --> 01:23:13,950
Bonneville and the customers or the serving utility. So do we need to pay

1061
01:23:13,950 --> 01:23:19,110
out this money and then they pay us back or? Yeah so the money would be would be

1062
01:23:19,110 --> 01:23:27,230
paid as a third party from Atlas Agro directly to BPA and then and and then in

1063
01:23:27,230 --> 01:23:34,750
the future when load is put on as that as that load is is added the Bonneville

1064
01:23:34,750 --> 01:23:43,030
would reimburse the city with transmission credits. Will it reimburse all of it? Maybe

1065
01:23:43,030 --> 01:23:48,610
not. It depends on how much load is added. And then those credits would be returned to

1066
01:23:48,610 --> 01:23:55,510
Atlas Agro through the power bills and transmission bills that we would provide to Atlas Agro

1067
01:23:55,510 --> 01:23:56,990
and others. Does that make sense?

1068
01:23:57,810 --> 01:24:04,110
I'm just a little confused. The other question is if they can't get power from

1069
01:24:04,110 --> 01:24:09,770
BPA where would they get their power? That's up to them. I talked with

1070
01:24:09,770 --> 01:24:15,250
Representative I think it's Senator Yerbarro now and he's in lives in

1071
01:24:15,250 --> 01:24:23,670
Quincy and he spoke at the Tri-Cities Regional Chamber of Commerce meeting

1072
01:24:23,670 --> 01:24:30,350
recently and he spoke about Microsoft's data center in Quincy and that they

1073
01:24:30,350 --> 01:24:38,070
obtained their power from BC Hydro through Power X and a hydroelectric dam in Canada.

1074
01:24:38,770 --> 01:24:43,990
So there are these entities, whether it's the fertilizer facility, whether it's data

1075
01:24:43,990 --> 01:24:49,910
center, whether it's another entity, they're very creative on where they obtain their

1076
01:24:49,910 --> 01:24:56,090
power from, and then that's their requirement is to obtain the power.

1077
01:24:56,450 --> 01:24:57,990
Cannot come from BPA.

1078
01:24:57,990 --> 01:24:58,130
Okay.

1079
01:25:02,640 --> 01:25:03,440
Are you done there?

1080
01:25:03,960 --> 01:25:04,240
Okay.

1081
01:25:04,340 --> 01:25:04,500
Great.

1082
01:25:04,680 --> 01:25:04,780
Joanna?

1083
01:25:05,380 --> 01:25:05,580
Yeah.

1084
01:25:05,660 --> 01:25:06,500
Thank you for the presentation.

1085
01:25:06,840 --> 01:25:12,960
I think that maybe it would be easier to explain that we're talking about two different items

1086
01:25:12,960 --> 01:25:13,400
in here.

1087
01:25:13,540 --> 01:25:17,820
One is the infrastructure, which is what it's needed to bring in the power.

1088
01:25:18,380 --> 01:25:20,320
And then the other is the actual power.

1089
01:25:20,660 --> 01:25:21,040
That's right.

1090
01:25:21,040 --> 01:25:23,080
Very different things in here.

1091
01:25:23,600 --> 01:25:26,980
And I think that maybe it's a confusion by a lot of people is that here we're

1092
01:25:26,980 --> 01:25:28,160
just talking about the infrastructure.

1093
01:25:28,160 --> 01:25:34,480
the poles that we need, transmission that we need to bring that power over to the

1094
01:25:34,480 --> 01:25:43,220
to a park. Without those we cannot bring any power. Now with Atlas agro we don't

1095
01:25:43,220 --> 01:25:48,700
really care where they you know bring their power from. All we're trying to

1096
01:25:48,700 --> 01:25:54,540
do is to have the infrastructure for them to be able to bring that power to

1097
01:25:54,540 --> 01:25:59,920
their location and so this is the reason why we have to sign the way we have to

1098
01:25:59,920 --> 01:26:05,460
sign the documents is because we're not mixing those two things and I think that

1099
01:26:05,460 --> 01:26:09,540
maybe is misunderstanding by a lot of people in the community including me at

1100
01:26:09,540 --> 01:26:13,580
one point is the fact that we're thinking is one in the same and the

1101
01:26:13,580 --> 01:26:18,220
power and the infrastructure are very different we're only talking about what

1102
01:26:18,220 --> 01:26:22,520
we're building in order to bring the power over and I think that I hope it

1103
01:26:22,520 --> 01:26:26,840
helps explains maybe a little bit better. That's correct and there are

1104
01:26:26,840 --> 01:26:34,120
parameters that are on the power. The state has requirements for clean carbon

1105
01:26:34,120 --> 01:26:40,000
free commitment act to the Climate Commitment Act and it requires low or

1106
01:26:40,000 --> 01:26:47,900
generate resources, powered resources to be greenhouse gas neutral by 2030

1107
01:26:47,900 --> 01:26:54,280
and then 100% carbon-free by 2045 time period.

1108
01:26:55,060 --> 01:26:59,780
And so the power that these customers would have to obtain

1109
01:26:59,780 --> 01:27:04,020
do have to meet the state's requirements for carbon-free.

1110
01:27:04,880 --> 01:27:07,060
And so there are some parameters on that

1111
01:27:07,060 --> 01:27:09,920
and we're very fortunate to have,

1112
01:27:10,160 --> 01:27:12,440
we're approximately 90% carbon-free now

1113
01:27:12,440 --> 01:27:20,220
and so it's those those requirements the state requirements will help limit

1114
01:27:20,220 --> 01:27:26,160
where that power comes from it absolutely cannot come from coal coal was

1115
01:27:26,160 --> 01:27:32,940
eliminated as a power resource for customers in 2025 and so there are

1116
01:27:32,940 --> 01:27:37,280
there are other choices but those are those are some restrictions on some of

1117
01:27:37,280 --> 01:27:42,140
the power yes you're right tonight the what we're talking about our is

1118
01:27:42,140 --> 01:27:44,960
transmission and it is completely different than power.

1119
01:27:45,360 --> 01:27:52,860
Yeah, so the other question, the one question I have is, since we're talking about the infrastructure

1120
01:27:52,860 --> 01:27:58,120
that we're being, you know, that is going to be designed and built and listen to a worst

1121
01:27:58,120 --> 01:28:01,340
case scenario, something happens and they decide they don't want to go through with

1122
01:28:01,340 --> 01:28:01,720
the project.

1123
01:28:02,000 --> 01:28:02,120
Yeah.

1124
01:28:02,240 --> 01:28:06,740
Now we have all these investments that they have paid for because all these items

1125
01:28:06,740 --> 01:28:13,240
have to be prepaid as you explained initially, but we have now benefited from all these

1126
01:28:13,240 --> 01:28:19,540
new wonderful infrastructure to bring in the power to develop or to a park and create the

1127
01:28:19,540 --> 01:28:24,040
economic development that we need, does that mean that the City of Richland at that point

1128
01:28:24,040 --> 01:28:31,000
will have to basically pay for the reimbursement for the cost that they incur for the infrastructure

1129
01:28:31,000 --> 01:28:32,840
that they will not be utilizing?

1130
01:28:32,940 --> 01:28:35,840
No, there's no reimbursement unless there's the transmission credits.

1131
01:28:36,520 --> 01:28:39,400
And so if there's no load, then there's no reimbursement.

1132
01:28:39,400 --> 01:28:41,000
And if they don't use it, then we benefit.

1133
01:28:41,680 --> 01:28:44,080
Goodbye to you, thank you very much, move on.

1134
01:28:44,260 --> 01:28:46,720
Exactly, so what happens if they get to,

1135
01:28:47,380 --> 01:28:49,060
I don't know, 30% and say, yeah,

1136
01:28:49,340 --> 01:28:51,280
we're tapping out, we're out of here.

1137
01:28:52,620 --> 01:28:58,140
Then the 51.3 million has been invested in this by them,

1138
01:28:58,740 --> 01:29:02,700
and then we can decide whether we wanna continue forward.

1139
01:29:03,200 --> 01:29:05,180
Maybe there's a third party,

1140
01:29:05,280 --> 01:29:07,720
another entity that comes in and slides in

1141
01:29:07,720 --> 01:29:11,880
and says I'll finish it or we could do nothing with it.

1142
01:29:11,880 --> 01:29:17,800
Okay, so there's mostly benefits for the city taxpayer at the end of the day because we could

1143
01:29:17,800 --> 01:29:23,580
benefit by acquiring or bringing in infrastructure that otherwise we couldn't afford to do over

1144
01:29:23,580 --> 01:29:27,000
a such a short period of time, I guess.

1145
01:29:27,300 --> 01:29:28,300
That's the way I see it too.

1146
01:29:28,420 --> 01:29:37,140
Okay, so the other question that I have is this is not related to this, it's mostly

1147
01:29:37,140 --> 01:29:38,460
in regards to the power load.

1148
01:29:38,460 --> 01:29:40,020
So, they bring in their power.

1149
01:29:40,540 --> 01:29:43,560
Now we are the ones, you know, they're transferring that power.

1150
01:29:43,980 --> 01:29:48,800
We're going to be in a way making taxes on this power that they're bringing in from whatever

1151
01:29:48,800 --> 01:29:49,660
it's coming from.

1152
01:29:49,980 --> 01:29:51,480
So, we're benefiting that way.

1153
01:29:51,600 --> 01:29:54,640
Even though we're not providing the power, BPA won't be providing the power.

1154
01:29:55,320 --> 01:29:58,860
They are bringing in from, let's say, Texas or California, wherever that may be.

1155
01:29:58,860 --> 01:29:59,940
We're still

1156
01:30:00,000 --> 01:30:05,660
People going to charge them taxes because we are delivering that to them, to them, through

1157
01:30:05,660 --> 01:30:09,400
the infrastructure that they pay for, correct?

1158
01:30:09,700 --> 01:30:14,820
Yep, you're absolutely right. With us being in the middle on this, if they go out and

1159
01:30:14,820 --> 01:30:22,560
buy power, they have to reassign it to us so we can put it on the BPA, our contract with

1160
01:30:22,560 --> 01:30:29,340
it and and we and I went back to the chevron here the second one down power

1161
01:30:29,340 --> 01:30:35,320
there's a retail electric service agreement that had come forward and so the

1162
01:30:35,320 --> 01:30:42,440
power that gets sold to or delivered to the these customers we will have a

1163
01:30:42,440 --> 01:30:49,980
utility occupation tax tax on that and that comes into the city yeah okay I

1164
01:30:49,980 --> 01:30:51,820
I think that's all I have questions.

1165
01:30:51,980 --> 01:30:52,500
Thank you very much.

1166
01:30:52,700 --> 01:30:52,980
Thank you.

1167
01:30:55,200 --> 01:30:55,680
Go ahead, Ron.

1168
01:30:56,520 --> 01:30:58,120
Yeah, so from my understanding,

1169
01:30:58,420 --> 01:30:59,820
that Richland is just the middlemen

1170
01:30:59,820 --> 01:31:03,260
because they cannot integrate with BPA.

1171
01:31:03,580 --> 01:31:05,560
So we have the agreement,

1172
01:31:06,180 --> 01:31:07,520
but they're making the payments.

1173
01:31:08,220 --> 01:31:09,140
If they don't make the payments,

1174
01:31:09,860 --> 01:31:11,020
BPA doesn't do the work.

1175
01:31:11,540 --> 01:31:14,140
If they decide to back out, that's on them.

1176
01:31:14,940 --> 01:31:18,440
And BPA is, BPA has the option

1177
01:31:18,440 --> 01:31:21,100
to absorb the long-lead items

1178
01:31:21,100 --> 01:31:25,600
items if they so choose for other projects that they might use it for.

1179
01:31:26,480 --> 01:31:34,460
So there's no financial liability to the City of Richland and this is just for the design,

1180
01:31:34,660 --> 01:31:38,200
the 30% design and long lead items for the power line itself.

1181
01:31:38,420 --> 01:31:43,480
This does not in any way shape or form further data centers specifically.

1182
01:31:43,480 --> 01:31:50,560
this is it's exactly right you summed it up the way it should be on that and and

1183
01:31:50,560 --> 01:31:57,300
if the equipment gets the equipment gets ordered and delivered Bonneville has a

1184
01:31:57,300 --> 01:32:02,880
couple options on that they could apply it to another project there could be

1185
01:32:02,880 --> 01:32:08,120
another customer that comes in and but this equipment is standard for Bonneville

1186
01:32:08,120 --> 01:32:15,780
and there will be many many customers that would be happy to take that

1187
01:32:15,780 --> 01:32:22,340
equipment and not have that long lead time to deal with. Yes.

1188
01:32:24,720 --> 01:32:25,340
Thank you. Are there

1189
01:32:25,340 --> 01:32:30,240
further comments? So I'm correct in saying that we've been given the

1190
01:32:30,240 --> 01:32:34,840
Richland has been given this land from Department of Energy. It's there's

1191
01:32:34,840 --> 01:32:41,660
basically nothing out there right now and that these companies will pay to put

1192
01:32:41,660 --> 01:32:48,720
the transmission lines in to this vacant very vacant piece of property out

1193
01:32:48,720 --> 01:32:55,200
there that's where we're that's where we're in the process to do yes sorry

1194
01:32:57,820 --> 01:32:58,720
good

1195
01:32:58,720 --> 01:33:05,420
is that all Pat okay good talk client talk to us a little bit about the

1196
01:33:05,420 --> 01:33:10,500
usefulness of the property right now without an additional power resource out there.

1197
01:33:10,720 --> 01:33:17,000
So is it true that for the most part because we're maxed out with regards to capacity in

1198
01:33:17,000 --> 01:33:20,920
North Richland that any kind of economic development that we might want to do with

1199
01:33:20,920 --> 01:33:25,860
the 1600 acres that we were given, it would be really pretty challenging to do that

1200
01:33:25,860 --> 01:33:30,400
if we don't get some infrastructure out there that enables us to have more electricity

1201
01:33:30,400 --> 01:33:34,600
infrastructure regardless of whether for whatever kind of economic development we want to

1202
01:33:34,600 --> 01:33:39,640
do. We need to have additional infrastructure, otherwise we can't do anything with that space.

1203
01:33:39,840 --> 01:33:40,140
Is that true?

1204
01:33:40,820 --> 01:33:48,080
To an extent, yes. It all comes down to what load is going to go in that space. And so

1205
01:33:48,080 --> 01:33:54,380
that determines what we can do with it. If it was going to be, I don't know, a garden

1206
01:33:54,380 --> 01:34:00,340
or agriculture or whatever the, I'm not sure what the restrictions are on that land

1207
01:34:00,340 --> 01:34:05,060
use out there. But if it's something that doesn't take load, then there's

1208
01:34:05,060 --> 01:34:10,940
opportunity for development. But the parcels and the customers that have

1209
01:34:10,940 --> 01:34:16,760
approached the city have generally been very large loads, and that's the

1210
01:34:16,760 --> 01:34:23,180
interest in these parcels is large loads. Washington Energy is just north of

1211
01:34:23,180 --> 01:34:26,060
of this Atlas agro area.

1212
01:34:26,660 --> 01:34:27,920
Their loads are a little less,

1213
01:34:29,180 --> 01:34:34,700
and that they are planned to interconnect

1214
01:34:34,700 --> 01:34:40,720
to the 115 network outer rather than the 500 or 230 KV network.

1215
01:34:40,920 --> 01:34:42,860
So it really depends on the size of the loads,

1216
01:34:43,780 --> 01:34:45,080
and but they still have restrictions

1217
01:34:45,080 --> 01:34:48,720
on being able to interconnect

1218
01:34:48,720 --> 01:34:52,680
act before the South Tri-Cities reinforcement can be completed.

1219
01:34:53,200 --> 01:34:58,640
There's been some discussion about trying to build out some additional solar energy generation

1220
01:34:58,640 --> 01:34:59,940
resource out there.

1221
01:35:00,820 --> 01:35:02,840
Does that require additional infrastructure?

1222
01:35:03,100 --> 01:35:08,280
Do we have the infrastructure right now to be able to accommodate a significant increase

1223
01:35:08,280 --> 01:35:11,600
in solar generation if that was to go forward?

1224
01:35:11,860 --> 01:35:12,760
That's a great question.

1225
01:35:12,760 --> 01:35:19,400
So one of the customers or one of the entities that land was transferred over

1226
01:35:19,400 --> 01:35:25,420
through the DOE land conveyance was Energy Northwest. They received 300 acres

1227
01:35:25,420 --> 01:35:30,220
and I don't know if a mouse works on this. Okay, so you can kind of see it over

1228
01:35:30,220 --> 01:35:37,860
here. The gray area coming down so this corner is 300 acres and that's

1229
01:35:37,860 --> 01:35:41,740
energy northwest parcel that they're identifying for solar.

1230
01:35:42,360 --> 01:35:46,600
And they're currently working with Bonneville and developer

1231
01:35:46,600 --> 01:35:48,120
for solar there.

1232
01:35:48,660 --> 01:35:51,820
It's about 125 megawatts of solar.

1233
01:35:52,380 --> 01:35:54,300
And to integrate that in, they had

1234
01:35:54,300 --> 01:35:56,480
to have to build a new transmission line.

1235
01:35:56,960 --> 01:36:00,180
And that's been a struggle for them

1236
01:36:00,180 --> 01:36:06,000
to be able to get it designed, approved through that area.

1237
01:36:06,080 --> 01:36:07,320
But it's a separate process.

1238
01:36:07,320 --> 01:36:11,080
that's going on in that area. So the answer to your question there is not the

1239
01:36:11,080 --> 01:36:12,200
infrastructure out there now.

1240
01:36:17,250 --> 01:36:19,530
Clint, can you go back to the Chevron slide for a

1241
01:36:19,530 --> 01:36:19,670
moment?

1242
01:36:21,940 --> 01:36:27,300
Thank you. You know, as we talked about the 10 average megawatts and the

1243
01:36:27,300 --> 01:36:30,700
new single large load, can you talk to us about what that means to the the

1244
01:36:30,700 --> 01:36:37,800
electrical rates for our citizens? Yes, I will. And so above 10 average

1245
01:36:37,800 --> 01:36:42,860
megawatts it's considered Bonneville considers it a new large single load

1246
01:36:42,860 --> 01:36:50,320
again that's identified and the 1980 Northwest Power Act the customer has to

1247
01:36:50,320 --> 01:36:58,020
obtain their own power for that load and it in the Northwest Power Act

1248
01:36:58,020 --> 01:37:05,560
explicitly prohibits the Federal Columbia River power system FCRPS from

1249
01:37:05,560 --> 01:37:13,360
supplying that power and when a customer has to go buy that power it's not

1250
01:37:13,360 --> 01:37:18,980
the city buying the power and so it would not affect our customer's rates.

1251
01:37:19,560 --> 01:37:24,820
That customer, Atlas Agro, would have to go buy all that power and then turn it

1252
01:37:24,820 --> 01:37:30,360
over to reassign it to the city so that we can apply it to their load

1253
01:37:30,360 --> 01:37:34,240
and as the middle utility on that.

1254
01:37:34,580 --> 01:37:38,360
So when they bring their own power, it's not the city going out and buying it

1255
01:37:38,360 --> 01:37:42,340
and it does not affect our utility, existing utility customers.

1256
01:37:43,100 --> 01:37:46,240
Thank you. Just staying with that for a minute,

1257
01:37:47,140 --> 01:37:50,500
clarifying my understanding, this is an infrastructure agreement

1258
01:37:50,500 --> 01:37:55,740
to, if you build it, they will come, if you will, for all the targeted urban area.

1259
01:37:55,740 --> 01:38:00,300
Yeah, and then should there be a data center?

1260
01:38:00,740 --> 01:38:02,880
Should there be other concerns that we have,

1261
01:38:03,020 --> 01:38:04,980
whether it's, I mean, and we are listening,

1262
01:38:05,340 --> 01:38:07,980
power usage, heat and thermal, sound and vibration,

1263
01:38:08,280 --> 01:38:11,780
water intake and effluence are opportunity

1264
01:38:11,780 --> 01:38:14,760
to impact that and make no go, no go decisions

1265
01:38:14,760 --> 01:38:17,600
and mitigating that risk is further down

1266
01:38:17,600 --> 01:38:19,280
in that process once we understand

1267
01:38:19,280 --> 01:38:22,920
what the scope of those could be,

1268
01:38:22,960 --> 01:38:23,940
whether it's a data center,

1269
01:38:23,940 --> 01:38:27,900
whether it's the other industries going out there. My understanding is we don't

1270
01:38:27,900 --> 01:38:33,020
have the scope of what they're doing yet, so we can't exactly mitigate the

1271
01:38:33,020 --> 01:38:35,500
risks of what they're proposing to do because we don't know what they're

1272
01:38:35,500 --> 01:38:39,700
proposing to do yet. Is that a reasonable understanding? That's my

1273
01:38:39,700 --> 01:38:44,240
understanding too on this. And so this is strictly for the transmission

1274
01:38:44,240 --> 01:38:48,860
line and equipment. Are there other comments or questions from Council?

1275
01:38:51,630 --> 01:38:51,950
Do

1276
01:38:51,950 --> 01:38:53,970
Do we have a motion to approve?

1277
01:38:55,890 --> 01:38:56,730
Just a move.

1278
01:38:58,770 --> 01:38:59,370
Second.

1279
01:39:00,910 --> 01:39:02,550
This is a consent vote.

1280
01:39:02,970 --> 01:39:04,550
So all those in favor say aye.

1281
01:39:04,930 --> 01:39:05,290
Aye.

1282
01:39:05,690 --> 01:39:05,810
Aye.

1283
01:39:06,130 --> 01:39:06,650
Any opposed?

1284
01:39:07,890 --> 01:39:10,270
Okay, that is a unanimous vote.

1285
01:39:10,810 --> 01:39:14,610
We are now on to reports and comments.

1286
01:39:15,310 --> 01:39:19,750
We have our upgraded city manager, Joe.

1287
01:39:20,330 --> 01:39:21,370
Would you like to report out?

1288
01:39:21,370 --> 01:39:21,750
Thank you.

1289
01:39:24,320 --> 01:39:24,940
Thank you.

1290
01:39:25,080 --> 01:39:27,660
Upgraded Mayor, Mayor Potem Van Dyke.

1291
01:39:28,240 --> 01:39:30,860
Two items tonight on behalf of City Manager Almondson.

1292
01:39:31,220 --> 01:39:32,800
One is a housekeeping item.

1293
01:39:33,860 --> 01:39:38,540
I think a note was sent around regarding this month's workshop and there being a lack of

1294
01:39:38,540 --> 01:39:39,240
agenda items.

1295
01:39:40,060 --> 01:39:45,520
So that workshop, having not heard from other Council members in objection, will be cancelled.

1296
01:39:46,320 --> 01:39:52,440
We can hold the fifth Tuesday in September, which is the 29th, as a future workshop

1297
01:39:52,440 --> 01:39:56,100
item should we decide there's agenda items to consider so we could put that

1298
01:39:56,100 --> 01:40:01,120
in as a placeholder and depending on workload we can use use that date. My

1299
01:40:01,120 --> 01:40:06,020
second final item is a sponsorship opportunity that's been presented to us

1300
01:40:06,020 --> 01:40:11,500
from the Reach Museum. They're having their regular free community days this

1301
01:40:11,500 --> 01:40:17,040
summer and they're celebrating America 250 and they're offering sponsorships

1302
01:40:17,040 --> 01:40:24,920
to other agencies. Sponsorship would be some inclusions, advertising, printed

1303
01:40:24,920 --> 01:40:29,920
materials, a company banner displayed at the events, and 10 general admission passes

1304
01:40:29,920 --> 01:40:33,680
that we could make available at the library for distribution to residents.

1305
01:40:34,720 --> 01:40:40,100
And this is for free admission for local residents, exploration of tribal history,

1306
01:40:41,240 --> 01:40:46,840
displays and several America 250 education programs and family-friendly

1307
01:40:46,840 --> 01:40:50,540
activities centered on an anniversary theme. There's a thousand-dollar

1308
01:40:50,540 --> 01:40:55,640
sponsorship opportunity within City Manager Almondson's discretion and any

1309
01:40:55,640 --> 01:40:59,520
council member has any concerns about that discuss them now or email me or

1310
01:40:59,520 --> 01:40:59,940
John later.

1311
01:41:03,180 --> 01:41:09,280
Thank you. Let's start at the end council member Samuel. I said

1312
01:41:09,280 --> 01:41:12,180
council I just you know I was thinking about you know summer time is

1313
01:41:12,180 --> 01:41:16,280
starting right now and it's anytime summertime is here in Richland it's an

1314
01:41:16,280 --> 01:41:20,320
exciting time because there are so many things going on right and so just I

1315
01:41:20,320 --> 01:41:23,900
wanted to touch on just a couple things that are going on right now you know the

1316
01:41:23,900 --> 01:41:27,320
75th anniversary of the summer reading challenge at the Richland Public Library

1317
01:41:27,320 --> 01:41:34,000
started this month and which is a long a long-serving activity very

1318
01:41:34,000 --> 01:41:37,960
exciting you know George Prout pool or our pool here in Richland just

1319
01:41:37,960 --> 01:41:45,160
reopened for the season. The farmers market just restarted this past week. We've got the

1320
01:41:45,160 --> 01:41:51,200
Cool Desert Nights activity that's coming up. The party in the USA celebration coming

1321
01:41:51,200 --> 01:41:58,600
up at the John Dan Plaza. And the Boat Regatta activities also. So, man, just a lot of things

1322
01:41:58,600 --> 01:42:01,200
going on in the city of Richland for summer. It's a great place to live.

1323
01:42:05,300 --> 01:42:11,220
My husband or I attended all the activities for Bob Larson, who was a personal friend

1324
01:42:11,220 --> 01:42:17,520
and worked with my husband for many, many years, and also hadn't realized 27 years on

1325
01:42:17,520 --> 01:42:25,380
the port of Benton and responsible for getting the submarine here, which I didn't realize

1326
01:42:25,380 --> 01:42:29,700
the importance really to Richland of that submarine, which was because of the nuclear

1327
01:42:29,700 --> 01:42:36,340
power of that was the first to go around the world underwater. So yeah, great

1328
01:42:36,340 --> 01:42:44,840
memorial service for Bob Larsen, great citizen. Yeah, lots of parks and rec.

1329
01:42:45,100 --> 01:42:49,320
Thanks so much to Parks and Rec and all the things that we've got going on and

1330
01:42:49,320 --> 01:42:54,240
the pancake breakfast. And next weekend is Cool Desert Nights.

1331
01:42:56,360 --> 01:42:57,500
Let's see the

1332
01:42:58,180 --> 01:43:04,840
Parks and Rec meeting has been delayed because they're working on their six-year plan, which

1333
01:43:04,840 --> 01:43:10,420
will be coming up, I believe, next month at the, did I say six-year or six-month?

1334
01:43:10,660 --> 01:43:11,340
Six-year plan.

1335
01:43:11,340 --> 01:43:12,840
Six-year plan, sorry.

1336
01:43:14,840 --> 01:43:17,420
My mouth and my brain always connect.

1337
01:43:19,120 --> 01:43:24,380
And so they will, they're working on that and will present that into July, I believe.

1338
01:43:24,380 --> 01:43:30,920
and there was a resignation from a commissioner that was being relocated and

1339
01:43:30,920 --> 01:43:34,680
so there's an open position if you know someone who's interested in applying for

1340
01:43:34,680 --> 01:43:42,340
parks and rec and got a thank you from a constituent for maintenance on the

1341
01:43:42,340 --> 01:43:47,180
Jason Lee Park of their play pickup soccer there on the great job that

1342
01:43:47,180 --> 01:43:51,780
they're doing on that and also that his water main broke and he called the

1343
01:43:51,780 --> 01:43:57,500
emergency line in five or ten minutes. They were there to shut off the water. And so kudos

1344
01:43:57,500 --> 01:44:03,680
to the citizens or the staff of Richland and the great job they're doing, Parks and Rec

1345
01:44:03,680 --> 01:44:05,900
and utilities and all of that.

1346
01:44:08,140 --> 01:44:11,160
Thank you. And also I'm going up and you're going up

1347
01:44:11,160 --> 01:44:19,840
to the Association of Washington Cities next week. So hopefully we'll be learning a lot

1348
01:44:19,840 --> 01:44:20,260
up there.

1349
01:44:22,930 --> 01:44:31,470
Council Member Jones. So I, you know, we have seen so many fires so far this week

1350
01:44:31,470 --> 01:44:41,470
and I want to remind everybody to be extra careful. Cigarette butts, you know, when you

1351
01:44:41,470 --> 01:44:48,150
drive, things like that, please keep an eye. One spark can cause the whole entire neighborhood.

1352
01:44:48,150 --> 01:44:59,550
So I am asking the community and our city to maybe put out a statement out there to really encourage people to be more on the lookout.

1353
01:45:00,000 --> 01:45:06,700
And to keep an eye open, I know there has been a lot of fires really close to our neighborhoods.

1354
01:45:07,540 --> 01:45:21,520
Most of them are wildfires, but I think we can all do something to prevent these things from maybe even burning our own houses, so please.

1355
01:45:24,690 --> 01:45:25,330
Thank you.

1356
01:45:26,050 --> 01:45:27,330
Council Member Wooden.

1357
01:45:27,870 --> 01:45:35,050
Yes, I would just like to say congratulations to K9 Cody for joining the force and I extend

1358
01:45:35,710 --> 01:45:42,350
congratulations to Officer Matthew Smith on the selection and his participation in that program.

1359
01:45:42,530 --> 01:45:45,630
I know taking care of a Belgian mountain lion is no small order.

1360
01:45:46,330 --> 01:45:53,230
I'd also like to say thank you and congratulations to the Basic Law Enforcement Academy class 937 graduates

1361
01:45:53,230 --> 01:45:58,710
Then we met today. Welcome to Richland. We take a lot of pride in our police force.

1362
01:45:59,190 --> 01:46:04,170
They're a wonderful service. And I hope you guys have a long, safe career.

1363
01:46:05,830 --> 01:46:14,590
Also, being that it's the 250th anniversary for this July 4th, there's going to be a lot of pressure to go out and celebrate extra hard, be extra safe.

1364
01:46:14,950 --> 01:46:17,690
It's really dry out there. We always have a lot of fires.

1365
01:46:17,690 --> 01:46:23,150
years. This year I think it's not going to be an exception, but if we can all be diligent

1366
01:46:23,150 --> 01:46:30,390
about safety this year, hopefully we can reverse that trend a little bit. Also, the Arts Commission

1367
01:46:30,390 --> 01:46:36,130
is doing a tour tomorrow, so that should be, if I remember right, it should be on

1368
01:46:36,130 --> 01:46:41,450
the agenda for the Arts Commission. Yes, so we do have an Arts Commission tour for

1369
01:46:41,450 --> 01:46:47,750
Wednesday June 17th, so that is on the City of Ritz on Agendas and Minutes. If you'd like

1370
01:46:47,750 --> 01:46:52,810
to join along, feel free. I'll meet you there. That's all I got.

1371
01:46:54,010 --> 01:46:58,750
Wonderful. Continue to be impressed and really happy about all the reporting out and for

1372
01:46:58,750 --> 01:47:02,930
the commitments that you all make and time commitments and sacrifice to go to the boards

1373
01:47:02,930 --> 01:47:06,630
and commissions and meetings, so thank you. I don't have anything further to add

1374
01:47:06,630 --> 01:47:10,550
for tonight, so we will finish at 747. Thank you.