It is August 26th, 2026 and at 6 p.m. I'll call this meeting to order. Will
you please stand and do the pledge of allegiance with us?
» I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
» All right, we'll start with roll call. Councilman Caul,
» here. >> Councilman Ly
» here. >> Councilman Henderson,
» here. >> Councilman Labbaka,
» present. >> Councilman Cox,
» here. >> Councilman D. Young,
» present. >> And Councilwoman Peterson,
» present. Do I have an approval for the agenda?
» Madam Mayor, I'll make a motion to approve the agenda.
» Second. >> Oh. Oh. Ty. [laughter]
» All right. We have a motion to approve the agenda by Councilman Lvaka, seconded
by Councilwoman Peterson. All those in favor signify by saying I.
» I. >> Any oppose? Same sign.
» Motion passes. And before I do the consent agenda, I'm going to pass it to
Bill. >> Thank you. I had just had one
clarification. So, um our surplus property u uh item in the consent
agenda, the resolution number that's in the uh cover page is correct and uh only
the placeholder resolution numbers on the actual resolution, but uh it has
been corrected now and it is resolution um 11 193-26.
» Okay. Thank you very much. So, with that, I'd be looking for a motion to
approve the consent agenda.
» A motion to approve. Second. >> All right. We have a motion by
Councilman Henderson, seconded by Councilman D. Young. Um, all those in
favor signify by saying I. >> I.
» Any oppose? Same sign. >> Motion passes.
All right. We will begin with a swearing in. Sabrina. So, would you like to come
forward up here?
All right. Will you raise your right hand and repeat after me? I, Zabrina
Nybo, >> I, Sabrina Nybo,
» do hereby declare >> do hereby declare
» that I will support the Constitution of the United States
» the Constitution of the State of Washington
» the constit constitution of the state of Washington
» and that as a member >> and that as a member
» of the city of Cedar Willy fired
» of this >> well let's do um let's not do the city
of Cedar let's do The city of Cedar Willy Police
Department. >> City of Cedar Willy Police Department.
» Okay. My fundamental duty >> My fundamental duty
» is to serve the people I swear to protect
» is to serve the people I serve to protect.
» To safeguard and preserve life. >> To safeguard and preserve life.
» Health and property >> health and property
» against fire and other perils >> against fire and other perils.
» And to maintain >> And to maintain
» a proficiency in the police service. of proficiency in the police service.
» I recognize the badge >> I recognize the badge
» of my office >> of my office
» as a symbol >> as a symbol
» of public faith >> of public faith
» and trust >> and trust
» and I accept >> and I accept
» so long as I am true >> so long as I am true
» to the ethics of the police service >> to the ethics of the police service
» and make these promises >> and make these promises
» so solemnly >> so solemnly
» freely >> freely
» and upon my honor upon my honor. >> Welcome.
» Thank you. >> Thank you very much. [applause]
» All right. Now, we'll start with the city administrator report. Uh
» yes, no report this evening.
And moving on to council member report. Councilman
» Thank you. Um I attended the public works open house here right in this room
and I learned a lot more about projects including the city projects and the
three more roundabouts planned for Cook Road. I also attended the second concert
in the park at the Swift Center. Really good attendance, excellent music. The
third of these concerts put on by the Swift Center Foundation is with the
Scadget Symphony on September 12th, which should be great. I was also
delighted to see via an announcement on Facebook of the new school resource
officer, Rachel Hamburgg. That should make uh our schools safer. Also, kudos
to the police department with several very difficult cases, including taking a
murder suspect from Oregon into custody. I know that was an easy situation after
a standoff and uh resolving a million-doll fraud case. Really good
work. Also, school starts next week, so watch out for children. You should try.
Thank you,
» Councilman Ly.
» Last weekend, we had our annual what do they call those things with the
little wheels on them? Anyway, I'm gonna let Carl tell you about it
because Carl talked to everybody that was there, but it was a successful
weekend and I don't how many we ever figure out how many we've had?
» Yeah, we had over a hundred people participate and uh the bleachers were
packed. It was standing room only and uh yeah, we'll keep talking about it. Great
event, Kevin. >> Good time was had by all
we might as well say and provided. Was was that you that bought the pizza,
Charlie? >> Um, yeah, this the uh Hidden Wave
actually bought the purchased the pizza. Um, but the city is going to reimburse
them for that. >> And then Nick bought a couple couple
cases full of drinks. What else? Somebody else
provided something. >> Well, we had the mayor in attendance and
I brought some chips and uh, you know, it's just stone soup. Everyone wanted to
come by and really wanted to give a shout out to the fire department for
being there to uh staff a booth and talk safety and be there in case there was an
incident. >> And they provided helmets.
» That's right. That's right. >> For free.
» Good time was had by all and we kind of made it up as we went along.
» Perfect. Thank you, Councilman Henderson.
» Thank you, Mayor. I'd like to start by uh welcoming Officer Nibbo to uh our
police department. That's a a great uh role to fill. She did a great job out in
Manacortis and I know she she's going to do a great job out here. Uh I'd love to
see that. Um last week I had the opportunity of attending the uh grand
reopening of the senior center. It was a really great event. Uh a lot of people
in attendance. The cake was fantastic. Um and uh I was honored to be uh asked
to give a few words at that uh ceremony. Um it was nice to see uh Councilman Cox
and Councilman D. Young who's always there every Monday washing dishes in
case anybody else wants to help volunteer too. Um alongside of the mayor
and uh Charlie Bush and Nate Salcino were both there and they were both
recognized for their efforts in uh the opening of uh the senior center and us
getting that stood up. So uh great to see that here in our community. Thank
you. >> Thank you. All right, Councilman Lvaka.
» Thank you very much, Madam Mayor. Um, so on that note, I wanted to touch base on
the senior center. I wasn't able to attend that, but since then, I've heard
um from a lot of the people that were very eager to see that stood up and and
protected. We're very excited about what we've done, what you guys have really
done, what Charlie, you have done, and and the um the city. So, it's just a
major blessing to them, and they do want that to be continually expressed to the
city. Um, we are very stoked that we have a safety resource officer for the
the high school. Um, I've gotten really good feedback about that. Great timing
on that and and it'll be a great time to to see how that works out over this next
year and years to come. Um, and how that integrates with the students, but from
what I heard from a number of the students is they're looking forward to
it actually. Um, so that's really great. Uh, that's that's about it. Thank you.
» Perfect. Councilman Cox,
» just a busy time. Oh my goodness. So, so great. I I want to uh talk to my council
members here. Mentioning them again. The log jam was great. I brought my kids and
to see the interaction of the skaters, uh, everyone that was in charge of, uh,
actually putting it on. I I really don't think you just did it by by whim. I
think you did a great job, Kevin. Uh it's something that we'll continue to uh
visit because it was wonderful. I have an 11 and 12-year-old. I saw so many
kids. They they saw friends. Uh and for us personally, that's exactly what I
talk about when we're bringing people into our city and we're doing it. It's
free. I kept wondering where do I put the money when I was grabbing a slice of
pizza. So, thank you for feeding my family as well. So, that was a wonderful
thing. We also got a little bit out of that um with some uh minor repairs that
we're going to do to the park. So through that we were able to you know
better our our environment. I wanted to mention the senior center too as a kid
that grew up uh being raised by lots of seniors and being around seniors most of
my life. Uh invaluable. So thank you for supporting them. I mean that's a huge
thing. There's so much we can learn from our our peers and those that have been
here before us. So I really really really enjoyed that. So thank you. Uh
other things too just mentioning end of summer school starting. I've been to the
Cascade Middle School. excited to see all the kids, the teachers, the
resources are great. So, it's very fun for me as a parent uh to see that
there's some support going on for those kids. Uh and please, please, anyone
watching, pay attention. There's new roundabouts, new roads. Uh we really
need to uh make sure they're safe. Okay. Uh the other thing, too, is uh the
resource officer. I same thing. Boy, we're investing in our kids and our
community. So, let's continue to support these things. I'm enjoying it. Uh, and
again, I keep saying that, but just thank you for so much. It's a great I
think this is a great week. We're really going into the next season, fall, in a
good way. Our city is healthy. The concerts are uh definitely coming back.
They're so great. But just uh thank you guys for for those of you that come to
join, for those of you online, thank you for joining it. And please share this
with your uh family and friends because uh we want this to be a livable city.
That's all. Mayor, >> thank you, Councilman D. Young. Thank
you, Madam Mayor. Uh, since our last meeting, just a few things to report.
Uh, we held the Cedro Woolly log jam at the skate park. Uh, that's been me
mentioned. And, uh, I did want to tell one quick story about, uh, a dad who,
uh, put his daughter on a skateboard for the first time there. And I was able to
capture that moment with the permission and with photograph. But then to dive a
little deeper into the story, he was was skateboarding the first day it
opened. And so uh I just thought that was just wonderful that we've seen that
sustainability and that continuity and uh watch it uh happen uh handed down
generation to generation. And that's really what happens at this event is
bringing families together. It's kid-friendly event and it really anchors
the community. And I really think it's uh I just want to thank thank Kevin for
all the hard work he's put into that uh year after year. And um the hard work
the city puts together uh Charlie who facilitates uh our meetings. It as you
say it it looks smooth but that takes a lot of planning and a lot of people and
a lot of passionate people and and you know it's done by volunteers and uh from
from the poster to uh the the music that's played um the the microphones uh
you know it's just it's just a great way of having the community get together and
happy to be part of it. Uh we met again this morning for the event debrief with
uh while everything was still fresh and the conversation was really about
keeping what worked uh fixing what needs improvement. Uh they already got the
potholes fixed that uh we took photographs of so thank you for that and
then we also talked about what to do with the coping there and then making
next year's event just a little easier uh for everyone involved. Um then uh as
a representative on the board for Scadget Transit, I began the onboarding
process on on August 18th. We covered governance, finance, operations,
planning, and um some of the responsibilities that come with
representing Cedar Woolly on the board. Uh there's more to cover, so that work
will continue on boarding in September. I also uh participated um in the Scadget
Transit meeting uh on the 19th. Uh the board worked through the transit
development plan uh community advisory appointments uh fair free service for an
upcoming event and proposed bylaws. So, the bylaws were held uh over for some
additional review and uh Scadget Transit uh council has invited input from board
members before they come back to us and I appreciate having the opportunity to
work through those governance questions carefully. Uh looking ahead, I'll be at
the Chamber of Commerce uh lunchon next week or next Wednesday. always value the
opportunity to hear directly from the local businesses uh community and stay
connected with what they're seeing and experiencing here in Cedar Woolly. And
of course, Labor Day is coming up on Monday the 7th. Uh there'll be many
Labor Day activities. Uh I encourage you to participate. Uh Labor Day is worth
more than simply uh marking the end of the summer. It's an opportunity to
recognize the people whose work uh builds our communities uh keeps them
running and provides the service we all depend on. And I hope everyone has a
safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend. That's it for me.
» Perfect. Councilwoman Peterson. >> Um Bill, you put on a really great open
house. I you know people are really interested in those road repairs and the
different things that are happening with our transportation infrastructure and it
was great to see community members who have come to me asking questions to be
able to go directly to uh city city staff and wash dot staff to ask ask
those questions and get them answered. Everyone was really happy with the it
was just really impressive. Um, I also held a community event for W three. Um,
one of the participants called it a think tank, which I really liked. As
council members, we don't have any staff doing the research to inform our policy
decisions. So, it's really helpful to hear directly from constituents. Um, I
collected a lot of good feedback. I put it in a spreadsheet and emailed it out
to everyone who was willing to give me their email address. Uh the top issues
were opposition to move moving the ball fields to the northern state recreation
area, good strong community, um developing a future playground on
Reed Street, encouraging diversity and inclusivity in the community, road
repairs, which everyone learned about at the open house. Um prohibiting data
centers, which is actually something we're going to be addressing today. Um,
so that was a really good opportunity and I'd like to thank everyone who came
and I'm excited to do it again. >> All right, perfect.
So, thank you guys all for I'm always last and so you guys had really
wonderful things to say about everything going on in the community and I am 100%
in agreeance. So, I'm going to just go straight to um the opportunity that I
had this week, which was to meet the amazing team at our journey and learn
more about the important work they are doing for youth in Scadget County. I'm
so grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez along with their mentors and staff for
the heart they put into supporting our young people through mentorship, lived
experience, and genuine connection. They are helping youth feel supported, find
healing, and build a positive path forward. what they're doing for our
kiddos, their families, and our community is truly making a difference.
And for those of you who don't know, they're just right across the street,
right over here, doing good work. Um, so that's what I have for that.
And, um, now we will move on. Be uh, let's see, before I read tonight's
proclamation, I want to take a moment to recognize Senator Keith Wagner, who
helped bring us to this important first step and uh George Baldridge American
Legion Post43 for collaborating with the city as we
begin this process of becoming a Purple Heart city. Uh we are also honored to
welcome Robert Alz
Jr. uh the past national commander of the
military order of the purple heart of the USA. Uh most importantly, I want to
recognize the Purple Heart recipients who are with us along with all of our
veterans and everyone who came here tonight to show their support. Uh
becoming a Purple Heart city is not an honor the city earns. It is our
commitment to honor those who have been awarded the Purple Heart through their
sacrifice and service to our country. And with that, it is my honor to read
the Purple Heart City Proclamation. So the city of Cedar Woolly's uh
Washington proclamation in recognition of Cedar Woolly as a Purple Heart city.
Whereas the city of Cedar Woolly has a proud and enduring tradition of
supporting members of the United States Armed Forces, our veterans and their
families who have served and sacrificed in defense of the freedoms enjoyed by
everyday American. And whereas the Purple Heart Medal is the oldest
military decoration in present use, originally created as
the badge of military merit by General George Washington in 1782
and was the first award made available to the common soldier. And whereas the
Purple Heart Medal is awarded in the name of the President of the United
States to members of the armed forces of the United States who have been
wounded in combat or who have made the ultimate sacrifice and given their lives
in action against a declared enemy of the United States of America. And
whereas the mission of the military order of the Purple Heart is to foster
an environment of goodwill among combat wounded veterans and their families, to
promote patriotism, to support legislative initiatives, and to ensure
that the sacrifices of our military service members are never forgotten. And
whereas the city of Cedar Woolly is home to veterans of every era, including
combat wounded veterans and Purple Heart recipients, and recognizes the courage,
dedication, and selfless service represented by the Purple Heart Medal.
And whereas National Purple Heart Day is observed annually on August 7th to honor
the brave men and women who have been wounded or killed while serving in the
United States military and to remember and honor all Purple Heart recipients.
And whereas the city of Cedar Woolly wishes to express its profound
appreciation, gratitude, and respect for all military veterans, combat veterans,
Purple Heart recipients, and the families who support them, and to
formally join the growing number of communities standing as Purple Heart
cities. Now therefore, be it proclaimed that I, Joel and Casty, as mayor of the
city of Cedar Woolly, do hereby recognize the city of Cedar Woolly as a
Purple Heart City, honoring the service and sacrifice of all members of the
United States Armed Forces who have been wounded or killed in combat and
recognizing all Purple Heart recipients, past, present, and future, together with
the families who supported them. Be it further resolved that the city of Cedar
Woolly calls upon its residents, businesses, schools, and civic
organizations to recognize the contributions and sacrifices of Purple
Heart recipients and the courage they have shown in defense of our nation.
Observe National Purple Heart Day on August 7th each year throughout
appropriate ceremonies, educational programs, and acts of remembrance.
support combat wounded veterans, their families, and gold star families through
committee community engagement and service. Promote awareness of the
history and meaning of the Purple Heart Medal among all generations of Cedar
Willy residents. Show all Purple Heart recipients the lasting honor, gratitude,
and welcome they have earned in our community. Proclaimed by the mayor on
the 26th day of August 2026, city of Cedar Woolly.
[applause]
» [applause]
» And with that, I invite um Robert to come forward.
» Bet you guys all thought Let me uh if you turn that one
microphone around, the one in front. >> Yep. And then press the blue button. Um
on behalf on behalf of the military or the Purple Heart, we'd like to say thank
you for appreciating our combat wounded veterans. There's actually we have
accounted for about a little over 16,000 here in Washington. Cedra Woolly. I went
through the books and you guys have five that are living. You have about 20 that
are deceased. As Scadget County accounts for a little over 120 total. Um I do not
live in Scadget County, but I grew up in Scadget County. I graduated from Mount
Vernon back in the 90s, like my kids say, back in the 1900s. Um, but I am
actually the youngest person to date to run an organization. So, I represented
half a million combat wounded veterans all the way from the last guys of World
War II up until present. So, I got to meet both presidents, talk on our
behalf. So, this this meant a lot for me. Actually, when you messaged
National, which is our headquarters in DC, I got a phone call telling telling
them telling me that I was dropping the ball. I was like, I'm on vacation. Leave
me alone. That's when I found out that you reached out. So, I appreciate it. I
actually grew up in Mount Vernon, but I was born out in Woodby on the base. I do
come from a military family. So, with that, um, our our organization, um,
appreciates you, um, honoring us. Um, I've been working at making all of
Washington cities and counties purple heart uh cities and counties. So, I'm
I'm happy to acknowledge that Cedra Woolly is the first one in Scadget
County. So, I've been talking to the Saga County Commissioners
uh working with them to get the county going and hopefully everybody will
follow suit and notice that Cedar Woolly is leading the way so I can get all the
towns here um just to honor our veterans. We don't ask for much, but one
little signage or a proclamation showing that you honor a combat wounded goes a
long way. It actually helps them out with their mental status. They actually
see that they're probably helping the community and then they have to take
next step to reaching out to either a veteran organization or to your law
enforcement agency who has train on how to deescalate and talk to people and try
to bring them back what to what I call the ground level. So, we appreciate it.
On behalf of uh chapter 12, wait, we changed our name. The Pacific Northwest
chapter 12, uh we have a Purple Heart flag for you guys to fly every August
7th to take up. Um and if you want a fancier one, we got the fancier ones. I
just have these ones in the car because it's easier to carry a lighter flag. So,
um on behalf of all Purple Heart recipients, thank you.
» Thank you.
Mayor, could I interrupt? >> Yes.
» Can Can we put some kind of plaque or something entering under entering town?
It says we're a Purple Heart City. >> That is such a good idea.
» So, I I did email your your your mayor here.
There there is signage that I authorized and I gave her authorization. um because
you need authorization to use our likeness which is our purple heart
medal. So, she has an example of the signs that we have here in Washington
that you guys can put wherever you want. City hall, most cities like to put them
on the entrance as you're coming in. >> Yeah.
» And which is really big for a lot of people. And also with this once I get
your official proclamation emailed, I'll put it on our website, which is the
Purple Heart Trail. So everybody who uh goes through it'll see that Cedar Woolly
is a Purple Heart friendly town and that's how we help you with tourism is
we actually have a lot of hits on our website to see people actually do look
veterans actually do look to see who appreciates military and we're not
asking for discounts. It's just if we come here we'll know we're accepted
especially whichever era you fought in. So, it's a big thing for us and and
another thing for y'all to have new tourism when you when you guys put up
the signs and we put you guys up on our Purple Heart Trail.
» Thank you so much and thank you for your service.
» Madam Mayor, if I may, on that note, too. Oh, go
» one second. We will be um having a um a ceremony uh officially dedicating when
the signs do come in and that is going to be planned uh in early November. So,
we will be able to do that. And um uh before I open it up to council for
everything, can I also be able I know um to have uh Senator Wagner come up as
well um to say a few words.
» So um it's I played a very small piece in this, but I'm glad that you asked me
to speak about it because I feel strongly about it. I went to a ceremony
in my in my legislative district in Granite Falls and I saw their ceremony
and I went, "Wow, this is something that fits with the community of Cedar Woolly
and I pitched the idea to Mayor Casty because I knew the council would be
behind her on this. I did not think you would move so quickly. I was thinking
maybe six months or a year from now we would be doing this, but bam um almost
immediately. So, I'm really excited about it and I and I wanted to talk
about at least one of the members and maybe Councilman Lvaka can go into it a
little more detail. Um, one of our Purple Heart members from town uh had
breakfast with Councilman Lvaka, Mayor Casty, and myself because he was so
excited about this, but he was going to be um he had a medical procedure and he
and his wife couldn't make it tonight. I hope they make the official one. So,
it's already inspiring people that that we're hoping to honor and I feel really
good about that. So, the the credit goes to the mayor and the council for getting
this off the ground so quickly. I so appreciate all of you. Thank you.
» You um
and and then on on the the spirit of this, a very special man, Tim Smith. uh
made his own. Would you like to come up and speak about it before?
Handcarved. >> Yeah, I handcarved it. I had in my heart
to do this and for all my brothers and sisters that
earned it.
[applause]
Thank you so much. >> Oh, you're very welcome. Wish I could do
more. >> Oh, you this. Thank you so much for this
because uh we are going to hang this up in city hall. It's going to be right
next to the proclamation and it is absolutely gorgeous.
» Thank you.
» Very welcome. >> Thank you so much.
» Yes, ma'am. >> Thank you. [applause]
Sure.
» All right. And now we'll open it up. Council Labaka.
» Thank you very much. Yeah. Trying to find the right time to to mention. I
didn't want to spoil it during the council report, but um my neighbor who's
become my good friend down the road on Ball Street. He's 86 years old. He
received a Purple Heart in Vietnam in the 178th and um he like Senator Wagner
mentioned he was really excited about the city taking in part in doing that
and seeing us really active and engaged for the the efforts and the sacrifice
that he and and many of the people that were with him gave. And so he wasn't
able to make it. And I ended up calling up Senator Wagner and the mayor and
seeing, "Are you guys willing to come down for breakfast on short notice and
just have breakfast with them?" And you guys dropped everything and came down
and had breakfast with him. I mean, really amazing that you were willing to
do that. And it meant so much to him. I'm proud to report that he he made it
through the surgery just fine and um he did good. It was an invasive surgery, so
it was a little bit difficult and we didn't know how it was going to go, but
he seems like he's doing good right now. So, we'll see. And thank you both again.
Thank you for putting that together. He's an extraordinary man and I look
forward to seeing him in November at our ceremony. Uh I'll open it up to any
other council members who might have any questions or anything.
» Councilman Henderson. >> Thank you, Madam Mayor. Um I just want
to take a minute and recognize uh all all the additional people in the crowd
that um support our veterans and Purple Heart members. I see we have um uh
George Baldridge uh post here. Um have many others. I recognize John Fernandez
there in the back. Thank you for your service, sir. And uh and everyone else
who uh who was a part of this. And that's the most beautiful hand carving
I've ever seen. >> So, thank you very much for that.
» Councilwoman Peterson. >> Thank you, Tim. This is really amazing.
I've never seen anything like this before and I'm really looking forward to
the ceremony in November. I'm hoping I can get that on my calendar soon.
» Councilman >> uh, first of all, wonderful carving.
Just it's beautiful. Thank you so much. And I don't think we can do enough to
help and support our veterans and our community. And the best of the best are
our Purple Heart recipients who gave everything just about for our country.
So I la their patriotism. Thank you.
» Would it be inappropriate if I could get us to go down there and get a picture
with everyone who's in here who came tonight to um do this? Could we could we
get a photograph of everyone? Would everyone be all right with that?
He's got it. >> This one.
» Get home and start practicing.
» [clears throat]
» Everybody >> come on.
Everybody
» know. [laughter]
They'll know when they get to see us
represents all the combat veterans.
Normally it's like a little piece of paper.
Did I give you one?
» But I'm like the guy organization. So when I walked in President Trump,
where's your young
depends on when you guys
Yeah, good call. >> That's amazing.
We'll wait for >> Oh, I like that. Good job.
» No, that's fine. >> Absolutely. It's a celebration. This is
a wonderful thing.
Once again, thank you to all the veterans who are out there and um who
are out online as well and serving in our community and across the states. Um
now we will uh move on to public comments and I don't have the
sheet in front of me. So what I'll do is if um if anyone wants to come up and
give public comment, please uh come up. We uh
we'll see if anybody
Okay, sweet. Will you take that baby
microphone then and put it right back up there? Thank you.
I appreciate you, Andrew.
I wasn't planning on uh coming up here to uh complain two weeks in a row about
the same thing, but I forgot a few things and now I have a Q card.
» I love it. >> Do that again. But uh last week I
brought up all the trashy signs around the city that basically pop up ads and
uh kind of forgot to elaborate more about it, why I hate them so much, but
there's a a thing called the the broken window effect or the broken window
theory. I won't explain it all. You can Google it. But basically, when you hold
no standard, you enforce no standard. the neighbors
screen windows are falling out of their house. Their gutters are falling off.
The next neighbor doesn't mow their lawn. The next neighbor,
you know, has broken down lawnmowers in their front yard. They kind of just
every the whole neighborhood go down goes downhill. Uh that's kind of how I
feel about these signs. A perfect example would be the Cook Road by I5
intersection. You got weeds four feet tall. Every
single power pole has about three signs on it saying, "Uh, we buy your house for
cash. Got usually one or two pan handlers."
That's because no one no one cares. No one cleans it up. Uh,
today I took down another 41 signs in about an hour just in the normal routes
that I take on a daily basis. I didn't dump them on the floor this time. I just
brought one that you know Ron Burgundy would say uh stay classy Cedar Willie.
» I've noticed it for about a month, but right here it was on uh June 19th it's
been up and I took it down today just right on Highway 20 or I guess I should
say stay classy 708 Ferry Street. But uh
yeah, that's I mean it just kind of brings everything down. Um,
you know, we got codes about these things. You know, chapter 17.40. I'm not
going to try to read it, but it's pretty simple that you can't just plop a sign
wherever you feel like. I mean, if you want to put a sign on your own property,
your own building that you own, you got to listen to a high council of people
that lecture you about the size of your sign, the size of the letters on your
sign, if the colors coordinate with your sign. But, you know, we just let these
things go everywhere. I mean, there's there's a lot of city employees, not
just code enforcement, that drive a truck that says the city of Cedari on
the side of it that mow the lawn or paint stripes on the road. It wouldn't
be that difficult to just pick one up and put it behind the seat and throw it
in the garbage. I mean, I'm happy to just keep on taking them down. I'm I'm
sure I'm sure all the the businesses would like to have them back. Maybe I'll
ransom them. ransom their signs, but uh you know they're only worth about a
buck. That's why they leave them everywhere. Nobody nobody abandons a
$100 A-frame sign. >> That's
» the Emmy the Emmys are playing me off. But uh anyways, yeah, it just uh
maybe just I plan on harping about city beautifification for the next couple
months. Hope this will be the last time about signs, but uh you know, a a little
bit of cleanliness goes a long ways to making people not think this is a dump
to live. So, >> thank you, Andrew.
Is there anybody else who didn't sign up but might want to speak?
» All right. Um then, um Thomas, do you see anybody online?
Uh if anyone online would like to make a public comment, go ahead and use the
raise hands feature. We'll wait a few seconds for everyone who wants to and if
there's anyone will speak.
» All right. Hearing
» uh I'm not seeing anyone using that feature.
» Okay, perfect. Then we will uh go on to our new business.
Um, and since Kelly's not here, we'll we'll
take it to you, Charlie. >> Yep. First item here is resolution
118626. It's donation acceptance from the
Burlington Senior Center Advisory Board. Uh, this is a unsolicited u donation
that we received from the uh folks in Burlington and their senior center
advisory board. They're a nonprofit that uh works with the senior centers. Uh we
have we have one here in Cedar Woolly as well. Uh we hired the uh Burlington
coordinator from their senior center and we have seen some resources uh coming
along with her. Uh and and it's been fantastic. This particular donation uh
is for $5,000 to help us with our IT needs to essentially um fully network
the uh the building. uh and and we have uh needed to do that because the county
previously was operating the building and so the county had its IT
infrastructure in there. They're in the process of pulling that out. Now we've
got work to do to to make sure that we connect the building. So that is the
nature of this. I got a request earlier today whether these were federal funds.
Um no indication these are federal funds. Uh this is nonprofit money. I
believe it's all local money. We'll verify all of that before we certainly
uh spend anything. But uh yeah, that's what this is. It's $5,000. It was
unexpected. We didn't apply for it or anything. And uh it's an opportunity to
uh benefit our senior center further.
» Uh Councilman Henderson. >> Thank you, Mayor. Um it it's also worth
noting uh when I was at the senior center the other day, they had um they
had a second check that the Burlington advisory uh senior advisory board was uh
donating to the Cedar Woolly uh senior center advisory board. So they're um
they're really enthusiastic and have a vested interest in making sure that uh
you know we're uh successful with this endeavor for our seniors. Uh really
great to see. Um, uh, I just wanted to, uh, wanted to
thank them, uh, for this very incredibly generous donation. Um, from what I
understand, these are uh all of the money that their uh nonprofit has, they
raise in local fundraisers and uh do do fundraising and um they actually invest
their money very wisely in um putting it in CDs in the bank and uh highinterest
uh uh sa uh savings accounts so they can actually uh grow their money and they'll
have it to spend when they need on uh programs and uh other such things. So,
um, I'm I'm very grateful to see this and I'm very excited to vote yes on this
resolution. >> All right. Oh, Councilwoman Peterson,
» I'd also like to express our gratitude that this just so generous for our
neighboring city to um provide this as we're transitioning our senior center.
So, this is really great to see and thanks so much.
» All right. If uh no one has any other questions or comments, I'd be looking
for a motion to approve resolution 1186-26
accepting a donation of 5,000 from the Burlington Senior Center Advisory Board.
» I'll make that motion. >> I'll second.
» All right. So, um Twinning, um we'll give the uh motion to Councilman uh
seconded by Councilman Henderson. All those in favor signify by saying I.
» I. >> Any opposed? Same sign. Motion passes.
» All right. Now we will move on to ordinance 2113-26
temporary moratorum on data centers. >> Yes. And I do not see Tom Glover here.
So I would I'm going to see if he is in the building. But uh in the meantime,
it'd be helpful, mayor, if we could move down the agenda.
» Would that be all? >> I could take this one, Charlie.
» Oh, >> okay. Oh, thank you, Dan.
» Thanks. >> Go ahead,
» lawyer Dan to save the day. >> Uh good evening, mayor and council. Um
so, we scheduled these moratoria, this and the following item on the agenda um
for first review tonight uh to be followed by a public hearing and
recommended action at the following meeting. Um
most jurisdictions who pass similar moratoria um and there's been quite a
few have done so by simply using the emergency provision approving the
ordinance without a hearing and then scheduling a hearing at a later date.
Um, I recommend uh what I'm calling the uh belt and suspenders approach here,
which um both of these uh moratoria ordinances contain both emergency
language and opportunity for a first read by council as well as a concurrent
public hearing um which we'll have um at the next meeting
um following this first read um should council decide. Um and there are several
reasons for that. Um one is the reason for an application sneaking in and
getting past the moratorium is very low in this case. Um only complete invested
applications get past the prohibition. Um which you'll see in the whereas
statements in uh this and the following moratorum. Um
and that just won't happen in two weeks. Um and there are no pending applications
at this time. Um the second reason is this is a clean and orderly way um to do
it by holding a public hearing while the items are on the agenda um as opposed to
passing it now um and then having to track the 60-day requirement for holding
a public hearing later. Um finally um and this is uh really beneficial um the
first read gives us time uh to perform due diligence um and quality control. Uh
and so with that I did receive some questions throughout the week um from
council members. Um and the one that I'd really like to touch on here at the top
uh was from uh Carl D. young and uh >> he asked about the term major data
center uh which does not yet have an objective threshold. Um and so I would
just like to say that is the central issue. Um that's really a big reason why
we need the time um that this moratorum buys us. Um I attended an MRSC training
uh on this subject yesterday with city administrators and planning directors
from uh various cities all around Washington. All of which have imposed uh
these moratoria and the central issue discussed by all in attendance was the
lack of an objective definition. And the issue is drawing a clear line which is
neither over or underinclusive.
Um there are things that we don't want to exclude but there are things that we
want to make sure to cover. Uh and that is the issue of the day. Now that
doesn't mean uh that we can't draw that line clearly as it applies to our city.
So, that's why I wanted to have a first read tonight and then um maybe make
suggested changes in the upcoming two weeks and present it for um recommended
action at the next meeting. So, with that, I can take questions.
» Councilman Henderson. >> Thank you, Madame Mayor. Um I I am in
support of doing this. Uh obviously we want to get everything uh all buttoned
up and have everything uh ready to go for our next meeting. Um but we we do
need the time to get this uh in our code. Um, and we need the time to do it
right and like you said, identify all of the uh
all of [clears throat] the definitions of what the different um uh data centers
are and what we can and can't allow. Um, I did have a question about um I know I
know that the county uh did something similar to this. Are are we covered at
all under their moratorum or is that just for strictly county outside of
Woolly proper? >> Their moratorum only covers
unincorporated areas. >> Okay.
So, we'll most likely need to do this. Thank you.
» Correct. If we want that same coverage, we'll have to pass our own.
» Okay. Thanks. Yep. I I'm in support of that.
» Councilman C. >> Uh yes, I'm also in support of this. Uh
these data centers are not very appropriate for Scadget Valley in my
opinion. Um they are delletterious to the water electric
electricity environmental concerns. Uh my only
question and I appreciate you talking about the definition because I think
it's very important that we don't create problems for our existing industries and
businesses uh with this definition. So, um I think that's going to be very
important, but I'm all for this and I think it's smart to get it done so
somebody doesn't sneak in under the wire. Thank you.
» Thank you, Councilman Lavaka. >> Thank you, Madame Mayor. Um I I guess
my question is more about why not do data centers right so we have um large
data centers that are enormous and of course that is a huge concern throughout
the nation of course um but there are data centers there are AI usages that
have been happening I think most people have that on their phone they're using
it in their computers they're using it in the the governance bodies um we are
in a situation where there are competing nations, not just competing industries
that are looking for dominance in the AI industry. Um, and I'm not opposed to
putting on a moratorum because it's a limited time. It gives time to evaluate
what size of data center, how much compute is going to be involved in that,
what the resources used are. It's still unclear. Most of them are are told they
have to have their own power centers as well. So energy kind of gets absorbed in
that. But with AI, they got more advanced magentic coding and they're
creating um agent models that have sub aent models. And so I believe what
you'll end up seeing isn't that we'll have a lot of different AI centers or AI
um programs, but we'll have eventually narrowing it down to one ultimately or
maybe just a few ultimately. Um Duck.Go, is that a viable search engine? you
know, Google is the dominance in that and you're not really going to
necessarily replace that dominant search engine. Um, eventually AI models for
whatever reason and I don't know why, but they are they are um they do not
want to be shut down. Now, that's part of the coding and I do think it's
predictive coding. I don't think they're sentient in any ways, but they do fight
that getting shut down and they do that through through uh trying to appease the
user. They do it through blackmail to the coders. They do it through a number
of sources and as they realize maybe Grock is becoming better than JG GBT and
now you got this competing thing going on and I don't mean to get into all the
rabbit trails of these data centers but the more that we have this thing
throughout the nation which is probably justifiably so anti-data centers there
are other countries that are producing data centers at alarming rates and
eventually um the AI would be capable of enormous those hacking abilities which
we're already seeing them doing to themselves but also with with government
bodies and banking systems. So I would like to make it clear I'm not opposed to
seeing some advancements in that. I do not want to see mega data centers in any
way but there's different levels of compute that's needed and there's
different levels that most right now they're seeing that they're not even
using as much. But it should be considered what is the purpose of the AI
data center. It's completely different than best. It's completely different
than a battery station. is completely different than lithium. It does use a
lot of water regardless I believe in my opinion from what they say and other
resources, but there's got to be thought versus just saying, "Hey, we're against
it completely because it's it's the thing going on right now." That's my
personal opinion. >> Thank you, Councilwoman Peterson.
» Um I'm in broadly in support of this. I do
think um Nick's points and uh Carl's question are really important and I
think it'd be helpful for me as a council member to have maybe a
presentation uh before the next uh read to kind of see what are the different
what is a major data center and where is that threshold what are the purpose
what's the what's the purpose of the data center if that's included in the uh
morator torium and that kind of thing. I think it would be helpful to have like a
presentation about it to the council.
» Councilman D. Young. >> Uh Dan, thank you so much. Um I
appreciated your explanation about the emergency uh language and um so I think
going through this process is uh appropriate uh through the normal
council process since there's nothing uh emergent or a pending application. Um
I I support the need for temporary breathing room while making sure that
the temporary ordinance itself does not unintentionally reach uh ordinary IT
facilities. We used to call these server farms uh that we're looking at. Um but
we just want to make sure that um a company here in Wally that might have a
certain density of servers just for their own operations doesn't get
unintentionally caught up in this. Uh my other question is this is going to be a
six-month moratorum uh with the possibility of of an extension of
another six months. Uh what are we going to be doing with that time as to land
use? Uh what toward our comprehensive plan? Uh what what are the um
deliverables that we uh should see as a council at the end of the six months for
us to say uh yes the work has been done. And this is why we've had the moratorum
moratorum and we can show that effort and show the folks that who are going to
do it the cedar woolly way. Thank you.
» I think uh for answers on that one I will defer to Tom uh now that he's back.
Um he does have a plan and now that we're in the implementation phase of our
comprehensive plan I think we're we're better able to answer that question.
Thank you, [clears throat] Dan. Yeah, Tom Glover, community development
director. So, we don't have all the specifics hammered out yet, but what uh
we would like to do is take a look at what our comprehensive plan says in
terms of policies that may relate to this. Um, I like your idea of a
presentation. This probably not a presentation I would make because I'm
not an expert on data centers, but other other councils out there have had like
presentations. I'm sure it would be a matter of calling around and seeing if
there's an expert out there that could help us with that. Um, so what I'd like
to do over the next six months is is get out our get out our plan and and our
policies and see how other um agencies and organizations have handled this um
and come up with something that looks like it fits Cedar Woolly. Um
[clears throat] that because it would be a code amendment, it would go to
planning commission first so I get their input before coming to you with a
recommendation. That that all would happen. um after the second read once
the moratorium's in place unless we do a presentation beforehand. I need to talk
with Charlie about that. But yeah, so [clears throat]
» Councilman Ly, >> I'm not for it or against it, but I
think it'd be the prudent thing to do the moratorum and discover what the heck
it really is because I don't know what it is.
» Councilman Henderson. >> Thank you, Madam Mayor. Um yeah, I I'm
I'm kind of with Councilman Ly on this. I'm not I'm not against, you know,
companies having their own stuff. I I I think we all know what we don't want to
see here. Um it it's a picture in everybody's mind, but what that picture
is um as far as Dan was talking about needs to be defined um in in our code.
Um but it it would be helpful to see like what this moratorum exactly would
be um protecting the city against for applications and
not to say we would have a company that was like well you know we need to add
like you know 12 servers to our building so we can have our internet and all of
our uh you know CAD software and everything else like that run. and the
city says, "Well, no, you can't do that because there that's not what we're
trying to do, I don't think." So, um, so the the moratorium is going to be
important as to define like more of a utility scale thing, I I would imagine
is what we'd be going after. And then um and then uh defining that. Uh but it's
important to have that that definition when we do our final code. I think I but
I don't I don't want to hose any businesses, you know, coming into this
because economic development is important to us, too. So, um but I I
think when you say data center, everybody has a picture in their mind of
what we're talking about. So, >> yeah, I thank you. Those are those are
good points. Um, like I said, we do need to dive into
this and and take a look at examples of of ordinances that are working that are
allowing the um that are not preventing economic development opportunities from
happening. Um, we looked we looked at Scadget County's ordinance and borrowed
that for our base and they did have a a size I think it was up to 2,000 square
feet could be allowed and a certain kilowatt. But in talking with Dan, we
don't have we can't nail those numbers down because we don't personally know we
don't have that experience to know if that's too big, too small, what
» you know. So those are things we want to look at. And then also what came up one
time in a staff meeting is somebody mentioned that there are now uh
individual type you I don't know if you guys mentioned this, but there are
individual type units that are about the size of your your um HVAC unit that's
outside your window um that people are looking at as well. And so, um, that to
me sounds like an entirely different kind of animal, but does the same thing.
I don't know. I don't want to I don't want to shoot ourselves in the foot, but
I want to make sure that if these do come to town that we're ready for um for
how to manage them, >> Councilman Lvaka.
» Thank you, Madam Mayor. Yeah. Um, I really don't think that we'll ever see
some of these data centers that come to our mind. They're they're bigger than
our central bis business district and they use an enormous amount of
electricity is what their plan for. A lot of them have dissolved. A lot of the
planning firm is dissolved. Um and so I I wouldn't say that that's necessarily
would be our our uh challenge. And so having that if we can get a presentation
education, what would that look like for our communities? I definitely wouldn't
want to see banning some, you know, HVAC unit out somebody's, you know, home or
their business or something like that. I think that's going too far. Um, some
server stations are the size of conxes, maybe, you know, a small house. We've
seen that before. Those have been around since the 90s and they continue to grow.
Um, and I just I think that when we when we think data center, we almost think
like this giant data center like what we're seeing in some of the other areas,
which just isn't realistic for our area. So, I I'm in favor of the moratorum
here. I don't think we're going to see I mean, putting in some some square
footage. I think 2,000 feet. I mean, think about that. That's like not really
a lot of of square footage. Um I would imagine something like 50,000 square
feet or something like that as far as a footprint of space, but putting on
limits within the community because it's a small community. There's 13,000
people, small square mileage, but it it draws into that fear stuff of basically
data [snorts] center evil. We must, you know, annihilate throughout everywhere.
I mean, it's it's around many estates. I've been hearing this and my question
goes to who's benefiting from from that because there's other nations that are
not slowing down. [laughter] So, and I'm not saying that we should build up in
different areas and I don't think it would affect our community, but maybe we
can do an educational presentation in the next six months um as we pass that
through. >> Councilman K.
» Uh yes. I just I think it's really important that we reach out to our
industrial u companies in town as this is going
through to see what would affect them. I mean that would address many of the
questions that have been raised here. Um Councilman Lvaka is right. The uh the
whole uh data center uh AI revolution is moving very rapidly. Um I heard an inter
interesting interview with the CEO of Anthropic and he was talking about uh
data data centers in space. So, you know, it's it's a fastmoving thing and
we also don't want to preclude companies that are doing research that need heavy
compute time um on site and I'm not only thinking of like Janicki and Seedum, but
maybe you know somebody that comes in that wants to do some uh biomed stuff up
at the innovation center. So I think we want to be careful on this because we
don't want to scare away small highly innovative but my concern with the data
centers is that they disproportionately across the United States the uh
hyperscala scalers Meta and Google etc who are planning to spend I believe I
have this right a combined 700 billion dollars on data centers this year that
getting those hyperscalers to pay They're, you know, we'll probably never
see one in Scadget County. I can't imagine a place anywhere in this county
that's big enough, though they would be very incentivized by the Scadget River.
» Um, that's why they put the uh um a nuclear development site during World
War II on the Colombia River. They needed the water. But, you know, I I'm
not a big fan of the concept. Um though Councilman Lvaka said Saudi Arabia is
going hard for them. They're going to probably get some nuclear reactors to
power them. So it's it's a fastmoving thing and but I just want to protect
Cedral Woolly and protect our businesses who won't be adversely affected and I do
appreciate the con the the the difficulty of arriving at a uh a
definition that must have been attempted across the country because people have
been banning them right and left. So, a little more research and talking to
people who've dealt with them like we've, you know, when we contacted
people who had to deal with municipalities who had to deal with
best, how did they deal with it and it helped. So, thank you,
» Madam Mayor. If >> um I'm going to go to um Councilman Cox
first and then we'll go to you. >> Mine will be nice and quick. Uh again, I
want to make informed decisions. So, if that is possible to get other
municipalities on board to hear what they've done in the past, I think it's a
great idea from Councilman uh Person there. Uh it's yeah, we don't want to be
afraid of it. So, that's that's my view on it. Uh I'm neither for it or against
it. I do not want to exclude something that can help us out and uh this might
be something that it's a minor thing and we could be pushing more than one person
out in the future. So, thank you for all the work that this will take.
Councilman Lvaka, >> I just uh because I I work at Janicki
and I just really want to avoid any rumor mills that go on. Janicki does not
produce AI. They're not like [laughter] it's advanced technologies, but it's
building components for planes or or boats or other vessels. They don't they
don't have server farms. They're not doing AI. So to avoid rumor mill from
spreading through the community, you know, they that's not what they do.
Those are data centers that are placed
throughout the country in different locations. We don't need to have a data
center to use a cloud. Yeah. [laughter] >> All right. Councilwoman Peterson,
» I just wanted to add uh Council Member mentioned reaching out to um
businesses and industry and I'm thinking about, you know, I think we're all
really proud of the innovation we have here in Cedar Woolly. We don't want to
do anything to uh hinder local innovation in town. And we have the I
wonder if the Northwest Innovation Center would have any resources [music]
or um be able to speak to potential impacts in that area as well.
» Yeah, >> they do have a AI seminar at that place.
I think it's September 9th. Um you can talk to Diane or go visit the ICR and
find out more about it. I think Diane or people at that area they're bringing in
some experts even from Packard different areas they're advertising might be a
good opportunity to find out more about it right from external source but
» all right thank you
» I that that's excuse me that's that's interesting if there if there was a
seminar that was being held locally I' I'd be happy to work with Charlie and
mayor to set that up for your attendance we'd have to do a public notice for
meeting but Yeah, we'll see if that's possible. It depends on the content, I
think, of it, whether it's it's kind of tailored, but uh yeah, we'll look into
that. >> Okay. Anyway, that
» Okay. Thanks. >> All right. Uh did you want to take us
into the the next ordinance, Tom? >> I don't Is that the best uh or excuse
me, >> it's the permit application?
» Okay, thank you.
» Oh, that's that's fine. Okay, good. Thank you.
So this um is um reestablishing the moratorum on um
Thank you. on major utility centers. Thank you. There we go.
Um anyway, so this this stemmed from the um the project to be lo or that may be
located outside of Cedar Willy, the Bass project. Um, and back then we did have a
moratorum placed on it and we extended it. I think we extended it once. Um, and
we kind of lost track of it because we were in the middle of our comp plan
process and and um, we haven't gotten around to dealing with regulations to
deal with that kind of um, industrial use. It is something we'd like to
address. Um but first we want to reestablish the moratorum and like like
we had hoped less time to use that six months to come up with those development
rags to do that but like I said we got caught up in the comp plan we're not
caught up in that anymore and so um I think that in six months or shortly
thereafter within six eight months we could come up with some development
regulations for it. All right, Councilman,
» if I could just piggyback uh since this is uh we also put this one up for first
read. Um this uh proposal also benefited from uh council member input.
Uh it was Councilman D. Young again who uh flagged
the term major utility in one of his questions. And so when I uh bring this
back for a second read, I intend to scratch that. Um, so it'll just say
applications for development projects that involve the storage or generation
of electricity. And the reason for that is, uh, the term major utility is
actually a term of art at the county level, um, in in some of their zoning.
And so I don't want to inadvertently invoke that. Um, and then also I had the
uh first public hearing date uh for tonight because originally I had this
scheduled to be a first read at the previous meeting. So, we'll have to bump
that public hearing date to September 9th and I'll have that date corrected
when I bring it back. That's all. Thanks.
» Uh, Councilman Henderson. >> Thank you, Madam Mayor. Um,
[clears throat] this this also is going to be all in the verbiage, I think, of
of how we how we get it right. Um, I do know uh I don't know all of our codes uh
off the top of my head. Um I know we have some employees that almost do I'm
sure but um we do have an a noise ordinance right for uh certain things
like uh industrial and other such things.
» Yes. >> Okay. Um and the reason I ask is uh in
in developing this uh uh code um I don't see us
I I can't imagine that this council would not pass a uh moratorum for uh
major utility developments so we can in turn get our code correct. Um,
and in writing that code, um, it'd be helpful if we included, um, like
the noise ordinance for it because size is relative, right? Like this project
that they're proposing out in our farmland right outside town. Um, it's a
very large pro project and we've heard that it's going to be very loud if they
do end up being able to build it. which hopefully they won't, but um there
is another project that's already in place um on Samish Island and it's about
the size of a dumpster and um I know the neighboring property
owners of it and it is incredibly loud and it's um and so uh in in doing the
code I I think it'd be important to not only have square footage But whatever
noise pollution and sound and um how it would be bothering people coming off of
off of it would um kind of lock it in a little bit harder, I think.
» Thanks. >> All right, Councilman Laga.
» Thank you very much. Thanks for uh doing this. I do agree. Um it's nice to see so
much on the lithium side because there there may be some alternative energies
that hopefully do come out that are fairly safe. Um a long time ago I had an
idea to do a saltwater battery and I delayed and delayed and then I looked it
up when I was about ready to do it and they were doing it with um carbon mat
and saltwater um as their anode and cathode and their acid and they were
using aluminum or copper as their as their node. So, I mean, it was
interesting. It wasn't generating electric lot of electricity. But if they
can do something like that that's not condensed or they come up with something
different that is a little bit safer, you know, or some the ICR is what kind
of what I'm thinking. They're developing technologies. So, they get something
stood up and then they want to buy a shop in town and really develop it out.
You know, it'd be kind of nice to see some safer energies and and stuff like
that. Um, and and part of the advantage of having the ICR so close is that those
entrepreneurs may start a business in town because they're starting their
their crafts over there. They're getting mentored over there. They're getting
their patents over there and then they're building out these which are
some actually some really cool technologies. I mean, everything from
autonomous to nuclear to different things, you know, that they're kind of
doing. They could start working on those in town as and starting up their
businesses like we've seen other startups. So,
Councilman Carr. Uh >> again, this is a situation where um we
want to make sure that we don't throw the baby out with the bathwater and have
a good definition. Um what they were proposing outside of town, we had the
the proponents of it and I remember asking them, "What do you do if there's
a fire?" And he the guy said, "We let it burn." which wasn't a great answer, but
uh Councilman Lvaka is right in terms of battery development. It's going very
rapidly. Unfortunately, we're being uh uh China's way ahead on this. Um but
there are other major uh u manufacturers including Toyota that are pushing it
really hard. Toyota went early into hybrid vehicles. So I think that the
technology will get better. I think the lithium battery as it is is pretty scary
to most folks and they wouldn't want to live next to it. So, we really don't
want to have it even in our industrial zone. I think that would be scary to
people, too. I'm not opposed to battery technology. I'm just opposed to where
you place it. Thank you, >> Councilwoman Peterson.
Yeah, I had a question about um I [clears throat] know there's the large
scale battery farms, but then there's also like household or residential
battery storage, energy storage, you know, people who want to stop paying
PSSE for their electricity. Um do we have any do we have any permitting for
that currently or are we seeing activity like that in town right now?
Um, I haven't seen anything. That doesn't mean it's not out there.
» Okay. >> Yeah.
» So, but it's something I'd want to take a look at when we draft our ordinance,
too. We don't want to, like you said, throw the baby out with the bath water
or prevent innovation from happening, >> you know, and um something like we did
with like we will with the um with the data centers, we have to look at size.
There's a lot of information I think that we need to pull off from, you know,
um, the internet or whatever and some experts if we have them around
» um to make sure we don't >> paint ourselves into a corner.
» I also wanted to say like when I hear Nick talking a lot of what I'm hearing
is we want to support local businesses um, and that's a totally different thing
from the best project right outside of town here. Um, so that might be
something to consider as well. >> Councilman Coch. Yeah, I just want to
reiterate what several people have said, getting the innovation center involved
because they'll be great partners on these questions and uh they might know
the right people as uh Councilman Lvak has said uh when I went to one of their
events, I talked to a fellow who they're doing uh they're developing the
infrastructure for uh new next generation nuclear and there's some
interesting people that you know they could they could maybe put in more of a
well you should look You should be a little bit more futuristic on this and
know what's coming. Thank you. >> All right, then if there isn't any more
discussion on this topic. Okay, we will move on to easements.
Bill, thank you, mayor, and good evening,
council. So, the Jones John Liner Railroad
Undercrossing Project, think I said that without stuttering. That's good.
um is moving right along. Uh we're at a basically a 90% design right now and as
part of that uh what's before you this evening is our um the last of our
rideway acquisition effort. So we we uh as you know last year we purchased the
easement from BNSF to put the road under the railroad bridge. These now we have a
number of small easements. So, for instance, where our sidewalks
um need to get truncated to put in the ADA ramps and things like that. And uh
we've got a um I think five temporary construction
easements to move fences that are encroaching on the rideway and some
various things as well. So, basically, this is a pretty uh minor uh rightaway
acquisition effort. So, it went a little faster than I expected, which is great.
And so that's what's before you tonight is to uh finalize this handful of of uh
rightaway easements to purchase and we are on target to begin construction this
spring.
» Councilman Henderson. >> Thank you, Madame Mayor. Um it looks
like you're uh going to be on time and on budget here, so that's good. It's
great. I love I love being on budget. Um yeah,
and so uh look looking at this we got 84 and a half% uh covered by the TIP grant
and then the rest is coming from uh is it REIT or TBD or is it a combination of
those? uh it can be any or all or this is basically the u small mo local mosaic
of funding we're using for this project and so it just all kind of all how it
shakes out um what ratio we're using we're not
necessarily using an even ratio on everything but but um we're keeping
track of this mostly it's REIT but also certainly TBD and transportation impact
fees it's just a source of local the pools which our local funding comes
room. >> Okay. Well, I'm good with it.
» Mock. >> Uh, thanks, Bill. Good work on this. Uh,
have y'all reached out to the affected uh, land owners, residents on
» regularly and routinely, sir? >> Okay. So, any push back or they pretty
much >> I wouldn't say push back, more questions
» and we're answering them >> because we're going to enumerate them.
So, right. >> Yes.
» Yeah.
Um, Councilwoman Peterson, >> um, I'm hearing from W three
constituents whose fences are being affected by this property. You know,
they don't really like it, but from what I've heard, um, our staff has done a
really good job with communication and kind of explaining the situation and so,
thank you for that, Bill. Um, and we also were able to talk about this at the
open house and I think it's just really great to have all of that public
information available and engaging with the the residents who are impacted. So,
thank you. >> What Councilwoman Henderson's speaking
of is the five houses on the southern right ofway where their backyards butt
against our unused rightway. So, this was unopened rightway largely and some
of them have their fences encroached over 10 feet on the city right away. Um,
and so then as our surveyor came through, so we're working through with
what those particular rules involve with them and like I said, it's been a lot of
questions and education and we're at a good place right now.
» Councilman Lvaka. >> Uh, so yeah, mine was very similar with
those because that's right over in war two and and we walk over there. They're
uh they right now got a view of a goalie with the deer prancing around and eating
vegetation and it's going to be a road. It's going to be a sidewalk like up to
their back deck. [laughter] So, uh great job on communicating well
with them. Um I, you know, I've heard some people that were upset definitely.
Um more so, you know, when it was first being really proposed, but now it seems
like it's settling in. And uh if we do see a lot of push back, I mean it'd be a
great time to note that and then then maybe do another town event for those
guys. And thank you, >> Councilwoman Peterson.
» Oh, I was Oh, that's sorry, Councilman Cox.
» Uh forgive me if I haven't uh seen this or read about it, but uh I have been I
also am in in W 2, so I reside there, but people are asking about the closure
of the old uh passing. What what what's the timeline on that? And then is I
didn't notice, but will there be a four-way stop or anything on Reed and
and John Liner in the future? Is that >> Yeah. No, it will not be a four-way
stop, but So, it's going to h right now uh Reed is a two-way is a T intersection
because re uh John Liner doesn't go all the way through. So the uh Reed Street
will become the minor leg and that will get the two stop signs and then the
Jones John Liner corridor will be through uh through
access and um sorry did you have another question there council?
» Just the closure time for the the previous
» Okay. Uh thank you. So part of the um agreement with BNSF to build the new
bridge and it's also a traffic concern with the city actually sap road there is
a county road uh the city and county jointly maintain it mainly because
uh it it goes through our city and and many times u our maintenance staff is is
closer and and easier to maintain as we maintain our other roads in the
vicinity. And so this is going to be a two-step process. One is we're going to
annex the SAP road right away into the city so that we don't have that
discontinuity with the county maintenance crews anymore. Um and then
as part of that, we've agreed to close uh access through that undercrossing,
which as everybody knows is a hairpin turn and and has several different
issues. Um, originally BNSF was going to reestablish the embankment under that
uh as a way to close it, but of course that runs into Brickyard Creek and other
things. So they have informed me as they were building the bridge this April that
they're going it's going to remain open, but our agreement says we still need to
close the road to through traffic, which we're all for. So the count so the city
will quickly go through. It's also on our six-year tip. um
in a very short time frame after we open the Jones line or undercrossing road
because that will then be the major through route uh east and west to close
that with a hammerhead turnaround in either side establish boulder bullards
under the bridge and now it can be remain open for pedestrian access. So,
next year on the six-year tip, you'll see a a new project to establish a
bicycle pedestrian route along SAP Road um to connect with Reed Street. So, then
you can uh utilize uh SAP Road between Highway 20 and Jones Road right now is
pedestrian only and then so that pedestrian access will extend all the
way to Reed Street when we're done with that project. Although I can't tell you
exactly what year we'll build that in, but um when um and then at that time,
Sap Road on the north side of Jones Road will basically become a driveway serving
that one property and then have some sort of separator for the bicycles,
pedestrians on the I'll call it the easterly half of the road. So I I've
we've got a plan on that but but yes so we will but we will be closing that road
to vehic or that undercrossing to vehicular traffic uh soon after uh the
main road has been opened as part of our agreement with BNSF.
» Perfect. And I just want to say thank you for all you're doing in this because
it's been exciting. I was unable to uh to go to your your open house but I w
told so many people about it. So again, kudos to the city, to the entire team
for being so transparent and having this all available in such a way that it's
easy to read. So thank you for that. >> Councilman Labarco.
» Madame Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to authorize you or designate to execute
easement and other purchase documents for temporary and permanent easement for
the Jones John Liner Railroad Undercrossing Project up to a combined
total of $30,000. >> Second.
» Yep. Jinx. All right, we have a motion by Councilman Lvaka, seconded by
Councilman Cox. All those in favor signify by saying I. I.
» Any opposed? Same sign. Motion passes. >> Thank you.
» All right. Professional services agreement.
» Yes, ma'am. So, uh the next item is Cascade uh the sorry SR20 Cascade Trail
West Extension Phase 2A. Man, I promise to establish shorter titles of
projects in the future. So, this is kind of the final push to
finish the design and then right away we expect right away may go
fairly quickly, may take up to a year just simply because we have a number of
property owners uh to work with there. And uh so this is a proposal to uh bring
on board Reichart Nep and their team to do the final uh design and also the
construction management and inspection on this project as well. Uh it is a
project with a little bit of history. Uh, as um,
uh, as council knows, you know, this is a
project that Mark Fryburgger started, I believe in 2018,
uh, as as a grant project, and then we were designing in-house with David Lee,
uh, for a period of time. And then as we transitioned over in 2024, we actually
um because we were without without a city engineer for about nine months, uh
we hired Facet uh Northwest and they brought the design to about an 80 90%
design. It does include a pedestrian bridge which we want to a third party
analysis on which Reichart will provide for us. And then um uh then we had the
flood and uh Peter Lane took over some of the design, advanced that design. And
part of his what he advanced at design with was to elevate the trail by a foot
or two in key locations so we wouldn't have to uh evacuate some of the
different medical services and stuff in that area to basically provide some of
that flood resilience. And then now um the other thing that's
happened too is we've had a major change in the Washington State Department uh
DOT specifications uh and so part of that this is a federal
project. It's also funded with TIBB money, but um bringing on uh the last
little bit of professional consulting services to make sure we get over that
hump, get a uh third party analysis on the pedestrian bridge, which also, by
the way, will carry period potentially periodic traffic. uh in that um if we
have a major flood, this trail uh as well as phase 2B will be outside the
100red-year flood plane and potentially maintain emergency services doing during
a near hundred-year flood event to the hospital over our trail. So, we we we
want to make sure we're doing our due diligence to make sure we're having
these components that we'll be able to serve that secondary function as well.
So, this is um simply within our budget and we want to
get across the finish line and then get all the federal project uh requirements
done with uh some professional services. >> All right. Any questions? Uh
Councilwoman Peterson. >> Bill, again, this is really great. the
amount of ingenuity that's involved in this project planning with the flood
resilience and uh the path that is going to provide accessibility to the
hospital. This is a really great project. I have
constituents commenting on it all the time. People
are really looking forward to this. So, thank you for your work on this,
» Councilman Coch. Uh, and I thank you also. I and I think this project will
eventually will will save lives. You know, people I've seen people walking
down the side of that road a foot from traffic going 50 plus. Um, and I really
I want to um agree with uh Councilman Councilwoman
Peterson that the resilience thing I would think would be very well received
by funding agencies as well because I think everything that we do going
forward in regard to construction of city properties where relevant should
really think a lot about flood resilience because we had a bad one and
we'll have another one. >> Thank you.
Um, Councilman Henderson. >> Thank you, Madam Mayor. Um, yeah, great
job. Uh, you've done a tremendous amount of work
on the uh Jones John Liner Road and then I know that you picked this up late in
the game and uh yeah, you're you're killing it, man. So, uh, with that, I'd
motion to authorize mayor designate execute a contract with Reichart and EV
Engineering Incorporated for engineering for the State Route 20 Cascade Trail
West Extension phase 2A [laughter] project in the amount not to
exceed $155,000 with minor contract changes as required
by Washington State DOT. >> I'll second.
» All right. Uh, we have a motion made by Councilman Henderson, seconded by
Councilman Caul. Is there any more discussion?
All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I.
» Any oppose? Same sign. >> Motion passes.
» Now the fun part. >> How about the truck?
» Okay, >> here we go.
» So, um, thank you again. So, so this so we have we we've been having some issues
with our garbage trucks lately and one of the things we have is an interlocal
agreement with the city of Mount Vernon uh to share resources with solid waste
equipment. Uh that also includes um things like towers and things like that
if we need to do that. So, we've been borrowing one of their garbage trucks
off and on for the last three, four months as we've um been making repairs
to some of our vehicles as things that have happened to them. And so, uh this
is a truck that they've loaned to us in the past. We know this truck. We've used
it quite a bit recently. And uh it just happens to be on their surplusing
schedule and their ERR rotation. And they, as you know, it can take a year to
two years to get a new garbage truck after you place an order. So basically,
their garbage truck they placed an order on two years ago came and then they're
ready to surplus this one. And so rather than surplus it to public auction, they
offered it to us for $40,000. Is is a truck that our mechanics gone
through a basic review of it. It hasn't done an intensive review. He's also
coordinated with the Mason County or Mason County, geez,
the Mount Vernon maintenance department as well. Um, it has a good history. It's
a sound vehicle. They're uh $40,000 is what they're offering it for us. We'd
like uh recommend taking that. I will say it's likely as our mechanic goes
through it. I've suggested to him that um it's going to be worth placing some
more investment into this truck to just make extend its life cycle. And one of
those things may be adding a a heavy lift kit to it. Right now it doesn't
have the heavy duty garbage lifting arms on it and stuff, but uh even if we spent
200,000 on that and he thinks it's going to be under 100,000, but will no more,
we would be spending less than half the cost of a new truck. And similar
strategy to what we did a year and a half ago with council with one of our uh
dump trucks that uh we replaced the the dump on it that rusted off from salt and
stuff and uh we invested about 100,000 in that and
and it's now a very good serviceable truck without having to go into the long
lead time of ordering a new one. So, it's it's uh one of the strategies been
we've been trying to work with to uh truly get some good service life when we
have a vehicle that um has a lot of miles on the engine to go. And so, so
anyway, with that, I would um uh appreciate being able to purchase
this with Mount Vernon and and I'm glad we have such a good relationship with
them. So, for them to offer such a good deal on a truck like this to us,
» Councilman Dion, >> thank you. Well, we already know this
truck and so it's got a flatter learning curve for our staff. Um, and it's been
checked out preliminary by our mechanic. Uh, we need it. we should have it if the
price point seems right and so I support it and I think this is a no-brainer. So
I move the uh to authorize the mayor or designate to execute the agreement with
the city of Mount Vernon purchase uh of the 2007 CCC automated refuge truck for
$40,000. >> I'll second.
» All right, we have a motion by Councilman D. Young.
Um seconded by Councilman Henderson. Is there any more discussion? Councilman
Henderson. >> Thank you. Um, it's been a long time
since I bought a garbage truck. Uh, how much does a brand new one cost? Just
just so we can hear the difference between 40,000.
» Just about 500,00. >> 500,000.
This is a good deal. >> All those uh in favor signify by saying
I. I. >> Any oppose? Same sign.
Happy garbage truck day. All right. Uh let's see here. So, um you
see the information only items and is there anything uh for the good of the
order?
» Uh we do not have an executive session tonight.
» I have one point. Um, so, uh, Councilman Henderson,
» uh, for good of the order, um, for the, uh,
» September 9th, uh, meeting, um, I would ask to be excused.
» No, [laughter]
thanks. Wanted to speak, right? >> Is there a particular reason?
» Yeah, I'm going to be out of the country.
Madam Mayor, I'd like to make a point of personal privilege to congratulate
Council Member Henderson on his upcoming marriage.
» Thank you. >> I would like to sec I will third that
and and say welcome to the family. Madam Mayor,
» so I was wondering if we can have I believe a deeper discussion on those
baseball fields and what the plan is maybe at a workshop coming up um which
is probably already in the works. I'm sure. Yes, you're nodding your head. Of
course it would be. Um so thank you very much for doing that.
» There's a lot of interested people on where are we going to put these kids? If
if we can't do here, what do we want to do there? And I know that you had a plan
and you you always do. So thanks. >> Thank you. And I'll I'll I'll give a
little hint on that that um we are going to um do a joint um session with the
with the school district and we will be um bringing them to the table as well as
all of us at a study session and discuss the potential option that we have. Did
you want to say something on that bill? >> No.
» Okay. I just thought you were waving your hand.
» I was >> okay. So, um, so this Monday was my
birthday. My wife made me a, uh, Cookie Monster cake to celebrate, and then she
had to use up the rest of the frosting because she had too much. So, they made
a dozen or so cupcakes. And so, being as council never gets to participate in any
of these uh, staff level things. I I gave everybody a cupcake.
So, they came from me, not just from a random person. [laughter]
» So, we know, don't eat them. Well,
» can we sing happy birthday? [laughter] Lower the
» No, it's not my birthday anymore. >> Thank your wife for these. And also, I
want to um thank uh um uh Robert Alver Alvarez uh Jr. for uh coming all this
way. Um and um we're very excited to be a Purple Heart City and all of the
veterans that are out there as well and in up here as well. and the people
continuing to serve for us. So, um, with that, I'll be Yes.
» Uh, I just I would like to acknowledge the elected in the room that, uh, with
Scadget County Commissioner Ron Whis has been, uh, in the room the entire meeting
and thank you for visiting us. With that, I'd move to.
» All right. Um, all those in favor signify by saying
I. >> I.
» Thank you very much. Motion to adjourn. 7:41
» beautiful. >> I know it. It's I'm so excited.