[1:04] All right. It's 4:30.

[1:09] Okay, we're going to have to quiet down a little bit here.

[1:13] It's 4:30 for our discussion for the round table discussion. It's not public

[1:16] comment. You're welcome on the public comment after the Our meeting starts at

[1:20] uh 5:15. We'll have that opportunity for you. This really is a great opportunity

[1:24] for all of us to get together and for the city council to have uh concerns and

[1:30] talks uh freely. There will be no action um done with this. I'm going to use my

[1:35] three three five to five minutes to turn it over to our interim city

[1:39] administrator to just tell us how we got here. And that's what uh for the city

[1:43] council. And then it'll just turn it over to each city council person to uh

[1:48] talk however they want to whatever they want to say.

[1:55] That was apparently my [clears throat] cue. Uh good evening council and mayor.

[1:59] I'm Edgar Reynold, the interim city administrator and chief of police for

[2:02] the Wenatchee Police Department. Uh

[2:05] as a bit of background, in October 2025, the city of Wenatchee staff began

[2:09] looking at the process for seasonal banners in the downtown core.

[2:12] Uh public works had noted a lack of formalized process for scheduling,

[2:16] approval, cost recovery, and even storage of the banners when they were

[2:20] not in use. The city had basically taken the

[2:22] responsibility for all of these elements without any formal agreements.

[2:26] This raised questions about costs and potential liability in the case of a

[2:30] mishap. One of the major reasons for these

[2:32] questions when they came up in October was a set of banners that were hung in

[2:35] 2025 even though they did not properly fit our installed brackets on light

[2:40] poles, and the bottoms of those banners were secured with zip ties to kind of

[2:45] help them fit. Um Wenatchee's banner process is not

[2:49] codified in ordinance and therefore we just continued development of our

[2:52] updated process. At different times we considered

[2:55] eliminating banners entirely, selecting certain banners related to city

[2:59] interests, or continuing with the status quo.

[3:02] None of these seemed like a best possible solution for anyone.

[3:06] The advice provided by our legal counsel was to allow everything or nothing.

[3:11] After further discussions between the mayor, myself, the public works

[3:14] director, and the human resources director, we came to the conclusion that

[3:18] ending the program suddenly, as in having no banners in 2026,

[3:22] was not fair to organizations that had already planned, perhaps even purchased,

[3:26] or had inquired about having banners banners this year.

[3:30] So we took a phase out approach to the program, potentially ending ending it

[3:33] after the 2027 season. In the middle of this process, public

[3:38] works staff hung the American Red Cross banners without being instructed to do

[3:41] so, just like they had done for prior years in the month of March.

[3:45] This further illustrated the disorganized state of affairs with this

[3:48] process and demonstrated that we had been storing the banners.

[3:52] We rebuilt an existing application with some new requirements, including payment

[3:56] of an increased application fee, a limit of 50 banner locations, a fit check for

[4:00] the banners to physically fit our hangers, and date ranges for application

[4:04] and approval, among others. On March 23rd, 2026, the updated

[4:09] application was published on the City of Wenatchee website, but not before

[4:12] notifying organizations who had previously expressed interest in

[4:15] displaying banners in 2026, including the Washington State Apple

[4:19] Blossom Festival, North Central Washington Equity Alliance, Cascade

[4:23] Unitarian Church, the Fraternal Order of Eagles,

[4:26] Community Foundation of North Central Washington, and the Wenatchee Downtown

[4:30] Association reference to veterans banners.

[4:32] These organizations were given advanced notice of the updated application.

[4:37] On March 25th, 2026, the North Central Washington Equity Alliance submitted an

[4:41] incomplete application in that the intended art to be hung was not

[4:44] included. They were notified the same day of the

[4:47] problem and failed to respond until March 30th, 2026.

[4:51] In the meantime, another organization submitted an application that was

[4:54] approved on March 26th, 2026. That same organization returned the

[4:58] following day with new art that was also approved on that date to replace the art

[5:03] from the day prior. As more organizations sought to

[5:06] participate, competition for preferred dates naturally increased, which led to

[5:11] ongoing disagreements as groups worked to secure their desired time frames.

[5:15] Unfortunately, the heightened demand has created tension within the community and

[5:19] it's become a divisive issue for some community members.

[5:22] Our attempt to build a fair plan designed to allow for any interested

[5:25] group to submit banners has reached a sticking point.

[5:28] As we look at it today, our main options, and they are only a list of

[5:32] options, they are not limited to this, includes uh

[5:35] maintaining the current structured application process and continuing to

[5:39] administer the program with this neutral first come, first served basis,

[5:44] or we could develop a formal city code to be explored and worked on this fall

[5:48] that clearly defines which banners may be displayed potentially limiting

[5:51] displays to city sponsored programs, policies, or causes.

[5:55] And that might formally identify which events are city sponsored.

[5:59] Or discontinue the banner program entirely, transition transitioning away

[6:03] from our temporary non-city banners, and allowing the city to focus on

[6:07] potential permanent artistic installations like we see on the north

[6:10] end in the Apple Capital Loop project. Um

[6:14] as with anything, of course, there are a myriad of options

[6:17] » [clears throat] >> pending legal review,

[6:19] but this is really kind of where we got to, and it kind of goes back to how we

[6:22] started this last fall. Thank you.

[6:27] Okay, I used up my time. Turn it over to the council.

[6:34] I can go first if that's okay with the others. Yes.

[6:37] Yeah. Go for it. So, uh it was my understanding that the

[6:42] city had other permit process that came through the mayor's office um and

[6:46] through public works for things like a parade, and that those

[6:50] application processes were codified. In other words, the city council had

[6:54] approved those and made available options for appeal if

[6:58] necessary, an appeal that would only occur if

[7:02] an application had run into a delay or some other inconsistency and the mayor's

[7:06] office was unable to approve it, a person would have an appeal process.

[7:11] Uh or an organization for that matter would have an appeal process. Uh

[7:14] similarly, um

[7:17] in 2020, the city decided to allow for purposes

[7:21] of COVID compliance, I believe, sidewalk uses, and that's um policy R-13 that I

[7:27] have here from public works. Again, it provided an opportunity for

[7:31] organizations or for businesses to apply for and to be able to use

[7:35] city spaces for purposes of uh accommodating customers, clients, and so

[7:41] forth during the COVID times. Once again, that was codified in a city

[7:45] code and allowed for opportunity for the mayor's office to approve and issue

[7:48] permits or for public works to do so.

[7:52] It's not unusual for a city to have permit processes that began with a city

[7:57] council approval of a city code and therefore led to administrative

[8:03] options for permits to be issued, fees to be collected,

[8:08] and of course schedules when it involves city personnel to complete the

[8:12] installations.

[8:15] Simply stated, I hope to bring a process through city code adoption

[8:21] going forward that and including in that process the

[8:25] opportunity for the city to have an appeals process that is also built into

[8:31] the city code and brings it into consistency, I believe, with

[8:39] things like code 7.40, which deals with the sidewalk use.

[8:49] Okay. Okay, um

[8:53] well, after hearing what Councilman

[8:56] Miller said, I tend to agree that maybe council participation in

[9:01] codifying in the future would be good. Um

[9:08] I'm just going to speak personally as

[9:12] uh community member, as a lifelong

[9:14] Wenatchee and uh business owner,

[9:17] city council member, just a Wenatchee person in general, I

[9:21] I personally feel like I was not kept up-to-date. Even though

[9:25] maybe the resources were out there, I it was not um

[9:30] easy for me to keep up-to-date on on the ongoings of of

[9:34] this banner um,

[9:38] issue. Um, that being said,

[9:42] since I've been a council member, I think the city has proclaimed twice

[9:47] that the month of June in this town is known as would be known

[9:51] as Pride Month. As well as, um,

[9:55] the state of Washington, RCW 43 114070, also,

[10:00] um, declares June as LGBTQ Awareness and Pride Month.

[10:06] So, that being out there, it it seems

[10:10] doesn't seem a stretch for Wenatchee, as in other

[10:16] other months, to kind of just, um,

[10:20] not just, but to, uh, respect that. Um,

[10:24] going forward, I I think I agree with council

[10:27] member Miller, um, and also,

[10:34] of the options that Chief mentioned, I would

[10:39] I'd be willing to review the applications, but also, um,

[10:45] hearing that potentially there could be future permanent, uh,

[10:49] city signs, um, it might

[10:53] it might be beneficial to to maybe not do banners on this cycle,

[10:58] but that would be up to other people's opinions and votes. Um,

[11:02] that's all I have. That's the option that I would prefer

[11:06] that we discontinue the banners and go with the permanent artwork.

[11:14] I will just say I believe Mayor Poirier and city staff did an excellent job of

[11:19] developing a policy that is balanced and respectful to all parties involved.

[11:25] Their approach reflected thoughtful consideration of the community as a

[11:29] whole. That being said, if there is a desire to

[11:33] formalize uh, uh through city code, then let's move forward that and create a a

[11:39] clear code. However, I strongly believe the code should specify that banners are

[11:45] for city-sponsored events, such as Apple Blossom and Veterans Day.

[12:01] Okay. >> [snorts]

[12:06] » You guys got me all nervous. There's a lot of people here.

[12:10] I'm going [clears throat] to speak the truth and only the truth about who I am

[12:13] and what what I really see in this. Honestly, I have no

[12:21] How do I put this? To me, everybody's welcome in our city.

[12:26] Everybody, regardless of who you are, what you do, how you live.

[12:31] Everybody's welcome.

[12:35] The banners, please don't let the banners, whatever banner it is up there,

[12:40] bother you, hurt you. But you whatever situation, it's just a

[12:46] banner. Let's move on with our lives.

[12:51] I have many co-workers who are in the pride community.

[12:56] I've talked to them

[12:59] and I got advice from them. What they mentioned was

[13:04] it's not them that they're worried about. It's the

[13:08] regular people that are just start fighting for it, the pride people.

[13:12] And to them, they seem it's getting more um

[13:19] dispassionate about it. They they said, "Move on with your lives.

[13:24] It's not something going to provide

[13:29] food over the table or something. It's just a banner, you know, and I respect

[13:33] people. I have a gay brother. I have gay nephews and nieces.

[13:38] I respect them. I'm not saying anything bad about them. They're all welcome.

[13:41] Everybody's welcome. This is a welcoming city.

[13:44] Just because we if we don't provide or put in a a

[13:48] a pride banner doesn't mean that we don't like you or dislike you, whatever.

[13:53] Everybody's welcome. Um

[14:06] I I'm going to agree whatever as our city staff will provide and see

[14:11] the concepts of what's in the document to provide for

[14:16] any anybody out there, but I do concur with council member

[14:21] Linda.

[14:24] The pride should only be only Excuse me, the the banners should only be for our

[14:27] Apple Blossom and our and our veterans.

[14:32] I do get a lot of emails and phone calls from you guys and I normally respond.

[14:38] Eventually, I haven't responded this time because it it was going to be too

[14:41] much talking to a lot of people. But I listen again.

[14:46] I respect everybody and everybody's welcome.

[14:50] If you need to talk to me privately afterwards, we can. We'll have a good

[14:54] discussion. Thank you.

[15:05] Well, it seems like

[15:08] four of you want it to be in code, if I'm getting

[15:12] it. I'm just looking for direction. Four It sounds like four of you are in code,

[15:14] two of you want the code to be specific uh

[15:20] » [clears throat] >> specific for the banners

[15:23] and then one wants to discontinue it. Do I got that?

[15:27] Right? Correct. >> Okay. And we don't have council member

[15:30] Navarro Gomez here and council member Hornby here. So, that's four. So,

[15:37] um I would think it sounds like to me I

[15:39] have direction to look at code. Uh it wouldn't come up until this season's

[15:46] over. So, the code we'd look at it in the um

[15:49] after the November and kind of go from there. As as the

[15:53] best that I'm thinking of and I'll let you guys kind of if I'm missing Well, uh

[15:58] yeah. Let me just So, we're not taking any action. You're just taking

[16:01] direction. I'm just Yeah. But so, even so, you would it

[16:06] would come to us as a motion to establish a code, huh? And that's where

[16:10] the action would be taken. >> Yeah, we got to do, you know, legal

[16:12] research. We can't just say

[16:16] you know, the process was

[16:21] » [clears throat] >> fair and legal.

[16:25] And then it we're in this position. But I love this I love this. I'm so glad

[16:29] we're here because this should eliminate calls

[16:33] and emails. And then somebody contacting each

[16:37] individual city council person. You know, I mean, that's that's not

[16:41] really the direction that makes sense. I love this I love this meeting. This is a

[16:44] great way and that's what I'm seeing. But then I'm going to I'll I'll I'll be

[16:48] quiet and kind of turn it back over to you guys and

[16:51] let you continue. >> just to be clear, so if it was to be

[16:56] uh come up in November, um would it would the banners just pause until then?

[17:01] Or would be We

[17:03] I think and maybe Danielle can help me out here, but I believe there's a legal

[17:08] I I'm sorry. Did I interrupt you? No.

[17:11] Okay. I'm looking at Danielle. So, right now the uh banner program is run through

[17:16] the pre-approved policies and procedures that are within our code. So, the public

[17:20] works director has the ability to put that pause on there. And so, if

[17:26] um the pause can stay in effect or it can

[17:29] be lifted while this process is going. And then, what I anticipate happening is

[17:36] that uh I'll draft proposed code with the direction that the mayor provides

[17:42] based upon the meeting and any other prior conversations. And then, it will

[17:46] be presented to the city council for um action, for approval or not approval.

[17:56] So, the if I may sum summarize, the

[18:00] if a change of code comes through, uh it would appear in front of us as a part of

[18:05] another public meeting in the future. Even if it's an existing code that gets

[18:09] modified. And that is not an uncommon process to have happen.

[18:14] If it's a brand new code, it would come through

[18:17] as a city council approved Brand new code and a modification of a

[18:22] code or repeal of a code, it's all the same process. Okay. Ordinance, ordinance

[18:27] published, so forth and Correct. Okay. Thank you.

[18:33] Uh To bring it to a close for my my

[18:36] comments, there is a There is a city sign code. It was last

[18:39] visited, I believe, in 2019. And

[18:43] it provides a lot of information for things Well, I'll just show you.

[18:48] Even though this is old, and it's probably hard for everybody to see, it's

[18:51] just a sign from the 1950s. This Having signs for business use around the city

[18:56] is nothing new. But,

[18:58] as we know, uh the city has to have some control over

[19:03] its own structures and its own uh properties.

[19:08] Just like a person would want to have control over what signs can go in front

[19:12] of their home and so forth. So, if a larger comprehensive sign code

[19:15] change does come down, you'll all be aware of it in advance.

[19:20] Thank you.

[19:26] Anybody else? Hearing none,

[19:30] I guess we're good and start our meeting at 5:15.

[19:35] Thank you guys. >> Do we need a motion to adjourn the

[19:37] special? Oh, there you go.

[19:39] I move that we adjourn adjourn the special meeting. Second. Motion and

[19:44] second. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion carries.

Special meeting City Council RoundTable 5 14 2026

Transcript