City Council - Regular Meeting

Well, good evening everyone. It is Tuesday, April 7th, 2026, and I'm going to call this Lacy City uh council uh meeting to order. Uh, council member Su is with us online. Uh, council member rear Dunning is excused, but all other council is present. Um, and if able, can you please rise for the pledge of allegiance? I pledge algiance 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. I also want to acknowledge that we the city of Lacy are on the ancestral land of the tribal people of uh tribal people of the treaty of medicine creek including the Nquali Indian tribe and the squawksian tribe that can I get a motion to approve this evening's agenda and consent agenda.

Move to approve the agenda and consent agenda. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, all in favor of that motion signify by saying I. I. I.

Is there anyone opposed? And that motion unanimously carries. We have an approved agenda. And first up on our approved agenda is our public recognitions and presentations um with one of my favorite people in this entire world, our former deputy mayor and our poet laurette Cynthia Pratt. The mayor went to school with my kids. Just um so good evening, Mayor Ryder, Deputy Mayor Miller, and council members. Um before I begin, I want and this is because it's my last time as poet laurate. I want to say how honored I have been to be your poet laurate for the last four years. Um so thank you very much. U so I want I always give a little bit of what I have been doing these um the last year and so I'm going to just briefly um try to mention a few things. In November uh with the uh past poet laurate Kathleen Bird uh she and I went to Panorama for the arts and crafts group and there was over 40 people there. uh we discussed our what the program uh poet laurate program was and this is before the new policy by the way. Um then we did a reading and answered questions and um I was really pleased how many people attended. Um, I also represented Lacy as your poet laurate at two Zoom readings through Cultivating Voices, which is a reading platform on Facebook uh that goes out to international and national uh audiences.

I taped five poems for um the city which are now on YouTube thanks to Joanna Ko. I hope I pronounced the name right. Um, I also invited five other poets from Western Washington to read with me um for this anthology um that their poems that are in the anthology, Bird Brains, a lyrical guide to poets of West Washington State and this was held at the library. Um, and if it works out, um, I may either read one of my poems or another poet's poem for the equity and inclusion program, which will be held May 1st and 2nd. And I realize this is after my tenure. Um, and it's before the new poet is approved by council. Um, but I'm leaving that up to the program manager for the thirst and forward DEI summit if they want me to do that. Um, and I should also mention a few processoriented tasks such as uh working closely with the assistant city manager to establish a formal poet laurate policy which included meetings with her and review of drafts and of course um reviewing the application for the future poet laurate and then I also updated the western Washington Poets Network with Lacy's a new laurate po policy That's some of the things. There was probably stuff I missed. Um, so I started working on a poem, jotting down ideas, etc. for tonight's um, uh, uh, presentation. And I started this back in January. Um, then it was almost finished uh, with the final copy when our special projects administrator uh, suggested I write a poem about

Midtown. So tonight you are going to get two poems um whether you want to or not. And so the first is what I could come up with about the district where by the way um I actually live and it's called what's in the name which I'll read first. What's in the name? Sometimes nothing, but sometimes it is the spindle, the pivot, the axle where barbells hang off each end. At least that's how I picture Lacy. Two large areas at each end with a narrow middle. Once there was an intermediate moniker for this middle section from a plan named Woodland, yet without the woods. As council members, including me, pondered names like perspective parents. Back then, we sat in the chamber room throwing out titles for a district that many years ago was called South Sound, but then Woodland District and now possibly something else. Staff suggested new ones, innovation or industry, even technology district. until a constituent tells someone in this committee that the name Midtown hangs onto all the other districts oozes homeiness as if we are eating sponge sugar or playing Jacks. And yes, we nod. Yes, all of us remember drive-ins before Freddy's, Richard's

Roundhouse Diner before Chase Bank. Some of us want to turn back 40 years to a time where we could still twist and shout so Midtown waits like a pompom tied on our wrists. This isn't to say that there resides other memories. a lot to do with energy. Those clever teenagers with their robots or Christmas tree lights glowing, fairs, festivals, togetherness with families, music bubbling over the noon hour, sometimes more energetic than Tina Turner. You know that timber that pulls you up off those hard metal chairs to clap and sway. Today I still wait for the future plan promised. The one where I can walk, not run across College Street. A roundabout that lets me slow down to cross over to Abbey Way. thinking about ice cream and humming a tune about runaround Sue then waiting to check out a library book about robotics for dummies. I dream of a batterywired metal model that will propel a handsome robot to triple step, spin, and swizzle stick to a Beatles rock and roll tune in Huntber Park, my Midtown. Okay. SO, so the poem I had been working on was a villainel, a form um I wanted to provide

to you and our audience because um I thought that at least some of you would recognize it. You probably remember Dylan Thomas's um do not go gentle into that good night poem that he wrote for his dying father. And it um it reads like, "Do not go gently into that good night. Old age should burn and rave at close of day. Rage, rage against the dying of the light." So to briefly describe the form, a villainel is a rhyme poem and the first and third lines are repeated throughout the 19 poem with those two lines repeated um in the last two lines. Um, in addition, I wanted to do something to acknowledge Lacy being the most diverse city in Thirstston County and to promote our proclamation on February 17th about the Keep Washington working act. And trust me, I am not saying this coming poem is as good as Dylan Thomas's honest. Um, it's but I hope it's adequate. Um, so who we are in recognition of Lacy's Keeping Washington working act proclamation. Lacy honors and respects our communal diversity. Even though the nation is challenging so many every day, we support our neighbors in their time of adversity. Our officers stand ready to provide everyone in this s city safety. Newcomers from so many other places, you

are welcome to stay. Lacy honors and respects our communal diversity. Latinx roofers, gardeners, clerks, and nurses help us cheerfully. But in other cities, we hear about families sent away. We support our neighbors in their time of adversity. A mix of cultures helps Lacy expand in innovation and efficiency. That is why I hope we will always convey Lacy honors and respects our communal diversity. Our ethnic events celebrate unique foods and artistry. These celebrations and other festivals are but one way we say we support our neighbors in their time of adversity. This community with its many lakes has grown remarkably. Still, our city stands for more than just a profitable, sorry, profitable payday. Lacy honors and respects our communal diversity. We support our neighbors in their time of adversity. So, thank you. So, so before I close, I want to mention two events unrelated to the city in the poet laurate position. On the 15th of um this month, there will be a reading of past poets called the dead poets reading. And I'll be reading Luc Lucia, I'm sorry, Lucia Pillo's poems at Traditions in Olympia. And Lucia was a finalist in the Pulitzer Prize and lived in Olympia till her death at 58. she had

MS. Um, on the 25th for Arts Walk, six other poets and myself will be reading poems from our new or forthcoming books upstairs in the Abigail Stewart House. And all of that probably could be found on the website, uh, if you're interested. And with that, I want to again thank you, uh, for allowing me to be your inaugural poet, Laurett. Have a productive council meeting. Thank you.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. OH, YOU YOU MAKE ME SO PROUD. UH, CYNTHIA, I just the years that we got to spend uh together on this council of you as my deputy mayor and with you as our our poet laurette. It's uh it fills me with pride that I've got to know you and uh see how much you care about our community and what you've given back. So, thank you so much for everything you've done for our community. Okay, now let's go on to proclamations. Um, first up is a proclamation for fair housing month. Council member City of Lacy official proclamation. Whereas the Fair Housing Act enacted on April 11th, 1968 was passed into federal law to eliminate racial segregation and end housing discrimination in the United States. And

whereas the Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, and national origin, and commits recipients of federal funding to affirmatively further fair housing in their communities. And whereas the city of Lacy is committed to the mission and intent of Congress to provide fair and equal housing opportunities for all. And

whereas our social fabric, economy, health, and environment are strengthened in diverse inclusive communities. And whereas more than 50 years after the passage of the Fair Housing Act, discrimination persists and many communities remain segregated. And

whereas acts of housing discrimination and creating barriers to equal housing opportunity are contrary to a common sense of decency and fairness for all. Now therefore, I, Andy Ryder, mayor of the city of Lacy, on behalf of the city council, do hereby proclaim April 2026 as fair housing month in the city of Lacy. And I encourage all community members, businesses, and organizations to provide and advocate for equal housing opportunities for all. Sound by myself, the Mayor Andrew Rider on this date, April 7th. And Don put my glasses on. Good evening. My name is Don Baker and I serve as president of the Thirstston County Realtors Association representing more than about 750 real estate professionals who have served thousands of buyers and sellers across our region each year. On behalf of our members, I want to sincerely thank the city of Lacy for this fair housing month proclamation and for your continued partnership and supporting equitable access to housing in our community. Fair housing is not just a policy. It's a promise. a promise that where you live should never be determined by who you are. And as realtors, we believe it's important to acknowledge that our profession has not always lived up to that promise. The history of housing in this country, including within the real estate industry, includes practices that excluded, segregated, and limited access to home ownership for many. We cannot change that history, but we can and must learn from it. Today, that commitment shows up in the work we do every day. Realtors are bound by a strict code of ethics that goes beyond the law, requiring us to provide equal

professional service to all clients. We invest in ongoing fair housing education, implicit bias training, and programs designed to expand access to home ownership. Here in Thirstston County, that work is strengthened through partnerships like the one we have with the city of Lacy. On April 18th, we're proud to once again host the Thirstston County Home Buying Expo at the Olympia Center in collaboration with all our local jurisdictions and community partners. This event is designed to connect aspiring homeowners with trusted resources, education, and support, helping break down barriers, and opening doors to home ownership. Fair housing is about more than compliance. It's about opportunity. It's about building stronger communities, creating pathways to stability, and ensuring that the dream of home ownership is accessible to everyone. We are grateful to stand alongside the city of Lacy in this work and remain committed to being part of the solution today and every day. Thank you.

Great. Thank you so much. So, next up under proclamations, the proclamation for Earth Day. Council member. All right. City of Lacy official proclamation. Whereas, Earth Day was created 56 years ago recognizing the importance for everyone to protect the planet on which we live. And

whereas all life forms on Earth have a right to a healthy sustainable environment. And whereas the global community now faces extraordinary challenges such as environmental degradation, global health issues, climate change, food and water uh shortages. And whereas all of us have an obligation to preserve the earth's beauty as well as its resources. This obligation extends not only to today's generation but also to the future generations who will inherit our planet from us. And whereas Lacy exemplifies the ethos of Earth Day by its continued commitment to conserving water and energy, reducing carbon emissions and waste and maintaining its Tree City USA designation. And

whereas as we proclaim Earth Day, we recognize our obligation to live up to the significance of environmental stewardship every day. And

now therefore, I Andy Ryder, mayor of the city of Lacy, on behalf of the city council, to hereby proclaim Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026 as Earth Day in the city of Lacy. And I encourage all community members to be aware of their impacts on our environment and to participate in stewardship opportunities to preserve local resources. Signed by myself, Mayor Andy Ryder on this day and Heather I have

even know you were the CEO of Park Foundation.

I know, right? So, for those of you who don't know, I'm the new CEO for the Park Foundation of Thirstston County. Um, good evening and thank you for the to the city of Lacy for this meaningful Earth Day proclamation. On behalf of the Park Foundation of Thirstston County, we are grateful for your continued leadership in protecting and investing in our natural spaces that make the community very special. Your commitment to parks, environment, stewardship, and accessible recreation ensures that all residents today and for generations to come can enjoy a healthy, vibrant place to live. We are a proud partner for the city of Lacy and communities across Thirstston County to support programs and opportunities that connect people to the outdoors and to one another. Thank you for your leadership and for your dedication to this work. I would like to invite you all on April 18th. We have several Earth Day projects and one right here at Woodland um park um over by your guys community center. Uh you can come out. It's from n excuse me 10 10 until 1:00 and come out and help take care of your own park. It is actually a student challenge. So if any of you guys know any students in school, uh we give the school that has the most student participation $1,000. Um and second runner up is $500 and we do that for each of our parks that we work with. So encourage um that goes to directly to their student organization. So the best way to get students involved is to give a prize. So thank you all very much and we hope to see you on Earth Day. Thank you.

Thank you. And uh I just want to do a quick shout out to the Thirsten County Park Foundation. They're are actually the um Lacy Community Foundation's fiduciary as well. And so they're um supporting Lacy in in many different aspects. And so we really appreciate everything the park foundation does for our community. And we have one last proclamation which is for arbor month and uh tree uh for the arbor month. Let's start with uh council me

city of lacy official proclamation. Whereas in 1872, Sterling Morgan proposed to the Nebraska Board of Agriculture that a special day be set aside for the planting of trees. And

whereas this holiday called Arbor Day was first observed with the planting of more than 1 million trees in Nebraska. And whereas Arbor Day is now observed throughout the nation and the world, encouraging communities to recognize the vital role trees play in our environment and quality of life. And whereas Lacy's urban forest contributes to the beauty, livability, and economic vitality of our community, creating healthier neighborhoods and public spaces for residents and visitors alike. And whereas the city of Lacy is committed to responsible tree care, planting, and preservation through community programs, partnerships, and sustainable practices. And

whereas trees in our city increase property values, enhance the economic vitality of businesses in the area, and beautify our community. And

now therefore, I, Andy Ryder, mayor of the city of Lacy, on behalf of the city council, do hereby proclaim the month of April 2026 as Arbor Month in the city of Lacy. And I encourage all community members to celebrate by planting trees, caring for our urban forest, and promoting environmental stewardship throughout our community. And what's uh really special about this month every year and uh city of Lacy being uh one of the very first Tree City USA's in the state of Washington is that we have a a special relationship with with our sister city which happens to be Yelm where every year um we uh give a tree to Yelm that they plant and the city of Yelm gives a tree uh to the city of Lacy where where we plant as well. And I've been lucky enough over the years to be a part of many of those uh celebrations and actually uh donate uh trees for my house uh that's in in Yelm right now as well. So uh we have this beautiful tree up here and could we have um Chris come up and talk about that about this tree a little bit?

Here's us here. Let's do this. That's pretty.

Tell us a little bit about the about this tree.

Oh, thank you so much, Mayor Ryder, members of council and city staff. Um, Lacy's gifted us a beautiful raspberry spear. I'll have to talk to our parks department about where they want to plant that. We will also have a tree that we will give to the city of Lacy on our Arbor Day, which is going to be Thursday, April 23rd at 5:30

at the YM Community Center. Um, Arbor Day is a very wonderful opportunity for us to maintain and protect our urban forests, which do provide protection and beauty to all of our neighborhoods, businesses, places that all of us love to frequent. It's just uh really a wonderful opportunity to educate and learn and plant and grow as as cities and families do. Thank you so much. Thank you.

One of these days we'll need to get a map of all the different trees that we planted across our two communities. That be that'd be really great.

So, next up on our agenda is uh public comment. We do have several people who signed up for public comment and if if the other people who accepted pro proclamations would like to leave, we totally totally understand that as well. You can you guys can uh leave if you would like. But um when it first comes up for proclamations, uh let's go in order. Uh first we have uh TJ Johnson. please uh introduce yourselves and uh have three minutes for public comment.

Uh good evening. I'm TJ Johnson. I'm the chair of the uh board of supervisors for the Thirstston Conservation District. And with me tonight are my board colleague Doug Rustin and Jay Townson, our community resilience coordinator. For over 75 years, TCD has been working with private land owners to identify solutions to environmental concerns and encouraging and supporting voluntary stewardship that makes Thirstston County a better place to live for all of us. We're non-regulatory. We bring funding, technical expertise, and political advocacy and community trust that helps local jurisdictions meet their community visions and goals. Our base funding is provided through rates and charges system paid by almost all the property owners in Thirstston County. rates and charges brings in about $565,000 a year and we use that money to leverage lots of other resources. This year that rates and charges funding is 6% of our $9.7 million budget. So, a little money locally gets a lot of money coming in from outside of the community. This is the largest budget in our history and these funds will uh result in unprecedented positive impacts on our shared regional conservation and environmental priorities. Last year, we worked with residents and partners across the county to develop a new strategic plan, which we call 2040 and beyond. And Doug is going to hand out a copy of the overview of that, as well as our most recent annual report, 2024. The 2025 report is being printed, so you'll get that one soon. This strategic plan is the most ambitious plan in our 75-year history. But it has to be given the urgency of the problems we face, including rapidly disappearing farmland, forests, and habitats, threatened and degraded watersheds and marine ecosystems, and of course, the accelerating impacts of climate change. This plan is about acting now to avoid irreversible loss.

The plan is grounded in four strategic priorities. Protect and restore natural resources. Build climate resilience and prepare for disasters. Expand access and community connections to land and food. And leading these efforts through partnerships and organizational excellence at at our organization. And we're committed to showing tangible results to the community. And we measure this in very specific ways. for example, the number of acres protected and restored, the number of people that are engaged actively in stewardship programs, the dollars we bring into this community, and I just mentioned that, and then strong community programs that meet our community's needs. So what we want to do is we and what we need to do is we need to work with our local partners like the city of Lacy to align land use and conservation strategies, co-develop climate and watershed solutions, preserve farmland, and expand local food production, expand community access and education, and leverage funding together. So in closing, this plan isn't just about conservation programs. It's about building a future where conservation is a shared way of life for all of us in Thirstston County. We're ready to lead, but we can only achieve this with partners like the city of Lacy. So, we ask you to come on board and let's make this a great place to live for the generations to come. Thank you and be happy to answer any questions you might have about this.

Thank you. So, I think um what we can do is set up a time where we can um a work session where we can talk a little bit more in depth um and have some questions and answers there. Uh I appreciate everything that the Thirsten Conservation District has been doing um for our region. I know it was got rocky there for a bit, but it's great to see you guys back and making a huge difference and we need to be partners like you said. So, we'll we'll we'll work uh together and come up a time where we can talk about specifics going forward. Thank you. We'd welcome that. I appreciate that. Thank you. Uh, next up is Jen. We left their proclamation here.

Oh, thank you.

Ready. Good evening, mayor and council members. My name is Jen Chernet. I'm the executive officer of the Thirsting County Realtors Association, where we advocate locally for realtors and their clients while providing resources to help them prosper. I'm here this evening to publicly recognize one of your staff members, Veronica Hand. In 2025, Veronica was named TC Partner of the Year for her leadership and helping launch the first ever Thirstston County Home Buyers Expo. Because of her work, we've been able to bring together local governments, housing providers, nonprofits, and industry professionals to connect community members with real resources on their path to home ownership. I'm also proud to announce tonight that Veronica is a statewide finalist for the SAM award, partner of the year, one of three finalists out of 27 local realtor associations across Washington state. That recognition is incredibly welldeserved. Home ownership is becoming more difficult. The median age of a firsttime home buyer is now 40 years old. Just 5 years ago, the median age was 33. That's a clear signal of how difficult home ownership is becoming. And that's why this work matters. And that's why Veronica's work matters. This year's home buying expo, which is happening next Saturday at the Olympia Center, is about working collectively to remove barriers to home ownership, not create new ones. Making information, resources, and opportunities more accessible to all. Veronica's leadership is a great example of what's possible when we come together with that shared goal. We know that over a dozen people achieved their dream of home ownership as a direct result of our work. As the staff manager or member who gets the great privilege

of working with Veronica on this initiative, I am incredibly grateful for her passion and her commitment and I appreciate the city's continued collaboration in expanding access to home ownership. Thank you. Thank you. It sounds very very lacy to me for sure. Um then our last person we have signed up. Is it is it Tana Morhead? Oh yeah, sorry.

Can you please state your name and you'll have three minutes? My name is Tana Morhead. um with the Small Business Administration um Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience. May I pass this Yep. to you all?

Um I am here in Thirsten County. Uh we actually have a whole team. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the Small Business Administration. We do have the disaster recovery uh portion. So Washington state was declared um February 27th as um as a disaster. Uh it is an agency is not presidential but an agency and we're here Phil staff are here to serve the homeowners renters and businesses who might have been impacted by the disaster and I'm here just to make you all aware that boots are on the ground and we're here to serve. Um we offer lowinterest loans for individuals who need to repair, replace or rebuild any physical damaged property. For small businesses, it's economic injury uh that will allow them to um apply for working capital if their business did not receive revenue or lost revenue during the disaster. And so um there's information on this green sheet here uh that you see uh that pertains to our disaster loan program. Um my ask of you is if you could share this on your website and social media channels. We also have a new launch of a moto motor recovery vehicle that actually goes out to rural areas. Sometimes applicants aren't able to get to a center and um this we call it our MRV. Uh we do popups. Uh so if if um if you know of an area that we can target or you know bring our MRV to to help uh individuals in that that area. Uh we we will be in Pacwood. We do have a center in Pacwood and I know that was a lot of devastation there. Um and some other areas uh as well. Um but if you could help us get the word out and spread the message

about our program. I've attached my card for you. You can reach me personally. If you know anyone personally, you please share uh my information and that would be greatly appreciated. I'm happy to answer any questions at any time. If you have an event, please invite me. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you for all the work you're doing. I know it's when you, you know, you have a disaster and um, you know, you you lose your, you know, business where you're home, you know, you think um, you know, what do you do next? And so it's it's great to see the SBA is out there and um, at least providing some some resources and so we we appreciate what you're doing for our community.

Yes. Thank you. And to that point, we do do disaster preparedness. Yes. So to help people understand where to go and what resources are available to them before a disaster happens. Great. Thank you. Okay. Um, is there anyone else wishing to address this council? Seeing none, then we'll go on to our next agenda item, which is uh resolution 1180, the investment policy update. Troy.

Great. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Good evening, council. Um each year we meet with the city's investment advisor and we review policy especially for any legislative changes that might have happened uh during session but we also look at our policy and how it may or may not be consistent with our overall investment strategy depending on what's going on in the markets. So this year we are recommending that we increase our maximum weighted average maturity or WHAM as we call it from two years up to 2.5 years. And really what that's about is it's going to give us the flexibility to extend our term to capture some yield or interest rate. And we don't do this through risk. We do this through longer term. the longer we invest out typically the higher rates that the city uh receives. Um also another advantage of increasing the weighted average maturity is it allows us more flexibility when we're holding more cash on hand uh which we are doing right now because we have pretty significant capital improvement projects happening. So we keep a higher level of cash and overnight investments or checking accounts which means we lose that capacity in our longer term investments. So that's happening. So we want to stretch out that yield just a little bit to um gain um some interest rates. Um I think you know you have the entire policy before you. You know certainly on you know the benefit of our newer council members who haven't seen this uh policy up close. It's probably more important to talk about the things that have not changed in the policy. Um we have not changed our objectives. Um we have a priority of objectives and in order they are safety, liquidity and return. Our main objective is to keep our public money safe. So that is always our number one uh priority. We don't look at risky investments. Uh yield is

the last um order of priority and that continues. Uh this also does not change any sort of authorized investments. We are still consistent with state law. There were no changes this year uh during the legislative session. Um we also have a very robust uh standard of care. Um we call it the prudent person level. Basically that is we as officers of the city treat the public money just like we would treat our own. So it's a it's a safety measure that's built in. Um we also have a a very strong conflict of interest uh section of the policy. Uh so that really applies to city staff. So we can't direct investments in areas where we may have a personal gain. Um there's also a very robust section on internal controls and reporting. Uh so those are the things I think are very important to note that have not changed in the policy. This is a a pretty minor change in the realm of things and really relates to the investment strategy for uh the 2026 year. So with that we would recommend that city council adopt the resolution thus changing and extending the weighted average maturity uh to 2.5 years. And with that, I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Can I get a motion, please? I would re recommend um I would move that we adopt resolution 1180 uh amending the official investment policy of the city of Lacy. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? I think we've done a really good job of keeping up on on you know what the trends are. I think, you know, obviously, uh, hiring our investment advisor has been one of the the best decisions we we've made when it comes to the financial stability of of of our city. Um, and so if this is something that's being recommended, then I think that's would be prudent to uh to follow suit. Uh, council member,

I I agree. And as a new council member, I just wanted to say that I really appreciated uh Troy taking a few minutes to answer uh some of the questions I had to better understand this process, but I agree with it. Great. Any other discussion? It's been uh moved and second to adopt res resolution 1180 updating our investment policy. All in favor of that motion signify by saying I. I. I.

Is there anyone opposed? And that motion unanimously carries. So, uh, next up is the the mayor's report. And uh I have a just a few things about what my last couple weeks has been like. Uh I had a interview with the Lacy South Sound Chamber uh business rec for the business recognition awards. The city of Lacy was um uh nominated to uh for the award that um best supports uh the the chamber. Um then I also had a a photo shoot for our annual water report. Um, it's been a couple years since I updated my photo for the report that goes out every year to our community. And so I went out to uh our Northeast Lacy um plant and uh did this picture there. And then I had a a meeting um a Zoom meeting with Governor Ferguson and state AG Nick Brown along with other leaders across the state um talking about uh some how we can better coordinate. Um, then I had the the groundbreaking ceremony for Northampton Public Schools, the Leaf Center. It's something that uh uh is great to see that they're ready uh to, you know, they've broken ground there and they're on their way. It's over behind the Nquali middle school there. um and something that this uh council's been very supportive and it's great to see more resources going to early childhood um education and and hopefully uh you know some future expansion out there after they finish this phase. And then uh congrats we did win the the award for um the Lacy South Chamber and so I went to that um and accepted the award on behalf of the the city of Lacy. Um then I had uh a JBL Civilian Hall of Fame

induction. Uh I was uh inducted to into the Hall of Fame back in 22 and um and this year uh they inducted two new two people. Um, and so it was it was nice to go there and celebrate uh, you know, people in our community that who are civilians that are supporting the Joint Base Lewis McCord operations. Um, then I had a a meeting with uh, Thirstston County Pride uh, here at City Hall. And last but not least, I uh, had the ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of Lacy's Night Market last Friday. And so that was great to see. It was absolutely packed of how busy it was last Friday. Uh you know it's and the weather was great. Uh great vendors and Sway Market uh has just has done an outstanding job of of promoting that. It's it feels like we've outgrown the space which is hard hard to believe but um it just it's I guess shows you how great that location is. It's so visible. everyone sees what's going on there and I think it's going to be uh you know all summer long it's going to be a place to be on on on Friday nights. So, um that was just my last week and a half or something like that. So, um with that I will uh turn it over to the city manager report.

It's a packed week and a half. Yeah. Um I have a couple items on my report tonight uh council. Uh first is the uh a contract award for Lakes Elementary Fireflow. And I invite up Ryan Drew, our utilities engineer, to provide an overview of the project and the bids we received for that uh for that uh advertisement.

Thank you, Rick. And good evening, honorable mayor, deputy mayor, and city council members. As Rick mentioned, my name is Ryan Juul. a utility engineer here and I've come before you tonight to request a motion to award Lacy contract PW202416 for the Lakes Elementary Fireflow project. This project calls for the installation of 1100 ft of 8 in diameter water mane that will loop the existings the school's existing water system um roadway lawn and landscape restoration. Um, this project received 19 bids. The low bid was Rodenbush Earthworks LLC of Reneer, Washington in the amount of $379,06.31.37. The engineers estimate was $426,67620 and the contract allows for 33 working days beginning on June 20 in June of 2026 and wrapping up by August 14th. Um so our construction windows in the summer so we don't um impact any school activities. Um on the left here you can see the vicinity map. Lakes Elementary School is located just east of Southwick Lake, south of Mullen Road. And then on the right, you can see our site map. That dark blue main is the existing 6-in main that dead ends um with a fire hydrant. And the more cyan lighter blue line is where we are installing a new water mane that will loop the system and provide adequate fire flows to the school. Um, and with that, I would like to request a motion to award Lacy contract PW202416 for the likes elementary school fireflow project to low bidder rodenbush earthworks of Reneer, Washington in the amount of 379,06.32.

I'd also be happy to answer any questions you might have at this time. So, so moved. Is there a second? Also, is there any discussion? Seeing none. All in favor of the motion signify by saying I. I. I. Anyone opposed? That motion carries. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, mayor and city council. Um, next item on my report tonight, uh, we invite up Martin Hoppy, our transportation manager. Uh, he's going to, uh, present a follow-up, uh, presentation related to the, um, interlocal agreement for intercity transit smart corridors. uh cameras and if you recall um Martin and Peter uh Stackpole from Inner City Transit presented on this initially council had some questions and Martin and Peter are here to or Peter's online I believe. Okay, Peter's online um that respond to those questions and present the uh uh to council um the proposal.

I wasn't going to make you go through the entire presentation again. So, could you just go to slide number seven?

Yeah. Um yeah, if you remember, we talked about this in January. Um you raised some concerns. Um the consultant came back. Um we kind of told them there are your concerns. Um and he put together a white paper that's attached to your staff report. Um I think there's some important things that are um part of this is that um these cameras are not flot cameras and they will not record any personal information. Um the technology does not stream video or record it. It only records 15inut um video clips of collisions, near misses or traffic violations. And the data will be password protected and the only people that be able to see it is the consultant team, city lacy, washd and inner city transit staff. Um, regarding the retention portion of it, um, we we discussed it quite a bit. Um, our intent is only to look at it maybe once a week. I'm sure in the beginning we'll be all over it. Um, just out of curiosity. Um, but after the analogy I kind of thought of was the TSP project. Originally, I was in that a couple times a week.

Now, I'm lucky to look at it once a quarter. Yeah. it just after you see it, I'm going to either trust the AI um recommendations or not.

Um so that's why we thought 10 days was there. Um just if something happened um on a Friday um sometime during the week, we look at it. Um but I think we'll be using the dashboard a lot more than the video clips. Um I don't think anybody at the city has time to look at a bunch of video clips um of collisions. So that was our logic there. Um and um one other thing that kind of happened since the last meeting was um state did um adopt the driver privacy act. It kind of has some protections in um for the flock cameras, but their retention time was 21 days. and we're still very comfortable with 10 days. And the other thing that happened is Congress um eliminated um the smart program um and consolidated. So no, there's no unobligated money that's available anymore.

Okay. But there I I think there are some IT projects um grants that are out there that if this is finds useful um we could go after that. So but this so that you're saying this will be the last we have money for this and then it's gone out of the smart program. Smart program. Okay.

Okay. Okay. So, the big the big questions that we had was um how long you're going to hold it for and you know just confirmation. It wasn't getting any personal information at all. Um and it sounds like we've have those questions answered. So, it's uh we're going to come back there, hold on for 10 days, and um and then it's basically it's the AI is going to be producing all this information that we're going to be able to take a look at to make better decisions about our traffic patterns and accidents and other other things to to look at the safety of the each interchange.

Okay. Does anyone else have any other questions about this? Uh, uh, council member Su. Um, yeah, I just had one quick question. Um, do we know anything about the um, uh, what type of data the platform might be keeping as part of a data mining um, uh, system. So that way because some of it is just like our email, a lot of it is being like data mined for other information. Do we have any idea in terms of like our um or agreement with that company for what information they may be retaining for them for themselves?

Um well, Durk is a product of our controllers on the signal cabinets. Um they don't do anything. Um the consultant is just going to program the things that we need. um were interstate transit was interested in some bus issues, some queuing links, um things like that were on the traffic side were interested in the um timing um lane violations and things like that. So um there was no data mining that I was aware of um in this program and anything that we get is going to be programmed um by the consultant on what we want the AI software to look at

and then they'll be raced after 10 days the videos will okay the days I I know like traffic counts I would love to know sure if what kind of changes from a month to month um happens or dayto-day. Um, sure. That's always interesting to see if we could change the timing for something. Okay. Just quick question. Go ahead, Mayor. Yeah. Go ahead. You mentioned that it'll also it'll be recording uh traffic violations, right? Right.

They won't be being used for ticketing or anything, right? Because we I know we've done away with our traffic cameras here in the city. Well, I mean, some of the things I'm really interested in, um, lane changes, illegal lane changes. My friends over there would like to know about red light running. Um, if there's a good time of day that they could go hang out, meet some new people. Yeah. So, I guess that is the question. Are we going to be using this for sharing this information um with other partners, right? Hey, I mean, are is is that something the police is going to do is is is say we're getting a lot of red lights here at this time. We're going to go over and hang out there.

The only information that we would use is any information that we would get from Martin to kind of figure out, hey, where do we need to put our patrol cars for perhaps increased enforcement?

Uh we don't use cameras to um uh you know, make additional violations or anything like that. we have to witness the violation in this particular, you know, for moving violations and everything. So, no, we'll talk with Martin. He'll provide us with the information, let us know, hey, we're seeing a lot of people running red lights at this intersection and we'll adjust our resources accordingly. Yeah, the the what I from what I'm being told is that you could tell um okay, how many red lights were run at on this day, what time of day, and that's kind of the things that we share. It's like, hey, um we saw 20 red light runners in 5:00 at this intersection going this direction.

Okay. And and the the goal there is to, you know, maybe for safety, we we would adjust our signaling potentially. Uh, like the timing could be changed. Um, I'd be interested in what the Q links look like if it's they're just getting trapped in there and they're running it just out of necessity. Um, I mean, there's lots of things we could do if we just see what it is. And and can you remind me how many interchanges we're going to put these cameras on? We're going to do eight um city intersections and wash's going to do the two um ramps on Martin Way.

Okay. And we're going to be our um the intersections are on Slater County, three on Slater County, three on College, and I think there's two on Martin Way. Okay. And then um so the washdock cameras, I guess, would be on state rightways. So, uh will we have access to that information, too, or is that just some are are we all in this together? I I think so. Um, I mean, I guess we could write them out and vice versa if there's a need to or want.

Well, it it'd be really nice to know the how much traffic's coming off of of Martin Way, you know, to because all that traffic is either turning down um can go down and go down college, you know, Carpenter or turn down, you know, college. So, it's going to affect our local streets. Yeah. I mean, right now, we don't know what it does. Um, and yeah, we're just trying interested in finding out what it is. It's the demonstration project. It'll last till November. Um, and the the state interchanges are which ones? What's that? Theart way ramps? Just the Oh, the north and south, not right. Not the diverging diamond though. No. No.

No. We're keeping it pretty concentrated in basically around inner city transits station there. Okay. Okay. This does this require a motion? Yes. Okay. Can I get a motion, please? Sure. I move to authorize the city manager to enter into an interlocal agreement with intercity transit for the smart corridor project which will install AI powered smart sensors on Lacy owned traffic facilities. Second. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Is there any further questions? No, just a comment. I mean,

go ahead. I sit on the inner city transit authority and you know, from inner city transit's point of view, this is gathering data to help improve transit safety and efficiency throughout the corridors. And so um we we had quite a bit of discussion on that end about you know what it is and what it is not. And I would like to reemphasize what Martin opened with. This is not flock. It it it is not a law enforcement tool necessarily. It's an information gathering to improve safety and efficiency.

I would I agree with that. But I also know that our community right now, if you see a camera out in public, um you're that the vast majority of the public's going to think that's either a traffic camera or a flock camera and they're going to be concerned of it about it. And so we will need to be prepared with information um to explain exactly what that is. Uh, I've already, you know, um, I've had people reach out to me on on cameras that are on our our ways right now that we're not using this clock, but they assume that it is. And so, we just have to, you know, our our world of influence, you know, how many people are actually listening to us right now. It's not as nearly as big as, you know, sometimes we'd like it to be. And so the the vast majority of people are going to see this and they're going to be um concerned about it just considering what we've what we're we've seen um out there in the United States right now. So we'll that's just something that we'll have to be cognizant about.

One comment. I I I do agree that we need to be ready to react to questions and reactions that people are going to have when they see these cameras. Are there some things that we can do proactively though? Is there a plan to communicate to the public about what this is and and and why it is? And and now that this uh um agreements been place, we'll put a schedule out and we'll get information out to the public through our various communication channels just to be awareness of the project and what it means. Um, just as the mayor said, it sometimes it's we try to think we have a broader reach than we do, but we do everything we can to get that reach out there and then be able to respond to anybody that does ask questions, have uh some talking points about it.

Thank you. Perhaps our communication staff can work with inner city transits because I think they've developed some good materials there. That's a great suggestion and point and we'll make sure we'll coordinate with inner city uh transit staff. Okay. Well, it's been moved and seconded to have the city manager sign this interlocal agreement. All in favor of that motion signify by saying I. I. I. Anyone opposed? That motion unanimously carries.

Anything else? I have one more item. Thank you, Martin. um under um routine interlocal agreements or in this case anou uh routine u ILAS that where the city manager has the uh delegated authority to sign um are those agreements that are valued $25,000 or less in this case um I on March 30th I signed a memorandum of understanding with u city of Olympia city of Tomwater thirst county and the port of Olympia regarding um the um um planning and and management of the upcoming FIFA FIFA FanFest project. Um as the council uh recalls, uh there's been a lot of conversation over the past year of planning and how to partner on the FIFA Fanfest project. Um council in the 2026 budget included um authorizing the ILTAC dollars to fund a portion of FanFest at a total of $80,000. And those contracts have been signed um and entered into and signed between the Port of Olympia and um and the city of Lacy for the those dollars. But those are separate from this agreement. This agreement specifically talks about how we will coordinate the planning efforts and does as I mentioned it has no um there is no uh cash implications to the city of Lacy. Um it's just specifying that the uh the plan team are going to focus on planning a fan uh fest event for the June 19th USA Australia match with the dollars that has been provided through the various uh partners and then as they raise more dollars in the community they will add on matches um to hold events for that could uh range up to four all in the month of June um June 24th June 25th and June 26th. Uh in terms of the planning, there are going to be several committees. One's going to be the public safety committee that's going to be uh spearheaded by City of

Olympia Police Department and that will just be coordination and planning through our normal channels like any event we have in the community. So there' be no change to our current staffing expectations. Um transportation and parking will be coordinated between inner city transit and city of Olympia and the thirsten chamber of commerce. Waste and sustainability again be Port of Olympia and city of Olympia or Port of Olymp yeah yeah Port of Olympia and city of Olympia coordinating that and the only real uh staff coordination will be involved is through the communication channels our communication staff will be coordinating as a part of the planning committee to make sure we're consistent and pushing out information regarding the events um around the FanFest uh uh uh program. So with that, that's a quick summary of the um umou and again there's no cash value assigned through thisou and it's just how we were going to partner and coordinate and communicate as the uh prepare for FanFest event. One thing I do want to note is when the coun the council last talked about this issue was planned on being at the LA port of Olympia's um peninsula. They're relocating it to Percible Landing which will be closer to the farmers market anony's and and and downtown Olympia. So probably a little bit better and contained location.

So with all the granulated pieces that you have in this agreement um do you feel that anything is missing at all? No. I mean, I think the the the plan's very consistent with what has been presented by the thirst chamber through uh through the council. Um and I think they've addressed all those issues. And again, being where it's located and the scale of the event, um there isn't a lot of uh um impact to the various communities in terms of staff commitments uh to the project. Okay.

Okay. Well, then we'll go on to uh council reports. Um I do not have a report. Transportation policy board meets uh bright and early tomorrow morning. Um Deputy Mayor uh I have one report. Um Then County Economic Development Council met on March 25th. Uh and um one of the things that we orders of business was the ADO compliance. So whenever you're an ADO, which is an associated um development organization, um you have to do annual uh reports on what that means. Um it it really is basically uh you know, we're the associated development organization for the Thirstston County, which obviously has to be codified through the county commissioners. Um part of that work includes um working with partner agencies or organization providing information advocacy for entrepreneurs, business growth, startup and retention, participating in statewide efforts uh to provide systemwide business growth, uh support and lead economic research, um direct assistance to companies and organizations and partners, provide information on state and local permitting and tax processes, um marketing Washington and the local community. uh site location assistance. Uh the EDC has has helped site locate uh several businesses, especially here in the city of Lacy, ECOS being one of them. Uh that was actually a walk-in, which was really great. Uh business retention, expansion, uh statewide economic development, and part of the reason why we have to do this, it's RCW. Uh but, uh one of the main reasons is because we receive a ton of funds from the Department of Commerce annually to be the ADO. Uh and that is usually $176,000. Um but it's actually down to uh 124 at this point. Uh there was some some constraints uh after the last election. So um but we are doing all of those

things and more. Uh we also had a kind of a briefing on the opportunity zone 2.0. Um if you guys remember 1.0 uh that's coming to an end. So, uh, opportunity zones provide a tax advantage, uh, investment so that you would be able to invest, um, dollars that you would normally have to pay capital gains tax on, uh, and you could invest them into a project within an opportunity zone. Five opportunity zones have been identified in Thirsten County. Uh, fortunately for Tumbwater, uh, their brewery project, uh, is, uh, in the middle of one of the opportunity zones. So, um, we're at the very beginning of this. Um, so it requires long-term reinvestment of capital gains, uh, for rural and non-rural opportunity zones, uh, incentivize investment, uh, in distressed areas. Um, uh, the reason why we want to get this done is because, uh, the sunset for the original the 2017 program is coming up soon. Uh, and it returned you. So, so we have to first identify uh these census tracks. Uh we all have to kind of agree and approve it. Uh and then we have to apply uh to be for those to become an opportunity zone so that people can reinvest their their capital into these areas uh for qualified projects. So um kind of a benefit to the community as a whole. Um so uh applications open on May 1st and they will continue until I'm sorry, April 1st to May 1st. Um, and so once we get these applied for and approved, uh, then these five sections, most of them are commercial, some of them are rural, and there's one that is seemingly entirely residential. I didn't really understand that one. Uh but once we get it up and

going um we will have the ability to allow people to reinvest their capital gains into some projects so that they wouldn't normally have to pay uh the taxes on those capital gains, but they do have to keep their investment in there for 10 years. Uh lastly, we talked a little bit about the scaleup project and the accelerator. Um I was able to go to the Apex convention at the Tacoma Convention Center. um gave opening remarks. It was it was a packed house. Uh all the vendor booths were sold out. In fact, people wanted to continue to have vendor booths and they were like, "We'll take a hallway seat, a hallway section." And we're like, "Okay, fine. You can have a hallway section." So, uh it was there was more vendors than we had space for. So, we've outgrown the space. uh which I knew was coming because you know the the the kind of the kind of the rules and guidelines for for space is that if you're at 80% you're you're needing new space. You're needing bigger space and we've been at 80% for several years. Uh so the Apex accelerator program um has produced some pretty good results for the community and for the state as a whole serving 20 2300 over 2,300 clients uh 180 trainings uh receiving 98% satisfaction um increasing our our our contract securement above 829 million um for for these these programs uh and also retaining over 5,500 jobs. So, it's a it's a really great program. Um the federal government will be um recontracting with us uh roughly about 1.5 million uh for the upcoming 18 months that starts in June. Uh so, so we're really fortunate to be able to um get that contract again. Um, in fact,

the under secretary of the Department of Commerce came and visited the EDC uh to talk about their the program and uh was kind of impressed with with the numbers uh and with the amount of reinvestment in the dollars that uh the EDC has has pushed out over these last couple years using the said said program. So, um that is it. Our next um meeting is April 22nd, I believe. Uh and that is my report. Thank you, Council Member Greenstein.

I do have a couple of reports today. Um, first, uh, Medic 1 EMS met on March 26th. The entire meeting was dedicated to a listening session for the upcoming community needs analysis. So, it was to get the the board's input as to what was important and what we needed to make sure we get from the community discussion that's going to happen. Um, we've hired Steve Brooks. Everyone knows Steve, former chief of Lacy Fire, uh, to be the facilitator for this program. We think he's a really good fit, understands the system, and of course has great communication skills, and we'll do really well in gathering that information. So, this will go on for the next several months where we're going to have several different meetings with the public to try to get information as to what they want in their EMS system so that we can plan uh do the strategic plan going forward for the next several years. Um, also had a covered for uh, council member Sue who I I'm his backup for solid waste advisory committee which met on 41. That meeting was made up primarily of presentations. There was a presentation from recycling and waste reduction. Uh they're doing extensive public outreach to include presentations, mailings, couple of different fairs and community events all in, you know, all to get the word out on on recycling and how to reduce waste. Uh also had a presentation on hazardous waste and their efforts to get that information out to the public as well. And last, there was a uh presentation on environmental health and education work they're doing to help the public understand better options for cleaning and pest control as well as safe disposal of hazardous materials. And then uh the opioid abatement council also met on 41. We discussed the new approved interlocal agreement. Um as you all know, I've been talking about this for a long time. We are finally at that point where we have an agreement um

that's been signed by all of the jurisdictions and the rest of the meeting was basically to talk about the RFP process and how we're going to what we what we're looking for in the RFP and how we're going to get that out to start getting in proposals for how we're going to put this money that we've received out into the public to help people that are suffering from opioid abuse disorder. Um, and the the funding process will be for uh the remainder of 26 and all of 27. So, we look at having about $2 million that we're going to be able to put out into the public to help in that area. And that is my report. Thank you, Council Member Cox.

Uh, one report tonight. The um lot Clean Water Alliance had a half-day retreat in lie of a regular board meeting this month. The main purpose of the retreat was to um begin looking at our two-year budget. Uh they expect that a annual 3% rate increase um which has been the case for a number of years will be adequate for um the expenses that we expect to incur in the next two years. We also got a look at potential expansion or perhaps building a new of the wet science center and um of course this is we're located adjacent to the hands-on children's museum which is undergoing um a major expansion program and then the port concurrently is looking at redeveloping that area. So, it's it's really exciting to think of the regional attraction that we could be creating there. So, that was fun to get a first look at it. There's we saw three architectural con concepts for the center. And so, it's it's in its infancy right now, but I think it's going to be exciting to see where it goes. And that's my report.

Thank you, uh, Council Member Turner.

Yes. First, I want to uh thank um our city manager, uh Rick Walk, and also you, Mayor Andy, and the full council for your support um and your good thoughts while I was away on medical leave. I really, really, really appreciated that. I want to give a special thank you to Council Member Nick Dunning. Um he was the backup for the Nisquali River Council. Um and also to council member Ryan Cu for also being the backup um for um the thirst county law and justice. I was able to go to the TRPC meeting on last Friday and I will have a report for that soon. The last thing that I want to add is that I went to the uh opening of the night market and uh several vendors called me over and they wanted to me to make sure and tell the city how much they appreciate the night market and how much the vendors u also appreciated having the opportunity to be there. So, I wanted to pass that along.

Great. Thank you. Uh council,

I have nothing to report. Well, with that, uh, we have reached the end of our agenda. We will be, um, going to enter into an executive session to discuss a current or potential, uh, litigation pursuent to the RCW32-30-110. Um, council members attend remotely. We'll use a separate link issued to them for the executive session. Uh, the time now is it's 7:16. um I'll give to like you know 7:20 um for us to regroup and then it'll be just a 10 minute quick um executive session. So we'll we'll start at 7:20. We'll go in this back room um 7:20 and it'll be a 10-minute um session. I'll come out if needed to extend.

Ryan, do you have the link? There should be a a link in your email. The only link I got was actually this one. Okay, I think Alyssa is going to help you with that. Thank you. So, we're journeying into an executive session.

It is 6 oh 7:30. We are out of our executive session. Uh no no decisions were made. Um which means we're at the end of our agenda. So as always, you keep it classy lacy. I'll call this meeting adjourned.