City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you.

Good evening everyone. Welcome to the Kent City Council meeting for Tuesday, September 15th, 2026. If you could all please rise and join us in the flag salute. Melissa, would you please call the roll?

Mayor Ralph.

Here.

Council President Corr. Here. Council Member Boyce. Council Member Boyd.

Here.

Council Member Larmer.

Here.

Council Member Michaud. Here. Council Member Shoker.

Here.

And Council Member Troutner.

Here. Thank you. Thank you. Next item is approval of the agenda. Are there any changes this evening?

No changes to the agenda, Your Honor.

All right. Hearing no changes, a motion would be in order to approve the agenda.

So moved. Second.

Got a motion and a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries 6-0. We will move right in to public communications. We have several items this evening under public recognition. I'm going to start, Council, with something that's on the consent calendar, an appointment to the Special Events Public Facility District. So that is the board that Oversees the tax payment at the public facilities taxed at Shower Center. I am bringing forward for your approval Todd Oyafeso. Many of you know him. He's on our land use and planning board, part of the Kent Community Foundation, also an avid user of SSO Shower Center for hockey. So bringing him forward on the consent calendar this evening. Next, we are going to move into the proclamation. So we have four proclamations this evening. For everyone in the audience, we'll give you a little bit of the process here. So I'll come down to the podium and read the proclamation. And then I will call up those that are here to accept the proclamation. And we will do a photo. We want to be able to celebrate and post that on social media and put it out in information. And then I'll ask you to step over to the podium and say a few words. I'm going to step down. All right. The first proclamation that we have this evening is for Constitution Week. And Angela Graves from the Lakota Chapter Regent for the Daughters of the American Revolution is here to accept the proclamation. Thank you for being here this evening. Let me make sure that I get the right one here. All right. The proclamation says, whereas September 17th, 2026 marks the 239th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States of America. And whereas the United States Constitution, America's most important document, stands as a testament to the tenacity of Americans throughout history, to maintain their liberties, freedoms, and inalienable rights. And whereas the week-long commemoration was initiated by the Daughters of the American Revolution, who petitioned Congress in 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it into official public law on August 2nd, 1956. Now therefore I, Dana Ralph, Mayor of Kent, do hereby proclaim September 17th through the 23rd, 2026, to be Constitution Week in Kent, Washington, And I urge all citizens to study the Constitution and reflect on the privilege of being an American and the rights and responsibilities that privilege involves.

As Mayor Ralph said, I am the regent for the Lakota chapter. We're actually based out of Auburn, but we support Kent, Covington, as well as Federal Way. And this is just one of many things that the Daughters of the American Revolution do. For those that don't know, we are a lineage service organization where our lineage can trace back to Patriots of the American Revolution. So understanding where our history was, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence in our country, we help support the historic preservation, educating people on those things, as well as overall patriotism, supporting our troops and our veterans. So thank you very much again.

Thank you.

All right. Our next proclamation this evening is for National Hispanic Heritage Month, and joining us is Jaime Mendez. Did I get that right? Yes. All right. Thank you. Spanish media pioneer in the Pacific Northwest, so thank you for being here this evening. Proclamation says, whereas National Hispanic Heritage Month, known as Mes de Herencia Hispana is celebrated nationwide from September 15th through October 15th each year. The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover the month at which it was celebrated today. And whereas the day of September 15th is significant because it is the anniversary of the independence for Latin American countries, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition to Mexico and Chile, they celebrate independence days on September 16th and 18th respectively. And whereas the city of Kent looks forward to celebrating MES DE HERENCIA HISPANA WITH THE GREATER COMMUNITY TO HIGHLIGHT THE RICH HERITAGE, ARTS, HISTORIES, FOOD, MUSIC, AND TRADITIONS OF ALL 26 PLUS LATIN AMERICAN NATIONS. WHILE RECOGNIZING THAT THESE NATIONS ARE NOT MONOGAMOUS, This month celebrates honors and pays tribute to all of their contributions to our city and our society. And whereas the city of Kent recognizes the significant contributions of all Hispanic residents, city employees, business leaders, and outreach groups that help increase cultural awareness, education, enrichment, and community engagement with our residents. It is through their support and community involvement that our city has continued to become a more culturally diverse and welcoming to everyone. Now, therefore, I, Dana Ralph, Mayor of Kent, do hereby proclaim September 15 through October 15, 2026 to be Hispanic Heritage Month in Kent, Washington, and call upon our residents to recognize the achievements and contribution of Hispanics and what they make for our city and community.

Well, thank you very much for this proclamation. As I'm sure all of you know, our community is right now under attack, being harassed, being chased, being literally hunted in the streets. It is very important at times like this that we feel welcome in the city we live in, the country we chose to live and make our home. And proclamations such as these are a show of support. And as I say, This is right now, at this time, more important than ever, so I want to thank the city of Kent for acknowledging that. Gracias.

Thank you so much. Next proclamation we have is for Week Without Driving, and Prem Subedi and Miguel Ibarra from our Bicycle Advisory Board are here to accept the proclamation. Proclamation says, whereas the city of Kent is dedicated to fostering a safe, healthy, sustainable environment and transportation access for all of its residents, and whereas providing mobility options and infrastructure is a key function of the city government, and whereas nearly a quarter of Washington State's population consists of non-drivers, this group includes people with disabilities, young people under the driving age, seniors aging out of driving, and low-income or marginalized communities who rely on transit, biking or walking to access basic needs. And whereas over-reliance on driving contributes to increased traffic congestion, pollution, and a sedentary lifestyle, which can each be improved by making more non-motorized trips. And whereas encouraging alternative transportation options like biking, walking, and public transit align with the City of Kent's commitment to environmental sustainability, social equity, and the health and safety of its residents. And whereas a week without driving invites residents to experience the benefits and challenges of relying on alternative transportation and to experience Kent's 35 miles of multipurpose trails, 17 miles of bike lanes, sounder commuter rail, light rail, Meeker Street improvements, sidewalks, and bus routes, which foster a more transportation literate city. Now, therefore, I, Dana Ralph, Mayor of Kent, do hereby proclaim October 1st through 8th, 2026, to be a week without driving in Kent, Washington, and call upon our residents to reflect and consider on what life is like without driving. Sam, you want to come on up? Sam is one of our biggest advocates for alternative transportation. So, Miguel, come on. We'll go ahead and do a photo, and then I'll have you both step up to the podium. You just have to argue over it. If you want to come on over. Do we have a handheld mic?

Oh, I absolutely can. Yep. Perfect. All right. I've got it. Okay.

Okay. So I'm gonna read this on behalf of Prem. With the recent Metro service changes in Kent, it is easier than ever to rely on transit in Kent. I'm gonna tell you, I got an email. Thank you so much for the email, wanting to make sure that we sent all this information out. So thank you for being here tonight. So week without driving 2026. With the recent Metro service changes, bike lane and pedestrian improvements in Kent, it is easier than ever to rely on transit to get around our community without driving. This week without driving, I want to challenge our elected officials and community leaders to do more than simply recognize the week. I challenge you to participate. Leave your car at home and experience Kent the way many of your constituents do every day. Ride metro, walk, roll, bike, take the bus to City Hall, to a meeting, to work, or to run an everyday errand. If you can't, think about why. Maybe a sidewalk that goes to nowhere or a lack of transit. For people with disabilities, seniors, young people, and families, and those without access to a car, these are not just transportation choices for one week. They are everyday realities. With gas being nearly $6 a gallon, you can ride transit or go to work, get home for just $6. When our elected leaders experience our transportation system firsthand, they can better understand the barriers people face and the importance of investing in reliable transit, accessible sidewalks, safe crossings, and better connections throughout Kent. So I challenge our leaders, put away the car, get on the bus, and experience Kent without driving for one week on October 1st through October 8th. Thank you. Challenge accepted. I've been riding the light rail as much as I possibly can. So thank you. Thank you. Would you like to say anything? I couldn't have said it better. I could not agree more. So thank you both for being here this evening. Thank you for your advocacy and the work on the Bicycle Advisory Board. And we really appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you. All right. Our last proclamation this evening, I want to call up Claire and Christy that have joined us this evening. Our proclamation is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. The proclamation says, whereas childhood cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease among children, with approximately 15,500 children in the United States diagnosed each year, and one in six children with cancer not surviving five years. And whereas many childhood cancers have seen limited treatment advances while survivors may experience serious long-term health conditions, and as a result of treatment, and whereas childhood cancer places significant emotional and financial burdens on children and their families, with many families facing considerable out-of-pocket costs and ongoing challenges, and whereas increased investment in research is essential to developing safer, more effective treatments and ultimately finding cures for childhood cancers, and whereas healthcare professionals, researchers, nonprofit organizations, and community partners work tirelessly to provide treatment, resources, and emotional and financial support to children with cancer and their families. And whereas raising awareness of childhood cancer and supporting affected children and families strengthens our community and advances the shared goal of ensuring every child has the opportunity to live a healthy and fulfilling life. Now, therefore, I, Dana Ralph, Mayor of Kent, do hereby proclaim September 2026 to be Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in Kent, Washington, and encourage our community to raise awareness, support children and families affected by cancer, and promote continued research toward better treatments and cures.

Thank you, Mayor Ralph. As some of you may know, my name is Claire Smith and I recently turned 18. September is a special month to me because childhood cancer has taken over the last six years of my life. While cancer is a terrible thing to happen to anyone, it has given me so many amazing opportunities and new ways to look at life. At the age of 12, I was first diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL. and went through two and a half years of treatment, followed by two full years in remission. About a year ago, it was discovered that my ALL had relapsed, and this was discovered through my senior year of high school soccer tryouts. Throughout the past year, I have gone through many rounds of chemo, immunotherapy, radiation, and a stem cell transplant. I am now just over three months post-transplant and finally going back to living my life. with my last two bone marrow biopsies being clear. This might sound like a lot, but that is exactly why I'm going to talk about the See You Later Foundation and the community support which has given me so much hope, peace, and happiness throughout these past six years of treatment. The See You Later Foundation first came into my life through the Angel Wings Foundation, which has supported me since the very beginning. The See You Later Foundation, as well as other community resources, have supported my family and many others through their own trials and tribulations by providing money for gas and food, fun excursions to get your family out of the house, activities to keep busy during appointments, and opportunities such as the one I am getting right now. They have even provided support to make living conditions more comfortable. See You Later Foundation helped to provide my family with a new couch that we all can watch Sunday football on. Without the generosity and selflessness of people's donations to these organizations, recovery and treatment would look a lot different for not only patients but their families. My family and I are beyond thankful for everything the See You Later Foundation, the Angel Wings Foundation, and many other foundations I won't name tonight have done. We truly thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support during life's trials. Thank you.

It takes a lot of bravery to get up here and share your story, and we are very, very grateful for your willingness to do that and hope that it really does continue to promote awareness and support for organizations like See You Later Foundation. I'm going to call out my friend Brian Williams in the back, doing so much work when it comes to supporting families in our community that are fighting this fight. Very grateful. There's lots of opportunities during the year to support See You Later, including their upcoming auction here in just a couple of weeks. Claire, mom, thank you so much for being here. Brian, thank you for the work that you do and all of the volunteers that support. See you later. All right. We're going to move on. I always hand these hard transitions off to you. So thank you everyone that came tonight to support our proclamations. We are very, very grateful and thankful for your commitment to our community. So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Council President for community events.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. At Assessor Showers Center on September 26th, there's a home opener game with Seattle Thunderbirds versus Prince George Cougars. And you can purchase the entire season, 2026 to 2027 tickets on assessorshowerscenter.com. And October 22 through 25 will be Disney on Ice, and the tickets are on sale now. And we also have Living Well Kent Farmer's Market happening on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. until October 17 at Town Square Plaza. And we also have Team Up to Clean Up event happening this Saturday that we need volunteers for. And you can sign up on kentwa.gov slash talking trash. With that, back to you, Madam Mayor. All right.

Thank you. The next item on our agenda is our public safety report. Joining us this evening is Chief Padilla.

All right. Thank you. Well, good evening, Madam Mayor, members of the City Council. It's my pleasure to bring you the Public Safety Report for September. Boy, it seems incredible we're that far into the year, but it's moving quickly. We have good stuff tonight, all good stuff to present on, and starting off with some swearing-ins of our newest officers for the department. I'd like to call up Officers Alexander Schrader, Officer William McNeese and Officer Janelle Willett. Come up forward for these. So we have an interesting combination of entry level officer for brand new first time officer, out of state lateral, long term veteran, and the unicorn as we refer to. and in-state lateral from Washington, just up the road from Seattle PD. So take a moment to introduce everybody and have them introduce their family here shortly. So we'll start on the audience's left, the council, and Mary, you're right, with Officer Alexander Schrader. Tell you a little bit about him. He's born and raised in Asherboro. I probably said that wrong. Asheboro, North Carolina. After high school, he joined the Air Force and he served for six years. During that time, he was stationed at Joint Base Lewis McCord, where he was responsible for working on the planes, including loading. and unloading cargo planes and processing the cargo and passengers that came and went. When we asked him why he chose Camp UD, he said because after coming to Kent in person and talking to the officers here and staff, he saw that it was a really good team and he could see that for himself that we had higher standards here that he wanted to be a part of. Something notable about him is that during his time in the Air Force, He had the opportunity to work, he puts here, on the POTUS mission in 2020, so President of the United States, where he was able, part of his job was to pull the staircase truck, I presume that's the stairs that the President used to go onto the plane, up to Air Force One so the President and Vice President could board. So that's him. Ladies and gentlemen, Officer Alexander Schrader. Alexander, do you want to introduce some of your family and friends here tonight?

Sure.

I have my fiancee, Olivia Williams, and we have her mom and dad, Scott and Jamie. Then we have her aunt, uncle, and cousins, Cindy, Chris, and Natalie. All right, welcome. Thank you.

All right, next up in the middle there we have Officer William McNeese. He is a lateral officer from New York. Originally from Brooklyn, New York with time growing up in New Hampshire and it says here upstate New York and Queens. He has a bachelor's of arts in criminal justice with a minor in anthropology from John Jay College in Manhattan. And before Kent, he served 19 years with the New York Police Department, retiring the rank of lieutenant. His assignments while he served there were patrol, narcotics, detective bureau, transit, it says New York City subway system, amongst other assignments. And he also served prior to that in the U.S. Army as a veteran serving as an armorer crew member on the Abrams tank. I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds pretty cool. Reason for coming to Kent is he and his wife retired. Both retired from New York Police Department and they know for some time that they wanted to relocate and find a new place to raise their children. They settled on Washington and when they got here they heard a lot of positive things about the Kent Police Department and while on a family trip here back in June of 2025 they had an encounter where WHILE THEY WERE VISITING FAMILY, THEY RAN INTO SOME OF OUR OFFICERS. SO A CONVERSATION WAS STRUCK UP, AND WILLIAM MADE HIS DECISION AT THAT POINT HE WANTED TO BE A PART OF THE DEPARTMENT BASED ON THAT. SO AMONGST OTHER THINGS, I'M SURE HE DID OTHER RESEARCH AS WELL. He sits here. Something notable about him or interesting is that on their move here, they drove cross country in the family RV. The entire family from, let's see, it says from New York across a multi-week trip across the Badlands, the Black Hills, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone, to name a few locations. That sounds pretty cool. Also sounds a little stressful, just to be honest. But glad you made the trip here. Ladies and gentlemen, Officer William McNeese. And last but certainly not least is Officer Janelle Willett. As I mentioned, she is a lateral officer from Seattle Police Department. She was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago. Her education She attended the University of the Southern Caribbean from 2010 to 2014, where she studied elementary education. Before Kent, in addition to being a police officer, she's a sergeant in the Washington Army National Guard. When we asked her about why Kent, she says here that she'd heard a lot of good things about the department from friends and officers from different departments. And when she first contacted the recruiting officer here to inquire about applying, She said that he was so informative and welcoming, so she zeroed in on Kent. Something interesting about her is that from the age of 12 to 23, she was a national athlete for Trinidad and Tobago. She competed in a lot of karate tournaments here, ranging from the Pan American Games to Central American and the Caribbean Games. So competed at an international level, at a very high level. She's hoping to take her karate skills and apply them here as part of our defensive tactics cadre at some point. So, ladies and gentlemen, welcome Officer Janelle Willett. Madam Mayor, will you do the honors, please? Oh.

Raise your right hand and repeat after me. I state your name. I do solemnly swear.

Do solemnly swear. That I will bear true faith and allegiance. The United States of America.

The state of Washington. The state of Washington. And the city of Kent. The city of Kent. That I will uphold the Constitution and laws. I will uphold the Constitution and laws. Of the United States. Of the United States. And the state of Washington. And the state of Washington. And that I will obey the rules and regulations. I will obey the rules and regulations. Of the Kent Police Department. Of the Kent Police Department.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

All right, we're gonna take pictures here in a second, but I was remiss in not allowing William and Janelle to introduce their families, so let's fix that right now. William, would you like to introduce your family? My beautiful wife, Nicole, is here with our three children, Cairo, Harrison, and Jade.

Welcome, welcome.

My husband is here, Wendell. My kids, Stephanie, Silas, Siobhan, and Siobhan. My brother-in-law, Paul. My friends, Margie, Peter, Belinda, and Brenda. And two, and my daughter, Lamar.

If you want to come up and take pictures from the center, please feel free.

All right, man. We'll see you outside shortly.

All righty. For inquiring minds, we are at 176, about to be 177 of the 180 positions allotted, including the 10 that we added this year. So we are actually a little ahead of schedule for being fully staffed by the end of the year. So we are in a good trajectory for that. All right. Community Police Academy. The graphic cut off. I was worried about that. um i want to let the public know that you still have a couple days or three days left TO REGISTER FOR THE CURRENT SESSION OF THE POLICE COMMUNITY ACADEMY THAT RUNS FROM OCTOBER 6TH TO DECEMBER 8TH OF THIS YEAR. CLASSES ARE ON TUESDAY EVENINGS AS YOU CAN SEE THERE FROM 630 TO 9 AND REGISTER ONLINE AT OUR WEBSITE, POLICE AT KENTWA.GOV. CLICK ON THE COMMUNITY EDUCATION UNIT BUTTON FROM THE MENU AND THEN SCROLL DOWN TO COMMUNITY POLICE ACADEMY. YOU'LL SEE A BUTTON TO REGISTER THERE. For those not familiar with the program, this is one of our excellent programs that our community education unit and our neighborhood response team put together. We go through various aspects of the department, covering specialty units, covering things like law, use of force. You get to speak to subject matter experts, anybody from homicide, crime scene investigations, SWAT team members, and a litany of others. We get a lot of really good feedback from the attendees of this. It's pretty interactive. And two of the highlights I'll share here. One is you get to use or go through use of force training and use our force simulator, which includes a bunch of scenarios that you are put through and get to see what it's like to do that in a police officer role. And then upon graduation, you are allowed to go out for a four-hour ride-along on patrol with officers going to real 911 calls in Kent. So it's a pretty incredible opportunity. We still have positions available or seats left for that class. And so if you're interested, please sign up. And then last but not least, tomorrow, we are having a coffee with chief event at Woods Coffee out there on the Kangley at 15610. And come out, we will provide the coffee. And conversation, this is a great opportunity to come meet the officers doing the work in your communities. Ask us questions about what's going on and feel free to tell us how great a job we're doing and but really get connected with resources. For whatever is going on that we might be able to help you with. It's a good event and please come out and see us tomorrow. And with that. Mayor that completes my report and I'll take any questions if there are any.

Thank you, Chief. Any questions? Okay, I'm not seeing any.

All right.

We'll see you in the morning.

All right. Thank you.

All right. We are going to move on in the agenda to reports. Each of the council members up here not only represent our residents and businesses at the formal council meetings on the first and third Tuesday of each month, but also sit on regional and statewide boards, making sure that the voice of Kent is represented in conversations that range from policy to grant funding and everything in between so really grateful for that representation you will hear from each one of them about some of the work that they've done over the last couple of weeks i am going to start i have a little bit longer than normal reports i'm going to apologize up front but it's been a lot going on in the last couple of weeks so i want to start out though with an honor our very own deputy city clerk Melissa was just received the certified municipal clerk designation. So the CMC designation is granted only to municipal clerks who complete demanding education requirements and have have a record of significant contributions to their local government, community, and state. This is quite an honor. We are very, very proud of you and want to say congratulations, Melissa. Nice work. And thank you for all of the things you do to make sure that we are all on track and organized and keeping within all the requirements. So thank you very, very much and congratulations. It is not an easy job keeping everybody organized. So thank you. All right, couple of other highlights from the last several weeks. The first one I wanted to mention, you saw a picture earlier in Bill Ellis's presentation, had a chance to attend an event at the Museum of Flight sponsored by Boeing, the NASA Inspiration Event. So the administrator for NASA, I think the picture up there was with astronaut Woody, was held a couple of weeks ago, really grateful that Kent is included in these conversation and it is not by accident. The amazing work that Bill Ellis does to help represent our space communities, our advanced manufacturing communities, making sure that we are a part of those ongoing ongoing conversations, had an opportunity to speak with the NASA administrator, highlighted for him some of our history. Boeing was there. We talked a little bit about our Lunar Rover Park and what's happening on the history side, but also going forward. And I am hopeful that it is conversations like these that brings us investment from the national level. There's a lot of excitement and energy around space and the companies that are here in the Valley, and we are seeing more and more of them come to the Valley. So grateful for that. Another meeting that I attended last week. So I'm the chair of the Regional Transportation Policy Board. A couple of highlights from that meeting. We had a presentation from WSDOT around Cascadia high-speed rail. So it's a conversation that's been going on in our region for quite some time about what it would be to connect Vancouver, Canada with Portland with a high-speed rail. Think Shinkansen in Japan is an example. So there's a lot of planning, a lot of energy happening around that, but also talked about Amtrak service, which exists today and the fact that they are bringing on a couple of new car sets that are going to be nicer, a little bit roomier, more amenities, and it's a really great way to get up and down that I-5 corridor. With that, I'm going to use that as an opportunity to talk a little bit about the quiet zone. So, you know, we celebrated that back at the end of August. BN failed to remember that we were celebrating that and did not put the signage up that was necessary. We have gotten... Commitments from them that it would have was going to be done last Friday going to be done today. The most recent one I'm looking at chat is that we will have that tomorrow. So I want everyone to know that it is being worked on. We are also in conversation with the Federal Rail Administration about what it looks like when compliant if compliance does not happen. So fingers crossed that by tomorrow we will not be hearing hearing those trains unless Chad has an update. Thursday. All right. So there you go. So fingers crossed that by Thursday we will not be hearing those trains. But I do want everyone to know that we are in the process. And it's one of those things. The trains have been blowing those horns for for decades and decades and decades and sometimes changes a little bit slower than we would like. But it is coming. I also, on Monday, had an opportunity to attend and stand with former Governor Gregoire, along with electeds and business leaders from around the four county regions, so Kings, Snohomish, Pierce, and Kitsap County, as we unveiled the Partnership for a Competitive Puget Sound. The idea behind this partnership is really to mobilize cities, counties, local government, our business partners, Microsoft, along with our small and medium-sized employers to sort of sound the alarm bells. We have some serious issues happening with our economy and how we are working with business in Washington State. We have seen flat to negative job growth across the state. We are seeing businesses leave our state at an alarming rate. The idea behind the partnership is really to draw attention to these alarms before it's too late and talk about what we do as a region to support our businesses, to encourage new businesses to establish and to grow here in the four county region. We heard from Brad Smith from Microsoft, like I said, Governor Gregoire, Senator Jamie Peterson spoke and talked about what it looks like for the state to partner. I am hopeful that this work gets the attention of our legislators and also let our businesses know that we are supportive and that we want them here. We know that we are a better community. The more jobs that are available, we're a more prosperous community. It is those employers and those jobs that help support all of the services that we are able to provide across the region. It's a very, very important conversation to be engaged in. Grateful for the leadership of former Governor Gregoire and the business leaders that have stepped up and also thankful for all of the electeds that came out yesterday. Our very own Senator Kaufman and Representative Stearns were at the meeting as well. So it's followed up by a working group and laying out sort of what the next steps are and how do we again work with the legislature as they come back into session in January to sort of help them understand that the decisions that they're making can have either very positive or very negative impacts on our business community, which in turn impacts all of us and our families that live here. So grateful for the work that's being done and we'll keep you posted on that. Final thing I have tonight in my update, I was invited to attend the King County Council meeting today. So on behalf of the entire city, we received this very giant proclamation We were joking a little bit. We need to up our proclamation game because these are really very large. It's a proclamation regarding Welcoming Week. So as you all know, Kent has received a two-star designation from Welcoming America, highlighting the work that we have done over many years when it comes to things like language access, our race and equity strategic plan, work that we have done to build trust with our community, make sure that all of our residents have access to services and the things that they need To be healthy and thrive here in our community So I am grateful to the King County Council for recognizing that we are one of two cities in King County Kirkland and Kent to have received that That certification from welcoming America and honored on behalf of all of us to accept the proclamation. So With that I'm going to turn it over to Pat Fitzpatrick. Oh

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Real quick, I just want to remind you that on September 29th at 5, the mayor will present her budget to the council. And then following that, we will have a 5.30 workshop. Both those meetings are special meetings, so make sure they are on your calendars, and we'll see you then. Thank you.

Council President. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Earlier tonight, we had a great workshop item on economic and community development. update from Bill Ellis, and that presentation is available on our Facebook page and on our Kent TV 21. I serve on King County Regional Domestic Violence Task Force, or Regional Committee Initiative. I do not know why I said task force. We were talking about task force earlier. Sorry about that. I had great presentations. That report will be in the council newsletter that comes out tomorrow, but there was a statistic that I wanted to point out, that from 2020 to 2025, DV criminal offenses declined in 2025, 9.7 in King County. The highlight was that in Kent, it went from 2,072 to 1,219. And it was a big drop. And so they gave kudos to Chief and our staff on working on the awareness on DV and working with our community. So I think that's a big piece of this. And I want to congratulate you on the kudos that they gave at the meeting. And then I serve on growth management policy board We have our meeting on Thursday including Board of Health that will also be on Thursday have a very busy Thursday And I will have those updates at our next council meeting. And I'm going to go ahead and get started on my right here, Council Member Troutner.

Thank you, Council President. I am the subject matter expert for public works. We had quite a few items on the agenda earlier this evening. So if you're interested, you can go back and watch that. I also sit on the Regional Transit Committee. We meet tomorrow afternoon. And my busy day is also tomorrow. We have... Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority Governance Board meeting tomorrow evening, and that is all I have. Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Troutman. Council Member Boyd.

Madam Chair, at this time, I have nothing to report out. Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Boyd.

Council Member Larmer. Thank you, Council President. I am the subject matter chair for the Economic and Community Development. And earlier this evening in the Committee of the Whole, we had two motions that expand our rental housing registration and inspection program. This is a program that we put in place in 2018 to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of tenants in our community. We have not had a fee change in that program since 2018. So in order for it to continue to be a self-sustained program and to expand into the new properties that have been built since 2018, we have raised the fee. We're still in line with fees in other cities, but excited to see that this program continuing to sustain itself for our tenants. I also sit on the Growth Management Planning Committee, and we are meeting tomorrow as well.

Thank you, Council Member Larmer. Council Member Michaud. Thank you so much, Madam President. Just as a reminder, I serve as the Kent's Human Services Commission liaison to the Council. We are skipping our October meeting, and the funding recommendations for organizations from the grants will be in the Mayor's budget recommendations. And at some point, Marina will come and present those to Council. And then at our next meeting in October, the Commission will do an after action review on the grant process. That's all I have.

Thank you, Council Member Schroeder. Council Member Schroeder. Thank you, Council President. I sit on the Equity and Inclusion Cabinet with the SCA. We haven't met since our last meeting, so no new updates there. But I did go to some events which are in the Council newsletter.

Thank you, Council Member Shulker. As you can see, our council is very busy serving our community, and all the information will be on our council newsletter that comes out tomorrow. With that, back to you, Madam Mayor. All right.

Thank you. Moving on, we do not have a public hearing this evening. Next item is public comment. Melissa, do we have anyone signed up to provide public comment?

We do. We have one person.

All right. I just want to... kind of lay out our public comment policies. Public comment is an opportunity to speak to the council and mayor on issues that relate to the city of Kent or agenda items that council will consider. This is not an open public forum and comments that do not relate to the business of the city are not permitted. Additionally, the state of Washington strictly prohibits people from using public comment. It's an opportunity to support political campaigns or candidates. Sorry about that. And we do ask that as you are speaking that you address the mayor and council as a whole and remarks intended to target an individual on the dais are not permitted. We do have a three minute timer. And if you could come on up and state your name for the record, we'll go ahead and get the end city of residence. We'll go ahead and get the timer started. If you could call our speaker.

Omar Malik.

Good evening, Mayor and council members. My name is Omar, and I'm really excited to introduce myself as a new ED of Kent and Youth and Family Services. I'm excited to join an organization with such a long history of supporting young people and families throughout Kent and South King County. I look forward to learning from the community, building strong partnerships with folks here, and working alongside all of you to ensure that the local youth and families have the support and opportunity they need to thrive. Thanks for having me this evening. I look forward to getting to know you and working together with you more. Thank you.

Omar, thank you for being here. Welcome to Kent Youth and Family Services. We are really excited. And we'll see you at prom on Friday. The annual fundraiser for Kent Youth and Family Services is being held at Assesso Showwear Center on Friday. My guess is if you are interested, you could probably still get tickets. The theme is prom. So if you have a prom dress or a tuxedo... love to see it so thank you for taking the time tonight and really look forward to working very closely closely with you and supporting our families and kids thank you all right anyone else signed up okay that will bring us to the consent calendar so the consent calendar is a compilation of items that the council has received presentations on had discussion and deliberation over both Workshop and Committee of the Whole in the last several weeks. Tonight, we have items A through K. These items have passed out of Committee of the Whole without controversy. Motion would be in order to approve the consent calendar. So moved.

Second.

We've got a motion and a second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. We do not have any other business tonight, but we do have a bid for the East Hill North Community Park pedestrian access improvements. Joining us this evening is Chad Barron, our public works director.

Thank you, Mayor. Good evening, Council. This is a bid we've talked about a little bit before in the past for the East Hill North Community Park pedestrian improvements. We've been working closely with the Parks Department on property just off of 132nd, south of 216th Street, where the Parks Department is developing a new park in the coming years. In preparation for that, we are putting together improvements, pedestrian improvements along 132nd between 214th and 218th to get folks there who want to arrive by bicycle or by foot. We'll have a new crossing, rectangular rapid flashing beacon crossings at 214th and 218th, along with a walking path along the east side of the road. So excited to have this in place. This will help extend those walking path improvements along 132nd. We will have one section between 218th and there's a section of sidewalk just to the south that we'll need to connect to in the future. But we are getting very close to having a non-motorized spine along 132nd for the whole length of the city. inching our way to the south and to the north. So excited to have that happening. We received nine bids, two non-responsive bids for a total of 11 bids. They were all within about 20%, which is fairly tight for the bids we've seen over the years. And in particular, the low bids were very close together, 5% to 10%. The low bid received was from Rodarte Construction Incorporated for just over $1.9 million. It is just about 10% over the engineer's estimate, which was $1.76 million. We base our engineer's estimates on prior projects, so we are expecting to see some higher costs in our construction projects going forward. We're thinking this is kind of the new bottom of the cost structure right now. However, it is showing a competitive bidding climate by having all those bids so tightly wrapped together. So with that, we are recommending award.

All right. Thank you, Chad. Council Member Michaud.

Thank you so much, Madam Mayor. Chad, thank you for working on this. I have a question about the budget. It just says that it's coming from the park project. I'm wondering, is this a public works? Is it coming from public works budget?

Thank you for the question. Council budgeted $1.5 million for this project. We also have a boardwalk that's coming out of the park. The project cost for the park itself. We've been working closely with the parks on that. So it's added together. We're able to meet the budget.

Okay. Thank you. All right. Any other questions for Chad? Okay. Motion would be in order.

I move to award the East Hill North Community Park Pedestrian Access Improvement Project to Rodarte Construction Incorporated and authorize the mayor to sign all necessary documents subject to final terms and conditions acceptable to the public works director, parks director, and the city attorney.

Second. We've got a motion and a second. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries 6-0. Thank you. We do not have an executive session this evening, so that brings us down to the bottom of our agenda. And with that, we are adjourned.