City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everyone. I call the Gig Harbor City Council meeting of Monday, June 8th to order and ask Assistant Clerk Alleman to call the roll.

Council Member Ahman.

Present.

Council Member Coronado.

Here. Here.

Council Member Eckberg.

Here.

Council Member Martin.

Here.

Council Member Rodenberg.

Here. Here.

Council Member Stone.

Here.

Council Member Tessicini. Present.

Please rise and join us for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Helping out the mayor here, she tries to keep her voice. So before we begin, I'd like to acknowledge that this council meeting, we would like to recognize that we are gathered on not only the ancestral and traditional lands of the Squaxal Band of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, but also on the site of one of the largest and longest standing historic villages of their people, the original inhabitants of Gig Harbor area.

Thank you, Council Member Martin. Council, are there any changes to the agenda? I am not seeing any. So tonight, we have three presentations for you. The first is the winner of the Battle of the Badges. And this annual contest is a blood drive between our amazing police and fire departments. And I am going to introduce Larry Bleich from the American Red Cross. to tell us who won, and we're evidently not going to kick him out because the other guys won. Yeah, come on, Trey.

all right thank you uh thank you mayor thank you council i'm here uh this evening with our executive director shannon glenn um helping support our efforts here and um i want to thank you for having us here to talk about our favorite topic blood You know, I know that's not the first thing you think about in the morning, but it probably should be because it's what keeps us all alive after all. So we need to keep it in our bodies and we need to collect it for when it's very much needed. So that's why we're here tonight. Of course, it's not always possible to keep that blood in our bodies. We have accidents that happen across the country. In fact, every two seconds, somebody in this country needs life-saving blood. Whether it's the hospitals needing blood supply to help people in accidents or cancer prevention or people with sickle cell anemia, they need a lot of blood. And we at the Red Cross, I think I've shared this with you before, we supply 40% of all the nation's blood. That at times is very problematic, however. And there's two things, truthfully, to keep me up at night. One of them is we have a lot of natural disasters that happen in our country. In fact, we've just entered into hurricane season June 1st. Hurricanes happen, tornadoes happen, flash floods happen, avalanches, everything in the world happens. Forest fires are going on right now. And when those happen, we cancel blood drives. We cancel hundreds of them, which means we can't collect thousands of blood donations that save people's lives. The other thing that happens that keeps me up at night is, believe it or not, only 2% of our population donates blood on a regular basis. 2%. Now, there's a lot of good reasons for that. People medically, perhaps personally, can't donate blood. Sometimes they don't have time in their busy schedules to donate. It takes about an hour. And sometimes they're just afraid of the needle. But if we were to increase in this country that amount of donation by 1%, we wouldn't have a problem having blood shortages. Now here in Gig Harbor, we honestly don't have that problem, to be honest with you. About three years ago, we instituted having blood drives right in these chambers. And since then, we have had 18 blood drives. During the course of those 18 blood drives, we have collected 804 blood donations. For all you math majors out there, that equates to about 45 units collected each drive, which is about 10 more than everybody else does. So we do good here. But the good number that I want to talk about is that potentially saves 2,400 lives. 2,400 lives just from the work we did in this room, which is wonderful. And the people that give that blood, I give them the title heroes. And I don't use that term lightly. But we have other heroes in this room tonight. We have our police department with Chief Federici back there, and we have our fire department. And on an everyday basis, that's their job, to save lives. But they also save lives by being a part of Blood Drive. And for the past five years, we have had what we call the Battle of the Badges Blood Drive. And that's a friendly... quote unquote, blood drive competition between our fire department and our police department. And as you know, they're very, very competitive. And each year, one seems to outdo the other. But this year, we have a new winner. And Mayor, if you'd like to come down, we can present the trophy. Shannon, come on up. I don't know, maybe someone else could take a picture. And representing... The winner of the Battle of the Badges for 2026 is Gig Harbor Fire and Medic 1. And we have a representative today, Patrick Phillips, who's Division Prevention Chief from the Fire Department. We'd like you to accept this. Thanks, Larry. One over.

We'll beat you then.

This brand new plaque actually was designed by one of our very own personnel. He laser cut it. So you're the first recipient of it.

I don't think we have a position to sign it.

This is a really friendly competition and I think next year it's our turn, so just so you know. We like to share, it's fine. Our second presentation tonight is recognition of our wonderful youth council members. This is the first year the city has had a youth council. but it's something that we've been talking about doing for several years among the city council members. If this year's group is any indication, it's a wonderful program that we hope to continue for years and years. Throughout the school year, these 17 young people have been learning about city government and discovering new ways they can be involved in their community. It's been a pleasure working with them this year, and they each give me confidence our world is in good hands. And I look forward to watching each of you grow even more than you have this year. The future is in your hands, so we're all counting on you. And now I'd like to ask their fearless leader, Shay Smiley, our Housing Health and Human Services Manager, to come up as I call the names of the council members who are here, actually of the council members. It's a super busy time of year, so not everyone could be here tonight. We're going to call everyone's name though, so that each of the members gets the recognition that they deserve for serving on the council this year. So if, as I call your name, if you could come stand up by Shay. And then when we're all done, we will take a group picture with city council. And then you can each say a few words if you would like. And especially council would like to hear what you've enjoyed this year. And maybe even if you have an idea of what you want to change. I know Kim has some ideas on that one. Kim, actually, this is how indicative, how committed this group is. Kim said, can we have another meeting so we can talk about what we're going to do next year? So this is a wonderful group of people. And the first is our chair, Alexis Morgan, who is one who's not here. And actually, I'll just call the names. Avery Gottschalk, Dennis Liu, Derek Liu. What am I saying? I looked right at you. I called you the wrong name. I'm so sorry. Dominic McDermott. Ella Rodriguez. George Will. Chase Gare. Jordan Cunningham. Kim Bork. Lainey Robach, Lola Mazzucano, Madeline Harding, Maxine Booth, Natalie Rogers, Riley Conklin, Sophie Eckern Martin, Trace Clements, Will Park, Zoe Ewald. Yes, do you want to come down?

Okay.

Okay.

Okay. Are you okay? All right. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three.

Do you want to remind everybody your name too before you start, Derek?

My name is Derek Liu, Vice Chair of City Council. I just want to say I really appreciate the mayor and the City Council for setting this up in the first place. When I found it, I was like, yeah, I definitely want to do this. And I learned a lot about city government and also enjoyed being a part of hosting the city event that we did last month.

Thank you.

My name is Riley Conklin. I just wanted to say I was really grateful for this opportunity. I wish I wasn't a senior so I could try to come back next year. And it was, I don't know, it was just a blast. I really enjoyed getting to take part of it.

My name is Zoe Ewald. I'm really glad to have done this this year. I was thinking of not doing it, but I did. And I'm really happy I did. But I'm really happy that we got to put on an event and organize it and follow through with it. And I think that taught us all like how to work with different personalities and like all work together and come together. Yeah.

I'm Natalie Rogers. I'm also just so grateful to have had such an amazing leader and so many amazing people to work with and all the resources have been amazing. I also wish I wasn't a senior so I could come back. But I'm so excited to see what the next council will do next year and everything. So thank you so much.

Hi, my name is Kim born and I'm really grateful that I got to serve on the city council this year. I think it's a great opportunity to get a new perspective on your city. And it's really important to be a part of your local government. Cause that's how real change is made. And I really appreciate that opportunity. And I wish I have luck to my, I'm a senior. So next year's youth council, I wish luck and a good summit next year.

So I along with many of the other council members were here for the event that you put on a couple Saturdays ago. Gorgeous weather and we still have what 75 to 100 people here. So amazed at the composure and the willingness to dive into a very difficult conversation for a lot of adults talking about mental health and how to support people in healthy mental health. And if you're struggling what to do, I applaud you. I told the mayor when I left, I said, oh my gosh, the hope that I have for our community. And it sounds like a few years from now, we're going to be replaced by a few of those people. You guys are awesome. Thank you so much for your service.

Thank you.

Thank you for everything you guys put in. And to those of you that lamented this was the end of an opportunity, it is not. It is the beginning. There will be many more opportunities as you continue in your education or as a next step endeavor for you. There are boards and commissions and lots of opportunities for you. It is scary to stand up in front the first time and volunteer to lead. It gets easier. Keep standing up. Keep volunteering. And thank you.

Anyone else? I'm not seeing hands raised. Thank you guys very, very much. It has been our pleasure to work with you all year. And I hope you guys will stay in touch too. And at least one of you is not a senior. So we'll see you back too. Good. Then we'll see you both back. Oh, good. Good. You got it in blood. Good, it's a fabulous group, and I hope a lot of people apply to be on it in the future too. Thank you very much. You're welcome to stay for the whole meeting if you'd like to, but you don't need to. Our third presentation tonight is a proclamation for Pride Month, and this annual event is to again recognize that we celebrate every person here in Geek Harbor all are welcome in our community and all are equal. I'm going to ask council member Martin to read the proclamation and then we'll present it to representatives of the Gig Harbor Pride community. And after we present it, we will take a picture with council.

Thank you, Mayor. So the proclamation of the Mayor of the City of Gig Harbor, whereas the City of Gig Harbor takes pride in its tradition of community, neighborliness and mutual respect and remains committed to ensuring that every resident is treated with dignity and fairness. And whereas throughout our nation's history, Americans have worked to expand the promise of liberty, equality and opportunity, striving to build communities where all people may participate fully in civic life, and pursue their aspirations. And whereas Pride Month is observed each June to recognize the contributions, experiences, and enduring spirit of lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other LGBTQ plus individuals whose lives and efforts have enriched communities across our nation and within Gig Harbor. And whereas diversity of experience, background, and perspectives strengthens communities by encouraging understanding, broadening civic participation, and fostering spirit of mutual respect. And whereas Pride Month provides an opportunity to recognize the importance of treating one another with dignity and respect and to reaffirm our shared commitment to building a community where all residents are welcomed and valued. And whereas the City of Gig Harbor recognizes the importance of fostering a culture in which all residents feel safe, respected, and able to participate fully in the life of our community.

Now, therefore, I, Mary Barber, Mayor of the City of Gig Harbor, do proclaim June as Pride Month.

I'll just...

OK. Thank you.

Moving into the business items on the agenda. And now welcome public comment on items on the consent agenda. Please come to the podium or press the raise hand button on zoom if you would like to comment on items on the consent agenda. And I'm not seeing any raised hands or people at the podium. So we will move to a motion to approve the consent agenda.

Move to approve the consent agenda.

Second. It's been moved by Council Member Eckberg and seconded by Council Member Martin to approve the consent agenda. Please vote on your screens or vote verbally if you're unable to vote on your screen.

Yes.

Aye. Motion passes seven to zero. Thank you, council. For my mayor's report tonight, which will be very short, I begin by acknowledging the amazing celebration we all had last weekend. We live in an incredible place, and even with the weather challenges, it was a fabulous time. From the parade on Saturday morning through the Blessing the Fleet and the car show on Sunday, I saw lots of people out having fun together. Special thanks to the Chamber of Commerce, who organized the events, as well as our public works team, the police department, and the fire crews who kept us safe. These events don't happen overnight or without a lot of help and support from individuals and area businesses. Second, a reminder that America's 250th birthday is coming up in less than four weeks. I hope you're all planning to join us for the Kids and Pets Parade. and family fun at Scanty Brothers Park on the 4th of July. There's information about all that on the Chamber's website. including how to sign up for the parade. And we're putting this event on with our friends at the Chamber and the Alliance. Again, we can't do it alone. Please join us and volunteer if you can. And Tiffany, did you get another video up? Ready? Okay, good. And we do have a second video from the America 250 Washington people to show tonight. These really help remind us what we're celebrating.

What makes this place special is the uniqueness. I love Spokane. I love spending time along the Spokane River. The downtown area is absolutely stunningly beautiful. Drive along I-90 and head over to the peninsula afterwards, the whole rainforest. The opportunity to live in a state where we have a temperate rainforest, the only one in the continental United States, And of course, outside of the mountains and volcanoes, we have so much blue. All sorts of gorgeous rivers like the Columbia, Spokane, Snake, and then you head over into Western Washington, and we benefit from the beauty of the sound, and keep going west, and then we can hit the Pacific Ocean. And I just love this place, and I think that if folks have the opportunity to visit, they could see why this is such a special place for all of us Washingtonians.

I don't think you have to go very far to really appreciate the huge geologic history that we have here, the stunning basalt cliffs along the Columbia River, the rolling wheat fields in the Palouse, the beautiful lakes, pine forests that we have, Douglas fir forests. I think it helps you to understand what we've all experienced, and that is wanting to find a place where we belong, a place where we can be free, a place where we can raise our families. And that's really no different than people all through time.

That falling water at the Spokane Falls, what a beautiful thing it is. It reminds me of who I am as a Native American. It tells me that I was a river people. It reminds me that thousands of fish used to come up that river, that there was a working relationship between the Rathnum Prairie Aquifer and the falls, which created the Spokane River like none other in the world.

There's no two towns or communities that are exactly alike. Everybody has a way that they can tag into the state of Washington, whether it's the mountains, whether it's the plains, whether it's the ocean, everybody has a place and can appreciate it and share.

Washington State is filled with beauty. Sometimes we just don't take the opportunity because our modern day has made us want everything immediately and faster. We take the time to understand and see how beautiful the state really is.

I believe that the strength of the people here from the early pioneers through today is what really has shaped our community and made this a great place to live.

The Yakima Valley is inspiring. There's a very deep sense of community here that is unlike anywhere that I've lived and has a very deep power of place. The stories that this land holds is very impactful and inspiring. The uniqueness of the landscapes and really how the land and the water really connect each of us. And also being out in nature, the beautiful scenery and the mountains really provide an opportunity to connect with the land in a way that you really can't do everywhere.

There were times when I could not live without seeing Mount Rainier in the background. My dad was an avid mountain climber. So for me, being in the mountains is part of who I am. Place is important. And having grown up in the Northwest, I can tell you I'm a part of the Northwest, and the Northwest is part of me.

So as you can see, there's a lot going on this time of year. And once again, I kind of have a theme tonight. It takes a village to keep everything going. I'm so proud of our city team and hope community members take the time to tell them thank you when you see them. They do so much for us that goes unseen. And with that, I will now turn it over to City Administrator Katrina Knutson for her report.

Thank you, Mayor. I'm glad your voice is hanging in there. Good evening, Council. It's good to see you this evening. Wanted to just acknowledge on the consent agenda tonight, the Council authorized the purchase of the Shorecrest Water System, which is a really significant effort that our Public Works Department has undertaken that will help us provide water continuity to our local community that is projected to be within the city. They're in our urban growth area. I want to specifically shout out Director Jeff Langholm. That was a very significant lift on his behalf, and he saw it across the finish line. So I think he's upstairs waiting for the executive session, but great job, Jeff. And then also we had an amendment to the contract for the Listation 5 project. And I know we had it in our gigabyte this last week, but another significant effort, senior engineer Stephen Demmer was the project manager and we were able to receive a million dollar grant for that project that was unanticipated when we put our budget together over a year ago. So again, pretty significant work that's occurring in public works and it was on the consent agenda. So I wanted to take a couple of minutes to acknowledge that work. Council has a very busy work session coming up this Thursday. There's three items that likely will take some significant discussion from the council. Council President of Pierce County Council, Jannie Hitchens, will be here to discuss the unified regional approach to homelessness with the council. This will be our council's first time delving into that process that has been occurring for approximately a year now. The second item will be the Planning Commission recommendation for the Critical Areas Ordinance. That is another large piece of work that the Planning Commission has been working on and our Community Development Department. And lastly, the Commercial Fishing Homeport Morage Agreements and Regulations. That has been another significant body of work in our Public Works Department that Parks Manager Jennifer Harrow and Public Works Director Jeff Langhelm have been working on. I'm really excited to bring this work forward to you as it's been a lot of staff work that has gone into that. Last Thursday, my husband Lars and I represented the City of Gig Harbor at the Great Peninsula Conservancy Dinner in Suquamish. The event brings forward groups and individuals that support the Greater Great Peninsula Conservancy in conservation efforts around our Great Peninsula here. The event raised over $200,000 for conservation and stewardship of lands that GPC already has under their umbrella. GPC has been a great partner to the city of Gig Harbor, helping us purchase two of the parcels that are in our, that now belong to the Twelkuth Estuary area. And so I just wanted to highlight that partnership. There were a lot of Gig Harbor residents at this event that I didn't expect to see there. And it was really nice to get to know some of them a how much money they donated to this great cause. For more information, you can go to their website at www.greatpeninsula.org. And lastly, In support of America 250, city staff, we are proud. We're going to be taking an all-staff photo out on the Civic Center lawn on the 22nd at 9 a.m. Council, you're welcome to join us. We are going to physically, with our bodies, spell out 250 and have our photo taken from the air as Gig Harbor's way of celebrating our country's 250th birthday. So you will be getting an invite council to join us on the lawn. Feel free to dress up as patriotic or not as you would like. But as the mayor has been showing these videos, I think it's important that Gig Harbor be a part of celebrating our nation's 250th birthday. That concludes my report. Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you. So we will now go into an executive session for 10 minutes to discuss the potential acquisition of real estate per RCW 42.30.110, parentheses one, parentheses B.

Mayor, action may be taken.

Action may be taken after the executive session.

The executive session has been extended an additional five minutes to 621. The executive session has been extended an additional five minutes to 626.

We have returned from break from the executive session and the time is 627. And we will now begin with our first business item, the Public Works Contract Award for Public Works Construction, Materials Testing, and Construction Support for Phase 2 of the 38th Avenue Improvement Project. And I will turn it over to City Engineer Aaron Hulse for the staff report.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. So in summary, tonight we're here to discuss awarding the 38th Avenue Phase 2 and Roundabout project. Before I speak to the request for the contract award, I just wanted to provide a brief reminder of the project history. So the project scope started as Halfwood Design Improvements along the east side of 38th from 56 to Hunt Street. uh eventually it was realized that the signal on 56 would fail in the long term and therefore the council authorized the design of a roundabout to replace the signal there's also a sewer component to this project the city's constructing dry sewer to serve two different basins lift station 10 will need to be constructed to serve the south end of the project and lift station 14 can serve the north end of the project once the mains extended And just as a note, 60th Street is kind of the cutoff for where those basins split. So everything south of 60th goes to Basin 10 and north of 60th goes to Basin 14. Okay, so moving on to the bids. So we opened bids publicly on May 7, 2026. We received five bids, and the lowest bidder was from Active Construction, Inc. The total amount of the bid was $7,316,300. sorry excuse me let me collect myself for one second seven million three hundred and sixteen thousand dollars three hundred and sixteen dollars i don't know why they always do that aci's bid was lower than other bidders because they as um mentioned previously because they will use less expensive shoring they're proposing and they also have a nearby site to dispose of excavated material So the request for tonight would that would that high level summary? I just presented. I'll summarize what's been requested of Council tonight. So we are requesting the word of a construction contract for ACI for the 38th Avenue phase 2 project and construction of a roundabout at 38 and 56. Along with this, we're requesting the Council authorize two professional services contracts, one for materials testing for Certera Northwest LLC, and the second for construction support for KPFF, Inc. Further, staff is seeking authorization for city engineer discretionary change order authority in an amount not to exceed $500,000. And just to speak to that a little bit, it is typical for that range to be between 5% and 10%, and the $500,000 calculates to 6.8%. um there are sufficient funds identified in the council bill is if you've read it to award all the contracts identified in this council bill however the sewer utility will require an appropriation amount of six hundred and eleven thousand six hundred and forty five dollars and thirty six cents public works has coordinated this with the finance director and the requested funds are certainly available And that concludes my presentation, and I'm happy to take any questions.

Thank you for that presentation. Are there clarifying questions from Council? They're not showing up, but I see Council Member Martin's light is on. So Council Member Martin.

Thank you for the presentation. Curious what the process is and what we can do legally when we see a bid that comes in, whether it's this one, which is significantly lower than the second lowest bidder, what is the process in which we are allowed to go through to make sure that that lowest bidder is actually quoting what it is we've requested and that we don't potentially get into a situation where they went, oops, You know, we forgot this major component. That's why this was last. We're going to ask for change orders. And I know the state has some procurement laws regarding that. So we'd like you to refresh it if you could for me. Thank you.

Yeah, sure. So with, with wash stock contracts, we have what's called a bid proposal and it's a huge list of, of line items and quantities. So, um, square foot of concrete sidewalk and, um, linear feet of striping and and you name it the list goes on and on so when we receive the bids we we create what's called a list of certified bid tabs we go through and we compare them against each other and um we also compare them kind of against amounts that were familiar with from recent projects and make sure that nothing looks off um and then once we certify those bid tabs we publish them to builders exchange so that all contractors and anybody who's signed up for builders exchange they're available to see um did that answer your question no i was thinking um so when the bids are open perhaps i didn't

ask it very well. So when the bids are opened by a government entity such as ourselves and all of the bidders see each other's bid, and now in this case ACI is the lowest bidder by over $2.3 million compared to the second lowest bidder, what is their recourse and what is our obligation, I guess, to take a look at that to make sure that we're going to get a contractor that can complete what we've asked them to complete? and that they didn't make a mistake. And then we're saying, sorry, you still have to go with this lowest bid. We don't care if you made a mistake. There were laws years ago that really got a lot of contractors in trouble with that. So I'm just wanting to make sure that we're protecting ourselves, that that vendor, if they had the opportunity, once all bids are open, to review their bid again to make sure that they were in compliance with what our request was.

City Council Chambers, Yes, and they did have the opportunity to review their bid again, and I believe they had till the end of the day to to pull out of their bid and redact their bid and they chose review it on the on the bid opening date and they chose to to stand by their bid.

City Council Chambers, Thank you.

City Council Chambers, Thank you, are there any other clarifying questions from Council man. Council Member Tessiccini.

Yeah, I'm just kind of curious. So, you know, because I'm coming late to the party on this one. It's only the east side of 38th that's going to be developed with the... So, or is there like a plan for like a staged plan to do the west side? Or I just want a little clarification on that.

From early on conversations with city council from since I've been here, when there's the Pierce County on one side and city on the other side, we've typically chosen to go with putting the sidewalks on the city side of the street.

City Attorney Kenney?

Yeah, I just wanted to point out one thing that I was just talking with Jeff about. So the ACI construction contract that is in the materials lists a total value of $7,316,316. And that's just slightly different than the agenda bill and the proposed motion. And so I believe I've confirmed that that's the number to use when making the motion. And so if and when council wishes to proceed, if you could use the total value on page one of the ACI construction contract, which is $7,316,316. Can you write that down?

Council Member Martin. Yeah, and I was just curious, knowing that I appreciate that you look at 10 to 5% for contingency funds. I'm wondering, is there a level other than 500,000 that you feel that we could go with and not pulled up projects. And then second to that is just keeping the council updated as to those larger amounts. I get there's small things that happen, but the larger things that are happening from a contingency and keeping us informed of that, if you would please.

yeah i can answer that two-part question so yes council can choose to to lower that amount i think that we could lower it to 350 300 000 around that range um it is it is a risk it can delay the contractor if we reach that amount and then we have to come back to city council and ask for more money so that's why we typically kind of try and keep it in that five to 10% range and and to answer your question about if we can keep you informed about some of the larger change orders certainly and and the capital project story map is where we use that.

And if we could just if we could at either study session probably just get an update I know we look at the story maps and stuff too, but it just would be nice to make sure that. we're all doing our due diligence. $500,000 to me is a lot of money, so thanks.

Sure, and yeah, we could also do it via email if there was a large change order.

Council Member Martin, can I request clarification? What is the amount of the change order that you're seeking to know, just so that we're able to keep our promise here?

I mean, I'm okay with a half a million. I'm not saying half a million, 350,000. I'm looking at you as the expertise. I just would like to keep up to speed and informed as to when we're having some of these changes and what the changes are. They're just things that sometimes you can't foresee everything. I understand that in these large projects. But just since we have a bid that's so much lower than the other one, and it's a half a million dollars those bigger just a regular update so 500 is fine by me personally okay completely understand thank you for the clarification and we'll make sure that we do that either at a work session or via email council member Eckberg could you speak to the grant funding that we have applied for and are already secured to support this

Yeah, so we've secured TIB grant funding both for the roundabout through the urban arterial program. So that program gives out grants for level of service efficiency improvements. And then we also got a grant, a sidewalk grant for the corridor. So we have two grants through TIB and we got a notice from, They want us to be billing them as soon as we can. It's related to gas tax, so they don't want a huge pot of money just sitting there looking like it's available. So... City Council Chambers, We did get a notice from them earlier this year just requesting a project status update and responded to their letter and said that we would be out to bid by June 1 and we we made that obligation. City Council Chambers, But if we.

City Council Chambers, yeah we made that obligation, it was 2.4 million was I correct significant portals yeah from the product great Thank you.

Council Member Allman.

Hi, I just wanted a clarification on if we approve this, are we able to as a council go back and if we notice a flaw in any sort of design of the street improvements, are we able to alter said design despite any contract that we would be approving?

yes and that's why we we bring our design consultant on for construction support during the contract in case there's some minor modifications that need to occur during during construction and um in terms of modifications uh could uh possible crosswalks if residents in an area feel there needs to be one

Be something that, uh, is added to the plan.

Um, yeah, I mean, that would be via change order and we'd have to just like any crosswalk and the situation, uh, lighting scenario. Um. Like the conversation we just had with our MSA we'd have to look into the safety of the location of it and see if it was a good fit for the. For the Community and from from a safety perspective as well, thank you, I just wanted clarification on that thanks.

Okay, so I'm not seeing any other hands raised for clarifying questions. So I will move to public comment on this agenda item. If you're in the audience and wish to speak, please come to the podium now. If you're on Zoom and wish to speak, please press the raised hand button. And I'm not seeing anyone, so I will now close public comment and open it up for council deliberation and action.

I'd like to make a motion. In regards to the city's 38th Avenue improvement project phase two, motion is in four parts. I move. One, we authorize the mayor to execute a public works construction contract with Active Construction Inc. in the amount of $7,316,316. Two, to authorize the mayor to execute a professional services contract for material testing with Certera Northwest in the amount of $58,859.92.

three to authorize the city engineer to approve additional public works construction contract change order authority up to $500,000. And for to authorize the mayor to execute a professional services contract for construction support with kpf and the amount to exceed $114,500. I like the second that.

It was moved by Council Member Eckberg and seconded by Council Member Coronado to authorize the mayor to do those four things relative to 38th Avenue. I am going to save my voice and not read them all again. If you could please vote on your screens or vote verbally if you are unable to vote on your screen.

Aye. Aye.

Motion passes six to zero to one with Council Member Almond abstaining on the vote. Thank you, Council. Our second business item today is a public hearing on ordinance 1562, amending the municipal code 1780, 17.80, referring to the sign code. And I will now turn it over to Community Development Director Eric Baker for the staff report.

Thank you. For the record, my name is Eric Baker. I'm the Community Development Director here at the City of Gig Harbor. One moment, let me share my screen. This is a public hearing to amend Title 17 regarding the sign code. Just one moment, let me make this happen.

It was going to be so easy. This is supposed to be the easy part.

Okay, thank you very much. So this is an update to sign code. This document has been reviewed by the Planning Commission and the document before you is the Planning Commission's recommendation. So what is the purpose of amending the sign code? The council and the community have supported strong sign regulations to limit proliferation across the city. Our code, our enforcement community expectation has been that way for more than a decade. We've historically enforced temporary sign code on all forms of signage in the rights of way, including commercial, political, general, basically all types of signs. However, recent review of sign code has shown that there are ambiguities in the code that could lead to confusion for staff, sign users, and the public. Our regulations per federal requirements and federal court decisions, all regulations must be based on location and sign characteristics, not content. So we need to be ensuring that our signs are agnostic as to what it says on the various signs. Our current definition that was part of this review basically focuses almost solely on commercial signage. It focuses on products, goods, and services or events. It discusses corporate colors, logos, and trademarks, and really focuses on representations and advertisements for services. So when we're talking about a sign, we are really focused on commercial activities, which again is inconsistent with how the city has been enforcing and community and council expectation. To that end, a proposal to amend the sign definition in here becoming significantly more all-encompassing. In this case, a sign means pretty much any sign device structure. I won't read this all to you, but if you are installing anything for the purposes of advertising anything and putting it in a manner which can be seen from a public right-of-way perspective, a public waterway or a public parking lot that is open to the public, you are considered a sign. This is particularly important because the way that the current sign definition is written, signs such as political or general signs, what I mean by general signs, let's say someone put up a sign saying choose peace, doesn't really advertise anything, those would currently be outside of what our existing sign definition includes. This impeded our ability to enforce sign code last election season, especially as it applied to our rights-of-way. So how does this go about, this change in definition? What does it affect? Predominantly, it affects temporary signage located in the rights-of-way only. It does not affect signage on private property. This definition, again, solely focuses on the small signs that you see located around our city and state roadways. This would affect commercial, political, and general signs. They would be limited in location, size, and height, consistent with sign code, how it has been enforced, and the community and council has expected sign enforcement to be over the course of the last decade. All signage in the right-of-way would also require to receive an online permit good for 30 days. That isn't new. That is just a requirement for any signs that are being located in the right-of-way. And again, any signage installed improperly may be picked up by city staff. Our code compliance division goes out and does sign enforcement every two weeks. Ironically, tomorrow will be one of those times that city staff will be going out. And again, any signs that are improperly installed are picked up and the sign owners contacted. So we do have a lot of information about how signs can and can't be installed. This is a clip from our website that basically indicates, are you putting a sign in the right-of-way? And again, it kind of highlights, A, you need a permit. B, we have a set of maps that show where signs can and cannot be located. If you go back, you can probably barely see it. The image there on the left is our city sign map, which shows a series of yellow numbers. Those yellow numbers show intersections in which temporary signs can and cannot be located. Those, I believe there are 21 in all, are the only places people are allowed to install temporary signage. And those maps, when you zoom into each of the numbers, has a very clear aerial map and yellow highlighting showing where signs may and may not be located. Oops, too far. Actually, what you see there is an example of what those map zoom-ins look like. This one here is at the corner of Borgen and, sorry, Zemel. So where have we gotten to this point? The Planning Commission reviewed the proposed revisions, held a public hearing, and made a recommendation to amend the sign code as shown in this presentation and shown in your packet. Previous city council, and this was brought to you in 2025, relatively late in the 2025 election cycle, city council tabled the recommendation for consideration in 2026 due to the proximity to 2025 city elections. Again, it was an awkward time to be considering how signs may or may not be installed for political purposes. And then the council revisited the recommendation earlier this year and proposed the changes related to temporary signage in the right-of-way move to first reading. You are here. So with that, are there any clarifying questions? Again, this is solely a alteration to the definition of sign, making it all inclusive, which then would have the impact on where and how temporary signs may be located in our city right-of-ways consistent with city code.

Thank you. Are there clarifying questions from council? I see council member Stone's hand is raised.

Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Director Baker. Quick clarifying question. The beginning of your presentation noted something around if certain signs are visible to like in certain public right-of-ways, but maybe the sign isn't displayed on a public right-of-way. Is what we are voting on today specific to just signs that are located in public areas or is it also things that are visible to too. I got a little confused. I'm sorry.

This is This definition would apply to pretty much all signage. However, the functional effect of this would only be impacting temporary signs in the right-of-way at this time. In general, we just wanted to be clear that we are not regulating signs that people cannot see, that the public cannot see. Thus, those statements are visible from a street, way, sidewalk, or parking area open to the public. Again, if you have a sign and you cannot see it from any public property, the sign code and this definition would not apply.

So if you have, I guess I'm sorry.

No problem.

So if you have like a sign that's outdoor that is likely visible on the public, how is that impacted by these changes?

If it is on private property, it is not affected. If it is on city right-of-way or state right-of-way, it is affected.

Well, this is just the definition of sign. So anything in the sign code that is covered is covered by this definition.

Yes, but how it applies and the potential implications of this are only limited to at this time because we didn't make the other change. So yes, the change again, only this definition while applying to all of signs only has the direct compliance implications for signage in the right of way.

Thank you.

Thank you. Council Member Tessitini.

I was just thinking maybe an example would help. So somebody has a fence on their private property, but you put a sign that faces out into a street that would apply.

If that fence and that sign is located on private property, it would not apply. Even though it was facing... Even if it is facing the right... If it's visible, it's considered a sign. We have other regulations, though, that apply to what you can and can't do with signage on both private property and on right-of-way. There are other components of code that are currently limiting our ability to address temporary signs on private property.

But that's not going to be addressed in this.

That is not being proposed to be addressed at this time. The council was interested in addressing only the signage that is located on public property.

Thank you.

There are many cases in the city where folks have fences that they've constructed on city right-of-way. In that case, Eric, it's my understanding that this would apply to those instances.

Yes, and this would apply to any signage that is installed on city right away or city property.

Thank you. Are there additional clarifying questions? I'm not seeing other hands raised. Not seeing any, I will open the public hearing for this agenda item. If you're in the room and wish to speak, please come to the podium now. If you're on Zoom and wish to speak, please press the raised hand button. And if you could give us your name and whether or not you live in the city, and you'll have three minutes to speak, please send us. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Matthew Keeling. I live just outside the city. I just want to make sure that the permitting process does not have any fees to make sure that anybody who is doing political signage, everybody has access to it.

And we don't normally answer questions during public comment, but I will answer that one for you. It does not. The permit process is free. Maybe cumbersome, but it's free.

Just wanted to make sure on that one.

Yeah.

In this day and age, we cannot be too careful about that.

Thank you. Are there any other questions? I'm not seeing any hands raised. So I will close the public hearing and open it for council deliberation and action. And I do just want to clarify, we can take action on this item tonight, correct? Does not need a second reading.

You are able to do so, but you do need a supermajority, correct?

Okay, thank you. So we need five votes in the affirmative. Council Member Coronado.

Yeah, I'd like to move to approve ordinance 1562 adopting proposed amendments to get carbon municipal code 17.80. Sign code. Second.

It was moved by Council Member Coronado and seconded by Council Member Martin to approve ordinance 1562. If you could please vote on your screens or vote verbally if you're unable to access your screen.

Aye. No.

Motion passes six to one with Council Member Stone voting no. Thank you, Council. And we have no staff reports tonight, so we now welcome public comment for comments on non-agenda items. If you're in the room and want to speak about something that is not on the agenda, please come forward at this time. Or if you're on Zoom, please press the raised hand button. And I will recognize the Chamber of Commerce to speak tonight. And you have three minutes.

Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Mayor and Council Members. My name is Miriam Batts, and I'm the President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce here in Gig Harbor. And I want to express our sincere thank you to the outstanding work that the Public Works Department, the Police Department, and City staff within City Hall, the support that they gave us for the Maritime Gig Festival, your partnership with our organization has been second to none, and I just wanted to acknowledge the hard work that all of the staff showed over the weekend. Everything went off seamlessly. We had numerous safety meetings prior. We had some additional safety briefings that we attended, and I think due to all the teamwork and pre-planning that took place, it went off very smoothly. There are always things that will come up in a debrief, and we're looking forward to debriefing not only with the city, public works, the police department, as well as our staff and fire department to really look at what went well, what could be better. And once again, I just cannot speak highly enough of your team. They were out there early in the morning and it was chilly and rainy at times. So thank you so much.

Thank you.

And they're all clapping.

I just want to thank the chamber for everything that you did to organize the events. And I do agree that our city teams are absolutely amazing. Is there any other public comment for tonight? I'm not seeing any other hands raised. Are there any reports from Council for tonight? Council Member Coronado?

Yes, thank you, Mayor. On May 28th was the Puget Sound Regional Council's General Assembly, where the new President and Vice President were elected. It is Dave Summers of Snohomish County as the President, Ryan Mello, the Vice President of Pierce County, or Executive Mello of Pierce County as the vice president. The supplemental biennial budget for 26-27 was adopted. The regional transportation plan for the four-county area was adopted. I also have a couple of summaries of that, if anybody would like one. There was also a panel from... Christine Gregoire, Eric Nordstrom of Nordstrom's, Kerry Schroeder of JP Morgan Chase, and Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, where we got to do a question and answer session of some of the things that they were looking at as economic leaders in the area. And I believe that was it. If you'd like to know more, I'm happy to have another conversation outside of this. Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Council Member Martin.

So I attended the South Sound Housing Affordability Project meeting on behalf of the mayor last Friday. We were at the city of Sumner and talked a lot about what they're doing in the city of Sumner to get workforce housing, the 80%, 115% of AMI. They currently have 97 housing units that meet that requirement, and they have established the multifamily tax exemption program. Also, they've had two projects. One's totally completed. The other one's currently in process. That is zero lot line homes. And we asked, okay, curious about what the prices for each unit was. And they were approximately $440,000. Grant you, it's Sumner. It's not Gig Harbor. We understand the differences. And they also have adopted a mobile home park overlay, protecting those mobile home parks from being taken away from the residents there. And then a Tacoma council member spoke about their Tacoma's MFTE program and stated that they look at it as an economic development tool. They said each house, they get approximately $700 in sales tax every year. and as well as they get a tax incentive and get positive tax dollars when they're purchasing all the materials to build the houses. Tacoma has chosen to do an AMI target at 70 percent, and they currently have a project underway in Proctor that'll have rent at approximately $1,500 per unit that meet that. And there was a real high level AWC legislative update, nothing different than we've already heard from him. And I'm sure that we will have more information as we come back in June from that meeting. Thank you.

Thank you. And thank you for attending that meeting for me so I could be with my grandson. Are there any other comments for this evening? Seeing none, I will ask for a motion to adjourn the meeting.

I move we adjourn. Second.

All those in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Thank you all. The meeting is adjourned.