City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everyone. I call the Gig Harbor City Council meeting of Monday, September 28th to order and ask City Clerk Alleman to call the roll.

Please rise and join us for the Pledge of Allegiance. I would like to invite Boy Scout Troop 212, did I get it right? To the podium to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

We were not expecting the boys to be here tonight, but since they were, we put them to work. They are here to get a work on their merit badge for citizenship in city government. So they're going to be listening to the meeting and then they need to figure out how to solve the problem, one of the problems that we're talking about tonight. So I'm looking forward to hearing their solutions. Before we begin this council meeting, we would like to recognize that we are gathered on not only the ancestral and traditional lands of the Squibosh Band of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, but also on the site

And thank you for being here tonight and for the important work that you all do it's greatly appreciated. And gentlemen, you could use that as one of your problems that you want to help solve to. just to put a little plug in. So I now welcome public comment on the consent agenda. If there are people in the audience or online who wish to comment on the consent agenda items, please come to the podium or press the raised hand button on Zoom. And I will close public comment on the consent agenda and open it up to a motion from council.

Second. It was moved by Council Member Ekberg and seconded by Council Member Martin to approve the consent agenda. Please vote on your screens or verbally if you were unable to access your voting screen.

Motion passes four to zero. So for my mayor's report tonight, I'll keep it kind of short. I just have to say whoever flipped the switch to fall this past week did a pretty amazing job. After one day of much needed rain and less needed strong winds, we had an absolutely beautiful weekend. The trees are starting to turn and the mornings are much, much cooler than they've been. As the days turn cooler, we need to be even more mindful and caring of those who need help in our community. Tonight, we will raise some awareness about domestic violence, but let's all think about what we can do to help s

Are there any clarifying questions from council? Council Member Martin.

Thank you, Director Baker. Just to confirm, when we say the entire city, it would be within the applicable zoning codes that we have, correct?

Thank you. I'm not seeing any other hands raised. So I will now open 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, please press the raised hand button. If you could give us your name and your address, please, and you'll have three minutes to speak. Can you hold for just a moment so we can turn the microphone on?

Thank you. Is there anyone else in the room or online who would like to speak on this agenda item? I'm not seeing anyone. So I will now move to council deliberation and action on this item. Council member Martin.

So I move to approve resolution XXXX, declaring the intent to adopt a residential target area for the multifamily property tax exemption program and setting a public hearing date and time.

It's been moved by Council Member Martin and seconded by Council Member Ekberg to approve the resolution declaring the intent to adopt a residential target area for the MFTE program. If you could please vote on your screens or verbally if you cannot.

Motion passes four to zero. Thank you, Council. We do have a staff report tonight. I am pleased to introduce our finance director, Scott Larson, who will give us an update on 2027-28 revenue sources as part of our preparation for the 2027-28 budget period.

Thank you very much for that extremely thorough and informative report, Mr. Larson. Council, do you have any questions? Council Member Eckberg.

Save my questions for the sessions next week, but I just want to say thank you for a really comprehensive report there. i get constantly run into misunderstandings when i'm talking with people about how the budget works in the city and how things are funded so i laid it out really clearly it's important for people to understand and know where the money comes from and how we use it so thank you for that and i commend the scouts for keeping their eyes open through the debt service any other comments or questions from council

Not seeing any hands up. So at this point, I will move, thank you again, Scott. I will now move to the public comment period for comments on non-agenda items. If you're in the room and would like to comment about something that is not on the agenda, please come forward at this time. If you're on Zoom and wish to comment, please press the raised hand button. I'm not seeing anyone. So I will close public comment on non-agenda items and ask if there are any reports from council. Council member Martin.

Just quickly, I wanted to say thank you to Pierce County Council members Denson and Herrera for putting on the first Pierce County Suicide Prevention Summit. Our own Chase Smiley was there moderating a panel of a few of our members of our youth panel. They are amazing individuals talking about things that most adults have a real struggle talking about that, and that is suicide prevention and mental health. It is, I hope something that will continue on. We had well over, I think a couple thousand people is what I heard. Don't count me on that, but it was an incredible showing of individuals. Th

Thank you. Any other reports from council or comments from council? I'm not seeing any. So with that, there is a list of upcoming meetings that is attached to the agenda that you either got online or picked up in the back of the room. And I will entertain a motion to adjourn.

Meeting is adjourned. Thank you, everyone.