City Council - Regular Meeting

I'd like to call to order the City Council meeting of August 25, 2026. Clerk, please call the roll.

Here. Please join me in listening to the land acknowledgement and flag salute led by Deputy Mayor Bushnell, followed by a moment of silence.

Are there any modifications to the agenda this evening? Seeing none, we will move on to the consent agenda. Is there a motion?

Are there any questions, comments, or corrections? Okay. Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting the consent agenda, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Those opposed say no. Consent agenda is declared adopted. Moving on to proclamations, we have one ceremonial tonight. For Concrete Technology Corporation Day, I would like to invite Thomas Fountain, President, and Rebecca Fountain, Board of Directors and Shareholders, Concrete Technology Corporation, to the podium as I read the proclamation. Whereas Concrete Technology Corporation is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its founding by Tacom

THANK YOU. ARE THERE ANY COUNCIL COMMENTS? COUNCIL MEMBER SIDDALGA.

THANK YOU. IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU. I HAD THE PLEASURE WITH SEVERAL OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS. I'M SURE THEY'LL CHIME IN ON DOING A LITTLE TOUR. I LEARNED SOME REALLY IMPRESSIVE FACTS ABOUT CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION. I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T ALLOW A CHANCE FOR YOU GUYS TO TOOT YOUR OWN HORN IN SOME OF THE STUFF YOU'VE DONE. Do you remember? I mean, you had the longest single concrete span, correct?

Yeah, so it's not only here in Tacoma, not only with Sound Transit, with some of the projects over there, the I-5 bridge over the water, all across the nation, and I believe internationally as well. a large project up in Alaska. And what really did warm my heart was the story of how back when no one else was willing to do it, Concrete Technology built products for the monorail down in Florida, right, at Disney World. Correct? I've been on that, so it was really cool. So it's amazing to see that we have a homegrown company right here and that you guys are all still part of it and provides real

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And like Councilor Shidalga, I was happy to go on the tour. Thank you all for being here. You know, I think one of the things growing up as a kid, being kind of a nerd, I watched a lot of modern marvels as a kid, right, which the show was on the History Channel. And, you know, it was great to come out and visit your site and think about all the kind of local modern marvels we have across this community that are related to the work that you all are doing, right? You know, I caught myself driving down I-5 multiple times now and like, oh, I think those are probably from conc

Thank you. And I sincerely appreciate the work that you do, as well as the very welcoming tour that you were so kind to offer. And it was wonderful learning more about the work that goes into the infrastructure that we take for granted, but also just the good corporate citizenship that I saw, too. It was nice to see your operations. It was good breaking bread and hot dogs with you. And keep up the great work and a proclamation well earned. So with that, please step forward to accept the proclamation, and let's give these folks a round of applause.

Moving on to public comment. Clerk, please read.

Thank you. Under public comment, this is your opportunity to speak about anything on tonight's agenda. If you're speaking to something, please identify your topic. Address the full council, not individual members of the council or individual staff. And if you're Speaking virtually I make sure to raise your hand or press star 9 so with that we have one person who's signed in to speak Here tonight, it's Burl Battersby Thank You mayor Ibsen and the council I am here to speak about resolution 4 2 0 1 3 My name is Burl Battersby, and I've lived in the south end of Tacoma for more than 20 years and

Thank you for your time. And if there are additional comments, you're welcome to email them to the council, too. Thank you. Thank you. That's a nice flag, too. All right. We have one speaker who's logged in virtually, LYT. And can you identify which agenda item you're speaking to, please?

And if you have further comments, you're welcome to email the rest of the council too. Thank you. So it looks like we have one more speaker online, Tom Llewellyn. Can you identify which topic you're speaking to on tonight's agenda?

Thanks for your comments. Alyssa Elliott.

Thank you. Seeing as there are no further speakers logged in, we are going to close public comment and move on to the rest of our agenda. Moving on to the regular agenda, we have a motion before us for consideration.

Second. Moving second. Any council questions or comments? This is a mayor comment. It looks like there's an extra zero on the $500,000, which would indicate $5 million. So I'm going to assume that the extra zero is a typo, correct?

Okay. All right. So with that being noted... All those in favor of adopting the motion, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Those opposed say no. Motion passes. Moving on to appointments, item 16. This item will also cover item 18. Clerk, please read.

At the August 12, 2026 Infrastructure Planning and Sustainability Committee meeting, the committee conducted interviews for the Climate and Sustainability Commission and the Transportation Commission and recommended the appointment and reappointment of the following individuals. Sierra McCarty to the Climate and Sustainability Commission and to the Transportation Commission, Luke Cassidy, Maria Buchanan, Herschel Wilson, Ainsley Zura, and Matthew Stevens.

Thank you. Are there any council questions or comments on this item or item 18? Okay. Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting resolution number 42004, please signify by saying aye. Aye. I was supposed to say no. Resolution is declared adopted. Item 17, please read.

Thank you. At the August 11, 2026 Economic Development Committee meeting, the committee conducted interviews and recommended the appointment and reappointment of the following individuals to the Tacoma Creates Advisory Board. Daniel Dedrick, Len Adams, Holly Izumi, Kenita Gaines, and Mandy Zalistra.

OK. Are there any additional council questions or comments? Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting resolution number 42005, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Those opposed say no. Resolution is declared adopted. Item 18, clerk, please read.

Move and second if this item was presented earlier in the meeting. Are there any additional council questions or comments? Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting resolution number 42006, please say goodbye by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed say no. Resolution is declared adopted. We've invited the individuals being appointed and re-appointed tonight to attend the city council meeting virtually or in person. I'd like to thank you for volunteering and for your service to the city on the Climate and Sustainability Commission, Tacoma Creates Advisory Board, and the Transportation Commissio

Move and second it. Any council questions or comments? Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting resolution number 42007, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Supposed to say no. Resolution is declared adopted. Item 20, clerk, please read.

Second. Moved and seconded. Any council questions or comments? Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting resolution number 42008, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Supposed to say no. Resolution is declared adopted. Resolutions, item 21. This item will have a PowerPoint presentation. Please read.

Moved and seconded. I'd like to call on Mike Griffiths, CEO of Pierce Transit, Tina Lee, Acting Chief Planning Officer, and Kurt Colway's Government Affairs Manager.

Thank you, Mike. Any council comments or questions? We have a few, starting with Council Member Rumbaugh.

Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Sedalga. Thank you, Mayor, and thank you for being here. I feel like I keep running into you.

Yeah, something like that, for other reasons. You know, in starting my comments, you know, I am very much in support of this, but I do want to talk about the frustrations that, you know, that constituents are going to have, residents and voters are going to have, right? This is just another tax. And I want to be cognizant of the fact that we live in a state that has a regressive tax system, right? We tax poor people to help poor people is what I say. This is three-tenths of one percent. It isn't a small amount, but then the question becomes what do we get from it, right? And in my district, as

As we grow, we need to invest in transit. I can both be very annoyed and angry that the only tools I have are regressive tools to do it, but also understand that the end goal is one that we absolutely need to be responsible to our neighbors, to the people we represent, and move forward, because those are the only tools we have. And we have a different fight on the state level to talk about what are less regressive tools on a local level that allow us to still meet that goal. But that doesn't mean we don't do the right thing today. I think you've made a really compelling case. I felt it when yo

Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to quickly thank staff. I do have the pleasure of serving on the Pierce Transit Board along with Council Member Hines and Council Member Diaz as your Tacoma representatives on the board. And so we were able to work with staff as they created the package. And I can't tell you how... great the process was in terms of it being iterative and back and forth and Tina would bring something forward and we'd ask for more numbers and ask her team to go back and really, really great work in reaching out to community, maybe even hundreds of events, I'm not sure, but your ou

Thank you, Council Member Walker. Any other comments? Council Member Rumbaugh?

Oh, of course. More than happy to. Thank you for your sponsorship. What I'll add to my colleagues' great comments here, and thank you for your expert presentation, is that my support for this is based on a lot of these factors. A lot of it is just increasing accessibility, making sure that we're dealing with folks for whom transportation costs are a very real part of their family budget. But on top of that, on top of just responding solely to challenges, this to me, just plainly spoken, is a way to make Tacoma a more vibrant and enjoyable place. When I think of transportation and access, I als

Supposed to say no. Resolution is declared adopted. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Item number 22. Clerk, please read.

Thank you. If passed, this resolution helps us recognize the 10th year of Manufacturing Week bus tour through a commemorative flag raising here in Tacoma. This resolution recognizes the Association of Washington Businesses Manufacturing Week bus tour as the tour rides through Tacoma, by allowing the Manufacturing Week flag to be flown per our flag policy in Tacoma from September 30th, 2026 to October 7th, 2026. The commemorative flag raising provides an opportunity for the city of Tacoma to recognize and commemorate the contributions of manufacturing to our broader community. The manufacturing

Thank you. Any additional council questions or comments? 42010, please signify by saying aye. Aye. I'm supposed to say no. The resolution is declared adopted. Item 23, clerk, please read.

THANK YOU, MAYOR, AND THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER RAMBAH FOR SPONSORING THIS. I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO BE A CO-SPONSOR. I'VE BEEN PART OF THE URA DISCUSSION SINCE I don't even know how long ago it was actually. I think about it almost two years. And this is a process where, quite frankly, I learned a lot. I learned a lot about what homelessness means to other jurisdictions, how they see it. And I also think other jurisdictions learned a lot about what we've done here in Tacoma. and how they could benefit from some of our learnings. I think throughout the process I was really proud about what we her

Thank you. Council Member Hines. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and I'll keep this relatively short. I think Council Member Rumbaugh and Council Member Szilagyi did a wonderful job kind of Outlining the important components of this I was there one of the first meetings we've had and kind of early on with the joint community on homelessness at the county level and I think the thing that we've said multiple times throughout multiple throughout the years I've been involved is that homelessness does not respect any city's boundaries and the only way we're going to address a problem that's as fluid and comp

Thank you, Council Member Hines, and thank you to the three of you for your direct involvement in this regional conversation as well as your participation. And also just a big thank you to Pierce County and our colleagues, our jurisdictional partners who care. This is one of the issues, if not the issue, on the minds of so many Tacomans that all of us have talked about in community. And it can feel so frustrating when it feels like between what we're seeing federally and what we're seeing even closer to home with budgets and with priorities, that the problem just continues, what are you actual

Thank you, Mayor. I'm bringing forward a contingency fund request tonight for $2,500 to support the Nourish Pierce County annual luncheon, a place at our table. I know most of you know Nourish Pierce County, but for those who don't, they're a vital organization for our community. They're a nonprofit. They're based in Tacoma. Their mission is to provide nutritious food and support services to people in need with compassion, dignity, and respect. They operate six brick and mortar food pantries and 16 mobile sites countywide. Three of those brick and mortar pantries and eight of the mobile sites

Thank you, Council Member Walker. We have a question from Council Member Rumbaugh.

Thank you. Seeing no further comments, all those in favor of adopting Resolution 42012, please signify by saying aye. Opposed to say no. Resolution is declared adopted. Moving on to item 25. Clerk, please read.

I'd like to call on Council Member Hines.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Today, this evening, I'm requesting $6,000 in council contingency funds to sponsor a community conversation about our identity as a city and to find a symbol that unites us. I think we can prompt this conversation and reflection through a flag design competition. And so I want to acknowledge that this conversation has been going on for a while. The idea of what is the symbol of Tacoma? What are the symbols of Tacoma? What is our collective history? What best represents us? This conversation has been going on for many, many, many years. As a lifelong resident, like many ot

That would be up to the Flag Commission to determine what moves forward.

I mean, I would say council members are. We are saying anyone can submit a flag design. BUT I WOULD PROBABLY NEED TO LOOK AT OUR ATTORNEY WHETHER OR NOT YOU COULD BE RENUMERATED FOR THAT OR WHETHER OR NOT, BECAUSE SOMETIMES WE DON'T ALLOW CITY EMPLOYEES, PEOPLE TIED TO CITIES TO PARTICIPATE. CORRECT, STATE ATTORNEY? I WOULD SAY THAT'S A GOOD ASSUMPTION, COUNCILMEMBER.

OKAY. ANY FURTHER COUNCIL COMMENTS? COUNCILMEMBER SCOTT.

I'M HOPEFUL, WELL, MAYBE, AND I WOULD SAY IF COUNCILMERS HAVE A DESIGN OR A VISION OF WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE, MAYBE TALK TO SOMEONE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO ACTUALIZE THAT DESIGN WITH WHAT'S GOING ON.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ADOPTING RESOLUTION 42013, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. Supposed to say no. Resolution is declared adopted. Final reading of ordinances. Item 26. Clerk, please read.

ALL RIGHT. THIS ITEM WAS PRESENTED LAST WEEK. ARE THERE ANY ADDITIONAL COUNCIL QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? SEEING NONE, CLERK, PLEASE CALL THE ROLL. AYE.

Aye. Ordinance is declared passed. Item 27, clerk, please read.

This item was presented last week. Are there any additional council questions or comments? Seeing none, clerk, please call the roll.

Aye. The ordinance is declared passed. Is there any unfinished business? Seeing none, City Manager, do you have a report this evening? Mayor Ibsen, no report tonight. Okay, moving on to comments and committee reports of the City Council. I'd like to call on Chair Walker from the Infrastructure Planning and Sustainability Committee.

Thank you, Mayor. The Infrastructure Planning and Sustainability Committee has met twice since our last report out. On July 22nd, the committee was briefed on an update from Tacoma Water on groundwater supply and regulations protecting the public and meeting regulatory requirements related to PFAS, commonly known as Forever Chemicals. On August 12th, the committee voted to recommend candidates to the Transportation Commission and Climate and Sustainability Commission, and you all voted on those recommendations tonight. The committee also received four memorandums from Public Works, providing u

Thank you, Council Member Walker. Council Member Sedalge.

Thank you, Mayor. I had a couple of last things I wanted to talk about. First, I want to thank Council Member Walker, Parks Commissioner Smith. Eastside Neighborhood Advisory Council President Lynette Scheidt, Vice President Tara Scheidt, Jennifer Camersall, Street Operations, Environmental and Public Works, for coming out with me last week to do the unveiling of the wayfinding sign for the Eastside Community Center. And earlier today, I believe, our media team has posted a social media video talking about that. I WANT TO ESPECIALLY THANK STAFF FOR GETTING THIS DONE SO QUICKLY BECAUSE I REALLY

Thank you, Council Member Rumbaugh. And a few announcements here. As a reminder, the September 1st and September 8th City Council study sessions and business meetings have been canceled. We are rescheduling and relocating the September 29th Council meeting to Wednesday, September 30th, as the first of our in-district council meetings. The in-district meeting will be held at the Star Center in South Tacoma. Doors are going to open on the September 30th meeting at 530, and the meeting will start at 6. There will be food, music, and child care provided. The meeting will include a brief city counc

I did have a question. I was wondering why the meeting is moving from Tuesday to Wednesday.

That was the availability of the Star Center for that date for District Number 5. Okay. Any other comments? Seeing none, is there a motion to adjourn?

Moved and seconded. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. We are adjourned. Good night.