Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. With that, clerk, could you please call the roll?

Council Member Smolko? Present. Councilmember Adler?

Present.

Councilmember Johnson? Present. Councilmember Whitting? Present. Councilmember Gilliam? Present. Deputy Mayor King? Present. Mayor Castamon?

Present. At this time, it's the tradition of the Puyallup City Council to acknowledge youth in the audience. And we have some candidates right here who've already acknowledged themselves. But I'd like to have the young students that we have go ahead and introduce themselves, tell us what school you go to. Now, that's with the exception of the scout troop that happens to be out in the lobby. We're going to honor them with an actual proclamation. But if any of the youth would like to stand up, I see right here a young man, a young lady. Tell us what school you go to.

Shaw Road.

DAVID M. Shaw Road, excellent. And why are you here this evening?

Oh, you do?

Well, excellent. Thank you for being here. Wonderful. Anyone else? Any young? I see over here. Go ahead. Stand up. And... DK, and that happens to be you're here because of?

I can't hear.

Oh, not you, Ron. The young man behind you. He happens to be the son of Deputy Mayor King, just so everyone knows that. And then over here, I believe we have a young lady. And what school are you from?

Spanaway Middle School.

Spanaway Middle School, excellent. And why are you here this evening? Oh, excellent. OK. And behind you, the young lady? OK. Excellent. Thank you for being here this evening. Appreciate that. We acknowledge the youth in the audience because the youth are the future leaders of this community. And by the way, I see you, young man. Would you like to introduce yourself?

My name is Braden, and I'm a homeschool.

OK, Braden, thank you for being here, young man. You go to Maplewood, OK. And again, we're going to acknowledge the youth that are out in the lobby there very shortly with a proclamation. But with that, seeing no one else, We're going to move on to the approval of the agenda. Do we have a motion to approve the agenda?

Move approval.

Second. Move to second. All those in favor indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Excellent. We're now going to move to the oaths of office. And this is a reason I know many of you are here this evening. We're going to have a swearing in ceremony for the following individuals. Council Member Smokal. Councilmember King, and myself. We're first going to start with Councilmember Smokal. When she completes the swearing in, she will come up and she'll have an opportunity to provide some comments at that time. So please, go ahead.

I'm going to have my mom, who surprised me from Arizona, come up and hold the Constitution for me so that I can put my hand on it.

Repeat after me. I, Lizzie Smolko, do solemnly swear or affirm that I am a citizen of the United States and of the state of Washington, that I am legally qualified to assume the office of District 3 City Council Member for the City of Puyallup, that I will support the Constitution and laws of laws of the United States and of the state of Washington and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of this office to the best of my ability.

It's pretty cool.

I am deeply honored to serve as a city council liaison for my neighbors in District 3 and all of Puyallup. We got here by the power of collaboration and community engagement. I filed to run for office out of a sense of fear and anxiety. Campaigning brought so much joy, hearing all of the stories and visions of living and working in Puyallup. And today I feel nervous-sided. It's a word my family made up to describe wanting to do something so badly you're afraid you'll mess it up. Over the next four years, I pledge to prioritize the voices of our marginalized communities to ensure that all individuals, not regardless of but because of their diverse backgrounds and needs, have a seat at this table or will make the table longer. My overarching vision and mission is to listen and learn from all of you, the experts on all the issues, and be dogged in my pursuit to make it all make sense. And I'm counting on you to hold us accountable, to ask questions, and to serve you with authenticity and integrity. Thank you to all of you who are here and online. Keep coming. Keep checking in on us. And Happy New Year.

Next is Councilmember King.

Sir, raise your right hand. Repeat after me. I, Dennis King. I, Dennis King. Do solemnly swear. Do solemnly swear. Or affirm. Or affirm. That I am a citizen. That I am a citizen. Of the United States. Of the United States. And of the state of Washington. And of the state of Washington. That I am legally qualified. That I am legally qualified. To assume the office. To assume the office. Of District 2. Of District 2. City Councilmember. City Councilmember. For the city of Georgia.

and laws of the United States and of the state of Washington and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of this office to the best of my ability. Thank you, everyone. Thank you for being here tonight. I want to begin by thanking the people of Puyallup for the opportunity to serve as your deputy mayor over the last two years. It has been a true honor to serve in that role, and I'm grateful that you put my trust, that you have put your trust in me during that time. As I stand here tonight, I do so proudly as your council member, ready to continue the work ahead. I would also like to thank Mayor Jim Castema for his leadership and vision as mayor. Over the last two years, his steady guidance has brought renewed energy and momentum to our city, helping fulfill long-lasting visions that had been discussed for decades and bringing new life and vibrancy to our city. And to our incoming mayor, Ned Whitting, I look forward to working alongside you as we continue moving this city forward together. Puyallup is a city defined by its people, families, small businesses, public servants, and neighbors who care deeply about this community. That spirit is what makes this place special. And it's what guides the work that we do here. As council member, my focus remains clear. supporting public safety, investing responsibly in our infrastructure, and planning for growth that is thoughtful, intentional, and centered on the people who already call Puyallup home. I want to thank our city staff for the professionalism and dedication you bring every day. You are the backbone of this city. And to my family, my wife, Melinda, my daughter, Kensington, and my son, DK, Thank you for your unwavering support as we serve this city that we know and love. Public service is truly a team effort. Tonight, it's not just about a title. It's about a responsibility. A responsibility to listen, to collaborate, and to serve this community with integrity. I'm grateful for this opportunity and I'm proud to serve as your council member. and excited for what lies ahead. Thank you.

I, Jim Casimo, do solemnly swear, or affirm, that I am a citizen of the United States, and of the state of Washington, that I am legally qualified to assume the office of District 1, City Council Member, for the safety of all. And I will support the Constitution and laws of the United States and of the state of Washington. And I will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of this office to the best of my ability.

First of all, I want to thank all of you for the opportunity to act as your mayor for the last two years. It's been rewarding to see the city that I grew up in continue to grow and change in a way that preserves the values of a small town. As most of you are aware, the longest serving council member becomes the mayor for a two year term. At that point, the next senior council member is appointed. Although this system is atypical, it's not unprecedented, and many believe it encourages cordial and congenial interactions between the leaders of the community. This year, that honor of mayor falls to council member Ned Whitting. But before I pass the gavel, I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the former mayors who are with us today. I want to give special recognition to former Mayor Ken Martin, who recently passed away. He will be missed. On the 27th of this month, we will have a proclamation in his honor. So to the former mayors, if you could go ahead and stand after I call your name and remain standing, please. We'll start at the end with former Mayor John Hopkins, please, former Mayor Ron Crowe, former Mayor John Knudson, and former Mayor Rick Hansen. Would you all join me in giving an applause? Thank you. Thank you all. The symbolic torch that each of you carried as mayor is a torch we carry today and the torch we will pass on tomorrow. Thank you for being here. To the council, thank you for such productive and an exciting time over the last two years. It's been wonderful. To help and to guide me through this time, I want you to know that I've always adhered to three principles, three key principles. The first principle is, if you love a city, take care of it. Simple things like clean streets, park benches, well cared for parks, no graffiti, no trash, are all indications of the love you have for your city. And if you love your city, you prove it. Principle number two, every neighborhood must be safe for children and families. And that means every street, alley, park, playground is safe in every neighborhood. The city will not divide ourselves into safe and unsafe areas. Every place is good. Every place is safe. We are all in this together. Finally, the third principle that I've adhered to is that we, not others, must determine the future of Puyallup. Change is inevitable. And unless we mold change to the long-term advantage of our city, someone else will do it. And they will not love this city. They will not be concerned with how we are in 20, 30, or 40 years. Only we will. Of all our accomplishments in the last two years, I'm probably proudest of the quality of life rating residents have given our city. In our latest survey, 90.4% of our residents said they believe Puyallup offers a high quality of life, almost twice the regional average. Our downtown is thriving. Crime is down. We have high quality developments on the way. Believe it or not, we were even selected in the United States as the most likely to host a Hallmark movie, of all things. So if you want to propose to someone or you want some romance, come to Puyallup. So to continue this journey, without further ado, I'm pleased to announce the next mayor of Puyallup, Ned Whitting.

As mayor, I wanted to be sworn in just like my colleagues.

You can raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, Ned Whitty, do solemnly swear or affirm that I am a citizen of the United States and a resident of the state of Washington and the city of Puyallup. that I am legally qualified to assume the office of mayor for the city of Puyallup, that I will support the Constitution and laws and laws of the United States and of the state of Washington as well as all local ordinances and that I will faithfully and impartially carry out the duties of this office to the best of my ability.

I try to keep my comments short. So if you see me in a public setting, when we did the Van Lierps Park opening, I was reminded tonight of my lengthy speech there. Basically, I said, less talk, more rock. You're not so lucky. My remarks today will probably be the longest I give for forever. I want to start off by thanking everybody, the former mayors. I appreciate you. But we left out two former mayors. Jim Castema is our outgoing mayor. Dean Johnson was his predecessor. So two of our former mayors still serve on the city council. And I thought we needed to recognize them as well. And I'm proud of the work that our council has done. I think you've heard a little bit about it. And we've managed to keep a congenial atmosphere in Puyallup for the most part, despite the polarization that's taking place elsewhere. And I want to talk about that a little bit tonight. But first, I want to say thanks for being here. Citizenship is all about participation. And having this kind of a turnout for our city council meeting is really impressive and reassuring that we've got our house in order here in Puyallup. But I want to begin with something simple and important, and that is gratitude. I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve, grateful for the trust you've placed in me, and grateful to live in a place like Puyallup. When my family and I moved to Puyallup 25 years ago, we didn't imagine that we'd be here forever. Many of our neighbors feel the same way. They've moved here. They've put down roots. They've grown into the community and started contributing and volunteering. They've become part of the community. And now that I'm retired, my wife and I could move anywhere we want. But we want to stay in the Hallmark City. We love running into neighbors at the grocery store and our beautiful parks. We love seeing friends at our parades and buying local produce at our fantastic farmer's market. You see teachers, coaches, and mentors years after your kids have graduated, and you can disagree with someone on an issue, sometimes strongly, and still sit next to them at the concerts in the park or wave at them across the street. That kind of civic fabric doesn't happen by accident. It happens because people show up. They show up for schools, for churches, for nonprofits, and food banks, youth sports, and senior centers. They show up for one another. Which brings me to a word we use all the time, but don't always stop to think about, community. The word community comes from roots that mean shared and common. And at its heart, it implies responsibility, not just belonging, but participation. A community isn't something we consume. It's something we build. And it only works when people are willing to invest. with their time, their energy, and sometimes their patience. That belief is at the core of why I serve and how I try to approach public life. Many of you know that scouting has played an important role in my life. The values that guide me personally and publicly come straight out of the scout oath of law. I've repeated the oath of office here this evening, but I've said the Scout oath and law 1,000 times, either as a youth or as an adult volunteer. It has shaped who I am. Let me repeat it for you this evening. And we've got a Scout troop out in the candle hall, and I'd love to hear an echo of this. On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country, to obey the Scout law, to help other people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. Thank you. The honor that Oates speaks to is not about being honored, but about living honorably. The commitment to do my best, to do my duty, understands that we all have strengths and weaknesses, and we are stronger when we pull together. The policy created over this dais will be better if it's informed by the viewpoint of my colleagues, and even better if it is informed by you, the citizens of Puyallup. The Scout Oath talks about our duty to God and country. Unfortunately, political partisanship and religious resentment are dividing our country. our state, and our community, I beg your indulgence as I explore for a moment our collective duty to God and country, subjects that we're often told to avoid in polite company. And yet they're also two of the things people care the most about, because they speak to our values, our hopes, and our sense of right and wrong. The problem isn't that we care about politics or religion. The problem is what happens when we let them become obstacles instead of guideposts. When politics becomes about winning at all costs rather than serving the common good, we stop listening to each other. When religion becomes a reason to divide rather than a call to love our neighbors, including those who may have no faith whatsoever, then we lose sight of its highest purpose. In a healthy community, politics should be about solving problems together. Religion should be about forming our character and reminding us of our shared humanity. Neither should require us to see our neighbors as enemies. In Puyallup, we sit next to people in church and next to different people at the polling place. We don't all vote the same way. We don't all worship the same way, if at all. And that's OK. What matters is how we treat one another in between. We can hold strong political convictions without assuming bad intentions. We can live our faith or other deeply held beliefs without insisting that everyone do the same. We can disagree passionately while still remembering that we're part of the same community. If we can get that right, politics doesn't divide us. It challenges us to do better. And faith doesn't separate us. It calls us to be better. That, to me, is what community looks like when it's working. The Scout Law reinforces that call. It goes like this. Get ready, Echo. A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. Any community whose citizens are consistently helpful, friendly, courteous, and kind to their neighbors is a community likely to thrive. Those words matter. They've mattered to generations, and I believe they still matter today. in our homes, in our neighborhoods, and in how we govern ourselves as a city. They don't belong to a political party. They belong to people trying to do the right thing, even when it's hard. So now I'd like to talk to you a little bit about my vision for Puyallup. I'm not going to talk about our roads. I'm not going to talk about our parks. I'm not going to talk about our libraries and all of those things that I love about Puyallup. I'm going to talk about a different kind of vision. The vision is simple, but not small. I want us to be a city that grows thoughtfully, governs responsibly, and never forgets that behind every policy decision is a person, a family trying to make ends meet, a small business owner taking a risk, a senior on a fixed income, a young person just starting out. In forming public policy, we face competing priorities, often with unintended consequences. We can avoid many of the unintended consequences by listening carefully, and we should also please implement policy that provides the most good for the most people. I want Puyallup to be a place where people always feel heard, even when we disagree, when disagreements don't Don't turn into divisions where civic engagement is welcomed, not discouraged. This vision is why I'd like to focus on a few specific initiatives going forward. I ask for your support and the help of my council colleagues in designing these initiatives so that as Puyallup grows, it also grows stronger. First, mayor meet-ups. Effective communication doesn't happen in two or three minutes during public comments. There needs to be dialogue with follow-up questions so better understanding is possible. As mayor, I commit to you to make myself available for those conversations. I'm calling them mayor meet-ups. And they can happen by phone or here at City Hall. Or if there's a group involved, I'll come to meet you. No speeches, no scripts, no agenda other than conversation. I believe that listening is perhaps the most important thing an elected official can do. If you or your organization would like to share a concern, reach out to me, and we will set up a time to meet. Second, a citizens bureau. A challenge for me as a city council member, and I think for my colleagues as well, is how to get representative and timely community input on issues we are considering. I would like to consider forming a citizens bureau, which would serve as a trusted civic forum. It would be composed of residents who reflect the full breadth of the community and who are selected through a transparent and fair process to ensure legitimacy. Members would be provided with clear, balanced briefing papers prepared by nonpartisan staff, outlining policy options, potential impacts and trade-offs, and enabling thoughtful review rather than a reactive opinion. The Bureau's role would be to offer reasoned commentary that helps illuminate how proposed decisions may be understood and experienced by the community at large. By grounding its work in representative participation and informed deliberation, a citizen bureau would strengthen democratic decision-making, enhance public trust, and provide elected leaders with grounded community-wide perspectives that complement our professional expertise and political judgment. Third, district meetings. District meetings are another valuable way for public officials to interact with our constituents. They're discussed in our city code, but the reality is the city has not held any district meetings in the six years I've been on council. Recently, we've heard renewed calls to bring them back, but we've all seen talent halls on TV where meetings are completely hijacked by vocal individuals who are disrespectful of other citizens and public officials. That makes them a little forbidding for me and my colleagues, but they're still potentially very fruitful. So my district three colleagues, newly elected council member Smallco and council member Attenbarge, people are moving around, a little hard to keep track, Renee Gilliam. We've decided to hold a district meeting in District 3, which is the area up on South Hill, the district I represent. Lindsey represents and, of course, Renee represents the whole city. And we'll see how it goes. And if it goes well, then I'll encourage my colleagues to have district meetings elsewhere. Fourth, citizen recognition. We have many citizens among us in Puyallup who live out respect, kindness, and neighborliness every day. I would like to create an award to recognize those quiet heroes who serve our community without any expectation of recognition or reward. Such an award doesn't just elevate one person as much as it reminds the rest of us what we value. It would say, this is who we are and what we aspire to be. It will take time for my colleagues and I to design some of these initiatives so they function properly and serve their intended purpose. If you have thoughts or comments, please let me know. I would also like to introduce you all to one of my favorite civic organizations and invite you to an upcoming event. The civic organization is called Braver Angels. Many of us have had personal relationships sour when strong political opinions intervene. I don't believe that political considerations should come between family members and friends. Braver Angels teaches skills that help individuals how to respectfully disagree politically while maintaining strong relationships. They create spaces where disagreement is expected, Respect is required, and listening matters. The goal is remembering that the person across from you is not an enemy, but a neighbor, or a family member, or a friend. I commend them to you. You can look them up online. And if you have questions for me, I'd be happy to answer them. The event is a community celebration of the life of Martin Luther King on January 19 at Praise Chapel here in Puyallup. While Martin Luther King became a national leader of the civil rights movement, his message transcends race, era, and cause. His vision of a beloved community contemplated resolving conflicts through empathy, moral courage, and a commitment to the dignity of every human being. Be on the lookout for additional events as the year goes on, particularly the celebration of our 250-year anniversary of the founding of this country. In closing, I'm going to close where I began, with gratitude. The name Puyallup is often described as meaning generous people. Whether or not you know the linguistic history, I believe that the description fits. We are generous with our time, generous with our compassion, generous in how we show up for one another. If we hold onto that generosity in spirit, in dialogue, and in service, then Puyallup's best days are not behind us. They are ahead of us. Thank you for the honor of serving you. Thank you for being part of this community. And thank you for continuing to make Puyallup the generous place we're proud to call home. Thank you. Now on to important business. We have a mayor. We've still got a deputy mayor, but we need a new deputy mayor. So it is now time for the council to select the deputy mayor. The deputy mayor is selected by a vote of the seven council members. After that, we're going to have two proclamations. And then we're going to have a 15-minute recess so you'll have the chance to meet and greet and say hello. And we'll change a little bit of the seating up here, I think. So as we move into the selection of the deputy mayor, I would like to exercise my prerogative to take first spot here. And I would like to nominate Dean Johnson as the next deputy mayor. Do I have a second?

Second.

Thank you. Are there any other nominations?

I would like to nominate Lauren Adler for deputy mayor.

And do I have a second?

Second.

Are there any other nominations? The nominations are now closed. We will now vote based on the order. I will call for a vote first on Dean Johnson. All in favor? Aye.

Roll call.

Council Member Adler?

NAY.

Council Member Johnson? Aye. Council Member King? Aye. Council Member Gilliam?

Nay.

Council Member Castema? Aye. Council Member Smolko?

Nay.

Mayor Whitting?

Aye. Dean Johnson is our new deputy mayor.

Mr. Mayor?

Yes.

If you don't mind, I didn't know the outcome of what the result was going to be. I didn't have the votes counted. But I would like to follow precedence to take the oath of office, as you did as mayor for this new role. Would you oblige to that?

Yes, indeed. And you're welcome to say a few remarks afterwards as well.

Well, actually, before I won't say any remarks afterwards, I'd like to say some remarks before I give the oath. I'd like to... Before I take the officials in my official capacity, I'd like to speak as Dean Johnson, as just a man, in my personal capacity and exercise my First Amendment right. On a personal level and consistent with my rights under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, I would like to publicly and freely acknowledge my faith in Jesus Christ. I express this belief under the protections of the First Amendment while honoring the constitutional freedoms of all people who hold their own beliefs, as well as fully respecting the freedom of some to disagree. Thank you. I'd like to ask a dear friend of mine, Pastor Ronald McGraw, who wrote the Bible for me. These Bibles are very symbolic and meaningful. There are three people, if they were alive, would be here with me. It's my mother's Bible who passed away. It's my father's Bible who's passed away. It's my little brother's Bible who's passed away. So I would ask that Pastor Ronald McGraw can hold that as I take over the office on that.

Raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, Dean Johnson, do solemnly swear or affirm that I am a citizen of the United States and of the state of Washington, that I am legally qualified to assume the office of Deputy Mayor for the City of New York, that I will support and laws of the United States and of the state of Washington. And that I will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of this office to the best of my ability as guided by the wisdom of God.

OK, now we will move on to our proclamations. The first proclamation is with regard to Dr. Martin Luther King Day proclamation. This proclamation was sponsored by Councilmember Adler, and I've asked her to read the proclamation.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'll start by saying that I'll pause towards the end of the proclamation only because I don't want to read your part with the power vested in you as mayor for issuing the proclamation. So I don't know if towards the end you want to pick it up as your first proclamation to be issued, Mr. Mayor, but I'll pause. Proclamation, whereas Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. devoted his life to advancing equality, social justice, and opportunity for all, and challenged all people to participate in the never-ending work of building a more perfect union, and whereas... Dr. King believed immensely in the power of individual action and collective hope to create a brighter future. And whereas Dr. King's legacy encompasses pivotal US federal laws, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which established a foundation for ensuring equality and promoting justice for future generations, And whereas Dr. King taught us to see the commonality of our dreams, our hopes, our fears, the threads, truths, and dignity that bind us together as human beings. And whereas Dr. King believed that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice, and that it requires all hands and all hearts to keep its course straight and true. And whereas... We acknowledge the ongoing work needed to combat systemic racism, inequality, and injustice in all its forms, and recommit ourselves to advancing the principles of freedom, fairness, and opportunity for all people. Now, therefore, the Puyallup City Council hereby proclaims January 19, 2026, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

In witness whereof, I, Mayor Ned Whitting, have heretofore set my hand and caused the seal of the city of Puyallup to be affixed this sixth day of January, 2026. I'd like to invite the recipients of this to come forward and meet us so we can take some pictures. Would you like to introduce your colleagues?

Thank you so much. I have 30 seconds of a response, and then if you'll allow one of our members to speak. But before I do that, I would love to bring up all the members of the MLK Guiding Coalition that are here tonight. If you would join the mayor and Councilwoman Adler at the front. So I want to say good evening to Mayor Whitting and council members and Deputy Mayor. It's with joy and deep gratitude that I just want to thank you for adopting tonight's MLK proclamation. And a special thank you to council member Lauren Adler for authoring it twice. This is a multicultural, multi-sector, guiding coalition. And I look around this chamber and see all of us. We are about us being well. And I want to thank you. This group of folk have created the first ever community-wide MLK Day celebration in this city's history. And it's going to be held at the historical Black Church of Puyallup Praise Chapel on January 19. We are expecting 400-plus neighbors and friends And that building can take a whole lot more. So you're all invited. Please join us. Invite a neighbor to attend. Puyallup is about unity, service. And at that, we're going to have some songs and some dancing as well. And right now, I'm delighted to introduce my partner since the 23 Black History Celebration, Linda Sorella. She has a few words. And while she's speaking, I will come and deliver an invitation to our council. Linda.

I am honored to share a few words acknowledging the Puyallup City Council's proclamation of January 19th as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Dr. King's work was rooted in courage, justice, and a radical expansion of love. Dr. King taught us that love is not passive. He reminded us that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere and that our lives are intertwined. When we celebrate MLK Day, we honor that truth that we are bound to one another and that every person, every race, every background, every identity is worthy of dignity, safety, and belonging. Today's proclamation acknowledges that Puyallup, like every city, town, and community in the nation, is a work in progress. We are not all that we can be, and we are recommitting ourselves to, and I'm quoting from the proclamation, advancing the principles of freedom, fairness, and opportunity for all people. Your unanimous vote in favor of this proclamation is your commitment to it on our behalf. As Puyallup honors Dr. King, may we genuinely seek to carry forward his legacy not only in our words, but in our actions. May we welcome every person. May we be curious of others' stories. May we express loving acceptance. And may justice be a lived reality. May this community be a place where many want to reside because we are different in so many beautiful ways. I'd like to share a small part of my story. As a child, my circle was very Caucasian. My first employer was a person of color, as were a number of my coworkers. I did not have much contact with various ethnic groups again until I began teaching at Pierce College. Over my 30-year career at the college, I listened to numerous life stories. I learned, and I evolved as a person valuing others. Following the murder of George Floyd, I intentionally sought to learn and deepen my understanding of life's paths so different from my own. I have pursued engagement in the lives of others and asked questions with a desire to understand their path. I've been surprised, awed, and grieved. The stories have led to connection, insight, and understanding, and I'm a changed person as a result. This takes time, this takes effort, and this takes energy. Martin Luther King Day is a reminder to us to value differences, seek opportunities to hear other's stories, and honor those stories through our hands and our hearts. May all of our hands and hearts work together to advance the principles of freedom, fairness, and opportunity for all.

And before we leave, can we just please get the names of each of these beautiful coalition members? And I want to acknowledge Director Chantel Harmon-Reed, who is the director of the Health Department for our county. Thank you for being here. Carol, we'll start here, and then we'll just put our names in the room so people can know the beautiful, beautiful people who have co-created this amazing event that's going to happen on January 19th, and of which you're all going to be there. I'm Carol Cochran.

Chris Chisholm. David Montalbano. Melinda Moses. Shonda Lawson, the other Chisholm. The shadow here on there.

Ned Green. Elizabeth Lambert. Still Lauren Adler. Tyra Flores.

Rodney Woodman. Ryan McGraw.

Mary McGraw.

Aganari Favilla. Jaymarie Johnson-Kola. Thank you.

So, should we go slow? Yeah. All right, I'm gonna take it in this direction, so bear with me. Okay, are you ready? One, two, three.

OK, we have a second proclamation for Scouting America. And I'll give you one guess who sponsored this one. Whereas Scouting America has for more than a century provided young people with opportunities to develop leadership skills, self-reliance, personal responsibility, and respect for others. Whereas the scouting program emphasizes core values, including honesty, integrity, service, perseverance, and respect for community and country. And whereas Scouting America prepares youth to become responsible citizens by encouraging civic engagement, volunteer service, environmental stewardship, and an understanding of democratic principles. And whereas participation in Scouting fosters character development through experiential learning, mentorship, teamwork, and service projects that strengthen both individuals and communities. And whereas the adult volunteers, leaders, and community partners who support Scouting America play a vital role in mentoring youth and modeling positive citizenship. And whereas communities benefit when young people are equipped with the skills, values, and confidence to contribute meaningfully to civic life. And now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the city of Puyallup hereby recognizes and supports Scouting America for its enduring commitment to building character, developing leadership, and promoting good citizenship among our youth. And be it further proclaimed that the city of Puyallup encourages residents to acknowledge the positive impact of Scouting America and to support its programs, volunteers, and participants as they work to strengthen our community and our nation. In witness whereof, I, Mayor Ned Whitting, have heretofore set my hand and caused the seal of the city of Puyallup to be affixed this sixth day of January, 2026. Now, I'd like to invite our scouts to come forward. And while they're doing that, I'd just like to share with you Scouting is a pretty exciting thing for our youth. And in my years in scouting, it has taken me kayaking in the islands off the coast of Southern California, whitewater rafting down the Klamath River, up the slopes of Mount Shasta, 14,000 feet, the snow camping in a snow cave in the high Sierras of California, and many, many other adventures. So it is an opportunity to give these young people great, great experiences that they will treasure throughout their life. I know I treasure mine. Looking for a volunteer to be a recipient. Would you like to say a few words?

Sure. So on behalf of Scouting America and Pacific Harvest Council, we appreciate your partnership and continued support of Scouting in this community and ensuring that these Scouts are able to be good stewards and provide dignity to the country and dignity to the local community here in Raleigh.

We'll get you more. Thank you. Appreciate you being here. Left hand, that's the Boy Scout handshake. Scouts, please left.

I'm forgetting about the photo. It didn't happen. It's not a photo. Let me split it right here. Thank you.

These young people are working on their citizenship. And some of them are working on their citizenship in the community merit badge. And one of the requirements is they come to city council meetings. So they are going above and beyond. So at this time, I'd like to take a 15-minute break so people can meet and greet. And we're going to change our seating up here on the dais during that time period. So enjoy yourselves. Say hi to friends and neighbors. And we'll reconvene in 15 minutes.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I call the meeting back to order. Our first item of business is the consideration of minutes. Do I have a motion to approve the minutes of November 18, 2025? So moved. Second. The motion has been approved and seconded. All in favor, please so indicate.

Aye.

Any opposed?

OK, now going to citizen comments.

I now go into citizen comments. And we have a number of people that have signed up to make comments. If anybody wants to make a comment, the slips are on the table in the back. They look like this. So I'll start off with former Mayor John Hopkins. What a surprise.

John Hopkins, District 1. First off, congratulations to every one of you for multiple reasons. So welcome. I wanted to try and dispel some of the confusion that there might be about who advocates for trails. It used to be pretty obvious. Because what we would have is we'd have a lot of people come in, typically wearing yellow jackets. And I would call them the legends. There were people like Ernie Bay, Dixie Gatchel. We'd have, of course, the customers there. and Buzz Grant, a lot of people that got a lot of stuff done. But over time, well, it wasn't kind to all of them. And COVID basically ended up with Friends of the River Walk essentially getting shut down. But the mother organization, Foothills Rails to Trails Coalition, is flourishing. It's always had a lot of volunteers. And its basic mission really is Rainier to Ruston, which is where it gets a lot of money from. They are primary advocates. And I will tell you that three years ago, they made a phenomenal move and hired an executive director

So this is a very weird but legislative session, I think, at Olympia, and I think going forward as well with how things are at a national level. Seeing as the city relies on a lot of grants for funding infrastructure, it makes us particularly vulnerable. And so I was just making sure that you guys are very conscious of as we grow and expand on making sure that we have economical growth as well, right? And it's just not just new businesses, but it's spaces for new businesses. It's not just, you know, it might not be a... brand new building on the edge of town. It might not be annexation, but it might be infill development. We have a very thriving downtown at this time, which is absolute. It's a powerhouse. Why can't we grow it a little bit faster? We have two new buildings coming in in five years. That's good timing. It speaks to the vision of this council that we do have those coming in. But still, it feels like we're leaving money on the table, leaving houses unbuilt, leaving business dreams unrealized when we know we are as full as we are where we have our infrastructure currently. So yeah, I just hope that is something that you keep on the forefront of your mind as we progress throughout the year, because there's a lot of policy changes that can be implemented that make our city more productive. And not only has it come to managing growth, managing revenue growth, productively, but also managing our expenses productively and safety on our streets. I'm not really going to let this drop, but we had a very high-profile incident with a minor. probably one of the safer places to exist in Puyallup as a pedestrian. There's a lot we can do for really, really cheap if we change our road standards to be more adaptable. If we had a paint and post technique, is what I like to call it, where we use paint and flexi posts to at least get something on the ground that's real. We can increase safety on our intersections and streets very cost-effectively, so we don't have to wait for full development cycles, and we already have a pilot in place, so when we finally do get the money to implement a real thing, we already have at least some concept of what we want to see. Thank you.

Thank you. We'll next hear from Tim Mellema.

Hello, my name's Tim Mellema. I live at 335th and Meridian in Eatonville now. I have some business interests in Puyallup. I just wanted to first and foremost thank the outgoing mayor, This town is completely different than it was 10 or 11 years ago. The Hippocratic Oath is first do no harm. Your safety first approach has been wonderfully appreciated. We've been doing this eight, nine, 10 years cleaning this city up. Council's been doing an amazing time on it. This last six months, nine months had some pretty rancorous discussions in town. I appreciated now Mayor Whitting's talking about not letting politics divide us, but we had citizens standing here at this dais calling this town a KKK town. And just some really disgusting behavior. So I want to thank you as a council for just putting safety first. I mean, this town, 10 years ago, you didn't want to walk the streets. You didn't want to walk the alleys. The council as a whole would roll over when a grifter would threaten a lawsuit against, they would literally just roll over. And you guys are doing an amazing job. The town is clean. I was in the park the other day and A bunch of drugged out homeless people started a fight, and threats were made, and they were going to kill each other. Three officers showed up. The community outreach officer showed up. He's awesome. He's doing the job. He's not enabling. Former community officer literally enabled crime, enabled homelessness, told them where to go camp, to stay outside of. the city, but to be with, that Pierce County would take a while, literally had a code on the way that he would knock on a door. He would knock with just his name, and that meant it was cool to answer it and get their $25 Starbucks card. Or he'd knock and say his name, an official business, and then they would know to exit the back of their camp so he could mark that they weren't home. So you guys are doing an awesome job. Safety is... the biggest thing. I have cleaned up less human waste in the alleys in downtown Puyallup in the last two years than I did in the prior eight. So I just appreciate you guys, appreciate the hard work, and I hope the focus stays on safety because it is by far the most important thing, in my opinion. 30 seconds. Everything else is secondary to it. So thank you for your hard work, and that's it.

Next speaker will be Michael Nichols. Moving on. I'm sorry, I murdered it. I should know it by now, but I haven't had time to practice.

Good evening, council members. My name is Angeline Lee, of Pierce County District 2. Congratulations on new titles and positions, new plates, and also a new year of problem solving. Personally, I am excited to have this day finally recognized here in our city of Puyallup, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Proclamation. I remember having to deal with a racist white male police officer on an MLK Day holiday in the recent years, I would say about maybe like five, six years ago possibly, and who wanted to show me his gun and yell at me when I simply just asked him a question on a detour on the street. So since I've moved to Peralta about 20 years ago, having encountered extreme racially motivated violence by both sides of blacks and whites, we have made some progress in the right direction, but still need to continue addressing racism more head on. So while being a Puerto Rican woman has been difficult in a sea of discrimination, all of us should stand up more against the uncomfortable encounters and correct the behaviors humanely. The good news is that our community is becoming more empowered, thank goodness, against the irrational violence and are no longer going to ignore it while addressing concerns. May all of us colors of the crayon box May us all, colors of the crayon box, carry more of the values spoken by the great Dr. King of patience, understanding, respect, fairness, and empathy with others more. Excuse me. Thank you for everything that you have done in the more recent years. And may we head towards more righteousness and justice. Thank you.

Thank you. Are there any other individuals who would like to speak? Hearing none, we will move on to the next portion of our agenda, which is the Consent Agenda. These are items that are placed on the agenda because they are generally approved and routine kinds of matters. So do I have a motion to approve the Consent Agenda?

Mr. Mayor, if you don't mind, I had no precedence before you had allowed council members to take something off if we wanted to address it separately. Is that something that you're willing to consider?

Absolutely. I'm new at this job.

Okay. I'd like to, if you don't mind, I'd like to take 4D off. I'd like to, and again, we can do that at a later time or before we vote on. I just wanted to get an update on this culvert from city staff before I just kind of move it on through. That would be what I would request.

Okay. We will move item 4D from the consent agenda and make it item 6 on our agenda. Any other removals? OK, do I have a motion to approve? Motion to approve. Second. The motion has been moved and seconded. All those in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed? The motion passes. We will now move to the ordinance section of our meeting. The first ordinance that we will be considering tonight is a reading of an ordinance adopting the City of Puyallup Commute Trip Reduction Plan. And we will receive a presentation from our senior planner, Kendall Walls.

Thank you. Good evening. Kendall Walls with the Planning Division. Excuse me. Tonight, we are presenting updates to the Commute Trip Reduction Program. It's also another acronym that we use as CTR to describe it. It hasn't been substantially revised in some time. And this is both a compliance matter with state law, but also an opportunity to modernize how we support alternative commuting in Puyallup. For just a presentation overview, I have a fairly short presentation just to provide an overview of commute trip reduction, who is affected by it, the proposed updates, and the staff recommendation. The state CTR law has been in place since 1991 with three core goals. improving air quality reducing traffic congestion and decreasing fossil fuel consumption our plan dates back to 2007 and our code hasn't been updated since 1999. We're required by the 2006 CTR Efficiency Act to maintain and regularly update these plans. And so that is why we are working on this update. Just something to note, Pierce County continues to administer our actual program for the city through an interlocal agreement. And that partnership is not proposed to change as part of this effort. Just wanted to make that clear that that would still continue. So commute trip reduction applies to a very specific set of employers in the city. It's those with 100 or more full-time employees starting work between 6 and 9 AM. And in the city, this applies to the nine most populous counties. So that includes Pierce County. The affected employers are required to prepare their own CTR programs to promote alternatives to driving alone, such as carpooling, public transportation, biking, walking, or working from home. Currently we have four qualifying work sites in Puyallup and notably the city itself is one of those. So we're both regulating but also subject to these requirements as well. The other work sites are two multi-care health system work sites as well as Red Dot. To just briefly describe the updates to the plan itself, this would be a replacement of the 2007 plan. It's a four-year roadmap for 2025 to 2029, showing how we'll work collaboratively with employers, residents, and transit agencies. The plan includes performance targets to reduce single occupancy vehicle commuting. It outlines services, strategies, community engagement approaches, and funding plans. And Washington State Department of Transportation and Puget Sound Regional Council have reviewed these plans already and approved them, so showing that our plans are meeting state requirements. For the code amendments that are associated with this update, our existing code is out of date. It's chapter 21.16. It needs comprehensive updates throughout. The current version simply doesn't reflect modern practices as well as current state requirements. So some key changes are to eliminate outdated provisions, adding clear purpose statements and modernizing administrative procedures, also adding specific references to teleworking and telecommuting, which weren't prevalent concepts in 1999. So this is now a standard practice, so bringing that up to current standards. And some of this work was also to align our code better with Pierce County's code, which helps make administration of our program a little smoother. It also helps for businesses that have multiple work sites throughout the county so that deadlines and processes are consistent and they can know what to expect. So as we worked through this, we reviewed for consistency with the city's comprehensive plan and found that it is supportive of our goals and policies in our comprehensive plan. These updates will bring it into full compliance with the state CTR requirements. And with that, staff recommends that council approve first reading of both the plan and amending chapter 21.16 of the Puyallup Municipal Code. And that's all I have for our presentation, but I can be available for questions.

Deputy Mayor Johnson.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Kendall, I had some questions. You mentioned a couple of organizations or companies that were participating, and I only heard of maybe two or three, Citi and Good Sam and so forth. Is this program required or is it optional by organizations?

It's required.

It's required. And what's the bar that triggers requirement? A certain size? Many employees? Correct.

Over 100 employees starting work between 6 and 9 a.m. Oh, so 100 employees starting work only in that window of time.

Correct. Wow. I wonder who came up with the dynamics of only that window of time?

I believe the state. I think it has to do with impacts traffic-wise during those hours.

Is the city required to do this? Or can we just say, hey, listen, we're not interested?

I believe we're required by the state.

The question I would like to know, again, I'm not doubting that this is effective and has some possible positive effect, but it seems to me, I would really like to know, are we just doing it because we're required by law, the state law, or is it actually making a tangible difference? We're going through all these hoops, but is it really making a difference on some of these criteria, pollution and traffic and all that stuff? I don't know. Are there metrics to show This program in our city is actually making a definite difference Or is it just kind of checking the boxes because it's kind of required by state that we have any data as it is the Council recalcitrant say any any metrics that show that it's working.

I Don't know if we have specific data for the city itself. That's something that we can look into We can talk with our counterparts at the county. Mm-hmm

Again, I'm not, I guess I'm just kind of, when I'm hearing this presentation, I'm just thinking of bureaucracy and good intentions, but unintended consequences, is it really doing something? I guess I'm just a little frustrated, you know, we're going through the motions, but is it really making a difference? If it's not making a difference, why should we put employers or people through these hoops when it's maybe not making much of a difference? That's the only question I kind of have on it. And so you say 100 or more employees between these two hours? Wow. Interesting. Well, anyway, you could tell my thoughts on that. And maybe this is part of bureaucracy, but it seems to me there should be performance metrics before we continue on if we have options to continue to do something. If it's not really making a difference, I don't know why we're doing it. But I understand requirements. Hypothetically, maybe this would be just exploring. Let's just say maybe our city attorney or city manager could speak to a hypothetical. Let's just say we discovered this is not effective. It's not making a tangible difference. And the city decided to say, we're going to pull out this program. Are we bound by state law to carry it out? Or is there any funding concerns that we might miss out on if we decided to do that? Maybe just some general questions on that. If we can't answer that without further discovery, I'm certainly happy to get back with it. But just in general, I'd like to get an idea.

Well, Deputy Mayor Johnson, I guess I would need a lot more facts, and it would depend. There's my lawyer answer for you. However, typically when these things are prescribed by the state, we have limited wiggle room. They're monitored and they're adjudicated by, not necessarily always by the courts, but typically administrative boards or things like that, which are a little tougher to convince for certain claims and things of that nature. So it would likely be, regardless of your factual circumstance, it would potentially be a tough road to hoe. But obviously, I'd need a lot more information before I can give any kind of a real opinion.

I'm not requesting that we go there. I'm publicly kind of posing the scenario and the question, not that there's a lot of energy to be put towards this, but just simply want to know, is it actually making a difference? And if not, then why are we doing it? But if there's no options, that's fine. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Councilmember Kastema. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Commute reduction program seems the goal is fairly obvious, to reduce commuting. Yet in the modifications that you listed that are made, you say you changed the purpose and the intent. So what's the new purpose? What's the new intent?

So that is in the code itself. And previously, there was no purpose and intent. So we added one. We added a new section to the code.

Again, because the title itself is somewhat clear what the intent is to reduce commuting. So what is the new intent and what is the new purpose? Could you please recite that?

The purpose of this chapter is to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare by establishing goals and requirements for employers to implement commute trip reduction programs in accordance with RCW 70A.15.4000-4080. The city recognizes the importance of increasing citizens' awareness of climate change, air quality, energy consumption, and traffic congestion, and the contribution individual actions can make toward addressing these issues. The intent of this chapter is to achieve the following objectives. Would you like me to read through those objectives? One, to improve air quality, reduce traffic congestion, and reduce the consumption of petroleum fuels through employer-based programs that encourage the use of alternatives to the single occupant vehicle for the commute trip. Two, to make optimal use of existing and planned transportation facilities to minimize development costs and preserve business opportunities in Puyallup, Pierce County, and the state of Washington. three, to adopt a cooperative and coordinated approach to reducing the number of drive-alone trips, an average vehicle miles traveled, VMT, to ensure consistency regarding commute trip reduction, CTR, policies and implementation, and four, to treat affected employers in a fair and reasonable manner.

All sounds fair. I would just, however, if those in fact now are identified as the goals, then we have to track those. And I said we have to come up with the performance measures. I believe that's what you said, correct?

The performance measures are in the plan, and they will be established through our work with Pierce County.

Well, it'd be good to see those and see how well we're doing to track our progress, as Councilmember Johnson just said.

And that would be something that would come forward through the work of the plan, because there haven't been performance measures previously.

OK, good. So how often will you report those to us?

I believe that they do surveys on an annual basis. I could confirm that with our liaison and see when those reports would be available.

Thank you. Council Member Adler.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Kendall, thank you. I just want to make sure that I'm following correctly. So this is a state program. We're unsure if we are legally bound to participate in it. Am I tracking correct?

Well, we are legally bound. I mean, the city alone is by the number of employers within that time frame. And then jurisdictions are required to implement the program by state law.

Thank you for that clarification. And in the presentation, it says that Pierce County currently administers the program to employers in Puyallup through an interlocal agreement. which is not proposed to change at this time. So we don't even administer it, because we have this agreement with your center. And so I think I'll support this in first reading. I do agree with my colleagues that it would be good to see some data, just because I'm curious. And I recognize that that might not be available, and that might not We might not be able to see that in time for a second reading. But I do think that the continued conversation about this is important, and just seeing that data. But I am also interested, especially given this interlocal agreement, what is the staff time for Puyallup? Or what is our financial commitment, if there is one? That's what I would be interested in, just kind of big picture. And then finally, as it moves forward, I see here, too, in the recommendation from staff, it says, goals and policies in the comp plan support the amendments. And so I'm also wondering, as we move forward, if we can crosswalk that so I can have a better idea of where it's supporting the comp plan, if that makes sense.

Yes. I thought that they were in the packet, so I will ensure that they are for second reading for sure.

Okay.

Thank you. That's all.

Are there any other council members who want to speak before we give Deputy Mayor Johnson a second bite of the apple? Okay, Deputy Mayor.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Kendall, you referenced in your presentation that this program has been implemented, as I understand, here in Puyallup for how many years? 1990-something or whatever?

The code was established in 1999.

Implemented here in 25, 26, 27 years, whatever, right? Well, I would sure like to think that in 25 years we would have some kind of data to know if this has been making a difference. And if so, great. If not, then why would we continue to do something if we have no known benefit? The concern I have is that you have great employers who've got perhaps better things to worry about or be concerned about, for example, the hospital and focusing on patient care and all the staffing things they have. And if they're trying to jump through hoops because they have to meet this criteria, taking away from their primary use of importance in other employees. Red Dot just moved here. They're a great new employer here. But again, is this creating some bureaucratic requirement that we can justify its continuation? Again, I would be... I'm a little skeptical going on for 25, 26, 27 years. We have really no data to show that this has made a difference in some of these objectives of air quality, reducing fuel, encouraging carpools. We have no idea, and yet requirements for these employers are having to be, in a sense, met or at least participating. So I'd like a little bit more proof. And number two, I'd like to see if If truly we if we can't show any data that this is making a difference if there are if there are legal Ways for us to say hey, listen, it's just not working for us And we appreciate respect, you know kind of what you're requiring of us, but I'm not sure if it's required if it's not working that seems like Monotonous. So anyway, that's just my thoughts and Appreciate let me share that. Thank you.

Mr. Mayor Councilmember Smolko

Hi, Kendall. Thanks to meet you. Just in a quick internet search, I learned on the Pierce County site. So I think a lot of this onus goes back to the county. For us, not you, not even the city of Puyallup. But even just on the Pierce County website, they haven't updated the data on key efficacy on this since 2001. So they've tracked it from 1993 to 2001 as far as what they've shared. There definitely is a gap in what's been happening since. I, too, am a big proponent for being a good steward of the environment. That's key to my value system. But I'm also an educator and researcher, and I know that we have to have data, not just anecdotal stuff. So I'm curious as to if it is this important, and I believe it is, then we've got to be able to back it up. And by we, I mean them. So then share that with us.

Any further comments? OK, we'll, oh, Council Member Kastema, came in under the Y.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I move that we adopt first reading of an ordinance adopting the City of Puyallup Committee Trip Projection Plan, four-year plan, 2025-2029, and amending chapter 21.16, Puyallup Municipal Code. Again, first reading. Second. I move.

I have a valid second. All in favor? Please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed?

Nay.

The ayes have it. The first reading of the ordinance adopting the city commute trip reduction plan has been passed. We will now move on to item 5B on our agenda, which is the first reading of an ordinance amendment. municipal code as it pertains to the billing for solid waste services. And we will receive a report by analyst Talika Makaria.

Good evening, Mayor Whitting, Council Members, Tulika Makharia, Performance Management Analyst. The ordinance before you tonight relates to the billing for solid waste, yard waste, and recycling services in the city of Puyallup provided by Murray's Disposal Company. I will provide a brief background to the ordinance and then attempt to answer any questions that you may have. So for a while now, staff has been working with Murray's to renew their contract with us for their services. And at your next council meeting, we will bring you that contract for your approval. In the course of our discussions with Murray, we chanced upon an opportunity for process improvement that we believe will benefit our residents. Currently, in the City of Puyallup, residents are billed on a fixed two-monthly cycle in advance of their services provided by Murray's. What that means is, for example, your January bill reflects services provided in January and February. Obviously, this does not align with the delivery of the service. It is specifically challenging for new customers who may start their services mid-cycle. Depending on when they start, that could add up to three, four months of bills that they are required to pay because they have to pay for the current cycle, part of the current cycle when they start the service and the full next cycle. So to address this, the ordinance before you proposes to modify the billing practices so that residents will be billed for the past month's service and the current month's service. So what this does not do is that it has no impact on the actual service fees or rates. It is still a two-month billing cycle. All it does is change the timing of the bill. The bill reflects different months of service. And it will reduce the bills up front, bills for new customers. It aligns better with the actual service that is provided. And it will also help us match the billing schedule for other cities around us, like Sumner, Bonney Lake, Buckley, and Nordic. So that is what the ordinance is in front of you. We're looking for passing the first reading and happy to answer any questions that you have.

I'd like to take the first bite here. I understand the rationale of moving to the new billing approach. However, there's a significant impact on cash flow for Murray's in doing so. In other words, if we suddenly converted from a billing for January, February to one for December, January, then they'd already have paid December. So Murray's would only collect for one month in January as opposed to two. So that would put a gap in their cash flow. Am I interpreting that correctly?

I can tell you this. First of all, we do have Stephen Hopkins, who's a regional manager. Sorry if I said that right. Yes. But this is a recommendation that came from them. And they have worked with the neighboring cities to change the billing practice there. But if you'd like, I can ask Stephen to speak to this.

So you're in accord with this, Stephen?

Yes. So would you like me to?

Please step forward.

Yes. No, this was something that we have moved to in other municipalities and the county, something identified through some interactions with community members and council members here, where we realized that there was a bit of a hole in the swing. It aligns it with the rest of, and you are right, there will be a cash flow deficit for a month, but that's something that is going to be OK. We're not opposed to it in any way. I think it aligns better with better customer service on the lines of also not allowing so much debt to climb on the bills that it almost becomes daunting to pay. And that's something I think that will benefit the community.

Well, thank you. I appreciate that. It seems like you're being a good community citizen. And on behalf of the citizens of Puyallup, I appreciate that. Thank you.

Deputy Mayor Johnson. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Talika, could you tell me how did this issue come to the forefront? Was this triggered by city staff? Was this triggered by customer input? Was this triggered by Murray's? How did this conversation come to the forefront?

So as far as I know, there was no specific customer input, but our contract with Murray's for their services has expired, and like I said, we're working on a new contract that we will bring to you at your next council meeting. So it was during those discussions when we were looking at the contract again, looking for opportunities to make things better, find where we could do some improvement, and that is where it came up.

Okay. So it came through the... Ongoing discussions of a potential new contract and this issue came up in some capacity It was discussed and and worked out from the work from Murray's and with city staff in terms of a reasonable Approach to bring to the correct.

It seemed like this would be beneficial to our residents.

Yeah Yeah, so I'd like to speak on this it makes sense to me to have it this way where you pay You know not in advance before you get the service you pay after you get the service most every You know, credit card use, you charge it, you pay your bill after it's done, you go to the store, you pay after you get the groceries, and you walk out, you don't pay in advance for groceries and then go pick them out later. Makes sense to me, whatever reason, that's how it went, but it makes sense to make this adjustment. And I appreciate staff and the Murray Company to put that together, and I think it will benefit our customers, there's no question about it. I've been paying that bill for 30 years. I never even knew I was paying in advance. I just paid it. Anyway, so I do appreciate Murray's and the organization. So I'd like to propose that we make a first reading. I'd like to make a motion to make first reading of this ordinance, as mentioned in 5B, as a motion for consideration. Second. Second.

The motion has been moved and seconded. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? The motion is passed. OK, we will now move on to- Thank you, council. Thank you, Talika. We will now move on to item six, which is not on our agenda. Rather, on our agenda is item 4D. So given that this is your issue, Deputy Mayor Johnson, could you- I will turn the time over to you to discuss what your concerns are here.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Yeah, I get kind of excited when I see some of these covert projects. There's just so many of them in our city. Could I get an update on how this covert process is coming? And once we accept this grant, what will happen with that grant money? And what will we see? Is this grant money that is coming in after we've already done the work? Or is this grant money that will actually help us begin to start that? Could I get some information on that? And then also, how many other coverts are we working on that need to be done in terms of the future? I know we've done a few, but what's remaining if we could? Just a general oversight of these culverts.

Absolutely. Hans Hunger, city engineer. So this is a culvert, a grant program that we put a long game into in trying to secure this. This grant program is primarily geared at restoration work, which includes culvert replacements, for restoring kind of water trying to get back into the ground to restore the aquifer. And our stormwater engineer, Paul Maranin, had participated in a committee that was for our water resource area and did the groundwork for lining up these culverts where we have abilities to do restoration on either side of the culverts. These are on 27th Street and on 12th Street where it enters in from the upper plateau down onto the valley floor to do that restoration that'll get the water in. So this was a very good fit for these. We've also had two of these culverts have had to have emergency repairs done on them. They're older style culverts that were put in when that very primitive road was put in many years ago. And they just aren't able to keep up with the modern flows from developed areas upstream. So this one's a great one. We've already done also the 30% design on these culverts that allowed us to kind of show that we were ready for using this money. We'll probably do, since there's four culverts here, do it in two separate construction contract phases there. We've got two culverts on a tributary to Deer Creek and two on the main stem of Deer Creek to do. So this is an area that's between kind of upstream is the Shaw Road culverts along with the Shaw Road project that need to be done. but they're in a steeper section of deer creek those still need to be done we'll be looking at grants for trying to facilitate that along with all the other construction that needs to happen on shaw road and then downstream of these culverts you go all the way through a crossing under pioneer crossing under the railroad tracks until your final crossing is at east main We're currently working on East Main on the preliminary scoping of that, which might involve some acquisition there. So trying to get those details worked out before we will try for another grant or using some of our flood control zone district money also to be able to replace that culvert that goes that's right now very undersized under East Main. But that's a pretty major culvert there. So a lot of work in the Deer Creek area. I think we're on the initial phases of starting this work, restoring that. Amazingly, with all the fish passage problems and things that we have there, the fish still manage to get up into these areas and stuff. Because where a culvert might be a blockage maybe 80% of the time, you get a high water event, water backs up, now they can make it through on there. So it's amazing how resilient some of these migratory fish are in this area.

Thank you, Hans. So on this grant, accepting this, will this grant be sufficient up to complete a or several culverts? Four culverts. Four?

Fantastic. Yeah, one on 12th Street, and there's three as Deer Creek and Tributary cross under 27th.

Great. That's amazing.

Yep. And I do really want to just give a shout out to our stormwater engineer, Paul Marin. He's rode this one through the whole way on trying to secure this. Everything from being part of the original committee to getting the application in and then working very hard to show that they won't fund these culverts if there was a total blockage downstream. And showing, nope, there isn't a total blockage. The fish still get up to here. So replacing these culverts before we do East Main still has value.

Great. And then what's the amount of this grant approximately that we're getting? Is it quite a few?

It's a little over $8.7 million.

That's impressive. So we need to give credit to somebody on this. I don't know who, but that's a pretty impressive grant that we've won. And I hope there's some recognition by, I mean, obviously it was a team effort. Don't get me wrong. It is. But there has to be some group or someone that we can thank in addition to the state. We need to thank the state for providing that funding for us. But that's $8 million. It's pretty significant. And four culverts is very significant.

Yeah, and I would say, if I had to point out, I've mentioned Paul Maron, and I would also point out our grants coordinator, Jessica Johnson, does a fabulous job. I mean, she is taking what we as engineers put together and say, we can word it a little differently than this guy so it's more understandable, and just really polishing off these applications.

So I'd like to get a message out to our city manager. City manager, I hope that, at least on behalf of myself and perhaps many on this council, that we're thanking and recognizing Paul and Jessica for their hard work on this. That's a significant grant. Those don't come easy. And I sure hope they get recognition on that, because that's a benefit to our city. It's a benefit to the residents. It's a benefit to our habitat, streams, equal, all that stuff. It's amazing. And I think I'm wrapping up. You can tell I'm kind of passionate about culverts. I live next to one, so I kind of appreciate that. So let's say once we accomplish these four, how many left throughout the city do we have to replace still? Are there still quite a few remaining? I don't mean an exact science, but is there a kind of a, we have a lot of tributaries and a lot of creeks and rivers.

Well, luckily we don't have a lot of tributaries that run through here. We have Meeker Creek. Yeah. Clark's Creek doesn't have any culverts on. We've got bridges over that. And then Deer Creek. Deer Creek is the one that really has the most culverts on. They're historically very old culverts that were done under a whole different standard before fish passage was really even thought of as this is important to get right.

So how many would we have left at West East 4?

I wish I could give you an exact, but I would say we probably have like 12 at least. But I'll revise that up, because as you take Deer Creek down 25th, you're going under every driveway that still can create a barrier for there.

That's amazing. And if I recall, just to test my memory, I recall, and maybe city staff or you, Hans, could help me, But I think part of the reason why we're replacing some of these culverts, and other cities are, is because this was kind of a, wasn't there a lawsuit to where the city, or to the state of Washington was sued, and they had to, whatever, provide these culverts? Am I mistaken? Am I memory on that?

No, you are not. The state of Washington was sued as part of the treaty rights with the tribes. The basic premise was, look, we're giving up some land, but we get to keep our fish. And the premise of the lawsuit was, if you start to restrict with all these culverts the fish, well, you still have our land, but we don't have our fish anymore. And that really resonated there. And it went through several appeals. Now, that was to the state, not to the cities. But we realized that that could be taken to individual jurisdictions there with the premise that was set there. So by being proactive. on saying, we're really trying to work on these culverts. It's a good way to keep ourselves out of litigation.

Well, thank you, Hans. And I want to say to my colleagues, thank you for letting me kind of digress. I really wanted to drill down a little deeper. And so I appreciate your ability to allow me to do that. So I'm very satisfied and very encouraged. And so I would like to move that we accept this grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology.

For these four different culvert projects as itemized previously in 4d, but now an item number six I second that all in favor Any opposed motion passes Okay, we now move on to our city managers report I will turn the time over to city manager Steve Kirkley I

Yes, thank you, Mayor Whitting and Deputy Mayor Johnson and council members. Congratulations on your first meeting of the year. Many, many more great meetings to come in 2026. Your agenda for the next meeting, which is January 27, some preliminary items. There will be a public hearing on the development agreement with Good Samaritan Hospital. You had a presentation on that late last year. And so that matter will be coming back to you for a public hearing and consideration of the development agreement. There will be second readings of both ordinances that were before you this evening. And then the Development and Permitting Services Department will be presenting their work plan for this coming year. It's pretty extensive and I want to get direction from all of you on that. And then there will also be an informational presentation introduction by City Engineer Hans Hunger, who you just heard from, regarding a traffic impact fee study. So those are the items for your next meeting on January 27th. Thank you.

We'll now move on to our Councilmember reports, and let's start with Councilmember Kastema.

Thank you, Mayor. Appreciate that. I think that I've spoken quite a bit this evening, but I would like to speak to the scouts who are here and who have kind of labored through all of this part of the meeting. You're now an expert on culvert replacements. You've learned about the commute reduction plan and maybe its lack of performance measures. You also We'll be somewhat of an expert on the Puyallup Municipal Code as it pertains to billing for solid waste services. So you've actually, in reality, seen a lot of the issues that we deal with on the council. They're not necessarily exciting. But it's the cumulative effect of all of these decisions that we make up on the council that, again, may not be things you're going to go home and tell your parents about that you saw, but they build a good, productive city that people want to live in. And these are somewhat, at times, mundane decisions that would be made. Council Member Johnson, I applaud all of your analysis. And that's excellent, but I don't know anybody but you who would do that. And thank God you do, because this is the kind of scrutiny that council members bring to items within the city. And again, it all accumulates to a well-run city and one that you want to live in and hopefully someday be a leader within. So with that, I'm just going to say thank you for being here. To all of the scouts, you're always welcome. And with that, Mayor Whitting, take it away. Councilmember Gilliam.

Thank you, Mayor Netting. Sorry. I just wanted to say welcome to Councilmember Lindsay Smolko. Glad to have you on the team. Welcome to Mayor Ned Whitting, I will get there, and Deputy Mayor Dean Johnson. And to the scouts, thanks for hanging out with us today. I know two of you, so I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts at school tomorrow. And I'm proud of you for showing up and being a scout and learning how to improve your life outside of school. as well as in school. As a teacher, I've got to say that. But I'm glad you're here. And then I wanted to say a huge shout out to the city staff and to Stephen Hopkins for the collaborative work to continue to do what we can to reduce costs for our residents, as well as do what we can to keep our city flowing Sorry. Flowing and clean. You might hear my voice that I'm a little under the weather, so I do apologize for not talking more. But I'm just really proud of our city staff. I'm really proud of our council. And I'm especially proud and grateful for the youth of our community and our residents. So thank you.

Council Member King.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Council Member Smoko, welcome to the team. Thank you. all the way down at the other end. I got booted to this end, so we're good. It's a good seat, yes, for sure. Scouts, thank you so much for coming tonight. It's a pleasure to see you all. Thank you to everyone else that showed up for tonight's event and supporting this council. I had the pleasure of speaking with a lot of you during our break, and I had the pleasure of speaking with one individual that applauded us on how cordial and civil we are on this dais. And whereas we don't see that on other councils that much. And so I just want to thank all of my colleagues for having a civil, educated, and appropriate discussion amongst each other. And thank you all for coming here tonight and look forward to serving for another four years. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Councilmember Smolko.

Oh gosh, where do I begin with all the things I have to report so far? I don't, but I am looking forward to having reports to share. I'm really looking forward to finding out what those should be based on what y'all need and everybody who's not in this room or who may be watching or will hear about it later. I encourage you all, especially one of my, I'm also a teacher, and one of my biggest goals is to try to engage students more people in civic government and local government particularly, especially our youth. And it's really hard in doing this running for office. I've learned that it's very clear why so many people are retired or a lot older that take on these political roles, because it takes a lot of time and energy and a commitment. And so I think that's something that I'd like to try to change and manipulate and mold in any way I can by getting more people involved younger and in ways that are more exciting. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to maybe picking some of y'all's brains about how to do that and what would get you to get your bums in the seat, so to speak, and meet your needs as well as your parents and grandparents and other neighbors, et cetera. So thanks for being here. Come back.

Council Member Adler.

Thank you. Thank you, Scouts. Thank you, everyone, for hanging tough. It was a very exciting evening and monumental evening to set us off for our next two-year cycle. So thank you. I, like everyone else up here on the dais, appreciate seeing new faces and, in particular, younger faces. You know, it is... I just really appreciate you hanging tough, because I know that it's been a long day. So thank you. I did have one question for the city manager or the mayor. When will committee assignments come before the council?

They will be prepared for the next meeting on January 27th, I believe. 26th? 27th.

OK. Thank you. Happy New Year. Councilmember Johnson.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'd like to welcome also Councilmember Smokal to the team. I appreciate that. The people of Puyallup picked the team, and we work together as a team because of that, and so that's wonderful. I also want to say I think you'll enjoy that seat. When I was first elected, I sat in that seat as well, and even in my last election, reelection, I could have had seniority to sit elsewhere. I said, I still want to sit over there. It's a great seat. And the reason why I like it is I would sneak over to the city attorney, city manager, ask questions, city clerk. And it was a nice little connection point to get to ask questions. So I think you'll like that wing down there. And I welcome you to the team. Yeah, appreciate it. I also want to recognize former Mayor Ken Martin, who's not here. He did recently pass, a week ago last Sunday, I believe. I wasn't able to, unfortunately, make it to his memorial service. I wanted to, but was not able to attend due to outside factors. I am glad that, as I heard earlier today, that we will be recognizing him end of this month. to some of the scouts in the room. I remember when I first moved here over 30 years ago, I took my children for kind of a civics lesson to a Puyallup City Council member meeting and in fact it was over where kind of the area where the condos are and the coffee shop there. That was where the old building was there. It's a general area. And Ken Martin was on the council at that time and And there were two council members that kind of, there's a lot of them, I remember them all by name, but there were two that kind of inspired me. And Ken Martin was one of the ones that inspired me, in a sense, to be interested in public service. He was a humble man. He was a moral man. He was a calm demeanor man. He was a man that worked hard, ran a good business, a hardworking man. He was a family man. He was a man not only of faith, but a man, I believe, from what I could tell, lived out his faith. And it was consistent in his being who he was. And so I always admired him and looked up to him. Even though I didn't know him intimately, I had interactions with him over the 30 years. But what a true testament of a public servant and a good human being that I certainly want to honor and thank um and i'll look forward to that event into this month to say a few more words i also want to thank the scouts as well you know i appreciate What you stand for, I was never a Scout as a young man. I was never really introduced to it. So I think I may have missed out. But I do appreciate that in today's day and age that it seems what I've heard on some of the Scout mottos, that there's still an element of faith in God. And it seems that we're living in a society that is pretty secular. And we do have a First Amendment right and Constitution to live out our faith and express it freely, even though others may disagree or may not share that faith. And that's fine. I do appreciate an organization that allows those that may share that value to be able to express it freely. So I want to thank and admire the Scout system for offering that opportunity for those who want that or choose that, as I think it's a great example in a world that perhaps could use a moral compass. In any case, that's all I had, Mr. Mayor. Thanks for the opportunity.

Thank you. I'll just wrap up with my mayor's comments. Just two things. One of the things we have to decide is where people sit on the dais as we take on our new responsibilities. And I plugged this in here this week without too much input. So if I got it wrong for anybody, you're free to contact me and I'll try to adjust. The other comment I'd like to make is, again, I never made my Eagle. I'm sorry. I topped out at life. 24 merit badges. And you'll never guess what the merit badge I didn't get was. Citizenship in the community. I was very close to getting my citizenship in the community, but my troop had never had an Eagle Scout. And I was kind of on my own trying to figure out what an Eagle project constituted. So I never made it. But I'm doing my community service now, so I figure I deserve a merit badge. The other thing I'd like to, we think the young people are our future and you guys are working on your citizenship in the community merit badge, most of you I assume. Let's see a show of hands, how many of you working on your citizenship in the community. OK, so a lot of you. So a lot of Scout merit badges lead to vocations in the topic subject of the merit badge. And I'd like to refer to my colleague, Councilmember Adler. How old were you when you became active in politics?

18 months.

I have a picture. So afterwards, if you're not running out the door, come ask me for the picture. In 2003, I was in eighth grade. And I was a page in the state legislature. And I was a page. for our state senator at the time. And his name is Jim Kastema, my colleague, who I now have a full circle moment, have had a full circle moment for the last two years of having the honor and privilege of representing the same district alongside him here on this dais. 13, I just turned 37. So stick with it.

So hear that. Eighth grade, she was serving as a page. So you don't have to look very far out in the future before you can engage in civic service. I just wanted to make you aware of the opportunities if you've got an interest in being bored to death. It really is a calling, a service, and you really make a difference. So I believe scouts are best trained for that kind of service, and thank you for being here tonight. And with that, I will close the meeting.