City Council - Regular Meeting

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

Deputy Mayor Bushnell.

Present.

Council Member Diaz. Here. Council Member Hines. Here. Council Member Palmer. Here. Council Member Rumbaugh. Here. Council Member Sedalge.

Here.

Council Member Scott. Here. Council Member Walker. Here. And Mayor Ibsen.

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

We gratefully honor and acknowledge that we rest on the traditional lands of the Puyallup people where they make their home and speak the Lushootseed language. Please stand for the flag salute and remain standing for a moment of silence.

Thank you.

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

I move to adopt the consent agenda, including resolutions number 41999 through 42003. Second. Moved and seconded.

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 Tacoma natives Arthur and Thomas Anderson, who pioneered the pre-stress concrete industry in America. And whereas their innovations in advanced concrete design in pre-casting, pre-stressing, and post-tensioning, and in cost-saving construction techniques have earned them global respect and recognition. And whereas they've manufactured products for many of Tacoma's and the Puget Sound region's landmarks and infrastructure, including Cheney Stadium, the Tacoma Dome, piers and terminals in the Port of Tacoma, buildings and parking garages all across the city, and much of the region's highways and interstates. And whereas Concrete Technology Corporation prioritizes its role as a respected corporate citizen of Tacoma, supporting and partnering with many local community organizations and encouraging its employees to do the same, and whereas they remain a local, family-owned, and operated cornerstone of the regional economy, providing gainful employment opportunities for hundreds and investing in employee well-being, and whereas Concrete Technology Corporation continues to carry on the vision of its founders to lead the industry by constantly pushing the limits of technical innovation, including recent production of the longest, most cost-effective bridge spans in North America, which span the Puyallup River across Interstate 5. Now, therefore, I, Anders Ibsen, Mayor of the City of Tacoma, on behalf of the City Council, do hereby proclaim Sunday, August 30th, 2026, as Concrete Technology Corporation Day in the City of Tacoma. And we extend our congratulations to everyone at Concrete Technology Corporation for 75 years of innovation, quality, and leadership in the industry, and our appreciation for the countless contributions to our local community, economy, and infrastructure. Please say a few words.

Mayor Ipsen, Council Members, and... Community members present, thank you for this opportunity. We are happy to be and excited to be a part of Tacoma and remain a part of Tacoma long into the future. And current generations and future generations are here with us as a family-owned business looking into the third and fourth generation. And we're excited to prolong that in the future and be a valuable part of our community and provide really interesting infrastructure in the future for our community, as well as jobs for our local community, and to partner with our community to build our community into strong and meaningful areas that we can contribute to build a great community around us. So thank you for this opportunity tonight and recognition.

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. We are building record-setting girders, we'll say, for the Western Hemisphere, going over all of Interstate 5, as you see, outside of Tacoma. It was a pretty impressive feat. The first company in the United States to promote pre-stressing. floating concrete structures, which are super unique to the Northwest. So we really are still, 75 years later, leading innovation at a national level with what we do right here in Tacoma.

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 union jobs in our industry in this port and give back, not just economically, but in who you are. So appreciate you being here, and I'm really happy to be able to see you get this proclamation.

Thank you.

Thank you. Council Member Hines.

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 concrete technology, right? Some of these huge stands you're seeing all up and down the I-5 corridor. And it reminds me that hopefully, you know, as people think about these modern marvels, they're not only thinking about you all and the work you're doing, but also the city of Tacoma because you're a company that's deeply tied to us, and we're hoping to be deeply tied to you all for the years ahead. I think mostly because of, you know, like Councillor Stoggins said, the great economic opportunities you provide for people in the community, the fact that you are exporting value, not only regionally, but across the Western Hemisphere, as you made a point about. It's just like there's all sorts of places where you can go across the Western Hemisphere to see your work, but really also then thinking about just being a great corporate partner and working with us as a city and how we can kind of thrive together. So thank you so much for this. Congratulations on your anniversary, and hopefully more of my colleagues will take you all up on the tour. It's great. It's a great one.

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.

Thank you. All right, everybody, look up to your smile. One, two, three. Let's do one more.

And one, two, three.

Moving on to public comment. Clerk, please read.

This is the time set aside for public comment. Speakers are asked to identify the specific legislation they wish to address.

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

I'm here to support the proposal to change the flag of Tacoma. Few would argue that our current flag is something we can really rally behind or feel proud of. The point that is critical to this discussion tonight is not that this is a conversation that will start when the City Council approves the resolution. This conversation has been going on for three years. It was a grassroots effort that lacked the catalyst to bring it to the front of people's minds, and Council Member Hines' resolution has done that. Thank you. When Chandler O'Leary passed away April 2, 2023, she was only 41 years old. Her family, her art, her books, and her flag, these are all her legacy. Chandler, in her own creative way, left an indelible mark on Tacoma that is still a part of the city's soul. The grassroots efforts to adopt Chandler's flag began in August of that same year, 2023. Chandler had designed and hand-sewed a prototype Betsy Ross style in 2012 for an exhibit which asked local artists to propose a new flag for the city of Tacoma. Following the design principles that have been outlined in this agenda item, Chandler wrote in her own words, I wanted to tell the story of our city and its place in the Northwest, but to do so as minimally as possible. The white triangle represents Mount Rainier.

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?

Hello, I am speaking to resolution 420-01 for the 12-year tax exemption. I am requesting that the council restructure the way the agenda is handled to ensure that public comment goes prior to consent agendas because Mayor Ibsen did provide a vote of aye on resolution 420.01 in which there may have been potential personal conflict of interest financially for the potential to futurely involve in the sale of a residential unit from that development. And because of that, I'm requesting that council reassess Mayor Ibsen's ability to vote on any matter that involves tax exemptions from personal property, the development of anything residential, and the sales of anything that involves a real estate agent, because I do believe that there is a potential for personal conflict of interest, as Mayor Ibsen himself has abstained from votes in the past regarding matters of those topics. And whereas I have witnessed Mayor Ibsen mouth, eye, even though there is an abstinence of vote. And because that development is taking place on a plot of land that has elevated levels of arsenic, lead, and cadmium, the disruption of that soil is a health risk to everyone in that community. Thank you for speaking.

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?

ARE YOU THERE? SORRY, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? I'M SPEAKING TO THE RESOLUTION ABOUT ADOPTING A NEW FLAG DESIGN AND I JUST WANT TO REITERATE THE PREVIOUS COMMENTS OF as somebody who was fortunate enough to consider Chandler O'Leary a friend and what an honor it was to have her a part of our artistic community where she was a core member and very dedicated to creating arts and the impact of the creative community on the city of Tacoma. Chandler, as some people may not know, was a graduate of the prestigious art school, Rhode Island School of Design, and then made the choice to make Tacoma her home. And her flag design, as was stated, is very intentional and reflects the history of Tacoma, including the terminus of the railroads, Tacoma's location at the base of Mount Rainier, and the very important design aesthetics that allow the plague to be recognizable from a long distance by people of any ethnicity, any level of literacy, and it just shows a love to the community and it also reflects this is a community that values good creativity and good creative execution. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Lauren Dunnington.

Hi. My name is Lauren Dunnington, and I live in North Tacoma. I've lived here with my family for the last five or six years. I'm speaking on resolution 42013 regarding the city flag. My family and I love Tacoma's vibrant arts community, and I just wanted to say I'm in full support of updating the city's flag. and would also like to request that Chandler O'Leary's flag be considered as part of the competition. Chandler was just a core part of the Tacoma arts scene, and I think adopting her flag design would honor her memory and all that she's given to the arts in our community. Thank you.

Thanks for your comments. Alyssa Elliott.

Hello, can you hear me?

Yes.

Okay. My name is Alyssa Elliott. I too am signing in in support of Chandler O'Leary's flag design as either being a contributor to the contest or of actually just receiving the merit of being the flag of Tacoma moving forward. I think the work that she did to substantiate the design and the elements of the design that are so inclusive of not only our natural resources, but also our human resources in this region are vitally important and critical to the design that she created. And I also think that the impact she's had on the Tacoma arts community, as Tom mentioned, is indelible and has forever changed the face of this city and deserves to be recognized as such. And I've lived in Tacoma since 1997. And I am very proud to support 42013 with Chandler's flag being the flag of the city of Tacoma.

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.

I move to authorize the city's full and final settlement of all claims and appeals that are the subject of claimant's workers' compensation claim number SY72558, filed on or about February 4, 2024, with the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries and the survivor benefits claims and appeals of the claimant's spouse, filed with the department on or about July 16, 2025, upon payment by the city in the amount of $500,000, contingent upon a dismissal of the appeals of the denial the workers' compensation and survivor benefits claims and execution of a settlement agreement in form approved by the city attorney.

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?

Correct. Yes, correct, mayor.

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.

Resolution number 42004 is a resolution appointing an individual to the Climate and Sustainability Commission.

I move to adopt resolution number 42004. Second. Moved and seconded. I'd like to call on Council Member Walker.

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.

Resolution number 42005 is a resolution appointing and reappointing individuals to the Chacoma Creates Advisory Board.

I move to adopt resolution number 42005. Second. Moved and seconded. I'd like to call on Council Member Diaz.

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.

Resolution number 42006 is a resolution appointing and reappointing individuals to the Transportation Commission.

I move to adopt resolution number 42006. Second.

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 Commission. We sincerely appreciate your willingness to serve, and please join me in a round of applause. Thanks for stepping up. Moving on to purchase resolutions, item 19. Clerk, please read.

Resolution number 42007 is a resolution awarding a contract to Kent's Oil Service, DBA, Albina Asphalt in the amount of $731,084 budgeted from the Street and Streets Initiative funds for hot applied polymer modified liquid asphalt for a contract term of one year with the option to renew for five additional one-year periods for a total of $4,386,504 plus taxes. I move to adopt resolution number 42007.

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.

Resolution number 42008 is a resolution authorizing an increase to and extending the contract with Kidder Matthews Incorporated in the amount of $1,800,000 budgeted from the Wastewater Fund for continued property management services at the Center for Urban Waters Buildings through December 2027. for a projected contract total of $8,405,517.02 plus taxes.

I move to adopt resolution number 42008.

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.

Resolution number 42009 is a resolution expressing support for the passage of Proposition Number 1 submitted by Pierce Transit at the November 3, 2026 general election, which reads as follows. Pierce County Public Transportation Benefit Area Proposition Number 1, maintaining and expanding local transit service sales tax and use tax increase. The Board of Commissioners of the Pierce County Public Transportation Benefit Area, commonly known as Pierce Transit, adopted Resolution 2026-6 concerning a sales and use tax for local transportation services. This proposition would authorize the collection of an additional sales and use tax of three-tenths of 1%, or three pennies for every $10 spent, to maintain and improve transit service, including adding bus routes and special event service, expanding daytime, evening, and weekend service, reducing wait times between buses, improving access to light rail, health care, schools, and jobs, expanding service for people with disabilities, and providing fare-free bus service to seniors and youth effective April 1, 2027. Shall this proposition be approved or rejected?

I move to adopt resolution number 42009.

Second.

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.

This one? This one? Yes. Good evening, council members and mayor. My name's Mike Griffiths. I'm the CEO of Pierce Transit. In July, our board unanimously voted to send a ballot measure package to voters on the November 3rd election. If approved by voters, Pierce Transit would be able to serve more people, more places, more often for three-tenths of one percent sales tax change. This was built on years and years of engagement, data, and planning. It takes into account regional plans, municipal goals, and community input to ensure we are putting transit where it can have the greatest impact in our community. Now the package is in the hands of the voters who will decide the future of local transit on the November 3rd general election ballot. Pierce Transit is currently funded at half the rate of our peer agencies in Snohomish, Thurston, and Kitsap counties. This is a disparity of opportunity and mobility for Pierce County residents. We are funded 80% through sales tax. The state legislature has set sales tax as the funding mechanism for local transit in Washington. Our sales tax rate has not changed since 2002, nearly a quarter century ago. We are proud of what we've been able to provide for the community despite funding constraints. This has taken deliberate effort and disciplined approach to managing costs, streamlining operations, and improving efficiencies. In the past five years, we've completed 133 projects focused on administrative and operational improvements. The results of this work show, based on the Federal Transit Administration National Transit Database, we are the most efficient local transit agency in operating costs per passenger mile in the Puget Sound region. Our community is growing and its needs are changing, and we are hitting the limit of how much more can be accomplished doing more with less. Largely due to inflation, expenses are expected to exceed revenue as early as next year. Without additional funding, Pierce Transit will continue running the current level of service for as long as possible, but transit service would need to be reduced to match the funding available. Service reductions could begin as early as 2031. Our community has asked for transit that serves more people, more places, more often, and a transit system that connects work, school, and essential places like healthcare and grocery shopping. Eighty-nine percent of riders take trips that benefit the local economy and studies show that one dollar invested in transit generates five dollars in economic return. Today I want to focus on three issues. Pierce County is growing and growing rapidly. Our local economy depends on how well people can access jobs and how reliably employers can access the workforce. Looking ahead, Pierce County is expected to add a quarter of a million new residents and 117,000 new jobs by 2044. As the region evolves, transportation will continue to shape how efficiently people can connect to opportunities. Without additional transit, most of that growth will rely on cars, adding congestion to already busy roads and making it harder for people to access jobs, schools, safe places for youth, medical appointments, and other essential services, especially during peak congestion. Even if you don't use transit, someone you rely on uses transit, whether that is your barber, your nurse, your mechanic, your kid's teacher. Transit gets them there. This is why you often hear us say that even if you don't take public transit, you benefit from it. You benefit from less cars on the road and more people keeping our economy moving. We have a plan to serve more people, more places, more often. A plan that will improve transit for the 21,000 daily trips our riders take, and a plan to help make transit possible for those who our current system does not really accommodate. a plan for a 47% increase in service that spans across the 13 town, cities, and unincorporated areas that we serve. Please note, this does not expand transit into new municipalities or unincorporated areas of the county that we do not currently serve. That is a separate process determined by elected officials and voters in that area on if they would like to pay for and receive transit services. We also provide runner microtransit service, and we operate the 12th largest rideshare program in the nation. But today I'm going to focus on bus and paratransit service, as that is where the new funding would be directed. I'm now going to pass it over to Tina Lee, our interim chief planning officer, to share the plan with you.

Thank you, Mike. If approved by voters, it would cost an additional three pennies for every $10 spent on qualifying purchases in Pierce Transit service area. For example, a $20 sweater would cost six additional pennies. A pair of $80 headphones would cost an extra 24 cents. And this would fund 47% increase in transit service. If approved by voters, we would add four new routes. The Port of Tacoma route would serve the new Maritime 253 High School and help workers get to jobs at the port. It would also improve access to Swan Creek Park, the Eastside Community Center, and the Pipeline Trail. The Central Tacoma route will connect Lakewood, travel along Tyler, Ticini Stadium, and Alamoor Hospital, then continue to 6th Avenue to the Medical Mile in downtown Tacoma. improving access to jobs, health care, and special events. And the northeast Tacoma route will connect riders to the new light rail stations in Federal Way and Fife. We will add a weekday route serving Puyallup as Puyallup continues to grow, and this will serve new housing and support those who are aging in place. And we'll also adjust the Route 11, which operates from downtown Tacoma to the Point Defiance Ferry Terminal to allow year-round access to the waterfront, improving access to recreation, connecting employees to jobs, and connecting shoppers to businesses. If approved by voters, we'll add seasonal waterfront trolleys and special event service. We'll continue our commitment to provide waterfront trolley service to Gig Harbor and work with the community to deliver a seasonal waterfront trolley to the Tacoma waterfront as well. And this would also allow us to maintain a flexible pool of funding to work directly with communities and partners each year to design services to meet that community's needs. Our special event service has historically had significant ridership, including over 100,000 boardings when we operated special event service to the Washington State Fair, and more than 12,000 riders in a single day when we provided service to major regional events like the Freedom Fair. Imagine that, almost 12,000 cars going to one event on the same day. And this package allows us to partner in making Tacoma events more vibrant and accessible. Special event service to Rainier's Games, the Sound of Narrows, or the Dune Peninsula Concert Series means families don't have to spend time and money looking for parking. Instead, they can spend that time making memories. And if approved by voters, we have three high-capacity transit lines that will serve Pacific Avenue, 19th and Bridgeport to Gravely Lake, and South Tacoma Way. This means buses arrive every 15 minutes on weekdays and 20 minutes on weekends, and stops would receive improvements. More than 140,000 people live within a 10-minute walk of these stops, and more than 110,000 jobs are located within a half a mile of these routes. And put simply, for the people who live and work along these corridors, transit becomes something they don't have to plan around the same way. With buses arriving every few minutes, there's less need to check schedules or worry about whether a shift aligns with the schedule, because that next bus is always close by. And high capacity transit unlocks transit-oriented development and supports more affordable housing in our region. Recently in Spanaway, near Tacoma Community College, and in the Lincoln District, hundreds of affordable housing units have been built near transit and near transit stops. Buses running more often is our highest-ranked request that we receive from riders, and under this plan, 86% of our current routes will run more often. Seven routes will run every 15 to 20 minutes, and most routes will operate 15 to 30 minutes on a weekday. Those seven routes carry nearly half of all of our riders, meaning they represent one out of every two bus rides that we provide. They connect to South Hill with Lakewood, Franklin Pierce High School, Tacoma Mall, and Lakewood Town Center. And this means no more hourly waits on a weekday. Nearly one in four Pierce County residents live within a 10-minute walk of a bus route that would operate every 15 to 20 minutes. And this makes transit more reliable and practical option for everyday travel. It means getting to your destination is faster and it has less wait time. There are a lot of numbers and buses on this slide, but I wouldn't really call out that this is about weekend improvements and means that people can actually get to work and to their destination and then get home on a weekend. Currently, the majority of our routes operate hourly on a weekend. And think about what that means if you have to wait an hour for a bus. The trips you don't take, the 45 minutes you wait for a transfer, what it means to hold your groceries at the bus stop as your arms get tired. Today, 15 routes operate every hour on a Saturday. And with this plan, 23 routes will operate every 30 minutes. And currently, 22 routes operate hourly on Sunday. That would move to eight. And this is about service, but it's really about getting to your nephew's baseball game or getting to a baby shower on the weekend. And with this plan, 23 routes, more than 80% of our service will run longer and later hours. Most of our routes will start between 5 and 6 a.m. and will end after 10 p.m. or later. And this represents a significant investment and improvement in evening service, a longstanding request from our riders. We hear from our riders that our services just do not operate late enough for many of them to get home after work or an evening class or other commitments. And these changes make transit a more realistic option for people who currently cannot rely on it for their full day. Students attending an evening class, workers at a late shift in a restaurant or retail, and people traveling home after an evening activity. Think about that average Uber ride from downtown Tacoma to Seattle and what that costs. It's $84 on average, and that same trip on public transit is $3 to $6. We built this plan to align with other regional plans, transit hubs, and connections with light rail stations. We plan for changes to Pierce Transit's routes to better align with regional light rail connections as the Tacoma Dome light rail extension comes online. Eight routes will connect with light rail stations at South Federal Way, Fife, Portland Avenue, and at the Tacoma Dome Station. And this means easier transfers and less time stuck in traffic on I-5 and other congested roads. People with disabilities are one of the fastest growing groups in our community, making accessible, reliable transit even more important. All of our buses are accessible, and last year we had 37,000 wheelchair boardings. Shuttles are paratransit service for riders who live within three-quarters of a mile of a fixed route and can't use that service due to some disability. Paratransit operates the same routes as our bus routes, and any time we make a change to a bus route or a bus schedule, those changes impact the paratransit service as well. Under this plan, we'll be able to serve more people with disabilities, especially in Puyallup, near the port, and in Northeast Tacoma. And we hear from our paratransit riders how essential shuttle is to their independence. Some of our most visited locations are kidney dialysis treatments, grocery stores, and community centers with programming for adults with cognitive and physical disabilities. Expanded paratransit means more people will have access to safe, reliable, and affordable transit that meets their needs. And finally, under this plan, we make buses and paratransit free for seniors age 65 and older, joining youth who already ride free. We'll continue to offer our ORCA Lyft and reduced fare options for people with low incomes and disabilities as well. And we would implement this plan over a five-year period. We'll begin with weekend service improvements as we can implement that with our fleet that we have. And for reference, it takes two years for us to receive a bus once we order it, and be able to put that bus into service. So as soon as we start collecting the potential new rate in April, we'd begin ordering buses and recruiting and training new operators. Then we would implement weekday service improvements, and new routes would start toward the end of the timeline following permitting and design. Every step of the way, we'll work with the community to ensure new routes and implementation aligns with community visions and needs. And with that, I will turn it back over to Mike for his closeout.

So this is about building a transit system that works for this region. It's about the people, connecting employers to a workforce, connecting students to school, connecting shoppers to small businesses, connecting youth, seniors, and people with disabilities to mobility, and connecting families to special events where memories are made. Prop 1 is about connecting our region to opportunity. That concludes our presentation, and I'm ready to take any questions you may have.

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

Thank you, Mayor, and thank you, Mike, so much for being here. I really appreciate this, and I want to say I really appreciate that you heard the people in Northeast Tacoma who said, you want us to support this, but we're not getting any benefit from it, and you're looking at adding the 63 back, which I have heard from lots of my residents they're really happy about. Because if you miss the school bus, you're not able to go to school, many of them. Their parents have left already. They would have to get an Uber. And you know it's really expensive from Northeast Tacoma to get to town. So I really appreciate the work that went into coming up with this and seeing that as a potential. That's just really what comment to you that I just, it's going to be easy for me to support this and sell this knowing that we are benefiting from what you're bringing forward. So thank you.

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

I know. It's like three times in a week, right?

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 in many other places in Tacoma, but specifically I know a lot about my district and especially the east side, there's so much pent-up demand for safe, accessible transit. The top two things I hear generally that are exacerbating factors in people's lives are lack of housing or affordable housing and lack of transportation to get to the places you need to get to to do things, right? All the different things. I really appreciate that in this presentation we talk about how we are addressing that. The fact that this is one of the few reliable methods for people who have accessibility needs. That's a real challenge that a lot of people don't realize. That, hey, can't you just drive somewhere? I'm like, well, sometimes you're physically not able to. And you physically may not be able to. And this is so important that we have this.

There are environmental benefits.

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 you talked about Ubers because something else we have to be cognizant about is, you know, our weather ain't great for a while. And I have taken an Uber just from my house to downtown just because it's raining and there's no other options later at night. It wasn't even all that late. So to have a very well thought out plan that understands how we can benefit those that rely on this and to allow new entrants in. There's some people who don't take the bus because it's not often enough. It doesn't go early enough or late enough or often enough to fit in their world and you end up having to spend a lot of money A car is not cheap, not today, not to buy, not to operate, not to fuel, not to insure, not to fix. And so we need these other options. And with this federal administration, I don't know if it's going to get any cheaper. So there's a lot of those reasons that really make me appreciative. But then the last one is the fact that my mother didn't drive. Sure, we lived in New York City that had really good transit. But then when she moved out into the suburbs, it was a lot harder. And she was more isolated later in life. And I think about the seniors in my district where we need transportation to keep them safe, too. So for all those reasons, I think you guys have thought really hard and deeply about how do you use that money. And ultimately, that's really the question that constituents, residents, voters want. Are you going to use it effectively? Are you going to be smart about it? Are you going to waste it? And I think you guys are doing... With the plan that you've laid out. I think You're doing the right thing and so that is why I support it.

Thank you Yeah, one thing we usually say or at the agency is think like a passenger, but also think like a taxpayer Sure Councilmember Scott Thank You mayor.

Thank you for the presentation. I just had a couple of questions and on the special event service How do you decide? Like, because it said, like, depending on events, how do you decide, like, what are the parameters you're looking at to decide which special events you have?

So we would work with each community trying to identify those events that are important to them and that have large people, large amounts of people attending, and then we would put those services in place with the cities.

Thank you. So I'm not a math whiz, but we are also facing our own budget deficits here. And so I do understand the math of we have this much money in the bank and things cost this much. And so obviously this is going to help a bit, but I guess I'm looking at if you're able to add 47% more service and you're just raising, you're doing like a 50% increase in the tax, I guess my question, let me make sure I'm asking, just how do you address those concerns of like the deficit? Because I imagine that will continue to grow. So I guess the question I'm getting at is like at what point will this increased system, the enhanced system, expanded I guess is the better word, at what point do you start worrying that like you're going to be hitting a limit of like you can only, with the cost going up, that you can only maintain this expanded system for so long.

Yeah. Our projections show that we could carry this out for 16 to 17 years, this plan, without any new funding.

Okay. And then let me make sure. I think I had one more question written down here. So thinking about my mom also has never driven and relies on transit. And she lives in South Tacoma. She works at Tacoma General. She has to, at this point, she has to leave a few hours early to get to work on time. It takes her a few hours to get back from work. And on the weekends, she has to take an Uber because the buses don't necessarily. And she has to make multiple transfers on the way there. And so I guess as you guys are figuring out which routes you can increase, which routes you add, how do you do that work to figure out, like, is it all just based on, like, what's financially feasible based on the tax amount that you're putting in there? Or is it based upon need? Is it a mix of all of it? And then how do you... gather that information to help make that decision with the most amount of discernment to address the need.

Yeah, we have a lot of data that we use for this, also speaking with the community. But we know how many people board at each stop and what time they board. We know when they get off and what time they get off, not individual people, but how many. And so when our planning departments put together this package, they tried to serve the most people that they could with the money that was available. That's why the eight routes that have the most frequency serve more than half of our ridership right now.

That's my concern, is that there's that... To me, it feels like there might be a gap between the people who... The routes that are most populated are probably... I get that there are a lot of people in that area, but when there's not a lot, people have probably started relying on cars more in that area. I don't know how you address the... There are some people in neighborhoods that might ride the bus a lot more if the buses were there and reliable and ready. So how do you account for, like, do you ever say, we're just going to try this out and see the ridership we get? Or do you just base it on, like, the use that you already have?

I don't think it's a static plan. I think it's our plan that we see based on the statistics that we have now. And what we do every service change, which we do twice a year, is look at where the riders are and make our changes based on the new data that we get in.

And then with the increased, like, obviously tons of people are moving to the area, are you guys... Do you have a projection of, like, how much, like, ridership will increase with the numbers of, like, is there, like, for every 10 people who move here, two of them ride the bus, like, use transit?

Well, so we don't have projections on how many, but I can tell you when agencies move their systems to more frequency, the rider shoots up a lot of times more than double.

Okay. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you, Mary.

Thank you.

Council Member Palmer.

Thank you, Mayor. Thank you for the presentation. This is a lot of great information. I think that the timing just makes a lot of sense. Recently, the state changed our parking requirements, and a lot of our parking requirements are going away for new builders. And so we've heard a lot of concern from communities, like what that's going to do for traffic, and how are people going to get around? we need this right now. And so I'm happy to support it. And then also, I guess I wanted to bring my kids into the conversation. My kids, your kids, they're not driving these days. They're not wanting to drive. They understand the benefits of riding public transit, not having to maintain a vehicle, not having to pay for vehicle insurance, all of the things. And the benefit to our climate, I think, is our kids really care about that. And so for all those reasons, I think we need to do something to kind of catch up to where we need to be to serve more people in our community with public transit. So I'm looking forward to this being on the ballot, and I hope people support.

Yeah, I'd just like to say last year we carried over a million children, 18 and under. And in this plan, we also... made sure that that free fares would continue for them. Thank you.

Council Member Walker.

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 outreach team just did an amazing job. And so I know we put together a package that really meets communities' asks and wants and needs. Of course, we could always do more, but I think that we really got to the nugget of what we're able to do with what people want. So I'm really proud of this work. Thank you, all three of you, that are here today for the presentation. Most importantly, all the work behind the scenes to make it happen. I'm really excited to see this move forward, to hear what the voters have to say, and hopefully to be able to implement more and more and more transit. So thank you.

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

I just wanted to make sure that my name got added as a sponsor. I tried to raise my hand today and it just didn't happen.

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 also think of events like last month when we've seen an increasing amount of really fun concerts at places like the Dune Peninsula, for example, which increasingly is becoming so much of a tourist destination and a destination for people in our region. There are even people who routinely talk about it on Seattle subreddits, for example. And that's all well and good, but try find parking on Ruston Way in the middle of summer, right? It's a bit of a heartache, right? But imagine the restoration of something like the trolley line that we used to have on Ruston Way, for instance. Imagine greater utilization of these amazing community building vibrant activities that brings the area alive, that increases safety, is good for our small businesses. And imagine that all throughout the city, especially now with the passage of Connect Tacoma and dedicated lockbox transportation funding. This is excellent for helping people get from point A to point B. This is also great for our city to activate spaces and to do more like what we've done in the past with places like the Lincoln District, places that we can really bring to life, like our corridors, the opportunity for transit-oriented development, more affordable housing opportunities. This could be a real game changer for our city. So for that and all the other reasons articulated before, I'm definitely happy to support this resolution and look forward to a robust public conversation about increasing accessibility and making our neighborhoods even safer and better. So with that, the vote before us is on the resolution. All those in favor of adopting resolution number 42009, please signify by saying aye.

Aye.

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

Resolution number 42010 is a resolution authorizing the flying of a commemorative flag to recognize the 10th year of the Association of Washington Business Manufacturing Week bus tour to be flown from September 30th to October 7, 2026.

I move to adopt resolution number 42010. Second. Move to second. I'd like to call on Council Member Diaz.

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 sector provides high-paying, skilled, and fulfilling jobs for engineers, computer programmers, project managers, managers researchers and others that are vital to the community and contribute to the equitable economic development of our city Manufacturing is a major employer and job creator in Washington state, with over 275,000 workers responsible for more than 8% of gross state product and over 17,000 individuals working in the manufacturing sector in Pierce County. Manufacturing in Tacoma produces such varied products as aircraft components, precision robotics, batteries, components for the maritime industry, and craft beverages. And local manufacturing businesses lead the way in sustainable efforts to reduce energy and carbon emissions, including businesses like those that reside within the port and aid in the Port of Tacoma's Clean Air Strategic Plan. clean air strategy to reach zero emissions by 2040. So for all of those reasons, I'm really excited to bring forward this resolution and hope that my colleagues will vote for it and will participate in Manufacturing Week activities when that time comes. Thank you.

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.

Resolution number 42011 is a resolution expressing intent and commitment to working with other governments to launch a unified regional approach to homelessness and to commit to certain activities to regionally address homelessness in Pierce County and directing the city manager to work with other governments to develop an interlocal agreement.

I move to adopt resolution number 42011. Second. Move to second. I'd like to call on Council Member Rumbaugh.

Thank you, Mayor. I'm incredibly proud of Tacoma tonight. We are taking a momentous step tonight. This is a commitment to creating a regional system to address homelessness, which we have been doing, I feel, on our own for many years. It has been a long journey to get here, and I want to express my deepest appreciation to County Council Member Janie Hitchen. She has really been a leader on this issue. Pierce County has demonstrated real leadership by investing in a unified regional approach to addressing homelessness and bringing cities together around a shared vision. Rather than asking each jurisdiction to solve this challenge on its own, the county committed resources, convened partners from across Pierce County, and created a process where every city has a voice in shaping the path forward. I want to also thank my colleagues who have engaged in the conversations about forming the unified regional approach as part of the elected leadership group. That includes Councilmember Sedalge, Hines, and as well as Mayor Ibsen. I also appreciate our city manager, Hyun Kim, for meeting with other city managers involved in this process, as well as all other staff who have participated in this thus far. Tacoma is not the first city to sign on to this work, nor the second. Pierce County, Fife, Gig Harbor, and Lakewood have already passed similar resolutions to what's before us tonight. These are just a few of the many, many people who are engaged in this work. All of us are at the table committed to these discussions because each know we will get further if we work together. This brings to mind the words of our former mayor, Victoria Woodards, if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. One of the issues of addressing homelessness in our region is it's imperative that we go far. That is why the county's leadership on this issue is so impactful. They have brought together so many different people with different perspectives, serving different constituencies. It was an opportunity to meet with other cities and learn where they sat on this issue and why they feel the way we do. Sometimes this is hard because our constituents here in Tacoma have such High expectations of the services we provide our unhoused neighbors, and we contribute more than any other city in our region for human services support. However, that makes it all the more meaningful when we see progress happen. Other cities have already stepped up to work together to formally launch the URA. They are coming to the table and committing to this work. It's important that the city of Tacoma join in and be a part of this shared work, substantially reduce homelessness so that it is rare, brief, and non-recurring. Thank you.

THANK YOU.

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 here in Tacoma have done, you know, in this spectrum of ways that we have tried to address homelessness. But it was very, very, very clear that we do need a regional approach. We can't just do it alone. What is really amazing about this process, and again, I agree with Council Member Rumba in thanking Pierce County Council President Jenny Hitchen on really leading through some really tough conversations, a lot of dialogue, is at the end of the day, the difference between what King County did and what we're trying to do is to be a coalition of the willing. Those that have come, that have talked, that have understood And then we're going around and having resolutions of intent that we're willing to participate in. And this is more than just a resolution of intent, right? Of course, you know, people, well, nothing will happen until ILA gets signed. But in this resolution, we are agreeing, every single jurisdiction that's signing on, on doing something meaningful and effective to address homelessness in their jurisdiction. And that's a big win. TO ALSO TALK ABOUT IT WITH SHARED DEFINITIONS, SHARED DATA, SHARED INFORMATION IS GOING TO HELP US ALL OUT. AND I CANNOT DESCRIBE, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE TIMES IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS, I'M LIKE, AH, AIN'T NO ONE SIGNING THIS THING. BUT WE PERSEVERED. WE WENT THROUGH IT. WE TALKED TO ONE ANOTHER. we listened and we came up with something that could work for the region, and we're going to build on it. This is a start. We're going to build on it. So I'm more than happy to be here today in support of this resolution, and I'm really looking forward to how we continue to build on this in the entire region. Thank you.

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 complex and dynamic as as people experiencing homelessness in our community is that we have to see it as a collective issue that we have to work on together. And I think while we're yet to see kind of where the URA is going to go, I do think this is a good first step in getting some of the cities and the county aligned on the idea that this is a collective effort that we're all going to be working on together to try to address. And I'm very excited because I do know that we're doing amazing work here in the city of Tacoma. I take deep pride in everything we've done in the years I've been on the council that I think can be both an example for other parts of our county and our area. I also think it could be another way that we could share a lot of what we've learned over time and best practices. But more importantly, I'm also eager to learn from others and see what else they are doing. I was a football coach for a long time. And we talked a lot about the fact that no matter who or what you can contribute, you're part of a team and you contribute what you can. And so I think as we look forward with this, I'm excited to see what the different players are going to come together and contribute as we try to take on, I think, the number one most important project of our time, which is how do we make sure more people have a place to live. Thank you.

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 actually doing to resolve this, to ensure that people get help, that neighborhoods get relief? And this is not the thing, but this is a crucial thing without which we can't do it, and that is not going it alone. That's the single biggest win of the unified regional approach, is that what's potentially really game-changing about this is that we now, not conceptually, but we now have the willing volitional participation of our county government, which was not always the case, of neighboring jurisdictions, neighboring suburban, smaller jurisdictions in tandem with us. And this is a modest start. This is not going to solve the problem overnight. But making sure, like the actual game-changing things, making sure that we actually have unified data so that people don't have to recreate and relive their trauma every time they seek services or go into shelters, that we're not SEEING AS MUCH DUPLICATION BETWEEN SERVICE PROVIDERS, THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY SPENDING MONEY GIVING PEOPLE LONG-TERM HELP INSTEAD OF JUST RECREATING THE SAME PROBLEMS THROUGH THE SAME SYSTEMS. PROPERLY DONE, THIS IS GOING TO BE A REALLY BIG GAME CHANGER. AND WE'RE JUST GETTING STARTED, BUT THE FACT THAT WE ALREADY HAVE SO MANY WILLING SUBURBAN AND COUNTY AND OTHER PARTNERS SIGNING ON TO PROVIDE A GREATER, MORE FAIRER DISTRIBUTION OF SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY, THAT'S HUGE. That's immediate help for people in need, and it's immediate relief for, frankly, our city in terms of the concentration of where and who has been paying for these services. So much more to come, but I'm profoundly grateful to my colleagues for their help on this, for our jurisdictional partners for stepping up and actually following through on this and having the long, hard conversations, but above all, the long commitment to our people I'm very optimistic about where this is headed. I'm deeply grateful. I'm looking forward to continuing this work and approving this motion. So with that, all those in favor of adopting resolution number 42011, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Those opposed say no. Resolution is declared adopted. Item 24, clerk, please read.

Resolution number 42012 is a resolution authorizing the one-time use of council contingency funds in the amount of $2,500 to support a place at our table hosted by Nourish Pierce County.

I move to adopt resolution number 42012. Second. We've been seconded.

Let's call on Council Member Walker.

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 are here in Tacoma. Last year, they served nearly 29,000 unduplicated Tacoma residents, which is just a bit more than 12% of our population. We already know the need for access to nutritious food in our community is high, and maybe that's an understatement. In fact, in two census tracts in Tacoma, the east side and downtown, have the highest levels of participation in SNAP benefits in Pierce County. We also know that the need is growing with the reduction of some federal food benefits as well as our own food deserts that have been amplified by the recent closure of a critical Fred Meyer. We need partners like Nourish today more than ever and this of course is a very small Contribution to the great work that they do but a small but mighty to make sure that they can have a great event and support And others in the community can support them I do want to thank council members at all gay council member rumba for Co-sponsoring the request and I thank you to all of the staff at nourish who helped us get all that information together and Mike Hefflinger who's here representing nourish today and As you would expect probably but just wanted to note that in return for our support the City of Tacoma local will be added to the program and presentation and it will be listed as a partner and I have already sent you an invite to sit at my table at the luncheon So I hope you'll join me so we can hear more about the great work that they're doing And thanks for your support happy to answer any questions

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

I don't actually have a question. I just wanted to say that I'm definitely going to sit at the table, but I want to say that every year my temple does a food drive for Nourish Pierce County. We support the Jackson Street Food Bank at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. And so these things are happening every day in our community because we know the need is so high. And I want to thank Council Member Walker for doing this small but important Council Contingency Fund ask. Thank you.

Thank you. Seeing no further comments, all those in favor of adopting Resolution 42012, please signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Opposed to say no. Resolution is declared adopted. Moving on to item 25. Clerk, please read.

Resolution number 42013 is a resolution authorizing the one-time use of council contingency funds in the amount of $6,000 to sponsor a city flag competition.

I move to adopt resolution number 42013. Second. Move to second.

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 other folks here on the dais, it is something that many of us have thought about countless times. A flag design offers a unique opportunity to capture the qualities and characteristics of our community and can often become an icon and a deeply meaningful image. So you think about iconic flags and what they represent. You could think of the tricolor of France. You could think of the Canadian maple leaf. You could think of the Japanese rising sun. You could think of the St. George's Cross of England or the St. Andrew's Cross of Scotland. These symbols are powerful because they're simple, they're easily recognizable, and they convey something that's core to the identity of a place. And so the conversation about a flag, it's not about a product, it's not about the thing itself, because flags are more than just things, they are a symbol. They have meaning. And my goal, by bringing this forward and hopefully getting my colleagues' support, is this idea of having a community conversation in this moment about what best symbolizes our community, that is the city of Tacoma. And I hope in a fun and exciting way. You know, Tacoma, we have values and characteristics, and as our city's changing, As someone, like I said, who's been here for 30 years, or not more, geez, more than that. How old am I? Anyways, my entire life, Tacoma is changing. It's growing. It's different than the city I was born into. It's different than the city that my kids will live in. But there are some core pieces of our identity, of who we are, of what we represent, that a flag, as our symbol, can help represent. We've seen some of our kind of iconic images spread out and take over parts of the world. The R, the Rainier's R for the baseball team, is the second best selling baseball cap in the entire country. Everywhere I go, I see somebody wearing the hat, and it sparks a conversation about, are you from Tacoma? What's your connection that's there? I think about our spirit animal, Jollice Jerry, that has now spawned a sad facsimile in Seattle called Jimothy. But this inspiring creature that has really captured something about our city, that gritty nature to overcome anything. So these symbols are powerful. They represent something about the community that draws us in. And I'm hopeful that the flag competition will help us do that. I think our communities are really talking about conversations and having them and really thinking about what that means. And so I'm happy that while this conversation has been going on for a long time, I think the time is ripe for us to really have that conversation now. If you look at our current flag, which is behind me, it was developed as part of the city's corporate identity program. And I think we all agree that a corporate identity program is completely antithetical to our creative, joyful, inclusive, diverse, hardworking, and collaborative community. I think we want something a little bit more than our corporate identity representing us. I think that the start of the conversation with the community about designs that truly capture something about our city and will achieve far more than just a new flag. We'll achieve a conversation that will really lead us into what do we value, what represents us, what brings us together, You know, as cliche as it sounds, a flag can be the thing and reminder that the things that bring us together are more powerful than the things that divide us in some cases. And I'm hopeful that we can get further into that conversation. So just some little background now that just kind of why, like kind of the hope and dream of the flag competition. We want to just talk about some of the basics here for folks that are just tuning in. This will be open to everyone and including, we had some members here who came in and talked about a specific flag that was created in the past. THAT ARTIST OR SOMEONE WHO REPRESENTS THAT ARTIST IS MORE THAN WILLING TO SUBMIT THAT AS PART OF THIS COMPETITION. BUT I THINK THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT THAT FLAG AND WHAT WAS DESIGNED AND WE READ THE WORDS OF THAT ARTIST, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT STRUCK ME IS SHE TALKED ABOUT THE FACT THAT JUST THINKING ABOUT AND CREATING THAT FLAG CAUSED HER TO THINK ABOUT THINGS THAT REPRESENTED THE CITY OF TACOMA, THAT REPRESENTED THE COMMUNITY. AND I WANT MORE FOLKS TO HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY THINK ABOUT WHAT TRULY SYMBOLIZES AND REPRESENTS US. I THINK ONE THING ABOUT FLAGS, RIGHT, GOOD FLAGS ARE SIMPLE. IT'S NOT ABOUT MORE. IT'S ABOUT GETTING CLOSER TO LESS AND WHAT TRULY REPRESENTS US. SO IT'S OPEN TO EVERYONE, INCLUDING FLAGS THAT WERE CREATED IN THE PAST COULD ALSO BE AS PART OF THIS CONVERSATION, TOO. WE'RE ASKING PARTICIPANTS ARE GOING TO UPLOAD A COPY OF THEIR DESIGN AND A BRIEF STATEMENT OF THEIR REASON WHY THEY THINK THEIR FLAG IS THE ONE THAT SHOULD BE THE FLAG FOR THE CITY OF TACOMA. We're asking that we get creative work, and we get original work from artists. So we're encouraging people not to use AI in part of the process. We want original work, and we want people who have a deep connection to Tacoma that can think about a flag that can represent our city. Other cities around us, the city of Vancouver, the city of Spokane, in our city have recently done this process. And in talking to their mayors and their council It was a really empowering process for the community to have this conversation about the flag, what represents us, and what's the core identity of our city. As part of this, we'll be selecting a flag commission among the council members. This will not be a normal CBC. It will be a limited duration group that will come together. They will look at all the submissions that are turned in online. The City of Spokane got over 50. The City of Vancouver got over 45 submissions from all over the world for the flag for their city. We will have a flag commission that will narrow this down to 10 finalists that we will then have the public vote on to get us to a final three. And then the final three will come to the council, and the council will decide the winner. As I would imagine, if people are very passionate about their flag, I'm sure we'll have people come in here again and advocate for why their flag should be the one that represents the city and will help influence the council as we make our final decision. The council contingency fund request is, sorry, I'm getting I'm talking a lot about flags. So exciting. It is exciting. The $6,000 is for the winner. The flag that is chosen, that person will get $2,000. And the two other finalists will get $1,000 each. So we're going to award the folks. We're going to provide a monetary award for the flags that make it to the final three. And just some basic ideas. Council Member Bushnell, you have your flag sitting over there somewhere? We are going to utilize, there we go. We're already trying this on the council. He cannot enter that flag, though, for the competition. Can't enter flags? No, I guess, well, he can't enter that one, but no. So the standards we're looking at is the North American Vexiology Association, NAVA, has some very kind of basic rules about what they think makes a good flag. Good flag, right? They should be simple, and they say it's simple enough that a child could draw them. So you think about the Canadian flag. Most kids could probably draw that. If you think about the American flag, most kids could probably draw a rough facsimile of that flag. It should have meaningful symbolism. It should be two to three basic colors, white not included, so up to four if you include white. No letterings and seals, and be distinctive and use similarities to show connections. So when you think about certain flags, they kind of riff off of each other to show connections to other things. It's important. I think the example that I saw the Vexiology Association mention was if you look at the country of Liberia, which is in Africa, it was settled by former slaves that went back to Africa and Liberia and were settled there. Their capital is Monrovia. And so their flag is a flag that looks roughly like the United States, to kind of riff off the fact that they were folks that left the United States and went back to Africa. I want to thank. So that is enough fun with flags for me. Get ready for the podcast, Fun with Flags with Councilmember Hines. It'll be coming out shortly. No, there's not going to be a podcast about that. I want to thank Councilmember Scott and Diaz for co-sponsoring this request. And I hope everyone will see the tremendous value engaged in our community in this kind of conversation, and that you will vote to support this request. Thank you, and I'm open for any questions. Thank you very much. Thank you, Council Member Hines. Council Member Rambaud.

Thank you, Mayor, and thank you, Council Member Hines, for bringing this forward. I feel like if council members submit one, they shouldn't be able to get the $2,500.

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

Okay, but are we allowed to submit one is my question.

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.

YES. SO I WOULD ASSUME NO. OKAY. BUMMER.

OKAY. ANY FURTHER COUNCIL COMMENTS? COUNCILMEMBER SCOTT.

JUST TO CLARIFY THERE, WAS IT NO TO COUNCIL SUBMITTING OR NO TO COUNCIL GETTING WEDDING THE MONEY.

CAN'T SUBMIT.

OKAY.

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.

Ordinance number 29116 is an ordinance amending Chapter 1.12 of the Municipal Code relating to the compensation plan to implement rates of pay and compensation for employees represented by the IBEW Local 483 Supervisors Unit and Custodial and Building Maintenance Unit, the Tacoma, Washington City and Pierce County Locals EMPLOYEES LOCAL NUMBER 120, AND THE SHEET METAL, AIR, RAIL, AND TRANSPORTATION, TRANSPORTATION DIVISION CONDUCTOR UNIT.

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

COUNCILMEMBER DIAZ? AYE. COUNCILMEMBER HINDS?

AYE.

COUNCILMEMBER PALMER? AYE. COUNCILMEMBER RUMBAH? AYE. COUNCILMEMBER SIDALGE?

AYE.

COUNCILMEMBER SCOTT? AYE. COUNCILMEMBER WALKER? Aye. And Mayor Ibsen?

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

Ordinance number 29117 is an ordinance declaring the public necessity for and providing for the acquisition by eminent domain certain property along a vacated alleyway located between Puyallup Avenue and East 25th Street adjacent to the east side of A Street for the acquisition of easement rights to repair, replace, maintain, and construct the stormwater trunk made in associated facilities.

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

Council Member Diaz. Aye. Council Member Hines.

Aye.

Council Member Palmer. Aye. Council Member Rumbaugh. Aye. Council Member Sedalge.

Aye.

Council Member Scott. Aye. Council Member Walker. Aye. Deputy Mayor Bushnell.

Aye.

And Mayor Ibsen.

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.

Thank you.

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 updates on Puyallup Avenue improvements, the Fishing Wars Memorial Bridge replacement project, and the automated enforcement expansion, as well as background information on the Schuster Parkway Trail project. I recommend that everyone on council look at all of those memos. It's a ton of good information and great work being done in Public Works. Since our last report out, the committee has received one policy letter And that was from the Transportation Commission supporting the elimination of parking minimums. Our next scheduled meeting will be August 26th. Planning and Development Services will be providing an update on the tree and landscaping code and draft amendments being considered for the Planning Commission's public hearing process. Environmental Services staff will then be briefing the committee on the Urban Forestry Priority Action Plan and tree maintenance in the right-of-way as directed by Resolution 41682, which of course was our resolution on urban forestry. Mayor, that concludes my report.

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 WAS HOPING SOMETIME THIS YEAR. I DIDN'T REALIZE IT WAS GOING TO BE ALSO IN THE SAME MONTH OR RIGHT IN THE NEXT MONTH. SO THAT WAS AMAZING. I'VE ALREADY HEARD, GOTTEN MESSAGES FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT JUST THOUGHT IT WAS DELIGHTFUL TO SEE THAT SIGN BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE HAD TROUBLE EVEN FINDING IT OR KNOWING THAT IT WAS THERE. SO THANK YOU AGAIN. Second, I also want to mention a couple of weeks ago, I had the honor of visiting in my district at Lincoln High School a program called the Newcomers Camp. In that program, it is basically a summer camp for children who are refugees or asylum seekers. This is a program put on by, in part, between TACOMA PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND THE ASIA PACIFIC CULTURAL CENTER. I WANT TO THANK MAYOR CREST CASTRO AND REE OM, WHO HELPED RUN THAT, AS WELL AS ALL THE STAFF THAT WAS THERE. I DON'T KNOW EVERYONE'S NAME. IT WAS AMAZING. I HAD THE DELIGHT OF BEING THERE WITH WASHINGTON STATE SENATOR JAVIER VALDEZ, WHO CAME ALL THE WAY DOWN TO ALSO TALK TO THE KIDS ON THE VERY LAST DAY. IT WAS REALLY MEANINGFUL TO BE IN THAT ROOM TO CONTINUE THE WORK THAT WE ALL HAVE AGREED TO SO MANY TIMES AND SO MANY RESOLUTIONS AND BEING A WELCOMING CITY THAT WELCOMES EVERYONE, WHEREVER YOU'RE BORN OR COME FROM. AND IT WAS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF MY TENURE AS A COUNCILMEMBER TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO these students, given the kind of world in which we live right now. So that was, thank you very much.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor. Just wanted to do a quick acknowledgement. We do have a plaque here from the Transportation Improvement Board. Want to present it to our folks over at Public Works. Job well done on, and we just did the ribbon cutting this past weekend for the Sheridan Avenue Phase 1 project. That took a lot of time and effort among staff and partners, including parks and others. So just in recognition of the work that you all have done, very well done. And I'm really excited for the years ahead of families being able to enjoy the new street there and getting to the park safely. So thank you for that. And I just wanted to make sure you guys had this. Wonderful. Council Member Rumbaugh.

Thank you, Mayor. And I just want to thank staff that's in the room. I see Corey here. I want to thank the work on the Wayside Horn in Old Town that it finally... Thank God got fixed because every time I was at the spa and heard it go off and I'm with my friends and I'm like every four minutes apologizing to them. And I know it's not my fault, but I felt so responsible to our community. And thank you so much for the work of our city manager and Jennifer Camerazel and everyone who worked on that. Thank you so much for working with BNSF. And I hear that they have a lobbyist that we might know that we might be able to do more work with next time. Thank you.

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 council agenda, then a community forum, and city staff will be present there to answer questions and to deal with service requests. Study session on Tuesday, September 29th is not being rescheduled. Study session will still take place Tuesday at noon in the council chambers. And with that, we have a question from Council Member Scott.

Not a question. Comment. Yeah, just remembered that I wanted to remind everybody that the Hilltop Street Fair is taking place this Saturday from 11 to 6 in People's Park.

Very good. Council Member Diaz?

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?

I move to adjourn.

Second.

Moved and seconded. All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

All those opposed say no. We are adjourned. Good night.

Thank you.