Good evening.

Welcome everybody to the regular Bellevue City Council meeting for January 6th, 2026.

Um City Clerk, would you do the roll call, please?

Council Member.

Here.

Councilmember Breyer.

Councilmember Hamilton.

Here.

Councilmember Malikutian?

Here.

Councilmember Newman House.

Here.

Council Member Robinson.

Here.

And Councilmember Sumodoria.

Here.

Thank you.

Councilmember Breyer, welcome to the council.

Thank you for having me.

It's an honor.

Would you uh join uh lead us in the flag salute, please?

Certainly.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

And to your proposals for which it stands.

So this evening we will be electing a new mayor and a new deputy mayor from our seven council members.

The term is for two years, and we do it every even numbered years.

And the term for the position as Councilmember Robinson just said is two years, and this is a process we go through every two years.

So the temporary chair will call for nominations for the position of mayor.

Nominations do not require a second.

Each council member may nominate no more than one person for the position.

Council members are allowed to nominate themselves.

And when no further nominations are forthcoming, the temporary chair will close the floor to nominations.

Staff have handed out the first round of ballots.

You'll see them on the yellow card in front of you.

You will write the name of your preferred candidate on that ballot.

It will be collected by staff, and then I will tabulate it on the teller's report and read the results aloud.

If there's a council member that receives a majority vote, which in this case four council members is a majority, they will be declared the new mayor, and then that person will preside over the deputy mayor election.

So if there are questions about the process, I'm happy to answer any of those.

Otherwise, I'll turn it back to Chair Robinson to handle the election.

Any comments or questions?

Okay, I'm gonna open the floor for nominations, and I would actually like to nominate council member Malikutian to be mayor.

Are there any other nominations for mayor?

Okay, so now we will take our paper.

Yes, even though there is only one nominee, we do need to continue it.

You can't do a write-in.

Okay.

Okay.

I can confirm that all seven council members have voted for council member Malikuti, and so he is declared mayor.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Um, yeah, your charger.

Charmin, before we go to the next uh election, I want to thank Otcoin Mayor Robinson for nomination and my colleagues on the council for your trust and your votes.

Uh that trust uh to truly means a lot to me.

Uh I also want to acknowledge that I am sitting with uh six incredible qualified leaders.

Any of you guys can serve uh in this role with integrity and care.

Uh I feel genuinely honored that you choose me, and I don't take that highly.

Uh Councilman Robinson, uh special thanks to you.

Six years of leading this city in very, very complex situation, including COVID, including the crazy significant growth that we are having.

Uh, much of the city's trend is because of your steady leadership.

So thank you so much.

You leave a big shoes to feel, but the good news is uh we do this work together.

We are seven people, and I believe in that shared responsibility.

Uh, our residents expect a lot from us.

We all know safety, quality of life, and the city that feels welcoming and fair.

Are small businesses or larger employers and the people who always every day show up here and work here, are counting on our leadership, and I think we can do that thoughtfully and with care.

I am excited to work closely with my fellow council member, incredible city staff and the community.

The best decision is when we listen well and keep the people at the center of our work.

Uh, with that, let's move forward with the deputy mayor election process.

Is there any nomination?

I nominate Dave Hamilton.

Is there any other nomination?

I close the nomination, and you guys all have a yellow I can confirm that all seven council members have voted for Councilmember Hamilton.

Congratulations.

So at this time I call for a 20 minute recess for taking some photos.

I think we are at the approval uh of agenda, but before we start that, I just want to say that we uh miss a legend, former councilmember Lee is not with us, but also I just wanted to congrats Councilman Breyer for being here.

Congratulations, and we are looking forward to continue working with you and everyone else.

Uh do I have a motion to approve the agenda?

Do I have a second?

Second.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Great.

There is no one opposed.

Uh City Collector, are there any speakers signed up to provide oral communication?

Yes, thank you, Mayor.

There are four pre-registered speakers this evening.

So before I start calling names, I'll go over a few of the roles that the council has in place.

So the total time for oral communications is for a period not to exceed thirty minutes, and all topics must relate to City of Bellevue government.

People speaking to items on tonight's agenda will be called first, and then if time remains, people speaking to items not on tonight's agenda will be called.

The presiding officer in both of those categories can give preference to people who have not spoken to council within the last sixty days, or who are going to be speaking on items anticipated to come on to the agenda within the next sixty days.

Speakers are allowed three minutes to speak each, and a maximum of three speakers are permitted to speak to any one side of a particular topic.

And also I want to remind folks that in compliance with Washington state campaign laws regarding the use of public facilities during elections.

No speaker may support or oppose a ballot measure or support or oppose a candidate for an election which includes one's own campaign.

Any speaker who begins discussing these topics will be asked to stop.

And with that, I will call our first speaker who is Janice Hine.

Good evening and happy new year 2002.

I'm Janice Hine and I'm a resident of Bellevue and the Bridal Trails neighborhood.

And my topic tonight is good government of Bellevue through unity.

I'm talking about unity of purpose and unity in brotherhood.

And I want to begin by thanking all of you for your willingness to serve on the council.

And also you're brave too.

We have a lot of different opinions, uh factions, and uh I wish and pray for you God's best and happiness and fulfillment in the new year, and on your entire term for the council.

With that, I'd like to offer you that you have hope here for Bellevue, a new opportunity for this new year and for our citizens.

And I just wanted to talk to you about a song called the Star Spangled Banner.

You know that's our national anthem.

Francis Scott Key was forced by the British to watch the bombarding of the American Fort McHenry.

As the smoke passed, Keith saw old glory still waving, and he penned the Star Spangled Banner.

Now, you're all probably familiar with the first verse, but are you aware of what the third verse says?

I'm going to quote it.

I won't sing it for you.

And this be our motto in God is our trust and the star-spangled banner and triumph show wave over the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And that's what I wish for all of you.

Um realizing that you can get God's wisdom to do your job here, that you all could be on the same page.

And but that's gonna take humbling some time.

Uh maybe even repent of having uh your own idea.

But it's submitting once again in God We Trust, then that's the God of the Bible.

We um hopefully you will get his purpose for Bellevue and Bellevue's future, and that means unity in purpose.

The second one is submitting to one another.

You have the different ideas, and with that I'm gonna remind you of a second song.

America the beautiful.

And by the way, you probably all know in French that Bellevue is beautiful view.

Miss Hine.

So American.

I'm sorry, your time has expired.

Oh offer or encourage you to email the rest of your comments to the council.

Okay, thank you.

With that, um, our next three speakers, I believe, want to come up together, and that's Aaliyah Baines, Lisa Pierce, and Talia Thomas, though each of them will have a separate three minutes.

You wanted to go first.

Hello, you guys.

Um, thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak.

Um I wrote mine down.

Good evening, Mayor and Council members.

My name is Talia Thomas, and I'm the community specialist of Plymouth Crossing.

I'm here tonight because I want to share about a bit about the work that I do so you understand what life looks like.

Um my job is to organize as much activity, connection, and normalcy as possible to make home feel like home.

I plan activities, I cook meals for the resident, I take people to shows, I help them get into the broader community.

Um, our council member um shared with me that she would like to organize Easter baskets for the kids at Polaris next door.

That moment mattered to me because it shows that people really want to belong to give and be a part of where they live.

I do this because I believe that even if you're facing challenges, you don't just deserve to be housed, you deserve to be home.

Give me a moment so I could breathe, I'm sorry.

I've never done this before.

You guys are terrifying.

I do this because I believe even if you're facing challenges that you don't deserve to be housed, you deserve a home where you're loved and where you're accept accepted.

I share similar struggles as the people that I work with, and even though my life turned out differently, I understand how easy it is to be overwhelmed.

Struggling is normal, but it's not something we talk about openly.

At the beginning and the end of the day, our residents are just people.

My mom always says we're just one terrible experience away from a bad situation.

One loss, one act of violence, one health crisis.

And when that happens, wouldn't you want someone to say, I see you, I care about you, and you're valued.

So as you guys have your discussion tonight, I ask that you remember this.

People at Plymouth are members of this community, just like everyone else.

They shop here, they give back here, they build relationships here, and they call Bellevue home.

This work matters and acceptance really matters.

Thank you guys all for taking the time to see us as neighbors.

And I'm not supposed to say this part, but I really hope that you guys will all come to my friends giving next year.

You guys are all invited.

I'll go next.

Good evening.

Everyone, my name is Aaliyah Baines, and I am a Bellevue resident.

And while I don't represent the views of my employer, I also work in Bellevue, serving this community.

I have a degree in criminal justice from the University of Washington, and I have been working in community health for over eight years.

While I'm here to advocate and share overwhelming support, I have been disheartened to hear the opinions and sentiments shared towards the residents of the Eastgate campus.

In a time where proven science, evidence-based practices, and even settled law are being challenged.

One year in permanent sportive housing is cheaper than 16 days in a King County jail or hospital or King County Hospital or 10 weeks at a King County jail.

While homelessness is being criminalized, facilities like this campus that are meant to address homelessness are also being criminalized.

While borders are being enforced now more than ever, if this city isn't the place where disabled the sick or the poor to call home, I ask you, where should we go?

If you are in a position of power and claim that every member of this council is pro-police, despite the fact that policing is not proven to reduce crime, and we know that homeless, disabled, and populations of color are the most likely to be victims of crime.

If you stand on the fence of this issue or you see it as an election year campaign point, I beg you to consider the margins of the community you asked to serve.

Use your position of power not to just make positive change or hold a moment of silence for political violence without acknowledging the land that we sit on today, but to make a positive narrative, a positive culture, and a real difference for those who don't have the power to.

Okay.

Well, hello, everybody.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight.

My name is Lisa, and I've lived at Plymouth Crossing for two years.

I hope you're all open to me being vulnerable.

Oh, here we go.

I didn't want to cry.

I was a normal person, enjoying my life.

I've never done drugs.

Deed.

Okay.

Nor did I know what her reduction or being trauma informed was.

To know what it means now.

When my husband passed away, I was oblivious to what could happen, and I never imagined being homeless.

You're so strong.

But I care so much about Plymouth and everybody there.

It's my home.

And everyone there's my family.

Dude.

I don't know anymore.

You can't force anybody to change.

People have to change because they want to for themselves.

When I took on the responsibility of being tenant council chair, I wanted to show ownership and accountability for my home and community.

I truly wanted to make a change at Plymouth.

The council holds space and sport to grow.

Although we've come from different backgrounds, we share similar struggles.

And if I'm being honest, I don't know the Bellevue community that well.

I feel that because of the stigma our building has, it's created a gap between our community and the Bellevue community.

But I'm optimistic that our efforts will be a gateway to us building a relationship to you all.

I'm so sorry for crying.

Thank you guys for listening to us and seeing us as neighbors again.

And thank you for being vulnerable.

Thank you.

That is the end of our pre-registered list.

Um, and that was the third and final comment in support of the Eastgate campus update that we'll be able to take.

So at this point, I would ask if there's anyone else joining us here in council chambers or anyone online who would like to make a comment to the council.

We deals do still have some time remaining, so please raise your hand.

Okay.

Uh mayor, I do not see any additional hands.

I'll turn it back to you.

Uh thank you, Charmaine.

Uh, we have now the reports of boards and commission.

So uh council Diane Carson, our city manager is going to talk about 2026 art grant allocations.

Thank you, Mayor.

Mayor Hamilton and Council members.

Since the early um 2000s, the city has had a community arts and culture grants, and that program has grown over time to support innovative art and diverse cultural traditions in the city.

The council sets the guidelines for these grants and then approves the annual awards.

And that's what we have uh for you tonight a presentation on the arts commission's recommendations for the 2026 project grant allocations.

And we're asking for um council to consider um approval of the recommendations tonight.

From uh our arts commission.

We're joined by the commission vice chair, Erica Enamoto, and Lori Hoffman from our community development department, and Manette Stam.

And with that, I will hand it over to Lori.

Thank you so much, Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Council members.

It's a pleasure to be with you tonight.

All right.

Uh we will ask that the council consider action on the Arts Commission's recommendation recommended funding allocations for the 2026 project grant awards.

And we have a pretty robust agenda for you.

It'll be short but full of impact.

We're gonna talk about uh advancing the council's priorities, our process that we come to to go through these grant applications and how we get to the recommendation that you have in front of you tonight.

We'll look at the specific request um and the recommended allocation, and then we'll dive into the public benefits that we receive from this grant program.

We do want to start off tonight with talking about how this uh program that you're seeing tonight and the allocations events as one of council's key priorities.

So we are excited to announce that this grant focuses focuses on increased investment in the arts.

Um this is in line with council priority number three, which is exploring options to expand arts funding through mechanisms such as the annual grant process, direct investment in the Bell Red Arts District, or others.

Previously, our project grants we came at award levels of one, two or three thousand dollars, and those stayed consistent for many decades.

We're very excited tonight to bring to you project grants that are at $3,000, $5, and $7,000, as well as increased investment, a number of investments in our Bell Red bonus.

So a lot of new organizations bringing their activities to about red in direct response to the council's priorities.

So look forward to talking more about that.

And with that, I'm gonna hand over to Manette to talk about the specifics of the program.

Thank you, Lori.

Um, so the arts program administers three different grant programs.

Um, one is the Art and Cultural Capital Facility Grants and East Side Arts Partnership Grants.

Both of these are on a two-year funding cycle.

Um, and they will be back next year when that funding cycle reopens.

Tonight, we will only be discussing the project grants.

Those are on a yearly funding cycle.

So the uh grant process that we take is uh quite a robust robust project uh process.

Um all the grant applications are reviewed by what we call an allocations committee.

Um, this is a mix of art commissioners and community members.

Um they review the grants um in three different categories.

Um artistic innovation, public access and benefit, and project feasibility.

Um, each of these criteria are used as a scoring metric.

Um, those receiving higher scores demonstrate a stronger artistic innovation and feasibility, and they deliver clear public benefits to Bellevue residents and visitors.

After they review and score, the committee meets all together to decide awards, and then they present their recommendations to the Arts Commission for approval before coming in front of you all.

This year we received 67 total project grant applications, and they're totaling over 464,000 in funding requests.

This is almost a 400% increase from last year's uh grant process.

Um the recommended allocations tonight uh will only cover 43% of the requested amount.

Um and you can see on the slide in front of you the amounts broken into each type of grant.

We have the project grants and then the bonus that is an add-on on top of the grants.

Um we are uh the arts commission is recommending 31 grants and 13 Bell Red bonus grants.

Um there we go.

Um the total grant allocation recommendation is 200,000.

Um these amounts um broken down into each grant and the evaluation criteria are in the packet before you.

Um the arts commission has approved these recommendations.

Um and now I'd like to pass it over to Vice Chair Enamoto, who will highlight some of these applicants.

Um these are just examples of the breadth of great offerings from the recommended grant pool for 2026.

Thank you, Manette.

So out of the 31 project applications that we are recommending to council for approval, we have two projects that we'll present here.

One is by an artist, Rohini Mather.

Um their proposal includes uh the development of pollinator hubs, um, and these would be outdoor community art installations that features two themes and along the side of like free library hubs.

Um, one of the hubs would be for bees, the other hub would be for butterflies.

Um, each of these hubs would also be accompanied by a bench for folks to sit and visit.

Um, each of these hubs offer educational and artistic resources, including pollinator guides, coloring sheets, seed packets, and rotating community artworks.

Um, one of the standout points of this application was its engagement piece.

So the artist has um proposed having community painting days, which will invite residents to help decorate the hubs, um, and this will create a vibrant interactive space that educates, inspires, and also celebrates Bellevue's biodiversity.

The second project we're highlighting tonight is a grant um to support Gage's Teen Arts Studio at the Highland Community Center, which is near the Bell Red Arts District.

Um, this program itself is a free weekly year-round drop-in art program that's designed for our teen residents here in Bellevue.

The students will learn from a rotating um teach uh rotating professional teaching artist um in a variety of subjects and media.

We expect the participants, um many who have come from communities that identify as BIPOC, LGBTQ, and low income, to be able to have a place where they can create community and have a sense of belonging and support at these uh studio classes.

Um, in addition to the training, um art supplies and meals will be provided by Gage, um, and we've also recommended recommend that this project be um to receive a Bell Red art bonus as it will take place in the Arts District here in Bellevue.

So this year in 2026, we anticipate both EAP and project grants to have a huge impacts for our city here and also our residents.

Um the anticipated public benefits include serving over one million residents and visitors through the in-person events, performances, cultural festivals, and through arts education opportunities like workshops and studio classes.

Um city support ensures that over 550,000 people will have access to these opportunities through free or reduced admission prices.

And overall, the grantees will offer programs that are designed to increase access for people of diverse backgrounds and historically underrepresented groups.

So we're looking forward to seeing the impact that these projects will have on our community here.

Again, tonight we are asking you to consider action on the Arts Commission recommended funding allocations for the 2026 project grants.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you so much for a great presentation.

Lori, thank you so much, Manette and Vice Chair Enamoto.

Thank you so much for being here.

Any questions?

No question.

Councilmember Robinson, please.

Yeah, um, well, I wanted to thank the vice chair for your work on this.

It's really gratifying to see what your commission has done in making these tough decisions.

And it just seems so thoughtful, so I really appreciate it.

Um I was personally saddened not to see any international fashion supported.

I know you can't say yes to everything, but there's kind of a hub here in Bellevue of people who have actually designed dresses for the Grammys.

So they're uh quite talented.

I would love to see in the future, maybe we can bring that in.

Um the one thing that I've noticed is um when we go to like the openings of events, sometimes we don't have as much public there.

Is you you just know people would love this if they knew about it.

And I hope that we have a budget for publicity so that the community knows about these uh um opportunities.

And I would love to see something regular like every Sunday afternoon.

There's gonna be something that the community just knows that every Sunday afternoon they can count on a free something or other happening in Bellevue that they can take the family to or the kids or whatever.

Because I I would love there's so many things I would be at if I knew about them, and I don't hear about them myself.

So that's my only ask, but I really support your recommendations.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Um I can share, I think you're right on the money in terms of ways to get the word out.

And sometimes it's really hard to know.

We know amazing things are happening, but where is that one-stop shop to find that?

Um a couple of things I will highlight.

We are looking at increasing some marketing within this next year for our art grant recipients as part of a service that we would provide.

I would also um point you towards our partners at the Ball Red Art District Community Alliance who have started a community event calendar and are starting to do regular emails about upcoming events, not just with within the district, but east side wide.

So great.

Getting there.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Is there any other questions?

Uh Borgava.

I just want to make a quick comment.

Um, just to reiterate the um gratitude for the rigor and the process that the Arts Commission went through and goes through every year uh to deliver these grants to be really thoughtful about the choices and to enable lots and lots of people within the community.

I get I've heard a few stories anecdotally uh outside of this setting, which has been really, really compelling.

So thank you for doing what you're doing.

Thank you.

Great.

Uh Councilmember Smodaveria, would you please make a motion?

Thank you.

I move to approve the RS Commission recommendations for 2026 project grant allocations and direct staff to proceed with implementation.

Is there a second?

Second.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

The seven, yes, and motion approved.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

The next item is report of a city manager that is empty.

So we can move to the next one is council business.

There are, I think, two items.

Uh, Councilman Ewanhouse, you wanted to share something.

I did.

Thank you.

Uh thank you, Mayor.

I appreciate it.

Um, we didn't have a chance to do a proclamation, but I just wanted to acknowledge here just uh quickly just a moment to recognize uh law enforcement uh appreciation day, which is observed every January 9th.

So that's this upcoming Friday that honors the men and women who serve our community with courage and professionalism and unwavering commitment to public safety.

Here in Bellevue, we're fortunate to have a police department that sets a high standard, not just in Washington but nationally.

Their work is not abstract, it shows up in everyday moments when people never see the late night calls, the quiet de-escalations, the difficult conversations, the compassion shown to people in crisis, and the steady presence that keeps our neighborhood safe.

Our officers respond to thousands of calls each and every year, and they do it with a level of training with restraint and community partnership that reflects the very best of public service.

They are protectors in our neighborhoods and first on the scene when someone is having their worst day of their life.

We also recognize the families behind the badge, the spouses, the children, the loved ones who carry their own kind of service.

They share those long nights, the uncertainty and the sacrifices that come with this profession.

Their support makes our officers' work possible.

And law enforcement today faces challenges that are more complex than ever.

Yet our officers continue to show up with integrity, professionalism, and a deep sense of duty.

They don't do it for recognition, they do it because they believe in this community and in the responsibility they've sworn to uphold.

So tonight, on behalf of the city council and the residents that we serve, I want to say thank you.

Thank you for your service.

Thank you for your sacrifice and for your commitment to keeping Bellevue one of the safest cities in the nation.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Councilman Newman House.

Indeed, we appreciate them.

The second item is uh appointing uh Caroline Ferries to serve the remainder of her full term on the planning commission that is going to expire in May 31st of 2027.

Uh we I think at the first she uh for some conflicts uh she couldn't uh she kind of told us that she wants to resign and from January 1st she had other commitment.

Uh so we've been through the process of recruitment, again as very engaged City VR.

We had almost 30 applicants, all great and qualified, and we went through the uh recruitment process, but then uh Caroline Ferries uh indicated that she can finish her term because of her excellence work.

Uh we decided to just uh let her finish her term that is going to be May 31st, 2027.

So on that note, do I have a motion to appoint her?

So moved.

Is there a second?

Second.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Is there any oppose?

There is no one.

So congratulations to uh Caroline Ferris for being appointed.

Uh the next item is can I have a motion to approve the consent calendar?

I move to approve the consent calendar.

Is there a second?

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

There is no oppose.

So I think we can go to our study session.

Uh our city manager, can you please introduce our first study session?

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, council members.

Yes, so we regularly here at the city provide opportunities for jurisdictions and public entities to present uh factual information about proposed ballot measures.

And this evening, we have representatives from the Bellevue School District.

The Bellevue School District has two measures coming up on the February 10th special election ballot to renew uh property tax levies.

And tonight's presentation is an opportunity to learn a little bit about the proposal and how it may be relevant to Bellevue residents.

Uh with that, I'm going to hand it over to our um staff, Katie Kasimba Halsey, Assistant Director for Intergovernmental Relations, to introduce our guests and to um start the presentation.

Very good to have Dr.

Kelly Aramaki here, as well as John Harrison who will join us in just a moment.

Um, I also wanted to let you know that tonight you'll be hearing information from the Bellevue School District's proposed renewal of two levy propositions, which will be on the ballot in February for but for Bellevue voters.

The levies would be collected over four years and would be maintaining expiring district funds and district levies.

Tonight's presentation is informational only.

There will be no formal action tonight.

And the purpose is to learn more about the levies, and it's an opportunity for you all to ask questions to our two gentlemen here tonight.

With that, I'd like to warmly welcome both um Bellevue School District Superintendent Dr.

Kelly Aramaki and John Harrison, who is the chief of staff for the district.

But I'm also very pleased that we are welcomed by Bellevue School District Board President, Phil Brock, who is sitting right behind me right now.

So, Dr.

Aramaki, please.

All right, good evening, Mayor, Deputy Mayor, City Council members.

It's great to be here.

Uh, before I begin our presentation tonight, I want to start by saying that as you know, uh there are strict PDC guidelines for what district employees can say and can't say about ballot measures.

Um, but what we are allowed to do is talk about factual information, which is what we're here to do tonight.

Um so John and I are here to share some information with you about two levy renewal propositions that will be on the February 10th ballot.

Um before I I go into that, I do want to just share a few uh highlights about the Bellevue School District.

Uh we're very proud of the work that we're doing, and so it's been a while since I've been able to present in front of you.

So I just wanted to share a few things.

Uh, first of all, our students are thriving in the Bellevue School District.

We have about 19,345 students now.

Um, as you know, 117 languages spoken, uh home languages spoken by our kids from 125 different countries of birth.

So extraordinary uh diversity here in the city of Bellevue.

You probably see articles written about how students in public education aren't aren't achieving in math and reading anymore.

But Bellevue is not one of those school districts.

83% of our students are at proficiency or above in English language arts, 80% are proficient in math, and we continue to get better every single year.

In the Bellevue School District, we also have extraordinary staff.

We've got about 2,700 staff members right now who are working extremely hard.

They just had a wonderful winter break and are back with the kids.

But the school staff are really incredible in Bellevue.

63% of our educators have their master's degree or higher.

And over 40% of our teachers have their national board certification.

It's one of the highest rates of teachers with the highest level of teaching certification in the country.

And then lastly, our schools are successful.

We have a 93% graduation rate.

Four of our schools are in the top 10 in the U.S.

News and World Reports.

It's usually somewhere between four and all six of our high schools.

Recently, BSD was named the best district by NICH.

And then I think most importantly, as we've been talking a lot about enrollment and budget and things like that, our enrollment over the past three years has grown by a thousand students.

So just to put that into perspective, this past year, King County lost almost 5,000 students from students moving away, things like that, lower birth rates.

But Bellevue grew this past year by 200 kids, mainly at the elementary level, which is uh really amazing.

And so a lot of that is due to the fact that we are opening up a lot of different programs.

Uh we started a homeschool program to support families who are homeschooling their kids.

Uh we've started a number of different language programs to honor the languages in our city.

Um the last bullet point there is that uh you may have heard that Bellevue's been going through some challenging financial times, not different than many districts across the state of Washington, uh, but our financial recovery is accelerating uh and exceeding state expectations.

So we are well on our way.

So we're really proud of the work that we're doing.

Uh with that, we do have two uh levy renewal propositions on the ballot on February 10th.

Uh proposition one is the educational programs and operations levy, uh, EPNO.

Uh and proposition two is the technology and capital projects levy.

Uh the EPNO levy continues funding for day-to-day operations for the district.

It fills the gap between what the state funds and what our district needs to operate schools.

Uh the technical uh the technology and capital projects levy continues funding for technology, safety, security, and capital improvements.

It maintains our commitment to ensure students have safe learning environments and technology to prepare them for the future.

Uh, to go a little bit deeper uh with the EPNO levy, this is our operations levy.

Um, it covers so many different things, but these are the four big buckets.

The first one is high quality teaching and learning.

The main thing I'll point out is the state funds a six-period day at middle of school and high school.

Um levy helps pay for seven periods for our middle and high schoolers, which means our kids can take one extra class every single semester.

And by offering that, the students can take uh things like orchestra, they can take art, they can take CTE classes, uh, different kinds of electives that you wouldn't be able to take uh elsewhere.

Um our levy funds student well-being, safety, and supports.

So the allocation of counselors, for example, from the state is pretty minimal.

Our levy funds additional counselors, psychologists, nurses, social workers.

Our levy also funds all of our safety and security staff, plus the training and emergency planning that they do to keep our kids and our schools safe.

Um then the levy also funds about 25% of our special education uh costs.

Um the levy funds enrichment like music, athletics, after school activities, um, and then the levy helps to fund uh operational support for our schools from transportation to materials supplies, utilities, fuel, things like that.

The technology and capital projects levy uh covers things like school safety and security.

So uh we have AEDs in all of our buildings, we have Narcan in all of our buildings.

Uh we upgrade all of our cameras for safety and security.

We have uh visitor management systems.

We also build uh uh things like uh safety vestibules so that visitors have to come in through a checkpoint to get into our buildings.

Uh we also pay for all of our safety and um uh emergency preparedness uh through uh the technology capital projects levy.

Uh the technology and capital projects levy also pays for building maintenance and improvements.

So roofing, carpeting, uh, upgrading our heating and cooling systems, any kind of repairs or maintenance that is needed.

Uh we also use these funds to provide environmental uh upgrades to our our buildings, and so putting solar panels so that we can reduce our environmental impact and improve our uh energy efficiency.

Um then the last thing is the technology and capital projects levy also pays for technology uh for our educators and for our students.

We provide one-to-one uh devices for our students.

We also provide a lot of uh professional development for teachers around using everything from software to AI and things like that.

I'm going to go ahead and turn it over to John who gets to talk about the fun stuff, which is the details about uh the finances with the levy.

Thank you, Dr.

Ramarky.

Thank you, Dr.

Aramaki, and uh uh thank you, counsel, for the opportunity to present to you tonight.

Uh it really is an honor to be here, and we're much uh we very much appreciate the opportunity.

So this um pie chart, I know uh the text is hard to see, but the point is if you take a look at that dark green piece of the pie, that basically indicates that the educational programs and operations levy uh is it provides the funds for 16 percent of our total budget.

So that one levy alone, 16 percent.

The lighter green is the capital and tech um levy uh proposition two.

A portion of the um technology and capital projects levy can be used for general operating funds.

So combine the two levies.

If you look at the 8% from the cap and tech, uh the tech and cap levy, and the 16% from the educational programs and operations levy, that's a 24% of our entire budget is provided by the levies.

So it's an important uh piece to show you the totality of what that what these two levies combine pay for.

This next slide uh is gives you a very general idea of how we spend uh our money in the Bellevue School District.

78% of our budget supports teaching and learning uh and teaching support functions, and so it should.

So 70 78% is basically the instructional uh component of our operation.

Um 13% is uh the next biggest piece covers a variety of topics from everything that we need to provide in terms of food services, maintenance, tech uh technology, ground security, all of basically all of the rest, and those two smaller uh components that you see there are basically administrative costs at the school level and administrative costs at the district level.

This slide is the key slide.

Um these levies are collected over four years.

So in the state of Washington, every four years, levies can be renewed.

And we use that term purposefully because it really is a renewal of an existing levy.

So what we're asking the taxpayers um to support uh is the commitment that has previously been made uh in previous levies, the last one, of course, being the 2022 EPNO and um tech and cap projects levies.

So for this 20 this this session, the 2026 ballot, um the EPO levy um projected tax rate is 75 cents per 1,000 dollars of assessed property value, where the tech and cap projects rate is 50, the projected rate is 54 cents per thousand of assessed property value.

And the reason why we say projected is ultimately it's the it's the county uh auditor assessor that actually levies the the actual tax.

So that 75%, 75 cents per uh thousand of AV and 54 cents um per thousand of AV uh is a projection.

Um there's a little bit of difference between the two in terms of um the dollar amounts that could be collected.

So for the uh technology and capital projects levy, there is no dollar amount on what can be collected.

Where the EPO levy, there's a levy collection formula um dictated by the state.

And that formula is the less uh the lesser of $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, or $3,851 per pupil in the calendar year 2026.

And the lesser of those two amounts for us is the $38 uh $3,851 per pupil uh based on 2026 numbers.

on what can be collected where the EPO levy there's a levy collection formula um dictated by the state and that formula is the less uh the lesser of $2.50 per thousand of assessed value or $3851 dollars per pupil in the calendar year 2026 and the lesser of those two amounts for us is the 38 uh 3851 dollars per pupil uh based on 2026 numbers so um it is a little complex but the point basically that we want to make is that this is the the the the projected um levy amounts per you know eat each amount per the assessed value for each of the two levies um is a continuation of a commitment already made and that what we're asking for what we're asking that the taxpayers to support is the same taxation rate for the 26 levies for both of them so just to give you uh kind of a an indication for for a bellevue home and I think the the the mean um uh price of a of a home in Bellevue was around 1.5 million it's it's a lot of money um but the cost for these two levies for a home um that's worth 1.5 million would be approximately 1935 dollars a year and that's at the at the top end because it's based on assessed value so if assessed value continues to go up the amount that that tax rate is actually less than the amount that we're projecting and I think the next slide gives you a bit of a better indication so this one is sort of gives you a bit of a a look back um and starting with it with the 22 20 the 2022 ep and o levy um we also projected um our projected tax rate was same thing 75 cents per thousand of of assessed value and those amounts were the amounts that we collected um or that that that that rate would generate in each of those four years so going into the 2026 um levy on the ballot for February 10th at the 75 cents keeping that tax rate at 75 cents per thousand of assessed value those would be the amounts that we would um that we would uh generate in each of the four years of the 2026 levy actually I made a mistake I mixed up both let me go back how do I go here we go state that again just to be clear this is the EPO levy for the 22 22 levy at the top and the 2026 levy at the bottom and again keep in mind for the um for the cap for the technology and capital projects levy that's a dollar amount that's not a formula amount so in 23 24 25 and 26 you see the uh uh the what was collected and you see the rates um beside 58 cents beginning in 2023 and in 2026 it was 54 cents um and then moving to the 2026 you see that the amounts that we will collect over the next four years beginning in 2027 would be 64 thousand up to uh 73 sorry 64 million up to 73 million in 2030 again at that same rate of 54 cents per thousand of assessed value this is a really interesting slide in that it uh paints a picture of where we've been in the last over the last um decade you'll notice it's really hard to see but where the bars begin to get smaller meaning the amounts of money collected or smaller begins in uh 2018 because of some legislative um changes of the way that basically there was um um uh a cap um cap on on levy dollars that we can collect from the community so beginning in 2018 but the interesting piece is if you move over to the 2025 school year which is or the 2020 is it 24 or 25 I think it's 25 hard for me to see is it 25 for the 25 2025 school year is the amount um the combined amount collected um was a dot was $1.11 and so if you look at what we're asking for beginning in the for the 26 levies beginning in 2027 would be a dollar and twenty nine if you combined both the um cap and the technology and capital projects levy and the EPNO levy and finally this last slide um shows you kind of relatively speaking the tax burden for districts uh in our region throughout King County and if you look at the top there and it's it's a combined tax burden so it's it's both levies and bonds if there are our bonds in uh um uh in particular districts so if you look at auburn at the top what's that amount Dr.

It's about four dollars.

And if you go down to Bellevue, we are at $1.90.

A dollar nine?

Or 90.

That's so hard to see.

Point being is that if you compare us to other districts in the region, the tax burden for our homeowners is uh the rate is significantly uh is significantly less than other districts in the region.

So with that, I'll turn it back to Dr.

Armaki.

Yeah, and I think that that is it.

So I think at this point, um, if there's time, we'd be happy to take any questions about either of the propositions.

Thank you so much, Dr.

Armaki.

Thank you so much for being here.

Uh John, great seeing you.

You too.

Or BSC board director, uh, Mr.

Field Block, thank you for being here, and Katie, great seeing you, and happy new year to you all.

Uh I would love to go around the uh table and dies and ask for questions, but can you go please to the slide number two now?

Looking at this slide, I am I know why the appealing of Bellevue and many family wants to move here.

I don't have a kid myself, but it is a great place by these stats to raise a kid.

So I'm very proud of the work that you guys are doing, and thank you for leadership.

Uh let's just go around uh councilman Breyer.

Thank you, folks, for the thorough presentation.

Uh Dr.

Armarki Armaki, I had a quick question.

Sure.

Um so according to the National Homeland Security Commission, I think roughly it was reported 70% of cyber threats take place at a local municipal level, especially at a uh educational level.

And so it's great to see that cybersecurity was one of those core contentions that one of the levies would cover.

Uh I wanted to ask, and perhaps it's too granular, but um, do we know how the levy funds are allocated between preventative measures like monitoring and firewalls and and response and recovery capabilities?

Yeah, I'm I know enough to be dangerous about this.

So uh one of the things we we pay for as a full-time cybersecurity specialist, and so we spend a lot of time protecting because there's a lot of cybersecurity tech on public school systems, and um we so we do lots of trainings, and then we also conduct a lot of uh audits where we s our our internal person sends phishing emails to staff just to make sure that people are following rules and things like that.

So we spend quite a bit of money on cybersecurity protections and we send him to training so that he's always up on kind of the latest.

Um but if you look at some of the site basically what he always tells us is that school districts are attacked multiple times every hour, every single day, and it's just a matter of time, and so um we spend a lot to protect our our student data, um, things like that.

Would you add anything about that?

No, that's no, that's great.

Thank you so much.

Councilmember Smodovirio.

Thank you.

Um so thank you for the presentation.

I'm a proud product of the Bawi School District, so that's my three children.

So thank you for all the work you're doing and changing the life of our kids.

Doesn't matter what they're coming from, the social and everything background, it's precious.

Thank you so much.

So I have two questions to ask.

Um, with our students speaking more than 100 languages presenting 125 countries, so our school district is very diverse.

And can you share with us how the EPNO levy specifically supports the multilingual learners?

Um, and also the heritage and dual language program mentions in the pro in the materials.

Sure.

Yeah, that's a great question.

I think in general, the EPNO levy helps to fund operations in general, and the EPNO levy helps to fund the teacher salaries that we pay in Bellevue.

So what we get from the state is not nearly enough, and so we use the EPNO levy to help fund additional staff.

And so all of our dual language programs, our Japanese, Korean, our Arabic programs, um, we use EPNO levy money to help fund salaries, to help fund books, to help fund the supplies for those programs.

So a lot of the programs that parents either move to Bellevue for or send their kids from other districts uh is because of programs that are funded through in part by the EPNO levy.

And I would just add, I mean, the bulk of the funding for for multilingual learners is provided by the state, but we enhance that with with uh with levy dollars, and that seven period day mention that Dr.

Aramaki made um earlier really provides the opportunity for you know for students to expand their repertoire of world language classes, for example, at the secondary level.

And now about how many language programs we have right now for the students?

How many different types of well we offer?

I mean, right now we're offering Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic.

Uh, we have a French program, and then that's not including all of the world language programs that we have at the high school as well.

And with Spanish, that's at four different schools.

So thank you.

Thank you for making our kids competitive.

Um I have one last question.

Thank you.

So as a small business owner, I'm always really intrigued about Wolf was development.

Is there anything from the Korean Capital Education Program that's funded?

That's gonna be have connecting the students to the employers and the internship.

Oh, yes.

Um so we have a number of things.

I think career technical education is probably the most exciting thing that's happening in the Bellevue School District.

I mean, we're proud of our language programs and our AP classes and things like that.

But I think what gets kids the most excited right now is maritime welding and our our nursing program.

And so we're we're trying to invest a lot in the programs that prepare kids for careers right out of high school if they want it, or to go into trade schools.

Um, and then we're doing a lot of internship work uh in a number of different ways.

Um our Bellevue Big Picture School is building internships right into their program, but then our students with disabilities who are at our um transitions program between 18 and 21 are doing internships, including over at Belden Cafe, um, but to in order to build their skills so that they can transition successfully from a K-12 education to a productive life afterwards.

So we have a number of different programs that offer internships so kids can get connected to kind of the workforce right away out of high school.

And with the CTE programs, um facility upgrades is also a big piece of that with with with levy dollars, and again, broken record, the seven period day provides additional opportunity for kids to access CTE courses.

Thank you so much.

Uh Councilman Robinson.

Oh, thank you.

Oops, thank you.

Um I'm just gonna say outside of this levy, um, I think our Bellevue School District is the foundation of our city's success.

So I want to thank you for the work that you do to support our kids and uh that ultimately supports our economy and our future.

Um this is kind of um I'm maybe a little bit jumping the gun, and I apologize.

But um, I would be interested in a future agenda discussion and consideration of a collective position and support of the levy from the council.

I know we can't do that tonight, and I can't do it as an individual, but if we could put that on uh future council meeting, if the if our council tonight would want to do that, I I would be interested in that.

Thank you.

Councilman Ewenhouse.

Thank you very well.

Um to that uh collective letter and support um at a future future meeting.

Um I'm glad we're getting so many maritime welding uh with three ferries currently out of commission.

We can't get them into the workforce fast enough, I'm just saying.

Um no, but that um uh also uh I want to thank you so much for keeping uh our school districts one of the best school districts, uh not only in the region but in the country, um, welcoming, inclusive, and successful um as been mentioned before.

Um, you know, if you if if if you're a parent, you want your you want your child in Bellevue, it's gonna give them the best chance, I think, to be successful.

There's a lot of other great school districts out there, but uh I'm partial to to and very proud of ours uh here home in uh in Bellevue.

Uh just a couple of quick questions for you.

Um you had mentioned the um number of uh or or that the uh at-home schooling.

Uh of the 19,000, how many are learning virtually or at home right now?

Yeah, so we our our we have a digital school um that supports students who want to learn outside of the kind of brick and mortar school, and head count-wise, we have about 800 students who are taking some form of digital classes.

Wow.

Uh we just started our kind of partnership with our homeschool families.

We've got almost a hundred kids who signed up this very first year.

And what what we do for those families is we basically partner with the families, we create learning plans based on what the families want help with.

And so we provide curriculum resources.

But if a if a parent is homeschooling their high schooler, for example, um, and they don't know how to teach calculus, because I mean I don't know who could do that, they have access to any of our digital programming.

So we can offer them calculus classes, but then the parent can then teach kind of other like literacy, things like that at home.

So almost a hundred kids this first year.

I think our homeschool partnership and our digital program are one of the reasons why we are one of the only districts in King County that grew this year.

And are the majority of them in Bellevue or outside of Bellevue that are doing that?

The majority of them are in Bellevue.

But we also have a number of kids who are joining from all over the state because our our digital program is uh is a statewide program now.

So we have kids from all the way from Spokane, Snahomish, who are basically signed up because we offer every week the kids get to meet with their advisors, uh, they get a check-in on their coursework, and then we offer some kind of in-person kind of social interaction and engagement for kids as well.

So you come by the building right next to the botanical garden, and you'll see second or third graders kind of doing some STEM activities and things like that while their parents are in a room next, uh, waiting for them to finish.

So it's it's exciting and uh innovative, and it it really builds on a lot of families' desire to do more kind of a hybrid home and school learning.

100%.

And then one last question um, because you made the comment rightly so about the great staff and the teachers that uh are part of Bellevue School District.

Just curious, um how how competitive are we right now?

Are we losing teachers other parts of the state, other parts of the country right now, or are we holding on to those wonderful teachers?

Are they continuing to call Bellevue home or um are they being adversely affected by cost of living, et cetera, uh right now?

How's how's how's that retention going of the great uh teachers that we have?

Yeah, uh cost of living is the is the biggest challenge.

But we have teachers who cross two or three school districts just to get to Bellevue in order to work here.

So not many of our teachers can afford the median 1.5 million dollar home here in Bellevue.

Um, most of the teachers who live in Bellevue are teachers that have been here for quite some time.

Um, but we don't have a retention problem.

Teachers who come here, they know that they're gonna get a lot of support.

Um we I mean we pay them pretty well, and in general, Washington State teachers get paid quite well.

Um, so I'm proud of that fact.

But um with uh Bellevue, for example, the Bellevue Schools Foundation, they fund um support for um the uh certification for the national board certification, and so teachers that come here will get a lot of support in order to increase their salary and things like that.

So we take good care of our people.

Thank you for us.

You bet.

Thank you so much.

Councilmember Baragova.

Yeah, thank you, Mayor.

Thank you.

Um great uh to hear uh the presentation.

Thank you so much for all the incredible work.

Out of the 19,000 students, 90,000 plus students in the Bellevue School District.

I have two in my household that have gone to the public school system in Bellevue, and I'm tremendously grateful.

They're still in there, and we're uh thankful for all the incredible work that happens for the school district.

So thank you personally, as well as part of this body.

Um really few quick things for me, two really quick clarification questions, and then one question, but I'd like maybe a little bit of a thoughtful response.

One is on the elementary school growth.

I was really surprised to hear the statistic that we're growing as much.

Whereas King County has actually gone the other direction.

Do we know what the inputs are to that growth, or is it really the conversion of homeschool or something else?

Yeah, that's a good question.

So we we've done a couple of things.

We so we looked at the data.

We actually are growing in the number of kids who live in the city.

So people are moving in to come to our schools.

So that's been exciting.

And then we have a lot of students that are coming from outside of the school district as well.

So we're growing both in kids coming from other school districts that are are neighboring us, and we're growing from kids who are are living here.

And then we did a survey of families on who came to the are new to the Bellevue School District this year asking them, you know, why did they choose Bellevue?

And many of them chose Bellevue because of the ratings of our high schools, so they're looking kind of long-term at coming to the high schools and wanting to be a part of the pathway.

Because if you can get in at Newport Heights Elementary, you're guaranteed all the way through uh to Newport High School, which is one of the best in the state.

Um, but then a lot of families also mentioned that they're here because we're the only district that offers Arabic.

And so we have kids coming from I mean, quite far away, in order to get this opportunity for their kids to learn Arabic in the schools.

Um, but it's the same for the Japanese program.

And I met a couple of families who moved close to Bennett Elementary just so that they could participate in the the new Japanese program.

So I think it's the innovation and um in the programming that we're offering, but it's also I think the reputation of the schools that people are finding ways to move in.

I think one other factor is is we've really increased our opportunities uh for families to access preschool.

So with that P2 uh P12 continuum, I think we've been able to attract students in that way too, because one of the great indicators this year is that our kindergarten cohort was up significantly, and for the last several years, the concerning piece is that our kindergarten cohort was one that was, if not the smallest, one of the smallest cohorts in the in the system.

This year we increased significantly.

Remember how many kids?

Not exactly.

Yeah, it it was it was significant.

Maybe a couple, don't quote me, but maybe a couple of hundred kids increase at the kindergarten cohort.

So that's a great indicator.

Very great.

That's uh super positive to hear all the innovation, and that's attracting people from all over to come to our schools.

Um I want to piggyback a little bit on uh council member Noenhaus' question on uh teacher detention, but also the fact that many of our teachers drive very long distances of commute in different ways to come in and teach.

Is that anything in our budget that actually enables or provides um what's the right word?

It's not incentives, really, but actually facilitates that in a way that allows for teachers to be more successful.

Yeah, do you want to talk about kind of our partnership with the city and with Amazon just looking at affordable kind of workforce housing?

Yeah, uh so um yeah, affordable housing, and it is a challenge.

I mean, when the question about you know retaining staff, we're not seeing you know a significant loss of of staff members because of the cost of living, but we do know that it's challenging um for them.

And we and we have lost staffed other districts, you know, starting families buying homes where they can and that kind of thing.

Um so one of the things that we're looking at is is we um a couple of years back in the 21-22 school year, Amazon funded a um workforce housing feasibility study.

And it basically indicated the recommendation or the finding was that the district has some surplus properties, and those surplus properties um could be considered um to bring to the table to look at developing some affordable housing with our asset, which is which is the land.

One of the challenges, of course, for our school system is that um that's not in our you know, that's not our expertise, it's not that's not what we what we do.

So we've we've needed to you know to to seek outside help and consultants to work with.

So um we did a phase two study um that's basically coming to a conclusion right now where we asked uh the consultants, one of whom was the consultant on the on the first phase report to um to provide us with some options that are viable in terms of um looking at what we can do to help with affordable housing and and develop workforce housing.

So I'm excited because there's that's a conversation that's definitely gonna have to involve the city, and we're at a place right now where we can begin to have those conversations.

So uh great question, and and um we're optimistic that we can um you know work towards creating some workforce housing in all likelihood with partnership with other entities like yourself in the city.

That's awesome.

Great news.

Uh uh very positive response.

I uh I want to plus one uh the council member Robinson's uh uh point on coming back with the point of view uh on support.

And the last question I have for me is this is really not again not for like for or against the levy, it's just a question of understanding the details.

I know you talked about lots of things that levies enable us to do the seventh period and all the technology that would go in and the operational support that this enables.

But if we were to take a couple three examples of what would have to happen if this was not continued, what would be examples of that?

Um we would need to reduce our if our budget by um by by 24 percent.

Um so yeah, I mean, I don't think you need to say much more than that.

Okay.

I was just trying to sort of get anecdotes on what that would mean for the school district, but that's okay.

Don't want to put you in the spot.

I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Great.

Uh thank you.

Uh Dr.

Armaki, Mr.

Harrison, thank you uh for the amazing work you do for Bellevue students and families.

I know that the district is filled with capable, highly motivated and dedicated staff members in the classrooms and throughout the district.

I attended kindergarten and first grade at Newport Hills elementary, and all six of my kids spent most of their school years in Bellevue Public Schools.

Two of my daughters had such a positive experience attending school here that they have gone in gone on to become teachers themselves.

So while it's hardly a secret that Bellevue, that the Bellevue School District is one of the best in the nation, I know from my own experience how amazing it is.

And we clearly state that one of the reasons we are the city where you want to be because the city partners with residents, schools, businesses, faith communities, and nonprofits to work together for the well-being of all.

And we know full well and promote the benefits of our highly regarded school district and tout the impact it has on the well-being of the entire community.

I would like to add on to Councilmember Robertson and see if the council would consider officially endorsing the levies at some point.

And obviously there uh there's a process for that.

But again, thank you for all of your efforts on behalf of Bellevue families.

Really appreciate it.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you so much.

Councilmember Robinson, do you want to make a motion about uh the what you brought to the table the future agenda and collective letter?

Do we need a motion or can we just uh do a head nod?

I can walk you through the uh head nod uh if you want.

Um but I would take a motion.

What I actually would do prefer a motion.

I would like to motion.

Okay.

What I would like in that motion um because the state law is very prescriptive on what we can do, and we have to allow equal opportunity for pro and con committee and also for the council and the public to make comments.

So I suggest 10 minutes for pro and con committee and 15 minutes for each side of uh pro or con uh comments from the public, and we can set that up.

Okay.

Just a sec.

No pressure.

Okay.

I move that staff bring forward at a later date um an agenda that includes a discussion on the levy.

That would also include um discussion of hearing from a pro and a con committee.

And then hearing pro and con comments from the public.

Do I have a second?

Second.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

There is no one opposed.

Ivy.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much.

Dr.

Armanook, thank you so much.

John, thank you so much.

And Mr.

Bloch, thank you for being here.

Thank you.

Uh we will take a break till five minutes to eight.

Confusing, huh?

Uh VR ready.

We have the second study session, Eastgate Campus Update.

Our city manager is going to introduce that.

Thank you, Mayor.

Council members.

The Eastgate Housing Campus has three facilities that includes the Porchlight Men's Shelter, Lemuth Housing, Aploymus Crossing, Permanent Supportive Housing, and then the Polaris Affordable Housing Complex.

And those um they began opening in 2023 and continued and are now fully open, all three of them.

Uh this fall, the staff provided you with some updates about the campus, and they are returning tonight with an um an update on the ongoing work uh to help support the program success of um the facilities and also to address some of the impacts um and issues that have come from the surrounding community that they have identified, and we uh developed an action program.

So with the focus of the providers and the staff and the community, um there are some encouraging trends that we're seeing in some of the the data related to the calls for service and the number of encampments.

So staff will go through that tonight.

Um and there have been there's been good progress on implementing some of the actions.

We also um want to make sure that uh we communicate that we do believe this is an ongoing um effort of work.

Uh we need to keep up on our existing efforts uh to ensure that positive trend continues, and the staff will talk a little bit about that tonight.

So from the city manager's office, we have Bianca Siegel, Director Um Office of Housing, and Nico Kiano, our homelessness outreach program manager, and then from the Bellevue Police Department, our assistant chief, uh Andrew Popachuk.

This is an information only um a session, but uh opportunity for council to engage and ask some questions as well.

So with that, I'll turn it over to Bianca.

Thank you.

Uh good evening, Mayor and Deputy Mayor and Council.

Um looks a little different.

Um as the city manager mentioned, uh, we're here with uh um with a follow-up to some of our previous updates uh that we had shared with you in September and October of last year.

We are going to briefly touch on an overview of the Eastgate campus.

We'll share the status of the items that are listed in the action plan and review some of the key data.

We're also going to share some of the positive impacts that the programs have had in the community as well.

So just by way of background, there are more than 1,500 folks who have found shelter services and a place to live at the Eastgate campus.

And as the city manager mentioned, right, this includes three individual organizations.

So the Porchlight Men's Shelter, Plymouth Crossing Permanent Supportive Housing, and Polaris Workforce Affordable Housing.

All together and individually, those organizations really help to support the city's goals to ensure thriving people and communities and really represent some essential services and resources in the community.

I'm really pleased to support to report that we have made significant progress in implementing a number of those items.

That action plan was developed in response to community concerns that were expressed by some nearby residents and property owners.

We take those concerns really seriously, and we're focused on supporting a safe and welcoming community for everybody in the Eastgate area.

So there's really important ongoing work to support the success of those of those programs and the residents that live there.

So some of the highlights in the action plan.

Porchlight, the men's shelter has done a number of operational shifts.

They've evolved their nightly bed registration and assignment systems in a way that really benefits clients as well as reduces the need for those clients to be in the area early in the morning or late in the evening to register for learn if they have a bed.

They have some new technology that's assisting in that.

And a really exciting step is they were able to obtain some private grant funding to support a second outreach staff position so they will be able to provide outreach to folks in need in the neighborhood seven days a week and with some extended hours as well.

Plymouth Crossing Permanent Support of Housing, they continue to provide enhanced health services on site and expand partnerships with area providers to help meet the health needs of their community.

And they also worked with BPD to develop a shared expectations memo just to clarify communications protocols and response protocols so that officers and Plymouth staff are really clear on what to expect as they work together to support the safety of residents.

Both BPD and our homelessness outreach team have increased their presence in the Eastgate area.

The outreach team in partnership with Porchlight is doing a minimum of three weekly uh checks around the area.

Um outreach to folks and uh and keeping an eye out for any new encampments as well.

Um BPD is uh has additional presence, including through some uh directed patrols.

Uh we also are in touch uh with um folks at Metro because of the Eastgate uh park and ride.

They have recently established a behavioral health service team that is on site at the park and ride Monday through Friday 9 to 5.

They also have uh 24-7 monitoring of security cameras and uh and uh security patrols on on the site as well.

Um so all of those sort of concrete steps are really augmented by this active and ongoing engagement between uh city staff, community members, and the staff of the programs at Eastgate.

Um, Porch Light holds a monthly community advisory group, um, and there's also a working group subcommittee of that group with uh representation from uh from nearby residents and businesses.

That's an outcome of the good neighbor agreement process from when that site was first developed.

Um, city staff participates in that as well.

We have monthly uh staff level coordination meetings with uh with Plymouth Crossing staff from multiple city departments, again, just to maintain open lines of communication and proactively address any issues that arise.

Um the providers on the site have also really stepped up.

Uh, you heard some of this earlier tonight to um uh to give back to the community and and support the uh welcoming environment for um for residents and clients through a number of ways.

So um uh Porch Light has adopted Eastgate Way through our Adopter Street program and conducts trash cleanups.

We've had volunteers from I think all three providers on site to participate in some of those trash cleanups as well.

Plymouth Crossing hosted a really wonderful Friendsgiving.

I can't promote it too much or they'll be overwhelmed next year, but it was really great, where they invited residents and uh and neighbors and city staff to sit down together and share a meal and build community.

Um and then, of course, uh our cares and CCAT and outreach teams are um are on site regularly and have direct relationships with clients, residents uh and staff of those programs as well.

So um shifting to look at some of the data points, um, and starting first with uh with the work of Porch Light.

Um so the shelter opened in this new uh you know purpose-built permanent location in the summer of 2023.

It offers a hundred beds um plus their day center and uh some enhanced case management services.

They um the shelter is full basically every night of the year.

You can see the numbers here are um uh impressive.

There is a huge need um for uh for shelter for men in the community, um, and and they are able to uh to provide that.

Um over 700 individuals were uh were served through the um shelter and day center program just in 2025.

I shift to Nico, who's gonna talk a bit about some of the program impacts.

So I asked for the opportunity to share stories about the impact uh Porch Light and Plymouth have had on residents uh experiencing homelessness in Bellevue.

The first person I'll briefly tell you about was a man living in his van who had previously made a living as a musician.

He was proud of his musical accomplishments and rightly so.

Uh, having shared a stage with some of the great Pacific Northwest musical acts of the 80s and 90s, including Nirvanist Chris Navaselich, he had a million stories to tell.

Uh but over time his opportunities dried up, and a disabling condition severely limited his ability to chart a new course in life.

A Bellevue native who had owned a home here over 40 years ago, he would tell me in exasperation that he was from here and couldn't believe that there was nowhere in this town where he was wanted.

In Porchlight, he found somewhere where he was wanted and valued.

He was able to use the day center and overnight shut uh overnight shelter while we looked for long-term uh stable housing for him, which we were finally able to find.

On his move-in day, he told me that now that his housing search was over, he could finally resume teaching guitar lessons.

Thanks.

So shifting to Plymouth Crossing, um, which provides uh 92 apartments for formerly homeless adults.

Um the um uh residents at Plymouth um have a really high participation rate in the um available programming on site.

I believe it is one of the highest across uh Plymouth Multiple Properties.

Um and also uh the majority of the units there have been filled through local referrals, some of those coming from uh from our outreach team uh clients as well as other um area partners.

Um truly providing um you know, providing homes for uh for uh Bellevue folks uh as well as others in need in the in the region.

The turnover rate is really low.

Um, this is permanent supportive housing, it is available to folks um uh you know that that are able to stay there, uh, that want to stay there as long as as is needed, um and the services that are provided on site really helped to promote that uh that housing stability.

Uh the second story is uh actually an update about someone that originally talked to council about back in uh 2022.

Uh back then there were a number of individual individuals living in vehicles in Southeast 41st place next to Factoria Mall.

Uh as we were developing our safe parking program, we talked to many of those residents to get their feedback and input.

Uh I shared much of that feedback during a council presentation in January of 2022, including the words of one of those people who told me, my problem is I've had a disability my whole life.

I've basically been in last place my whole life.

I'm approaching 60.

The odds for me are basically zero.

Uh when we opened Plymouth Crossing, they allowed us to make direct referrals.

In other words, they told us here's an apartment, you tell us who should live here.

And let the city's homeless RH team find the right match.

He was one of the first people that we were able to directly refer through our partnership with Plymouth, giving him the chance that he thought he'd never have.

He's still there to this day.

And you get to keep listening to me because I've got one more story.

Um I wanted to share a final story about another former vehicle resident who had been parking on the side of the road in her van in Bellevue for years.

A woman in her mid-50s, she had fled domestic violence and was living by herself in her vehicle.

Estranged from her family, she was desperate for connection.

Every time she taught me saw me, she would tell me about her research, her career, her life, her beliefs.

Uh, this desperation would lead her to make mistakes out of the kindness of her heart.

She'd let other people experiencing homelessness stay in her van and overextend herself trying to help them, only to have them steal from her or take advantage of her.

We were able to refer to Plymouth Crossing, and after she moved in, she told me that for the first time in years, she was able to cook a meal for her daughter, and this represented a chance for her to reconnect with her family.

Her story and the other two I've told are examples of why we're doing this difficult, complex work.

Because at both Plymouth and Porch Light, they're planting seeds of hope on a daily basis.

If it weren't for these programs, people like the ones I just named would still be living on the streets in Bellevue.

Thanks, Nico.

Okay, we're gonna do a hard shift here into first responder data.

So as promised in uh in some of our earlier discussions on this topic, um, we are bringing back to you uh some updates on uh on first responder data as well as some of our outreach data and uh are starting to look at trends over time.

I'll talk in a moment about how we're gonna do this moving forward.

We're gonna start with the um fire department calls for service.

Um, on this slide, you can see uh hopefully it's clear enough.

Uh Porch Light is in the light blue, Plymouth and the Dark Blue, and and uh Polaris uh in the orange.

Um what we have seen in terms of the call type for fire department response calls is that about three quarters of those are EMS calls to the Eastgate campus.

Um, and uh the majority of the of the remainder are service calls primarily uh with our CARES program.

Um this is not a surprise.

Um, folks who have uh experienced homelessness or are currently experiencing homelessness are more likely than uh than the house population to have um ongoing health concerns and uh and need support for that.

Um what the uh more recent trends on the right side of this chart are showing is that really since summer, so when we uh when we really started implementing some of the uh changes that are outlined in the action plan uh and focusing in on some of those issues.

What we've seen is that calls for service um uh particularly to Plymouth Crossing have started to decrease.

Um that is also consistent with um with expectations and uh and the benefits of permanent supportive housing, so that as individuals are able to stabilize uh in secure housing with access to health services, their demand for emergency health services uh is reduced.

Um we can also see um in the orange here uh that as more residents have moved into Polaris and as that building has become fully occupied, there's an increase in calls.

Of course, more residents equals more equals more uh more calls there.

Um on the uh police department calls, and I'll just say obviously I'm not the one in uniform here.

I'm gonna present the summary, and then for additional questions, uh the assistant chief is able to respond to those.

Um so again, same uh same color system uh on this chart.

Um what we're seeing again in more recent months uh is that the um the police calls for service are also starting to show a downward trend.

Um we've seen lower calls uh on average per month uh in the last few months than uh than over the same period in the year year prior.

Um similarly uh to the police calls, we also see that the calls for um for Plymouth crossing and Polaris increased as earlier on this chart as those two buildings became fully leased up.

Um but have been generally steady with uh with some variability since that time.

Um we also um look at um call volume within the half mile and the mile radius uh around the Eastgate campus.

Um, and looking at that area, excluding the calls represented here to the campus itself, what we see is that there's been a really slight increase in calls, about 6% or so increase in calls over the last year.

Um, when we look at the one mile radius, which definitely includes areas that are not immediately connected to um to the Eastgate campus, those uh those call volumes have stayed relatively steady over time.

Uh this is looking at um at the outreach program data um regarding encampment response.

So these are um encampments uh in um in the area uh in the Eastgate neighborhood.

Um, the timetable here starting in January of 2025.

Um what we see is that over the course of the year, um the number of encampments generally is trending downward.

Um the the highest number of encampments per month that's represented here is five.

Um, in November, uh, there were two.

Um, you know, this could be a result of some of the operational changes and additional outreach that we um uh discussed earlier.

Um it's it's hard to identify a specific one-to-one relationship, but what we can see is that uh in general, the number of encampments in the area is decreasing.

Um, and we, of course, will continue the um the uh additional attention and and increased outreach efforts to um to continue that trend.

And then finally, some of the uh recommendations and next steps moving forward.

So we will continue to monitor the data points.

There was a slightly more comprehensive data report that was attached to the agenda item.

Our intent is to update that twice yearly and make that available on the website.

And then we continue to monitor that data actively and discuss uh trends with our operational partners at Eastgate so that we can respond to uh to issues should they uh should they occur.

Of course, we continue our um our coordination and collaboration with Porch Light and Plymouth um staff um and our participation in the community advisory groups and working groups to make sure that we're um in active communication with uh with all residents in the area.

Um and then finally, we um we want to recognize the benefits of the collaboration and really positive working relationship that we've developed uh with uh with Plymouth, and we want to make sure that for future permanent supportive housing in Bellevue that it can also benefit from that kind of clarity and collaboration.

And so what we're recommending is that for um for any future um city capital funding awards for permanent supportive housing, uh, that we also um uh work with the provider to uh to develop a communications plan and a safety plan um that will provide that clarity uh expectations for working relationships.

And in addition, that the city would also identify uh a staff member who would serve as a liaison to help support the implementation of those plans um and positive community uh relationships as well as resolution of any issues, um just to make sure that it's an active ongoing partnership.

We do not currently have additional uh permanent supportive housing uh in the development pipeline, um, but we want to make sure that we're uh you know using lessons learned and continuing positive trends from uh from this project to benefit future um future PSH, which hopefully we will see more of so uh just wrapping up, um we are committed to continuing to work with the Eastgate neighbors um and the providers and maintaining these constructive relationships and really welcoming clients and residents to the Eastgate campus.

Um it is important and ongoing work.

Um we are available for questions.

Thank you so much, Bianca, Nico, Senti, Popachalka, for bringing this forward and for the amount of work you guys went through to pull all of these data and presentation.

I appreciate you.

Uh Councilwoman New Has.

Thank you so much, Mayor.

Uh yeah, thank you so much for the uh presentation and the update.

I'm glad we're finally getting an opportunity to uh chat a little bit more about this and dig into some uh some of the details.

And um, you know, this is something that uh um you know I've been looking at and I've spoken to some residents and businesses, et cetera.

And and I also just want to kind of level set this because uh based on the presentation, I think that could get lost a little bit.

This is not about these are these are great organizations, and I think they're doing everything they can to uh run these um uh really needed uh facilities and services, um Porchlight, Plymouth, Polaris, et cetera.

I think we we we all recognize that and um um and that we need to be part of that solution.

And I think a lot of the um the the issues that got me concerned is really uh you know uh a few number of folks and uh uh a lot of times.

Um but um what surprised me that wasn't in this presentation was no mention of the impact on residents and businesses.

Um you know, when I've talked to moms that are scared to walk by the East Gate Park and Ride or the bus stop, when I actually went to the uh park and ride and literally saw open drug use.

Um when I talked to the Sunset Corporate campus, they've had to spend hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars to upgrade security to hire full-time security, or I think close to full-time.

Um you talk to the Hyatt House uh who's losing clients or or or or customers because people don't feel safe staying anymore.

Same thing with the the the Sunset Corporate campus.

They're losing tenants, their their tenants don't feel safe anymore.

So I I really feel like it's a uh a disservice that we're not this was not part of the conversation in your presentation, because I think it is part of the conversation.

We all I believe we all want to see Polaris Porchlight, um uh everyone be successful.

And most importantly, we all want to see the men and the women, the families that are there get the help that they need, get this the the services, the shelter, etc.

Um, but if we can't address the problem for what it is, I don't know how we're going to solve it.

Um I totally agree that we've made some great progress, um, I think, but I don't think we are where we need to be um uh and especially for those that we serve at um or that um or serve by Porchlight Polaris and Plymouth Crossing.

I think the action plan shows a lot of meaningful steps.

Um Porch Light has modernized like the bed registration system.

Although the the frustration I have with that, and you and you do mention that that is complete, but on the notes, there's there's no mention of has there been any impact yet?

Are they seeing less men just show up?

Because this was one of the critical issues that we zeroed in on and that we talked about because I participated in some of the um uh good neighbor meetings that one of the biggest issues is that men come first thing in the morning to Porch Light, hoping to get a bed, but if there's not a bed there, then they're stuck, and then they usually stay there, and that's sometimes unfortunately when when uh when problems happen because they have nowhere to go at that point.

Um so that would be for me like a key metric that I want us to start tracking.

Like, is it reducing the number of men coming that know that they don't have a bed or they do have a bed, whatever the case may be.

And I think that goes for a lot of the um uh um uh action items here that have been complete or ongoing.

I don't see any of those any of those metrics yet.

Um that might be part of your plan, Bianca, but I think that's really important to see if these are actually having the intended impact.

I mean, I'm thrilled that they're complete and it's done, but um, but I want to know it's actually working, or else it's just another, you know, check the box exercise, but it's not having a real uh impact on those residents and those businesses that are you know that are that are hurting one way or the other.

Um and um, you know, they they they want to be a part of the solution too.

They're all on the good neighbor agreement board.

Um they they're working towards this, but what I heard from them too was a little bit of desperation as things I think continue to get worse one way or the other.

I mean, you know, we we've heard about women being accosted or um uh uh assaulted at the that the park and ride there.

We unfortunately had a man who was uh who was raped, and that was uh a couple of men that couldn't get in that night at uh at Porch Light.

I don't want to see people coming in to Bellevue and getting hurt like that.

Um that's you know, that's really uh that that's that's tough to hear when that happens.

Um and and and my another part of this too is just the number of calls that and thank you for f for providing that data, just the overall number of calls that are coming in um is really concerning as well.

Um, in a lot of cases, some of sometimes they're just assist calls.

But all those calls add up.

And um if I compare uh the uh the day that I looked at, the total calls for service from 2223 to 2425 went up almost a hundred percent from what I'm saying on right here.

They went from uh or just over what eleven hundred to twenty three hundred calls, unless I'm misinterpreting that okay.

So you're not, but that is the period in which the programs came online, so there wasn't uh occupancy there price.

I understand that.

But that's a lot of calls.

And especially if you start thinking about the number of units that are there, number of officers are there, the time that they spend there.

I mean, when I started looking into like national figures about how much each call call costs, and uh assistant chief, you probably you probably know more about this than I do, but I was just going by national averages that cost like 300 to 600 dollars every time a police officer goes to uh goes on a call, that's that adds up really quickly when you're talking about you know those those number of calls, I mean that's that's expensive.

And then I also think about where would those officers be if they weren't called there to assist, um uh or or it's an overdose or it's it's it's something else in other parts of the city then that are not getting the service that they need or they can't do the proactive policing that uh they would uh they would like to be doing.

Um so let's start with that one question.

I got a couple others, but can we talk about the metrics first and and what our plan is for tracking those metrics for um some of these action items because again, I think some of them have the potential to work, but I just don't have the confidence other than it's you know it's implemented, but I don't have the confidence yet that that it's that it's working and and having a uh a real positive impact on the area.

So can we start with that one first?

Sure.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Um the metrics for um, for example, for folks that um that might not show up because they know they don't have a bed.

Um I I'll have to talk with Porch Light about that.

Um to be perfectly honest, I don't know that that was tracked previously, that exact issue.

And so it might be hard for us to compare, but I I absolutely promise to uh to investigate that and see if we um if we can get some additional data points there.

Um I think it's also important to note that um uh Portsite has our practice of um uh of offering transportation.

So if someone does show up and can't get a bed that night, they will offer transportation to uh other area shelters which are in Seattle for adult men.

Right.

Um so they do seek to make sure that uh that folks who need to be indoors have the opportunity to do that.

That was one of the reasons for shifting the uh hours earlier in the evening so that the people have an opportunity to get somewhere else before um before they close for the night.

So um I think what we're you know, what we're seeing in the in the calls for service data and the encampment data starting to trend downward.

Um, you know, I I hope those are the early indicators that some of these changes are having a really positive impact.

Um and uh and we'll we'll work with the providers to see if we're gonna be able to do that.

I hope so too, but we just don't have the data to support that right now, right?

So and that's and that's what I'm looking for.

Because if it is, that's great.

And then it then we can move on to the next issue um that uh that we need to um need to address.

But again, without those metrics, uh, you know, I think we're just guessing if it's working or not.

Um another uh sorry, were you done with that metrics question?

Or okay.

Um I also wanted to bring up this um this Plymouth Crossing uh BPD joint expectations um letter.

Maybe assistant chief uh can speak to this a little bit, but um first why was this why was this necessary?

Because it's only for Plymouth.

There's not one for Porchlight, there's not one for Polaris.

And quite frankly, some of the things that are on here I thought would have been just like common sense, you know, that BPD should be granted access to a building without delay if they're called there.

I mean, that's like so was there an issue of BPD not being allowed into the building right away when when when BPD went there?

So the joint expectations memo and why we would current generate something like that is to make sure that no matter what employees working, there's a consistent level of understanding between the police department and the employees working there so that there is no question about what steps are taken.

And if you look at parts of that memo, it details who has access to what.

For example, we want video footage from their cameras or we need something like that.

We want to make sure that that every employee knows what the expectation is from our officers when they show up and what officers should do.

And we would do something like this with uh with an organization or a location if we want to make sure that there was clarity between us and them as far as what would occur when the officers get there, and it's also for our officers how we get information from a certain person because just with our officers, like the employees, there are our employees, we want to make sure that they know who to go to to get information and who to talk to, which is the person who has access, because in dealing with like video camera systems, we don't always know who has access because some organizations lock keep it on a lock and key, and only certain people have access.

So that's something we would want to create within with this where we're uh with there's some scrutiny on the organization itself to make sure that there's expectations on both sides of what occur.

The the your your example of the the the that makes perfect sense.

So it's privacy concerns there, there's a number, and who who has control who can who can um provide that?

That totally makes sense.

Yes.

But when I see a letter of understanding of that when BPD arrives, you need to let them in that makes me think there's some tension going on there, and there's been a prior issue that uh BPD was not allowed in when when called there, because that just seems like common sense.

I mean, if anyone calls the police, of course they're gonna let them in.

I mean the fact that you we had to put that in a mutual letter of understanding feels I don't know.

It it it it it it it it feels odd, but I digress.

Is the relationship between all three now and BPD a good one?

I I know that there's and and you mentioned it in there in terms of the engagement um and and and and maybe you know if this helped set expectations, great, but how would you assess the relationship uh with uh with with all three at this point?

I would say the police department relationship is essential, right?

We have to have these relationships.

Absolutely.

Because without those relationships, that's everything we do every day.

Yep.

So that's where we have captains assigned to this, the sector captains work with them.

Uh Captain Kid's actually called out in that memo specifically because we want we have to have that relationship if something doesn't like let's say it's not working anymore, or there has to be the individual contact between the community and the police department in order to make community policing work.

So I would describe it as good at this point in time because we have these expectations, and we have a captain assigned to it to do this work every day.

And I've a strong belief that our captains know what they're doing, they're doing a great job at this, and it's uh commitment to you as the council members that we're gonna continue to do that, continue those relationships because we always want to put our hand out first and say, how can we help you, whether you're a business owner or you're a nonprofit or you're just a community member in general?

We want to make sure that we are working with you so you feel safe and supported um in in Bellevue, in either doing business in Bellevue or residing in Bellevue or helping out the residents of Bellevue.

Um I won't take too much of my time.

Sorry, Mayor, thank you for indulging.

Um going back to the resource question for us, um, are there times where we're having to put either additional units out, or are we having to um I don't know, readjust schedules in order to um with with the ever increasing number of calls?

How how are we dealing with that and what's been the I guess impact uh maybe budgetary-wise to and you might not have that with you right now?

Uh, but um uh are we able to, I guess, handle this um uh both ongoing but potentially increasing number of calls.

Are we in a position to handle that?

Are we gonna have to increase uh BPD budget in order to address this going forward?

I think to answer the financial question, that's something we always look at and go, how much is it gonna cost us to do this, how many officers we need, and that's something that we do look at our annual call load, how many times we're responding.

Can we do it more efficiently and how we work through it?

Yeah, in this specific incident, we do it went from an empty lot and it became a campus of people living there, and that's happening all over Bellevue.

Yeah, I look at my own career, uh, I think it was a Dairy Queen instead of the Brave Earn uh when I started working here.

So as you watch Bellevue develop, of course the city's gonna grow, our call loads gonna grow.

And if you take an area that was empty and you put uh a three building complex um that has individuals staying, you're going to have an increase in call load.

But that's something that we do an annual basis.

We look at our response times, we look at our response time, how fast we get there, do we have resources to do this?

We have increased the number of in essence walkthroughs or officer directed activity there because we want both the residents to feel safe as well as the community members to feel safe.

So, yes, there is more officers going there at than there was before because it was an empty lot and now we have businesses.

Sure, but I'm not comparing it to an empty lot.

No, but I'm saying we know that the calls are increasing, and uh and I think um, especially over the last you know six six to twelve months is and is when I think I start hearing from uh residents and businesses that they're like this this potentially is getting a little out of hand, and and and and I do hope as well that we um hopefully fix some lines of communication as well, uh, especially with the um with the good neighbor um uh group uh because it didn't seem like all that key information that this was starting to accelerate a little bit got all the way up to to make to ensure that everybody was aware of it so that we could start tracking this and maybe making adjustments like like we did.

Um, because I felt like they were frustrated that they weren't able to get any traction, so that's when they started coming to council members saying we need help because we don't feel that our uh concerns are being addressed.

So I I hope that we can uh patch that that that communication so we can get to the city manager's office and we can come up with solutions quicker, and it doesn't have to be escalated to us right away to step in.

Um not that I don't mind stepping in and sharing my my my my thoughts on this, but um I just feel like we we lost some time potentially to to make some adjustments and some really great adjustments, Bianca, that you have suggested here and appear to be working, but I I but I don't think we're there yet, and that would be my my last request, and then I'll um uh give up my time is um that in six months we come back and uh and get an update on this.

Because I do think this is an emergency, because it's an emergency to the residents that I talk to, and it's emergency the uh to the businesses in that area, and I do not want to see them suffer, nor do I want to see them close because of this.

Um and and and and their concerns are are are real, and my heart goes out whenever I talk to a I mean uh of course this could happen anywhere, but it just seems like the the level of frequency around that area with the drug use and not feeling safe uh uh transportation wise at the Eastgate Park and Ride, you know, that's that's what concerns me why I'd like to get an update to see if truly we are on the right track, uh Bianca.

So I'll I'll I'll stop there.

So thank you so much.

And I really appreciate the presentation and your time.

Thank you so much.

Uh Deputy Mayor Hamilton.

Thank you.

Um, thank you for the presentation.

Thank you for the amazing work you do in our community.

I think you're making a positive impact in the community and in the lives of our residents that need and deserve the extra support that they get on the Eastgate Housing campus.

I'm thrilled that the Eastgate Housing Campus is up and running, and I appreciate the adjustments that have been made to ensure that everyone who lives on the campus are good neighbors to the folks who live, work, and visit nearby.

And I want to commend the folks who live, work, and visit nearby for being good neighbors as well.

While there have been some legitimate concerns raised, I have only heard from folks that want only the best for the neighborhood and the housing campus.

There is more to do for sure, but as a good friend of mine says clap when you can.

Just curious to know if you plan to regularly update the action plan, and if so, what is the process for doing so?

Sure.

Yeah, we revisit the items on the action plan in our regular coordination meetings with the operators on site.

Um and as I indicated earlier, we're going to be regularly checking data and looking for additional data points to uh to track the effectiveness of those actions.

Um and then we will add items as needed.

So uh several of the items that were on the original list uh were elevated by uh by some of the neighbors and property owners nearby, um, and of course, we would continue to um to respond to those requests um as best we can.

Um and uh yeah, and then we can include that in future updates to the council.

And are there any actions that are currently under consideration to be added to the plan?

Yep.

Um there are a couple items.

Um we are uh hearing some uh continued concerns around um trash in the neighborhood from some of the adjacent property owners, and so um that's one of the things that uh that I think we'll pay some extra attention to.

Um of course there are some regular uh cleanups through the Keep Bell B Beautiful program, uh, but we may look for some uh some other ways to help address some of those concerns.

Um also definitely some ongoing coordination with Metro regarding the park and ride and their uh their ability to respond to um to any concerns there.

Um and then certainly um you know we have ongoing conversations with, and I I apologize for not reflecting that more specifically in the presentation, but uh, we definitely have ongoing conversations uh with the hotel with the um with the staff at the um sunset uh office building next door and we'll continue to work with them to see how we can partner to better address their concerns.

Okay, and I know that um we're gonna be looking at Vactoria and Eastgate and the NAP process coming up, and when we do so, are we going to be kind of including uh the campus as well?

And is that going to be considered in that process?

Um yes, so I uh I checked with our colleagues in community development um about that um about that project.

So um, first of all, the Eastgate campus is of course part of that neighborhood area plan, and so uh residents uh and operators there are have participated in some of that engagement so far, and of course, are invited to continue to do that.

Um the uh the scope of the area plan uh includes um uh opportunities to improve uh neighborhood identity, uh, you know, mixed use of neighborhood centers, uh, gathering spaces, mobility, the environment, um, all of those things, of course, also benefit uh uh and are impacted by um by uh residents and operators uh on Eastgate as and and throughout the neighborhood.

Um staff in community development have heard some of the concerns around uh around uh public safety during the engagement uh efforts.

They have passed those along to our team and uh and to our public safety colleagues so that we're able to uh to respond to those.

Um and then the neighborhood area plans are also designed to support uh positive public safety outcomes both through policy and through urban design strategy.

So that's a consideration for that plan moving forward.

Oh, good.

Uh we know we're going to need an additional 6200 units of permanent supportive housing here in Bellevue in the next 20 years.

And while the Eastgate neighborhood is doing its part, the city as a whole needs to do more, and I believe that the community wants us to do more.

The need for permanent supportive housing is all over the city, but the supply is not.

Just curious to know how we change that.

Where does the housing go and when uh consistent with uh with state law, our um land use code does allow for permanent supportive housing is housing by definition, and um and so it is allowed uh anywhere that multifamily housing is allowed.

Um a major limiting factor, um, not just in Bellevue, but across the region, across the country uh for permanent supportive housing is the availability funding.

Um it depends on a combination of uh you know state, local, city, private funding to um to make that those projects work and and to continue to support the operations.

Um, and that funding picture uh you know is is challenging at this time.

Um that said, uh there is additional permanent support of housing coming online uh in Kirkland uh and in Redmond, very close to our borders.

Um those projects also have uh some local referral agreements, and so um Nico and his team are actually already identifying some uh some clients who might be able to move into those projects uh when they open.

Um and uh and so uh you know it is it is a regional solution, and and of course we play an important part in that too.

Okay.

Good.

So I wanted to just get into a little bit of the data.

So as I understand it, we're really taking a close look at the area within a mile of the campus.

And I see that there was a substantial 12% increase in calls for service in the half mile radius of the campus prior to its opening, and that it has remained at has remained consistent since then, which I think we all would consider very positive.

That data shows that most of the increase is attributed to 911 hangup calls, shoplifts reported at Vactoria Mall and welfare checks.

The 6% increase that you mentioned earlier in calls for service within half a mile of the campus since its opening, while only half the size is obviously still a concern.

I'm just curious what does the data show us about the types of calls for service that make up that 6%.

Yeah, so the the difference between a call for service and a crime, the call for service is going to be someone calling 911.

It could be an assist, and I believe a lot of those calls were assists.

And it's this could be a very broad category.

It could be someone with a flat tire that needs assistance, and it could be someone who had questions about uh parking tickets, or it could be someone who's you know in crisis and just needs help from us.

So when we look at the call for service, it's not these are actual crimes reported, but it's people calling 911 for some reason.

And that's where officers have that broad uh we help a broaden, uh a broad, very large different uh diverse group of people in different ways.

So it's kind of a catch-all, so it doesn't matter why that person is, we put it into that category if it doesn't fit into something else that we do because we do more than just police work, we do more than just crimes, it could be someone looking at that the assist.

And we look at those type of calls because it is something that we want to provide that service to the community.

Whether or not you're calling us for a crime or not, we want to be able to help you, and that's where we take those calls rather than saying nothing we can do about it.

We rather try to assist that person.

And that's where you see the increase in calls, but you may not see it in the actual crime reports because we're doing other things.

Okay, great, thank you.

Um, and I think Councilmember Newenhaus touched on this, and I certainly agree that it's important that we have a thorough understanding of what's going on in Eastgate in all of our neighborhoods for that matter.

Uh the most important thing is that when with that information we act.

And the that process and the accompanying action plan that is currently in place in Eastgate and the fact that we constantly review and update policies and practices there is very encouraging.

We owe it to the entire neighborhood and the campus neighbors to continue to listen to their concerns and take action.

I think we're doing that, and the data shows that progress is being made.

I'm looking forward to more ways also to be engaged with the housing campus.

So I'd appreciate knowing about any future opportunities to do so.

Um and uh I would agree with uh councilmember Newenhouse that if you could come back later this year and give us an update, I think it would be uh very helpful.

So um thanks for all the impactful work you're doing in Eastgate and all around the city.

Thank you, Mayor.

Deputy Mayor.

Uh Councilmember Breuer, please.

Uh Bianca and Iko, thank you for incredible work, Assistant Chief Andrew Popachuk.

Please correct me if I mispronounce that.

Uh it's great to see you again.

I believe we met at the Factoria Neighborhood Walk, so wonderful to see you uh across the dais now.

Um I understand that you mentioned you can't assign a direct correlation between the operational changes and some of the trends that we're seeing.

So I I guess I had a bifurcated question.

One is um, are there signals we can rely on to see the efficacy of the action plan?

Um and echoing what council member Newenhouse brought up, if we could offer some basic sentiment analysis, I think that'd be quite valuable as well.

Um when we're talking about safety concerns, it's not just single family residents or property owners, but there's actually a lot of residents at Polaris themselves who are low-income people of color that had brought up valid safety concerns as well.

So I think it could be um uh a valuable opportunity here to offer a more comprehensive understanding um with community sentiments, some that were positive, which we heard earlier today about the fantastic work, and of course some on the other side that are not so positive, which are entirely valid.

I think um, you know, echoing uh uh reiterating, sorry, uh councilmember Newman House said that could be quite helpful too.

Um yes, those are my two points.

Thank you.

Yeah, I think uh as we were touching on earlier, um, you know, we can't say with certainty that the actions in the plan are resulting in say changes in call volume or or reductions in uh in levels of encampments, but um, but we are pretty confident that there is there is a correlation there between the operational changes and some of the initial data trends.

So we will continue to um to evaluate those points and uh and look for other ways to um to to document and understand uh the effectiveness.

Thank you all.

Thank you so much.

Councilwoman Roberts.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, I want to start by thanking our city manager for her compassionate focus on this area.

You've been very responsive to the council and to the community.

So thank you for that.

I also want to thank our public commenters for the courage that you had to speak to us.

It's really important to hear from you.

So thank you for coming down tonight and speaking.

Uh this council at the time worked very hard to get this complex in here.

It started out that it was just going to be a men's shelter for like part of the day or part of the night, or and it wasn't anything more than that.

And we really worked hard to be able to create uh a situation where people could get off the streets, get the services that they needed, get into housing that was supported them, and also create housing that would be affordable that they could graduate to, or we could keep people from falling into homelessness because we had housing that was affordable to them.

And so this is quite a remarkable campus, really, that I'm really proud that our city has done, and and it's new, and uh it's it's been quite successful.

We've helped a lot of people.

I think we helped a hundred people get get out off the street last year, and so uh that's a hundred people that are not having to live outside, and that that is wonderful.

I will say, having said that, that I have seen an increase in the crime rate within a certain half mile or one mile radius of this area, and it doesn't matter where that is in Bellevue.

When you see that, you are concerned.

You know, we represent the community and we represent the people who live there as well.

And so whether even if you're not committing a crime crime and you're living in that area, you're going to be uh concerned.

And so that's what we represent.

So I want to make sure that we're tracking that and how do the crime rates compare to other areas in the city average for the amount of people that live there density.

Um also in the uh staff report there was a recommendation.

Um see, I wrote this down, uh, that the that if we have a new supportive housing, that we have a safety and security plan with community and communicate communications plan and recommendations for future supportive housing development beyond a specific size.

And so my question is do we have that in place currently?

This is our only supportive housing facility of this size in Bellevue.

So do we have that recommended plan in place now for that?

Um the uh memorandum that we were talking about earlier with BPD is I think would I would say is a component of that.

We don't have those specific uh documents in place that that wasn't a requirement uh for the project when it was uh initially funded, but the um the collaboration and the ongoing communication that we have is really uh addressing the same things that would be covered in in documents for uh the future project.

Is what your recommendation is is that funding be contingent on success.

Am I right?

Um I wouldn't characterize it that way.

That funding would um the direct city funding for um for future PSH would carry the expectation of collaboration with the project.

So um, so the operator would be would be expected to um to collaborate with the city uh with our first responders uh and to ensure that there's um that there's a plan for uh for uh coordination with the community and community engagement as well as an expectation on the city's part to help support uh that that successful implementation as well.

So not so much the funding is contingent on those things, but that that there's an expectation of collaboration for those projects.

Okay.

Well, I think there is a clause in there that puts a little bit of a contingency, but I may not be characterizing it appropriately.

Um but I will say that that seems like a good idea to me.

And so I don't know why we wouldn't have it for this facility now if we don't.

So I I hope that we can look at the ideal and get the support that we need into what we have already so that we can put more facilities in, because my next point is that you know there isn't a lot of turnover in these facilities, and once they they fill up, that's it.

And so um it's it's a good news, bad news story.

It's great news because people are stably housed, and that's what we want to see.

Um it's not great for the people who we hope to house.

And so when we look at um, you know, I I guess I just like to know what your recommendation is.

Is the recommendation to put in more programs that people can graduate out of that, or is it to create more supportive housing so there's more available?

Um you can email me the answer, but I'm I'm curious as to what the recommendation is on that because I do think we have to, it's unrealistic to think that we can just fill the bucket and just say, okay, we did our job.

We you know, we have to sustain it and make sure that we're meeting the needs of the community in a way that it's a win-win.

Yeah, absolutely.

I I will answer that just briefly by saying that the um uh the update to the city's affordable housing strategy also addresses some of those issues, how we think about that moving forward, um, and that'll be coming to the council uh in the next month or two.

Um, and so there's some uh some action items in that plan that um that lay a path for towards expanding uh affordable housing and permanent supportive housing in the city.

Well, that's good to hear.

So with your the staff's recommendation, I hope you can include that in next time you come to us so that we can really understand what it is you're recommending, because it sounds good to me.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilman Robinson.

Uh Councillor Borgalbo.

Yeah, thank you, Mayor.

Um I'm gonna start by saying thank you for the tremendous work, Bianca and Nico and Assistant Chief that you have done on this, what I believe is really needed, important, and complex work.

I mean, this is not easy, and there's not going to be there's no silver but bullet solutions to this problem.

And I really appreciate the the complexity that you're dealing with, and you're doing a great job.

And I think Bellevue has made great progress as council member Robinson um talked about.

And I'm really proud that that we have achieved what we have so far.

I'm also really um it's really positive to hear some of the anecdotes and the personal stories that you laid out of success that have transformed people's lives, and that's what makes this important and complex work really worthwhile as we are now taking a hundred people off our streets and we're giving people chances that otherwise would not have happened.

So I feel a lot of pride in in the work that that happens and the work that you continue to support for our city.

So thank you for doing that.

I also feel like uh there are you know, I want to provide to you for sort of establishing behavioral health on site and support, which I think is a really positive step forward.

So I appreciate that.

I'll also appreciate the technology push to try and get um you know bed reservations and all of that happening, which I think is great.

Um but I do agree with a lot of what my other peers have said on the council that there is a need for us to measure efficacy of our approaches and our measures more effectively so that we can actually see if this is making as much of an impact or should we pivot to other strategies, should we change what we're doing?

I say this because there are two really important sort of stakeholders that we have to address in this process.

First and most important are the folks who we have to support who are the most vulnerable and people who find themselves on the street or without a home, and then we have to make sure that we are able to create processes that are more effective of getting them off the street, providing them the support that is needed mental health or behavioral health or otherwise in an effective way, and we have to create measures that tell us that we are making ongoing progress and accelerating that process in some ways through our investments.

And the second set of stakeholders are the residents of our city, the businesses and the community that these like Eastgate operates in.

And you know, I had a chance to sort of review some of the input that I that we received prior to this meeting from the businesses or the high house or the community, and it's about for them, it's a question of safety, and it's also a question of perception of safety.

And so for us, we have to make a change in the way we are measuring some of these, and I would agree with what's being sent and uh said that we have to collect input about their perceptions of safety in addition to the hard numbers on our safety metrics that we measure.

And we should do that on an ongoing basis because it tells us if we're being effective in our approach or not, because uh that's what really matters.

We have to change that.

And so a couple of suggestions towards that.

I think measuring total call volume is really important, but as you know, there could be seasonality in this process.

There could also be changes in volume of residents or you know, the number of units occupied, et cetera, for Polaris and others.

So maybe measuring on a per capita basis to see if the call volume is changing on a month on month basis on a per capita.

Is it coming down or going up?

Is it also changing?

There could be seasonal patterns here that we need to recognize, and we should make sure that's happening.

Benchmarking, as uh uh council member Robinson, Robinson said, um other parts of our city for the same time period and our same crime statistics, I think is another really important way to understand the efficacy of our approaches.

Uh so those are suggestions that I think um, you know, I would encourage you to think about so that we can come back and and you know, set up new metrics or uh new measures so that six months from now when you come back to talk about this, we can be more um you know, um convinced that we are accelerating this process and that we are having the impact for both sets of stakeholders in an effective way.

And so those would be my suggestions.

Um two other things really quickly.

Um is I really think it is important for us to set up a success parameter for graduation, as uh council member Robinson suggested.

We have to be able to move people through the different stages to being more successful and independent so that we can create back end capacity to take more people into the system.

And that graduation and what that looks like, what those success measures are should be part of the the you know, the metrics we put in place uh so that we can think about this as a wheel that's turning and helping people and and and and and and creating independent um sort of living outcomes for them, which I think is uh gonna be very effective.

Let me see.

That's it.

Thank you so much, uh, Councilmember Smotovirio.

Thank you.

By the way, thank you so much for this work, and I actually I echo with all my colleagues as well.

I think that it's important for us to look at data.

Maybe we can, is there a data showing you which of the operational changes that Porsche Light changed or increased outreach shows the most effective rate of decreasing in call?

No.

I would love that to see that data.

We don't have data on that.

Um I I will continue to talk with our yeah, with Birch Light and others to figure out if there's a way to identify that.

Um thank you.

It's it's challenging to track, but we'll see what we can do.

Yeah, and I think um to me, this is actually a very um unique and special place.

I got here because um from Portugal, I actually I saw a man personally, I mean I know that moved to permanent housing, they were able to live an independent life, and that was success.

But also I got really close to men who actually lost their life there.

And so I would say I am grateful for the work you're doing, and I'm so much more grateful for the residents around there showing compassion and also patience to work with us to let us know there's a path.

And most importantly, thank you for being here.

Being uh being showcased, that's what when you said I I start crying.

Um, because you are fighting for hope, and that's hard.

And we know that from uh Plum's housing from everyone we're with, hope is something it's valuable, it's priceless, and we have to do this together.

So I am really appreciative for our colleagues and also you are doing this work, and you know, I am with uh my colleagues, I do worry about the safety of people because I actually have coworkers who when they work late and they live in players' housing, I worry.

I take them home every night, 10 o'clock, and I worry, I do worry, and I see there's a playground there too.

I make me thinking about as a mommy, me worry what's happening.

So I am actually wondering that you know, out of because I see these 1500, you know, our neighbors at EastCape, they are our neighbors.

So it's our responsibility to support them.

But I'm wondering, is there any loop that we can like is there like a feedback loop on how safe they feel and what we can do as a community to improve that?

Is there feedback loop from the residents there?

There's I mean, other than the ongoing um uh you know, neighborhood meetings and those sorts of things, there's not a formal feedback loop.

Um, I suppose the resident survey does include some right, some public safety sentiment questions, uh although we don't know that it's broken down by neighborhood.

We can we'll look into some options for that.

Yeah, and this is for maybe essence in chief, it's like you know, when there's a cause arising, is there a category of you know um divide it?

Is there like a re I don't want to say repeat offender?

I say like maybe concentrated individual that's you know causing problems and like you know, violence.

Is there like a like breakdown of these costs that direct it to like I don't know, like concentrated group?

I I don't how to I don't want to say it in I want to say in the more polite way, but how like is there a way that we can actually identify the issues and the you know the more violent or dangerous cost to um you receive?

Do we see those patterns?

Yeah, so we look at data.

We have a individuals who work for our police department to look at that data and identify, in essence, uh if it's an individual who is generating frequent calls, that's something that we will then have our sector captain work with the location or work with, if it's CCAT or CARES or what resources we need to get that to that person.

If it is a uh individual in crisis, is it is there other resources that we can bring to bear other than a rest that that person needs?

And that's something where we can have the sector captain engage with, for example, this we may be porch light or or Plymouth housing to see what we can do to work with them, because arrest may not be the right answer, it may be something else.

And we work in concert, try to address that.

And that's where we see individuals that are um in high utilization of police services or 9-1 call services, that's something where we would engage that process.

Okay.

And then is there like a matrix of progress if you know it's repeatedly a like you know, identified um individual, like what can we do to support them better, either mental health, like you know, so make sure that everyone else feels safe around there.

In my experience, it's very unique to the person and that person's needs.

So I don't think you can say it has to be A, B, C, D each time.

It's usually a very collaborative process working with the resources we have in the community as well as like things like CCAT and CARES within the police department, as well as the criminal justice system in and of itself, if the person has been charged with a crime, by working with all three.

We try to do the best outcome for the individual in crisis.

And that's what our goal is.

What's the best for that person?

Because if we can uh address that person's concerns, it does address the community currencies' concerns as well, because whether it be getting that person into housing or into mental health treatment, it does uh improve the situation for the residents that are next to that person that may feel afraid.

Thank you.

That's really helpful.

And that's kind of lead to my next question about the business around there, right?

I mean, as you know, economy is is going down more this year, sadly.

And so business is really we're in a really tough spot to operate, doesn't matter what size it is.

So since it's really hard to get you know more feedback from the businesses, and I think we saw on the report there's um in the like underreported, you know, feedback from the business.

How are we can we do differently that engage the businesses where they do feel that they're operating um in a safe space where also you know like they can collaborate with the nonprofit partners and with our neighbors because make sure that we actually end this together.

From the PD side, that's a constant communication process.

Um at least in my experience in in dealing with these sort of situations, it is uh the sector captain making communication with them.

It is making sure that they know they can call 9-1 at any point in time.

If they want to make the assist call of like I'm concerned about something tomorrow, that we are extremely responsive to them to make sure that we're sending officers out or getting the police resources there.

And in instances that are not criminal activity, is trying to refer them to our community partners that maybe can solve those issues where it maybe not something that we have the capabilities, but rather work in concert with um Plymouth itself or other housing providers, or if it's uh mental health provider, how do we work together to try to get that done?

Anything else to add on that?

Okay.

Thank you.

I just want to apply you all, being very intentive to describe to this issue, and it is not it's not a complicated one, like every one of my colleagues said.

And then please let us know if there's anything we can support because we're in this together.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Uh great conversation.

Uh it is a hard one when we talk about the shelters and supportive housing.

We are talking about the people uh who need stability and dignity, and we are also thinking about the neighbors, the businesses who want safety and predictability and trust in the city and this council who can manage these sites.

Both are important as all of my colleagues are mentioned.

The data is great, showing a lot of trends, uh shelter usage, housing outcomes, call for service, and encampment activity.

Uh it shows for the most part what is working and what are the concerns uh that is still there and we need to also be engaged.

100% agree that we need more surveys somehow that we receive feedbacks that we are all receiving, but to root a mechanism that we can have testimonial, as we heard in the in today, positive and some negative that we heard that a mom and a daughter cannot walk there because they don't feel safe.

That's also important to portray it in hopefully in your next presentation.

Um to me, this is a snapshot as what is happening there uh of a complex system that requires ongoing management coordination and all of the accountability that you are doing.

Uh, I agree with my colleagues to suggest that we should have these ongoing six months checking.

But I think then my first question is what is success?

Like what are we looking for in six months?

Um, what is the metrics that you come in six months and then we talk about our effort, all of those action items result to a success or not success?

Yeah, I think that's a good question.

Um we look for um uh successful outcomes for folks who are uh living in or being served at the um at these providers or by any provider in the city.

Um and we do want, of course, people uh in the neighborhood to feel safe as well.

Um and we also look at the um, you know, at encampment numbers at use of city resources.

Um I think success is really a balance of those things, um, and maybe getting to a little bit of what uh Councilmember Bagaba was uh was talking about earlier.

You know, when we look at sort of throughput in the system, that's really a very complex regional uh question.

It's not it's not something that that Bellevue does on its own.

Um and there are a number of factors that um that that limit our ability to move people out of um out of homelessness and into housing.

So I will get back to you.

Um it it's a complex question, but I think what we what we can do is uh is look at a number of metrics over time with the goal of uh supporting safety, uh increasing housing resources for people, uh, and and increasing health uh in the community.

And you you're all much more expert than me, but you need a benchmark.

If you wanted to come back six months from now, you need to have a benchmark of both, like how we are doing to addressing our homelessness, our stability of all of the people who are there, that is very, very important.

What is your benchmark of the neighborhood or businesses that you can say six months from now that is going toward a right direction or not?

So you I think we should have something that we can come back in six months, and we have a definition of success based on a benchmark that we should start today if we want to come back six months and say what we are doing, all of those action items are successful or not.

Can you go to a slide 11 and 12, please, or what 12, because you are here, assistant chief.

12 is yours.

If I ask you and put you on the spot and say if you can you give me one thing that we can do right now to decrease uh this I know I read all of the action items that this uh can in uh Eastgate campus is doing, but with all of the experience that you have, what is one thing that we can do to address the root cause?

Again, I know there are many of them, but what would be the first thing that comes to your mind that we can reduce this police department calls for service?

I think it's a a two-part.

There's two things we're trying to address with this.

Number one is is actual police calls for service a bad thing?

Because if you look at it and go, you people need if they're calling at two in the morning, they're calling 911 because they need assistance.

If they can't reach the streets department, something else, like I said, we're getting a lot of assist calls from this location.

It's not a bad thing, the person is calling for assistance.

So I don't I don't look at pure calls for service as a bad thing to start with.

But they do, as the councilman pointed out, they do cost money to have an officer go there.

So I think that's where the communication with the care provider to identify if it's a high utilizing individual that's contacting us at 911, getting that person into something like CCAT, where they have someone else to call rather than call 911 because the actual service they need is something like CCAT.

So I think the first thing that I would do to address your try to drive that number down to actually divert the ones that don't need to be calling 911 because they don't need a firefighter right now or a police officer right now, would be to work with the providers there to try to get them as many resources as possible.

And it's actually in the plan about uh our agreement with them is to is to under have officers utilize CCAT and cares.

Is it take the individuals that are frequent callers and go, do you really need a 911 or do you really need cares?

Or directing them to the right part of the community that can best serve their needs.

So I think that's the first thing I would do to try to drive these numbers down further, is to make sure that all of these calls coming to us are actually calls that we are needed for versus is it something that can be done in the next morning or who they actually need to call?

And that would reduce the ones that we always want to be there as a service or reduce those ones that may be able to be handled in a different way.

Utilize our resources properly.

Correct.

So that is happening.

Am I right?

Uh in our conversations, I can't speak to you to tell you 100% it's happening, but I know that our captains have been in contact and having communication.

That's the first thing I will go back and double check to make sure that's being done that we are telling them to do that.

But that's usual part of our process is to have the communication with the providers about that's what cares CCAT does all the time is going, don't call 9-1, call us directly.

That's a standard part of their process.

So please, when you come back in six months, please let us know if because as if as you with all of the experience that you are very close to this issue, are telling us that some of these calls are not correct to be we send police or fire department, we can have different uh resources for them, and that's the first thing comes to your mind.

So please, when you come back, let us know if that has been implemented or not uh correctly.

Is there any other leading indicators that we can just have on the spot with the help of providers that uh before escalate into community frustration or safety concerns, we can address that or they can address that, or there is no leading indicators, is just something happened and they just call 911 because they are desperate.

I I'm sorry, I don't understand the the question, sir.

My question is majority of these calls, something happened and they just call 911.

Is there leading indicators that we can notice earlier, or the the providers can notice earlier before and they can manage that themselves before we just they just call 911?

Yes, you're you're hitting exactly what I went I was talking about the previous one, where that's part of what CCAT does is gives them an outlet rather than 911 or another service provider that they can contact without con that's you that is the goal of what we want to.

So are they being educated in that?

Is who being educated?

The provid providers.

I don't have the answer to that question.

Yeah, great.

Uh then my last question is that I think uh deputy mayor kind of brought that up.

The data shows some variation between the half a mile and one mile radius around the Eastgate campus.

How should we interpret that difference?

The difference of the mile and the two mile?

Then half a mile and one mile.

Yes.

So if you look at a half a mile radius, you're in essence going down to Factoria Boulevard and I don't remember how far east that goes, and like Southeast 26th to the residential area just south of I-90 if you're looking at a circle.

Where if you're looking at that full mile, you're also encompassing Vactoria Mall, the Eastgate shopping campus.

There's other parts that would that would cover it that are more dense than the specific half mile area around it.

And I believe the full mile also covers Bellevue College if you look at the full mile.

So there's a different the density of what we're looking at, the the type of businesses that are there.

Um if you look at where the campus is located, you have um uh mixed use uh businesses there, you have a park and ride there, but you don't have a shopping mall.

So when you look at that mile, you're incorporated you're you're encompassing a lot more business districts than you are in the half mile radius.

And the in the the trends, the difference between the trend in those two, what is telling us well, if you look at a you're looking at data that's only half a mile in a distance.

So you're you're cutting out you're looking at data of possibly more like location.

In other words, you're you don't have a shopping mall right next door, but when you look at that half mile radius, you're going to incorporate uh a very different density of business district than you are looking at a half mile.

So that's what's telling you a little bit different is saying that you're going to see more consistent types of businesses and property than you are looking at the full mile.

You're gonna see something very different.

Just like if I went right now and looked at downtown Bellevue versus Somerset, you're gonna see a very different type of calls, a very different type of you're you're gonna see very few shoplifts, but you're gonna see more burglaries possibly in a residential area.

So you'll see a different type of calls in there as well as um the volume of calls will change because you're having more people call 911 in those bus dense business districts.

Is there am I reading the data correct that in the half a mile we have an uptake in the calls, but when we go to the one mile, is it a steady calls, service calls?

I believe that does I have to look at that slide again.

I don't think it was in the slides there, but I believe that is correct.

Yeah.

If I could jump in um the uh so typically when we're looking at this information um we we focus on the half mile radius because that is more more localized um to whatever the site is that we might uh we might want to look at the one mile data was uh was provided in response to community requests um they wanted to see that broader picture um and so we've uh definitely you know we we have done that um I think some of the concerns that the assistant chief was raising about the um uh maybe the level of information that that larger radius provides um because it's uh got so many other use types in it um and other influences it's m perhaps less informative um about the about the local impacts of of any particular site okay so the uptake in the half a mile is because of the Eastgate campus the one mile radius is as usual because is much more data and nuances and is just a bigger population different businesses my question is can can are you correlating the uptake in the service calls in the half a mile due to cam due to not properly managing of Eastgate campus can we correlate that?

I don't think we can correlate that and even less at the half at the full mile because for example if Walmart closes and another business opens the amount of calls there's gonna change completely that will which will affect all of your data within that mile mile your your ability like one movement may not even associate with your campus but changes your data so that's where we're when we look at this I don't think we can tie that directly and say that is this and the farther out the more data like the the farther out we go the less accurate that's going to be thank you.

I really appreciate your care and bringing this data and again it's a very context nuances complex and I think we all as you heard we want to be compassionate and responsible and I think we are looking forward to another report back and I think Councilman Robertson wants to add.

I I apologize in listening to my colleagues uh and I feel the same way I think we're um looking for how do you we measure success and I know it's really complex how do we measure success for the people that were living there um that we are hoping to stabilize um optimize their lives how do we how do we measure success for the uh efforts that we're doing with the city that Nico's working so hard to do how do you measure success there's a bunch of different ways to do it but I would love staff to come back with kind of a little bit of a description so that we actually can measure success and see how we're doing if we're meeting the goals that we're setting out for ourselves because we we're come at this with a with a big heart and uh really want to be able to see if we're meeting our expectations thank you thank you thank you so much thank you thank you so much for being here we do have a written reports 2026 report on emergency procurement for utility connections to the shower and laundry trailer and for the safe parking location and 106th Avenue Northeast please read that on that note happy new year and we adjourn.

Thank you so much that will arrive first unless the perpetrator is still on the scene is my understanding um and then just if you are a victim please know that there are people out there who take these crimes seriously um we're willing to prosecute and we're willing to move forward with um with this process.

You know in terms of reporting um the Department of Justice work with local prosecutors and um because there had been a lot of mistrust especially during the height of the social justice movement