Olympia City Council Regular Business Meeting - April 29, 2026
Olympia City Council Regular Business Meeting - April 29, 2026
The Olympia City Council met on April 29, 2026 for its regular business meeting. Six council members were present (Mayor Dontae Payne, Mayor Pro Tem Yến Hu ỳnh, Councilmembers Vanderpool, Gilman, Green, and Berendt); Councilmember Madrone was excused. The meeting included special recognitions, public comment, approval of a consent calendar, and a report on a new monthly financial reporting tool and the 2027 budget calendar.
Special Recognitions
- Bicycle Month Proclamation (26-0313): The council recognized May 2026 as Olympia Bicycle Month. Senior Program Specialist Kristin Gilkerson and Intercity Transit Community Challenge Coordinator Alli Fuller accepted the proclamation and spoke about bicycling benefits and upcoming events (e.g., Bicycle Community Challenge, Bike Anywhere Day on May 14).
- Public Service Employees Month Proclamation (26-0312): The council recognized May as Public Service Employees Month. City Manager Jay Burney highlighted the dedication of over 700 city employees and the various recognition weeks (e.g., Municipal Clerk Week, National Police Week, etc.).
Public Comments & Testimony
Over a dozen members of the public spoke, both in-person and online. The overwhelming majority of comments focused on concerns about the treatment of unhoused residents, particularly trans and disabled community members, and called for more compassionate policies and an end to police harassment. Specific speakers included:
- CC Coates: Stated that subsidized housing programs are no longer issuing new subsidies and that police are aggressively targeting homeless people, calling for systemic change and more affordable housing.
- Victoria Harmon (Regional Manager, Timberland Regional Library): Reported that due to staffing cuts, the West Olympia Library will close on Sundays effective May 17, with both libraries open Monday–Saturday 10–6.
- Sezung Kim: Shared personal experience with a domestic violence case and alleged lack of proper response from authorities.
- Georgia Aust: Expresed support for unhoused and trans community members, urging the city to stop harassing people who are just existing in their vans.
- Jean Eerhardt: Spoke as a homeowner and neighbor of CC Coates, praising her as a good neighbor and questioning why she was forced to move.
- Annette Ruzicka: Continued the discussion on how the city cares for its unhoused trans and disabled community, asking what has been done to ensure fair housing and calling for a review of ordinances that target the houseless. She also criticiized police oversight as ineffective.
- David Webb: Criticized police oversight, stating that the Olympia Police Department investigates itself and that the civilian auditor system is insufficient. He also referenced the failure to hold officers accountable for the killing of Timothy Green.
- Jennifer Robinson (voiced as Alexandrovic Garr? Actually later appears as separate comment): Expressed anger at police threats and harassment toward those living in motorhomes, questioning the legality of such actions and warning of potential lawsuits.
- Alexandrovic Garr: Introduced him/herself as a new resident to Olympia.
- Sybil Dooghan (virtual): Spoke in solidarity with unhoused neighbors, arguing that police uphold laws that criminalize poverty and that the city's actions contradict its comprehensive plan.
- Crystal Snare (virtual): Supported CC Coates as a neighbor, praising her community contributions and urging creative solutions for affordable housing.
Discussion Items
- Report on New Format of Monthly Financial Report and 2027 Budget Calendar (26-0314): Finance Director Mike Githens presented a new interactive, web-based monthly financial reporting tool developed in-house, which allows the public and council to drill into revenues, expenditures, and watch list items (e.g.,B&O tax,collections, police overtime). The tool uses color-coded indicators (green, yellow, red) and includes notes for context. City Manager Burney emphasized that the tool increases transparency and saves money previously spent on third-party software. Githens also outlined the preliminary schedule for developing the 2027 budget, with study sessions planned for summer and fall 2026 and adoption in December 2026. Council members praised the tool and its transparency.
Council Intergovernmental/Committee Reports
- Councilmember Barrett: Noted that two anti-trans initiatives are on the ballot and encouraged the city to continue working on housing availability.
- Councilmember Gilman: Reported from the Finance Committee that a deep dive on fleet and building costs showed that meeting the city's 2040 climate goals for internal operations would require an additional ~$6 million per year starting immediately (e.g., $61 million over 13 years for building condition, plus $37 million for decarbonization; $10 million for fleet charging infrastructure plus $26 million for EVs). This will require difficult decisions about revenue or service reductions.
- Councilmember Vanderpool: Reported on Intercity Transit discussions about Route 41 changes (not possible to restore due to interlining); on Regional Housing Council progress (continued funding for services); on Land Use & Environment committee review of downtown vacancy study (will come to council next week) and renewal of the affordable housing emergency declaration for two years; on a neighborhood traffic safety concern on Boston Harbor Road; and noted a May Day event at Sylvester Park.
- City Manager Burney: Announced the downtown vacancy study will be presented to council next week, and thanked staff and the community for a successful Spring ArtsWalk weekend.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar adopted (6-0): Approved minutes of April 14 and April 21, plus resolutions for a children's museum restrictive covenant (26-0301), TCOMM911 asset transfer (26-0310), extension of OIR Group civilian police auditor services (26-0315), and appointment of Paul Horton to the Independent Salary Commission (26-0322).
- Report received and discussion concluded: The new financial reporting tool will be posted monthly; the 2027 budget calendar was presented for awareness.
- Direction: Councilmembers expressed openness to further discussions on unhoused policies, creative solutions for housing, and continued dialogue with the community. A follow-up was offered to the Korean-speaking commenter.
- Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 8:06 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening and welcome to the Tuesday, April 28th, 2026 regular business meeting of the Olympia City Council. For the record, we have a quorum with Councilmember Madrone Excused and Councilmember Barrett joining us remotely tonight. Before we move on to adopting our agenda, I do just want to acknowledge the passing of a uh former state senator Sam Hunt, who was a giant uh to the Olympia community and to Thurston County. Uh our hearts go out to his family, uh his friends throughout our community. He will be deeply missed. He served this community uh for over two decades, and um we're gonna miss him. Um I see him, I picture him in that white suit. Um, and I'm gonna miss seeing him come up here uh to the podium to greet the council. And so um rest in peace, Senator Hunt. So uh with that, I need a motion to approve tonight's agenda. Move to approve the agenda. Second. All those in favor of the agenda is published signify by saying aye. Aye. We have an agenda. Our first item tonight is a special recognition proclamation recognizing Olympia Bicycle Month. Uh, and we have a shared reading of the proclamation beginning with Councilmember Vanderpool. Whereas riding a bicycle can improve Olympians' mental and physical health and well-being, and whereas bicycling cannot can connect many community members and opportunities and resources without needing to own or maintain a vehicle. And whereas we can make our transportation system more equitable by changing our streets to better serve people who cannot or choose not to drive, and whereas bicycling instead of driving, can help Olympia achieve the comprehensive plans goal of net zero emissions by 2040. And whereas the City of Olympia has a bicycle network, which includes two bike corridors, 82 miles of bicycle lanes, and eight miles of the regional trail system within the city limits. And whereas the city's transportation master plan includes projects to expand the bicycle network and whereas the city's transportation benefit district sales tax collects approximately $3.1 million annually for bicycle and active transportation projects. And whereas the city's street safety plan prioritizes the safety of bicyclists among other vulnerable users of the street and whereas inner city transit with the support of many local businesses and organizations is hosting the 39th annual bicycle community challenge during the month of May and bike to work day on May 14th, 2026. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the uh that in recognition of the 56th Earth Day and 69th National Bike Month, the Olympia City Council hereby proclaims the month of May 2026 as Olympia Bicycle Month in the City of Olympia and encourages all community members to ride their bikes during the month of May and throughout the year. Signed in the City of Olympia, Washington, it's 28th day of April 2026, Olympia City Council, Dante Payne, Mayor. Okay. So at this time, I'm gonna invite up Kristen Gilkerson, who's a special uh program specialist uh from the City of Olympia. Hi, Kristen. I'll start over. Thank you. Uh so good evening, Mayor Payne and Council members. Thank you for declaring May's Olympia Bicycle Month. Uh my name is Kristen Gilkerson. I'm the senior transportation program specialist with the city. Uh tonight I'm joined by Allie Fuller, uh Intercity Transit's new bicycle community coordinator. Um shortly she'll share details about uh the bike challenge, some great work happening at walk and roll. Um, but quickly I wanted to lift up uh two city projects that are currently underway to support bicycling in Olympia. Uh so first is the Phones Road Corridor Project. This major project will turn Phones Road into a safer corridor for everyone that uses it. It's really starting to take shape. And uh bike improvements include separated bike lanes, an improved trail crossing, and uh much more. Uh next we have the bike and pedestrian safety project at Fourth and Plum, so that's downtown, right outside of City Hall. Um, when completed, it will include a parking separated bike lane, bright green bike lane markings and changes to make that intersection safer. Um, so we'll have more projects starting later this year. I just wanted to invite you to visit the transportation website to learn more about those projects. That's at Olympiawad.gov slash transportation. And I'll turn it over to Allie. Thank you. Thank you, Chris. Hello, my name is Allie Fuller, and I work with Inner City Transit's walk and roll program and coordinate the Thurston County Bicycle Community Challenge. Thank you so much for welcoming me here tonight.
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