Redmond Parks and Environmental Sustainability Committee of the Whole Meeting - January 27, 2026
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Redmond Parks and Environmental Sustainability Committee of the Whole Meeting - January 27, 2026
On January 27, 2026, the Redmond Committee of the Whole for Parks and Environmental Sustainability convened to review the 2026 workplan, receive an update on the Public Art Master Plan, and approve the final closeout of the Redmond Senior & Community Center project. Councilmembers Kritzer, Forsythe, Prakriya, Parsi, Nuevacamina, Stewart, and Chair Soni were in attendance. The meeting was held both in-person and remotely.
Consent Calendar
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Approval of the 2026 Parks and Environmental Sustainability Committee of the Whole Workplan (CM 26-025): The workplan was presented by Chair Soni and recommended for consent on February 3. Councilmembers provided input: Councilmember Stewart highlighted the inclusion of the Tree Canopy Strategic Plan; Councilmember Prakriya asked about Hartman Park funding (a $500,000 legislative request), and Director Hamilton confirmed it is not scheduled for construction this year; Councilmember Forsythe inquired about the tree code update, which falls under planning; Councilmember Kritzer requested that the ESAP quarterly update be listed in Q4 and asked about replacing the summer camp overview with a broader recreation overview—Deputy Director Hoovner explained the change reflects comprehensive seasonal reporting. Councilmember Kritzer also asked about World Cup and Derby Days impacts; Chair Soni confirmed no workplan impact. Councilmember Stewart asked about teen center milestones; Director Hamilton outlined next steps including demolition, community celebration, and future design with community engagement. The workplan was moved to consent, with the understanding that council-suggested additions would be incorporated.
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Approve Final Contract with Absher Construction Company and Accept Construction for the Redmond Senior & Community Center Project (CM 26-029): Presenter Eric Dawson (Capital Construction Group) reported that all subcontractors have been paid, certified payroll accepted, and the building has been open for approximately 20 months. The final payment has been made, though warranty items remain. Councilmembers celebrated the milestone, noting the project’s long journey and positive community impact. Councilmember Kritzer requested a lessons-learned presentation for future projects (e.g., teen center). The item was moved to consent on February 3.
Discussion Items
- Public Art Master Plan (CM 26-031): Cultural Arts Supervisor Chris Weber presented initial findings from community engagement, which included engagement at the Downtown Ribbon Art Walk, focus groups, interviews, and a public questionnaire with 461 respondents. Key themes emerged: desire for art reflecting diverse cultures, art in everyday places (parks, trails, streets), more performance and gathering spaces, support for local artists, and improved access to information about art opportunities. Finance Director Kelly Cochran proposed moving public art funding from project-tied allocations to a more predictable model: a six-year art CIP for capital projects paired with ongoing operational funding. Councilmembers offered feedback: support for strategic funding, interest in seeing current vs. proposed funding comparisons, and concern about ensuring funding for both large CIP art and smaller pieces (e.g., murals). Councilmember Stewart asked how the plan aligns with Redmond 2050 goals and requested a memo before the study session. Councilmember Parsi inquired about how funding would differentiate between art integrated into infrastructure versus standalone installations. The item was moved to a study session on April 14, with MIG consultants joining to present the draft plan.
Key Outcomes
- The 2026 Parks and Environmental Sustainability Workplan was recommended for consent at the February 3 City Council meeting, with additions suggested by councilmembers (e.g., ESAP quarterly listing, clarifying recreation content).
- The final contract and acceptance of construction for the Redmond Senior & Community Center was recommended for consent at the February 3 City Council meeting.
- A study session on the Public Art Master Plan was set for April 14, with a follow-up update to the Committee of the Whole on March 24.
- Staff will prepare a memo on proposed art funding changes before the study session and provide a lessons-learned presentation on the Senior & Community Center project for application to future capital projects.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. I'm calling to order the January 27th Committee of the Whole for Parks and Environment Sustainability. In attendance, our council members, Councilmember Kritzer, Councilmember Forsyth, Councilmember Prakaria, a new council member Farsi, Council Vice President Niwa Kamina, Council President Stewart, and myself presiding officer Mencasoni. We have three items on the agenda today. The first item is approval of 2026 parks and environmental sustainability committee of the whole work plan that I'm presenting. It has been already shared with all the council members. And I'll probably just highlight uh, you know, just the key ones. So for the box, we have for the first quarter majority of our updates, and the new items we have recreation 2025 overview, which is replacing summer camp overview. And we'll have the contracts for old firehouse team center demolition. For the second quarter, majority of the similar update, and the new items would be Derby Days programming plan. Quarter three will be an update again on facilities, team center, and tree canopy. And quarter four will be just an even recap, tree team center, and any voluntary update. We have well there will be an ESAP implementation quarterly update. The new items would include include clean buildings, incentive program and oatmen. And for the second quarter, it would be grid capacity study, e-mobility update for quarter three resilience and partnerships. And for quarter four in the new items, we'll have 2026 year of action and we'll report. We have councilmember Stewart. Thank you so much, uh Chair Sony. I am really excited about a few of the things in this plan. In particular, I just wanted to call out, especially since we have so many team mem new team members. I'm really excited about the way that the tree canopy strategic plan is reflected in our work plan for this year. Um the tree canopy strategic plan uh completed its initial implementation period last year or the year before, and we did have a briefing with staff uh about halfway through last year, just around the various pieces and kind of rewrapping our arms around that body of work. So to have uh lots of touch bases about that and to feel like we have a team captain for the tree champion strategic plan this year, uh I think is super important. So really excited to see that on here. Thanks. Thank you. Any other questions? Councilmember Prakrio. Uh thank you, Chair Sony. I had a question based off what we were lobbying on in Olympia last week um with regards to the 500,000 for Hartman Park. Um, if that was reflected in this plan, I may have missed it. And if we have you know contingencies for if we get part of that money, all of that money for myself and for the listening public too. Council member Stewart. Yeah, I can speak to this a little bit if you don't mind, Chair Sony. Um, so really great question. We were in Olympia. One of the um modest financial asks we have in front of the legislature this year is for Hartman Park. Um at the end of the session, we will have a debrief on the results of the session. So we will uh have a specific like legislative session related to that. Additionally, we actually later tonight in our study session do have a uh an update on our capital improvement uh program. So we are looking forward to 2026, and as we get going later in the spring, we're gonna have more and more briefings related to our overall capital improvement plan um and program, which absolutely always has um a uh a large component of our work in that space is our parks infrastructure. I did see that director Hamilton was briefly had her hand raised if she would also like to chime in, but yes, we will come back to that. It might not be a very specific item on a committee of the whole agenda. Yeah, thank you, Council President. I was going to address that. I apologize. I I'm not with you in person today. I have a kiddo with the flu at home. Um, but we uh the Hartman Park um is not um slated to go under construction this year, I don't believe. And so um that's why we're not reflecting it there.
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