Redmond City Council Study Session – February 10, 2026: Board Workplans, Outcome Maps, Regional Committees
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Redmond City Council Study Session – February 10, 2026
On Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at 7:02 p.m., the Redmond City Council held a study session at City Hall, with Mayor Angela Birney and all councilmembers present. The five agenda items were commission workplan presentations, the Safe & Resilient and Vibrant & Connected outcome map refresh, regional boards and committees, council retreat outcomes, and council talk time. No formal votes were taken; the council added follow-up items to a staff matrix and identified several upcoming dates.
Boards and Commissions Workplans
- Parks, Trails, and Recreation Commission: Commissioner Stuart Hargraves reported a 2026 work plan still in progress, with adoption planned for March after a February 21 retreat. Priorities include the East Redmond corridor, extending a soft-surface trail to Conrad Olson Farm, signage and wayfinding, Southeast Redmond Park's 60% design, and the recreation program plan. He noted three open seats and upcoming chair/vice-chair elections.
- Arts and Culture Commission: Chair Kathy O'Keefe said updating the Public Arts Master Plan remains the main priority, with a consultant deep dive on April 7. The commission narrowed the new asphalt artwork project to three viable options and will continue regular programs such as Art Walk, rotating exhibits, grants, office hours, and the poet laureate program.
- Human Services Commission: Chair Michaeline Fowler said 2026 is the commission's funding year. Priorities will be published before the request for proposals; the application window runs March 2 to April 6. Last cycle attracted 120 applications, and a similar or larger response is expected. Commissioners will participate in a half-day equity training in early March, review applications from April to October, meet twice monthly, and conduct outreach visits. In response to council questions, she said applications are considered in buckets including shelter, housing, food, and legal services, with a priority on grassroots organizations and longer-term preventive services; a baseline funding floor for shelter/housing is a priority.
- Library Board of Trustees: Mary Lee Leon described a proposed community publishing imprint at the Redmond Library, modeled on other programs, to be funded through KCLS, foundation resources, and grants. It would elevate underrepresented voices and strengthen the local literary ecosystem. She also mentioned a youth contest asking young residents to envision the future of public libraries.
- Planning Commission: Chair Susan Weston said the commission recently finished the fire functional plan, capital facilities plan, and transportation master plan. Upcoming work includes the annual zoning code review, tree code changes, temporary sign rules, state-required changes, architecture/design changes, stormwater and surface water plan, wastewater plan updates, and briefings on Blueprint 2050 and the housing/human services plan. She encouraged community feedback through surveys and emails.
- Council feedback: Several councilmembers thanked the commissions and noted vacancies. Councilmember Forsythe suggested the Planning Commission seek input from former design review board commissioners and expressed interest in Indigenous art in downtown crosswalks. Councilmember Kritzer asked about human services funding criteria, including legal services for immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking communities. Councilmember Parsi led a show-of-hands exercise on youth openings and asked about critical habitat zoning. Council Vice President Nuevacamina asked the Library trustee for details about the community publishing imprint. Council President Stuart asked what public comment topics commissions are hearing; responses included a proposed calisthenics court, a $78,000 disc golf equipment refresh at Jewel Park, human services organizations highlighting their work, and a possible Great Migration film screening. Council President Stuart also encouraged residents to visit the city's boards and commissions vacancy page; open seats were noted on human services, arts, and parks, with more coming later.
Outcome Maps Refresh: Safe & Resilient and Vibrant & Connected
- Deputy Finance Director Haritha Nara and finance staff Haley reviewed a council matrix from the January 27 outcome map discussion. Councilmembers said they had not had enough time to review the matrix and noted the names of question authors were hidden. Staff agreed to unhide the names and return to the matrix at a later study session; the revised matrix is scheduled for March 10.
- Safe & Resilient: Staff presented a new outcome on community resilience and recovery following emergencies, supported by a new emergency preparedness and recovery budget plan. Deputy Director Jason Lynch explained the building code effectiveness grading schedule: the city's current rating is 86.5 (class 2), with a class 1 max of 93-100. He said class 1 is not feasible while the city issues about 12,300 permits and conducts 38,000 inspections per year; reaching class 1 would require roughly a 30% reduction in inspections and 40% reduction in development. In response to a councilmember's question, Lynch said the rating affects insurance bureau ratings and the city has paid one claim in 30 years.
- On coordinated emergency responses, Councilmember Kritzer asked for a metric capturing alternative crisis response and 'right responder, right place, right time.' Staff said the program is new and could be tracked under community health; the item was added to the matrix. Council Vice President Nuevacamina asked about police response-time metrics; Deputy Chief Coates said drone-as-first-responder is under two minutes, priority-one emergency response is under seven minutes, and low-priority calls are under 20 minutes, with a dispatch-to-arrival measure already in the police budget plan. Fire staff defined witnessed cardiac arrest survival as a measure with a clear start point; unwitnessed survival averages about 20%, while the goal for witnessed arrests is a minimum 60% 'success' rate measured six months later.
- On investigations, Councilmember Forsythe asked whether community court is reflected in police case clearance rates. Deputy Chief Coates said the state-tracked clearance metric does not include community court, and council asked staff to add community court tracking to the matrix. Councilmember Parsi requested an equity lens for criminal justice metrics; that was also added to the matrix.
- Vibrant & Connected: For the transportation outcome, Councilmember Prakriya suggested adding a measure such as the share of households within a half mile of frequent transit, citing a comprehensive plan figure of 49%. Deputy Director Sarah Fee noted the city focuses on metrics within its jurisdiction and expressed hesitation about transit-stop measures controlled by Metro or Sound Transit. Councilmember Kritzer suggested using the annual community survey to track first/last-mile usage; staff said they are adding measures for daily trips by walking, biking, transit, and average weekly transit boardings.
- For the community services outcome, staff explained the affordable housing indicator tracks the total number of cost-controlled units, with a performance measure focused on new units at 50% of area median income. Councilmember Kritzer questioned the human services indicator showing the gap between funds requested and funds granted; staff said it is intended as a barometer of unmet community need. Mayor Birney said the city cannot meet all need alone and asked for nuance showing partner contributions; the item was added to the matrix.
- On infrastructure, one councilmember expressed enthusiasm for the state-of-asset report and pavement/facility condition scores as dashboard indicators. For economic development and tourism, Councilmember Parsi asked about job-creation measures; staff cited retail sales change, resident business licenses, businesses receiving outreach, jobs compared to growth targets, and comprehensive plan compliance with the Growth Management Act. Staff confirmed tourism is now a separate budget plan.
Regional Boards and Committees
- Council President Stuart shared a draft table of regional boards and committees and noted recent Sound Cities Association vacancy announcements. She reminded councilmembers that Redmond can submit only one application per SCA committee; duplicate applications cancel each other out. A larger vacancy call is expected later in the year.
- Mayor Birney advised councilmembers to review SCA committee schedules and time commitments, noting some seats require significant work, such as the Regional Transit Committee, while others are lighter touch. She said Arch has planning director Carol Helland as a surrogate, and she stepped off the Regional Policy Committee and King County Regional Homelessness Authority. She called the Regional Policy Committee a strong opportunity for Redmond because it influences King County levies and the solid waste management plan.
- Councilmember Kritzer encouraged applications to the King County Regional Transit Committee (an alternate seat is open), highlighted the Puget Sound Regional Council's Growth Management Planning Board and Transportation Policy Board, and said the flood control district will face important budget decisions. She also spoke in favor of the King Conservation District. Councilmember Forsythe expressed interest in Arch and asked for more information from Carol Helland; Councilmember Prakriya expressed interest in KCRHA and asked about the application process. Councilmembers agreed to explore SCA vacancies and coordinate interest.
Council Retreat Outcomes Discussion
- Council President Stuart reported on the January 31 council retreat facilitated by consultant Una using the Technology of Participation method. Team agreements included leading with curiosity, bringing a solutions mindset, preparing for both regular meetings and major events, adopting healthy communication practices, deciding and moving forward together, asking whose voice is missing, and being present with the community in a coordinated way. A SWOT review highlighted the full team, new perspectives, the legislative coordinator position, Redmond's reputation as a regional leader, and ongoing uncertainty from national issues. Next steps include emailing prep materials by the end of the week for a Part 2 session focused on budget and policy priorities for the next biennium.
Council Talk Time
- Councilmember Forsythe said she is incorporating legal feedback into a draft resolution in support of the immigrant community and coordinating with Council President Stuart and Chief Lowe to bring it forward soon.
- Councilmember Prakriya congratulated the Seattle Seahawks on winning Super Bowl 60. Councilmember Soni asked how the council and community can participate in World Cup activities; Mayor Birney said a staff report will come to the next business meeting and noted the recent quarterly business check-in.
- Council Vice President Nuevacamina shared highlights from the business event, including public safety and emergency preparedness briefings, watch-party resources, and matches on Juneteenth and during Pride week that could showcase regional values.
- Councilmember Kritzer noted that the Red Link free downtown shuttle has a soft opening this month and a full public launch on March 11; she encouraged promotion of Red Link and Metro Flex. Mayor Birney said the March 28 opening will connect Redmond directly to Seattle, with an elected officials' pre-ride likely the week before.
- Council President Stuart noted a May 21 calendar hold for a possible council conversation, with possible locations under consideration.
Key Outcomes
- The council matrix review was postponed to the March 10 study session; staff will unhide councilmember names and incorporate newly requested items on alternative crisis response, community court tracking, criminal justice equity, multimodal access, infrastructure resilience, and human services needs.
- No formal appointments or votes were made on regional boards and committees; councilmembers will coordinate interest in current SCA vacancies and revisit the full list later in the year.
- Retreat follow-up materials will be sent by the end of the week, with a Part 2 session planned.
- Upcoming dates mentioned include March 10 (matrix), March 11 (Red Link public launch), March 28 (Sound Transit opening to Seattle), the next business meeting (World Cup staff report), and May 21 (possible council conversation).
Meeting Transcript
Your last. Thank you. Good evening. I am calling this meeting to order. This is a Redmond City Council study session held on Tuesday, February 10th, 2026, commencing at 7.02 p.m. All council members and Mayor Bernie are in attendance. There are five items on the agenda tonight. Meeting with boards and commission representatives to discuss work plans and identify areas of collaboration, outcome maps refresh for safe and resilient as well as vibrant and connected. We have a discussion on regional boards and committees, council retreat outcomes discussion, and council talk time. So the first item on the agenda is kind of a special item. We have here in the chambers with us representatives from many of our boards and commissions. And this is designed as an opportunity for there's a lot of new faces at the table, kind of all around. We have some new council members, some new leadership in our boards and commission. And really the representatives from our commission have come prepared tonight to tell us a little bit about what their commission is working on in 2026. They'll introduce themselves, tell us a bit about that. And when we've gone all the way down the line, then we'll open it up for council questions. And I really encourage all the council members to introduce themselves and ask for any clarifying um questions, as well as just again identifying areas of opportunity for us to uh work together. Some of the commissions have very specific areas of feedback that they're going to be looking uh to hear from the council on this year. So with that, Stuart, I'll kick it to you to go first if you don't mind. Tell us who you are and which commission you're from. Thank you. Um I'm Stuart Hargraves. I'm a commissioner on the uh parks, trails, and recreation commission. Um, and I'm here in place of our chair and our vice chair who were not able to attend in person. Um so uh I'll just just a couple of quick updates about our commission. Um since we met at the last joint joint session with City Council, uh, we have a new uh a new youth advocate and two new commissioners. Um Henry Weston is our new youth advocate and our new commissioner commissioners are uh Kim Marcellino and Sina Parsi, although Commissioner Parsi is now council member Parsi. And so uh uh so we actually have three open seats on the commission. And um actually, while we're here, I should say thank you very much on behalf of the commission for for serving. And honestly, like the work you did really actually has a huge impact on on what we've done. So, yeah, I just want to say thanks on behalf of the commission. So um we uh and we have a we have elections for chair and vice chair coming up next month. So who knows who you'll see up here next. Um so in terms of our 2026 work plan, um, it is certainly it's a work in progress at the moment. Um we plan to raise a motion to adopt it in March. Um, and to get there, we're going to be uh having a retreat on February 21st with the commission as well as uh Cameron and Lindsay to uh to to finalize it and uh and really you know get it locked down. Um and so yeah, so I think we'll make some progress there. Um, but just in terms of highlights, um there's I I can't go through the whole thing, but um the kind of the themes of the major highlights are one uh East Redmond corridor, right? We had a we had a subcommittee uh driving that last year. Um we plan to to have host a volunteer event to actually extend our uh extend the quarter up through Conrad Olson Farm and kind of make a soft surface trail up there. Um we're also constantly looking for kind of low-hanging fruit opportunities to keep this project on track. I mean it's multi-multi-year, and uh, you know, and we uh and we're looking for ways that we can you know find some simple ways to just to keep it moving forward. Um around signage and wayfinding, that's a large theme for us. Um tool design just completed the assessment phase of that project, and um there's a subcommittee that I'm on that uh contributed a lot of context and information and and and and uh a lot of kind of uh field work to uh to help them with their assessment phase and kind of to help them move forward. Um also uh apparently city staff will be updating city council uh at the next uh committee of the whole, and also uh a study session in March. So um and then you know, in terms of input and feedback that the commission is providing, like some a couple of the major areas are one Southeast Redmond Park, right? We've been deeply involved with Burger Partnership uh to drive, you know, to give feedback on the master plan. This year, uh, probably in a couple months, we'll be commenting and giving feedback on this 60% design that they've got. Um, and so yeah, we look forward to more collaboration there. That's been really a fruitful discussion with them.
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