Redmond City Council Business Meeting - April 7, 2026
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Redmond City Council Business Meeting - April 7, 2026
The Redmond City Council held its regular business meeting on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at 7:00 PM at City Hall. The meeting included a proclamation for National Poetry Month, a presentation from Move Redmond, public comments on multiple topics, approval of the consent agenda, a staff report on the 2026 Transportation Demand Management Overview (including the Red Link pilot program), and reports from the ombudsperson and council committees. The meeting concluded with a 20-minute executive session on real estate acquisition, with no action expected.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the consent agenda (7-0), which included approval of minutes from March 17, 19, and 24, 2026, payroll and claims checks, confirmation of new Parks, Trails, and Recreation Commission members (Sydney Hune, Eugene Vidalis, Jose Gonzalez), authorization to accept a grant from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, and approval of the Washington State Opioid Settlement with Remnant Defendants.
- The new commission members were sworn in by the Mayor after the vote.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Paul Morris – Stressed the need for defibrillators in all city parks and public spaces, noting his success in getting them installed in Kirkland parks. He offered free CPR training classes and urged residents to download the PulsePoint AED app.
- Aaron Hamilton – Spoke on Transgender Day of Visibility (March 31), describing the fear and dehumanization faced by the trans community. He called for education and allyship, challenging the council and public to stand with the trans community.
- Wolf Adriatico – Criticized the city’s handling of the Old Firehouse (OFH) Teen Center closure and the recent celebration event, calling it tone-deaf. He demanded genuine collaboration with the community and youth engagement in the rebuild process.
- Rosemary Ives (former Redmond mayor, 1992–2007) – Opposed the OFH demolition, requesting the council to: 1) contract a forensic consultant for the demolition, 2) erect an interpretive display on site, and 3) hire an oral history expert to interview former staff. She questioned the accuracy of staff statements about preservation and noted that a majority of the council who voted for demolition may not have read the full 470-page report. She also warned about cost escalations, citing the community center’s increase from $30M to $70M.
- David Morton – Raised concerns about PFAS contamination in Redmond’s drinking water, specifically PFOS and PFBS, likely from the 2013 Allwood Recycling fire. He stated that sentinel monitoring wells were not tested for PFAS after the fire, breaking city promises. He requested pre-disturbance PFAS testing at the Evans Creek Relocation Project site (estimated cost $50,000–$70,000) and publication of findings.
- Max Rolman (remote) – Supported former Mayor Ives’ requests and criticized high program fees (e.g., $70/session for DIY audio) as barriers to inclusive youth development. He noted the demolition cost increase of nearly $400,000 and called for preservation of artifacts from the OFH.
Discussion Items
- Proclamation: National Poetry Month – Mayor Birney proclaimed April 2026 as Poetry Month. Poet Laureate Nancy Morboro read a poem and described her upcoming community storytelling project, culminating in a showcase on December 11, 2026.
- Move Redmond Presentation – Executive Director Kelly Reefer and team presented the nonprofit’s work on transportation demand management (TDM), including bicycle classes, Open Streets Festival (August 15, 2026, 10 AM–3 PM), and advocacy for safer streets and transit. They highlighted their Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) program, serving 24 CTR-affected employers and 43 worksites in Redmond. Councilmembers praised the partnership and asked about in-language transit maps and outreach to diverse communities.
- 2026 Transportation Demand Management Overview – Staff (Caroline Chapman, Linnea Taylor, Michael Hinz) presented the city’s TDM program, which receives about 70% of its budget from grants. Key statistics: nearly 70,000 of Redmond’s 99,000 employees are CTR-affected; the School Pool program had over 3,000 students logging 99,513 non-driving trips in 2025. The new Red Link pilot (free on-demand electric shuttle) served over 1,000 passengers in its first month, with top destinations including Marymoor and downtown light rail stations, Amazon facility, and Salt & Straw. The service has three vehicles (with a fourth ADA-accessible van delayed due to shipping damage) and is tracking toward a benchmark of three passengers per service hour. Council discussed the need for volunteer drivers for Community Van (run by Hopelink), Red Link app improvements, potential service area expansion to Overlake, and a shared parking program with Move Redmond.
- Ombudsperson Reports – Council President Stewart (March ombuds) reported on numerous constituent issues: school lockdown procedures, parking lot 11, OFH artifacts, tenant protections, zoning amendments, water bills, noise ordinance, Lime scooters, police interactions with the trans community, and Flock technology. Councilmember Kritzer (April ombuds) noted continued tenant protection emails, the OFH event feedback (both positive and critical), a request for teen program fee waivers, and proclaimed March 31 as Transgender Day of Visibility. She also visited Samamish City Council’s coffee hours and learned about a joint sustainability grant with Issoquah on compostable takeaway products.
- Committee Reports – Multiple councilmembers shared updates: Disability Board reappointments, Cascade Water Alliance board, Eastrail visioning, Kokanee recovery (over 1,000 returns for second consecutive year), tenant protections subcommittee planning, regional wastewater rate discussions (12.75% annual increase proposed for six years), Growth Management Planning Council housing monitoring, and Sound Transit financial challenges ($34.5 billion cost overrun due to construction costs).
Key Outcomes
- The consent agenda was approved unanimously (7-0), including appointment of three new Parks, Trails, and Recreation Commission members.
- Staff will follow up on resident requests: updating the neighborhood web page to include Community Van information, logging all Red Link service area expansion requests for future consideration, and continuing development of a shared parking program with Move Redmond.
- The council will receive a consolidated list of tenant protection proposals from the subcommittee during a future council talk time.
- The council went into a 20-minute executive session (closed to the public) to discuss real estate acquisition (RCW 42.30.110(1)(b)), with no action expected following the session.
Meeting Transcript
2026, commencing at 7 o'clock PM. I will call roll starting with Council President Stewart. Here. Council Vice President Noeva Camina. Here. Councilmember Forsyth. Here. Councilmember Parkria. Here. Councilmember Parsi. Here. Councilmember Sony. Here. And Councilmember Kritzer. Here. The first item on the agenda is a proclamation for National Poetry Month. Whereas National Poetry Month seeks to highlight the legacy and ongoing achievement of American poets, introduce Americans to the benefit of reading poetry, bring poetry to the public in innovative ways, make poetry an important part of our children's education. And whereas poetry has produced some of the nation's leading creative artists and has inspired other artists in fields such as music, theater, film, dance, and the visual arts. And whereas poetry as an essential part of the arts and humanities affects every aspect of the American life, including education, the economy, and community pride and development. And whereas Redmond invests in poets and literary organizations through grants, partnerships, and commissions, and whereas the City of Redmond strives to make poetry accessible to everyone by providing unique art and cultural experiences that build a high quality of life in the community through the city's poet laureate program. And whereas the Redmond Poet Laureate program produces a variety of opportunities for residents and visitors to build a more literate and understanding community through poetry. Now, therefore, I, Angela Burney, mayor of the City of Redmond, Washington, to hereby proclaim April 2026 as Poetry Month, and encourage residents to participate in city nonprofit organizations and private venue literary arts programs and to follow the City of Redmond Parks and Recreation social media pages for poems and poetic activities during the month of April. And with that, I would like to introduce our poet laureate, Nancy Morboro. And invite her to share a poet, a poem with us. Thank you. Thank you. Hello, my name is Nancy Mboro, and I will read a poem called Interview with Art. I believe in journalistic integrity. I say I seek to strip away the mask to see the bare bones that hold up the work of his hands. So I interview his closest friend, experience. Pain, he said, was the secret ingredient, the ability to capture it in its rawest form, find the corners of vulnerability, arouse the right amount of curiosity, weaponize the trigger called shock. That was art. You needed to live it to give life, or lean on imitation, a pale comparison, but with the right kind of artistry, it was the highest form of flattery. Second, I interviewed culture. Hell has no fury like a woman scorned. Muse, she said, was the secret ingredient. I was the bonnie to his clide. Where I saw it, he ripped. Where they buy where they branded me barbaric, they hailed him art. Grifting. He repackaged and performed palatability, endorsed mostly by nobility, evolving and refining, but make no mistake. I walked so he could run. Foresight, he said, is the secret. The ability to see the places that needed to be bent, the versions that needed a sunset, and those that needed a sunrise. He was a student of time, a wielder of perception. Thank you. Um I will share a little bit about the project that I'll be working on this year. It is uh storytelling poetry project, and it's a two-part project. The first part involves interviewing the people that live in Redmond, and the second part involves writing poems that are inspired by them. And then at the end of the year on December 11th, we're gonna have a community showcase.
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