The Redmond City Council met on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at 7:00 PM at City Hall. The meeting included a proclamation for Parks and Recreation Month, public comments from nine individuals, approval of a consent agenda, ombudsperson and committee reports, and a closed session for labor negotiations.
Council Vice President Nueva Camina here. Councilmember Forsyth. Councilmember Procrea? Here. Councilmember Parsi? Here. Councilmember Sony? Yeah. And Councilmember Kritzer. Here. The first item on the agenda is a proclamation for Parks and Recreation Month. Whereas the US House of Representatives and the National Recreation and Park Association have designated July as Parks and Recreation Month. And whereas the City of Redmond Parks, Trails, and Community Spaces serve an essential public infrastructure where residents of all ages, incomes, and abilities can access physical activity, mental restoration, social connection, and a sense of belonging, building resilience and common ground in an increasingly complex world. And whereas the city of Redmond, the city's Green Redmond program, which has thousands of volunteer hours dedicated to restoring more than 1,000 acres of forested parkland continues to grow through expanded forest steward opportunities and community events. And whereas the city of Redmond is committed to a healthy sustainable future through our climate resiliency and sustainability and vegetation management plan and our annual tree giveaway program, advancing our goal of 40% urban tree canopy cover coverage by 2050. And whereas the completion of Redmond Central Connector Phase 3 provides a continuous accessible trail connection between downtown Redmond and Kirkland, expanding equitable access to parks and open spaces for all. And whereas the City of Redmond Parks and Recreation Department provide inclusive and dynamic opportunities from sports leagues and day camps to team programming and senior activities, guided by a newly completed recreation program plan that ensures our services re reflect the long-range needs and priorities of our growing and diverse community. And whereas the city of Redmond is ready for the world with the World Cup underway underway in our region, bringing residents and visitors together through watch parties, celebrations, and a permanent legis legacy installation in downtown park. And whereas community events such as Derby Days and Redmond Lights foster belonging and civic pride, while new programming brings even more residents together to celebrate the culture and spirit that make Redmond home. And whereas the City of Redmond is committed to cultural creativity and economic vibrancy through art education performances, public art, local artist training, and the new art map, helping residents to discover over 100 works of public art. Now, therefore, I, Angela Bernie, mayor of the city of Redmond, do hereby proclaim July 2026 as park and recreation month and encourage all community members to participate in recreational activities and enjoy Redmond's beautiful parks, trails, and public art this summer. And to receive this proclamation, I have two uh two of our Green Redmond Forest Stewards, Alex Ku and Irene Ku, a brother and sister that have worked in uh worked on this program, and I'd love for them to come up with their family, and they have a few words to say. We can get a picture. Come on up. Come on up, mom and dad. Do you want to get a picture? We'll get a picture and then um Alex and Irene will say a few words. How about the male? You on one side. Okay, we'll do this. Who's first? Yeah, thank you, Mayor and members of the city council. I'm really honored to be receiving this proclamation on behalf of the Green Redmond Forest Stewardship Program. And for the past three years, we've all been working at different parks in Redmond, specifically. I've been working at Smith Woods, and um throughout our work, we've noticed that you can actually see a difference in these parks now compared to three to four years ago. Before the whole park was all covered in invasive plants such as the Himalayan Blackberry, but now it's so much um it's so much you can see that it's so much there's so much less um BlackBerry and invasive plant coverage in the park. And I think it's a really great achievement for us for its stewards to accomplish. And joining this program has been a really great um experience for me so far, and I'm looking forward to continue to grow with this program. Um I'm now I'm gonna now pass it on to my brother. Uh hello. Uh, like my sister has uh already said, like I am very proud, uh, along with my family and all the other forest stewards to be receiving this proclamation on behalf of the forest steward program. And for me, myself, a little bit about like Smith Woods itself. I actually started when I was around two years ago when I was about three years old, so that's like uh seven years ago, roughly. Um back then, I just used kind of this uh park restoration thing as more of a excuse to play in the dirt with my sister than really like okay, it's recreation. I'm actually doing something like helpful, but like over the years, especially through the past three or four years, I've actually come to know it's like okay, as a four steward, I can actually help like change a lot of things. Because like normally when you like walk into like Smith Woods, you come across a lot of like Himalayan BlackBerry, but now it's more of like a haven for like a lot of like young trees and native plants. And overall, I feel like that the four steward program has definitely helped change not only Smith Woods, but a lot of like other parks around the city of Redmond uh for better as well. So, yeah, thank you guys. Well, thank you both so much. I feel like we should use you for an ad for um Hawaii is good for people to come out and help our forests.