The Redmond City Council held on Monday, August 3rd, 2026, commencing at 7 p.m.

I'll be chairing this meeting as Mayor Pro Tem.

This is the one and only meeting of the Council for the month of August.

Following tonight's meeting, the council will be in recess until September 1st.

I will call the roll starting with Council Vice President Nueva Camina.

Here let the record reflect that all council members are in attendance.

I do not yet see Mayor Bernie online.

She may choose to join us later in the evening.

Additionally, as you may have already witnessed, we are having a little different technical setup tonight, so we do apologize and thank you for your patience.

Additionally, this meeting is not being live streamed as was announced to the public, but will be uh posted on the following day.

Uh the first item on our agenda tonight is items from the audience.

I have the sign-in sheet for members of the public to speak.

When I read your name, you'll come up to the podium and have three minutes to address the council.

Council members generally won't respond to comments or questions directly.

Umbers of the public are welcome to email the council any time at MayorCouncil at Redmond.gov.

The views stated by members of the public do not represent the opinions of the city of Redmond.

As a reminder, RCW 29B.45.010 prohibits any public comment during the council meeting in support or opposition of ballot propositions, measures, or candidates.

All comments must pertain to the city of Redmond business as indicated on the sign-in sheet.

There are two people signed up to speak tonight.

The first is Dr.

David Morton, followed by Davisha.

Good evening, Council members and Mayor Pro Tem.

I'm David Morton.

I'd like to offer two funding requests for your consideration as you begin the 2027 to 2028 biennial budget process.

First, soil and groundwater PFAS testing at 8504-192nd Avenue Northeast.

This 4.7 acre parcel, currently owned by United Ventures Inc.

and previously operated as All Wood Recycling and later DTG Recycle was the site of a three-day fire in August 2013 that required six fire jurisdictions to extinguish.

The Department of Ecology tracks this property as an active model toxic toxics control act cleanup site, awaiting cleanup, with 12 confirmed or suspected can contaminant categories on record, including metals, solvents, and petroleum.

PFAS is not among them, not because it's been ruled out, but because the site has never been tested for PFAS.

Given the scale of that fire, given the likely use of PFOS-based firefighting foam, and given the site's location within a critical aquifer recharge area and upgradient from city drinking water wells one and two.

I'm asking council to budget for soil and groundwater PFAS testing at this specific parcel.

This builds on the testimony I've already provided on the PFAS contamination in wells one and two.

The fire history at this address gives that contamination concern a testable source.

This testing will close a real documented gap before the nearby Evans Creek Relocation Project moves forward, not after.

Second, a city employed arborist.

As council knows, the tree code update currently underway relies heavily on qualified tree professionals or QTPs to assess trees proposed for removal.

These QTPs are hired and paid by the applicants seeking removal of trees.

Many of these same applicants also have a financial interest in the outcome.

I'm asking council to budget for a city employed arborist position who can independently verify or where warranted, dispute the findings of applicant hired QTPs.

This isn't a criticism of any individual professional's judgment.

It's a structural fix.

Right now, the city has no in-house technical capacity to check the work informing its own tree retention decisions, and that gap will only grow as canopy goals tighten under the tree code update.

And that gap will only grow as canopy goals tighten under the tree code update.

I recognize that the formal budget hearings begin September 15th, and I'll follow up with written material on both items before then.

I appreciate council's time and consideration.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Devisha.

Welcome.

Good evening, Council members and city staff.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak tonight.

My name is Davisha Aurora, and I'm a high school student and the founder of Know Your Ride, a youth-led bike, e-bike, and e-moto safety initiative based here on the East Side.

I've always seen Redmond as a community that values youth, families, innovation, and safe mobility.

I started Know Your Ride because I noticed a simple but very important gap.

The way young people are riding is changing faster than the way many families are being helped to understand what they're writing.

A student can see an electric bike or similar device online, a parent can purchase it, and within days, that rider may be using something much faster and more powerful than a traditional bicycle.

But many important conversations about classification, speed, route awareness, helmet use, passengers, visibility, and responsibility often happen after the bike is already in the garage.

Know your ride is trying to move that conversation earlier.

Our message is simple.

Clear rules, safer rides.