Redmond City Council Regular Meeting: September 15, 2026

The Redmond City Council met in regular session on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, beginning at 7:00 PM at Redmond City Hall (15670 NE 85th St), with remote participation by broadcast and phone. Mayor Angela Birney presided, with Council President Melissa Stuart, Council Vice President Angie Nuevacamina, and councilmembers Jessica Forsythe, Vanessa Kritzer, Sayna Parsi, Vivek Prakriya, and Menka Soni. The agenda included a Hispanic Heritage Month proclamation, the One Redmond 2025 annual contract report, the consent agenda, items from the audience, a public hearing on the 2027–2032 Capital Investment Program (CIP), the second quarter 2026 financial report, and new business on a sole-source HR organizational assessment contract. (Source transcript spells the mayor’s surname variously as “Bernie,” “Burney,” and “Birney,” and one councilmember as “Sony”; the official roster spellings are used here.)

Proclamation and Tribute

• Councilmembers remembered former councilmember Arnie, who served 12 years on the Redmond City Council.
• Mayor Birney proclaimed September 15 through October 15, 2026, as National Hispanic Heritage Month in Redmond.

One Redmond 2025 Annual Contract Report

• One Redmond presented its 2025 annual contract report and 2026 highlights, including the One East Side Small Business Advising Services program, which provides fee-free advising to businesses and nonprofits in Redmond and East King County.
• Council asked One Redmond to share learnings from two new Space District programs scheduled for September and October 2026, particularly what the city can do to support small businesses and the creative economy.

Consent Calendar

• Council approved a motion to reorder the agenda so that the consent agenda would be taken up before items from the audience.
• Item 5, the 2026 Community Stability Funding recommendation (Part Two), was removed from the consent agenda at a councilmember’s request.
• The remaining consent agenda was approved, including: the minutes of the September 1, 2026 regular and special meetings and the September 8, 2026 special meeting; the September 15, 2026 check register; and Ordinance 3269, amending Title 21 of the Redmond Municipal Code (the Redmond Zoning Code). Five “yes” votes were recorded; no “no” votes appear in the transcript.

Public Comments & Testimony

Speakers are limited to three minutes; the sign-up sheet closed at 7:00 PM.

• A Redmond native who now lives in Sammamish’s Inglewood community, referencing their past work on “last year’s public roads debacle,” asked why more families with young children choose North Sammamish over Redmond or Kirkland when the larger cities offer more housing and transportation, and whether that status will be resolved before the city commits to nearby development decisions.
• A speaker described difficulty recovering from ankle surgery without access to a quiet environment.
• A speaker said they usually handle conflict “in a rather diplomatic and reasonable way” but feel “not commonly respected,” and drew inspiration from LGBTQ community members who had spoken.
• A speaker criticized the city’s listening sessions as framed “exactly like last year’s listening sessions,” which peers criticized as “one way rather than conversational.”
• A speaker said the city has made a “strategic and concerted effort to prioritize focus to those who do fit their mold, and especially those who have the ability to pay,” urged councilmembers to talk with and visit seniors and adaptive recreation participants, and said, “Do not repeat your mistakes and be clear about your goals.”
• Members were reminded that state law prohibits public comment in support of or opposition to ballot propositions, measures, or candidates.

Public Hearing: 2027–2032 CIP

• A public hearing was held on the proposed 2027–2032 Capital Investment Program.
• One speaker stated that the city’s own testing shows PFAS levels in supply wells 1 and 2 that will require treatment before the 2029 federal deadline.
• Councilmembers said they heard substantial community discussion about the CIP and related topics both during the hearing and in items from the audience.

Staff Report: Second Quarter 2026 Financial Report

• Staff presented the second quarter 2026 financial report.
• Staff reported that inflation is projected to remain above normal ranges.
• The report referenced crisis response positions the council had wanted to fund, which a public speaker had also referenced earlier in the meeting.

New Business: HR Organizational Assessment

• Council considered authorizing an HR organizational assessment. Staff introduced Shelley Gatty, CEO of Project Core, and senior staff were present to answer follow-up questions, including from a question matrix provided to council the prior day.
• Staff stated the mayor exercised her right to sole-source the contract to expedite the assessment and avoid other HR risks. Staff said the city had not done this level of analysis in HR before and were not aware of it being done in any other city department.
• The proposed scope includes a senior consultant working full time (40 hours per week for 20 weeks) and a principal consultant working 25 hours per week for 20 weeks, plus additional support.
• Staff cited Project Core’s claimed 100% success rate over 20 years and similar prior engagements, including work with the Seattle Police Department not found through public disclosure due to the nature of the work, and referenced the Workday enterprise resource planning rollout about two years earlier that staff said “didn't have things properly categorized.”
• Staff said the approach would pair baseline diagnostics with “as much execution as we can in the time we have,” giving an incoming HR director a foundation that identifies strengths, gaps, red flags, and risks.
• Councilmembers raised questions, including: who has final say if the consultant recommends something a new HR director is not on board with (staff acknowledged this was “a very good question”); why the assessment was not deferred until after an HR director was hired, given employees may be reluctant to share gap information with someone who will become their supervisor; how similar projects in other cities compared; and whether the work was scoped to include classification and compensation issues (staff said that was not in scope for this contract).
• Councilmember Parsi asked for clarity on sequencing the consultant hire before the HR director is hired. Staff responded that the HR director would implement the recommendations and that the assessment would help ensure the HR department functions as highly as possible.
• No final vote or formal direction on the HR assessment contract appears in the available transcript excerpt.

Committee Reports and Ombuds Items

• A councilmember reported that the Association of Washington Cities legislative priorities committee has concluded its draft agenda and transmitted it to the board.
• The “Breaking the Cycle” revenue work group was discussed; Mayor Birney is one of two Sound Cities Association representatives on the group.
• Councilmembers noted the council had received broad community input, particularly through items from the audience and the CIP discussion, and noted a related project will be taken up in Councilmember Soni’s committee the following week.

Key Outcomes

• Adopted the National Hispanic Heritage Month proclamation for September 15 – October 15, 2026.
• Approved a motion to reorder the agenda so the consent agenda preceded items from the audience.
• Removed item 5 (2026 Community Stability Funding, Part Two) from the consent agenda.
• Approved the consent agenda, including meeting minutes, the September 15, 2026 check register, and Ordinance 3269. Vote: five yeses, zero noes indicated.
• Held the public hearing on the 2027–2032 CIP. No action required or shown.
• Received the second quarter 2026 financial report. No action required or shown.
• Discussed, but did not show a final vote on, the proposed sole-source HR organizational assessment with Project Core.