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Record of Proceedings

Redmond City Council Joint Meeting with Arts & Culture Commission - September 22, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, September 22, 2026

BodyRedmond, Washington

SessionCity Council

DateTuesday, September 22, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 36:26

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:07

Good evening.

0:07

I'm calling this meeting to order.

0:09

This is a Redmond City Council special meeting held on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026, commencing at 618 p.m.

0:18

All council members are in attendance.

0:20

Councilmember Pakrea is online.

0:22

Mayor Burney will not be joining us.

0:24

And this special meeting is being held as a joint meeting with the Redmond Arts and Culture Commission.

0:30

We're going to have the Parks and Recreation Director, Lorene Hamilton, kick us off.

0:34

Thank you.

0:35

Good evening, City Council.

0:36

I'm Lorene Hamilton, the Parks and Recreation Director.

0:39

And I'm joined tonight by our illustrious Redmond Arts and Culture Commission.

0:43

They are an incredible part of just the system here in Redmond that helps us serve the community, brings forward community priorities, and just really works closely with staff on the arts and culture initiatives within the city.

0:56

And so I am just going to hand it over to Pamela Waters, who's our chair, and she's going to just lead their commission through this time with you this evening.

1:04

Pamela.

1:05

Thank you, Lorraine.

1:06

And thank you to Mayor Brahmi and the City Council for this opportunity to present the commission's work over the past year.

1:13

And for us to discuss future work and priorities.

1:17

The commission consists of nine commissioners.

1:19

They will each introduce themselves, beginning with uh our chair me, Pamela Waters, and Vice Chairman.

1:26

Michael Havener.

1:29

Vice Chair.

1:30

Okay.

1:38

Commissioner.

1:44

Kathy O'Keefe, I've been on for three and a half years.

1:48

Anna Zanella, um, six years, and this is my last year with a commission.

1:54

Yeah.

1:55

Served two terms.

1:55

I'm Joyce Paul.

1:56

I've been here since April.

2:04

Okay.

2:05

Thank you.

2:05

And this presentation is broken into sections.

2:08

First is a sharing of our vision, followed by a rundown of our successes.

2:14

Then a list of priorities.

2:17

Ending with a discussion and a chance for questions and conversation around arts and culture.

2:23

The Arts and Culture Commission works with the cultural arts staff year-round to fulfill the commission's mission and vision for the community.

2:32

Our mission, be a catalyst for Redmond's diverse and inventive community.

2:38

Our vision, create a community inspired and connected by arts and culture.

2:43

In addition, we as commissioners share a main value to build a vibrant community through arts and culture that celebrates our diversity and promotes equitable opportunities.

2:56

This map is this on?

2:58

Hello.

2:58

There we go.

3:00

This map represents highlights of the new GIS story map, which is not only pieces of City of Redmond's public art collection, but also those owned by King County, the King County Library, Sound Transit, and Art by private developers as well.

3:15

It's a wonderful new tool for the public to discover art.

3:19

Yay.

3:21

And for us to better understand areas, areas where we need to focus our efforts in the future.

3:27

So I'm gonna honored to share some of our successes since we met last year.

3:33

Commission was involved in selecting selection and reviewing of city projects, including a number of commissioned permanent artworks and other projects.

3:42

There's a new integrated sculptures on 152nd Avenue and Overlake, which were installed in January.

3:50

And artists working with community the community, including Poet Laureate Nessa, Nancy Mburro, who launched her inaugural storytelling project, and that will culminate at a public presentation this winter and going off script a little bit.

4:04

She's gonna be at RASP at Central Mexicano Cultural, Central Cultural Mexicano this Friday at 6 p.m.

4:12

So be there or be square.

4:16

And our community rotating art exhibits show showcast close to a hundred two D artists for the Redmond Senior Center, Senior and Community Center.

4:26

And we support signature events by adding art common components.

4:31

I'm sorry, my mouth is working really poorly today.

4:35

Adding components to Derby Days and Redmond Lights, fun, and hosting the fourth annual downtown Redmond Art Walk.

4:43

That was really good.

4:44

Plus, our training programs support local artisan grant programs and our grant programs support organizations.

5:00

And grants were awarded to nine organizations for a total of 26,500, which is up from 15,000 the previous year.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Arts And Culture█████████████████████████████████████████████73%

Community Engagement███████11%

Public Engagement████6%

Procedural██4%

Budget Equity Analysis██3%

Mental Health Awareness██3%

Summary of Proceedings

Redmond City Council Joint Meeting with Arts & Culture Commission - September 22, 2026

On September 22, 2026, the Redmond City Council held a special joint meeting with the Redmond Arts & Culture Commission at 6:18 PM. All council members were present (Councilmember Prakriya online), with Mayor Birney absent. The meeting featured a presentation by the commission on its recent work, priorities, and the nearing completion of the 2026 Public Art Master Plan, followed by a Q&A and discussion with council members.

Discussion Items

Commission Presentation: Chair Pamela Waters and members outlined the commission's mission, vision, and successes over the past year. Key achievements included:
- Grant awards totaling $26,500 to 9 organizations (up from $15,000 the previous year) for unrestricted support of Redmond-based arts and cultural organizations with annual budgets under $500,000.
- New integrated sculptures installed on 152nd Avenue in Overlake in January 2026.
- Poet Laureate Nancy Mburu's inaugural storytelling project, culminating in a presentation this winter.
- Community rotating art exhibits at the Redmond Senior & Community Center featuring nearly 100 two-dimensional artists.
- Support for signature events (Derby Days, Redmond Lights) and the 4th annual Downtown Redmond Art Walk.
- Training programs for local artists and input on private development public artworks in Marymoor Village and Overlake.
Four Priorities:
1. Cultural inclusion and outreach to reflect the city's diverse population.
2. Public art funding: Updating the 1991 Public Art Ordinance to increase and stabilize funding, supporting the goals of the 2026 Public Art Master Plan.
3. Artist pipeline: Efforts to retain, attract, and provide opportunities for artists from underrepresented communities, including the Eastside Workshop and low-barrier temporary art calls.
4. Public Art Master Plan: Near completion, focusing on three goals—citywide public art, arts ecosystem nurturing, and streamlined city systems.
Council Questions: Councilmembers inquired about grant criteria (two applicants not selected—one not Redmond-based, one with too large a budget) and heard commissioners' enthusiasm for the master plan, including asphalt art at Idlewood Park, art in everyday places, and community interaction. Commissioner Joyce Paul emphasized art's role in combating loneliness and mental health issues. Councilmember Parsi asked about focusing on a specific art type (e.g., visual art vs. dance/music), with commissioners expressing support for diversity over a single focus. Councilmember Prakriya asked about underappreciated art pieces (e.g., the water feature outside City Hall needing repair) and upcoming works like a video installation at Redmond Lights.

Key Outcomes

No formal votes were taken; the session was informational and discussion-based.
Council members expressed strong support for increasing and stabilizing public art funding through the ordinance update and for the master plan's implementation.
Council President Stuart noted the success of the downtown art walk and the need to activate growing neighborhoods (e.g., Overlake intercultural district) with art. The Busker program remains active with two downtown performance locations.
Upcoming major event: Redmond Lights kicks off Saturday, December 5, 2026 at 4:00 PM.
Commission and council agreed to continue collaboration, including input on the future of the Old Firehouse Teen Center and ensuring art is integrated into community development.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. I'm calling this meeting to order. This is a Redmond City Council special meeting held on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026, commencing at 618 p.m. All council members are in attendance. Councilmember Pakrea is online. Mayor Burney will not be joining us. And this special meeting is being held as a joint meeting with the Redmond Arts and Culture Commission. We're going to have the Parks and Recreation Director, Lorene Hamilton, kick us off. Thank you. Good evening, City Council. I'm Lorene Hamilton, the Parks and Recreation Director. And I'm joined tonight by our illustrious Redmond Arts and Culture Commission. They are an incredible part of just the system here in Redmond that helps us serve the community, brings forward community priorities, and just really works closely with staff on the arts and culture initiatives within the city. And so I am just going to hand it over to Pamela Waters, who's our chair, and she's going to just lead their commission through this time with you this evening. Pamela. Thank you, Lorraine. And thank you to Mayor Brahmi and the City Council for this opportunity to present the commission's work over the past year. And for us to discuss future work and priorities. The commission consists of nine commissioners. They will each introduce themselves, beginning with uh our chair me, Pamela Waters, and Vice Chairman. Michael Havener. Vice Chair. Okay. Commissioner. Kathy O'Keefe, I've been on for three and a half years. Anna Zanella, um, six years, and this is my last year with a commission. Yeah. Served two terms. I'm Joyce Paul. I've been here since April. Okay. Thank you. And this presentation is broken into sections. First is a sharing of our vision, followed by a rundown of our successes. Then a list of priorities. Ending with a discussion and a chance for questions and conversation around arts and culture. The Arts and Culture Commission works with the cultural arts staff year-round to fulfill the commission's mission and vision for the community. Our mission, be a catalyst for Redmond's diverse and inventive community. Our vision, create a community inspired and connected by arts and culture. In addition, we as commissioners share a main value to build a vibrant community through arts and culture that celebrates our diversity and promotes equitable opportunities. This map is this on? Hello. There we go. This map represents highlights of the new GIS story map, which is not only pieces of City of Redmond's public art collection, but also those owned by King County, the King County Library, Sound Transit, and Art by private developers as well. It's a wonderful new tool for the public to discover art. Yay. And for us to better understand areas, areas where we need to focus our efforts in the future. So I'm gonna honored to share some of our successes since we met last year. Commission was involved in selecting selection and reviewing of city projects, including a number of commissioned permanent artworks and other projects. There's a new integrated sculptures on 152nd Avenue and Overlake, which were installed in January.

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