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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Redmond City Council Meeting Summary - October 20, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, October 20, 2026

BodyRedmond, Washington

SessionCity Council

DateTuesday, October 20, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 3:48:18

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

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.

Speaker 1

0:04

I'm calling this meeting to order.

0:06

This is a regular meeting of the Redmond City Council held on Tuesday, October 20th, 2026, commencing at 7 o'clock PM.

0:13

I will call roll starting with Council President Stewart.

0:20

Councilmember Forsyth.

0:22

Councilmember Kritzer?

Speaker 2

0:24

Here.

Speaker 1

0:24

Councilmember Parsi?

Speaker 2

0:25

Here.

Speaker 1

0:26

Councilmember Prokrea?

Speaker 2

0:27

Here.

Speaker 1

0:28

Councilmember Sony.

0:30

Good timing.

0:34

I have a few announcements at the start of this meeting.

0:36

As we prepare for the November 3rd general election, ballot boxes at Redmond City Hall and the Redmond Community Center at Mary Moore Village are open for the general election from now through 8 p.m.

0:46

on November 3rd.

0:47

Exactly 8 p.m.

0:49

Just keep that in mind.

0:50

Please be careful in these areas and watch for cars and pedestrians returning their ballots.

0:55

Official ballot drop boxes are the best and fastest way to return your ballot.

0:59

You can also return your ballot through the U.S.

1:01

Postal Service, no stamp needed.

1:03

Make sure you mail your ballot early so that it is postmarked by November 3rd.

1:07

The suggestion is to mail it in at least a week early.

1:10

King County vote centers are available to voters who need assistance completing their ballot.

1:15

Trained staff and specialized equipment are available to help voters with disability disabilities cast a private independent ballot.

1:21

And we encourage you to participate in our country's democracy and make your voice count vote count this and every election day.

1:38

This will replace community members emailing into submit comments or register for remote comments and makes participating in city council business meetings more accessible and convenient for individuals who have difficulty attending meetings in person.

1:51

Beginning on October 30th, forms will be available from 5 p.m.

1:55

on the day the agenda is published until 2 p.m.

1:58

on the day of the meeting.

1:59

You'll be able to access the forms and learn more about participating in public meetings, including decorum and language expectations, time limits, and allowable topics by visiting redmond.gov slash addressing council.

2:11

Today we have no special orders of the day.

2:14

And do we have a motion to rearrange the agenda?

2:16

Council President.

Speaker 3

2:19

Thank you, madam chair.

2:20

I move to elevate item three, the executive session, to evaluate the qualifications of an applicant for public employment to the top of our agenda today.

2:32

Is there

Speaker 1

2:32

a second?

Speaker 4

2:39

It's been moved and seconded.

2:42

All those in favor say aye.

2:45

Aye.

Speaker 5

2:47

Aye.

Speaker 4

2:49

Aye.

2:49

I

Speaker 5

2:51

could I ask why or

Speaker 4

2:53

um yeah, I'm sorry.

2:54

I thought the it was information was given.

2:56

We have a candidate for a director position that is waiting in uh for executive session to be interviewed by council.

3:02

And so we wanted to make sure that that was moved up to the beginning of the meeting.

Speaker 5

3:06

Okay, aye.

3:07

Thank

Unassigned speaker

3:08

you.

Unassigned speaker

3:08

Um

Speaker 1

3:09

any opposed?

3:10

Motion carries.

3:11

Thank you so much.

3:12

We will um adjourn for 30 minutes from now.

3:16

It will be uh 745 for the executive session to evaluate the qualifications of an applicant for public employment, RCW 4230 110 1G for 30 minutes.

3:28

And the executive session I said will adjourn at 7 45.

3:32

No action is expected to be taken following the executive session.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procedural██████████████████18%

Civil Rights Protection█████████████████17%

Economic Development██████████10%

World Cup Planning█████████9%

Governance██████6%

Budget█████5%

Public Safety████4%

Environmental Protection████4%

Public Transportation████4%

Summary of Proceedings

Redmond City Council Business Meeting - October 20, 2026

The Redmond City Council met on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at 7:00 PM. The meeting included a public hearing on the Preliminary 2027-2028 Biennial Budget, staff reports on the World Cup Program and Economic Development, and unanimous passage of two resolutions opposing state ballot initiatives (I-638 and I-001). The meeting was extended to 11:00 PM to accommodate the full agenda.

Consent Calendar

Routine Approvals: Minutes, accounts payable, the Lucity Enterprise Asset Management Cloud Contract ($390,816), the 2027 Tourism Grant Funding recommendations, and a resolution joining the Washington Cities Insurance Authority (WCIA) were approved in a single vote.
Item 6 - Surplus Real Estate (Pacer Propane): Council President Stuart pulled the item to provide context. She confirmed environmental due diligence occurred and explained the property was no longer needed after the city acquired the larger Heidelberg site for the Municipal Operations Center. The council voted unanimously to authorize the sale.
Item 7 - Planning Commission Rules: Pulled by Councilmember Parsi due to confusion in the text. An amendment to clarify the code reference failed 4-3. The council then voted unanimously to refer the item back to a Committee of the Whole for further revision.

Public Comments & Testimony

Items from the Audience: Residents spoke on the affordable housing shortage (unable to find 30%-AMI housing downtown), safety concerns at Leary and Cleveland (requesting new public intoxication codes), advocacy for a community arts and science center (MASK), and concerns over the city's sale of the Pacer Propane property without full public environmental disclosure. A youth representative from BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir invited the council to a Diwali celebration.
Budget Public Hearing: Nine residents testified on the 2027-2028 Biennial Budget and Business Technology Investment Program (BTIP). Speakers expressed support for the Housing Navigator position, Active Transportation Safety Program, Red Link transit expansion, and environmental sustainability funding (ESAP, Energy Smart Eastside). Specific requests were made for capital funding for the Wayfinder Hub and for the city to reconcile discrepancies in the BTIP documents before adoption.

Discussion Items

World Cup Program Annual Report: Staff presented a report detailing the program's financials ($2.4M total budget, $1.4M spent, ~$500k from sponsorships) and legacy. Key figures included 328 grant-funded events drawing over 27,000 attendees and a peak of 2,000 people at the USA-Belgium match watch party. Councilmembers unanimously praised the cross-departmental collaboration and community goodwill generated.
Economic Development Division Annual Report: Staff highlighted the adoption of the Redmond 2050 districts, the opening of the UW Global Innovation Exchange on the Microsoft campus, and a study revealing 1,555 licensed home-based businesses generating $115.7 million in gross income. Mayor Birney was appointed to the Governor's Space Council.

Key Outcomes

Resolutions on Ballot Initiatives: The council unanimously passed Resolution 1634 formally opposing Initiative 638 (relating to K-12 athletics and transgender students) and Resolution 1635 formally opposing Initiative 001 (relating to parental rights in schools). Council President Stewart noted the expedited process for these items but voted in favor.
Planning Commission Rules: Referred to committee for clarification of commissioner removal processes.
Budget Schedule: Council will continue budget deliberation on October 22nd and 27th, with several testifiers requesting specific amendments.

Meeting Transcript

I'm calling this meeting to order. This is a regular meeting of the Redmond City Council held on Tuesday, October 20th, 2026, commencing at 7 o'clock PM. I will call roll starting with Council President Stewart. Councilmember Forsyth. Councilmember Kritzer? Here. Councilmember Parsi? Here. Councilmember Prokrea? Here. Councilmember Sony. Good timing. I have a few announcements at the start of this meeting. As we prepare for the November 3rd general election, ballot boxes at Redmond City Hall and the Redmond Community Center at Mary Moore Village are open for the general election from now through 8 p.m. on November 3rd. Exactly 8 p.m. Just keep that in mind. Please be careful in these areas and watch for cars and pedestrians returning their ballots. Official ballot drop boxes are the best and fastest way to return your ballot. You can also return your ballot through the U.S. Postal Service, no stamp needed. Make sure you mail your ballot early so that it is postmarked by November 3rd. The suggestion is to mail it in at least a week early. King County vote centers are available to voters who need assistance completing their ballot. Trained staff and specialized equipment are available to help voters with disability disabilities cast a private independent ballot. And we encourage you to participate in our country's democracy and make your voice count vote count this and every election day. This will replace community members emailing into submit comments or register for remote comments and makes participating in city council business meetings more accessible and convenient for individuals who have difficulty attending meetings in person. Beginning on October 30th, forms will be available from 5 p.m. on the day the agenda is published until 2 p.m. on the day of the meeting. You'll be able to access the forms and learn more about participating in public meetings, including decorum and language expectations, time limits, and allowable topics by visiting redmond.gov slash addressing council. Today we have no special orders of the day. And do we have a motion to rearrange the agenda? Council President. Thank you, madam chair. I move to elevate item three, the executive session, to evaluate the qualifications of an applicant for public employment to the top of our agenda today. Is there a second? It's been moved and seconded. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. I could I ask why or um yeah, I'm sorry. I thought the it was information was given. We have a candidate for a director position that is waiting in uh for executive session to be interviewed by council. And so we wanted to make sure that that was moved up to the beginning of the meeting. Okay, aye.

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