I think that was Alery.

We are

oh right.

Um I'm calling this meeting to order.

This is a Redmond City Council special meeting held on Tuesday, October 27th, 2026, commencing at 6 40 p.m.

And all of the council members are in our attendance, so we don't have to take room.

Um this special meeting is being held to interview candidates for the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Commission and the Planning Commission.

And we're going to, because we can, we're going to interview both of them at the same time.

So think of that when you're asking your questions, counsel to how to ask a planning commission

question and a parks, trails, and recreation commission uh question.

So

Lindsay Falkenberg, Parks Planning Manager, will introduce the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Commission candidate, and then she'll be followed by Becky Fry, principal planner, will introduce the planning commission candidate.

So, Lindsay, please go ahead.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh, good evening, council.

I am excited to introduce our newest commissioner candidate, Jenny Baldwin.

Uh,

when we read through applications and resumes and conducted interviews for PTRC candidates, we are considering a candidate connect uh a candidate's connection to Redmond Parks, Trails and Recreational Experiences, the relevant experience or skills they might have that they could lend to the commission to move the commission's work forward and gaps that they might fill in terms of community perspective.

And we are so excited to have Jenny apply because she checks all these boxes.

She's a longtime resident, Redmond resident whose personal connection pop up.

Um personal connection to the city's parks and trails has shaped her interest in serving on the on PTRC.

And this is an important perspective because many of our current commissioners are actually newer to the city.

She brings more than 15 years of experience as an educator along with her current work in strategy and program management at Nordstrom, where she leads cross-functional initiatives and strategic planning.

Helpful skills to have as we ask the commission to provide input on planning projects and build uh strategic recommendations.

And Jenny also serves on the Lake Washington School Schools Foundation board and founded the Baldwin Challenge, a fundraising initiative that has raised more than 200,000 for Northwest Harvest.

Um experience we would love to learn from as we continue to try and get creative around funding opportunities.

She has shared with us that she hopes to bring her experience in collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and consensus building to PTRC, helping the commission develop thoughtful, well-informed recommendations that support inclusive, healthy, and connected communities.

Thank you.

And Becky.

But we're also super excited because she followed Redmond 2050, and she's really excited about the what the outcomes of that.

And so we're really excited to present to her as a candidate for the planning commission

team.

Right.

Thank you both so much.

And thank you for being willing to uh volunteer with us in both of these roles.

So I will open up to council.

Council President Stewart, would you like to start?

Yeah, thank you so much.

We're really excited to have both of your applications.

Thank you so much for um sharing a bit in your application materials about your connections to Redmond and um why you want to be a part of helping us continue to deliver on the vision for our city.

Both of you actually, this question applies to both of your situations.

Um, but you are both uh set to join commissions that have really strong historical reputations.

In fact, many former commissioners from those two bodies are represented on this table here today.

Um and at the moment, they're also going through uh some rebuilding and new generation of leadership coming through.

So I'm just curious if you could tell us a little bit about the um how you've observed the commissions so far and um how you are thinking about joining those particular bodies.

Thank

you.

Sure.

Uh go start first.

So even my background is architect, I'm a license architect for quite a couple of years now, but my background is landscape architecture and also have some education background on um urban planning.

Those doesn't end up as part of my career, but I do have a lot of uh passion on that.

Um after traveling in many cities within US and living in Redmond for so many years, I found this places to develop in a very custodi and sustainable way, instead of that instead of okay, here's a go, let's rush to one goal and not balancing the other.

So when the Remen 2050 plant comes

up,

um, I wasn't sure at the beginning, but when I read through all those material strategy, what it means for the future and how to balance the housing, the job opportunity,

uh,

and a sustainable development, that along with my passions.

I think that's where I can finally um contribute what I can to the places I live and I love and for the many generations to come.

Yeah.

Thank you.