Good afternoon, everyone.

It's a call to order the City Council study session of February twenty fourth, twenty twenty-six.

Clerk, please call the roll.

Board Member Gallagher.

Board Member Hampton.

Vice Chair Klaus McGann.

Here.

Councilmember Diaz?

Here.

Councilmember Hines.

Councilmember Palmer?

Councilmember Rumba?

Here.

Councilmember Sidalgay?

Here.

Councilmember Scott.

Here.

Councilmember Walker?

Here.

Mayor Ibsen?

Here.

Well, welcome everyone.

I will start by entertaining a motion to convene to a joint city council and to come up with utility board executive session, pursuant to RCW forty-two.

Sections four, one, and B to discuss labor, not to exceed thirty-five minutes.

So moved second.

All right, we're reconvening study session today.

Our first agenda item is Sound Transit's Tacoma Link extension and project updates.

I'd like to call on planning and development services assistant director Brian Budet for introductions.

Also joining him will be Nyan Wyder, developmental manager for Sound Transit's T Dome Light Extension, Matt Mauer, Government Relations, and Lauren Douglas, Planning Director at Tome Link Extension, Sound Transit.

As you said, uh, just uh for anybody that doesn't know, I'm Brian Budet, Assistant Director in Planning and Development Services, and specifically regarding this topic, uh, also the city's primary liaison on the Tacoma Dome Link extension project, which is the uh the central link extension um from Federal Way down to Tacoma.

Um as I before I turn it over, just um a couple of quick notes.

One just to reassure everyone that there's no shortage of coordination between Sound Transit and the City of Tacoma, as Diane laughs and others laugh.

We meet on an uh exceptionally regular basis.

Um exceptionally regular.

Um sometimes I feel like I'm a Sound Transit employee.

Uh, sometimes they probably feel like they're City of Tacoma employees to some extent.

But um, this really is a a partnership between the city and Sound Transit as the regional transit provider, and lots of great work over many years now, and I think also a significant kudos to the council for your consistent support for these projects and these improvements and staff's um regular involvement in those with Sound Transit.

So lots of discussion that goes on constantly about many of the council's priorities that you've laid out previously on these projects, about uh economic development and supporting small businesses and lots of partnerships with the city and our community and economic development department, particularly focused on the in the dome area and freighthouse square, which we know is a is a really sensitive topic.

Um, lots of conversations ongoing about um how to streamline and speed up the delivery of these projects.

Um the council's recent actions as part of the Tide Flat subject plan, you know, made a big move in that way in uh in rezoning um the area around the Portland Avenue station to really support transit oriented development and make sure that the transit improvements, both in the dome area and in Portland Avenue, um, do not require extra uh special land use permitting, which sometimes can be a real struggle for Sound Transit on delivery of the projects.

And lots of discussion about access and integration and how to really make sure that the Tacoma stations and particularly the Tacoma Dome station is uh is an iconic and community benefit, you know, really reflecting the reality of uh Tacoma as the second largest city and a significant destination on the regional transit system.

So with that, and again, my appreciation to you all and certainly to the staff, um, particular partners in in like I said, community economic development and definitely public works has been a huge part of this ongoing conversation.

Um with that, we'll turn it over to to Sound Transit to introduce themselves and walk through their uh their information.

Thanks.

Awesome.

Thank you, Brian.

Hello, everybody.

Hi, Council, Mr.

Mayor.

Good to see you.

Uh, for the record, uh, my name is Matthew Maurer.

I'm Sound Transit's government affairs uh director for Pierce County.

Uh, wanted to reintroduce myself in the new role as the first time here at this table with you guys, so thank you very much.

Um I'm joined here today by two of my colleagues, and I'll let them introduce themselves real quick and then I'll go ahead and go uh through the agenda.

Go ahead, Diane.

Hi, everyone.

Really happy to be here.

Really happy to be here, Mayor, with you and all you council members at the table.

My name is Diane Wyder, and um I'm a development manager for Tacoma Dome Link Extension.

I've been in this position for about four years, and my job is really helping to facilitate the planning of our stations and our collaborations.