The Yakima City Council held a study session on October 29, 2024, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:24 p.m. to review the proposed 2025-2026 biennial priority-based budget. Presentations covered Public Works Administration, REET 1 & 2, Streets and Traffic, and Parks and Recreation. The session concluded with a budget wrap-up discussion on revenue options and next steps.
Good evening and welcome. I call the Aqua City Council study session October twenty nine, twenty twenty-four to order. Roll call, please. Here. Brown. Here. Fire present. Here. Here. Here. Roy. Council Member Roy. Thank you. Okay, good. Okay, thank you. Next on the agenda is public comment. We will have fifteen minutes for public comment this evening. If you wish to make public comment, please make sure you fill out a slip in the lobby and deliver it to the city clerk. When you come to the microphone, please give us your name and the study in which you live. And I am a Yakima resident. So I am currently currently learning about public health and policy and how it affects everyone on a day-to-day basis. Today I would like to speak about the importance of not cutting budgets for parks and recreation. This is an important public health matter because it affects the community's mental and physical well-being. According to the CDC, parks provide a safe space to play and exercise away from busy streets and commercial zones. I'm sure we can all think about busy streets like Knob Hill, 16th Avenue, First Avenue. Having a proper budget to have these parks on and around safe areas are very important safety concerns. Knowing this, it also serves as a preventative practice by decreasing the number of accidental injuries on busy streets and provide a healthier lifestyle. One article from the National Recreation and Park Association states that spending time in nature lowers cortisol levels and blood pressure while also improving sleep. As a Yacoma resident, I have noticed that parks play an important role in my own lifestyle as well as my family's. This has allowed my family, friends, and myself to stay active, de stressed after a long day of work, or just going on a nice walk at a cost-free price. For these reasons listed, I would like for you to take what I spoke about today into consideration when discussing the next budget for parks and recreation. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Beeler, do we have anyone on Zoom who would like to make public comment this evening? No, Mayor Myers, we do not. Thank you. So we will close public comment for tonight. And we are going to um move in to our agenda, which is a review of the proposed 2526 biomarking based budget session. And Vicky Baker, do you have anything you'd like to say at this point? I am going to actually introduce the last portion of this with the wrap-up. Okay. So I think we'll just kick off with Scott. Right. Thank you. Thank you. So first is Public Works Administration budget presentation. Mr. Scott Schaefer, our director of public works.