City Council Regular Meeting — Yakima, WA
Date: 2025-10-07

YAKIMA CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
 October 7, 2025
 City Hall – Council Chambers – 129 N 2nd Street, Yakima, WA
 5:30 PM City Council Regular Meeting – Conducted in person and virtually via Zoom.

1) Roll Call
 The meeting was called to order at 5:31 p.m.

 Present: Mayor Patricia Byers, presiding; Assistant Mayor Matt Brown and
 Councilmembers Reedy Berg, Janice Deccio, Rick Glenn, Danny Herrera and Leo Roy
 Staff: City Manager Vicki Baker, City Attorney Sara Watkins and City Clerk Rosalinda
 Ibarra

2) Pledge of Allegiance
 Mayor Byers introduced Girls Scouts Troop 1904 who led the Pledge of Allegiance.
 Mayor Beyers mentioned that the regional Girl Scouts organization is looking for women
 leaders. Anyone interested is encouraged to contact the Girl Scouts organization.

3) Interpreter Services
 Mayor Byers introduced Jorge Villaseñor who announced interpreter services are
 available in Spanish.

4) Public Comment
 Tony Sandoval, City resident, spoke regarding recent actions by the Yakima County
 Board of Health regarding local taco vendors.
 Ken Johnsen, President of the Yakima Valley Trolleys, provided information about the
 report results relating to the inspection of the trolley Selah line.
 Crystal Knoblaugh, City resident; Lois Menard, City resident; Paul Edmondson, Vice
 President of Yakima Valley Trolleys; Aileen Kane, City resident; Greg Johnsen, New York
 resident; spoke in favor of the trolley organization.
 Marty Miller, City resident, spoke in favor of expanding the potential uses of affordable
 housing funds.
 Tony Courcy, City resident, mentioned a letter he received from City Council and
 continuing concerns with water rights issue.



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5) Open Discussion for the Good of the Order
 5.A Harvest Marching Band Festival proclamation
 MOTION: Brown moved and Deccio seconded to approve the Harvest
 Marching Band Festival proclamation and request that it be read and
 presented. The motion carried by unanimous vote.
 Mayor Byers proclaimed October 18, 2025, as "Harvest Marching Band Festival
 Day" and Steven Kessler accepted the proclamation.

6) Council Reports
 6.A Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) Report
 Mayor Patricia Byers, Chair of the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, briefed
 Council on the LTAC meeting of September 9, 2025. Assistant City Manager Gary
 Ballew reported on the Committee's recommendation to approve the request for a
 one-time award of $50,000 to fund the City's portion of the Washington State Main
 Street Tax Credit Incentive Program (MSTCIP).

7) Consent Agenda
 Mayor Byers referred to the items placed on the Consent Agenda, questioning whether
 there were any additions or deletions from Council members present. Items I and J were
 removed from the consent agenda. The City Clerk read the Consent Agenda items,
 including resolutions and ordinances, by title. (Items on the Consent Agenda are handled
 under one motion without further discussion-see motion directly below.)
 MOTION: Brown moved and Deccio seconded to approve the consent agenda as
 read. The motion carried by a 7-0 roll call vote.
 7.A Approval of minutes from the September 16, 2025 City Council regular meeting
 7.B Set date of November 12, 2025 for a public hearing regarding the Ad Valorem Tax
 (property tax) for collection in 2026
 7.C Set dates of November 12 and 18, 2025, for public hearings on the 2025-2026
 Mid Biennial Budget for the City of Yakima
 7.D Resolution granting an easement to Yakima County for the construction and
 maintenance of the Gap to Gap Ecosystem Restoration project
 RESOLUTION NO. R-2025-144, A RESOLUTION granting an easement to
 Yakima County for the construction and maintenance of the Gap to Gap
 Ecosystem Restoration project.
 7.E Resolution authorizing the purchase of a Temporary Construction Easement and
 a Permanent Easement from LF Holdings, LLC for the Nelson Dam Removal:
 Water Supply, Fish Passage, and Riverine Process Phase 2 Conveyance
 Improvements Project IC2010
 RESOLUTION NO. R-2025-145, A RESOLUTION authorizing the purchase of a
 Temporary Construction Easement and a Permanent Easement from LF Holdings,
 LLC for the Nelson Dam Removal: Water Supply, Fish Passage, and Riverine
 Process Phase 2 Conveyance Improvements Project IC2010.


October 7, 2025 – Yakima City Council Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 5
 7.F Resolution authorizing a contract with Ascent Foundation and More, LLC for
 Project SW2832 Stormwater System Spot Improvements
 RESOLUTION NO. R-2025-146, A RESOLUTION authorizing a contract with
 Ascent Foundation and More, LLC for Project SW2832 Stormwater System Spot
 Improvements.
 7.G Resolution adopting the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) recommendation
 allocating $50,000.00 from Lodging Tax Fund Reserves for the Washington State
 Main Street Tax Credit Incentive Program (MSTCIP)
 RESOLUTION NO. R-2025-147, A RESOLUTION authorizing the allocation of
 $50,000.00 from the Lodging Tax Fund reserves to fund the City of Yakima's
 participation in the Washington State Main Street Tax Credit Incentive Program.
 7.H Resolution authorizing the execution of all documents to market and sell real
 property forfeited pursuant to the Revised Code of Washington Title 69.50
 RESOLUTION NO. R-2025-148, A RESOLUTION authorizing the execution of all
 documents to market and sell real property forfeited pursuant to the Revised Code
 of Washington (RCW) Title 69.50.
 7.I This item was removed from the Consent Agenda.
 7.J This item was removed from the Consent Agenda.

Items Removed from the Consent Agenda
 7.I. Resolution ratifying and confirming the City Manager's execution of the Trolley
 Supplemental Agreement Number 6
 Community Development Director Bill Preston briefed Council on the status of the
 agreement.
 The City Clerk read the resolution by title.
 MOTION: Glenn moved and Brown seconded to approve the resolution. The
 motion carried by a 6-1 roll call vote; with Berg voting no.
 RESOLUTION NO. R-2025-149, A RESOLUTION ratifying and confirming the
 City Manager's execution of Yakima Valley Trolleys Supplemental Agreement
 Number 6.

 7.J Resolution authorizing agreement with HLA for Naches River Bridge Repair
 Project 2801
 Community Development Director Bill Preston briefed Council on the resolution
 noting the use of state and federal funds for the design portion of this project.
 The City Clerk read the resolution by title.
 After Council discussion,
 MOTION: Brown moved and Deccio seconded to adopt Item J resolution.
 The motion carried by a 5-2 roll call vote; with Glenn and Berg voting no.
 RESOLUTION NO. R-2025-150, A RESOLUTION authorizing an agreement with
 HLA Engineering & Land Surveying Inc to provide engineering services for the
 Naches River Bridge Repair Project 2801.


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8) Public Hearings
 None.

9) Department Items
 9.A Ordinance amending the City of Yakima Municipal Code, Chapter YMC 9.47,
 Subsection 9.47.040(B), relating to notice of a public impound after forty-eight
 hours
 Yakima Police Chief Shawn Boyle briefed the Council on the proposed ordinance
 relating to notice requirements for public impounds of vehicles.
 The City Clerk read the ordinance by title only.
 After Council discussion,
 MOTION: Deccio moved and Brown seconded to pass the ordinance. The
 motion carried by a 7-0 roll call vote.
 ORDINANCE NO. 2025-030, AN ORDINANCE amending City of Yakima
 Municipal Code Chapter 9.47, subsection 9.47.040(B), relating to notice of a
 public impound after forty-eight hours.
 9.B Fire Prevention and Community Risk Reduction Presentation
 Yakima Fire Shift Commander Mike Trujillo and Yakima Fire Captain Jeremiah
 Stilley presented information on fire prevention and community risk reduction
 efforts. Community risk reduction involves identifying, mitigating, and recovering
 from local risks and hazards. The Yakima Fire Department utilizes various
 sources available through state, county, and local agencies and organizations to
 provide information and resources to different population groups including school
 age kids, high risk youth, caretakers, seniors, and general population.

 9.C Discuss Affordable Housing Fund (HB 1406) and YMC 7.92 Affordable Housing
 Incentive Program
 City Attorney Sara Watkins presented information about the Affordable Housing
 Fund (HB 1406) and Yakima Municipal Code 7.92 Affordable Housing Incentive
 Program. She also reported that other participating jurisdictions are spending their
 affordable housing tax credit funds on rent assistance programs, capital projects,
 support operations and maintenance costs of new affordable housing units, and
 other related expenses.
 HB 1406 allows municipalities to retain a portion of the State sales tax to support
 affordable housing solutions. State statute allows funds to be used to acquire,
 rehab, or construct affordable housing; to fund the operations and maintenance of
 affordable or supportive housing; and to provide rental assistance to tenants.
 Pursuant to RCW 82.14.540, in determining the use of funds, the city must
 consider the income of the individuals and families to be served, the leveraging of
 the resources made available, and the housing needs within the jurisdiction.
 Yakima Municipal Code Chapter 7.92 Affordable Housing Incentive Program sets
 guidelines for the use of the funds. Under the current ordinance, applicants can
 use funds to pay for some or all of the connection fees for water and/or sewer


October 7, 2025 – Yakima City Council Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 5
 utilities if the applicant is creating ten or more new dwelling units and 50% of
 those units are affordable. It also provides the option for the city to use the funds
 on other statutorily allowed uses.
 Future code amendments to the incentive program may include changing the
 affordability period to 25 years and/or increasing the area median income (AMI) to
 60% or less than the Yakima County median household income. Since 2020, the
 total revenue collected is approximately $887,219.93 and none has been spent to
 date.
 Council mentioned some ideas; however, they did not take any action at this time.

10) City Manager Update
 None.

11) Other Business
 Assistant Mayor Brown provided a brief update from the recent Homeless Coalition
 Executive Board meeting.

12) Adjournment
 MOTION: Brown moved and Deccio seconded to adjourn to the next City Council
 study session on October 14, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.
 The motion carried by unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at 7:08 p.m.

CERTIFICATION
READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY
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 COUNCIL MEMBER DATE

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ATTEST:

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 CITY CLERK MAYOR




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