Some bits of business…
- July 9, 2026 — City Council Regular Meeting, 6:00–10:00 p.m.
- Park and Recreation Month Proclamation
- Update from South King Fire Chief Ryan Woodey
- 2027-2028 Budget Calendar Overview
- Citizens Advisory Board Appointment
- Speed Camera Ordinance – 2nd Reading
- 2026 Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Spending Recommendation
- NFC Northwest Telecommunications Franchise Agreement – 2nd Reading
- 24th Ave Suspension PSE Settlement Agreement
- Establishment of Ad Hoc City Council Budget Engagement Committee
- Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP) Update
- Executive Session: Property Acquisition RCW 42.30.110(1)(b) – 75 Minutes
- July 30, 2026 — City Council Workshop – Police Department Large Meeting Room, 6:00–10:00 p.m.
- City Council Leadership Workshop
- August 6, 2026 — Committee of the Whole, 5:00–5:50 p.m.
- Check in on Committee of the Whole
- Discussion of Legislative Priorities
- Capital Improvements Plan
- Discussion on After School Program
- August 6, 2026 — City Council Study Session, 6:00–10:00 p.m.
- 2027/2028 Budget Goals
- August 13, 2026 — City Council Regular Meeting, 6:00–10:00 p.m.
- King County Metro Presentation to Council
- 2026 2nd Quarter Financial Report
- 223rd Options
- Stormwater Management Action Plan - Phase 2 Task Assignment
- Interlocal Agreement with Highline WD
- Capital Improvements Plan - First Reading
- August 27, 2026 — City Council Regular Meeting, 6:00–10:00 p.m.
- Des Moines Historical Society – New Executive Director
- Capital Improvements Plan - Second Reading
Future Agendas is the closest thing the City currently has to a calendar of upcoming City Council topics. It’s not always accurate. But until we develop a genuine calendar, this can be useful if there is a particular issue you don’t want to miss.
About The Cover: Tidiness
Every year we show some sort of appreciation for Parks and Rec–like last week’s proclamation. The people honoured cover a lot of ground (literally)–everything from Camp Khaos to landscaping. I wanted to mention the latter this year. Landscaping and park maintenance is one of those ‘front of house’ things that often get taken for granted–especially in tough budgets. It’s not life or death like public safety. It’s not ‘finance’. Or ‘legal’. But if it’s not there, people notice. More than that, a notable difference between Des Moines and nearby cities is the amount of landscaping around our City Hall, Police Department and other public buildings. I really like that about Des Moines and they do a great job keeping it tidy. 🙂
City Manager Stuff
City Manager Reports! July, 10 2026
Highlights for moi include a list of summer events and a parking/road closure map for the Shark In The Park event
Farmers Market AI…
I really liked that Shark In The Park map. So, I made one for the Farmers Market. And because I Suck At Photoshop, it was accurate, but boring. So I gave that to ChatGPT and 30 seconds later this came out. Does it have a few ‘glitches’? It’s AI, so there’s yer answer. 😀 Hopefully it works well enough to remind people: It’s in the North Parking Lot this year and that you can park in the south lot and that there is a convenient shuttle to take you there!
This Week
Monday
4:00pm Joint Airport Committee. Once again, the Burien Airport Committee will be joining our comittee. The agenda seems to be a review of the ANES Conference attended by Community Development Director Rebecca Deming in March. ANES is the main gathering place for cities, airports, researchers concerned about airport impacts. This is the first year someone from Des Moines (well, other than moi–on behalf of STNI) has attended. So that’s progress. 🙂
Wednesday
3:00 Regional Transit Committee
Last Week
Tuesday
6:00 Planning Commission (Agenda)
Wednesday
Emergency Management Advisory Committee We got a preliminary update on FIFA. This really was the big stress test for the downtown. Since I attended the games, here are a couple of very quick notes. First, I dunno if it’s ‘Seattle’ or what, but considering how absolutely jammed the area was, things were remarkably chill. No post-apocalyptic chaos–or much chaos of any kind. In terms of transportation, Light Rail broke records–and worked a lot better than a lot of people thought.
Thursday
4:00pm Port of Seattle Special Meeting (SAMP Listening session) coverage from STNI.
6:00pm City Council Meeting. (Agenda). Recap below.
July 9, 2026 City Council Meeting Recap
Presentations
- Update from South King Fire Chief Ryan Woodey
- 2027/2028 Budget Calendar Overview – 15 Minutes
Consent
- 3+1 Speed Cameras. I support the concept. But I opposed convering the Woodmont school zone camera (good) into a 24/7 speed camera.
- 24th Ave Suspension PSE Settlement Agreements: this is actually a big deal that you probably would not hear about if it did not require a Council vote. The entire 24th Ave project was a mess. One problem was work stoppages caused by Puget Sound Energy. This cost us a ton of money (well over a million dollars) and time and I complained a lot. According to the packet, we will recover 89% of the estimated loss. Not perfect, but much appreciated. Will it improve future partnerships? Suuuuure it will. 😀
- Lodging Tax Advisory Committee for the expenditure of Lodging Tax funds.
New Business
- Establishment of Ad Hoc City Council Budget Engagement Committee – 20
Minutes. Passed 6-1. I voted ‘no’ for two reasons:- The first is structural. When you become Mayor in our system you already have an inordinate amount of power — eg. you set the agenda. For that reason, in the past, it was customary for the mayor to avoid putting forward legislation like this. But for the past 15 years or so, that custom has shifted. This one was modest. The habit isn’t. The Mayor is supposed to run the meeting and handle ribbon cuttings. The City Manager runs the show. Beyond that, it should just be seven people.
- As I just wrote, the City is making an effort to improve its budget book, which has been a challenging discussion for a loooong time. This committee sends three Council members into the community to ask people what they want in the budget. How can you have those conversations before it exists? We already have a Citizens Advisory Board (which has not filled the available seats.
And here’s the other awkward bit: Municipal accounting is really different from either personal or corporate accounting. There are training classes: half-day, full-day, two-day, whatever format you like. Nobody takes them. If you don’t, you are at the mercy of whatever information the city hands you. Electeds will tell you they’re data-driven–and then tell you they just have to trust the City Manager.
Every year we strive for an award from GFOA, which has several levels. The top level requires a budget presentation video. Absolutely. Our Finance Director already gives essentially the same same song and dance (and I say that as someone who used to do them for a living) half a dozen times a season. Unless one enjoys putting on a show, the better move is to record the best darned performance once. Put it on the website, Instagram, Facebook, stone tablets. Whatever. Promote it hard and encourage questions.
A private presentation to a small group is flattering. But that is not outreach in 2026. A thousand video views gets you a hundred questions–and some of them will be better than any we would have thought to ask.
- Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP) Update. The Des Moines Airport Committee put real work into our SAMP comments. I want to say that first.
But the documents they presented as their comments have major errors of fact. Not typos. Errors that any Port analyst will find in ten seconds.
When I raised it, the answer from the City seemed to be shrug–since the City has hired its own professionals to comment. My colleagues felt that everyone had put in good work and we should support that.
Frankly, this means a few things. Residents’ comments are not expected to carry weight. It means the volunteer work is a civic exercise and the ‘real’ submission happens somewhere else, on a consultant’s letterhead. That is unfair to residents. It also means that the Council doesn’t take this stuff seriously either. People are either so cynical or unengaged the only thing that matters is a participation prize.
Or maybe people feel the Port owes us something based on grievance alone. This is ridiculous. Think about the things you take seriously in your life. Say you’re applying for a bank loan or a job. It does not matter how much you think you deserve it. Either you walk in prepared or you don’t.
An item on the Consent Agenda gave the City almost $900,000 in a dispute with PSE over 24th Ave S. They caused us real problems and we deserved every penny of that settlement. But can you imagine them paying us even a dime if we handled our legal work that way?
This is why we never get anywhere with the Port. We don’t expect to win.
I went to the Port Commission listening session on July 9. Afterward I got some feedback from the Commissioners themselves. Without ratting anybody out: they were surprised at how inconsistent we were. They honestly weren’t sure what we want. Sit with that. They took the time to listen. That’s the opening. And we handed them a pile of different asks.
Now look at the other side. The airlines. Mayors from other cities. The union workers at the airport. Every one of them walked in with the same two words. Jobs and growth. Same as ever.
Get your message straight or you have nothing to demand. Grievance is not an ask.
The one thing nearly everyone agreed on was extending the comment period. I’ll confess: STNI was not jazzed about that, and I didn’t speak to it. I assumed everyone else in the room would beat that drum — more time, more time, more time. I wish they had. Not because more time is the point. Because what more time buys you is a chance to get the story straight.
Executive Session (75 minutes)
This is the absolutely ridiculous part of local government that every elected finds irresistible. We do years and years of public meetings on all kinds of performative stuff like ‘comp plans’. And then, every so often, you get into a room for 30 minutes and make snap decisions on all sorts of real estate, regardless of any ‘planning’–and not a shred of evidence leaves the room. Ironically, it’s far less transparent than corporate world. Do I know what to do about it? Nope. 🙂
