Published September 15 2023
Plus, updates on the Environmental Stewardship, Keep Bellevue Beautiful and Downtown Mobility Study
At Monday’s City Council meeting, a public hearing was held on the city’s intended assumption of the existing Bellevue Transportation Benefit District. The council formed the district in July.
Assumption of the benefit district is an administrative step that allows the council to make decisions related to the district as part of their regular meetings. If the council decides to fund the district, it can be used to fund maintenance of transportation infrastructure and ongoing transportation capital programs.
Discussions on funding would take place later. Further public outreach and education would occur before any decisions are made whether to fund the district.
Following the hearing, the council voted 4-3 for staff to finalize the assumption ordinance for adoption at a future meeting. Deputy Mayor Jared Nieuwenhuis and Councilmembers Conrad Lee and Janice Zahn voted no on the motion.
Environmental Stewardship program welcomes new staff
The latest quarterly update from the Environmental Stewardship Initiative included an introduction to new staff members whose positions were created through additional funding in the 2023-2024 Budget.
Of the 78 actions in the Environmental Stewardship Plan, staff have initiated 25 actions, incorporated 36 into ongoing operations, and fully completed six to date. Work over the past quarter has been primarily focused on advancing efforts in the plan already underway, including:
- Clean Buildings Act technical support and home energy retrofits
- a climate vulnerability assessment
- the Community Climate Challenge
- tree preservation and planting
- pursuing grants
Six new people have joined the ESI team. The additional staff will accelerate existing projects and programs and launch new ones. Details about the ESI update can be found in the meeting materials.
Keep Bellevue Beautiful update
In other business, the council received an update on the new Keep Bellevue Beautiful program, managed by the Neighborhood Services division in the city’s Community Development Department. Keep Bellevue Beautiful was created as part of the Safe, Clean and Vibrant City initiative in the 2023-24 budget. As of Monday, two neighborhood cleanups had taken place in the downtown and Factoria areas. More than 135 people volunteered at the two events, collecting more than 95 bags of trash.
Keep Bellevue Beautiful will have monthly cleanups on “signature streets” around the city in the fall, starting with one along 148th Avenue Northeast in Bridle Trails on Saturday, Sept. 30. Details and online registration are at Keep Bellevue Beautiful.
Study on improved mobility downtown
Staff also provided council an update on the Downtown Mobility Study. This study aimed to identify opportunities to help make it easier, safer and more comfortable for people to get around downtown.
The study identified project concepts to work toward this goal, and staff is already working to implement some of these projects. The city will look for potential partnerships and allocation of city resources to continue to improve mobility downtown.
Body camera funding approved
As part of the consent calendar, the council approved the execution of an approximately $4.6 million, five-year agreement with Axon to purchase and maintain body cameras as well as other equipment and resources for the Police Department. In January 2022, the council authorized the department to use body cameras through Resolution 10057. This expenditure was included in the 2023-2024 budget.
Environmental services commission appointment
The council approved the appointment of Ann Miyahira Hajnosz to the Environmental Services Commission for a full term expiring in 2027.