Feb. 10 Council Meeting
WHERE’S THE FUN?
Hawks pride.
CONSENT AGENDA
Passed unanimously. This includes the PROS Plan, Stormwater Capacity grant of $120k, council committee appointments and recent spending.
BUSINESS AGENDA
Three proposed resolutions from ARCH (A Regional Coalition for Housing) presented by Debbie Bent. Chris Keenan (sp?) from ARCH also attended virtually.
ARCH is made up of 15 cities in E. King County, and King Co itself. The creation of ARCH is through an interlocal agreement, and it provides cooperation and coordination through municipalities. ARCH’s goal is to create and preserve affordable housing.
Applicants requested over $710m of ARCH trust fund dollars for projects. The total was $4.6m available to award. The projects and Kenmore contributions were:
Bothell Urban (Bothell, city-donated land): Kenmore contributed $45,100.
Altaire E. Main (Bellevue PSH): $13,600 Kenmore contribution
Forest Edge (Bellevue, 60% AMI, faith-owned land): Kenmore contribution $13,600
Orchard Gardens (Bellevue, homeownership 80% AMI): $14,500
Kirkland House (Kirkland, PSH for men): $6,800
Family Village at Redmond (Redmond, rehab/preservation of units): $19,100
LEO Trailhead (Issaquah, condos for people with disabilities): Kenmore $4,400
Debbie also spoke about the downpayment assistance program, providing up to $30k for eligible homeowners. Kenmore’s contribution is $62,500.
CM Adman asked if there’s been any discussion about how to meet the increased demand for affordable housing. Debbie said that this is part of our budget process, which is due this year. ARCH’s budget is on a two-year cycle, so there is some alignment in terms of that discussion.
CM Marshall asked if there was more of a description of the Porchlight project. Debbie said that this was a single-family home that had been housing three formerly homeless individuals until 2020 when Porchlight acquired it. Funding is to rehab it, and add three additional bedrooms and one bathroom to serve six individuals. Funding was recommended because it preserves and expands an existing program, compliments a Porchlight shelter program and provides stability.
DM Sasson also expressed interest in the Porchlight model and can see it in Kenmore. She asked about the budget and Kenmore’s contributions. Kenmore budgets $180k for ARCH admin, $148,644 for housing trust fund. For this round, the request is $117,500.
Mayor Herbig ran the approvals of the proposed resolutions like an experienced auctioneer. Do I hear a motion? We have a motion and a second. Do I hear any discussion? They all passed unanimously.
STAFF UPDATES
City manager Kilgore spoke about her conversation with Lindsay Masters (ARCH) and the “capital stack” funding in affordable housing. These projects have complex funding stacks and are at over .5m per unit cost. The city hired a new Senior Budget and Fiscal Analyst, Shalaba Verite (sp?).
CM REPORTS
CM O’Cain went to the Seaside Prize in FL with CM Loutsis to research on high quality urban development. They met Casey Rolof (sp?) who was the initial developer for Seabrook. She is excited to look at what cities are going to need in the future, and planning for that. She will be bringing up AI at the retreat. GO HAWKS.
CM Marshall and Culver said GO HAWKS. CM Marshall added he appreciated the particularly American pre-game and halftime shows.
CM Loutsis reminded us that tomorrow is election day.
CM Adman said that he is very impressed with ARCH’s method of developing housing and he feels like we need to lean into this to develop more affordable housing in Kenmore.
DM Sasson said that she’s working with the KCSO and County Council to promote a sense of safety for our vulnerable residents.
