Committee forwards Hailstone Trust riverfront parcel purchase to City Council; county grants to cover cost

The Community Development Committee reviewed Agenda Bill 25051 on April 7, a resolution that would authorize the mayor to send an offer letter and sign a purchase and sale agreement to acquire a riverfront parcel owned by Hailstone Revocable Trust at 7802 Railroad Avenue SE.

Interim Community Development Director Mona Davis told the committee the parcel had been appraised at $360,000 in fair market value. Davis said the city is assembling riverfront parcels to construct a formal nonmotorized trail that follows the edge of the Snoqualmie River through the historic downtown business district and that King County funding has been identified to cover acquisition costs.

Staff said the purchase would be funded through a combination of King County Conservation Futures tax funds and King County Flood Control District grant funding. Davis said county flood‑control staff had updated a riverfront acquisitions map to include parcels acquired since 2012 and to identify two parcels currently pending acquisition — including the parcel under consideration.

Committee members asked about timing and relocation. Staff said a prior riverfront purchase (the “Crab” property) is still in process because tenants on that property required a relocation process; staff said relocation and other costs tied to tenant moves are covered by the county grant funding. Staff also said an acquisition process takes several weeks after a purchase and sale agreement is signed; staff estimated the Crab purchase could close around mid‑May.

Council members and staff discussed whether the item should be placed on the Council consent calendar. Several members said the acquisition is long planned and routine; others said the $360,000 amount was large enough that it should appear on the full Council agenda for consideration rather than consent. The committee decided to forward the resolution to the City Council for the April 14 meeting rather than place it on consent.

Davis said the property owner had approached the city to see whether the city wanted to acquire the parcel. Committee members asked staff to return to Council with the standard purchase paperwork and to note that funding had been secured through county grant programs.

The committee’s action at the meeting was to send the resolution forward to the City Council for consideration at the posted Council meeting. Staff said that, if the owner counters the city’s proposed $360,000 offer, the matter would return to committee for reconsideration.