Leavenworth council approves resolutions, ordinance updates and interlocal agreements at Sept. 23 meeting

The Leavenworth City Council approved a slate of ordinances, interlocal agreements and funding actions on Sept. 23. Key outcomes from the evening's action items are listed below.

Votes at a glance - Resolution 24-2025 ("No selling of public lands by the federal government"): Council moved to adopt the resolution; motion passed unanimously. (motion recorded on the agenda; discussion began at the resolution presentation). - Ordinance 17-15 (business license code updates): Council moved to adopt amendments to Leavenworth Municipal Code chapter 5 to comply with state law changes; motion passed unanimously. - Interlocal agreement with Link Transit (Glacier Parking Lot restroom/janitorial and maintenance): Council approved an interlocal agreement under which Link Transit will reimburse the city $9,645 annually (with CPI adjustments) for janitorial services and maintenance of the shared restroom facility; motion passed unanimously. - Amendment No. 7 with Virella Engineering (wastewater collection and treatment facilities improvement projects): Council authorized Mayor to execute Amendment No. 7 in the amount of $71,920, increasing the total contract not‑to‑exceed to $3,578,341; motion passed unanimously. Funding sources discussed included USDA Rural Development loan for construction with possible local fund balancing to avoid certain Buy America/Build America cost increases. - Annexation (parcel numbers 241711420050 and 241711130320): Council voted to accept processing and set a public hearing for Nov. 12, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.; motion carried with one abstention. The applicants had previously engaged boundary review processes and the parcels are now proposed as a joint annexation application. - Affordable housing funds: Council approved use of $558,869 from the affordable housing fund to assist Upper Valley Mend’s duplex workforce housing project at 241 West Commercial Street; motion passed unanimously (staff note: project had a billing permit in process and staff said the work is ready to proceed).

What this means - Routine code and interlocal updates: The business license code changes implement recent state law updates; the Link Transit agreement clarifies cost-sharing for a public restroom included in a shared facility at the Glacier Parking Lot. - Capital and project funding: The Virella amendment keeps an existing USDA-funded sewer/wastewater project moving forward; council discussed funding options (USDA loan and potential use of real estate excise tax to limit higher construction premiums tied to federal Buy America/Build America requirements).

Provenance (transcript sections) - Resolution 24-2025: discussion and motion recorded starting at transcript timestamp ~5369.6–5427.2. - Ordinance 17-15: discussion and motion recorded ~5427.3–5494.4. - Link Transit interlocal: discussion and motion recorded ~5890.4–5993.9. - Virella amendment No.7: discussion and motion recorded ~5994.0–6092.8. - Annexation hearing set: discussion and motion recorded ~6190.1–6316.0 (one abstention recorded on the motion). - Affordable housing funds for Upper Valley Mend: discussion and motion recorded ~6367.6–6492.7.

Attributions and movers (as recorded in the public minutes) - Motions and seconders were taken from the public transcript; several items passed by unanimous voice vote where recorded. Where an abstention was recorded, the transcript notes the abstention but not the abstaining member’s reason.

No litigation or contested zoning decisions were finalized in these motions; the annexation was set for a public hearing.