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At a glance: Ellensburg council approves arts appointments, CIP corrections, a budget amendment and legislative priorities
Summary
Council approved two Arts Commission appointments, accepted corrections to the capital improvement plan, adopted a supplemental budget ordinance and approved 2026 legislative priorities in the Dec. 1 meeting; first reading of the comprehensive plan ordinance (4977) advanced.
ELLENSBURG, Wash. — In addition to the debate over Chapter 9, the City Council on Dec. 1 approved several discrete items by motion or ordinance:
- Arts Commission appointments: Jensen Lopez and Teresa Young were appointed to the Arts Commission after a staff recommendation from Kelly Vandenberg, arts and economic development manager. The motion to appoint was moved and passed by voice vote.
- Capital Improvement Plan corrections (Docket 25-01): Staff provided corrected charts for sewer and electric CIP tables. Council approved Amendment 25-01 with the corrections supplied at the dais and directed staff to incorporate those changes into the amendment for second reading.
- Comprehensive plan ordinance first reading (Ordinance 4977): Council conducted first reading of Ordinance 4977, which packages the year's comp plan amendments (including the CIP corrections and the substituted Chapter 9 text). The ordinance was advanced with the amendments made in the meeting.
- Supplemental budget adoption (Ordinance 4976): Finance staff presented the supplemental budget, highlighting investments in parks and recreation, police training and IT systems. Council conducted second reading and adopted Ordinance 4976 to authorize the supplemental appropriations.
- 2026 legislative priorities: Staff presented a set of proposed state legislative priorities, including a $1,000,000 capital ask for wastewater aeration infrastructure, $150,000 for recreational planning matching funds, concerns about the Climate Commitment Act's impact on small municipal utilities, and the challenge of rising public defense costs for cities. Council approved the priorities in substantially the form presented and directed staff to prepare a one-page priorities summary for legislators.
What to expect next: Staff will prepare ordinance 4977 for second reading; the supplemental budget takes immediate effect as adopted; and staff will use the approved legislative priorities for state-level advocacy in the 2026 session.
Vote and action provenance: Each item above was presented in staff reports and advanced by council motion during the meeting. Staff noted SEPA/Commerce review steps remain for comp plan amendments.
