Sumner’s City Council on Jan. 5 confirmed Mayor Bowman’s December emergency proclamation after a detailed presentation on the city’s flood response.

City Administrator Jason Wilson told the council the December event "was unlike any flood that our city has experienced in the last 30 plus years," saying the Army Corps of Engineers warned of unprecedented releases from Mud Mountain Dam and the city had to operate its emergency operations center nearly 24 hours a day for almost two weeks. Wilson described tactical responses including installing roughly 1,500 feet of temporary Hesco flood protection, filling more than 2,000 sandbags and securing over 1,000 cubic yards of sand to build barriers protecting the manufacturing and industrial center south of 16th Street and residential neighborhoods near 29th Street.

The presentation outlined multiagency and community support: the city received Hesco units from the Army Corps, staffing help from Bonney Lake, a 12-inch pump from Puyallup to clear storm systems, drone footage and aid from Pacific and equipment and signage from Auburn. Wilson said recent investments in cameras and a drone program helped EOC situational awareness and that nearly 90 of the city’s roughly 140 staff were actively involved in response duties across departments.

Wilson highlighted communication metrics as evidence of community outreach: he reported approximately 4.1 million meta views across social channels over two days, about 917,000 unique viewers and 33,000 interactions, and praised the communications team for round-the-clock updates.

On costs and recovery, Wilson said the city is still documenting damage and that immediate response costs are "definitely north of $200,000." He advised residents to report storm damage to Pierce County so the county can aggregate information for state and federal disaster-determination thresholds; he cautioned that FEMA reimbursements, when applicable, can take years.

After the presentation and public comment thanking staff, the council voted on Resolution 17‑37 to confirm the mayor’s emergency proclamation and set a termination date; the roll-call vote passed (recorded as Passed 6‑0).

Next steps cited by staff included continued documentation of damage and expenses, lessons‑learned reporting, and possible pursuit of federal disaster recovery funds if aggregated damages meet thresholds.