Shelton — The City of Shelton council voted to place three items on its Jan. 20, 2026, action agenda after brief presentations and limited discussion during its most recent meeting.

A staff member told the council the city is ready to solicit bids for a reservoir vent-hood replacement project and expects to complete vendor contact by Jan. 15. The speaker said four reservoirs serve the system, three will be retrofitted, and the high-school “boulder” tank has an estimated 2–5 years of remaining service. The staff member said the Washington State Department of Health has set a compliance deadline of Jan. 1 and that roughly $200,000 has been allocated for the project; the speaker gave a cost estimate of about $127,000 to replace all four vents and described planned special inspections for welding and coatings. When asked whether customers would see service impacts, staff said the work would be done as a live operation with measures to isolate the work from the water supply.

A council member moved to place the vent-hood replacement on the Jan. 20 action agenda; the motion carried. During the exchange a council member said, "Water's water's life," while another asked about potential service interruptions.

Parks and recreation supervisor Jordan Kumpels presented an updated lease with Macecom that would run through 2026, with an option for early termination. Kumpels said the monthly base rent will be $1,118.55 and that additional monthly charges — listed on the lease as covering utilities, maintenance, custodial services, supplies and communications — total $4,006.42. Staff said a move-out plan would be enacted if Macecom chooses to terminate early. The council voted to advance resolution no. 1416-1025 to the Jan. 20 agenda; one council member recused himself, saying he serves on the board referenced in the lease.

Public works director Brent Armstrong briefed the council on a proposed professional services agreement for SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) support and integration services. Armstrong said the city issued a request for qualifications and received a single response from a company identified in the transcript as "Perometrics," which Armstrong said has supported the system since the upgrade. He said $30,000 is budgeted across the water and sewer funds for on-call SCADA work and described the agreement as an on-call, as-needed contract without a stated minimum or maximum. The council advanced resolution no. 1425-1225, which would authorize the city manager to execute professional services agreement 25-019-PSA, to the Jan. 20 action agenda.

In administrative reports, City Manager Mark (name used in the meeting) said staff are restarting operations after the holidays, previewed study sessions and department updates, and said he is working on a contract and scheduling for a strategic-plan retreat.

On Highway 3, council members asked for updates on encampment cleanup. Mark said notices of violation have been issued to private property owners, the city will meet with U.S. Navy representatives, additional no-camping signs have been placed on public property, and the Shelton Police Department is coordinating enforcement with the county sheriff; he said a holistic approach involving property owners and the Navy could reduce cleanup costs and that staff expect to provide an update the following week.

Staff also reported a water lateral break on 1st Street near Dairy Queen requiring cutting into a 14-inch concrete roadway; staff said work will begin the next day, traffic will be reduced to alternating flow where crews are working, and one service will be out during the repair.

All three agenda items were advanced for formal consideration at the council's Jan. 20, 2026 meeting. The council set its next study session for Jan. 13 at 6 p.m., and adjourned at 6:31 p.m.