Redmond boards and commissions outline 2026 work plans; city seeks applicants for vacancies

Representatives from Redmond’s boards and commissions briefed the City Council on their top priorities for 2026 during a study session on Feb. 10.

Stuart Hargraves, a commissioner on the Parks, Trails and Recreation Commission, said the commission will hold a retreat Feb. 21 and “plan[s] to raise a motion to adopt it in March” for its 2026 work plan. Highlights include continued work on the East Redmond corridor — including a volunteer event to extend a soft-surface trail to the Conrad Olsen Farm — and feedback on wayfinding and signage work carried out with consultant Tool Design. The commission also expects to comment on the 60% design for Southeast Redmond Park in coming months.

Kathy O’Keefe, chair of the Arts and Cultural Commission, said the commission will carry forward the public arts master plan into 2026 and host a consultant deep dive with MIG on April 7. The commission has narrowed an asphalt crosswalk-art project to three finalists and will begin a public selection process; it will also continue recurring programs such as the Downtown Redmond Art Walk and the poet laureate program.

Micheline Fowler, chair of the Human Services Commission, described the commission’s role in the city’s biennial funding round. “The application process for the 27–28 funding opens March 2 and it runs...and it closes April 6,” Fowler said. She said the commission will conduct a half-day equity training with Communities RISE in March to prepare commissioners to review an expected volume of applications; the commission reviewed roughly 120 applications in the last cycle and plans twice-monthly meetings April–October to complete deliberations.

Mary Lee Leon of the Library Board of Trustees outlined early-stage proposals including a pilot community publishing imprint intended to use KCLS, foundation and grant support to publish locally rooted fiction, memoir, children’s works and other projects. Leon also described a youth contest called “Public Library 2025” to engage young people in envisioning the library’s future.

Susan Weston, chair of the Planning Commission, listed zoning-code work beginning the next evening, upcoming tree-code changes, sign regulations, and the city’s first stormwater/surface water functional plan and wastewater plan updates. She encouraged residents to offer feedback and sign up for commission surveys and emails.

Council members pressed commissioners on recruitment and diversity of representation. Council President Melissa Stewart and others noted vacancies across multiple commissions and urged members to forward openings to community contacts. Several council members suggested cross-commission collaboration on items such as public art, programming tied to parks, and library outreach.

The council took no formal action on the presentations. Staff and commissioners were directed to add requested clarifications and metrics to a council matrix and to continue outreach about vacancies and youth positions.

Next steps: several commissions expect near-term milestones — Parks anticipates a March vote to adopt its work plan; Arts will host the April consultant deep dive; Human Services will begin application review in April after the March 2 opening.