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Bonney Lake council to try three‑meetings‑per‑month schedule; committee start times adjusted
Summary
Council members agreed at a Jan. 6 workshop to trial a three‑meetings‑per‑month schedule with standing committees meeting earlier (CDC proposed to start at 4:30 p.m.) to reduce staff time and consolidate agenda work; the change will go to consent next week.
The Bonney Lake City Council on Jan. 6 agreed to try a new meeting cadence that would reduce the number of regular council meetings and consolidate committee work into earlier evening slots.
Staff presented three options for regular meeting frequency under RCW 35A.12.110 and recommended a cadence that preserves public comment opportunities while reducing staff late‑night hours. Councilmembers debated tradeoffs between staff workload, public access to comment and the timing of committee and council work.
"If we cut down on the number of assigned meetings, the council could always have a special meeting when needed," one councilmember said, urging flexibility; another councilmember warned that the public needs a clear cadence to know when to attend and comment.
The council settled on a trial of three meetings per month — first, second and third Tuesdays — with standing committees shifted earlier so their work can feed the council meeting that same month (the Community Development Committee start time was proposed to move from 5:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.). The clerk indicated the proposal will be placed on the consent agenda next week for formal adoption and the council can revert the schedule if operational problems arise.
Councilmembers discussed operational details, including aligning CDC, finance and public safety committee nights and how to handle occasional conflicts with joint agency committees (JACC). Members asked staff to provide clear, plain‑language notices to the public explaining when items will be discussed and when public comment is appropriate.
What happens next: The trial schedule and the CDC start time change will be placed on the next consent agenda. Staff will prepare a scheduling matrix and public information to explain the new cadence and to identify how special meetings would be called if needed.
