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Council directs staff to pursue 85th Avenue corridor concept, using remaining local funds while awaiting SS4A decision
Summary
After a Tool Design briefing, the council indicated consensus to pursue Option Two — a corridor concept for 85th Avenue (Longfellow to Westbrook) and related intersection concepts — using roughly $29,000 remaining in the project account and to revisit scope if the SS4A grant is awarded.
A Tool Design consultant told the City Council that the city had an estimated $26,000–$29,000 remaining from project funds and presented a menu of short-term street projects and design packages for fiscal 2027. Jim Lashley, the consultant, said corridor concept work for 85th Avenue with two intersection concepts could be developed within the available funds and that renderings (to visualize changes for the public) would add cost if chosen.
Councilmember Lincoln and others pressed for clarity on costs and scope. Lincoln noted Lashley’s clarification that five intersection or rendering concepts were typically $5,000 each, that a corridor concept for 85th and Longfellow/Westbrook was estimated near $15,000, and that a package of intersection concepts plus a rendering would be roughly $25,000. Councilmembers observed the original memo said $26,000 remained, but Lashley said the city actually had closer to $29,000 available.
The council expressed a consensus preference for Option Two — the full corridor concept on 85th between Longfellow and Westbrook plus targeted intersection concepts — and asked staff to proceed with design work now while holding the option to expand or change course pending a decision on the SS4A grant. Chair said the administration and the consultant should “check into whether a rendering could be finagled” if remaining funds permit; councilmembers asked that any rendering be prioritized for the most prominent locations to help public outreach.
Maisha, the city manager, confirmed she and staff had the direction and would coordinate next steps with the consultant. Councilmembers also noted that the SS4A grant award timetable was uncertain but that staff expected decisions before the November election cycle, and that the grant — if awarded — could pay for more extensive design work and construction costs beyond the city’s planning funds.
The council’s action was a direction to staff rather than a formal vote on an ordinance or appropriation. The next procedural step is for staff to refine a scope and cost estimate for the corridor concept and to report back to the council at a subsequent meeting or when the SS4A outcome is known.
