Council holds first reading to formalize Mount Rainier Community Garden Committee

The mayor and city council held the first reading of Resolution R01-2025 on April 1, 2025, to establish the Mount Rainier Community Garden Committee as an official city committee.

Councilmember Valerie Woodall read the resolution, recounting that the community garden was informally established in 2013 on 31st Street between Windham Road and Rundle Road but was never formally codified. The proposed resolution would create a five-member committee appointed by the mayor and council to two-year terms, require the City Manager’s proposed budget to include funding for the committee each fiscal year, and direct the city manager to recruit applicants promptly if membership falls below full strength.

Mayor (speaker 1) asked one clarifying question about whether the resolution should allow for multiple gardens in the future, suggesting adding parenthetical pluralization. Woodall said the resolution names the specific garden and that any broader change should be considered in a future work session. Several councilmembers praised the effort to codify the committee and the mayor noted the reading was the first step; the council did not adopt the resolution at this meeting.

Next steps: the resolution will return for further consideration and a subsequent reading prior to adoption; staff will include any required funding in the FY2026 packet as directed in the resolution text.