Tumwater City Council Work Session, Oct. 27, 2026

At the Tumwater City Council work session identified as Oct. 27, 2026 (meeting metadata is dated Oct. 28), staff reviewed plans to preserve the approximately 400-year-old Davis-Meeker Garry oak after a windstorm caused limb failure. The Historic Preservation Commission selected the tree-retention option, and the Council discussed risk, costs, and funding but took no procurement or budget vote. Staff is pursuing a permit and an amendment/change order with the tree-service contractor for revised pruning; root-zone work is already funded and scheduled for early November. Retention work was discussed at roughly $100,000, while the cost of designing supplemental cabling remains unknown. Staff noted that a prior budget amendment provided $50,000, although the related resolution allocated $55,000, and said a future budget request will address funding needs. The mayor issued an emergency declaration to expedite the work, and staff is also exploring possible funding sources.

In the final budget workshop, staff presented proposed abatement and habitat conservation plan funds, reviewed existing restricted and reserve funds, and reported that the City expects to sell bonds the following week after receiving an AA credit rating; no bond amount or procurement award was stated. The Council was asked to confirm attendance for upcoming budget hearings and votes. No vendor selection or contract award was made during the work session.