City Council Meeting 8-27-2026

Wenatchee City Council regular meeting, August 27, 2026. Council approved several infrastructure-related actions: a license agreement with Localtel (rendered “Locale” in the transcript) for a trail connection near the Lookout Natural Area; change order No. 4 for the Confluence Parkway Phase 1 project with the Kramer-Scarcella joint venture, pending WSDOT concurrence; and an agreement for privately funded construction and charitable donation of South Wenatchee Avenue streetscape improvements, subject to staff review of final plans. Speakers described a potential city contribution of about $500,000 and a contribution of up to $15 million from the charitable organization. Council also approved an amendment to the professional services agreement with Control Systems Northwest for additional time and budget for on-call wastewater-plant SCADA design and programming; no amount was stated. The council accepted final improvements for wastewater treatment plant digester project No. 1810. A proposed Coast Wenatchee management-agreement amendment was discussed, linking extensions to hotel capital spending: $3 million would support an extension through 2033, while $5 million or more could extend the agreement through 2037; the transcript does not capture a vote on that item.

Council adopted ordinance 2026-15 updating Community Development and Public Works fees, with staff saying the last comprehensive updates were in 2014 and 2009, respectively. The changes aim to better reflect review and inspection costs while remaining competitive for development. Parks staff also described a grant-dependent schedule for the Lookout Natural Area project, including future grant applications, engineering and permitting, and construction bidding; the Land Trust was reported to be roughly 90–94% toward its capital-campaign goal. During public comment, a speaker claimed the previously awarded Pibus South lot contract could be redesigned to save about $200,000; no council action on that suggestion was recorded.