Ellensburg City Council August 17, 2026

The Ellensburg City Council’s regular meeting on August 17, 2026, included several spending and procurement-related decisions. Council approved a Lodging Tax Advisory Committee recommendation to allocate $1 million in lodging tax funds for Ellensburg Recreation Center capital costs in 2028 and $100,000 annually for operating costs from 2029 through 2031. It also accepted a $2,000 Queen of Spades Garden Club donation for Rotary Park entrance landscaping and approved the associated budget adjustments. Council approved amendment A2758-01 to the city’s professional services agreement with the Ellensburg Downtown Association for historic-photo wraps on downtown cans; Fastlane Signs will produce the wraps, and no contract amount was stated.

Other items included updates on the Ellensburg Humane Society’s rebranding and services, a completed historic-resource mapping project supported by a 2024 Certified Local Government grant, and the second-quarter financial report. Council also passed first readings of ordinances revising change-fund and traffic-code provisions and adopted an ordinance vacating a city easement. Staff presented preliminary proposed land-development-code revisions related to housing and zoning for further review; no final policy action was taken on those proposals. The city manager noted that community grant applications were open, with deadlines at the end of August.