Leavenworth City Council discusses downtown housing plans, improvements to snow removal services

LEAVENWORTH – City Council closed out the year with a busy meeting last week, discussing snow removal operations, affordable housing, and saying a few goodbyes.

The meeting was the last City Council meeting on the books until the new year, and the last for the terms of City Council members Jason Lundgren, Marco Aurilio, and Tibor Lak.

Most notable at the meeting was the proposed lease agreement for an affordable housing development and parking structure on the P2 (“Blewett”) and P1 parkings lots downtown. The parking lots in question sit next to Starbucks, between the Festhalle and Highway 2. At the meeting on Nov. 14, Kevin King of Chelan County Housing Authority presented a design that included commercial retail spaces, housing units, and parking. However, commercial space was removed from the most recent plans, due to complications with existing debt on the property.

The council was overwhelmingly supportive of the project, but showed a collective hesitation towards the latest development in the plan.

“I am hesitant to be excited moving forward on this lease knowing the commercial portion of this is being eliminated and not being considered. It’s right on the highway. It's where commercial development should be,” said Council Member Anne Hessburg.

Council members expressed concern over the loss of possible revenue and valuable downtown retail space, and requested extra time to examine the paperwork.

“I think that the excitement around it, or the excitement I felt around it, revolved around the fact that it just hit all the bases. It was mixed-use, there's a retail component where we are in a retail area right down there, you hit workforce housing needs, there's parking involved, it looks beautiful…But I think that I think it's worth an extended thoughtful conversation on how we can move forward in a way that still retains that same sense of real universal excitement about this,” said Council Member Clint Strand.

City Council decided to table the matter and devote a study session to the project’s details and possible alternatives.

In the world of snow removal, the council moved to change the winter parking regulations from 3  a.m. to 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. to 7 a.m. in residential areas. The extended hours would allow the roads to be clear at midnight when Public Works typically begins snow removal, increasing efficiency. City Council also approved a public works contract between the City and KCRI, LLC in the amount of $88,966.95, for on-call snow removal.

In April of 2023, The City contributed $600,000 to Upper Valley MEND for the acquisition of affordable housing units. At Tuesday night’s meeting, the City Council approved the money to be used for the acquisition of four units in two duplexes at 218 West Whitman St. and 106 Joseph St.. MEND plans to close on the two properties by the end of the year.

The council also moved to allow the City Parking Manager Shannon Lemons to hire another Parking Enforcement Officer. 

“By adding another person, my time would be better spent administratively which is what we need…The city's parking program has had great success, and I see us continuing that with the staff that we have and this new position would be funded,” said Lemons.

Lemons’ team currently only has two full-time employees and has to contract work out to Pacific Security.

City Council closed its meeting with a few gracious thank yous and goodbyes to Lundgren, Aurilio and Lak. The members will be replaced by Travis McMaster, Shane Thayer, and Rhona Baron come January.

“I felt an added energy with you guys. It just was a great cross section of opinion and background, especially you, Tibor, coming back. I thought that was just a great addition. So thanks to each and every one of you guys for your time and some lost sleep at night,” Council Member Zeke Reister. 

Reister finished his closing comment with a fitting quote for the night: “serving on a local government board is like being in a marriage arranged by the citizens.”

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media