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Residents Advocate for Museum Preservation, Citing Community Value and Historical Significance
During the public comment period, several residents shared their views on preserving the museum at Kewaiden and its role in the community. Misty Ayers noted that AI-based visitor tracking may underreport attendance and provided internal records showing higher visitor numbers than cited by Councilman Anderson. She expressed significant community concern over the museum's demolition, highlighting its role as a community resource and the negative impact of reducing its space. Michael Uzo supported preserving the museum, noting its historical significance. Courtney Ayr likened the museum's preservation to preserving memories and connections across generations. Cindy Salise emphasized the museum's role in fostering community and its vital archive accessibility, urging the council to retain its square footage. Kyle Ryan stressed that the museum's value isn't solely in numbers but in tangible historical artifacts and their preservation. Ryan Bennett questioned the unique visitor statistics for City Hall and raised concerns about accommodating the museum's key exhibits, including the 'Maxie's floor,' during any demolition, questioning the feasibility of digitizing historical documents and warning against destroying irreplaceable history. Councilmember Trumbo later provided his own observations from a museum tour, stating the basement storage is adequate but the museum needs more display space and better highlighting of its valuable exhibits, such as the million-dollar floor.
Council Members Share Updates on Community Initiatives, Downtown Development, and Civic Engagements
During the council comments section, Councilmember Milbauer reported on several activities, including attending the KPD swearing-in, a ribbon-cutting for Kuki Japanese restaurant, and graduations from the therapeutic veterans court. He also detailed his attendance at the 2026 AWC Annual Conference in Spokane, highlighting sessions on local planning, city debt, budget, revenue systems, local tax structures, economic development, communicating in the age of misinformation (citing the Kent Valley flooding as an example), and automated license plate readers. He also congratulated AWC leadership changes. Councilmember Trumbo provided extensive feedback after touring the city museum, noting the basement storage is adequate but the museum space is limited and needs better display capabilities. He emphasized the value of a million-dollar floor exhibit. Trumbo also discussed the Benton County Mosquito Control Board's drone surveying plans, the Community Action Committee's 'Bridge' facility for the homeless, and a continuum of care meeting. He also shared insights from a tour of historic downtown Kennewick, noting improvements but also issues with property owner engagement, permitting inconsistencies, dangerous sidewalks, and traffic speed. He also attended a meeting with a winery owner who complained about traffic and permitting issues. Mayor Pro Tem Torelli highlighted the effectiveness of local entities in handling misinformation during the Kent Valley flooding incident and stressed the importance of moving grant dollars down to the local level for efficiency. Mayor McShane announced upcoming American 250 Liberty Tree Rededication Proclamation activities and a public reading of the Declaration of Independence at City Hall, celebrating the nation's 250th anniversary.
City Approves Transportation Improvement Plan Amendment for $3.3M Pavement Preservation Project
The City Council discussed and approved an amendment to the 2025-2031 Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) to include the Columbia Drive and Clearwater Avenue Pavement Preservation Project. This amendment is necessary to incorporate a $3.3 million National Highway Systems federal grant that will fund the grinding and overlay of roadways and improvement of ADA ramps on Columbia Drive and Clearwater Avenue. The project is anticipated to go to advertisement for construction early next year, and there is no local match required for the federal funding, making it 100% funded for design, management, and construction.
Easements Vacated for Development Near Wastewater Treatment Plant
The City Council considered and approved the vacation of several easements at 101 and 109 North Oak Street. These easements, including a 44-foot access easement and 10-foot and 15-foot utility easements, were made redundant by a boundary line adjustment between the city and DH Land in 2024. The easements were located on DH Land property and were remnants of a previous property line configuration. DH Land requested their removal as they are now constructing a structure in that location. City staff reviewed the request and found the easements to be unnecessary, thus having no objection to their vacation. The council adopted the resolution unanimously.
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