Council President Kim Kritzer convened the Redmond City Council study session on Oct. 28 where staff presented the Capital Facilities Plan (CFP) 2050 for general government and outlined a financial strategy to fund prioritized projects.

The plan, prepared to update the city’s adopted Redmond 2050 capital facilities element, forecasts future facility needs using the 2050 growth targets, identifies potential expansion and siting opportunities and analyzes funding options, staff said. Lorraine Hamilton, Redmond’s parks and recreation director, noted the draft CFP had been reviewed by the Planning Commission and included recommendations for added climate resiliency language. Cameron Zapata, senior park planner, told the council that the commission had asked staff to add climate vulnerability assessments, resilient-materials language, explicit reference to extreme heat among hazards and clearer context for revenue charts.

Kelly Cochran, the city’s finance director, described how the CFP assumes likely funding sources — such as councilmanic and voter-approved bonds, revenue bonds and impact fees — while noting the plan does not commit to any single source. Cochran said staff are working toward an issuance strategy that would group projects across functional areas so the city could issue bonds for a portfolio of projects rather than a single large project; grouping issuances could reduce issuance costs by roughly $3 million to $5 million, she said. ‘‘That is all coming together,’’ Cochran said, and added that staff will present options so the council is not ‘‘backed into a corner’’ when a debt recommendation is brought forward.

Council members pressed staff for more narrative and clearer assumptions. Council member Stewart said the draft needs a ‘‘story’’ that explains why the assumed funding mix is feasible and how the plan manages risk across decades. Cochran and other staff said they will provide more detailed narrative and engineering-level cost estimates once construction-division estimates are complete. Staff said a reimbursement resolution would likely be used if bonds are issued so the city could reimburse prior expenditures when bond proceeds are received.

The CFP also identifies projects tied to neighborhood needs. Council members and staff discussed an Overlake community center concept and a potential remainder parcel that could allow co-location of services — for example, a fire station with a community center above it — if land becomes available. Staff described the Overlake item in the plan as intentionally flexible because land acquisition and jurisdictional coordination (including potential regional partners such as Bellevue) remain uncertain.

Council members also asked about the Firehouse teen center’s tentative schedule, which appears in the plan as starting in 2027. Staff said the timeline is a placeholder and can be adjusted: ‘‘pulling that forward is something that Director Cochran and I have talked about extensively,’’ Zapata said, and added the project’s separate community-engagement process could allow earlier action.

Next steps: staff will return with additional financial narrative and options at a committee touchpoint in mid-November and the council is scheduled to consider final adoption of the CFP on Dec. 2, with staff beginning a CIP update for 2027–2032 in 2026 that will be informed by this plan.