Agenda

The City Council agenda packet is posted by 3:00 p.m. Thursdays, unless there are technical difficulties. City Council business meetings are televised live on TCTV, Olympia Cable Channel 3, and video streamed for online viewing.

Acrobat Reader is needed to open agenda and reports.

Are you a Mac user who is having difficulty opening our pdf links? Try our Mac user tips for opening pdf files. Mac users can download the entire packet if links within the agenda are not working properly. We are researching options so we can implement a more efficient solution later in 2010.

The complete agenda packet is also posted with our video streaming service for City Council meetings.

To request copies of prior City Council agenda notices or reports, please file a Public Records Request with the Olympia City Clerks' Office.

Olympia City Council Meeting

The Olympia City Council meets on Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at 900 Plum Street SE, unless otherwise noticed. The Council Chambers doors are usually opened one-half hour before the start of the meeting. Anyone is welcome to attend a City Council meeting, unless is it a closed meeting (Executive Session) as allowed by State law.

Live viewing of the regular City Council meeting is usually available on Thurston Community Television - Olympia Cable Channel 3, and via the online video hosting service provided by Granicus, Inc.

From time-to-time, the Olympia City Council schedules special meetings. These are often discussion sessions with other local officials (such as the Port and the School District) or study sessions on emerging issues that are scheduled at a time other than the Council's regular 7:00 p.m. meeting, usually because of time and schedule constraints.

• Read information on the State of Washington Attorney General's website about Open Public Meetings.

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Explanation of the Olympia City Council Meeting Agenda

Public Communication

Up to 30 minutes near the start of each weekly Council meeting is reserved for public comment on issues related to City business, except for items where the City Council has either held a Public Hearing in the prior 45 days or scheduled a public hearing to be held within the next 45 days. Usually, comments are limited to three minutes per person.

Anyone who wishes to address the City Council during Public Communication is asked to register on the designated sheet in the lobby of the Council Chambers before the start of the meeting. The doors to the Council Chambers are usually open 30 minutes before the start of the meeting.

If everyone who registered is not called for Public Communication in the 30 minutes scheduled on the agenda, the Council will continue the remaining public communication to the end of the meeting.

The Public Communication portion of the agenda is under the control of the Mayor. Therefore, to the extent necessary to prevent unreasonable interference with the meeting, the Mayor is empowered to curtail or prohibit testimony that is overly repetitive or lengthy, beyond the reasonable scope of City business, or of a nature that would endanger the safety or wellbeing of the persons attending the meeting. The Mayor is also empowered to establish time constraints on testimony, if necessary, to prevent unreasonable delay in the Council meeting.

Consent Calendar

The "Consent Calendar" is intended to expedite the City Council's business. The items listed on the "Consent Calendar" portion of the agenda have either been previously discussed by the City Council or are considered routine in nature so that passage is likely. Unless pulled by a Councilmember, action on the list of "Consent Calendar" items occurs with a single motion.

Public Hearings

When "Public Hearings" are held, any one who wishes to address the Council is asked to place their name and address on the designated registration sheet on a table in the lobby of the Council Chambers.

The Public hearing will begin with an announcement by the Mayor that the Public Hearing is open. Usually, the Mayor will ask that a staff member start the Hearing by providing a brief overview of the topic and issues.

Generally, the Mayor will call people forward to give testimony in the order as signed-in. Testimony is usually limited to three minutes per person, similar to Public Communication.

Other Business

Items listed under "Other Business" are those where further discussion by the City Council may be necessary prior to reaching a decision, often at that evening's meeting.

Study Session

During "Study Sessions," Councilmembers informally discuss upcoming policy issues so that they are prepared to make informed decisions at a later meeting.

Special Accommodations at City Council Meetings

If you require special accommodations during your attendance at a City Council meeting, please phone the Council office, 360.753.8447, by 10:00 a.m. the day of the meeting. As much advance notice as possible is appreciated. For the hearing impaired, please call 360.753.8270 to request accommodation via TTY; or dial 7-1-1 to be connected via the Washington State Relay Service.