City Council 02/19/2026

- The council heard a major presentation on the new storm water master plan, which found 72 of 93 detention ponds and 49 of 161 conveyance routes undersized under current standards. Staff and consultants recommended prioritizing 13 capital improvement projects, with a proposed $3.1 million cost, and noted a potential storm water impact fee of $1,225 plus a phased monthly user fee increase up to $14. - Council members discussed how storm water interacts with the city’s irrigation canals, groundwater, and development patterns. The report emphasized that high groundwater, sump pump discharge, and canal capacity constraints create cascading issues, especially during larger storm events, and that agreements with irrigation companies remain important. - The council approved the storm water master plan on first reading after a brief discussion, with staff asked to clean up outdated dates and other minor document references before second reading. - During public comment, residents Jen Weekes and Holly Weston asked the council to reconsider parking and sidewalk enforcement practices. They argued that winter parking tickets were being issued even when streets were dry and that sidewalk violations were being enforced too strictly without warnings or reasonable time-of-day limits. - Connect Transit gave an update showing continued system growth, including 516,244 total trips systemwide in 2025 and 5,523 trips on Nibbi Route 11. The board also announced a new transit planning study with public outreach, expected to finish by January 2027, and council members asked about ridership trends, data collection, and whether microtransit could eventually serve Nibbi. - The council continued work on the general plan and amended the mission statement wording to say the city will provide “fiscally sound municipal services” rather than “efficiently” provide services. They also updated sections on parks and recreation, including adding Morgan Farm to the list of community-supported programming. - In the general plan’s transportation section, staff explained that a table of barrier-crossing projects was included to satisfy state law and document road, canal, and highway crossings that affect circulation. Council also discussed the need for better coordination with neighboring cities and agencies on regional transportation and infrastructure issues. - The council amended the economic development section to emphasize broadening and diversifying Nibbi’s tax base and reducing the residential tax burden. Members also noted ongoing concerns about sales tax leakage and the need for a clearer economic development strategy. - The open space subdivision ordinance was debated at length, and the council ultimately voted to remove R2A references from the proposal. Members expressed concern that the current draft was too tied to R2A and discussed whether open space subdivisions should remain a tool at all, or whether a separate zone would be better. - In council and staff reports, members raised goals and next steps for 2026, including indoor recreation, economic development planning, annexation coordination, communication strategy, data management, and inter-city collaboration. Staff also reported on snow removal operations, a new salt brine pilot, upcoming transportation master plan consultant selection, and planning a workshop for the Nibbi Meadows Park design.