The Kent City Council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, covered a wide range of topics, from long-term city planning to immediate community concerns.
Key discussions included the “Rediscover Downtown” initiative, an ADA transition plan, and an update on planned public transit changes.
Additionally, the council received annual reports on the city’s water system.
A significant development was the announcement of the permanent closure of the East Hill Fred Meyer, a decision that sparked discussion about public safety and business retention in the city.
“Rediscover Downtown” Plan
As part of Kent’s Comprehensive Plan, the city is looking at ways to revitalize downtown. Through surveys as well as from the Community Advisory Group, the city has gotten feedback on what people would like to see downtown. Respondents expressed frustrations with lane and road restrictions, crime, drug use, and safety issues. They want downtown to be a hub of culture and activity. They feel that too many ground floor businesses are vacant, and there needs to be a night life. In addition, people want to see better walkability and bike-ability, better signage, and improved lighting.
The next step in the Rediscover Downtown journey is to develop a plan, which will be reviewed by the Puget Sound Regional Council, and then brought back to the city council in November.
ADA Transition Plan
The Washington State Department of Transportation requires all cities to implement an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) transition plan, in order to be eligible for certain grants. As a first step, the city will be doing an inventory of obstacles that limit accessibility throughout the city, then they will come up with a plan for implementing a solution to these obstacles.
This is a long term project, with a complete inventory of curb ramps and crossing signals expected to be done by 2028, driveway crossings by 2030, and all sidewalks inventoried by 2035 or 2040. The actual correction of any issues found will take another three years for crossing signals, 5 to 10 years for push-button function, 15 to 25 years for driveway crossings, and an unknown amount of time to correct curb ramp and sidewalk issues.
Metro Survey Available Through Aug. 31
A team from Metro gave a brief presentation on some upcoming changes to public transit. These changes are considered “cost neutral”, which means that adding routes and buses requires cutting others. Some peak-only routes have been cut. Areas of the city remain without much in the way of transit connections at all. Metro is trying to improve east-west connections, as well as late night and weekend service. Presenters said that they have had a high approval rating of the plans so far, with 75% of respondents either positive or neutral.
Councilmembers showed frustration with the lack of bus service to certain areas of the city, reminding presenters that Kent is the third largest city in the county, and should offer better public transit. In areas that are not covered by bus routes, riders can use the app-based Metro Flex. However, councilmembers pointed out that many of Kent’s riders are older or don’t speak English, and aren’t going to be using an app to get from place to place. Presenters said people want to see more service in every city they go to, but there just aren’t funds for it. The survey on the coming changes is available at this link.
Water System Report
In this annual report during the Council Workshop, it was found that water demand this summer has been on the high side compared to previous years–not too surprising after a hot and dry summer. The water quality report has been mailed out to customers. Kent’s water is tested quarterly for contaminants like PFAS at all seven source sites. Two sources had detectable levels of PFAS, but both were below the state action limit.
A six million gallon reservoir was recently emptied and cleaned, with engineers inspecting its structure while it was empty. In addition, a long term project of testing all service lines for lead was recently completed, and no lead service lines were found. Council President Satwinder Kaur said Kent is the only place she truly loves the tap water, as it tastes better than the water anywhere else.
East Hill Fred Meyer Closing Permanently
Mayor Dana Ralph reported that she had recently gotten news that Kroger will be shuttering the East Hill Fred Meyer. Mayor Ralph said this is her family’s neighborhood store, and thousands of others will now be out of their usual place to shop for groceries and other essentials.
Despite Kroger stating crime as a reason for the closure, Mayor Ralph believes it is due to a restructuring within Kroger and had nothing to do with the community. When a business decides to close its doors, the city can do nothing about it. She added that the city does everything possible to lobby for more dollars to fight crime, as well as for more effective laws that will keep neighborhoods and businesses safe. She believes Kent has made great progress in this regard, and will keep advocating for public safety and doing what she can to attract investment.
During Public Comments, one speaker said that of course Fred Meyer is closing its Kent location: People were stealing from it literally every day. He thinks the police are not strict enough in enforcing laws regarding this type of crime. He said Kent should look at what other cities are doing to successfully become safer and more thriving communities.
Video Release
In a video released on Thursday, Aug. 21, Mayor Ralph called the closure “surprising” and “disappointing,” describing its impact on Kent families and neighborhoods while emphasizing the city’s ongoing efforts to improve public safety and attract economic investment:
