North End Neighborhood Council Meeting –
www.nenc.org or NENC Facebook
Monday October 6, 2025
6:00 p.m.
Cookies & Cider from 5:30 p.m.
****MEETING ROOM LOCATION****
University of Puget Sound
Presentation Room (#102) in the Welcome Center
(N. 15th St. and N. Alder St)
Virtual – Via Zoom
Meeting ID: 882 2046 7648
Passcode: 649767
CANDIDATES FORUM
Hear from the candidates for the City of Tacoma Mayor, Council
District 2, Council District 6 and Tacoma Parks Commissioner races.
Meeting Agenda:
1) Introductions and
welcome—
2) Announcements —
Stormwater Awareness Week: October 6th-11th – Adopt-A-Drain program Adopt-a-Drain –
Washington.
3) Standard Liaison Reports
Police – Kristen Braziel
Fire – Josh Schlesner
Tacoma Public Utilities – John Gaines
City Manager’s Office – Christina Caan
4) Candidates Forum
Each candidate will have 5-minutes to introduce themselves and their campaign and then we will have 5 –
10 minutes of questions for each race.
(** See Note Below about the University of Puget Sound’s policies for political discussion)
City of Tacoma
Mayor:
-Anders Ibsen
-John Hines
Council-at-Large Position No. 6:
-Latasha Palmer
-Jessica Johnston
Council – District No. 2:
-Sarah Rumbaugh
-Ben Lackey
Metropolitan Park Dist. of Tacoma
Commissioner – Position No. 1:
-Alisa Lee
-Jerry Thorpe
Commissioner – Position No. 2:
-Carla Santorno
-Malachi Cabera
Commissioner – Position No. 3:
-Bronwyn Clarke
-Pete Reyes
** NOTE – The University of Puget Sound is a non-partisan organization and does not support or oppose
any candidate for public office. Consistent with the university’s educational mission and in the spirit of
community engagement, Puget Sound may welcome candidates to campus to share their viewpoints with
their community. As a service to the community, Puget Sound may welcome other organizations to use its
facilities. University facilities are generally available to organizations that agree to comply with university
policies.
5) Old Business – postponed until November meeting
6) New Business
7) Adjournment
NOTE: Our next meeting will be Monday, November 3 when we have our NENC Board Elections
(If you are interested in joining our Board, please speak to one of our Board members),
Stephen Atkinson from the City of Tacoma will give a presentation on the ONE Tacoma
Comprehensive Plan recently adopted by the City and Council Member Walker will address
community feedback on expanding City responsibilities for trees on the Right of Way (ROW)
and updating how the City approaches trees on private property.
September NENC presentation on Homeless Issues
We had good discussions about Homeless issues at our September meeting led by Sarah Rumbaugh, Robyn Denson and Devon Isakson and one of the audience questions was where people could volunteer to address the issue. Our speakers have provided the following list of organizations that they are familiar with and recommend:
Emergency Food Network – Volunteer – Emergency Food Network
Nourish Pierce County – Volunteer – Nourish Pierce County
St. Leo’s Food Connection – www.foodconnection.org
Associated Ministries – Contact Us – Associated Ministries
Catholic Community Services – Volunteer | Catholic Community Services of Western Washington
The Coffee Oasis Tacoma Youth Shelter – Volunteer – The Coffee Oasis
Tacoma Arts Month – Celebrating Tacoma’s Cultural Community
–Tacoma Studio Tour on Sat. October 11 and Sunday 12, 11:00-5:00
You are invited to visit studios across Tacoma as over 100 artists welcome you into their working studios. Learn about an artistic process and be able to purchase a one-of-a kind creation. For more information, please see the Studio Tour page of TacomaArtsMonth.org
–Arts at the Armory
Sat. and Sunday, Nov. 15 & 16, 11:00-5:00
Shop local and meet over 100 Tacoma artists at this 2 day indoor art market. Discover handmade goods, fine arts, and creative gifts! Check out the Arts at the Armory page at https://tacomaartsmonth.org/
Adopt a Storm Drain
Autumn leaves are beautiful to look at but when they fall, they can quickly clog our City’s storm drains. You can help prevent this problem by adopting a drain to keep your neighborhood clean and protect our local waterways.
www.adopt-a-drain.org
Green Tacoma Day on Sat. October 11
There will be a variety of opportunities to participate in “greening” events all across our City. For more information, click below:
https://tacoma.gov/government/departments/environmental-services/stormwater/open-space-program/green-tacoma-day/
“Play it Cool! Plant a Tree!”
Receive a coupon to save $30 on a new tree that adds beauty, provides shade and save energy. Sign up at
https://tacoma.gov/government/departments/environmental-services/urban-forestry/
Thirsty Trees? Please continue watering!
Since we haven’t had a significant amount of rainfall in the past few months, our trees are getting thirsty! So, if you have a young tree, be sure it receives a minimum of 5 to 15 gallons of water each week for the first 3 to 5 years after being planted.
You are Invited to Tacoma Tree Foundation’s October Events:
To learn more and register for these events, please go to the website www.tacomatreefoundation.org/calendar
- Sat., Oct.11, 9-2:30, “Green Tacoma Day-Green Blocks: South End Planting Event”
- Sat., Oct. 11, 11:30-12:30, “South End neighborhood Walk with Sarah Low “
- Wed., Oct. 15, 4-5:00, Sarah Low: “Good Pruning Keeps the Doctor Away”
- Sat., Oct. 25, 3-5:00, “Down and Dirty Principles of Soil Workshop”
- Tues.,Nov.13, 7:00-9:00, Tacoma Tree Foundation’s “State of the Urban Forest”
At Large and District Council Members:
https://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_council
CM John Hines represents citizens District 1
CM Sarah Rumbaugh represents citizens District 2
Three Council Members represents citizens in At-Large:
Deputy Mayor Kiara Daniels; Kristina Walker and Olgy Diaz
North End Neighborhood Council Board
Direct your questions or comments to: officers@gmail.com
Chair- Peter Bennett, Vice-Chair- Tobi Bet, Treasurer- Jodi Cook, Secretary- Bonnie O’Leary
Joe Tieger, Georgette Reuter, Geoff Corso, Danielle Villegas, Sandra Strong