What's Brewing with Ed

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The What's Brewing with Ed series gives residents the opportunity to have conversations about ongoing city projects and initiatives with Renton's Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Ed VanValey.

Each session will be hosted by CAO VanValey alongside city guests on the first and third Wednesday of each month. Residents are encouraged to attend, ask questions, and share their thoughts on projects and initiatives in Renton. Attendees are encouraged to RSVP through Facebook or directly to communications@rentonwa.gov to help with planning.

1st Wednesday of the month 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. at Luther’s Table - 419 S 2nd St
RSVP for May 7 here.
RSVP for June 4 here.

3rd Wednesday of the month from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. at The Berliner - 221 Main Ave S

RSVP for April 16 here.
RSVP for May 21 here.
RSVP for June 18 here.

Summaries of each What's Brewing can be found here in the "Recaps" Section below.

The What's Brewing with Ed series gives residents the opportunity to have conversations about ongoing city projects and initiatives with Renton's Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Ed VanValey.

Each session will be hosted by CAO VanValey alongside city guests on the first and third Wednesday of each month. Residents are encouraged to attend, ask questions, and share their thoughts on projects and initiatives in Renton. Attendees are encouraged to RSVP through Facebook or directly to communications@rentonwa.gov to help with planning.

1st Wednesday of the month 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. at Luther’s Table - 419 S 2nd St
RSVP for May 7 here.
RSVP for June 4 here.

3rd Wednesday of the month from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. at The Berliner - 221 Main Ave S

RSVP for April 16 here.
RSVP for May 21 here.
RSVP for June 18 here.

Summaries of each What's Brewing can be found here in the "Recaps" Section below.

  • March 19 Recap

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    • 14 members of the community attended our first discussion at the Berliner Pub, almost twice the amount of our first event
    • Several staff from various departments were present to address different topics and provide subject matter expertise
    • The event lasted an hour.
    • Topics discussed:
      • Cedar River Trail l the city is aware of the increasing safety concerns on the trail. Beginning April 1st, PD will increase the number of patrol officers on the trail.
      • Transportation Updates
        • Rainier Ave l currently in Phase 4 of 5. Click here to get updates on the project.
        • Light Rail l currently no plans for the light rail to expand to Renton. However, Renton is part of a Sound Transit Feasibility Study, the Renton study will begin towards the end of ST3 to better align with ST4.
        • Attendees raised a question on the 3rd Street and S 2nd Street: The street will undergo a conversion with the streets stripped with double yellow liens, similar to Wells Street.
      • SODA (Stay Out of Drug Areas): A new approach that Renton will begin to implement following Auburn's success with this model. This approach allows courts to prohibit repeat drug offenders from entering specific areas where drug-related crimes area concentrated.
        • Renton is looking into a new location for a new Crisi Connection Care Facility for Renton Police Officers and Renton Regional Fire Authority to connect individuals in crisis to the services they need.
        • King County is determining a location in South King County for a new behavioral health facility, at this time, there are no plans for the facility to be located within Renton city limits.
        • Some attendees expressed their concern that these designated areas would move the problem of encampments and illegal drug use.
      • World Cup l as the HQ for Sounders, we will experience an influx of guests from the home country of the team that selects Renton as its basecamp
        • We will be updating our website with Renton-specific information as it becomes available from FIFA
      • Economic Development Projects Coming l welcoming WINCO to Renton, Costco is interested in a location in Renton
      • Renton School District Eminent Domain Issue l the school district's decision to expand is not a city decision. The Renton School District has jurisdiction over this decision.
      • Renton Responds l Some attendees shared their recent experiences with the app. Staff has looked into the specific concern that was raised.
      • Residents asked questions on:
        • Progress on the N 1st street promenade l the plans were scrapped due to neighborhood feedback. The project was part of the City Center Community Plan. Details of the amended plan can be found in the City Clerk’s records linked here.
        • The city's plans for the maintenance of current infrastructure while the city continues to increase the amount of housing l Newly retired Water Maintenace Manager, George Stahl, was in attendance at the session. Stahl shared the city’s process of replacing aging water mains and infrastructure within the necessary time frames to support the city’s continued growth.


  • March 6 Recap

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    • Seven members of the community joined our inaugural discussion at Luther’s Table.
    • Several staff members were on hand to assist guests and to provide subject matter expertise, if needed.
    • The event lasted just over an hour.
    • Topics discussed:
      • HB 1380 | the impact if passed by legislature. More information about this can be found here. Ed urged folks to learn about the impact and voice their opinions to their legislators.
        • For more information, the city has a page on this here or you can follow the legislation with the state here.
      • HB 1110 | passed last year, and the impact we are seeing – click here to see our efforts around informing the community on these state-mandated changes, which impacts all future development, including parking.
      • World Cup | as the HQ for Sounders, we will experience an influx of guests from the home country of the team that selects Renton as its basecamp | some attendees raised concern about traffic and parking during the high-impact period which the city will be working to mitigate as well as possible.
        • We will be updating our website with Renton-specific information as it becomes available from FIFA.
      • Downtown Core updates – new tenant in Pavilion, Pavilion Park will be improved to allow more flexible (and frequent) activation of the space (driving more foot traffic downtown and into area businesses) | some attendees did not like the changes underway.
        • We will be adding more information about these three, parallel projects underway on our website.
      • Asphalt plant | The city shared information, and several attendees expressed disagreement on how the city could legally respond..
Page last updated: 10 Apr 2025, 11:58 AM