Leo for Pasco

Pasco City Councilman Leo Perales

2 days ago

🏛️ PASCO CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP RECAP | SEPTEMBER 14, 2026

Monday night was a City Council Workshop, which means most of the items were for discussion and Council direction rather than final action. We covered a lot of ground — solid waste and recycling, annexation and housing near Broadmoor, regulations for Less Restrictive Alternative housing, irrigation infrastructure, the Road 76 overpass, and concerns surrounding new police camera technology.

Here’s a rundown of what we discussed:

🗑️ FRANKLIN COUNTY SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN

We started with an update to the Franklin County Solid Waste Management Plan.

This is essentially the long-term framework for how Franklin County and its cities deal with garbage collection, solid waste, disposal, recycling, and other waste-management requirements.

Representatives from Basin Disposal, our garbage collection provider here in Pasco, were also there for the discussion.

One thing I am continuing to watch closely is how changing state requirements surrounding recycling will eventually affect Pasco residents. There are going to be additional requirements coming down the road, and we need to understand what implementation will look like and, importantly, what it could mean for people’s garbage bills.

For Monday night, though, this was primarily about updating the County’s overall solid-waste planning framework.

🏘️ GOODWIN ANNEXATION — HARRIS ROAD

Next we discussed the proposed Goodwin Annexation, which involves approximately 6.19 acres at 11050 Harris Road, near the Broadmoor area.

This property is essentially one of those remaining county “donut holes” within an area that is becoming increasingly urbanized.

The property is already within Pasco’s Urban Growth Area, and the proposed annexation is consistent with the direction established through our Comprehensive Plan.

Monday was discussion only. No annexation was approved.

A public hearing and consideration of the actual annexation ordinance are scheduled for an upcoming regular City Council meeting.

🏠 R-3 MEDIUM DENSITY ZONING

Along with the annexation, we discussed establishing R-3 Medium Density Residential zoning for the property.

Again, this was presentation and discussion only.

The idea is pretty straightforward: if this property becomes part of Pasco, we need to establish City zoning for it. The proposed R-3 designation follows the residential direction already contemplated for this area.

As Broadmoor and the surrounding area continue developing, bringing these remaining county islands into the City allows infrastructure, streets, utilities, land use and development to be planned more cohesively.

A public hearing and consideration of the zoning ordinance will come back to Council.

🛡️ LESS RESTRICTIVE ALTERNATIVES & SECURE COMMUNITY TRANSITION FACILITIES

We then had one of the larger discussions of the evening regarding proposed regulations for Less Restrictive Alternatives (LRAs), Secure Community Transition Facilities (SCTFs), and other Essential Public Facilities.

These regulations deal with where certain facilities housing individuals released from civil commitment may be located and what safety, operational and land-use requirements the City can establish.

Staff came to Council looking for policy direction before bringing back a final ordinance.

One issue was separation between facilities.

My position is that I don’t want multiple facilities concentrated right next to each other and effectively creating a “sex offender island” in one part of our industrial area.

We discussed potentially requiring approximately 1,000 feet of separation between facilities. That still needs to be worked through before the final ordinance comes back.

The second major issue for me was the safety plan.

I asked staff to make the requirements much more specific. If one of these facilities is proposed in Pasco, I want to know:

* Who is the emergency contact?
* What are the emergency protocols?
* What security and staffing are required?
* How are incidents documented and reported?
* What are the transportation and escort procedures?
* How does the operator coordinate with Pasco Police and Pasco Fire?
* How and when are surrounding properties notified?

We also discussed notification to properties within approximately 1,000 feet of a proposed facility.

Another significant discussion involved the Hearing Examiner and City Council’s role in the final decision.

The direction currently being considered would have the Hearing Examiner make the land-use decision.

I raised the possibility of having the Hearing Examiner conduct the hearing, build the record and make a recommendation or initial decision, but allowing the City Council to ultimately retain final decision-making authority.

For me, that’s about accountability.

Council already makes final decisions on certain significant land-use matters, including rezones. My thought is that after an applicant has gone through the entire process and the Hearing Examiner has reviewed the application, Council should have the ability — based on the record and applicable legal standards — to approve, deny or modify conditions when necessary.

Most of Council did not appear interested in taking on that role at this point.

I may bring additional information back before final adoption because I think it’s a discussion worth having.

Finally, staff asked whether we needed additional community meetings before moving forward.

My position was that we’ve already provided opportunities for public participation, and previous meetings haven’t necessarily drawn large crowds. Rather than having staff sit through another two-hour meeting that few people attend, I asked the City to continue getting information out through its website and social media.

I’ll continue doing the same here. People need to know what’s being proposed and have an opportunity to participate when this comes back for a formal public hearing.

💧 BARKER HEIGHTS — FUTURE IRRIGATION PUMP STATION

We also discussed purchasing Tract A of the Barker Heights Subdivision for a future irrigation pump station.

This is another piece of infrastructure we need as Pasco continues growing.

The property is approximately 14,206 square feet, with a negotiated purchase price of approximately $321,624.

The purpose is to provide property for a future pump station that will help address irrigation-system supply, pressure and capacity needs.

It’s not the most exciting City project to talk about, but these are exactly the types of investments we have to plan for if we’re going to keep up with growth rather than waiting until infrastructure problems occur.

🚗 ROAD 76 OVERPASS — MOVING INTO DESIGN

We finished our main agenda with a project that I believe is going to be extremely important for west Pasco: the Road 76 Overpass.

The project would extend Road 76 north from Chapel Hill Boulevard, construct a new bridge across I-182, and connect into Burden Boulevard.

The project isn’t just another bridge. It would include bicycle and pedestrian facilities, ADA improvements, a new signalized intersection at Road 76 and Burden Boulevard, traffic-signal coordination, roadway improvements and other infrastructure necessary to create another north-south connection across I-182. 76.pdf

Council discussed a professional services agreement with HDR Engineering for approximately $2.81 million to perform design and right-of-way work.

The City has approximately $5.08 million in identified funding available from federal Surface Transportation Block Grant funding, Traffic Impact Fund contributions and a proportionate-share contribution. 76.pdf

The design and right-of-way phases are expected to continue through 2029. If everything goes well and we successfully secure construction funding, actual construction could potentially begin in 2029 or 2030. 76.pdf

This project is really about fixing Road 68.

Road 68 carries an enormous amount of traffic, and as west Pasco continues growing, simply adding more traffic to the same crossing isn’t a long-term solution.

The analysis we’ve been presented indicates another crossing at Road 76 could potentially reduce congestion on Road 68 by around 30%.

So while we’re still years away from driving across a Road 76 bridge, the work we’re doing now matters. We need to get the engineering, environmental work and right-of-way completed so we have a project ready to compete for the state and federal construction dollars necessary to actually build it.

There seemed to be broad agreement on Council that this is a project we need to continue moving forward.

📹 ONEPASCO / AXON FŪSUS — CAMERA INTEGRATION & PRIVACY

During miscellaneous discussion, I also brought up something that generated quite a bit of attention over the weekend: the Pasco Police Department’s OnePasco camera program using Axon Fūsus technology.

I had several residents reach out to me after the program was unveiled with questions about privacy, surveillance and government access to privately owned cameras.

I had questions too.

There are actually two important pieces to understand.

Camera Registration allows a resident or business to tell the Police Department that they have a security camera at their property. According to the Police Department’s own OnePasco website, registering a camera does not give police access to the live video stream. It essentially puts the camera on a map so investigators know it exists and can contact the owner to request video if an incident occurs nearby.

Camera Integration goes further.

A resident or business can install a FūsusCORE device and integrate cameras into the system. According to OnePasco, this allows the Pasco Police Department access to camera feeds based on the settings and permissions established by the camera owner.

That’s where I think we need to have a larger conversation.

I did not remember Council ever having a discussion specifically about integrating privately owned cameras into the Police Department’s real-time crime platform.

There was some disagreement Monday about what Council had previously been briefed on. I take pretty detailed notes, so I went back through the dates and presentations I had, and I could not find where this particular private-camera integration program had been discussed with us.

The Police Chief explained that there are safeguards and guardrails surrounding how the system can be used.

That’s important.

But I also think history has taught us that when government gains access to powerful technology, oversight matters. Policies matter. Auditing matters. And making sure one or two people can’t misuse that authority matters.

At the same time, I can absolutely see the public-safety value.

On September 16, I attended an Axon Roadshow at the Pasco Police Department and had an opportunity to see more of the technology firsthand and speak with people familiar with implementing Axon Fūsus.

The capabilities were impressive.

They demonstrated how different camera feeds can be brought into a real-time platform, and I was even shown live feeds from cameras in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

You can immediately see how something like this could help officers responding to an active emergency or investigators trying to quickly locate evidence after a serious crime.

But powerful technology also requires serious conversations about privacy, access, retention, oversight and individual liberties.

Based on the information I received, the system currently has 148 integrated cameras and 59 registered cameras associated with the program.

I have asked the Police Chief to provide Council with a more complete presentation so we can understand exactly what technology is being used, what information can be accessed, who can access it, how long information is retained, what auditing exists and what safeguards prevent abuse.

We also still need to have a more complete Council discussion about Flock cameras, which residents have raised separate privacy concerns about.

For me, public safety and individual liberty aren’t mutually exclusive.

Technology can be an incredible tool for law enforcement, but the public should understand what we’re using, how we’re using it, and what protections are in place.

Ultimately, I think this deserves a community conversation. People should have the information, ask questions and make their voices heard.

⸻

Overall, Monday’s workshop covered a lot.

We’re planning for new housing, infrastructure, transportation, public safety, economic growth and emerging technology — and all of those decisions have long-term consequences.

My goal with these recaps is pretty simple: keep you informed about what we’re discussing at City Hall, explain why it matters, and give you the information you need to stay involved.

As always, I’ll keep you updated as these items come back before Council. ... See MoreSee Less