Washougal city manager discusses 2025 priorities

For a relatively small city, Washougal has big dreams, but not enough resources to turn all of those dreams into reality.

Washougal City Manager David Scott knows this better than anybody. That’s why he is so grateful to his employees who, in Scott’s opinion, tackle a daunting workload.

“We are a lean team, not a large organization, so we have limited resources,” Scott said of the City’s staff. “I’m super proud of the team’s ability to do a lot of good work. I have a lot of confidence in their ability to deliver on all of these policy and operations initiatives and capital projects, but it definitely is a challenge for us in terms of how to accomplish those things. We have a track record of doing it, and we just want to continue on that path. It’s always in front of me to be mindful of our lean, limited team.”

The City has a robust list of goals for 2025, a year that Scott views as critically important for the future of Washougal.

“Sometimes it feels overwhelming, but it’s a great thing,” Scott said. “We have an aggressive strategy plan, and we’re pursuing that with enthusiasm and vigor. There are some nuances in 2025 that set (this year) apart from other years.”

Washougal Mayor David Stuebe said during the Washougal City Council’s meeting on Dec. 2, 2024, that the City “is rocking right now,” and just concluded an “epic” 2024.

On the operational side, the City is working on “a couple of significant projects that will shape the future of the community,” according to Scott.

One is the Regional Fire Authority (RFA) proposal, which the cities of Camas and Washougal will present to voters in April.

“This is a significant issue and a significant question before our community,” Scott said. “Lots of good work has been done getting to this point where the RFA plan is ready for voters. This will shape our future (in terms of) how we deliver those services.”

The other is the City’s comprehensive land-use plan update, which is mandated by the Washington state government to be concluded by the end of 2025.

“Under the GMA (Growth Management Act), most communities in Washington are required to have a comp plan, and we’re one of those communities,” Scott said. “We’re well into that process. We have a lot of outreach going on. We have a citizens advisory committee, and (help from) the planning commission and Council. This plan will shape the future in terms of how we want to grow. This particular update has new mandates around having an element of a plan around climate and affordable housing, and all communities across the state are working on how to do right by those provisions and do a good job of incorporating them into their plans.”

The City also is planning to complete an analysis of community funding options in 2025, according to Scott.

“The Council and community members have notions about enhancements to the service portfolio that the City can provide, particularly in parks, engagement and maintenance of assets, and funding is required to do those things,” Scott said. “The goal of this project is to present the Council with background context information and options about what that could look like in terms of possible revenues and what will be done with those revenues so they can make decisions and whether they want to check in with the community with a vote. There’s nothing specific, nothing eminent with respect to that. It’s a very forward-looking effort that would likely shape the next iteration of the strategic plan.”

The City’s newly-formed Community Services and Strategy Department will tackle several projects in 2025, Scott said.

“They have several things on their plate, including an economic development plan, which will include a ‘Doing Business in Washougal’ guide,” he said. “They’re also looking at a parking management plan for the Town Center. This would be our first parking management plan (because) as the Town Center continues to grow, there’s more demand for parking. We need to do this analysis, and we’re working with a consultant to kick it off.”

Zane Freschette began work as the City’s new police chief on Jan. 1, 2025. Freschette, who formerly served as the Washougal Police Department’s captain and second-in-command under the former police chief, Wendi Steinbronn, who retired at the end of 2024.

“We want to be supporting him so he can be successful as he transitions into that role,” Scott said of Freschette. “I’m confident that Zane will move our (police) department forward, and look forward to his efforts.”

The City’s 2025 capital projects schedule is even more jam-packed, highlighted by the beginning or continuing of several projects that will significantly alter the look, feel and function of the city of Washougal, especially in its downtown area.

Most visibly, the City is continuing to work on its Town Center Revitalization Project, which it hopes to finish by the end of 2025.

“We have already demolished the two houses that we owned at the corner near City Hall and the existing library,” Scott said. “We’ve done some interior work to the community center already. There will be significant construction occurring all around our campus all year. It will be an amazing transformational project for the town center and community, but it will (cause) disruptions on our (city government) campus for a while. Basically, almost every square inch of ground outside of our buildings is going to change and transform into something different.”

The City also is in the “thick of construction” at its wastewater treatment plant, Scott said.

“We hope to be done with (the treatment plant upgrades) this year,” Scott said. “It’s a $30 million project, so it’s very important. There are water quality provisions that we’re mandated to meet. It’s really important to have clean water, and it’s expensive to do it.”

The City will soon kick off the design process for its new fire station.

“The fire station is under design, and we’re excited about that,” Scott said. “The community stepped up to support construction, and we’re starting design work so that we can get construction started next year.”

The City will also get started on three transportation projects — the 32nd Street underpass, Shepherd Road widening, and the 27th Street shared-use path.

“Those projects are significant,” Scott said. “We’re not going to start construction this year, but we’ll begin preliminary work.”

The Council approved the City’s 2025-26 budget on Nov. 12, 2024, the culmination of the City’s first biennial budget cycle, which it adopted in early 2024.

The 2025 general and street fund budget projects revenues of $22 million and expenditures of $24 million. The City plans to use a little over $2 million from its general fund balance and from remaining federal COVID-relief funds to make up for the revenue shortfall. The 2026 general and street fund budget projects a balance of revenues and expenditures totaling $20.6 million.

“We are in a stable position,” Scott said. “This budget allows us to maintain service levels with very modest enhancements. But we’re very lean, so in that respect, we can’t add police officers, can’t go to three-person engine companies, can’t add new parks or double up maintenance because our funding is limited. However, we are not in position to look at cuts right now.”

The City has been particularly aggressive during the past several years in its attempts to secure high-profile grants and federal appropriations to fund some of its high-priority projects, a strategy that it plans to continue in 2025.

“It’s a state of being at this point,” Scott said about grant-searching. “We are aggressive in pursuing available funding opportunities to try to deliver on key projects in facility plans, parks, transportation, fire and facilities. These are such important projects to continue to build to enhance the liability of the community, which needs and wants these things. The challenge is that almost all of the grants (require) a match, and we don’t have an unlimited source of capital funding to provide it, so we have to prioritize our projects. But this is an unprecedented time for federal and state funding for projects, so we have to be at the table and figure out how to make it work.”

Finally, residents will vote to fill three Council positions in the November election — position No. 1 (currently filled by Stuebe), No. 3 (David Fritz) and No. 6 (Julie Russell).