Mill Creek manager outlines 2040 vision; council presses for realistic 1‑ and 3‑year milestones

City Manager Martin Yamamoto on Tuesday laid out Mill Creek’s 2040 vision and a three‑year strategic plan designed to guide long‑term priorities, funding and staffing decisions, telling the council the plan will outlast many current officeholders and should shape decisions on annexation, infrastructure and service delivery.

Yamamoto said the plan rests on four tenets—financial health and economic vitality; safe, clean and well‑maintained public spaces; engaged and connected community; and systems and training—and highlighted five council priorities staff will emphasize in the coming years. He said the DRCC master plan and related consultant contracts (LMN and JLL) will drive near‑term work and that a completed master plan will be a precursor to finance and development discussions.

The presentation prompted sustained questioning from council. Councilmember Steckler said a “vast majority” of Year‑1 deliverables had not been completed and urged staff to present realistic, prioritized milestones rather than broad lists. Steckler asked for quarterly updates so council could track progress earlier in each quarter instead of receiving a year‑end summary.

“We need a plan that both sides feel is realistic that can be done,” Steckler said, urging the city manager to pare objectives down to challenging but achievable items.

Yamamoto and Deputy City Manager Laurel Brock answered that several items have been started, that the LMN/JLL contract should wrap many Year‑1 and Year‑2 deliverables, and that staff will return with an updated work plan: a revised timeline showing what remains in 2026 and what may move to 2027, and a separate report enumerating 2025 accomplishments. Yamamoto told council he could be “80%” confident that partnership agreements for the DRCC would be solidified in 2026 but cautioned some items may extend into the following year.

Council members asked staff to distinguish new versus operational (internal) priorities, to clarify dependencies on outside funding or agreements, and to flag items likely to shift beyond the three‑year window. Several members also urged the city to be candid about staffing constraints—Mill Creek is operating at about 65 full‑time equivalents—and to avoid overpromising.

Staff agreed to provide a revised work plan and to begin quarterly progress briefings that will show where deliverables sit each quarter. The next steps include finalizing the LMN/JLL contract items and presenting refined annexation and financing information at upcoming council meetings and the retreat.