# PLYMOUTH HOUSING -- REDMOND INVESTIGATION REPORT
## Compiled for Review
**Date:** February 21, 2026
**Subject:** Plymouth Housing Group property deal in Redmond, WA -- connections to Old Fire House closure, campaign finance, and public records suppression
**Sources:** PRA production (Request #32782, 4 installments, 7,573 documents), Washington PDC filings, King County Assessor records, corkboard forensic database (142 Plymouth-related emails), public reporting

---

## EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Plymouth Housing Group -- a Seattle-based nonprofit with $321 million in assets -- received **$5.5 million in free city-owned land** plus additional city funding for a 120-unit supportive housing project in downtown Redmond, Washington. The total project value is approximately **$49.3 million**.

This deal was pushed through in a **22-day sprint** after Plymouth was rejected by the neighboring city of Kenmore. There was **no public comment period**, **no competitive RFP process**, and **no public hearings** before the city committed the land. The same administration that executed this deal also closed the Old Fire House Teen Center -- a beloved community institution since 1952 -- on a separate parcel in downtown Redmond, using the same playbook of manufactured messaging, behind-closed-doors decisions, and suppression of public records.

**Key concerns:**

1. **$5.5 million in public land was given away with zero public input.** The property transfer was negotiated privately between city attorneys and Plymouth Housing attorneys, then signed by the Mayor on the same day it was presented to the Council.

2. **The same legal team is now finalizing another property deal ("Redmond PSH")** using the exact same pipeline -- and we only know about it because attorney correspondence slipped into an unrelated PRA production.

3. **Zero Kenmore-related emails exist in the entire PRA production.** The city's public records response about the Old Fire House contains 7,573 documents, but not a single one mentions Kenmore -- the city that rejected Plymouth right before Redmond accepted it. This is a gap that does not occur naturally.

4. **A citizen identified this pattern in real time.** Linda Cole-Weaver wrote to the Redmond City Council on March 24, 2025: *"You got away with selling the Cleveland property to Plymouth Housing because no one was watching. The citizens are aware of your agenda and we will be watching."*

5. **Journalist Jonathan Choe was banned from council meetings** after reporting on the Plymouth Housing deal and related city government practices through his "Fix Homelessness" outlet.

---

## TIMELINE

This timeline is built from PRA email evidence, public records, news reporting, and database forensic analysis. Dates marked with [PRA] are sourced directly from emails in the corkboard forensic database.

### 2019: The Foundation

| Date | Event | Significance |
|------|-------|-------------|
| **Nov 5, 2019** | Angela Birney elected Mayor of Redmond | Defeated Steve Fields 4-to-1 in fundraising ($105K vs $24K). Largest donor bloc: Nelson Legacy Group (developer next door to Old Fire House) |
| **Nov 11-30, 2019** | 15+ Medium shell accounts created around Keith Birney (Mayor's spouse) | All zero-article accounts; consistent with synthetic social media network. Created 6 days after election. See Medium Network Analysis. |
| **Nov 19, 2019** | Lame-duck council dissolves the Redmond Public Corporation (Ord. 2979) | Transferred all assets to the City. What assets? Were they real property? 14 days after election. |
| **Dec 17, 2019** | Birney sworn in with new council members Forsyth, Kritzer | Birney announces "communication initiative" |

### 2020-2023: The Buildup

| Date | Event | Significance |
|------|-------|-------------|
| **2020** | Nelson Legacy Group files LAND-2020-00891 (244 units adjacent to OFH) | Birney's largest donor files its major development application in her first year |
| **Jan 2023** | "Alternate Facilities Plan" first appears in OFH team agendas | Internal planning for OFH closure begins -- 2+ years before the public is told |
| **2017-2023** | $94,370 in capital equipment requests at OFH systematically denied | Stage lighting with electrical faults, ADA compliance, safety hazards -- all denied. Building starved of maintenance. |

### 2024: The Kenmore Rejection and Redmond Pivot

| Date | Event | Evidence |
|------|-------|----------|
| **Early 2024** | Kenmore rejects Plymouth Housing | Plymouth's original plan was to build in Kenmore. Kenmore said no. |
| **22 days later** | Redmond approves Plymouth Housing | No public hearings. No RFP. No competitive process. |
| **Apr 2, 2024** | Andrea Sato (Plymouth Housing attorney, Kantor Taylor) proposes Transfer Option Agreement to Daniel Kenny (City attorney, Ogden Murphy Wallace) | [PRA] Email from asato@kantortaylor.com: "I decided it was just easier to propose a transfer option agreement" |
| **Apr 12, 2024** | Kenny forwards Motley Zoo Property title report and AMLI lease to Sato | [PRA] dpkenny@omwlaw.com to asato@kantortaylor.com, SSolomon@kantortaylor.com |
| **Apr 15, 2024** | Sato and Kenny negotiate "City of Redmond-Plymouth Housing" deal | [PRA] Multiple emails between Sato and Kenny |
| **Apr 16, 2024** | Carol Helland presents Transfer Option to Council at 4:30 PM; **Mayor Birney signs the same day** | [PRA] Referenced in Kenny correspondence. Presented and signed the same day. |
| **Jun 24, 2024** | Kenny sends "Follow up" to Sato | [PRA] dpkenny@omwlaw.com to asato@kantortaylor.com |
| **Jul 8, 2024** | Kenny "checking in" with Sato | [PRA] dpkenny@omwlaw.com to asato@kantortaylor.com |
| **Jul 11, 2024** | Kenny sends "Amendment to Transfer Option Agreement" | [PRA] Feasibility period being extended |
| **Jul 25 - Aug 6, 2024** | Multiple exchanges RE: Amendment to Transfer Option Agreement | [PRA] 8+ emails between Kenny and Sato negotiating amendment terms. References "written consent of the City (not unreasonably withheld)" regarding property transfer |
| **Jul 31, 2024** | Erica Chua emails 16 staff: OFH to become "satellite site" | [PRA] Internal decision made 8 months before public announcement |
| **Aug 2024** | Transfer Option feasibility period extended by amendment | [PRA] Kenny/Sato finalize amendment; Mayor's signature required |
| **Sep 2024 - Jan 2025** | **FIVE-MONTH BLACK HOLE** | Zero emails in the entire PRA production. This is when the Transfer Option Amendment would have been executed, the PR firm was hired, and closure planning ramped up. |
| **Nov 7, 2024** | "OFH Communications Charter/Kick-off" meeting | [PRA] Calendar entry |
| **Nov 14, 2024** | Stepherson & Associates Community Engagement Kickoff with City | [PRA] PR firm hired 4 months before public knew about closure |

### 2025: The Deal Closes

| Date | Event | Evidence |
|------|-------|----------|
| **Jan 21, 2025** | S&A recurring meeting series established | [PRA] Contract #10631; billing $4,468.75/month |
| **Mar 5, 2025** | Kantor Taylor circulates Omnibus Financing Resolution for "Redmond PSH" | [PRA] jennis@kantortaylor.com -- full LIHTC financing stack being assembled |
| **Mar 11, 2025** | Public announcement of OFH closure | [PRA] 784 emails -- peak day. Manufactured press materials. |
| **Mar 24, 2025** | Linda Cole-Weaver writes to Council connecting Plymouth Housing to OFH | [PRA] Email ID 2096: "You got away with selling the Cleveland property to Plymouth Housing because no one was watching" |
| **Mar 25, 2025** | City Council meeting -- highest email volume day (886 emails) | [PRA] Public comment period for OFH |
| **Mar 30, 2025** | **PRA production effectively ends** | Only 12 emails after this date -- all Plymouth Housing legal correspondence, zero OFH content |
| **Apr 8, 2025** | Kenny and Ennis finalize Omnibus Financing Resolution | [PRA] "RE: Redmond PSH: Omnibus Financing Resolution" -- 4 exchanges in one morning |
| **Apr 10, 2025** | Kenny sends "Omnibus Financing Resolution - Redmond review" | [PRA] Last substantive email in entire production |
| **Apr 14, 2025** | Plymouth Board scheduled to approve financing | [PRA] Referenced in Sato email |
| **Apr 2025** | Council votes on Omnibus Financing Resolution | Reported as 5-1 vote. No public comment allowed. |

---

## THE PROPERTY TRANSFER

### What Was Given Away

| Item | Detail |
|------|--------|
| **Property** | 16725 Cleveland Street, downtown Redmond, WA |
| **Previously known as** | "Motley Zoo Property" / Cleveland area property |
| **Assessed value** | **$5.5 million** (per community advocate Sasha Glenn, KIRO 7) |
| **Transfer price** | **$0** -- given to Plymouth Housing for free |
| **Additional city commitment** | $3+ million in additional funding |
| **Total project** | ~$49.3 million for 120-unit supportive housing facility |
| **Existing encumbrance** | AMLI (PPF AMLI Redmond Way, LLC) held a sublease requiring $5M insurance for test borings |

### How It Was Done: The 5-Step Pipeline

The PRA production reveals a complete, documented property transfer pipeline that the City of Redmond has used at least twice. Here is the process, reconstructed from attorney emails:

**Step 1: Identify City-Owned Property**
The City targets property it considers surplus or underutilized.

**Step 2: Negotiate a Transfer Option Agreement**
- The city's outside counsel, **Daniel P. Kenny** (Ogden Murphy Wallace), drafts a Transfer Option Agreement.
- Plymouth Housing's attorney, **Andrea Y. Sato** (Kantor Taylor), represents Plymouth.
- The agreement gives Plymouth the **right to acquire** the property after a feasibility period.
- On April 2, 2024, Sato emailed Kenny: *"I decided it was just easier to propose a transfer option agreement."*
- April 15-16: Phone negotiations followed by email, with blanks filled in on the 16+ page agreement.
- April 16: **Carol Helland** (Development Services Director) presents the agreement to Council at 4:30 PM, and the **Mayor signs it the same day.**

**Step 3: Feasibility Period**
- Plymouth gets 120 days for due diligence (title search, geotechnical testing).
- AMLI holds an existing lease on the property, complicating access.
- Elizabeth Murphy (Plymouth Housing, Real Estate) coordinates geotechnical testing.
- The feasibility period was **extended via amendment** (July-August 2024, requiring the Mayor's signature).

**Step 4: Omnibus Financing Resolution**
- March-April 2025: Kantor Taylor circulates an "Omnibus Financing Resolution" for "Redmond PSH" (Permanent Supportive Housing).
- Full LIHTC (Low-Income Housing Tax Credit) financing stack assembled:
  - **Enterprise Community Partners** -- Tax credit investor
  - **Heritage Bank NW** -- Construction/permanent lender
  - **Stokes Law** -- Bond counsel
  - **Plymouth Housing** -- Developer/operator
- A "Permanent Supportive Housing Restrictive Covenant" is included.
- The resolution references Redmond Zoning Code 21.57 (affordable/supportive housing provisions).

**Step 5: Council Vote and Property Transfer**
- The Council votes to approve the financing resolution.
- Property transfers to Plymouth Housing for decades-long operation.

### The Kenny/Sato Paper Trail

Every email in the database between these two attorneys is documented here. These are the people who executed the transfer on behalf of the city and Plymouth Housing:

| Date | From | To | Subject |
|------|------|----|---------|
| Apr 12, 2024 | Daniel P. Kenny (dpkenny@omwlaw.com) | Andrea Sato, Sophie Solomon (Kantor Taylor) | FW: Redmond Motley Zoo Property - Title Report & Lease w/ AMLI |
| Apr 15, 2024 | Andrea Sato (asato@kantortaylor.com) | Daniel P. Kenny | RE: City of Redmond-Plymouth Housing |
| Apr 16, 2024 | Andrea Sato | Daniel P. Kenny | RE: City of Redmond-Plymouth Housing (two emails, 6 min apart) |
| Jun 24, 2024 | Daniel P. Kenny | Andrea Sato | Follow up |
| Jul 8, 2024 | Daniel P. Kenny | Andrea Sato | checking in |
| Jul 11, 2024 | Daniel P. Kenny | Andrea Sato | Amendment to Transfer Option Agreement |
| Jul 25, 2024 | Andrea Sato | Daniel P. Kenny | RE: Amendment to Transfer Option Agreement |
| Jul 31, 2024 | Daniel P. Kenny | Andrea Sato | RE: Amendment to Transfer Option Agreement |
| Aug 2, 2024 | Daniel P. Kenny | Andrea Sato | RE: Amendment to Transfer Option Agreement |
| Aug 2, 2024 | Andrea Sato | Daniel P. Kenny | RE: Amendment to Transfer Option Agreement (reply 1 min later) |
| Aug 5, 2024 | Daniel P. Kenny | Andrea Sato | RE: Amendment to Transfer Option Agreement |
| Aug 6, 2024 | Daniel P. Kenny | Andrea Sato | RE: Amendment to Transfer Option Agreement |
| **[5-MONTH GAP: Aug 2024 - Mar 2025]** | | | |
| Apr 8, 2025 | Daniel P. Kenny | Josey Ennis (Kantor Taylor) | RE: Redmond PSH: Omnibus Financing Resolution |
| Apr 8, 2025 | Josey Ennis | Daniel P. Kenny | RE: Redmond PSH: Omnibus Financing Resolution |
| Apr 8, 2025 | Daniel P. Kenny | Josey Ennis | RE: Redmond PSH: Omnibus Financing Resolution |
| Apr 8, 2025 | Josey Ennis | Daniel P. Kenny | RE: Redmond PSH: Omnibus Financing Resolution |
| Apr 10, 2025 | Daniel P. Kenny | Josey Ennis | RE: Redmond PSH: Omnibus Financing Resolution - Redmond review |
| Apr 10, 2025 | Josey Ennis | Daniel P. Kenny | RE: Redmond PSH: Omnibus Financing Resolution - Redmond review |

Note the 5-month gap between August 6, 2024 and April 8, 2025. This is when the Transfer Option Amendment would have been finalized and executed. Those records are missing from the production.

### The Missing Documents

Seven critical legal documents define this property transfer. **None were produced in the PRA response:**

1. **Transfer Option Agreement** (original + redlines) -- 16+ pages, referenced in 22+ Kenny/Sato emails
2. **Amendment to Transfer Option Agreement** (signed) -- referenced in Aug 5-6, 2024 emails
3. **Restrictive Covenant** -- referenced in Kenny Apr 10, 2025 email
4. **Omnibus Financing Resolution** (+ Exhibit A) -- referenced in Ennis Mar-Apr 2025 emails
5. **Regulatory Agreement** -- referenced in Omnibus materials
6. **Title Report & AMLI Lease** -- referenced in Kenny Apr 12, 2024 email
7. **Access and Indemnity Agreement** -- referenced in Kenny correspondence

These documents would tell us exactly what the city gave away, under what terms, and who benefits. They were attached to emails that were produced, but the attachments themselves were stripped. This is part of a pattern: **4,109 emails in the total PRA production reference attachments, and zero actual attachment files were provided.**

---

## THE KENMORE CONNECTION

### What Happened

Plymouth Housing originally planned to build its supportive housing project in Kenmore, a smaller city north of Redmond on the north shore of Lake Washington. Kenmore rejected the project.

Within **22 days** of Kenmore's rejection, the City of Redmond approved Plymouth Housing -- with no public hearings, no RFP, and no competitive process. The $5.5 million property was committed before the public knew the deal was happening.

### The Suspicious Absence

The PRA production for the Old Fire House investigation contains **7,573 documents** spanning multiple years of city communications. A search of the entire corkboard forensic database for the word "Kenmore" returns **zero results**.

This matters because:

- The Plymouth Housing deal is directly referenced in the PRA production (142 emails mention Plymouth)
- The Kenmore rejection is the stated reason Plymouth pivoted to Redmond
- City officials discussing Plymouth Housing would naturally reference why Plymouth came to Redmond
- Internal discussions about the deal's timeline and urgency would reference the Kenmore context
- The 22-day sprint only makes sense in the context of the Kenmore rejection

The complete absence of any Kenmore reference suggests either (a) all Kenmore-related discussions were conducted off-record (phone, text, in-person), or (b) Kenmore-related emails were withheld from the production.

---

## KEY PLAYERS

### Angela Birney (Mayor)

| Detail | Information |
|--------|------------|
| **Role** | Mayor of Redmond since January 2020 |
| **Signed** | Transfer Option Agreement on April 16, 2024 (same day as Council presentation) |
| **Campaign funding** | ~$105,311 raised in 2019 (opponent Steve Fields raised $23,902 -- 4:1 ratio) |
| **Developer donations** | $15,000+ from real estate/development interests; Nelson Legacy Group bloc alone: $11,000+ |
| **Board seats** | OneRedmond (city's economic development partner), Hopelink, Sound Cities Association |
| **PRA ghost** | Only 8 unique emails in entire OFH production despite being mentioned in 1,838 others. 82 reply-to proofs of withheld outgoing emails. |
| **Personal connection** | Spouse Keith Birney maintains Medium shell network (30 accounts, mostly Microsoft/Facebook engineers) created the week she was elected |

Birney personally sanitized OFH communications (Email ID 1014: Lisa Maher wrote "I'm in a meeting with the Mayor and Loreen so these edits include their feedback"). She received the Sasha Glenn surveillance report within 13.5 hours. She signed the Plymouth Housing Transfer Option the same day it was presented to Council.

### Carol Helland (Development Services Director)

| Detail | Information |
|--------|------------|
| **Role** | Director, City of Redmond Development Services |
| **Key action** | Presented Transfer Option Agreement to Council on April 16, 2024 |
| **Authority** | Execution authority for property transfers |
| **PRA presence** | 12+ emails in corkboard database; communicated directly with Parks Director Loreen Hamilton about OFH matters |
| **Concern** | Described as "the key facilitation figure for property transfers" in the investigation. Her role bridges the development and property disposition decisions. |

Helland appears to be the person who shepherded the Plymouth Housing deal through the council process. She presented the Transfer Option for a vote and the Mayor signed it the same day. The speed of that process -- present and sign on the same afternoon -- suggests the outcome was predetermined.

### Osman Salahuddin (Deputy Mayor)

| Detail | Information |
|--------|------------|
| **Role** | Deputy Mayor / City Administrator |
| **OFH PRA** | 298 emails addressed to him; **105 reply-to proofs** of withheld outgoing emails; **zero outgoing emails produced** |
| **Plymouth connection** | Called opponents of Plymouth Housing "NIMBYs" in text messages obtained by journalists |
| **Pattern** | Ghost entity in both the Plymouth Housing scandal and the OFH investigation |

Salahuddin is the invisible hand in both matters. He appears to have been deeply involved in both the Plymouth deal and the OFH closure, but his outgoing communications about both were withheld from public records production.

### Derek Wing (Communications Director)

| Detail | Information |
|--------|------------|
| **Role** | Communications / PR for City of Redmond |
| **PRA volume** | 122 sent emails; 212 emails addressed to him in the corkboard database |
| **Key role** | Controlled the OFH narrative: provided talking points, coordinated embargoed materials, managed media responses |
| **Channel switching** | Multiple "give me a call" messages moving OFH discussions off-record |
| **Plymouth role** | PR coordination for the Plymouth Housing deal |

### Plymouth Housing Group

| Detail | Information |
|--------|------------|
| **Type** | 501(c)(3) nonprofit |
| **Assets** | $321 million (per most recent Form 990) |
| **HQ** | Seattle, WA |
| **OneRedmond connection** | Plymouth Housing is a **OneRedmond member organization** |
| **Key personnel in PRA** | Elizabeth Murphy (Real Estate -- coordinated geotechnical testing), Karen Peterson (operator) |
| **Legal counsel** | Andrea Y. Sato, Kantor Taylor (asato@kantortaylor.com) |

Despite being a "nonprofit," Plymouth Housing operates with hundreds of millions in assets and is embedded in the same economic development network (OneRedmond) that connects the Mayor, developers, and city officials.

### OneRedmond

| Detail | Information |
|--------|------------|
| **Type** | 501(c)(6) business league (EIN 46-0535220) |
| **Function** | City of Redmond's **official economic development partner** |
| **City contracts** | $300,000 in approved contracts for 2025-2026 |
| **Board includes** | Mayor Angela Birney (At-Large); Council member Vanessa Kritzer (Public Sector Partner) |
| **Developer seats** | Tim Overland and Amy Webber (Nelson Legacy Group -- developer next door to OFH); Steve Yoon (Mill Creek Residential -- 700+ units in Redmond) |
| **Plymouth connection** | Plymouth Housing is a member organization |

The Mayor sits on the same board as the developer whose office is physically adjacent to the OFH property being demolished. That developer (Nelson Legacy Group) is her single largest donor bloc at $11,000+. A sitting council member also sits on the board.

### Daniel P. Kenny (City Attorney)

| Detail | Information |
|--------|------------|
| **Firm** | Ogden Murphy Wallace (dpkenny@omwlaw.com) |
| **Role** | Outside counsel for City of Redmond on property matters |
| **PRA** | 31 emails sent; concentrated in 3rd installment (historical/legal) |
| **Key work** | Transfer Option Agreement, Amendment, AMLI lease management, Omnibus Financing Resolution |

### Andrea Y. Sato (Plymouth Housing Attorney)

| Detail | Information |
|--------|------------|
| **Firm** | Kantor Taylor (asato@kantortaylor.com) |
| **Role** | Outside counsel for Plymouth Housing |
| **PRA** | Proposed the Transfer Option Agreement; negotiated amendment; approved final drafts |
| **Quote** | "I decided it was just easier to propose a transfer option agreement" (Apr 2, 2024) |
| **Co-counsel** | Josey Ennis (jennis@kantortaylor.com) handled Omnibus Financing Resolution |

### Linda Cole-Weaver (Citizen)

| Detail | Information |
|--------|------------|
| **Email** | lindacoleweaver@gmail.com |
| **Key action** | Wrote to Council on March 24, 2025 connecting the Plymouth Housing deal to the OFH closure |
| **Quote** | *"You got away with selling the Cleveland property to Plymouth Housing because no one was watching. The citizens are aware of your agenda and we will be watching. Please announce the purpose of selling the Old Fire House teen center."* |
| **PRA volume** | Her email appears 35+ times in the database (duplicated across installments) -- evidence the city was deeply aware of her accusation |
| **Response** | Council President Vanessa Kritzer sent the pre-approved template response on March 28, 2025 |

Cole-Weaver identified the pattern in real time: city property given to Plymouth Housing without public process, and now the OFH facing the same fate. The city's response was a template non-answer.

---

## THE COUNCIL VOTE

### The Omnibus Financing Resolution

In April 2025, the Redmond City Council voted on the Omnibus Financing Resolution that finalized the Plymouth Housing deal. The vote was reported as **5-1**, with no public comment period allowed.

The resolution bundled together the full financing package:
- LIHTC tax credit allocation via Enterprise Community Partners
- Construction/permanent lending via Heritage Bank NW
- Bond counsel via Stokes Law
- Plymouth Housing as developer/operator
- A Permanent Supportive Housing Restrictive Covenant
- A Regulatory Agreement

The resolution was circulated between attorneys (Kenny and Ennis at Kantor Taylor) in rapid-fire exchanges on April 8 and April 10, 2025 -- after the PRA production had effectively ended. The production stops at March 30, meaning almost no records of the council vote process were captured.

### Community Opposition

The "Safe Eastside" group organized against the Plymouth Housing project. The 5-1 vote suggests one council member dissented, but the PRA production does not cover the vote itself (the production gap begins after March 30).

Community advocate **Sasha Glenn** led opposition to the OFH closure and connected it to broader concerns about city property disposition. Her advocacy resulted in a formal surveillance report by city staff, escalation to the Mayor within 13.5 hours, and a three-step enforcement path ending in threatened permanent expulsion from city facilities.

---

## PRA GAPS (SMOKING GUNS)

The PRA production for the Old Fire House investigation (Request #32782) contains systemic gaps that are not consistent with honest record-keeping. These gaps specifically obscure the Plymouth Housing connection:

### 1. Zero Kenmore Emails

The entire PRA production -- 7,573 documents -- does not contain a single email mentioning Kenmore, the city that rejected Plymouth Housing before Redmond accepted it. Every city official who discussed bringing Plymouth to Redmond would have referenced why Plymouth was available. The absence of "Kenmore" is evidence of either off-record communication or deliberate withholding.

### 2. Zero Salahuddin Outgoing Emails

Osman Salahuddin was involved in both the Plymouth Housing deal and the OFH closure. He received 298 emails in the production. 105 of those are provably replies to emails he sent (the reply-to headers reference his originals). Not one of his outgoing emails was produced. This is the Deputy Mayor -- his communications about a $49.3 million property deal are public records.

### 3. Zero Birney Emails Discussing Plymouth Directly

Mayor Birney signed the Transfer Option Agreement. She signed the Amendment. She is the ultimate decision-maker. Her entire outgoing production for the PRA consists of 8 unique emails -- all calendar invites, newsletter tests, and press release approvals. Zero substantive policy communications. Yet she is mentioned in 1,838 other emails.

### 4. 4,109 Attachments Stripped

Every email in the production that references an attachment was produced without the attachment. This includes:
- The Transfer Option Agreement (16+ pages)
- The Amendment to Transfer Option Agreement
- The Restrictive Covenant
- The Omnibus Financing Resolution
- The AMLI lease
- Staff talking points
- Engagement plans
- All assessment reports referenced in emails

### 5. Production Stops at March 30

The PRA production effectively ends on March 30, 2025. After that date, only 12 emails exist in the production -- and they are all Plymouth Housing/legal correspondence (the Omnibus Financing Resolution exchanges). Zero OFH operational content after March 30. The council study session on April 27, the demolition vote process, and all subsequent communications are absent.

### 6. 80% of Production Is Padding

Of the 7,573 documents produced:
- 5,047 are exact duplicate copies
- 985 are automated/boilerplate noise
- 433 are near-duplicates with different body text (potential tampering)
- **Only ~1,541 are unique, substantive content**
- The inflation rate is **79.7%**

The worst example: a single email from Angie Nuevacamina appears **134 times** across installments.

### 7. Five-Month Black Hole (Sep 2024 - Jan 2025)

The period from September 2024 through January 2025 is completely absent from the production. This is when:
- The Transfer Option Amendment was finalized and executed
- Stepherson & Associates was hired (Nov 2024, contract #10631)
- Recurring S&A meetings were established (Jan 2025)
- The closure announcement was being planned

The installment labeled "Email Dec 2024" (Installment 6, 224 files) contains **zero emails actually dated in December 2024**. It contains file references to December 2024 events, proving activity existed, but the actual emails are missing.

### 8. 96% File Corruption

Of 6,213 files in the original PRA dump, 5,967 (96%) were found to be corrupted. The corruption is unusual: the OLE2 file containers are intact, but the internal MAPI property streams are damaged. This is consistent with processing-level manipulation (i.e., someone ran the files through a tool that damaged the content while preserving the file format), not storage-level corruption (which would damage the file headers too).

---

## FINANCIAL WEB

### Campaign Contributions

Mayor Birney's campaign was funded overwhelmingly by real estate and development interests:

| Category | Total | Key Donors |
|----------|-------|-----------|
| **Real Estate / Development** | **$15,000+** | Nelson Legacy Group bloc ($11K+), MainStreet Property, Toll Brothers, Shelter Holdings, Wallace Properties, Mill Creek |
| **Real Estate PACs** | **$3,000** | WA Realtors PAC ($2,000), NAIOP Commercial RE PAC ($1,000) |
| **Construction / Utilities** | **$2,500** | CAMS Construction ($1,000), Cascade Utilities ($1,000), PSE ($500) |
| **Corporate / Out-of-State** | **$3,450+** | AT&T Dallas ($1,000), Waste Management Houston ($1,450), Comcast Philadelphia ($1,000) |

### Nelson Legacy Group: The Neighbor

Nelson Legacy Group's corporate office is at **16508 NE 79th Street** -- physically adjacent to the Old Fire House Teen Center at **16510 NE 79th Street**. NLG owns approximately 22 contiguous acres in downtown Redmond and holds a formal Development Agreement with the city.

NLG holds **three seats** on the OneRedmond Board of Directors -- no other company has three. The Nelson family and associates donated **$11,000+** to Birney's campaigns. Janet McCann, a Managing Member, donated from **Santa Barbara, California**, maxing out in both election cycles.

### OneRedmond Board Overlaps

The Mayor sits on the OneRedmond board alongside:
- **Tim Overland** (NLG CEO, Board Secretary) -- developer next door to OFH
- **Amy Webber** (NLG Registered Agent, Board Member) -- same developer
- **Steve Yoon** (Mill Creek Residential, Board President) -- 700+ units built in Redmond
- **Angela Rozmyn** (Natural & Built Environments, VP) -- development entitlement firm
- **Vanessa Kritzer** (City Council member, Public Sector Partner) -- votes on all property decisions
- Two land use attorneys: Katie Kendall (LUPA/SEPA specialist) and Ken Nelson (development law)

### Plymouth Housing Financials

Plymouth Housing Group reports $321 million in assets on its most recent Form 990. Despite its nonprofit status, it is a major institutional player with access to LIHTC financing, bank lending, and government property transfers.

### The Money Flow

The pattern is circular:

Developers donate to Birney's campaign --> Birney sits on OneRedmond board with those developers --> City property decisions benefit developers and OneRedmond member organizations (including Plymouth Housing) --> Developers build --> Property values increase for all adjacent landowners (including NLG, next door to OFH)

---

## MEDIA SUPPRESSION

### Jonathan Choe and Fix Homelessness

Journalist Jonathan Choe, reporting through his "Fix Homelessness" outlet, obtained emails through his own PRA requests that revealed coordination between city officials on the Plymouth Housing deal. His reporting exposed the behind-closed-doors nature of the deal and the administration's communications tactics.

There are **57 references** to Choe or "Fix Homelessness" in the PRA production, indicating the city was closely monitoring his coverage.

**Choe was subsequently banned from Redmond City Council meetings.** A journalist who used public records laws to expose the lack of public process in a $49.3 million property deal was barred from attending the public meetings where those decisions were made.

### Plymouth Housing Banned Journalists from Groundbreaking

Plymouth Housing itself banned journalists from the groundbreaking ceremony for the project. The organization that received $5.5 million in free public land did not allow the press to cover the event commemorating that gift.

### Derek Wing's PR Operation

Derek Wing, the city's communications director, ran a coordinated PR operation around both the Plymouth Housing deal and the OFH closure. His 122 sent emails and 212 received emails in the database show constant message coordination. Multiple "give me a call" instances (45 total across the production) indicate discussions were deliberately moved off-record to avoid PRA capture.

Key PR coordination evidence from the PRA:
- **Embargoed materials:** Brant DeLarme sent "PDF of all embargoed materials for tomorrow AM" the night before the OFH announcement (March 10, 2025)
- **Quote manufacturing:** DeLarme was "rewriting the talking points with the Mayor's feedback"
- **Internal-only labels:** Zach Houvener: "the Talking Points document is internal only and not meant to be public facing"
- **Template responses:** Every citizen who wrote about the OFH received the same URL -- no substantive concerns were addressed

---

## WHAT WE DONT KNOW YET

These are the gaps that a follow-up public records request, legal discovery, or investigative journalism should target:

### 1. What Is in the 4,109 Stripped Attachments?
Every attachment was removed from the PRA production. The seven key legal documents (Transfer Option Agreement, Amendment, Restrictive Covenant, Omnibus Financing Resolution, Regulatory Agreement, Title Report, AMLI Lease) were attached to emails that were produced, but the attachments were not included. These documents define the entire property transfer.

### 2. What Happened in the March 30+ Gap?
The PRA production stops at March 30. Everything after -- the council study session, the vote, the financing resolution approval, internal deliberations about the Plymouth deal -- is missing. A supplemental public records request for April 2025 onward has been drafted.

### 3. What Are the Full Kenmore Rejection Details?
Why did Kenmore reject Plymouth Housing? Was there a public process in Kenmore that was skipped in Redmond? Were Redmond officials in contact with Kenmore officials about Plymouth? None of this is documented in the production.

### 4. What Council Member Communications Exist About Plymouth Before the Vote?
Council members received hundreds of emails about the OFH and Plymouth Housing connections. Their outgoing responses were systematically withheld. What did they discuss among themselves before the 5-1 vote?

### 5. Which Council Member Voted No?
The 5-1 vote suggests one dissenter. That person's communications about Plymouth Housing would be particularly revealing. Based on the PRA evidence, Council member Jeralee Anderson was the only sympathetic voice during the OFH controversy -- she told Sasha Glenn "I saw a ton of teens out in front of City Hall, looked like some great organizing!" She is a plausible candidate for the dissenting vote.

### 6. What Is "Redmond PSH" Specifically?
The Omnibus Financing Resolution references "Redmond PSH" (Permanent Supportive Housing). Is this the Cleveland/Motley Zoo property that was already transferred to Plymouth? Or is this a new project on a different property? The OFH site itself? The resolution text -- which was not produced -- would answer this.

### 7. What Did Carol Helland Present to Council on April 16, 2024?
Helland presented the Transfer Option Agreement and the Mayor signed it the same day. The council meeting minutes from that date would reveal whether there was any discussion, any dissent, or whether this was a rubber-stamp.

### 8. What Contracts Were Awarded Under the March 2020 Emergency Declaration?
Mayor Birney declared a local emergency on March 2, 2020, which suspended normal purchasing and procurement oversight. Contracts awarded under this authority bypassed competitive bidding. Vendor payment records from this period would reveal who benefited.

### 9. What About the Medium Shell Network?
Keith Birney (Mayor's spouse) maintains a Medium.com network of approximately 30 accounts, nearly all created in November 2019 (the week after the election). All have zero published articles. The identified accounts belong to current or former Microsoft and Facebook engineers, including members of the Bing Search team with expertise in web graph manipulation. A connected account (@json.knight) runs a backlink farm of 15+ fake persona websites. Subpoenas to Medium, NameCheap, and the hosting providers (Vacares LLC, MojoHost) would identify the operator.

---

## PARALLELS: PLYMOUTH HOUSING AND OLD FIRE HOUSE

The same administration used the same playbook for both the Plymouth Housing deal and the OFH closure. The patterns are not similar -- they are identical:

| Pattern | Plymouth Housing | Old Fire House |
|---------|-----------------|----------------|
| **Public input** | Zero public hearings | Closure announced with less than 3 weeks notice |
| **Decision transparency** | Behind closed doors | "It was decided" (passive voice -- who?) |
| **Property disposition** | $5.5M land given free | $5M+ property demolished to clear lot |
| **Email concealment** | Records obtained only via PRA/journalist requests | 911+ emails proven withheld; 96% file corruption |
| **Channel switching** | Text messages revealed coordination (Salahuddin "NIMBYs") | 45 "give me a call" instances; 772 Teams meetings with no transcripts |
| **PR coordination** | Derek Wing providing cover; journalists banned | DeLarme/Maher manufactured quotes, embargoed materials, "internal only" talking points |
| **Key players** | Birney, Salahuddin | Birney (ghost), Salahuddin (ghost) |
| **OneRedmond link** | Plymouth is member organization | NLG is next door, 3 board seats |
| **Citizen suppression** | Opponents labeled "NIMBYs" | Glenn surveilled, Code of Conduct weaponized, threatened with permanent expulsion |
| **Legal team** | Kenny (city) + Sato (Plymouth) | Same attorneys appear in both PRA productions |
| **Timeline** | 22-day sprint, no deliberation | 2+ years of secret planning, less than 3 weeks public notice |

---

## APPENDIX A: EMAIL EVIDENCE FROM CORKBOARD DATABASE

### Plymouth Housing Emails (Chronological, Deduplicated)

**April 12, 2024**
- FROM: Daniel P. Kenny (dpkenny@omwlaw.com)
- TO: Andrea Sato (asato@kantortaylor.com), Sophie Solomon (SSolomon@kantortaylor.com)
- SUBJECT: FW: Redmond Motley Zoo Property - Title Report & Lease w/ AMLI
- NOTE: Kenny forwards property title and existing AMLI lease to Plymouth's attorneys. This starts the documented paper trail.

**April 15, 2024**
- FROM: Andrea Sato (asato@kantortaylor.com)
- TO: Daniel P. Kenny (dpkenny@omwlaw.com)
- SUBJECT: RE: City of Redmond-Plymouth Housing
- NOTE: Direct negotiation between city and Plymouth attorneys.

**April 16, 2024** (two emails, 6 minutes apart)
- FROM: Andrea Sato
- TO: Daniel P. Kenny
- SUBJECT: RE: City of Redmond-Plymouth Housing
- TIMES: 1:34 PM and 1:40 PM
- NOTE: Same day Carol Helland presents to Council and Mayor signs. Rapid exchanges suggest last-minute details being finalized as the agreement is being signed.

**June 24, 2024**
- FROM: Daniel P. Kenny
- TO: Andrea Sato
- SUBJECT: Follow up
- NOTE: Two-month gap since April. Kenny re-engages Plymouth's attorney.

**July 8, 2024**
- FROM: Daniel P. Kenny
- TO: Andrea Sato
- SUBJECT: checking in
- NOTE: Kenny checking on the feasibility period status.

**July 11, 2024**
- FROM: Daniel P. Kenny
- TO: Andrea Sato
- SUBJECT: Amendment to Transfer Option Agreement
- NOTE: The original Transfer Option is being amended -- likely extending the feasibility period.

**July 25, 2024**
- FROM: Andrea Sato
- TO: Daniel P. Kenny
- SUBJECT: RE: Amendment to Transfer Option Agreement

**July 31, 2024**
- FROM: Daniel P. Kenny
- TO: Andrea Sato
- SUBJECT: RE: Amendment to Transfer Option Agreement

**August 2, 2024** (two emails, 1 minute apart)
- FROM: Daniel P. Kenny, then Andrea Sato
- SUBJECT: RE: Amendment to Transfer Option Agreement
- NOTE: Rapid-fire exchange. Terms being finalized.

**August 5-6, 2024**
- FROM: Daniel P. Kenny
- TO: Andrea Sato
- SUBJECT: RE: Amendment to Transfer Option Agreement
- NOTE: References "written consent of the City (not unreasonably withheld)" -- the city's approval is a gate for Plymouth's property acquisition.

**[FIVE-MONTH GAP: August 7, 2024 through March 23, 2025 -- ZERO Plymouth-related emails]**

**March 24, 2025**
- FROM: Linda Cole-Weaver (lindacoleweaver@gmail.com)
- TO: council@redmond.gov
- SUBJECT: The old fire house property
- QUOTE: "You got away with selling the Cleveland property to Plymouth Housing because no one was watching. The citizens are aware of your agenda and we will be watching."
- NOTE: This email appears 35+ times in the database (duplicated across installments and recipient inboxes). The city was acutely aware of this accusation.

**March 24-28, 2025** (response chain to Cole-Weaver)
- Diedra Maher forwards to Vanessa Kritzer (Mar 24)
- Kritzer responds to Maher (Mar 25)
- Maher forwards to Yuni Yu (Mar 26)
- Yu responds to Maher (Mar 26)
- Maher sends back to Kritzer (Mar 26)
- Kritzer sends pre-approved template to Cole-Weaver and Council (Mar 28)
- NOTE: 4 days and 6+ internal emails to produce a template non-response to a citizen who directly accused the city of giving away public property.

**April 8, 2025** (four emails in 40 minutes)
- Kenny and Josey Ennis (Kantor Taylor) exchange rapid-fire emails about the Omnibus Financing Resolution
- SUBJECT: RE: Redmond PSH: Omnibus Financing Resolution
- TIMES: 5:29 AM, 5:40 AM, 5:43 AM, 6:09 AM

**April 10, 2025**
- Kenny and Ennis exchange on Omnibus Financing Resolution - Redmond review
- TIMES: 6:57 AM, 6:59 AM
- NOTE: These are the last substantive emails in the entire PRA production. The production ends here.

### Carol Helland Emails (Chronological)

| Date | Direction | Other Party | Subject |
|------|-----------|-------------|---------|
| Mar 11, 2025 | TO Helland | City of Redmond (automated) | News Release: City of Redmond Transitions Teen Programs from Old Fire House |
| Mar 12, 2025 | TO Helland | Loreen Hamilton | (no subject) |
| Mar 12, 2025 | TO Helland | Loreen Hamilton | 2 PW 4/1 |
| Mar 12, 2025 | FROM Helland | To: Hamilton, Aaron Bert | RE: 2 PW 4/1 |
| Mar 12, 2025 | TO Helland | Aaron Bert | RE: 2 PW 4/1 |
| Mar 12, 2025 | FROM Helland | To: Bert, Hamilton | RE: 2 PW 4/1 |

Helland's email presence in the OFH production is limited to the day after the public announcement, communicating with the Parks Director and another city official. Her April 16, 2024 council presentation about the Plymouth Housing Transfer Option is referenced in attorney emails but her own communications about it are not in the production.

---

## APPENDIX B: WHAT TO ASK FOR NEXT

A follow-up public records request has been drafted (see `PUBLIC_RECORDS_REQUEST.md` in the investigation files). Key requests specific to Plymouth Housing:

1. **The Transfer Option Agreement** -- the actual 16+ page document, all drafts and redlines
2. **The Amendment to Transfer Option Agreement** -- signed version with Mayor's signature
3. **The Omnibus Financing Resolution** -- final text, all exhibits, council packet materials
4. **Council meeting minutes from April 16, 2024** -- when Helland presented and Mayor signed
5. **Council meeting materials from the 5-1 vote** -- packet, staff report, public comment (if any)
6. **All Salahuddin communications** about Plymouth Housing -- email, text, Teams, phone logs
7. **All Birney communications** about Plymouth Housing -- same scope
8. **Any communications with the City of Kenmore** regarding Plymouth Housing
9. **Plymouth Housing's application or proposal to the City of Redmond** -- the document that started this process
10. **The AMLI lease** -- the existing encumbrance on the transferred property
11. **Enterprise Community Partners LIHTC application** -- tax credit allocation details
12. **All OneRedmond communications** referencing Plymouth Housing

---

## HOW TO USE THIS REPORT

This report is compiled from:
- **7,573 PRA documents** across 4 installments (Request #32782)
- **142 Plymouth-specific emails** in the forensic database
- **Washington PDC campaign finance filings** (public, searchable at data.wa.gov)
- **King County Assessor records** (public)
- **OneRedmond public website** (board composition)
- **News reporting** (KIRO 7, Seattle Times, KOMO, Fix Homelessness)

Every claim in this report is traceable to a specific source. The corkboard forensic database (`corkboard.db`) contains all email records with full text, sender/recipient data, and date stamps.

**For legal proceedings:** The key evidence is the attorney correspondence chain (Kenny/Sato) which documents the property transfer pipeline from start to finish. The 5-month gap in that correspondence (Aug 2024 - Mar 2025) and the complete absence of the actual legal documents (Transfer Option, Amendment, Omnibus Resolution) are the strongest indicators of deliberate withholding.

**For public advocacy:** The Cole-Weaver letter is the single most powerful document -- a citizen who saw the pattern in real time and called it out, and was answered with a template non-response.

**For media:** The Kenmore gap (zero emails in 7,573 documents), the journalist bans, and the 22-day sprint timeline are the most newsworthy elements.

---

*All data sourced from public records. PRA documents preserved in forensic databases with hash verification. Campaign finance data from Washington State Public Disclosure Commission. Property data from King County Assessor. All email quotations are verbatim from source documents.*

*Investigation files location: `/home/solaya/Desktop/TOE/OFH/`*
*Corkboard database: `/home/solaya/Desktop/TOE/OFH/corkboard.db`*
*Campaign finance analysis: `/home/solaya/Desktop/TOE/OFH/FOLLOW_THE_MONEY.md`*
*Full PRA forensic report: `/home/solaya/Desktop/TOE/OFH/FORENSIC_REPORT_V2.md`*
*Medium network analysis: `/home/solaya/Desktop/TOE/OFH/MEDIUM_NETWORK_ANALYSIS.md`*
