Bellevue and Redmond councilmembers agreed Tuesday to bolstering collaboration among the two cities to tackle regional challenges and opportunities to grow responsibly. They also agreed to check in more than every seven years.

The border between the two cities is so seamless people can cross over one side without realizing it, said Bellevue Mayor Claudia Balducci. Microsoft continues to be one of the largest employers in both cities.

But the border also presents a crossover of challenges, such as the growing teen and adult homeless populations, traffic congestion, growing diversity and infrastructure demands.

It’s not just Bellevue and Redmond, but also Kirkland and Issaquah that are seeing a rise in homelessness and aggressive panhandling, said Balducci of an earlier meeting with officials from those cities.

There is likely only a year left for Bellevue to find a permanent location for a year-round men’s shelter, said Bellevue Councilmember John Chelminiak. Sound Transit continues to allow the city to use its former International Paper building as a winter shelter, he said, but the utilities alone make it too expensive to do more than keep the lights and heat on, he said. The Eastside women’s shelter is also planned to be in Bellevue this year.

Redmond Councilmember Hank Myers said homeless encampments that rotate between communities can’t last forever, not with the many differences in how each city regulates them.

Friends of Youth operates The Landing, a homeless teens shelter in Redmond, but the lack of capacity has meant people camping in front of the city’s libraries, said City Councilmember Hank Margeson. He added an ordinance may soon be passed prohibiting public camping, except for those who cooperate with the city.

Bellevue and Redmond continue to make expensive infrastructure improvements to their Bel-Red and Overlake subareas, respectively, with  $150 million going to Overlake and more than $300 million committed to Bel-Red and Wilburton.

But Redmond Councilmember David Carson said more cooperation is needed between the two cities to address traffic congestion that will only increase in these areas, noting four shared intersections in the Overlake area in need of improvements. Bellevue Deputy Mayor Kevin Wallace agreed Overlake will become a “mini-armageddon” without proper planning for traffic.

Bel-Red councilmembers all could agree to combining forces to appeal to Eastside legislators to pass a statewide transportation package, something Wallace said has been held up for at least three years “with no end in sight.”

Redmond Mayor Johh Marchione encouraged both councils to consider the city of Seattle and its mayor, Ed Murray, allies to their legislative goals, making the Eastside a “counterweight” to Seattle.