Seattle City Council 10262020

you

The October 26, 2020 meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is 2.03 PM.

I'm Lorena Gonzalez, President of the Council.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Strauss?

Present.

Herbold?

Here.

Lewis?

Council Member Lewis?

Present.

Morales?

Here.

Mosqueda?

Present.

Peterson?

Here.

Sawant?

Here.

Council President Gonzalez?

Here.

Gape present.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Presentations, I'm not aware of any presentations today, so we'll move to approval of the minutes.

The minutes of the City Council meeting of October 19th, 2020 have been reviewed.

If there is no objection, the minutes will be signed.

Hearing no objection, the minutes are being signed, and I'd ask that the clerk please affix my signature to the minutes.

Adoption of the referral calendar.

If there is no objection, the introduction and referral calendar will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, the introduction and referral calendar is now adopted.

Approval of the agenda.

If there is no objection, the agenda will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, the agenda is adopted.

Colleagues, at this time, we will open the remote public comment period for items on the City Council agenda introduction and referral calendar and the Council's 2020 work program.

I want to thank everyone for their ongoing patience and cooperation as we continue to operate this remote public comment system.

It does remain the strong intent of the City Council to have remote public comment regularly included on meeting agendas.

However, as a reminder, the City Council does reserve the right to end or eliminate these public comment periods at any point if we deem that this system is being abused or is no longer suitable for allowing our meetings to be conducted efficiently and effectively.

I will moderate the public comment period in the following manner.

The public comment period for this meeting is 20 minutes, and each speaker will be given two minutes to address the council this afternoon.

I will call on each speaker by name and in the order in which they registered on the council's website.

If you've not yet registered to speak but would like to, you can sign up before the end of public comment by going to the council's website at Seattle.gov forward slash council.

That's C-O-U-N-C-I-L.

The public comment link is also listed on today's agenda.

Once I call a speaker's name, staff will unmute the appropriate microphone and an automatic prompt of you have been unmuted will be the speaker's cue that it is their turn to speak, but the speaker must first press star six in order for us to hear you.

Please begin speaking after you hit star six by stating your name and the item that you are addressing.

As a reminder, public comment should relate to an item on today's agenda.

the Introduction and Referral Calendar, or the Council's 2020 Work Program.

Speakers will hear a chime at about 10 seconds.

That means that you have 10 seconds left of your allotted time.

Once you hear the chime, we ask that you begin to wrap up your public comment.

If speakers don't and their comments at the end of the allotted time provided, the speaker's microphone will be muted to allow us to call on the next speaker.

If you don't get through all of your public comments and would still like to submit your public comment, you can by emailing the full council at council, that's C-O-U-N-C-I-L dot G-O, excuse me, at Seattle dot G-O-V.

Once you've completed your public comment, we ask that you please disconnect from the line, and if you plan to continue following this meeting, you can do so on Seattle Channel or one of the listening options listed on the agenda.

The public comment period is now open.

And we will begin with the first speaker on the list.

Again, for our speakers, you must first press star six after you hear the prompt of you have been unmuted.

So I will say your name, then you will hear the prompt of you have been unmuted, then you need to hit star six in order for us to be able to hear you.

So let's go ahead and get started.

Again, we have 20 minutes.

It's 2.07 PM, so we will go until approximately two 27 p.m.

First person who has signed up and present is Howard Gale, followed by Jera Lee Anderson.

Go ahead, Howard.

Hi.

Hi.

Good afternoon.

This is Howard Gale, Lower Queen Anne District 7, speaking on public safety.

I'm disappointed that Council Member Siwan's proposal on establishing a truly independent and community-based police oversight board has not been supported by any other council members.

So what's proposal would provide for a system that would be unlike what we currently have, but a system that does exist in other U.S. cities like Newark, New Jersey, and Nashville, Tennessee.

If the council believes in the righteousness of the moment we are in, if you believe in justice for George Floyd, then how can you not believe in justice for Charlena Lyles, Kyle Gray, Jason Seavers, Ayocea Falotogo, Danny Rodriguez, Ryan Smith, Sean Lee Furr, and Terry Kaver, all killed by Seattle police just in the last three years since the council approved the police accountability legislation we're currently operating under.

All these police killings were never properly investigated.

I ask at least the council members be accountable and transparent to your constituents.

If you do not support Council Member Sawant's proposal, Please, you must at least explain what is the measure of justice and comfort our existing accountability system has brought to the families and loved ones of Charlene Lyles, Kyle Gray, Jason Seavers, Ayoce Afolatogo, Danny Rodriguez, Ryan Smith, Sean Lee Furr, Terry Caver, who was just killed in Lower Queen Anne in May, and the 19 others who were also killed by the Seattle Police Department since the murder of John T. Williams.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next, we have Jeralee Anderson followed by Stephanie Anderson.

Good afternoon, Madam Mayor and council members.

My name is Jeralee Anderson and I'm the CEO of Green Roads Foundation with some great news for you today on the 23rd Avenue Phase 2 project.

Green Roads is a 501c3 nonprofit corporation based here in Seattle that advances sustainability education and initiatives for transportation infrastructure.

As the developer of the Green Roads rating system, we manage the voluntary third-party certification process for sustainable transportation projects in the U.S. and internationally.

recognizing high-performing projects for documented excellence in environmental sustainability.

We got our start right here at the University of Washington and are deeply appreciative of the initial support and collaboration we've received from City of Seattle staff early on in 2010 and beyond today.

Because of you, currently we are proud to be working with more than 130 streets, highways, bridges, rails, and trails all over the world towards certification valued at over $33 billion.

And I'm here today to recognize the 23rd Avenue South Phase 2 project with a bronze rating at 43 points and to congratulate you on this achievement.

This project was certified by the Board of Directors in September, so we came to you today to talk to you about it.

23rd Avenue Phase 2 is the result of an interdisciplinary collaborative effort from SDOT and the Design and Construction Team, Pertit, HNTB, and Janssen Incorporated.

While we wish we were able to present this award to you in person, I do have a few other team members joining me today to tell you more about the project.

This is the City of Seattle's eighth certified project since 2010, and we are pleased to share its success story today.

We thank you and the Council for your leadership and commitment to environmental sustainability and transportation, and congratulate you on this significant achievement.

And I'll leave you with a fun fact.

You are now tied for the most number of projects in the state of Washington with the City of Tacoma.

We look forward to working together again as part of a green recovery.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you for calling in.

Next up is Stephanie Anderson, followed by Janice Contieri.

Hi, my name is Stephanie Anderson.

I'm a Ballard resident, District 6. I've lived in Ballard for 24 years.

I just paid my second half of my property taxes.

And I'm really here to ask, what is going on with a plan to deal with homelessness?

And I'm not sure this is the right forum because you guys don't have to answer me.

You just have to listen to me, and then I'm gone.

But I look at the park by the QFC and the Ballard Public Library, and it's unbelievable, and it's gotten worse.

And I read lots of letters to the editors.

They're all saying the same thing.

What's going on?

What is the city council doing?

What is the mayor doing?

What is the plan?

I know from reading about other studies on homelessness that housing is the start.

I attended Dan Strauss' town hall.

He said, yeah, we need money.

I haven't heard a plan.

I feel like everybody is talking about it in the city, in the neighborhoods.

I haven't heard anything from the city council or the mayor about what you guys intend to do about it.

And like I said, this may not be the right forum because you don't have to answer me, but I really don't, I would love to hear from you as to what is the plan.

You have this property, that is now on the ballot but what are you going to do about it.

The park at the Ballard Library is awful.

The area by the Safeway and 86th is awful.

People these people need housing and I'm just floored that there's just absolute silence from the City Council on this issue.

I would love for someone to get in touch with me and tell me what is the plan.

Thank you.

Thank you for calling in Stephanie really appreciate you engaging.

If you want to get a hold of us, Stephanie, and you're still listening, you can send us a quick email to counsel.

That's C. O. U. N. C. I. L at Seattle dot G.

O. V. And if you are inclined to watch the rest of city council, you will hear the council consider a bill on the agenda for today that addresses specifically the outreach issues you are flagging to our unhoused neighbors and relatives living throughout the city of Seattle.

Okay, next up is Janice Contieri followed by Jesse Thompson.

Thank you council members for the opportunity to speak today.

My name is Janice Cantieri and I'm a resident and voter in Ballard and proud supporter of the Green Roads Foundation.

Green Roads projects like 23rd Avenue make our streets safer more sustainable and create green new jobs.

Thank you for being a longtime member and supporter of our program.

Throughout this pandemic it's become more clear to me how important it is that we have access to safe walkable streets so that we can get outside and stay healthy and so that everyone is able to get safely where they need to go.

It's also important that the transportation projects we build in our city are built with an inclusive community engagement process so that roads actually benefit the communities they serve and don't cause harm.

Green roads is a great way to ensure that while also creating green new jobs, saving taxpayer money and benefiting the environment.

Thank you so much for your support so far and thank you for your time today.

Thank you for calling in Janice.

Next up is Jesse Thompson.

Hello my name is Jesse Thompson and I would like to thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

I am the vice president at Pertit and the lead engineer for both the 23rd Avenue Phase 1 and Phase 2 projects.

I'm also a resident voter in Seattle 6th District.

We are very excited to support SDOT in their second bronze certification in this high-priority corridor that improves pedestrian and transit safety.

I would also like to acknowledge some of the SDOT staff that were involved in this project.

Garth Merrill, SDOT's project manager, David Viharo, SDOT's design lead, and Eugene Pike, who led the construction management phase.

I did also want to mention a few highlights from the project that we were able to achieve Sidewalk improvements throughout the corridor to create a more pleasant and safe pedestrian environment and pedestrian crossings.

Transit improvements, including real-time arrival and improved stops to accommodate future more frequent transit through the corridor.

We also replaced a 100-plus-year-old water main, which is important for providing people with healthy drinking water.

No new additional impervious areas and a 40-year design life for the pavement, which reduces maintenance costs for the city by 8% over the life of the project.

So thank you very much for your time and for supporting green roads and green infrastructure in Seattle.

And I hope that trend continues.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Jesse, for calling in today.

Colleagues, that was the last person signed up to provide us with public comment.

This afternoon, I have refreshed my list several times and don't see anyone else who is preregistered and who is also present.

So we're gonna go ahead and close out the period of public comment and begin on items of business on our agenda.

First up is payment of the bills.

Will the clerk please read the title?

Council Bill 119943, appropriate in mind to pay as it enclaves the week of October 12th, 2020 through October 16th, 2020 and ordering payment thereof.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

I move to pass Council Bill 119943. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

It's been moved and seconded that the bill pass.

Are there any comments?

Hearing no comments, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Strauss.

Yes.

Herbold?

Yes.

Lewis?

Yes.

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Yes.

Peterson?

Yes.

Salant?

Yes.

Council President Gonzalez?

Yes.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

We will now move into committee reports of the city council.

Will the clerk please read agenda item one into the record?

Council President Gonzalez, before we move forward to the next item, do you mind closing out that item by just indicating that the bill passed and the chair will sign it?

Yes, I will comply with that.

So sorry about that, Amelia.

I'm still getting back into the swing of things.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

Committee reports of the City Council.

Will the clerk please read item 1 into the record?

Thank you.

Agenda item 1, Council Bill 119942, amending Ordinance 126-000, which adopted the 2020 budget, amending Ordinance 126-148, amending a proviso, and ratifying and confirming search and prior acts.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

I move to pass Council Bill 119942. Is there a second?

It's been moved and seconded to pass the bill.

Council Member Lewis, you are the sponsor of this bill and are recognized in order to address this item.

Thank you, Madam President.

Just just just one moment, I'm sorry.

Is this the time where I'm supposed to move to amend or are we going to do that?

Cllr Rachel Gilliland, COB, she, her, hers.

We can, is this a, so I, I, I see that you do have an amendment.

You are welcome to ask that the council consider the amendment.

help the council have the most productive conversation about the bill that will ultimately be before us.

So if you want to address the amendment first, completely happy to have that happen first.

Yeah, I think I would like to address the amendment first.

It's technical in nature.

So I move to amend Council Bill 119942 as presented on Amendment 1, which was recently distributed.

Excellent.

We need a second on that amendment.

Second.

Thank you so much.

It's been moved and seconded to amend the bill as presented on Amendment 1. Council Member Lewis, please feel free to address Amendment 1.

Thank you, Madam President.

As I mentioned at briefing this morning, Amendment 1 is technical in nature, and that is the opinion of the city attorney's office as well as central staff in distributing this amendment last week.

It clarifies the amount of money HSD is being given and how that can be spent.

and a necessary change to make sure that this legislation that changes the provisos from the summer session can go forward as we intended to.

So I would ask that we vote on this and then move on to discussing the legislation more holistically.

Thank you, Council Member Lewis.

Are there any questions or comments on the amendment?

Okay, hearing none, I will ask that the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of Amendment 1 as described by Councilmember Lewis.

Rouse?

Yes.

Herbold?

Yes.

Lewis?

Yes.

Morales?

Yes.

Thank you.

Mosqueda?

Yes.

Peterson?

Yes.

Swant?

Yes.

Council President Gonzalez?

Yes.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

The motion carries and the amendment is adopted.

Councilmember Lewis, I will hand it back over to you to address the bill as amended before we hear other comments from your colleagues.

And as is required by the rules, you will have the last word to close out debate once we've heard from others.

Councilmember Lewis.

Thank you very much, Madam President.

And it is Good to see that at 201, it was distributed to all council members.

We did get the updated framework agreement between the executive and the providers to continue to go through and go forward on this conversation that has been convened to really make sure that we are working together as a council, a provider community, and a mayor to start making material progress on getting outreach and services to folks who really, really need it right now, especially now that we are very clearly on the doorstep of winter.

This framework and the conversation around it has been very productive for all of us to make sure that we are talking and working through ending 2020 with action and making sure that we are getting these resources out into the field to people who need them.

Resources around hygiene and behavioral mental health and all the other things that are authorized in this bill.

And where there is an agreement and a framework to spend these resources, and get them out to the folks that need them.

But I want to be clear about what this legislation doesn't do.

This legislation does not make any commitments in terms of what the city side of things on managing outreach is going to be for 2021. We have a variety of proposals that have come forward.

The executive sent down a proposal for the team that they would like to have in HSD, similar to the proposal that is in this legislation, to have a coordinating team that is not out in the field, to have a engagement policy that is centered on provider outreach for folks with expertise and connections in our community to be the face and the implementers of our outreach policy.

And for the city to be in a coordinating and service providing role that is enhancing the mission of those providers.

This is a good start to finish out 2020. It's good that we have been able to convene a conversation where we are moving closer to a consensus in this area.

And we will continue to talk about what the model for 2021 is going to look like throughout the fall budget session.

But we cannot wait any longer based on the urgency and the need to really start deploying these resources that is evident in all the districts of the city, that sense of urgency.

Um, so, uh, you know, with that, I just want to say, this isn't the end.

This is the beginning.

Um, we have a long way to go still.

Um, but this is a good start where everybody has been working in good faith.

Um, I encourage everyone to read the framework, um, that was distributed to a one.

Um, I, I have, I have briefly, um, glanced at, uh, but definitely want to spend more time with that document.

But this really does represent a material step forward on a new model of outreach that is no longer going to overemphasize the role of police, no longer going to overemphasize, or rather, I should say, underemphasize the need for our service provider community to be the face of these efforts in all the neighborhoods that they serve.

And with that, I would move that we, or I look forward to further conversation, but we'll certainly encourage and hope that we move forward with this today and that we continue to build on this in the 2021 budget.

and make sure that the resources we have appropriated in 2020 do get out there in the field, as is the expectation of the provider community in supporting this measure today.

Thank you, Council Member Lewis.

Are there any questions or comments on the bill from my colleagues?

Okay, Council Member Salant and then Council Member Morales.

I intend to vote no on this bill because what it actually does is shrink the scale of the proviso that was passed by the council to stop the encampment removals or as homeless activists themselves have said, stop the sweeps by almost a third.

$2.9 million to $2 million.

This proviso basically said the mayor could only use the funds allocated to the so-called navigation team which does the sweeps of homeless people.

It could only use those funds to do genuine outreach of homeless services instead.

Councilmember Lewis says everybody has been working on good faith.

I think that is true of the workers at reach and employees of the human services department, but I don't believe that that's true of the mayor's office, which actually has been an obstacle to getting any kind of change away from removals of homeless encampments and homeless human beings.

Everything else that has been discussed as part of this bill, such as the shared principles and agreed framework of the service providers, all of which, of course, is moving in a good direction, could have happened anyway and do not actually require this legislation.

This legislation is precisely for the proposal.

The proposal is shrinking the scale of the proviso.

What the Council is voting on now is whether or not to shrink the 2020 stop the sweeps from $2.9 million to $2 million.

The only reason that is being discussed is because Mayor Durkan refused to follow the proviso since it was passed by the City Council in August.

As of last Friday my office the budget.

It did not legally take effect until last Thursday, but there was nothing stopping the mayor from voluntarily following the proviso earlier.

So I don't actually take these claims about a sense of urgency, any serious, you know, I don't take it at face value.

The only reason Mayor Durkin chose not to follow the proviso was because she was confident the city council would give her retroactive permission to do so.

And here's a bill to do just that.

I will say also, I'm really taken aback that this retroactive permission is being considered before the mayor actually takes any material steps to follow the proviso in any way.

I mean, where is the funding for the service providers to do homeless outreach?

Perhaps it would be different if it were December and the mayor had dutifully followed the legal requirements of the proviso for two months and was then after that asking for retroactive permission for her slow start.

But this bill gives her permission for being late before she even begins.

So what's to prevent her from delaying another couple of months and then bringing another bill retroactively giving permission for the next delay?

I mean, we don't know that that's not going to happen.

The sweeps of homeless encampments are cruel, inhumane and ineffective.

People are removed again and again and again, sometimes from the same locations because there's nowhere affordable to go.

There are no alternatives.

There have been well over a thousand sweeps and they're clearly not working and they're wasting millions of dollars, forcing people to move, losing their belongings and becoming more and more desperate after one traumatic event after another.

The mayor should have stopped sweeping people years ago, and it's not possible for my office to support a bill to retroactively give her permission for delaying even after a stop the sweep proviso has been passed.

So I'll be voting no, thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Sawant.

Council Member Morales.

Thank you.

I do have a couple of questions for the sponsor.

Before I move on, Council Member Lewis, can you talk a little bit about how the team described in your amendment is materially different from the HSD team that the executive has proposed for 2021 in the 2021 budget?

Yes, I can answer that question.

This proviso change is not prescriptive in terms of the division of labor as to what these eight FTEs can and can't do.

It represents a four-employee reduction from the number of HSD employees who are on the old navigation team, so it's a smaller team.

team that we got a presentation about three weeks ago was also eight FTEs.

So they could use those eight FTEs in any way they see fit that is consistent with the conditions of the proviso, which explicitly says that they cannot be doing direct outreach.

So they can essentially be doing things other than direct outreach, like coordinating with providers and coordinating with city departments to provide assistance to the mission of the providers.

And it's important to note that that $245,000, which is the only amount of money that's released, so only like a little less than a quarter million dollars is released for the last two months of this year for that HSD team, that expires at the end of the year.

And it does not guarantee that HSD will have those eight FTEs any longer than December 31st.

That would depend on what our conversations are this fall.

in terms of what we want the long-term team, whatever it is, to look like beyond that.

And that is something I would add that the ongoing work that the mayor's office and the provider community are doing to go back and forth on this is also heavily discussing, you know, what will be the makeup of the team and what will their roles be?

And, you know, I-

Sorry, I guess what I'm trying to understand, and maybe this is a question for Jeff.

Is Jeff on?

Council Member Morales, Jeff was available this morning at council briefing.

That was the time to ask questions of council central staff.

So I just want to be clear that I understand the 2021 proposal calls for eight team members.

And as I understand it, the roles are team manager, outreach manager, communications manager, field coordinator, data analyst, department coordinator, and two systems navigators, right?

That's my memory from the presentation, yeah.

And from recording the slides.

So, yeah.

Right.

So those are all roles that existed on the previous team and are continuing.

So I guess what I'm trying to understand is that aside from the intent to shift, you know, coordinate outreach work, we know how this team would be different from the navigation team.

Right, so I mean, unlike the old navigation team, there are sideboards in the Proviso that limit what they can be doing.

And I mean, that was important to the provider community since they don't want a team that's gonna be out there competing with on the ground outreach efforts with a monopoly of resources that other providers don't have access to.

And that is something that under this, if the, the team were to have that mission, they would not be able to access this money or those FTEs.

So, you know, I mean, that is a material difference.

We will no longer have city employees be agents of outreach and certainly won't have police be integrated as part of that team.

That proviso remains fully enshrined in the 2020 package.

So I'm sorry, I'll just one more point, I guess, and I'll wrap up.

I just feel like this proposal amends the proviso that we passed this summer by shifting 0.9 million away from the navigation team to service providers was the proposal.

You didn't support and I understand, but what I don't see is how this amendment itself does anything more than bring just these 2021 proposed navigation team online months earlier than proposed.

And what's frustrating for me and disheartening is that this legislative body voted pass a budget, unequivocally stated our intent to shift away from a navigation team model and provide more resources to providers.

We voted not once, but twice.

So I wanna thank the service providers who I know have been having long and frequent conversations with the executive branch.

They've really been at the table to hammer out a deal for these dollars to finally get out the door.

I want to thank the providers for working on this framework, which is wholly separate from this legislation.

I'm excited to see that.

And I know that those conversations do need to continue to make sure that the last unresolved issues are met.

And my understanding is that there is a commitment to meet again with the executive, between the executive and providers in the next couple of days.

so that we can make sure these resources get put to their intended use.

But I have to say that I believe this legislation, which in my mind disregards the incredible ongoing work that has led to this framework, really the only purpose of this is to bring back some version of the navigation team.

That said, is also my understanding that a deal with the executive that would address some serious concerns that several providers have, that a deal to address those issues is contingent on passing this amendment.

So I will be voting in favor of it solely to help make sure that those issues are addressed, those concerns are addressed, and that deal can happen.

Thank you, Council Member Morales for those comments.

Council Member Herbold, please.

Thank you so much.

Really appreciate the work that's been done thus far to get us to this point.

So first off, many thanks to the outreach providers who worked tirelessly over the last few weeks on coming to this agreement about a new framework for outreach and encampment management.

I remember at the end of September, I think it was September 30th when we received the letter from Deputy Mayor Sixkiller about the next steps.

after council action to override the mayor's veto on three issues.

One of those issues was the end of the navigation team.

And in that letter, there was no description on how to activate the funds provided by the council for outreach.

I immediately reached out to representatives from our provider community with the request that they I want to really just thank you for responding with urgency, and I appreciate the many, many hours that you have been spending working with the executive on the framework.

Recognize that the framework is a beginning place, not an end place.

I want to thank also Councilmember Lewis for leading the discussion and Deputy Mayor Sixkiller for being a willing partner in the discussions and really being open and operating in a way that shows, I think, a lot of goodwill towards something that the council, the executive, and the provider community can get behind together as a unified front.

I understand that the framework that was shared with council members, again, it's a new effort to do this work differently and for us all to work together to build this new approach in alignment.

As I mentioned before, the framework itself isn't the end of the process, it's just the beginning.

There is more work to be done to operationalize the framework over the next several weeks and to ensure that the new approach truly serves the needs of people living unsheltered, of groups of people living in encampments and of the housed neighbors and neighboring businesses.

This action will reinforce council efforts from September to make available funds to the executive so that outreach can continue in 2020. Again, it's a mark of good faith in which the conversations have proceeded.

I think I just wanna uplift one I'm going to move on to the next portion of the shared framework that I think is particularly important to highlight.

It says the city concurs that removals will not be the first response and will collaborate with providers to address obstructions and behavior through thoughtful and respectful dialogue and problem-solving, engaging both unsheltered and housed residents, addressing specific include everybody to be present in the neighborhood, from people living unsheltered to housed people and people who work or frequent parks or businesses there.

And I think this new framework recognizes the value of everyone in this necessary problem-solving model.

And really that's what I see.

I see this as a shift towards a problem solving model rather than a model that assumes that when outreach is sent out, the purpose of the outreach is to remove the encampment.

The agreement also addresses the need for the city to continue to commit significant resources not only to outreach, but to shelter, housing, trash removal, hygiene, health promotion and harm reduction, including sharps containers and health outreach in coordination with public health.

I'm really glad that this agreement has been reached in time for council to be able to consider what it might mean for the 2021 budget as well.

And if we can accomplish this work today from a foundation of shared principles, I think this will help propel us for those ongoing discussions from this agreed upon starting point.

I've been in ongoing conversations with outreach providers who are on the front lines of this work every day.

I know they've indicated their support with the transmission of this new framework.

I will be voting to approve this legislation.

and I'm also marking my commitment to continue to be in conversation with the executive and providers.

And as Council Member Lewis, I do know that you referenced the receipt of the 201 new framework.

Have we done what we need to do to include it as a supporting document in the official record?

I think that would be a useful thing to do as well.

Thank you.

And Council Member Herbold, that might be a question for the for the clerk on how we'd procedurally do that, but I would be more than, I'd be totally supportive of that.

Madam Clerk, I do think there was a question that was deferred by the bill sponsor to you.

I'm going to ask that Council Member Herbold repeat the question so that the clerk may have an opportunity to hear the full question and respond accordingly.

You are on mute.

We received at 201 an updated framework that the provider community has sent to us and just wondering whether or not there's a way to include it as a supporting document.

in the official record.

It doesn't necessarily need to be an amendment at this point.

I think there is another discussion about memorializing this framework through a resolution, but if we could at least ensure that it is attached to the materials for today's meeting, I think that would be really useful.

Thank you for repeating that question Council Member Herbold.

Yes, if the Council would like to add the actual updated version of the framework to the record, we just need confirmation that all Council Members have received it via email and after the meeting we can add the updated version to the record as a supporting document.

Thank you.

Councilmember Lewis, can you confirm for the clerk that the updated framework you are referencing during this meeting has, in fact, been circulated to all councilmembers?

Yes, Madam President, I can confirm that the document titled Shared Principles and Agreed Framework for Response to People Living on Sheltered 2020 to 2021 was emailed by Allison Isinger to the entire council at 201, and I can see all of our emails cc'd on it, and so can confirm that even Council Member Juarez, who is excused today, received it as well.

So, yes.

Thank you, Council Member Lewis.

Madam Clerk, does that suffice for the confirmation that you need in order to attach this to the final record.

Yes, this is information needed in order to add it as a supporting document.

Thank you very much.

Thank you so much.

And Council Member Lewis, if someone in your office could be so kind as to forward that final document that was circulated to all Council Members at 2.01 p.m.

to the clerk, that would be helpful to them in order to update the record accordingly.

Thank you so much.

Council Member Peterson, please.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Council Member Lewis, as chair of our Homelessness Strategies and Investments Committee, and Council Member Herbold.

It sounds like Deputy Mayor Sixkiller and those in HSD, Human Services Department, were involved helping to craft this, so thanks to them.

I am concerned about the shrinking of the city government team that's been involved with this effort.

Essentially, it's going from, I believe, 14 FTEs down to eight FTEs approximately.

Many constituents have contacted our office to share their concerns about the rise of visible unauthorized encampments.

We know that the Centers for Disease Control guidelines regarding social distancing and spacing requirements and congregate shelter models, you know, that presents a problem and city has acted to stand up shelters and provide hygiene and outreach.

But I believe we need to have that role, a strong role of coordinating from the city government, city government leadership on coordinating the outreach efforts.

And I know we voted unanimously to remove the police department as a standard part of the team.

So I'm glad to see this incorporated, continuing as part of this compromise.

There are times when SPD will need to be involved.

I know firefighters are going out to encampments when there are fire hazards and sometimes wanna have the police department available just in case something were to arise there.

So again, my chief concern throughout this discussion has been making sure the city government has a strong coordination role.

And because ultimately the city and the county governments are responsible for addressing the problems of public health and safety.

and addressing homelessness.

I'm very much looking forward to the King County Regional Homeless Authority taking shape so that we can coordinate our efforts regionally to tackle this regional problem.

So even though I'm concerned about the shrinking role of city government, and I wish it were a larger role, I hope it can be, we can value our HSD employees and the role and expertise that they bring to the table and see about expanding their role in the future.

Today, I will support this compromise, however.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any other comments from my colleagues?

Okay.

Hearing, and I'm sorry.

Okay.

Council Member Mosqueda, please.

Thank you very much, Council President, and thanks to the folks who spoke today, especially those who articulated the urgent need for us to get dollars out the door right now.

I mean, that's the reality of the situation we're in.

The outreach dollars that we allocated were not given to community partners to help with outreach.

And instead of helping folks out in the community, the messages we've been receiving are that council has not stepped in to provide an alternative to the navigation team, which is just not true.

So, I really appreciate that.

This is what the providers want, because right now they are seeing or lack of those dollars being allocated to the community people going without the outreach services that they need connections to housing and essential.

support like trash cleanup and making sure that people get the assistance they need to have food and ideally referrals to the right place.

So it's in the spirit that many council members have already brought up of us needing to just get the money out the door and wanting to see the good work of those community partners get funded, that I'll be looking forward to voting for this and recognizing that this is very much still in alignment with what the principles were from our earlier actions.

and making sure that homelessness outreach is not being led or done in conjunction with those who are sworn officers and that there's the appropriate role for our excellent city team to be coordinating behind the scenes to make sure that people get the referrals that they need and into hopefully case management.

And that's an important role for our city to continue to do, but making sure that the community partners with the trusted relationships are out there doing the hard work.

So thanks to them for sending in the framework.

And to all of us, I think this is a good indication of how we can continue to make sure that those trusted partners are getting the dollars.

And that's really the most important thing right now as folks deal with COVID and the now, what, five-year crisis of housing and homelessness affordability issues.

With that, I'll be voting yes, Council President.

Thank you, Council Member Mosqueda.

Any other comments?

Okay, I'm going to ask Council Member Lewis to close out debate with any final comments, and then we will take up the bill.

Thank you, Madam President.

I'll be brief.

understand where folks who have some skepticism about this legislation are coming from based on the history of the old navigation team.

And a lot of the issues we've seen over the last three years around collaboration between the city and the provider community, which I think we can all agree has not in and of itself been able to solve our homelessness crisis.

And we see every day thousands of our neighbors living without basic necessities, without basic hygiene facilities, and without, as Councilmember Strauss often says, four walls and a door that locks.

And this bill is not going to solve all of that immediately.

But it is a step in the right direction to start this collaborative process of working through this with all of the principal operators in this area.

I would note that while we are revising the proviso from the summer, only $245,000 is going back to the Human Services Department.

$245,000 for the last two months of the year, and over $2 million is going to be released to our service providers.

Also, based on revisions of what that money can be going to, based on collaboration and conversation with providers on what they really need, based on what they're experiencing right now out in the field.

And that includes more money for behavioral mental health services, flexible financial assistance, case management to expand existing case management contracts, housing navigation, as well as technology needs for service providers to enhance their mission in the field.

While we still have a lot of work to do and this one thing is not going to solve all of it, this is a really important step forward in continuing to come together to really bring action and respond to what we are seeing in the city.

There were folks in public comment who were stating their frustration about the city having been bogged down in really important disagreements about the future direction of what our homelessness response is gonna look like.

And this is the first step to all of us realizing our common interest in this and moving forward in a way that can hopefully finally bridge the divide and get people the really critical resources that they need and that this council has appropriated money to address.

So with that, Madam President, I look forward to the vote and look forward to the next steps in working through this policy area through the 2021 budget process.

Thank you, Council Member Lewis, for those closing remarks about this council bill.

I want to thank everybody else on the council who also made comments about the bill and look forward to supporting supporting this effort and the long-term ongoing efforts that are going to be necessary to really make a difference in this area.

Okay, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill as amended?

Rouse?

Yes.

Herbold?

Yes.

Lewis?

Yes.

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Yes.

Peterson?

Yes.

Sawant?

No.

Council President Gonzalez?

Yes.

Seven in favor, one opposed.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

The bill passes as amended and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

Okay, other business.

Is there any other further business to come before the council?

Okay, no other business.

Colleagues, this does conclude the items of business on today's agenda.

Our next regularly scheduled City Council meeting is on Monday, November 2nd, 2020 at 2 o'clock p.m.

That is it for today.

I hope that you all have a wonderful afternoon.

We're adjourned.