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Good afternoon.

Today is February 9th, 2026. The council briefing meeting will come to order.

The time is 2.02 p.m.

There is no place we would rather be than with you right here on this beautiful Monday in front of the Seattle Channel.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Councilmember Rivera Present Councilmember Salka Here Councilmember Strauss Councilmember Foster Here Councilmember Juarez Councilmember Kettle Here Councilmember Lynn Here Councilmember Rink Present And Council President Hollingsworth I'm here Seven present

Council Member Strauss and Council Member Juarez are excused for today.

So colleagues, there is no objection to, if there's no objections, I can't say there's no objections, but if there's no objections to the minutes of February 2nd, 2026 will be adopted.

Hearing none, the minutes are adopted.

Here are the president's report really quick.

Onto the president's report.

We have an OIR virtual presentation today.

So colleagues, the OIR presentation is every other week.

So we did not have one last week.

We'll have one this week.

And then our next one will be February 23rd.

We also have one proclamation for signatures today.

and then we have one executive session scheduled.

On tomorrow's council agenda, we have three items on the introduction and referral calendar.

We have CB1211, it's an ordinance authorizing the general manager of CEO Seattle Public Utilities to enter into an interlocal agreement to participate in the regional water supply forum.

We also have an ordinance relating to the Cedar River Municipal Watershed and that that is gonna come to the Governance and Utilities Committee.

And then we also, on tomorrow's City Council agenda, we have two items for the consent calendar, minutes from February 3rd, and we also have three items up for a vote, Council Bill 121153, which is Office of City Finance for Seattle Social Housing, developer, we also have an SDCI SEPA thresholds update as well, following an SDCI transportation amendments for SEPA.

So we have a couple council bills from different committees coming up to a full vote.

I would be remiss, is that the word remiss?

Remissed, thank you.

If I didn't say go Hawks, you won the Super Bowl, we're so grateful.

I know during our blue sky, we'll be able to talk about that, but I just wanted to say that, because I won't say that during my council briefing, so I wanted to say it today, okay?

To be like, go Hawks, we're super excited.

And colleagues, I will also explain to you all, on Wednesday, we have sent out an email about the, there is a parade that will be here at 10 a.m.

on Wednesday, and we know that traffic is gonna be a lot coming downtown.

So we have talked about a virtual option.

I know that the library's education neighborhood committee is gonna be rescheduled.

Also the housing and civil rights and arts committee is going to be virtual as well to try to ease up some of that congestion and so forth.

So just so you all know in planning for staff, it's going to be a very busy downtown on 4th Avenue.

And so we're gonna be adjusting here at City Hall.

Business still runs, we still have to get our committees in, but we're navigating that as well.

Now we will go to the state legislative session update and we have Director, Hashemi and Anna and Samir, I believe you all are online.

Thank you all for joining us.

We really appreciate you all making this happen.

We know you all are busy in Olympia doing the Lord's work.

So we appreciate y'all always.

And I will pass it off to you all.

Wonderful.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Council President Hollingsworth and Councilmembers.

I'm Mina Hashemi, Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Relations, and I'm joined by my colleagues from our state relations team, Anna Johnson and Samir Janeja, who you'll hear from momentarily.

Thank you for having us.

We're in week five of the state legislative session and just 31 days remain.

The legislature has now passed the first major cutoff of the session, the deadline by which bills must be voted out of the policy committees in their house of origin.

Legislation that failed to advance is generally considered stalled.

while bills that cleared cutoff remain alive and eligible to continue moving through the process.

Policies that carry a budget impact must also clear fiscal committees by today, February 9th, to remain viable.

The timeline is especially compressed in short sessions and after today's deadline, legislators will have just over a week until floor cutoff when they begin the process again with policies from the opposite house.

When we last briefed Council, there were requests to clearly identify legislation corresponding to the City's official legislative agenda as passed by Council in December.

So on Slides 3 through 7, we have listed corresponding legislation and its status.

But for the sake of time, our presentation will cover updates from Weeks 3 and 4 to these priorities and other important legislation that the City is tracking.

With that, I will turn it over to my colleagues to get into the details.

Thank you, council members.

Yeah, good morning or good afternoon.

So we're going to start with the update on the Seattle priorities like Mina mentioned.

We've prepared slides for you to see all of them, but like Mina mentioned, we're only going to share out some of the updates on bills maybe we haven't had a chance to brief you on or ones that had major action since our last council briefing.

So here on this slide, I want to call your attention to House Bill 1128. This is a bill that we actually supported last year, and it's up for reconsideration again this session.

This bill deals with creating a child care workforce standards board, and this ties into our city's priority around child care access, affordability, and workforce.

This bill is scheduled in the fiscal committee and is expected to be voted out today.

And then next slide, please.

The next bill we...

Oh, actually, I apologize.

Could you go back one more, Samir?

The next bill we want to make sure you all are tracking is House Bill 1678. This is dealing with social housing PDAs.

We know we've been talking to many of your offices about this bill.

This bill is on the House floor calendar or out of rules, and it's ready for a vote at any time the House has floor action.

Okay, now, next slide.

The next bill we want to flag for you is House Bill 2304. This bill is dealing with condominiums and so this bill increases the supply of condominiums by expanding the types of condo buildings that may be subject to an express warranty of quality and express warranty insurance coverage.

This bill is also ready to go on the floor at any point.

Next slide.

On this list I want to highlight House Bill 2495. This bill is related to Seattle's ability to address vehicles that are obstructing our streetcar.

This bill was actually moved out of the House Transportation Committee with unanimous support.

And then the last bill on this list on this slide is 5098. This bill is a priority also from last session that is also on our legislative agenda this year.

And this bill is dealing with weapons in certain locations.

So it's prohibiting possession or open carry of weapons on state or local public buildings, parks, playground facilities where children are likely to be present, county fairs.

and county fair facilities.

And this bill actually already passed the Senate 29 to 20 and is already over in the opposite chamber ready for the House Policy Committee.

Moving on to some Senate bills.

I'll highlight Senate Bill 5500 relating to child care reimbursement rates for the Working Connections Child Care Program.

This bill actually passed the Senate and is now in the House Appropriations Committee.

And then I'll also highlight Senate Bill 5880 related to toxicology testing by certified or accredited laboratories.

It's in Senate Ways and Means and scheduled to be voted out of that committee today.

I'll also highlight similar status, Senate Bill 6037 related to fire protection districts also in Senate Ways and Means and scheduled to be voted out of the committee today as well.

And then the last one I'll highlight on this list, Senate Bill 6148, which relates to Sound Transit's maximum term for bonds.

That bill was voted out of the Senate Transportation Committee and is now ready to be voted on on the full Senate floor.

I'll now move on to week three and four recap some other bills that we're also tracking and I'll first start with the one that took up some well it got quite a bit of attention this past week which is Senate Bill 6347 also known as the Millionaire's Income Tax and so a quick summary though there's certainly a lot more details and happy to answer questions later over email for details but essentially the bill is a 9.9% tax on income over $1 million and the way the use of the revenues is 5% of the revenues will go to county public defense.

There's also a small business B&O exemption for businesses that have gross receipts under $250,000 and sales tax exemption for personal hygiene products.

There was a 0.5% B&O surcharge on companies that made over $250 million that the legislature passed last year that was meant to expire in 2029, and this bill would expire that in 2028. And it also removes the age limit on working families tax credit, allowing folks who are anyone over 18 instead of 25 to be eligible for their working families tax credit.

And the caveat here is certainly this bill is still moving along, and it's actually scheduled to vote out of the Ways and Means Committee today, and there will almost certainly be changes.

So a lot of this is subject to change.

A couple of bills in the climate and environment section that we haven't had a ton of discussion on yet is House Bill 2515 and then the Senate Companion 6171. This bill is dealing with large energy use facilities or also known as data centers.

This bill essentially creates and requires a tariff or a policy for power utilities for data centers that are 25 megawatts and above and also requires renewable energy generation requirements for these new facilities.

Senate Bill 5466 deals with creating a Washington State electric transmission authority whose duties will be to support the expansion and upgrade of electric transmission.

It also creates a SEPA exemption in this bill and establishes a tribal clean energy partnership workgroup.

General government bills we're tracking.

The first one, House Bill 2637, would expand the personal information that is exempt under the PRA to also include a person's age, date of birth, place of birth, language preference, geolocation or GPS data, residential addresses, government issued identifiers, and utility account data.

House Bill 1408, which establishes a dedicated funding source for community preservation and development authorities by diverting the state portion of sales tax at the two Seattle stadiums that would go directly to the CPDAs.

There's two of them in the state and both of them are in the city of Seattle.

The city signed in pro on both these bills.

Health care and behavioral health.

There's one bill I'll flag, House Bill 2720, which imposes a covered lives assessment on health insurance plans.

And the revenue for that would go towards behavioral health emergency services and specifically crisis services, the city signed in pro.

A couple of housing and homelessness bills.

Sample 6026 concerning residential development and commercial and mixed use zones.

We've talked about that one.

On previous weeks, the city had concerns with the prohibition on requiring, prohibition on cities requiring ground floor retail and the bill is scheduled to be voted out of the Ways and Means Committee today.

The bill has changed and has added exemptions for station areas, BIAs, and also created some flexibility for areas outside of station areas.

And there will likely be a new version as it moves out of committee today that we hope to analyze soon.

and then here at House Bill 2266 which encourages permanent supportive housing, transitional housing, indoor emergency housing and indoor emergency shelter also moved out of committee and the city signed in pro.

One Lehman Commerce bill I'll flag, House Bill 2420, which relates to the Small Works Roster.

So these are public works projects that are currently under $350,000.

This increases the maximum value of projects that can use the Small Works Roster to $650,000.

And the city is signed in pro.

Moving on to a couple public safety and criminal justice related bills.

Senate Bill 6017 does a number of things to support crime victims and witnesses of crimes.

Notably, it adds a protection in the court process for survivors to not be directly questioned by the defendant.

House Bill 2389 is dealing with the juvenile rehabilitation population in Washington and criminal offenses for youthful offenders under 18. It allows community-based rehabilitative options and also establishes a requirement for the court to grant a suspended disposition alternative in certain circumstances and then also requires the court to conduct a midpoint review hearing during the mid-range of the juvenile sentence at DCYF.

Senate Bill 6296 deals with involuntary treatment.

It does four things.

First, it amends the list of people who can petition for a person's initial involuntary commitment.

It also expands notification requirements for when a facility releases a person who is committed after a dismissal of a felony charge.

creates a process for reviewing compliance with the surrender of firearms and also modifies processes and requirements for less restricted alternative treatment options as well as assisted outpatient treatment.

In the social programs and education category, I'll start with House Bill 2714. This bill directs the Caseload Forecast Council to forecast the number of individuals expected to receive SNAP or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as well as the Food Assistance Program.

Here in the state of Washington, this is something that's typically done for other social programs that are administered by the state.

House Bill 2523 makes improvements to the Community Reinvestment Program.

It further strengthens accountability within the funding in that program and allows for more clear direction for organizations that want to apply for and be in contact with Department of Commerce for the funding available through that program.

A couple of transportation bills.

I'll highlight Senate Bill 6309 which provides for enhanced municipal permitting tools for high capacity transit projects.

This is specifically related to permitting for sound transit projects and the city's sign in pro and the latest version of that.

And then House Bill 1980 which authorizes a pilot project that would allow the city to have a program that would allow private employer shuttles to use bus BAT lanes, business and transit lanes, and the city signed in pro as well.

And so, as mentioned earlier, this today is fiscal committee cutoff, so a number of bills have to make it out of those committees to stay alive today.

The rest of this week will be House and Senate floor action, and the House and Senate have until February 17th to vote bills out of their respective chambers and send them to the other chamber.

And that's the presentation for today.

Happy to answer any questions.

Awesome.

Thank you so much for the overview and the presentation.

Super helpful just to kind of know where we are.

We know bills are moving fast.

Legislation is moving fast.

Colleagues, please raise your hand if you have any questions regarding the presentation, where we are, or for the team at OIR.

Councilmember Lin.

Thank you.

Thank you for the presentation.

Just want a quick question about any budget update.

I know there's a lot of progress being made on the millionaire's tax, but my understanding is those revenues would not come in until 2029, potentially delayed further depending upon litigation or anticipated litigation.

So could you just talk about the budget outlook in foreseeable years?

So this year is a short session, meaning they're doing a supplemental budget to make fixes to the two-year budget they passed last year.

And they're looking at a $2.3 billion shortfall for this biennium, meaning the biennium that ends.

on July 1st, 2027. So you're right that the millionaire's income tax revenue would not be coming in in time to help the $2.3 billion shortfall that they're seeing right now.

And so there are a number of other decisions that the budget writers will have to make to ensure that they can cover that shortfall.

We are timelines for the budget release.

We're most likely looking at the end of February is when we'll first see the House and Senate proposed budgets.

They then pass those budgets and then negotiate a compromise budget usually, hopefully by March 12th, which is sine die.

Thank you.

Awesome, thank you Council Member Lynn.

Is there any other questions regarding the presentation?

Seeing none, well thank you Director Hashemi, thank you Ana and Samir, always really appreciate your hard work and we know that we're in constant communication.

I know this is for the general public so they know what is going on and what's moving as well just because there are, how many bills had been proposed?

Do you all know, like at the beginning?

I put you on the spot.

I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that.

I thought maybe you'd say- We will follow up with that number though, because it is a big one.

It's a big one, but you know, for us to have for the general public to show some of the really important ones that Seattle is following and tracking, I think is important.

Councilmember Foster.

Thank you.

I'm not weighing in to try to answer that question, Council President Hollingsworth.

But thank you so much to the team at OIR for the presentation.

I appreciate it.

One question I have just to follow up on Councilmember Lynn's question around the budget, and maybe it's just a request for the future, actually, is that as that budget gets further developed at the state level, You know, if we can get updated on the ways that those potential budget cuts are going to impact us at the city level, I think that would be very helpful.

You know, there are some things that I've seen around previous versions of the budget that had significant cuts, particularly to childcare and early learning.

I know that there is, I think I want to say, colleagues I serve as now Vice Chair of the Board of Health, I want to say that I read somewhere there's with perhaps a 30% cut to foundational public health services across the state, not just in King County.

Our office has been attempting to track that and understand how those cuts might impact residents here locally.

A request for future information as those budget details continue to get hammered out.

Awesome.

Thank you, Councilmember Foster.

Okay.

Well, I think that's the end.

I don't know if there's any other questions, colleagues?

Seeing none, Director Hashemi, Amar, and I'm sorry, Anna, Amar, I'm sorry.

I was thinking, sorry, Anna and Ana and Samir, thank you all so much for joining us today.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Awesome.

Now we have the signing of letters and proclamations.

Councilmember Foster has a proclamation for signature today proclaiming February 2026 to be Black History Month.

Councilmember Foster, please lead us in the discussion of the proclamation.

Thank you so much, Council President Hollingsworth.

I am really excited to get to offer this proclamation to you colleagues for your signatures.

If you remember last week when we were at the table, I said, hey, it's coming, it's coming on CP time.

Here we are.

I'm excited to bring this forward.

So as you all know, we are celebrating not just 100 years of black history, but we are also celebrating 10 years here in Seattle of Black Lives Matter in Seattle Public Schools.

And something that was on my mind a lot while we were developing the language for this proclamation is just how much black history influences, when we really look at it, when we really look at it, influences the moment that we're in as a country today.

and really trying to balance some of the difficult truths that we need to face as a country around our history of enslaving people, around the history of economic segregation, around intentionally attempting to destroy black wealth and black families, along with the fact that we are a community that is full of resistance, that is full of joy, that is present.

And I really struck to that write a resolution that balances those truths.

So I won't read the whole thing, or will I?

No, I won't read the whole thing, but I will share a couple of the whereas clauses that I think speak to the moment that we're in right now.

So, whereas black history is American history, both in its triumphs and traumas and the state sanctioned and state supported systems established during slavery and perpetuated through Jim Crow laws, discriminatory policing and inequitable social and economic policies deliberately sought to control, punish, and dismantle black families and communities.

Whereas these historical injustices draw a direct and undeniable connection to present-day systems of mass incarceration, family separation, and structural inequity that continue to disproportionately harm black individuals, families, and neighborhoods.

And whereas, despite enduring systemic racism and displacement, Seattle's black communities continue to demonstrate strength and vision, lead ongoing efforts towards liberation, self-determination, economic empowerment and resilience, community preservation and more, and fighting for a more just and inclusive future for all residents.

And then the last one that I want to read is, whereas this year also marks the 10th anniversary of the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, a nationwide movement that began in Seattle and is led by educators, students, families, and community members, affirming the humanity of black students and that underscores the vital role of schools as sites of truth-telling and belonging.

Then there's some more whereas's and therefore's, but you'll have to read those online.

But I wanted to bring those to your attention, colleagues, because we are, as we know, in a moment where our history is attempted, people are attempting to erase our history.

And part of the way that we ensure that that does not happen is through moments like this and through our commitment to documenting and celebrating and also to investing in black futures.

So thank you, colleagues.

Awesome, thank you Council Member Foster and thank you for taking that on and doing that work and just really the intentionality behind it as well.

Are there any comments before I call on signatures to the document?

Council Member Saka.

Thank you, Madam Council President.

I too just want to join in and express my gratitude to Councilmember Foster for your leadership and taking this on and drafting such a thoughtful proclamation to honor the complexities, but also there's tremendous amount to celebrate and be proud of as well.

But doing all that in one singular document, thank you.

Appreciate you and honored to be able to support this today.

Awesome, thank you Council Member Saka.

Council Member Kettle, followed by Council Member Rivera.

Thank you, Council President, and thank you, Council Member Foster, for this proclamation.

All the points you raised are very important to highlight, and it reminded me, because this weekend, it's getting ready for the Super Bowl, but at the same time, watching American Revolution by Ken Burns and team on PBS, supported by the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, I should add.

And the detail, in terms of the the history of black America that was in that was done at a level.

And I was watching with my 10-year-old that would never have been put out when I was 10 years old.

And I just wanted to highlight that because I think it's really important to the point about history's history.

And I know what's happening today with history and whitewashing it and so forth by the administration.

But this American Revolution documentary is unbelievable in terms of highlighting those pieces.

And I'm not sure if most people know that.

And it's really worth watching to see the history and the factors that went into the birth of our nation from the black community, you know, slave or not enslaved.

It was just fascinating.

I just wanted to highlight that, Council President, because I think it's really important.

And it's a great show, equal to Ken Burns' Civil War documentary as well.

So thank you.

Thank you Councilmember Kettle.

Councilmember Rivera.

Thank you, Council President, and thank you to Councilmember Foster for bringing this proclamation.

It is important to recognize the contributions of black community, not just every February, but every single day throughout history from the beginning and on to eternity.

So it is really important for us, especially, you know, always as community gets attacked, it is important for us as a body to really recognize black community in our city and across our country, so thank you.

On this we are all united and I really appreciate you bringing this forward.

Awesome, thank you Councilmember Rivera.

Colleagues, if there's no further discussion, Councilmember Foster, do you have any closing words before we take roll call?

just that I will be bringing forth the signed proclamation at full council tomorrow, and I look forward to doing so.

Thank you.

Awesome.

And just so you all know, we kind of have a new process for the proclamations that we're doing.

We're signing all together as a council.

We would like to collectively all take a photo together as one as a group, so we can post that on our social media feeds and be able to the public, whoever's bringing the proclamation as well, you can have your own single photo as well, but if it's okay with you all, would like to, as some of these moments I think are great to capture all of us together, if that's okay.

All right, awesome.

I see head nod saying yes.

We can all stand next to each other for a photo, right?

Okay, awesome.

Clerk, will you please call the roll for Councilmember's signature for the Proclamation for Black History Month?

Councilmember Rivera?

Aye.

Councilmember Saka?

Aye.

Councilmember Foster?

Yes.

Councilmember Kettle?

Aye.

Councilmember Lynn?

Yes.

Councilmember Rink?

Yes.

Council President Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Seven signatures will be affixed.

Awesome, thank you so much.

And thank you Councilmember Foster for that as well.

Awesome.

Super excited about, it's my favorite month.

I might be a little biased, clearly.

Okay, so now we're gonna jump into the next agenda item.

We're gonna begin the discussion of the preview of city council actions and regional committees.

and so what we'll do, I know we like to go by last name, roll call.

It gets confusing.

We're just gonna go to our left, Council Member Saka, then you're gonna ping it over to Council Member Foster.

So we'll just go to the left if that's okay.

Council Member Rivera, not to put you on the spot, but you are first, madam.

Thank you, Council President.

Challenge accepted to go first.

This week I had my monthly meeting with North Precinct Captain Davison, and we talked about what's been happening in the district, including unfortunately street racing.

picking up again at Magnuson Park and also a rash of break-ins in the businesses in Wallingford.

SPD is working on both and I'm really grateful for their partnership and attention as we respond to constituents in the district related to both of these issues.

In tomorrow's Public Safety Committee, I'm bringing my bill to prohibit city employees from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement or sharing any non-publicly available personal information for the use of enforcement of civil immigration laws.

absent the actual person who's requesting their own information or a warrant.

We need to provide clarity colleagues by amending our Seattle Municipal Code to align with both state and local laws and policies.

There should be no confusion of the law or the policies that we have passed as a state and as a city in support of not just some of our residents in our city.

I know we all stand in support of our immigrant residents and this is important to do so by way of this legislation.

So I appreciate your support of this legislation and our mutual support of our immigrant residents in the city and of all our residents.

And speaking of standing in support of our immigrant residents, I have to admit that while most of you were showing up for the Seahawks game yesterday and getting Bad Bunny, I was showing up for Bad Bunny and getting a Seahawks game.

As a fellow Puerto Rican, it was really poignant to see those amazing sets depicting sugar canes and villages in Puerto Rico neighborhoods in New York with many Puerto Rican and Latino residents, such as the one where I grew up, and the amazing music and culture of my gente.

That was really special for me to see.

And of course, the Hawks won, which is amazing.

It was a twofer.

And I'm looking forward to seeing the parade on Wednesday.

and then as council president mentioned earlier, our offices, your offices have all received notice of this, but because of the parade, we'll be rescheduling the library's education and neighborhoods committee meeting from this Wednesday the 11th to Thursday the 19th at 2 p.m.

Thank you for your flexibility on that.

Next week I'm going to be attending a resident meeting at Mercy Housing in Magnuson Park to listen to residents there.

I believe Magnuson is the only park in the city that actually has affordable housing located within the park.

I have heard from residents there in the past and want to continue the engagement and look forward to hearing from them next week.

unless you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer.

I will turn it over to my colleague, Councilmember Saka.

Thank you, Councilmember Rivera.

Colleagues on the steps committee front, we held our second steps committee last Thursday with SDOT presenting on their 2026 proposed transportation levy delivery plan.

Excited to share that there are more than 430 planned investments projects for the second full year of implementation of the 2024 voter approved levy.

The committee also received an important update from SDOT's American with Disabilities Act program, including more broadly about accessibility and how the department approaches that important vital work in the public right away, including through compliance with the Reynoldsons Consent Decree.

Looking ahead, there's more exciting and impactful agenda items planned, so stay tuned.

on to some specific regional committees.

I'll just highlight the Levee Oversight Committee, my involvement there.

Last week, the Levee Oversight Committee met on Tuesday.

Among other things, it elected its leadership team.

So, would like to congratulate Tyler Vasquez and Chase Kitchens for being elected as co-chairs of the Levee Oversight Committee.

Also, I'd like to congratulate Timothy Chang.

He's the new chair of the finance subcommittee.

Harrison Jerome, he's the get involved member position leader.

And then Jack Wisner on a member at large position.

So, exciting stuff there.

The committee also worked to finalize its bylaws amongst other important foundational governance matters.

and really excited for what lies ahead with that committee.

I'll speak.

on for my two cents.

Obviously, it was a redemption day.

This is the Seattle Times printout of today.

Redemption.

Maybe The Stranger will publish a commemorative Stranger edition of celebrating what happened.

I know they periodically have started to publish print again.

But in any event, we all know Seattle Seahawks won!

And really excited for that as a fan of Seattle sports.

Excited for that as the district representative for the stadium district that represents the Seattle Seahawks.

Excited for that as the chair of our council committee that oversees major civic sporting events, including the Seattle Center.

And so big news for our city, a lot of exciting things going on.

I was honored last week to join the mayor and raise the 12s flag from atop of our iconic space needle.

and I know the mayor's office has been hard at work over the last couple weeks behind the scenes planning for doing some, what was at the time contingency planning and that is preparing for a possible Super Bowl victory parade and me and my office have been engaged with them on this.

Now it's official, excited to share that Super Bowl Victory Parade, as we all know, is gonna be on Wednesday.

And we look forward to welcoming visitors, spectators, fans, families, kids from all over Seattle and outside of the city of Seattle for a safe welcoming event.

And I really do want to say hat tip and say kudos to the mayor and her team for their leadership and planning events like this, especially Deputy Mayor Surratt.

Christina Pham has been heavily involved in planning that, and now we get to go implement from a city perspective.

Shout out to the Seattle Seahawks, of course, other city partners, the Sports Commission, a lot of people involved.

This is a complex, multi-department, intergovernmental, partner-level engagement, and so a lot of work went into this.

Now we get to go execute, have a safe, fun event for all.

Congratulations to the Seahawks.

Again, I'm really excited about the MOB, mantra or mindset of the team.

That's what I'm, we all know what MOB means.

Search it up.

And that's an approach that I'm looking to learn from and figure out how we can implement from a city perspective.

Super, super important.

MOB.

And also, last night, so I was on the phone this morning calling some leaders in my district, especially including impacted stakeholders in Pioneer Square, to learn more about what happened last night.

We all probably saw on the news with hundreds and thousands of spectators swarming the streets and celebrating.

And it was mostly good, not all good, unfortunately.

And in Pioneer Square in particular, both the residents and the business leaders there have reported that the iconic Pioneer Square Pergola was damaged, suffered vandalism, broken glass, amongst other things.

And so good news is our Seattle Parks team, I'm told, was on site this morning with some of the residents there, some of the businesses, have a game plan in place to make appropriate repairs.

And also importantly, the Seattle Foundation has also showed up to figure out how we can and do some public-private partnerships to cover those important repair costs because in the historic Pioneer Square neighborhood, that is one of the most, if not the most iconic, the pergola is one of the most, if not the most iconic features of that neighborhood.

So I want to respect the neighborhood, want to respect the cool architecture and surroundings.

So in any event, A lot going on there, but good news overall, and appreciate the mayor and her office and her leadership for making sure we're doing the hard work on planning.

what used to be contingency planning, now we get to go execute.

So congratulations again to the Seahawks, one of my direct constituents, but all of our constituents as well.

And that is all from my perspective.

I welcome any comments, questions.

If not, I will pass the baton to Council Member Foster.

And thank you, Council Member Sokka.

And if I could interject real quick, when I was playing in Greece, we had Panthenia Coast and Olympia Coast, when they would play, they would burn cars after wins.

So I'm glad we didn't have any burning cars like they did in Athens, Greece.

But it's good to know that they're fixing the pergola in your district, which we want people to have fun, but not at the expense of other people's you know, city property and so forth.

So thank you, Council Member Sokov.

Council Member Foster.

Thank you, Council President.

I have to say, I didn't realize I was going around now, so I'm excited.

I've got to do a better job tracking the line here.

I will start off by looking forward to my committee this week.

So, colleagues, we made the decision to move the February 11th session of the Housing Arts and Civil Rights Committee to virtual.

So that was at the time that we knew the Seahawks were going to win.

We believed.

But it hadn't happened yet.

So colleagues, please do, if anybody has a change in agenda or schedule, please let my office know immediately.

We are really looking forward to a, I think, a very exciting discussion.

Two discussions in committee.

One from our very own Office of Housing that is going to be a bit of an overview and a bit of a highlight of items that we need to take up as a committee and as a council this year, as well as giving us a better perspective into what's happening in our affordable housing market and communities here in Seattle.

I'm very, very much looking forward to that discussion from Office of Housing.

We will also have the social housing developer in.

So, colleagues, as we know, there's legislation that will be in front of full council this week to finalize the interlocal agreement.

and move the resources as committed to the social housing developer.

And it's also our duty as a partner to make sure that we are making sure that information about the developer is public and available.

So we'll have the interim director and several new staff members from the developer in committee to talk about their work and to give us a bit of an overview of the progress they made with the $2 million loan that Council provided last year, as well as a look ahead into the year.

So I'm really excited about this conversation.

Looking back at the last week, I was really pleased to get to attend the grand opening of Clover Place, a new permanent supportive housing building that is owned and managed by DESC.

It was one of the moments last week that gave me a lot of hope.

As we know, we are facing federal funding cuts and particularly with COC dollars, we're looking at some really challenging times ahead in 2027 and beyond.

And it was a really, as difficult as that is, it was a powerful moment to get to attend this grand opening and chat with the staff at DESC about the work that they are doing and the ways that they are truly trying, that they are truly innovating in both the delivery of care in their permanent supportive housing buildings and also innovating in the funding environment that we face.

So I really want to just appreciate the staff there for their incredibly hard work that they are doing to help make sure that we are bringing our neighbors inside.

Last week, I also had the opportunity to attend along with Council Member Lynn and other folks from the city, Southeast Seattle Peace Coalition convening.

And one of the highlights from that was to hear directly from some students at Franklin High School about their experiences and the work they're doing inside their schools.

So I also just want to uplift and applaud the two young women in particular that we heard from about how they are working to invest in mental health and safety.

And we've been hearing a lot from community members over the last couple of weeks about the relationship between the City of Seattle's family education and preschool promise levy with the investments that we make in our schools here.

So just appreciate those young people and look forward to the work that we get to do this year on the implementation plan.

There's probably a few other things that I should highlight that I may be forgetting, but it was an exciting week and I am really looking forward to digging in on Wednesday on some of our housing work.

Oh, no, nah, I'm done.

No.

It's on social media.

Awesome.

Thank you, Council Member Foster.

Council Member Lynn.

Thank you.

So last week we had our Land Use Committee meeting and we did recommend a couple pieces of legislation for tomorrow, SEPA exemption, SEPA threshold exemption bill and some related changes around transportation management plans.

We do have one small technical amendment that we'll be proposing tomorrow.

Spent a lot of time, as I mentioned last week, down at Rainier Beach.

Really appreciate, you know, community was asking for folks to show up during dismissal times from 3.30 to 5, and just really appreciate, the community really appreciates all the support of people showing up.

I'm sure they would continue to appreciate if folks are able to make it down there during that time period.

One thing, and had a chance to chat with school board members, briefly chat with the new Seattle school superintendent, spoke with Rainier Beach principal and educators, and Yeah, one thing that is clear to me is just the need for better collaboration between the city and Seattle Public Schools.

You know, there are so many different touch points with our youth.

You know, for example, Rainier Beach High School, you know, they're responsible for security on the school campus, but the shooting that occurred was at the bus stop, you know, about half a block away or block away.

and so just making sure that we have a seamless transition as kids transition from school to our community centers to their next activities and that really requires strong collaboration between all of us.

Another thing I did last week, so Saturday there was a march, a Chinese expulsion remembrance march.

So back in 1886, there was a mob that attacked and expelled the Chinese community from Seattle.

There was a number of similar activities happening up and down the West Coast then.

And so this remembrance march started at Hing Hei Park, went down to the waterfront, which was the original location of Chinatown, Chinese immigrants.

This is where Chinatown International District is located now, is the third location.

But there was a number of speakers who clearly drew the connection between the divisive hatred rhetoric of that time and what we are seeing today.

And one thing I spoke about and others spoke about is also just the relationship, how the fight for equal rights and civil rights benefits all of us.

So there was a connection to the birthright citizenship case, Wong Kim Ark, who was a U.S. citizen born here but of Chinese ancestry.

That case was based upon the 14th Amendment.

and so we see the struggles of one group benefiting all of us.

Similar, I spoke about my own family and the case of Loving versus Virginia, which authorized interracial marriages, which allowed my parents to get married and for my family to exist, again, based upon the 14th Amendment.

And so, you know, as we remember some of the struggles of the Chinese community, of the AAPI community, and, you know, as we celebrate Black History Month, I just want to honor and recognize the incredible importance of, again, black history to our nation, to all of us that we all benefit and should be celebrating black history.

So thank you again for bringing forward that proclamation.

That's all I have.

Awesome.

Thank you, Council Member Lynn.

Council Member Rank.

Thank you, Council President.

To kick us off with the fun stuff, what an incredible Super Bowl win, or as some have already referenced, I mean, the Benito Bowl.

I mean an incredible halftime show and I think for me and so many, I mean a really just powerful statement.

There was so much symbolism in the halftime show.

It was a powerful political statement about the moment that we're in and I don't know, as a proud Salvi woman, I just feel immense pride for the Latino community in that moment.

It was just such important representation and a powerful message.

And so I'm still feeling very excited about the game.

I had the opportunity to watch alongside my neighbors up on Capitol Hill.

I have my little Seahawks nails on.

I know the camera probably can't see, but they're little Seahawks on this nail.

It's very cute.

Good luck termed.

Very excited for the victory parade on Wednesday.

and just can't wait to continue celebrating.

I know there were a lot of excited folks out last night, and I think it really spoke to how much people were really looking forward to, well, really needed a win.

Seattle needed a win.

The people needed a win.

I'm glad that we were able to deliver.

So go Hawks.

Thank you for your incredible work this season.

Let's go celebrate.

and to take us to some committee work.

Thank you to everyone for participating in committee last week where we had a briefing from the Office of Labor Standards about their work but also heard from our folks at Aging and Disability Services within the Human Services Department and had the opportunity to center the older adults in our community and then also heard from the Office of Economic Development on the resolution related to some of the work downtown.

and looking ahead to our committee, our next committee meeting will be Friday, February 20th.

We're actually planning a discussion on wage equity for human services providers, so definitely encourage you to participate.

In terms of regional committees, this week we have the KCRHA governing committee where we're taking up budget and approval of the five-year plan addendum.

This will be the first KCRHA meeting of the year.

and lastly, while I want to encourage folks to look to our newsletter for community updates, I do want to highlight one meeting that we took this week that's tied to our regional committee work and our team met with PSRC Executive Director Josh Brown Colleagues, as a refresher, I'll be serving on the PSRC Executive Board this year.

I'm excited and honored to serve in this role because I think there's such an incredible opportunity to really look to our partners at the Puget Sound Regional Council, which again is a body that represents elected officials across King, Snohomish, Pierce County, and really look towards other municipalities, other governments, other folks as we're navigating a really challenging time.

So excited to participate.

at the Puget Sound Regional Council, not just to represent Seattle, but also to build relationships with other local governments, who in many cases are facing a lot of the same things that we are, and be able to talk through, identify solutions, compare notes, but build those partnerships that we're certainly gonna need to weather what is ahead of us.

And with that, Council President, that concludes my update.

Thank you.

Awesome, are there any questions for Council Member Rank?

Awesome, Council Member Kettle.

Thank you, Council President.

And for the viewing public, I can confirm the report about Seahawks on my colleagues' mails.

Thank you, Council Member.

I did want to say congratulations to the Seahawks.

An unbelievable victory, smothering.

And I just want to note, I had an interview recently that talked about the three branches of government, and what was on display yesterday was the three the elements of a football team and I know Kenneth Walker III was the MVP of the Super Bowl but the defense itself could have been the MVP and I think of Ernest Jones IV who I think had 11 tackles in the game if I remember right and it's just incredible and then special teams both with Jason Myers and record breaking number of field goals and then Dixon was dropping those punts within the 10 yard line every single time it seemed like.

So it was a complete win across all three elements and areas of football and it was an unbelievable team win.

and incredible.

And the future is there too, a number of rookies on.

And I just give a shout-out due to a friend's nephew who's playing on the team now, number 76, Gray Zabel, who I think is destined to become a long-time All-Pro.

So again, a complete all phases of football, all elements is incredible.

And kind of setting the example for us across the executive judiciary and the legislative branches of government.

So that's my segue to my standard update.

Tomorrow we have Public Safety Committee, and we have two pieces.

We have an evaluation on ordinance 126896 by OIG, and that is on the Public Drug Use and Possession Bill.

And separately, with Council Member Rivera, Council Bill 121158, in order that's related to the information sharing for enforcement of civil immigration laws, basically updating and becoming more comprehensive in terms of our approach.

So I thank Council Member Rivera for this, and then in terms of basically bringing in the different pieces that we need to work on, particularly as a respect to federal law enforcement.

So that is the, Public Safety Committee meeting for tomorrow.

In terms of schedules and meetings and groups and individuals, today I met with our new, well, interim director of CBO, the Budget Office, Director Benucci, a very good meeting.

Also had a great update from department neighborhoods and then separately from an outside group, NIAP, talking about developing basically our comp plan and moving forward.

Tomorrow, Alliance for Gun Responsibility.

Wednesday, we'll be meeting with the OIG, an update on all the pieces.

Again, engaging with our accountability partners, in this case, the OIG.

Followed by a luncheon with the retired Seattle Police Officers Association that Council President knows so well from her past duty related to the Police Pension Board.

so that will be Thursday.

Always welcome to join me, Council President, but I'll be there.

And then Friday we have another edition of our District 7 Neighborhood Council bringing in all the various pieces of D7 in terms of community councils like Magnolia, Queen Anne, South Lake Union, Belltown, Downtown plus Uptown Alliance along with some focus groups like Seattle Neighborhood Greenways and others.

I'm looking forward to also meeting that day on the Port of Seattle in terms of you know fleshing out the idea of a City of Seattle maritime strategy and as it happens received a great update from ILWU Local 19 in terms of their priorities as it relates to our maritime presence.

And then also community passageways, which is really important.

Next week, we'll be out for a bit along with the holiday.

And then on Thursday, meeting with the design review group.

Also LIME, who I meet immediately, or my team meets on a regular basis.

and SDOT.

This goes to the District 7 tasker we got from our committee chair, Council Member Saka, so we are working it, getting the final details for that piece.

And then finally, next Friday, Seattle social housing developer and foreign policy for America have a great interest in international affairs and how it plays with local politics, local government.

The last thing I wanted to say is, and I was quite proud to join our Council President.

But on Saturday was the grand opening of Mbuna the Coffee at the Overlook Walk.

And I noted, we're a very north-south city, but these east-west connections are so important, like from the waterfront to the stadiums, to Pioneer Square, Pike Pine, to the Market, and then Market to Mohai.

and Bell Street and all these, but the Overlook Walk is so important.

But now it's not just a connection, but it's a destination with Boon Boonah there.

And so it was really a great, lots of energy, beautiful ceremony.

And I just wanted to note one last thing, because I kind of referenced this a little bit during my remarks at the event, but Ephraim, the owner of Boon Boonah, He immigrated to America in 1988 from Eritrea.

For somebody who's been working in international security affairs, that's a very difficult part of the world in that time period with Ethiopia and all the challenges.

For him and his family to come to America in 1988 and to work and seek out that American dream.

It connected me.

I was thinking of my father.

And that is the story.

He's built this business.

He's providing jobs for so many people.

He's providing for his family.

And I know the story of immigration in light of the current administration at the federal level is one thing.

But I think that story of Boombuna Coffee and Ephraim's leadership and his hard work and his dedication and initiative is really the story of America and I think it's really something that should be celebrated, never mind the coffee.

It's really what he's done and what he represents because he's not the only immigrant who's come to America, worked hard and made things happen.

So I just wanted to highlight that because I think it's so important to change the narrative that comes out of Washington, D.C., the other Washington and instead focus on the stories that are here related to immigration and and the Boombuna event on Saturday was just a beautiful example of that.

And with that, Council President, I turn it over to you.

Awesome, thank you, Council Member Kettle.

And Council Member Rivera.

Thank you, Council President.

I just thank you, Council Member Kettle, for talking about Boon Boon.

I'll say they're also in the district, in the university bookstore, and I've had the pleasure of meeting with them, and I am so I'm so excited that they're in the district and this is really very much a good story and it's important to amplify the stories that go against what the other Washington is talking about.

in terms of our immigrant residents, not just here in Seattle, but across the United States.

This is one of many stories.

And it is really critical, and it is unfortunate that our immigrant communities are feeling so attacked right now.

and it was such a great celebration.

I know I was unable to attend this weekend, but I am very supportive and I'm looking forward to going to the waterfront to go there, not just the one that's in the district.

And of course there's one on Capitol Hill as well.

So it really is a great story and one of many, many.

So congratulations to Boombuna and we're so happy they're in the city.

Yes, again, Overlook Walk.

Not just a connection, but now a destination.

That's right.

That's right.

Thank you, CP.

No, no problem.

Thank you, colleagues.

And just to follow up, I think one of the greatest things that I heard was he came here with his family in the 80s, and the first location they went to was Pike Place Market.

And now he has a store right next to Pike Place Market.

If that's not the American dream, I don't know what is.

So governance and utilities will be Thursday.

My committee will be on Thursday, this Thursday at 9.30 a.m.

We have three possible votes, which is SPU Bitter Lake Reservoir.

We also have SPU Water Supply, sorry, Water Supply Forum, ILA.

And we also have the Cedar River Watershed.

And so we have some council bills that are coming with Seattle Public Utilities, that it's some technical stuff.

I know that council members have been, SPU has reached out to give individual briefings about those as well.

So looking forward to talking about those.

And then we're also have a presentation from ITD on the Comcast.

So from technology about the Comcast agreement.

franchise agreement, which is important.

We all know that we have an agreement with a cable provider and that helps fund some programs within our city, whether it's digital equity work or our Seattle channel, different stuff.

And so that presentation is gonna be important to understand the inner workings of that agreement, which is great.

I also have a meeting with the police pension board coming up as well.

that is quarterly.

And colleagues, if there's not, I don't have any other, I don't have questions for myself.

Are there any questions at all?

Council member Saka or any further business?

Thank you, Madam Council President.

I just wanted to recognize, just piling on the comments from my colleagues, Council Members, starting first with Council Members Rivera, and then Rink about the cultural importance broadly and inclusively defined from Bad Bunny's performance yesterday at the halftime Super Bowl.

I can only imagine how our Latino friends and neighbors might have, that might have been such a significant and important event for them because representation does matter.

And not only just Latinos, but more specifically Boricuas.

and so, like Councilmember Rivera, but I think that was such a cool moment for all of us, frankly, and as a fan of Bad Bunny, I thought it was super cool.

Selfishly, I was a little saddened that he didn't perform my favorite Bad Bunny song, Te Deseo Lo Mejor, but that is probably a little more slow-paced than the fast-paced upbeat nature of the rest of his songs that he performed yesterday, but super cool event.

As an American, I'm proud to see it and can only imagine how, you know, seeing that representation impacted other people in an even more profound way.

So, thank you.

Awesome.

Thank you, Councilmember Saka.

Councilmember Rivera.

Thank you, CP, and thank you, Councilmember Saka.

I really, to have a Spanish language halftime show, all in Spanish, predominantly in Spanish, is really a source of pride for all Latinos, not just Boricuas, but his inclusive nature is what really made it also super special.

We are all American.

North America, South America, Central America, all across the board.

He even talked about Canada.

So it really was inclusive, all the flags and everyone is welcome and it is reminiscent very much of our table.

You have all heard me say and my family, we didn't have very much, but what we had, everyone was welcome at our table for a little spoon of rice, as my mom used to call it.

Somehow the rice would grow, even though it wasn't very much, because I think it was just the love that was poured into it and just the sharing.

And that's what, there was so much, symbolic cultural aspects to this and for the people that don't speak Spanish, I understand you didn't hear what he was saying and I don't think you really needed to because you could see it.

It was just all about everyone coming together and everyone just being included and welcomed and right now we needed that.

So Seattle needed the Super Bowl win and I love the Seahawks and I'm so happy that they won the last time they won the Super Bowl.

My youngest was four I think.

so that was really special and also we needed the unity that came with the Bad Bunny concert because it may be music to some and I appreciate some people don't listen to reggaeton but it really is this unifying piece and the cultural aspects that I think everyone regardless of whether that's the music you listen to or not could appreciate And that made it really special.

And like I said, for Latinos in this country, particularly in this moment in time, it was a really unifying piece.

And I'm very grateful and appreciative.

And I love the fact that this is how welcoming he was.

He performed.

That was a real-life marriage ceremony.

If you may not have read in the paper, those folks reached out to him to invite him to their wedding, and he said, why don't you come get married at the Super Bowl halftime show with me?

But that just goes to show, I mean, just the love.

And really, like I said, it may have been just a music entertainment thing, but it was so much more than that.

It was really this true, deep, heartfelt cultural peace and the pride of Latinos in this country.

So that was really something amazing for me to see I've never seen to that level in the 50, almost seven years I've had on this planet.

So thank you for the space to say that, colleagues.

It really was an amazing piece for me personally, for my children, for my family.

I was communicating with my relatives in Puerto Rico during the event.

It really was an amazing piece.

So thank you for talking about that.

And like I said, for all Latinos in this country, It really was an amazing, welcoming piece.

Thank you, CP.

And even though some people might not have understood what was going on, there was a sign at the end that said, the only thing more powerful than hate is love.

And also shout out to CB Wonder, because CB Wonder had the greatest song of all time that said, hate knows that love is the cure.

You can rest your mind to sure that I'll be loving you always.

So we always know that love conquers hate, which is great.

Thank you all.

He's the greatest artist of all time and Bad Bunny was phenomenal yesterday.

Phenomenal.

Phenomenal.

Phenomenal.

Muy bien.

Hearing no further business, we will now move into the executive session and as presiding officer, I am announcing that the Seattle City Council will now convene into the executive session.

The purpose of this executive session is to discuss pending and potential or actual litigation.

The city council's executive session is an opportunity for the council to discuss confidential legal matters with city attorney as authorized by law.

Legal monitor from the city attorney's office is always present to ensure the council reserves questions for policy for open session.

So I expect the time of the executive session to end by 4.45 p.m.

today.

So, yep, 4.45 p.m.

If the executive session is extended beyond that time, I'm going to announce extension and expected duration.

At the conclusion of this executive session, this council briefing meeting will automatically adjourn.

The next regular scheduled council briefing meeting is on February 23rd, 2026 at 2 p.m.

The council is now in executive session.

Thank you, colleagues, and thank you, public.