City Council 9/20/22

We're good.

You can begin now.

Thank you.

Thank you, team.

Good afternoon, everybody.

Today is Tuesday, September 20th.

The meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is 2.03 and I am Deborah Juarez.

Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Council Member Lewis.

Present.

Council Member Morales.

Here.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Present.

Council Member Nelson.

Present.

Council Member Peterson.

Present.

Council Member Sawant.

Present.

Council Member Strauss.

Present.

Council Member Herbold.

Here.

Council President Juarez.

Here.

Nine present.

Thank you very much, Madam Clerk.

Presentations, I am aware that we do not have any presentations today, so we will move to public comment.

Colleagues, at this time, we will open the hybrid public comment period.

For the hybrid public comment period, the remote slash in-person speakers, whichever is greater, will be heard first, actually lesser, and then will be followed by remote in-person speakers attending the council chambers.

We'll come back to this script, I gotta fix that.

Okay, so I understand that today's meeting, we have two interpreters, is that correct, Madam Clerk?

Yes, we do, and we need those to go first as the interpreter is on a time schedule here.

Great, we will do that.

So let me just kind of tee up where we're at right now.

My understanding is that we have 12 folks that have called in the remote callers and we have 60 people present in chambers, correct, Madam Clerk?

That's correct.

OK, so what we're going to do is we are going to allow the remote speakers to go first.

Then we will do the in-person folks.

Actually, Council President, we may need to do in person first as the interpreter has a time limit and has to leave shortly during the middle of public comment.

Right.

I was just going to share that.

Why don't that's kind of how I want to go.

But I wanted to take the two or the folks that need interpreters first that are in chambers.

and then go back to the 12 remote and the rest of the folks in chambers.

So if we can get the individuals and their interpreters ready to go, we'll do that courtesy, obviously, and then we'll go back to the 12 remote callers.

Does that sound okay, Madam Clerk?

Thank you so much.

Yes, I'll speak with the interpreter.

Okay, so because we have nine matters on the agenda today and there are a lot of speakers, each speaker will have one minute except for the individuals that need their interpreter.

So they will have a couple of minutes and some leeway there.

We wanna make sure everybody gets heard.

And what I would like to do is have public comment and Madam Clerk, please advise me when we get close for 90 minutes.

So I'm hoping in 90 minutes, we can get 82 people get their opportunity to speak for one minute.

And with that, I'm gonna hand it over to you, Madam Clerk, to start the directions and the recording for folks.

And again, it's one minute and you will hear a chime.

I don't like to have to cut people off.

I really don't like doing that.

So please pay attention to the 10 second warning that you get to wrap up your comments.

I'm guessing a lot of you are here speaking on the same thing.

All right, with that, Madam Clerk, I'm gonna hand it over to you.

Thank you.

And I'm going to hand it over.

Before we do the recording, I'm just going to have the interpreters start calling the names in person, and then we'll do recording before the remote.

Is that all right?

Perfect.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Sir, sit down.

Sit down, please.

I know that name.

OK.

And they have one minute.

Yeah.

Good afternoon, everybody.

I have been living in Chinatown International District and doing business there for 30 years.

I am horrified to learn that the government is going to put together a problematic shelter, campsite, very close to Chinatown.

I personally sympathize with the homeless and I often donate money and donate other stuff for them.

I am always very concerned with the homeless care about them and I never object about the government taking good care of them.

The problem is that there are already a lot of elderly people in our international area, and in the past two years, there have been a lot of business, a lot of homeless people on the streets, and it has caused a lot of trouble.

But the problem with CID is that because of the pandemic, a lot of our seniors are suffering.

A lot of the businesses are affected by the people, the beggars, the people asking for money in CID.

The international community is a very special place.

The elderly population accounts for 70-80% of the population.

They don't speak English, so the refugees are very kind to them, but they are also very afraid.

CID is a special community, unique by itself.

70% to 80% of the residents are seniors, and they don't speak English, and then they cannot communicate with the homeless, and they are afraid of them.

So I would like to reiterate that I support the government to give more

I just want to say I am in support of the government giving more money, giving more manpower, giving more material to help the homeless.

But that doesn't mean that it's good to put 500 beds, mega shelter close to Chinatown ID.

Okay.

Mr. Interpreter, can you let our speaker know that he has about 10 seconds to wrap it up?

I hope the county government, the city government would be fair to everybody and evenly distribute the homeless people in different countries.

And we will continue to be caring and taking care of their homeless.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

My name is Beth.

I'm representing the people in Chinatown who don't speak English.

A responsible government should be taking care of all the communities of their public safety and cleanliness.

Since the establishment of the Soto Industrial Zone, which is called the Great Plan, I believe no one is against it, and the establishment of a community center in Tonghang Street, an international district and nearby, we have to bear the daily crimes.

Yeah, ever since the government has established the navigation center and now calling another project, a great project close to Chinatown ID, we don't oppose to that.

But every day Chinatown ID are sharing a bigger share of crime and insecurity.

And including assault, including theft, robbery, assault happening every day.

And the loss of the car owners and the business owners are in the more than tens and tens of thousands every day.

If someone says these great project, great plans has nothing to do with the safety of a community, how come you don't distribute it to every single community?

To be fair to everybody, they should be distributed to some area communities that has better air, more personal space.

And those would be helpful to those who have mental illness too.

The government is not able to handle all the crime these days, and this great plan is totally irresponsible and unfair to us.

We demand this great plan to be far away from us, the residents of CID and also the business owners of CID.

And we also demand compensation to us too.

Okay.

Mr. Interpreter, can you let the speaker know we need to wrap it up?

And that's equality in terms of distribution of these shelters.

Okay.

Thank you very much.

And thank you, interpreter for being there for us.

Madam Clerk, are we are we ready to move on to the remote speakers?

Yes, we'll switch up to the remote speakers now and then we'll come back to the in-person speakers after the remote speakers.

So we'll run the video for the directions on the remote speakers and we'll start there.

Thank you.

Madam clerk, before you start the recording, I wanna reiterate again, we have 60 people sitting in chambers and we're gonna have 12 remote speakers.

Please keep your comments to one minute.

I don't like to have to shut people off.

Thank you.

Go ahead, Madam Clerk.

Hello, Seattle.

We are the Emerald City, the city of flowers and the city of goodwill, built on indigenous land, the traditional territory of the Coast Salish peoples.

The Seattle City Council welcomes remote public comment and is eager to hear from residents of our city.

If you would like to be a speaker and provide a verbal public comment, you may register two hours prior to the meeting via the Seattle City Council website.

Here's some information about the public comment proceedings.

Speakers are called upon in the order in which they registered on the Council's website.

Each speaker must call in from the phone number provided when they registered online and used the meeting ID and passcode that was emailed upon confirmation.

If you did not receive an email confirmation, please check your spam or junk mail folders.

A reminder, the speaker meeting ID is different from the general listen line meeting ID provided on the agenda.

Once a speaker's name is called, the speaker's microphone will be unmuted and an automatic prompt will say, the host would like you to unmute your microphone.

That is your cue that it's your turn to speak.

At that time, you must press star six.

You will then hear a prompt of, you are unmuted.

Be sure your phone is unmuted on your end so that you will be heard.

As a speaker, you should begin by stating your name and the item that you are addressing.

A chime will sound when 10 seconds are left in your allotted time.

as a gentle reminder to wrap up your public comments.

At the end of the allotted time, your microphone will be muted and the next speaker registered will be called.

Once speakers have completed providing public comment, please disconnect from the public comment line and join us by following the meeting via Seattle Channel broadcast or through the listening line option listed on the agenda.

The council reserves the right to eliminate public comment if the system is being abused, or if the process impedes the Council's ability to conduct its business on behalf of residents of the City.

Any offensive language that is disruptive to these proceedings or that is not focused on an appropriate topic as specified in Council rules may lead to the speaker being muted by the presiding officer.

Our hope is to provide an opportunity for productive discussions that will assist our orderly consideration of issues before the Council.

The public comment period is now open.

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

Please remember to press star six after you hear the prompt of, you have been unmuted.

Thank you, Seattle.

Good afternoon.

Howard Dale with seattlestop.org commenting on our failed police accountability system.

Today you will appoint a new OPA director and in the next few months you will appoint a new police chief and approve a new police union contract.

None of this will result in police being held accountable for the violence and abuse that they engaged in during 2020. None of this will result in Seattle police being held accountable when they grossly violate the escalation policy and training and kill folks in behavioral crisis.

has happened with a still unnamed person on Beacon Hill in January, with Derek Hayden, with Terry Kaver, and with so many others before them.

He will still be empowering salaried bureaucrats to protect the police from community and spending over $10 million to do it.

This September marks the anniversaries of the SPD killings of Herbert Hightower Jr., whose sister is still fighting for recognition and justice, Mai Kuan Yew Chen, and Frankie Lee Sr., all people experiencing behavioral health crisis, all killed by the SPD.

We do not need new captains for a ship heading in the wrong direction.

Thank you.

Our next remote speaker is Jacob Shear.

Jacob.

Reminder to the remote call-in speakers, you may need to hit star six one time to make yourself audible.

Okay, we're going to move on to the next speaker, which is Julie Nielsen.

Julie?

Hi.

My name is Julie Nielsen, and I work for Interim CDA in the CID.

Two years ago, you opened a 270-bed emergency shelter along our border with no public notice or increase in services.

We've been wondering where the drastic spike in crime, vandalism, fires, graffiti, and squalor was coming from the last couple of years.

And now we see how it perfectly aligns with the opening.

This is not an us versus them or NIMBY situation.

This is about what happens around shelters, especially those that are low barrier with active drug use, like the existing SOTO and navigation shelter.

NIMBYs don't live in the poorest, largely non-English speaking communities that already have over 20 shelters housing 2,500 clients within a mile of their homes.

Look at an aerial map and you'll find unauthorized tent encampments surrounding low barrier shelters.

Those tents often contain people who prey on shelter clients, drug dealers, sex traffickers, sex offenders, and weapons.

SPD can attest to this.

You know we're already at the highest risk of displacement with schools and daycares and a majority.

Our next remote speaker is Leslie Morishita.

Leslie?

I don't.

Leslie, are you there?

Yes.

Good.

I'm Leslie Morishita with Interim CA.

Interim has helped revitalize the CAB for 54 years.

We hold two contracts with the Homelessness Authority for diversion and for homelessness prevention.

Our CID buildings house homeless and imminently homeless families.

While the goals and values of the Homelessness Authority align closely with our own, they are making it, our work, much harder.

We implore you to act in accordance with the Homeless Authority's stated convictions around racial equity.

As it stands, this scheme for a colossal homeless shelter next to the CID looks like an intentional ploy to keep the poorest people of color down, to concentrate them in one small area away from wider, more affluent areas, and to pit them against each other.

The Homeless Authority's website says, we stand for racial equity and social justice and centering lived experience.

How can you advance racial equity by focusing on one marginalized community, homeless people, to the exclusion of another, the CID?

Stop disregarding the lived experience of the people of the CID.

Our next speaker is Kirk Robbins.

Kirk?

Kirk?

Hi, I'm Kirk Robbins, Ballard District 6.

Speak up, Kirk.

Accountability, Ballard, sorry.

Hello?

Hello, we're here, you gotta speak up, sir.

Sorry, I'm Kurt Robbins with a district six at Ballard talking about Ballard Commons Park.

Ballard Commons Park is vacant and can't stop entirely from users.

There's no reason for this except that they're planning for a gala.

There's no reason why they can't move the fences to allow at least half, probably more of the park to be accessible to people who have been excluded from it during the pandemic.

Also calling in solidarity with the folks in the National District.

I know what it's like to have a project dumped on you, but I think the fact that it's being done now in a manner that is racist.

Our next speaker is Betty Luke.

Okay, am I on?

You are.

Yes, you are.

Okay, Betty Luke, CID.

It is outrageous that there is a double jeopardy of two projects to propose to put in the CID.

Both the Transit Hub and the Homeless Megaplex will create safety and economic loss to the residents, workers, and visitors to the CID.

There's a navigation center which was foisted on us with no warning.

It features population of homeless with addiction and mental health problems.

The Megaplex plan would drastically increase that level of harm to our neighborhood because those 500 people are not gonna stay at the Megaplex during the day and early evening.

Since drug and alcohol will not be allowed the Megaplex, those criminal addiction actions will be brought into our CID streets, alleys, and doorways.

Our next speaker is Jack Francis.

And Jack, you need to hit star six.

Jack, are you there?

All right, we're gonna skip Jack.

Can you hear me there?

Yep, we can hear you now, Jack.

Are you able to hear me?

Yes.

Sorry about that.

My name is Jack Henry-Francis.

I live in the U District.

I'm a land surveyor.

I am calling in from a job site.

I'm here to speak on initiative I-35.

It's a possibility that are going to be added to the ballot for February 14th.

I'm going in support of that.

I would like to house our neighbors and house the most vulnerable people in our community.

People on this site keep on commenting on the possibility of a shelter being built in the international district.

I mean, if they have community housing, why would we need a shelter?

Maybe I don't understand that.

That's just kind of my thought process.

I don't want to take up other people's time.

Again, I do support initiative 135 and that's it.

Thank you.

I yield my time.

Thank you, our next speaker is Maxwell Bertolotti.

Hi, my name is Maxwell Bertolotti.

I am a Finney Ridge resident and I'm just gonna reiterate what was said just before us.

I'm calling in support of initiative 135. I do wanna house my neighbors and I totally understand the comments being made about homelessness and it being distressing in Seattle.

And so that's why I'm in support of creating Seattle's social housing developers so that we can build, acquire, and maintain affordable housing.

I think that's important for our diversity as a city, and I think it's a completely ethical and morally right thing to do.

Thank you.

I yield my time.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Abby Ekeneser.

Abby?

Hello?

Hi.

Hi, yes.

Um, good afternoon.

My name is Abby and I am appreciative for the ability to speak to you all today in regards to building a better film community for the Seattle area with agenda CB one, two, four, one, two.

Um, I've been a filmmaker since 2013. And since I was stationed here with the Navy in 2008, I've been trying to find ways to combat mental health and PTSD symptoms.

And what has helped me the most with that is being a screenwriter and filmmaker.

As a resident of King County, I've had the pleasure of being involved in a number of activities that help to promote our film community.

I'm on the board of the Seattle Film Summit, along with Rising Reels, which is a BIPOC youth organization for teenagers.

And I've worked with the Seattle Film Task Force, which was established by Mayor Durkin.

I'm hoping that with a film community or with a film mission, we can have more conversations about diversity and equity on our film productions here in Seattle.

Thank you.

Our last remote speaker, I believe, is Netsi Chirongo.

Netsi?

Netsi, are you here?

Yes.

Can you hear me?

We can now.

Thank you.

Hi.

Hi.

My name is Netsi Chirongo.

I actually just wanted to echo the statement of Abby.

and say that I would like to champion the efforts of our film makers.

And I would like to talk about the Film Commission.

I think we have a lot of work ahead of us in terms of making an equitable and diverse film community.

And I think that work starts by creating a film commission and by making a really wonderful and permanent stable force in front of us.

And also, I also wanted to, yeah, yeah, I'll leave it with that.

But I would like, yeah, I'll leave it at that.

Thank you.

That concludes our remote public speakers, and we'll now move into the in-person, back to the in-person sign-up sheet.

If I get your name wrong, I'm also gonna read the number.

I don't know if you looked at the number where you signed up, but we're gonna start with number one, which is Yoling Hog, and please approach the podium and speak into the mic, close like this.

Is your lean hug peg in.

OK, then we're going to move to 10, Sean.

Speaker number two.

And then we have speaker number three, Sue Fong.

And speaker number four, Hugh Ying.

It's very possible that some people signed up thinking they needed to sign up to come into the meeting and not necessarily speak.

Well, if some of those individuals come in, then we'll just we'll get it.

We'll make sure they get an opportunity.

But thank you.

Yes.

OK.

OK.

Do we have an interpreter?

Is there anyone on this list that wishes to speak?

For this gentleman?

You already called out, where were you?

It was all the way down to here.

Yeah.

Lien Zhu.

Lien Zhu.

Okay.

Sandy Yu.

Sandy Yu.

Okay.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

Hello.

My name is Sandy.

I come here to attend today's meeting is for the whole area and all the residents of Chinatown ID.

The government shouldn't be establishing a mega shelter close to Chinatown ID.

It would be extremely unsafe to our seniors, to our minorities, to our kids in Chinatown, I think.

Because they would spit on us, they would have physical violence against us, creating extremely unsafe environment for us.

We don't want them to be living just next door to us.

We want them to be distributed, allocated somewhere else.

When they don't live close to our community, we will be safer.

If you don't listen to us, government.

Hey, government.

Government, listen, if you don't listen to us, how about let them live by the government buildings?

Don't you guys agree?

Everybody agrees.

This building is extremely safe and it's extremely suitable for them to move here.

We sympathize the street people.

but they have not been kind to us.

Yes, that's all.

That's all.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay.

I can't hear you because of the mask.

Ladies and gentlemen, I come here today to be voicing out for our people in Chinatown, Haiti.

I've been living here since 2006 for many, many years, and I know Chinatown very well.

Because of the homeless people gathering in China, the ID is creating a lot of insecurity.

I can give you some examples.

They are beating up the senior citizens, cursing them out, robbing them.

That happens all the time.

And the business people, they got their door broken into.

They got their storage area broken into, car owners got their car broken into.

I myself, I had my car broken into two times the last few months, and each time costing me $200.

10 seconds, yeah.

Okay, all right, thank you.

We have Kai Kiki Wu.

Kai Kiki Wu.

Tai Kiki Wu.

Tai Kiki Wu.

Okay.

We have Chung Hun Lin.

Chung Hun Lin.

We have Chen Yong Long.

Chen Yong Long.

Wu Hui Kim.

Kwong Ying Mei.

Kwong Ying Mei.

Next.

Jin Feng Chen.

Jin Feng Chen.

Next.

Chai D. Lau.

Chai D. Lau.

Next.

This is English.

Margarita Richard.

You go ahead first.

I'll double check with her.

Okay, my name is Marguerite Richard and I'm from Seattle, Washington.

And I brought this book on purpose because it says, Eyes on the Prize, America's Civil Rights Years, 1954 to 1965, Juan Williams.

And I know, I don't know him personally, but I was in his midst when he came here to speak.

And I'm concerned as I look in this audience, I'm sure there's a whole lot of disability going on here and that's why everybody's rights has a right to be protected.

I can imagine them having to go through that.

Whatever it is that they're complaining about, we've done the same thing with no recourse whatsoever and you hear what I'm saying about the history of the struggle and the struggle is continuing and this is 2022. There's no excuse for this if they have to come down here in numbers to say that their rights are being violated.

That's the same thing I've been saying.

It's this age.

Madam Clerk, I'm trying to be mindful of the interpreter's time or the translator, interpreter.

So are we going to continue with some more individuals who will need his services?

My name is Chai Di Lau.

We don't agree having a mega shelter built close to us for the homeless.

Number one, it's affecting the market.

It's affecting the hygiene of the environment.

It's causing us senior citizens to not leave our house when it's dark.

All of us do not agree.

Thank you.

Thank you for your services.

Our next speaker is Sharon Lee.

Good afternoon, I'm Sharon Lee, Director of the Low Income Housing Institute.

Hi, and I wanted to address the mega shelter that's being proposed.

I would like the city council to take some leadership, along with the mayor to unwind this proposal and seek an alternative.

I believe it's.

possible to house homeless people, but to house people in a dignified, respectful way throughout King County and Seattle and neighborhoods in tiny house villages.

We currently have 11 tiny house villages and they work very well, and they include people with high acuity, mental illness, and frailty.

And I believe that it is racist to be putting more people in the Chinatown International District because this is poor planning.

The initial site was done because of the pandemic to have a 270 shelter and by adding 200 additional units.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Vivian Chow.

Vivian!

Hi, my name is Vivian Chow.

I have a business in Chinatown.

My parents opened this business since 1987, and I see how it affects our business and the community.

The seniors are being beaten up, and all the businesses are afraid because the windows and doors being violated.

And so even bar child drugs that is down nearby in Chinatown is totally closed due to the homeless and the theft and everything that's going around.

And I don't think the shelter should be in our neighborhood or nearby our neighborhood.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jimmy Luang.

Oh, thank you.

Our next speaker is Connie So.

Connie.

I'm wondering, can I get a minute 30?

Because I do want to say a few things in Cantonese too, since most people here won't understand what I'm saying here.

I don't think I'll actually take a minute 30, but I just want a little bit just in case.

Council President Horaz, may she speak partially in English, partially in Cantonese?

Absolutely.

Okay.

So I'm Connie So, President of OCA, Asian Pacific Advocates of Greater Seattle, and a teaching professor at the University of Washington's American Ethnic Studies Department.

I've lived in Seattle for 54 years.

I am ashamed, frustrated, and actually very angry about the seeming indifference of the Seattle City Council to the needs of the Chinatown International District.

Isn't it enough that our communities have suffered outright discrimination, including exclusion laws, redlining?

It's not historical.

It continues.

This whole racism continues.

The only reason why some of it dissipates is because we, the people, demand it.

Now, once again, we have to stop the government from bullying us.

This is the 50th anniversary of the Kingdom Rally.

We had to come together to stop the government from bulldozing our community.

But rather than celebrate the preservation of our community, they now want to demolish Fifth Avenue and kill off the businesses and communities that have already suffered during the pandemic and the increasing hate crime that has not disappeared.

Now they're creating a large mega shelter near our community without letting our community know.

While we are generous and compassionate people, we have also suffered from hate crimes.

Our elderly are afraid to go out because of harassment and assaults.

Please engage with us.

Listen to our people and put a moratorium on the project for at least six months.

Enough of bullying of immigrants and Asian American people.

Jiayou!

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jay Yonamura.

Hello, I'm Jay Yonamura.

I live in the Fujisada condo between Hinge Park and Wajimaya.

And I've been victimized by my car being broken into and everything taken.

I'm in the Chinatown Safety Patrol and see firsthand drug use and all kinds of problems.

And I want to thank Sarah Nelson and Andrew Lewis for showing up, took the time to show up along with all these people.

And I hope at the end of the public comment, Tammy Ramirez, who represents our district, will, you know, support us and make a statement that says she will support us and help defend I want to know about the fiscal responsibility of spending $66.5 million to add only 150 beds.

It comes out to about $440,000 for additional beds.

And in four years, when the lease expires, they walk away from it.

Why not use Magnuson Park, where they have Hangar 30, the indoor tennis courts that are climate controlled with food services and shelters already in place?

They were gifted the land by U.S.

Navy.

It's already there.

Why not use that facility?

Why put it in Chinatown, where there's no buffer?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Beth Q. Beth.

She spoke.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Frank Brown.

Is Frank Brown still here?

Thank you, council.

I am Frank Bowne, resident of Wallingford, People respond to incentives and disincentives.

Proposed homeless expansion would further incentivize the crime that is destroying the city, the vandalism, the theft, and the personal self-destruction.

At the same time, the proposal would further disincentivize what is key to the wellbeing of a city.

vibrant middle class of businesses like we have in the international district, which would only promote the monopoly position of the big box stores and businesses.

In other words, further enriching the wealthy and impoverishing all the rest of us.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker.

If I could ask the audience and bystanders to keep down their chatter.

Al Rosenthal, please.

Our next speaker is Al Rosenthal.

Walk the streets of Seattle, look at the homeless, count the number of Asian homeless that you see.

There are very few.

Observe the homeless that you see.

The majority of them have drug or alcohol problems.

The government needs to look at the Asian community to see what they are doing right when it comes to the homeless problem.

I know what they are doing right.

It's close family.

I have the CDC data to prove it.

Per the FBI, white people have a crime rate four times Asian Americans.

Why are you dumping 500 homeless, vast majority white, mostly addicted homeless on Chinatown?

Do you want to destroy Chinatown?

Why don't you put this homeless camp in Discovery Park?

You have facilities there, buildings, a big field for the RVs.

Is Magnolia too white of a neighborhood to put a homeless camp that has vast majority white people?

I was on the 2015 Redmond Homeless Task Force.

I own commercial properties in Seattle.

I know what the homeless cause as a problem in the crime.

Thank you.

OK, so Madam Clerk, let's hold up a bit.

Folks, I understand your emotion and your enthusiasm, but for the viewing public, we really need you to kind of keep it down because people can't hear.

I appreciate, that's why we have public comment.

And if we need to extend it for those of you that didn't get a chance to sign up can speak as well.

But I'm gonna ask you to please be respectful and allow people to have a safe place to have their opinion, but also even if that opinion is something you don't agree with.

So with that, Madam Clerk, you go to the next speaker.

Our next speaker is Joey Colber.

Joey?

Oh, you hear me okay?

My name is Joey.

I actually live in the International District between King and Jackson over by the overpass.

Pretty much since I've been living there, I've witnessed all manner of things.

In the past couple months, I've kicked out three drug users that I've seen doing drugs from my doorstep.

I've stepped over human feces right in my doorstep.

Throughout the neighborhood, if you walk down there, I don't know if you've been down there through the neighborhood, but businesses are boarded up, windows are smashed.

Pink Gorilla, a business down there, has been broken into twice in the same week.

thousands of dollars in merchandise taken Fuji Bakery right across the street has been broken into throughout the pandemic.

And you want to move 500 more people into that 500 more homeless with all manner of problems.

Think about that.

Think about what you're letting happen.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Mike Donnelly.

Mike Donnelly.

Hi, my name is Mike Donnelly.

I'm the building manager for the Enscape Arts Building, which is the old immigration building.

We are the direct neighbor to the shelter.

I have managed the building for 10 years, and in that time, worked with the Booth Shelter, which is right across the street from us, the veteran shelter.

Rarely had an issue with the Booth Shelter.

Since the current shelter went in during COVID, Nobody will take responsibility for what happens outside the gate.

Inside the gate, I took a tour with Hedy, who's new in charge.

Everything's clean.

There are guards in there.

Outside the gate, nobody takes responsibility.

Urban Visions, who owns the property, couldn't get them to clean up.

The county couldn't get them to do any cleanup until Tanya got press going.

And since then, the county miraculously is coming two or three times a week getting ready for their big tour next week.

I support a pause in the expansion until they start to listen.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Alina Fortgen.

Alina?

Hi, my name is Aline Fortgang with Humane Voters of Washington.

People's attitudes about confining wild animals in cages and tanks are changing.

We need our city leaders to change with us and stop the unjustifiable flow of taxpayer money to the captivity industry.

A local survey conducted by GMA Research, a national polling company, was done.

It asked, what are your primary sources of information about wild animals?

Only 1% said the zoo, even though the zoo was offered as a choice.

60% of residents are interested in an alternative to traditional zoos, which doesn't use wild animals.

85% of respondents said people are changing the way they think about confining animals in captivity.

So why are we funding more animals to suffer in tanks and cages?

We are asking that the City Council and the zoos funding through the Seattle Parks District and respect our city's ethics by passing a resolution for the aquarium to install a non-live experience instead of an inhumane shark tank.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Hannah Thompson Garner.

Hannah.

Hello, my name is Hannah Thompson-Garner.

I'm the Director of Advocacy and Mission Advancement for the Northwest Animal Rights Network.

We're here to demand that the Seattle Aquarium not receive REIT infrastructure funds and to voice our opposition to the planned ocean pavilion of the Seattle Aquarium.

We are in opposition because of the inequitable cost to taxpayers, the environmental impact, and the animal welfare concerns of this shark tank.

We are here because the City Council and Mayor Harrell refused to meet with us to discuss these demands.

Therefore, we gather here today to show Seattleites exactly what infrastructure projects their tax dollars are going to.

Please have our tax dollars go to equitable projects.

Also, we're here because it is wrong to portray the shark tank as a form of conservation.

It is wrong to keep animals in captivity instead of promoting real conservation efforts.

The use of live animals is an outdated model, and it is becoming more and more less preferable to people who go visit aquariums and zoos.

No Seattle shark tank.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Sophie McFadden.

Sophie.

Is Sophie in the room?

Okay, our next speaker is Paul Hughes.

Then Susan Lee Wu.

Susan?

Our next speaker could be Niven Situ.

Niven Situ?

Okay.

Yizhen Liang.

Oh, do you want to bring it here?

Our next speaker is Amy Chen.

Oh, who do we have?

My name is Yizhen Liang.

I am from Islington Hotel.

Last year, my husband passed away.

When we went out, we were robbed by homeless people.

My husband is handicapped and he was intimidated and harassed by the homeless last year.

And then my neighbor who live in the basement was robbed.

So the neighbor living in the basement

does embroidery, and her embroidery equipment was stolen in the burglary.

And then another person on living on the third floor was punched by the homeless.

No matter what you say, I don't agree with Liu Lianghai living on the street with us.

Yes, if he promises to stay away from us, it's better to come here.

Yeah, regardless, I don't agree having the homeless living close to Chinatown ID.

But if the government really wants it, ask them to come and live here, right here.

And then in Chinatown ID, we originally had a tree that was gorgeous, gorgeous, but then that tree was destroyed by the homeless.

We have no more beautiful tree.

And the homeless live right outside our building and then leaving behind those cardboard paper, feces, urine, you name it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Liu Chan.

Liu Chan.

Pronunciation is tricky.

Get me water.

Liu Gui Chan.

Liu Gui Chan.

Thank you.

Okay, English.

Okay, just...

It is unfair and unjust to pit marginalized groups against each other.

Why do we have to choose who to prioritize?

There are other sources besides the CID.

We already have 10 shelters within a one mile radius.

It is also outrageous that in 2022 we see such blatant systemic racism.

There's a DOT project ripping through the CID and now the mega shelter plans.

So you tell us, is this a targeted attack or blatant disregard for this community?

A community that's more than a neighborhood, a home, but also a place of cultural and historical significance.

This is the third location for Chinatown.

Every time it was moved because of the government for the greater good.

So who exactly is the good greater for?

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Janet Brown.

Janet.

My name is Janet Brown, and I'm speaking on behalf of the Megaplex that is proposed for Chinatown ID.

It's not enough to show up in the CID for parades and festivals.

The 4,000 plus residents of this area deserve to be consulted and informed about changes that will impact them.

Certainly the proposed low barrier shelter with 500 beds plus a tiny house village for 50 and an RV lot for the same number located on the edge of the CID is going to impact the community with at least 600 new neighbors or an increase of 15%.

However, the district remained uninformed about this project until seeing Mayor Harrell's press release that was issued in May.

It's now September and this complex will supposedly open in late fall with no consideration shown to the area adjacent to it.

Put a moratorium on this multimillion dollar facility until the CID has permitted a voice concerning it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Alex Zimmerman.

I believe he's left.

Our next speaker is Z.

H. Tong.

Tang.

Z. Zoo.

Our next speaker is Kim Wynn.

Kim.

Our next speaker is Jesse.

What number are we on, Madam Clerk?

We are on number 59.

Hi, everyone.

My name is Kim Nguyen.

And I'm on the beauty school in right Chinatown, beginning next village homeless.

And every day, I have to take care of the pee, the cramp, and all the needle and everything.

So my job is building community, training, nail license, cosmetology.

Everyone pay the taxpayer.

And then I'm really love the homeless.

I cut hair in the Bellevue.

The homeless have to get the policy, have to do correctly, and then I would like to the government taking care of the cram first before you build anything.

Is that right?

Taking care of the cramp first.

Because, you know, the small thing, you don't taking care correctly.

The small cramp, every day, like, we are pay tax, and we do the best we can.

And then when I have a problem, I call police, and they break in five times in my building.

And then they break the car for the student, too.

But also, nobody take care of that.

No police at all.

The owner have to take care of the cramp.

That's really bad.

No shelter, please.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jesse Robbins.

Is Jesse here?

Thank you.

I've been a lifelong Seattleite.

I went to all my school here and spent a lot of time decades in fact in the Chinese on international district community.

Now I have the chance to raise my kids in the same kind of environment and same neighborhood, and to do the same thing I got to do when I was a kid.

Now I also find myself as a business owner I teach a self defense, a crop my gospel.

in the Chinatown International District community.

And earlier this year, I was invited to teach a self-defense class for seniors living in the Chinatown International District community.

And let me just tell you that that should not be necessary, right?

I love Chinatown.

I love the community.

I'm a huge supporter of it.

But time and time again, the Chinatown community has been ignored and it seems that they're just supposed to roll over and take it.

This is not about minority community versus marginalized communities.

This is not about the Chinatown community against the homeless.

This is about the people who prey on the homeless and worry that without proper plans in place and without getting the community buy-in, the Chinatown community is going to be absolutely screwed.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Tanya Wu.

Hello, Tonya.

Hi, my name is Tanya Wu.

First off, I want to thank you so much for allowing our voices to be heard.

In case you can't see, we are almost at capacity here.

Most of the people here are seniors.

We traveled all this way from the China Central National District to talk to you and to plead and to please advocate on our behalf and to rebuild trust.

We're asking for a pause in this facility to do the proper outreach and engagement.

We're also asking for any permits that allow for the outreach and engagement to please run its course, asking for lifting that emergency ordinance that Mayor Durkan has.

We believe council does have that power to lift it.

Also asking for a public safety plan, which The county and the city does not have.

The county is putting this facility in place, expecting you, the city, to have all these resources available.

And that's not what we're seeing, and we really need that in place.

So please continue the outreach, the engagement, come to our communities, please talk to us and involve us in a conversation about our community.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Before you move on to the next speaker, I just want to share, Tanya, thank you for the email memo that you sent us this morning at 9 a.m.

We all received it.

And thank you for the four points that you had outlined for Seattle City Council.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Usul T. Mayo.

Or Wolf T. M-A-O, last name M-A-O, Mayo, Mayo.

Okay, our next speaker is Marliesa Metzer.

Hi, my name is Marliesa Melzer.

and I live just south of here.

I'm here standing in solidarity with the Asian community.

Congratulations to the city council for destroying the once beautiful city of Seattle.

You have welcomed drugs, crime and violence with your pro-crime progressive policies.

Let me suggest that you move the homeless into your own neighborhoods and spare the international district.

The plagues created by your own policies.

You have failed to listen to your constituents.

You have failed at outreach, which is despicable.

And I sincerely hope they vote you all out at their first opportunity.

Thank you.

Our next speaker.

Our next speaker is Anthony, I believe it's Tackett.

Anthony Tackett.

Hello.

I'm Anthony Tackett, a local filmmaker.

I'm here to Excuse me.

I'm here to speak in regards to the establishment of the Seattle Film Commission.

I just want to speak on its behalf.

I'm not going to take away from the Asian community because that is something that is something that needs to be addressed a long time ago.

But this film commission Supplies filmmakers the aid and support, they need to become wonderful filmmakers, which helped tell stories of the community with the community.

I was with the film task force, which formed a commission that we could see could support each and every community of filmmakers.

We all have our own exclusive stories to share.

And this is the opportunity to do that, share resources and to support communities in need and also supply lots of jobs, which would solve the problems as well, right?

Not completely, the city needs to step up and do more, but this is a next step to that, give more folks opportunities to grow.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is, I believe, Sami or Semai Seal.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

My name is Sami Saad.

I came here last time and I'm looking for wisdom and support.

I own the first medical weed shop here in Watson or Canopy.

But unfortunately, all black people is being pushed away.

We're helping those homeless.

And I have some time I became homeless because I get hit by a car.

That's before even that.

So I want to help and I want to help my community in Sudan as well.

East African community, none of them here.

All those shops is owned by white, owned by some Korean, and some Mexican.

This is not fair.

Now they're adding 60 shops for social equity.

If you don't give us, you took from us, who are you gonna give?

You know, they call it Chinatown.

Do we have African town having business?

This is like Oklahoma bomb.

This is sad.

Last time I said Paula Saldana used the F word, I've been put out for no reason.

I never disrespected you guys.

I have much respect.

I came for wisdom and support.

It's so sad for the person and her name is here with me as District 5. It's so sad for her, Teresa.

Teresa, to put me out.

If Paula Saldana and Elly Garrett are using us, they have Elly Garrett work for the LCB.

Her boyfriend get a license.

You know, his name is Jim Buchanan.

We can't be used by people who look like us.

That's why we are doing this.

Thank you so much and God bless you and bless you all.

Thank you.

Our last speaker that I have listed is Gary Lee.

Hello, I'm Gary Lee.

And now talking about the Megaplex, I would like to request a pause on that.

Also, I would like to request a good public safety plan for that.

And for the city attorney, I would like to ask a question.

If there's a development that requires building permits that is non-COVID related, for example, can they use the emergency ordinance for COVID related Those facilities, would that be illegal doing that?

Because this Megaplex is not COVID related.

That's the question.

Is it illegal to use the emergency ordinances COVID related if the facility is not COVID related?

Do you understand the question?

That's my question.

Thanks.

Bye.

Thank you.

Now that's the, this is the, that was the last speaker that I have listed.

There were possibly three or four names that I could not read at all.

Not, not just because of the name, but, um, so if I've missed somebody, would you please step up?

Cause we have a few more minutes left.

No, no, no, no.

One person.

Yep.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you for asking.

Thank you.

Okay, I think that concludes our public comment, Council President.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

And let me say two things quickly.

First, I want to thank our interpreters, Alan Lye, if I'm saying that correctly.

Thank you, Alan.

And who Barbara Robinson, thank you both for being here and thank you for the community that came out of a handsome conversations yesterday so thank you so much for showing up today and letting us know what your concerns are about the.

The proposed plans the county's proposed plans for the the shelter.

going from 269 people to 420 people.

And we heard you loud and clear.

And I also want to clear the record because I don't think it's fair to Council Member Mosqueda.

It was me, Council Member Deborah Juarez, who asked one of the gentlemen who just spoke was escorted out because as the instructions say, we are not going to engage.

in hateful, racist, misogynistic, any kind of language that doesn't move the conversation forward.

We are not going to engage in name calling, calling out people's racial, ethnic background.

We're just not going to do that.

We're always happy to sit here and hear what you have to say, whether it's to the agenda or our regular work plan, particularly when it comes to housing issues that we're dealing with right now.

Again, I want to thank you for that, but it was me who did that, not Council Member Mosqueda.

Madam Clerk, thank you.

We have reached the end of all of our speakers and we will now close public comment.

Moving on in our agenda to adoption of the introduction and referral calendar.

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

Not seeing or hearing an objection, the introduction and referral calendar is adopted.

Moving on to F, adoption of the agenda, today's agenda.

If there's no objection, today's agenda will be adopted.

Not seeing or hearing an objection, the agenda is indeed adopted.

Moving on to G, adoption of the consent calendar.

We will now consider the proposed consent calendar, and my understanding is no council member has made a request to remove the items.

On the consent calendar today, we have the minutes from September 13th, the payroll bill, Council Bill 120420O, and we have 14 appointments.

Five appointments from the Economic Development, Technology, and City Light Committee.

one appointment from the Governance, Native Communities, and Tribal Governments Committee, and eight appointments from the Neighborhoods, Education, Civil Rights, and Cultural Committee.

That being said, I move that we adopt the consent calendar.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

It's been moved and seconded to adopt the consent calendar.

Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Council Member Peters, excuse me, Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Aye.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council Member Herbold.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

Madam Clerk, will you please affix my signature to the minutes and the legislation on the consent calendar on my behalf?

All right, let's move on to committee reports and item number one.

Madam Clerk, will you please read item number one into the record?

Agenda item one, clerk file 314504, report of the city clerk on the certificate of sufficiency for initiative number 135, concerning developing and maintaining affordable social housing in Seattle.

Thank you.

I move to file, clerk file 314504. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

It's been moved and seconded to file the clerk file.

Are there any comments?

Okay.

I do not see anyone raising their hand.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the filing of the clerk file?

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Aye.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council Member Herbold.

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The motion carries and the clerk file is filed.

Let's move on to item number two.

Madam clerk, please read item number two into the record.

agenda item two, resolution 32069 regarding initiative 135 concerning developing and maintaining affordable social housing in Seattle, authorizing the city clerk and the executive director of the Ethics and Elections Commission to take those actions necessary to enable the proposed initiative measure to appear on the February 14th, 2023 ballot and the local voters pamphlet requesting the King County elections director to place the proposed initiative measure on the February 14th, 2023 ballot and providing for the publication of such proposed initiative measure.

Thank you.

I move to adopt resolution 32069. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

It has been moved and seconded to adopt the resolution.

As sponsor, I will address it first and then open the floor for comments.

The Seattle City Council's duty under the City Charter, Article 4, Section 1, is to transmit for ballot placement any voter-proposed initiative which received a sufficient number of signatures.

As we know, Initiative 135 concerning developing and maintaining affordable social housing in Seattle has received a certificate of sufficiency.

Item two today is a resolution regarding initiative 135. Passage of this resolution today will authorize the city clerk and the Executive Director of the Ethics and Elections Commission to take actions necessary to enable the proposed initiative to appear on the February 14th, 2023 ballot and local voters pamphlet.

Passing this resolution will also request Key County Elections Director to place the initiative measure on the February 14th, 2023 ballot.

Are there any comments?

All right, not seeing any, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll on the adoption of the resolution?

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council Member Peterson?

Aye.

Council Member Sawant?

Yes.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

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Thank you.

I move to confirm appointment 2332. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

Councilmember Herbold, this is, um, I'm guessing you're on deck and I understand that Councilmember Mosqueda wants to speak too.

So how do you want to do this?

Do you want to introduce it?

And then you both want to speak or however you want to do it.

But it's all you now.

All right.

Fantastic.

Thank you so much.

And thank you, you know, for your patience being here with us with a late start due to the very comprehensive public comment period today.

I wanna just say to my colleagues how excited I am to present the appointment of Gina Betts as the Director of the Office of Police Accountability, charged with investigating allegations of misconduct by the Seattle Police Department employees and also charged with recommending findings based on those investigations to the police.

Mr. Betz was the unanimous recommendation for the OPA Director Research Committee, including committee members from the community, such as CPC co-chairs, Reverend Patricia Hunter and Douglas Wagoner, Senator Makra Dhingra, Mary Cypress of the Northwest Anti-Defamation League, and Nina Martinez, board chair of the Latino Civic Alliance.

Mr. Betz appeared at two meetings of the Public Safety and Human Services Committee.

His personal and professional experience have paired him well to serve as director of OPA.

He served as attorney for the Chicago Civilian Office of Police Accountability.

In that position, he participated in a number of very high-profile cases, including helping to secure accountability and expose instances of corruption and misconduct, In one case, the work of his team resulted in action against a corrupt group of officers who extorted residents and falsely arrested those who objected.

Several officers were held accountable for misconduct, which ultimately led to conviction overturned for over 200 wrongfully incarcerated community members.

Most recently led the South side Community Justice Center as an assistant state attorney at Cook County State Attorney's Office in Chicago, where he collaborated with community leaders at law enforcement and elected officials.

I'd like to just lift up some of the answers he provided to the council-generated questions.

Mr. Betz has committed to facilitating frequent and meaningful communication with complainants, including inviting them to closeout meetings.

This is a welcome system improvement, and I really appreciate this commitment and his willingness to examine OPA procedures with a fresh set of eyes.

He has stated his belief OPA should consist of 100% civilian investigators and indicated this is the best model for overcoming public skepticism regarding police oversight.

He's also committed to working with us to advise the Labor Relations Policy Committee on bargaining issues related to accountability.

And he's referenced the best practices of other cities.

Really appreciate his willingness to examine those practices and recognize that any accountability system is a system that is relying on a continual self-improvement.

Mr. Betz has worked, again, at a police accountability system with more authority than our own Office of Police Accountability.

I believe this experience will make him an effective voice for additional accountability reforms here in Seattle.

And I really want to note my appreciation for the mayor's office, Senior Deputy Mayor Harrell speaking during the committee presentation about some of the, shall we say, missteps in the public engagement process and the willingness that she showed to not only own these errors, but to actually go and meet with the constituent groups that raise concerns.

Lastly, I want to note that this appointment fills the vacancy that has resulted from the resignation of former Director Meyerberg.

Currently, this appointment goes through the end of 2022. What that means is if Council approves this appointment, the Mayor is expected to send a reappointment for a subsequent four-year term.

And the mayor, we are not anticipating additional process plan because the time period is so close to our confirmation here today.

So I will leave at that.

I may have some closing remarks, I may not, but let's start there.

Thank you.

Councilor Mosqueda, did you want to speak now?

Go ahead, Councilor Mosqueda.

Thank you very much.

Thanks for the opportunity to follow the Chair of Public Safety.

I want to thank Council Member Herbold for her leadership as the Chair of Public Safety.

I want to also thank her for her stewardship over this process and serving on the search committee and really bringing to the conversation the values and the principles that the Council has been interested in.

as we seek to make sure that the accountability ordinance and our accountability partners have the resources and personnel needed to fulfill the vision of a reformed public safety model that is reliant on our accountability partners, such as the Office of the Police Accountability.

I want to thank Mr. Gino Betz, Jr. for the conversation that we were able to have subsequent to the Public Safety Committee.

It was wonderful to be able to have some time to follow up with you and to the external stakeholders in the community that I mentioned during public safety that I was reaching out to, including folks at People Power Washington, the extended semi-affiliated branch of ACLU, members of the Community Police Commission, the CPC, and also spoke at the direction and suggestion of the chair of public safety.

I spoke with Senator Dhingra, who was part of the interview committee and also leads many of the public safety reforms in our state legislature as well.

Everyone had very impressive things to say about their interactions with Mr. Betz, and I will concur with that from my one-on-one conversations with him as well.

I did abstain in committee because I wanted to have those subsequent discussions and really feel confident today in voting yes for this confirmation.

I think that he will be a rigorous and equitable accountability leader, and I'm really comforted by the conversation we had, and the fact that it appears that he shares many of the same concerns and priorities that I and constituents have many of those concerns related to.

Making sure that our accountability ordinance is not negotiable, ensuring that complaints are thoroughly and impartially investigated by people outside of SPD, and engaging directly with communities most impacted by police misconduct, violence, targeting, and to ensure that we rebuild trust by making sure that we are holding accountable folks who have caused past harms, current harms, and making sure that we're adequately investigating and addressing the complaint process.

So I look forward, Mr. Betts, to working with you as director of OPA and working with you and community in collaboration to make sure that there are meaningful changes to our accountability processes so that investigations into misconduct are not just improved, misconduct itself is deterred.

I look forward to also working with you to strengthen the three legs of our accountability stool so that yes, the OPA has additional resources and good stewardship with your leadership here that we are about to approve.

But also that in partnership with the OIG and the CPC, we continue to evaluate whether or not there is sufficient resources and that we can do more than recommendations.

So look forward to continuing to strengthen and enhance the role that the OPA could play in the future.

Thanks again to Chair of Public Safety, Council Member Herbold, to Director Betz for his generous time, to the folks from community who served in the search role, the Mayor's team for setting up a process and working to rebuild trust with community where they fell short.

and for selecting this incredibly qualified nominee today.

I want to thank Melanie Cray, new to our office and lead in public safety for helping to do all of the outreach and analysis on this presentation here today.

Wonderful to have had her in the meeting with Mr. Betts as well.

So I'm enthusiastically going to be supporting this nominee today.

Thank you, Councilor Musquit.

Is there any other comments before I have some closing comments that I handed off back over to Council Member Herbold, if she should so choose.

Council Member Sawant.

Go ahead, Council Member Sawant.

Thank you, Council President Juarez.

I will be voting no on the appointment of Gina Betz as Director of the Office of Police Accountability.

My no vote is Less a personal statement about Genovese and much rather an acknowledgement that Seattle's police accountability system is fundamentally broken and has been broken.

We have an accountability system that sees no fault in pepper spraying children in the face during Black Lives Matter protests and the killing of unarmed people experiencing mental health crises.

As I've argued in the past, we need an elected community oversight board with full powers over the police to investigate reports of police violence, subpoena witnesses, and hire and fire officers.

Even assuming the very best of intentions, an OPA director will not hold officers accountable under the current system.

To do so would require for them, for the OPA director, coming into direct and sharp conflict with the whole political establishment.

Mr. Betts is appointed and decides to take this radical position, he will certainly have support of my office.

Though I have to be clear, I don't anticipate that he will.

In any case, for now, I will be voting no to make clear that I do not believe Seattle's police accountability system will deliver justice for community members facing violence from the Seattle Police Department.

We need a major overhaul and first and foremost, we need an elected community oversight board.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Sawant.

Council Member Herboldt, I would like to say a few words and then I'll let you close.

Is that OK?

You can close.

OK, first of all, I want to thank you, Council Member Herboldt and former Council President Gonzalez.

All of this, our accountability partners, OPA, OIG, which I was on the search committee.

the community police commission.

Um, it's been a lot of work and we've watched it evolve over time.

So capsule herbal, thank you for your leadership on that.

I really appreciate that.

Um, because we all know that these national searches, um, take up a lot of time, but they're worth it in the end.

So thank you very much.

Um, and I also just want to share, uh, and welcome, um, Mr. Betts.

to the accountability partners.

You'll probably be seeing a lot more of us, and I will give you an opportunity to speak once we get right to the roll call.

So with that, I will be supporting the confirmation of Mr. Betz.

So with that, is there anything else, Council Member Herbert, before we go to a vote?

All right.

Okay, with that, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Excuse me, Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Yes.

Council Member Sawant.

No.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council Member Herbold.

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Eight in favor, one opposed.

Thank you.

The motion carries and the appointment is confirmed.

Congratulations, Director Betz.

Thank you.

and you are now recognized to provide brief comments to council and members of the public.

The floor is yours, sir.

Really briefly, my name is Gino Betts.

Good afternoon.

I want to thank Mayor Harrell for appointing me to lead the Office of Police Accountability.

I want to thank Senior Deputy Mayor Harrell for her guidance throughout the process, Chair Herbold for her leadership throughout the process, and thank you, council, for your confirmation.

I appreciate the time invested into the process, allowing me to appear multiple times in committee and individual meetings with several of you.

I've been a public servant my entire career.

I'm humbled by the opportunity to serve the people of Seattle in a meaningful capacity.

I'm new to the city, so my first priority was listening to the people.

I quickly learned of the entrenched skepticism and frustration where civilians and officers both struggle to find fairness and legitimacy in the police oversight process.

I am completely committed to working with all stakeholders toward healing, reconciliation, and unity without compromising fair, transparent, and meaningful accountability.

Again, I thank you for your confidence.

I thank you for your confirmation, and I look forward to working with you all.

Thank you, Mr. Betts.

Congratulations again.

Thank you so much.

All right.

We are going to move on on the agenda to item number four.

Madam Clerk, can you please read item number four on the record?

Agenda item four, appointment 2381, appointment of Faisal Khan as Director of Public Health, Seattle and King County.

Thank you.

I move to confirm appointment 2381. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

It has been moved and seconded to confirm the appointment and Council Member Herbold, you are the sponsor and the floor is yours.

Thank you again.

I'm very pleased to bring forward the nomination of Dr. Khan for the Director of Public Health Seattle and King County to full council for a vote.

I hope each of you had an opportunity to review the confirmation packet and Dr. Khan's application, his written responses to the many, many detailed questions that my office sent to him on behalf of the Public Safety and Human Services Committee and all council offices.

I've had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Khan several times and he's impressed me with his passion for public health, his specific interest in joining our community.

I believe he will find that, I believe we will find that Dr. Khan shares many of the priorities that council has expressed and that he will be a helpful partner in moving those priorities forward.

I'm really grateful that Dr. Khan sees clearly the exhaustion of our public health workers and understands how very important it is to rejuvenate and invest in our workforce.

And I think we're so fortunate that we have attracted a leader who will continue the visionary leadership that we have come to expect from our public health department.

As far as background on the process, Khan joined the Public Safety and Human Services Committee on September 13th.

He responded to verbal questions from committee members as well as, as mentioned, responded to the written questions.

This nomination is unique because it is put forward by both the Mayor and the Council Executive and must be confirmed by both Seattle City Council and King County Council.

We're going first with today's vote and County Council will consider the nomination soon.

I just want to flag for those of you who might be noticing that there is no committee recommendation associated with this appointment today.

I just want to flag we were unable to take a formal official vote to recommend the nomination because there was an oversight as it relates to how this item was entered and updated in Legistar.

So we kind of did a informal, non-official voice call of support, and I'm happy to say that there was unanimous support among Public Safety and Human Services Committee members at the last meeting.

With that, I'm so happy to recommend the nomination of Dr. Faisal Khan as Director of Public Health.

Thank you, Councilmember Herbold.

That is leadership.

Thank you.

Are there any comments before I say anything and I hand it off to Councilmember Herbold to close this out?

Are there any comments from my colleagues?

Okay, not seeing any.

Two things.

First of all, thank you, Mr. Kahn.

And I like the sign behind you, keep calm and carry on.

I appreciate that.

And I will, again, wanna thank Council Member Herbold, two great appointments here, Mr. Betz and now Mr. Kahn.

So thank you for all your hard work, Council Member Herbold.

I know that you take a lot of time and you really dig deep and I saw the questions that you had proposed.

So thank you for that.

Okay, is there anything else you'd like to add before we go to a vote, Council Member Herbold?

Okay, will the clerk please call the roll on the confirmation?

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Aye.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council Member Herbold.

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The motion carries and the appointment is confirmed.

Congratulations, Director Khan.

You are now recognized to speak or have some brief remarks for city council and for the viewing public.

Go ahead.

Thank you.

Thank you, council members for this honor.

It is truly a privilege to join the ranks of the best public health agency in the country.

Second, perhaps only to New York City and that too only in terms of budget and resources.

It is undoubtedly a challenge to face a long list of public health issues to deal with, but my commitment to you is that I will work very hard to try and tackle each one of those issues along with an amazing team who, as one council member pointed out, have been exhausted and drained of energy throughout the trying experience of the last two and a half years.

I will work diligently and smartly along with you and your teams to try and improve the physical, mental, social, and emotional health and well-being of the residents of Seattle and King County.

And I look forward to further conversations in that regard.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

And with that, we will move on into our agenda to item number five.

Madam Clerk, will you please read item number five into the record?

The report of the Governance, Native Communities, and Tribal Governments Committee, agenda item five, appointment 2348, appointment of Kimberly Loving as director of the Seattle Department of Human Resources for a term to September 1st, 2026. The committee recommends that the appointment be confirmed.

Thank you.

I was just looking for Ms. Loving.

I hope I just saw her pop up.

Okay, great.

So this is my committee.

So I have some prepared comments and then I will introduce our appointee, and then I will open up the floor.

So as chair of the committee, I will address this item first, open up the floor for comments.

So last week, the Governance, Native Communities, and Tribal Governments Committee unanimously recommended the appointment of Interim Director Kimberly Loving to become the Director of the Seattle Department of Human Resources.

Kimberly Loving has served the Department of Human Resources as Deputy Director chiefs of staff, and most recently, an interim director since 2021. When the city faced an unprecedented global shutdown, Ms. Loving rose to the occasion, which required that she manage a 120 employee team responsible for remote work accommodations and evaluating requests for vaccine exemptions, all the while continued to hire for a workforce for over 12,000 people.

Pretty amazing.

She has received positive feedback from stakeholders, including directors of city departments, human resource leads in city departments, members of the Seattle Department of Human Resources team, and labor unions representing city employees.

She's currently earning her doctorate in learning and organizational change from Baylor University.

So with that, are there any other comments I'd like to open up the floor to my colleagues?

If they have any comments or questions before I hand it over, we take the vote and then I open up the floor for the appointee.

Okay, not seeing any.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the appointment?

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Aye.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council Member Herbold.

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The motion carries and the appointment is confirmed.

Congratulations, Director Loving.

You are now recognized to provide brief remarks to the viewing public in Seattle City Council, and it's good to see you again.

The floor is yours.

Thank you, Council President.

It's so exciting to hear all of those yeses and ayes.

It's good to be with you all.

Don't get used to it.

Don't get used to it.

Yeah, no, no, no.

I won't.

I won't.

But there's a lot of emotion happening here.

Thank you so much.

Thank you to the Committee on Governance, Native Communities, and Tribal Governments for your favorable referral, and to the Council for your confidence in me.

Thank you to Mayor Harold, of course, for this nomination, and to the Seattle Human Resources team for their passionate public service.

I want to take a moment to thank my beautiful family.

I would not be here today if it were not for their unwavering encouragement and support of my husband, Kevin, the love and guidance of my parents and the rest of my family and mentors and trusted colleagues.

Thank you for believing in me.

As I shared with the Committee on Governance, Native Communities and Tribal Governments last week, I come before you humbled and with a commitment to center equity and our employees in everything we do.

We have a great deal of work ahead and I am up for the challenge.

Thank you for your vote today.

I do not take your confidence in me lightly and I look forward to what we will accomplish together.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, and your words of wisdom from your mother still ring with us from last Thursday.

So thank you for that very much.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

All right.

So let's move on the agenda here.

Let's move on to item number six.

Madam Clerk, will you please read item number six into the record?

I've reported the Economic Development Technology and City Light Committee Agenda Item 6, Council Bill 120411 relating to the City Light Department amending rates, terms, and conditions for the use and sale of electricity supplied by the City Light Department for 2022, 2023, and 2024. The committee recommends the bill pass.

Thank you.

Councilor Nelson, you were the chair of this committee.

You were recognized to go ahead and introduce us to this.

Thank you very much.

And everyone is pretty much left chambers today but I do have to say that it was significant that so many people came out today it's nice to see chambers full.

Anyway, this legislation codifies city lights rate path set forth in Resolution 32061, and was passed out of committee unanimously.

The proposed 5.7 residential rate increase is less than overall inflation and will cost the average household about $4 a month.

Inflation has driven up the costs of generating and distributing electricity for about the past three years or so.

For example, the price of steel, aluminum, and copper rose by 70 to 80%.

To absorb these inflationary pressures and hold rates down as much as possible, City Light is cutting spending in other areas.

In addition, City Light has held customer bills steady by eliminating an approved rate increase in 2021 and reducing it in 2022. So I want to acknowledge that no one likes when electricity bills go up, but it would be far worse without City Light's hard work here.

And I'm grateful for the oversight provided by the City Light Review Panel for their independent endorsement of this legislation.

And I ask for my colleagues' support.

Thank you, Council Member Nelson.

Are there any comments for Council Member Nelson before we move to a vote?

Anything, oh, Council Member, okay, we'll go, we'll start with Council Member Peterson and then we'll go to Council Member Sawant.

Council Member Peterson.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Chair Nelson.

Colleagues, consistent with my vote July 19th against the related resolution 32056, I'm not able to support this ordinance today that will increase electricity rates beyond the rate path City Hall approved just last year.

Allow me to briefly explain my rationale.

That resolution 32007 approved last year had originally scheduled electricity rates to increase by 3.8% in 2023 and by another 3.8% in 2024 but city lights ordinance 120411 before us today is asking the council to increase the rates by a higher amount 4.5% in 2023 and by another 4.5% on top of that 2024. And I hear frequently from from constituents in my district to experience repeated power outages and who are also suffering from inflation.

So I recognize it does not help the financial situation.

city government's general fund traditionally takes approximately $55 million each year from Seattle City Light for what's called the utility tax.

I'm hopeful the budget proposal we received from the Harrell administration next week addresses this by efficiently managing the overall cost of government.

I do appreciate all the hard work that Seattle City Light does, and I appreciate the thoughtful rationale for their rate proposal.

but I just can't justify to my constituents these higher than hoped for increases.

Thank you.

Thank you Councilor Peterson.

Councilor Sawant.

Thank you, Council President Borges.

I will be voting no on this bill, increasing Seattle City Lights electricity rates for working class people in Seattle this next year.

I voted yes on this legislation in committee in error, but intended to vote no as I have done for rate increases throughout my tenure on City Council.

At a time when inflation is out of control and workers paychecks are being stretched farther and farther.

And as we head into a recession that economists are predicting will have a rough landing for ordinary people.

I believe elected officials have an obligation to ensure that All of the increased utility costs are covered by increasing taxes on big business and the super rich instead of rate increases on working families.

Outrageously, City Light charges big businesses less per unit of electricity than they charge working class Seattleites, and this rate hike increases that gap.

This year's rate hike for high demand City Light customers like New Coast Steel Corporation is 2.7%, but for working class people, the rate hike is a whopping 6% over double the increase.

There are many alternatives, but ultimately it's a question of whom elected officials represent.

When I chaired the committee overseeing City Light, I proposed eliminating the distinctions between City Light customers in order to make it so that steel workers are charged no more for electricity than New Coast Steel Corporation, for example.

But no other council member was willing to second that bill.

And there are other options too, including increasing taxes on big business to fund citywide operations.

Any of these options I would support, but I will not vote yes on a 6% increase in electricity costs for workers already facing outrageous inflation for housing, food, and fuel.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Swann.

Are there any other comments before I hand it over to Council Member Nelson if she has any closing comments?

Council Member Nelson, is there anything you would like to add before we go to a vote?

Just one more thing.

I appreciate everybody's attention that they're paying to this.

And I also want to thank City Light for an innovation in this cycle, which is the time of day rate, which will give people the option of using electricity in off peak hours, which will really reduce the burden on our grid and also provide for a lower rate for our rate payers.

And that's it.

Thank you, Councilor Nielsen.

And with that, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nielsen?

Aye.

Council Member Peterson?

No.

Council Member Sawant?

No.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Seven in favor, two opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes, the chair will sign it, and Madam Clerk, please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf.

Moving on in our agenda to item number seven, will the clerk please read item number seven into the record?

Item seven Council bill 120412, excuse me relating to the establishment of the Seattle film commission the committee recommends that the city council pass the bills amended.

Thank you.

This is very exciting Councilmember Nelson.

Yes, it's a lot funner than a rating.

Indeed.

Thank you, colleagues.

So I spent the morning at the Arc Lodge Cinema in Columbia City for a press conference pre-funk before this vote.

And just so people that know, it was a pretty packed house for a press conference.

In Seattle, we've got four television networks and four radio stations, and they have all covered this.

this legislation to create a film commission in the past, and five outlets were there in the room.

The audience represented many segments of Seattle's film industry from labor and from labor, nonprofits, producers, distribution channels, King County and the state, and creatives themselves, like actors, directors, and producers.

And Tom Skerritt was in fact there and was one of our speakers.

There were six members of the Seattle Film Task Force present, and two of them, Anthony Taggett and Susan Lascelles, veterans of Seattle's film industry with mile-long bios on their own, were also speakers.

And I first have to thank Anthony, who's in the room now.

Thank you very much for so eloquently speaking earlier today and for providing public comment this afternoon.

I'm saying all this because I have a hunch that the news today that this news that I'm talking about right now may be eclipsed by other things going on today.

And I just want my colleagues to know how enthusiastic and supportive and frankly grateful that everybody in the room today at the press conference was in addition their professional networks and pretty much everyone I've met in the film community.

how profoundly excited they are of the step that we're about to take today.

So, you know, I've spoken about this many times in committee and in briefings.

So colleagues, you already know, you already know the benefits of a film commission, but for anybody out there in TV land that hasn't been tracking this legislation and might be wondering, why do we need a film commission?

I have three reasons.

And so, Number one, as chair of economic development, I know that film is a major driver of economic growth.

And we, at a time when creatives are leaving Seattle because they're getting priced out, we need to ensure that we retain jobs in the industry.

And we're talking about living wage jobs, which is why labor is so fiercely supportive of this legislation.

And I wanted to also recognize Melissa Purcell, who is the business manager for IATSE 488. She was in the room today, did not give public comment, but she helped write this legislation.

So anyway, That's the situation.

And we, meaning the city of Seattle, I believe, we need industry experts to help us as we go forward and frame policies to strengthen the film industry here in Seattle and attract more film to Seattle.

So that's reason number one.

And I just want to say that before going on to reason number two, when I say film, I'm talking about film, television and video.

And as people know, in this town, video is very connected to music.

We cannot separate the two art forms.

And, you know, we invited Macklemore to to say this himself today, and he couldn't make it.

But he did submit the statement that I'd like to read.

Seattle is my home and I love making art here.

I've filmed so many of my music videos with exceptional crew and beautiful locations.

I'm excited to support Council Member Sarah Nelson's bill creating a Seattle Film Commission.

This legislation will help pave the way for new and emerging artists to film their own music videos, documentaries, films, and TV shows.

It's time to give more support to creatives and highlight the many scenic areas that make this city great.

End quote.

All right.

The second reason this is so important is because for years, the film committee has been calling, the community has been calling on the city to do more to support them and also advance equity within the film industry itself.

In 2019, the city convened a task force and in 2020, they produced a report.

This is the report.

The task force identified a film commission as their number one priority and advancing equity as their mission.

And this legislation is based on those recommendations.

So I'm doing this because the community has been wanting this for so long.

That's reason number two.

And then finally, three, the time is now.

We have to act because there's so much more going on.

We've got $15 million of film incentives from the state.

That's a huge increase from what we had before at 3.5 million.

King County is opening Harbor Island Studios, the first time that we'll have a sound stage in Seattle.

And we've got a new mayor and director of economic development.

And for the first time in a long time, we are in this together.

We're united council and executive in this endeavor.

And I have to thank them for all the work that they put into this legislation as well.

So given all this, We city of Seattle has got to align our efforts with those at the county and the state to build upon the momentum that's out there, and together, put Seattle on the map as the nation's best filmmaking city.

I hope that my colleagues will support this.

And before I give up the stage, I just want to say a couple thank yous.

Thank you to Office of Economic Development Director McIntyre, Carissa Braxton, and Chris Swenson.

State and regional partners, Amy Lillard of Washington Filmworks and Kate Becker of King County, and she was in the room as well today.

Melissa Purcell, I've already mentioned, and Ben Andrews, the founder and organizer of the Seattle Film Summit, the Harrell administration, and acclaimed artist Ben Haggerty, Macklemore, as well as Tom Skerritt, and finally, but is top of my list, my chief of staff, Jeremy Moen.

So thank you very much.

Are there any questions from my colleagues?

I before we move to Councilmember Strauss customer Ellis I saw your hand was up there went back down if I missed you I apologize.

Are you okay.

I'm good.

Thank you.

Okay, customer Strauss.

Thank you, Council President Councilmember Nelson you forgot one person in the thank you list which is you.

Thank you for bringing this board council member Nelson championing this and bringing us a bill that we can pass today because, you know, this is an issue that I've tracked since working at the state legislature working here at city council.

And it's really nice to have you as a champion on this so thank you.

All right.

Okay, no more talk of Macklemore.

So, anything else.

I have, at every committee meeting, also thanked the previous efforts of council members Herbold, Solant, and Morales on this.

They were, I think, responsible for the formation of this task force years back.

So don't want any thank yous to go unsaid.

Thank you.

I want to thank all of you guys for everything.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah.

All right.

OK, so that sounds really good.

So with that, Madam Clerk, can we call the roll?

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Aye.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council Member Herbold.

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The bill passes, the chair will sign it, and Madam Clerk, please affix my signature to the bill.

Moving on to item number seven.

Will the clerk please read item number seven into the record?

Agenda item eight, resolution 320...

Oh, I'm sorry.

Thank you.

Resolution 32068, relating to proposed comprehensive plan amendments proposed to be considered for possible adoption in 2023, requesting that the Office of Planning and Community Development and the Seattle Department of Transportation consider the proposed amendments as part of the development of the one Seattle update to the comprehensive plan and the Seattle transportation plan.

The committee recommends the resolution be adopted.

Thank you.

And sorry for that.

I did not flip the page.

We are on item eight.

This is Council Member Strauss out of his committee.

Council Member Strauss, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, clerks.

Last Wednesday, the Land Use Committee recommended approval of Resolution 32068. This resolution is the annual resolution which the Council sets the docket of the comprehensive plan amendments for consideration the following year.

Proposed amendments may be submitted by community members, developers, departments, and Council members.

Inclusion of an amendment in the resolution is not a decision on the merits of a proposed Thank you, getting tug tied there.

Rather, it is a determination that the subject matter of the amendment is appropriate for the potential inclusion in the comprehensive plan.

The committee made its recommendation based on the advice and testimony of the planning commission central staff and members of the public.

this year because of the significant work currently underway to update the comprehensive plan and to develop the new Seattle transportation plan.

The resolution asks OPCD and SDOT to incorporate most of the amendment proposals that were put forward into the process next year where we have the major update to the comprehensive plan.

So put that in plain language, we had a lot of really great proposals that came forward to this resolution that were deemed to be a better fit for next year's major update to the comprehensive plan.

Thank you.

That is the committee report, Council President.

Thank you.

Are there any comments from my colleagues regarding item number eight?

Okay, I do not see any.

Do you want to say anything else, Council Member Strauss, before we go to a vote?

No, nothing further.

Thank you, Council President.

Okay, thank you.

Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll on the adoption of the resolution?

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council Member Peterson?

Aye.

Council Member Sawant?

Yes.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Herbold?

Council Member Herbold?

Sorry about that, yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council President Juarez?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you, the resolution is adopted, the chair will sign it.

Madam Clerk, please affix my signature to the resolution.

Moving on to Neighborhoods, Education, Civil Rights, and the Cultural Committee, item number nine.

Madam Clerk, can you please read that into the record?

agenda item nine, Council Bill 120398 relating to the 2018 families education preschool and promise levy amending the levy implementation and evaluation plan adopted by ordinance 125807 ratifying confirming search and fire acts.

The committee recommends the bill passes amended.

Thank you.

Council Member Morales, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Council President.

So last year, the Families and Education Levy Oversight Committee proposed a suite of amendments to the implementation plan.

And so that's what we are voting on here.

I do, because Several of you are not on the committee I do want to quickly walk through them there's there are six amendments with distinct policy changes five have to do with the Seattle preschool program and one with the homelessness supports.

So, quickly.

The first amendment authorizes deal to modify Seattle preschool program policies, for example eligibility criteria tuition thresholds participation to align with similar county state and federal childcare and preschool programs.

The second modifies references to the federal poverty level as the income metric.

And this would allow the Seattle preschool program to use alternative income metrics, such as the state median income, this will align with state programming.

It also allows for Seattle children who are eligible for Seattle Preschool if they're currently, if they're three years old or four years old by August 31st.

The proposed amendment would add two situations in which children who are three after August 31st could still participate.

And that is if the child is transitioning from an Early Head Start program, For example, or if a child has an individualized education plan and is enrolling in Seattle preschool inclusion classroom.

Fourth amendment would modify the implementation plan to recognize that deal has authority to modify contracts with providers to extend the Seattle preschool program into summer months.

And this would allow preschoolers to get an additional two months of programming And this is really to address summer learning loss that happens in with little bitty ones.

The Fifth Amendment would update the table in the implementation plan with regard to timing.

timing of evaluations of the levy preschool program and early learning investments.

And this has to do with the fact that this pandemic interfered with their evaluation timeline.

And then the last amendment would expand eligible use of funds for wraparound services in K through 12 for homelessness services.

Right now, once a student is identified as being homeless or unstably housed by the Seattle Public Schools, a school representative connects that student with a housing support service provider.

And right now they can use levy funds for things like rent or housing deposits or other housing related expenses.

The proposed amendment would have brought in the eligible uses for those funds to include things like nutrition, clothing, transportation expenses that help kids to school and help them stay in school.

So those are the amendments that we're voting on today.

They did get voted out of committee unanimously.

I do want to thank the DEEL team for their work on these amendments and the FEPP Levy Oversight Committee.

And I want to especially thank Policy Director Marissa Russell for the work that she's done here.

That's what we've got.

Great, thank you.

Before I say anything, colleagues, or anything that you would like to share with customer Morales before I hand it, I say a few things and then I hand it back to see if she has any closing remarks and we go to a vote is the floor is open.

For customer Morales.

Okay.

Kirsten Morales, I want to thank you because, you know, I was here in 2018 when we did the Families Education Preschool and Promise Levy.

And I want to just say it was a big lift and you took on this critical important subject matter.

I remember I was talking about it last January.

And I mean, you swung big and you've done well.

And I want to thank you.

I think the work that you've done, the subject matter expertise that you bring, Obviously, your professional and personal experience and wisdom has really served all of us well, not just council, but the city.

Those changes that were made, those were all talked about, and you made it a reality, and I want to thank you for that.

And I'm really glad that you had an opportunity and you enjoyed working with the deal team director Chappelle.

They're just wonderful folks to work with.

So I just want to say kudos to you.

Well done.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

I know this stuff isn't easy when you first have to get it and try to grapple with it and understand it.

And these amendments were a bit complicated.

And I know, again, a lot of the times back when we were passing this in 18 and 19 and trying to add to it, when then former President Council Member Gonzalez, there's a lot of moving parts, but you've made it look very simple and very sleek and very easy for us to digest.

And so I will be supporting this today.

So thank you very much, Council Member Morales.

Thank you, Council President.

All right.

With that, we will go to a vote.

Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Aye.

Excuse me, Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council Member Peterson?

Aye.

Council Member Sawant?

Yes.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council President Juarez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Well done.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Madam Clerk, please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf.

Thank you.

Excuse me.

All right.

Moving on to our agenda.

There were no items removed from the consent calendar.

Moving on to J, adoption of other resolutions.

There are no other resolutions for introduction and adoption today.

Other business, is there any other matters to come before council before we adjourn for my colleagues?

Let's see.

This does conclude our items of business on today's agenda.

We will meet again on Tuesday, September 27th at two o'clock.

Thank you all for your patience, particularly for our long public comment, but thank you all very much.

And I hope you have a great afternoon.

We stand adjourned.

Thank you, everybody.