City Council Meeting February 20, 2024

I forgot my glasses today, so I can't see.

Good afternoon, everybody.

The February 20th, 2024 meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is 2.01 p.m.

I'm Sarah Nelson, president of the council.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Wu.

Present.

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Present.

Council Member Kettle.

Here.

Council Member Moore.

Council Member Morales.

Here.

Council Member Rivera.

Present.

Council Member Saka.

Here.

Council Member Strauss.

Present.

Council President Nelson.

Present.

Kate present.

And if there is no objection, Council Member Moore will be excused from today's City Council meeting.

Hearing no objection, Council Member Moore is excused from today's City Council meeting.

Okay, we have two presentations today.

At this time, I would like to invite Deputy Mayor Tiffany Washington to provide remarks and officially deliver the Mayor Harrell's 2024 State of the City Address.

Testing, testing.

Can you hear me?

Okay, good.

Yes.

All right.

Good afternoon, esteemed council members.

It's my pleasure to formally present to you Mayor Harold's 2024 State of the City Address.

The mayor appreciated seeing many of you at the Museum of History and Industry, that's a tongue twister, earlier today where he reflected on some of the work we've accomplished and also set a vision for our year ahead.

Each of you courageously ran for office, being fully aware of the challenges that this city faces.

Those challenging can be overwhelming for any one person to address alone, but fortunately, none of us are alone.

We have creative and resourceful minds here in this room, across city government, and in our neighborhoods who are ready and eager to partner to improve people's lives.

I was struck by the mayor's remarks earlier today when he said, we don't run away from high expectations.

In fact, we draw energy from them.

As a newly elected body, each council member will push their own agenda.

Powerful rivers are formed by many streams.

That is how we will overcome our obstacles.

We have a super majority of new council members bringing a fresh perspective to the council dais.

That new energy coupled with the valuable experience of our returning council members sets the stage for a fruitful and game changing year ahead.

I can personally attest that the mayor, his leadership team and department leaders across the city are excited to partner with you to solve our greatest challenges and move Seattle into the future together.

Thank you.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor Washington.

And I say thank you, Mayor Harrell, for inviting us all to hear his speech.

And I really loved the lines that you just read.

That was beautifully written and delivered.

Thank you.

All right, moving on.

Councilmembers Saka and Wu have a proclamation proclaiming February 19th, 2024, to be the day of remembrance for the Japanese-American incarceration, and I believe Councilmember Strauss is also joining as a sponsor.

Is that correct?

If I could, that would be wonderful.

OK, so we normally sign proclamations during briefings, council briefings, which are on Mondays, and present the proclamation to recipients in the audience at full council on Tuesdays.

But because yesterday was a holiday, we're going to sort of combine both days together.

So here's what we're going to do.

This proclamation will be signed, introduced, and presented today, and I'll ask Councilmember Saka to first make some brief remarks to seek any additional feedback on the proclamation before I request the roll call for Councilmembers to affix their signature to it.

Councilmember Wu will then share any comments she may have, and Councilmember Strauss as well.

After that, we will suspend the rules to allow sponsors to present the proclamation to our guests and allow our guests to provide brief comments.

So, Councilmember Saka, you are recognized in order to provide brief comments on the proclamation.

Thank you, Madam President.

It is my privilege to introduce this proclamation with Mayor Harrell's concurrence.

This proclamation recognizes February 19th as Day of Remembrance for the Japanese American Incarceration.

My chief of staff's mother and her family were incarcerated, as was Mayor Harrell's mother's family.

And so many other employees and residents today have family members of the over 7,000 Seattle residents who were incarcerated during this dark period in our history, in our nation's history, in our local history.

I'd like to read a few portions of this proclamation.

Whereas February 19 marks the anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's issuance of Executive Order 9066 in 1942, which authorized military rule over civilian law and lives and stripped Japanese Americans of their civil and constitutional rights.

and whereas this order led to notices of exclusion of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans, two-thirds of whom were American citizens born in this country, where they were forcibly removed from their homes and relocated to incarceration camps surrounded by barbed wire and watchtowers, with residents of Seattle sent to the Puyallup Fairgrounds before transferring to Idaho or California.

And whereas these actions targeted Japanese Americans on unfounded accusations of espionage and sabotage, despite the fact that thousands of brave Japanese-American young men enlisted in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and served the U.S. at great cost of lives and became one of the most decorated units in U.S. military history.

And whereas today and throughout the month, Commemorative events held throughout Seattle and Washington State pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives, recognize the tremendous value and contributions of the Japanese American community, and fight against today's anti-Asian hate and all forms of discrimination and hate directed against other people because of their race, religious beliefs, and gender.

Whereas the City of Seattle honors the sacrifices of our residents and neighbors that have been harmed by the reprehensible actions of Executive Order 9066 by commemorating a day of remembrance for the Japanese American incarceration, serving as a reminder of our collective commitment towards building a just and inclusive community for all.

I am honored to welcome esteemed leaders today who are present for this proclamation.

First, I'm pleased to present the Council General of Japan, the Honorable Makoto Iori, and Junichi Sumi, Deputy Council General, welcome.

along with Dr. Kaio Kinoshita, president of the Seattle Japanese American Citizens League, Irene Yamamoto, board member of Densho, the organization that has documented thousands of stories of incarceration survivors, Eileen Lamphere, president of Puyallup Valley Japanese American Citizens League, Dale Kaku, Vice Commander of the Nassau Veterans Committee, and their color guard, Rick Takaguchi and Danny Eng.

Welcome.

I'd like to turn this over now to my esteemed colleague, Council Member Wu, for her comments.

Thank you.

So this is a solemn occasion, one where we reflect on a dark chapter in our nation's history.

Over 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent, among them more than half, I heard, are innocent children who are unjustly imprisoned.

Families are torn apart, communities shattered, leaving behind generational trauma that we still experience.

And you can walk through Nihonmachi Japantown in the Chinatown International District to see and feel it and see the remnants of what has happened.

Yet, even in the face of such injustice, over 33,000 Japanese Americans bravely served in the United States military, as Councilmember Saka has said, demonstrating their unwavering loyalty and patriotism.

We also recognize the enduring legacy of Japanese American civil rights leaders present here today, whose courage and resilience continue to inspire us.

So as we commemorate this tragic legacy, let us reaffirm our commitment to ensure that such grave injustices never happen again.

And together, let us strive for a future where every American is treated with dignity, respect, and equality under the law.

And I will pass this over to Councilmember Strauss for further comments.

Thank you, Councilmember Wu.

Colleagues, this is a rare moment where I sign on to a proclamation.

And this is the reason that I'm signing on today is because my family, you all heard my family's experience in Germany as our family was Jewish in the 1930s.

And while there were differences between what happened in Germany and internment here in the United States, there were also so many similarities.

and on parallel tracks.

And the stripping of civil and constitutional rights create generational impacts.

Other half of my family was already here in the Northwest.

And so as we pass by parks or schools or still parcels that are privately owned, my mom can point out that was owned by a family that was interned and never returned.

And for me, that's the importance of this day of remembrance is that we do not forget because the 442nd, one of the most decorated units in the United States Army, that's what the patriotism of Japanese Americans is.

I think it is embodied.

And so I just have this personal connection to you all in this moment.

And thank you for the opportunity to add my name.

Is there additional feedback before I request signatures to be affixed to the proclamation?

There will be other opportunities to speak.

Okay.

Now we will, seeing there is no further discussion at this moment on the proclamation, will the clerk please call the roll to determine which council members would like their signatures affixed to the proclamation proclaiming February 19th, 2024 to be day of remembrance for the Japanese-American incarceration?

Council Member Wu?

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Yes.

Council Member Kettle.

Aye.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Rivera.

Aye.

Council Member Saka.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Eight signatures will be affixed.

Thank you very much.

Now we're moving on to the more formal part of the of this process.

Councilmember Saka, Wu and Strauss, you're now recognized to formally introduce the proclamation proclaiming February 19th, 2024 to be the day of remembrance for the Japanese American incarceration.

Do you have any further remarks to add?

Any of you in the order that you already spoke?

Okay, so now we will consider the proclamation to be formally introduced.

And now, if there are any council member comments, you're welcome to speak now.

All right, well then if there is no objection, the council rules will be suspended to present the proclamation and allow our guests to accept it and provide their own comments and remarks.

Seeing no objection, the council rules are suspended.

The proclamation will now be presented.

And after it's presented, Dr. Kyle Kinoshita, president of Seattle Japanese American Citizens League, and Dale Kaku of the Nisei Veterans Committee will provide some brief remarks to the council and members of the public.

And of course, anyone else can speak as well.

So go ahead.

And now is the moment for a photo opportunity of the presentation.

And then our esteemed guests can speak.

Go ahead, sing.

Right here.

Perfect.

All right.

Three, two, one.

Great job, everybody.

Is this on?

Yes, it is.

Hi, I'm Dale Kaku, and I want to thank you very much for inviting us here today.

I'm here with Rick Takeuchi, back here, who's a Vietnam veteran, and Danny Ng, who's an Iraqi freedom veteran.

And we represent the Seattle Nisei Veterans Committee here in Seattle.

The Niseis, who are second-generation Japanese Americans, Many of them were volunteered out of the incarceration camps to serve this country and in some cases die for this country in World War II.

As a matter of fact, over 800 Japanese Americans did die in battle in World War II.

And they were part of two segregated units in the U.S.

Army.

The first one was the Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

and the other was the African American 92nd Infantry Division.

And yet when these veterans came back from Europe, they were not allowed to join any veterans groups here in Seattle because of the race.

So the Nisei's started their own veterans group and it was called the Nisei Veterans Committee here in Seattle in 1946. And one of the good things about the Nisei is they were never bitter about their experiences, but they went on with their careers, raised their families, and made this a better community.

So I thank you today for honoring the Nisei veterans who made this a stronger country.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, council members.

As was said, I'm Kyle Kenosha, president of the Seattle chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League here in Seattle.

So I'd like to express my gratitude for today's resolution.

It's very personal to the descendants of the 7,000 Seattle area Japanese Americans incarcerated because of Executive Order 9066. Five of 15 family members of Bynes who were incarcerated came from Seattle.

As well, there were four Nice City of Seattle employees who were summarily dismissed in 1942 before they were incarcerated.

All of them were deprived of their constitutional, civil, and human rights.

And this is a tribute to their ordeal.

I'd also like to express my gratitude on behalf of a few other satellites, Nisei, such as Henry Miyatake, Chuck Kato, Ken Nakano, Mike Nakata, Shosuke Sasaki, Cherry Kinoshita, my mother, and numerous others who did not let the past be buried and who were instrumental in the successful effort in 1988 for national apology and compensation to survivors of incarceration.

I should also note in that decade, they also won redress for the fired Nisei City of Seattle employees.

This was a small but important measure of justice.

And today's resolution is another measure of justice for all who I've mentioned.

We hope that today's event will be a continuation of a tradition to always remember the lessons of this tragic period of history and always seek justice.

Thank you.

Thank you very much for coming and speaking and teaching us more of this history of our past.

I very much appreciate it.

Are there any final remarks?

Go ahead.

Council President, just one moment.

I just wanted to, on my own, thank you.

As a first-generation American, My grandfather fought in Italy with the British Eighth Army, you know, moving up the peninsula.

And during my service in the military, I served in Italy.

I've been to Anzio and Naples and those areas where the 442nd served and fought so well.

And to be there and see those battle sites, and more importantly, the veterans' cemeteries that exist in Italy, really goes to the work that was done, the accomplishment of the mission, and just wanted to say thank you.

And as a member of the local VFW Post 3063, also to remark on and acknowledge the lack that when you did come home, you did not get the welcome that you deserved and the nisi.

So I just wanted to say, in my own way as a veteran and as a member of the VFW posts, welcome home.

Thank you.

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

Madam Clerk, how many speakers are signed up today?

We have 15 in person and three remote.

Okay, thank you very much.

Today, each speaker will have one minute to speak, and we'll start with people here in chambers first.

I will now hand it over to you, Madam Clerk, to present the instructions and call on the registered speakers.

Thank you.

The public comment period is up to 20 minutes.

Speakers will be called on in the order in which they are registered.

We will begin with the in-person speakers.

Speakers will hear a chime when 10 seconds are left of their time.

Speakers' mics will be muted if they do not end their comments within the allotted time to allow us to call on the next speaker.

The public comment is now open, and we'll begin with the first in-person speaker on the list.

Our first speaker is John Strumstown.

Strumstown, I believe.

I started food delivery work early in the pandemic and now have about 10,000 hours of delivering experience.

During that time, I could always count on making about $20 an hour.

Under the new payout policy, my pay has been cut by more than half.

Since January 13th, I've made $7.46 an hour.

The week preceding President's Day 2023, I made $737 in 40 hours.

That's $18 an hour.

This year, that same week, I made $391 in 79 hours.

That's $495 an hour.

Before January 13th, 60% of my income was tips.

Now it's under 20%.

People are not tipping because of the high fees.

The network companies wanted this bill to fail.

They sent out press releases saying that they had to increase fees because the city mandate, which pays us $26 an hour minimum before tips and mileage.

That is totally false, but it stuck with customers in the press because the press failed to read the actual.

Thank you, sir.

I'm sorry, we had an unexpected amount of speakers today and our public comment period is 20 minutes.

I do ask you please to send your complete comments to us.

Thank you.

Excuse me, our next speaker is Maya.

And just a reminder, when you hear that little chime, that means you have 10 seconds left to speak.

Go ahead.

Maya Shagan and then followed by Gary.

I was expecting to have two minutes.

I apologize that this will not get completed.

So businesses thrive or fail under rule of supply and demand.

DoorDashers are their own business.

Some are thriving and some are failing.

One ordinance regulation says any and all Dashers can log into Dash without restriction any time.

Prior to this, DoorDash limited how many Dashers could be logged in based on supply and demand.

This was to protect Dashers from over-saturation of the market.

We would not implement regulations that say any company can allow any and all employee to log in for work any time, but that's exactly what this particular regulation is doing.

It's allowing over-saturation of the market.

We really need to ask why some dashers can't log in any time.

Prior to the ordinance, people qualified as top dashers were able to, regardless of how busy or slow it was.

If they can't log in any time, it's because they don't live up to dasher standards.

It controls over-saturation of the market and makes sure that only the best drivers are representing the company as often as possible.

Then there's priority access.

If a Dasher...

Thank you.

Next speaker is Gary followed by Jason.

Good afternoon.

I'm giving these comments about repealing the gig ordinance.

and I have very high expectations.

I'm confident you can reach them.

DoorDash is down, let's say 30,000 orders, I'm just guessing.

Uber the same, so 60,000 orders.

That's tremendous.

Here's the problem to solve.

They say if you write something down, half the problem is solved.

So please write these down.

Restaurants are down 30% or 50% easily.

King 5 just had a report about a restaurant in Magnolia, down 50%.

Driver's orders are down.

Drivers are making $50 for the entire day.

Some people, $12.

DoorDash, Uber Eats, down 60,000.

Basically, now they're charging outside of Seattle.

It's spreading.

They say if you write a problem down, you can solve it.

Please repeal this ordinance.

We don't want any more blight in this city.

We don't need restaurants closing.

Thank you.

Jason is followed by Janelle and Courtney.

Hi, Council.

My name's Jason.

I'm a bike messenger, but furthermore, I'm a car courier, and I represent all other car drivers out here delivering food.

It's been really good, and it's been really good money.

Like, it says it's going to be $6, but after the payout, it's like, $16 to $25, and that's a success.

My suggestion for you is to prioritize the bikes.

And if you're on a bike, you're out there and you're struggling, and it's tough and it's cold.

If you guys had...

the possibility to prioritize bikes and electric vehicles such as Teslas for sustainability reasons, that would be a fantastic step in the right direction.

I'm asking you to please keep the ordinance as it is.

It pays really well.

Thank you.

We now have Janelle Kempf and Courtney Sepi.

Just so you know, these two mics up here also work.

Go ahead.

Hello, council members.

My name is Janelle Kempf.

I'm a learning coordinator at Woodland Park Zoo where I have worked for the last 25 years.

And I am here along with a group of my colleagues to present the petition in the back to you regarding the situation we're in due to the slightly over 20 years of management of the zoo by the Woodland Park Zoo Society.

When I first started at the zoo, we were paid on the city pay scale, and we weren't getting rich, but we were earning a living wage that allowed us to live a dignified life.

Over the past two decades of separation from the city pay scale, our raises have been kept down to the point that we have now turned into a revolving door to the pay gap between ourselves and city employees.

We are losing decades of important knowledge and experience, and we won't be able to replace them as our newer colleagues leave because they have no future at the zoo.

Thank you.

Courtney Steppe and then Allison Cloud and Molly Cordell.

Hello, my name is Courtney Seppi.

I'm an animal keeper at Woodland Park Zoo and a Teamsters Local 117 shop steward.

We're here today because we've reached a point in our current negotiations with the zoo where we are stalled and still miles apart on staff wages.

The offer from the zoo as it stands is a single digit percentage less than the rate of inflation for the next three years each.

Many positions outside of the union have seen thousands of dollars in pay bumps in the last year, but the bulk of the staff which is union has not.

At the union employee level, Qualified applicants often turn down jobs or pull out of the process due to the low pay and high cost of living.

I've seen this happen multiple times in my own unit, and existing staff are making difficult decisions and walking away from jobs that they love at a troubling rate, leaving us chronically understaffed.

I became a shop steward because I could see the frustration, the anger, and the pain in my zoo community.

has been feeling from the consequences of low wages.

I've seen too many knowledgeable, talented keepers leave over wages and it's time for the zoo to come to the table with a real offer that will give staff the dignity to live as well as the animals we take care of.

If the zoo wants to be an industry leader, this is where they need to start.

Alison Cloud followed by Molly Cordell.

Hello everyone.

My name is Allison Cloud and I am a zookeeper at Woodland Park Zoo.

My partner and I were told that we needed a bachelor's degree and at least two years of experience somewhere else in order to get jobs at Woodland.

So first we did a six month unpaid internship where we required to pay for our own housing.

Then we got jobs across the country, the only jobs we could get in Birmingham, Alabama, as a queer couple.

Then, after all the mosquito bites, we finally got jobs back at Woodland.

But though our pay increased, our rent almost tripled, groceries tripled, vet care quadrupled, plus the cost of gas.

I have never worked so hard as a job as I do being a zookeeper.

I've broken an ankle, injured a shoulder.

That will be a lasting injury.

Since I started at Winland, my department has lost 13 animals.

That's compassion fatigue for you.

We have also had 50% turnover.

This job requires our heart, our bodies, and our minds.

It should not steal our futures too.

I urge you to support us.

That's it.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

Molly Cordell and Lindsay and Michelle.

My name is Molly and I'm an animal keeper at Woodland Park Zoo.

I grew up with Woodland Park Zoo.

This is my dream zoo.

Most keepers have one and this one is mine.

But not longer after starting here, it became apparent that this zoo no longer lives up to its reputation.

I got my dream job only to watch my new coworkers leave, taking their knowledge and experience with them so that they can pay bills, maintain their homes, support their families, things they could no longer afford to do working for my zoo.

I got here only to hear about how keepers who have been there 10, 20, or 30 years are making the same money I am, their decades of experience and animal knowledge not helping them support their kids or pay their rent.

I listen to my fellow keepers who commute up to three hours twice a day to be here because they can't afford to live in the same city as their zoo, who don't have any ambitions for owning a home or starting a family as long as they work at the zoo.

I became a shop steward so that I could work for those people only to sit at a table of negotiation of blank faces.

I urge you to ask them to come to the table with a real offer.

Lindsay Michelle, followed by Joel Magel, I believe is the last name.

Hi, I'm Lindsay.

I've worked as an animal keeper at Woodland Park for the past five years, and I've been in the zoological field for 15. I received my master's in zoology in 2015. My coworkers and I have a highly specialized skillset and knowledge that enables us to provide our animals with world-class care.

I'm proud of how I care for my animals, and I'm disappointed that the zoo doesn't take the same pride in providing for its employees.

Woodland Park Zoo places a lot of emphasis on diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion, but seems to overlook economic equality.

It requires privilege to be able to work for these wages.

This excludes people from diverse backgrounds or those who can't rely on external financial support to make ends meet.

I love my job and I love my animals, but I feel like my passion is being exploited.

Nobody goes into this field hoping to get rich, but wages do not accurately reflect the level of education and experience required to do this job well.

What we're asking for isn't unreasonable.

My team and I just want to make a fair way.

Thank you.

Joe, Megan.

Thank you.

I'm the shop steward for Laborers Local 242 for Woodland Park Zoo.

We represent grounds, maintenance, horticulture, security in two positions unique to the zoo, sustainability and life support systems.

Together we ensure a safe, secure and sound daily operation in the zoo.

We are neither replaceable nor can we be replicated.

We are not simply janitors, handymen, landscapers, and guards.

We are zoo specialists in our field, and together we help one another form the backbone of a great communal destination.

We're indispensable to the animals, to each other, and to the zoo's mission to the public.

But our employer clearly views us as expendable and replaceable.

Our morale suffers as we see our wages falling further below market value and toward entry-level food service work.

We are increasingly unable to make ends meet and must consider paying jobs if things don't improve.

As one of our longest tenured gardeners told me upon leaving, I just can't do it anymore.

Thank you.

Would you like to go to remote commenters?

Yes.

Okay.

We will be switching to remote commenters.

There's three remote commenters and the first remote commenter is Joe Kunstler.

Joe Kunstler.

Hi.

Hello, this is Joe Consort.

Can you hear me?

Yes.

All right.

Good.

You know, I just wanted to call in on a couple of things real briefly.

First, I want to thank you for removing Alex Zimmerman from your public comment period.

It's great that this council president is continuing the awesome work of former council presidents Gonzalez and Jerez, deeply appreciated.

Sadly, the city government of Redmond has a corrupt mayor who is appeasing Alex Zimmerman, and hopefully that problem will be solved soon.

If not, we may have to boycott that community.

Moving along, I understand that Council Member Kettle believes that Westlake Avenue shouldn't have bus lanes.

I would have politely informed the council that I regularly use transit, and I normally ride the streetcar.

because I can't drive.

And I would really appreciate if Westlake Avenue was renamed Police Avenue and had beautiful bus lanes with automatic phone cameras on there.

And we also had the Heidi Wills Rose Garden to pay tribute to the greatest transit advocate of all time in Heidi Wills.

And then we can have a Sarah Nelson Monument too.

And God bless and protect all our- The next remote speaker present is David Haynes.

Hi, David Haynes.

Thank you.

Keep in mind, the mayor bragged on the campaign trail.

He has friends in the underworld and suggested maybe all we need is a peace summit with rival low-level drug pushers and temp gangs escalating most of the violence and trafficking while destroying lives daily listed low-level nonviolent misdemeanor that are still exempted from jail.

No need for bail as the answer.

making it one seattle that continues to implode society caused by racist woke progressive bottom of the barrel policies that defunded the police redirected the money to prioritize repeat offenders and low-level drug pushers for housing and services first before innocent homeless due to bad policies within alternative policing community safety lead and other non-profits who run interference for low-level drug pushers and Repeat offenders conducting uncivil war on the community, exempted from jail, creating all these junkie bees, ruining the pursuits of happiness for residents and businesses.

We will now revert back to in-person public commenters.

We have four more people remaining public commenters.

The first one is Kelly Harbison, followed by Scott Clifton.

Hello, and thank you.

My name's Kelly, and I work at the Woodland Park Zoo as a veterinary technician.

I've only been there eight months, but I came up here because of the great reputation, the great mission, the conservation project.

It's all a very wonderful aspect that this zoo holds.

I also really appreciate the community support.

I see five star reviews all the time, people love the zoo.

And I want you to understand that the reason that they love it is because of the skill and expertise in the people who work here.

They're bringing forth their best work, they're providing for these animals and creating a beautiful product that the community enjoys.

And that takes a lot of effort for us.

We've given up a lot to have that.

And unfortunately, I'm looking at this now and thinking I may have made a mistake because I can't afford to provide myself with a home here where I'm working.

So I'm kind of living in basements and with people trying to be able to figure out how to just afford to live here.

And I also find myself contradicting what I'm telling my children who are just graduating college on what they should do for their career.

I can't honor that.

Thank you.

Then we have Scott and Alexander Sanchez.

Good afternoon.

My name is Scott Clifthorn.

I'm a union representative with Teamsters Local 117 and chair of the Joint Craft Council of Unions at the Woodland Park Zoo.

I rise to ask for your help in calling on Woodland Park Zoo's CEO, Dr. Alejandro Grajal, to expeditiously settle a fair contract with the Joint Craft Council.

The privatization of the zoo over two decades ago has resulted in significant cost savings for the city, not just by virtue of the zoo's fundraising efforts, but through the systematic erosion of wages and benefits for zoo workers, all while executive compensation at the zoo has skyrocketed.

We now live in a world where the average zoo employee that's a member of a union makes less than two-thirds the hourly wage of their peer with the city, while executive management at the zoo makes sometimes two and three times more than directors of comparably sized city departments.

Please use your moral and your contractual authority to call on the zoo to do better.

Thank you.

Alexander is followed by Justin.

I'm not going to speak about the pay.

It's already obvious that we don't get paid very much now as a gig worker.

But what I want to get to is, as business owners, if any of you have been business owners or know This has effectively categorized me as an employee now.

I'm no longer considered a business owner, essentially, because now I'm at a wage where I'm flying by the seat of my pants, you know, as a business owner, you know, success or failures based by what, you know, hard work and what you do.

So this is kind of, that's my biggest thing because now I'm, I want to be my own man.

I want to make it.

And so this ordinance kind of took that away from me.

That's all I have to say.

Justin Keptis, I believe, is the last name, Keptis, and then followed by Steve Zemsky.

Working Washington did not pass this law or get the numbers.

Uber provided these numbers.

They did not create them at all.

It's assumed that each worker would be on 100% of the time, justifying the hourly wage, which is not even close to what we're going to be getting.

The difference between some of the stuff from November last year to this year in January, we're pushing over $1,000 in money and $124 in the orders themselves.

This time this year, we're doing 16 orders with only $169, so there's no justification in anything.

The numbers provided are basically falsified as they're not even representing any kind of working wage that we're needing to be having to make numbers and to make a point.

The bill must be repealed.

There's nothing about it.

Sure, we do this because we love it, not because we have to.

Thank you very much.

My name is Steve Zemke.

I'm speaking for Friends of Seattle's Urban Forest Common in the State of the City.

We support the need for more housing, particularly affordable housing.

We are concerned about the impending loss of much of Seattle's green infrastructure.

Nature in our cities is important for climate resiliency, environmental equity, stormwater and pollution runoff, bird and wildlife habitat, air pollution reduction, mental and physical health of those live and work in the city.

Please consider these concerns as you adopt the next comprehensive plan.

A lot of good work has been done by the city to increase tree protection.

Please take time to evaluate the impact of the changes and take corrective action when necessary to protect more existing trees during development.

When replanting trees, consider canopy volume, not just area, the mature size of the trees and their growth rate.

Please adopt a transportation impact fee that can be used to create sidewalks and street trees so people can walk to transit stops without competing with others in the street.

Adopt a parks impact fee also.

Create a climate and environment department with an independent urban forestry division to better coordinate city efforts across the city and reduce costs.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That concludes the public comment period.

Thank you very much.

I'll just note to the folks that came to talk about the legislation, I just want to note that I did say back when this was first addressed in the Public Safety and Human Services Committee on February 8th, I believe, 2022, I said I support raising app-based driver wages, and I'm concerned about unintended consequences on businesses, customers, and drivers.

That is what you're speaking to.

You've come here before and we heard you and don't know the path forward yet.

Thank you.

All right, we've reached the end of the list of registered speakers.

The public comment period is now closed.

Thank you for your comments today.

And we will proceed with the next item.

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

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

And if there is no objection, the agenda will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, the agenda is now adopted.

We'll now consider the proposed consent calendar.

Items on the consent calendar include the minutes of February 13th, 2024 and Council Bill 120744, payment of the bills.

Are there any items that council members would like to remove from today's consent calendar?

Seeing and hearing none, I move to adopt the consent calendar.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you very much.

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

Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the consent calendar?

Council Member Wu.

Yes.

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Yes.

Council Member Kettle.

Aye.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Rivera.

Aye.

Council Member Saka.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

The consent calendar is adopted.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the minutes and legislation on the consent calendar on my behalf.

OK.

Thank you very much.

Now on to committee reports.

Will the clerk please read item 1 into the record.

Agenda item one clerk file 314 532 2024 state of the city address delivered by Mayor Bruce Harrell on February 20th 2024.

Thank you.

I move to accept and accept the clerk file 314 532. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you very much.

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

As sponsor, I'll provide comments and then open it up to the floor.

I have already made my comments before, which were that I appreciate, number one, that we were invited to listen to the speech today, and I really appreciate that this is now the third State of the City address that I have heard in Mayor Harrell's makes a point of calling out individual council members in a spirit of one Seattle.

And so I just have to say that it is my impression that we are all on the same page, which is getting stuff done for the people of Seattle.

Are there any other comments before we take a vote?

Okay.

Seeing no other comments, will the clerk please call the roll on accepting and filing the clerk file?

Council Member Wu?

Yes.

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Yes.

Council Member Kettle.

Aye.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Rivera.

Aye.

Council Member Saka.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

The motion carries and the clerk file is accepted and placed on file.

All right, there were no items removed from the consent calendar, so we'll move on.

There are no resolutions for introduction and adoption today.

And now just turning to other business, I note that last week we excluded an individual from council and committee meetings for 28 days.

I understand that the individual has filed an appeal of his exclusion.

However, it appears that the appeal has not yet been circulated to members of the council, which is the general practice.

SO IF THERE IS NO OBJECTION, WE WILL SUSPEND THE RULES REGARDING CONSIDERATION OF THAT APPEAL FROM EXCLUSION AND WE WILL SET OUT CONSIDERATION OF THE APPEAL TO COUNCIL'S NEXT REGULAR SESSION ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH.

HEARING NO OBJECTION, WE WILL CONSIDER THE APPEAL AT THE NEXT FEBRUARY 27TH CITY COUNCIL MEETING.

I hear no objection.

That's what we're going to do.

And is there any other business going once, going twice?

Would anybody like to be excused?

Just making sure that I don't miss this part.

Making sure that I ask if there's anybody who would like to be omitted from any future council meetings before we go into executive session.

OK.

If there is no further business, we'll now move into executive session.

As presiding officer, I am announcing that city council will now convene into executive session.

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

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

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

It might not take this much time, but we have decided that we will expect the time of the executive session to end by 3.49.

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

And then at the conclusion of the executive session, this city council meeting will automatically adjourn.

The next regularly scheduled city council meeting is on February 27th, 2024. Thank you very much, everybody.

We will now retire to our offices for the executive session.