Thank you, Son.
The April 5th meeting of the Seattle City Council's Public Assets and Homelessness Committee will come to order.
It is 2 p.m.
I am Andrew Lewis, chair of the committee.
Council President Juarez is excused from today's meeting.
Will the committee clerk please call the roll for the remaining committee members?
Council Member Herbold.
Here.
Council Member Morales.
Here.
Council Member Mosqueda.
Here.
Chair Lewis present chair.
There are four members present.
Thank you, Mr. Clerk.
If there's no objection, the agenda will be adopted.
Hearing no objection, the agenda is adopted.
Chair's report.
Today we have only one agenda item that we'll be moving directly into after public comment, and that is to finally take up consideration of the nomination that was announced publicly last fall of AP Diaz to serve as superintendent of Seattle Parks and Recreation.
So to get to that, let's just go ahead and move into the public comment period, and I'll make further remarks on the nomination when we get to that agenda item.
The public comment period will be moderated by the committee clerk.
And Mr. Clerk, how many people do we have signed up for public comment?
We have three people signed up virtually, although none are currently listed as present.
And we have two in-person commenters.
Okay.
Why don't we go ahead and give the folks who are remote some time to log in by starting with our in-person commenters and I'll set the comment time at two minutes.
Our first public commenter is Bob Davidson.
Bob, if you could approach the mic, you'll have two minutes whenever you're ready to begin speaking.
Thank you.
Good afternoon.
For the record, my name is Bob Davidson, president and CEO of the Seattle Aquarium.
And I'm joining you today to provide my enthusiastic support for the confirmation of A.P.
Diaz as our next superintendent of parks.
Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Seattle Aquarium have a long history of successful collaboration and partnership.
Our parks, open spaces, and play fields are a critical part of what creates a thriving city and healthy communities.
The partnerships Seattle Parks carries with community organizations like the Seattle Aquarium are also a critical part of shaping young minds, advancing equity, and building a more resilient future.
The first time I heard Mr Diaz speak here in Seattle, he shared a vision for Seattle parks that was inspired and spoke of the importance of partners in ensuring mutual success.
The aquarium shares that commitment and strongly believes we can achieve more by working together than we ever could alone.
Our world faces ever-growing challenges, and I firmly believe A.P.
Diaz brings the right track record of accountability, public engagement, and leadership to help steward our park system to new heights.
His passion for creating a better world is clear, and I respectfully encourage you to move forward with this appointment.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Davidson.
Our next public commenter is Marlon Dylan Herrera.
Thank you.
I'm Marlon Herrera, and I'm co-chair of the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners.
And I'm here because I'm very excited to support AP Diaz, the next superintendent of Seattle Parks and Recreation.
For a few months now, I've had the pleasure of working with him at Seattle Parks and Rec in his interim capacity.
I believe that AP has the right vision, the leadership, and foresight to lead Seattle Parks and Recreation into the future.
Thanks to your work in the cycle two of the park district funding, we are now stewards of one of the most ambitious parks and recreation investments in the country.
I think AP has the right collaborative leadership and experience at Los Angeles to deliver on this monumental task.
Furthermore, we are caretakers of one of the nation's only complete Olmsted park systems, the foundation of our legacy.
We cannot do this alone.
As the earlier speaker said, AP has built relationships with many of our community partners across the city and across the region.
And on top of that, you know that the Parks and Rec Department doesn't just do benches and basketballs.
We provide critical infrastructure for public health, for environmental stewardship, and for community development.
Our work touches every soul in the city, our youth, our elders, folks without housing, folks with disabilities, and so much more.
AP is the right champion for our communities to lead Seattle Parks and Rec, and I'm absolutely confident that he will inspire and lead the staff to make this a much brighter future.
I look forward to continue working with you, AP, and Mayor Harrell to shape a Parks and Rec system that truly shines.
Thanks for everything you do.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
We do have one present virtual public commenter.
That is Alejandro Grijal.
Alejandro, I'm going to take you off mute, but you will need to press star six for us to hear you.
Hello.
My name is Alejandro Grijal.
I'm president and CEO of the Woodland Park Zoo, one of the jewels of the Seattle Park System.
I'm here to endorse AP Diaz, a superintendent for the parks system in Seattle.
I've met AP Diaz several times over the first few months here in town.
Has been a visionary revelation for me to see somebody with so much enthusiasm, experience and passion for our natural spaces, for a contact with other people our contact with nature and our collaboration with other parts of the park system.
His kind of leadership and participatory work with the zoo and with many other partners in the city is the kind of leadership that we need in running one of the most complex and encompassing park systems in the country.
These parks are essential for people, and during the recent pandemic, we discovered the impressive value that open spaces and green sanctuaries create for people.
This system is essential for the health, mental and physical health, and for the growth of our community.
APD has been a champion of open spaces, nature, and people engaging with nature in Los Angeles.
And now he's bringing a wealth of experience to our own city.
Thank you.
And I really endorse APD as a superintendent for parks.
Thank you, Mr. Grijal.
Mr. Chair, we have one more public commenter, that is Teresa Huey.
Teresa, I'm going to unmute you, but you will still need to press star six to be heard.
Good afternoon.
My name is Teresa Huey, and I live in South Seattle in Hillman City in District Two.
I'm here to speak in favor of the appointment of Anthony Paul AP Diaz, as superintendent of the Department of Parks and Recreation for a term to March 1st, 2027. I was invited to attend a meeting introducing us to Mr. Diaz, along with several other community members.
I was impressed in how he introduced us to his team members and how he welcomed our questions and addressed them with respect and courtesy.
He directed certain topics to appropriate team members who followed up with us after the meeting.
He shared his vision of seeking participation from future generations, including seeking ways of getting school-aged children involved in the park experience, an endeavor that I support as well.
I feel Mayor Harrell's appointment of Mr. Diaz, once confirmed, will be great for our city.
Thank you for this opportunity, Teresa Huey.
We will now move into our items of business.
Will the clerk please read item one into the record?
Item one, appointment 02503, appointment of Anthony Paul AP Diaz as superintendent of the Department of Parks and Recreation for a term to March 1st, 2027.
Thank you, Mr. Clerk.
Can we please have the nominee approach the table here, Mr. Diaz?
And probably the second in from the end there is probably fine.
Excellent.
Thank you.
So getting used to this most people still still are still appearing on zoom, so we got to get back to our in person appearance etiquette, so thank you so much for joining us today.
Why don't we go ahead and start by giving the nominee a chance to address the committee.
But first I'm gonna formally move the nomination to get it in front of us and then we'll turn it over to you if that works for committee members.
So I'm gonna move to recommend the confirmation of the appointment of Anthony Paul Diaz, the superintendent of the Department of Parks and Recreation for a term to March 1st of 2027. Is there a second?
Second.
With the nomination in front of us, I'm gonna go ahead and hand it over to the nominee, and then we can go ahead and go through question and answers and give committee members an opportunity to make comments.
So why don't we start, AP, by handing it over to you for some introductory remarks, and then we will ask some follow-up questions.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
And I do see Executive General Manager, Audium Emery, on the line.
I wanted to acknowledge her.
Thank you.
Thank you, AP.
I'll take it from here.
If you could allow me to introduce him.
Good afternoon, Chair Lewis and council members.
It is my pleasure to be before you today to introduce Mayor Harrell's nominee for Superintendent of the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department, AP Diaz.
With nearly 500 Seattle parks defining our fabric of our city, our parks department affects the lives of every single Seattleites.
With an impact like this, it's essential that we have the right leader managing our parks department.
Council members, Mayor Harrell has found that leader in AP.
AP lives and breathes parks.
most recently serving as the Executive Officer for the Los Angeles Parks Department and an Assistant General Manager.
There, he was responsible for overseeing all day-to-day operations of the department, including providing support to the City's Parks Commission, their City Council, and their Mayor's Office.
Prior, he served as a General Counsel for Los Angeles Parks, so he truly understands the major city's parks department operation inside and out.
With that background and knowledge, he's been pursuing and pushing our parks department to new heights since serving as an interim superintendent.
Just earlier this week, AP and his team, they were before you as the Metropolitan Park District Board to share the metrics that you and the public will be using and myself too.
to hold the department accountable for project deliverables and services the people of Seattle deserve.
By all counts, AP is committed to delivering for the Seattle public in a transparent, results-oriented way.
So before Mayor Harrell referred AP's nominations for your consideration today, Our office consulted with stakeholders, which you heard the testimonial early on, and including employees at Seattle Parks and Recreation, the co-chair of the Seattle Board of Parks and Recreation, the Seattle Parks Foundation, the Associated Recreation Council, the Woodland Park Zoo, the YMCA, the Seattle Aquarium, and the University of Washington Botanic Gardens.
Mayor Harrell reviewed AP's effort and community engagement for the six months he has served as an interim superintendent.
I think Mayor Harrell said it best in his cover letter to you regarding AP's ability.
Quote, AP Diaz is an approachable, authentic leader who empowers his team to tackle our most pressing challenges.
He'll help us usher and a renewed focus on safety, equitable access, and climate conscious facilities across our park system.
I trust that you'll agree AP is the right choice to serve as our park superintendent after talking with him today.
With that, let me just turn it over to AP to offer his introduction remarks.
Thank you, EGM Emery, and I wanna take this opportunity to thank you and Mayor Harrell and the entire mayor's office for your incredible welcome and support that you've given me in calling me forward to serve the city of Seattle.
It's truly an honor and a privilege to be here today, and I thank you for the appointment.
Mr. Chair, members of the committee, may it please the council, I'm also extremely honored to sit before you today in consideration of appointment to join you in service to the City of Seattle.
Before I get started, I want to acknowledge and thank my amazing staff who are sitting behind me with love and support to do good work here for Seattle Parks and Recreation.
They have welcomed me to their table.
with open arms and in our short time together, we have forged strong relationships, mutual trust, and an endeavor to do good things for our department and for the people of Seattle.
So I'm joined by my deputy superintendents, Christopher Williams, Michelle Finnegan, Andy Schaefer, and Mike Schwindeler.
I'm also joined by our Superintendent Executive Team, Director of Communications, Rachel Shulkin, and our Director of Human Resources, Desiree Tavares.
And I'm so thankful and honored that our partners are here from the Aquarium, both online, Alejandro Garral from the Zoo and Bob Davidson from the Aquarium.
and our Commission Vice President, Marlene Herrera.
So it's truly a team.
I'm excited for this nomination and to speak before you today because I truly believe in the power of parks in our society.
I believe now more than ever, coming in and out through the pandemic, parks have proved themselves to be essential infrastructure to the health and wellness of our society.
When the entire world was sheltered and shut down, no matter if you lived in Sydney or Rome or Seattle or Los Angeles, the one place that people found that was a reliable source of respite and wellness was in the city park system.
And for that reason, it proved to us and encourages us in the parks department to amplify that narrative now more than ever.
It's something that we know as a park professional, the value that we provide to our communities.
But it's my obligation to continue to lead that forward here in Seattle, under your guidance, under the direction of the mayor's office and with the support of the community, to further see how we can use parks to impact our society for good.
What I love so much about working in the park system is that there's literally almost nothing that we cannot handle and that we do not touch, whether it's racial, social justice issues, equity opportunities for youth, taking care of our aging population, ensuring that our adults have the ability to thrive and deal with the stresses of life, being partners in the housing crisis in our city, being compassionate and responsive to the homeless situation in Seattle, being trusted partners in public safety, that and so much more is what makes Parks enriching.
And I'm excited to bring my years of service and dedication to municipal work and to joining such an amazing city like Seattle.
So I want to thank you all for your welcome as well.
And I look forward to answering your questions today.
Thank you so much, Mr. Diaz, for those introductory remarks, and thank you to General Manager Emery for the introduction of the nominee.
Just to start off, we've now had quite a few months to work together since your nomination last fall.
And I just want to say that in that time period, There's been a significant improvement as we've come out of COVID and the quality and nature of our public space is not due only to your leadership, but to the team that's in this room right now.
And I'd be remiss if I didn't extend my gratitude to everybody here from the parks front office for their hard work and really helping us come out of COVID in a big way.
But I think what's in front of us now is planning on how to sustain that and to sustain that level of service.
So could you reflect maybe on some of your plans and how we can really confront making our parks clean, safe, and open for all the people of this city to enjoy and how we're going to organize our resources to realize a vision like that?
Absolutely.
And I agree with you that our parks first and foremost must be safe and welcoming spaces for our residents and for our many visitors that come to Seattle.
The great thing about the park system is that they really are the first impression of the city.
And some of you may have heard that I love to give the analogy that when you fly into Seattle and you are starting to approach the city and you look out the window, To me, the first time I saw it, it reminded me of one big park system and that there was just these little villages and neighborhoods in an amazing park system.
In the city of Seattle, where we balance urban environments and open spaces, it's important to ensure, as you mentioned, that these parks are well-maintained and taken care of.
Because it's important to me, as a leader of the park system, to really ensure that regardless of the zip code you live in, the neighborhood you live in, we are really one Seattle.
And when we speak about our parks and levels of service and commitment to excellence, it's my obligation to ensure that we are giving equal service and attention to every single park in this system.
No one neighborhood in Seattle deserves more attention or more level of investment than others.
They are equally important.
And I can tell you that our staff loves all of our parks as I'm getting to know them more and more.
And so some of the things that we are doing is we're really focusing on the value of the investment that you all have given us, the council and the taxpayers through the park district funding.
and being intentional about how we prioritize projects and deliver them in a timely manner, in an efficient way, and one that demonstrates equity.
So we will be rolling out that program in all parts of the city to further align our goals and objectives.
We've created a new branch within Parks and Recreation, and that's the branch for capital planning development.
And I introduced earlier, I've also appointed a new deputy superintendent to oversee that function, who is our interim superintendent, Mike Schwindeler, so that he and his team can be more focused on those deliverables, which are very important.
Our deputy superintendent, who many of you know and admire, Andy Schaefer, is over our operations team.
Andy is working closely with me on growing our park ranger program, and also growing our approach to comfort station maintenance improvements, keeping them open longer, working with our recreation staff for more opportunities so these are just some of the things that we're focusing on right now, but to your point, coming out of the pandemic, we've done an amazing job in Seattle of reclaiming our public spaces and our parks for good, and we want to stay on that trend and continue to improve them even further.
Thank you really looking forward to continuing to work with the leadership team on on implementing a lot of the program areas of the Metropolitan Park District.
Are there questions from colleagues before I continue with my line of questioning Councilmember herbal.
Thank you, much appreciative of having the opportunity.
I wasn't here at the last meeting and a couple of my questions did not make it into the batch that you were presented with.
I did give a heads up of what my questions were going to be this afternoon.
So I'm not intending to take you unawares.
But this summer, the South Park Community Center will undergo a significant renovation that will keep its doors closed for a year.
The South Park community really relies on this location.
This of any neighborhood in the city is the highest per capita youth population.
I think one in three residents of South Park is a young person.
In addition, South Park is a high displacement risk community with very little access to green space and facilities and just wanting to hear from you what your hopes and plans are for working to address the needs of young people in South Park, the spring and summer.
Thank you, Council Member, and thank you also for the work that you and your staff have done with our department.
I really appreciate that.
And one of the very first areas that I visited and toured were areas in your district, including South Park.
And I'm excited, as I know you are, that we are finally doing those investments and have a plan to really renovate and make that space really fantastic for the community that's there.
When I was there, I was really comforted to see a variety of activities going on from young people to also a really unique It was a dance group of older immigrants, and seeing them enjoy the center was really important.
So to your specific question, I'm excited to report that we are going to be able to extend our summer operations.
and allow them to continue without disruption before we begin the actual construction.
We are also going to work closely with the community to give them as much notice as possible, but also alternatives.
So currently our staff is working on a joint use agreement with the Seattle school system so that we can actually utilize their space for our public recreation and not disrupt as much as possible those great activities while we do the renovations properly.
So that is our plan, but we agree with you wholeheartedly.
And I agree with you after touring that area and seeing the true need for recreational opportunities for people of all ages, it's really important.
So I'm committed to that.
Thank you.
I'm really pleased to hear of the joint use agreement with Concord is something that community members have been have been pitching to us for quite some time and really glad to hear that sounds like we'll get it over the finish line before before schools out.
That's our goal.
Yes.
Excellent.
And then I have one other question.
The parks board resolution 51 as relates to parks board funding memorializes the fact that park rangers will continue to only use the enforcement authority consistent With parks, a particular parks policy I won't rattle off the number, but it's basically a restricted use of the authority that otherwise is granted under the parks exclusion ordinance.
The trespass warning is. really focused on warnings and exclusions only for very narrow circumstances and just interested to hear whether or not you intend to continue operating Parks Rangers under that policy.
Thank you, that's a great question, you know, underlying that is the is the general premise that arcs are open spaces for everyone.
And we of course all want to ensure that they're safe and welcoming.
But at the same time we do not want our parks.
to be places where people have a fear or an unnecessary anxiety that somehow they're not going to be allowed to use the park.
So to your specific question, We do not have any plans to change our approach that you delineated in the various iterations of the park code and the authority and some of the park commission direction.
It's really vital right now as we move from two to almost 28 rangers that we take time to intentionally grow the program.
and to cultivate an environment that is respectful, that's community oriented, and is also trained in the right manner to interact with the public, and then, to your point, in the instances where they're may be serious crime issues to rely on our other public safety partners in the city to deal with that.
But on the day-to-day operations, we plan to follow consistently the procedures that were outlined in the park district funding.
Thank you so much, really, really appreciate hearing that commitment here and want to take this opportunity also to thank the prior acting superintendent Williams for leading the discussions that led to that voluntarily restricted approach for use of the parks exclusion ordinance.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And I would also just add that earlier this week during the Metropolitan Park District Board meeting, the same policy commitment was put on the record by the department.
So, thank you for that.
Let's switch now to I believe it was Councilmember Mosqueda first and then Councilmember Morales.
Okay, thanks so much.
I'm happy to also hold.
I appreciate it Councilmember Lewis and Councilmember Morales.
will not ask my question about the park rangers because Councilmember Herbold asked that.
I did want to ask about restroom use and appreciate your interest and your deep commitment to being in community already.
We've seen that from your social media presence and the opportunities that we've had to meet with you.
But as you have been out in community, I'm sure you've noticed That we do not have access to restrooms as we should across our city and the built in infrastructure for that it resides within the parks and so my hope is that we have a better sense coming out of this meeting on how you plan to work with the roughly $12 million that we included in the Metropolitan Park District.
And the 12Million dollars specifically focused for restroom shelter houses and comfort station renovations with the goal of renovating and reopening around 29 bathrooms at last count.
I think that was about half of the bathrooms that are available across our city were closed.
And I see this when I go to our Delridge Park and appreciate that there's a porta potty there, but for my 3 year old, who is using the restroom consistently and for the rest of our community, whether they're housed or unhoused visitors or residents, we want them to be able to access bathroom.
So, what's the plan?
What's the timeline for opening up all of the bathrooms across our city?
Thank you council member and super important question I, you know, similar issues exist in Los Angeles where I come from and in my.
work with other park agencies throughout the nation this is a common issue and it's so important and what you're alluding to is that when people come to parks for recreation particularly with their children or even adults playing at cal anderson at 10 30 at night we can't set the bar and have amazing amenities and say our parks need to be activated and have all these activities and not provide for the basic necessities of life.
And so park restrooms, comfort stations, as they're referred to here, are something that I'm very familiar with.
And, you know, the challenging issue with that is how much they actually cost to build from scratch and even in renovations.
But that said, you have provided us funding to do that.
And I've been meeting with our capital planning development team.
We have a very robust plan as well as our facilities and operation team.
So what we want to do is we want to take the existing bathrooms that have been closed, but that are still functioning and perhaps need some additional infrastructure support, and also some what we call winterization where we ensure that the pipes don't freeze and that we can keep bathrooms opened.
sort of winterized all year round.
And we're ahead of schedule on that.
We have a plan to open even more.
So that's the first tranche and approach is looking at the existing facilities.
Why are they closed?
What will it take to reopen them to the public?
Port-a-potties are a great remedy, as you mentioned, but they are not the solution.
And I do not want to see parks that have porta potties there as the solution.
And we need to get away from that and we are intentionally going to do that.
We're also looking at the new comfort stations that we have coming online through the park funding that are going to be built and how we can do those in the most efficient manner and also looking for efficiencies so that we can reduce some of the costs or the delays that I've mentioned before that sometimes, you know, causes the public and the members angst of why it's taking so long to get functioning bathrooms.
And I'm also looking at innovative approaches to There are a couple of very well-contained self-cleaning restroom options, a little bit different from the ones that were tried here on city streets, that are specifically designed for parks, that are less costly to build, easier to install.
And so I would love to explore that more, and we're going to, to see if we can get more comfort stations.
And then lastly, I just want to point to a pilot project that we are embarking on with the Office of arts and culture, and that is to take our comfort stations and also make them a little bit more attractive and welcoming through the application of murals, and really excited about that Councilmember Morales I'm sure you're familiar with the lovely mural.
at South Park and how much the community respects that.
But it just adds another layer of safety to sometimes, you know, sort of dark buildings.
And so we want to also look at aesthetic approaches to improving those.
And so those are just some of the approaches.
But to your overall point, very important, something to stay laser focused on.
And it's it's a mandatory minimum if we're going to have a healthy driving park system.
Thanks, just to follow up, Mr. Chair.
Yes, of course.
I appreciate that your team is doing the analysis on what's needed.
If it's renovation, if it's reopening, you talked about some of the work that you're initially doing, but do you have a timeline for when the 29 will reopen with the 12 million dollars from the parks levy?
Yes, and I can just sort of review.
I want to be accurate here.
Well, I find that I believe that we set out the timeline and some of the answers, but I want to make sure that I get you the right number.
And it's certainly something that we can look into.
And also, I can get you the timeline after this meeting as well.
Okay, so are we going to close the loop on that last item?
After the meeting, then should we move to Council Member Morales?
Yes, but I and Council Member Mosqueda, I will find you that answer right now as Council Member Morales ask her questions too.
I have it in my notes.
I just want to be accurate for you today.
Thank you.
But I'm happy to take the question from Council Member Morales while I'm finding that in my notes.
Okay, Council Member Morales, I will hand the floor over to you.
Yeah, I might go ahead and...
I don't want to distract you from looking for your notes.
I'm listening.
So, well, I'll just make a comment 1st and and then I will get to my questions.
So, 1st of all, I want to say welcome to Seattle.
I think we had a chance to meet at the green space mountain bike trail.
Opening last fall, and I do want to say that, you know, I've had the pleasure of working with many park staff who provide great service and really stick by community as they're trying to get their projects done, often in very tense times and the Chesty Green Space mountain bike trail was certainly an example of that.
And I have to say that folks in my district have also experienced some long-term investments, lack of maintenance, and candidly, some struggles with department liaisons on various projects.
So for example, the Beersheba Park project that has been going on, community members have been working on for many years, folks have expressed frustration that they missed grant opportunities after being kind of steered in the wrong direction by their parks liaison, and their project is now delayed due to a lack of funding.
So there was an expectation that that project would get to have its grand opening later this year, and that is now in question.
And so, you know, the result of this kind of disconnection is that there are increased costs of projects, Um, you know, in some instances, there's concern about safety issues in the park.
Water safety issues, for example, due to lack of support on the waterways and.
In these urban settings like Seattle, you know, as you said, parks play a very important role in community gathering and recreation and climate justice.
South end is lack of tree canopy, as we've been discussing in another setting.
So we really need a significant shift in our engagement strategies, in prioritization and kind of visioning for the South End.
So I appreciate the answer to some of the questions that I had submitted.
But I do want to make clear that folks in the South End want ease of access to programming, to green space, to well-maintained green spaces, and better and more equitable access to programs.
So I want to give you a couple of other examples of things that I have heard directly from my constituents.
that they are concerned about late 19 programming.
They want a return of the recreational technology or rec tech program.
There's a feeling that the way the late 19 program came back is no longer welcoming to the young people who used to go there.
It's kind of a different group of folks there now.
And I hear a lot about a reservation system that prioritizes, well, nobody seems to understand how the registration system is prioritized, but there is a definite frustration that it seems to be the case that, you know, for example, neighborhood play fields get rented out to groups who can afford it rather than local neighborhood kids or leagues.
There is a frustration that it seems to be a lot of private schools get more access to after school playtime, after school field access.
There was a lot of frustration when the swim lesson program registration opened up recently.
The registration starts at noon, and it's an online registration.
It assumes flexible scheduling for folks.
It assumes English language.
It assumes access to the internet, which I will tell you in the South End is not always reliable.
It assumes that somebody doesn't have disabilities that make computers challenging.
And so, you know, there are a lot of challenges with the way these programs work.
So I want to leave that with you and ask, how do we create concrete solutions to change the way that the department collaborates with community members on projects that they're trying to get finished?
And how do we reduce that kind of administrative burden that is placed on folks who are trying to access what is supposed to be an easily accessible city service?
And there is a perception that this is caused by, you know, kind of a lack of responsiveness by some neighborhood liaisons or some parks liaisons who are supposed to be helping facilitate the completion of these projects.
So that was a lot of different questions.
I'm happy to hear your response now and happy to follow up with you later.
And I wanna acknowledge that you are new to the city and new to this department.
But I think it's important for you to hear as the new leader coming into this department that these are longstanding issues.
These are issues that I've been hearing about since long before I was a city council member.
And these really have to be addressed because this is about equity, certainly, but it's also about giving our community members access to the green space and the recreational programming and the mentoring and youth support that we are able to provide some of our young people through the community center programs.
So this is crucial work that your department is doing, and it needs to be done really well and with an understanding that you know, people really rely on these for their quality of life.
So I will leave it at that.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Council Member Morales.
I'll turn it back over to AP.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Council Member Morales.
And yes, thank you.
I remember you were one of the first council members I met when we were out at the Chistie Trail opening.
which was a great win for that district.
And even in that project, as you know, it was so much of a challenge to really fight for the installation of those trails in a community that perhaps would not have been so challenging in other parts of the city, which really underpins what you are saying.
And I want to thank you.
In the six months that I've been here, I've been able to see The commitment that you invest every single day for equity and social justice in your community.
I know that you are a strong advocate for safety on the streets and ensuring that the south end.
is afforded appropriate, dedicated commitments to safety, but more than commitments, actual improvements to reduce deaths on the street.
And I've been admirable of your voice there.
And I'm admirable of your voice that you're giving to me right now and my staff, because what you're talking about is very longstanding issues that need to be remedied.
Some of it is a real desire and a need for our staff to do better.
And we need to lean into that.
We need to improve technology.
There used to be this sort of urban myth that, well, you know, communities of color don't, you know, don't use technology or don't have access to it.
So therefore, we shouldn't invest in it.
We have to afford traditional means of getting to a recreation center.
I don't believe that model is true today.
There is some truth in some of those statements.
But people need to be able to have an ease of use of reservations online.
One of the things that I'm going to work with the department immediately is trying to figure out how we have an online app.
For easy registration, we currently do not have this and we should have this in a system of this size to make it easier for people to find information and to log on with ease and to get reservations.
So I look forward to working with our staff on that.
I also want to lean into the fact of what you said about, you know, there's a sense that in certain communities in your district, some of the programming is not specific to their needs.
And so one of the things that we're going to be embarking on is an overall study and an evaluation with the community.
Tell us what's working.
Tell us what's not.
Tell us what you need.
Tell us what you desire.
And then I will work with our staff to come up with outcomes and outputs to deliver on those.
and to ensure that we're meeting the communities with their needs.
When an agency tries to find a one size approach, it never works.
And that was the traditional model for the management of departments in the city of Seattle.
but it's really important for us to lean in and listen.
And I've been able to spend time in your district and to understand that there are specific needs and specific feelings that we need to overcome.
And so you have my commitment to really lean into that and to begin to shape a new culture for that area, first and foremost.
but really to provide a system that is equal in programming.
And I also want to say that it's important for us in the park system to recognize what we're good at and what we're strong at, but also to recognize where we could use improvements and sometimes outside support and public private partnerships.
So I want to ensure that kids in the South end are having access to the same kind of resources that kids in other parts of the city might have.
If they can't afford to join private teams or private club organization, then it's our responsibility and government to figure out the funding and the partnership opportunities and then bring those services to the community in a manner that is affordable and accessible and more inclusive.
So I'm, I'm very, very keen on that.
We're also launching our Swim Seattle program, which will kick off at Rainier Beach Community Center, which will be a citywide effort to reduce drownings and to focus on closing the gap of drownings that is disproportionately high among children of color.
And I'm really proud of that and eager to grow that.
And then lastly, we'll be launching our Seattle mentors program, which will specific focus on providing children of all ages in all communities.
access and exposure to some of the wealth and the benefits of our city in technology, in business, in government, in health, and really sort of spark, inspire, and ignite their passion to become future leaders of our city and our nation.
I love that you had a lot in there because all of what you said is very important and embodies the work that the Parks Department must do.
So I am committed to joining you in those efforts and to working with you to make those improvements.
Thank you, AP.
Is there a follow-up, Council Member Morales?
No, I appreciate it.
Thank you very much.
Great, that's a good transition actually to talk about aquatics briefly, which you touched on in your response to Council Member Morales just now.
Last season, we saw a significant and sustained loss of lifeguards relative to what we've had in previous seasons.
As we're gearing up now and heading into when folks are going to expect outdoor pools and swimming beaches to be open, how are we looking to be able to meet the demand of what Seattleites will be expecting?
And if we're still having issues in aquatics, what are some of our strategies to adjust to a tougher labor market for lifeguards?
Absolutely, and it's surprising, but it's not abnormal to the nation as a whole that there is a lifeguard shortage, to be quite frank.
There used to be a time when a lifeguard was a job that was filled in abundance, and there was always available lifeguards.
And now we find ourselves in an era where there are not.
However, it is a life-saving necessity of city government, especially in a city of water, such as Seattle.
And so some of the challenges are being overcome right now.
We had some issues with our labor partners and some issues with funding and appropriate salaries, and we're reaching resolution on that, which will enable us to move forward in parity With different factors of our aquatics team, and we believe that is going to significantly improve our ability to hire.
It's something that we're going to ask the council and every single.
department that has a touch on community and a voice for amplification to really lean into people in the community to make them aware of this issue.
We believe that there are people that will step up and be responsive to becoming a lifeguard.
We have looked into and are going to provide grant opportunities and additional funding to support that effort.
We're going to call on retired lifeguards to come in, look for off-duty fire paramedics that want to join us in this effort, but we cannot be a city that is going to make a commitment to end drownings and to protect our public if we don't have the necessary life skill people in place to do that.
It's something that I talk about with our HR team a couple of times a week.
We're laser focused on this, and we're looking at innovative hiring strategies, as well as for all of the employees that we need to hire in the park department.
And we have already hired over 100 new park employees and welcomed them to our team.
But we need to keep focused on the lifeguard situation.
to ensure that our beaches and our pools are safe for the public.
And so we're making strides and we believe that we're gonna have more success than we did last year, but it still remains a problem.
But we're working to try to close the gap there.
Thank you, looking forward to getting updates on that as we're getting closer.
And if there is information the department wants us to amplify now in the beginning of April, would love that to be distributed to myself and my colleagues so we can start getting that out and encouraging community members who are interested to.
step forward and work with us in making sure that we all get to use our pools and swimming beaches this summer.
So definitely please send that along to us.
Thank you.
Are there any other committee questions?
Council Member Mosqueda.
Thank you so much.
And I did have a chance to find your answer tentatively on the comfort stations.
Thanks so much it says the commitment to 60 comfort stations that are traditionally closing each winter.
The goal would be to have these facilities year round by 2026 and.
That the conversations that you had been cleaning.
Maybe partially are now going to be clean 7 days a week year round rather than.
With the periodic cleaning, given that you have new 12 new staff coming on board.
So that's all great.
If you have anything else on the timeline, that's good.
But I did have I wanted to make sure that you knew that I did get a chance to look at that and also had a question about city hall park.
So maybe I can hold to see if you have anything else on the timeline.
No, and thank you for being patient with me, council member.
I found it now too on my page 14, but that's information is correct.
And some of it is ahead of schedule, as I mentioned, but what I would love to do is I would love to send you a separate report, focusing in more on the strategy with a more enhanced timeline to you and your staff.
And I will do that.
within the next couple of days, if that's okay with you, and then would be happy to take your call.
Your question on City Hall Park.
Okay, great.
Thank you.
And thanks, Mr. Chair.
So question about City Hall Park.
Obviously, this is something that We are very interested in making sure it gets activated despite maybe some misunderstandings out there.
The council was scrambling to make sure that we were prioritizing investments in City Hall Park, especially after receiving news about losing millions of dollars in the REIT funding mid-November when we were trying to finalize the budget.
So there was never a question of whether or not Seattle City Council wanted to activate and open City Hall Park, especially given that the transaction did not come to fruition with the county.
I think we are responsible for ensuring that there's true activation of the park.
So over a million dollars, I'm thinking it was 1.3, could have been 1.5 that went into activation of City Hall Park.
And we have a lot of county partners as well as community partners who really want to make sure that the fence is coming down, that we're activating the park, that we're reopening it and a lot of frustration that we're here still now into April and it hasn't happened yet.
So can you chat a little bit more about what your plans are for City Hall Park so we can be those good partners with our county friends and the community at large?
Absolutely.
Thank you, Councilmember Mosqueda, and I know that's something that's of interest to the entire council because it's literally steps from our city hall.
I can tell you that we are have a very robust plan for City Hall Park.
And in fact, we are planning to reopen and take down the fence by early to mid-June.
And really excited about that.
There was some initial thoughts that we would do that in the winter.
But it wasn't the right time to do it because to be successful, we have to ensure that it's well activated and we needed to do the maintenance issues.
If you walk by the park, hopefully you'll agree that within the fence, it's looking really nice.
The lawn is coming in.
The trees have been pruned.
We've done infrastructure support to some of the systems there.
And so our next phase will begin to plan for the fence removal and then a very robust plan of activating that park.
Although not quite analogous in that it's situated in the downtown core versus what I'm going to refer to with the reopening of Ballard commons and Councilmember Strauss's area, which also was fenced, and is now much improved with activity being the core and making that facility.
So nice.
colleague of mine sent me a picture last evening at Ballard Commons Park probably around eight or nine o'clock at night and it was beautiful and the lights were out and it was clean and there were people using the park.
We want that for City Hall Park as well and we have really been in probably we're leading in IDT as you may know on this issue.
We have about 3 to 4, including myself, dedicated team members who meet on 2 different committees that touch city hall park.
And so we are also leaning into the county partners.
I know there are concerns from the county judges and their leadership about the park also about the Fontaine right across the street.
And the sort of transit hub, but also the other businesses that touch that area.
So the solution there is going to be dedication and activation in the dedication piece, the new park rangers that are coming on board.
will begin their duties with an emphasis at City Hall Park as well as Cal Anderson Park.
If you ask why those two parks, first, Cal Anderson Park, as you remember, is a park, another example, like a Ballard Commons that went through a regeneration and a revival and is now thriving.
And it's really important to ensure that we continue that positive trend.
And we have other activities like lights and fencing and things that will allow for that.
We want to do that for city hall park to so that when it's reopened, there's a dedicated presence to encourage and support some of the concierge services that might be there.
Some of the buskers that might be their food trucks that we're hoping to get back as county employees return as well as city hall park employees.
So.
The end of the day, the fence must come down.
It's not a good sign for our city.
It's not a good sign for our parks.
But we have a strategy in place.
And we do also have some clarifying questions regarding the tax issue funding that you mentioned.
But we're confident that with the funding that we have and the commitments that have been given to us, it will not affect our plans for City Hall Park.
That's all very exciting news.
Thank you so much.
And I'll make sure that we share that as well with Councilmember Cole-Wells, who's been a real champion for this at the King County Council.
And I also just wanted to note the investments that we made through the last budget.
I think they complement the investments from Jumpstart as well, which had an economic resilience section of it.
And within that, folks might not know that there was a lot of focus on activation, community cohesion, bringing in small businesses and arts sector organizations and and community groups to really have them be part of our activation of public places too.
Thinking about how we get out from our homes and get away from some of the anxiety that isolation might be causing.
Parks, as you noted at the beginning of your comments, really do provide that place for the public square, the community gathering, the public places that improve all of our health and And that's also the health of our economy.
So excited to hear more about your plans for city hall park.
We will stay in close touch with all of you and just wanted to lift up that.
I think that this marries well with some of the investments from the jumpstart economic resilience activation vision that we had originally included in the spend plan as codified by the council.
Excellent.
Thank you, Council Member Musqueda.
Well, I don't have any additional questions for the nominee.
Do any other council members have any questions before we vote?
And procedurally, we did put the nomination in front of us at the beginning of the presentation, so I think I can just ask the clerk to call the roll.
So I'm gonna do that.
Will the clerk please call the roll on the confirmation of Anthony Paul Diaz or the recommendation of confirming Anthony Paul Diaz, the superintendent of the Department of Parks and Recreation for a term to March 1st, 2027.
Council Member Herbold.
Yes.
Council Member Morales.
Yes.
Council Member Mosqueda.
Oops, aye.
Chair Lewis?
Yes.
Chair, there are four in favor, none opposed.
Thank you, Mr. Clerk.
Given that it was a unanimous vote, this nomination will be brought forward to the April 11th City Council meeting for final action.
And Mr. Diaz, you don't have to appear in person if you don't want to, but obviously it would be great to see you for the final confirmation if you are free for that April 11th meeting.
And we look forward to considering the nomination for final approval and making your appointment official.
So thank you so much for coming by this afternoon and thank you for answering our questions.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, council member.
Thank you.
The gallery may applaud.
Great, thank you.
Now hearing no further business before the committee, unless someone is going to keep us on this afternoon, it doesn't look like anyone is.
I'm gonna go ahead and say it is 3.03 PM and the committee is hereby adjourned.
Thank you very much.