SPEAKER_06

Good afternoon, everyone.

The October 8th, 2024 meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

I'm Sarah Nelson, Council President.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Rivera?

Council Member Rivera?

Council Member Saka?

SPEAKER_20

Here.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Strauss?

SPEAKER_20

Present.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Liu?

Council Member Hollingsworth.

SPEAKER_05

Present.

This is Council Member Wu.

SPEAKER_52

Thank you.

Council Member Kettle.

SPEAKER_36

Here.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Moore.

SPEAKER_36

Present.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Morales.

SPEAKER_36

Here.

SPEAKER_52

Council President Nelson.

SPEAKER_06

Present.

SPEAKER_52

Seventh President.

SPEAKER_06

If there's no objection, Council Member Hollingsworth will be excused from today's council meeting.

And hearing no objection, Councilmember Hollingsworth is excused from today's meeting.

All right, we've got two proclamations today.

Councilmember Hollingsworth has a proclamation proclaiming October 10th, 2024 to be Black Brewers Day, 2024. Now, on behalf of Councilmember Hollingsworth, who unfortunately can't be here today, I will be providing some comments on her behalf.

and then open the floor for comments from council members.

And then after council member comments, I'll suspend the rules to present the proclamation and allow our guests to make some remarks on their behalf as well.

So with that, and in the words of council member Hollingsworth, quote, The state of Washington is the largest producer of hops in the world.

We produce over 50% of the world's production in the fertile land of Yakima Valley.

Seattle is home to some of the best craft breweries in the country.

With over 150 breweries in the city, however, less than 1% are black-owned.

Black businesses are important to the vibrancy and health of our neighborhoods.

The breweries provide a sense of community, connection, and home for people.

They're places to catch a sports game on TV, meet with friends, or end the week on a relaxing note.

The cultural vibrancy events and well-crafted beer are destinations for people.

I see a lot of people come back to the CD to feel at home with people they grew up with in these establishments.

We're grateful for both our local breweries that have been a staple for our community, especially the black community.

Black entrepreneurship and economic mobility for the community is a pathway to generational wealth.

Thank you for being leaders in the industry, leaders in our community, and most importantly, a successful example of hard work.

I couldn't be more proud to bring forth this proclamation and truly thank my colleagues for supporting this." I have to say, I second all that, and I couldn't put it in better words myself. And with this proclamation, colleagues, the city of Seattle, the city... of Seattle and the Seattle City Council proclaims October 10th, 2024 to be Black Brewers Day and encourages residents of Seattle to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies and activities to celebrate and acknowledge the contributions of black brewers in Seattle, Washington and the United States. And now I might add that while they're at it, raise a pint in celebration of our black brewers and enjoy their tasty craft. So colleagues, this is the proclamation before us, and I will now open the floor to comments or questions from council members. All right, seeing none, if there's no objection. Okay, I'm sorry, I didn't. Yeah, no, yeah, no worries. I didn't raise my hand on the screen. Okay, well.

SPEAKER_17

Thank you, Madam Council President.

No, I just want to say, I guess, first off, thank all of our black brewers out there.

Really important, impactful work and really appreciate all the the excitement and joy that you help bring to all communities across the city and helping create a product that connects us all responsibly, of course.

But really do appreciate our black brewers out there.

And then also extend my gratitude and appreciation to our colleague, Council Member Hollingsworth, for bringing this forward.

Thank you.

Amen.

SPEAKER_06

Yes.

And I do have to say that having been a part of this community myself, I do recognize that it has been a fairly, it's been an industry that has lacked diversity in the past.

And so this is why particularly I am really overjoyed to see you here in this room today.

So if there is no objection, the council rules will be suspended to present the proclamation and allow our guests to accept it.

Seeing objection, the rules are suspended and the proclamation will be presented.

And then after it's presented, colleagues Rodney Hines, CEO of Metier Brewing Company, and James Dixon of 23rd Avenue Brewery will provide brief remarks to the council and the members of the public.

And they'll be joined by Mario Savage and David Dixon of 23rd Avenue Brewery as well, as well as Destiny Jones.

Are you all here?

Okay.

Destiny Jones and Isaiah Powell.

All right, so why don't you come on up and I will present this fancy problem.

We usually do it over here.

Yeah, let's have a round of applause first.

SPEAKER_07

And this has been signed by all council members.

And I like it when we can get, can you see the seals?

SPEAKER_57

Thank you for your investment in our community.

Thank you.

Appreciate you.

Appreciate you.

SPEAKER_50

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_40

First, I will present you with this.

SPEAKER_53

Thank you very much for being here.

Congratulations.

SPEAKER_57

from South Dakota and then you

SPEAKER_03

I'm Rodney Hines, CEO and co-founder of Mette Brewing Company.

And I'm holding a book that tells the story of Ted Mack Sr.

Ted Mack opened the first black brewery back in 1970 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

And it was named the People's Brewing.

And in celebration of his work in setting the path for all of us, The National Black Brewers Association, which I'm on the board for, we started our organization about two years ago, and we decided that we needed to honor him because he paved the path for many of us to come.

And so this day is being marked with various breweries across the U.S.

It's important to echo what the city council has mentioned.

Of the 9,700 breweries across the U.S., 83 are black-owned.

Of the 83 that are black-owned, 12 of them actually have their own production facilities.

If you consider the 12 of them, two of us are here in Washington State, 23rd Avenue and Metier Brewing.

We, too, represent 16% of the black-owned, black-producing breweries in this country, which is devastating to hear.

The joy of that is the community that I know that 23rd Avenue creates, the community that we create with live music, with comedy acts, with...

We're going to be announcing shortly that Mette Brewing Community Restaurant will be coming in as a part of our restaurant, as our facility, with a program called Little Brown Girl.

And so we offer an awful lot between us in terms of creating community and fostering community with our award-winning beers.

So thank you, and thanks to the City Council for making this moment possible.

SPEAKER_23

to have me follow that up.

Oh, sorry.

Yeah, so my name is James Dixon.

I'm from the community, of the community, and I'm really excited to be here.

I appreciate y'all for having this event.

I really appreciate Rodney for getting this all organized.

Thank you very much.

And yeah, I mean, this is a dream come true.

I mean, I think at the end of the day, more representation, more opportunity, and more striving to be great is needed for all of us.

And I hope that one day that we can say there's much more than 100 breweries that are black-owned in the United States.

So...

hopefully we can continue to pave the path and thank you to all the people before us that had this dream but couldn't reach it for whatever reason.

We hope that we can continue to strive so other people can replace us and be better than us one day.

SPEAKER_03

The last thing I want to mention is we represent existing breweries today Destiny is one of our brewers, she's our assistant brewer at Mete Brewing, and Isaiah works at Magnuson Brewing.

Those two represent future breweries, because I imagine the two of them are gonna own their own spaces sometime soon, so thanks.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy day being small business owners to join us today.

All right, moving on.

Council Member Moore has a proclamation proclaiming October 2024 to be Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Signatures will need to be affixed to this proclamation before it's presented.

Council Member Moore will first address the proclamation and council members will have the opportunity to make comment.

And then I'll ask for the roll call to affix signatures to the proclamation and then it will finally be presented to our guests.

Council Member Moore, you're recognized in order to address the proclamation.

SPEAKER_36

Thank you very much, Council President.

So today I'm honored to bring this proclamation recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month and October 17th as Domestic Violence Awareness Day.

Unfortunately, domestic violence remains an issue in which we continue as a society to struggle with and which we continue to need to shine a spotlight on.

And to that regard, I'm very proud of the work that the City of Seattle consistently provides in offering support and resources to people impacted by domestic violence.

Today's proclamation hopefully will bring awareness, continued awareness to this issue, which in turn will help promote the available resources to the people who need it most.

women, children, families.

To anyone who has been impacted by domestic violence, I want you to know that there is help and there is hope, and the city stands with you.

If you or someone you know needs help, confidential assistance, you can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-SAFE, S-A-F-E.

Or you can call the 24-7 Domestic Violence Hope Line at 877-737-0242.

Thank you very much, Council President.

Those are my initial remarks.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you.

Are there any comments or feedback from Council Members?

Go ahead, Council Member Kettle.

SPEAKER_25

Council President, thank you.

I serve on the Domestic Violence Advisory Council, which includes the Chief of Police, the City Attorney, Director Kim from the Human Services Department, and a number of other individuals.

And it's clear in the discussions that we've had that a key focus for us is to help the young people who are caught up in domestic violence because studies show that if you see it as a child, if you experience it as a child, chances are you may become a domestic violence person yourself as an adult.

And I think it's really important for us to focus on that area, and it's mentioned in the recitals.

And I think it's a focus that we need to have as a community to help those who are young and help break the cycle.

So thank you, Council President.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you.

Thank you for making those comments.

It is about breaking the cycle and helping survivors right now.

Anybody else wish to provide feedback?

Let me see if I, if there's anybody raising their hand that I'm not seeing.

All right.

Seeing none with a clerk, please call the roll on to determine which council members would like their signatures affixed to the proclamation recognizing October, 2024 to be domestic violence awareness month.

SPEAKER_52

So remember Rivera.

Aye.

Council member Saka.

Aye.

Council member Strauss.

SPEAKER_05

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Councilmember Wu?

SPEAKER_05

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Councilmember Hollingsworth?

Councilmember Kettle?

SPEAKER_99

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Councilmember Moore?

SPEAKER_36

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Councilmember Morales?

Yes.

And Council President Nelson?

Aye.

Eight signatures will be affixed.

SPEAKER_06

All right, thank you very much for that.

And one last time, are there any final comments from council members before it is presented to our guests?

Council Member Rivera, go ahead, please.

SPEAKER_09

Thank you.

Now that it has passed, I just want to congratulate and thank my colleague, Council Member Moore, for bringing this very important awareness to domestic violence.

And I agree with my colleague's comments about breaking the cycle.

Just wanna lend my voice of support and again, gratitude for council member Moore so that we take the time to recognize this issue.

It is really an important one in our community and just across the country in general.

So thank you.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_06

I'll let you have the last word.

I just want to mention that I've always thought of domestic violence as a precursor to some of the gravest, most challenging issues that we deal with on a policy level.

It can lead to unemployment and mental health issues and homelessness.

And there's research showing that it can also contribute to addiction rates, et cetera.

And so by addressing domestic violence itself, I have always felt that it's a step in preventing the exacerbation of these other issues that we that we spend a lot of time trying to solve.

And so focusing on this precursor issue is a good place for our efforts and attention.

So thank you very much for bringing this forward.

SPEAKER_36

Thank you very much.

And it's very easy for me to sit up here.

I'm not having to do the day-to-day work.

And so I want to acknowledge the Mayor's Office on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault for this proclamation and for the services that they provide on behalf of the city to people experiencing domestic violence.

They work with over 35 community partners to serve over 10,000 survivors and their families.

And today, we are also privileged to have Consejo Counseling Services here with us, who work closely with survivors and their families to provide legal support advocacy-based counseling, and provide services that support survivors and their families.

So thank you both for all the vital work that you do for our community and to heal and provide hope to our community.

It's my honor to be bringing this forward today.

Thank you, Council.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you.

So first, I have to suspend the rules.

So if there is no objection, the Council rules will be suspended to present the proclamation and allow our guests to accept it and provide remarks.

Hearing no objection, the council rules are suspended and the proclamation will be presented.

And then after it's presented, our guests will be able to address us on their own behalf.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_41

Do it one more time, handing it over.

Okay.

All right, series one.

One, two, three.

SPEAKER_01

Good afternoon, my name is Judith Pamela Seguin.

I am with the Mayor's Office on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, which is under the Safe and Thriving Communities Division in the Human Services Department.

And I wanna thank you, Council Member Moore, Domestic Violence Prevention Council Co-Chair Kettle, fellow council members and Mayor Harrell for taking this opportunity to recognize and raise awareness on the devastating issue of domestic violence and its effect on our communities.

Seattle is striving to become a place where domestic violence does not exist, where people heal and embrace the spirit of nonviolence and develop healthy relationships based on mutual respect and to build safe and supportive communities.

With HSD leading the coordination of the Domestic Violence Prevention Council, we are working to prioritize prevention programs and services for young people exposed to violence, to increase city-wide knowledge and capacity for ending gender-based violence, and to develop a coordinated safety net and improve systems response.

HSD invests in over $14 million in a comprehensive network of social services and a specialized criminal legal response to domestic violence that addresses the needs of survivors and to hold those that cause harm accountable for their actions.

Our funded network of providers respond to and support more than 7,500 survivors of gender-based violence annually.

And I'd like to take the time to recognize and thank all the community-based advocates and providers who admirably provides comprehensive wraparound supportive services to survivors and families every day.

We can't do this work without the partnership of community and without the commitment of our elected officials to address the safety and wellbeing for everyone in our city.

And now I'd like to pass it on to Norma with Consejo Counseling and Referral Services.

SPEAKER_32

Council members and HSD for the constant support that you have provided through the years to our agency.

Our services address but are not limited to the Hispanic population.

We provide services of those that sometimes due to language barrier or misconception of the law and the SPD are not able to access or not able to seek services.

We provide those services with cultural competence services.

And regardless of not being in a major budget this year, we hope that we continue with your support providing this life-saving services.

As I was mentioned, some of the Results of domestic violence can be mental health.

These services are intertwined, and I'm happy to mention that at Consejo, we address those under the same umbrella.

Therefore, once again, we ask you that we continue the services to the population that needs it and demands it.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much for coming today.

Okay, we'll move on with our agenda here.

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

If you're here to provide comment on resolution 32149 relating to initiative 2117, please note that we'll accept comments when we reach agenda item seven.

For now, public comment is limited to items on today's agenda, excluding item seven, the introduction and referral calendar, and the council work program.

Clerk, how many people are signed up to speak today?

SPEAKER_28

We have 34 remote speakers and 21 in-person.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

We will provide one minute for people to speak today and begin in batches of 10 with the in-person speakers.

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_28

Phil, please proceed with the instructions.

SPEAKER_52

The public comment period will be moderated in the following manner.

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

We will start with in-person speakers and then move to remote speakers.

Please begin by stating your name and the item you are addressing.

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.

Please proceed.

SPEAKER_28

Today we have speakers one through 10 who are gonna be first in the set.

And the first three speakers is Bennett Hustleton, Graciela Lang, Jarrett Ising, and then Robin Briggs, Anna Marie, if your name is called, please stand in line.

And we have these two microphones again for you to use.

And please state your name before you start, please.

SPEAKER_10

All right, good afternoon.

My name is Bennett Hadleton.

Story time.

So for my previous arrest back in 2020, my arrest report said I was part of a riot outside the East Precinct where apparently somebody set a dumpster on fire.

I don't actually know because in real life, I was nowhere near there.

Hand to God, I was actually not there.

I had credit card receipts showing that I was getting pizza at Pagliacci about two miles away.

And this is true.

I had a flat tire and I was so pleased with myself that I knew how to change the flat tire.

I was live tweeting it the whole time I was doing it, not realizing the time is actually giving me an alibis.

So it actually did happen.

So in 2020, I was one of the volunteer safety drivers for the completely illegal street marches.

And some of us who were safety drivers got arrested about a week after the riot with warrants saying we were participating.

Another woman's arrest report, it said during that time, Hazleton was observed outside the police station.

Hazleton, that's not her name.

That's my name.

And we compared a couple of different arrest reports and realized the police had a list of us who were volunteer safety drivers.

Graciela?

SPEAKER_28

And then followed by Graciela will be Jared Isink and then Robin.

SPEAKER_06

Please be ready to provide comment as soon as the person in front of you has stopped.

SPEAKER_08

Can you hear me?

My name is Graciela Lang.

I'm a disabled veteran, United States Army retired.

I was in an auto accident here in Chinatown, rear-ended when I was parked.

I was sitting in the driver's seat and it was a horrible accident.

My car was totaled.

When I went to go get the police report, the response from the police department is operating under a backlog of 2,000 open requests.

Are you aware of that?

2,000 open requests.

I'm not talking about 200. I'm saying 2,000.

So we need to get the help and support that these people need to get the job done.

And if you can't find any money, I hate to say it, but...

This is a sanctuary city.

I spent a lot of money on illegal aliens.

Give it back to U.S. citizens, disabled veterans, and taxpayers, property taxpayers like myself, so we can get the help and the support that we need.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_06

There will be no booing in chambers.

SPEAKER_28

Our next speaker is Jared, followed by Jared.

It's going to be Renee, and then Robin.

SPEAKER_21

Jared Asik Ben-Noir.

I'm here to recognize last Wednesday as the new moon of Tishrei, the seventh month of the year.

I recognize it as New Year's Day, Rosh Hashanah.

In the Bible, it's called Judgment Day, actually, Yom Adin.

And I'm here to recognize Thanksgiving week starting on the full moon of this month, the 14th of Tishrei, I think October 16th or 17th, something like that.

And I declare it as Thanksgiving week all over Turtle Island.

And I want to thank the state of Israel for being the only nation in the world to recognize these holidays.

From the river to the sea, the Holy Land is not for free.

The Jews are the land's indigenous nation, and Israel is post-colonial liberation.

Real leaders will say this.

The Islamic Arabs, Frankish crusaders, Egyptians, Ottomans, British invaders, all these foreign empires who occupied delude themselves with their own lie.

From the Gulf to the Sahel, peace to the friends of Israel.

You want to cease fire?

You know how.

Free the hostages.

SPEAKER_28

Free them now.

Renee is next.

And the following Renee is going to be Robin and then Anne Marie.

SPEAKER_56

Hi, council members.

My name is Renee Peters, and I'm one of the co-chairs for the Community Surveillance Working Group.

In July, as mandated within the municipal code for the SIR process, we submitted a 20-page civil liberties assessment detailing 12 concern areas within the proposals and underlining why the implementation of the pilots as is could undercut city and SPD trust without solid data indicating that safety benefits would be realized.

Five out of six working group members are unsupportive.

In 225 minutes of Public Safety Committee agenda leading up to this meeting, SPD has had roughly 117 minutes, almost two hours, to present to Council.

In comparison, the Working Group's assessment has been represented solely within two minutes of public comment, with this being minute number three.

The stakes are extremely high at the intersection of technology, bias, and law enforcement.

These surveillance zones impact some of the highest percentage minority populations in the Pacific Northwest.

These aren't retroactive proposals, so we, SPD, the working group, CTO, and council, should take the proper time to reevaluate and resubmit them and their amendments in a way that meets community standards.

SPEAKER_28

Evan is next, and then Anne-Marie, and then Julia Renick.

SPEAKER_35

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Robin Briggs.

I live on Capitol Hill.

And I'm here to talk about the proposed new energy codes and to ask you to pass them without delay.

The buildings are about 40% of Seattle's carbon emissions, and the pollution, they admit, has an adverse impact on our health.

These new codes are stronger than the state code and will prepare our buildings for a future where energy prices just keep going up.

They will ensure that the new buildings will meet the building emissions performance standards.

Delaying the codes may reduce the cost for builders, but these costs are just getting multiplied as they are passed on to the new building owners and tenants who will be required to do expensive refits on pretty much new buildings.

Refits which the city will have to manage and oversee.

Do it right the first time.

It just makes sense.

So I want to thank the mayor for bringing these codes forward, and I hope the council will vote to approve.

SPEAKER_28

Ann Marie, and then Julia Renick, and then Ashley Barber.

SPEAKER_62

My name is Ann Marie Dooley.

Thank you for allowing me to speak in favor of the Seattle energy codes today.

Look, as a doctor, I know how important energy codes are.

It was a failure of building codes that's resulted in a massive supply shortage in Seattle hospitals this week because climate-related flooding in North Carolina has removed 50% of our saline supplies.

Now Kim Mouton with the North Carolina Building Code said that it was delay of adoption of building codes that led to this flooding.

So I know the council is going to be under pressure not to adopt the Seattle Energy Code because of the cost, but I really would ask you to think of health costs in addition to building costs.

Seattle can be a leader or it can react to what's going on in the rest of the country like we are in the hospital this week.

Please adopt the Seattle Energy Codes today.

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_28

Julia Renick and then Ashley Barber and Bethany Burton.

SPEAKER_11

Good afternoon, Julie Renig talking about the Seattle IT budget.

I'm here to talk about the short-sighted cuts to device support.

This budget lays off nine device support employees, that's 20%.

The budget director made a comment in their budget presentation that the impact of these cuts will just take a couple more days to swap out a laptop.

That is ignorant of the impact of this action.

Device support does swap out laptops.

That's an extremely small percentage of their work.

They are our frontline triage team when pretty much anything associated with computers doesn't work.

They diagnose the problem, fix the software, hardware, connectivity issues that they can, and refer other issues to various teams in Seattle IT.

Many of the devices they support are operational.

A few examples.

Computers in SPD patrol cars.

scales, cash registers, credit card readers, and the transfer station, mobile devices used by the CARES team.

They cut line people, but they didn't cut the exempt people, all 198.

SPEAKER_12

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Ashley Barber.

I'm with Washington Alarm.

I'm here to ask for your support to stop the baseless, dangerous policy that was put into action by interim police chief Sue Rahr.

As you are aware, the city of Seattle Police Department will no longer respond to alarm calls without visual, audio, or physical panic button confirmation.

Thousands of residents and businesses do not have these systems in place or have enough visual or audible coverage on their property to truly verify if someone is on site.

especially if they are not on the property themselves.

Most alarms happen when a home or business is unoccupied.

Updates to these systems can be cost prohibitive and take time to implement.

Our goal is for the Seattle Police Department to partner with the security industry and work together towards a solution that addresses false alarms while ensuring timely response to genuine security threats.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_28

We have Bethany Burton, and followed by the last person for the set, which would be Scott Dozzle.

SPEAKER_45

My home security system includes door contacts and motion detectors, which are standard components in most alarm setups.

I'm very concerned about the new Seattle Police Department's policy, effective October 1st, that now requires audio, visual, panic button, or eyewitness evidence for them to respond.

As a working mother, my 11 year old daughter sometimes comes home to an empty house after school.

If I was a Seattle resident before October 1st, if a door contact and motion detector is activated during the day and my alarm company calls me, I could request a police dispatch.

Now I can't get a police response unless a neighbor sees suspicious activity or potentially my daughter encounters an intruder in our home.

Is the intent of this new policy to prevent police from addressing property crime and potentially putting our children and community at risk because they don't have cameras or audible alarms?

I ask you to please talk to the Seattle Police Department and urge them to pause this policy.

SPEAKER_19

Good afternoon, Council.

My name is Scott DeZell, and I'm here to talk about the change to the police dispatch policy.

As I sat here today and heard you guys talk about the black owned breweries and the domestic violence, one of my big concerns is the support that this council has for the community for these wonderful measures that you're doing.

while also having other policies put in place by other areas of this government, specifically in this case by the police department, by the chief of police, for something that is going to be detrimental to those same communities.

None of these businesses, none of these residents, not none, the vast majority of these businesses and residents do not have systems that are in compliance and capable of signaling a dispatch need in compliance with the new ruling, with the new ordinance.

I would like for you guys to help participate with the and try to come up with better pragmatic ways to solve this in the meantime.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_28

We'll now move into remote public commenters.

SPEAKER_52

The first remote speaker is Peter Condit, followed by Iris Antman and Deepa Sivarajan.

Please press star six when you hear the prompt that you have been unmuted.

SPEAKER_29

Hello, this is Peter Condit in Green Lake.

Council should reject police bonuses and surveillance technology.

do not reduce violence.

The one study SPD cited to justify cameras was a 40-year review, and it concluded, quote, no significant effects observed for violent crime, end quote.

We don't need more cops.

SPD themselves commissioned two studies that showed a community-based response network could handle 70 or 80 percent of SPD's call volume.

I myself have only felt safety come from relationships and resources, never from the violence of policing.

If Council votes no on CCTV, RTCC, and police bonuses, it can free up $5.5 million and use that to reverse the mayor's defunding of the following items that are actually essential to safety in our city.

Food access, worker protections, eviction defense, rental assistance, tenant services, legal counsel for homeless youth, behavioral health services.

and programs addressing gender-based violence.

Do the right thing and vote no on cop spending.

Thank you for listening.

SPEAKER_52

Thank you.

Next is Iris Antman.

Go ahead, Iris.

SPEAKER_40

Good afternoon.

My name is Iris Antman.

I'm a resident of Seattle since 1982 and have lived in District 2 for most of that time.

I'm asking the council members to please support the amended commercial energy code that has been put forward by the mayor and council after listening to community feedback.

It's key that our new buildings are clean and energy efficient, lowering energy bills for tenants and ensuring that these buildings won't need to be retrofitted in the future at additional costs.

This code will ensure that Seattle is a leader in the clean energy transition.

critical to the health and well-being of our city and its residents.

I urge you to move forward with this amended energy code proposal to stay strong on clean, safe, and climate-friendly buildings in Seattle.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_52

This is Deepa Sivarajan, followed by Drew Batchelor and Ella Shawn.

Go ahead, Deepa.

SPEAKER_54

Thank you.

My name is Deepa Sivarajan.

I'm the local policy manager at Climate Solutions.

Yesterday, I sent Council a letter signed by 27 organizations and businesses in support of Seattle's construction code, including the 2021 Energy Code.

These organizations included affordable housing developers and advocates like the Housing Development Consortium, climate, environmental, and energy organizations, architects, contractors, and other building professionals, unions like IBEW 46, and more.

We want to thank Mayor Harrell and SDCI and Council for their leadership in putting together a final code package that is stronger than the state code in terms of clean energy and energy efficiency.

Given the threats that we're seeing to clean codes around the country and in Washington, it is crucial that Seattle continues to lead in this area and that the full code package is passed without delay.

Please vote yes on Council Bill 120832 on Seattle's construction codes today.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_16

is drew bachelor go ahead hello i'm asking you to vote against wasting taxpayer money on these invasive surveillance systems and absurd police bonuses voting for this spending is you voting to take money for programs that actually help our community like rental assistance behavioral health services and programs adjusting gender-based violence crime rates are plummeting nationally despite declines in police staffing seven years of data show that bloated police spending does not reduce crime Programs around the world and right here in America have shown that policies like Housing First and UBI do actually reduce crime.

But I really want to call out the obvious fact that somebody who didn't apply for a position that has been open for four years until there was a $50,000 bonus is only doing it for the $50,000.

They don't want to live here.

They don't want to do this job.

Why are you proposing to bribe disgruntled cops who don't want to be in Seattle but just need the money into our community?

This is a danger to public safety.

This is anti-community policing.

It's also a waste of taxpayer money.

These surveillance technologies have been shown time and time again to lead to police violence against innocent people.

Vote against the surveillance and cop bonuses.

Thank you, Drew.

SPEAKER_52

Next is Ella Shawn.

Go ahead, Ella.

SPEAKER_44

Hi, my name is Ella Shawn and I live right now in District 5. I'm calling to also urge Council not to vote for hiring bonuses for SBG as well as the CCTV and RTCC surveillance technology.

These programs would cost collectively $5.5 million.

And instead of that money going towards our police department, I believe it would be much better spent towards social services, toward housing, toward things that actually make us safe.

I recently learned that programs addressing gender-based violence are going to be cut specifically as part of a larger plan to fund the surveillance technologies and hiring bonuses.

And this really breaks my heart, especially as someone who's known many people in domestic violence situations, to know that the safety of the idea of public safety is being prioritized over people who are actually unsafe in domestic violence situations.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_52

Thank you.

Next is Alice Lockhart.

Go ahead, Alice.

SPEAKER_43

Hello, Council.

I'm Alice Lockhart, and I live in District 5. Today you have a choice.

Here are some cuts that you could restore by voting no on surveillance and SPD signing bonuses and shifting a chunk of general funds From SPD to Restoric Disaster Cuts to the Mayor's Budget.

It's your choice.

$650,000 cut from the Emergency Food Fund and another $340,000 in cuts to meal providers and senior meal programs relative to 2024. $2.9 million in child care retention bonuses cut relative to 2024. 9% cut.

to the developmental bridge contract that helps kids with disabilities, $221,000 cut from consumer protection, 0.8 million cut from tenant services, and another 1 million from rental assistance relative to 2024, 34% cut to the labor equity program, and 24% to construction training and clean energy jobs, $1.7 million cut from community development block grants for homeless shelters.

We need all these things.

Please go on surveillance and SPD signing bonuses.

SPEAKER_52

Thank you.

Next is Keith Weir to be followed by Joe Kunzler and David Haynes.

Go ahead, Keith.

You may need to press star six.

SPEAKER_37

Good evening, Council.

Good evening, Council.

Yes, we can hear you.

This is Keith Weir.

I am a member of IBEW Local 46. journeyman electrician and a u.s maybe veteran calling today to testify in support of the piano energy code as presented and brought forward as others have mentioned it's the right thing to do we should be leading the way in washington state we lead the nation every uh every way that we can and climate change is real uh the byproduct of This clean energy code will drive workforce development and apprenticeship opportunities for sections like myself through various programs within the building trade.

Buildings that need retrofit will supply some of that work, but as those buildings age in place and owners are not able to do them or comply with standards, it just makes sense for new buildings to be built to code and have the highest standard in the nation.

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_28

Our next public commenter is Joe Kunzler, who's speaking on general public comment and will be also speaking on item number seven when we reach that item.

So Joe, at this point, can you please only address regular public comment for items one through six?

SPEAKER_50

Yes, I'll only address your public comment.

Joe Kunzler here.

I want to address the ongoing tragedy of cuts to Seattle Channel.

I think it's absolutely theater of the absurd to get Seattle Channel and at the same time pay for more surveillance cameras.

I think it's important to support law enforcement.

I think it's important to give a competitive bonus for ride-or-roll officers and hire and do Seattle to be able to do what other cities have done, poaching Seattle officers for years.

It's important to have a diverse, well-trained law enforcement force, but it's also important to have a Seattle Channel.

It's important to have inside out.

It's important to have those in-depth interviews and access to politicians.

When I was busy dealing with Alex Zimmerman, I needed Seattle Channel to help pressure Seattle politicians to address Zimmerman's misconduct.

So it's extremely important that we have this tool in the toolbox.

And getting Seattle Channel, the art zone and the rest of it, is also just blatantly anti-Seattle.

I'm sure Heidi Willis somewhere is just fuming at the mere morning.

Seattle City Council breaking the faith, and if you want to cut something besides the rail cameras, you also might want to cut your council budgets, but that's me, you know, I'm a little ignored, but I really better want to save Seattle Channel if we can, please.

I also have a petition going on change.org to save Seattle Channel, and as I call it up, we do have 250 signatures, so thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_28

The next speaker is David Haynes.

David Haynes, we're only providing general public comment at this moment.

Item number seven will be addressed later.

So please, David.

SPEAKER_57

Hi, thank you.

David Haynes, if you want to improve your place-based crime hotspot fighting, you need to have a crime-fighting police chief with the tactics and willingness to literally pay cops overtime specifically to fight crime.

And you need to take some of that $50,000 signing bonus and put it in increments of like $10,000 a piece and literally pay over time to all the other levels of crime fighting agencies that would lend support.

Let's say you have like 200 cops being paid overtime for two weeks at the beginning of the month when everybody's got a bunch of money and they go after this core of crime fighting evil and verify where they go to their stash house, verify where their meth lab is and shut it down.

But if you're going to take a virtue signaling effort and try to manipulate the public opinion and send a couple cops to spread anybody out and then only grab the people that are so screwed up that they don't go to jail, you have to have the police station question these people before they get moved to a different path or released.

SPEAKER_28

Our next speaker is Carrie Mead, and that will be a last speaker in this set, and then we'll move on to in-person public commenters.

SPEAKER_48

Good afternoon, everyone.

My name is Carrie Mead, and I'm the Executive Director of Building Potential, a nonprofit trade association of the energy efficiency and building energy use decarbonization industry.

I'm here to speak today on agenda item, Council Bill 120832, Adopting the Seattle Energy Code.

I want to thank Mayor Harrell and the council members for the opportunity to speak today.

First of all, I just also want to thank Mayor Harrell again for listening to the community and advancing a commercial energy code that is stronger than the state.

This new code is something we can be proud of.

It doesn't just support clean energy.

It delivers tangible economic benefits to homeowners, tenants, and building operators.

By prioritizing energy efficiency, it helps lower energy bills and reduce operational costs over the lifetime of a building.

This translates to direct savings for tenants, homeowners, and businesses, ensuring that they aren't burdened with rising energy costs or expensive retrofits in the future.

I urge the Council to support this amended energy code proposal and continue to prioritize cost savings, health, and sustainability for our community.

Thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_28

We'll now go into remote public comment, sorry, in-person public commenters.

Speakers 11 through 20, and we're going to start with Cynthia Spies, Ashton Hope, Gabriel Jones, Michael Erickson, Jay Yanamura, Gary Lee, Matt Offenbacher, Irene Theotores, and James Stewart.

SPEAKER_31

Go ahead.

Hi, I'm Cynthia Spees.

I've been in tech for 16 years, 10 of that at Big Tech, and the data does not support the passage of the CCTV or RTCC bills.

The city is a sucker for marketing hype.

The largest published assessment of CCTV found no significant effects on violent crime.

Residents deserve real, data-driven solutions, not this security theater.

The cost estimates keep growing.

You're signing taxpayers up for a money pit.

There's still the risk of the vendor being compelled under warrant.

You can't write an enforceable contract clause that says you're immune to state or federal laws.

No judge is going to honor that.

And the SIR says that the footage is stored on the DVRs or NVRs, not on the cameras.

Seattle IT received a record amount of comments.

Roughly 90% of those opposed this technology.

Throwing out thousands of comments and ignoring the Office of Civil Rights and the Community Surveillance Working Group is not good governance or good science.

You're just killing democracy.

This is a wasteful boondoggle that turned Seattle into a dystopian nightmare.

Keep Seattle a sanctuary city.

Don't pass these bills.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_28

Ashton, followed by Gabriel.

SPEAKER_13

I am Ashton Hope, a resident of Capitol Hill speaking on police bonuses.

I understand what your constituents want is not something most of you care about.

That has become abundantly clear.

However, I implore you to listen to my warning to you, council.

You are taking funds away from peace and putting them towards violence.

All that funding violence will do I refuse to shoot first.

I abhor violence and never wish to commit it.

However, when you assault us, we will not simply lie down and die.

We will defend ourselves from you, Council.

If you want the shooting to stop, stop shooting us.

Fund food.

Fund housing.

Fund health care.

Fund peace.

Defund violence.

Defund the police.

Good day.

SPEAKER_28

Gabriel, followed by Michael Erickson.

All right.

SPEAKER_34

Howdy, folks.

My name is Gabriel Jones.

And usually, I come up here doing a bit.

It's been fun.

I'll do a bit talking about how the council is giving legislation in the chamber or about how Tony Wu might hit me with a car or just Robert Kettle overall.

But I'm not here to do that today.

I want to be serious, talk about the actual things that are happening right now and how you are actually taking food out of mouths.

With the passage of soap and soda, providers who actually feed the homeless, providers who are making actual change in their communities, have to move.

We're already seeing communities pack up and leave and have to make other plans because soap and soda would make their jobs impossible and hurt the communities they're trying to hurt.

It would hurt the communities they're trying to help.

But time and time again, what you do is not what's actually going to help, but what keeps you electable.

At the end of the day, it does not matter that these have been proven time and time again not to work.

It's just, oh, hey, I need to look good.

I need to do things that maybe will make me be electable so I can say I actually did something while doing nothing.

And that's what this is again.

This has been shown not to work.

But at the end of the day, the council does two things.

Do whatever the Chamber of Commerce tells them and gives more money to cops when we already give them.

How much are we giving them a year?

Let's see.

This new budget proposal, $457.9 million.

We talk about people needing to do...

SPEAKER_28

We have Michael Erickson followed by Jay Yanamura and Gary Stomichael.

SPEAKER_61

Good afternoon, my name is Michael Erickson and I'm here to address the proposed layoffs affecting 11 positions in Seattle IT's device support team, nine of which are currently filled.

I believe there's been a misunderstanding of the critical role we play and I'd like to clarify what device support truly means for our city.

Behind all of the employees of the city there is a device they use to do their job.

We ensure those devices continue to work.

Cutting these 11 positions would seriously impact our ability to continue providing the level of support the city has come to rely on.

Imagine what slower response times would mean.

Public kiosks out of service at the inspections office, malfunctioning scales at waste management facilities, power traders can't trade energy for the city, or dam support is delayed.

We would all feel the consequences.

What happens when detectives' computers fail when the time is of the essence, or when the emergency operations center can't function properly during a mass emergency?

Slower response times in these critical areas will ripple out into every corner of our city's services.

I ask you today to consider the layoffs and device support, eliminating these positions.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_28

We have Jay and then followed by Jay's Gary Lee and Matt.

SPEAKER_14

I'm a resident in Chinatown, District 2. Yesterday, I had an out-of-state visitor I was taking around Chinatown in my car.

We drove around 12th and Jackson, up King Street between Rainier and 12th.

And even I, a resident of Chinatown, was shocked by what I saw.

It's gotten so bad.

The new park they opened in New Saigon is just infested with people openly using drugs.

I think the city, I'm not saying the police, the city needs every tool possible to try to correct the situation.

It is unsafe for me and many of the residents in my building to even walk around in our own neighborhood.

At least half the people in my building in Fujisata on 6th are retired.

They can't walk safely at night.

There's just too much street crime and we need more tools.

to protect the residents.

So please vote in favor.

I am asking you to vote in favor of the CCTV bill.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_28

Gary?

Followed by Gary is going to be Matt Offenbacher and then Amarintha Torres and James Stewart.

SPEAKER_60

I'm Gary Lee and I am the co-chair of the CID Public Safety Council.

And I'm here to ask for your support in approving the CCTV project.

About 11 months ago, I submitted approximately 750 signatures from the CID of business owners, residents, and workers who are in support of this program as they are afraid of being in the CID.

We feel that it's needed.

The city needs it.

The SPD needs it.

The people of the CID need this program, need for you to employ this program to see if it works.

We think it will.

And we are asking you to approve it.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_28

That, followed by Amarintha and James.

SPEAKER_26

Hi, council members.

I'm here to ask when you vote on the surveillance bills today, I urge you to respect the process and the voices of the thousands of Seattleites, the community orgs, the Office of Civil Rights, the mayor's own working group, who have all said that this technology's potential to do harm is greater than any hypothetical benefit.

I also ask that you reject $50,000 police bonuses.

Everyone knows, including SPD's own internal analysis, that hiring bonuses don't have any effect on hiring rates, and so this would be a gigantic waste of money if you pass it.

The other thing I wanted to tell you is when you discuss these bills later today, I don't want to hear any of you saying the words budget neutral or salary savings.

These are deceptive terms.

There's nothing neutral about the fundings for these bills.

SPD is given a position of authority that's far in excess of the number of hires they'll make in any one year.

Many of you are business people.

Thank you very much.

Marissa, then James.

SPEAKER_28

And again, the 10-second warning is not working at this very moment, so just note that you have one minute to speak.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, thank you so much.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Amaranthia Torres, and I'm the co-executive director of the Coalition Ending Gender-Based Violence.

We support over 35 community-based and culturally-specific programs working right here in Seattle and all working towards an end to gender-based violence.

I wanted to share appreciation to Councilmember Moore and to all the Councilmembers here for your support and approval of proclaiming October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

This month and every month, it's really important to make visible the persistent and pervasive nature of abuses of power and that those abuses of power continue to thrive and are really at the root of what causes gender-based violence and domestic violence.

I also wanted to acknowledge that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the passage of the Violence Against Women Act in 1994. I was all of 13 years old in 1994. But when VAWA also passed Inclusive VAWA, which was the first time LGBT people were equally included and protected and critical remedies and resources to indigenous survivors and immigrant survivors were included, I was an advocate working with queer and trans survivors when I was

SPEAKER_28

Then we have James, and then our last in-person speaker for the set will be Russ Saunders.

SPEAKER_02

Good afternoon, Council Member.

I'm James Stewart, President of Security 101, a local franchise security integrator.

I'm here to represent essentially my customers here in the Graves, Seattle area, specifically Seattle, who are caught flat-footed with a new police policy to invest in new technologies in order for them to get service on their WHEN THEY HAVE AN ACTIVE ALARM.

SO FOR THEM TO ACQUIRE THE ADEQUATE TECHNOLOGIES THAT THEY'RE GOING TO NEED TO SUPPORT THIS, I JUST WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT COULD BE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF UNPLANNED AVAILABLE DOLLARS.

AND THEY CAN TAKE SEVERAL MONTHS TO PROCURE AND TO IMPLEMENT.

along with the fact that 85% of alarm systems don't generate calls for service, many of those that have these systems are okay.

We ask the council members to work with the police chief to take this and find an effective solution over time.

SPEAKER_28

Our last speaker for this set, Russ Saunders.

SPEAKER_18

Thank you, Council.

My name is Russ Saunders, and I represent my family's business, Handy Andy Rent-A-Tool and Truck Rental on Aurora.

Since I'm in support of supporting the police and the CCTV.

Since COVID, I've had close to 150 trucks stolen.

I've had thousands upon thousands of gallons of gas stolen.

But I want to give you a snapshot of just the last eight days.

I had a burglary.

They stole $10,000.

They stole a truck with that.

Consequently, I've had six trucks stolen in just the last eight days.

But that's not the kicker.

I had two trucks burnt to the ground because of the criminals that are running rampant in this city.

It is crazy.

This is the worst it's been in the 45 years that my family has been on Aurora.

And I can no longer absorb those costs, so I have to put a line item on every contract and charge my customers.

They're going to have to pay $5 per contract or something along those lines because I can no longer absorb it.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_28

We will now move into remote public comment speakers, and we'll also switch users.

Phil, please go ahead and share the screen.

You can get that 10-second warning back on.

SPEAKER_52

Well, yes, the 10-second warning may not be working, but the screen should be there.

Okay, our next set of remote public speakers will begin with Arianna Riley, followed by Deirdre Haynes and Nina Olivier.

Please go ahead, Arianna.

SPEAKER_46

Hello, my name is Arianna Riley.

Defunding the rest of the city at the expense of the police department is not smart, and it's not going to improve public safety in any measurable way.

As well, surveilling everyone on a massive scale will not improve public safety for anyone.

The advent of ring cameras did not stop car and package theft, so I'm not sure what exactly the goal of spending massive amounts of money on surveillance cameras is supposed to do here.

It's not going to stop crime.

It's not even going to help solve crime.

When we see many cases of theft caught on camera and then the police not investigating, why can't we put our tax dollars towards something actually useful that would improve livability and public safety?

I would love to see the police be defunded and the money be reinvested into useful services that people actually use, like rent assistance, domestic violence shelters, and 24-hour public restrooms.

Please vote no on surveillance and police bonuses.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_52

Next is Deidre Haynes.

Go ahead, Deidre.

SPEAKER_39

Hi, my name is Deidre Haynes.

and I'm addressing CB120844.

The abject crime, gunplay, aggressiveness, vandalism, public defecation and urination, break-ins, drug deals, drug usage, racing cars at extremely high speeds, drifting, burnouts, engine noise, and music played at 90 decibels and above for hours on end is what we who live on Harbor and Alki deal with nightly, all year long, all night long, This is not hyperbole.

We have recorded and provided multiple videos of these activities.

The police are sorely understaffed and lack the manpower to take it fine or arrest the violators.

They continue to be responsive and do their best to stop this egregious behavior, but they need help that you can provide.

We suffer from sleep deprivation, decreasing property values, and a fear to venture out after dark.

The residents, businesses, and visitors to Alki are negatively impacted by this threatening behavior.

It is past time for the other city entities.

SPEAKER_52

Next is Nina Olivier.

Go ahead, Nina.

SPEAKER_55

Hello, my name is Nina Olivier and I'm an executive committee member of the Seattle's Green New Deal Oversight Board.

I'm here today to express our strong support for the proposed amendments to the City of Seattle's energy code.

As members of the Green New Deal Oversight Board, we are charged with advising and making recommendations to the mayor and city council related to the Green New Deal for Seattle and to monitor its progress and meeting its intended outcomes and goals.

I'd like to extend our gratitude to Mayor Harrell for his leadership and responsiveness to community feedback Moving forward with the commercial energy code and surpassing the state's requirements, we are taking a significant step toward a more sustainable and equitable future for Seattle.

This enhanced energy code is crucial when the fossil fuel industry is actively working to undermine efforts to promote clean energy and energy efficiency.

Their focus on maximizing profits comes at the expense of affordability and well-being for our residents.

Constructing new buildings to be clean and energy efficient is not just an environmental imperative, but it is also an and economic one.

It'll lower energy bills for tenants and ensure that they are not burdened with the cost of expensive retro...

Thank you.

SPEAKER_52

Next is Nancy Henderson, followed by Lila B. Go ahead, Nancy.

SPEAKER_27

Hello, my name is Nancy Henderson.

I am...

TESTIFYING TODAY IN SUPPORT OF THE 2021 CONSTRUCTION CODE, SPECIFICALLY THE ENERGY CODE.

FIRST OF ALL, I'D LIKE TO THANK MAYOR HAROLD FOR LISTENING TO THE COMMUNITY FEEDBACK AND TAKING COMMENTS ON INCORPORATING THAT INTO THE NEW ENERGY CODE.

AND WE WOULD LIKE TO I WANT TO STRESS HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR US TO BUILD BUILDINGS the way they need to be built now and not kick that can down the road and say that we're going to do it later when it will be much more costly.

It's very important that we move forward with the new energy code amendments and stay strong on clean, safe, and climate-friendly buildings in Seattle.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_52

Thank you.

Next is Lila Bee to be followed by Steve Altio.

Go ahead, Lila.

SPEAKER_41

Hi, my name is Lila B in District 4. I strongly oppose the hiring incentives real-time crime center in CCTV.

Also opposed by 70 pages of written comments, your own surveillance working group, the ACLU, and more that you're ignoring while funding SPD by gutting social programs that would actually promote public safety.

Lateral transfer hires is how you streamline hiring police escaping accountability.

Kevin Dave, who killed Janapi Kandula, left Tucson with six investigations and two on-duty collisions and didn't have a valid license when he killed her going 75 in a 25, and he got a signing bonus.

The surveillance tech is costly, ineffective, and will fuel biased policing.

You already pushed through ALPRs without three council members even present, skipped over efficacy data, and called legitimate concerns about vigilantism and loopholes impractical.

The reason why Seattle has a consent decree is because of a federally recognized pattern of police bias and brutality, which you all perhaps which you all perpetuate by using OIG's so-called accountability as a cover for expanding carceral policies and abusive technology.

And when throwing more money at SPD still doesn't improve public safety, what then?

I yield the rest of my time.

SPEAKER_52

Next is Steve Altio.

Go ahead, Steve.

SPEAKER_58

This is Steve Altio.

I'm president of SILSA Northwest, and I concur with my colleagues that have spoken about the new police alarm non-response policy.

I personally want to speak as a father.

I installed my alarm system to protect my family.

I taught my kids where to hide if an alarm sounds.

Now let's pretend you did the same for your family.

Please close your eyes and picture a scenario with me.

Your child is home alone.

A criminal breaks in through your child's bedroom window.

The alarm sounds.

Your child runs and hides, waiting for the police to arrive.

Due to this new policy, the police will not and are not coming.

Now picture what horrors happen when the criminal finds your child.

Open your eyes.

We can do better.

Please reinitiate police response and work with alarm industry representatives to create a better plan.

Keep Seattle families safe and protected.

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_52

Thank you.

Our next group is Margaret Spitznas, Lily Hayward, and Charlotte Stark.

Go ahead, Margaret.

You may need to press star six.

SPEAKER_46

I am Margaret Spitznas, the Executive Director for SILSA, the Washington State Alarm Association.

I'm here to speak about the new verified police response requiring verification on burglar alarms.

Seattle has on their website 800,000 911 calls a year, and of that, 13,000 are for burglar alarms.

Per day, that's 2,192 approximate 911 calls, and less than 2% of the calls are for burglar alarms.

This policy hurts the poor and the elderly as they may not have the funds to upgrade their systems.

We have solutions to reduce the false alarm issue up to 85% and ask that the Seattle PD policy and work with provided citizens or to protect their citizens while reducing the false alarm issue.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_52

This is Lily Hayward.

Go ahead, Lily.

SPEAKER_47

Good afternoon.

And Council members.

My name is Lily Hayward, speaking on behalf of the more than 2500 members of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce in support of Council bills 120862 and 120844. The Chamber semiannual polling index shows that since 2021, public safety and crime has consistently been among the top three concerns of your constituents.

It is a priority for Seattle employers too because it impacts their ability to attract and retain so we bring employees back to the office and operate in certain areas of the city.

Our city's shortage of police officers impacts all members of our community, and for the employer community, it means waiting on the non-emergency line for hours after a break-in, training employees in de-escalation, hiring private security, and paying skyrocketing insurance rates.

We support an all-of-the-above approach to public safety, and that must include attracting and retaining highly qualified police officers and leveraging technology to augment the services of our first responders.

Please pass these two bills today.

Thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_52

You're next to Charlotte Stark.

Please go ahead, Charlotte.

SPEAKER_30

I'm sorry.

Thank you.

From Alki, Charlotte Stark, I want to thank council members for supporting surveillance technology tools for the short-staffed police departments that we have that are harnessed with fighting an epidemic of gun, drug, and felony violence.

Alki has been identified as a concentrated crime hotspot as a community organization.

We actually have no way to fill the gap with private security hired by BIAs.

We don't have a Business Improvement Association or Chamber of Commerce to fund private security.

We rely solely on police and city department heads to maintain civility.

And Councilman Rob Sacca has listened to many painful stories from the neighborhood because of that.

Alki serves a kaleidoscope of tens of thousands of visitors as Seattle's number one beach destination, suffering from also this violent crime and Belltown Hellcat-style drivers by the dozens, including carloads of armed shooters who easily enter and exit Alki without any surveillance.

So we ask to please continue supporting the tech.

SPEAKER_52

Thank you.

Our last public speaker for this set is Nancy Hirsch.

Please go ahead, Nancy.

SPEAKER_49

My name is Nancy Hirsch.

I'm Executive Director of the Northwest Energy Coalition and I live in District 7. We support the proposed commercial energy code that promotes clean energy and energy efficiency at a time when extreme weather, climate impacts and affordability are critical for Seattle residents.

Vital that we construct our new buildings to be the best they can be from the start.

Energy efficient buildings that reduce indoor air pollution will lower energy bills for tenants and reduce the need for retrofits in the future.

Seattle's code has historically set the direction for the state building code, and this code is no exception.

We hope that the council will move forward with this amended energy code.

This is especially important now as we are seeing efforts to roll back progress on smart and effective energy codes and prevent strong local leadership.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_52

That's the last of this set for remote speakers.

SPEAKER_28

Thank you.

And we have one last in-person speaker, and that's Alex Zimmerman, and then we'll go back to remote speakers.

Please reset the timer.

SPEAKER_59

Zeke?

Zeke?

Ze heil, my dirty, damn Nazi Gestapo fascists.

Pause.

This is disruptive speech.

SPEAKER_06

Please refrain from saying that.

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_59

Thank you very much, Consul.

So you help me.

It's exactly what I want to speak.

I want to speak about crime.

I'm very appreciative.

So you help me.

Who's number one criminal and bandit?

You.

You acting like a political Gestapo.

Not only one minute.

You stop everybody who have different opinion.

And I doing this for many year.

You talking about crime?

First you need stopping you acting like a Gestapo, like a criminal.

And after this we can talking to people and fixing this.

When you don't give people talk more, Two minute like a post to be or better room for three minute.

Who you are?

You are Gestapo political criminal.

It's exactly who you are.

Gestapo, KGB, you are partner from them.

This exactly what as I speak to you many time about this.

Stand up, America.

Make Seattle great again.

SPEAKER_28

We'll now go back to remote speakers.

SPEAKER_52

Okay, first person in this next set is Shane, excuse me, Mike Gain, followed by Shane Clary and Mark White.

Please go ahead, Mike.

You may need to press star six.

Mike, are you able to join?

SPEAKER_59

Yeah, I am.

SPEAKER_52

Please proceed.

We're going to hold off on Mike for a second and move on to Shane Cleary.

Shane, please press star six.

SPEAKER_22

Good afternoon, Madam President and members of the council.

I'm Dr. Shane M. Cleary, Vice President and Closing Standards Compliance for Bay Alarm Company.

And again, I'm speaking in regards to the policy that the Seattle Police Department put into effect on October 1st.

It was not done...

any transparency.

We were told that they were working on it for eight months, yet we were only in the arm industry notified two weeks before it went into effect.

All we're asking at this time is for the police department to meet with the industry.

We do have solutions that will address their issues at the same time, not put such a burden on the citizens and business owners in the city of Seattle.

And with my timer going, I see my timer's up, so thank you.

SPEAKER_52

Thank you.

We'll try Mike Gain one more time.

Mike, if you can press star six.

SPEAKER_24

I just did.

Am I on?

Yes, we can hear you.

My name's Mike Gain, a lifelong Seattle resident since 1952. Crime in Seattle is completely out of control.

I'm in complete support of CB120844, allowing the use of the CCTV cameras, also noise monitoring cameras, funding our police, and paying police officers signing bonuses for qualified recruits.

A few years ago, I think a lot of you will remember, our past city council and the mayor's office decided to reimagine policing, to take a new holistic approach, and to defund the police.

We're living with those results right now.

I believe our current city council is headed in the right direction and has an opportunity to change all that.

They believe in law and order and enforcement, unlike their predecessors.

The use of cameras is just one solution to do that.

Cameras pass the diversity test.

They're colorblind.

They don't care if you're rich or poor.

All they do is photograph what's being done, and if you're breaking the law, you may have a problem.

I don't know how anybody can see anything wrong with that.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_52

Our next speaker is Mark White, to be followed by Aiden Carroll and Alberto Alvarez.

Please go ahead, Mark.

SPEAKER_04

Hi, my name is Mark.

I live on Capitol Hill, and I'm urging the council to use the $5.5 billion meant to be spent on CCT, RCCC, and SPD on something that would solve crime at the root rather than another band-aid.

A few weeks ago, you all passed soda and soap, two horrible bills that you say are supposed to meet the city where it's at when it comes to crime.

Even by your own admission, soap and soda will not solve crime.

And just now, in this very meeting, you all said you wanted to put more money into programs that would stop issues like domestic violence.

Despite the mayor's diss, the mayor's budget cuts include cuts to these programs.

Now's your chance to put your money where your mouths are.

Instead of adding yet another layer of surveillance and giving more money to cops who gleefully kill and neglect our city's vulnerable people, Please vote against more surveillance and police hiring bonuses.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Aiden Carroll.

Go ahead, Aiden.

SPEAKER_51

Hello council chamber of commerce from Wallingford.

I want to emphasize, uh, that crime is bad and also that police are bad and perhaps police are a crime, but likely we don't have to choose because as many people have emphasized, there are better ways to do this.

There are tiny homes that are sitting empty in Soto.

Could you want anybody or anybody put them anywhere?

The reason we need so many in the first place is our zoning laws.

You won't look at people with enough housing.

There is UBI.

There is education that studies are showing works to fix this.

Now, I want to pay attention to what Naomi Ishizaka said in the paper the other day, that those of us on the left need to understand that there is also disproportionate impact of crime in places like Little Saigon.

And this is the real thing.

We need to address crime with real solutions.

That's just not what you're proposing.

SPEAKER_52

Thank you.

Next is Alberto Alvarez.

Go ahead, Alberto.

SPEAKER_15

Rethink and redraw this entire proposed budget.

Keep the Jump Start programs to fund what Seattle really needs.

Crisis outreach, rehab, and mental health and affordable housing.

Winter is coming and everyone on this council can calmly rely on having a warm bed, a hot meal, and a roof over their head.

Not so for our unhoused neighbors.

It's sickening the victorious tone the wealthy and NIMBY community are taking with the sweeps of unhoused camps.

My concern is for where these countless people have been pushed to.

How many people with severe mental issues did we refer for stabilizing?

How many people lost in the deep cycle of drug addiction did we successfully enroll into long-term care?

How many working homeless did we set on a practical path towards their first rental?

It's sickening you have all made promises to gift SPD millions and millions of dollars on surveillance toys to stamp down on free movement and assembly, as well as granting the police the right to bully and harass black, brown, and LGBT people.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_52

Next is T.

Sannin followed by Phil Mosek.

Go ahead, T.

Hi.

SPEAKER_42

My name is T.

Sannin speaking on behalf of the ACLU of Washington.

We strongly oppose the surveillance pilot program.

Research shows that CCTV cameras and RTCC software do not reduce violent crime.

These technologies will be a waste of public funds because they will not provide actual safety.

but they will threaten people's civil liberties.

Storing RTCC data in the cloud will make it possible for out-of-state agencies to prosecute people coming to Seattle for reproductive and gender-affirming health care, and while bypassing state protections.

SPD's proposed safeguards are insufficient, and contract language will not protect against these risks.

we urge you to listen to the overwhelming opposition to the pilot program, including from the Community Surveillance Working Group in their civil liberties assessment that reflects public perspectives, as well as community-based organizations, advocates for reproductive rights and immigrants' rights and community members.

Please vote no on both council bills.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_52

Thank you.

Our last speaker for this set is Phil Mosek.

Please go ahead, Phil.

SPEAKER_38

Hi, my name is Phil Mossack.

I'm sorry that I can't be there in person to look you in the face and to make sure you're actually, you're all listening.

I know it's difficult when you're just hearing a voice calling in.

I was the co-founder of Seattle Privacy Coalition about a decade ago, and I want to give you just a little bit of history, and it's related to items five and six, the RTCC and CCTV.

We were a grassroots advocacy group, and we came together because we realized we couldn't do much about the federal government's public surveillance, but we still had some control over local government.

And I'm kind of concerned that the way it's working out, that didn't actually happen.

The surveillance equipment ordinance was passed as a way to control what various city agencies, primarily the police, did outside of the view of the people.

We require now that they get permission from city council before they purchase or use surveillance equipment.

This is the first time you've done one of these that is not retroactive, kind of a historic moment.

And I feel like you're just making a mockery of the whole thing.

If you really believe in the process that was created, if you appreciate it.

SPEAKER_52

Thank you.

That's the last of our registered speakers.

SPEAKER_06

Okay, thank you very much.

The public comment period is now closed and we'll move on with our agenda.

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

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

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

Hearing none, the agenda is adopted.

We'll now consider the proposed consent calendar.

Items on the consent calendar are the minutes of September 17, 19, and 24, 24, 2024, and the payment of the bills, Council Bill 120866 and Council Bill 120867. All right.

Are there any items that council members would like removed from the consent agenda?

Hearing none, I move to adopt the consent calendar.

Is there a second?

SPEAKER_17

Second.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

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

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

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Rivera.

Council Member Saka.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council Member Wu.

SPEAKER_05

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Council Member Kettle.

SPEAKER_33

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Moore.

Aye.

Council Member Morales?

SPEAKER_33

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Council President Nelson?

SPEAKER_33

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Seven in favor, none opposed.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

The consent calendar items are adopted.

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

All right.

Now we will move on to item one.

Will the clerk please read the item into the record?

SPEAKER_28

Agenda item one, resolution 32147 relating to City Light Department recording review of and adopting the City Light Department's wildfire mitigation plan.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

I move to adopt resolution 32147. Is there a second?

SPEAKER_17

Second.

SPEAKER_06

All right, it's been moved and seconded.

Councilmember Wu, as sponsor, you're recognized to address it.

SPEAKER_05

Thank you, fellow council members.

Today we will take a vote on City Lights Wildfire Risk Reduction Strategy Resolution.

This is due to the Washington Department of Natural Resources by October 31st.

And so we were not able to present this to the committee due to a quorum issue.

But my staff did circulate the resolution and the wildfire risk reduction strategy document.

I also know that several committee members were briefed by the utility.

Central staff has not identified any issues after reviewing the strategy.

So City Light began their work developing the strategy document in 2021, well ahead of the legislative action by the state of Washington in 2023, requiring electric utilities to have wildfire mitigation plans.

The plan being adopted today covers the action the utility takes now and the recommendations for areas where City Light has more work to do to increase their resilience to wildfire.

So City Light knows firsthand the risks of wildfire in the utility's physical assets, personal and community, due to the significant fires experienced in 2015 and 2023 at the Skagit Hydropower Project.

The key components of City Light's current efforts include operations, defense, communications, alertness, response, and study.

The updated version adds assessments, mitigation, management, stakeholders, and governance to their focus to further reduce risks and provide more resilience to wildfire for the utility and the communities impacted.

So I urge you to please support this resolution today.

Thank you very much.

Do my colleagues have any comments?

SPEAKER_20

Yes.

SPEAKER_06

Go ahead, Council Member Strauss.

SPEAKER_20

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Chair Wu, for making sure that we get this passed by the state required October 31st.

I've had the opportunity to meet with City Light both in person, my team has met with them.

What I appreciate about this is that it is bringing all utilities throughout the state into a uniform platform of addressing, assessing, and mitigating wildfire risk.

I'm just going to tick through it since we didn't go through committee.

And now I've lost all my pages.

But if you take a look at figure six, actually, or figure five, what is important for us to understand is that City Light does manage transmission lines.

Those transmission lines are shorter in geographical distance than most other utilities that produce electricity.

of our transmission lines only one is east of the cascades and what even though it is in an area that is not As prone to wildfire risk as other parts of eastern Washington We are seeing an increase in wildfire risk throughout our state both in western and eastern Washington section 7 also we have a lot of power coming from the east side of the city.

Figure six is a closer in look it' s not just power coming from the skagit hydro facilities the three dams up there and boundary dam on the eastern side is also told and cedar falls powerhouse as well.

Moving on to section 7 you can see the city light has gone through and numbered out whether it' s of the risk mitigation that we need to be the next step to be taken.

I think this is something that other utilities not just electrical the reason that electrical utilities are getting this finer refined look is both and also the infrastructure could create a wildfire.

And so just looking back only Excuse me, getting choked up.

Looking back only one year ago from now, the Sourdough Fire was burning intensely in the Skagit Valley, putting 20 to 25% of Seattle's electricity generation on hold during that time.

And so we're the 17th largest city in the nation.

When 20 to 25% of our electrical power goes out, it's a problem.

So I'm going to be voting in favor of this.

There's much more work to be done.

This is just the start.

Thank you, Chair Wu, for making this happen.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you for those comments.

Are there any further comments?

Go ahead, Council Member Kettle.

SPEAKER_25

Thank you, Council President.

I wanted to thank Council Member Wu for your work on this, plus Seattle City Light for their work as well.

Often in public safety, we tend to focus on crime and security or fire rescue or now alternative response.

But emergency preparedness is a key feature of public safety as well.

And this strategy and this work will help in that kind of emergency management area of responsibility for our city.

So I really appreciate this.

I really appreciate the focus on being prepared for that emergency, if you will.

And so thank you, Council Member Wu, and also thank you to Director Lindell and the Seattle City Light team.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_06

All right.

I don't see any other hands up.

So will the clerk please call the roll on this bill?

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

SPEAKER_20

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Wu?

SPEAKER_20

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Kettle?

SPEAKER_25

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Moore?

Council Member Morales?

SPEAKER_33

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Council President Nelson?

Aye.

That's seven in favor, none opposed.

SPEAKER_06

Okay, the resolution is adopted and the chair will sign it.

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

Will the clerk please read the title of item two into the record?

SPEAKER_28

The report of the Governance, Accountability, and Economic Development Committee.

Agenda item two, Constable 120862, relating to recruitment and retention of police officers in the Seattle Police Department, making permanent a hiring incentives program in the Seattle Police Department.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

As sponsor of this bill, I'll provide the committee report and then open it up to other council members for comments.

So very briefly, this legislation extends SPD's hiring incentive program, which is due to expire at the end of this year.

And it increases the bonus for lateral hires from $30,000 to $50,000, which is provided in segments.

This legislation received a unanimous recommendation in committee and there is an amendment.

So I would like to, I have additional remarks and will invite remarks on the base legislation from my colleagues after we deal with this amendment if that is okay.

So with that, I move to amend Council Bill 120862 as presented on Amendment A on the agenda.

Is there a second?

Thank you very much.

So this is a technical amendment that comes at the request of the director of the Public Safety Civil Service Commission, who flagged that the commission, not SPD, holds the authority to set probationary periods.

So this simply eliminates or SPD from the legislation designating the timing of bonuses that are provided for lateral hires.

Are there any comments or questions on Amendment A?

All right.

Seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of Amendment A?

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Rivera.

SPEAKER_99

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Taka.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

SPEAKER_20

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Wu.

SPEAKER_25

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Kettle.

SPEAKER_25

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Moore.

Council Member Morales.

SPEAKER_55

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Council President Nelson.

SPEAKER_55

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

That is seven in favor, none opposed.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you.

The motion carries and Amendment A is adopted.

So now we'll continue on to the base legislation.

So pretty much all year we've been talking about some of the same things over and over again.

We know that we don't have enough officers to adequately staff precincts at one time oftentimes.

And we have to cross staff precincts, especially when there are high needs going on across the city.

We hear over and over again about small businesses such as the one that spoke in public comment today that are facing repeated break-ins, etc.

And we know that SPD is continuing to lose more officers than were able to hire.

This legislation is designed to address one piece of this problem, which is to grow our pool of applicants to SPD.

Now, I just remind people that there is some history here.

In March of 2022, I put forward Resolution 32050, calling for a new hiring incentive program funded by the salary savings that were provisoed by Council and stating the intent to lift that proviso.

And then the council passed Ordinance 126654 in August 2022 that lifted the proviso and authorized the creation of this incentive program.

Also earlier this year, we passed legislation to address some of the inefficiencies of the actual hiring process.

But again, it comes down to we need to The impetus for putting forward the initial hiring incentive program was to we need to be able to compete with neighboring jurisdictions when it comes to attracting applicants to Seattle Police Department.

So again, we're talking about growing our pool of applicants so we are in the position of hiring the best of the best.

So I remind people that these bonuses are funded by salary savings from vacant positions.

As I already stated, we are failing to meet our hiring targets.

And we're doing other things to increase our ability to recruit.

We're improving our recruitment efforts and also our hiring processes.

So with all of that said, if we want to help small businesses that are still struggling dealing with the impacts of crime in Seattle.

If we want the police to be able to investigate cases of sexual assault, as was mentioned in the SPD presentation during the budget week last week, if we want to have a safer city, it is our duty to adequately staff this police department.

That is a charter duty.

And so that is what this legislation is trying to get at.

And I invite any questions or comments from my colleagues.

Council Member Rivera.

SPEAKER_09

Thank you, Council President.

I agree with everything that you laid out.

Basically, this is yet another tool that we're utilizing to try and get more applicants to the police pool so that we're able to hire more police and get to a place in the city where when folks call 911, they can get a quick response, which is not able to happen now because we know we are about 50% lower patrol police than we need in the city at the very least.

And so this is yet another tool that we're trying.

This council, I want constituents to know that this council is taking your needs seriously and that we know we need more police in the city to address the crime that is happening and we cannot do so with less police.

We can only do so if we are properly staffed, and this is the actions that we've been taking since we got here, was to really try to bring more tools to be able to address the low staffing numbers.

And so for that reason, I will be supporting this because I care very much about the constituents and the D4.

We are dealing with a similar crime that's happening across the city, and we need more tools, like I said, to be able to address and hire more officers.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you for those comments.

Council Member Kettle and Vice Chair of the Committee, go ahead please.

SPEAKER_25

Thank you, Council President, and thank you as Chair of the Governance and Accountability Committee.

It is important to press forward on this front.

We have to have a broad approach to the challenges that we're facing with Seattle Police Department staffing.

And the important piece here is we've had, because of the many efforts that we've undertaken this year, both in the Public Safety Committee, but also in our Governance, Accountability and Economic Development Committee, and should note the Labor Committee as well, we've taken great strides.

And the applications have zoomed up because of that collective effort.

But here's the thing, and this is how this is important, this bill itself, is that with all those applicants of which I met a dozen plus last week at the Before the Badge program that I spoke to for about an hour, Great people, by the way.

You'd be proud of those applicants who are about to start the academy.

But the thing is, for those that are starting basically off the street, it takes a year in order to grow that police officer.

And with the incentives, looking for lat transfers, lateral transfers, we can shorten that timeline considerably and hopefully change the dynamic in terms of the shortages that we had and get officers on the street quickly.

So with that said, I do support this as both the Vice Chair of your committee, but also as Chair of the Public Safety Committee.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

Council Member Morales.

SPEAKER_33

Thank you.

Sorry, let me move this in.

So we've heard a lot about the shortage that we have, and I will say as of August 31st, we had, if I'm not mistaken, 1,030 field sworn positions.

SPD expects to have 1,041 in 2025 and 1,058 in 2026. So the department typically expects a net new officers of about 15 a year.

According to the mayor, we have about 3,000 applicants right now.

So it's not clear to me why we need to spend this money in this way.

I'm concerned that this legislation privileges SPD over every other city worker by increasing their hiring bonus.

to the amount of about a down payment on a house in this city, where too many people can barely afford rent.

Right now, we should be discussing how our human services workers get the 7 percent pay increase that they secured last year.

This budget makes that almost impossible to do at this point.

Meanwhile, SPD officers saw a 23 percent pay increase, making them one of the most competitive departments in the country already, which is probably why we have 3,000 applicants.

And the department is seeing an overall increase of 15 percent in this year's budget.

Permanently offering $50,000 in hiring bonuses to SPD is fiscally irresponsible in a year when we are facing a major budget deficit.

And at the same time that this council is offering $50,000 in hiring bonuses to lateral recruits, the mayor's budget cuts over $400,000 in funding to the Office of Police Accountability.

In a recent op-ed from former SPD Assistant Chief Steve Herjuch, he laid out that these hiring incentives don't work.

And if we want officers to apply and to stay on the job, then we have to do a few different things.

We have to make SPD a safe work environment and take seriously all of the allegations of sexual harassment, racial discrimination, and the creation of a hostile work environment.

And that means holding officers accountable.

We must comply with the federal consent decree and adopt policies and practices that align with the law and with the accountability expectations.

We have to rebuild public trust by prioritizing the investigations for violent crime, sexual assault, and drug trafficking instead of moving people from one encampment to another.

We need to fully fund care so that SPD can focus on solving crimes.

We hear over and over again that SPD is not the right fit for responding to behavioral and mental health crises, and we need to make sure that we have the resources for the groups that are appropriate for that.

By approving this legislation, council is throwing money at a problem instead of funding proven solutions, such as the King County Regional Domestic Violence Firearms Enforcement Unit, which is losing $800,000 in the proposed budget.

And as we proclaim October Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we should hold ourselves accountable as a council to funding real solutions for safety, like restoring the funding for Consejo Counseling, who we invited to attend today, at the same time that we're defunding the services they provide.

I will be voting no on this bill.

Thank you, Council President.

SPEAKER_17

Thank you, Madam Council President, and thank you.

I will be voting yes for this legislation today.

Our City Council has been listening, been responsive to the demands of our various constituents and residents across this city who are demanding that we take action to address the public safety challenges.

And, you know, I think this piece of legislation is a sound, data-driven policy to help deliver upon the public safety basics that all Seattleites are demanding that we take action on.

And underpinning all of these challenges and all of these policies is the fundamental recognition that we need to restore officer staffing.

and build back our force and ultimately hire more police officers, including by attracting and retaining exceptionally qualified lateral officers from other jurisdictions.

So we're in a very unique position where we're collaborating closely with neighboring jurisdictions across the region and across the state for policing best practices and the like.

On the other hand, we're also competing fiercely for the same barely limited pool of qualified talent to fill our officer ranks.

So this is a critical tool to allow our city to, again, put us on a good path, a better path to help restore officer staffing levels and ultimately build back the force to 1,400 plus officers that we so desperately need.

And I look forward to voting for this and seeing its passage through today.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

I'm not seeing any other hands raised.

Is that an old hand, Council Member Kettle?

Okay.

Thank you very much.

So the, I just wanted to hold up if it's hard, it's a little bit difficult to see, but there is an upward trend in the number of applications received by, this was presented in committee, it is also on the agenda, but you can see an upward trend in applications since the hiring incentive program was begun and implemented toward the end of 2022. really took off in 2023. And then we also have a graph showing that applications to be a lateral recruit are also on the rise.

So my point is that if it's not broken, let's not fix it by the...

Let me rephrase that.

This is working.

It depends on how you look at what is working mean.

To me, working means the number of people who are applying here.

This program will go away at the end of this year, and so I think that we do have proof that this is attracting more officers, and so we should keep it going to continue our success.

Again, this is only one small part of fixing our staffing problem, but it's an important part that will allow for us to have more options when it comes to who we actually hire to represent the community and also to work for the community.

So with that, if there are no further questions, I would like to call for a vote on the amended legislation before us.

Go ahead, Council Member Rivera.

SPEAKER_09

Thank you, Council President.

I just want to add that we are seeing an unprecedented number of gun violence incidents in this city, including at schools.

It is really critical that we have a police force that can respond to all these incidents.

When the shooting happened in Ingram High School, we were fortunate.

The school is near North Precinct, and we had the officers that could respond.

And it really meant that maybe worse could have happened, but officers responded, and we were able to respond.

take care of kids at that school.

And even with that, it took some time for parents, I could tell you firsthand, to actually get to our kids in that school.

So I want to be really clear that we need to have a police force that can respond to all incidents of crime across the city, including the increased gun violence that we're seeing around and in our schools in this city.

Things are not going to get better.

They will get worse if we don't address it.

The other thing I want to say is this is not an or approach.

This is an and approach.

We are funding violence prevention programs in this city, and we're doing all the tools that we can to be able to hire more patrol officers, which are different than The police department might have 1,000 police officers, but they're not all patrol officers, which means they're not the ones that can respond to crime on the ground when crime happens.

Some of those are investigators and other things that they're doing at the department.

So we really are trying to do this to address crime.

the level of patrol officers that we need on the ground to address all of this, including the gun violence that's happening, that I know folks in my district, and not just in my district, across the city are very concerned about.

And so this is really important, and like I said, this is another tool.

And one other thing I really want to talk about that we haven't really addressed as much is, you know, councilmember kettles right this has led to more folks applying that doesn't mean we're gonna be able to get officers on the ground immediately it takes as you put it at least a year to get folks hired and up and running and so these are things that we're doing now that will take time and it doesn't mean we're gonna see the immediate positive impacts of this right away but we need to do this now in order to get more applications going and then hopefully meaning I mean hopefully it translate into more officers sooner but I also want to level set expectation with constituents because it took a long time for us to get here from 2020 and now it's It's taking us some time to get back to a fully staffed police department, which every city needs.

And Seattle is just deserving of any other city of having high quality police officers to address the crime in the city.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

I will note that when I was at the National League of Cities conference for presidents of city councils of large cities, we were presented with statistics on officers per 100,000 And it is documented, I don't have the figures in front of me, that Washington ranks pretty low in general as a state.

But when hearing the number of officers that we have lost since 2020, that was remarkable to other major cities in the country.

And we do, per the charter, have a duty to maintain an adequate number of police officers in every district of the city.

So, any further comments?

All right.

Will the clerk please call the roll of the passage of the bill as amended?

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Wu?

Yes.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council Member Moore?

Aye.

Council Member Morales?

SPEAKER_06

No.

SPEAKER_52

Council President Nelson?

SPEAKER_06

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

That is six in favor, one opposed.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

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

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

All right.

Will the clerk please read the title of item three into the record?

SPEAKER_28

The report of the Land Use Committee, Agenda Item 3, Council Bill 120832, relating to Seattle's construction codes, adopting the Seattle Boiler Code, Seattle Building Code, Electrical Code, Energy Code, Existing Building Code, Fuel Gas Code, Mechanical Code, Plumbing Code, and Residential Code, and chapters of the Washington Administrative Code by reference, amending certain chapters of those codes and adopting new chapters for those codes.

The committee recommends the bill pass as amended.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

Council Member Morales is chair of the committee.

You're recognized in order to provide the committee report.

SPEAKER_33

Thank you, and I will acknowledge the council president does have an amendment, but I'll speak to the bill first and then pass it off.

Okay, thank you, colleagues.

As Amelia mentioned, this legislation adopts the Seattle Boiler Code, Building Code, Electrical Code, Energy Code, Existing Building Code, Fuel Gas Code, Mechanical Code, Plumbing Code, and Residential Code, and chapters of the Washington Administrative Code by reference.

So, as pointed out in the central staff memo on this bill, our various construction codes provide minimum performance and accessibility standards to improve the safety conditions for building occupants.

New codes are amended or adopted every three years by the State Building Codes Council, which is why we are reviewing codes from 2021. So in case it's a little confusing, that's why this happens.

It happens in three-year cycles.

State law requires that the city adopt and enforce state codes and provide some limited authority for the city to amend those codes.

So I do want to take a moment to speak specifically to the energy code.

This code package was developed with feedback from builders, environmental and climate groups, affordable housing developers, labor, and other organizations to create an energy code for new commercial and multifamily buildings that is stronger than the state's requirements in terms of incentivizing clean energy and energy efficiency.

But it still allows flexibility for builders and includes different pathways to compliance.

So the city's leadership in this space has been crucial for many years.

We had a strong 2018 commercial code amendment that was the blueprint for the State Building Code Council when they passed their 2021 commercial and residential energy codes.

It also helps buildings align with the Seattle building and emission performance standards policy that the city passed last winter.

And this code ensures that the new buildings we construct are set up to meet those requirements in the future, helping them avoid costly retrofits down the road.

So we this all needs to go into effect no later than November 15th in order to be in compliance with state law with the many different codes This legislation was passed out of the land use committee with a recommendation that it do pass Thank you

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much, and thank you for allowing me to address the amendment before continuing on.

Before that, I want to note that for the record, that Attachment 1, Version 2, entitled Amendments to 2021 International Residential Code for the Council Bill 120832 is not listed on the agenda, but is included on the official record and is part of the bill we're passing today.

And council members can view it online, and it has been emailed to all council members as well.

Okay, so I would like to move Amendment A. As sponsor, I move Amendment A to Council Bill 120832. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you very much.

It's moved and seconded to amend Council Bill 120832 as presented on Amendment A. So this was circulated to Council members yesterday, and you all have hard copies, I believe.

Let me first say that I strongly support this legislation, and I'm offering this as a friendly amendment that's strongly supported by the mayor's office and SDCI leadership.

So here's just the quick background.

The Washington State Energy Code is one of the top five in the nation, and Seattle has continued to lead with the most efficient code in the state.

Now, when the state updates its energy code, it conducts a cost effectiveness analysis that surfaces not only the incremental construction costs of the additional requirements, and they are presented as dollars over square foot of the new requirements, but also other metrics such as the energy cost savings and job creation through energy efficiency.

I went ahead and I printed the latest cost.

This is called Cost Benefit Analysis of the 2021 Washington State Energy Code.

It's only about 12 pages, but basically it does surface important information for policymakers as they go about implementing the new code.

Seattle doesn't do that.

Seattle measures, SDCI measures the performance of the new requirements, but not the costs of the new requirements that go above and beyond the Washington state code.

And we do have to, I believe strongly, keep in mind the cost of new requirements when it comes to impacts to our, to housing, and I'm particularly concerned with rental units.

And so basically what this legislation does is it requires that SDCI conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis that is informed by a task force that actually includes people who build affordable and market rate housing, when they are considering an update that goes above the Washington state code, because again, the information is here, what the Washington state code will do, and when Seattle goes above and beyond that, which I am proud that we do as a city, we have this information.

So I'll just, for the benefit of everybody who might not have read this, the effect statement before this meeting, I will do so right now.

This would, one, add a recital stating that the city's goal is to balance housing affordability with the benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing energy efficiency when updating the Seattle Energy Code, and two, add a new section requiring that the executive develop a process that includes a cost-effectiveness analysis of proposed Seattle amendments to the Washington State Energy Code and solicit input from a new stakeholder task force including nonprofit and market rate developers during the next construction code UPDATE CYCLE IF APPLICABLE.

AGAIN, IF APPLICABLE MEANING IF WE DEPART FROM THE WASHINGTON ENERGY CODE.

THE CITY MAY ONLY AMEND THE COMMERCIAL AND MULTIFAMILY PROVISIONS OF THE CODE PER STATE STATUTE.

PRIOR TO ADOPTING THE 2021 WASHINGTON STATE ENERGY CODE, THE WASHINGTON STATE BUILDING CODE COUNCIL WAS REQUIRED TO to consider a cost-effectiveness analysis comparing the proposed 2021 update to the 2018 Washington State Energy Code.

The City's practice has been to routinely incorporate more stringent provisions than the State, which are evaluated by the City's Construction Codes Advisory Board, and has not previously conducted this type of analysis or convened a separate task force of stakeholders as part of the process.

The cost effectiveness analysis and new task force will not be needed if the executive determines that the city will adopt the new state code.

All right, so that is the rationale behind this amendment, and you'll notice that there's also a recital that reads, whereas the city of Seattle seeks to balance housing affordability with the benefits of reduced greenhouse gas emissions and increased energy efficiency when updating the Seattle Energy Code, now therefore.

I want to thank Yolanda Ho for taking on this work during budget, so thank you very much, and I ask for my colleague's support.

I am not seeing any questions or comments, so would the clerk please read the...

Go ahead.

Please call the roll on the adoption of Amendment A. Councilmember Rivera?

SPEAKER_09

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Councilmember Saka?

SPEAKER_09

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Councilmember Strauss?

Yes.

Councilmember Wu?

SPEAKER_08

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Councilmember Kettle?

SPEAKER_08

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Moore?

SPEAKER_08

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Morales?

SPEAKER_08

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

And Council President Nelson?

SPEAKER_06

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

That's eight in favor, none opposed.

SPEAKER_06

Okay, the motion carries and Amendment A is adopted.

And now I will open the floor for additional comments on the bill as amended.

Okay, seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill as amended?

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council Member Taka?

SPEAKER_99

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Strauss?

SPEAKER_20

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Wu?

SPEAKER_20

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Kettle?

SPEAKER_99

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Moore?

SPEAKER_28

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council President Nelson?

SPEAKER_06

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Eight in favor, none opposed.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

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

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

Okay, will the clerk please read the title of item four into the record?

SPEAKER_28

The report of the Public Safety Committee, agenda item four, Council Bill 120839, related to Seattle's Technical Code, adopting the Seattle Fire Code by adopting chapters of the 2021 International Fire Code by reference.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

Council Member Kettle is chair of the committee, you're recognized in order to provide the committee report.

SPEAKER_25

Thank you, Council President.

Yes, this fire code has been proposed and has been reviewed by the Fire Council Advisory Board, Fire Code Advisory Board, and it's gone through the process much similar to the other codes of the three-year cycle, you know, the international, the national, to the state, and now coming down to the city.

It reflects a great amount of hard work to include by our own Seattle Fire Department, which I want to thank right now.

I also want to thank specifically an area of the fire department that doesn't get a lot of attention, and that is fire prevention.

Part of the work of fire prevention is to ensure the codes are set and the education pieces.

And so that's an often kind of underlooked section of the Seattle Fire Department.

So I wanted to give them a shout out and a thank you as I urge all of our colleagues to pass this as it was came out of committee unanimously.

Thank you, Council President.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

Are there any questions or comments from colleagues?

All right, seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Rivera?

SPEAKER_99

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Saca?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Wu?

Yes.

Council Member Kettle?

SPEAKER_99

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Moore?

SPEAKER_36

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council President Nelson?

SPEAKER_06

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Eight in favor, none opposed.

SPEAKER_06

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

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

And will the clerk please read the title of item five into the record?

SPEAKER_28

Agenda item five, council bill 120844 relating to surveillance technology implementation, authorizing approval of uses and accepting the 2024 surveillance impact report and 2024 executive overview of the Seattle Police Department's use of closed circuit television camera systems.

The committee recommends the bill pass as amended.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

Council Member Kettle is chair of the committee.

You're recognized in order to provide the committee report.

SPEAKER_25

Thank you, Council President, and I appreciate it.

I will basically be speaking to both bills in once.

I wanted to note, as we face our public safety challenges, we need to lead with compassion, with empathy for those in crisis, but also wisdom that looks at the whole of community.

This is part of our responsibilities as a city council.

I want to thank everyone for comments on closed-circuit TV and the real-time crime center, the CCTV and the RTCC bills.

These comments came here in chambers, as many of you know, but also submitted in reports to include those from the Community Surveillance Working Group and the OCR, the Office of Civil Rights.

Countless emails, neighborhood meetings that all of us have attended.

I've met so many of the neighborhoods at you know, residents in these meetings, and also during walkabouts.

And yes, there has been outreach to pilot communities.

And it's important to note that we now have district representatives who have been in community, both as candidates running on public safety, and now as council members with a keen understanding of our districts and its neighborhoods.

The neighborhoods calls for, whether it's in the CID, Little Saigon, or Third from Pike and Pine through Belltown, plus Aurora, have been clear.

Now, I do understand and appreciate the technology and privacy arguments, much like those heard with the automatic license plate readers, the ALPR.

We included guardrails in the ALPR legislation, but also here with the CCTV RTCC through our engagement with the mayor's office and SPD in the development of the ordinances, and also with our amendments, both in committee and, as we're about to find out, in full council.

Often, when I hear arguments against today's bills, they're done with points that seemingly come from an earlier generation ago, or as if we were in some other jurisdiction, somewhere else in the country that doesn't reflect Seattle values.

When I'm in one of our five precincts, which I've done, and as I mentioned earlier last week before the badge group, I acknowledge the consent decree.

And first, why we have one.

But I also acknowledge, and this is important, the reform efforts of the last dozen years, which will continue, by the way, with or after the consent decree.

These reforms are key, and they're important for what we're doing now.

Also important in this area are our three accountability partners.

We must acknowledge that we have accountability partners, and specifically with this bill, the Office of Inspector General and its role in these bills.

Other jurisdictions around the country do not have a CPC, a Community Police Commission.

They do not have a Office Inspector General, OIG.

They do not have an Office of Police Accountability, OPA.

And I would argue they don't have a city council or committee that does the oversight that we do and look into these issues, offer the amendments that have been offered either with ALPR or now with CCTV and RTCC.

So on that point, by the way, both bills pass 5-0 out of committee.

And so, colleagues, I ask for your support in the passage of CCTV with this agenda item and in the following one regarding the RTCC.

Thank you so much, Council President.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

If folks have other comments, they're welcome to put them forward.

We do have an amendment, so I would like to create the space for that to be presented right now.

SPEAKER_36

Thank you very much, Council President.

So I move to amend Council Bill 120844 as presented on Amendment A on the agenda.

SPEAKER_06

Second.

SPEAKER_36

Thank you.

SPEAKER_06

Okay, it's been moved and seconded.

You may proceed.

SPEAKER_36

All right, thank you.

So this amendment does two things.

First of all, it requires SPD to follow redaction protocols when responding to public records requests for CCTV data unless additional disclosure is required by law.

This was developed with law in response to SPD concerns and removes reference to body worn video protocols, which was in the amendment that was passed out of committee.

And we needed, SPD wanted additional clarification that it was a broader redaction protocol rather than tying it to a specific technology.

And so that's why this is coming forward.

Secondly, it also requires SPD to report annually on external requests received for CCTV data starting in 2025 about any subpoenas, warrants, or public disclosure requests that were received, the status of those requests or orders, and the number and originating jurisdiction.

This is brought because of concerns about less protective states seeking this data to go after people exercising reproductive rights, transgender care rights, and also for those who are here as immigrants.

And so we want to make sure that we're keeping track of that data and, if possible, identifying those jurisdictions so either we know that this is a problem that we need to address or it is not an issue, we don't really have enough information at the moment.

So this allows us to collect the important data going forward.

And I would ask for my colleagues' support.

SPEAKER_06

Council Member Rivera.

SPEAKER_09

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Council Member Moore, for bringing this amendment forward.

If you're amenable, I'd like to sign on as a sponsor.

I appreciate the legislation and also the amendment to really address privacy.

It's something that we care deeply about, and we want to make sure that as we're moving with these tools, that we're making sure we're not...

having unintended consequences of using these tools.

And so these amendments are being offered as a way to mitigate for any unintended consequences, particularly as regards protecting privacy rights and protecting folks.

And so very much appreciate you bringing this forward.

I support it and I'd like to co-sponsor it.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_36

Thank you.

I'm certainly happy to have you be a co-sponsor.

SPEAKER_06

Are there any other questions or comments?

I have one before you go ahead.

I just wanted to add a deference to the chair and the sponsor.

Are you supportive of this amendment?

SPEAKER_25

Yes, I recognize it came in on Friday, which is a little bit unfriendly schedule-wise.

But it's a friendly amendment in the sense that Councilmember Moore is reflecting the comments I just made.

She was engaging with the Seattle Police Department on these amendments.

And they go to the point about having the reports out, putting the guardrails in.

And I just wanted to note on the Section 6, the second part of the amendment, that after budget, I'm going to work, my team and the committee overall, we'll work with SPD and the mayor's office to look at all the reporting requirements that we have.

I think it's important because this is a big push that we're doing regarding reporting.

that we have them all organized, that we have understanding what we have and when they're due, and then to look to ensure that they're complete and that they're completed.

And so we're going to be doing this, again, after budget.

And this is going to be helpful, too, for, I believe, the Seattle Police Department in the sense that there's a lot of different requirements for reporting.

And I could see some where one report may satisfy three different ordinances, depending on the subject.

And so we're going to look to do this to ensure, A, the oversight piece, but also to ensure that Seattle Police Department can do these reports in a timely, smart fashion that's effective.

So thank you.

SPEAKER_06

Okay, with that, will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of Amendment A?

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Strauss?

SPEAKER_20

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Blum?

Yes.

Council Member Kettle?

SPEAKER_25

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Moore?

SPEAKER_33

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Morales?

SPEAKER_33

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Council President Nelson?

SPEAKER_06

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Eight in favor, none opposed.

SPEAKER_06

The motion carries and Amendment A is adopted.

And I believe we have another amendment, Amendment B. Yes, thank you very much, Council President.

SPEAKER_36

I move to amend Council Bill 120844 as presented on Amendment B on the agenda.

SPEAKER_06

Second.

SPEAKER_36

Second.

SPEAKER_06

All right, it's moved and seconded to amend Council Bill 120844 as presented on Amendment B. Go ahead and present the amendment.

SPEAKER_36

Thank you very much.

So it came to our attention that as sort of along the lines of Chair Kettle talking about streamlining all of the technology policies and issues, it did come to our attention that SPD is planning to develop an omnibus surveillance technology policy.

And with that, some constituents reached out to us regarding protected speech.

So this amendment, it's just a whereas.

It states the city's commitment to preserving protected speech.

and in the development of the omnibus technology policy, which also includes CCTV.

And that's why I'm bringing it forth.

Again, it's just a whereas to lay a marker in the ground of stating what our values are.

And I would ask for my colleagues' support.

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_06

Any comments?

Council Member?

Just a second.

Let me see.

I'll put my hand up.

Okay, go ahead.

Council Member Kettle.

SPEAKER_25

Thank you, Council President, as Chair of the Public Safety Committee.

In addition to my thanks to all the members of community and neighborhoods reaching out, I also want to thank, in addition to the reports that I highlighted earlier, the report from the Mayor, his cover letter and what he's looking to do, the central staff, which did a great staff memo, also some of the background from SBD on these various pieces.

And in those, there's a lot of reading, but there is the omnibus surveillance technology policy where they're looking to bring things together to have some rationalization and understanding.

And I believe, and this goes back to Seattle values, that we do protect...

protected free speech and expression points.

And this will be part of the development of the policy, which will be done with coordination and cooperation with the committee and the council.

So I think it just highlights some of the things that are kind of buried within all this paperwork, but it's important to highlight.

And it goes back to the point I said in terms of the Seattle values.

So thank you very much.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

Council Member Rivera.

SPEAKER_09

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Council Member Moore, for bringing this forward.

This one, too, I'd love to be a co-sponsor with you on this.

I very much appreciate, you know, important to put our stake on the ground on our support for freedom of speech, and so very much appreciate you bringing this forward for that reason.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_36

Yes, I would be happy to have you be a co-sponsor.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you.

All right, so will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of Amendment B?

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Rivera?

SPEAKER_06

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

SPEAKER_25

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Wu?

SPEAKER_25

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Gettle?

SPEAKER_25

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Moore?

SPEAKER_33

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Morales?

SPEAKER_33

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

And Council President Nelson?

SPEAKER_33

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Eight in favor, none opposed.

SPEAKER_06

The motion carries and Amendment B is adopted.

Now we've got the amended legislation before us.

Are there any further comments on the bill as amended?

SPEAKER_09

Council President.

SPEAKER_06

Go ahead, Council Member Rivera.

SPEAKER_09

I just wanted to thank my colleague for bringing this legislation as a whole forward and for the Public Safety Committee for bringing this forward in this unified way.

I also want to acknowledge that a lot of the items that we address today related to privacy and protecting residents and the unintended consequences were included in Mayor Harrell's memo to us or letter rather to us when he sent down the legislation.

And I want to acknowledge that I appreciate that.

I appreciate that.

The mayor and SPD are already thinking about some of these items that we raised here today in terms of privacy and protecting individuals from the unintended consequences of any of the legislation that we're supporting on the public safety side today.

Again, want to thank all of you who are on the Public Safety Committee for bringing this forward and to the mayor as well for this.

And again, this is, you know, more tools we will look at in the future not so distant future to see if these tools are working if they are working we can continue them perhaps expand them onto other areas of the city including you know the d4 and if they're not then we can pivot but we are trying to as i said earlier address number of tools to try to mitigate for the public safety issues that we're seeing across the city to our residents and our small businesses as well.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_33

Councilmember Morales.

Thank you.

So this legislation is opposed by the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, the ACLU of Washington, Planned Parenthood, the Chief Seattle Club, El Centro de la Raza, the Gender Justice League, and others.

In their letters to the council, They state their concerns that the use of these technologies could allow for the circumvention of our state's sanctuary protections, such as Keep Washington Working and the Washington Shield Law.

There is no requirement that these entities comply with Washington data protection laws because the data would be collected and housed outside of Washington state.

Additionally, this software allows private cameras to opt in to the system.

which would lead to an even greater expansion of the surveillance capabilities of SPD and the purview of this particular ordinance.

So this time when we're telling immigrants or where immigrants, women, trans and queer communities are facing increasing threats, this is not the time to expand the use of surveillance technologies that could undermine the sanctuary protections that our communities rely on.

And so I will be voting no on this legislation.

Thank you, Council President.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much, Council Member Wu.

SPEAKER_05

Thank you.

So I will be voting in favor of this legislation.

Thank you to the Public Safety Committee for their leadership and to Council Member Kettle.

So every community is unique.

Challenges we face are diverse as the people we serve.

I have been getting calls day and night.

I took a call two days ago at midnight from concerned people in the Little Saigon area.

I get emails and constant, I can't walk very far when I'm in the CID.

I always get stopped.

But people are really concerned about what's happening in Little Saigon.

And if you walk around in that area, you'll see that many of the businesses have already invested in cameras.

I talked to many business owners who have spent thousands of dollars, 6,000, 7,000, for a business that's kind of struggling to survive on the camera currently.

The CID has one of the highest poverty rates in the city.

We're residents of seniors.

There's a lot of people who are there who are living in many of the buildings.

that are workforce housing or affordable buildings.

And, you know, upstream long-term solutions, and we need solutions you could possibly use now.

I hear a lot of desperation.

I know several businesses that are in danger of closing.

Many have already closed.

I know many buildings for sale as well in that area.

And so I think the goal here with this technology, it is part of a larger...

tool, a puzzle, part of a small piece of a larger puzzle.

It's a tool and a toolkit.

And of course, there's safeguards in place that are constantly monitoring this to make sure that if it's working and if it's not working, like Councilmember Rivera said, we have to pivot.

But this technology is not meant to replace the hard work of people who are on the front lines.

It's to support and enhance people.

Our goal here isn't security.

It's about building trust.

Trust that this technology will be used responsibly.

Trust that it will help create safer, stronger communities.

It does play a role, hopefully, to deter crime and provide first responders with the information they need to be able to do their jobs more effectively.

I am supportive, and the goal here is, I believe, to protect, not to intimidate.

We're here to build stronger systems.

We're building trust, trust between law enforcement, people they serve, and the technology we use.

And we hope to strike a balance between safety and between these long-term and short-term solutions because we—a lot of times when I talk to people, they're just—they're desperate for something to happen.

And I think with the monitoring in place, as well as these privacy safeguards, I think this is something in a long line of tools that we are not only discussing today, but what we have done in the past and what we will do with the budget in the future.

Council Member Saca.

SPEAKER_17

Thank you, Madam Council President.

And today, I will be voting for this legislation.

I believe, and I know, it is an important crime prevention technology.

And the members of the public should also understand that although technology is in the words of what is before us, there's nothing particularly new, novel, or innovative about the proposed technology that's before us.

CCTV technology think was invented in the 40s sometime.

Municipalities across the country have been using it in similar fashions as what we're proposing to do, substantially similar fashions as what we're proposing to do since at least the 70s.

So this is a—there's nothing particularly glamorous or exciting or about this particular piece of legislation, the technology underpinning this particular piece of legislation.

Again, many jurisdictions, and in fact, I would be surprised if Seattle wasn't one of the only big cities in the country that do not currently leverage this kind of capability.

But it is an important tool to help address the fundamentals of public safety in our communities.

It's also—you know, we heard last week colleagues, the police chief, come before us and share that one of our three strategies to address crime, including the officer staffing shortages, is leveraging automated technologies.

And so, this is one important component of that to help us better deliver.

Today's legislation again is consistent with giving our city those tools that people are demanding to address critical public safety needs.

And are there potential privacy concerns and challenges with this?

Yes.

There are some non-trivial potential privacy challenges.

But I know the executive and this council, as amended by all of us, including through the leadership of Councilmember Moore and Rivera, we made it better.

And I think we substantially addressed those challenges and made sure that this bill includes privacy-conscious safeguards to make sure that our deployment is responsible and in line with the needs and demands of our citizens and our residents here.

who want us to be responsible with whatever technology we're deploying.

So this is an important piece of technology that can help our department be a bit of a force multiplier, if you will.

Help us more quickly and efficiently investigate and solve crimes with the staffing challenges.

And, of course, it includes my—the amended form before us now includes my amendment to explore deployment along Harbor Avenue and Elk High, which—amongst other areas of the city.

And so still support that.

And I believe the executive also, I know he's also concerned about the needs and concerns of residents across the city, including in Elk High and Harbor Avenue.

And if not this, there, look forward to partnering with the mayor to figure out what other kind of creative technologies we can deploy in that area to address those notable concerns.

PTSD.

People can't sleep at night because of what's going on down there.

So in any event, it's an important tool.

It's not the end-all be-all, but it's an important thing we can do to help us better be more efficient and effective in our responses and prevention.

So for those reasons, I'll be supporting it.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_06

I'll just provide a bit of historical background.

Last year during budget deliberations, Council passed on a vote of I believe it was 2-7 to approve funding in 2024 for this package of technologies.

And so this has been a years-long process leading up to this point.

And in addition to the regular surveillance impact report public engagement that is required whenever we approve, up until now, only retroactively approved technology reports.

The mayor's office conducted a long and months-long public outreach process leading up to this point.

I just wanted to provide a little bit of that history so that people in the audience and watching this meeting know that this has been in process for at least a year once we took the original vote approving funding for this package.

This is the second and third technologies after the license plate reading technology that we'll be approving this year.

But that is the first brand new technology that Council has approved since the passage of the surveillance ordinance in 2017. And when you think about that, that is...

to me, is astounding, considering how much technology has advanced since that time and how short-staffed SPD is.

And again, I will refer to my visit in Washington, DC, a very progressive city that does have a real-time crime center that is impressive and that we heard is very effective in lowering in decreasing the response time in reaction to 911 calls and also to improving public safety in general.

And so I am strongly in support of this and the following piece of legislation because we do have to use all the tools that are at our disposal to address crime and also take advantage of new technologies as they appear, as long as they have been fully publicly vetted.

So those are my comments.

Council Member Kettle, if you would like to close us out before the vote, you're welcome to.

SPEAKER_25

Thank you.

Council Member Moore, did you have any comments?

SPEAKER_09

Go ahead.

We both.

I think you were first.

SPEAKER_36

Okay, go ahead.

Okay, thank you, Council President.

Yeah, I did want to make a few comments.

So I share Chair Kettle's gratitude to the ACLU and the community surveillance groups and the people who are here today holding up your signs.

I mean, nobody likes to be surveilled.

But at the same time, there's kind of this dichotomy in our community because we all carry these that tell us how many steps we take, where we're located, how to get to places, takes our picture.

Many of us have ring cameras.

We share that data with other people.

You know, we're FaceTiming.

I mean, we are just inundated with surveillance.

So obviously that's different than having the government do it.

But we have to be mindful of what that dichotomy is and be not quite so precious about it sometimes.

That said, I do appreciate the comments because it does make us think, and we are in a different role in that we have to serve the entire community.

I have to serve Handy Andy, who cannot continue to operate business because of the incredible crime and theft and violence that's happening up there.

He needs this tool, SPD needs that tool to make sure that he can stay in business, to make sure that he continues to be able to employ many many people who need to be employed in this city and that's one of the concerns and and things that we have to think about when we look at this legislation so thank you for bringing the privacy and civil liberties concerns to light those are important concerns for us to think about all of us i believe up here are sensitive and thoughtful to those concerns the mayor's office is also sensitive and thoughtful to those concerns as laid out very clearly in the letter that they sent down to council.

That said, we have a higher goal and that is public safety.

We do not have enough police officers.

We need the force multiplier that this will provide.

It is a pilot project.

It's targeted for high crime, violent crime areas.

It will be continuously monitored.

It will be reviewed and determined whether it's okay, whether it needs tweaks, whether we should expand it or bring it down or shut it down entirely.

So I appreciate the guardrails and the guidance.

We are trying to act within that, within our broader role, to be mindful of that and also to fulfill our obligation, our first obligation up here, which is public safety, keeping our community safe.

So for those reasons, I will be supporting both pieces of legislation.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you.

Go ahead, Council Member Rivera.

SPEAKER_09

Agreed, Council Member Moore.

And I did find my copy of the letter that the mayor did send down, because I think I want to touch on a couple of these points, because it's really important.

As everyone knows, the mayor is the overseer of the Seattle Police Department, and he is responsible for implementing all the tools that we pass as legislation here.

What he is stating and the commitment he's making to us very much bears mentioning here, which is he talks about, first, the gun violence, the human trafficking, and the persistent felony crimes being concentrated at specific geographic locations in the city.

which is how he came to designate the three areas that are before us today.

He also delineated the robust public outreach, which then as he, and I quote here, which led the community police commission not to oppose implementing the technologies.

And then I wanna say that he's made a commitment with SPD to ensure that the police department will not cooperate in criminal or civil enforcement of laws related to immigration or reproductive and or gender-affirming health care services.

He does state at the end of the pilot project a decision will be made about whether to continue.

And then also the Office of Inspector General for Public Safety, NSPD's Performance Analytics and Research Unit, have retained academic subject matter experts in developing this proposal that he sent down.

He is committed, he has shown here in writing and committed to us that he is agreeing with us on the guardrails.

We've now put the actual guardrails in the legislation as well and for these reasons I think It is really important to try this pilot project on these technologies.

And I did want to delineate that, as I said, because he is responsible for implementing these things.

And it is good to know where his commitments and the commitments of SPD lie as we consider this legislation.

Thank you.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_06

Go ahead, Council Member Kettle.

SPEAKER_25

Thank you, Council President.

I just wanted to close with a thank you to Council Member Hollingsworth, who voted for this in committee, and thank her for inviting me to the CD to Africatown, where I've met with members of the community that were dealing with crime.

I want to thank Councilmember Wu, who invited me to the Chinatown International District, Little Saigon.

You know, just a few weeks ago, I was at an event with like 130-something people.

I only knew about five.

125 new people, people from community, the Asian community, elderly community, just like we heard in public comment today.

They were suffering.

I was there, I heard it.

Council Member Moore, thank you for advocating for District 5 and the Aurora.

I've been up there many times, including just last night as I was traveling home after picking up my daughter.

It is horrific what is happening on Aurora, as again, you heard in public comment today.

And I was proud to stand with you earlier at the press conference, listening to the residents of Aurora and D5 generally in terms of what they're facing in public safety.

I ALSO WANT TO THANK MY OTHER COLLEAGUES, YOU KNOW, LIKE PUBLIC SAFETY VICE CHAIR ARSACA, AND HIGHLIGHTING WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE D-1, AL-KAI, YOU KNOW, ALL THOSE ISSUES THAT WE'VE HEARD HERE IN PUBLIC COMMENT AGAIN AND AGAIN.

COUNCILMEMBER RIVERA, YOU KNOW, AS SHE NOTED IN DISTRICT 4, THE CHALLENGES FACED THERE.

AND I ALSO HEAR COUNCILMEMBER MORALES AND HER NOTES, AND AS SHE JUST STATED, RELATED TO THIS BILL.

And like I said in my opening point, I do understand and appreciate the technology and the privacy arguments.

I know these organizations very well.

I know the American Civil Liberties Union.

I know the ACLU of Washington.

But again, just as I mentioned, it doesn't seem that They account for all the improvements, all the reforms, all the work that's been done in the last dozen years.

It doesn't seem to account for the accountability partners, the work that the OIG does with Inspector General Lisa Judge, the OPA, the Office of Police Accountability with Gino Betts, the director of the OPA, and the members of the CPC.

You know, again, we have to do that.

You know, and I've read these documents.

I've read the letter from OCR, Seattle's Office of Civil Rights, and they're just the first top bullet on OCR concerns and then recommendations.

Insufficient outreach to pilot communities.

Really?

Do you know how many times I've been in D7 all over the place talking to a community?

You know, listening to the residents, you know, I remember one first person, hey, I got attacked by a guy with a hatchet.

That was just the start.

A couple dozen people, each one expressing their challenges in public safety.

Council Member Wu just mentioned midnight call.

Do you think we're not engaged with the pilot communities?

Who's going to be more engaged than Council Member Moore on Aurora?

Seriously?

expand outreach to pilot communities I say expand your outreach to the Seattle City Council and talk to us who are representatives of our districts again back in 2012 there was no district representatives now we do last year the cohort we ran on public safety we know our communities we know our district.

So that I recommend passage of the bill thank you very much.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you for those words.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council Member Saka?

SPEAKER_20

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Strauss?

SPEAKER_20

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Wu?

SPEAKER_20

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Kettle?

SPEAKER_25

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Moore?

Aye.

Council Member Morales?

SPEAKER_48

No.

SPEAKER_52

Council President Nelson?

Aye.

Seven in favor, one opposed.

SPEAKER_06

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

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

And will the clerk please read the title of item six into the record?

SPEAKER_28

Agenda item six, council bill 120845 relating to surveillance technology implementation, authorizing approval of uses and accepting the 2024 surveillance impact report and 2024 executive overview for the Seattle Police Department's use of real time crime center software.

The committee recommends the bill pass as amended.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you.

Council member Kettle is chair of the committee, recognized in order to provide the committee report.

SPEAKER_25

Thank you, Council President.

Again, the real-time crime center, the notes, the points that I made regarding the CCTV were in combination with the RTCC and are germane here.

And they build on those made, as I mentioned earlier, on the ALPR and some of the other efforts that we're doing.

So in the interest of time, say.

SPEAKER_06

Are there any comments or questions from my colleagues?

Go ahead, Council Member Moore.

SPEAKER_36

Thank you, Council President.

I just wanted to point out that this bill, as does the previous bill, contains a requirement that the contract between SPD and the vendor, that the vendor is required to immediately notify SPD if the vendor receives a warrant or subpoena seeking real-time crime-centered data.

ALPR data, CCTV data, for including purposes related to reproductive healthcare, gender-affirming medical services, a requirement that the vendor retain legal counsel to challenge any such warrant or subpoena, And that if there's a blockade on the release of that, once that time limit expires, that they then apprise SPD.

And I had included this language in the ALPR bill and had asked by budget to have a copy of the draft bill.

contract language from SBD and I am very pleased to state that SBD has provided the draft contract language relating to the ALPR contracts and actually they're going to relate to all of these contracts.

It's a global language and it went above and beyond what was required in the statute so it also specifically states including purposes related to immigration status which was an addition that I did not have in my legislation that SBD did on their own.

So I just want to call that out.

That language is there for ALPR.

It is going to be added to these other bills should they pass.

And I didn't have to pull teeth to get it done.

SPD was willing to follow the direction of the statute, and I really appreciate it, and went above and beyond.

So thank you for that.

SPEAKER_06

Okay, I'm looking to see if there are any other comments.

Well, in the interest of time, I will say ditto, ditto.

And just note that this is the last piece of public safety related legislation currently in the pipeline that we've had all year.

And I want to thank Chair Kettle and other council members for advancing these bills throughout the course of the year because we are showing that we are trying to be responsive to the needs of our constituents and also fulfill our charter duties.

So with that, I would like to ask the clerk to please call the roll on the bill.

Council Member Rivera?

SPEAKER_09

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

SPEAKER_20

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Councilmember Wu?

SPEAKER_20

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Councilmember Kettle?

SPEAKER_59

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Councilmember Moore?

Aye.

Councilmember Morales?

No.

Council President Nelson?

Aye.

Seven in favor, one opposed.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

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

All right, there were no items removed from the consent calendar.

Will the clerk please read item seven into the record?

SPEAKER_28

Agenda item seven, resolution 32149, expressing the mayor and city council's opposition to Washington state ballot initiative 2117 concerning carbon tax credit trading.

SPEAKER_06

I move to adopt resolution 32149. Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded to adopt the resolution.

Councilmember Morales, as sponsor, you're recognized in order to address this item.

SPEAKER_33

Thank you.

Colleagues, I'm bringing this forward along with the mayor to oppose Washington state ballot initiative 2117, which would repeal our state's landmark Climate Commitment Act.

The Climate Commitment Act was passed by the state legislature in 2021. It established a program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by auctioning credits to businesses that produce significant emissions.

The money from the auction sales is invested in programs to move the state away from dependence on fossil fuels with the stated goal of reducing our state's greenhouse gas emissions by 95% by 2050. The city of Seattle has been awarded more than $26 million in grants by the Climate Commitment Act dollars.

And these funds have been used to support low and moderate income households to access energy efficient heat pumps, to fund electric vehicle charging infrastructure for our city vehicle fleets and more.

If passed, Initiative 2117 would end future funding opportunities for projects in our city that reduce climate pollution from buildings and transportation.

It would end funding opportunities for programs that restore our waterways, our clean energy work, our salmon recovery work, our low-income home energy assistance, urban forestry, and much more.

So in passing this, we would join with the cities of Redmond, Kenmore, Burien, Shoreline, Lake Forest Park in going on record to oppose Initiative 2117, along with the coalition of over 300 organizations across the state of Washington, including firefighting and wildland fire prevention organizations, tribal nations, medical and public health experts, and environmental organizations.

Thank you, Council President, for allowing me to add that to the agenda.

And I ask for my colleagues' support.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you.

Now we will hear comments from council members on the resolution.

Are there any comments?

And just so people know, here's the procedure.

We will hear council member comments, and then we will open it up for public comment, and then we'll vote.

and there can be more comments in between there.

Go ahead.

I am not seeing who raised their hands first.

Go ahead, Councilmember Rivera.

SPEAKER_09

Okay.

Thank you, Council President.

I'll be brief.

I just want to thank the mayor for sending this down and Councilmember Morales for putting it on the agenda.

This initiative, if enacted, would decrease funding for investments in clean air, renewable energy, conservation, and emissions reduction.

Since its inception, the City of Seattle has been awarded more than $26 million from the Climate Commitment Act.

which has really helped fund projects to address the impacts of climate change.

We need to continue these efforts, not stop these efforts.

We cannot afford to go backward in the fight against climate change.

This is why I'm going to be voting in favor of this resolution.

Thank you.

Council Member Moore.

SPEAKER_36

Thank you, Council President.

I too wanted to thank Council Member Morales and the Mayor for bringing this resolution forward.

The repeal of the Climate Commitment Act would have a direct impact on District 5. 46 million in state funding is reserved for the Aurora Avenue project.

It depends on this revenue source and is earmarked for 2029, right before the project is planned to begin construction in 2030. So it is a critical part of the funding strategy needed for this public safety improvement and basically life-changing goal on Aurora Avenue for so many in our community.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

Okay, looking for other hands.

I'm not seeing any.

Council President.

Go ahead.

SPEAKER_20

Yes, Council Member Strauss.

It is clear that we need to oppose Initiative 2117. It's a bad deal for Washington.

It will create a really large hole in our state's budget, fighting in a number of different ways the climate crisis before us.

As we heard on NPR last week, there was the cap and trade program of a few decades ago in order to combat acid rain.

It was successful in its mission and this will take us the next step further.

So I oppose and I'm supporting the opposition to initiative 2117.

SPEAKER_06

Okay, okay.

Council Member Saka.

SPEAKER_17

Thank you, Madam Council President.

I'll just quickly say, I mean, I agree with the essence of all the comments that have been made by my colleagues.

To say that as chair of our Transportation Committee, you know, I know firsthand how much our city relies on the proceeds from this project.

This state effort to fund our transportation system investments across the state and including yes here in Seattle and including our electrification efforts so you know for those reasons I will be Supporting this resolution opposing the initiative.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you Okay Seeing no other comments.

I'll just state for the record that state and municipal law prohibit council members or elected officials from using public resources to influence or weigh in on ballot measures except for a carve out for situations like this where we are discussing a ballot measure in public and provide for public comment.

That said, just because it is my position that Just because we are allowed to to to take a position that is that is designed to to basically signal our our position on a ballot measure personally and To be consistent with past action I am I don't believe personally that we should and so I will be abstaining from this legislation as I did when the resolution before council about the The ballot measure on the crisis care centers was before council as well.

So just wanted people to know that.

Now let's move on to public comment.

How many people are signed up to speak?

SPEAKER_28

So far we have one of the registered public commenters remotely present and we have two public commenters in person.

SPEAKER_06

Okay, we'll go ahead and have the two public in-person commenters speak for one minute, please.

SPEAKER_28

I will be alternating between those opposed to Resolution 32149 and in support of the resolution itself.

We will begin with Gabriel Jones.

And Phil, can you please share the timer?

SPEAKER_34

Alright folks, my name is Gabriel Jones again.

Very good to see you all.

First off, you know, I say a lot of negative things about this council, but I will also say when you do something right, this is the correct path.

I really do believe so.

All these times when you hear about the no, you'll hear like, you know, this is hurting average citizens.

Let's go look at the numbers here.

This credit only goes if you have 25,000 metric tons of carbon usage.

Do you know how much the average small business, how many metric tons a small business use?

12 to 15. So for that to happen, you need 1,250 small businesses for this to have any sort of impact.

This is another carve-out from a millionaire who wants tax cuts for his millionaire buddies.

That's what this is.

This is not this is going to help average people because climate change is impacting us right now every day We are seeing the impacts more and more and we made substantial changes to actually make some good change in climate change So I'm very excited to see the council talking so favorably about this and I'm so excited to be able to push for this Thank you so much We have Robin Briggs

SPEAKER_35

Hi, good afternoon.

My name is Robin Briggs.

I'm a member of People for Climate Action.

And I was really heartened to hear your comments on this resolution, and I urge you to pass it.

The Climate Commitment Act is the core of our state's response to climate change.

And this initiative would roll it back with no replacement whatsoever.

I'd also echo what was said by, I think, the council about all of the good things that it is currently providing for people in Seattle, including air monitors, including heat pumps, including EV chargers, including the rapid ride I'm going to take home.

So anyway, thank you very much.

This is the clean energy transition.

So thank you for bringing the resolution forward.

SPEAKER_28

We'll now move into remote registered speakers who are present.

SPEAKER_52

SR1 registered remote public speaker is Aiden Carroll.

Aiden, please press star six.

You have the call.

SPEAKER_51

Yes.

The initiative is a bad one, but I'm not sure that this bill would be effective at supporting it.

Not only would it not want to be branded as a Seattle thing, The state can really look at Seattle and say we have some hypocrisy on this when we have refused to upzone one of the most effective things that would actually help with our climate impact.

Now, when we look at the things that Seattle could do to help the climate, it's really hard to argue that we can be taken seriously by anyone when we continue to put climate concerns first.

Uh, as well as all the other things that would benefit from, from upsoning went above imaginary fears about the appearance of things changing that pale in comparison to the way the climate climate change would actually affect them.

Now we need to walk our talk.

We need to get rid of single family zoning and legalize apartments and neighborhoods like mine.

SPEAKER_52

Thank you.

It's the close public speakers.

SPEAKER_06

Okay, the public comment period is now closed.

And we will proceed with a vote, seeing that, is there anybody that has further comments?

Go ahead, Council Member Kettle.

SPEAKER_25

Thank you, Council President.

I just wanted to add my voice and to add it from my experience as a naval officer.

You know, here in Puget Sound, in the Salish Sea, in our region, we have a great amount of water spaces to include out in the Pacific Ocean that are speaking to us.

They're telling us about the impacts of climate change.

And I think it's an area that's underreported on.

It's not really understood.

It comes out now and again in the Seattle Times article here and there, the acidification issue.

You know, the impact on crustaceans and the like.

But we're really seeing it right now in the national news.

You know, the Caribbean and its heat is supercharging hurricanes right now.

And it's just another example where the seas are really impacting us.

And we need to take collective action.

And we need to be mindful of what the seas are telling us, both on the other side of the country, but also here in our own local waters of the Salish Sea.

and in the broader North Pacific.

Because it's a scary story and I think about the next generations to follow and the impacts that they will have.

And so with that, I will be supporting this bill and I thank Council Member Morales for bringing it to the council.

SPEAKER_06

Okay, I don't see any other comments.

Would you like to provide the final word?

Okay.

Will the clerk please call the roll on this resolution?

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council Member Saka?

SPEAKER_99

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Wu?

Next.

Council Member Kettle?

SPEAKER_99

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Moore?

SPEAKER_36

Aye.

SPEAKER_52

Council Member Morales?

SPEAKER_06

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Council President Nelson.

SPEAKER_28

Can you call Council Member Wu one more time?

Oh, I see she can't unmute.

Let me just a quick second.

SPEAKER_25

Yes, Council Member Wu texted in her vote.

SPEAKER_28

Council Member Wu?

Yes.

SPEAKER_52

Thank you.

That's seven in favor and one abstention.

SPEAKER_06

Excellent.

The motion carries and the resolution is adopted and the chair will sign it.

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

All right, is there any further business to come before council?

Reminder folks, we do have an executive session.

Council President.

Wait, just a second, please.

Go ahead.

SPEAKER_20

Thank you, Council President.

Colleagues, I am excited for next week's engagement with central staff presentations for the budget.

We also have our first of two legally required and good idea public hearings.

The first one will be on October 16th, starting at 5 p.m.

We've been working with central staff to make sure that we don't run up to 5 p.m., so we've got a break in the afternoon.

A tradition that has waned during the pandemic years is that every office would have one person volunteer for the event, for the public hearing.

There will be pizza for the volunteers as well for folks who are staying late, helping to support the public hearing.

So I just raised that on the record today that we will be looking for volunteers next week and ideally one from every office for the public hearing on the 16th at 5 p.m.

Thank you, colleagues.

SPEAKER_06

Okay, hearing no further business, the next city council meeting is tentatively scheduled for October 22nd at 2 p.m.

A cancellation notice will be issued if the October 22nd meeting is canceled.

We'll now move into an executive session.

As presiding officer, I'm announcing that the Seattle 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.

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

I expect the time of the executive session to end by 6.04.

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

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

The council is now in executive session.

Council members, please log off this meeting and log on to the executive session Zoom meeting.