Seattle City Council 2/16/2021

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Council Member Strauss.

Present.

Council Member Herbold.

Here.

Council Member Juarez.

Here.

Council Member Lewis.

Present.

Council Member Morales.

Here.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Here.

Council President Gonzalez.

Present.

Nine present.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Presentations.

Colleagues, as I mentioned this morning during council briefing, we have one presentation this morning.

So at this time, I would like to invite Senior Deputy Mayor Mike Fong to provide remarks and officially deliver Mayor Durkan's 2021 State of the City Address consistent with the charter provisions.

So, Senior Deputy Mayor Fong, welcome to this afternoon's full council meeting.

Take it away.

Great.

Good afternoon, Council President Gonzalez and members of the council.

Yesterday, Mayor Durkin delivered her special address on the state of the city.

And in her address, she highlighted challenges that we face in 2021. And most importantly, and urgently, the challenge related to vaccinating our community equitably, which is key to our reopening and recovery.

And thanks to the leadership of the council, Mayor Durkin, Seattle can be proud of the city's response to COVID-19, and although we have much work left to do this year.

It's my pleasure to formally deliver to you the mayor's message on the state of the city here at the third regular meeting of the City Council in February.

This is in accordance with the Seattle City Charter, Article 5, Section 6A.

Electronic copies of her address and a letter outlining her priorities for 2021 has just been sent to your inboxes, and members of the public who wish to view the mayor's address can find it on seattlechannel.org.

Thank you, and we look forward to working with all of you in the coming year.

Thank you so much for being with us.

Really appreciate you taking the time to officially present those remarks.

Thanks so much.

Thank you.

Okay, folks, we're going to move on now to approval of the minutes.

The minutes of the City Council meetings of February 1st and 8th, 2021 have been reviewed.

If there is no objection, the minutes will be signed.

Hearing no objection, the minutes are being signed.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the minutes.

Adoption of the referral calendar.

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

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

If there is no objection, the agenda will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, the agenda is now adopted.

Public comment.

Colleagues, at this time, we will open the remote public comment period for items on the city council agenda, introduction and referral calendar, and the council's work program.

I want to thank everyone for their ongoing patience and cooperation as we continue to operate this remote public comment system.

It does remain the strong intent of the City Council to have remote public comment regularly included on meeting agendas.

However, as a reminder, the City Council does reserve the right to end or eliminate these public comment periods at any point if we deem that this system is being abused or is no longer suitable for allowing our meetings to be conducted effectively and efficiently.

I will moderate the public comment period in the following manner.

The public comment period for this meeting was noted on today's agenda for 20 minutes.

However, we have almost 30 speakers signed up and a rather light agenda for this afternoon.

Because of that, I do plan to, I plan to do the following.

I would like to extend the public comment period from 20 minutes to a total of 30 minutes and provide each speaker one minute to speak rather than the usual two minutes in order to get through as many speakers as we can this afternoon.

So if there is no objection, the public comment period will be extended from 20 minutes to 30 minutes.

Hearing no objection, the public comment period is extended to 30 minutes.

I will call on each speaker by name and in the order in which they registered on the council's website.

If you've not yet registered to speak but would like to, you can sign up before the end of public comment by going to the council's website at Seattle.gov forward slash council.

The public comment link is also listed on today's agenda.

Once I call a speaker's name, your microphone will be unmuted and you will hear an automatic prompt of you have been unmuted.

When you hear that prompt, you will then need to press star six before you begin speaking.

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

And as a reminder, public comment should relate to an item on today's agenda, the introduction and referral calendar, or the council's work program consistent with council rules.

Speakers, you will hear a chime when you have 10 seconds left of your allotted time.

Once you hear the chime, please wrap up your public comment.

If you do not end your comments at the end of the allotted time provided, your microphone will be muted to allow us to call on the next speaker.

Once you've completed your public comment, I'd ask that you please disconnect from the line.

And if you plan to continue following this meeting, you can do so via Seattle Channel or any one of the listening options listed on the agenda.

I'm now going to open the public comment period, and we'll begin with the first speaker on the list.

Again, as a reminder, please remember to press star six after you hear the prompt if you have been unmuted.

It is 2.11 p.m., so we will finish public comment at approximately 2.41 p.m.

The first speaker is Howard Gale, followed by Daniel Kavanaugh, and then Daniel Wang.

Howard, welcome.

Good morning, good afternoon, Howard Gale.

The prestigious Cardozo Law Review published an article last year reviewing 158 years of police reform and accountability across the US.

One of their core conclusions is that, quote, independence is broadly recognized as both a core principle and an essential element of effective civilian oversight.

Without independence, accountability systems fail to meet community expectations, leading to a repetitive cycle of crisis, debate, attempt at reform, unquote.

This is the same conclusion reached by many recent law review articles and, in fact, the Washington State Governors Commission on Police Use of Force.

It is a core principle of current Washington legislative bills, HB 1203 and 1267, requiring law enforcement personnel not participate in investigation.

This morning during council briefing, Council Member Pedersen said he found it disturbing that police organizations are fighting the police accountability bills currently before the legislature.

I would ask Council Member Pedersen and the other council members if they're equally disturbed at the fact that the Seattle council members are also fighting that legislation and asking Seattle be exempted from real investigative independence as envisioned by the legislature.

Thank you for calling in.

Next up is Daniel Cavanaugh, followed by Daniel Wang and then Grayson Van Arsdale.

Hey, my name is Dan.

I'm a renter in District 3 and council members need to vote yes on Shama's resolution that says, you know, yes, we need to tax big business on the state level, but we won't allow state Democrats to strike a rotten deal with big business to roll back Seattle's Amazon tax as they said they want to do.

And, you know, Council Member Gonzalez has been giving excuses about procedure, saying it would just be redundant to vote yes on this.

Council Member, you were not concerned with procedure when you violated the Open Public Meetings Act to repeal the first Amazon tax in 2018 with Mayor Durkan.

And that goes for Council Members Herbold and Juarez as well.

So wouldn't it be redundant to vote no because it would be a repeat of one of your least popular votes ever?

And if you vote no and the Amazon tax is rolled back, you will be held responsible and you will be seen as not once but twice selling out the movement.

That is redundant.

So you owe it to your constituents to take a stand.

Don't use these cowardly excuses to vote no.

Next is Daniel Wang, followed by Grayson Van Arsdale, followed by Alyssa Kaufman.

Well, hi, I'm a student in D4 with the TaxAmazon movement.

I'm here to call on the City Council to support Councilmember Sawant's Resolution 3199. We know for a fact that last year Washington State lawmakers proposed a tax that would have preempted and outlawed the citywide Amazon tax that we fought so hard to win.

And we don't have any assurance or indicators that they aren't going to introduce a similar poison pill this time around.

The fact of the matter is that when it comes to progressive taxation, there is an inherent conflict between big business and working people.

And lawmakers, like it or not, have to pick a side.

When the state lawmakers are worrying about double taxing business and saying our Seattle Amazon tax is a supposed obstacle to passing a statewide tax, they are making it clear that they side with big business.

Washington State has perhaps the most regressive tax system in the country.

We are in a pandemic where working people have lost employment and are behind on rent, while American billionaires have increased their wealth by hundreds of billions of dollars.

There is zero reason to worry about overtaxing these pandemic profiteers other than protecting their profits.

Support Resolution 3199. No preemption, limitation, or phasing out of Seattle's Amazon tax.

Otherwise, it is abundantly clear whose side you are on.

Next up is Grayson, followed by Alyssa Kaufman, and then Bia Lacombe.

My name's Grayson.

I'm a renter in the Central District.

This vote on Council Member Sawant's resolution is a simple matter of accountability.

Will you stand with the movement in affirming the vote to tax Amazon that you made this summer?

I've heard some of the council members think this resolution is redundant, and if that's true, that's fantastic.

It should pass.

More than 30,000 people signed to stand in support of taxing Amazon this summer.

It's your political responsibility to protect this crucial funding.

Council Members Gonzalez, Mosqueda, Herbold, Morales, Strauss, and Lewis, who voted to pass the tax this summer, you should stand in complete opposition to the Washington State Legislature's insinuation of overriding Seattle's Amazon tax.

We need more statewide taxes on big business, but Seattle's hard-won Amazon tax doesn't need to be interfered with to do that.

I'll quote Council Member Mosqueda about what you said when this tax passed in July.

Quote, this is a huge win.

This is about caring for Seattleites.

Use of the vote was, quote, a crucial step to embrace equity and reject corporate influence.

End quote.

We are supporting our city and our most vulnerable.

I agree with you, Council Member Skeda.

It should be an easy vote for you and every progressive on the council.

Thank you.

Next up is Alyssa, followed by Bea Lacombe, followed by Ava Metz.

Hi, my name is Alyssa Kaufman.

I'm a teacher in District 4. Today, I'm calling on you to support and vote yes on Resolution 3199, which we desperately need in order to survive this pandemic.

It is unconscionable that even with the majority of Democrats have, there is open talk about undermining this tax.

I'm calling on you to stand up for the people that you represent and send a clear message that you support this taxation and you reject any of these ridiculous attempts to undercut it.

I speak as an adult who teaches children how to stand up to bullies and to do what is right.

Will you be an example for our children or will you let down the people of Seattle and provide our children with a demonstration of how bystanders are just as much at fault as the bullies themselves.

Do what is right.

Support this resolution.

It should be an easy vote.

Thank you.

Next is Bea Lacombe followed by Ava Metz followed by Emily MacArthur.

Hi, my name is Bia and I'm a renter in Capitol Hill.

Council members need to vote today to support Council Member Sawant's resolution to defend the Amazon tax and demand statewide taxes on the rich and big business.

We're seeing people are suffering profoundly, yet we're watching politicians walk back promise after promise of real relief.

In contrast, the Amazon tax has been a beacon of hope for ordinary people here and across the country through these multiple devastating crises.

In this critical moment, Washington state legislators in Olympia have the audacity to say that they want to phase out or water down the Amazon tax to avoid double-taxing big business, even though billionaires in the U.S. have made over $1 trillion in obscene pandemic profits.

Council Member Sawant is clearly the only council member who understands the urgency of this fight to fund working people over corporations.

For everyone listening today, I urge you to join the tax Amazon car caravan this Saturday to build our movement, because it's clear that we can't rely on corporate politicians to fight for what we need.

Thank you.

Next up is Ava Metz, followed by Emily MacArthur, and then Alicia Lewis.

Hi, my name is Ava Metz, and I'm a renter in District 2. We need Seattle City Council to make a clear stand against any attempts to undermine our Amazon tax, which has been a lifeline during this pandemic and recession.

I want to thank council members for bringing forward this resolution.

To be very clear, our movement fully supports an expansion of progressive taxation statewide, This is long overdue, but this threat is not just speculative.

In a Crosscut article earlier this year, Democratic Party State Representative Nicole Macri openly discussed the need to phase out or reduce Seattle's Amazon tax to pass statewide taxation.

Democratic Party politicians have controlled all three branches of government in Washington state for the past five years.

Why is it that we still have a ban on rent control and still have the most regressive tax structure of any state in the entire country?

Progressive change does not come from cozy civil relationships amongst establishment politicians and big business.

This has gotten us nowhere.

It's been movements that have won substantial change like the $15 minimum wage and the Amazon tax.

Don't be complicit.

Pass this resolution.

Next is Emily MacArthur, followed by Alicia Lewis, and then Kaylin Nicholson.

Hi, I'm a renter in District 2, and I'm calling to urge the council to vote yes on council members who want resolution calling for more progressive taxation and to take a clear stand against any form of preemption or rollback of big business taxes here in Seattle.

Gonzalez sent out an email this morning saying that this resolution is somehow redundant, but Democrats at the federal level assured us, if we win in Georgia, $2,000 checks are out the door, and yet they're not.

At the state level, Democrats promised we'd fix our upside down tax code, yet to fight four years of complete control over every house, it's not.

There are many promises, but very little delivery.

In medicine or business, redundancy can mean a backup plan in case the first plan fails.

I think in this context, we clearly need a firm backup plan.

Vote yes on this resolution or find yourself complicit in any rollback of the city's big business tax that our budget is completely dependent on and that our tax Amazon movement fought so hard for.

I'm a socialist because I know capitalism is a system that prioritizes profits over people.

And I'll be at the car caravan and bike brigade this Saturday at noon at the spheres.

and protect our Amazon tax and stand in solidarity with the Internet.

Next up is Alicia, followed by Kaylin Nicholson and then Margo Stewart.

Hi, my name is Alicia Lewis.

I'm a renter in District 7. I'm a member of Socialist Alternative and I've been active in the tax Amazon movement from the start.

I'm calling in support of Council Member Sawant's resolution opposing any effort by the state legislature to limit or block the Amazon tax in the future.

We should be clear that our movement absolutely wants the passage of a statewide big business tax.

That would be fantastic, and we're willing to fight for that.

But there's absolutely no excuse for Democratic legislators in Olympia to even be considering the idea of phasing out the Amazon tax let alone discussing the idea publicly in the media.

Clearly, big business is determined to undermine this precedent-setting tax that we won in Seattle.

And it's absolutely absurd that taking a clear stand on the side of working people in defense of this tax would be considered redundant.

If council members reject this resolution and the Amazon tax gets undermined by your party in Olympia, you will be complicit in this massive blow to working people, not only

Next is Kaylin Nicholson followed by Margo Stewart and then Kevin Vitz Wong.

Kaylin, if you're with us, you need to hit star six so we can hear you.

Hi, my name is Kayla Nicholson.

I'm a member of Socialist Alternative and a member of the TaxAmazon movement and was active in helping to win the tax last year.

I read the same article that some other people have mentioned in Crosscut in January where both Democratic Representative Nicole Macri and Joe Wynn said that they were concerned about double taxing big business.

if they were to pass a statewide income tax.

This is clearly a reference to the extremely popular Amazon tax that we fought for years to win in Seattle.

And this article where they state that our tax might be a problem came out after the last resolution that the city council passed.

you know, saying that they support the Amazon tax.

So it's in no way redundant to pass one now.

These are new attacks on the hard won tax that we have achieved in this city.

And, you know, that clearly justifies a new clear public statement to the state legislature that we oppose any sort of infringement on our right to levy these progressive taxes, especially during an economic crisis and a pandemic.

Yeah, I think we in the tax Amazon movement, we 100% support passing.

Okay.

Next up is Margo Stewart, followed by Kevin Bits Wong, and then Blythe Suram.

Cool.

Hi, my name is Margo.

I'm commenting in support of Council Member Sawant's resolution.

I'm a District 2 renter living paycheck to paycheck right now, and last week my roommate received a diagnosis for a chronic medical condition.

That means they will not be able to work, not to mention the absurd treatment expenses they will face.

This situation is hardly rare or the worst of what's out there right now, but in the context of this crisis for working people, it's essential that the City Council indicate both its support for a statewide big business tax and that you will oppose any motions to reverse the critical Amazon tax won by a grassroots movement last summer at the height of BLM.

I agree with other speakers that I don't understand this issue of redundancy.

If this resolution were redundant, then council members should have no issue simply voting in favor of it and moving on in short order.

But state legislators have already indicated that they're looking to phase out Seattle's Amazon tax.

We can't seriously be worried right now about double taxing big corporations who've raked in billions during this crisis.

while we have a housing, education, and health care crisis.

And this is happening with a decisive Democratic majority at all levels of government.

So there's no excuse for this waffling.

Please stand in solidarity with working people and striking Amazon workers and vets.

Next up is Kevin Vitzwong, and then Blythe Serrano, and then Shirley Henderson.

Hi, my name is Kevin Mitwong.

I'm a renter from District 6. I'm a member of Seattle Education Association and Socialist Alternative.

I'm calling to say that Councilmember Stilwant's resolution opposing any limiting of Seattle's Amazon tax is not redundant.

We know that Democrats in Olympia and Democrats on the 2018 Seattle City Council are capable of slipping in poison pills at the last moment, neutering progressive taxes to the benefit of big business.

The cafe I worked for before the pandemic in the I.D.

had to close the location and that neighborhood has been hit incredibly hard by the economic crisis.

So because of this, it is incumbent upon you to make your position crystal clear to the thousands of tenants and small business owners who fought for this tax.

Do you oppose preempting of the Amazon tax?

If so, vote yes on the resolution and send a strong message to Olympia.

And yes, of course, the state should enact a similar taxation on big businesses and billionaires, but it must be done without loopholes or limitations on Seattle's ability to tax big businesses here.

But yes, on the resolution to state your full united opposition to undermining Seattle's historic progressive Amazon tax.

Thank you.

Next up is Blythe, followed by Shirley, then Jordan Quinn.

My name is Blythe.

I'm a renter from Mt. Baker.

I want to start my answer to see progressive taxation of big business and the wealthy on a statewide level.

However, these taxes shouldn't have to come at the cost of the Amazon tax that working people in the Black Lives Matter movement fought so hard for over the summer.

The Amazon tax was a victory not just for the people of Seattle.

It also empowered working people throughout the country to stand up to Amazon, whether through a similarly structured tax Amazon movement in Burbank, California, or through a unionization drive in Bessemer.

As progressive Democrats, I hope that you will take the side of working people and not just cozy up to the establishment and big business.

If you fail to support this resolution and the Amazon tax is undermined, the blame will fall on you.

So I strongly urge you to vote yes.

Thank you.

Next is Shirley, followed by Jordan, then Hannah Swoboda.

Thank you so much.

I'm Shirley.

I'm one of the owners of Squirrel Chops, which is a small business in the Central District.

And I'm here to say council members need to show political courage and vote yes on council members who wants resolution for an expansion of progressive taxation statewide with no preemption of the Seattle's Amazon tax.

We all know that we're in the midst of the mother of all financial crises with small businesses and working people taking the brunt of this economic devastation.

One of the statistics I've heard is that 60 percent of small businesses have already closed permanently due to the crisis.

Which, if you drive through Capitol Hill or read the Capitol Hill blog's long and growing list of businesses who have closed permanently, it's clear that that statistic might even be a conservative one.

On the other hand, in this context, as others have talked about, billionaires have raked it in and profited enormously, including $1 trillion, which is outrageous.

When working people and small businesses are fighting for survival.

I was part of a roundtable discussion yesterday on progressive taxation, and it was clear that

Thank you.

Next up is Jordan, followed by Hannah, then Sarah Gonser.

Hi, can you hear me?

We can hear you.

Go ahead.

Great.

My name is Jordan.

I'm a District 2 renter.

I'm calling in support of Council Member Sawant's resolution calling on the state legislature to enact progressive taxation on corporate payroll without limiting or repealing Seattle's Amazon tax.

Council Member Tammy Morales, you're the representative for District 2 here where I live, and you voted along with the rest of the council to pass the Amazon tax last year.

But I'm disappointed to see you're unwilling to support Sean's resolution to defend this victory that our movement won as part of the Justice for George Floyd protest last summer.

Many District 2 residents like myself organized to win this reasonable tax on the world's biggest corporation, while Seattle renters and small homeowners are struggling to pay rent, mortgages and utilities, More of us are losing jobs, and federal relief checks still haven't arrived.

Jeff Bezos doubled his wealth in the last 10 months.

It's clear we need to tax the rich and big business, and these new proposals for statewide taxes on the wealthy are necessary first steps to do this, and to change Washington's worse-than-the-nation regressive tax structure.

Thank you.

Next up is Hannah, followed by Sarah, and then we will hear from Barbara Finney.

Hi, my name is Hannah Swoboda, and I'm a renter in District 3. I want to thank Councilmember Sawant for bringing forward the resolution reiterating our city's opposition to any state effort to limit or block the Amazon tax.

To the rest of City Council, please vote yes on the resolution from Sawant's office.

We absolutely need statewide taxes on big business, but the Washington State Legislature is attempting to use progressive taxation as cover for undermining Seattle's own Amazon tax.

As many before me have already said, Washington state has the most progressive tax structure in the country.

We need more progressive revenue to help people struggling amid the COVID crisis, not less.

I'm asking that the city council urge state legislators to go on record opposing all forms of preempting, limiting, or phasing out of local progressive taxation.

But we know that this alone won't be enough, which is why we're continuing to build our mass movement to defend the Amazon.

with a car caravan and bike brigade this Saturday at noon at the Amazon Spears.

For everybody listening, please join us to oppose this brazen threat on our historic Amazon town.

Next is Sarah, followed by Barbara, then Madeline Olson.

Hi, yeah, my name's Sarah, and I'm a renter in Capitol Hill, and I'm here to urge the City Council to vote yes on the resolution from Council Member Shama Tawant's office urging the state legislature to tax big business and the wealthy and to not undermine Seattle's Amazon tax.

We absolutely need more progressive taxes at the statewide level, and these taxes should not be used to undermine the Amazon tax victory won here last July.

State legislators have already stated that they will need to phase out the Amazon tax to avoid double taxation, which is absurd considering working people are double taxed every day.

These big businesses have made billions of dollars just this past year alone, while millions of working people are currently unemployed and struggling to pay for rent, especially in the context of COVID.

Support for this resolution will show Washington state legislators that you won't stand for watering down this historic progressive tax.

Please vote yes for this resolution.

Thank you.

Next is Barbara, followed by Madeline Olson, then Jane Hoyt.

Hi, my name is Barbara Finney.

I'm a member of Seattle Democratic Socialists of America and the 32nd LD Democrats, which endorsed the Amazon Tax Campaign and the Tax Amazon Ballot Initiative Campaign.

I speak in support of legislation sponsored by Council Member Sawant, Resolution 31989. I want you to support and vote for Council Member Shama Sawant's resolution today, urging the Washington State Legislature to urgently enact progressive statewide taxes on big business and the rich without any preemption or other ban, limitation, or phasing out of Seattle's ability to raise revenue through progressive taxes on big business.

This is not duplicative or redundant, a previously passed resolution 31982. The Washington state reps and some of you council may say their bills don't currently include a state ban, but working people aren't stupid or fooled by political maneuvers.

To the Washington state legislators, county and city council, double tax big business, triple tax them, city, county, state, tax them.

Don't ever steal or give away local control of taxation.

Next up is Madeline followed by Jane and then Matthew Smith.

Hi there, can you hear me?

We can, go ahead.

Excellent.

I'm just calling in to urge City Council to vote yes on the resolution sponsored by Councilmember Sawant.

When Washington has the most regressive taxes in the nation, with the poorest families paying 18% income while the wealthiest pay only 3%, the fear of double taxing big business is absolutely ridiculous.

If Councilmembers are committed to providing essential community needs, then it should be no problem to show their support for critically necessary progressive taxation.

I've been hearing people say that someone counsel thinks supporting this resolution would be redundant.

But the state is working to undermine the tax that working people, unions, and socialists want for the community, for affordable housing paid for by taxing big business.

If maintaining the Amazon tax is clearly what your constituents want, then it should be no problem to stand with them.

It should be your job to stand with your community every single time.

Thank you.

Next is Jane Foy, followed by Matthew Smith, and then Jeff.

Monastirski.

Jane, welcome.

And if you're with us, you'll need to press star six so we can hear you.

Jane, if you are on the line, you need to press star six.

We lost you again.

Try star six one more time, please.

OK, we're having some technical difficulty there, so we'll have to come back.

Next up is Matthew Smith, followed by Jeff, and then Alvin Morigori.

Oh, Jane, are you there?

Hey, this is Matt Smith.

I'm a renter in district two.

And I first want to say I'll also be there at that car caravan this Saturday at noon at the spheres to defend the Amazon tax because we've seen that we cannot rely on the establishment to Protect these victories.

And I urge all council members, if you stand with the movement, to vote yes on council member Sawant's resolution in favor of additional taxes on big business, additional progressive taxes, and against any cuts to the Amazon tax.

We all saw in 2018, when under pressure from big business, seven of the city councilors voted to repeal the first Amazon tax that they had just passed.

And working people rightly saw that as a betrayal.

The voters in Seattle made their interest clear in 2019 when they rejected Amazon's slate of corporate candidates to city council.

And then in 2020, Seattle voters made their interest even clearer when over 30,000 Seattle voters signed the ballot initiative to win the second Amazon tax.

And now legislators in Olympia are trying to roll back the Amazon tax again.

So council members need to stand up to this, this corporate bullying.

And you cannot continue to claim that you are progressive when you continue to roll back every victory that working people have won or when you continue to be complicit in those rollbacks.

Okay, thank you.

We're gonna, I think I saw that Jane Foy was able to come back on.

So let's double back to Jane and see if we can get Jane on the line, star six.

All right, we're gonna go ahead and move along now.

is next, followed by Alvin Morigori.

Hi, I'm Jeff.

I'm a student and member of Socialist Alternative here in District 3. I'm urging the Council to vote for Councilwoman Swann's Resolution 31989 in support of progressive taxes on big business.

Given that big business has made record profits during the pandemic, it is wrong for the Council to be concerned about redundancy instead of the well-being of the community and working people.

After all, it is only through the labor of the community and working people that big business is able to make any profit.

It is the community and working people that are bearing the burden of the twin public health and economic crises, and it's only through their support that council members are allowed to sit on the city council.

The community and working people won't forget where council members were and how they voted during this time of crisis.

Thank you.

Next is Alvin Murigori followed by Karen Taylor.

Hi my name is Al and I am a renter in District 2. I urge the council to vote in support of Sawant's resolution.

A statewide tax on big business would greatly help Washington State residents as that money could be directed towards building permanently affordable housing with green union jobs and funding our schools and addressing the massive inequality in the state.

But the statewide tax should not be used to undermine our historic Seattle tax.

It should be emphasized that this legislation and when it attacks Amazon is only possible because of council member Shama Sawant and the tax Amazon movement, because of the pressure he was able to apply to the city council and the state legislatures.

Time and time again, the Democrats have been the biggest obstacle in actually passing the policies that help working people such as our Amazon tax.

Gonzalez claims that this resolution is redundant, which is honestly garbage.

Next up is Karen followed by Sonia and then Matthew Wilder.

And then Karen, if you're with us, you'll need to hit star six.

Good afternoon.

Go ahead.

Can you all hear me?

Yeah.

Hi, I'm calling in to support Shama's resolution.

And the thing I was considering is this idea of things being redundant, you know, And it's funny because we have to do things over and over and over and over again, testify, go on the streets, you know, you know, something gets repealed, we have to go back.

And also we have to face all the taxes over and over and over again.

In fact, I think a really good movie for you guys to watch that sort of dramatizes like the working class life right now that's really beautiful is called Sorry We Missed You.

It's about an Amazon driver, Amazon type company and there's a driver and you can just see like the redundant attacks.

constantly on this person's life.

So I ask you to watch that movie, and I ask you to do the right thing and redundantly pass Shama's resolution.

Next up is Sonia followed by Matthew.

Hi.

Hi, this is Sonia.

I'm asking you all to support and vote yes on Council Member Sawant's resolution.

We've talked about the redundancy, and I think it would be utterly fantastic if the work of Shama Sawant's office and our working class movement was redundant.

So if this resolution is so redundant, then what is the harm in voting yes?

It just affirms your commitment and gives you the chance to show your constituents that you will go all out to fight for progressive taxation of the super rich and the corporations.

Ordinary people are so sick of all the taxes constantly being leveled against us.

while huge profiteers like Amazon pay next to nothing.

This resolution states that we want the state legislature to pass taxes on big biz and the wealthy.

Absolutely, but not instead of the Seattle Amazon tax.

Seattle won this tax because the working people, union members, and socialists fought for it with BLM and not because just the city council Democrats did careful negotiation.

So please, I urge you to support this resolution.

Thank you.

Next is Matthew Wilder.

Hey, my name is Matt.

I'm a renter in Capitol Hill and I'm a tech worker.

Yeah, I want to urge the council members to support Council Member Sawant's resolution.

The statewide tax is good and I'm all for having another tax on big business, but I think it's clear that the City Council is trying to give companies like Amazon an off-ramp.

I think at this stage, I mean, what's going on in the country right now, no one should be on the side of Amazon right now.

The taxed Amazon movement and our car repair ban on Saturday are standing in solidarity with the workers who are fighting to unionize in Bessemer, Alabama.

There's also a fight going on in Burbank, California.

It's a taxed Amazon as well.

And so while all this is going on, I think it's kind of ridiculous and a little embarrassing that many council members are considering repealing their second Amazon tax.

It's clear that you're on the side of billionaires, not workers.

Thank you.

OK, our last speaker is Jane.

I'm going to double back here and see if Jane is available.

One last time.

Do we have Jane?

Okay, doesn't look like that is gonna be a successful connection.

Jane, I'm sure you've already emailed the council, but if you'd like to email your public comments, you're welcome to do so.

At this point, I am gonna close out public comment period, and we're gonna move to other items of business on the agenda.

First up is payment of the bills.

Will the clerk please read the title?

And Madam Clerk, you might be muted.

Payment of bills, Council Bill, excuse me, Council Bill 119997, an ordinance appropriating money to pay certain audited claims for the week of February 1st, 2021 through February 5th, 2021, and ordering the payment thereof.

Thank you, I move to pass Council Bill 119997. Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded that the bill pass.

Are there any comments?

Hearing no comments, will please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

Peterson.

Yes.

Sawant.

Yes.

Strauss.

Yes.

Herbal.

Yes.

Juarez.

Yes.

Lewis.

Yes.

Morales.

Yes.

Mosqueda.

Yes.

President Gonzalez?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

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

Will the clerk please read item one into the record?

Agenda item one, clerk file 314469, the 2021 state of the city address addressed by Mayor Jenny A. Durkin on February 15th,

2021. I move to accept and file clerk file 314469. Is there a second?

Second.

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

As I just wanted to make sure that folks heard that again, as I mentioned during council briefing and now during full council, This is a requirement of Article 5, Section 6 of our charter to accept and officially file the remarks made by Mayor Durkan as part of her State of the City Address.

And so this clerk file is representative of those remarks and does satisfy the charter obligations under Article 5, Section 6. I am happy to take any additional comments if there are additional comments from colleagues before we call this forward.

Are there any comments?

Hearing no comments, will the clerk please call the roll on the filing of the clerk file?

Peterson.

Yes.

Sawant.

Yes.

Strauss.

Yes.

Herbold.

Yes.

Juarez.

Aye.

Lewis.

Yes.

Morales.

Yes.

Mosqueda.

Yes.

President Gonzalez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

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

Will the clerk please read item two into the record.

Agenda item two.

Resolution 31989 affirming support for progressive big business taxes to fund essential community needs urging the Washington State Legislature to enact statewide taxes on big business and the rich without any preemption or other ban limitation or phasing out of Seattle's ability to raise revenue through local big business taxes or other progressive revenue sources and requesting the Office of Intergovernmental Relations communicate this resolution to Washington State lawmakers.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Council Member Sawant, as sponsor, you are recognized in order to move the resolution for council's consideration.

I move resolution, sorry, I'm gonna get the number.

I move resolution 31989 for a vote.

Thank you for that.

Council Member Sawant, is there a second to the motion to adopt Resolution 31989.

Can I get a courtesy second so I can speak to the item?

Hearing no second, the resolution is not seconded and we will proceed with item 3 on the agenda.

Item 3, will the clerk please read the short title of item 3 into the record?

The report of the Public Safety and Human Services Committee Agenda Item 3, Council Bill 11996, relating to Seattle's construction codes, adopting the 2018 International Fire Code by reference as the Seattle Fire Code.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Council Member Herbold, as chair of the committee, you are recognized to provide the committee's report.

Thank you.

So as described this morning in council briefings, the fire code is typically updated along with the Seattle building code.

The Seattle building code was passed earlier this month through council member Strauss's leadership and through his committee.

We work to pass a fire code in conjunction with the building code to ensure consistency in development standards.

The fire code was last updated in 2016, and it's usually updated every three years.

Last year, both the building code and the fire code updates were delayed due to the public health emergency.

Just highlighting the major changes in the fire code, there are four sort of categories of major changes.

One relates to allowing alternative fuel vehicles on display inside buildings to maintain their battery connection in order to keep their safety systems active.

A second change relates to the need for integrated testing systems in high rise buildings to assure fire protection and life safety systems work together in an integrated way as intended and are tested at least every 10 years.

Third relates to a need for mobile fueling of vehicles to allow for mobile fueling of vehicles in designated areas such as parking lots and only those parking lots that meet certain requirements.

And then finally, there's a new chapter added to address the installation of large electrical energy storage systems that are more prevalent now than they were and were unregulated by the previous fire code.

If it's okay now, Madam President, I do have an amendment.

Absolutely.

Please go ahead and address your amendment.

Thank you.

I move to amend Council Bill 119996, attachment A, as presented on Amendment 1 on the agenda.

OK.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you so much.

It's been moved and seconded to amend the bill as presented on Amendment 1. Council Member Herbold, I will hand it back over to you so you can address the amendment.

Thank you.

This is a technical amendment.

It's adding in a missing page, page 116, regarding fuel tank storage.

The page was inadvertently left out and includes some changes from the International Fire Council's code.

Excellent.

Are there any comments on the amendment as described by Council Member Herbold?

Hearing no comments or questions, will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of Amendment 1.

Peterson.

Yes.

Sawant.

Yes.

Strauss.

Yes.

Herbold.

Yes.

Juarez.

Aye.

Lewis.

Yes.

Morales.

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Yes.

President Gonzalez?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The motion carries.

The amendment is adopted and the bill as amended is before the council.

Are there any additional comments on the amended bill?

Hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the amended bill?

Peterson?

Yes.

Sawant?

Yes.

Strauss.

Yes.

Herbold.

Yes.

Juarez.

Aye.

Lewis.

Yes.

Morales.

Yes.

Mosqueda.

Yes.

President Gonzales.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

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, adoption of other resolutions.

Will the clerk please read item four into the record.

Agenda item 4, resolution 31990, setting the time and place for hearings on appeals of certain appellants.

Hearing examiner case numbers CWF 0067, 0015, and 0231 from the final findings and recommendations report of the hearing examiner on the final assessments roll for local improvement district number 6751. Thank you.

I move to adopt resolution 31990. Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded to adopt the resolution.

Council Member Juarez, I'm going to hand it over to you to walk us through this resolution.

Thank you, Council President.

This resolution sets the time and place, as I was sharing with you this morning, for a hearing for three appeals before the Public Assets and Native Communities Committee on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. The appeals are to the hearing examiner's findings and recommendation report on the waterfront lid or the local improvement district number 6751, This is to meet the requirement in the quasi-judicial rules.

Council must take action this week via the resolution.

This is a mandatory and procedural matter, and we recommend council confirm resolution 31990. Thank you.

Thank you so much for that description.

Colleagues, are there any other comments on the resolution?

Hearing no additional comments on the resolution, will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the resolution?

Peterson?

Yes.

Sawant?

Yes.

Strauss?

Yes.

Herbold?

Council Member Herbold?

She's working on it.

She's working to try to unmute herself.

I'll come back.

Council Member Juarez.

I'll vote yes for Council Member Herbold.

Yes for me too.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Aye.

Council Member Herbold.

Yes.

Council President Gonzalez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

the most anticipated vote of Councilmember Gold of the day.

Thank you so much.

Motion carries.

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 item five into the record?

Item five, resolution 31992, identifying the principles and activities characterizing equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

I move to adopt Resolution 31992. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you so much.

It's been moved and seconded to adopt the resolution.

And as sponsor of this resolution, I'll address it first and then happy to open the floor to comments.

Colleagues, this morning we had an opportunity to have a robust discussion about what got us here today with Resolution 31922. This is a joint resolution with input from many of your offices as equitable vaccine distribution has become a significant issue of concern for all of us in the city and in the region and across the country.

Last week, we heard a powerful community panel of leaders from community health clinics that serve much of Seattle's BIPOC communities and from impacted community members themselves related to the vaccine rollout thus far.

And this all occurred in my governance and education committee.

I am thankful to the experts and leaders of the community panel and government panel on informing us about how we must center equity in vaccine delivery.

We cannot and must not sacrifice fairness and equity for the sake of moving quickly because it will mean people will be left behind, especially our BIPOC elders who face significant barriers like language and digital literacy and transportation issues as well in finding and getting to appointments.

It gives me hope to hear from community that it is possible to address needs now.

And in doing so, we can ensure vaccines can get to everyone equitably when we do have more supply available to us.

Three key things, as I identified this morning, were shared by our panelists during our committee meeting.

related to vaccine plans and what is needed to allow those vaccine plans to be equitable.

First is an improvement of data collection so that there is a clear picture of who is being served or not served.

And I'm happy to say that Council Member Herbal does have an amendment for our consideration today that addresses that particular key item for discussion and consideration today.

Second, we must trust and follow the leadership of those who know how to serve their communities, such as community health clinics that have successfully delivered care and services to people despite barriers.

And lastly, shifting and prioritizing resources and power to walk the walk of equity, not just pay lip service to equity.

I am grateful to each of the panelists who joined us last week.

who all collectively reminded us that we must shift power and resources to communities so that they are well-equipped to serve the communities we represent.

And with that being said, I have some additional comments I'd like to make, but I'm gonna save those until we close out debate.

But for now, I am happy to hear any additional comments, including Council Member Verbal's amendment.

Would you like to do that now, Council Member Herbold?

Sure, I just was pausing to see if there were any other comments, but yeah, I'm happy to move the amendment.

Sorry, I'm having a hard time pushing back and forth between screens here.

So I move to amend Resolution 31992 as presented on Amendment 1 that was recently distributed.

I'll second that.

Thank you.

As I spoke about this amendment at this morning's briefing meeting, basically this amendment requires that vaccine providers collect and report information about the rates of people receiving vaccines.

This is something that we heard a lot about from folks in Council President Gonzalez's committee meeting last week.

It not only adds a commitment by the city and vaccine providers to collect this information, but it also makes a commitment that we will analyze the data in collaboration with public health and Washington's Department of Health and analyze the data in the goal of using that analysis to identify and close gaps in vaccine distribution.

Our offices received a letter from a collective of BIPOC organizations signed by dozens of community organizations and members urging specific actions to address inequity, including urging the state to track race and ethnicity of people who are vaccinated, share the data publicly and use it to monitor and ensure ongoing equitable vaccine access commensurate with the disparities in infection rates and hospitalizations in BIPOC communities.

Staff circulated an updated version of the amendment at 12 24 p.m.

Included a stylistic edit recommended by law, but no substantive changes.

Right.

Thank you so much because more wars.

I do see that you have your hand up.

Did you want to speak to the amendment or the underlying resolution?

Oh, I can speak to the underlying whenever you're ready.

Okay, let's let's take take Council Member Herbold's amendment first, and then you will be first in the queue to talk about the underlying resolution.

Any comments on Council Member Herbold's amendment as described?

Hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll on amendment one to resolution 31992, which was moved and duly seconded.

Peterson?

Yes.

Sawant?

Yes.

Strauss?

Yes.

Herbold.

Yes.

Juarez.

Yes.

Lewis.

Yes.

Morales.

Yes.

Mosqueda.

Yes.

President Gonzalez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The motion carries.

The amendment is adopted and the amended resolution is before the council.

Council Member Juarez, you have your hand up and are in the queue.

The floor is yours.

Thank you, Council President.

I wanted to, first of all, thank you, Council Member or Council President González-Tenvi.

For your work that you did and putting together this resolution and the strong committee panel that you offered up for well over almost what was it like three hours.

And it was really, really informative.

I know we meet with these groups, a lot, but it's another thing when we actually are focused laser focused on something as urgent.

and emergent as a pandemic.

I particularly appreciated the inclusion of the Seattle Indian Health Board as they continue to demonstrate a successful model for education, outreach, and community responsibility, as shown in their national survey, as I shared with you this morning, that was published January of 2021. We heard loud and clear across panelists that as council, we must identify ways in which we are, as you shared, Council President, shifting power and resources to community.

In addition, we learned as organizations adapt and meet community needs, resources need to be flexible for our communities, communities that are transient, communities that are unsheltered, and those that don't often find themselves in the halls of City Hall.

And I think we also heard loud and clear the importance, again, like we do anytime we do community outreach, that we have to rely on trusted community messengers for everything from healthcare, to vaccines, to housing, to education, and this is just another model.

And I want to thank again, Estela Cerro, the CEO of the Sierra Leonean Health Board, for bringing us closer to that reality about how that works and how well it's done.

And as I've shared, the Sierra Leonean Health Board and our office have contributed to this resolution, and we appreciate the council president's support and direct collaboration, and I will be voting in favor of this resolution.

Thank you.

Thank you so much Council Member Juarez.

Any additional comments on the resolution as amended?

Council Member Mosqueda.

Thank you very much, Madam President.

And thank you, Madam President, for your leadership in drafting this resolution in front of us today.

I really appreciate, I'm sorry, this ordinance and this resolution in front of us today.

I appreciate your leadership in hosting the forum that has been referenced a few times.

And I think it was very illuminating.

It complimented many of the calls and letters that many of us have received over the last few months.

And I also appreciated hearing directly from the public health officials who are on the line and who, during your committee, also had a chance to comment on the known fact that our public health system has continually seen declined resources and revenue over the last few decades as public health infrastructure has eroded, has been privatized and has been outsourced, leaving us in a very vulnerable situation for crises like this.

And when we're left in a vulnerable situation and our public health infrastructure doesn't have the resources it needs, the very inequities that we see every day become exacerbated during a pandemic such that COVID is displaying in front of us.

For those who are on the front line as frontline workers, more likely to be women and people of color, our elders who are in precarious situations with compounding health crises, who are also more likely to be people of color, and those who have been without access to health care and regular routine preventative treatment who are also more likely to be people of color, all of these compounding inequities come to bear when there is a pandemic like this.

So the presentation that you had in your committee, the call for equitable distribution from the community members, including frontline providers within community health centers and federally qualified health centers, really brings to light that the pandemic is just the sort of tip of the iceberg in all of the ways in which our health system must be reformed to truly be a more equitable system.

I really want to applaud the work that the community health clinics have done, community organizations like American Indian Health Commission, the Community Health Board Coalition, Casa Latina, ACRS, and many more like CMAR and ICHS, who have done tremendous work directly with Seattle King County Public Health to make sure that they are getting the resources out across their community, especially to our elderly community, and to individuals to speak English as a second language to make sure that the very least we're sharing information resources and are able to give folks a sense of direction and hope for when there will be vaccines.

But the underlying lack of vaccines at the federal level, the underlying misinformation, if not outright lies from the Trump administration, have left many of us scrambling for solutions.

And I know that your resolution highlights that in Seattle, we can do better.

In our region of the country, we can and must do better.

We've led in so many ways of defining what equity looks like.

And as it relates to responding to COVID, I really applaud the resolution's effort to make sure that vaccine distribution does not further exacerbate those same inequities that we have seen play out in many of the systems that have left far too many behind and far too many left out.

Seattle is an opportunity to do better by investing our resources to support equitable opportunities for vaccines, especially in BIPOC communities in partnership with those FQHCs and community health centers who, at the committee briefing, talked about how they are the very fabric of a safety net system, a safety net system that is ready to deploy vaccines, not just in bilingual ways, but in bicultural ways through trusted community partners.

I'm really looking forward to our continued partnership.

I'm hopeful for the release of additional vaccines to Washington State.

And I think the resolution and calling for this partnership with state and regional partners to ensure distribution of vaccines is equitable will help Seattle again be a leader in how to respond to this crisis and the crises that we know are just below the surface in our healthcare system that is not allowing for individuals to have year-round access to preventative care so that we can better weather the storms like global deadly pandemics.

I appreciate all the work that you've done and look forward to working with you and our entire community as we focus on health recovery and economic recovery, which will go hand in glove.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you so much for those comments and for your support, Council Member Mosqueda.

I really appreciate it.

Are there any additional comments on the underlying resolution as amended?

All right.

Well, then I'm going to make some closing remarks in closing out today's debate.

Again, colleagues, I want to thank Mayor Durkin for her collaboration and concurrence on this resolution.

I also want to thank Council Members Juarez, Herbold, Peterson, and Strauss for their feedback and edits to the resolution.

I want to thank Jeff Sims on central staff for his work, Brianna Thomas and Vee Nguyen in my office.

and again, Cam Carr and Council Member Juarez's office for their work as staff to make sure that this resolution was in good shape for today.

I also want to thank Seattle King County Public Health for their partnership, collaboration, and alignment on equity principles, and to the Washington State Department of Health representatives who joined us in committee last week.

Also, huge shout out to Representative Pramila Jayapal's office for their partnership and leadership on this issue as well.

They of course sent, she of course sent a representative from her office or her health policy advisor joined us in committee to talk about the federal perspective related to COVID-19 equity issues.

And in fact, last week, Representative Jayapal and along with Representative DelBene issued a letter to to the Department of Social and Health Services, a letter really solidifying their strong position on making sure that equity is at the center of any distribution efforts and also calling for repercussions and accountability for private healthcare providers who are skirting vaccine distribution rules by providing access, private access to those who are not in the phases and are therefore circumventing the phasing guidelines.

And finally, my deepest gratitude to Esther Lucero, Abigail Alcahoc, Teresita Bateola, Jesus Sanchez, Dr. Ben Danielson, Trang Tu, and Gigi Daly for their commitment to serving our BIPOC communities and for spending so much time with us in committee.

I really deeply appreciate all of the work that they do to serve our BIPOC communities and especially our elders.

And it was an honor to learn from them last week, and I'm grateful for their speaking truth to power.

We are most certainly a better city and community for their leadership and for their commitment to serve others, especially during this pandemic.

They are putting themselves at risk in order to be of service to our greater community and I deeply appreciate it.

Okay, colleagues, that does conclude debate on this resolution.

So I'm gonna ask that the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the amended resolution.

Peterson.

Yes.

Sawant.

Yes.

Strauss.

Yes.

Herbold.

Yes.

Juarez.

Yes.

Lewis.

Yes.

Morales.

Yes.

Mosqueda.

Yes.

President Gonzalez.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The motion carries.

The resolution is adopted as amended and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my back.

Okay, other business.

Council Member Juarez, you mentioned during council briefing this morning that you have a letter for our consideration.

So I am going to go ahead and hand it over to Council Member Juarez, who is going to officially present a letter to us for signature related to the sale of the National Archives facility in Seattle.

Thank you, Council President, as I shared with you this morning, as Council Peterson did to give you a quick little update again.

On the National Archives, our office has worked closely with the Office of Intergovernmental Relations and Law to put together this letter addressed to the Biden administration requesting federal help to protect the historical documents that belong in the Pacific Northwest, but are at risk of removal due to a federal decision to sell the National Archives facility.

As I shared this morning, we witnessed a big win for the tribes, the state, the region, and the city of Seattle as they joined later as plaintiffs.

when Judge Kunauer granted a temporary injunction halting the process, that is halting the sale.

This is the perfect time to join our neighboring states and tribal governments from Alaska, Oregon, and Idaho who are also affected by this harmful federal decision.

As I shared with you this morning, there are 49 plaintiffs.

They've also sent similar letters to Washington, D.C.

and Interior for assistance.

I am proud to have followed this issue since January 2020, along with Councilmember Peterson.

When Seattle first heard that this was an issue, Chief Librarian Marcells Turner and I coordinated potential impacts to Seattle in our discussions with the City Attorney's Office to become plaintiffs as well, while I also had similar conversations with tribal leadership in our region.

On January 19th, Mr. Ferguson put together, AG Ferguson, put together a public hearing to hear from folks who rely on the facility and the records it holds.

And we literally heard from hundreds and hundreds of folks.

On that day, we also announced that the city of Seattle would also be joining as plaintiff.

So a big thank you to Pete Holmes and the city attorney's office and his legal team and their leadership and hard work.

We have so many communities from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho that rely on this place that houses our history.

And without the tribes, I don't believe we would have gotten this far.

I want to thank the tribes and their lawyers for the time during the hearing, for their legal expertise during this lawsuit, and for their guidance during a time when there was none from the prior administration.

I'm hopeful we can keep our archives here where it belongs.

More to come on that front.

This letter is one of many efforts to save our archives.

Council President Gonzalez, signatures.

I'm going to hand it back over to you to ask you to see if signatures can be affixed and you can walk us through the last step.

Thank you.

Awesome.

Thank you so much, Council Member Juarez, for that description and for your work on the underlying issue.

Are there any additional comments on the letter or questions about the letter before we call the roll?

Council Member Peterson, please.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Council Member Juarez, for your leadership on this.

I'm hopeful the new Biden administration will listen to the tribal nations and agree that Trump administration officials did not follow the federal law, and it's best simply to keep those vital historical documents here.

Our congressional delegation already supports keeping the facility in the Northwest.

Ideally, they can help to find federal resources to pay for any necessary upgrades to the facility.

greatly appreciate the work of our Washington State Attorney General, Bob Ferguson, as well as the Tribal Nations advocacy organizations, Council Member Juarez, researchers, many others successfully fighting the proposed sale so that we can keep the priceless archival histories here for generations to come.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Council Member Peterson.

Are there any other comments on the letter?

Hearing and seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll to determine which council members would like their signature affixed to the letter relating to the sale of the National Archives facility in Seattle.

Peterson.

Yes.

Sawant.

Yes.

Strauss.

Yes.

Herbold.

Yes.

Juarez.

Yes.

Lewis.

Yes.

Morales.

Yes.

Mosqueda.

Yes.

President Gonzalez?

Yes.

Nine in favor.

So much the signatures will be affixed to the letter.

Colleagues, is there any other further business to come before the council?

All right, this does conclude the items of business on today's agenda.

Our next regularly scheduled City Council meeting is on Monday, February 22, 2021 at 2 o'clock p.m.

I do hope that all of you have a wonderful afternoon.

We're adjourned.