Seattle City Council 12/16/19

Good afternoon, everybody.

Thank you for being here for our December 16th meeting.

This is be our last meeting of the year So the December 16 2019 City Council meeting of the full City Council will now come to order It's 2 o'clock p.m.

I'm Bruce Harreld president of the Council of the clerk.

Please call the roll Juarez O'Brien Peterson here.

So what?

bank shop Gonzales President Harrell here six present

Thank you very much.

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

Hearing no objection, today's introduction and referral calendar is adopted.

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

I do have some amendments I'd like to advance.

So bear with me as I explain them.

Agenda item number two, which is council bill one one nine seven two zero.

I'd like to move that it be held until january 6 2020 Okay, it's been moved and seconded just for the viewing public.

That's a budget item that um, we will move um till next year and it's just um sort of a pro forma perfunctory kind of legislation Um, and we'll just do that next year.

Okay, any questions on the amendment on that one?

All those in favor of that amendment, please vote aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

Okay.

We will also, if there's no objection, the agenda will be amended to move agenda item number 28, which is council 119712 after item one.

And the report of the gender equity safe communities, new Americans and education committee report items 46 through 51. We'll move that after agenda item number four.

And that is resolution three one, 918 by the way, and the reason for this is again, we have some conflicts and we want to make sure we Get some earlier agenda some of the latter Agenda items up earlier in our agenda.

So any questions or comments on that?

Okay, so I'm gonna Move those Amendments to the agenda as I described.

Is there a second all those in favor of those amendments, please vote.

Aye.

Aye Opposed the ayes have it.

Okay I'll now move to approve the agenda as amended.

Is there a second?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

So there I'm sure I will not make any mistakes as we go through the agenda item and those orders.

Presentations.

We have an exciting presentation and at this time I'll ask our City Clerk Monica Martinez-Simmons to administer the oath of office to our very own Councilmember Deborah Juarez.

And it's my honor to administer your official oath of office.

Council Member Juarez, please raise your right hand and repeat after me.

I, Debra Juarez, swear or affirm that I possess all the qualifications prescribed in the Seattle City Charter and the Seattle Municipal Code for the position of City Council Member of the City of Seattle that I will support the Constitution of the United States, unlike some people, the Constitution of the State of Washington and the Charter and Ordinances and the chartered ordinances of the city of Seattle, and that I will faithfully conduct myself as Seattle City Council member.

Thank you.

Thank you, guys.

I was talking about Trump.

I want your shoes.

OK, we got that over with.

And then one more.

Okay.

Thank you, guys.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Not until she votes.

Okay.

That was fun.

Going to move on down our agenda item here.

At this time, we'll take public comment on items that appear in our agenda for today, our introductory referral calendar, or our work program.

We're going to go down in the order that you signed up here.

And each speaker will be asked to speak for two minutes.

And we'll start with Matthew Lang followed by Jonathan Hephill or Hephill.

Good afternoon, Council.

My name is Matthew Lang.

I'm a District 5 resident of the Licton Springs neighborhood and the lead organizer of the Transit Riders Union.

I'm here today to speak in favor of Council Resolution 31921, which states intent to move forward with legislation in 2020 that would expand the commuter benefits ordinance to enact the labor standard of requiring businesses to provide a subsidized transit pass for their employers, otherwise known as ORCA for All.

Throughout 2019, the Transit Riders Union has been conducting direct outreach to workers throughout Seattle, conducting the Seattle Commute Project, a survey of nearly 1,000 respondents that revealed inequity in how transit benefits are distributed in the city.

It was found that 80% of workers making $100,000 or more receive a transit subsidy from their employer, while only half of earners making $50,000 or less are.

It also becomes clear that this is a racial equity issue when considering that in the Seattle Times report earlier this year, that median black household income is less than that $50,000 mark, and Latinx and Native families are only earning slightly above that.

I urge the council to do the right thing today by voting yes on Resolution 31921 and pave the way for Orca for All.

I also wanted to speak a little bit about the ILA today.

I'm a little bit disappointed, honestly, that the work was rushed through at the end of the year and that things moved so fast without a proper public engagement process.

I just want to make sure that folks that have lived experience, that their voices are centered in this work, that it has not become politicized.

I have some misgivings about how the new governing board looks.

And I really appreciate Council Member Gonzalez's attachment to make sure that the work continues and that people with lived experiences voices are centered.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So Jonathan will be our next speaker and following Jonathan will be Thalia Garcia and then Juanita.

I just I can't make you last name out Juanita, sorry.

Go ahead.

Hello.

My name is Jonathan Hemphill.

I am a supporter of the Lived Experience Coalition, a member of the Youth Action Board, and a member of the Washington State Poor People's Campaign and National Call for Moral Revival.

I am here to speak to you today regarding legislation surrounding the new regional homeless authority.

It has come to my attention that the alternative proposal weakens the voices of people with lived experience and that this new proposal did not go through those with lived experience previously.

King County and Seattle through the National Innovation Service went around and gathered input and blessings from those who are most impacted throughout Seattle.

And this proposal simply weakens their voices and is looked at as a bait and switch because it, I'm sorry, because it undermines everything that they went through and they believed.

I believe that this will be an immoral betrayal of your Constitutes by pushing forward with this alternative proposal and an immoral exploitation of the poor because of the fact that you did go around and get their voices and their concerns.

These people desire and deserve the self-determination to get themselves out of their predicament, and that is why they push so hard for this proposal and to have seats on the governing board of this new authority.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Following Thalia is Juanita and then David Haynes.

Hi, my name is Talia Garcia and I have been a voting person in City of Seattle and also have donated some funds to some council members here.

So I want to say that I was invited a year ago as a Youth Action Board member to speak here at this table to provide solution of what would benefit the people who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of experiencing homelessness and I shared some of my stories here as a Youth Action Board and now I'm here as a lived experience coalition member and I want to say I support the original plan provided by National Innovation Science that includes people with lived experience, LAC members, leadership, Youth Action Board members, Consumer Advisory Board members, in addition to people of color and leadership.

And I wanna say that their voices are more heard in the original proposal and that it helps put more accountability to people with lived experience or who are at risk experiencing homelessness.

So I wanna say that there's a lot of, there's a lot of, There's not, I would say that either way you guys decide to go, I respect you guys, just in general who you are, because you guys are amazing people.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Juanita, are you here, Juanita?

It looks like it starts with an S, P, is that you?

I'm sorry.

And then David Haynes would follow you.

What was your last name, Moanita?

Spotted Elk.

Thank you.

Moanita Spotted Elk.

Yeah, well, I'm a Northern Cheyenne tribal member, and I lived in this community for many years.

And I just want to have the opportunity to also add to the other voices as a collective.

And I appreciate the work and the opportunity to witness what just happened earlier, the swearing in.

And I believe that we're all here as witnesses, as a witness to this new beginning.

I'm a little bit nervous, so bear with me.

I want to, I'm here as a mother and for my children.

I'm indigenous to this land, and I always want to acknowledge the Duwamish, and I know that this work is sacred, and I want to say that and recognize that work and the honoring of it, and I want to also say and help cultivate this space that everyone has the opportunity to help in this work to end homelessness.

And I'm also a member of the Lived Experience Coalition, and I come from that community, from being homeless and because of domestic violence and how that how the current legislation does not create that work for other people to have a voice.

And I appreciate our home and the staff there and their heart and their generosity and their compassion for this work that's being done now.

And it's given me an opportunity, it's empowered me in a way to learn.

This is definitely something that I not have thought of before.

But anyway, I just wanna say, listen, don't leave us out of that table.

We're all here in this land as equal people and that we want to help make decisions.

Thank you for your work.

Thank you, Juanita.

David Haynes will be followed by Mandy Wolf.

Did you see the news article about allhome.com, the so-called homeless industry experts who have a website that tells the homeless to call 211?

The director is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

and deviant, racist, perverted, and treasonous unconstitutional agendas to upend a normal effort for sick data choices based on racism and perversions.

This is a perfect opportunity to break up allhome.com and purge allhome.com from any and all regional authority.

We need better homeless lived experience instead of more work in the pay plan, shortchanging taxpayers and homeless with a racist and perverted agenda for the last, excuse me, For the last year and a half, allhome.com has conspired to trick city council by paying New York City consultants with a perverted and racist agenda to reorganize another layer of homeless authority, with the same allhome.com perverts and racists at the top of the authority, misleading about solving the homeless crisis and going off on deviant decolonization ideas of gender and sexual perversions, allowing employees to get their cheap thrills at the expense of innocent homeless.

faced with another cold winter.

Where is the city council leadership to supersede the red tape and fire and rehire only the qualified employees?

Don't think the director at all home is the only problem.

She is responding to the employees who've wrongly been hired to permeate the whole efforts for another 20 years working the pay plan.

Maybe city council instead of doing another like squandered furthered effort of solving the problem should like reconsider.

I mess this up.

It's not enough time in this.

If City Council ignores the problems at all home and votes for the very authority that all home paid to be a part of, you will only prove that your decisions cost you your hopes for re-election and that you still do your colleagues a favor financing a corrupt politic behind the dais.

It's not fair, this is the end of this.

You guys should end this accommodation and have an investigation of allhome.com and the whole homeless industrial complex with six figure salaries tied to the political donations on this dais.

Thank you.

Thank you for that.

Mandy Wolf is next and Mandy will be followed by D'Artagnan Calamon.

Good morning and thank you for allowing me to be here today.

My name is Mandy Wolfe.

I am a member of the Lived Experience Coalition and a founding member of the King County Youth Action Board.

I also support the forming of the Regional Homelessness Authority.

However, the amendments that have been given that tell us that those of us with lived experience should be given the same weight as sound cities, who has not given a single dime to help our homeless community.

They should have the same voting power as us, who actually have been through the problems, who are here today to tell you that there are some serious problems with our system.

No, they do not deserve that.

What is deserved is that after the last 10 years of me doing this exact work, being in this exact room with many of the same people, 10 years is enough.

It has been too long, and y'all need to start listening to those of us who have been in this, who know what the problems in our system are, because we have fallen through those cracks.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Following Mr. Calliman will be Harold Odom and then Miranda Hunter.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is D'Artagnan Calliman.

Six months ago, I returned back to the Pacific Northwest, a place where I grew up, to serve as the Executive Director of Building Changes.

As our organization's name suggests, we seek change within our homeless response system to address the inequities created through our actions as a community.

Change is good.

It is needed.

Every day that we delay a comprehensive solution to ending homelessness is another day people go underserved.

It is our civic and moral obligation as neighbors to bring that solution to light.

Over the past year, the National Innovation Service, the group that created the original plan transmitted to council in early September, worked with so many people in the region to craft a solution that gets us closer to our shared goal.

They connected with people currently or formerly experiencing homelessness, service providers, government officials, and community-based organizations.

They facilitated workgroups and meetings, circulated ideas and drafts.

The final interlocal agreement centered personal voice and experience.

It has guiding principles.

It has oversight.

that the original ILA is the one building changes supports.

It provided for real power sharing between elected, those with lived experience, and people who have expertise from working in this field.

It provided for a new regional authority that would be able to operate outside of politics so that our neighbors who are living and some who are dying on the streets get urgent solutions.

Our response to homelessness should not be political.

It should be grounded in an effort to serve with urgency.

Thus, I ask that this council truly consider the community-driven solution of that ILA.

Our neighbors are counting on it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So, following Harold Oldham will be Miranda Hunter and Sheila Babb Anderson.

Good morning, Council.

Chair Harrell and Juarez, you were at the last King County Regional Board.

You looked upset.

You've vocalized your disapprovement with this amendment.

Vocalize it to the rest of your council.

Bruce.

Okay, Bruce.

Your son and I on lead experience.

I know what kind of man you are because I see what kind of man he is.

I expect you to rise up to this.

Your last year, rise up.

Rise up, and I'll just read one thing for you.

You may shoot me with your words, cut me with your eyes.

You may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I rise.

Out of the huts of history's shame, I rise.

Up from the past roots of pain, I rise.

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide.

Willing, swelling, I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear, I rise.

Into daybreak, into the wonderless clear, I rise.

Bring the gifts of my ancestors gave.

I am the dream of the slave.

I rise.

I rise.

I rise.

It's empowering.

Maya Angelou, who's performed here many times, I'm sure you've seen her.

It's kind of required reading.

It's the struggle that we overcome.

It's a face of prejudice and injustice that we overcome.

Homeless suffer from domestic violence, children going from couch to couch, predator to predator, sexual violence.

We still rise.

It's empowering from the misconduct of government and police, but still we rise.

We use it as an anthem, and I see my time has gone, but still, just letting you know, we rise.

And with lived experience, we should be on that board.

We should be at that table right there, giving testimony.

Two minutes is not enough time to cover it.

Thank you, Mr. Odom.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Miranda and Shilabab Anderson as Angelus Stowell.

Hello, everyone.

My name is Miranda Hunter.

I'm a part of the Lived Experience Coalition.

I'm also a member of the Youth Action Board.

I've come today because we need to finalize the proposal that we need to vote on.

And I really appreciate all the hard work that y'all are doing now.

But we have some things that need to be highlighted in this amendment that has been brought back to us.

Essentially, the seats that we have for the regional authority, we appreciate that you added 12, but in correlation to numbers, we need an 80% majority in regards to hold accountable the authority that we are giving everyone.

And not only that, but we also need to be mindful of duplicating the seats that we have in that room or as stakeholders.

We need to make sure that we are highlighting the lived experience of the people that have gone through these things that y'all use as resources and just make sure we have a consistent change and work together.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

My name is Sheila Babb Anderson, and I'm the Homelessness Program Director for the Campion Advocacy Fund and a resident of District 6. Thank you, Councilmember O'Brien, for all of your years of service to the lovely community of Ballard.

As one of the philanthropic partners working with the city and county, I urge you to support the creation of the Regional Governance Authority.

While this new proposal has some significant changes from the one transmitted by the mayor and the executive, It includes significant steps forward that we can all be proud of, including centering the expertise of people who have experienced homelessness with real power on the Implementation and Governing Board, clear guiding principles that center race and social justice, planned development from a panel of experts with cross-sector experience, and a true regional approach on an issue that does not start or stop at city lines.

We share similar concerns that the members of the City Council have voiced, but we believe these concerns can be monitored and amended in the budget process.

The philanthropic and business community recognize that we need a new approach and we stand ready to assist in the implementation so that we can be sure the new system lives up to everyone's expectations.

This is just the first step.

If our community is serious about addressing homelessness, we need to act now.

We look forward to continuing the work in the year ahead.

Thank you for all of your work over the last several months.

We know that change is hard and we appreciate your willingness to negotiate with the county and other stakeholders in this process.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So our last two speakers I have are Angela Stowell and then Marty.

Is it Dash or Marty Dash?

Good afternoon.

My name is Angela Stoll.

I'm the CEO of Fair Start.

Thank you for the opportunity today to testify.

I'm here to offer my voice of support for the Regional Homelessness Authority.

At Fair Start, we provide life skills and job training to adults and young people who are experiencing some of the biggest barriers to employment and a stable life, issues like addiction, mental health, incarceration, and, of course, homelessness.

Our ability to do this work relies heavily on collaboration with provider partners with whom we contract for housing and wraparound services.

And these partnerships aren't perfect.

They require effort on all sides, working in the best interest of those who we serve, because we understand the urgency of getting folks off the street and into stable housing and employment.

The regional authority plan in front of you is not perfect.

I agree with many of those who spoke earlier that the original plan was well thought, well written, well researched and included those with lived experience.

But I do think the time is now to start moving forward and pointing us in a direction of solutions.

I appreciate your urgency in moving this through council and bringing it to a vote so quickly and I hope you'll take the opportunity today to cast your vote in support.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So the last speaker I have signed up is Marty.

You'll have the final word.

Yay, Mary's Place.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Marty Hartman.

I'm the director of Mary's Place.

At Mary's Place, we believe that no one's child should have to sleep outside.

And when families lose their address, they shouldn't lose their community too.

And I want to thank you for caring about your neighbors that are sleeping outside.

Homelessness in our region is complicated.

and we need all hands on deck to move forward.

I'm here today to ask your support for this legislation to create a new regional homelessness authority.

We appreciate your work and leaning into this community crisis of homelessness.

Change is hard, this plan is not perfect, but it's a first step.

We hope that this regional authority will bring all resources together to improve effectiveness and efficiency.

And we remain committed and hopeful that people with lived experience will have meaningful seats in our leadership and oversight and hope that unsheltered families will be a priority.

We need to stop the cycle of trauma that is created when children live outside and unsheltered.

Thank you.

Thank you, Marty.

That will conclude our public comment section.

Before I move to the payment of the bills, I do want to make one more amendment to our agenda that I didn't have, and that is...

If there's no objection, the agenda will be further amended, move item 29, which is Council Bill 119716, after the new item two.

And before it's seconded, I'm just, I need six council members here for that particular vote, just by our rules.

And I wanna make sure I have six for that one.

So that's the only reason we're gonna move that after the new item two, is there a second?

Any questions or comments?

All those in favor of that amendment to the agenda, please vote aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

And I'll ask the clerk.

I have a lot of amendments on the agenda, so I may need a little help there.

Let's move to payment of the bills.

Please read the title.

Council Bill 119727 approving my interface out in claims for the week of December 2nd, 2018 through December 6th, 2019, ordering the payment thereof.

Thank you, I'll move to pass Council Bill 119727. It's been moved and seconded.

Are there any comments?

Please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

Juarez.

Aye.

O'Brien.

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

Bangsha.

Aye.

Gonzales.

Aye.

President Harrell.

Aye.

Six in favor, none opposed.

Bill passed and the Chair will sign it.

Okay, please read the first agenda item.

The report of the Finance Neighborhoods Committee, agenda item one, Council Bill 119721, authorizing in 2019 acceptance of funding from non-city sources.

Committee recommends the bill pass.

Council Member Bagshaw.

Thank you very much for this.

I appreciate it that we and our committee recommended that this item be Moved through this committee and unless there's any further questions about it.

I'm just going to recommend do pass Okay, it's perfunctory legislation any questions or comments?

Okay, if not, please call the roll on the passage of the bill

Juarez.

Aye.

O'Brien.

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

Bagshaw.

Aye.

Gonzalez.

Aye.

President Harrell.

Aye.

Six in favor, none opposed.

The bill passed and the chair will sign it.

Please read the next agenda item.

Agenda item 28, Council Bill 119712 relating to city-owned property authorized and transfer jurisdiction of certain property.

Committee recommends the bill pass.

And that's Council Member Bagshaw.

Is that 28?

Council Member Baxter, we're going to go all the way to 28 because I needed votes for that.

Hold on, just one moment please.

Okay, so this is authorizing the transfer of jurisdiction of properties that are in Seattle, and it is a small parcel of property.

The Department of Finance and Administration is transferring this to the Seattle Department of Transportation, which will designate these parcels for street purposes.

They are mostly in the south, I think close to South Park, and they would be Items that were our parcels that will be transferred that will allow additional street improvements and the committee recommends pass Very good.

Councilmember Peterson, you're recognized.

Thank you.

There is one item in this ordinance that impacts District 4, and I know that SDOT was trying to balance different things, and I'd gotten some feedback from residents of East Fremont, and I'm encouraging SDOT to work through those issues.

If they do make changes to the street, it involves mitigating then access and traffic calming for residents of East Fremont.

And I was hoping Estelle would try to resolve those sooner.

I'll probably be voting no on this ordinance, but I see it'll probably pass, which is fine, as there are other good things in the ordinance.

But for District 4, there was something left unresolved.

And it actually brings up a good point in terms of maybe the executive departments might want to split up these into pieces in the future, just so different districts aren't sort of lumped together when they're issues that are raised by one, but not the other.

Just food for thought.

Thank you.

It's a good comment, Councilmember Peterson.

And I just hope that SDOT, if you're listening, it's the jurisdiction of the property at Midvale Avenue North.

That's the one you're concerned about.

Yes.

And make sure that SDOT get back to Councilmember Peterson's office to help resolve some of these issues that you've raised.

Thank you.

In the meantime, I'm going to recommend that we move forward with this vote.

Okay, Council Member Peterson, your points are duly noted, and thank you for listening to your constituents.

We always appreciate that.

And so with that, we are going to proceed with a vote.

So please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

Juarez.

Aye.

O'Brien.

Aye.

Peterson.

No.

Bankshaw.

Aye.

Gonzales.

Aye.

President Harrell.

Aye.

Five in favor, one opposed.

The bill passes and the Chair will sign it.

Please read the next agenda item.

Agenda item 29, Council Bill 119716 relating to city employment commonly referred to as the fourth quarter 2019 employment ordinance.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

That's 29 and Council Member Baxter, thanks for your flexibility.

I know we're bumping you around a little bit on your agenda out of order here.

So you're on number 29.

Thank you.

One moment, please.

Okay, so this is our fourth quarter employment ordinance.

I want to say thank you to our colleagues, Bobby Humes and Sarah Butler, who came and gave us an update on this.

This legislation would designate eight positions as exempt from civil services system and return one to the civil service system.

There are no issues arounding labor or any negotiations, and the eight positions will be consistent with the exemption criteria, Strategic Advisor 3, 1, a Manager 1, Executive Assistant, an Information Technology Professional A, and a Strategic Advisor 2. And then another is returning position to the civil service system, and the last one will create a new job title, Corresponding Rates of Pay.

The overall cost to the city will be $134,000 and it will be funded through 2019 adopted budget.

We recommend passage.

Very good.

Any questions or comments?

If not, please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

Juarez?

Aye.

O'Brien?

Peterson?

Aye.

Bagshaw?

Aye.

Gonzales?

Aye.

President Harrell?

Aye.

Six in favor, none opposed.

Bill passed and the Chair will sign it.

Please read the next agenda item.

The report of the Select Committee on Homelessness and Housing Affordability, Agenda Item 3, Council Bill 119724 relating to services for people experiencing homelessness.

Authorizing the Mayor to execute an interlocal agreement with King County for the establishment of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority.

In ratifying confirmed research and prior acts, the committee recommends the bill pass as amended.

Thank you very much.

Is that?

I'm not sure who's presenting that matter.

Council Member Bagshaw.

Are we already back on item number four?

We're back on three.

Number three, the select committee on homelessness.

Thank you all for being here.

Thank you for those who have worked so hard on this.

We had a lengthy conversation this past Thursday about it and I want to recognize the vision, the objective that All of us have shared, which is to get more people who are on our streets into housing, to use a housing-first model, to use best practices and an evidence-based model to get people inside, and make sure that not only do they have a roof over their head, but they are getting the help for their behavioral health needs, mental health needs, whether it's physical help as well.

We know that in our city, we're all better off when we're all better off.

And this is one step forward.

Marty Hartman, you were the last person to speak, but I just want to say thanks to you and your colleagues for all you have done.

It's been tremendous to see that we as a community have moved forward really recognizing that we owe it to our neighbors to put our arms around them.

and to get people, and particularly women with their children inside, but veterans, people that have not had homes for, and sometimes decades, that we can do a lot to get them inside.

I do also want to recognize, once again, over here to my left, Council Central staff Jeff Sims and Tracy Ratzliff.

Thank you.

And Emily Ratzliff from my office.

The three of you have been so extraordinary about helping keep this on course and to talk with our colleagues at King County.

And then, as I'm talking about King County, Thank you to Council Member Jeannie Cole-Wells.

You have been the glue that has helped us do this.

Council Member Rod Dembowski, thank you for being so concerned and making sure that our other 38 cities are included, that the sound cities have had their voices heard as well.

And to those of you in the audience about people with lived experience, critical that we do this differently, that we have professionals who have gone through traumas in their life that can step forward and help us make the final decisions.

So, right now, we have indicated our intention as this city council to move forward with this based upon our vote on Thursday.

And I do want to acknowledge what Councilmember Gonzalez raised, is that it is our intention that we have 12 members that are on the governing committee that are dedicated and committed to moving forward.

Yes, we'll have six elected officials from the city and the county and three elected officials from other cities.

We need to have people attend these meetings and vote on these meetings, and if they are going to be voting on anything different, from what our implementation board recommends, that we have a full commitment of 12 members there to vote is my goal, and it's the intention of this committee.

So I really want to say thank you again.

And also, as we're looking forward to a new executive director, that executive director, whoever it is, he or she, I am hoping, will have the experience, lived experience, and also can communicate clearly and to be an advocate between the implementation board and the governing board.

We're going to need that individual to really help us understand and focus on what we're going to need.

And yes, really, some of the things that have come up is that we will be addressing structural racism and sexism and ageism through this.

And yes, we will be acknowledging the additional challenges that our neighbors who are LGBTQ neighbors, that they face.

And yet we want to be very reasonable and acknowledge the fact that what we are coordinating is increasing housing.

Thousands of units across our county are going to be needed for people who are on our streets now, and that we can get people inside, whether it is a 24-7 tiny home, or whether it is a permanent supportive housing, or any of the objectives that we have identified to help people really move up and on with their lives.

Ultimately, we're going to need to have a multi-county approach to this, but right now, getting 39 cities together and one county is our first step, and I'm delighted that we're going to be able to do that and moving forward.

Getting people housed, as I said, housing first model is working.

The guiding principles we have articulated said those are overarching for us, is getting people inside and getting the help that they need.

So, as several people had mentioned today, this is not a perfect plan.

Nobody thinks that we have gotten this 100 percent right, but we do have opportunities within the bylaws, within our master agreement going forward, within the good, smart people who are going to be following after us to make the necessary modifications.

So, I'm asking my colleagues to join me voting yes today, and I'm suggesting that we don't delay further.

Thank you very much, Council Member Baxhaw, for your words and all of your work.

Council Member Gonzales, you have the floor.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Council Member Bagshaw, for those remarks and for all your work in this space.

I know that you have been working tirelessly, not just more recently, but over your entire tenure on these issues.

So thank you so much for all of the effort that you've made and for your ongoing willingness to have conversations with me from a place of good faith and understanding.

And I have really appreciated being able to have just really honest conversations with you about about my motivations and intentions.

So I intend to vote no on this particular bill.

And in doing so, I want to reiterate that my vote no today on this council bill is not a signal that I am not supportive of a regional authority.

And so to state that positively, I want to continue to emphasize that I strongly support the creation of a regional authority that addresses the regional issue that is people experiencing homelessness throughout our county.

But unfortunately, I am in a place where I cannot support this version of the interlocal agreement.

While I agree that the ILA includes improvements that I do support, such as including representation of folks who have lived experience both on the Implementation Board and on the Governing Committee, that the Implementation Board includes subject matter experts and that we are finally establishing a cohesive set of guiding principles are all unarguably improvements to how we are approaching this issue.

And I certainly appreciate seeing those improvements reflected and memorialized in this version of the ILA.

And of course, the biggest win out of all of this is ultimately that we are deciding to form a regional agency to advance our efforts to tackle the challenge of a system that is not meeting the scale of the needs of people experiencing homelessness throughout our region.

But I still believe that there are significant flaws in this version of the ILA that have not been addressed or that I have a level of confidence will be meaningfully addressed.

in the future once the implementation of this work begins.

Because of that, I will continue to unfortunately be in a position where I can't support this version of the bill, but I am still nonetheless committed to continuing to have conversations with people in the region, including the county.

to make sure that we have a pathway to address what I see as significant flaws in the ILA.

I'm going to just lay out really quickly for the record what I believe those significant flaws are.

First, the ILA and this structure forecloses any conversation of identifying new regional revenue resources to address the scale of the need of people experiencing homelessness throughout the region.

Second, this version of the ILA makes it far too easy for politicians to overturn the budget recommendations, the five-year strategic plan, and the removal of the CEO as recommended or may be recommended by the Implementation Board.

And I think that it's important for us to remember that the Implementation Board originally was designed to consist of all of the subject matter experts who really do fundamentally and deeply, profoundly understand how to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness and how to devise and create systems that will help us meet the needs of those who are suffering the most on our streets.

The third failure, as I see it, is the failure to require or mandate a commitment by those who could receive funding in the ILA structure to evidence-based practices so that our money is being used to fund programs and strategies that we know will work or have worked or show the promise of working for specific needs of specific communities.

I have been told that these flaws can be addressed in two different ways, through a discussion around the bylaws, which could be stricter than the ILA, but certainly not weaker than the ILA we're considering today, and also in a document referred to as the master agreement.

Consistent with that representation, I asked the mayor for a letter from her, King County Executive Dow Constantine, and representatives from the county council to give me a sense of assurance in writing that these flaws would be meaningfully addressed during the bylaws conversation in the initial implementation meetings of the governing committee.

I want to thank Mayor Durkan and Executive Constantine for signing onto such letter and for their willingness to continue to have a conversation with me about how to meaningfully address the concerns that I continue to have.

I want to thank Tess Colby, who's in the audience, who was also communicating with us consistently on this issue over the weekend and all through last week.

I know that you weren't able to receive any written signatures from any county council members and that is very disappointing to me.

That's not a reflection on the work that you did in this space test or that the mayor and the executive have expressed by signing the letter.

But I am nonetheless disappointed that no one, not a single person from the county council was willing to sign a letter affirming commitment to addressing what I see as outstanding issues related to the number of votes required to overturn the implementation board and a failure to commit to evidence-based strategies.

This is of course coupled with last week's action by county council who punted on a motion committing to continue to work with us on other issues including these issues and on implementation in general.

So unfortunately, that puts me in a situation to, again, not have the level of confidence that I feel that I need to be able to continue to support this ILA.

And the ultimate result, unfortunately to me, is that politics have already taken a hold in this structure.

And that is really saddening to me because I am hopeful that we can address this issue.

I think it's our highest calling and duty to address this issue.

But I am concerned that the lack of commitment to sign onto a simple letter saying we will work on these issues together.

is a signal of what's to come.

And so because of that, I can't support this version of the ILA, but I am hopeful that we can continue to work together with our county partners in the new year.

should this bill pass at a city council today and that we can do that with an open mind and open hearts to really address and tackle some of these underlying issues that I have just outlined and that I have consistently outlined since we've begun this conversation on this side of the street.

I'm committed to that conversation and I'm committed to ultimately fulfilling the purpose of what I believe a regional authority can do in this space, not for us politicians, but for the people who are truly suffering throughout our region.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Gonzalez, and thank you for so clearly giving us the rationale behind your decision and for clarifying the record.

I'm sure other Council Members may have a word or two to say.

Council Member Bryan, you have the floor, sir.

Thank you, Council President and Council Member Gonzalez.

I really appreciate your comments and your ongoing commitment to this work.

I also agree with you on all the challenges that you've identified.

My plan is to vote yes on this, but I want to walk through how I see those challenges, and I think our differences is probably less about the policy, but more about the strategic decision.

I think that you're absolutely right that, and I want to, I'll stop for a second, I want to really appreciate the comments we've heard today in public comment throughout this process, including phone calls and emails we received.

What I've heard is a lot of people that operate in this space directly interacting with people that are experiencing homelessness, both saying that we need to create a regional structure, and they're anxious to get moving on that, which I really appreciate, and also hearing from folks saying it's critically important that the voices of those most impacted by this crisis, especially folks with lived experience, need to have real significant power in this and can't be merely tokenized for the whims of other political expediency.

And while some folks that have expressed various versions of those have requested us to take different actions on this, I don't see that those two opinions are actually mutually exclusive.

I think we need to do both.

I think specifically, Council Member Gonzales, also about additional funding.

We are not going to solve this crisis without additional resources.

Those resources could come from a number of places.

I believe the city is already contributing significant resources.

They could come from the federal government, not terribly optimistic in the next few months on that one, but at some point the federal government's gonna need to step up and address what is a national crisis, not just a local crisis.

Philanthropy can continue to increase their investments, whether it's local governments or regional governments or the state.

There's a number of ways for that to play out, but to pretend that somehow a new entity without additional funding will turn a crisis into a solution, It may have some marginal benefits for sure, but without that additional funding, it's going to be critical that we do that.

And so, that will need to be addressed in one way or the other.

I also fully agree that the solutions we invest in need to be the evidence-based solutions that have been tried around the world, and frankly, right here in Seattle and King County, significantly trying new solutions that have been proven to work.

And the reason we're facing a crisis today is not because we don't have good solutions, but rather we don't have enough funding to implement those solutions at scale.

And the idea that we would pivot somehow to strategies in the past that we know don't work because of the politics in the region is something that I believe, well, I'm certainly committed to.

I think I hear a lot of other council members saying we're not going to make that pivot.

We need to keep investing in this.

Doesn't mean we don't evolve, but we need to keep making those investments.

The reason I'm voting yes today to move on to the next step is because I believe, and I'll articulate in a second how, that the City Council and the City of Seattle will continue to have a number of ways to influence how this work moves forward.

Approving the ILA as drafted is just one step in a multi-step process, and there are really significant steps that will need to happen after this is approved moving forward.

I totally respect people who say, no, this is a really important step that we should pause on until we get something right.

And I won't spend any time arguing whether that approach is right or wrong, but I do believe if we do move forward, we will have multiple opportunities as a city to continue to influence it.

Starting with the amendments we made last week, that laid out in the ordinance our expectations for moving forward.

The reason I say that is because, well, we are agreeing at this moment to allow the mayor, if we agree at this moment, we will allow the mayor to sign the document of the interlocal agreement.

And I believe the county has already done so and expect the county executive will sign it.

That agreement doesn't lock us in to what we have to do as a city, specifically around funding.

We will get funding requests from this new entity and if those are not consistent with the values that we've laid out or the values of the future council when they come to a budgeting decision, they are not obligated to make those funding decisions and can choose to not fund it at all, to only fund certain aspects, to only fund under certain conditions.

That budget decision which will happen next fall doesn't have to be the only place to intervene either.

We have laid out a number of standards and I appreciate, as Council Member Gonzalez mentioned, that the Mayor and the County Executive have signed a letter saying they agree to those principles and will work to them.

I also agree it's disappointing that the County Council didn't have a single person sign on to that.

I am going to chalk that up for ongoing kind of political challenges at that body with some turmoil that's happened in recent days and hope that that can get worked out.

But if it doesn't, I hope that everyone working on that realizes that this work cannot move forward without the city of Seattle being on board.

And there will be a number of ways for us to indicate, well, yes, we technically may be on an ILA.

We can tell them next month that if you don't agree to these terms, you need to know we will not approve budgets and you're wasting your time at this point going forward.

And so when we may not technically be withdrawing from the ILA, we will make it a meaningless effort if those conditions aren't met.

And there will be processes and those conditions might shift a bit in those discussions, and that's fine.

I will not be a council member at that point to weigh in on that, but I have the full confidence that the 2020 council members will be constantly monitoring that and ensuring that not just the values of the region, but the values of the city are going to be upheld as we move forward.

I want to thank so many folks that have worked really hard.

I'm not going to name them all, but I just really appreciate all the folks that have worked hard on this to date.

And I will say that despite the hard work we put in, I think the actual hardest work is yet to come.

Thank you for your words, Council Member O'Brien.

So, I'll pause for the moment to see if any of the Council Members would like to say any closing words.

Council Member Bekshaw, you are the original speaker of it.

If you'd like to close a few words, any other Council Members?

Council Member Bekshaw?

I'm anxious to vote and appreciate hearing from Mark Jones Tess Colby Thank you to you for your work and on behalf of the mayor's office and all who have been involved so I'm ready to vote Okay, that no further comments.

Please call the roll on the passage of the bill Juarez O'Brien Peterson Bagshaw Gonzales no President Harrell aye five in favor one opposed bill pass and share of Senate aye

Please read the next agenda item.

The report of the City Council, Agenda Item 4, Resolution 31918, setting forth the City of Seattle's 2020 State Legislative Agenda.

OK.

I'll speak to this matter.

Just one moment.

So as many of you know, this is our state legislative agenda.

And before I get into the merits of it, we made some slight changes.

Fairly minor.

And so because of that, and this is based on discussions that we've had, I need to amend the resolution 31918 by Exhibit 1, which is just another substituted version.

May I have a second on that?

It's been moved and seconded to substitute version 2 for version 1. Any comments just on the amendment?

All those in favor of the amendment, please vote aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

Okay, so this resolution, once again, 31918 adopts our state legislative agenda.

And just by way of the, as I lost my audience, by the way, just by way of the viewing public, for what we do is, we as a council, we work with many community members and residents and our city departments and other elected officials and our legislative delegation.

on other governmental, regional governmental agencies and statewide interest groups to really come up with a state legislative agenda that we think advances the interests of our residents and inhabitants.

and people that live and work in our city.

And based on that, we work with our Office of Intergovernmental Relations to develop this agenda.

It's comprehensive.

It's about nine pages because you can't say in one page or so really the level of detail that sort of shapes our Our state laws to make sure that those laws are consistent with the kinds of laws That we pass at least they're aligned with it So I appreciate all of the work that all of the council members put into this And through that we developed again a nine-page document that we sort of describe in four buckets of information if you want and I will just describe those four buckets and I won't go into detail but the agenda is online and I'd ask that you read it and look at the polished positions that we've advanced in that document.

The first bucket is a safe city and by that we describe a city that ensures that all residents can live safely and securely.

The second one is a vibrant city one that supports innovation and education and economic development and the environment.

The third bucket is an interconnected city that's one supported by a cohesive and multimodal transportation network.

And last, an affordable city where housing and services and human services remain affordable and accessible to everyone.

So based on that sort of conceptual structure, then we describe our very comprehensive legislative agenda.

Are there any comments or concerns or questions before we vote on this resolution?

If not those in favor of adopting the resolution, please vote.

Aye.

Aye those opposed vote.

No The motion carries and resolution is adopted as amended amended and the chair will sign it Okay, please read our next agenda item

The report of the Gender Equity, Safe Communities, New Americans, and Education Committee to names 46 through 51, appointments 10, excuse me, appointments 1503 through 1505, then 1513 through 1515. Appointment of Denise Guerrero Harvey as member of Seattle Immigrant and Refugee Commission for term to July 31, 2020. Appointments of Jason Bach-Nguyen, Shalina Marissa Vanias-Sankham, Aylana Aiden, Karina San Juan-Gatan, Karen Arlette Gámez-López as a member of Seattle Immigrant and Refugee Commission for term to January 31st, 2021. The committee recommends these appointments be confirmed.

Council Member González, and I will remind Council Member González of some verbal commitments she made before the meeting started.

I knew I was going to violate my commitment one time, but I will not do it a second time.

Thank you, Council President Harrell.

These are appointments to the Immigrant and Refugee Commission as described very clearly in the title of each of these appointments.

All of these individuals appeared in my committee.

We had an opportunity to hear directly from them and ask them thorough questions.

I believe that they are all before us with wide support, not just from my committee, but from the staff at OIR and other commissioners on the immigrant refugee.

And the committee recommends that the city council confirm all of these appointments.

Very good.

She made good on her commitment.

So we'll take these collectively.

Those in favor of confirming the appointments, please vote aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The motion carries and appointments are confirmed.

Please read the next agenda item.

The report of the Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development and Arts Committee, agenda item 5, Council Bill 119709 relating to Seattle Public Utilities declaring certain real property rights related to sewer and storm drain easements within Seattle as being surplus to city utility needs.

Can we recommend civil pass?

Thank you very much.

I believe Council Member O'Brien will fill in for Council Member Herbold.

Thank you.

This is a fairly straightforward piece of legislation.

When property owners develop or improve their property, sometimes they're required to put facilities from SPU, Seattle Public Utilities, on their property.

This often requires relinquishment or easements, and then occasionally as those move, they relinquish certain easements to establish new ones.

That's what this document does.

Very good.

Any questions or comments on this bill?

Now, please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

Juarez.

O'Brien.

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

Begsha.

Aye.

Gonzales.

Aye.

President Harrell.

Aye.

Six in favor, none opposed.

Bill pass and chair will sign it.

Please read agenda item number six, the short title.

Agenda item six, Council Bill 119710 relating to Seattle Public Utilities, accepting easements granted to the City of Seattle for installation, operation, and maintenance of hydrants water mains, domestic meter vaults, fire service meters, and apparatuses necessary for water utility purposes at various locations in Seattle.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Council Member O'Brien.

Similar to the previous one, routine work to ensure that the Seattle Public Utilities has access to their facilities on private property through the ceasements.

Very good.

Any questions or comments?

If not, please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

Juarez.

Aye.

O'Brien.

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

Bangshaw.

Aye.

Gonzalez.

Aye.

President Harrell.

Aye.

Six in favor, none opposed.

Bill passed and the Chair will sign it.

Please read the next agenda item.

Agenda item 7, appointment 1391, appointment of Robert D. Kaplan as member of Museum and Development Authority Governing Council for term to July 31st, 2022. The committee recommends the appointment be confirmed.

Council Member O'Brien.

This is an appointment that comes from the Seattle Art Museum, and relatively rare.

We don't have a lot of turnover on this PDA, but Robert's been a board member for Seattle Art Museum since 2004 to the present, and will be a good addition.

Very good.

Any questions or comments?

If not, those in favor of confirming the appointment, please vote aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The motion carries.

The appointment is confirmed.

Please read items 8 through 16.

Agenda items eight through 16, appointments 1488 through 1492, 1519 through 1521, and 1530. Appointments and reappointments of Giselle Major, Sarah Wilkie, Mikhail My Williams, James Miles, as members of Seattle Arts Commission for term to December 31st, 2020, and appointments and reappointments of Cassie Chin, Don M. Chirwa, Chayko Phillips, Kayla DeMonte, and Yagi Michaels, as members of Seattle Arts Commission for term to December 31st, 2021. The committee recommends these appointments be confirmed.

Council Member O'Brien.

Great, a whole slew of appointments that Council Member Herbold heard in committee.

Some of these are reappointments and some are new appointments.

Great slate of folks.

I'm going to follow Council Member Gonzales' leadership a moment ago and just say that it was excellent conversations at committee and excited to appoint them all.

Very good.

Any questions or comments?

Those in favor of confirming the appointments, please vote aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

Motion carries and the appointments are confirmed.

Please read the next agenda item.

Agenda item 17 through 20 appointments 1509 through 1512 appointment of Juan C. Rodriguez as a member of Seattle LGBTQ Commission for a term to April 30th 2021 and appointments and reappointments of Victor Liu, Deepa Serevania, and Kari Luhram as members of the LGBTQ Commission for a term to October 31st 2021. The committee recommends these appointments be confirmed.

Yes, Member O'Brien.

This is two reappointments, two new appointments.

All will be outstanding, well, two additions and two continuations on this committee to support their approval.

Thank you very much.

Any questions or comments?

Those in favor of confirming the appointments, please vote aye.

Aye.

Let's try that one again.

Those in favor of confirming the appointments, please vote aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The motion carries.

The appointments are confirmed.

Please read the next agenda items.

Agenda item 21, appointment 1516, appointment of Whitney Nakamura as a member of Seattle Women's Commission for term to July 1st, 2020. The committee recommends the appointment be confirmed.

Council Member O'Brien.

Thank you.

Whitney's been involved much of her career working with students of color and low-income families, so she'll be a great addition to the Women's Commission.

Did you read them both?

22 to 21 just 21. I'm sorry any questions on this appointment to the Women's Commission all those in favor of the appointment, please vote aye aye Those opposed vote.

No the motion carried and the appointment is confirmed Please read items 22 through 24 I'm only gonna read item number 22 for right now Okay, very good.

Thank you.

Agenda item 22, appointment 1522, appointment of Gilan Maruwanfi-Liswak as member of Seattle Human Rights Commission for term to July 22nd, 2020. The committee recommends the appointment be confirmed.

Colleagues, before we vote on this, I'd like to amend it to remove the, what appears as the last name, Laswa, L-S-W-A-I-C, from the appointment.

I assume this is at the request of the individual.

So, if we could amend that to remove that part of the name.

Is there a second?

Second.

All those in favor of the amendment, please vote aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

The appointment is amended.

And then I'll just say that Jillian is an attorney with the King County Department of Public Defense, formerly worked at the City of Atlanta as a public defender's office, and has worked as an academic justice and policy coordinator for Vermont Network Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Violence.

That would be a great addition to the commission.

Very good.

Any questions or comments?

Those in favor of confirming the appointment, please vote aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The motion carries and the appointment is confirmed.

Please read the next agenda item.

Agenda items 23 and 24. Appointments of Wendy Bezos-Nettles and Liz Harding as members of the Human Rights Commission for term to January 22, 2021. The committee recommends the appointments be confirmed.

Very good.

Council Member O'Brien.

Great.

Wendy's a certified medical assistant and has been a patient advocate for those who are marginalized most.

Liz is a data manager at NGO Community Initiative and Away Home Washington.

Done a bunch of research on human rights and training and writing focusing on social justice, gender, and race equity in immigrant refugee populations.

Thank you very much.

Any questions or comments?

Those in favor of confirming the appointment, please vote aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

Motion carries, and the appointment is confirmed.

Please read the next agenda item.

Agenda item 25, appointment 1525, reappointment of Jason Morris as member of Seattle Commission for People with Disabilities, returned to April 30th, 2021. The committee recommends the appointment be confirmed.

Mr. Member, Brian.

Jason's been a great advocate for the community.

He's also has lived experience with homelessness.

He's currently serving on the commission.

This is a reappointment and Jason's a outstanding individual who works really hard to make the city a better place for the folks in Seattle and I'm thrilled to be able to vote on his reappointment.

Very good.

Any questions or comments?

Those in favor of confirming the appointment, please vote aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The motion carries and the appointment is confirmed.

Please read the next agenda item.

Agenda item 26, appointment 1526, reappointment of Daniel Damian Pack as member of Seattle Music Commission for term to August 31st, 2022. The committee recommends the appointment be confirmed.

Council Member O'Brien.

Daniel's a co-founder and the executive director of Totem Star.

He's also a singer, songwriter, producer, and teaching artist at Arts Corps.

Very good.

Any questions?

Those in favor of confirming the appointment, please vote aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The motion carries and the appointment is confirmed.

Please read the report of the Finance and Neighborhoods Committee.

The report of the Finance and Neighborhoods Committee, Agenda 27, Council Bill 119711, relating to the Department of Finance and Administrative Services Committee recommends the bill pass.

Council Member Baxhaw.

Thank you.

This ordinance authorizes the Department of Finance and Administrative Services to negotiate and execute a real property lease agreement with Georgetown LLC for materials yard space at 5821 First Avenue South.

This city's, we've been leasing this 53,000 square feet of space.

Since 2006, the current lease expires in February of 2020, and this authorizes FAS to execute an amendment that provides an additional five-year extension, two of them.

So the site search is currently underway for permanent materials, yards, location, but as you get, we haven't found one in the south end.

So we recommend due pass.

Very good.

Any questions or comments?

If not, please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

Juarez?

Aye.

O'Brien?

Aye.

Peterson?

Aye.

Bagshaw?

Aye.

Gonzales?

Aye.

President Harrell?

Aye.

Six in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Please read the next agenda item, the short title.

Agenda item 30, Council Bill 119725 relating to city employment creating a compensation program for the position of chief technology officer.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Council Member Bagshaw?

This is a transfer of property to SDOT.

Sorry.

We're on 30, but you're at 30. Did we already do 20?

We did 28.

We're skipping 29, so we're on the compensation program?

On 30. It's 119.725.

Taking care of 29, so we're on 30. Compensation program for the chief technology officer.

Thank you.

This would create a new compensation program for our chief technology officer.

The department came and argued, I thought, Persuasively, as sometimes Councilmember Gonzales says, that I was persuaded that this increase from the high point of the executive four band in 2019 is appropriate considering the other opportunities that chief technology officers have in the city and the private sector.

So we had quite a conversation and Saad Bashir has been serving as our information technology department director since March of this year.

And what intrigued me was the number of people that showed up to testify on his behalf and recommend that he be recognized for the good work and the improved camaraderie in that department.

So we recommend that in order to retain his talent, that we proceed to give him this new compensation amount.

Very good.

Any questions or comments on agenda item number 30?

Council Member Gonzales.

I just really I want to clarify for the record because I'm heard Council Member Baxter say that this is specific to the current CTO and the presentation that we received in committee.

I received assurances from Deputy Mayor Mosley and others that this was not about a single person, but about the position as a whole.

And based on that representation, I was comfortable voting this council bill out of committee and to full council.

So I just wanna reiterate that it's my understanding that that's what we're doing here today.

We're not giving a specific person a raise.

without sort of process and further consideration.

Is that, is my understanding still accurate, Council Member Baxter, because I heard you say something different right now.

So this would impact this chief technology officer.

It would also raise the bar for anyone in the future, but we hope that this particular one stays in his position as long as possible.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you for the clarification.

Any other questions or comments?

If not, please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

Juarez?

Aye.

O'Brien?

Aye.

Peterson?

Aye.

Bangshaw?

Aye.

Gonzales?

Aye.

President Herron?

Aye.

Six in favor, none opposed.

Bill passed and the Chair will sign it.

Please read the next agenda item.

Agenda items 31 through 37 appointments 1409 through 1415 reappointments of Samuel Farazanu and Sonia King as members Pike Place Market Historical Commission for term to December 1st 2021 and excuse me.

And reappointments of Michael E. Hammond, Rachel Kitagawa-Horishide, Lauren Rudek as members of Pike Place Market Historical Commission for term to December 1st, 2020. And appointments of Lisa Martin and Gulzan Zurak as members of Pike Place Market Historical Commission for term to December 1st, 2022. The committee recommends these appointments be confirmed.

Very good.

Council Member Baxhaw.

Thank you.

I have one more and maybe you said it and I didn't hear it, but the appointment of Sonia King, also item 33. Okay, so all of these appointments and reappointments are to the Pike Place Historical Commission, and you've read them off.

Samuel Farazano is principal of Equinox Development United.

Michael Hammond is resident of Pike Place Market and designer of the Pike Place Market Urban Garden.

The appointment of Sonya King, this is item 33, she has experience with regulation as employee with the Housing and Urban Development.

and is an active member of the Pike Place Market community.

We have a reappointment of Rachel Kitagawa-Hoshide.

She's an associate with Jones and Jones Architect.

The appointment of Lisa Martin, who's a third-generation property owner in Pike Place Market.

And the reappointment of Lauren Rudeck, who's the owner of Ugly Baby in LaRue.

I don't know if you've ever been there, but I absolutely love the name of her store.

So we recommend these appointments.

And just for the record, you did cover item number 37, which is golden as.

and I believe there's an amendment to change the name.

Correct.

So, do you want to take these first and then have me amend 37, or do you?

So, I think the way we can do it is we can just make an amendment to that one item and then take them collectively, because you did describe that one in the batch that she described.

That was read into the record.

So, why don't we just amend that one agenda item?

Okay.

All right.

So, this is item 37, and it's an amendment to change the name of the appointee.

We're not changing the appointee.

So, I'd like to move to amend Appointment 1415, the title, by deleting Zurach and adding Mohammadi after Golnaz and by substituting the resume in the appointment packet.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

Boy, I'm worried.

All those in favor of the amendment to the Appointment 1415, please say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

No, the ayes have it.

So, that one is amended.

Now, we can take them all.

Any further comments?

Just that Gholnaz Mohammadi is the owner of the Seattle Pizza and Pasta Company in the market.

Very good.

Okay.

Those in favor of confirming the appointments, please vote aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The motion carries.

Appointments are confirmed.

Please read the next agenda item.

Agenda item 38, reappointment of David Godassi as member of Pike Place Market Preservation Development Authority Governing Council for term to June 30, 2023. Committee recommends the appointment be confirmed.

Thank you.

This appointee is a second generation owner of the Lionheart Bookstore and Records in the market for the last 20 years, and he has served in the Pike Place Market PDA Council since 2005. We recommend confirmation of his appointment.

Very good.

Any questions or comments?

Those in favor of confirming the appointment, please vote.

Aye.

Aye those opposed vote.

No The motion passes and the appointment is confirmed.

Please read the next agenda items agenda items 39 through 44 appointment 1495 1486 1488 1499 1501 and 1502 appointments and reappointments of harriet waserman and jordan keels members on mark's preservation board for term to august 14th 2021 and appointments reappointments of roy ching Matt Impenboot, Russell Coney, and Kristen Johnson as members Landmarks Preservation Board for term to August 14, 2022. The committee recommends that these appointments be confirmed.

Very good.

And quickly, that the appointment of Harriet Wasserman, she has over 40 years of professional experience in IT and consulting.

Mr. Keel is a principal at Bassetti Architects.

Roy Chang is a licensed structural engineer in both Washington and California.

She operates her own firm in Columbia City.

Matt, in Panama.

Infant Boot is a licensed architect with over 15 years of experience, and he's principal at SHKS Architects.

Russell Coney has more than 20 years of experience as a CPA and a real estate agent.

Kristen Johnson is a local architect with a background in restoration and the adaptive reuse of landmarks and historic properties, and we recommend confirmation of all of these appointees.

Any questions or comments?

Those in favor of confirming the appointments, please vote aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The motion carries and appointments are confirmed.

Please read the next agenda item.

Agenda item 45, appointing 1507, appointment of William H. Southern Jr. as member of Community Involvement Commission for term to May 31st, 2020. The committee recommends the appointment be confirmed.

Yes, Madam Backshaw.

Great.

Thank you.

Bill Southern's been a public servant for most of his career, and he has served as the Director of Public Affairs for WSDOT from 1985 to 1999. And we think he'll be a terrific addition to the Community Involvement Commission and I understand he's a friend of yours, and we enjoyed having him at the committee.

We recommend his appointment.

Very good.

Any questions or comments?

Those in favor of confirming the appointment, please vote aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The motion carries.

The appointment is confirmed.

Please read the next agenda item.

The report of the Sustainability and Transportation Committee, Agenda Item 52, Resolution 31921, a resolution stating the City Council's intent to consider legislation 2020 that would expand Chapter 14.30 of Seattle Municipal Code to require employers to provide employees with transit subsidies and to consult with the City of Seattle departments and relevant stakeholders in the development of such legislation and related policies.

Committee recommends resolution be adopted as amended.

Very good.

Council Member O'Brien, I believe you also have an amendment.

That is accurate, Council President.

Thank you.

So colleagues, I'll just speak to this briefly and then I'll bring up the amendment.

This is a resolution that lays out the Council's intent to consider legislation in 2020 that would expand the commuter benefits ordinance for the public's benefit.

for all those people in the audience that are paying attention and the thousands at home watching.

Last year we passed a commuter benefits ordinance that required employers over a certain size to provide a pre-tax deduction option on their payroll for employees to pay for transit passes.

It's something that the IRS has allowed for quite a few years and it provides both a tax break, significant tax break to the individuals often saving them more than 35% on their transit pass, but also provides almost a 10% savings to employers who implement it because they don't have to pay their portion of payroll taxes on it.

That law will go into effect in a couple weeks, on January 1, 2020. The city has been coordinating with Commute Seattle to do a bunch of outreach to businesses, not just the traditional businesses in the downtown core that are already part of the commuter production program.

but hundreds and perhaps thousands of other businesses throughout the city who are often smaller than those that are required to be part of a commuter production plan but can possibly benefit from this.

Well, the ordinance will take effect, the one we already passed, the beginning of next year.

Enforcement will not start happening for another year, which will allow an additional year of continued work and outreach with those businesses to make sure everyone is in compliance before we start enforcing.

What this legislation, this resolution today anticipates is ongoing work to figure out ways that we can extend beyond just the pretax deduction, but perhaps requiring employers to provide transit passes to their employees.

It builds on the work of a bunch of organizations that are part of a coalition called Orchid for All, led by the Transit Riders Union.

Through their research they have discovered that what often happens is that higher paid employees tend to work in positions or for employers where they get free transit passes and lower paid employees who for whom transit can be a real financial, the cost of transit can be a real financial barrier, are more likely to not benefit from transit passes.

So some of that is simply the types of businesses.

So law firms and banks downtown will tend to provide those, but fast food outlets and small retail tend not to provide transit benefits.

In fact, one example was from someone who testified who works for Starbucks.

They worked at the headquarters got a transit benefit when they transferred to a cafe, a location, they lost that ability because Starbucks pays for those transit passes for folks in the headquarters but not in their retail locations.

So, and we also know that also certain structures of businesses, sometimes the salaried employees who often make more money are actual employees and they get a transit benefit but Folks will outsource things like security or maintenance work, and those people will work for subcontractors who don't provide it.

So this resolution lays out some of the things to be considered.

We had a good discussion in committee.

I appreciate Councilmember Peterson being part of that discussion.

We had over two dozen people come testify to that committee last week.

In committee we've made a few amendments that both Councilmember Peterson and I brought and there was one amendment that wanted to get some more feedback from and so that's the amendment that's before us today.

And so this would add some language to section one of it and saying that basically factors that include the personal resources available to administer the transit subsidies, displacement risks facing the employer's organization or business, and other factors indicating impacting the financial well-being of the employers organization or business.

Those would be other things that would be considered as the council works on this work in the coming year.

And so I would go ahead and move amendment one.

Great and I councilmember Peter if you'd like to say anything to this too that'd be great.

Thank you.

Thank You councilmember O'Brien just wanted to I just wanted to thank you for...

Council Member Peterson, I apologize for interrupting.

Sorry, go ahead.

Just a little procedural issue I want to address.

Council Member Gonzalez, if there's no objection, we'd like to excuse her from the rest of the balance of this meeting.

Council Member Gonzalez, would you like to say anything regarding...

I Pardon the interruption.

I know you all were on a roll But I have a doctor's appointment in 20 minutes that I got to get to so I apologize for having to leave early But I appreciate the opportunity to be excused for the remainder of today's meeting Thank you for being here and customer Gonzalez is excused and this will be the last time to say it's been outstanding awesome working with you congratulations on everything and

Good health to you and the baby.

Y'all are awesome, I'm so sorry that I can't stay for the remarks, but I love you guys, I'll miss you guys, and I know that you will be around, and I have appreciated working with each and every single one of you, and wish you much luck in the future, and look forward to having you say things in my ear to make sure that we do the right thing next year.

When it's legal by our ethics and elections.

Once you can talk to me.

Thank you, Council Member Gonzalez.

I apologize again, Council Member Peterson, you do have the floor on the amendment.

That's okay.

I wish we had more opportunity to work out our hand signals.

So I appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with Council Member O'Brien on this, to expand transit subsidies to workers.

And we simply were fleshing out this resolution, adding, just demonstrating our awareness of factors that could impact employers.

And we also, or I also noted that the fiscal note that talks about this resolution It looks very narrowly on the resolution itself having no financial impact, but just to raise awareness that if the council does follow through with the ordinance, that it could have an impact to the city's general fund if we choose to beef up funding to nonprofits so that they can in turn provide those transit subsidies to their workers.

So just wanted to get all that on the record and that way we can proceed.

with open eyes on this, which has very strong upside in terms of getting more people to ride transit, addressing climate change, and lowering people's transportation costs.

So thank you.

Thank you, Council Member.

Very good.

So we're just going to vote on the amendment right now, unless there's any further questions on the amendment.

All those in favor of the amendment, please vote aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

And it was moved, I believe.

It was moved and seconded.

Okay.

So any other comments, Council Member O'Brien, on the amended legislation?

No.

Okay.

Any other comments from any other members on the resolution as amended?

Okay.

Those in favor of adopting the resolution as amended, please vote aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The motion carries and the resolution as amended is adopted and the Chair will sign it.

Please read the next agenda item.

Agenda Item 53, Appointment 1528, Appointment of Adrian Lopez-Ramero as Member, Sweetened Beverage Tax Community Advisory Board for a term to August 31st, 2023. The committee recommends the appointment be confirmed.

Very good.

Council Member O'Brien.

My 10 years of work is culminating in the appointment of Adrian.

And joking aside, the outstanding appointment, this is for the Sweden Beverage Tax Community Advisory Board, as was mentioned.

There are 11 members of that board, two of which are designated to represent early learning.

One's a mayor appointment and one's a council appointment.

This will be filling the spot for the council appointment.

Adrian is the director, the program director at Denise Louie's program and he's been part of Denise Louie Education Center since 2014. It'll be outstanding to have his voice on there to bring his expertise and I'm thrilled that he's willing to serve.

Very good.

Any other questions on this appointment?

Those in favor of confirming the appointment, please vote aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The motion carries.

The appointment is confirmed for Council Member Bryan's last piece of legislation.

Thank you very much.

Okay, that concludes our agenda.

Is there any further business to come before the Council?

I do have one matter I'd like to address.

And then I'll ask if there's any other matters so one issue that has come up is that the next council will convene in January 6 and what we want to put in place is a Council present pro tem rotation for the viewing public this typically is a rotation based on the seniority of council members and if there's a tie the Alphabetical order the last name of the council member and so what we want to do and I'll do it through the form of a motion is to put a temporary Council President pro tem rotation in place since I won't be here as a current council president and It's consistent with historical practices.

I'll pass that down to the mature counselor.

So I'll sort of read it as you could follow it.

So I Basically what this motion will do will appoint a list of council president pro tems in the order of succession once the office of the council president becomes vacant on midnight on December 31st 2019 and I'm gonna be standing there just waiting at midnight and realize my The position is over.

And it will, this office will be, this pro tem schedule will be in place until the formal adoption of a resolution establishing the permanent, if you will, pro tem schedule for 2020. So it will take place from January 1st until the adoption of the resolution that's historically done during the first meeting, which establishes the rotation.

So so at this point I will move to appoint the council president pro tems in the order of succession from january 1 to 2020 until the adoption of a resolution Establishing the twenty thousand twenty twenty thousand twenty one pro tem rotation.

I'll just read the them in the order from january to september is council members shama swan, gonzalez, herbold, juarez, mosquito, lewis, morales, peterson and strauss.

That's the order As I described it and I'll ask for a second and if there's any questions or comments, I'll ask for a second first I'll second it.

Okay, any questions or comments or concerns on this, please councilmember Brian should Pearson be in front of Lewis Morales and Strauss I Believe No, but he but he started a month before though.

So I think he has a little bit of seniority good good catch.

I think yeah, he's right.

So I I would suggest that we would amend it to put Peterson in June, Lewis in July, Morales in August, and Lee Strauss in September.

That would be accurate.

I think that's right.

I second that, but I have another question.

Can I vote on that one first?

Okay, so it's been moved and seconded to change the schedule by advancing Council Member Peterson up before Lewis, correct?

That's the amendment?

Correct.

Any questions on the amendment?

All those in favor of the amendment, please vote aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it, so that schedule is amended.

Thank you for that catch, Council Member O'Brien.

Council Member Baxter, you have a question.

I do.

February, we have our colleague, Council Member Gonzalez, and by the looks of her, I think perhaps she's not going to be with us.

So what happens in a situation where a council pro tem is not eligible, then it just keeps going down the order.

OK.

So that's happened before.

Essentially, then it would, Council Member Herbold would be.

Correct.

Correct.

Thank you.

Thanks for that.

Okay, any other questions or comments and just again for the viewing public This is likely to be in place from the first to the 6th because on the 6th they will likely elect a council president and a resolution Establishing a rotation order, but this is again in place for those first couple of days.

Okay, any other questions or comments?

Okay Uh, this it was seconded.

So all those in favor of the resolution, please vote.

Aye.

Aye The motion, please all those in favor of the motion As amended, please vote.

Aye.

Aye Those opposed vote.

No, the motion is adopted and the pro tem schedule is in place Okay, is there any further business coming for the council?

Only to say thank you everybody.

Thank you all of you that have participated and helped us through this I think Jodi and Amelia.

Thank you very much our buddy Dana back there Thank you always keeping an eye out for us.

I appreciate it colleagues.

It's really been an honor customer Brian I like to ask to be excused from the rest of the meetings I

I'll just close by saying it's been an honor working with my good friends and dear colleagues, and this will be my last time I'll pound this gavel.

I am gonna do it.

And with this, we stand adjourned.

Everyone have a great holiday season.

you