Seattle City Council 10/1/18

Good afternoon everybody.

Thank you for being here in City Hall the October 1st 2018 City Council meeting of the full council come to order it's 2 o'clock p.m.

I'm Bruce Harrell president of the council clerk.

Please call the roll her bold here Johnson whereas mosquito O'Brien so want Bank Sean Gonzalez here President Harrell here seven present present

Thank you very much.

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's no objection, today's agenda will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, today's agenda is adopted.

The minutes of the September 17, 2018 City Council meeting have been reviewed.

If there's no objection, the minutes are being signed.

Hearing no objection, the minutes are being signed.

Presentations, I do not believe we have any presentations, formal presentations this afternoon, so at this time we'll take public comment.

an item that appears on our agenda for today or our intellectual referral calendar or our work plan, our 2018 work plan.

So we have about three sheets signed up today.

We typically allow 20 minutes.

We may go over, but in order to hear from as many people as possible, since you've taken time out of your schedule, we're going to take it down to one minute so we can hear from everyone as opposed to the traditional two minutes.

And we'll start off with Mr. Alec Zimmerman, who was the first on the list, and I'll just go down the order with which you've signed up, so Alex Zimmerman is first.

David Haynes, are you here, David?

David, and David, do you mind possibly taking the other mic here, and then we will have, after that, Linda Soriano, who would then go back to the middle mic, and we'll be able to save some walk time, so thank you, David.

Mr. Zimmerman, the floor is yours, sir.

Hi, my name Alex Zimmerman.

People know me from Tacoma to Everett.

I speak about 2,000 times.

I speak every day, sometimes three, five times.

How for one minute you can speak about six billion dollars or about this point?

If you ever cannot masturbate for one minute, so why you give always us one minute?

Who are you?

You are pure Nazi, a fascist.

It's exactly who you are.

Is this against your city code?

See page 38. It's exactly what has happened.

Guys, I spoke with you, 700,000 idiot.

Who is this crook who give us one minute for speak?

Who is this crook?

Are you choice is crooks?

One minute, I'm professional business consultant.

For one minute, you cannot talk nothing.

You can talk only, oh, please give me chance speak.

One minute is nothing.

See how my lovely Fuhrer, a Ku Klux Klan, anti-Semite, crooks, tax hacker, and killer.

You see, it's one minute only.

Time's up, sir.

Our next speaker is David Haynes, followed by Linda Soriano.

Linda, if you don't mind taking the middle mic.

How about eminent domain of need to take the land already paid for by the taxpayers?

Don't in debt more taxpayers forced to pay for commercial real estate already paid for by taxpayers.

Do not give money to non-working shareholders of City Light.

And reconsider an investigation of the unqualified, inept, subhuman, non-profit developers of rundown warehouse Echo Housing.

Thanks to all these paid off transportation advocates, no one questions the bad idea of oppressing people of color, social engineering, modern third world residences overwhelmed by commercial noise pollution.

Save the tax money, eminent domain of need to take this land so maybe there's enough money to noise abate the housing in order to give the poor.

reprieve from the constant noise pollution of train and highway while these inept nonprofits profit skim too much of what they're unqualified to develop residential first world housing.

Linda, before you begin, let me call off three names so they can get ready.

So after Linda will be Randy Peters, and Randy, if you don't mind taking the other mic.

So Randy Peters, Sr., Miriam Castro, and then Alice Lockhart in that order.

Thank you.

Linda, the floor is yours.

My name is Linda Soriano, Lummi Nation.

I'm here about the surplus land bill.

First of all, I would like each council member to be given a copy of this.

It's highlighted in yellow is my own words.

Council members, you are seated in front of an emblem of Chief Seattle, Chief Seattle of the Duwamish Tribe.

The surplus land should be returned to the tribes.

Honor the treaties.

I have a heart for the homeless, for the low-income that need affordable housing.

First and foremost, that land must be returned to the tribes.

Think about that.

Every time the First Nations people get together, we open with prayer, we close with prayer, we acknowledge we are on Duwamish territory.

Surplus land must be returned to the tribes.

Thank you, Linda.

Randy is next, and then Miriam.

My name's Randy Peters.

Since time Our people walked the land.

They looked after the land.

But now we need right choices because the need is great.

The homeless need a place.

They keep on coming by the day.

People from all over the place.

They need places.

They need a place to rest their head.

And this, it all goes on with the land's needs.

A place for the people that need a place to go and they have a problem with opioids, Build a place for them.

Have a place so they can go to clean their lives and be citizens.

Thank you, sir.

They need a place.

Thank you, Randy.

Marion, before you begin, I'm going to call three more names out.

Alice Lockhart, Patience Maliba, and Carrie Moon.

In that order.

Thank you, Mr. Chair and other council members.

My name is Miriam Castro, and I work at Transportation Choices Coalition as the program manager of U District Let's Go, a program helping connect people working, living, and visiting the U District with transportation resources.

I'm here today to speak in support of the ordinance requiring certain employers to offer employees the opportunity to use pre-tax earnings to purchase commuter benefits, such as transit passes.

Transportation Choices specializes in improving affordable, equitable, and sustainable options for people to get around.

This legislation does just that.

The cost savings from opportunities like these can be a significant incentive and also allow people to put those savings towards other necessities.

It's a great benefit that employers can offer to their employees at no or very little cost and is targeted at smaller employees who do not currently have subsidized transit passes for their employees.

And this ordinance helps ensure that people can access the abundant transportation options in our region and those that are coming.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, Council.

I'm Alice Lockhart from 350 Seattle.

I'd like to acknowledge that we are standing and sitting on unceded land and that I'm a little bit flummoxed as to how to proceed with my comments today.

I came prepared to thank Council and staff for their hard work on the surplus land resolution and to reiterate that this is a climate emergency and thus an affordable housing emergency, but I must also acknowledge that we know that rates of homelessness among First Nations people are higher than the average and that their claim is greater.

And so I'm a little stuck here.

I urge council to be as creative and good hearted as you have been in solving this very tough problem.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Patience Malaba, for the record.

I am the advocacy mobilization manager for the Housing Development Consortium of Seattle King County.

And as you all know, we continue to be in this unprecedented housing shortage, especially affordable housing shortage.

And one key challenge that we see is the ever-increasing cost of land.

And that's why as HTC, we support amending the disposition policies that are before you today.

And we're grateful for Council Member Mosqueda's leadership on this and really engaging community stakeholders in this way.

Our members at Enterprise actually released the research that shows that by building on public land, we reduce the cost by 15% in terms of the cost of production.

So if that land is available and the city is no longer utilizing that land, it should be made available for affordable housing.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Ms. Moon, before you begin, just let me call three more names out.

So, following Ms. Moon will be Bill Sampson, Asuka Jax, and then Laura Lowe Bernstein, 9, 10, and 11. Ms. Moon, the floor is yours.

Hi, council members, I would love to applaud and thank you for the excellent work on the surplus land disposition policy.

It is the right thing to do to prioritize affordable housing with any land the city doesn't need.

And I would urge you to please stop and look for a minute at this huge opportunity in front of us with the Mercer Mega Block.

We have two and a half blocks, a huge parcel of public land that we could be using for affordable housing on site.

Instead, we have an RFP aimed at private developers that seems to prioritize luxury apartments and class A office space in a neighborhood that is desperately in need of affordable housing for the folks who work in the tech industry but are not engineers.

There are service workers, there are janitors, there are food service people, there are admin people who desperately deserve a place to live where they work.

Right now they're forced into long commutes away from their families.

We should be building affordable housing on site.

So please rip up this current RFP, start over using this new policy as a guide for how do we build truly affordable housing in every neighborhood in this city using public land.

Thanks.

Either one is fine, whatever is comfortable.

Hi, my name is Bill Sampson and I'm a volunteer with the Sierra Club.

Thank you for letting me talk today.

The Sierra Club is known as like that hiking group, but I'm recently we've gotten more involved in issues like transportation and housing and that also these all these issues relate to each other because if you have more transportation and and more dense affordable housing.

If we don't have more dense housing, then we'll have suburban sprawl that will eventually impact the wild places in Western Washington that we like to hike.

I'd also like to, so I'm speaking in favor of the surplus land bill.

And I'd also like to say, I'd like to second what Alice said about me wanting to find a way to address the concerns that the woman from the Lummi Nation was talking about.

and my time's almost up.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

I have...

Go ahead.

Good afternoon.

Thanks for being here, Council.

Thanks for always accepting me and allowing me to be vocal and loud for us intersex folks.

I support the surplus land bill, but also please include safe, affordable housing for us intersex folks that we finally deserve.

and please save the show box.

Thank you.

Hello, Council.

Thanks for the opportunity to speak today.

I'm Laura Lowe Bernstein.

I'm a District 4 renter, but today I'm representing Share the Cities.

We're a new group focusing on large land parcels in Districts 4 and 5 near Sound Transit stops.

We have about 50 volunteers.

And we signed on with other members to the Mercer Megablock Alliance.

There's other folks here today that will speak more to that.

And we wanted to let you know that we're very happy that Councilmember Mosqueda and her staff did so much great work to keep public lands in public hands.

This work will be recognized for generations as the right thing to do.

and a long-term vision, which is so rare for many councils and elected officials across the country, a long-term vision for affordability for many, many years to come.

During a housing crisis, we need to think about what could have been done 20 years ago and what needs to be done 20 years from now.

And I believe that this is the type of thinking that we need to weather the next housing crisis.

Public lands are a precious asset.

We must see this as an opportunity for affordability, both in boom times and in busts.

We also need to see this as an opportunity for development without displacement and access to open space for the public, not privatizing public open space.

As I mentioned, we signed on with other partners to the Mercer Mega Block Alliance, and hopefully you can all look at the letter that went with that, that went to all the council members.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next three speakers are Thomas O'Keefe, Joseph Bogart, and It's Giulia Pesciotto, something like that one.

Good afternoon.

My name is Thomas O'Keefe, and I just want to make a few brief remarks on Ms. Deborah Smith, nominee for general manager of Seattle City Light.

I have worked in hydropower issues for over 20 years, have a Ph.D. in aquatic ecology, and have served on the environmental advisory group for Seattle City Light's general manager.

Initially, I had some concerns with the nominee and past statements she had made with regard to salmon recovery and restoration.

And the significance of this, as you may be aware, is that Seattle City Light has initiated the process to secure a new federal license for the Skagit Hydroelectric Project, where considerations for salmon are extremely important.

But I wanted to express my appreciation to the nominee, Ms. Deborah Smith, for the time she's already taken to engage with river advocates and salmon advocates.

The values and expectations I feel she understands well and I have confidence she'll be a great leader for Seattle City Light and look forward to working with her.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

My name is Joseph Boger.

I'm the executive director of the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition, and also want to speak to the same topic, the upcoming confirmation of Deborah Smith for Seattle City Light's next CEO.

SOS and a number of its member organizations, including Sierra Club, Northwest Energy Coalition, and others, shared some initial strong concerns about the nomination of Deborah Smith for the next CEO of Seattle City Light.

In the last month, we've had a number of pretty constructive conversations with Deborah, and we had a chance to sit down with her on two occasions, get a better sense of her interests and values, and share our concerns with her.

We found these conversations to be really productive.

She's candid and open, and she is committed to collaboration and problem solving.

Members of our coalition look forward to working with Deborah Smith, CLLC Light's next CEO, to tackle the serious problems that Salmon and Orca face and do so in a manner that works for CLLC Light's ratepayers.

Thanks very much for the opportunity to speak.

Thank you.

After Julia will be Marguerite Richard and then Eugene Wasserman.

Good afternoon.

My name is Julia Pesciuto.

I'm a policy analyst at Puget Sound SAGE.

Through our coalition organizing, we have collectively agreed in our South Core Coalition that we fundamentally believe that from public land, we should expect to capture the value of the land for public good and that land should be used for equitable development and to prevent displacement.

One recent example includes the sale of the land just across the street, which resulted in $16 million that seeded the Equitable Development Initiative in the city, which specifically funds community-driven anti-displacement projects.

This was a one-off investment, but pointed to the need for a policy that required a consistent commitment to affordable housing and equitable development from our public land.

We support the policy before you today, which sets forward strong values for how we should prioritize when and how we dispose of our public land.

We support that the policy prioritizes affordable housing, aligns with and supports the equitable development initiative, and directs the city through changes to the administration and finance plan to further prioritize that communities most impacted by displacement be first in line to receive the land, including the call today to return land to indigenous folks whose land we occupy.

Thank you.

Following Marguerite Richard would be Eugene Wasserman and then Pete Stoltz.

I'm here today on behalf of the North Seattle Industrial Association, and I'm here to talk about Council Bill 119329. I sent you all an email a couple hours ago, but I'm sure many of you have not had a chance to read it.

We would ask you not to pass this bill at this time.

Table would put off to next year.

We do not know anything about it.

In spite of the fact the author of this bill represents most of the business in my area, this was never discussed with us.

This is the second time I've come to City Council now to discuss how business people that I work with and represent aren't consulted before bills come before this body.

Some of the people associated with my group were part of Seattle Districts Now, to ensure that we had a more representative city council for districts.

If council members are not gonna consult with the businesses in their districts, we will have to think about how we're gonna change the system.

I'm very tired of doing this, and I think the council needs to listen to businesses.

Thank you.

Following Marguerite Richard is Pete Stoltz.

Yes, good day, everyone.

In honor of those that are suffering from cancer, I greet you and those that have loved ones that are trying to heal from it and may have passed on.

Because see every time I come down here I have to deal with the cancerous, murderous spirit.

They're very vindictive, highly authoritative towards we the people, black people.

And somebody told me you have a conscious mind and a subconscious mind.

And I think the last words that I heard from Ms. Bagshaw was, thank you, security.

You know, security does some mean stuff to folk.

And before I came up here, I went to this customer service bureau where they have big, bold letters, customer bill of rights.

And I feel like if you're not gonna give us our rights here, you need to take down the sign.

And this whole place should be out of business because of what you're doing right now.

Thank you, Mr. Shard.

Following Pete will be Megan Altendorf.

Good afternoon, counsel.

My name is Pete Stoltz.

I work for Cal Portland, and I had the distinct honor and privilege of serving on the mayor's Seattle City Light Search Committee.

And I'm here to speak in support of the nomination of Deborah Smith.

Sitting on the Council Search Committee, I had an opportunity to gain a perspective and learn a lot about Seattle City Light and also to interview a very distinguished panel of candidates.

And I'm here to tell you that Deborah Smith stood out quite well among all those candidates.

And I think that her capabilities are already standing out.

as demonstrated by the testimony that came from the folks that just spoke before me.

And I think you're going to hear a lot more of those kind of things come from her.

I want to say that I strongly support her candidacy.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Megan Altendorf, and I am the chair of the Advocacy Subcommittee of the American Institute of Architects Seattle Committee on Homelessness.

AIA Seattle believes public land should be used for the public good.

Right now, there is no greater public need than housing, as demonstrated by our current homelessness state of emergency.

Therefore, AIA Seattle supports Resolution 31837. Thank you.

Thank you.

The next speaker is Camille Cunniff, and then Randy Hardy, and then Ann Barilla.

I think I'm, oh, Charlie.

I'm sorry, Charlie, I didn't see that.

Good afternoon.

I didn't see your first name there.

I don't write very well, Bruce.

Okay.

Thanks for having us here today.

I appreciate your time.

I live in Bruce's district now, down in District 2 in Columbia City.

We own a house there.

I really strongly believe that the public lands that we have, the surplus public lands should be used for public housing.

There's a desperate need for more housing all throughout the city.

The Mercer Mega Blocks project as well, I really see that that is such an opportunity to bring public housing down there, to bring affordable housing there.

As we've seen, the condos and the apartments and everything that's been going up, in Belltown and downtown South Lake Union over these past few years, there's very little that's available for people that don't have the means to buy or to rent very expensive places.

I think it's incumbent on the council to really think about how to use these lands well and how to use them for the good of the people.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Charlie.

Following Randy would be Anna Brilla and then Katie Wilson.

Good afternoon, Councilmembers.

My name is Randy Hardy.

I'm a former CEO of both Seattle City Light and the Bonneville Power Administration.

I speak to you today to urge you to strongly confirm Deborah as the next general manager CEO of Seattle City Light.

I've been in this business for 40 years.

I've seen a lot of people.

And in my estimation, Deborah possesses the interpersonal and management skills to handle the internal issues and workforce issues in the city generally that are a primary prerequisite of being a good CEO for Seattle City Light.

But she also possesses the experience and the technical and operational knowledge in the utility business and couldn't come more highly recommended by her colleagues in that business.

So I would just urge you to confirm her.

I think you're lucky to have her.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Following Anna is Katie Wilson and then Richard Schwartz.

Good afternoon, City Council.

Thank you for having me here today.

My name is Anna Bonilla, and I'm a policy fellow with Enterprise Community Partners, and I'm here to thank the Council, particularly Councilmember Mosqueda's office, for being proactive in their leadership in addressing the affordable housing crisis in moving forward this surplus lands bill today.

At Enterprise, we're looking forward to work with the city to build more affordable homes as we look forward to doing these proactive steps to address our homelessness crisis in the city.

And today, I also want to mention that we also just launched the beta version of our mapping tool, which looks at all of the publicly owned tax exempt lands in King County.

And as we distribute that tool to different partners across the city, we look forward to starting conversations today and beyond and how we can catalyze these surplus properties and really reach our goal in housing everyone in the city.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hi, council members.

My name is Katie Wilson.

I'm here with the Transit Riders Union.

We're here supporting two pieces of legislation today.

The transit benefits legislation, thank you, Council Member O'Brien, and also the surplus lands legislation.

Thank you to Council Member Muscata and also to all of the community organizations that worked really hard to make that legislation strong.

In the spirit of this new legislation, I'm here with members of, I guess we're calling ourselves the Mercer Mega Block Alliance, Share the Cities, Seattle Architectural Lobby, 350 Seattle, Transit Riders Union, Sierra Club, Seattle Tech for Housing, The Urbanist, the Tenants Union, Share, Wheel, Nicholsville, Real Change, and also Mike Eliason, Carrie Moon, and Sarah Rankin, Director of the Homeless Rights Advocacy Project.

We sent a letter to you all today and to Mayor Durkin asking the city to slow down and work with us to figure out how to use this enormous parcel of land in Southlake Union in a way that best furthers the goals of affordable housing and equitable development.

We believe that collectively we can do better than the current RFP and this is a huge opportunity.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I have Richard Schwartz, and then is Richard here?

I don't see Richard here, so we'll move past Richard and go to Matthew Lang, and then Lacrisse Green.

Hi there, council members.

My name is Matthew Lang.

I'm the lead organizer at the Transit Riders Union.

The Transit Riders Union strongly supports the transit benefits ordinance proposed by Council Member O'Brien.

This is a win-win policy.

By allowing employees to purchase transit passes with pre-tax dollars, it will give them a discount on public transit.

Employers will also save on payroll taxes to the tune of 7.5 to 9%, which will more than offset the private administrative costs of implementing this system.

The whole public will benefit from this commuter benefit legislation because the program encourages transit use, which helps to reduce traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.

Currently, most employees who receive commuter benefits through their employers tend to be high-wage or salaried workers.

Low-wage workers are left out.

This legislation will make it easier for many thousands of low-wage workers to obtain commuter benefits through their employer.

It may also open the door for more employers to provide a full or partial transit pass subsidy for their workers, just as the University of Washington has agreed to do.

This is a policy that has already proven to be successful in a number of U.S. cities, including New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. We urge the Council's support of this important common-sense legislation.

Thank you.

Following Lucrece will be Ollie Garrett and then Alexander Froelich.

I am Lucrece Green and I would like to withdraw my request for us to speak this afternoon.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Green.

So then following Ollie Garrett is Alexander and then Andrea Jackson.

Hi, I'm Ollie Garrett, President of Tabor 100, which is a group of women and minority-owned businesses and people in business that do advocacy work committed to economic power, educational excellence, and social equity for African Americans and the community at large.

I'm also President and CEO of PMT Solutions.

I'm here today to speak in support of Deborah Smith as the second woman in 108 years to become the CEO and General Manager of Seattle City Light.

After hearing some of the comments I have heard today, I am looking forward to working with her on inclusion issues and issues concerning women and minority-owned businesses.

Thank you.

Hi, Council.

My name is Alexander Froelich.

I'm a renter in District 7. I'm here as chair of the American Institute of Architects Committee on Homelessness to support Council Member Mosqueda's bill for the Surplus Lands Resolution.

We fully endorse the sentiment of keeping public land in public hands for the public benefit.

I'm also here as chapter steward of the Seattle Architecture Lobby.

We co-signed a statement that went out to you all this morning with the Mercer Mega Block Alliance.

and we urge you all to prioritize the interests of working people on this large, important site here in South Lake Union.

Lastly, as a citizen, I just wanted to express my opposition to the closure of Licton Springs.

This is a public health asset, and I was extremely disappointed to hear that that is not being renewed, and I urge you to reconsider that.

rather than capitulating to the metrics of some loud, squeaky wheels.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good morning.

Thank you, Council.

I'm Andrea Jackson.

I am the treasurer of Taper 100, a diverse civic group.

I have been in that role for eight years.

I am here today to express my support for Ms. Deborah Smith as CEO and general manager of Seattle City Lights.

I am also a former member of Women in Utilities.

I spent nine years in the utility industry, and I cannot express the need for diversity and the continued need for women in positions of power as we bring about change in our economic situation, particularly as it relates to Seattle City Lights and in the utility industry as a whole.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

So, following Nancy will be Amy Bowles and then Noah Fay.

Good afternoon, Councilmembers.

My name is Nancy Hirsch with the Northwest Energy Coalition.

I'm here to speak in support of Deborah Smith, the nominee for Seattle City Light.

I want to thank Councilmember Mosqueda for your thorough evaluation and look into this candidate.

I believe that not only does Debra bring a Northwest power system perspective, but also understands the key role that customer side resources need to play in meeting customer needs and addressing the infrastructure and system flexibility needs that Seattle City Light has.

Over the past few weeks, I've participated in meetings with Debra and members of the environmental and salmon protection organizations.

What began as concern about some of Deborah's previous positions on salmon recovery in the Columbia River Basin, for me, turned into a very positive reflection of Deborah's commitment to listening, dialogue, and significant interest in collaborating to advance Seattle's leadership on environmental stewardship and clean and affordable energy.

I support her nomination and urge you to as well.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, City Council.

My name is Amy Bowles.

I'm a union representative at the Professional and Technical Employees Local 17. Thank you for having me here today.

It is with great honor that I was elected to serve on the Mayor's Search Committee for our next GM candidate, and I am happy to be here today in support of Deborah Smith.

PTE Local 17 represents about 9,000 public sector employees in the state of Washington and Oregon, as well as 3,000 of those are here in the city of Seattle and about 700 are at Seattle City Light.

So Local 17 looks forward to a further partnership and relationship with Ms. Smith as she moves forward into her new role, hopefully.

And I would also like to speak on behalf of my labor partner at Local 77 and indicate that we are both excited about the workplace change in terms of culture and safety that we believe that Ms. Smith will bring to Seattle City Light.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Following Noah will be Roxanne Wicks, Wicker.

Hello, Council.

Thank you very much.

My name is Noah Fay.

I'm the Director of Housing Programs with DESC, and I'm here in support of the surplus land legislation.

I just want to say that we see it as a common-sense solution to put serviceable land towards developing affordable housing and developing it now, whereas it would be short-sighted to sell perfectly usable land only to then later fund land purchases on the open speculative market.

And by devoting more land to development of housing now, we can more quickly respond to the crisis of homelessness in our community by developing more solutions that we know to be both cost effective and effective in ending the trauma that is homelessness.

And that's developing more affordable and more permanent supportive housing.

So thank you for your time today.

Thank you.

My name is Roxanne White, and I presently reside here on Duwamish territory, which you all call Seattle.

I didn't know this meeting was going on, but I happen to be having coffee, and one of my fellow ally sisters happened to come through and reminded me, so I came up.

And I think it's very important as an indigenous woman, as an indigenous person to come here and speak on behalf of the homeless.

I really love this, Housing Development Consortium Surplus Land Disposition Bill Public Hearing.

When we talk about land disposition or just being displaced, period, we're talking about indigenous people, we're talking about marginalized people, we're talking about people that are affected by the choices that you are putting in authority to look after those that are the most marginalized.

And I really wanted to share this part about a 2010 survey that was done on American Indian women and Alaskan Native women.

Roxanne, just go ahead and speak, but try to wrap up because your time is up, please.

that an Alaskan and Native American woman out of 148 of those women that were living here in Seattle at the time of this survey, 94% of them had been raped in their lifetime.

One woman per week has been sexually assaulted.

That has been reported to Chief Seattle Club.

And at the time of that survey, 50% of them were homeless at the time.

This issue is up to you guys.

It's up to you guys to protect those women and the marginalized people of this community and to honor the Duwamish people.

Thank you, Ms. White.

Okay, please read the title.

Thank you.

We're going to move to the payment of bill section.

We got through all the sign-up speakers, so please do the payment of bill section and read the title.

Council Bill 119363, a property man to pay a surrounded claims in order in payment thereof.

I move to pass Council Bill 119363. It's been moved and seconded to the bill passed.

Any comments?

Please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

Herbold.

Aye.

Johnson.

Aye.

Juarez.

Aye.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

O'Brien.

Aye.

Sawant.

Aye.

Bagshaw.

Aye.

Gonzales.

Aye.

President Harrell.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Please read the first agenda item.

The report of the Housing, Health, Energy, and Workers' Rights Committee agenda item one, appointment 1129, appointment to Debra Smith as general manager and chief executive officer of Seattle City Light for a term to December 31st, 2021. The committee recommends the appointment be confirmed.

Council Member Esqueda.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I'd like to move an amendment to appointment 1129 by adding council letter of expectations for Debra Smith.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded to add the letter of expectation to the package.

Any further comments?

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

Aye.

All those opposed, vote no.

The legislation is amended.

Thank you, Mr. President.

If I may comment on the appointee and the underlining legislation.

Yes, please do.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Today I'm really excited.

I'm excited that we are able to pass on to this full council the unanimous recommendation for Deborah Smith to serve as the general manager and CEO of Seattle City Light.

This is a huge opportunity, an opportunity for us to set direction for our city.

to make sure that we can keep the lights on and that we shed light on the changes that are needed and the policy innovation needed so that we can continue to be a leader in this nation.

A leader in responding to better workplace ethics, a leader in responding to the call for a green energy economy, and a leader in making sure that our largest department leads with that leadership that our community is calling for.

We are proud that we have a public utility in Seattle.

We're proud that we have created one of the largest utilities that is leading the way in green energy economy.

And we want this public utility to be fiscally stable.

We want it to be the most responsive to workers and to the public.

We've also been without a permanent leader for almost a year.

So it's with this excitement that we're able to support your nomination today, I hope.

Before we move on, I want to say a huge amount of appreciation for our interim director.

Thank you very much, Jim Baggs, for your incredible service over the last year and for all you've done to help lead us through this.

We know that you will continue on and we look forward to working with you collaboratively as well as we continue many of the initiatives that you've set into place to remind us of the changes that are needed.

So thank you for your work on that and thanks to your team.

We're excited to bring forward this legislation for you and your consideration here in full council.

As this appointment comes to you after the last few months in conversation in my committee, after conversations in response to the 34 questions that we submitted from our committee, but before that by the 22-member interview team, that came together at the direction of Mayor Durkan to make sure that we had the best candidate to bring forward to lead Seattle City Light.

A huge amount of appreciation for the mayor's office, for the mayor herself, for the CBO, Human Resources, City Light, the central staff, and my office for preparing this nomination.

And I think it's important that we note the 22 members who came together over the last six months to bring us this candidate of choice.

And if I might, Mr. President, read into the record their names.

Please do.

Eileen Quigley, Sharon Nelson, Cal Shirley, all co-chairs of this committee.

Twenty-two members included Sue Yang, Michael Mann, Andrew Loftin, Matt Lyons, Stan Price, Ash Award, Steve Kovac, Edwin Wanji, Mike Radice, Nancy Hirsch, Gail Labrana, Doreen Boheme, Mark Dowden, Jill Mackey, Dennis Hayes, Dennis McLaren, Sue Taoka, Ali Rodol, and Chris Rowe.

Can we just give them a huge round of appreciation, please?

Apologies if I mispronounced your name, but we do appreciate all of your work and the incredible work of the mayor's team who helped pull this together, led by your Human Resources Office and Deputy Mayor Mosley.

We reviewed the confirmation process and at the advice of Central Staff and City Life submitted the questions that you have responded to.

Thank you very much for your honest and candid responses to those, Ms. Smith.

We wanted a deliberate and inclusive process to know that we were shedding light on the many issues that demanded immediate attention and that we had a strong visionary leader who was able to tackle these issues.

Some of the issues came to us from the Seattle silence breakers who noted that they had been bringing these issues up for the last year and asked again for their voices to be heard and demanded action.

We heard from constituents directly and through the media who noted concerns about bills, bills that they received far higher than expected and feeling that they needed greater customer service and that they wanted those concerns met by the public utility.

We heard concerns during the strategic plan process when we saw the ballooning cost for capital projects and including the omission of sales tax on the calculation of the AMI deployment.

We heard continued concerns about the issues of renters especially having their lights turned off or couldn't turn their lights on when they moved and a lag of hooking up new buildings.

leading to a delay in building office and the housing that we talked about today, which is so desperately needed.

And we've had an ongoing conversation over the last year about the need for a new rate calculation, one that includes a commitment to progressivity and also one that makes sure that we're financially stable.

These are the issues that are in front of us, and it is with these issues that Debra Smith has said she is ready, she is capable, she is eager to tackle these challenges and to do so with the community you heard from today.

She knows that we have a solid foundation to build upon.

Thanks again to the Seattle City Light team for working with us on these various issues over the last year.

She knows that as a public utility we're going to be able to keep the power on and get it back on when it goes out only by working with community.

She knows that the totality of these issues facing the city are immense, but together that we can solve these.

Earlier this spring, the mayor set out a vision to find that capable and dynamic leader for our city's department.

And I believe that Mayor Durkan has selected the right candidate.

In addition to the input from the folks that I read, in addition to the ongoing conversation that we've had with the individuals that came to testify, we made sure that we crafted a process that ensured that our city did the due diligence to consider this appointment, that we scheduled this confirmation in a time where individuals and organizations had adequate time to meet with the nominee, and also that we knew that these issues weren't going to be solved overnight, and so that there was an ongoing commitment to ongoing conversations.

Ms. Smith provided answers to these questions.

She provided answers in a candid way.

She engaged in robust discussion and she talked with members of the committee, members of the community, and members at large about how she will work with us on an ongoing basis.

She engaged with tribal governments, with community organizations, with the Seattle Silence Breakers, with union leaders, with workers themselves, and she has brought an overwhelmingly positive response to the questions that she put forward.

I provided to the committee this morning a summary of the various meetings that she's had over the last few weeks, and I am heartened by the responses that we've received.

So I believe that Ms. Smith has discussed her leadership style as one that is inclusive.

She says she doesn't have to be the smartest one in the room.

She has to be the one that brings people in the room to make the decisions that will be the best to lead Seattle City Light.

I know she's committed to rebuilding trust with workers and the public.

I know she's committed to making sure that we have a progressive rate structure that keeps the lights on.

And I know that she is committed to making sure that Seattle is one of the greenest utilities going forward.

The committee unanimously recommends Mayor Durkin's nomination for Deborah Smith for confirmation as she shall be the next General Manager of Seattle City Light.

Thank you, Council Member Esqueda.

Well stated.

Now the floor is open for you and my colleagues.

Council Member O'Brien, you're first up to bat.

Thank you.

First of all, thank you, Council Member Skada, for your leadership in a really thorough process and a relatively quick timeline to get to something that's urgent.

So I think you've done amazing work there.

Ms. Smith, I'm really excited to support your nomination today.

I want to just share with you and the general public our interactions in the last few weeks and why I've come around from being skeptical to being very excited about where you are.

I think this story tells a little bit about both specifically about how you address this challenge and hopefully how you address challenges at City Light.

I'll start by just saying that Seattle City Light is an amazing organization, something that all of us in Seattle can be proud to be owners of this utility.

They historically have done amazing work around habitat, around energy conservation, around renewable energy.

And with any organization, there's always lots of room for improvement, too.

And so we've discussed what some of those issues are.

You've been very responsive to the public.

But I want to speak specifically to folks from the conservation community and tribal community who've worked with historically have worked to preserve and restore salmon habitat in the region.

The concern that had come forward, where I started being skeptical, was some of your past work with other organizations who have been seen to be opposite some of the city's values about how we want to work aggressively to restore salmon habitat.

When community members reached out to you, I understood that you were responsive immediately and scheduled a meeting and met with them.

As soon as you and I had a chance to meet, sat down, and I feel you addressed those through our conversation.

Additionally, after the committee meeting, folks in the audience and you talked and had another meeting last week to talk about what comes next.

And I just, the collaborative nature and your openness to explain your positions in the past and where you want to go forward, your transparency about that, gives me a lot of hope and excitement, which is why I'm thrilled to support you.

I will say that on the issue of restoring, preserving and restoring salmon runs on the Columbia River Basin, including the Snake River, those are some challenges that people have been working on for decades, and they're not going to be easily resolved.

But I do think we're at a point in time where there's a huge opportunity.

Some of that opportunity comes from the fact that we're facing some really awful outcomes right now, especially when you look at our dying orca population that rely significantly on Chinook salmon for their nourishment.

But I also think there's a huge opportunity because exactly of your history, because you've been part of these conversations, you've seen other sides of the debate, you understand, like many do in the community, that to resolve this, we need to find a solution that not just works for the salmon, but works for delivering energy, that works for transportation of crops, that works for all the communities that are impacted, and I think you're uniquely positioned to understand those needs and figure out how we can bring people together throughout the Northwest to find a solution that's gonna work.

And I look forward to working with you and watching you work forward with some of the amazing community members that are here today and move that forward.

And I know that is just one of the many challenges that are gonna be necessary to address.

So thank you for your openness, your transparency.

I'm excited that I get a vote yes on this today, and I look forward to working with you in the coming years.

Thank you, Council Member O'Brien.

Council Member Bekshaw.

Thank you.

I want to say thank you, Jim Baggs.

Thank you to your predecessors as well.

It's been a pleasure working with all of you.

over my last nine years, and welcome, Deborah Smith.

It sounds like things are going to go well today.

So I'm going to just say a couple of things.

I very much appreciate how hard you work to respond to all of our questions.

I don't think I've seen 34 questions being submitted to a director in recent times.

and your willingness to answer them thoroughly and be responsive, I appreciate very much.

A couple of points that I had brought up is I want City Light to be part of the sustainability effort.

We flash around phrases like green is the new gold.

But, clearly, moving our entire region towards sustainable alternative energy is something that most of the people who are in this audience would support, and I know City Light can be a lead in this.

Even though 95 percent of our power is already obtained by hydro, being a part of this bigger, broader effort is something I hope that we all can be involved in with your leadership.

I think we can make some big changes.

I also want to acknowledge that we have had trouble with billings over the last number of months.

It's no secret.

And just being more engaged, closely engaged with our community to figure out what the problems are so that we don't leave people behind.

Which means also with our utility discount program?

It's been a big thing that a number of us up here on the dais have worked with over the last number of years I know you're committed to helping us move forward with it.

I just want to say big priority for me, and thanks and welcome aboard You can expect y'all you know the comments customer her bolt

Thank you.

I too want to welcome the nominee and thank Council Member Mosqueda for getting us to this point.

The comments I have are more directed at the public around some controversy last year related to performance pay.

And some changes that the council made during the budget process may have been lost in the focus on the budget.

But previously, there was a performance pay program that allowed 8 percent performance pay to be awarded by the mayor annually and another 10 percent awarded at the end of each four-year term.

The CEO of City Light was the only department head in the city that had access to this performance pay, and there were significant concerns about state constitutional concerns about how performance could be evaluated in order to receive that performance pay.

So the council, during the budget process this year, removed the legislation that the council previously had passed in 2003. eliminating both of those performance pay options.

Thank you, Councilman Herbold.

Any further comments from any of my colleagues before we wrap up?

I'll say a few words and then I'll let you close if you'd like.

Oh, sure.

I only counted four votes so far, so you still got it.

In all seriousness, I want to thank, again, Jim Banks for his leadership, and Council Member Mosqueda for the process that you led.

Extremely thorough, which I think is a testament to how seriously we took the process of appointment.

So I want to thank the mayor and the mayor's team for finding you and recruiting you and sort of closing the deal.

It's been my experience with talking to the employees at City Light over the years, and I don't know if you know, but my father worked there for decades and decades.

It was his career at City Light, so it's always been near and dear to me I paid for new tennis shoes when I needed tennis shoes, things like that, that I've taken that utility very seriously because everyone needs it, right?

Lower income, high paying corporations, middle class families, everyone needs affordable power.

And I get the impression from the employees that they just don't want a good utility.

They just want the best, that they strive for it and there's sort of a pride in what they do.

And certainly, they've had many problems over the years, as many departments have.

But I think their standard for excellence is high.

And so I'm very pleased that we've gotten someone of your caliber.

I was very impressed with two speakers today, Ms. Jackson and Ms. Garrett.

I know them from some of the community work that they do, that the value of inclusiveness.

I've never been a believer that you just appoint a person because of a demographic, and then all of a sudden, inclusiveness occurs.

I think history would prove differently that you just can't hire a demographic and think that diversity is achieved and inclusiveness is achieved.

So I'm hoping that you rely on people like Ms. Jackson, Ms. Garrett, and people like that who are out there doing the grassroots work to make sure inclusiveness is achieved, and I have no doubt that you will.

You know, your commitment toward carbon neutrality and environmental goals and just having a good workforce speaks for itself.

But I have high hopes that we will again be so proud of this utility.

It's a great organization and I look forward to supporting you so it could get even greater.

So thank you for signing up.

I look forward to working closely with you.

Council Member Esqueda.

Thank you Mr. Chair.

I do want to just say thank you for your interest in doing this.

We heard numerous times throughout the last few months that you never take on something that's easy to do and that's probably part of the reason that you wanted this job.

You were looking forward to the opportunity and also the challenges and so I think you will hear from us ample opportunities to engage with this council and we're looking forward to that.

I did want to say thank you.

Thank you again to the mayor's office for her due diligence to find the right candidate.

Thanks to the mayor herself.

Thanks to Deputy Mayor Mosley.

Thanks for you in the audience here with us.

Thanks to Anthony Ariama, Kristen Grove, Adrian Thompson and Greg Shearing from the mayor's office and also the multiple staff at Seattle Department of Human Resources who ran this search process.

Pam Inch, Nina Park, and Terry Whitman.

Thanks to anybody within the mayor's office and team that I didn't mention.

I know it was an entire group of folks that made this process possible for us to be here today.

And then lastly, to everyone who's come out to testify, who sent your letters, who spent time with us on the phone, and who shared your experiences, your expectations, and your goals, this has been a collaborative process with you too.

So I really appreciate the time that you've taken to come and testify and share your words.

And with that, Mr. President, I think we're ready.

Okay, sounds good to me.

Let's get to work.

Oh, Mr. President, can I thank Michael Maddox who helped run this behind the scenes from my office?

I think you just did.

Thank you, Michael.

Thank you.

Okay.

Okay, those in favor of confirming the appointment, please vote aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The motion carries.

The appointment is confirmed.

I'd like to invite Ms. Smith to come to make some brief remarks to the council and that brief was in caps in my notes and so.

I actually feel like I'm like the fourth member of an ensemble cast who's collecting their Emmy and everything's been said and there's no one new to thank.

I appreciate all of that from all of you, so I will be really brief.

So I'm thrilled to be here today and I am very happy to have moved through the confirmation process successfully.

It's been a journey, but it's actually been a really good journey because along the way I've learned a lot about the Seattle City Light and about the community that must guide our way to the future.

I've heard about the recent struggles with the workplace, customer service, affordability, cats, cats.

Indeed, we have an opportunity to do better.

And it's equally important to remember all the things that your community-owned utility does really, really well.

And I appreciate that some of you made a point of calling those out today, because as someone who lives in the region and hears about Seattle City Light elsewhere, It's a great utility and so remember that and thank you to all of you who have helped make that beach so.

Seattle City Light's a leader in offering highly reliable carbon-free energy and the environmental ethic is a deeply held value.

I've appreciated the opportunity to spend time with some great people these last weeks and I look forward to deepening my relationship with community stakeholders.

So thank you to Joseph and Thomas for your words of support and for showing up and being willing to talk with me on multiple occasions.

I've also had a chance to meet and spend time with some of the employees who do their very best in service to Seattle City Light's customer owners.

And they are a top-notch group, and I'm excited to begin working with them.

So thanks to the folks who are here today.

I appreciate you being here.

I appreciate the time that Councilmember Mosqueda and her staff have given me, as well as Councilmembers Juarez and Bagshaw, thank you.

And I've not met all of you, and I look forward to the opportunity to have one-on-one conversations with those of you that I haven't, but I appreciate that I did get to talk with Councilmembers Johnson and O'Brien, so thank you for that.

And lastly, thank you again to Mayor Durkin for the nomination and for her vote of confidence.

And extra thanks truly to Deputy Mayor Mosley and Anthony for shepherding me through the process.

My friends call him my handler, so that's my handler, and I'm super happy to have had you.

Thank you very much.

But I can't wait to get started, and I'll see you in two weeks.

Thank you, Ms. Smith.

Congratulations.

Okay, please read the next agenda item.

The report of the City Council, agenda item two, Council Bill 119361 relating to Hing Hay Park and property agreements with the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority and the City of Seattle.

Thank you.

Council Member Juarez.

Thank you, Council President.

This ordinance authorizes the Superintendent of Parks and Recreation to execute a settlement agreement and associated documents extinguishing an easement on city-owned real property and modifying a covenant encumbering a Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation Development Authority-owned real property, otherwise known as SCPDA.

The bill amends Ordinance 124927, which was adopted in the 2016 budget.

The bill also lifts a proviso.

and the bill authorizes the use of certain city funds to design and construct a public restroom within the Bush Hotel building to serve users of Hinge Park and other members of the public.

The Committee on Civic Development, Public Assets, and Native Communities made a unanimous recommendation on September 14th that the City Council pass the council bill as amended.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Are there any questions about this council bill?

Okay.

If not, I will move to pass this council bill.

Is there a second?

Second.

Okay.

Please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

Herbold.

Aye.

Johnson.

Aye.

Juarez.

Aye.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

O'Brien.

Aye.

Sawant.

Aye.

Bagshaw.

Aye.

Gonzalez.

Aye.

President Harrell.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Please read the next agenda item.

Agenda item 3, resolution 31837, amending and adopting the policies and procedures that govern the reuse and disposal of real property owned by the City of Seattle, not subject to the City-like department jurisdiction, updating certain portions of the procedures relating to property reuse and disposal for affordable housing, and adding provisions regarding the use of proceeds from surplus property disposal.

The committee recommends resolution be adopted as amended.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Thank you very much, Mr. President.

Mr. President, this legislation is a call for development done right.

It's a call for development done through the community lens, for the families and workers who want to and need to live within the city.

It's in response to the call for density to help address environmental impacts of displacement.

Earlier today, I was listening to public testimony from the legislative body that oversees housing in Olympia, and Jimmy Hahn, president of the Northwest Carpenters, testified, saying the following, despite the boom and despite the fact that our membership is overwhelmed with work, we are still not producing enough housing.

He said, just like the police officers who cannot afford to live on the streets that they patrol, just like the teachers who cannot afford to be neighbors to the children they educate, carpenters cannot afford to live in many of the homes we build with our own hands.

This legislation is a response to the housing crisis and the injustice that many of us have talked about so far.

We need housing.

We need affordable housing.

We need to house the homeless and we need to do it now.

This legislation is in response to the call for reversing the exodus, especially of communities of color.

As our friends from the tribal community said today, people who are the most vulnerable are losing out on the opportunity for housing.

We're losing out on the opportunity for density in our neighborhood.

We're losing the opportunity for more green space and public space for communities to engage and have opportunities for engagement.

We're losing the opportunity for individuals to be able to live in the city that they work.

And we need to make sure that all city property is used for the best use and not just sold at the highest price.

Many of us know the root causes of this sad reality.

The historic roots of redlining and restrictive zoning has often made it harder for working families, especially women and people of color, to have access to affordable housing when housing is so limited in our city.

It's often redlined communities where we see families and community organizations that are trying to serve those families who don't have the capacity to purchase new land and don't have the ability to create housing opportunities, especially mixed-use opportunities for density in our communities.

But when we remove the cost of land, the cost of producing affordable housing can be decreased by 15%.

So in response to the comments that we've heard today, no, this legislation doesn't correct the injustice of redlining and it doesn't correct the injustice of having land taken.

But it does help us begin the first steps necessary to make sure that more community organizations and individuals who are the most vulnerable have actual site control and that we build the housing to respond to our community's need.

And now is the time where we have to act.

Here is where we need to act at the local level.

The Federal Department on Housing and Urban Development has just engaged in efforts to dismantle efforts to create affordable and fair housing.

Here is where we have the opportunity and I want to thank Representative Ryu another woman of color, who we should constantly thank when they are leading the efforts, who passed House Bill 2382. She passed it earlier this legislative session to make sure that we look at opportunities for us to take a step further and make sure that community has the opportunity to build the housing that we need on surplus property, that we commit ourselves to engaging in creating affordable housing to meet our fair housing goals, and that we are not only building housing, but building community opportunities by making sure that housing is above child care facilities, above health facilities, next to public parks, and creating opportunities for small businesses to thrive on the first and second floors, and that we do this in a way that is built next to transit centers.

And when we see maps of Seattle and where we know that displacement is occurring, especially for these most vulnerable communities, we have an obligation to do more.

The community organizations who helped pull together this legislation have made it possible for us to now have tools in hand for us to take the next steps in living our values.

And that is, public land should be used for the best public use.

And over the years coming up, I hope that we can act with urgency to make sure that these policies are set into place.

Mr. President, there's six bullets that I'd like to read that outline what this legislation does, if I might.

First, it sets a policy that requires the city to prioritize using surplus land for affordable housing in addition to parks and open spaces, childcare and early learning centers, educational facilities, light rail stations, things like grocery stores so we can address food deserts.

It allows for us to make sure that the land can also be leased, which means that the city maintains public ownership or partial ownership from municipal use, and that means that the property can be developed into affordable housing for mixed use.

It directs the Office of Housing to partner with community organizations in areas of heightened risk of displacement, allowing for greater community ownership, site control, and affordable housing to be developed through their lens.

And it sets a benchmark.

that if a parcel is sold, if after an intense analysis that the land is not going to be developed by the city in partnership with community organizations, that if it is sold, a goal of 80% of that net revenue will be generated for parcels to go into affordable housing and into making sure that we meet our goals under the Equitable Development Initiative.

It adds additional reporting from the Office of Housing regarding implementation to ensure accountability so we're actually living our values and those organizations are serving the community that they intend to serve and that reflect they're reflective of the community through their boards and leadership.

It also cuts in time cuts it in half the time for internal process in the city to review these parcels so we can build housing with urgency.

Of the changes that I'm most excited about, it directs the Office of Housing to work with community organizations and to design affordable housing, especially for those who are at risk of displacement, to make sure that we are actually working with the communities that are at highest risk of displacement instead of just assuming that that will happen with development.

When development is done right, when community organizations are brought to the table, we can create the housing that we need, and we can do it in a way that addresses the environmental impacts of displacement and does an effort to try to reverse some of the injustices that we talked about before.

I'm excited about this legislation, as you can tell, Mr. President.

There's been a number of efforts that we have worked on together over this last year, but this is the piece of legislation that I think really helps us live our values in terms of how we can do a better job with publicly owned land.

and make sure that we get more affordable housing and community assets.

This wouldn't have been possible without the organizations that you heard of today and a number of additional ones that I'd like to read very briefly, including folks from Puget Sound SAGE, Got Green, Interim, CDA, El Centro, 350 Seattle, Sierra Club, Compass Housing, Housing Development Consortium, Future Wise, Forterra Enterprise Community Partners, Chief Sealth Seattle Club, Seattle Indian Services Commission, Beacon Hill Development Group, Rainier Beach Action Coalition, Filipino Community Center, abundance of hope, Sustainable Seattle, Sightline, Mount Baker Housing, Seattle Tech for Housing, Seattle for Everyone, and so many more.

I want to say very briefly before we get to amendments, a huge amount of appreciation to Sally Bagshaw.

Thank you, Councilmember Bagshaw.

To your team, Allison, Dan, Brian, and Lena for their ongoing work with us to make sure that we got this right.

To Tracy Rascliffe from Central Staff who constantly worked with us to make sure this was possible.

And to the intense work from our team, especially Michael Maddox and all of his research on this.

I want to thank also as well Aretha Basu and Farideh Cuevas who helped shape this work in working with community organizations.

This is a continuation of the work that you all worked on I think in 2017 with then Councilmember Burgess.

What we've done today is taken it to the next level in terms of what we mean by highest and best use of the parcels.

And I'm really excited with this legislation.

We will hopefully be able to see more Plaza Roberto Maestas, more Filipino community centers, more Hiroshima places, and more opportunities for, for example, Seattle Club, Chief Seattle Club, to acquire site control for production of permanently affordable housing to serve communities who've been left out and are at risk of displacement.

And this is, I think, how we respond to the housing crisis today and also the housing crisis that will be here with us in 20, 30, 40 years if we don't act now.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you, Council Member Esqueda.

Any of my colleagues like to address the resolution?

So we'll go with Council Member Bechoff.

Thank you.

I want to just say, Council Member Muscadig, you and your office have been fabulous partners on this.

Thank you very much for taking the lead.

Michael Maddox, I know you're embarrassed in the background that we call you out, but truly working with you and with the folks in my office who have done that has made a big difference.

I just want to say I completely concur that this is the right way to go, and we simply need a whole lot more housing, a lot faster, which means much more resources in order to do this.

That people say, well, it costs so much money, and I want to remind my legislative friends that last year, the Housing Trust Fund offered $100 million, which was a great beginning, but that's statewide.

We could so easily use $100 million right here to build the kind of units that we need.

And if we're doing full-on brick and mortar, we know that it's about $30 million for 100 units.

And if we want to look at some options, like what we've been arguing for around modulars, to try some pilots, to get some things built and up and just ready to go for people, I really want to encourage us to look at every possible alternative.

And in that regard, I would like to say thanks to my King County colleagues, John Arthur Wilson and Adrian Quinn, who are helping us look at those kinds of opportunities across the county.

We cannot do this alone.

You will hear me say a thousand times, the city government can do anything, but we can't do everything.

And we need help and we need money in order to get this going.

Also, we've got the green space, the parks, the education, all the amendments that we talked about.

Do you have an amendment, an amended version that we need to bring forward before we vote on this?

I sure do.

Great, thank you.

Please, that's my comments.

I just say and will thank you.

So why don't we take the amendments and then we could describe the amended legislation if we have some closing comments.

So you have, I believe, an amendment one, Council Member Mosqueda.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I think I unfortunately described the amendments as I was doing my spiel, so I do have two amendments, both just to clarify legislation.

So the first is Amendment 1. I'd move to amend Resolution 31837 by using Substitute Version 5 or for Version 4.

There a second?

It has been seconded.

So basically we're just substituting version since she actually spoke to the new version.

So substituting version 5 for version 4. Any comments on the amendment?

All those in favor of the amendment vote aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it and amendment 1 has passed.

Amendment 2 relates to attachment A.

I'd like to move to amend resolution 31837 attachment A by substituting version 5 for version 4A.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded.

On the attachment.

Any comments?

Those in favor of amendment number two, which is, again, the attachment A, substituting version five for version 4A.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it, and those two amendments are passed.

So we have an amended resolution, and Council Member Baxter, you're through with your remarks, I assume, and Council Member O'Brien, you have the floor, sir.

Thank you so much.

Again, thank you Councilmember Mosqueda for your work on this and thanks community members for continuing to make sure that the city is focused on delivering as much affordable housing and using and prioritizing all of our resources towards that.

I am thrilled to be supporting this going forward.

I also want to acknowledge that there are surplus properties that are currently going through a process.

Some of the commenters spoke to that, specifically the Mercer Mega Block, and I've been working closely on that and want to make sure that the process will maximize the amount of affordable housing and want to work with community members to really understand how we can do that to serve the best interest and get the most housing and in the neighborhoods where we need it most at the same time.

So I think this resolution is a great step forward and we'll continue to work on those that are in the process.

Thank you Councilmember Bryan.

I'll just say briefly Councilmember Esqueda that I think what What makes a difference in a good legislature, legislator, is the ability by which they can get creative.

and really think outside the box and look at new problems and old solutions and again sort of put on their thinking hat and really push the envelope and I think that's what you and your staff are doing.

So I want to commend you on that.

We've looked at surplus property and both from the general sub fund and for our utilities for years but I think you've taken a much more aggressive approach and one that will better serve our residents and our our constituents throughout this city.

So thank you for bringing forth this resolution.

And with that, I think we are ready to vote.

Are you ready to vote, Council Member Esqueda?

Yes.

Okay.

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

Aye.

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The motion carries.

The resolution is adopted.

The chair will sign it.

Please read the next, yeah, let's clap on that.

Please read the next agenda item.

The report of the Sustainability and Transportation Committee agenda item 4, Council Bill 119329 relating to employment in Seattle requiring certain employers to offer employees the opportunity to use pre-tax earnings to purchase commuter benefits other than parking in accordance with federal law adding new chapter 14.30 to Seattle Municipal Code and amending sections 3.15.000 and 6.208.020 to Seattle Municipal Code.

Committee recommends the bill pass as amended.

Thank you.

Council Member O'Brien.

Thank you.

I want to take a minute just to explain what this legislation would do, but I want to start by apologizing to Mr. Wasserman and the North Seattle Industrial Association.

The first they learned about it was in a newspaper article today.

We've been discussing this legislation for over a year, and last year in the budget we reached out and refunded Commute Seattle to do work.

to engage business folks, and they've been doing that with a lot of folks.

And Mr. Wasserman, since I heard you, I've asked my staff to connect Commute Seattle.

I actually see Nick from Commute Seattle is in the audience, and I will make sure you can physically chat today.

to do some of the outreach work to your members, too, to make sure they understand it.

We'll also talk, so this legislation, what it does is it takes advantage of a piece of the Internal Revenue Service Code that allows businesses, allows, sorry, employees to have transit passes deducted from their payroll pre-tax.

The effect of that means is they get, essentially, the tax deduction for both their Social Security and Medicare and also their federal income tax from the cost of that pass.

The result is that for a minimum wage worker who's in...

20 to 25% tax bracket, who's currently buying $100 a month transit pass, $1,200 a year, would save over $300 a year through this mechanism.

Employers also get savings because the employers no longer have to pay their payroll tax for that amount that's deducted.

So on a similarly positioned employee, an employer would save close to $90 a year on that one employee who's taking advantage of it.

This is one of those rare opportunities where I believe we have a win-win-win.

The first win being for employees who get to save money on their transit, the second win being for employers who get to save some of their tax liability, and the third being for all of us, because when we make it easier and more cost-effective for people to have access to transit passes, we reduce congestion and pollution and give people access to the mobility that they need.

In the process of this, I want to applaud Commute Seattle for their ongoing work to reach out to both business owners and organizations that work with business leaders.

Myself and staff have also met with a number of those folks.

Obviously not everybody, but we will continue to do that work.

One of the things we heard was folks wanted to make sure they had enough timeline to implement this, so in committee, we extended the deadlines.

This law, we're passing it today, will not take effect, meaning it will not be implemented for businesses to have the requirement to offer this to their employees until January 1st of 2020, so a little over 12 months.

And then we put in another year of what I'll call a grace period where we won't do any enforcement, it'll just be education and if an employee says, hey, I wasn't notified that I have this right until January 1st of 2021. We've seen similar laws enacted in other cities around the country.

New York City is one of those.

In the first 18 months of their implementation, They had eight complaints where businesses weren't doing what they were required.

All eight of those complaints were resolved by simply educating the business and explaining how they could do that.

And so I feel very confident in both what's been happening elsewhere and in the communication with local businesses that this is something that folks will be able to do without any significant burden.

And to the extent there is a burden, it should be more than offset by the tax savings to them.

Again, we have another year and change to work with folks before this will be in effect, and I look forward to working with businesses and organizations who are just hearing about this in the coming year to make sure folks are aware of how this will be implemented.

And I wanted to say that I'm open to, in that process, if folks say, hey, there's a very unique concern we have in our business or in our industry where this may not work well, that we can always come back and make changes to that at that time.

Thank you.

Any further questions on this bill?

Council Member Johnson.

Just a couple of brief comments.

I was just looking at the most recent Bureau of Labor statistics, which I know you guys all know off the top of your head, but for those of you who aren't tracking that, well, you know, the average person is spending a little bit under $10,000 a year in their transportation costs as part of their household expenditures.

And we all know how critically important it is in a city that is becoming less and less affordable by the day to give people more transportation choices, gives them more economic freedom.

And I think that that's the intention here.

We have a significant portion, we're still working on the statistics and the data, but a significant portion of Seattle's employers who are not required to offer transit benefits to their employees.

This gives a pathway for those employees to get access to those benefits and will only prove good dividends for us who try every day to show up to the office to make sure that folks can get to work safely, easily, and reduce their household expenses.

Oh, by the way, while also being good for the environment, too.

So I think this is a good bill.

We heard from the Office of Labor Standards about their plans for enforcement.

and their plans to keep us in the loop if they do think that it will cost additional money in order for them to do more enforcement.

So I'm proud to support this one today.

Thank you very much Council Member Johnson.

Council Member Herbold.

Thank you.

I'm just taking a look at the fiscal note related to this legislation and the fiscal note states that the legislation anticipates that the Seattle Department of Transportation will assist in education and outreach as part of the department's ongoing commute trip reduction program.

I'm thinking that it might make sense to think about ways that OLS, the Office of Labor Standards, can help in the education piece.

Because I think they have ways of engaging with employers, because we often rely on their work to do the education piece for new labor laws that the city establishes.

And they might have deeper tentacles out into the employer community than the commute trip reduction program.

So I think that might be something that we want to talk about.

Thank you, Councilman Herbold.

Any further comments?

We're ready to move forward.

Councilman O'Brien, would you like to close it?

Thank you.

Council Member Herbold, I appreciate that idea.

And I know one of the things we anticipate is in the signage requirements, the posters that go up, that this will be added in the future as to one of those other requirements.

And I think a robust dialogue with Office of Labor Standards to help figure out how we make sure the work gets out to beyond folks that typically think about commuter production.

I also want to just say thanks to some of the advocates.

The folks at the Trans Riders Union have been key in the work and the research to make sure that employees who work at smaller employers, where the vast majority of us all work, often don't have access to the same types of transit benefits as those who work at the larger employers.

And so your research on this and your advocacy on this has really helped get us to where we are today.

So thank you to the Transit Writers Union and so many other transit advocates who've been part of this throughout the work.

Thank you.

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

Herbold?

Aye.

Johnson?

Aye.

Juarez?

Aye.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

O'Brien?

Aye.

Siwat?

Aye.

Bigshaw?

Aye.

Gonzalez?

Aye.

President Harrell?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes and the Chair will sign it.

Please read the next agenda item.

To report the Civil Rights Utilities Economic Development and Arts Committee Agenda Item 5, Council Bill 119356 relating to Seattle Public Utilities and many sections 21.20.040.080 and 21.76.040 in Seattle Municipal Code to address waste water rates.

Committee recommends the bill pass.

Council Member Herbold.

Thank you.

So the drainage and wastewater rates relate to the strategic business plan that the City Council passed last year by Resolution 31769. And the strategic business plan endorsed a six-year average rate increase of 5.2% across all lines of business.

This legislation would establish drainage and wastewater rates for 2019 through 2021. And this package before us actually lowers that rate by a tenth of a percent lower than what is in the endorsed six-year strategic business plan.

Thank you very much.

Any further comments?

Please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

Herbold?

Aye.

Johnson?

Aye.

Juarez?

Aye.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

O'Brien?

Aye.

Sawant?

Aye.

Bagshaw.

Aye.

Gonzales.

Aye.

President Harrell.

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Bill passes and the chair was silent.

Please read agenda item number six.

Agenda item six, Council Bill 119355 relating to Seattle Public Utilities, amending sections 21.33.030 and 21.76.040 of Seattle Municipal Code to adjust drainage rates.

Committee recommends the bill pass.

Council Member Herbold.

Thank you.

The water system plan provides guidance for planning and managing the city's drinking water system and associated capital facilities for the next 20 years in coordination with growth management planning by the city and other planning agencies.

The water system plan provides guidance to Seattle Public Utilities on future direction for all elements of its water system, including new water use efficiency goals for the Regional Water Conservation Program, an update to the Water Shortage Contingency Plan, and strategies and plans for operating, maintaining, and improving the system for the next 10 years and beyond.

Thank you, Kasper Herbold.

Any questions about agenda item number six?

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

Herbold?

Aye.

Johnson?

Aye.

Juarez?

Aye.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

O'Brien?

Aye.

Sawant?

Begshaw?

Aye.

Gonzalez?

Aye.

President Harrell?

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Bill passed and Chair will sign it.

Please read agenda item number seven.

Agenda item 7, Council Bill 119347 relating to Seattle Public Utilities adopting the 2018 water system plan.

Committee recommends the bill pass.

Council Member Herbold.

Thank you.

I just realized when the city clerk read the second item into the record that my comments for item 5 were actually for item 5 and 6 and I already gave my comments for item 7. So I have nothing more to add.

Many of us were aware of that.

Okay, now we're ready to vote on number seven.

Please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

Herbold.

Aye.

Johnson.

Aye.

Juarez.

Aye.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

O'Brien.

Aye.

Sawant.

Aye.

Begshaw.

Aye.

Gonzalez.

Aye.

President Harrell.

Aye.

Ayton, favor none opposed.

The bill passed and share with Senate.

Please read items eight and nine together.

Agenda Items 8 and 9, Appointments 10-08 and, excuse me, 11-08 and 11-09.

Appointment of Erin G. Arevalo as member of the Seattle Human Rights Commission for a term to July 22, 2019. And appointment of Jessica C. Bullion as member of the Seattle Human Rights Commission for a term to July 22, 2020. The committee recommends these appointments be confirmed.

Thank you.

Aaron is a council appointment to the Seattle Human Rights Commission.

Since the 2016 presidential election, Aaron has been looking for a role in which he could live his values, make an impact, and serve a purpose within his community.

He's been building skill to further social justice by recruiting project members, facilitating giving projects, and raising money for community organizing.

Jessica is a commission appointment to the Seattle Human Rights Commission.

Jessica serves as an executive director of World Without Hate, dedicated to building bridges and connecting others through the transformative power of forgiveness, compassion, empathy, and understanding.

Very good.

Any further comments about these two appointments?

I do want to take a little point of personal privilege to talk about Mr. Oroville, who is, as a young child, actually lived with me.

As a young child.

Long story, but he and his sister and mother and their family, we all live together.

And he's an outstanding, committed young person.

So I'm very glad to see him doing his civic duty here.

Good catch.

Good impression you must have put on him.

I think so.

I'll take some credit there.

Okay.

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

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The appointments are confirmed.

Motion carries.

Please read items 10 through 20 collectively.

Agenda items 10 through 20, appointments 1133 through 1137, 1139 through 1145. Appointments of Suzanne Burke, Kyle M. Settler, David F. LeTuan, Maria M. MacDonald, and Jessa Timmer as members of Seattle Public Utilities 2018 through 2023 Strategic Business Plan Customer View Panel.

Return to July 31st, 2020 and appointments of Laura C. Lipman, Noelle F. Miller, Ty Q. Pham, Robert E. Coleman, Rodney Ashoff, and Pooja Shah as members of Seattle Public Utilities 2018 through 2022 Strategic Business Plan Customer Review Panel for term to July 31st, 2021. The committee recommends these appointments be confirmed.

Very good.

Council Member Herbold.

Thank you.

Just a little bit of background for a reminder that Resolution 31800 passed by the Council in February of this year increased the number of panel members from 9 to 11 to allow for additional diversity on the panel.

Nine of the members will continue to serve and then we will appoint two new members.

Suzanne, otherwise known as Susie Burke, is a council appointment and active participant in the Fremont business community, serving on the board of the North Seattle Industrial Association and the Fremont Chamber of Commerce.

Kyle Stetler is a council appointment senior policy analyst for a federal auditing agency, where he focuses on natural resources and environmental programs at federal agencies.

He also currently serves on Seattle Public Utilities Water Systems Advisory Committee.

Dave Layton is a mayoral appointment, a professor of public affairs at the University of Washington, where he joined the Evans School faculty in 2001. He teaches courses in economics and statistics.

His area of specialization includes discrete choice economics and environmental and natural resources economics.

Marla McDaniel is a mayoral appointment who serves on the Seattle City Club Advisory Board.

She was appointed as a member in 2018 and will continue to serve through the end of 2020. Maria's interest in wastewater stems from her concern for the environment.

Jessica Timmer is a Mayoral Appointment Executive Director of the Chinatown International District Business Improvement Area.

She recently moved to Seattle from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and has a deep understanding of business improvement area creation and management, as well as extensive knowledge in events, promotion, small business assistance, policy, and advocacy work.

as well as streetscape planning for commercial corridors.

Laura Lipman is a council appointment.

She's a retired physician with 30 years of practice in North Seattle and Edmonds.

She has strong interest in biology and ecology and volunteered with the Nature Conservancy.

Noel Miller.

is also a council appointment.

Noel is a retired municipal public works and utilities director and a licensed civil engineer with a master's in public administration.

His 40-year career has been focused on municipal stormwater, wastewater, water supply, and transportation programs, systems, and projects in the Puget Sound region.

His early career involved practicing as a project engineer for several local consulting civil engineering firms.

Tai Pham is a council appointment.

She has lived in Seattle for 13 years, is an advocate for early childhood education and preserving history, and is active in the community through fundraising, teaching, volunteering, and board service for nonprofits in the International District.

Robert, or Bobby Coleman, is a mayoral appointment.

He is an active participant in the Fremont business community, served on the board of the North Seattle Industrial Association and the Fremont Chamber of Commerce.

Rodney Schaaf is a mayoral appointment.

He is a director of engineering at the Sheridan Seattle Hotel.

He has been involved in the hospitality industry for the last 30 years, 27 of those as a facilities manager.

Pooja Shah is a mayoral appointment and has lived and worked as a civil engineer in Seattle since 2000. She has been heavily involved in landmark projects throughout the city, including the King Street Station renovations, Pike Place Market renovations, the Publix Hotel, and the University of Washington Montlake Triangle and Burke-Gilman Trail projects.

She's a member of SPU's Development Services Advisory Group and a member of the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board.

Thank you.

Any further comments about these appointees?

Okay.

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

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The motion carries and appointments are confirmed.

Please read agenda item number 21.

Agenda item 21, appointment to 1145, appointment of Christina M. Salkidge as member of Seattle Commission for People with Disabilities for a term to April 30, 2020. The committee recommends the appointment be confirmed.

Council Member Herbold.

Thank you.

Christina is a council appointment to the Seattle Commission for Disabilities.

Christina is interested in working on policies and legislation that affects individuals and families with disabilities.

She wanted to work on barriers that individuals with disabilities struggle with and suggest policy and ideas that can help remove them and promote inclusion.

Thank you very much.

Any further 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 agenda item number 22.

Agenda item 22, appointment 1147, reappointment of Sharon N. Williams as member of Seattle Arts Commission for term to December 31st, 2019. The committee recommends the appointment be confirmed.

Council Member Herbold.

Thank you.

Sharon is a council appointment.

She is Executive Director for the Central District Forum for Arts and Ideas.

She has served as a stage manager, a research assistant, production assistant, and producer for several performing arts organizations in the Seattle area, including Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, and the Seattle rep. She founded the collaborative arts organization, the Mahogany Project, and as a playwright, filmmaker, solo performer, producer, and graduate of Seattle University's Master of Fine Arts Leadership Program.

She is also a board member at Cornish College for the Arts and the adult advisory board member with Creative Justice.

Very good.

Any further 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 agenda item number 23.

Agenda item 23, appointment 1148, appointment of Vivian Lee as a member of Seattle Women's Commission for a term to July 1st, 2020. The committee recommends the appointment be confirmed.

Council Member Herbold.

Vivian Lee is a commission appointment to the Seattle Women's Commission.

She graduated from Harvard with a BA in psychology and is currently a marketing communications manager at Microsoft, leading diversity and inclusion campaigns and initiatives tackling issues like the gender gap in STEM and gender equity issues in the workplace.

Very good, any further comments?

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

Aye.

Those opposed vote no.

The motion carries, the appointment is confirmed.

That concludes our agenda.

Is there any further business to come before the council?

Council Member Gonzalez.

Thank you, Council President.

I move to be excused on Monday, October 15th.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded that Council Member Gonzalez be excused on October 15th.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Opposed?

The ayes have it.

Council Member Juarez.

I oppose it.

Well, you needed more votes.

Are we all good?

Okay.

Council Member Mosqueda.

Mr. President, I was just remiss in not thanking the mayor as well for her work on the disposition policies.

I just want to say thank you to the mayor and for her team at the Office of Housing, Finance and Administrative Services and OPCD's Equitable Development Initiative.

Thank you for that.

And thank you for that legislation once again.

With that, we stand adjourned and everyone have a great rest of the day.

Thank you.