Council Briefing 6/10/2024

Hello, everyone.

Good afternoon.

It is June 6th, 2024, and the council briefing meeting will now come to order, and the time is 2.02.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

And I'll note that council members Saka, Morales, and Moore are excused today.

Council Member Strauss.

Present.

Council Member Wu.

Present.

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Present.

Council Member Kettle.

Here.

And Council President Nelson.

Present.

Six present.

Thank you very much.

We've got a small group today, and I'll just note that I...

This is the calm before the storm, as we'll hear later on in the agenda, but there's a lot going on and I really encourage folks to make sure, not make sure to come to briefings, but briefings are an opportunity for us to talk as a group because we strictly adhere to the Open Public Meetings Act requirements not to have any, not to violate quorum when we're not in a meeting.

And so it's always good to have as many people as possible to hear what we're all up to because things are gonna start happening really soon before we're supposed to break for recess.

All right, if there's no objection, the minutes of June 3rd, 2024 will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, the minutes are adopted.

We don't have any proclamations or presentations today.

And moving on to the agenda tomorrow, there are 11 items on tomorrow's introduction and referral calendar, including the weekly bill payment ordinance, Council Bill 120795, which is an ordinance relating to city employment, authorizing the execution of a collective bargaining agreement between the city of Seattle and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 77. Council Bill 120796, which is an ordinance relating to city employment, authorizing execution of a collective bargaining agreement between the city and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 77. Information and Technology Professionals Unit, the appointment of Jamie Carnell as Finance Director to the Office of City Finance for a term to end on June 1st, 2028, the reappointment of Derek Leonard Belgrade, JC McCormick, Suzanne Salito, no, I'm sorry, Salto, I'm sorry about that.

Jeremy Takala and Luther Mills Jr. as members of the Indigenous Advisory Council for a term to July 31st, 2026. And then Council Bill 120797, an ordinance relating to the Seattle Center Department authorizing the Seattle Center Director to execute a Fourth Amendment to the facility use and occupancy agreement between the City of Seattle and the Seattle Repertory Theater in ratifying and confirming prior acts.

So that's on our introduction referral calendar.

So that's incoming.

The consent calendar includes only two items, which is the weekly bill payment ordinance and the minutes.

And there's no legislation from a committee.

So tomorrow's city council meeting should be fairly light.

All right.

As I said, calm before the storm here.

We're all busy deliberating over the transportation levy package that we got presented last week.

And I know that there are folks that are working on their own council-generated legislation and looking forward to the rollout of that.

All right, there are no proclamations or letters to sign today, so our weekly roundup will begin with Councilmember Rivera.

Go ahead, please.

Thank you, Council President.

Well, last Monday, I met the new interim director of the Office of Intergovernmental Relations, Mina Hashemi.

I know she's been meeting with many of us here on the second floor.

We spoke about federal and state legislation and how the city of Seattle can have access to federal and state funding as we go along here.

I'm looking forward to working with her and the rest of the team in the future.

Last week, I also attended the Puget Sound Regional Committee Growth Management Policy Meeting, where we talked about the process to submit draft comprehensive plans to the PSRC for review and to ensure They are in alignment with the PSRC's goals for growth in the region.

I also met with Chief Librarian Tom Fay, who gave me an update on the ransomware attack at Seattle Public Libraries, which many of you are aware of by now.

The library is bringing its online services back slowly and deliberately to ensure that once they reinstate a service, it will remain reliably accessible.

and also to ensure that no private information is compromised.

So more to come on that as we get going here and as they're addressing this issue.

Last week, I also hosted in district office hours at the University Heights building in the U District.

I had really great conversations with constituents about the transportation levy, the climate crisis and public safety in the district.

On Friday, I was also honored to join many of you to attend the raising of Seattle's pride flag.

My staff was also present.

It was wonderful to see people from all communities across the city showing their support for Pride Month.

I'm proud to serve a city where all nine council members are supportive of LGBTQIA plus rights in the city and making sure that we are preserving and supporting folks in our city.

This is really, really important.

and really personally just important to me.

So very proud to have been part of that with those of you that were there last week and to join you, Council Member Hollingsworth, for that.

So thanks for having me there and thanks for your leadership on this in particular.

On Saturday, I attended the Parkways Conference excuse me, the Pathways Park ribbon cutting in the D4.

This park will be only the second park in the city that is designed for people of all abilities.

It's such a beautiful park and so well designed and absolutely worth a trip to the district to experience it.

and all it has to offer.

It's a really great example of the positive work that can happen when community, the city, the county, the state, and our nonprofit partners can do working together.

And to ensure that our parks are accessible to all, it is an inclusive park, which really means that kids that are of all abilities are able to enjoy this park.

And in particular, I wanna say, kids that are in wheelchairs.

There are many parks across the city.

Even if there's ADA accessibility to get to the park, there isn't the accessibility to utilize the equipment that's at the park, and this has that accessibility.

It was really a labor of love from a parent in the community, Ms. Reichel, and a tribute to her son, Eli, who unfortunately is no longer with us, but his legacy continues in the form of this park.

And I just was so honored and privileged to have been included in that celebration.

That was really a beautiful day on Saturday in the district.

And it was just really very well attended that day and just really something to feel really great about.

So that was really great and I encourage you colleagues to take a visit out there so you can look at what an inclusive and accessible park, a truly inclusive and accessible park really looks like.

And I look forward to working with you Councilmember Hollingsworth and our Parks Department as we move forward hopefully in the future to create more playgrounds of that nature.

And then this week, I met with Disability Rights Washington and Seattle Neighborhood Greenways as well as Climate Action Seattle to listen to their thoughts about the transportation levy, as I'm sure we're all doing as well, meeting with the various community groups and stakeholders.

I also got briefed today actually by SDCI director Nathan Torgelson on the permit auditing that the department recently completed.

I know the department is working hard to implement all the recommendations that came out of that audit related to efficiency and equity and customer service.

Tomorrow, and this I'm particularly excited about, City Hall will host a class of kindergarteners from Bryan Elementary, also from my district.

Both I and a member of my staff had children at Bryan Elementary who did this very tour of City Hall.

with our kids way back when.

Our kids are now both going to be going to college in the fall, so I'm really dating myself here, but super excited to continue the tradition of kindergartners visiting City Hall.

I'm so excited to host them on the second floor.

I know they'll be going up to the mayor's office as well and to chambers.

So if you see the little kiddos, say hi in the hallway.

Very, very cute.

And then finally, this week, I host the Libraries Education and Neighborhoods Committee, which I chair.

The Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs will present on its main programs and how they serve the community.

They've been doing really great work, and I'm excited for you to all hear a little bit more in depth about the work that they're doing.

It's a really great presentation.

I know you'll enjoy it for those of you that are part of the committee.

Thank you.

Let me look at mine now.

I think I'm up next with our absences.

Yeah, you can do the alphabet in your head.

Yes, that's the fact.

Thank you.

Colleagues, great to see you all.

As Council President mentioned on the introduction and referral calendar, from my committee we have the Office of Finance Director Jamie Carnell's appointment packet.

We will have her in committee the next time, and then we'll be voting on...

her appointment at the following committee.

So just be aware, be set up.

And then we do have five reappointments to the Indigenous Advisory Committee.

Councilmember Jay Mills, Suzanne Salto, Derek Belgrade, Jackie McCormick from Rise Above, and Councilmember Takala It's a great group.

They've already been there.

If you have questions, please let me know.

They're already on the committee or the council as it stands.

This brings us to our next Finance Native Communities and Tribal Governments Committee.

We're not doing a select committee this next one.

It will be on Monday at 9.30 a.m., which is different than Wednesday at 9.30 a.m., because Wednesday is Juneteenth.

At this meeting, we will have a vote...

on the Indigenous Advisory Committee reappointments and the HSD Aging and Disability Services office lease.

It's been quite some time since we had the Aging and Disability Services office lease in our committee because it was at our last Finance Native Communities meeting, which we had two select committees in the in-between.

So if you have questions, if you have comments, or I guess if you have amendments, we definitely need them before Wednesday.

setting that here.

There's not much to amend, so just kind of throwing that out there.

And it will be critical that we take this vote this week to stay on schedule because their current lease expires at the end of August.

And for them to be able to make this work, we have to stay on schedule.

I did delay this vote because of our select committee meetings.

We would have voted on this probably last month.

we were still within the timeframe.

So I just, I, I urge that extra intensity on this one.

Uh, we will also be hearing from interim director, Jamie Carnell from the office of the city, uh, city finance for a lay person's terms.

It's the comptroller of the city.

Um, her agenda or her, she's told me that we will get our questions answered by today.

So I look forward to receiving those soon.

Nothing at full council for my external committees.

I've got Seattle Retirement Services Board of Administration this week, Sound Transit Expansion Committee.

Both are on Thursday.

And, Council President, I know last time we talked about this, about the Southlake Union Station placement.

That vote did not happen.

Happy to talk more about it.

offline.

Um, and then also for external committees next week, all week, I'm going to be at association Washington cities convention.

I highly recommend everyone come next year.

It is a really good time to be able to meet other cities and towns, 281 cities and towns from across our state.

I guess 80 cause we're one.

Um, but I was talking to council members talking today about it and no matter the size of the city, We all have the same problems.

We're all dealing with the same stuff, and it's just the scale, and it really helps to be able to meet with our partners in other cities and towns to get a sense of what's working for them, what's not working.

And so I may miss council briefing because I have to travel a day ahead so that I can be present for transportation committee remotely.

And then I'll be out the rest of the week.

And then a fun...

thing happened last week.

We finally got our waterway safety study report finalized.

This has been a number of years in the works.

We have over 201 miles of coastline in our fair city, and we have many different jurisdictions operating to keep, to maintain public safety on our waterways, and this report really looks into what are we doing well, what areas do we need to improve on.

I just look at South Lake Union.

You know, when I was in college, I worked at a kayak shop there.

That was before hot tub boats, that was before the electric boats, that was before paddle boarding got really exciting and fun, and yet we still have seaplanes landing there, right?

And so...

for folks who don't paddle often.

They can be doing the wrong thing and not even knowing it and creating hazards for others.

So I'm excited to bring that up.

And Council Member Kettle has said that he'll have the report heard in his committee.

So I appreciate that.

We'll work out those details.

And then in District 6, I host office hours every week.

This one is no different.

I actually met with a family about inclusive playgrounds.

And then I actually met with a group last week about play fields.

If they're turfed and not lit, we need to light them.

If they're lit and not turfed, we need to turf them.

Happy to talk to you more about that.

Meeting with friends of Green Lake Community Center tomorrow night regarding the Green Lake Community Center redevelopment.

I bring this up because I see the Green Lake Community Center is serving all Seattleites and definitely everyone in North Seattle.

It's the most heavily used park in our city.

Alkyne Golden Gardens gave it a run for the money in the summertime, but Green Lake is all year round And really for the north end, I see it as the center of D5, 6, and 4. It's not just D6.

But I'm running the torch on this one.

And had a really great time at the Ballards Northwest Seattle Senior Center dinner last night.

With that, I'll pass it over to Council Member Wu.

I have a couple questions.

So the report that is going to be presented in the Public Safety Committee, does that also incorporate what's going on with Harbor Patrol?

Is that part of it?

That is absolutely part of it.

Got it.

And last year, or two years ago in 2022, you fought hard to, you fought for the replacement, not the renovation of the Green Lake Community Center.

Is that going to happen?

I have, so colleagues in the Metropolitan, thank you, great question.

In the Metropolitan Parks District six-year spending plan last year, I put forward an amendment that made it very clear that we are, we have money there and it is not to be used for a renovation.

It is either an expansion or replacement.

I have fun facts with Dan.

I've got an aerial photo of King County from 1936. The building is standing, looks pretty much the same.

In the first round of Metropolitan Parks District funding, however many years ago, Green Lake was not part of the renovations or expansions, and they knew that, and they were okay with it.

There were some renovations done for the HVAC and other issues within the facility.

Those renovations are already failing.

This is an over 100-year building, a year-old building.

A renovation is not going to be – it's not good governance, Councilmember Kettle, because we are – That's $1, Councilmember.

We are going to patch this budget hole one good governance at a time.

But, I mean, it's serious.

Like, if we renovate it, we're going to be throwing more money after something that needs to be expanded or replaced.

So I'm looking forward to the Parks Department update on that.

Me too.

Yes.

I'll let you know what happens.

It's important to make sure that we are responsibly sending, spending our capital dollars.

And what might seem the obvious path, perhaps a renovation often isn't because it does cost more.

Okay, thank you very much.

Absolutely.

Sorry.

Thank you.

Oh no, this is great.

So in committee, which is the Sustainability Arts and Culture and Seattle City Light Committee, we recommended four reappointments to the Seattle City Lights review panel.

It's gonna go before full council next week.

We also heard from Seattle City Light regarding the Port of Seattle system improvement associated with Terminal 46 and Pier 66 for shore power project agreement legislation, which is an ordinance defining our partnership with the Port of Seattle and Seattle City Light on this shore power to our cruise terminals.

So that will be back for a possible vote next committee, which is on July 21st at 9.30 a.m.

During that committee, we'll also talk about WURM, which is the Energy Market Legislation.

And it will also be the kickoff to our Arts and Culture Roundtable, co-sponsored by Council President Nelson.

We're going to talk about the creative economy, what it looked like prior to the pandemic, what happened during the pandemic, and how do you move forward since then.

And so I'm really excited.

It's going to be the one of many roundtable discussions that we're planning to have in the Culture Committee.

So this past week, I joined Councilmember Hollingsworth, Councilmember Strauss, and Councilmember Morales to tour the Seattle Storm Youth Center for Basketball Performance, funded entirely with private dollars.

And so excited that the center will continue to support generations of Seattle champions.

I also joined Councilmember Kettle for an episode of Council Edition with Brian Callahan, which is live now on the Seattle channel.

Also participated in the Snohomish Salmon Recovery Funding Board Forum.

We talked about the grant program that focuses on Repairian systems, which are lands that occur along edges of rivers, streams, lakes, and other bodies of water, and how do we involve property owners in how to repair these ecosystems.

I also met with Representative Jayapal and OIR Director Hashimi to discuss funding for immigrant communities, ballot accessibility for non-English speakers, and possible avenues for federal funding for Seattle.

Also attended the pride flag raising ceremony and reception.

Thank you to Mayor Harold, Council Member Hollingsworth, Council Member Moore, and members of our LGBTQI community for your thoughtful remarks, making this a memorable event for everyone.

I also met with Youth Care and talked about their facility.

Also toured Nucor and their steel mill.

I've been hearing Council Member Saka talk about this for months and so excited to be able to get out there and watch their scrap to seal recycling process.

Learned about the impacts and contributions they make to our community as they are Seattle City Light's biggest customer and state's largest recycler and I look forward to partnering with them Today, I attended the oath of office for our Seattle City Light general manager, Don Lindell.

Also joined Councilmember Rivera at the Pathways Park opening.

It was so cool to see this community come out to celebrate the new park and how accessible that park was.

Also this weekend, I joined Council Member Hollingsworth for the BLM Gardens opening, as well as a vigil held at Garfield High School Friday night.

Also this morning, you may have heard the Viet Hoa property near the Chinatown International District caught on fire.

It's a two alarm fire.

They're still battling hotspots.

That building was vacant.

It was going to be demolished I believe in November, they're planning to build an 11-story housing project there, but now it looks like that's going to be accelerated with the fire today.

So far, we're hearing no one was injured or hurt.

So that building was not occupied.

It was already, I guess, everyone had moved out.

VITWA is still operating and open and renting.

But hearing that, the firefighters have not been able to go in yet, but they're probably going to start demolishing that building soon.

And that's...

the legislation that we just passed regarding abandoned buildings.

I heard the property owners are working with the city of Seattle, so this legislation wouldn't have applied.

It only applies to property owners who are not working with the city, who do not respond, where the city can put a lien on the property and demolish the building for them.

But it comes timely with, you know, the summer coming, and we're seeing a lot more fires.

And with that...

I have a question about that.

Had they been...

How long had it been vacant?

Oh, my goodness.

I feel it's been about a year, at least.

And was...

But they are planning on redeveloping?

They are.

That was...

They had plans for an 11-story apartment building with parking underneath.

Do you know why it had been vacant for so long?

Well, the Viet Hoa, the original tenants, they were a thriving supermarket prior to the pandemic.

I remember going there as a little kid with my mom, looking at groceries.

And they, Viet Hoa left because they were saying that due to the environment there, they were experiencing $10,000 worth of theft a month and they couldn't make it work.

So they moved their operations to an existing grocery store in Renton.

I believe, so that probably has been vacant for a couple months.

There were other organizations that were there as well, but they have since left, so it was not occupied.

Okay, because one of the things I'm asking, because if they were already working with the city on plans to demolish, I'm always wanting to make sure that we are processing the demolition permit request in a timely fashion, because...

we want to keep firefighters safe and spare the environment and the community, the dangers and the impacts of fires, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

So that's why I was asking those questions.

Yes, I know the founders have been working on redeveloping that piece of property for a long time now.

And I think funding plays a very important role as well.

In taking it down?

Yeah, being able to.

Demolition is quite expensive.

It took my family two years and $2 million loan to be able to demolish and emergency shore up the Louisa.

That's good information.

Thank you.

And I think Kelsen Verhoeven is next.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council Member Wu.

I saw how fast you said $2 million loan on that.

Sorry, I just thought it was funny.

Okay, Parks Utilities Technology meeting with this meeting, this will be Wednesday, June 12th, 2 p.m.

June 12th, I said that, June 12th, 2 p.m., Parks, Recreation, Urban Forestry.

We're gonna get presentation on trees, and that's gonna be really great to hear about how parks, we've lost a lot of trees.

Unfortunately, you know, trees die, and our Parks Department does a really good job of figuring out how we're gonna replace some of those trees, so we'll get to hear their plan, and also the Seattle Center and the Seattle Repertory Theater, they will come for a presentation to talk about their new agreement that they have.

The Seattle Repertory Theater is a really important part of our Seattle Center, drawing kids and families to the center and making sure that our arts, community, and culture are all intertwined.

That's for you, Councilmember Strauss.

Regional Water Quality Committee.

Last week, I did that with Councilmember Kettle.

That was a great meeting.

We just had updates about rates and infrastructure, and we all agreed that we would write something a letter to talk about our aging infrastructure to the, I forgot the name, but we did some great work there in that committee.

I'll follow up with you all if you have any questions.

Last week, Seattle Storm Facility, obviously with Council Member Strauss, Council Member Wu, Morales, that was really fun.

I think the coolest thing was the general manager of the Storm, Talisa Rhea, was a former player that I coached.

So to see her go from yelling at her on the court, to see where, I don't want to take all the credit, but to see where she is now running a team is pretty impressive.

Their coach, their head coach also is a player that I played against, Noel Quinn.

And it was really good to see how she has transitioned from a player to running a team.

And they are on, a win streak right now.

I can't, I don't know how many games, but it's pretty impressive so far.

So that was fun.

I also spoke to the residents of Montlake to talk about the 520 bridge that they can't wait for that construction to be finished.

Also the pride flag raising, shout out to Councilmember Tom, former Councilmember Tom Rasmussen and Councilmember Harris who were there, Sherry Harris, who were able to raise the flag, it's 50 year anniversary.

So that was really special for them to be there.

Also visit Lowell School, which I got to see their school-based healthcare center.

and to see and meet the kids and to see how that healthcare center provides such great healthcare, nursing options and dental care for those kids, beautiful.

Also MLK Memorial Garden, it was a garden colleagues that used to be at Cal Anderson Park worked with the mayor's office to have that.

transition to MLK Park, which is a great location.

We have a lot of community groups that are taking over that park, one of them being NAACP, that's going to nurture that farm and to make sure that it's intended the way it should be done, which is creating food for folks and being a healing space.

So that was an educational space as well.

Also hosted Girl Scouts this weekend where I ran into Council President Nelson working on the weekend.

I'm not trying to blow you up, but...

hard worker.

I hosted some Girl Scouts.

We also did a mock city council meeting where we passed three important bills.

So I did swear them in.

I had colleagues over the weekend, new ones.

We passed the roadkill bill we pass, which will help animals that are being roadkill.

Also an e-toys bill in the landfill.

That was pretty impressive.

And these are bills that they came up with.

And the more plants bill, they want more plants in our city.

So we passed those three important bills and they all passed nine in favor, none opposed.

Also, next week, or not next week, this week, I'll be meeting with Representative Macri to talk about housing in our district.

Also, I'll be joining the Southeast Senior Center.

It's not in my district, but we are going to be celebrating Juneteenth a little bit early, so looking forward to celebrating with those seniors.

Also, this Saturday, I'm going to be at the Seattle Center with Google.

We're doing a free...

distribution of internet safety for kids.

I think it's incredibly important as there are so much content on the internet, unfortunately, that's inappropriate for kids.

So we're gonna talk about a safety session, it's free.

They're gonna do a bunch of sessions, so I'll be joining Google.

And then also joining Case 21, which is a black homeowners group in the Central District and South End to talk about our comprehensive plan.

Also, unfortunately, some sad news.

We lost a young man, Amar Tayshaun Murphy Brown, 17-year-old kid who was shot in front of the Garfield School.

This is the fourth shooting where it caused that school to be on lockdown.

Just a couple months ago, a young lady was shot at the bus stop.

And this is incredibly unfortunate situation when schools have to go on lockdown, when we have shootings.

I know Council Member Rivera has personal experience with that, with her daughters going to Ingram High School.

And it's something that's a really passionate about.

I'm passionate about trying to solve this issue.

It's not a one, you know, one silver bullet that's going to fix everything.

But I do know that I just want to thank SPD for their incredibly fast response and the fire department that tried to save that young man's life who had a fast response.

But you know, sending my love to the family and planning to connect with them to try to find solutions for this.

I know it's tough.

It's hard.

We need a coordinated effort.

We need mental health services.

We also need afterschool programs.

Mental health is not, mental health is not just pills and a therapist.

It's also having arts, culture, afterschool activity, music.

these fun things for kids.

I think we, you know, we always think about, you know, therapists and we got to think about other stuff as well.

Also, I'm thinking about the summer as well, looking forward, knowing that the summer is going to be tough in Seattle and wanting to make sure we're on top of that.

So looking forward to working with our council and obviously finding solutions.

And also, colleagues, we spend $17,100 per kid at Garfield, our school district does.

And I want to see the same investment done to our young kids outside of school with our city to make sure that those kids have the necessary needs for education.

you know, their development.

So wanted to, I know it's a somber thing to every time you lose a life, especially a 17 year old kid, it's just really, really, really unfortunate.

And there's a community that's hurting.

So we're just trying to respond the best we can from our office in that aspect.

The other thing I also wanted to bring up on a different note is for us to figure out, and I know this is close to everyone's heart, is how are we gonna protect our babies in our city, our kids?

I went to Lowell School.

I walked my dog past Meany Park.

And I am disturbed with the stuff that I'm seeing in parks next to schools.

The type of behavior, fentanyl, the criminal activity, Like I'm very disappointed.

I was riding behind a bus 12th and Jackson.

His mom got off with her daughter and they had to walk through people that were selling stolen goods and smoking fentanyl.

And it really, really ticked me off because I saw that and the type of stuff that we're exposing our kids to.

And they're becoming numb to it.

They don't see hope anymore.

They don't see hope on the streets.

They don't see hope in the parks.

They don't see hope in the schools.

They see no one able to save them.

And that's a failure on us as adults.

It really is.

So anyways, just taking this time to voice my frustration with the type of behavior that I've seen in the city and know that I'm in a power of, in position of influence and being able to advocate for our kids and our youth.

But just know that I just really take it to heart and knowing that our North Stars are our kids and our babies and trying to keep them safe.

And we're gonna have to make some tough decisions about public safety on our city council.

And I just know that, I'm going to be supporting some of those for our kids.

So anyways, with that, I will pass it off to Council Member Nelson, or excuse me, Council Member Kettle.

Well, I will take this opportunity to thank you for saying that it is, first of all, I appreciate your responsiveness to community.

they've been craving that for a long time.

And I agree 100%.

And so just saying the same old thing over and over again and accepting that we're not doing as well as we need to be doing by our kids, by everybody in our city is it's, It's difficult and I am glad that there, you're right, there will be some things coming before us when it comes to public safety.

There are only so many laws that we can pass, but we can keep on trying and we haven't forgotten that core responsibility in the charter to protect the safety and wellbeing of the people of Seattle.

Yeah, as long as our kids are safe, we're safe.

And that's kind of where my North Star is.

But, you know, we can be compassionate about it.

We can be loving about some of the decisions we're gonna have to make.

That's us in Seattle.

But I think we have to draw a hard line when it comes to our kids and decisions that we're gonna have to make to make sure that they're safe.

So anyways, that's just my opinion.

And thank you.

I could not agree more.

And, you know, What happened on Friday was so tragic and sadly it's just happening more and more across our city and across our country.

And it does, it weighs heavily on me, obviously.

I will say that I have reached out to the Department of Education and Early Learning to have a conversation with Director Chappelle, and also hoping to have a conversation with Seattle Public Schools about, you know, what we're all doing and what can we all do collectively to address this and to protect our kids.

Council member Hollingsworth, you and I have talked a lot about youth and teen nights and positive engagement of youth.

And we know that alone is not gonna do it.

So we need to be doing something more robustly.

And before, I mean, I'm trying to educate myself on what the district and what steps the district and the school board is doing before I'll say more.

But just know that, like you, I am actively engaged on this issue because it is something that's really important to me and it is something that, as I chair the education committee, that I recognize that we, we can't keep talking about this we need to do we need to do i i am tired of the conversation about it and our kids are suffering and i also want to say that our kids are suffering broadly across the district because i mean excuse me across the city because when these things happen at Garfield, now multiple times at Ingram.

Kids have gotten mugged in other schools also across the city.

And all of that is real.

Kids are going to school scared, which is the one place that no matter what, Kids should always feel safe at school, no matter where, you know, I always say growing up, I only felt safe in my inner city neighborhood in two places, inside my actual apartment with my parents and at school.

And that's, we're feeling our kids that way here.

So more to come on that.

But thank you for raising that.

And yeah, we'll be talking more about this for sure.

Council Member Strauss.

I'm not going to, in the interest of time, I'm just going to say well said.

We've got to get the guns out of the hands of our kids and we've got to make sure that our city is safe for our kids.

And to me.

Thank you, Council Member Hollingsworth.

I just wanted to start off with a preview of this week, starting with the Public Safety Committee.

As mentioned, I wanted to note the vacant building and our legislation.

My understanding at 10th and Jackson, my understanding was that the owner applied for a permit in September, demolition permit, and it was granted in November.

SO I DO NOT HAVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS ABOUT WHY IT HAS NOT YET BEEN DEMOLISHED, BUT CLEARLY IT HIGHLIGHTS THE NEED FOR OUR LEGISLATION, BECAUSE IN THIS CASE, THE OWNERS ARE ENGAGED.

THEY'VE APPLIED FOR A PERMIT.

A PERMIT WAS APPROVED, APPARENTLY, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, AND THERE'S OTHER FACTORS THAT GO INTO IT, TO YOUR POINT, COUNCILMEMBER WU, IN TERMS OF COSTS.

but we had the fire.

Fortunately, as I understand it right now, there's been no deaths or injuries, firefighters or anybody else, but I don't think it's too early right now to know that for sure.

because it's too hot for the firefighters to press forward on that.

So we'll get more information.

But again, it really underscores the need for our vacant building abatement bill and taking that action that we need to take.

As I mentioned to a reporter about 30 minutes ago, 40 minutes, an hour ago, is that we cannot be reactive.

We have to be proactive.

And that's what this legislation allows us to do.

And this is what we will do.

So then a year from now, we don't have a situation like this when it could have been prevented.

Also with the Public Safety Committee, this week we have our committee meeting tomorrow.

First up, we will have the Officer Inspector General, the reappointment meeting.

on our agenda for Lisa Judge.

This will be the fourth time that she's come to the committee.

She was, you know, as every, well, for the committee members know, the second meeting, I had all three accountability partners there.

And she's also been to our committee briefing on use of force in 30 by 30. So this is the moving forward on reappointment.

I know the agenda says possible voting, but we'll do that at the next meeting.

So tomorrow is just an introduction briefing with the vote at the next meeting.

We will also have a second briefing agenda item, ALPR, and this one, we'll look to have a possible vote on this one, the automatic license plate reader, very important for a number of reasons, partly some that we've kind of been speaking to.

And so that will be the two agenda items for tomorrow's Public Safety Committee.

Also, in terms of committees, regional committees and the like, we have the PSRC Transportation Policy Board meeting on Thursday, which I attend with Chair Saka, Transportation Chair Saka, Council Member Saka, and so that's a big meeting for the PSRC.

For those on the outside don't realize it, the Puget Sound Regional Council is really the way that we funnel in, like, the federal dollars, you know, to make sense in terms of coming into the state, the county, and local.

And so we'll be engaged on that in terms of the Transportation Policy Board.

In addition, this coming week, including today, this morning, I met with TAP, the Third Avenue Project, plus Co-Lead and We Deliver Care on the issues related to basically Third Avenue.

And, you know, I would note, too, that, you know, because this has come up, and I've been speaking, that we cannot...

essentially be changing the facts on the ground, like in terms of bus service and in terms of only bus service on Third Avenue, in terms of the idea of extending it into Belltown.

I've been speaking with members of the Department of Transportation, SDOT, and obviously this idea from 2018 is not really applicable today.

In fact, it would be kind of a step backwards in terms of like the Third Avenue project.

And so I just bring that up as part of, you know, the work that's going on there and our oversight of it and to be engaged on it because we need to, you know, look to, you know, dare I say it, solve the challenges that we face on Third Avenue.

Also on Wednesday, I'll be meeting with Bellwether Housing.

and IBEW 77, I think you mentioned that earlier.

And importantly, tomorrow, I'll be at the Seattle Center at the Climate Pledge Arena to see the Seattle Storm take on the LA Sparks.

Big game tomorrow.

I did miss the training facility tour, but that's okay.

In terms of last week, I mentioned last week great meetings with community.

South Lake Union Community Council have really focused on their parks.

They've kind of shifted from land use to parks.

It's a very well-accomplished group, and they keep your district representative on their toes.

So South Lake Union Park, Cascade Park, and Denny Park are the areas that they're looking at in terms of how can we improve.

And it's great to have allies in the neighborhood, particularly when they're so strong organized.

and it's going to be great for the community.

On Wednesday, same thing with the Queen Anne Community Council, and I got a lot of, you know, speaking to the comp plan, and I should note the comp plan, comprehensive plan, is my prompt for my next soon upcoming District 7 Neighborhood Council.

So I'm looking to get information for all these Magnolia Community Council, Communion Community Council, Uptown Alliance, South Lake Belltown Community Councils, Belltown United, Condo Connect, all these groups to get their thoughts on the Comprehensive Plan.

This worked out really well before the last meeting when I asked the head of these for the Seattle Transportation Plan, which allowed me to give a nice little spreadsheet to Eszterhoff Director Spatz, and he was quite surprised.

So my hope is to do the same thing on the Com Plan.

And that was last Wednesday.

Also, of course, last Wednesday, regional water quality Committee with Councilmember Hollingsworth, and Thursday, the 911 Call Center.

Very important for all of us to go there to see what's happening and also show the support in what is a very difficult job.

I think probably pretty much everybody has been there, I think, and I actually had a chance to talk with the training students that were there, and it was important for them to know how important their job and what they're about to step into.

is for our community, and it's really important for them to do so.

So I say this somewhat out loud to recruit more, because we always need to improve our numbers, not just with SBD, not just with the fire, but also with the 911 call center across the board and public safety, frankly.

Friday, in district hours at the Central Library, because I don't have a big, nice government center like my D6 colleague has.

But it was really good to be there.

I love the Central Library.

We need to be activating the Central Library, so I'm glad to do my part on that front.

And of course, public safety was really driving the comments and concerns of those that I met.

Also on Friday, I met with Port Commissioner Ryan Calkins.

Very important, our relationship between the city and the port.

As I've said many and many, many times, we were Port City 100 years from now, we will be 100 years from now, and we have to ensure that the port is viable.

And this is where particularly partnering with my D6 and 1 colleagues who are, you know, basically along the port, the Maritime Industrial Lands, all these pieces need to be in place.

The education piece in terms of the Maritime Academy and the like, we need to continue to press on the maritime front.

And I say that not just as a retired naval officer whose chief of staff is a former Coast Guard officer, but, you know, this is something that we need to do.

The last thing I wanted to mention and to go to what Council Member Hollingsworth was saying is that I attended the Queen Anne Little League's Heart of the Hill kickoff campaign related to basically the Little League field at Big How, also known as the West Queen Anne Playfield.

We've been already having meetings.

It's on the...

on the list for the big how, as we call it, the lower area to get it turfed.

The lighting's already been worked to continue that process.

Also, to make sure we have softball and baseball fields.

Title IX, although Title IX doesn't apply to this, but same idea.

And so, meeting with Park Superintendent Diaz, Andy Sheffer, Jacob Thorpe, working with these individuals on this is so important.

And while I was there, and I spoke, and I mentioned that it was important for me to speak to what we attended at the church and what happened to Omar Murphy and what's happening to that community.

And we cannot accept what's happening at our parks or those places where the kids are.

We cannot be resigned to that, as I mentioned, after the March shooting at Garfield.

and the first public safety forum.

We cannot be resigned.

We cannot accept what's been happening at our schools, at our parks, on our streets, which I saw today when I was doing my walkabout on Third Avenue and other places in the city.

And, you know, as mentioned by the bishop at the service, that it's about building community.

So I was noting on top of Queen Anne, it's so important to build community.

And what they were doing, the effort that they were displaying, was all about building community, and in that case, about team sports.

Team sports for kids is so important, for boys and especially girls, because it's something that's been, you know, less so than on the boys' side.

And we should be looking to build those opportunities that we have, and it should not just be Queen Anne.

So I'm happy to read about what's happening at Garfield, that, you know, that inclusive park concept and the like, and we need to expand it.

And so...

You know, it's striking, because I found out about the shooting.

I was with the mayor at Fire Station 25. I could hear the calls, and all the cameras swept over.

Cop car, police running up the hill, the street.

The bat chief was leaving.

First thing he does is put his flak jets on.

There was a shooting.

Lights go on, takes off.

And that's the situation that we have in our city.

That's what motivates me to be on this council, frankly, and to chair this public safety committee, and to step forward on the issues that we need to across the board.

On all the bills that we've done, and the bills coming up, and this is something that's important, because at the end of the day, we can't have, and say his name, or Murphree, you know, A young man killed too early, and we should use this as a way to step forward so that it doesn't happen again.

Chances are it may, and it probably will, but we have to make the effort.

And bottom line is we cannot be resigned, and we cannot accept what's been happening on the public safety front.

So, thank you.

And I call on the school board to, hopefully, they are also, this is the only thing they're talking about right now is safety in schools.

I understand that they've got other things on their plate, but this is something that, you know, we are not in charge of the schools, obviously, but I, and I do not watch the Seattle School Board meetings, but I would hope that this is, that they are thinking about options and listening to their families who are putting forward options recommendations or requests for, for example, the school resource officers, which many people had appreciated.

I understand that that's a political topic, but at the same time, can we afford to not try anything else?

Anyway, what were you gonna say?

Well, and it's not lost on me.

I want to mention about the child who got killed was he put himself in harm's way to try to be a solution.

He wasn't actually involved in the altercation.

He was trying to step in and help.

And so we can't have our children stepping in.

We have to step in.

We're the grownups.

We have to step in when those altercations are happening.

And right now, all too often, it's the kids that are stepping in to help each other out.

That's not okay.

So yes, I agree, Council President, and I do, I wanna hear from the school board and from the district on, you know, they were supposed to create a report when those resource officers were removed.

The board had requested the district to issue a report, so I'm trying to, get a copy of the report and see, you know, what has transpired between then and now in terms of since those officers were removed, what's going to take its place.

And so like I said, you know, in fairness to both the school board and the district, I do not know.

So I'm trying to get that information and I'll certainly share it once I do get that.

Thank you very much.

And it doesn't have to be a uniformed police officer, given our staffing shortages and other options available, a trusted adult.

But I am clear that this will not, you know, mental health services, I get the importance of that.

That in and of itself is not going to fix this problem.

We need to be actively engaged with students and we need to be actively engaged in protecting students at school.

Right.

Council President, I went to the vigil and the family members spoke and they called, they said that city council has failed them.

They said the Seattle School Board has failed them.

And so both need to do better and that includes us.

Right, I didn't mean to put the blame only on the school board.

I have acknowledged our, yeah, thank you for that.

On a different kind of question, I just wanted to know, what is an update on the planning to change Third Avenue and Belltown?

Is that still going forward?

My understanding is that it's not.

Okay.

But we're looking to, as my favorite new saying from Chief Scoggins, but a period at the end of that sentence.

Got it.

Okay, I guess it's up to me here, pulling up the rear here, and I will say that my committee meets this week.

The next Governance, Accountability, and Economic Development Committee will be this Thursday at 2 p.m., and there are 13 items on the agenda.

Shock.

Eight appointments and three reappointments to the Seattle International Affairs Advisory Board.

A briefing and discussion on Council Bill 120781. And this is an ordinance updating definitions in the Seattle Municipal Code related to cannabis businesses to align with state law.

This is a technical cleanup bill and it's necessary because last year the state legislature updated its definition of what a social equity applicant is for the application to receive a license for a new license for a cannabis retail business.

And because they updated their definition, the Seattle needs to update our definition because we waived the fee.

We passed a law in 2022 saying that we will waive the fee for the business, the license fee, if you receive one of these from the state, we'll waive the fee.

And now our legislation is out of sync because we use a different definition.

So it's that we're cleaning up that definition and just using what the state passed, and we're also, the legislature also changed definition for cannabis and cannabis product, I believe.

And so we are, again, just conforming with state law by updating our definitions so that we can meet the promises that we made to the community a long time ago that have nothing to do with these definitions.

So that bill is on the agenda.

And then we'll finally have a presentation from the auditor's office on the implementation of the recommendations in their 2023 organized retail theft audit or organized retail crime audit.

This was a great report that had, I think it was 10 or 12 recommendations that were spread across different departments in the city and the presenter We'll talk about what's been done, what still needs to be done, what are priority areas that we can focus on now.

And there are some new initiatives that they'll be talking about.

And so, looking forward to that.

And because the auditor reports to the governance committee and because this is largely to do with the impacts on the businesses, although not necessarily, but still the report is coming to my committee and not yours.

Always trying to explain why I'm in the lane I'm in.

And I wanted to mention also that the reason that I'm attending the round table and I'm really looking forward to that is partly because arts are an economic driver.

The saying is, commerce follows culture.

Well, that is why I'm really looking forward to participating in your committee on that.

And thank you very much for the ability to contribute.

Okay, so that is the committee coming up this Thursday.

Last week, I'll simply note two items that were of interest.

The King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn's fourth annual substance use disorder conference was incredibly moving and uplifting, and it's really evolving into a...

an important opportunity for policymakers to meet and hear ideas and ways that we can make the system fit better together across jurisdictions to support people struggling with substance use disorder.

And also it's an opportunity to meet people in the recovery community who have stories of hope and a vision of hope to offer.

And the keynote address by I have to say Derek Belgrade, who is also the executive director of the Chief Seattle Club, was incredibly inspiring.

So thank you very much for being there and offering that.

And then Friday, I think I was the last person maybe to join the Waterfront Park tour, you know, push from the Friends of the Waterfront.

And I just have to say, I didn't post about it, but I...

In my heart, I was smiling just the way some of you were smiling in social on the excitement about what's coming forward next year when that park opens.

Okay, coming up this week, I'll just mention two things that I'm looking forward to or that are catching my attention in addition to the round table is the King County Board of Health meeting and a meeting with the director of the Human Services Department, Director Kim, to talk about the plan for the implementation of my council budget action, HSD 813 version B2, which was, which allocated $300,000 so that the city could directly pay for somebody's on demand inpatient or intensive outpatient treatment.

We passed that last year, and I'm gonna find out what is, how it's gonna be implemented so people can start taking advantage of that.

And again, this is, it will be contracted service providers that will help get folks into the regional facilities.

So looking forward to hearing how that's going.

And I don't have any other meetings or things to mention, but I wanted to close with really great news and a welcome to Brad Harwood, who is our new communications director.

I'm sure he might be...

Hi, Brad.

Watching this briefing, we announced last week, I believe it was, that he would be coming on.

Today is his first day.

Brad Harwood, extremely experienced, and he'll be...

You'll have a chance to meet him all this week if something's not already on your calendar.

it will be soon, so welcome.

Any other business, anybody?

Council President, I just wanted to say thank you for, my goal is to turn every public safety committee, but bringing organized retail crime issue is really important.

Because I believe there's a lot of lessons learned.

I think from my experience with commercial watches, business watches, and so forth, I think that we can work with them.

Insurance issues, there's a lot of things I think that we can learn and maybe act on as it relates to retail theft issues.

And as I like to say, it's part of my two-point conversion after the mayor was bemoaning the fact that my six pillars of the strategic framework was, as a football guy, was not enough.

You needed that extra point.

And so I'm like, well, okay, a two-point conversion, retail theft with that committee.

I don't get it.

Just kidding.

Well, I'm not kidding.

I don't, but whatever.

Go on.

And so looking to do that.

All I have to say is don't throw the ball for the touchdown.

Well, thank you.

And so, but I appreciate it.

I think it's going to be a great session and something that, again, that I think could lead on to potential legislation and other ideas.

Yes.

Thank you.

Yep.

All right.

Hearing no other business, this meeting will be adjourned right after I say it is now 3.02.

And thank you very much.

Bye-bye.

It's adjourned.

Thank you.

Thank you.