Seattle City Council 5/2/2023

Thank you.

Today is May 2nd, 2023. The meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is 2.01 p.m.

I'm Chema Sawant, President Pro Tem of the City Council.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Herbold?

Here.

Council Member Lewis?

Present.

Council Member Morales?

Here.

Council Member Mosqueda?

Present.

Council Member Nelson.

Present.

Council Member Peterson.

Present.

Council President Pro Tem Sawant.

Present.

Council President Juarez.

Who is not present.

Thank you.

Thank you.

If there is no objection, Council President Juarez will be excused from today's City Council meeting.

Hearing no objection, Council President Warris is excused from today's City Council.

If there is no objection, the Council rules will be suspended to designate Council Member Mosqueda as President Pro Tem of the City Council for this meeting.

Hearing no objection, I will pass the gavel to Council Member Mosqueda to serve as Council President Pro Tem for the remainder of this meeting.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Colleagues, I'm happy to step in as Council President Pro Tem this morning.

There are no presentations on today's agenda under item C, so we'll move on to item D.

Madam Clerk, do we have anybody who is in person signed up for public comment today in the chambers?

We have 14 signed up in chambers and five remote.

Okay, great.

We will go ahead and take the 5 speakers remotely 1st and want to make sure that folks know that we will allow for you to have the full 2 minutes this morning or this afternoon.

Excuse me.

Please do wrap up your comments before the 2 minute chime and madam clerk.

I'll go ahead and read the folks on.

the online forum, and then if you would like to read the ones in person, that would be fantastic.

When you hear the chime, please wrap up your comments.

That is your indication that you have 10 seconds to finish your remarks.

And the first three speakers to sign up remotely are Howard Gale, Megan Murphy, and Steve Hovath.

Good afternoon, Howard.

You have two minutes.

Please go ahead.

Howard, you are unmuted now.

You wanna go ahead and start?

Got unmuted, thank you.

Good afternoon, Howard Gale speaking on police accountability and public comment.

Last week, I learned that there are council members that actively tune out my public comment.

We cannot sustain democracy via elected representation without listening.

In over five years of my making public comment, you will not find a single claim I have made not supported by documented facts.

Like the fact that the SPD has killed more people in the years after the consent decree than were killed before.

Like the fact that this month it will be six full years that the Community Police Commission has failed to fulfill the legislative requirements mandated by the council in Resolution 31753. Most notably, the CPC has failed to propose mechanisms external to the SPD for investigation of serious and deadly use of force, protections available to every city in the state except Seattle, and has failed to develop an appeals process for when the system rejects, as it usually does, complaints about police abuse.

Like the fact that the CPC commissioners just two weeks ago noted they were abandoning any of the concrete proposals for a complaint and appeals process.

Six years ago, nine days after the SPD murder of Charlena Lyles, Council President Juarez said, quote, we will demand accountability, transparency, and community oversight and not allow this to happen.

More importantly, those of you who hollered out, what are you going to do?

Keep doing that," unquote. Yet the SPD went on to kill 15 more people. Over half of those people killed, nine to be exact, had either no weapon in their hand when killed or were experiencing a severe behavioral health crisis and wielding a knife. Facts are hard to hear. Maybe my problem is that I have not hollered out enough, what are you doing? Thank you.

Thank you, Megan Murphy, followed by Steve Hova.

Good afternoon, Megan.

Star 6 to unmute.

Star 6 to unmute, please, Megan.

And if we could please hear you up, Steve Hova.

Hi, yeah.

Can you hear me?

I can, Megan.

OK, great.

Yeah.

Okay, hi.

Yeah, I contacted Tracy Mosqueda back in October.

She actually got back to me because I'm facing some serious stalking.

You know, she said Arisa Basu, B-A-S-U, was going to get back to me.

I seem to fit in a category.

I don't know of other people who, you know, go on strike at their workplaces who also face, you know, being shaken down by people with a lot of money.

or people who go on site for Uber.

I turned down the CEO of a computer company in Two City Gateway Computers as a live-in nanny when I was like 21. And I started over here, I'm 45 now.

And I long forgot about them.

And now in my Zoom rooms, I have people with the same names as their family.

I lived with one of the family members.

And I don't know if they're locating me online and trying to psychologically harass me and intimidate me.

They were worth $8 billion, the Waite family.

And sometimes it feels like a creepy computer cult.

It's extremely disgusting.

And I lost custody of my son only for fear of being stalked.

And I went to the police, and the police escalated it.

I said, do you have a list of domestic violence shelters?

I feel like I'm being stalked by someone with a lot of wealth and power.

They said I was having a psychotic break.

And 90 days later, my rights were terminated in Sioux City, Iowa, where the rights for women are way different than they are here in Seattle.

And so I haven't seen my son in 12 years.

So when I have people stalking me, you know, reminding me that people on the Forbes list, you know, I was I was living in one of their houses, you know, are going to show up where I am and intimidate me psychologically.

It's unacceptable.

And it needs to stop.

And I need counseling for the mental damages I've accrued because of this.

And I know that Starbucks workers who went against their their bosses you know, had weird things happen, like they were accused of doing things.

So when people go up against big money, big money is trying to show that.

Thanks for dialing in, Megan.

We will follow up with you.

And thank you for sharing your story so we can get you some connections.

Steve Hoboth, followed by Dan Simmons.

Dan, your list is not present.

Please dial in.

Steve, please go ahead.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

Council members.

This is Steve Horvath.

I am a resident of Belltown in downtown Seattle, and I'm speaking to you this afternoon about the mid BIA reauthorization you have before you.

This is legislation that is breezed through the council committee, the economic development committee, and it's here on your desk today.

You will undoubtedly approve this most likely unanimously.

And unfortunately there was.

No substantive comment from any council member in the economic development committee about this reauthorization, I would hope for perhaps a sentence or two today.

But that might not happen.

We all want a clean and safe and functional downtown and a lot of us are happy to pay for that and as a condo owner.

me and thousands of other folks who own condos in downtown pay into this BIA that will collect over $18 million as you reauthorize it starting on July 1st of this year.

The challenge is that, uh, Metropolitan Improvement District BIA is just simply not set up to do everything it needs to do in an equitable way to assess the rate payers.

And we are challenged because of that.

And there's been a lot of.

factual information provided to the council.

Unfortunately, none of it has gotten discussed publicly.

I know some of it's been discussed privately and the deference to a private nonprofit organization like DSA to hire a private consultant to write a piece of legislation that gets passed without any amendments and any substantive public comment is just really testament to the fact that it's not clear who exactly is running our city.

You're empowered to make changes to legislation like this.

And it would be nice to hear at least one council member talk about the fact that apartments and hotels are being assessed completely differently than their counterparts and condominiums that have the same mixed uses.

Thanks.

Thank you very much, Steve.

Dan Simmons, it still says you're not present, so we're going to go to Linda Yu.

Linda, good evening.

Good afternoon.

Yes.

Good afternoon.

Yes.

Hi, this is Linda Yu.

Can you hear me okay?

Yes.

Yes, I can.

Okay.

Thank you.

My name is Linda Yu.

I am also a downtown resident in core downtown.

As Steve had mentioned already for CB120537, which is the mid BIA renewal.

We have been actually actively speaking to Council Member Lewis, Sarah Nelson's office, the BIA advocate, Phillip Sid, OED, the independent review team for the past year.

And as Steve had previously mentioned, you know, we are all for the program.

However, we would like people to look at the facts versus the political will of this renewal.

We really would appreciate the council to have one final review of this to mend this BIA.

change the culture how BIAs are approved, not just because the board members of this BIA, of this MID approved it, but really look at the facts and data of this renewal.

So I would appreciate if we have one final look before this gets renewed as a rate pay.

As Steve mentioned, there are apartments that have not been assessed and it's about $1.5 million in net square feet that are unassessed.

And frankly, you know, as a rate pay, you know, This is something that we don't feel it's equitable and it should be relooked at.

Thank you.

OK, thank you so much for calling in and raising that for us, the last two speakers, and I wanted to note that Dan is still listed as not present.

Dan, you're still welcome to dial and we'll come back to you at the end of public comment from the room if you dial back in.

Madam Clerk, I will turn things back over to you to facilitate the in-person public comment.

and we'll all be listening in.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our first in-person speaker is Julie Holland.

I'm Julie Holland.

Can you hear me?

Okay.

I'm president of the South Lake Union Community Council Board, speaking in support of renewing the Metropolitan Improvement District.

You may be asking, why is the South Lake Union community testifying today?

SLU shares a lengthy border with downtown, a portion of which overlaps in the upgrade area.

The South Lake Union neighborhood can testify that mid-success is not an exclusive benefit to downtown.

It is not contained by borders.

Its influence is amplified to the surrounding neighborhoods.

and we are grateful as we walk and drive through more safe, secure, and clean environment.

MID is an impressive example of the power of a public-private partnership.

We urge you to authorize the Metropolitan Improvement District for another 10 years.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Diane Carey.

Good afternoon Council Members.

My name is Diana Carey and I'm a happily retired attorney and I live on Capitol Hill.

My comments are in support of renewing the Metropolitan Improvement District.

I believe the MID provides critical services that are essential to the livability of our downtown.

I personally take light rail downtown to music and art events, and I serve on the board of Seattle Chamber Music Society on 6th and Union, and also I'm a trustee at the Women's University Club on 6th.

The club appreciates the ambassadors removing the unsightly debris from the alley next to the club, which otherwise mars the beauty of this historic landmark.

Last Friday afternoon, I was returning from a meeting at the club and waiting to take the bus, the number 49 bus, to Capitol Hill from 4th and Pike.

A woman came up to me, very nice looking, about 35 years of age, and she said, you look very nice.

Can I stand next to you?

I don't feel safe here.

Turns out that she was a worker for the city of Seattle, a social worker, and she was very concerned about the possibly dangerous activities at that bus stop.

So without the presence of these ambassadors, these unsafe situations are only going to get worse.

So please reauthorize the MID for another 10 years and help ensure a healthy downtown environment for those of us who want to see its comeback.

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Joseph Garcia.

Good afternoon, city council members.

I'm Joe Garcia.

I'm a property owner in Seattle for over 45 years.

All five of our children are growing up in our property owners in the city of Seattle.

Our grandchildren are raised here.

We love this city.

And I carry two hats to this hearing one is on the.

one of the partners of King County Community Partnership for Transition Solutions.

And we've been involved in this community since 2000, working with men and women in transition from prison and jail back to the community.

Secondly, I'm the senior faculty member at South Seattle College for the Justice Involved Solutions Unit.

In 2004, Downtown Seattle Association and Metropolitan Improvement District became a second chance employer with our students.

And since then they have elevated their commitment as a second chance employer, their commitment to be a key partner in violating our downtown city.

But just recently I've been informed that they only keep our streets and sidewalks and doorways clean In doubt in the downtown core but they have saved 678 lives in the past year by by using the, the narc on approach on those men and women who are falling victims to overdose.

So again, you are.

M.I.D. is saving lives, and we encourage you and support the reauthorization of this agreement.

And Sue Nelson, thanks for your leadership and common sense approach in this whole area.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Elizabeth Below.

Good afternoon City Council members and thank you so much for your time and your work.

Seattle is a beautiful town.

And one of the things that makes it beautiful are our clean, safe sidewalks and our friendly neighbors.

I have a request that the City Council go ahead and approve the reauthorization of the MID for the next 10 years from the heart.

And that is that I travel a lot in the sidewalks of the city because I like walking around this town.

It's just a nice place to be.

Well, on Monday, January 9th, we had a beautiful morning, and then the weather suddenly turned to like a 50-mile-an-hour wind.

I was clinging to the side of a building on 6th and Spring when Ambassador Aubrey Brewer happened to ride up on his bike.

We know that the ambassadors have a busy schedule.

He got off his bike and walked me to my bus stop so that I'm here to be able to talk to you folks.

And I plan to participate much more often.

This is a very exciting process.

We need our clean, safe streets.

The downtown ambassadors do it for us for very little money.

So let's go ahead and reapprove this budget and get these people working on behalf of Seattle.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Sabrina Villanueva.

Good afternoon.

Thank you.

Nice to see you guys.

I am here supporting the mid.

I think they're awesome.

I think the team is awesome.

I'm representing several tenants that have small businesses in downtown with small storefronts and Um, even prior to COVID, but now, um, during recovery, it's more important than ever that there's clean, accessible entryways so that they can open their doors in the morning and focus on their business, whether they're hairdressers or acupuncturists or hardware store restaurants, they really want to be here to serve our community and serve the people outside of the city and really attract people to come back downtown.

So.

Cheers to MID and hopefully we'll be celebrating the renewal.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Gabriel Newman.

Hello, Seattle City Council.

I am Gabriel Newman, Policy Counsel and Government Relations Manager at GSPA, Washington's LGBTQ plus Chamber of Commerce.

I'm happy to testify in support of downtown Seattle's MID program.

When I ask members to envision a neighborhood that best meets their business needs, they consistently paint a picture of a safe, clean retail zone.

MIDS services have been essential to the realization of this vision.

Their stewardship of the downtown Seattle retail core strengthens Seattle's reputation as a major metropolitan destination, which drives customers to further explore into the city and supports our diverse neighborhoods.

MIDS street cleaning and public safety initiatives are essential to the revitalization of our city's small business landscape.

Mid also plays a key role in highlighting Seattle's diverse communities.

By improving walkability through our parks and public space management, in addition to outdoor events and activations, Mid ensures there is always something new to draw people to our city's economic hotspots.

Their attention to hosting events for a multitude of different organizations highlights the city's diversity in a way that allows Seattle's personality to shine.

The diverse programming ensures both Seattleites and tourists continue to have reasons to visit downtown all throughout the year.

These efforts feed economic activity directly back into our community and our city's unique personality to shine.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jeffrey Harper.

This was last minute, so I don't have anything prepared, but Madam Pro Tem and members of the council, I wish there were more council members present in person, especially to respect the ambassadors here.

Council Member Nelson, Chairman Nelson, Chairperson Nelson, thank you so much for your leadership and committee and bringing it to the full council.

I'm rising basically to just tell you my story.

I'm a full-time resident of Belltown on First Avenue and have been for a long time.

I very proudly don't own a vehicle and I use public transportation.

I walk, I use the buses, I use the light rail, scooters, what have you.

And so I'm in the streets of downtown Seattle a lot again because it's a beautiful place to be and it's a wonderful city to walk through.

I'm really pleased over the years of the stories that I've seen with the ambassadors.

I've seen them helping tourists coming out of the Westlake station.

I've seen them cleaning up things that none of us would ever want to clean up.

I've seen broken bottles at crosswalks and then there's an ambassador and I'm able to point it out to them.

They they and I was a former president and former board member of my condominium.

I'm a taxpaying citizen and help fund this and I'm very happy to do so, but we have tapped into the resources, having them help to pressure wash the sidewalks in front of our building and we've been very happy with that.

So I'm here to say thank you to all of you who are involved with it.

I urge the council to please renew the MID for the next 10 years.

They're probably the only uniformed representatives of some type of an organization in downtown that is out there really representing the city and I think you do it very well.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Whitney Bertwin.

Apologies on your last name.

Good afternoon, I'm Whitney Brown from the Thompson Hotel in Burston Stewart.

I am here to ask for renewal of the MID as many others here are.

I also represent the Seattle Hotel Association and the Seattle Tourism Improvement Area where I'm an active board member.

I can tell you as a hotelier downtown that safety and cleanliness is a huge focus for our guests and tourism for all of Seattle which brings us business and brings life, life to the streets and life to all the small businesses that are trying to reopen and and stay open.

You know, not just for my business, but for our community.

These ambassadors are angels in the neighborhood.

They really do everything.

I mentioned to my team this morning that I was coming to this meeting and not one person didn't say those ambassadors.

Wow.

They're really out there and they're really doing the work and they're really helping take care of our streets.

It's a hugely important program.

We are in full support.

I am and the other board members that represent with me are all in very full support and I really look forward to the renewal of this wonderful program.

And thank you to all the ambassadors and the people that support it.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Reza Marashi.

Good afternoon Council Members, my name is Reza Marashi and I'm Director of Government Affairs for Kilroy Realty Corporation.

Thank you, Council Member Nelson and Council Member Lewis for being here in person.

I do think that public service is most effective when it is done in public and I hope that the rest of your colleagues will join you in future meetings here in the chamber.

I'm here today to, like everybody else in the chamber, support reauthorization of the MID.

Usually all good things come in three, so I'll say three quick things and then I'll turn it over to anyone else that wants to speak.

We are organized and energized about revitalizing downtown.

That's why we're here today.

We want to be contributors to a process that's already started over the past year and a half and that will continue going forward long after this meeting today is done and long after the MID is hopefully reauthorized.

That's one.

Two, I would say that it's not often that a no-brainer falls into your lap.

And this is one of them.

You have a very hard job.

You have to make difficult decisions that sometimes don't have a clear cut right or wrong answer.

This is not one of those scenarios.

This is a scenario where it's very easy for you to do the right thing.

And I would highly encourage all of you to please do the right thing and reauthorize the bid quickly and expeditiously.

And the last thing that I would say is, By doing so, you are going to allow these good people to continue to do the good work that all of us see every single day on the streets, rain or shine.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to think back to two years ago and juxtapose that with today to understand what downtown Seattle would look like without the MID.

So please do authorize the MID.

Thank you guys for all the hard work and important work that you do.

And hopefully we'll see more of it going forward in the future.

Have a great day.

Thank you, our next speaker is Jeff Drager.

Good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to address city council.

My name is Jeff Drager, I'm the chief operating officer at the Seattle Art Museum.

MIDD supports overall downtown Seattle recovery.

It benefits residents, local businesses, other institutions and visitors.

Multiple MIDD lines of effort help ensure a safe and welcoming environment.

In the heart of downtown Sam as part of the city's economic well being while serving community through our a clean and safe downtown supports access to our offerings and those of other cultural institutions are here on behalf of Sam my comments are also informed by regular street level engagement.

For the past year and ongoing, I've toured downtown neighborhoods every other week with the MID safety supervisor.

We have checked in with numerous businesses and ambassadors to express support and also listen to their views on the progress being made.

The MID's intangible value and tangible impacts could not be made more clear.

Downtown Seattle has made considerable progress and MID renewal is essential to continuing that momentum.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Sam Dick.

That's going to be tough to follow.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Sam Dick.

I'm a training supervisor for the Metropolitan Improvement District, and my remarks are in support of the MID renewal.

I've been with the MID since 2017, and in that time, I've seen many positive changes, which makes me proud to be part of the organization that is committed to make downtown a safe, clean, inviting destination for all.

One of my duties as a training supervisor is conducting de-escalation trainings.

In this role, I conduct trainings for large, small, public and private organizations.

I also pair up with a crime prevention coordinator from the Seattle Police Department West Precinct to present safe personal safety trainings.

In my four years of doing these trainings, all these organizations express the same sentiment.

Without the mid services, downtown Seattle would be very different environment.

For the past year, myself and Jeff Drager, the Chief Operating Officer Seattle have been doing walkabouts in downtown Seattle, visiting primarily smaller private and public businesses to gauge the state of downtown from the street level.

Most of these businesses tell us the service that the MID provides are excellent and rely on the MID to resolve a multitude of issues.

Jeff, myself, and my mid colleagues have also noted there's a positive vibe in downtown Seattle.

To me, that is a clear indicator we are going the right direction.

I have also developed personal relationships with individuals that are experiencing homelessness and or difficult situations.

On my way to a meeting the other day, I ran into a woman who I've worked with for years.

She said, Sam, because of you and the mid, my life is now in a positive direction.

In closing, I would like to say I'm very proud to be part of this team that makes downtown a welcoming experience and for all, and it positively impacts the lives of many.

Please authorize the mid for another 10 years.

Thank you for your consideration.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Aaron Blankers.

Good afternoon.

I'm Aaron Blankers.

Thank you for being here today and hearing this.

I'm in support of the renewal and reauthorization of the MID.

I represent Washington Holdings.

We're one of the larger rate payers in the district.

I've had the opportunity to work in and around the MID for the past decade now.

I was a Belltown resident actually when the last reauthorization came through and got to see the MID expand into my neighborhood where I lived.

overnight saw the change from a clean and safety standpoint and got to witness firsthand how the MID operates on a daily basis and got to see what a difference in downtown they make.

And so with that, please reauthorize the MID and thank you again to all of you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Brittany Santo.

Good afternoon council members.

My name is Bernie Santo, and my comments are in support of agenda item for the mid renewal.

I've been working with the mid DSA for about three years.

I wanted to share a brief explanation of why the mid is an essential part of keeping the downtown core safe and vibrant.

I started with the MID right in the middle of the pandemic, and I couldn't imagine what downtown Seattle would have looked like without all the efforts from the MID.

We were one of the first responders during this time with not only trash pickup, but numerous overdoses within that time.

The MID also provided a sense of sustainability that was attainable after riots, smoke from forest fires, and a city that was completely shut down and quiet.

The mid continues to work efforts effortlessly to provide not only a livable downtown for locals, but also for the numerous amounts of tourists and individuals who visit our city with compassion.

I'm a single mother and I have a six year old son, who has grown up witnessing this company shine and causes the real superheroes of downtown Seattle.

Downtown is a part of my community and with the help from the MID and their outsource security team, Iron and Oak, I know I can walk safely with my son downtown.

Please reauthorize the MID for another 10 years.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is William Harris.

Hi, my name is William Harris, and I am from the Metropolitan Improvement District's CLEAN team.

And my comments are in support of renewing the MID.

The MID has provided an opportunity for me to become a productive and contributing senior citizen.

It has allowed me an opportunity to give back and work with those experiencing homelessness.

The services we provide create an environment that is clean, welcoming for the merchants, residents, and visitors alike.

This is still a very vibrant and promising city that cares about its citizens.

Without the MET, I'm afraid of what may become of downtown and the wonderful people who work there.

Many people will be without a job and hope.

For many people, this is their last opportunity to become a productive member of society.

The choice is simple.

Please renew the MET and keep us on the job.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Michael Woody.

Good afternoon, Council Members.

My name is Michael Woody.

I live in District 7 at 809 Olive Way, and I'm here today both as a downtown resident and as a representative of my place of employment, Visit Seattle.

My comments are in support of renewing the Metropolitan Improvement District.

As a downtown resident, I am reminded daily of the services that the MID provides, and they are essential to the day-to-day livability and health of our city.

Not only are the services provided by the mid important to those who live in the downtown area, but they set the stage to welcome millions of visitors that come from around the globe.

to experience this amazing place that we're fortunate to call home.

The nearly 100 ambassador positions that are funded by the MID are helping to change lives, offering meaningful employment to those who need it most, often employing those who are experiencing homelessness or have been justice involved.

And through their hard work and dedication, we are seeing a difference every day in so many critical areas.

The MID team continues to improve cleanliness, including trash, graffiti, biohazard removal, safety and hospitality services, critical to a thriving tourism economy, and the management of our downtown parks and public spaces, public art installations, the production of family-friendly events, and so much more.

Every day we have a lot to be thankful for, and the work of the MID is often at the top of that list.

So my ask today is simple.

Please reauthorize the MID for another 10 years.

Doing so will ensure the healthy, vibrant downtown that we all look forward to.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Lloyd Gregory.

It's me.

Hello, City Council.

It's an honor to be here with all of you, or some of you, and the rest of you there.

I love Seattle.

I love Pioneer Square.

I moved across the country to work here and be with you, all of you.

I feel like you're my coworkers now after the last four years, coming to Pioneer Square every day, rain or shine.

I'm coming to support the MID.

I'm organizing the Pioneer Square Summer Market and Music Festival.

I brought cards for everybody.

I couldn't do it without them.

Nobody would want to even show up.

We wouldn't have so many people showing up now if it wasn't for them keeping so clean.

Stephen earlier spoke to an inequity issue though.

And I want you guys to really think about that.

There's another inequity as well.

And that's the rate payers like Steve and the small businesses that pay through their landlords.

And then the people that just board up their buildings and won't use them.

That's the other thing that MIT is facing right now.

A lot of boarded up buildings with landlords that are refusing to rent because they just won't get the money they want.

I think perhaps a good solution to Steve's problem could be a minor little vacancy tax to create some downward pressure.

Perhaps use the vacant buildings down here to fund, you know, the shortcoming of some of the apartments.

It sure helped me a lot.

I can't rent down here.

Uh, that's the call.

Seriously.

Some of these places they won't rent.

Um, so maybe you could help you guys keep it clean in the meantime, you know, it's going to be boarded and keep reporting them when the graffiti is there and they won't paint over it or won't take down the boards, but, uh, just spitting it out.

I got 20 seconds.

Support the man, come to the Pioneer square summer market and be with these guys.

Thank you.

Our last speaker is Beth Knox.

Good afternoon, Council Members.

I'm Beth Knox, President and CEO of the Seattle Sports Commission, and my comments today are in support of renewing the Metropolitan Improvement District The MID provides services that creates a clean, safe, and welcoming environment for the tens of thousands of fans who attend locally, as well as the visitors who come into our city to attend sporting events like the NCAA Women's Basketball Regionals that Seattle recently hosted at Climate Pledge Arena, or this summer's Major League Baseball All-Star Game and activities that will be in the Stadium District.

FIFA World Cup in 2026 and many other events in between.

The MID plays a critical role in the downtown visitor experience and is critical to the future of downtown recovery.

As a community leader who has invested in Seattle's success and reputation as a destination city, I strongly urge you to reauthorize the MID for another 10 years.

Doing so will ensure a healthy, vibrant downtown for all.

Thank you to all of the ambassadors who work so hard to keep our city safe and clean, and thank you, council.

Thank you.

That does it for the in-person public commenters.

Okay, thank you so much.

Were we joined at all online by the one person, Dan Simmons, who did not dial in previously?

He's still showing as not present.

Okay, great.

Well, that does conclude our public comment then for today.

Thanks to everybody who dialed in.

Thanks to everybody who dialed in today.

If there's no objection, today's public comment will conclude.

Moving on, we will go on to other items on our agenda.

The consent agenda is in front of us.

This is item number, item letter G on our agenda.

Items on the consent calendar include minutes from the April 25th, 2023 meeting, council bill, which includes payroll expenses, council bill 120558, and appointments in the following categories from the economic development, technology and city light committee.

There's three appointments that includes the city light review panel recommendation by the economic development technology and city light committee, which is led by Chair Nelson and the agenda items are from Council Member Nelson's committee.

Are there any items council members would like to remove from today's consent calendar?

Hearing no objections and no motions.

Excuse me, Council Pro Tem Mosqueda.

Um, could we go back and and adopt the introduction referral calendar?

Did I miss that?

I, I will go back and do that in just a 2nd.

Can I come back to that after you can do that?

Thank you.

If there's no objection, then today's consent calendar will be adopted.

Hearing no objections, today's consent calendar is adopted.

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

Going back to item F.

It's actually item E.

Item E. Item E and item F, we'll need to do those.

The problem is those two are just stand-alone boxes in the middle of that page.

I think I just missed those completely.

Sorry about that.

Going back to item E on the agenda, which is adoption of the introduction referral calendar.

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

Hearing no objection, the introduction referral calendar is adopted.

Moving on to agenda item number F, letter F.

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

Hearing no objection, today's agenda is adopted.

We've already adopted the consent calendar, which shows item number, item letter G, and I believe we are on H, committee reports.

Is that correct, Madam Clerk?

That's correct.

Excellent, thanks.

Item one, under committee reports, that's about 120551. Madam Clerk, could you please read the short title of item one into the record?

Thank you very much colleagues, this is an item that comes to us from the Council President.

Council President is not here today so on her behalf I move to pass Council Bill 120551 is there a second.

Thank you, Council Member Herbold.

It has been moved and seconded.

On Council President Juarez's behalf, I'll read this item into the record.

As the clerk just noted, Council Bill 120551 relates to the Seattle Parking Enforcement Officers Guild Memorandum of Understanding between the Seattle Parking Enforcement Officers Guild and the City of Seattle.

Memorandum of understanding would cover approximately 100 employees.

This bill does appropriate 1.15 million in general fund to fulfill the memorandum of understanding terms, including implementation of wage adjustments.

The memorandum of understanding between the city and would serve as a 2 year extension.

on the agreement for the contract that has expired on December 31st, 2021. Appropriation of 1.15 million in general fund to the Seattle Police Department would provide funding to implement the wage adjustments for 2023. Is there any discussion?

Hearing none, going once, going twice.

Hearing none, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council Member Peterson?

Yes.

Council Member Sawant?

Yes.

Council President Pro Tem Mosqueda?

Aye.

Seven in favor, none opposed.

Thank you very much.

The motion carries and the bill is adopted.

Madam Clerk, will you please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

Okay, let's move on to item number two.

Madam Clerk, could you please read item number two into the record, Council Bill 120552?

agenda item to Council Bill 120552 relating to civil service commissions, clarifying election procedures for the employee elected members of the Civil Service Commission and Public Safety Civil Service Commission, and amending sections 4.04.250 and 4.08.040 of the Seattle Municipal Code.

Thank you very much.

Again, this is a bill that comes from the Council President's Committee.

On her behalf, I move Council Bill 120552. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you very much Council Member Peterson.

It has been moved and seconded to pass the bill.

Council President Juarez is sponsor of this bill and I will speak to it on her behalf.

Council Bill 120552 regarding the Civil Service Commission election would clarify the election procedures for the employee elected members of the Civil Service Commission and Public Safety Civil Service Commission.

The Civil Service Commission and the Public Safety Civil Service Commission each consist of three members, including one member appointed by the mayor, one member appointed by the council, and one member elected by eligible city employees.

The office of the city clerk is responsible for administering the employee elections every three years.

The next regular election will be this November, November 2023. This bill would clarify who is eligible to run and to vote in civil service elections and would authorize the city clerk to issue rules on specific voting procedures.

Are there any questions or comments?

Not seeing or hearing any.

With that, I will go ahead and move us forward with the vote.

Madam Clerk, could you please call the roll on the passage of the council bill in front of us?

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council Member Peterson?

Yes.

Council Member Sawant?

Yes.

Council President Pro Tem Mosqueda?

Aye.

7 in favor, none opposed.

Thank you very much, Madam Clerk.

Council Bill 120552 passes.

The Chair will sign it.

Madam Clerk, will you please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

Item number three.

Madam Clerk, will you please read Council Bill 120553 into the record?

And item three council bill 120553 relating to city employment, authorizing the execution of a memorandum of understanding between the city of Seattle and local to for to establishing a new title and rate of pay and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.

Thank you very much.

Colleagues, again, this is a bill that has come to us from Council President.

On behalf of the Council President, I move that the Council pass Council Bill 120553. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you very much, Council Member Herbold.

It has been moved and seconded.

Council President Juarez is the sponsor of this legislation, and on her behalf, I will speak to it.

This is regarding the Park Rangers Memorandum of Understanding with Laborers 242. Council Bill 120553 would authorize the midterm memorandum of understanding between the city and local 242 for park rangers at Seattle Parks and Recreation.

Memorandum of understanding would cover approximately 30 positions and would authorize wage adjustments and new job titles.

For background, in 2023, the executive estimates that these terms would cost an additional $161,494, an amount that would be able to be absorbed by the Seattle Parks and Recreation's existing budget due to staff vacancies in the first quarter.

Currently, there are six employees performing park ranger work.

Seattle Parks and Recreations is actively working to fill these vacancies.

The executive also expects to transmit a budget neutral technical change in the 2024 proposed budget for ongoing funding of these items.

Are there any comments or questions?

Hearing none, Madam Clerk, could you please call the roll on the passage of Council Bill 120-553?

Council Member Herbold,

Yes.

Council Member Lewis.

Yes.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Yes.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council President Pro Tem Mosqueda.

Aye.

Seven in favor, none opposed.

Thank you, colleagues.

Council Bill 120553 passes.

And the chair will sign it.

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

Moving on to Economic Development Technology and City Light Committee report out item number four.

Will the clerk please read the short title of item four into the record, which is Council Bill 120-537.

Report of the Economic Development Technology and City Light Committee, Agenda Item 4, Council Bill 120537, relating to downtown business improvement areas, establishing a new 10-year business improvement area to be known as the Metropolitan Improvement District, living special assessments upon owners of commercial property, multifamily residential property, and mixed-use property within the area.

Thank you very much, Bob.

The committee recommends that City Council pass the Council Bill.

Excellent.

Thank you very much, Madam Clerk.

Council Member Nelson, as chair of the committee, you are recognized to address this item.

Thank you very much.

So for background, downtown property owners have signed a petition that would allow them to charge themselves $18.3 million a year for 10 years with an annual inflationary adjustment to help make downtown a cleaner, safer, and more welcoming environment.

That is essentially, in simplest terms, what this legislation would do.

And to expand, let me just say that Council Bill 120537 would reauthorize the Metropolitan Improvement District, or MID, a business improvement area in downtown Seattle managed by the Downtown Seattle Association through a city ordinance.

And it includes six neighborhoods across 285 square blocks.

So the MID was created in 1999 and renewed in 2013. The current ordinance is scheduled to sunset on June 30th and must be reapproved for another 10 years.

And so this renewal or reauthorization or reestablishment has some changes.

And the main one is that the budget increases from $15.3 million a year, and that's in fiscal year 2023, 2024 dollars.

to $18.3 million annually.

And again, there is a 2.5% to 5% CPI increase every year.

And it will be re-evaluated in five years.

And in part, what this increase comes from is an additional 20 properties at the southern end of the mid.

So there is a slight expansion to the boundary.

Now, the bigger budget will pay for 10% more cleaning services additional armed unarmed private security protect to protect small businesses and that's as everybody knows one of those things that that I'm extremely concerned about.

And also higher ambassador wages, and I must say that it's really too bad that folks can't see the, the splashes of yellow in this yellow chartreuse I would say in this room because there were for the third time in a row, several, I would say at least 20 ambassadors here with us representing what people see.

Every day downtown, and these are the folks that are cleaning the streets and giving people directions and, and, you know, providing a smile to folks as, as they are down there trying to find the way around city so.

The point is that these are actually employees.

They earn a high wage benefits and many of them have experienced homelessness or engagement with the criminal justice system.

So it must be noticed that we are also talking about job creation here.

Anyway, so I could go on and on about everything that the MID does.

Let me just mention free summer concerts and all the lights downtown.

And I'm saying this for people who are watching that aren't familiar with really what makes downtown tick.

And so I am urging a support for this.

It came out of committee unanimously.

I want to also add that last June, ambassadors started carrying Narcan and since then have administered it 130 times.

And so in addition to everything else that we appreciate about their work, they are also saving lives.

And to drive that point home, I want to read three reports that John Scholes, who is the president and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association, sent me.

So please indulge me a moment.

Quote, Robert and Ezekiel responded to an overdose call from the clean team.

Robert and Ezekiel rushed over to the scene, which was one block away.

Robert administered one dose of Narcan while a pedestrian was doing chest rubs and chest compressions.

The person came back to.

Here's another one.

At the end of the shift, Robert noticed a person at 4th and Pine.

They were on the ground unconscious and experiencing an overdose.

After alerting base, a bystander approached and began chest compressions.

They administered one dose of Narcan.

Roughly four minutes later, I administered another dose.

He regained consciousness shortly after.

And then Nemo was called to a possible overdose at 3rd and Pike.

When Nemo arrived with the assistance of John, they administered one dose of Narcan.

The person woke up shortly after the dose was administered.

Those reports were provided in one day, last Friday.

So I just, I extend my gratitude to the people in this room.

And I'll just save closing remarks, which will be short after other people would like to make comment and before the vote.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Council Member Lewis, please go ahead.

Thank you so much, Madam President, Pro Tem Mosqueda.

I'm really, really excited to vote today for the renewal of this really essential community because that's really what this is.

I mean, it's a business improvement area, but as we see right here physically in this room, it really is a big community of people who care about the future of the city, who care about downtown, and who are building back a great downtown to work in, to live in, and to play in.

I really, really appreciate the leadership of Council Member Nelson in moving this renewal process through, and this is the culmination of a lot of hard work and her chairmanship of getting this ready for our final action today.

I definitely want to thank John Scholes for his leadership of the Downtown Seattle Association and laying a great framework for a streamlined renewal process that will let us continue and build on these really essential services.

Lisa Nitze for guiding this as the chair of the Metropolitan Improvement District Board throughout this renewal process.

The entire team at the Downtown Seattle Association, I see a number of people in this room who every day are working on building back a great downtown after the shock that we've gone through of COVID.

And I do believe that we still have a couple of Mid Ambassadors in the room, although there were many more here earlier.

And just really, above all, appreciate the service of the Mid Ambassadors in here, who I run into on a daily basis and thank for their service in the field.

I run into Sam Dick I think almost on a weekly basis on Third Avenue.

When, when I'm down there and he's always there with this team and they're doing really really amazing work in our city.

This is really today a statement that goes beyond just renewing this BIA.

There is no downtown recovery without the renewal of the mid and there is no Seattle recovery without the recovery of downtown.

And today we're making a really big joint partnership and effort to realize those goals.

And we're making a bigger statement that downtown is open for business.

Downtown is open as a place to live, to work, and to play, and encourage everybody in our region to continue to take advantage of the great cultural space that is downtown Seattle.

And when you come down to do it, you are going to have Mid Ambassadors there to help way find, you are going to be greeted by parks that are activated, you're going to have festivals and concerts that you can enjoy and that can inspire and divert and everything else.

So I really look forward to continuing to see these essential services to building on the partnerships we've been able to build under the previous MID and for the excellent new opportunities that this renewal is going to make possible.

So thank you so much.

Excellent.

Thank you.

Before we go to Council Member Nelson for closing comments, are there any additional comments that folks would like to make?

Hearing none, thank you very much.

I will turn it back over to Council Member Nelson.

Thank you very much.

So on continuing with the frame of thank you very much for being here in person.

On April, this was first heard in the Economic Development Technology and City Light Committee on April 12th, and 49 people came in person to make comment in favor of renewing the MID.

And then on April 26th, 11 people came in person and gave formal public comment.

Many other folks were also cheerleaders in the audience.

And today I counted about 60 people in the audience today.

So again, thank you very much for coming.

Here's another statistic.

According to the recent chamber survey, the index, 90% of respondents out of 700 people that were polled, 90% agree with the statement, a thriving downtown Seattle is critical to our region's economic recovery.

And the MID is critical to that thriving downtown.

We are lucky to have this partnership, the city does.

And as one commenter Reza said earlier today, this is a no brainer.

And as a council member, those are rare.

I love no brainers.

And I think that we should simply allow the rate payers who have petitioned to continue their stewardship of downtown.

I think that we should allow them to do so by renewing this, the mid and passing this legislation.

Thank you so much.

Well, I'll just add some closing comments here.

I think that the body has signaled from its comments or interest in helping to move this forward here today without having a debate, but there is also interest across the board and advancing this.

I know that there's a lot of people who have appreciated the work that the MID and specifically the MID employees who are out there every day in the yellow shirts have done.

So I want to underscore our support for that as well and appreciate the people who have dialed in both remotely and in person.

I'd be careful to make sure to lift up in these times where we still have communicable diseases, including COVID and other variants of communicable diseases, that just by the fact that people are not in person is not an indication of I'm not wanting to be there to support people.

There's many people, including people on our body who have compromised immune systems and so are not there regularly, but that does not take away from their support for issues in front of this body.

So, thanks to the folks who have been able to dial in remotely.

And who've joined in your committee Councilmember Nelson and also in person in the full Council but just broadly speaking, any form of public comment that we receive is all received equally and we appreciate folks who both dial in in person, and also.

We have a lot of support from the public.

We have a lot of support from the community.

We have a lot of support online.

Thanks for providing the public testimony.

I think by way of this vote, you will see unanimous agreement for the ongoing support that the mid folks have provided to our city.

We look forward to continuing to work to help improve the economic vitality, but more importantly, the health of our population which then yields increased population health as well as economic health around our city and region.

Councilmember Herbold?

Yes.

Councilmember Lewis?

Yes.

Councilmember Morales?

Yes.

Councilmember Nelson?

Aye.

Councilmember Peterson?

Yes.

Councilmember Sawant?

Yes.

Council President Pro Tem Mosqueda?

Aye.

Seven in favor, none opposed.

Thank you very much.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Madam Clerk, please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf for Council Bill 120537. And congratulations to all the folks who have provided public comment.

Okay, we're going to move on to items five and six.

This is from the Land Use Committee.

Madam Clerk, could you please read items five and six together into the record, please?

Report of the Land Use Committee, agenda item five, clerk file 314470, application of 2501 Northwest Market LLC for contract rezone of a portion of a split zone site at 2501 Northwest Market Street from industrial commercial.

The committee recommends that city council grant as conditioned the clerk file as amended.

Agenda item six, council bill 120533, relating to land use and zoning, amending chapter 23.32 of the Seattle Municipal Code at page 53 of the official land use map to rezone the Western 15,943 square feet of the parcel located at 2501 Northwest Market Street.

The committee recommends that city council pass as amended the council bill.

Okay, thank you so much.

So we have read items five and six into the record.

Both items five and six being read into the record allow for us to discuss them together.

The council will vote on these items individually.

On behalf of Council Member Strauss, as who is chair of the committee, I will read the directions into the record here.

Attached to the agenda is the correspondence that was sent to Councilmember Strauss.

I'm sorry.

Madam Clerk, am I supposed to read into the record the communication about the quasi-judicial rules at this moment?

I believe you just need to read the five bullets or the four bullets.

Okay.

That are on the script.

Attached to the agenda is correspondence that was sent to Councilmember Strauss's personal email account, including an email and two letters.

This communication is disclosed to comply with the Council's quasi-judicial rules, which prohibit ex parte communications about pending quasi-judicial matters.

Both letters were ultimately incorporated into the record.

Letter 1 is listed on the agenda.

It is part of the public comment, Exhibit 10. And Letter 2, as listed on the agenda, is part of the public comment in Exhibit 4. If there's no questions, I'd like to open it up to the floor for an opportunity for rebuttals on the ex parte communications.

Please note, rebuttal comments are limited to the context of the ex parte communications.

The comment period is now open.

Are there any people who have signed up to provide comments on this item on the agenda?

Nobody has signed up.

Is there anybody in person to provide comments on this agenda item.

Nobody in person.

Okay, that handles that.

Seeing as we have no speaker signed up.

in person or remotely, the comment period is now closed.

We will move on to the briefing of these items.

Items five and six have been read into the record already.

So this is the opportunity for any comments from my colleagues here about Clerk File 314470. I will jump in with comments on behalf of Council Member Strauss.

On April 26, the land use committee considered a reason application, which is clerk file 314470 for a mixed use development on a split zoned lot at 2501 Northwest market street and valor.

The western part of the lot is currently zoned industrial commercial and the east part of the lot is zoned neighborhood commercial.

The rezone would extend the neighborhood commercial zoning to the whole site and adopt a property use and development agreement.

SDCI recommended approval of the rezone on January 5th, 2023. The hearing examiner held a public hearing and recommended approval on February 8th, 2023. The proposed rezone would facilitate the development of 107 mixed-use unit building with three live-work units and retail space along Market Street.

Are there any additional comments?

Hearing none, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll on granting the clerk file as conditioned?

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales.

We'll come back.

Council Member Nelson.

Aye.

Council Member Peterson.

Yes.

Council Member Sawant.

Yes.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council President Pro Tem Mosqueda.

Aye.

the clerk please affix my signature to the findings conclusions and decision of the City Council on my behalf.

Item number six is Council Bill 120533. Hearing no additional comments, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Herbold?

Yes.

Council Member Lewis?

Yes.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Nelson?

Aye.

Council Member Peterson?

Yes.

Council Member Sawant?

Yes.

Council President Pro Tem Mosqueda?

I.

7 in favor.

Not opposed.

The bill passes in the chair will sign it.

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

Hey, colleagues that moves us to the items on or any items that were removed.

There were new items removed from the consent calendar, which is I agenda item.

I will move on to agenda item J.

Are there any additional resolutions for introduction and adoption today?

Hearing none, we'll move on to item K.

Is there any other business before the council today?

Hearing none and seeing none, if there's no objection, this concludes the items on business today.

The next regularly scheduled Seattle City Council meeting will be held on May 9th.

Thank you to everybody who made this possible and for the clerks for helping us get through this process today.

Without any objection, we are adjourned.