Seattle City Council Meeting 03/12/2024

It is 201, always consistent.

I'm Sarah Nelson, president of the council.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Morales.

Here.

Council Member Moore.

Present.

Council Member Rivera.

Present.

Council Member Saka.

Here.

Council Member Strauss.

Present.

Council Member Wu.

Present.

Councilmember Hollingsworth.

Present.

Councilmember Kettle.

Here.

Council President Nelson.

Present.

Nine present.

Thank you very much.

I'm not aware of any presentation for today, so we'll move along.

Colleagues at this time will open the hybrid public comment period.

Madam Clerk, how many speakers are signed up today?

We have 12 in-person and two remote speakers today.

DIRECTOR HAMPSON- Okay.

I will give everybody 90 seconds please.

And let's start with the the remote speakers since there are much fewer of those folks.

DIRECTOR HAMPSON- Okay.

Our first remote speaker will be Joe Kunzler and Joe will be followed by David Haines.

Go ahead Joe.

Well, good afternoon, Seattle Council.

It's Joe Kutzler here.

I'm greatly honored to be able to call in and give remote testimony today as traveling down to ask you to please build housing in Seattle so I can live in the world's best city next to the world's best airport and down in SeaTac.

I think your cop plan is underwhelming, a weak sauce.

Absolutely.

Frankly, there's a joke going around that your new mayor is Jessica Bateman, the queen of housing in the state legislature.

I have to tell you, it is just an absolute sad that as Heidi Wills Day is coming up this Friday, that we have to have this discussion.

And I just want to ask that you please build more housing.

I really also want to say to Councilmember Dan Strauss, thank you for your hard work and standing up to Alex Zimmerman.

It is much appreciated.

And I hope and I wish you well.

And I want to again ask you to please build more houses in Seattle.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is David Haynes.

And David will be followed by Erica Tremonte.

Go ahead, David.

And please remember to press star six.

Thank you.

Hi.

Thank you, David Haynes.

First, I was wondering, did the National Homeless Authority open up emergency shelters during the 30 mile an hour Arctic wind blast?

And separately, still have a public safety crisis and part of the dilemma in finding cops willing and able is when they defunded the police not only did they sabotage the rules and pervert the interpretation by basically equating crack meth heroin and fentanyl as being the same as organic proper broden marijuana but they hired a police chief who was tasked with implementing The paradigm shift away from the war on the drugs, because the progressive bottom of the barrel said that it failed.

And instead of improving the crime fighting with the drug pushers, they just ignore the fact that they only legalize proper grown marijuana.

So when the cops are trained by the police chief not to trespass all the junkie thieves and the drug addicts who keep blocking my way trying to get into the Westlake Tunnel, or when you come around the corner, they're all right there, while there's like six downtown ambassadors who are ignoring all the trash and never calling the cops about all the drug dealing and the thieving.

it makes it impossible to solve the homeless and safety crisis and we need a better police chief and better rules to trespass the junkies and interrogate question them to find out where they keep thank you our last remote speaker signed up is erica tramonte go ahead erica hello i'm a

I'm addressing the recent changes to the fees on DoorDash and how, for me personally, it has definitely caused me to not order from there, especially when all of the taxes and fees combined cost more than the price of the food, which is already inflated on the online menu.

When you go into the restaurant, the menu items are cheaper.

My friend has actually moved to Yakima because he could no longer make enough on the app here once that change was implemented.

And we're seeing more of that with people having to figure out something else to do for a job because the business just isn't there.

And for me, a customer, I can't pay $24 for a sandwich.

It's just been so out of reach.

to get food delivered for a reasonable price.

And it seems that all parties involved are suffering from this.

The consumer the delivery person and the restaurant.

DIRECTOR HAMPSON- Thank you.

That was our last remote speaker.

DIRECTOR HAMPSON- Our first in-person speaker will be Adam Brown.

Adam will be followed by John Stemsett.

Good afternoon, council members.

I am going to take the same sentiment that Erica came, but I am a gig worker.

I've been a gig worker for since 2017. I have written to you and I haven't read.

My council member, Kathy Moore, which I appreciate.

I stand before you as a gig worker concerned about the impact that it's had on me personally.

When I looked at my earnings from this time this year and last year, it was a decrease of 61.2%.

And why I bring that up is because last year I was planning the funeral of my mother and stepfather at Arlington National Cemetery, which required me to go to Washington where I could at least make a certain amount of money in that time.

But now that we have this gig ordinance, as the other person mentioned, the opportunities to earn money is no longer there.

And I asked this council to consider to repeal or in my letter was to have a moratorium to do an impact study of how this ordinance has impacted everyday life.

I have 22 seconds.

I want to say because I did mention my mother and stepfather.

I told council member Moore that I was a my mother was blind.

My stepfather was old.

I ordered their food from Seattle to do that.

So there's value to what this is.

And I hope the council considers the value of how it's impacted couriers.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is John Stumpstead, followed by Sharon Choi.

I live in District 3. In 2023, I averaged 130 deliveries per week for the year as a courier.

Since the pay-up bill went into effect in January, I have averaged only 54. The last three weeks were 40, 46, and 33 deliveries.

The delivery market has been obliterated, and it's getting worse.

Fridays and Mondays used to be guaranteed high-income days.

I could always count on 25 to 30 deliveries.

This last Friday, I did one delivery, and on Monday, I did five.

As you look at options to revise this bill, please make sure the earnings incentives align with customer satisfaction.

The pay up bill pays workers more the slower one delivers an order.

The pay by minute model does not make sense for products that deteriorate over time.

I know you've heard from couriers who like the pay-up bill.

That is because they can take advantage of it and intentionally make the deliveries take far longer.

I would be fine with the repeal of the bill.

I made plenty of money before.

But if a repeal is politically untenable, I think a flat rate floor of $5 per delivery would make sense and would protect workers from being taken advantage of, while also being fair and profitable to app companies.

Basically, that's what the 250 premium pay achieved.

The key to any plan is having delivery fees below $12.

Please think about the worker who doesn't have the privilege to be here today, who has to go home to a spouse and child.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Sharon Choi, followed by Jacob Scheer.

Dear Seattle City Council members, my name is Sharon and I'm a Seattle resident and AFSCME union member and a Seattle Public Library worker.

I am not here to represent AFSCME or Seattle Public Library, but I'm here on my personal accord.

I come to you as a city worker who is concerned about the negative impacts of the hiring fees, as it's already having an impact on public services and the communities we serve.

Library branches have suddenly had to close for the day due to staff shortage.

The staff shortage has also led to burnout due to an increased workload and also dealing with patrons who are upset over branch closures and our quality of service not being as good as it was prior to the hiring freeze.

This would not be an issue if the freeze ended and our branches could be fully staffed.

Furthermore, branch closures have led to unhoused patrons needing to find daytime shelter somewhere else.

Libraries are not necessarily shelters, but many unhoused patrons do take refuge at libraries for most of the day, as it is a safe space that is warm and not crowded.

The library also serves as an initial touch point for unhoused patrons to receive vital information about resources nearby.

We witnessed an increase in violence and crimes against unhoused people in the past year.

Just recently, an unhoused person named Darvuth Vaughn was unfortunately murdered outside of Town Hall not too long ago.

There's also been an increase in migrant families coming to Seattle seeking asylum and housing.

Recently, these migrant families have visited the downtown library just a few blocks away to seek housing resources and access our printing.

If libraries continue to experience more branch closures and affordable shelters continue to be unavailable, where else will unhoused people stay to feel safe?

I asked the council to urgently pass new progressive revenue instead of taking massive cuts out of public service.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jacob Shear followed by Alex Zimmerman.

Thank you.

My name is Jacob Shear.

I am also a Seattle Public Library worker and a resident of District 4. speaking here in a personal capacity.

I'd like to speak a lot to what my coworker Sharon was speaking about, the impacts of the city hiring freeze and the consequences of austerity policies that nearly every council member here, not named Tammy Morales, seems to be embracing and their impact on the programs that our communities depend on.

So just this past weekend, the University Branch Library was forced to close on Sunday due to understaffing, and this is really becoming increasingly routine with branches in Madrona and the International District also forced to close down on recent weekends due to lack of staffing.

And there is a real human cost to the decision to embrace these austerity politics.

When libraries close, it means the whole community loses a place to turn for learning and joy and safety and connection with each other.

And we also know that we're not the only department being impacted by this.

Just this past week, there was an article in King 5 that detailed how a Seattle Park summer program for Seattle children with disabilities is in danger of being cut this summer due to the hiring freeze.

And as the mother of one of those children interviewed for that piece put it best, you cannot balance the budget on the backs of the city's most vulnerable residents.

And council members really do have a clear choice to reject austerity and to bring in progressive revenue to fund what our communities need to thrive.

These closures, cuts, and cancellations are definitely on your shoulders, and we will hold you accountable for them.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Alex Zimmerman, followed by Gary Lardseval.

Thank you.

My name Alex Zimmerman, and I come back for another trespass.

Yeah.

17 is not enough.

Why you arrest the six people?

This young boy and girl, one only speak about their right.

You understand who you are?

You're a criminal, a bandita.

You are a Gestapo.

You are a Nazi.

My 17 trespasses, so who care about all Jewish men?

You freaking are mentally sick, you understand?

I come here for 20 years every day.

You are a real bandit, a Nazi pig.

I will repair this right now because next trespass.

And remember, nothing forever in this world.

I will show this, so you need to understand.

You're broken law, you're all criminal, and you're a bandita.

You don't do it by First Amendment in the rules.

It's exactly what you're doing here.

You understand why?

Because you are mentally sick.

You are a psychopath.

I told you a hundred times about Seattle.

You're a natural, boring, degenerate idiot.

I talk about this publicly hundred times.

It's exactly who you are.

But this is not the point.

Point you all identical is a problem.

You all sick mentally Nazi pig.

See you high, my Fuhrer.

Thank you very much.

Mr. Zimmerman, your repeated abuse of a language constitutes disruptive behavior, and this pattern impedes the orderly progress of this meeting.

Pursuant to Council Rule 11-D-5, I'm excluding you from this and future meetings for a period of 90 calendar days.

Please leave.

Thank you.

Gary Lardseval, followed by Carolyn Malone.

Well, I'll try to bring some positivity to that.

I'm trying to be more positive in my time today.

So in quotes, know the outcome and you'll see the journey.

It's been 60 days exactly, if my calculations are correct with the leap day.

On the negative aspect, restaurant orders are still down.

DoorDash and Uber Eats are losing money.

Customers disappeared long ago, deleted apps long ago.

So orders still are coming in, few and far between like John said.

Positive note is the intention of this council to roll back, modify, shall I say repeal this ordinance.

60% of our thoughts are negative, 5% are positive.

Hopefully we are on a positive track here.

All parties involved, I think are not pointing fingers at each other.

Any more, we just want a resolution.

Cash speaks.

Maybe it's high time for Bruce Harrell to take legal action.

Mayor Bruce Harrell, 60 days is not that long ago.

Some of my positive thoughts I'd like to impart are indeed in the past, if you need numbers and you need to collect a lot of data, look at last year's data because restaurants had full shelves in profit.

DoorDash was not down 90,000 orders.

Customers were on their apps and they were okay with the prices.

The apps were still there.

So there is hope.

Let's be positive.

Thank you.

Carolyn Malone followed by Peter Manning.

Hold on.

I don't know if that mic is turned on.

Notice at the behest of Seattle cops from Flo Bowman of Catholic Housing Services.

What's my crime?

Why should I be evicted in retaliation for my protesting against these?

two persons who are Seattle police or affiliated with Seattle police and allowed to occupy space in my senior housing.

I've been working closely with the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspection, because the elevator was down.

One of two elevators in an 84-unit, 13-story building with seniors, wheelchairs, walkers, and canes.

One of two elevators was down.

For two months, I contacted SDCI.

I was retaliated against.

My door, the only door in the 84 unit building is busted.

My dead boat lock is inoperable.

So, because I protest, put a poster in my window, stand at 4th and James, and protest Seattle Police presence in my building, I've been given this notice under the claim that I owe rent.

The problem with this I owe extra rent is my rent was raised twice in one year, which is illegal.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Peter Manning, followed by Mil Aza.

Hi, my name is Peter Manning.

I'm with Black Excellence in Cannabis.

I'm coming before you guys today to discuss a very important issue to our organization.

As of last year, we were made aware that the city council had approved $200,000 plus for social equity.

That money has never materialized, and we don't know where it's at.

Rumor has it it went to an all-white union.

We are really concerned about this, so we're asking the city council to look into that.

Anybody that's an investigative journalist that might hear this, please contact us so we can get to the bottom of this.

We would like to know where the money's at.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Millie Aja, followed by Kevin Sullivan.

It was mic aside.

Yes, go ahead, mic.

Good afternoon.

My name is Mike Asai with Irma City Collective Gardens, first downtown Seattle cannabis medical dispensary in 2010, unjustly shut down by the city.

I'm also vice president of Black Excellence in Cannabis.

This is Mayor McGinn in 2011. He signed the ordinance one, two, three, six, six, one.

This, in essence, gave protection for medical dispensary pioneers.

Under Ed Murray's administration, once Mayor McGinn was gone, we were unjustly shut down.

Um, I have emailed each and every one of you.

Um, some have responded, still waiting for others to respond.

Understand that you're new, uh, and you're real busy.

Um, but this is a very important issue.

Um, if we talk about Black Lives Matter, what really matters is Black wealth, Black empowerment, Black reparations.

Um, it's been real depressing to be shut down unjustly for these past eight years.

I've obtained a social equity license.

I'm looking to come back into the city, but I'm having problems with zoning.

I'm having problems with funding.

The city needs to really step up, and I urge the city council to take this matter seriously.

Council Member Saka, I agree.

The potholes are an atrocious.

I want people to be able to come to my shop on smooth roads.

Mr. Kettle, I used to be a Metro bus driver in 1999. I want the city cleaned up.

I have family, friends in the city.

I care about the city.

I've been here since 1978. I come from the roots of the city.

We have I don't just wake up thinking about cannabis.

I wake up thinking about how much.

Thank you.

Next up is Kevin Sullivan, followed by Jace Bryant.

Is the mic on?

There we go.

Thank you.

Last week, I spoke a little bit more about the emotional impact on me and my peers in the city.

Today, I just wanted to be specific about this $26.46 number that's going around.

Certain news outlets and then the app companies are reporting that that is our hourly rate.

Technically, we are being paid at a $0.44 per minute rate with an additional $0.74 per mile.

The only way we would be able to accrue $26.40 is if we worked for 60 minutes.

The math over the last two weeks with the time adjustment for me is $9.34 per hour.

Last week without an adjustment, it's a biweekly adjustment according to Uber.

I made $5.70 per hour.

This week, as of Monday and today, I made $10.60 an hour.

Generally, what happens is I got a good day yesterday, a good day.

So I made a little bit more money, but over the course of a week or a month, things do get a little bit harder.

And then today, before, I made $11.27 an hour.

So there's a big difference between what's being reported what the legislature states and the reality.

And then also, I think this is an impact of what the customers think, where their money is going as well.

So, thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jace Bryan, followed by Michael Wolff.

Hi, Council.

Hi.

My name's Jace.

I have some mental health challenges.

Driving is fun, but riding a bike is a lot safer.

Bike messenger work is fun and rewarding.

If you ride a bike, you can be doing all the messenger moves and having fun, and it's wonderful.

It's a safe space for people with autism or people with mental health challenges, and it's a great job for them to do.

I don't really want to do this anymore.

I hate talking in public.

I made $451 last week, 33 deliveries over 48 hours, $13 per delivery.

I was up at like 5 a.m.

I've been sleeping in my car.

I've been like parked in front of the restaurants.

I can't figure out this algorithm.

It's like really tough.

$9.31 is my hourly rate that I made.

I'm going crazy.

I recognize that.

I'm getting my own support, but I might be getting evicted.

I might get my shit repossessed.

That would probably be the best thing.

It is your responsibility to take care of vulnerable adults.

Council, I'm calling on you at this moment to repeal the bill and to just repeal it and just put it on pause and say, maybe we can focus on working it out, but for this time being, it's not working for us.

Bike Messenger, most vulnerable.

Thank you.

Thank you all.

Good afternoon, Council President Nelson, members of the council.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak today.

My name is Michael Wolf.

I'm the executive director of Drive Forward, a nonprofit association whose 2500 members are app based workers statewide.

Drive Forward was part of the stakeholder groups during the initial pay up discussions in 2021. At the time, we were supportive of the idea of a minimum payment standard, but were fundamentally opposed to the law that was passed.

We warned back then that some of the results app-based workers are facing now would happen.

Since the effective date of this law, Drive Forward has conducted a survey of app-based workers, which found that 80 percent of respondents said they were receiving fewer offers.

Sixty-four percent said the frequency of tips had significantly decreased, 58 percent reporting dollar amounts of tips significantly decreasing.

Earnings per hour for full-time app-based workers have dropped up to 52 percent.

We have members who are wondering whether they are going to make rent this month.

This ordinance was supposed to boost worker pay, not homelessness.

It is time for changes to this bad legislation to be made.

Drive Forward looks forward to working with council on making those changes.

That is our last registered public speaker.

Thank you very much.

All right, we've reached the end of our registered speakers.

The public comment period is now closed.

Thank you very much, everyone, for your comments.

Moving right along, if there's no objection, the introduction and referral calendar will be adopted.

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

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

Hearing none, the agenda is adopted.

We'll now consider the proposed consent calendar.

Items on the consent calendar include the minutes of February 27th and March 5th, 2024. Council Bill 120748, which is the payment of the bills, and five appointments from the Land Use Committee.

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

All right, hearing none, I move to adopt the consent calendar.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you.

It's been moved and seconded to adopt the consent calendar.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the consent calendar.

Councilmember Moore.

Aye.

Councilmember Morales.

Yes.

Councilmember Rivera.

Aye.

Councilmember Saka.

Aye.

Councilmember Strauss.

Yes.

Councilmember Wu.

Yes.

Councilmember Hollingsworth.

Yes.

Councilmember Kettle.

Aye.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Nine in favor none opposed.

All right.

Will the clerk please affix my the consent calendar items are adopted.

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

Thank you very much.

All right, because we moved an item from our agenda yesterday, the council does not have a committee and the council does not have any legislation from committees.

Is there any other business to come before the council today?

Seeing none, we've reached the end of today's agenda.

Our next regularly scheduled city council meeting will be held on March 19th at 2 p.m.

Hearing no further business, we are adjourned.

It is 2.30.

Thank you, everybody.