City Council Meeting 4/16/2024

Good afternoon.

The April 16th, 2024 meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is two o'clock.

I am Sarah Nelson, president of the council.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Present.

Council Member Kettle.

Here.

Council Member Moore.

Present.

Council Member Morales.

Here.

Council Member Morales.

Here.

Thank you.

Council Member Rivera.

Present.

Council Member Saka.

Here.

Council Member Strauss.

Present.

Council Member Wu.

Present.

Council President Nelson.

Present.

Nine present.

Thank you very much.

I'm not aware of a presentation for today.

So colleagues, at this time, we'll move into our hybrid public comment period.

Madam Clerk, how many speakers are there signed up for today?

we have 23 in person and 11 remote okay we'll give each person one minute and we'll start with the people in person please and you can please go ahead and read the instructions thank you thank you we'll now move into the hybrid public comment period public commenters should relate to items on today's agenda and within the purview of the city council Each speaker will have one minute, and we will start with the in-person speakers.

The public comment period is up to 20 minutes, and speakers will be called in the order in which they are registered.

Go ahead, please.

Our first in-person speaker is Morgan Haley.

Seattle City Council, my name is Morgan Henley.

I'm from Carnation, Washington.

We have traveled here today to talk about the Tolt Dam and the continued failures of the siren.

I was born and raised on the Tolt River.

Throughout my life, Wednesdays at noon is when the siren went off as a test alarm to let us know that safety, comfort, and stability is there for us.

We have had eight false alarms in the last four years of that siren.

So that has completely diminished all of that sense of security that we have had for my entire life and years before that.

We came here for a little bit of humanity today to explain to you a little bit of what goes through our minds when this happens.

These false alarms send us into PTSD.

Some of us don't respond to them anymore.

And our town is gone if that dam fails.

Everything that we have there is gone.

Our lives are gone.

Our houses are gone.

Our property is gone.

So that goes through all of our minds when these dam alarms fail.

So we're here today to please ask you to take this very seriously.

Her next speaker is Jessica Brash, followed by Tiffany Goodman.

Hold on a second.

And just so you know, when you hear that ding, there are 10 seconds left.

Hi, my name is Jessica Brash.

I live in downtown Carnation, Washington.

My husband and I own our home in downtown Carnation.

And on July 28, 2020, I was home with my son when the toll dam alarm started to sound off.

And this time it was not at noon on Wednesday when the test normally sounds.

Then the terrifying voice repeated, the Tolt Dam has failed.

Evacuate immediately.

It was something I knew could always happen, but to actually hear the message being blasted through our town was more terrifying than I could have ever imagined.

I had very little time to process and just went into full survival mode.

I threw my son in my car, somehow made it through the chaos and gridlock that was happening in downtown, and proceeded to evacuate up the hill to my in-law's house.

Once I arrived, they informed me that they got word that it was just a false alarm.

This was the single most terrifying experience I've ever gone through, but it didn't end there.

Seven more times our town has had to endure these terrifying false alarms, triggering PTSD that I now carry from that experience in 2020. And all we've ever received from Seattle public utilities is sorry.

Our next speaker is Tiffany Goodman, followed by Jennifer Hargrove.

My name is Tiffany Goodman.

I own a company down in Carnation.

So with the whole damn false alarms, that first round, I had to watch people screaming and running outside my building.

I had 30 seconds to decide, do I let people's dogs loose?

Do I keep them with me?

And I made the fraction of choice to tape their mouths shut, throw them in my personal car, and make a mad dash to get out of town just to find out that it was a false alarm.

And this has continued for eight times now.

Eight times where I've had to make that call.

I'm now mobile.

I'm at somebody's house.

The alarm goes off.

I have to decide, do I go two doors down to the person that still has their dog in their house?

I have the code.

I could grab them for them, but I have to consciously make that choice to leave them behind.

During these times, I've watched preschool teachers have to try and usher crying small children to get them out of town.

I've watched seniors break down.

I've watched people in wheelchairs just sit there and cry because they think they're going to die.

I'm sorry.

It won't happen again.

We're working on it.

We never get real excuses.

It's all it is, is excuses.

We're pleading that you guys take this seriously, and we have yet to get there.

Next is Jennifer Hairgrown, and then followed by Beth Tuzan.

Thank you.

My name is Jennifer Hargrove.

I'm an emergency management professional who grew up in the valley, walked the evac routes in middle school, and is now a homeowner in downtown Carnation, who was here for the 2020 falls activation.

With that aside, data was mapped nearly a decade ago that uncovered several hazards that affect the evacuation routes that we have been drilling for.

In scenarios of significant impact, we may become trapped in the valley during a dam failure.

notably if there's a sizable shallow earthquake and aftershocks during Astrofair Rivers.

Learning of these hazards and my experience as a resident of Carnation with the false alarms, I have literal nightmares.

And to save on time, jumping forward, we are experiencing alarm fatigue.

We have such little faith in this new system that we may have people ignoring the alarm when they should be evacuating.

to drain the dam altogether, or at least below a level that would obliterate me and my town.

We're assured that the dam is safe, but the Titanic was not supposed to sink.

And I urge research to begin on new ways to replace this risk.

Thank you for your time.

Next is Beth, followed by Heidi Lee.

Hello, my name is Beth Tiesen.

I've lived in Carnation for 38 years, so I've witnessed a lot of these alarms, especially the ones that have been false alarms since 2020. I need to remind you people from Seattle that this is your water.

It's 40% of your water.

If that dam fails, you are out of 40% of your water.

Think about how it's going to affect you as a citizen of Seattle.

It's gonna be hard.

And you might not be so welcome out in the valley again.

So far, I've really enjoyed having people come out because their lives are so different.

And mine is different than theirs.

So it's great.

And we get to share things that are good and help us grow together.

But remember, this is your walk.

Heidi Lee, followed by John Stramstad.

Good afternoon, my name is Heidi Lee, and while I do not live in the city of Carnation currently, I lived and worked within city limits for over 10 years, and I was born and raised in the Snoqualmie Valley.

In my opinion, one false alarm is a mistake, but eight false alarms is a pattern of negligence.

I'm here today to highlight the importance of our community's concerns to you about the mismanagement of the Tolt Dam Warning System by SPU.

These concerns can no longer go unaddressed and need to be treated as high priority by your council.

Yes, it is very unlikely that the dam will fail, but it is not unheard of.

I would like to highlight the Edenville Dam failure in Michigan in 2020 as a prime example of this.

This was also an earthen dam.

And the Tolt Dam sits on the top of a major fault line as well, which is a recipe for disaster.

The mismanagement of the TOLT dam warning system by SPU is unacceptable.

Because of this, I ask you today to officially oppose the relicensing of the dam by SPU, as they have proven that they cannot be trusted to manage it properly.

Next is John Stremstad, followed by Gary.

Working Washington and their supporters are playing a game of politics against this council instead of doing what is best for workers.

They tell you misleading information and cherry pick data every week.

In 2023, I averaged 130 deliveries per week and my acceptance rate was about 50%.

That means I turned down roughly half of the orders that I was sent.

I am now averaging only 46 deliveries per week despite my acceptance rate now being 99%.

Things are getting so much worse.

When I was in college, the epitome of corporate greed was Ford Motor Company's decision that it was better to completely ignore a safety issue and pay lawsuits of crash victims involving the Ford Pinto than pay $16 per car to fix the vehicles.

Working Washington is doing a similar thing by telling the public the payout bill is working fine and workers just need to wait and hope the app companies lower fees.

How many workers...

Need to go homeless before that happens.

How many people having their lives ruined make the political battles worth it to them?

Care about workers, not your politico ego.

Next is John.

Sorry, that was John.

Next is Gary, followed by Jason.

Good afternoon, Council.

Beating the drum here, high prices, we need lower prices.

I have to remind you, After the high prices were seen, people deleted their apps, as seen on King 5. You can pull that story.

Shelves are still empty.

Lines are long.

For picking up food, orders are low.

I call support, and they say there's an oversupply.

That's another drumbeat that I hear of drivers.

25% of the year is gone.

What do you want?

That's 94 days.

Portland, 1587. Minimum $20, minimum New York City.

Seattle is the stepchild of these three cities that went through changes on the city council.

We are the stepchild getting 44 cents a minute.

Let's say I make $8 between 11 and 12, I make nothing between one and five.

We are the stepchild, stop treating us like this, change it, and the restaurants will be happy too.

Next we have Jason Aguilink and then Justin Taylor.

Okay, now Jason.

Okay, Justin Taylor.

Hello, my name is Justin, and I've been working as a driver through DoorDash for a few years.

Since the pay-up ordinance went into effect, my earnings have increased, not by an incredible amount, I can't afford a second house or a first house for that matter, but they've increased notably and impactfully.

One difference I've noticed is how this law has changed my behavior while driving.

Prior to pay up, quite frankly, there was a financial incentive for me to speed and park and park illegally, etc.

Basically, being rude and selfish was financially rewarded under the old model.

Now, because my time and mileage are factored into my earnings, my behavior has changed.

This may not be true for everyone, but it's true for me.

When considering lowering the pay rates established in the payoff ordinance, I understand your dilemma and the paradox at hand.

You are essentially asking drivers to believe that they will make more money if their pay decreases.

And you will be primarily basing this decision on information provided by the very people with a vested interest in paying drivers the least amount possible.

Thank you.

We're at in-person number 11, Alex Kim.

Hi, my name is Alex Kim.

I'm a District 2 resident and gig worker, and I'm here in support of the pay-up ordinance because it has absolutely changed my life for the better.

So when the Seahawks play the 49ers or the Mariners play the Giants, do Seattleites cheer for the team from San Francisco?

I say this because changing the pay-up ordinance now would be for the benefit of mega corporations in San Francisco and come at the cost of gig workers in Seattle.

What's more important, ensuring that highly paid executives at Uber, DoorDash, and Instacart get bigger bonuses or ensuring that workers in Seattle have a living wage?

Seattle-based Amazon doesn't even seem to have a problem with the law either.

As I said, they don't need to charge fees to pay workers fairly.

This council says you want to change Seattle for the better.

You're hiring more police to do that.

You can, but you have to realize that's just a Band-Aid.

There are few better ways to improve society than by getting more money to working class people because economic change is real change.

Please root for the people you represent, the people of Seattle.

Next is Emma Hopp and then followed by Noah.

While no law is perfect, the pay up law is a good and essential law.

I say this as an e-bike courier who has gone through the same rocky times many other e-bike couriers went through initially, because we are largely excluded from the Uber Eats platform because of an implementation choice that the Uber Corporation continues to make.

but I've made the law work for me and my hourly is now at least twice what it was before the law passed.

Even with the punitive practices by some of the app platforms, the pay up law is essential because it halted the abuse of market consolidation to drive down courier fees and practices like the gambling psychology in the apps that had long been used to exploit us as couriers.

This law has the potential to make the system more efficient, not less.

While there may be tweaks that can be made to help us buy couriers in order to balance equity while making the delivery system greener overall, please maintain the gains delivery couriers fought so hard for in the meantime.

Thank you.

We have Noah Gartelman followed by Madison.

I believe it's Zach W. Hello.

Okay.

Hi, I'm Noah Gardelman.

I'm a citizen of Seattle and I am a gig worker.

I'm here in support of the ordinance to make sure that gig workers are paid a fair minimum wage.

Although I am not the same gig worker as delivery food driver, I am a gig worker for pet walking and tour guide.

And if I do not support those who are also in the same job as me, then we stand divided and we will never get anything passed or done.

Why we need this fair minimum wage is quite simple.

If people are paid more, they are happy and they can afford living or paying off their rent.

If you actually lower this, we will be struggling to survive in the city, and how will we get anything built better or fixed in any way?

Paid gig work is not just people trying to make a quick buck.

It's also college students who are saving up to make sure they can actually pay off the college loans.

It is families who are struggling just to make a living.

And it's also people who are just trying to get through this day today due to medical problems or mental that makes them that they can't do a full-time job.

Thank you.

Madison is followed by Stephen Geary.

I'm Madison Zakwu.

I've been a gig worker, now a customer, and here in support of PayUp.

This proposal, brought to you by the Uber-funded Group Drive Forward and Sarah Nelson, only months after the policy went into effect, will massively slash gig worker pay and do nothing to lower the excessive fees that apps are charging.

Not even giving time for the changes to equalize, Nelson has propped up apps very clearly manipulated inadequate data.

Apps are refusing to share any real data that could be studied to decide on changes.

To be clear, here's what's happened.

All the major apps added the same $5 fee onto every order.

Then they loudly announced that fee with literal pop-ups and media campaign advertising.

Does that sound like what a company does when they're trying to maintain demand?

Or does that sound like a political ploy?

The apps are price gouging customers in an attempt to manipulate city council.

Do not follow Nelson's lead and use corporate manipulation to justify caving to apps greed and stripping gig workers of fair pay.

The next up is Steven, followed by Michael Wolff.

Hi, my name's Steven Geary, and I am here in support of the pay-up legislation.

I had a whole thing, but I shortened it.

I just wanted to share an old quote from Chris Rock.

So he says, you know what that means when someone pays your minimum wage?

You know what your boss is trying to say?

Hey, if I could pay you less, I would, but it's against the law.

So please keep these pay minimums in place and don't be the city that says, if I could pay you less, I would.

Next is Michael Wolff, followed by Anana Riley.

Good afternoon, counsel.

My name is Michael Wolf.

I'm the executive director of Drive Forward.

Thank you for the opportunity to address you today.

For the past several months, you've been hearing every week from workers who this law is hurting.

They've been telling you every week how much they've made per day, per hour, per month.

And it's significantly less than what they were prior to implementation.

They feel these effects daily, believe their truths.

The opponents of reform want you to believe that Drive Forward is a corporate mouthpiece.

Except Drive Forward supported app-based worker deactivation ordinance passed last year.

We supported paid sick and safe time for gig workers.

We supported the emergency order creating the paid sick and safe time.

The companies didn't.

That doesn't make us a very good corporate mouthpiece, does it?

So I urge you to please continue the efforts to reform so that these workers that have been coming every week can be made whole again.

Next is Anana, followed by Kirk Robinson, sorry, Kirk Robbins.

Hi, my name is Ariana Riley, and I drive for Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Amazon Flex in the Seattle area.

I'm also here to talk about the app-based work minimum payment ordinance.

Before this law, customers were expected to tip a minimum of $5 or $2 per mile in order to get their food picked up.

If they tipped less than that, then their food would oftentimes sit and get cold while the order was passed around between drivers that declined it.

Every time a driver declined the order, DoorDash would add 25 cents.

Oftentimes this meant food did not get picked up until 30 minutes to one hour after being ready.

Most customers that ordered regularly understood that they were expected to tip for time and mileage since they knew that we were not paid.

The new law has changed all this.

Tips are now truly just extra.

To address the customers saying that they can't afford to pay fees and tip, we get paid a wage now such that tipping is not necessary anymore in order to get your food picked up.

I would urge you guys to keep the law the same and to not change it.

Next is Kirk Robbins, followed by Kathleen Bruce.

Kirk Robbins, District 6, recently returned from France where Uber is affordable and where the Roman Empire saw to it that bridges were built to last.

I specifically addressed this to Councilmember Saka, who may remember that the Department of...

transportation director said, we can do bridges or we can do everything else.

The Roman Empire did bridges to last and the roads are flawless.

I think we should learn from people who actually have done a good job and have a legacy to prove it.

I also noticed that in Paris, Cars can drive in the, taxi cabs can drive in the bus lanes when there aren't any buses there.

Part of the philosophy of a complete street is that people can adapt to it as needs fluctuate.

I think an empty bus lane is doing no one any good.

So anyway, thank you.

Kathleen Bruce is then followed by Waylon.

Good afternoon.

I want to talk about something different.

I live in Ballard.

My name is Kathleen Burroughs.

And I took the bus down today on the D line, and there was a drug addict behind me who was pulling our hair.

And there was this very strong smell of human excrement in the bus.

I told the driver about it and he just shook his head, saw a security person come on when we hit downtown.

And I told him about it and he said, the driver's hands are tied.

There's nothing he can do.

And because they're afraid of lawsuits.

So, and you wonder why people don't want to take buses.

I'm a tough person.

I can handle it, but it was not a fun experience this morning.

And I just think you need to know that those things are going on.

And the drug issue, I don't know what to say, but I'm looking forward to some changes.

Thank you.

So we have Wei Lin and then followed by Sarah Norsby.

Hi, my name is Wei Lin and I'm here to representing the pay up campaigns.

As a gig work myself, I implore you to stand firm in your support of the Seattle ordinance to provide minimum pay payment protections for all the drivers and app based gig workers.

The urgency of the matter cannot be overstated.

Geek workers face challenges, and this ordinance is the lifeline for many struggling to make ends meet.

We cannot allow corporations to undermine the rights of the living hood of these hardworking individuals.

It's alarming to witness the length of which company will go to deceive the public and discredit our effort.

They manipulate information and are undue influence to our media platform, all to serve their own interests and expense of workers' rights.

As Elena Rose once said, you must do the things you think you cannot do.

We must summon the courage to just head on and protect the most valuable member of our communities.

I urge you to remain steadfast to your commitment to justice and equality.

Let us to send a clear message that the voices of workers will not be silenced and their right will not be trapped upon.

Thank you.

Next speaker is Sarah Norrisby, then Alex Zimmerman, and then we'll move into remote public commenters.

Hello, my name is Sarah Norsby and I am a resident of downtown Carnation and I've lived there for 11 years.

I'm gonna try and back up what everybody in that row said.

That was, I didn't realize I still had trauma until Jessica was talking and I started to well up, remembering getting my dog, getting as much as I could.

And I want you to know I was out before the alarm was off.

I had all four humans plus me and a dog on the road, no shoes on a single person.

but that isn't effective.

But we are people that live out there and it is the responsibility of this body to ensure that these bodies are safe.

And if we do not have an accurate representation present for you to really understand the gravity of it.

So if there is a way for you to reach out to our community, that would be amazing.

We just get excuses and faulty alarms.

Thank you for your time.

Our last in-person speaker is Alex Zimmerman.

Hi.

Hi.

Ze hile, my dory, dem Nazi Gestapo fascist.

Yeah, junta.

A bandita and killer.

My name is Alex Zimmerman, the president of Stand Up America.

Please stop the time.

I want to speak about something.

Mr. Zimmerman, you are engaging in disruptive behavior.

Ma'am, stop interrupting me.

You know what this means.

It looks not so nice.

I ask you to stop talking and please have a seat.

Okay, only stop and stop and interrupt me.

Stop and please.

I'm doing everything legally.

What is approved doesn't court in our Constitution.

Stop and do it.

Please have your seat.

I don't speak about it.

I want to speak about one minute.

Why are you stopping me?

Why are you stopping me?

You're doing this in every meeting, your corruption.

Why?

You can't explain to people why.

You've been warned about disruptive behavior many, many...

You'll be every day come here and doing this.

I'm doing this for 20 years.

We will need to be excluding you from chambers, Mr. Zimmerman, with that behavior.

Please continue.

We're now moving into remote public commenters.

To remind the remote public commenters that when you hear the prompt, if you have been unmuted, you'll need to press star six.

Our first remote speaker is Julia Buck, and Julia will be followed by Kevin Bolt.

Go ahead, Julia.

julie you may need to press star six there you go hello council my name is julia buck i'm a resident of district six um i am calling today about the pay up ordinance although i am not a user of doordash or ubereats because these businesses have treated many of the small independent restaurants that i love the way the new jersey mafia treats dry cleaners The restaurants have no choice to participate.

Their phone numbers get spoofed and boosted in search engines.

And they take a 30% cut from traffic that they can't opt out of.

And it doesn't matter whether it's a margin that makes sense for their business or not.

that people are now very upset about $32 burritos, blaming the fact that they have to pay workers a minimum wage.

When people work a job that's not paying sufficient wages for the amount of time that an employee exchanges, as in Walmart, the employees both qualify for and need to survive housing assistance, food assistance, and other public programs that are paid for by taxes.

Pay for a $32 burrito, and I don't get a burrito.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Kevin Bolt, and Kevin will be followed by Jay Herzmark.

Go ahead, Kevin.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Kevin Bolt, and I'm calling today to support PAB and against any or oppose any repeal or take-ups for workers.

I'm a gig worker on Instacart and fought for this law because gig workers need a minimum wage to survive and thrive.

Before pay up, Instacart was manipulating pay and stealing tips.

At first, it seemed like pay was decent, but it started to drop.

A given order would pay as little as $5 to shop and deliver and complete, which can take 30 minutes to an hour to complete.

Now we have a law that prevents that, and it's a law that hundreds of us gig workers have fought for over the course of years.

Without laws in place, these businesses will try to screw us over, and we unfortunately have no way to hold them accountable.

They make constant changes and take us to appease shareholders and CEOs, and yet they don't care about how hard we have to work to get by and earn a profit.

Please do not reveal TAF or cut our pay.

I appreciate that, and I appreciate your attention and time.

Our next speaker is Jay Herzmark, and Jay will be followed by David Haynes.

Go ahead, Jay.

My name is Jay Herzmark.

I am opposed to the current efforts to repeal or modify the pay-up law.

It has only been in place a few months, certainly not long enough to know what its long-term effects will be.

We don't know how it affects the company profits or driver income.

Right now, the City Council is only reacting to complaints from the companies and their company unions.

The companies are refusing to provide their data, claiming it is a trade secret.

That's fine.

However, no decision should be made based on this secret data.

If the companies want release, make them release their data.

The data should be analyzed by an independent agent such as city employees or University of Washington.

NA analysis solely by the employer should be ignored.

The city council went through a lot of work to craft this law.

It should only be repealed if there is independent data indicating it doesn't work.

That data does not exist now.

Do not repeal it.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is David Haynes, and David will be followed by Michael Westgard.

Go ahead, David.

Hi.

Thank you, David Haynes.

It doesn't matter how much money you offer the police, if you're going to make them still follow the same bad progressive policies and have the same police chief exempt low-level drug pushers, and you're still exacerbating the homeless crisis, when you're prioritizing repeat offenders who literally destroy other people's pursuit to happiness.

And to take transportation, you still have to deal with the public safety issues.

But the police chief is purposely not fighting crime.

All these people that say the war on drugs failed never exempted organic proper ground legalized weed and better train the cops for crack meth heroin and fentanyl the noble crime fighters refuse to work for seattle because the progressives would rather police the police when they target an evil piece of crap who wants to destroy other people's lives we need to trespass and question the junkie thieves to find the drug pushers

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Michael Westgard, and Michael will be followed by Katie Wilson.

Go ahead, Michael.

Hello, council members.

My name is Michael Westgard.

I'm a customer of Uber Eats, Grubhub, and Rover.

I'm speaking to you in support of the pay-up ordinance that helped increase the earning potential that gig workers can make.

The reaction by the app companies to add additional fees on top of delivery fees to their own customers is to inflict pain and cause political response has been their own behavior since Uber first came to our city and started doing business illegally over 10 years ago.

At every turn, these companies have made capturing their market their top priority while not acknowledging the contribution of their own gig workers who have made them their money in the first place.

The council needs to stand up to these companies and the financial control they have towards our residents.

These companies have continuously brought poverty and struggle to Seattle's working people.

Their business model puts undue burden on restaurants, grocery stores, over service industry providers and gig workers alike.

Not only are they laden with fees and expenses while stealing the very gratuity meant for the workers and not for them.

Thank you, Michael.

Our next speaker is Katie Wilson and Katie will be followed by Karen Cogill.

Go ahead, Katie.

Katie, you may need to press star six.

Okay, sorry about that.

Hi, council members.

My name is Katie Wilson, and I'm a resident of District 3, and I'm here speaking in support of the pay-up ordinance.

There are so many really important issues that you all have to work on this year as council, including crafting a eight-year transportation levy and our next 20 years growth plan.

So I hope that pushing workers back below the minimum wage is not something that you spend any more time on.

I've worked on minimum wage campaigns now in several cities in King County, and what we've learned is that living wages for workers is incredibly popular.

Really strong majorities in Tequila and Renton recently voted to raise their minimum wages.

Seattle voters, I am sure, support living wages for gig workers, and I hope that you will respect that.

I recently used DoorDash for a food delivery while I was sick and saw the company's extremely misleading statement.

Thank you, Katie.

Our next speaker is Karen Cogill, and Karen will be followed by Michelle Balzer.

Yeah hi my name is Karen Cogill and I live in District 3 and I am also here in support of the pay up ordinance and asking you not to repeal this ordinance not to cut workers pay.

As others who have spoken before me have said workers fought for years to get a minimum wage and I think the council did the right thing by passing this ordinance and it's been in effect for only a few months.

So I'm urging you not to give in to the pressure from the app companies but instead to stand firm And, you know, I want to acknowledge we hear from some folks that the current system isn't working for them, but I would argue that the solution is not to throw everything out, you know, that it's really about let's try to find a solution, a way to make sure that it's working for everybody.

Big workers are often people with disabilities or family responsibilities that make it challenging for them to work jobs with fixed schedules.

and so they need the dignity and security of a minimum wage to maintain stability and have purchasing power within our local economy thank you our next speaker is michelle balser and michelle will be followed by lynn reed go ahead michelle hi i so i you guys are hearing a bunch of people talk and i have a couple questions for you first is

Michael Wolf says all these people that are upset and that the law is not working for them and the companies are saying that.

And I ask you, where are all those angry people?

Because I'm seeing and hearing the same three people speak every week.

I don't see a lot of restaurant owners.

I don't see customers here saying that this isn't working and that they've stopped using the app.

I don't see a lot of workers.

So where are all these angry people that are against this law?

Because week after week, I'm seeing more and more people in support.

And they're not just workers.

They're community members.

They're customers.

They're everybody.

The other question I have is, if what these companies are wanting to repeal this law or change it, where are they?

Why are they not upfront about it?

Why do they feel like they need to hide?

It's because they know they shouldn't be doing what they're doing.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Lynn Reed, and Lynn will be followed by our last remote speaker, Chandra Jackson.

Go ahead, Lynn.

Good afternoon.

My name is Lynn Reed.

I'm speaking on behalf of our members at Drive Forward regarding pay-up reform.

Please keep in mind that the Teamsters and Working Washington pushed the pay-up legislation with near to zero input by other stakeholders like Drive Forward.

We had survey data from nearly 750 drivers that would have helped get to a more realistic minimum pay floor.

The current rate of $26.40 an hour is not working.

How long should we wait to fix this?

The negative effects for on-demand drivers was immediate.

We are getting calls from drivers looking for rent assistance because their pay has dropped by 50%.

We are asking for a minimum pay floor of $19.97 per hour, $0.35 per minute, tips on top along with other protections for drivers.

Drivers will never earn less than that.

Drivers are out working double hours to make their income that they need because now they have to work extra to make that.

We support reform.

Thank you.

Our last remote speaker is Chandra Jackson.

Go ahead, Chandra.

Thank you.

I'm calling in support of KF and against any repeals or cuts.

I sell real estate and also do loan signings.

So when the feds increase the mortgage rates, both of those businesses change.

And I've been doing real estate for 20 years and been able to survive and more than survive.

So I picked up gig work in about January of 2023 and to help make ends meet.

I have a daughter, I have a mortgage, I have a husband, I have life and family and all that jazz.

I've seen it come across.

I work primarily outside of Seattle.

but I've seen it come across where I get $2 for a shop and pay order, which means I have to go into a grocery store, shop around, sometimes pick up cases of water, bags of potatoes, et cetera, and get $2 from DoorDash.

They expect me to accept that.

And if Seattle does not cancel it, then it gives us a chance in the surrounding areas to be more productive.

Thank you guys for hearing me.

Thank you.

That was our last remote speaker.

That concludes public comment.

Thank you very much.

I thank you everyone for coming and making comment today.

I will now formally close the public comment period and move on.

If there's no objection, the introduction 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.

Seeing no objection, the agenda is adopted.

We will now consider the proposed consent calendar.

Items on the consent calendar are the minutes of April 9th, 2024, Council Bill 120767, which is the payment of bills, six appointments from the Housing and Human Services Committee, four appointments from Libraries, Education, and the Neighborhoods Committee, nine appointments from Sustainability, City Light, and Arts and Culture Committee, Are there any items that council members would like to remove from today's consent calendar?

Hearing none, I move to adopt the consent calendar.

Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you very much.

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?

Council Member Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council Member Moore?

Aye.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Rivera.

Aye.

Council Member Saka.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council Member Wu.

Yes.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The consent calendar items are adopted.

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

All right, moving into committee reports, item one.

Will the clerk please read the short title of item one into the record?

My apologies, agenda item one.

Council Bill 120752 relating to acceptance of funding from non-city sources authorizing the heads of various departments to accept unauthorized expenditures of specified grants, private funding, and subsidized loans, and to execute, deliver, and perform corresponding agreements.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Thank you.

Council Member Strauss is chair of the committee.

You're recognized to provide the committee report.

Thank you.

We've got a good news story here.

The comprehensive grant acceptance ordinance was usually done once per year towards the end of the year.

This, as things have changed with how we are reviewing, examining, and engaging with our budget to ensure that we are able to balance the budget in a meaningful way.

Sorry, colleagues.

For those watching on Seattle Channel, there's a little bit of noise, so I'm getting a little distracted.

now that it's a little quieter.

We're excited that the mayor's office has changed practice and begun sending down the grants acceptance and appropriations ordinance multiple times a year, starting now in quarter one.

And so what we have before us is we have the acceptance, and this is a charter duty, that the council has to accept and appropriate external grants.

So we have $10.5 million in external grants, and we're appropriating $7.8 million from these external sources.

You might notice that those numbers are different, and that is because we already appropriated some of the anticipated grant money last year ahead of accepting this grant, so we are now backfilling some of that.

$7.2 million, 70% of these grants are for Seattle Public Utilities environmental grants.

We have $4 million from the EPA to support local circular wood economies so that usable wood isn't thrown in the dump and is reused.

$2 million RCO grant for the Cedar River, River, River, Riverian restoration.

And we have $1.3 million from King County Flood Control District for the Duwamish and Taylor Creek improvements.

Colleagues, there were no questions about this ordinance.

Thank you.

Urge a yay vote.

And I believe it came out of committee?

Unanimous.

Unanimous.

Okay, are there any comments or questions on the bill?

Seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council Member Moore?

Aye.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Wu?

Yes.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

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

All right.

Will the clerk please read the title of item two into the record?

The report of the Parks, Public Utilities and Technology Committee, Agenda Item 2, Council Bill 120753, relating to surveillance technology implementation, authorizing approval of uses and accepting the 2023 Surveillance Impact Report and 2023 Executive Overview for the Seattle Police Department's use of Calio.

The committee recommends the bill passes as amended.

Thank you.

Council Member Hollingsworth is chair of the committee.

You're recognized to provide the committee report.

Thank you, Council President Nelson.

I know that we have two bills that have come out of Seattle, excuse me, I was going to say Seattle Public Utilities.

of parks, utilities, and technology.

This first one, which is CallYo, it's a software that's used by SPD.

It's a cell phone identification masking and recording technology.

When SPD is using the feature of this technology that is a recording, a search warrant is provided.

CallYo has been used with the department since 2013. And since the surveillance impact report was passed in 2018, IT'S A PART OF THAT PROCESS FOR US TO GO THROUGH THIS.

I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO THANK DIRECTOR LODER FROM OUR I.T. DEPARTMENT WHICH IS ATTACHED TO THE BILL FOR HIS MEMO REGARDING CALYO AS WELL AND THE WORK GROUP THAT HAS SUBMITTED, YOU KNOW, THAT INFORMATION AS WELL.

asking our colleagues to consider all this, and this was passed out of our committee group, three in favor and none opposed.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Are there any comments on the bill or questions for our chair?

Seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Hollingsworth?

Aye.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council Member Moore?

Aye.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Wu?

Yes.

Council President Nelson?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

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

Will the clerk please read the title of item three into the record?

Agenda item three, council bill 120754 relating to surveillance technology implementation, authorizing approval of uses and accepting the 2023 surveillance impact report and 2023 executive overview for the Seattle Police Department's use of hostage negotiation through a phone.

The committee recommends that bill pass.

All right, back to you, Chair.

Thank you, Council President.

Colleagues, this is exactly, in this title, hostage throw phone, is exactly what it is.

It's a phone technology that Seattle Police Department uses to communicate with hostages, which also serves as a microphone during these situations.

We had a briefing from our Seattle Police Department in discussion regarding their use of hostage throw phones as it can be helpful in communicating in certain situations when they are negotiating and trying to deescalate these situations.

And this passed from our committee, three in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Any questions?

Seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Council Member Hollingsworth?

Aye.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council Member Moore.

Aye.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Rivera.

Aye.

Council Member Saka.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council Member Wu.

Yes.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

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

All right, now coming from the Sustainability City Lights Arts and Culture Committee, will the clerk please read the title of item four into the record?

The report of the Sustainability City Lights and Arts and Culture Committee agenda item four, resolution 32133, approving the proposed budget framework of the Skagit Environment Endowment Commission for Canada fiscal years 2024 through 2025 through 2028 and 2029. The committee recommends the city council adopt the resolution.

Thank you.

Councilmember Wu is chair of the committee.

You're recognized to provide the committee report.

Thank you.

So this resolution is to approve the budget framework of the Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission for a five-year fiscal period.

And so this endowment fund was jointly established by the Seattle City Light and BC Hydro as a result of the 1984 High Ross Treaty between U.S. and Canada and an associated agreement between the City of Seattle and British Columbia.

And so the SEEC administers the Skagit Environmental Endowment Fund.

And while the endowment fund is not part of the city sales budget, the agreement requires Seattle Council approval.

So this fund's priorities for the next five years are consistent with the treaty that prioritizes ecosystem science, indigenous people engagement, environmental education, watershed integrity, and recreation.

And it also supports the vision for the Upper Skagit Watershed to be valued as ecologically and culturally unique and to be conserved for the benefit of all.

So I appreciate SCEC's ongoing stewardship of the Skagit, especially having experience firsthand.

The Skagit Heteropower Project went up there with Councilmember Strauss.

and got to see the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, learned about the children programs there where they spend a couple of nights, learned about indigenous engagement and watershed integrity, and a lot of other things included.

So I want to thank my colleagues on the Sustainability City Light Arts and Culture Committee for a great discussion we had in the last committee, and I welcome any questions you have, and thank you in advance for your support.

Thank you.

I just learned a lot just then.

I have a question.

Is this, every five years, does it have to be re-approved?

Yes, every five years.

We approve it as well as British Columbia.

Okay, thank you.

Are there any other questions?

No?

Okay, hearing no other questions, will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the resolution?

Council Member Hollingsworth?

Aye.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council Member Moore?

Aye.

Council Member Morales?

Yes.

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

Yes.

Council Member Wu?

Yes.

Council President Nelson?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

The resolution is adopted and the chair will sign it.

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

Thank you very much.

There were no items removed from the consent calendar.

There's not a resolution for introduction and adoption today.

Is there any further business to come before the council?

All right, seeing none, we've reached the end of today's agenda.

Our next regularly scheduled city council meeting will be held on April 23rd at 2 p.m.

It is now 2.53, and this meeting is adjourned.

Thank you, everyone.

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