SPEAKER_99

Hello.

SPEAKER_19

Good afternoon, everyone.

Today is September 9th, 2024, and the council briefing meeting will come to order, and the time is 2.01.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

SPEAKER_15

Council Member Kettle?

SPEAKER_24

Here.

SPEAKER_15

Council Member Moore?

Present.

Council Member Morales?

Here.

Council Member Rivera?

Council Member Saka?

SPEAKER_24

Here.

SPEAKER_15

Council Member Strauss?

Present.

Council Member Wu.

Present.

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Present.

And Council President Nelson.

Present.

SPEAKER_19

Eight council members present.

Thank you very much.

If there's no objection, the minutes of August 12th, 2024 will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, the minutes are adopted.

Okay, folks, today we're pretty busy.

We have a presentation, a proclamation, and an executive session.

So we'll start off with talking about tomorrow.

On tomorrow's city council meeting agenda, there are 31 items on the introduction and referral calendar, including the weekly bill payment ordinance.

A PLAT approval ordinance, an ordinance relating to hiring incentives for SPD, an ordinance related to a lease agreement involving the Seattle Center, and then 27 appointments and reappointments, including four appointments to the LGBTQ Commission, three appointments to the Community Involvement Commission, 15 appointments to the Seattle Youth Commission, and five appointments to the Seattle Public Utility Commission.

customer service review panel.

And the consent calendar includes the weekly bill payment ordinance and 33 appointments, including 19 appointments of young Seattle residents to various boards and commissions through the YMCA's Get Engaged program, and we'll hear about that later today in our presentation, six appointments to the Freight Advisory Board, seven appointments to the Pedestrian Advisory Board, and one appointment to the School Traffic Safety Committee.

And then there's one piece of legislation adopting, one piece of legislation, which is Council Bill 120847, adopting a list of all citywide employment positions for 2024. So that's tomorrow.

And now moving on to presentations.

On today's agenda, we have a presentation by the YMCA's Get Engaged program and the opportunity to meet 19 Get Engaged appointees.

So hello, everyone.

Thank you very much for coming and being here in person with us today.

We're honored for your presence.

We appreciate your involvement and look forward to learning more.

And Imani Bender from the YMCA and Israel Rios from the Mayor's Office are here to give us a brief overview of the program.

And once our presenters have finished their introductory remarks, Imani will call each appointing up to the podium one by one for them to introduce themselves and just talk very briefly about why they would like to be appointed to their respective boards and commissions.

So with that, I will invite Israel and Imani to the table and talk to us about this program.

Thank you.

And go ahead and introduce yourselves for the record, please, as well.

SPEAKER_18

It's such a big table for two people.

Hi, City of Austin Council.

Thank you, Council President and everybody else.

I am Israel Rios, External Affairs Liaison in the Mayor's Office and also help lead our appointments to all the boards and commissions.

So starting off, I just want to say thank you to all of you for having us and all the help that you all always do with all the boards.

So first, I'd like to say that the mayor believes that it's not just important to support, foster, develop, mentor, et cetera, all of the young people in our community, but that it is equally important and our responsibility and duty to invite them in and listen to them and get their input on all of our decision-making processes.

And our boards and commissions will only be successful if they reflect and hear from all the voices in the community, especially those most impacted, and no one will be more impacted for longer than the younger people in our community.

So, yeah, thank you all for that.

Thank you all, your staff, and all the staff of each board and commission.

I want to give a shout-out to Tal Madsen, who does so much for our boards and commissions, and also Imani from the YMCA for all the help with the Get Engaged program, and I'm going to pass it on to Imani, who will give us a little more details on it.

SPEAKER_08

All right, can you hear me?

Yes.

So good afternoon.

My name is Imani Bender, and I am here from the Y Social Impact Center, which is our social services branch of the Y of Greater Seattle.

And I've had the privilege of leading our Get Engaged program since 2022. So this will be the third cohort that I'm taking a part in and putting together and supporting.

But when we think about Get Engaged, the program actually started in 2001. So it's been around with the Y much longer than I have.

And really the program represents a 20 plus year partnership between the Y and the city of Seattle.

And really a partnership that's uplifting a youth voice in city affairs, right?

And just cultivating our future leaders.

I'm excited to be a small part of that and speak here today.

So thanks for having me.

So I want to talk a little bit about our recruitment process today.

As you know, each year Get Engaged places young adults on city boards and commissions for a one year long term.

And the Y's role in that is essentially to support with outreach and recruitment.

We help connect our young applicants to the boards and commissions for interviews.

So recruitment went really well this year.

We connected with some local community colleges and universities, some local young professionals groups, and just spaces that are frequented by young people in our community as well.

We're also really committed to upholding social justice and equity and diversity in this recruitment process.

So we make a conscious effort to reach out to communities that have historically been denied access to this type of space and this type of opportunity.

As the Y is a social services agency, we have a vast network of community partners.

So we reach out to and share this opportunity with nonprofits large and small in our community.

So everything from El Centro de la Raza to Youth Care, Urban League, Peer Seattle, to name a few.

And our aim there is really to just connect with youth who represent a wide variety of racial and cultural backgrounds, socioeconomic backgrounds.

and lived experience as well.

So let's see here.

Oh, I also wanna speak a bit about our council district representation.

So we really hope to see all seven districts represented in our cohorts.

And I'm happy to say that this year we do have youth from all seven council districts in the cohort.

And this is something that we've struggled a little bit with the past couple of years.

So with that, I want to take a moment to also just thank all staff because we did reach out when we were doing recruitment to all of the city council liaisons to make sure we were doing that targeted recruitment towards all districts and finding young people across Seattle.

It was really exciting when spring came around to see those get engaged announcements come up in different district newsletters and things like that.

So it was really a huge help in that effort.

And lastly, I want to also thank the commission and board liaisons.

They're a huge part of this effort as well.

They do everything from, they're a part of the interviews with me, so they're there with the interviews.

There was about 50 plus of those this year.

And they're also sharing this opportunity with their own community partners as well.

So the recruitment effort is a big push.

And I just want to express our gratitude there because it's a large undertaking every year and we can't do it alone at the Y and we certainly do not.

So I want to thank you all for that as well.

And please pass that on to your staff.

So, you know, I think I might pause there if there's any questions or anything like that, because I'll be moving on to presenting our appointees, our nominees this year after this.

SPEAKER_19

Thank you very much for that introduction.

And before we proceed with any questions that you all might have, I wanted to acknowledge that Council Member Rivera has joined us.

So are there any questions for our panelists here?

Or comments?

Okay, why don't you go ahead and call folks up to the podium to introduce themselves, please.

SPEAKER_08

Okay.

So yeah, I just wanted to mention we have 19 appointees today.

Like I mentioned, have just had an opportunity to meet them all and they're so, so impressive.

It's a theme every year.

We see just really incredible young people apply to this program.

I'm so excited to introduce them.

It's a group of young people that are really excited to get started and use their voice to make a positive impact in public life in Seattle.

So I think they all represent the abundant talent and just spirit of the young people in Seattle.

So we will go ahead and start.

We've got 14 of our 19 members here today.

And then I'll be reading introductions for the remaining five that weren't able to make it.

OK?

SPEAKER_19

So I believe that was the, are you going to call them in the numerical order by clerk file?

SPEAKER_08

So I received the agenda, the council briefing agenda.

I'll be reading them that way, if that's okay.

Okay, yep, that's how it's listed here, thanks.

Okay, so first up we have Scott Beck with the Seattle LGBTQ Commission.

SPEAKER_16

Good afternoon.

I am so excited to meet all of you and have all of you get to know me a little bit better.

My name is Scott Beck, and I'll be joining the Seattle LGBTQ Commission.

I'm currently the Clinical Quality Measures Program Manager for the Ryan White Part A Program for King County.

But my experience in health care goes back eight years, and it began in the rural south, actually, of Georgia and Appalachia.

And a lot of the work that I did was revolved around bringing up marginalized communities, specifically gender diverse individuals in the South.

But my life has led me here to beautiful Seattle that I love in Fremont.

And so a lot of the work that I do here still focuses on bringing up marginalized communities and uplifting community voices in regards to health, housing, and social services.

And so that is what brings me here.

I believe that the future of healthcare is patient-led and that LGBTQ voices are needed to create effective legislation, effective policies, impact and difference.

And so that's what I hope to bring here to the commission.

So yeah, so great meeting you all.

SPEAKER_19

Thank you.

SPEAKER_08

All right, next up we have Sonia Hitchcock for the Seattle Women's Commission.

Sonia was not able to make it today, so I'll go ahead and read her introduction.

So Sonia Hitchcock is looking forward to joining the Seattle Women's Commission as a Get Engaged member this fall.

Sonia is a full-time digital field manager at a local environmental nonprofit and a part-time master of public administration student at the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Policy and Governance.

Sonia's passion for working with local government began after several personal encounters with extreme weather and habitat destruction inspired her lifelong goal of supporting tangible and equitable environmental protections.

As an organizer, she is highly passionate about supporting those around her in transforming ideas into actions and has been heavily inspired by her colleagues, classmates, and peers within her labor union.

Sonia is eager to bring her strengths as an organizer into her commissioner position and to expand her understanding of local policy development, support the Women's Commission's current focus areas, and build upon her experience working with local government.

She is delighted to have the opportunity to collaborate with other young leaders in taking tangible action to protect and strengthen the community she loves.

All right, and next up we have Montana Houston with the Seattle Renters Commission.

SPEAKER_00

Hi, good afternoon, Council.

It's great to be here.

My name is Montana Houston.

I use she, her pronouns, and I am currently a renter in District 5. As a lifelong Seattle resident, I have personally experienced the challenges our renters face.

From witnessing my family being priced out of our central district apartment as a child to facing exorbitant move out fees and housing code violations as an adult, these experiences have fueled my passion for advocating for affordable housing and tenant rights in Seattle.

My legal background and involvement with the Stay House, Stay Healthy Coalition have equipped me to navigate the complexities of renter and to help others to do the same.

I am dedicated to demystifying our rental codes, ensuring every resident understands their rights and feels empowered to exercise them.

I am excited to serve the city I love as a member of the Seattle Renters Commission, and I do ask the council to review the remaining nine appointments for the commission so that we can have a fully staffed commission and allow us to be a stronger voice for the tenants that need us most.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_08

Okay, up next we have Avery Hultgren with the Seattle Human Rights Commission.

SPEAKER_17

Hello, everybody.

Good almost morning, a little late.

But my name is Avery Hultgren.

I'm a recent graduate from Seattle University from business analytics.

I am from Minneapolis, Minnesota, moved out here to come to college and have just recently graduated and now I'm living in the Judkins Park area.

I have, since I was a child, been very focused around supporting my community, many times through voter registration and early voting registration.

And then from that coming to here, I've been really focused on the supporting the unhoused community.

And I'm just really excited to be a part of a very advocacy-focused community here who have been really teaching me a lot of new ways to focus around that and find new ways to support the people in my areas.

I'm extremely excited to meet these people and to be around them and just kind of leech off their awesomeness, really.

And I am excited to just find new ways to be a part of those communities and support more people within Seattle and really be a more part of Seattle as well.

Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_08

Okay, up next, we have Leonard Jerome with the Design Review Board.

SPEAKER_14

Hello, members of the Seattle State Council.

Thank you for giving me the time.

My name is Leonard Harrison Jerome, and I'm here to be part of the Seattle Design Review Board.

Seattle is my home.

I was lucky to grow up here and then attend University of Washington, where I studied architecture and engineering.

And I now work for Boeing as a manufacturing engineer.

And it was the opportunities that this city gave me that allowed me to be successful.

I believe that the goals of this city should be aligned with making it the most beautiful and most wonderful place to live in the United States.

And I want to be on this board because I believe Seattle and all of its residents should be able to live in dignity and pride in the places that they work and live.

And everyone should be able to live in one of these homes that are just nice and affordable and safe so that everyone can have the same chances that I did.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_08

Okay, next is Matt Malloy with the Seattle Planning Commission.

SPEAKER_09

Thank you, Imani.

Hello, Seattle City Council.

I'm Matt Malloy.

I use he, him pronouns, and I'm the Get Engaged appointee for the Seattle Planning Commission.

I am a server at the Queen Anne Beer Hall, and I live in Green Lake, District 6. I'm also a substitute math teacher at Billings Middle School, working on my master's in teaching online.

Finally, I'm the adopted father of Aurora Avenue between Winona and 100th through Seattle's Adopt-A-Street program.

I look forward to serving on the Seattle Planning Commission and being a small part of building a beautiful, affordable, and sustainable city for years to come.

Thank you again to the YMCA and to Seattle City Council for sponsoring this program and amplifying the voices of young people in this city.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_08

Okay, next is Augusta Joy Milford with the Design Review Board.

SPEAKER_12

Hi, everyone.

Thank you so much for having me.

I'm honored to be here and to be joining the design review board for the Northwest area of Seattle.

I am passionate about the impact of design and architecture on communities, and I'm excited to partner with the board to be an advocate for more contextually responsive design in Seattle.

I was born and raised in West Seattle and attended University of Washington, where I studied architectural design.

I've been working in architecture for the last seven years and recently transitioned to a role in community engagement and outreach.

And I am just very excited to be in whatever position or role I'm in to be advocating for the design and creation of more equitable, inclusive, and thriving communities in Seattle.

Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_08

Okay, next up we have Timothy Patrick Randazzo with the Urban Forestry Commission.

Timothy's not able to make it today, so I will read his introduction.

Timothy Randazzo has been selected to serve on the Urban Forestry Commission.

He is passionate about urban forestry and sustainability and is committed to contributing his background in green building and equity to this important work.

Growing up in a low-income household, he has experienced firsthand how green spaces can provide a space of refuge for community and improve individual health and well-being.

Timothy looks forward to helping protect and expand Seattle's urban forests to ensure that everyone in our community can enjoy these vital resources.

Okay, next we have Caitlin Truong with the Seattle Design Commission.

SPEAKER_02

Hi, everyone.

Oh, can you hear me?

No?

Yes.

SPEAKER_00

Hello.

SPEAKER_02

There we go.

Okay.

Hi, everyone.

My name is Caitlin Truong, and my pronouns are she and her.

I was born and raised in District 2 in Beacon Hill, and I'll be part of the Seattle Design Commission.

Last year, I graduated with a Bachelor's of Art in Architectural Design from the University of Washington, and now I'm an Architectural Designer at Scamato Workshop.

I've worked on affordable housing projects, community centers, and transit-orientated designs across Seattle and outside of work.

I'm a public artist and educator at Coyote Central and Seattle Public Schools.

Growing up in Beacon Hill, my community consists of immigrants and refugees, and being part of the Seattle Design Commission, I hope to provide my experience with fostering community and design to advocate for communities of color.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_08

All right, up next we have Marisol Baez with the Community Involvement Commission.

SPEAKER_23

Hi, everyone.

My name is Marisol Beas.

I use she, her, and ella pronouns.

I am a first-generation graduate student, recently graduated with an MPA from the School of Evans.

And my background has been in community-led and participatory action research initiatives.

And I will be serving on the Community Involvement Commission.

And I hope to really uplift voices through community-led efforts so that decisions around the city of Seattle are not made without the residents and hopefully led by the residents that are affected by them.

And I'm excited to be a part of this.

Thank you all.

SPEAKER_08

Okay, up next is Urjit Deshmukh with the Seattle Immigrant and Refugee Commission.

Urjit was not able to make it today, so I will read his introduction.

Erjeet is a first-generation immigrant and recent graduate of the University of Pittsburgh.

He has been selected to serve on the Immigrant and Refugee Commission.

He moved to Seattle, specifically Belltown and now Roosevelt, in late 2022 to work at Amazon as a software engineer.

As a young professional, he is driven to make a tangible difference in the community around him.

As an immigrant himself, joining the Immigrant and Refugee Commission offers personal and professional commitment to advancing the integration and well-being of newcomers into our city.

He is drawn to this commission in particular because he is passionate about immigration policies within the federal government and experiencing and opening himself to true issues in the city will give him a new perspective.

He is excited to work with the IRC, other Get Engaged members, and the Honorable City Council and Mayor to make Seattle a better place to live.

OK, and then up next, we have Lauren Miles with the Landmarks Preservation Board.

Lauren was also not able to make it today, so I'll go ahead and read for her as well.

So Lauren has been selected to serve on the Landmarks Preservation Board.

She has spent the last year and a half working in the Building for Equity program at 4Culture, which is King County's cultural funding agency.

Her racial equity work in Four Culture's preservation department is greatly influenced by her own love for Seattle's rich cultural landscape.

She feels called to wield the reparative power of historic preservation to ensure her own communities, as well as those beyond, have access to places that allow for their own self-determination, storytelling, and development.

She's very excited for the opportunity to learn more about the historic sites important to the people of Seattle, as well as the chance to develop the practical knowledge and policy experience required of an effective advocate in the realm of cultural heritage.

In 2023, Lauren graduated from UW Seattle with a degree in international studies and a concentration in culture, power, and religion.

She plans to apply to law school and pursue a career in art and cultural heritage law.

And then up next we have Haley Dixon with the Community Technology Advisory Board.

SPEAKER_26

Hi, everyone.

I'm so grateful to be here.

My name is Haley Dixon, and I'll be on the Community Technology Advisory Board.

I'm a resident of West Seattle, and I've been here about three years.

I currently work for TikTok as a social impact manager, managing nonprofit partnerships, as well as scholarship programs.

And about 10 years ago, I had to drop out of high school due to a neurological disability.

And at that time, before online schooling was a big thing, it was online education that brought me access to the learning I needed to eventually make it to college.

And I really became passionate.

about leveraging online tools to help other people learn as much as they can.

I used the free program I used, Khan Academy, to get through school myself, and I ended up working there the last three years to bring free education to over 140 million children worldwide in 90 languages.

And I'm really eager to join the Community Technology Advisory Board after completing my master's in human rights technology to bring the voices of young people and the spaces where they meet online into local politics and help them get more involved in local initiatives and also to promote youth digital well-being and mental health.

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_08

Okay, up next we have Miral Kandimova with the Seattle Center Advisory Commission.

SPEAKER_20

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Miral Kandimova.

I'm a 20 years old first generation immigrant from Turkmenistan.

I'm also a college student majoring in political science, going to school at Seattle Central College.

I'm honored to be chosen to serve on Seattle Central Advisory Commission.

Coming from a tough background back in the country where I was born, my biggest dream was always to help, support, and advocate for the people.

To serve on this commission is giving me a hands-on experience and opportunity to be a public servant today.

I hope with this opportunity, I will be an elected official in the future.

I'm honored to serve the city, which became a hometown for me.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_08

Okay, up next we have Amaya Leonor with the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners.

SPEAKER_04

Hi, my name is Amaya Leonor and I am excited to have been selected for the Board of Parks and Recreation.

I currently work at YouthNet Northwest where I serve as a foster peer mentor for kids who are currently and formerly in foster care.

Part of that job means that I take them out into the community and often visit local parks in the area.

So it's very important to me that when the kids go out and have their time in the community with peers in their age group, that they get to experience a healthy and safe environment that highlights the well-being of the visitors of the parks.

In the past, I have been able to travel to Washington, D.C. I got to speak with Joe Biden's presidential team about how to keep foster kids in post-secondary school, and I also was able to job shadow Congressman Dean Phillips for a day on a second trip to Washington, D.C. I am really passionate about politics and hope to someday run for office, and I hope that my time on this board will allow me to bring a lived experience lens, having experienced homelessness myself and also foster care, to the Board of Parks and Recreation, as well as help me learn about the government functions and how a board functions for my future.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_08

All right, next up we have Carmen Pan with the Seattle Arts Commission.

Carmen wasn't able to make it today, so I will read for her.

Carmen Pan uses she, her pronouns and has been selected to serve on the Seattle Arts Commission.

Carmen grew up south of Seattle in Renton and graduated from the University of Washington.

She lives in District 3 and works for the Seattle Public Library.

In her free time, she practices in mediums such as printmaking and ceramics and is curious about art as a tool of healing.

She aims to serve the Arts Commission as a young voice advocating for an environment where Seattle artists can thrive.

All right, and then up next, we have Ian Iserman for the Seattle Pedestrian Advisory Board.

SPEAKER_22

Thank you, Amani.

Oh, sorry.

Thank you, Amani.

Hello, everyone.

My name is Ian Iserman, and I've been a lifelong resident of West Seattle.

I'm also currently a sophomore at Bellevue College.

I'm excited and honored to be selected to join the Get Engaged cohort and serve on the Pedestrian Advisory Board.

My interest in serving on this board stems from four years as a pedestrian in downtown Seattle, where I attended high school and have seen close up some of the issues that have plagued pedestrians.

And during that time, I also became aware of opportunities to improve the experience through infrastructure, education, and also enforcement.

And that also has happened in West Seattle recently due to many unfortunate experiences with distracted drivers.

I'm a big believer in Vision Zero and believe one day we can make it there.

I'm looking forward to participating in this board's important work.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_08

All right, up next we have Kyler Paris with the Seattle Transit Advisory Board.

SPEAKER_11

Good afternoon.

My name is Kyler Paris and I am seeking an appointment on the Seattle Transit Advisory Board.

I work in various spaces in the city to build a Seattle that is accessible, affordable, and welcoming for everyone.

Transit is at the heart of that vision.

When running on time frequently and conveniently, transit makes us happier, healthier, and more connected.

My dream is to help make a multimodal transit system that is irresistible, enticing each of us to get on the bus because it makes the most sense.

I grew up in the Seattle region before receiving a degree in urban studies.

I interned at Kinkai Metro and worked on a homeless outreach team.

As a volunteer and a campaign worker, I've knocked over 8,000 doors in Seattle and listened to what voters have needed.

I currently work on expanding affordable housing efforts through HDC, the Housing Development Consortium, and I live on Capitol Hill as a daily transit rider who anxiously awaits the G lines opening.

Council members were poised to lead the nation on transit and mobility, and I hope to help.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_08

Okay.

And then last but certainly not least, we have a Joshua Scheidt with the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board.

SPEAKER_10

Hi, everybody.

My name is Josh Scheidt.

I am a nurse at Harborview, a daily commuter by bicycle, and somebody that likes to see people get around safely.

I commute daily, so I see sort of what good infrastructure can do for a city.

And Seattle is a place that is constantly growing.

to be able to serve the city and sort of set a model for a true pedestrian, bicycle, and transit-oriented city is really exciting.

I think that's something that we can strive for and that we get closer and closer to doing every day.

Unfortunately, through my work, I see the importance of doing it right.

I see people, friends, I see strangers, and I see a lot of the racial and economic disparities that are caused by infrastructure.

So being able to sort of approach infrastructure equitably and effectively is my top priority.

So very excited to get started.

SPEAKER_08

All right, and that concludes our 19 nominees for this year's Get Engaged cohort.

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_19

I want to formally extend a thank you to the YMCA for taking on this work of recruitment.

And I didn't understand the process as well.

Thank you very much for explaining all that goes into what precedes folks sitting in here.

And so thank you very much for that work.

Thank you, council members, for supporting the get engaged appointments in your committees that you oversee, commissions and boards that you oversee.

And for all of you, I say this all the time, thank you so much for your service and your knowledge that you're giving to the city for free.

I very much appreciate that.

And I extend it even more to you, partly because I understand that you're juggling a lot of other things in your young professional lives right now.

And so this is, we're lucky to have your perspective.

So that's all I will say.

Do any of my colleagues have any comments or questions?

Go ahead, Council Member Moore.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you, Council President.

I just wanted to say thank you very much to all of you and also particularly to the individuals who are going to be serving on the commissions that report to the Housing and Human Services Committee.

I had the opportunity this morning to be briefed on the work plans for those commissions for 2025 and 26, and they are very substantive and full and exciting.

So you are all coming on at really important and I'll just say it again, an exciting time.

So I think you're going to enjoy your experiences and I really appreciate your willingness to bring your expertise and your passion and your viewpoints to the work here.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_99

Go ahead.

SPEAKER_05

Thank you, Council President.

I too want to lend my gratitude to the young people here today.

I appreciate that you all juggling a lot and you care so much about your community that you're willing to take on these volunteer opportunities.

We're so lucky and so grateful to have you on board.

So really, thank you for your service.

SPEAKER_19

Council Member Wilk?

SPEAKER_01

I also want to say thank you, and I expect to see many of you sitting in these seats a couple of years.

SPEAKER_19

That's a shorthand way of saying it.

Councilmember Strauss.

SPEAKER_13

Thank you, Council President.

If I was to thank you, I'd just be piling on and I'm going to pile on.

Thank you for your volunteer service to our city.

Get Engaged is a program that I always look to whenever I'm looking at the board makeup of any of these commissions is who is our Get Engaged person?

And more importantly, do they then graduate onto a full-time position or a not Get Engaged position on the same board?

I so oftentimes see the Get Engaged member move on to the position that is not specifically tailored.

It's really exciting to be able to receive your feedback through the channels in which we've created, and it's also a really great opportunity for you to start building the relationships that will likely serve you throughout the rest of your career.

It's exciting to see you participate with city government in this way, and again, thank you for taking your time to volunteer for our city of Seattle.

SPEAKER_19

All right.

Thank you very much.

If there are no...

Council Member Kittle.

SPEAKER_24

Thank you, Council President.

Like everyone, thanking...

I didn't hear D7, but if you're a D7 resident, thank you for joining in.

And I just wanted to put a special thank you for one of your own becoming an adoptive parent.

I think that's great to take care of, you know, roar between 80th, 100th, something along in that area.

I think that's fantastic.

And this kind of engagement is really what's needed across the board to include, you know, public safety, which is my committee, which is not really represented here in a lot of ways.

But actions like that are so important, you know, being active in your community.

So thank you.

SPEAKER_19

All right.

Thank you very much for today.

Appreciate it, everybody.

And buckle up.

All right, moving on to the next item on our agenda, we've got a proclamation.

So Council Member Rivera, you've got a proclamation for signature today proclaiming September 15th through October 15th to be Hispanic Heritage Month.

So Council Member Rivera, please lead the discussion on the proclamation for any additional feedback before we seek signatures.

SPEAKER_05

Thank you, Council President.

As you all know, I'm a proud Puerto Rican.

You usually know that within five minutes of meeting me.

I'm very proud of my heritage.

I'm first generation in this country to go to college and say it in this country because though Puerto Ricans are Hispanic citizens, is very much a migrant experience coming to the mainland from Puerto Rico.

And it's really important to me that we support the Latino community and Latina community here in Seattle and all of our accomplishments together.

I know the last proclamation for Hispanic Heritage Month, which is something we've been celebrating nationally since Johnson proclaimed in 1968 Hispanic Heritage Month week, and then it turned into Hispanic Heritage Month.

We have not had one here since 2019 because of COVID.

but I'm glad that we're able to get back on track.

I really want to thank Mayor Harrell for his support, and you, all my fellow council members, for your support of this proclamation.

I want to especially thank my fellow Latina on the council, Council Member Morales, for emphasizing her support of this proclamation.

And if it's appropriate, Council President will like to read it out loud.

Thank you.

Whereas our country officially recognized and celebrated the traditions and contributions of the Hispanic community in the United States in 1968 under President Johnson, as Hispanic Heritage Week later extended to Hispanic National Hispanic Heritage Month.

And whereas Hispanic Heritage Month honors the culture, ancestry and experiences of residents of Mexican, Spanish, Central and South American and Caribbean descent.

And whereas this month is an opportunity to further promote awareness, understanding and appreciation for Latina, Latino and Hispanic traditions and accomplishments within the city of Seattle, and whereas the Hispanic culture and community have been present in Seattle since the first settlers of Spanish and Mexican descent arrived as early as 1774, and whereas the city of Seattle recognizes the efforts of the many Latina, Latino civil rights leaders in Seattle from the late 1940s through the 1970s into present day, including Roberto Maestas, and whereas the city of seattle recognizes latina latino leaders in education such as the first latina to serve as president of the university of washington and whereas the city of seattle commemorates notable latinas latinos seattle athletes including marinal Mariner Hall of Famer, fellow Puerto Rican Edgar Martinez of Puerto Rican descent, and whereas organizations and groups such as El Centro de la Raza in Beacon Hill neighborhood from 1972, the CMAR Community Health Center in South Park since 1978, and Casa Latina since 1994 continue to build and nurture the strength of the Hispanic community in Seattle, and whereas hispanic heritage month is an opportunity to show our appreciation for the work of seattle's hispanic artists including by level is the bronze a dance group latino theater projects theater company is set the after all.

the La Sala artists, and many other performers, writers, and musicians.

And whereas the Latina Latino community celebrates many cultural festivals and events in Seattle, including Cinco de Mayo, Hispanic Seafair, Fiestas Patrias, Seattle Latino Film Festival, Dia de los Muertos, and others, and whereas the city of seattle celebrates hispanic heritage month and commends the marriott cultural economic and historical contributions of the latina latino community helping us advance the values of our one seattle vision to build an innovative thriving and welcoming city for all now therefore the mayor of seattle and the seattle city council proclaim September 15 through October 15 2024 to be Hispanic Heritage Month in Seattle and encourage all residents to join us in observing and acknowledging the immeasurable contributions Latinas and Latinos have made to our city.

So thank you.

I open it up to comments from my colleagues.

SPEAKER_19

I have to note that I learned a tremendous amount just reading the proclamation before today.

I didn't know that it comes from the Johnson era and learned a lot about our local community.

So thank you very, very much for bringing this forward.

I appreciate it.

This will be presented tomorrow, and will there be anybody in the audience?

SPEAKER_05

There won't.

but I will say that I will be attending the National Council of La Raza dinner and I will be reaching out to them to see if I could present it there because I think it's an appropriate venue and maybe many of you will be there as well.

So hoping to do that.

And I will say that there are countless Latina, Latino contributions in Seattle.

We can't name everyone, but just wanted to acknowledge that we named a few of the many folks that have really made Seattle what it is today for many years with their contributions and community.

And as everyone knows, Latinos and Latinas are the, you know, It used to be we were the fastest growing, but I think we now have arrived largest minority community here in the United States of America.

And folks continue to come and it just makes our country so vibrant and so special.

And so as you know, you can tell I'm beaming.

I like to talk about all things Hispanic all the time.

It really is something I'm very, so very proud of.

And I will say, and I'm gonna take the opportunity, I don't usually say, but you know, my dad came to this country in search of opportunity like everyone else.

And he was really hardworking and he's no longer with us.

It's been about 10 years.

But I really just wanted to acknowledge my dad, Luis Rivera, who was a welder and who was a great influence on my life and who led me to believe I could do anything And I know he'd be really proud of me today, sitting where I am today.

And I just want to make sure that all Latinos and Latinas, you know, young people have the opportunities that they have.

And this is why I do the work that I do.

And I know so many of us do the work that we do to really help promote young people, especially in our underserved communities and in Latino communities.

So thank you for indulging me in that and letting me acknowledge my family and my heritage.

And again, I really thank you for all your support with this proclamation.

SPEAKER_19

Thank you.

Thank you for sharing that information too.

Is there anybody else who would like to have any questions or comments?

Seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the affixation of signatures?

And I probably just made up that word, so please go ahead.

SPEAKER_15

Council Member Kettle.

SPEAKER_19

Aye.

SPEAKER_15

Council Member Moore.

Aye.

Council Member Morales.

Yes.

Council Member Rivera.

An emphatic C.

Council Member Saka.

SPEAKER_99

Yes.

SPEAKER_21

Joining my colleague C.

Council Member Strauss.

SPEAKER_10

Yes.

SPEAKER_15

Council Member Wu.

Yes.

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Yes.

Council President Nelson.

SPEAKER_19

Aye.

SPEAKER_15

Nine signatures will be affixed.

SPEAKER_19

Thank you very much.

I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Okay, we're going into the round-robin of our council actions, and this week's roll call begins with Councilmember Kettle.

SPEAKER_24

Thank you, Council President.

We did not meet last week, so I just wanted to highlight that last week we had a meeting of the Regional Water Quality Committee, which was basically a working group approach to the meeting to, you know, look at, you know, as they're looking to develop plans for moving forward.

And so it was a great session.

It was in person in the King County Council's kind of conference room, so it was a great opportunity to meet other members of the committee, besides my esteemed colleague to my right, Council Member Hollingsworth.

THURSDAY, FIRE ALARM CENTER, GREAT TOUR, LEARNING SOME OF THE ISSUES RELATED TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, SPECIFICALLY TO THE FIRE ALARM CENTER.

AND THEN ON FRIDAY, MET WITH REPRESENTATIVE MACRI, WHO REPRESENTS THE 43rd AND OUR STATE HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES.

SEPARATELY WITH COMMUNITY, VISITING THE SAM, THE SEATTLE ART MUSEUM, REALLY IMPORTANT TO SEE THE CHALLENGES WITHIN THE ARTS AND CULTURE COMMUNITY.

That night, a meeting with Queen Anne Community Council.

And then on Friday of that week, of last week, a small business public safety roundtable sponsored by the Metro Chamber for D7, small and bigger businesses.

I also wanted to note on Saturday, I met with the friends of McLean Park, who have been doing great work on the McLean Park and also the East.

And then the Gage Academy of the Arts, which is a fantastic plus for D7 and a loss for D3, because they've moved from Capitol Hill to South Lake Union.

And it's a great arts training, instruction, classes, and the like for all people.

And I also wanted to thank, and I joked at the meeting, probably haven't heard this in a long time, but I wanted to thank Amazon for basically supporting this move into South Lake Union.

The new Gage Academy for the Arts is in the Amazon building, and they helped facilitate it with the great people who came in to build out the space to all the...

the requirements of the Gage Academy.

So it was a great opportunity to participate, along with my colleague, Councilmember Wu.

For this week, tomorrow there's a committee meeting, the Public Safety Committee meeting that we'll hold.

We'll discuss soda and soap, the two bills that I think most people are aware of.

Thursday, Puget Sound Regional Council.

We have a transportation policy board meeting.

I'll join with my transportation chair, fellow council member Saka.

Friday, very excited, the District 7 Neighborhood Council will have its next quarterly meeting.

And I'm very, preview, I'm very happy that we now have a downtown community council leveraging and learning from all the other community councils that we have in the various neighborhoods of District 7. So that It's a very important step forward.

Also this week, I'm meeting with a number of groups to include Operation SAC Lunch, All of Us Alliance, LEAD.

We also, again, have the Metro Chamber, the annual meeting, and Bird Safe Seattle.

Next week, just quickly, Housing Our Neighbors, Housing Connector, Community Roots Housing, and...

in a break-break kind of different road, Amazon AI, after meeting with Microsoft AI's team to see what we can do moving ahead in the future with respect to AI.

So that's what's been and currently and moving forward for my office.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_06

Thank you very much.

So on tomorrow's full council agenda, there are no items from the Housing Human Services Committee outside of the Get Engaged Commission appointments.

The next meeting in the Housing Human Services Committee is this Wednesday.

We have seven items on the agenda.

The first four items are appointments to the LGBTQ Commission.

Then there's legislation to extend the sunset date for the multifamily tax exemption credit by three months to the end of the year.

This was originally heard at our last committee.

And the legislation is listed for possible vote.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Tracy Ratzliff on Central Staff.

We will also have the KCRHA interlocal legislation, interlocal agreement legislation.

Deputy Mayor Washington will give a brief history around the purpose and intent of the ILA.

And then Jennifer Labreck from Central Staff will introduce the legislation.

It's my understanding she's had an opportunity to brief each council member's office about the legislation.

It is listed for a possible vote because we are trying to stay sort of in sync with the process with King County and also to make sure that we have We know for sure whether the ILA is going to be amended before we get into the down nitty gritty in the budget discussion.

So if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to raise them with my office as soon as possible.

And again, hopefully we'll be able to, with those presentations and with the prior briefing, people will feel comfortable taking a vote.

And then also this will be a very interesting presentation.

Deputy Mayor Washington and HSD Director Kim will be presenting on the community safety investments and the Seattle Community Safety Initiative.

So very, very timely presentation relating to basically gun violence and ways that we are attempting to keep our community and particularly our young community safe.

And I don't have anything else.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03

Council Member Morales.

OK, thank you.

Good afternoon, colleagues.

Before I get into my updates, I do want to take a moment to mourn the loss of Isinor Ezgi Eyi.

Isinor was raised in Seattle and had just graduated from the University of Washington this past spring with a degree in psychology and Middle Eastern languages and cultures.

She was an activist for human rights who felt compelled to travel to the West Bank to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

As we all know, she was tragically killed by an Israeli soldier while protesting for justice.

I think an American civilian being killed by a foreign entity should be of utmost concern to all of us.

So I just want to take a moment to acknowledge her passing and stand in solidarity with her family in requesting an independent investigation into her death.

So I want to acknowledge that that event has taken place and that that family has lost a very bright young woman in their family.

Moving on to...

committee work.

As co-chair of the Housing and Human Services Committee, I will say I'm glad to see that we appointed a renter's commission member to the renter's commission and want to share their concern and their request that we try to get the additional commissioners appointed so that that body can do the work that we have asked them to do.

So I'm interested in working with Chair Moore, if there's anything I can do to be helpful in getting those positions filled so that that commission can do their work.

Related to land use, there are no items from the Land Use Committee on tomorrow's full City Council agenda.

The next committee is on September 18th.

We did have a very full committee last week, so I want to thank Councilmember Strauss, who notified me that he was canceling his morning meeting so we were able to use Wednesday morning for briefings and Wednesday afternoon for public hearings.

Those bills will be coming back on Wednesday, September 18th.

We anticipate hearing five items.

Those include the omnibus bill, design review exemptions, construction code updates, the co-living housing congregate residence bill, and living building amendment.

That last one we will have a public hearing on because we've already scheduled it, but we did learn from law that we're going to have to wait.

There is an appeal on that bill, so we're going to wait until that process is complete before we actually bring it back to committee for a vote.

So lots of things on the agenda for September 18th.

Please reach out to central staff or to OPCD or SDCI if you have questions, if you need another briefing.

Or if you have any amendments that you're contemplating, please make sure you reach central staff.

I believe the deadline for amendments is this coming Wednesday.

So a heads up would be appreciated, but at the very least, please make sure you're contacting central staff to get those work done.

This will be the last land use committee meeting before budget starts.

So I'm really hoping to delay, I'm hoping to avoid delays on votes on these bills.

because our next opportunity to vote on them won't be until the beginning of December.

Last week, I attended the Growth Management Policy Board with PSRC.

We heard a Transit Oriented Development Committee update and an Everett Link update from Sound Transit.

PSRC will be hosting a two-part webinar to share best practices for building and sustaining equitable transit communities.

So if you're interested, September 27th is the first one on Transit Oriented Communities.

They'll be talking about police and community building, parks and the public realm, arts and culture, and neighborhood activation.

And then on November 1st, they'll be having a webinar on preventing commercial displacement near transit, which I'm really excited to hear.

They'll be talking about research and best practices for addressing commercial displacement.

I do want to say I think it's really important that Sound Transit is really focusing their work now as they lay out new tracks and new corridors.

They were sharing a lot of the work they've done to develop anti-displacement strategies in the future.

A lot of it focused on several different elements, including capacity building of community organizations to do work around these stations, economic development, affordable housing, and affordable commercial space.

They're basically creating their own equitable development initiative as a result of the work that they're doing.

And I think it bears repeating that they are doing that work because of the things that they saw happen that we all saw happen when the first leg of light rail went in in the Rainier Valley.

The equitable development initiative that we talk about here a lot came out of the displacement of businesses and community members in the Rainier Valley.

And so I think it's great that Sound Transit is really starting to think preventatively, think proactively about how they can address those concerns.

And I think it is important to underscore that they learned those lessons at the expense of community members in the Rainier Valley.

I'm glad that that work is happening, and I look forward to the webinar and them sort of fleshing out the work that they're doing.

I did not attend, but my staff did attend the Affordable Housing Committee last week.

This is a subcommittee of the King County.

growth management policy work.

And I do want to let folks know that that committee will be sending a letter.

You may have recalled that I've said before the county certifies our comprehensive plan.

They will be sending a letter recommending four things for Seattle in order to meet the comp plan certification requirements.

There'll be more coming, but those four recommendations include a need to complete the housing inventory and analysis to inform our policies and our strategies, increasing access to housing in historically exclusive neighborhoods, maximizing the benefits of transit investments, and providing more detailed implementation strategies.

So I know that we have only seen the draft so far.

We'll be getting another version of the comprehensive plan in December.

But just as a heads up and potentially as some red flags, from the county's perspective, we do have more work to do in order to meet our housing requirements.

And then finally, my staff attended a meeting last week with Beacon Hill community members at the Jose Rizal Park, along with Councilmember Wu's staff.

Neighbors there are interested in having bollards installed and interested in getting additional lighting in the park to improve safety in the park.

Council did pass just over a million dollars last year, 1.3 million for this park to be renovated.

And so the community does have an opportunity right now to comment on the determination of non-significance.

They have until September 13th.

So if folks are interested, I can share information about that, how to make those comments.

And then finally, I don't sit on the Public Safety Committee meeting.

I will not committee.

I won't be there tomorrow.

But I do want to say that my office has received many calls and emails asking for us to stop this legislation.

I think it's important for us to acknowledge that we've got hundreds, probably thousands of people who are very concerned about the impacts of this legislation.

And there are...

other ways, I believe, that I and other folks who are contacting me, other things we could be doing to truly address the issues that I know we're all concerned about as it relates to our drug crisis, to homelessness, to low-level crime and the trafficking of stolen goods and drugs and people.

I understand and I think many people understand that there are several crises across our city.

And I think it is really important to acknowledge that People also are very nervous about what these bills would do to the most vulnerable in our community.

And there are other ways for us to really make meaningful impact on these issues.

So I'll have more to say when this comes to full council, as I expect it will.

But I did want to register my deep concern and the concern of people who have been reaching out to my office.

Yeah, that's all I have.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_19

Just one quick question.

The request for bollards in Jose Rizal Park, is that something that the Parks Department is responsible for that, right?

SPEAKER_03

I don't think there's been a formal request made yet, but it was an issue that came up at the meeting.

Thank you.

SPEAKER_05

All right.

Well, this weekend I attended three events in the district put on by three different community councils, the Wedgwood, the View Ridge, and the Inverness Community Councils.

Hundreds of folks were in attendance.

It was a beautiful, both weekends were beautiful days, so tons of people came out.

There were fun activities and entertainment.

It was great to connect with constituents and hear what they care about.

Folks are concerned about mainly I heard about pedestrian safety and of course public safety and in particular we heard about constituents with concerns about the shootings in the district including in Magnuson Park and there have been shootings around the Roosevelt area.

I will say sadly on Saturday night an individual was shot and killed near the housing in Magnuson Park.

Not long ago there was a homicide right across the street from Magnuson Park behind the 7-11.

SPD is investigating Saturday's homicide.

They have arrested and charged an individual for the homicide behind the 7-11 that occurred a couple weeks ago.

My heart really goes out to the family of the individual who was killed this weekend You may remember this past spring I mentioned some concerns with RVs parking overnight at Magnuson which is in violation of parks rules and Who may be engaged in illegal?

activity And all summer long I've heard from residents that have been dealing with very loud all-night parties at the park These these folks have been breaking through the park gate in the parking lot of this building.

They are using their cars to drift and do donuts and blaring music all night long from huge six-foot speakers.

I've been working with the mayor's office and the Seattle Parks and Rec and as well as SPD on addressing the problem.

They've all been very responsive.

Seattle Parks and Rec has been doing what they can to mitigate by strengthening the gates.

They keep having to fix the gates because they keep getting, like I said, cut.

The locks keep getting cut and the gates keep getting compromised and they have to keep fixing them.

in order to try to keep folks out.

And the park rangers that I really want to appreciate and I want to thank Superintendent Diaz who's had the park rangers have emphasis patrol there to try to help with this issue.

SPD has also added emphasis patrols at Magnuson Park.

I'm very appreciative to Captain Agard from the North Precinct for her attention to this.

For the last two weeks, they've had officers at night, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights there from 10 to 4 a.m., and it really has helped.

Saturday night, the officers were there from 10 p.m.

to 3 a.m., and the shooting took place at 3.30 a.m., so that was really unfortunate.

I know SPD is doing what they can, given the staffing shortage, and I really, like I said, want to appreciate and give gratitude to Captain Agard and folks there at the North Precinct This has been a very frustrating summer for the community, and I know it's not just on the north end.

shootings and crime all across the city that we've been dealing with all summer so I really want to acknowledge that and that's just in addition to what we've been experiencing throughout the year and of course what the small businesses have been experiencing in terms of break-ins and window break-ins and things of that nature so there's a lot that we've been dealing with just ongoing and then I you know wanted to underscore we've been dealing with on the north end On Friday, I joined Seattle Public Utilities General Manager Andrew Lee at North Lake Union for a great example of a private-public partnership.

A D4 resident, Mark Gray, who is from Seattle and who's also a developer, was concerned about untreated polluted runoff from the streets making its way into Lake Union.

He approached SPU to work on a solution.

He brought together various groups of folks that are worried about environmental impacts across the city and working with SPD came up with a solution and is installing bioswells, which are natural ways to treat runoff before they make their way into the lake.

And they've done two previous projects near the Aurora Bridge.

And now this one's on North Lake Union.

So really appreciate constituents coming together and working with the city to address these issues.

As a member of the WIRA 8 Salmon Recovery Council and the Puget Sound Regional Council's Growth Management Committee, I know how critical the cleaning of our regional waters are to salmon recovery.

And I really appreciate the residents who care so much about the city and the environment to want to work together and address these issues.

I also attended the Puget Sound Regional Committee's growth management meeting last week along with Council Member Morales.

The only thing I'll add to what she said is that we also heard from cities that are also working on their comp plans and who are making sure that they're including the needs of, and this is very important, the needs of our tribal communities as part of the city's comp plan efforts and i will say i heard from the office of planning community development that they've also been working with our local tribal partners to make sure their food excuse me their feedback is included in seattle's comp plan as well this is really critical to the efforts that we're doing and then the last thing i'll say is this thursday is a meeting of the committee that i chair the the Libraries Education and Neighborhoods Committee, where SPL will be doing a presentation on where they are with recovery from the hack that happened, where services are.

They'll also be discussing fall hours, and they'll be briefly discussing their 10-year strategic plan.

And I will say that Chief Fay will be traveling to D.C., actually, to discuss the experience they had with the recent hack.

So, you know, proud and appreciative that he'll be going out there to talk about that.

And then we'll also have a number of appointments from the Department of Neighborhoods.

Unless anyone has any questions, I'll pass it on to my colleague, Council Member Saka.

SPEAKER_21

All right, thank you, Council Member Rivera.

So colleagues, as chair of the Transportation Committee, next Tuesday, the 17th, is what we anticipate currently to be our final committee meeting of the calendar year before we head into budget.

And we will be taking up five substantive items currently tentatively aligned up for the agenda.

So first and foremost, it will be a number of appointments, to the bike and transit advisory boards.

Secondly, recall we had a few of those last week, but now this week, next week rather, we plan to address the bicycle and transit advisory boards.

Second, we're going to vote.

I anticipate voting on the Transportation Funding Task Force legislation that we heard about during last week's meeting and also heard about and discussed and got an initial briefing on during the transportation levy process.

Third, I guess, we will...

consider and vote on legislation to authorize the honorary street name in support of Seattle storm legend and goat of goats, Sue Berg.

recall colleagues, you may or may not know, while we were away on recess the last two weeks of August, there was a great ceremony that took place near Climate Pledge, and Goat Bird attended herself, and the mayor was there, and it actually garnered a lot of exciting national media attention, which is great, but, you know, that Now we have to do the legislative paperwork to enable that great street name.

And so honored and excited to be able to consider that and take that up at next week's meeting.

Fourth, we will get a fax presentation on the South Lake Union streetcar.

There's been some press recently on our streetcar investments and specifically the South Lake Union streetcar.

It went down last month.

unanticipatedly for a bit.

So we'll get a briefing on that.

And finally, we're going to have a vote on the T6 Life Sciences Alley Vacation.

And this will be the last step in our journey before, well, there's a number of things that need to happen as part of the alley and street vacation process, as you know, but I anticipate a vote.

And so five things, fairly substantive things, obviously colleagues that happen to sit on the committee.

So please plan on a two to two and a half hour meeting potentially.

Ideally would like to get us out before that, but really important business to take up and consider.

So that is on the transportation committee front.

Out in the community, just a few select items would like to highlight.

So first and with respect to my own community engagement and outreach, First and foremost, this past Saturday, I had the pleasure and honor, really, of participating in the Steve Holzman Memorial Ride.

So I joined the Cascade Bicycle Club for a memorial program and ride, a group ride in honor of West Seattleite and bike leader Steve Holzman, who you may recall was tragically killed on our roads in a collision with a driver last December.

And he was a cycling enthusiast and also a leader within the club and a leader within West Seattle as well.

His very brave widow, you may recall, attended a number of our Transportation Committee meetings and also our Transportation Select Committee meetings and shared with us and challenged us all and made sure we're all accountable to keep our roads safe and doing so in part honor Steve's legacy, which is...

in part how we ultimately landed and approved on a Protected bike lane project in West Seattle and having that included in the proposed levy So honored to to do that.

Also We're gonna we're gonna continue to honor Steve's legacy irrespective of, you know, the levy conversation, and have an honorary street name designated after him as well.

So, anyways, that was a very...

There was hundreds of people there, or at least 100, I don't know, however many people were there, but a good amount, and it was great to participate.

And alongside Steve's widow...

Rita and really challenging us to be better in better achieving our Vision Zero goals.

I ended up On a bit of a lighter note, I ended up participating in the ride immediately after that, and it was great to have dialogue with members of the Cascade Bicycle Club, and someone from S-DOT was there as well, and it was just great.

With great humility, I realize I'm getting a bit older, and I don't typically bike, but beyond an occasional commute to and from work, and so I think I pinched a nerve in my lower back, and so you might see me stumbling around here, like behind the scenes, that's why, but I'll get better.

That was well worth it, minor injury that will heal quickly, no doubt.

And then next, later that very next day, or the same day, rather, me, my staff, and family We got to visit the Seattle Police Department mounted unit barn, which is...

Right next to a park that me and my family frequented since my own kids were very, very young, with the exception when it's closed for renovation, which is Westcrest Park.

Right next to Westcrest Park, a hidden gem I had no idea, is the SPD Horse Barn.

And there are five, I believe, horses, SPD horses, that are used and interesting to know and learn.

that this unit is supported in part by generous donors that work directly with the Seattle Police Foundation.

And our horse unit, our mounted unit, rather, in Seattle is actually the only mounted unit in the state of Washington And not just the state of Washington, the only one, I think, in the Pacific Northwest.

Idaho doesn't have one.

The state of Oregon doesn't have one.

I think you'd have to travel to Northern California to find their nearest one.

And so it was great to learn about the critical part and value that this unit plays in terms of our community outreach approach and strategy.

Got to meet the sergeant and officer and a number of civilian staff responsible for looking after that.

program and that unit.

And also got to meet some of our finest and fuzziest officers, which included Chance, Doobie, Blue, McLovin.

Yes, those are their names.

Really cool ones.

And and learn about that great work in addition to community outreach and like just the real world work that those horses do.

They also play a more solemn role and responsibility for fallen officers and participate in line of duty deaths and things like that.

But a hat tip to SPD's Sarah Rotter and the SPD Foundation, Chris Hendrickson, who helped coordinate the visit with me and my office and my family.

It's great to discover that hidden gem and learn more about that work and what they do and the impact on our city.

So that said, I welcome any comments, questions from you all, colleagues.

And if not, I will pass it on to Council Member Strauss.

SPEAKER_13

Thank you, Chair Salkin.

For those of us who are even more gray-haired than you, GOAT means greatest of all time.

Is that right?

That's it.

SPEAKER_07

Great.

SPEAKER_13

Greatest of all time.

I'm glad that I caught up on that reference.

And don't worry.

This morning as I was coming into work, I noticed a parent and their child riding their bike to school, and the child was...

a long ways ahead of the parent.

So don't worry about that.

Back here to committee work.

The next finance native communities and tribal governments committee is scheduled for Wednesday, September 18th.

So not this week.

It is next week.

This is our final FNC committee before we get into months of budget.

Yes, friends, we're going to have fun.

Uh, In this committee meeting on Wednesday, September 18th, we will be voting on the priority hire legislation.

We had a briefing on priority hire.

I believe it was in July.

And so this is not the first time it's come to committee.

It has been a while.

If you need to have a refresher, now is the time for the refresher because it will come to committee.

We will then be having a presentation from our Tribal Relations Director, Tim Raynon, and Indigenous Advisory Council Liaison, Francisca Murnon, updating us about the City of Seattle Tribal Nations Summit one-year report presentation.

So this is different than what we had in committee, I believe it was in April, where it was just matter of facts, here's what we did in the Tribal Nations Summit.

This is a report back about that work.

So the inaugural City of Seattle Tribal Nations Summit took place on May 2nd, 2023. It was the first time in City of Seattle's history that has convened an official government-to-government meeting of city elected leaders and senior officials with multiple federally recognized tribes here in the state of Washington.

We will have at committee next week Tim, Francesca, and Suquamish Indian Tribal Councilmember Jay Mills.

Jay Mills came to committee once before, and we're excited to have them back.

So please come ready and we're going to have a great time.

In other external committees, as you know, I am one of the Sound Transit board members.

I will tell you, we announced this last week in Council Member Saka's Transportation Committee.

Over recess, we successfully connected the city of Seattle to Snohomish County.

I know it might not sound like a really big deal, but it is huge.

This is a generational shift where you can have a predictable amount of travel time from Snohomish County to downtown Seattle.

Every time you get on the train, there's never traffic.

Sometimes, you know, I was taking the train the other day up to Snohomish County just to continue looking about to see what it looked like when there wasn't a big festival going on.

And what I can tell you is that even when there's no traffic on I-5, we're going as fast as some of those cars.

We're going as fast as definitely the trucks out there.

And this is a really big deal.

It's going to unlock the potential for housing.

As many of you may know, in Chicago, the average cost to get a new apartment is about $500.

The average cost here in Seattle is $2,000.

The difference between Chicago and Seattle is that they have a robust transit system so that no matter what neighborhood is on the up and no matter what neighborhood is on the down, all of their neighborhoods connect to all of their workplaces.

This is that.

We have more to do.

We have more openings that we need to have.

You can tell how excited I am.

In other news, last week I did have office hours.

This week I will have office hours.

I have office hours every week.

To the 145,000 people watching the Seattle channel, I will be changing my office hours procedure during budget because of the number of meetings that I will be chairing, because of the amount of prep work and detailed overview that I will be engaging in.

Right before we go into budget, right before the budget is transmitted, I will be attending the Association of Washington City's Board of Directors retreat.

And so next week is gonna be kind of a busy week.

We've got full council on Tuesday.

We have finance native communities and then land use on Wednesday.

I'll be gone Thursday and Friday.

We'll come back and we'll have the budget transmitted to us.

So buckle up.

We're gonna have a lot of fun this fall.

And there's no other questions.

Any questions, colleagues?

Sounds great.

I'm going to pass it over to Council Member Wu.

Thanks, everyone.

SPEAKER_01

Thank you, and congratulations on Sound Transit and their connecting Snohomish County and Linwood.

I saw all of the fanfare, all the celebrations on social media.

So as we returned to recess last week, I got to spend a lot of time in community.

Some of the highlights include went to the first Thursday Art Walk and Pioneer Square got to go to Davidson Gallery.

And if you are familiar, Davidson Gallery, they experienced a fire earlier this year.

Some of the artwork was damaged.

They had Picassos and Rembrandts in there.

And so they have reopened in their new space.

And it was just amazing to see community coming out to welcome them.

I also went with Councilmember Kettle to the opening of Gage Academy.

Walking throughout that building, it was done with so much love.

It felt like every single space is well planned by an artist.

It looked like you're walking into a picture.

So it's a very beautiful space that was well thought out.

I thought it was really cool.

They took old tabletops.

that had been painted over and used them as wall decorations.

It was really cool to see.

This weekend, I attended a Tabor 100 gala dinner called We Rise Above by Lifting Others.

It was a lot of fun to listen to Joanne Harrell and Lonnie Ali talk about their experiences the late Muhammad Ali and his life.

This weekend I also attended with Council Member Rivera the View Ridge Neighborhood Party in the Park, also the Wedgwood Picnic.

Got to speak with many community members.

Also attended the Food Action Plan press event.

It was so cool to see so many organizations and tribes and city departments come together under one roof, talk about all of the work they have been doing in community.

Also went to the Mount Baker and Beacon Hill public safety forums where they were concerned definitely about their parks.

Jose Rizzo Park is one of them, as well as Stanley Sayers and, of course, the Atlantic Park.

boat ramp as well, and there are concerns regarding nighttime closures of those parks.

So in committee, we have a couple things that you will see come before full council next week, which includes the food action plan resolution and of course City Light's clean fuel standards.

In the next committee on separate temper 20th, we'll hear from City Light on rate setting and on wildfire risk mitigation, as well as the arts and culture strategic plan review.

And if there are no further questions, I'll pass this to Council Member Hollingsworth.

SPEAKER_25

Thank you, Council Member Wu.

For Parks Utilities Technology Committee, that will be Wednesday, September 11th, 2 p.m.

We have a full agenda, colleagues.

We have appointments.

We also are going to be talking about SPU's acquisition of some properties.

And also, and this is an error on our part, we are going to have a discussion regarding just a brief, brief presentation from Memorial Stadium with Seattle Council.

Seattle Center and on there it says possible vote.

There's no vote on that.

It's just a discussion So I just wanted to flag that if anyone had any questions, it's really brief discussion So we could talk about where we are in the contracting process for Memorial Stadium and Seattle schools as well and Other than that, had a great meeting with our Regional Water Quality Committee, like Councilmember Kettle said.

I think this was one of the first meetings, this was kind of a deep dive so we could talk about our values, direction, and some of the things that we brought up in the meeting were about affordability, aging infrastructure for our city and also how we harness the local talent here in our city.

How do we set up better ways in which we can get people into the trades and be able to harness some of that local talent for our youth?

So those were some of the things that we brought up from City of Seattle that we were concerned about.

Real briefly, last week had a great visit at Mary's Place.

Also, joined Councilmember Wu with the Food Action Plan.

It's a great plan that our city's having.

One of my favorite pieces of that plan is the sustainability and the food waste piece.

30% of our food goes into the trash and we have to grow 50% more food by 2050. And so that we have now a dedicated plan that will help extend the life of food, I think is incredibly important.

Also had a chance to connect with people at Africatown Land Trust for the Bennu.

It is a...

a place that targets particularly black men, um, that are, um, you know, experiencing homelessness.

27% of the people that we see on our streets are, uh, black, but we account for 7% of the population.

And so that, uh, that particular place, which is called Bennu targets that demographic also had a chance to go to Lake Union dry dock.

Um, at the time, uh, they were working on a massive, massive, it's a dry, first of all, it's a place in our, uh, in our district that performs different types of maintenance on boats.

Our maritime community is huge in Seattle.

And at the time they were performing maintenance on a massive Coast Guard ship.

And so that was really cool to see.

Also had a meeting with Representative Macri before Council Member Kettle.

So I apologize.

We went a little bit over time and eight into your meeting, so my bad.

She represents the 43rd.

Also had a chance to go to the Jazz Walk on Jackson, which is a great time where you have jazz at the different small businesses along Jackson.

And last but not least, I definitely back to school was last week for our Seattle Public Schools.

Want to give a shout out to all of our students, the investments that are being made and also that gonna be really paying attention close to the investments at Garfield and making sure that those students feel supported for this school year.

And last but not least, I want to recognize a community member, unfortunately, that was tragically murdered right here at home in our community, three miles away from City Hall, Ruth Dalton, and had a chance to go to her memorial.

She was tragically killed and her dog, Prince Eric, as well.

There was a memorial for her in Madison Park.

and where I joined Councilmember Wu as well, and our mayor, and our other city officials, and Ann Davidson, and Scott Lindsey, and it was an unfortunate event that happened.

It was an act of evil, and I know that it will not be in vain.

I had the chance to speak with the family, and that was the one thing that they had said, that this is something that we are struggling with the city about the unfortunate crime and violence that's happening, and my heart goes out to that family.

and that they continue to stay in our prayers, and that community that mourns Miss Ruth Dalton, who was a phenomenal member of our community, who loved our community.

And you saw it last week, how many people loved her right back.

And it was just a moving experience, and we are working hard to make sure that all members are safe in our community.

With that, I will pass it off to Council President Nelson.

SPEAKER_19

Thank you for those comments, Council Member.

All right, so this week we do have a meeting of the Governance, Accountability, and Economic Development Committee, and that's on Thursday, if anybody has forgotten, at 2 o'clock.

We've got several items on our agenda, including the hearings.

We'll vote on Council Bill 112. the West Seattle Junction BIA amendment.

And that was heard for the first time in the committee meeting that we had before the break.

We also have a discussion and possible vote on council bill 120827, which is the music venue loading zone program ordinance.

And my office distributed, I believe this morning, an amendment directing SDOT to engage adjoining property owners and businesses when implementing that legislation.

So go ahead and take a look at that.

That'll be discussed and possibly voted on this Thursday.

And then we've got an appointment, clerk file 03004, to the Civil Service Commission and a reappointment clerk file 03005 of the same person.

First as an appointment that ends in December and then a reappointment.

So that is, so we'll just take those two items together.

And then finally we've got a briefing and discussion of appointment 02930 of Mina Hashemi as director of the, so this isn't, nomination as Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

And colleagues, this morning I did distribute to committee members her responses to the submitted questions.

And so I ask that you give those a read before we meet on Thursday.

Okay, moving on, just a couple things to recap of last week.

I attended the Regional Policy Committee meeting on Tuesday the 3rd, because I serve on that committee as an alternate, and they had their first discussion of the proposed revisions to the KCRHA interlocal agreement, and I was pleased to see that Well, King County staff provided an overview of the primary changes in that ILA.

And I was pleased to see that there was generally quite a lot of support for those changes.

And they'll have another discussion and then vote it out of their committee.

And this legislation is on parallel tracks here between the county and the city of Seattle.

All right, this past Saturday, I cheered on the CD Panthers at Judkin Park Playfield at their season opening games against Renton.

And it was really good to reconnect with community that was out in full force.

And it was also commemorating Grandparents Day.

I'll have folks know, so multi-generational crowd.

And I just will take this opportunity to say the same thing.

say the same thing I always have the opportunity to say, which is that it's time to work with the school district to turf Judkins Park play field, because the ankle turning fields get super muddy in the winter, And it's not just the city Panthers that play on that field.

And as you know, council member Hollingsworth, we discussed a couple other fields that we've turfed again, that we have turfed.

I was not able to get this into the 2022 renewal of the parks district spending plan as a project, because this is property that's owned by the school district.

And so what has to happen is that the city officials have to work with the school district school district officials to work out an agreement whereby we can do this and so I'm just saying again that this is the priority for me very much and hopefully that can, we can go forward.

Recognizing that the school district has had a lot of issues they're dealing with this year and so I do also want to recognize that it's hard for some things to rise to the top.

But I did put a bug in the ear of Mayor Harrell that evening when we saw each other at the Tabor 100 gala, so I think that there is support on that front.

Okay, I do want to say that while we're talking about GOAT, and this was mentioned by Councilmember One of the guests of honor at Tabor 100's gala was, of course, Lani Ali, who is the co-founder of the Muhammad Ali Center and widow of Muhammad Ali, and talk about OG of goats.

But that was a fireside chat with Mayor Harrell, I mean, Joanne Harrell, Mayor Harrell's wife, and it was really interesting to hear about the project that they've got going in Louisville, so check it out if you can...

Find a reference to that on TABOR100's website.

All right, with that, I will just note that there is a public safety town hall this week coming up.

Thank you very much for hosting that, Councilmember Wu, and I'll be joining Councilmember Kettle and Interim SPD Chief Rahr, as well as Care Department Head Honcho Amy Smith, Chief Amy Smith.

Would you say?

Okay.

All right, does anybody have any questions about the information I just gave?

All right, so I remind folks that if there is no further business or questions about what we've spoken of so far, we'll move into the executive session.

Hearing no further business, as the presiding officer, I'm announcing that the Seattle City Council will now convene into executive session.

The purpose of the executive session is to discuss pending potential or actual litigation, and the council's executive session is an opportunity for the council to discuss confidential legal matters with the city attorneys as authorized by law, and a legal monitor from the city attorney's office is always present to ensure that council reserves questions of policy for open discussion.

I expect that the time of the executive session, I expect it to end by 4.25 p.m.

It is now 3.38.

I will provide five or ten minutes for council members to get to their offices, and then once the executive session is finished, this meeting will automatically adjourn.

Thanks, folks.