City Council Meeting 4/23/2024

Good afternoon, everyone.

The April 23rd, 2024 meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is 2-0-1.

I'm Sarah Nelson, president of the council.

Would the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Kettle?

Here.

Council Member Moore?

Present.

Council Member Morales?

Here.

Council Member Rivera?

Present.

Council Member Saca?

Here.

Council Member Strauss?

Present.

Council Member Wu?

Present.

Council President Nelson?

Present.

Nine present.

Thank you very much.

Colleagues, we have two proclamations today.

Councilmember Moore has a proclamation proclaiming May Councilmember Moore will share comments on the proclamation, and then I'll open the floor for comments from colleagues.

And then after that, we'll suspend the rules, hopefully, to present the proclamation to our guests and allow our guests to make some comments themselves.

Councilmember Moore, you're recognized in order to present the proclamation.

Thank you very much, Council President.

So, thank you.

Seattle is home to more than 197,000 residents aged 50 and older.

Since 1963, our nation has recognized May as Older Americans Month, a time to acknowledge the contributions of older adults to our communities.

I'm going to go on my soapbox here a little bit, though, and also say it is also a time to acknowledge the ageism that permeates our society.

Ageism, especially ageism in the workplace, is a pervasive issue.

According to the American Association of Retired Persons, 62% of workers, 50 and above, believe older workers face age discrimination, and over 93% assert that ageism in the workplace is a regular occurrence.

Within these statistics, there is also a gender bias.

Well, 57% of men between the ages of 45 and 74 say they think people face age discrimination at work.

An astounding 72% of women in the same age range say so.

AARP also notes that negative stereotypes and misconceptions related to aging often lead to assumptions that older workers are resistant to change, they are less competent with technology, or they lack creativity compared to their younger counterparts.

But, in fact, the opposite is true.

In a global study among workers age 25 and older, results showed that older workers manage the technological aspects of remote work as well as their younger counterparts.

And based upon a study by Multi Health Systems Inc., adults age 60 and older show no difference in welcoming or resisting change when compared to adults between ages 20 and 29. So these biases severely limit employment opportunities and hinder the career progression of older workers.

According to the World Health Organization, ageism has far-reaching impacts on all aspects of our health and well-being when we are older.

It is associated with earlier death.

It is linked to poor physical health and poor mental health.

including the onset of depression.

It is associated with a lower quality of life and contributes to social isolation and loneliness.

It also takes a heavy economic toll on individuals and society and exacerbates other forms of disadvantage.

So, like all forms of discrimination and stereotyping, ageism denies the dignity and value of our fellow human beings, and we are all the poorer for it.

That said, I want to thank the Seattle Aging and Disability Services Advisory Council for all that you do to ensure that the needs and values and the value of older adults are recognized and prioritized.

And I'd also like to thank my colleagues on the council who very graciously added their signature to this proclamation yesterday.

Today we have with us Alex O'Reilly, Dr. Joel Domingo, and Joe Haley from the Seattle Aging and Disability Services Advisory Council to receive the proclamation.

today in recognition of May 2023 to be Older Americans Month.

Excuse me, May 2024 to be Older Americans Month.

And I'll just come down and give you the proclamation.

Hold on one moment.

I would like to open the...

Do my colleagues have any comments they would like to make?

Go ahead.

Just thank you, Council Member Moore, for bringing this forward.

I won't repeat what I said yesterday because I think I said all ages and abilities infrastructure 10 times over.

It's just really important that everyone, no matter their age or ability, has a place in our city.

Thank you.

Council President?

Yes.

Thank you, Council Member Moore.

I think this is a very important topic, and I'm reminded, you know, I was meeting with a group on the other side of the spectrum.

I was at the Queen Anne Scouts, and I was meeting with them, and as you know, the Scouts are be prepared, and as I was meeting with them, I made a comment, you know, it's...

It's about being present, which is really important, and being mindful.

So be present, be mindful, and be prepared.

And I bring this up because this is a great opportunity to say, hey, we need to be present in terms of what we're doing on big pieces like the move levy and the comprehensive plan.

And we need to be mindful of the older, elderly members of our society as it relates to the transportation plan, for example, move levy.

and also the comprehensive plan.

We need to be mindful of that and factor that in across all the elements.

And so therefore we can be prepared as we move forward, moving as we go into the future with the comprehensive plan, for example.

So this is a great opportunity that we need to be looking out for this piece, be mindful of our elderly neighbors and factor that in as we look to do the transportation and the growth piece with the comprehensive plan.

So thank you for this opportunity.

What you just said about the transportation plan reminds me that there is an infrastructure component to the policy work that we do here on City Council from a crosswalk that has potholes in it in the CID to our signage, et cetera.

And so I appreciate the fact that you brought this forward, Council Member Moore, for many reasons.

not primarily, but it does bring to light the work that the Division in Human Services and the Department of Human Services does.

I think that there is a significant contingent of the FTEs of the whole department that have that are employed to help people in this phase of life and their family members.

And I know several people personally that have relied on those services as well.

So thank you very much for helping us to remember that as well.

Thank you.

So with that, I will ask if it's okay to suspend the rules so that we can present the proclamation and also hear their comments.

Okay, hearing no objection, the council rules are suspended and the proclamation will be presented.

All right, my camera first.

You want to squeeze in a little?

Cathy beat you, though.

One, two, three.

All right, my camera's good.

Your turn.

All right.

Thanks.

Thank you.

All right.

Thank you.

It has to be later.

Yes.

Yeah.

Hey.

On behalf of the Seattle King County Advisory Council on Aging and Disability Services, thank you for your proclamation for Older Americans Month 2024. My name is Alex O'Reilly, and I chair that advisory council.

We advise your human services departments, aging and disability division, based on what we hear, see, and experience in the community.

But also, we have frequent opportunities to observe staff and operations.

I want to thank you for the awesome work that staff do to promote healthy aging and make it more possible to age in place in Seattle.

The case managers, nurses, caregiver support specialists, contract specialists, planners, and admin staff are truly dedicated to their mission to build and strengthen systems that ensure equity, mutual respect, and access to resources for older adults, people with disabilities, and their caregivers.

This year's Older Americans Month theme, powered by connection, is carried out throughout the year.

Staff have a North Star, lead with race, center community, stronger together.

They are powerful advocates for the people they serve.

The ADS Advisory Council's role includes advocacy, and we partner with dozens of organizations that share similar goals here in Seattle and throughout the state.

We let community partners know how much we value your support for Older Americans Month and for older people throughout our community.

Again, thank you.

Thank you very much.

All right, colleagues, I have a proclamation proclaiming April 23rd, 2024 to be Dana Robinson Sloat Day.

So here's what we'll do.

I will share comments on the proclamation and then open the floor for comments from my colleagues.

And then after council member comments, we'll suspend the rules to present the proclamation to our illustrious, our esteemed guests and allow her to provide brief comments herself.

So with that, I remember where I was and what I was doing that day when I was a staffer for Councilmember Richard Conlin in 2013, and I got a call from a professional acquaintance to give me the heads up that there was somebody great who had applied for the vacant communications director position back then.

And I remember her saying, her name is Dana Robinson Sloat.

That's Dana, rhymes with banana.

Don't say Dana.

And indeed, that was, and the rest is history.

So I will read portions of this, this proclamation for those in the audience and in TV land who don't know Dana.

All right, so Dana has served as communications director of the city of, of the city, council for 13 years, and she has served at the pleasure of six council presidents and 39 council members.

Her work has been imperative in helping council members achieve their policy goals and connect with their constituents in the areas of economic development, affordability, housing and homelessness, equity, and infrastructure among many other policy areas.

And together with her mighty and small team, Dana guided the communications department through one of the most tumultuous years on council, which was 2020, successfully implementing new and innovative practices that ensured the council could continue its crucial work through the pandemic.

She's agile and resourceful and remarkably professional when she deftly deploys the tools at her disposal and finds other ones that aren't immediately so just to get the job done.

And I think that we've all been in one of those situations.

In her spare time, she was a founder of the department's social justice initiative change team, and she's been an unceasing advocate, mentor, and kind ear to countless colleagues, helping them grow professionally and personally.

She has just an incredible gift for bringing out the best in all of us.

In short, Dan has always had the legislative department's back, but that's not all.

Before us, before coming to the legislative department, Dana committed the past 19 years of her career to public service, working in communications for the University of Washington and as director of communication for the Washington State Senate Democratic Caucus before coming here 13 years ago.

So the city of Seattle honors Dana Robinson Sloat, a trusted advisor to a generation of city council members, a renowned public servant, and a thoughtful and supportive leader who dedicated herself to improving our democratic discourse as she continues her distinguished career beyond our walls.

So that is why the mayor and the Seattle City Council recognize Dana Robinson-Sloat's dedicated career and proclaim Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024 to be Dana Robinson-Sloat Day.

So at this moment, I don't wanna, I will call on colleagues to add your remarks as well.

Council President, may I?

For those who don't know, I met Dana before she came here to city council when we worked together in Olympia in the legislature when I was just a lowly staffer.

And the thing that really struck me about Dana is acting as the communications director at that time for the state senate, which if you think city council egos are big – I have to say that she was a person that always treated me with respect, treated me with kindness, and gave me the time of day.

Those are the traits that can't be taught.

The traits that can be taught are in media relations and communications and there's no one better.

I really can't thank you enough for the A dozen plus years of professional working around each other and your friendship.

As Council President mentioned, Dana has worked in the last 11 years for 39 council members.

And the dais here, I'd say we have a lot of shared values.

I'd say we're all working in a pretty common direction.

And I can tell you that that's not always been the case.

It is a true testament to how such a professional Dana is. being able to serve people from electeds who don't share the same viewpoint and being able to do so with confidentiality and with professionalism.

Also, I was recently on former council member Jean Godden's radio show and Jean brought it up and Dana asked me to say that she wishes you all the best and congratulations because I know that throughout this going back to the I don't know if it's public where you're going.

Your next job is a dream job that I know has been a goal for a long time and serving in the city council for 11 years beat out all 39 council members.

So that's just a testament to your work.

In your time here, council president referenced some tumultuous years.

Your comments were an understatement.

You did a really good job serving people who had very different perspectives.

And as well, in your time here, you've made the budgeting process a lot more clear.

Colleagues, I know that it might still feel like an overwhelming amount of information during Dana's tenure here at City Council, and with the help of Joseph Piha, award-winning, literally your communications plan has won multiple awards throughout the nation for how clear you have made your...

your communications around budgeting.

Even I was talking with Association of Washington Cities, and they brought up the fact that your communications tools allow anyone in the public to see when each of us have committee meetings.

So if AWC is watching, this is why I'm not in your bylaws meeting at the moment, because I have city council.

I think those are the things that I really wanted to say.

Again, you can't teach a person to be nice.

You can't teach them to be a good person.

You can't teach them to see the inner workings of a human beyond what their professional status is.

And Dana, you've done that through and through.

An old saying goes, you don't remember what somebody said, you just remember how they treated you.

And I'll keep those with me for a long time.

You've treated us very well.

And your professionalism is outstanding.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you very much for those comments.

Yes, Council Member Morales.

Thank you.

So trusted advisor indeed.

I remember very clearly as a brand new council member calling on Dana regularly for support, whether it was prepping to be on the Seattle Channel on Council Edition or getting some support strategizing about a press conference, crafting ideas for how best to communicate our accomplishments with constituents.

your support has been invaluable and I really appreciate your willingness to come into an office of a bunch of new people and really help us think with clarity and present our ideas to the public and to our constituents, especially.

So I'm sorry that you're leaving, but I know it's very exciting for you and look forward to continuing our working relationship.

And now we get to have a more fun relationship too.

So, yay.

We'll miss you.

Council President, thank you.

I just wanted to add, because, you know, a little piece regarding Dana Robinson-Sloat that some may not know, but I will highlight.

As a retired naval officer, I know that she has a connection to our sister naval service, so I just wanted to say...

Semper Fidelis, and thank you for being always faithful to public service.

And I will just close by saying, fair winds and following seas.

Dana, this is a bittersweet moment for me, because I am happy for you and the next steps in your career, but I'm super bummed for me.

And I'm trying to call forth my higher self as the situation demands.

You know, you are a woman.

You have performed duties that go well beyond those listed in the job description and in accolades you possess beyond what was read in the proclamation.

And that's the kind of person that you are.

You go above and beyond all the time.

And I just remember at the end of last term, you were the glue that held this place together as Council President Juarez was on her way out, and we were staring at a supermajority new council in a matter of weeks.

And there was a lot of work to be done, and you stepped up.

You mentored me before I took office, helping me to transition from the mind of a staffer to the mind of an elected.

And you helped me with my speech, and you've been my wardrobe advisor, my hair fixer in very public moments, like right before a TV interview.

And then also, a personal confidant in my most private moments.

You've been a resource all along, 24-7.

So I just want to say that I appreciate that.

You're, at the same time, a warm and calming presence and also energetically scrappy when necessary, when something has to happen and people turn to you.

So I would like to...

suspend the rules and invite you to come on up here, if that is okay, and then we will allow you a chance to speak.

So seeing no objection, the rules are suspended so that we may present this proclamation.

Come on up here, please.

I'll just say that I just want you to know how much, Dana, I will miss you and hope you know that I would always eat a bug for you.

So with that, let's smile for the camera here, and then we'll get people to come on up and take a group picture, and then we can take some more pictures after the scene.

Thank you.

Thanks so much.

I proclaim today with my colleagues, thank you for your signature to be Dana Robinson Sloat Day, April 23rd, 2024. Thank you.

You don't have to talk here, but we would love it if you would make some comments at the podium, it just seems so we can see.

I'm sorry, do you mean over here?

Okay, we'll take pictures with all of us after the council.

Okay.

Thank you.

Can you hear me okay?

Thank you, Council President Nelson.

Well, suffice it to say, serving as the communication director for the Seattle City Council has been an honor and a privilege and mostly a total blast.

It was not an easy decision to leave at this time, of course, but I do so with the confidence in knowing that your communication team, Joseph Piha and Jesse Franz, are ready to lead you into the next chapter.

We, as you said, have together navigated some of the most challenging years on council, maybe ever, as it's been pointed out.

And I'm especially grateful to be able to finish with this cohort in a way that's strong and meaningful in your time of transition with a new agenda and new leadership.

But I have to say that among the most important aspects of my time here, what's been most enriching is really the 134 people that make up this department.

It's the people that have come to mean the most.

And to you, Sarah, thank you for your unwavering collaboration and support and enthusiasm of me every step of the way.

In other words, it's been a dream job for nearly a decade.

More than 500 full council meetings.

Thank you again and again.

Good luck and Godspeed.

Thank you.

Thank you for making this place more fun too.

Okay, moving on.

Colleagues, this time we will open the hybrid public comment period.

Madam Clerk, how many speakers are signed up today?

We have 16 remote and 18 in person.

Thank you.

We will start with speakers in council chambers first, and everybody will have one minute.

Madam Clerk, I will now hand this over to you to present the instructions and call on registered speakers.

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

We may alternate between sets of in-person and remote speakers.

Speakers will hear a chime when 10 seconds are left of their time, and speakers' mics will be muted if they do not end their comments within the allotted time to allow us to call on the next speaker.

The public comment period is now open, and we'll begin with the first speaker on the in-person list.

Our first speaker is John Stramstand.

Thank you.

I deliver by car, bike, e-bike, and motor scooter.

I use my bike most often because it is the most...

The courier said his pay has increased 80% because of the pay up bill.

He posted on Facebook where he was bragging he did two orders and made $97.

Of course, these were grocery shopping orders.

Two weeks ago, when this new legislation was previewed, almost every pro pay up commentator was an Instacart delivery person.

Shopping orders make up only about 15% of total orders.

We can't have 15% of people making $50 an hour and 85% of couriers making less than 10. The pay up bill was poorly written.

Please don't give in to the tyranny of the vocal minority of shopping order couriers.

Listen to the restaurants who are down 30 to 70%.

If the new legislation increases business for restaurants, then all couriers will benefit.

Restaurants are the accurate, trustworthy barometer.

Our next speaker is Henry Morales, then followed by Justin Taylor.

Hi, my name is Henry Morales.

I work for DoorDash, Uber Eats, and other apps.

I'm here to oppose a proposal to cover our pay.

Darkash Shau, Fajit Simo, Tony Hsu, and the other CEOs, we're not slaves.

Slavery was abolished in 1865. We're humans with families' needs and expenses to cover.

We're working for these companies as independent contractors, yet we get treated like employees by some of them, like DoorDash, where we have to schedule or have an acceptance rate.

Small cancellation rate.

Otherwise we can't work at all We get deactivated for false accusations or no reason at all and they hold our money when it happens some of these companies think they're above the law and They don't follow the rules because they call themselves just tech apps.

They just want to please their investors with high profits while they underpay us and starve us.

They spend more money on lawsuits and politicians than us, the people that actually produce the money for them.

They're taking advantage of many immigrants, minorities, and others while doing so.

This needs to change.

Seattle can set the example for the rest of the country, just like we did with Russia.

I ask the council to please don't let Uber and the other gig apps bully you and pressure you.

We deserve fair pay.

Our next speaker is Justin, followed by Rita Johnson.

Hi, my name is Justin, and I am against these proposed changes from Council Member Nelson.

Basically, from my perspective, it's you turning in someone else's homework.

The legislation is, and I quote, intended to reduce labor costs for network companies, not reduce fees for restaurants and consumers.

But allow me to summarize the bill summary from the perspective of the app companies.

Number one, pay standard.

We want to pay drivers less.

Number two, transparency.

We want drivers and consumers to know less.

Flexibility.

We want to control drivers more.

And four, enforcement provisions.

We want to be less accountable.

I would urge all the council members to read through this and please listen to voices other than lobbying groups and app companies to really understand the complexity of the time.

how they can affect drivers negatively.

And thank you.

Following Justin is Rita and then Jason.

And then after Jason, we will go to remote commenters.

Hi, my name is Rita.

My name is Rita.

I'm here to oppose.

I'm here to, can you hear me now?

Sorry.

I'm here to oppose Sarah Nelson's cut proposal.

I've driven in all areas within the Seattle ordinance with this new pay situation and compared it with driving outside of the Seattle ordinance this ordinance is not in effect, and there's a big difference between the two wages.

With today's gas prices and inflation and everything, it is very important to keep this current pay structure that is in effect for Seattle Ordinance, and I would like it.

It would be nice if that could be expanded.

I know it's difficult from your view to see the picture, but as a driver, I can tell you there's a.

Sure, thank you.

Our next speaker will be Jason, and then we'll alternate to remote speakers.

Restaurants and couriers have been treading water for more than 100 days.

Disabled and middle class customers have been priced out of unnecessary service.

Working as a courier just four months ago used to be a low stress job that consistently allowed me to make $20 an hour or more on most days.

The current state of the job forces me to work 10 hours a day, often 12 and sometimes six days a week.

Over the previous seven days, I earned an average of $9.98 an hour.

That's half of the city's minimum wage.

Even though I'm working more than ever, this $10 wage barely allows me to cover my most basic expenses.

Taking even one day to visit my family out of town is completely off the table.

Saving for emergencies is an impossibility.

This is a very high-risk job, and the current pay leaves me unable to take the financial hit that comes with the inevitable accident.

The current wage leaves me one bad week away from homelessness.

$9.98 an hour is unacceptable.

This law needs to change.

Thank you.

We'll now move on to remote speakers.

Our first remote speaker will be Saundra Ossis, followed by Elena Martin.

And remote speakers, when you hear the message of you have been unmuted, go ahead, Saundra.

Yes, my name is Saundra.

I was a Seattle gig worker for Uber and Lyft six plus years, delivering people as well as delivery.

I am here to oppose the proposed pay cut.

These apps like to pretend they're doing things that are in their workers' interest.

They are not.

Let me repeat, they are not.

They just want to get out of paying a minimum wage without regulation.

There is no consistency in pay and the apps treat workers as disposable.

For example, in September of 2023, I went down to log into my app and saw that I had been deactivated.

This was my primary source of income.

Seven days a week, 10 to 12 hours a day.

I appealed it.

I was not told why I was deactivated.

They told me

Thank you, Sandra.

You can send your comments in writing also.

Our next speaker is Alina Martin, and Alina will be followed by Jeffrey Gustafson.

Go ahead, Alina.

Hello.

Good afternoon.

My name is Alina.

I'm a gig worker on Instacart.

I'm calling to oppose the proposal to cut gig worker pay.

The current pay standard right now is just enough to be taking home minimum wage after taxes and deductions.

44 cents per minute is enough to cover resources spent and the extra time outside of our engaged time on the job.

74 cents per mile is currently enough to cover maintenance on our vehicles and cover the extra mileage driven outside of our engaged time.

Cutting mileage pay down to 35 cents per mile would guarantee we would not be making a minimum wage after our taxes and resources have been accounted for.

Thirty-five cents per mile is way below the IRS fare rate per mile.

And our app fees are too high for customers.

App fees need to be reduced, not cutting workers' pay.

Cutting the workers' pay will not help the fee issue.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jeffrey Gustafson, and Jeffrey will be followed by Rachel Werther.

Go ahead, Jeffrey.

Hi, Council.

My name is Jeffrey Gustavison.

I'm a lifelong Seattleite born and raised in Wedgwood.

And I'm calling because I'm outraged that you're considering gutting gig worker pay and that you're considering doing it based on unverified and made-up numbers from multibillion-dollar corporations.

If restaurant conglomerates started complaining about paying a minimum wage, would this Council also eliminate the minimum wage for restaurant workers?

Just today, gig companies released a new set of these unverified numbers showing how they've intentionally made things hard for themselves by charging excessive fees for customers.

And let's be clear, this is just an attempt to justify cutting worker pay.

Nobody has verified these numbers, and they come with all these absurd caveats about internal analysis and what, quote, how many customers there otherwise would have been without pay up.

This is a stat.

Ironically, these companies are using unverified numbers to push for legislation that would prevent them from having to provide access.

Our next speaker is Rachel Werther, and Rachel will be followed by Gabriela Quintana.

Go ahead, Rachel.

Hi.

My name is Rachel Werther.

I live in downtown Seattle, which means I have many homeless neighbors.

these homeless people, as well as people who are on the verge of homelessness, including big workers, allowing employers to pay the lowest paid workers less is obviously going to make things worse and not better.

People in Seattle who are making the least amount of money and doing the labor in order to give more to these companies obviously will not lead to better treatment of workers or to consumers.

And if these companies protected their workers, we wouldn't have to fight for living wages.

This demonstrated that they're working to make as much profit as they can, and their job is to protect the people of Seattle.

Again, Sarah Nelson's 120775.

Thank you.

And our last remote speaker for this group is Gabriella Quintana.

And then we'll go back to in-person speakers.

Go ahead, Gabriella.

Hi, can you hear me?

Yes.

Good afternoon, Tennessee City Council members.

My name is Gabriella from the Economic Opportunity Institute.

We are a research and advocacy organization working on policies that create economic security for Washingtonians.

EOI strongly opposes any effort to cut the minimum wage or the wages of any worker trying to make a living.

We know that when workers have a livable wage, we all do better.

Money in the pocket of workers means money in the economy.

And livable wages are important for self-sufficiency.

When minimum wage increased in 2015, Diana Pierce, a faculty member at the UW School of Social Work, found that minimum wage reduced poverty and helped families move to self-sufficiency more than any policy in Washington state.

So you're doing the opposite.

By considering reducing the weight of app-based workers, the city council is putting workers and households who depend on this at risk.

You need more time to get more data and history to know what this policy really works.

It's only been in effect before.

All right.

We're going to go to in-person.

And our next two in-person speakers are going to be John Fisher, followed by Neil Edwards.

Hello.

Can you hear me?

Nice to meet you guys.

I'm John Fisher.

I don't have anything to say.

I was just visiting and yeah, I've been here almost three years.

So I just wanted to meet my city council and give you my regards.

I think Dan Strauss, you're my council member.

I live in Fremont.

So nice to meet you guys.

Nice to meet you.

And then we have, we have Neil, Neil Edwards and then Megan.

Good afternoon.

My name is Neil Edwards.

I'm the executive director at Ballard Ladmark, which is a retirement community located on Leary Avenue Northwest.

I'm here to speak about the transportation plan, or a very specific part of it, and reiterate our position about the Missing Link bike trail.

First of all, we're not against completing the missing link.

That's very important.

However, we do strongly oppose the current plan.

And the reason for that is it runs right in front of our retirement community.

Community is home to roughly 170 seniors.

Some of them are here today.

Their average age is about 82 years old.

Excuse me.

The proposed missing link would require our residents to navigate crossing a busy bike trail in their daily activities.

The residents are often frail and coping with some form of disability, which would make this task challenging and dangerous.

Dear council members, I urge you to please ask the mayor to stop the current design at 30%.

Please.

and make their safety.

Our next speaker is Megan, I believe it's Tushish, and then, sorry for the mispronunciation, and then followed by Janice.

and I'm here representing Ballard Landmark, a retirement and assisted living community.

I really appreciate that the city council is prioritizing the safety and equity of the elderly and disabled because that's exactly why I'm here today.

I want to express my opposition to the proposed two-way bike lane at the Burke Gilman Trail's missing link being routed down Leary Avenue.

This planned bike lane cuts directly between the entrance of Ballard Landmark and Leary Avenue, eliminating the ability for residents, caregivers, staff, and emergency services to safely access our building from the street.

Fowler Landmark is home to over 180 residents with diverse mobility needs and disabilities, often requiring mobility devices such as canes, wheelchairs, scooters, and walkers.

They do not have the ability to jump out of the way of speeding cyclists.

The consequences of an accident may very well be fatal.

Most senior citizens require additional time and assistance when transferring in and out of vehicles.

This is very serious safety thoughts.

Our next two speakers in the set is Janice, followed by Ryan Davis.

And just so folks understand, when you hear that ding, you have 10 minutes left to speak.

Oh, 10 seconds.

Good afternoon.

My name is Janice Stamm.

I live at Ballard's Landmark and this is very important to me.

I understand you are going to consider including the Leary Avenue route in the master plan.

As the speakers before me have told you, we are opposed to this plan.

It's a danger to us.

He mentioned the ages.

We have ages from 60 to 102. We have people with disabilities ranging from hearing to sight.

I'm nearly blind.

People with walkers, like my friend Steve.

People with wheelchairs.

They are all challenged.

Mostly, mostly challenged.

Most of them are challenged.

I thank you for considering our opposition.

So we have Ryan Davis.

Yes.

Hello, thank you for the opportunity to address you because this is something that's very important to us.

My name is Ryan Davis and Dan is my rep. We're not against, as you know, as has been said, against completing the Burt Gilman Trail.

We know it's an asset for Seattle, but the city wants to complete the missing link by running it directly down Leary in front of the Ballard Landmark senior residence where I live.

The Leary option would be dangerous for me and my fellow residents, while other options like the Shillshaw option remain more popular.

Over 200 residents, family members, friends, and staff of Ballard Landmark opposed the proposed route down Larry because we see it as dangerous for ourselves and unsafe for other concerned parties.

So I ask you your support in our effort to keep a safe and enjoyable place to live.

Thank you.

That was our- Thank you.

We'll now move into five additional remote speakers.

We're going to start with Stephen Baker, and Stephen will be followed by Alex Kim.

And remote speakers, please remember to press star six when you hear the message of you have been unmuted.

Go ahead, Stephen Baker.

Thank you.

Can everyone hear me?

Yes.

Thank you.

Hello.

My name is Stephen Baker, and I'm testifying today in favor of the pay-up ordinance.

As a disabled resident in Seattle, I'm against Council President Nelson's proposal.

Due to my physical condition, I cannot go to the stores or restaurants in person, so I rely on delivery for everything.

Groceries, medication, household goods, pizza, everything I need relies on gig work.

In recent years, I've watched app prices and fees go up.

App companies pressure consumers to tip and, in some cases, were found withholding tips from workers.

We must remember, though, that workers are also consumers.

Without laws and regulations like pay up, prices go up, but worker pay does not.

This is inflation.

It hurts consumers and workers now, but also hurts companies and shareholders both now and in the future.

So consumers, residents, workers, shareholders, and myself, therefore, urge you not to pass Council President Nelson's proposal.

Your next speaker is Alex Kim.

Alex will be followed by Brian Hernandez.

Go ahead, Alex.

I'm Alex Kim, D2 resident, gig worker, and pay-up supporter.

The proposal created by Drive Forward lays bare that this Uber lobbyist group does not have the best interest of workers or even the bike couriers they have leaned on in mind.

It is a proposal that most benefits the app companies who pay DriveForward and even creates a framework to deactivate bike couriers.

First, delivery locations are going to be removed.

From offers, locations will be removed.

This is unworkable for bikes as they'll be sent up huge hills that will be too hard or will drain all their e-bike battery, thus destroying earnings.

Some streets are also extremely dangerous.

Second, item listings will be removed from offers.

Sometimes bikes will be sent orders they cannot carry, which will force them to unassign.

Third, there will be increased app punishment for acceptance and completion rates, like limiting access for .

Combine all this together, and it's clear to see that Drive Forward has been completely fraudulent in their effort to help bike couriers.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Brian Hernandez, and Brian will be followed by Vanessa Clifford.

Go ahead, Brian.

Good afternoon members of the Seattle City Council.

My name is Brian Rodriguez and I come before you today not only as a part-time Dasher for DoorDash, but also a concerned member of the Seattle Delivery App-Based Driver Committee.

For the past five years, I've proudly served as a Dasher, balancing this role alongside my other full-time job at the Seattle airport.

Dashing has been more than just a side gig for me.

It's been a means of supporting myself and making meaningful connections within our city.

One of the most rewarding aspects of dashing has been the opportunity to assist those in need, particularly individuals with disabilities and seniors who rely on delivery services for their daily meals.

However, the recent implementation of the Seattle Pay Up Law has presented significant challenges for dashers like myself.

Prior to its enactment, I could reliably earn around $100 per day during my dashing shifts.

Today, I struggle to reach even a fraction of that amount.

averaging a mere $30 per day during my five-hour shift.

This situation is not unique to me.

Countless dashers in our community have voiced similar frustrations and dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs.

As someone who values honesty and fairness.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Vanessa Clifford, and Vanessa will be followed by our last remote speaker in this group of Nick Halt, Nick Hate, excuse me.

Go ahead, Vanessa.

Good afternoon.

Um, my father owned a small restaurant for 26 years.

I myself have worked in the service industry for 12 years and I have several family members and friends who are currently still working in the industry.

I think it's very important to note that no one takes for granted that everyone at the restaurant is actually receiving minimum wage and why should it be different for delivery worker?

These are the same people that kept restaurants like my father's and like my family's open during COVID.

And we know that if it weren't for the delivery workers, that we would have seen a lot of those businesses shut down.

I have heard from so many people that the fees are the issues.

We already know that there's a cap that city council enacted for the fees that the restaurant pays.

So why wouldn't we create the same cap for customers?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our last remote speaker for this group is Nick Hayes.

Go ahead, Nick.

Hello.

I am here calling to oppose our analysis proposed changes to the gig worker laws.

City Council refuses to address the constraints around the common citizen, such as out of control rent increases, inflation, and instead chooses to attack workers' rights rights that were given just three months ago and they want to splash them instead of giving us better ground to tackle the increasing costs of everyday living, they choose to make it harder for us and to make us struggle.

We don't have benefits.

We don't make overtime.

We pay our own expenses to deliver your order all while being overtaxed and underpaid.

These are the real reasons why people aren't spending as much money anymore, not because of fees.

It's because city council isn't doing anything to make the life better for the citizens.

Restaurants are not equivalent to grocery stores, yet I see benefits for any cuts, even though business is very strong.

And when a restaurant says business is down, what they are really saying is they are okay with slave wages as long as they have business.

I oppose all these changes because for the first time, we actually have some room to grow economically.

we'll go back to in-person speakers and our next speaker is stephen guild followed by hao shen stephen do you want to use it council president stephen do you want to use a wireless mic

I'm Steven Gild, been a resident of Ballard Landmark for seven years.

I've always felt safe there until the missing link proposal came about.

I now don't feel safe and it is not safe for anybody, both living at Ballard Landmark, nor pedestrians, there are many of them, as well as other cyclists, and the delivery people, and families and friends.

As this comes through, I've had many conversations with people at SDOT, have lots of information, this is a bad idea, in a bad location, and I request that it not be approved.

As a delivery courier, it has been my great pleasure to serve the people across the city.

From a tycoon in Broadmoor Mansion to the senior in Josephine housing and a wheelchair veteran living next to the downtown roads dressed for less.

Food delivery is often regarded as a luxury service, while it's also a necessity for those who lack mobility.

With the current law, the rigid high price only makes sense for the wealthier communities.

The underprivileged fellows who depends on it often find it too expensive, even though there are many idle couriers who are willing to serve at a discount during slow hours.

Their transactions are discouraged.

The market is dysfunctional.

President JFK has said, a rising tide lifts all boats.

The artificially high price has blocked the tide into the aloe bait.

I believe immediate action is necessary.

Please support the reform of this drive-up bill, pay-up bill.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Melissa Ghosh, followed by Wei Lin.

Hello, it's actually Melissa Goshi.

Thank you.

I am an Instacart worker.

I actually just needed to return to it because I recently lost a job.

I demanded a 40 hour work week and they were only giving me 32 hours.

Heaven forbid, I want to work.

And I lost the job because of it.

And Instacart is a safety net for me.

It's allowing me to get to the amount I need in order to cover my bills.

I need it.

This isn't a accidental wage, and I can't believe that gig workers would be considered anything less than any other type of worker in the world.

That our page doesn't need to be a minimum wage.

It's skilled work.

Have you ever tried to look for someone else's groceries?

You have to memorize the whole store in order to do the job well, in order to make it worth your time.

Next is Melissa.

Oh, sorry.

Wei Lin, and then followed by Michael Wolff.

Hi, esteemed council members.

My name is Wei Lin, and I'm standing before you today as a...

Since the passage of January 13, this legislation has been a beacon of hope for gigadrivers like me.

This law has guaranteed us essential protection, minimum pay, transparency, data access, and crucial safeguards against unfair deactivation.

Yet, despite its clear benefit for workers, corporations are recklessly attempting to undermine it.

They are not just opposing it.

They are resorting to deceitful tactics.

Corporations are celebrating false information and propaganda, attempt to manipulate drivers and dividing us each others.

They seek frost and the common distrust and animosity among the workers, hoping to distract us from our common goals and fair treatment and dignity in a workplace.

Though they spend more than 130,000 on a lawyer to shut worker out, instead just paying the driver less than a dollar for minimum guarantee coverage work efforts.

We cannot...

Cooperation agreed to so see a division among us.

This ordinance is a testament for the power of a solitary and collective actions as Helen Keller once say alone can do so little together we can do so much.

Michael Wolff and then this followed by Alex sermon.

Michael Michael Wolff executive director drive for it, I want to remind everyone here what's actually at stake.

Recent data has been shown by one of the app companies that there are 300,000 fewer trips on one company in a two-month period, resulting in $7 million of lost revenue from merchants in Seattle.

Extrapolate that to a calendar year that's 1.7 million fewer offers and $40 million fewer spent in Seattle.

That's just one app.

If you look at every app and extrapolate those numbers, you're talking six plus million rides less or trips less and hundreds of millions of dollars fewer in the economy.

Doing nothing is not an option.

How long do we have to wait as the opponents here suggest?

Year, three, how long?

Next speaker is Alex Zimmerman, then followed by Arianna Riley.

Thank you.

Hello?

Hello?

Sie heil, my dirty damn Nazi fascist junta, a bandita and killer.

My name Alex Zimmerman, president of Stand Up America.

Last week, council from this chamber talk, so we have right now new rules, two minute, one minute, 30 second, and 15 second.

I told you before many time for many years, idiot always don't have a limit.

For last dozen year, I spoke hundred times.

Open better room in city hall.

You know what this mean?

For one day.

So people can come and speak.

What is I speak everywhere around more than 4,000 times.

Please.

I am providing an opportunity to redirect your comments to an item on the agenda or within our council purview.

We will go back.

Continue please.

Okay, thank you.

We'll go back to remote speakers.

My apologies for going over the five speakers.

Our next remote speaker will be Brenda Loinen followed by Lynn Reed.

And remote speakers, please remember to press star six when you hear the prompt if you have been unmuted.

Go ahead, Brenda.

I can see you online and you're ready to go.

Oh, that's a bad connection.

We'll move on to Lynn Reed, and then we'll come back and try Brenda.

Go ahead, Lynn.

And Lynn, you may need to press star six.

There we go.

Good afternoon.

My name is Lynn Reed, and I'm here representing our members at Drive Forward.

Drivers are consistently sharing with us that earnings have bottomed out, wait times are up, and orders just aren't there.

They are working more hours, more days, and still not breaking even with their earnings prior to January 13th.

We are getting requests for emergency resources from drivers.

You've heard that drivers on Instacart are doing well while on-demand drivers on DoorDash and Uber Eats are suffering.

It's not city council's position to pick and choose who wins and who loses.

There's a narrative that proposed legislation will lower wages below minimum wage.

That is simply untrue.

It will actually guarantee $19.97 per hour and $0.35 per mile with tips on top.

We implore you to fix this overreaching legislation and look forward to everybody gaining from it.

Thank you.

Thank you and we'll go back and try Brenda again.

Brenda Leunen and Brenda will be followed by Michelle Balzer.

Brenda?

You may need to press star six.

Okay, it's not coming through.

Let's move on to Michelle Balzer.

Hello, Council.

This is Michelle Balzer, and I am calling in in support of PF because I oppose the changes to the law as presented by Sarah Nelson.

It has been quoted that the goal is to fix this broken law to make delivery more affordable.

I do not see how the proposed changes will achieve that.

Reducing pay, removing transparency has no impact on increasing affordability.

The companies have repeatedly not said the fees would go away, and we all know they won't.

For those talking about less orders, waiting longer, and no change or decrease in pay, I would encourage the Council to ask the companies why they are continuing to mass hire new shoppers and drivers if business is down.

I would ask the companies why they have hidden the tip option.

It seems to be removing tip options and hiring more workers directly impacts, if not causes, the workers' frustration and opposition of the current law.

Michael Wolf spoke in the millions lost by one company but failed to say that it was caused by their own behavior.

Also, where is the data supporting this?

And lastly, amending this law will not change the supposed loss, but it will drain the city due to increased homelessness, reliance on city and government resources, and more than just restaurants lost, but all businesses lost.

due to less funding.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is David Haynes, and David will be followed by Robbie White.

Go ahead, David.

Hi, thank you.

David Haynes.

From the testimony, it's obvious that previous councils have made mistakes that have caused unnecessary suffering.

I would like to reiterate that we're all suffering a public safety and homeless and housing crisis that's been exacerbated by the simple fact that progressives have exempted low-level drug pushers from jail under 3.5 grams and the mayor and the chief are going along with this the mayor his whole career has undermined the integrity of public safety the the effectiveness of stopping bad guys you know you can complain all you want about graffiti but ignoring all the evil junkies that have been created by low-level drug pushers just to manipulate the incarceration percentages as if you're having progress is revolting.

We need laws that will trespass a junkie thief and require the cops to question them to find out where they got the drugs to go shut it down and maybe get a new chief and mayor.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Robbie White.

And after Robbie, we'll try one more time with Brenda Leinen before we go back to in person.

Go ahead, Robbie.

Hello, my name is Robbie White.

I'm a Seattle resident and I'm calling in support of the pay up legislation and I'm opposed to the amendment proposed by Council President Sarah Nelson.

I'm a customer.

I'm not an app driver.

I'm not a delivery driver, but I'm a customer reviewing my orders before and after the pay up legislation.

And it's clear to me that it's been expensive the entire time.

And when I dig a little bit deeper, I find that it's not because what that money is going to drivers like you would assume it's because of the fees.

And when you hear Michael Wolf or other proponents citing these very large numbers, it's important to keep in mind that data comes from the app company itself.

They're able to game orders.

They advertised that they were enacting these fees.

They blame the city council for them specifically to cause this sentiment.

I urge you to not pay attention to that, to pay attention to the workers who are actually doing this work and are the closest and the people you should be listening to.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

And one last time, we'll try Brenda Leunen, and then we'll go back to in-person speakers.

Brenda, if you're on the line, please press star six.

Just once.

Okay, it does not look like she's coming through.

Should we go back to in-person speakers?

Okay, the next in-person speaker is Arianna Riley, and then the last in-person speaker is Joe Malloy.

Hi, good afternoon.

My name is Arianna Riley.

I drive for DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Amazon Flex.

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

I've read through the proposed changes and both the racial equity analysis and the financial impact analysis are hastily done and not fact-based.

The conclusion that was come to under the racial equity analysis that a bill lowering wages for a mostly immigrant workforce while doing nothing to address fees necessitates a redo of the racial equity analysis.

Lowering wages and removing protections for a workforce whose mostly immigrants and people of color does nothing to advance racial equity in our city.

As for the financial analysis, it seems to be missing a lot of hard numbers, but it does say that passing the proposed changes will cost the city a fair amount of money.

How does the city council plan to pay for this?

The city is facing a budget shortfall of $230 million by next year, and the council should be focused on finding places to save money rather than passing bad policy that harms people in our city.

Thank you.

And Joe Malloy?

Hi, thank you, counsel.

I just wanted to comment today on the rally that was at Nakamura Courthouse yesterday in regards to the Johnson v. Grants Pass Supreme Court case.

Several council members had staff there, so just wanted to acknowledge that and thank you for that.

There was a statistic shared that's concerning to me that I thought, if you guys weren't aware of, should be shared to the council.

More than 50% of people who experience homelessness have disabilities, specifically chronic homelessness and systemic cyclical, the stuff that we are really in rooted trying to fix.

Fallacies.

policies that focus on sweeps and these kinds of things like this just exacerbate the sort of dysregulation and difficulties along many of these conditions and disabilities, specifically neurological disabilities.

I would just like to encourage throughout the summer to use this case and what's happening on a national scale to set a better example globally for how we deal with this.

Thank you.

That's our last public commenter.

Thank you very much.

With that, I will now close the public comment period.

If there is no objection, we've reached the end of our public comment period, and the public comment period is now closed.

Thank you very much for all of you coming in today, and nice to meet you, person that stood up and greeted us.

All right, moving on.

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

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

Hearing no objection, if there is no objection, the agenda will be adopted.

And there is no objection, so the agenda is adopted.

We'll now consider the proposed consent calendar.

Items on the consent calendar include The minutes of April 16th, 2024, Council Bill 120770, which is the payment of bills, five appointments from the Governance, Accountability, and Economic Development Committee, 25 appointments from the Land Use Committee.

Are there any items 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.

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 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 Member Hollingsworth.

Yes.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you.

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 the committee reports.

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

Agenda, the report of the Governance Accountability and Economic Development Committee agenda item one, council bill 120763 relating to city employment commonly referred to as the first quarter 2024 employment ordinance.

The committee recommends the bill pass.

Thank you.

As chair of the committee, I will address this item first and then open the floor to comments.

Colleagues, if passed, this legislation would exempt one position from the civil service system.

As a result of a classification review and determination, the position meets a blanket exemption defined by Seattle Municipal Code 413.010 subsection 13, and return two positions to the civil service system.

As a result of a classification review and determination, the positions no longer meet the exemption's criteria.

I'd like to go on and note a large section in the summary and fiscal note that was written by our central staff and just read part of it and suggest that you read it yourselves because this is the first of four quarterly employment ordinances to come before us.

There are no direct costs associated with the recommended changes to civil service status.

Any changes to compensation for incumbents or new hires in the classified positions covered by this legislation would be subject to the appointing authority, that means the head of the department, and do not relate directly to the council's decision to approve the recommended civil service status.

In this sense, the legislation does not have an immediate fiscal impact.

However, in the interest of fiscal transparency and focusing on long-term budget sustainability, central staff highlights in this summary and fiscal note the associated costs of the reclassified positions in this legislation.

The actual costs associated with the reclassification in this legislation are $3,403, based on one, the difference between midpoint salary and the new higher salary for a former vacant position in OIG that is now filled, and two, the difference in the actual salaries for incumbents in the filled positions at OED and OIG.

So in this instance, the departments will absorb the costs or cost savings associated with the reclassifications within their existing budget authority.

And the fiscal note goes on to explain how is the actual cost derived.

How do they figure out that cost?

And I do know that I sometimes have problems with my decimals, and I did mean $3,403.

So this legislation passed out of committee unanimously, and I urge your support.

Thank you.

Are there any questions?

All right.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

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 Member Hollingsworth.

Yes.

Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Thank you very much.

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 two into the record?

The report of the Transportation Committee, agenda item two, resolution 32131, approving the Seattle Transportation Plan and superseding the transit, bicycle, freight, and pedestrian master plans.

The committee recommends the resolution be adopted as amended.

Okay, Council Member Saka, you have the floor to speak to this legislation.

Thank you, Madam Council President.

And yes, I am delighted to be able to speak to Resolution 32131, adopting the Seattle Transportation Plan.

that's exactly what this resolution would would do adopt the seattle transportation plan as adopted and amended specifically adopted and amended last week at our transportation committee meeting on tuesday april 16th this legislation passed as amended with the full support of the committee again unanimously The plan represents the city's 20-year vision to shape our streets and public spaces and what directionally that is intended to look like from a transportation policy planning perspective.

We had a very robust, comprehensive and thoughtful discussion and engagement.

I heard from many constituents along the way, along this journey.

I note that we held and dedicated a substantial portion of three separate individual committee meetings for this specific item before we even started.

discussed and voted on the final proposed amended resolution that is before us today.

And obviously this is on top of a two years of extensive, intensive public outreach by ESTA and the mayor's office.

And then this council came in and from my perspective, put its own unique stamp and it made it even better.

So here we are at the end of that process, the end of this journey here.

We passed, in committee, we passed three amendments that outline priorities for the upcoming transportation levy, as well as made some very particular changes to the plan document itself.

And I wanna, again, call out and thank the leadership of every last one of you, by the way.

You all have helped make this thing better in so many ways, but I can't call out everyone, but Council Member Moore, really appreciate your partnership on this.

And Council Member Morales as well, Vice Chair Hollingsworth, you've been a terrific partner in advising me and working through many of these nitty gritty operational details behind the scenes, which I'm grateful for.

In any event, This, the Transportation Committee unanimously recommends that the City Council adopt this resolution and that is what we hope to accomplish today.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

I see that there's some hands up.

Council Member Moore.

Oh, thank you, Council President.

So my apologies, colleagues, but it has just come to my attention that there appears to be an incorrect attachment, attachment six to resolution 3211. to 1. Attachment 6 on the agenda does not reflect the version that was adopted by the committee and we will need to update the record to reflect the version that committee adopted.

Each of you should have received in your email from central staff the corrected version.

That version The corrected version shows that the pedestrian goal of completing the pedestrian network tiers should be one through five by 2024. So I guess I'm asking the clerk to make sure that that is what we're actually voting on.

For those of you who cannot see, the clerk is passing out hard copies.

Do you have an answer to her question?

I'm sorry, I did not catch your question, but can you please repeat that?

So I just want to find out what the procedure is for making sure that we are voting today on the correct version that was passed through committee and has now been provided to every council member.

Thank you, and because the committee itself had adopted this amendment, it was just an error on our end in the sense that we did not update it with the correct version that reflected the committee's recommendation.

Now that we have distributed the actual record that was adopted by the committee, and we've actually provided notice to the public as well as an open session, At this point, we do not need to make an amendment because it does not change the actual version that was adopted by the committee.

We're just representing the actual version that was adopted by the committee before the city council votes on it.

Okay.

Thank you.

Does that satisfy the procedural issue?

Yes, it does.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Council Member Wu.

I want to thank Council Member Saka for his leadership on this piece on the plan.

It was a very interesting meeting.

I enjoyed the term advanced Robert Rules of Order.

And so thank you so much for being able to corral everyone's amendments and to get them through.

Thank you.

Council Member Morales.

Thank you.

I no longer sit on the Transportation Committee, but I appreciate Chair Saka incorporating the amendment that we included around sidewalks and pedestrianization.

I wanna say I also really appreciate hearing from our elders today.

It's important that as we move transportation legislation and as we contemplate a levy, that we prioritize safety for Seattleites.

As our public commenters indicated, for those who use wheelchairs, who have vision impairments, who can't drive, they need infrastructure that makes it safe to navigate their neighborhoods too, even if they aren't navigating in a car, and maybe especially if they can't navigate in a car.

So the priorities that we have in the transportation plan I think are really important to restate around Vision Zero to make every Seattle street safe to walk, roll, and bike so people can get home safely.

including fixing our most dangerous streets, many of which are down in South Seattle, including repairing sidewalks and building affordable sidewalk alternatives like home zones.

I see you direct your spots, I know how much you love a home zone.

Connecting every neighborhood with a safe bike route.

I know people, there's a lot of conversation about bikes, but this is really important basic safety infrastructure that we're talking about because There are lots of people who can't drive and who are navigating the city.

navigating the city by bike.

So I think this transportation plan really is about mobility justice for everyone.

And that includes prioritizing basic safety infrastructure for everyone, even if they can't drive around the city.

So I'm looking forward to supporting this.

And as we move into the levy conversation, I think all of those things will be important to talk about too.

Thank you.

Council Member Rivera.

Thank you, Council President.

I echo my colleague's gratitude to Council Member Sacca for his leadership in bringing the STP adoption forward with the amendments.

I did not offer any specific amendments because I have gratitude for other members of the Council who included things that I know that District 4 cares about, including the pedestrian safety and vision zero efforts, and the completion of sidewalks as well.

And I'll just echo the sentiments of my colleague, Council Member Morales, who just spoke right before me about the pedestrian safety and vision zero goals.

Specifically, though, I want to call out things like signal timing, crosswalks, and mitigation efforts to slow down traffic in our neighborhood streets, and all the efforts related to the safe routes to school.

So I very much appreciate the Transportation Committee's efforts.

I look forward to supporting my colleague, Councilmember Saka, in adoption of this transportation plan.

And I very much look forward to the levy, the Move Seattle levy, seeing when that is transmitted, the priorities that are going to be set forth in that plan that hopefully echo and reflect what we're all talking about in terms of pedestrian safety issues.

Vision Zero and other efforts that will really help folks move about the city and also very safely.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Council Member Moore.

Thank you.

So in all that last flurry, I didn't get a chance to thank Council Member and Chair Saka for all his willingness to work with me on the amendments and the other council members as well.

It was a big lift and I do appreciate your willingness to work with us and to incorporate that and I'm looking forward to working with you further on the levy.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Thank you, Council President.

I just want to take this moment to really send a lot of gratitude and thanks to Council Member Asaka for your leadership, committee chair.

Also want to thank Director Spatz, who is here in the audience, and Council Liaison Bill Labor for all of your leadership and help.

And I know that you all are probably sick and tired of us sending you a bunch of emails and questions, but we appreciate you all so much.

And looking forward to the move levy.

And I know it's really big in shaping our city and understanding transportation.

I tore my calf three years ago.

weeks ago, and I've been rolling around on a roller and a scooter, and then now I have graduated to a crutch.

And so I have firsthand experienced what it's like, you know, to have to rely on, you know, sidewalks and understanding stairs you know, different bumps and things or looking out for a pothole while you're navigating.

And so my lens is a lot different than it was before and just have incredible gratitude of a lot of the repairs that are going on in our city and infrastructure and accessibility.

And also wanted to thank our Amelia because you did not have a book when you answered Councilmember Council Member Moore's question about procedure.

I just want everybody to know how amazing our council staff is because it was like you were reading a book and it came from off the top of your head about Robert's rules and procedure.

And that was really, really impressive and amazing.

And I did not want to let that slide by.

And so thank you.

Well, I'll just take the last word and join the chorus of thanks to you, Councilmember and Chair of Transportation SACA and also to my colleagues.

I mean, it's clear from this conversation that this was no rubber stamp job.

You all dug into this plan with a fine tooth comb and really looked closely at all of the components And I know that you also met with your constituents and really put forward your legislative priorities and made sure that the right balance was struck and laboriously worked through changes and amendments.

And so I just have to say that this serves as a blueprint for our levy deliberations.

And so this was a very important time for everybody to learn a lot about modes and our transportation system in general.

So it's been a very fruitful exercise, and I thank you all for taking it so seriously.

Thanks.

With that, if there are, I'll let you have the last word, Council Member Saka, if you'd like.

Before I vote?

Before I vote, sure.

You know, I echo the sentiment.

Thank you, Vice Chair Hinesworth.

I didn't even see them in the back of the room.

You must have joined towards the end of the meeting.

Well, I'm glad you did right on time.

SDOT Director Spatz and Bill Laborde, our SDOT's council liaison, really appreciate your hard work throughout this whole process and your patience and your grace.

answering and being so responsive to a bunch of pesky questions from council members who are really concerned about these really important details that matter.

They matter to our districts and our constituents and they matter to residents across.

to you and thank you to you and everyone at SDOT and of course the mayor's office for their collaboration as well in this and Councilmember Rivera you mentioned you didn't offer any amendments which you didn't offer any formal amendments which is true and I think all the amendments were terrific But the fact that you didn't offer any amendments, in my mind, I think that means I was somewhat successful in my job because I intended to capture throughout this process as much of the feedback that I heard from every last one of you all throughout this whole process.

I was imperfect at times, but in any event, as you aptly noted, many of your priorities All of your priorities for the transportation plan, at least, are directly reflected in the final document that we're getting ready to vote on.

And Councilmember Strauss, no, you are not chopped liver.

I want to acknowledge and appreciate you for everything you've done to make this better.

And I'll call out everyone.

Councilmember Wu, Vice Chair Hollingsworth, I already, you know, acknowledge your and express my appreciation and gratitude for you.

Councilmember Kettle, we were jamming behind the scenes here doing the nitty-gritty sausage making.

I appreciate you and your flexibility and your willingness to, you know, like, look, it's a great outcome here, Councilmember Kettle.

One of our most thoughtful, I mean, in my view, one of our most thoughtful and diligent and just very impressive colleagues that I'm, is Council Member Moore.

Doesn't even sit on the committee, but she made this thing that much better.

And so, Council President, of course, helping guide me.

Enough of the self-raise.

I think we did a good thing.

I'm curious to move it forward.

But again, I just appreciate you all.

And of course, our central staff, Kelvin, and my own staff, Heather, Layla, and Elaine.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the resolution?

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 Member Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Council President Nelson?

Aye.

Nine in favor, none opposed.

Great.

The resolution is adopted and the chair will sign it.

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

All right, folks, there were no items removed from the consent calendar, and there's not a resolution for introduction and adoption today.

Is there any further business to come before the council?

Council President?

Yes.

Thank you for asking that.

I almost forgot to ask to be excused the week of May 6th.

I will be joining a delegation of state representatives to go to Vienna to learn about social housing.

Wow.

Excellent.

I'm not seeing any objections, so thank you very much for letting us know.

You'll be excused.

Thank you.

Excuse me, just for clarification, you'll be out for the city council meeting on May 7th?

May 6th, that entire week, yes.

Thank you.

Council briefing and city council meetings.

Okay, as a reminder, we are going to take a group photo with Dana as soon as we have adjourned.

And we've reached the edge of end of our today's agenda.

Our next regularly scheduled council meeting will be held on April 30 at 2pm.

It is now 332 on Dana Robinson slow day.

And this meeting is adjourned.

Thank you.

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