Seattle City Council Council Briefing 10/14/19

pretty wonderful.

Good morning, everybody.

Thank you for being here for our regularly scheduled briefing.

We have many people in the audience who've just come to watch the Earth Shattering Council briefing topic this morning.

No, I'm just kidding.

They're here for our Get Engaged.

My name is Bruce Harrell, president of the council.

We are joined by Councilmember Sawant, Councilmembers Juarez, Pacheco, Bagshaw, and Gonzalez.

If there's no objection, the minutes of the October 7th, 2019 meeting will be approved.

Hearing no objection, the minutes are being approved.

Let's see the order with which we had sort of described things.

We'll go through the preview of today's full council actions after we address the get engaged members.

I'll dispense of the president's report at this point and say a few comments when we do committee reports.

Now, Council Member Swan, I know you have a conflict, so do you want me to do this and then do your, okay.

Okay, very good.

Okay, so let me pass something out for the council first.

This is a description of these extremely talented, get-engaged members, and what we're trying to do for efficiency's sake are sort of, it represents all, I shouldn't say all of the commissions, the lion's share of the commissions where we have the Get Engaged members.

Instead of doing them one at a time, we'll address them on the full council this afternoon.

And you have a description of their backgrounds and sort of some cheat notes that my staff put together.

So that's the document there.

And what I said before the cameras returned on us, so we'd like to get to know you a little bit.

And because we have you and I think, is it alphabetical or I think it's?

It's the order with which you're presented on the voting agenda this afternoon.

You don't have a copy of this document, so if you would like to just introduce yourself and talk about the commission you're going to serve.

If you want to say anything else about yourself, that's fine.

And let's see who we have here.

So I believe we have 24 appointees.

I don't know if all 24 are here or not, but how would you like to proceed?

Yeah, we can go in order.

So we have Joseph Colleen.

OK.

Just pass the microphone to him, yeah.

Hi, my name's Joseph Gunner Colleen.

I'm going to be on the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board.

I am a born and raised Seattleite.

I work at the Urban Indian Health Institute, where I work on chronic disease prevention and work in Indian country.

And I'm really excited for this opportunity.

Excellent.

Great, we have Amanda Sandoval next.

And Amanda, before you begin, I forgot one little caveat.

There could be a question or two from some of you from the council, that is part of the process.

And so we're kind, we're gentle, but if any of my colleagues have questions of you, that sometimes happens when we do the committee work.

So colleagues, let's cross-examine them.

Go ahead, please.

Hi, my name is Amanda Sandoval.

I am a Public Policy Coordinator at the Mockingbird Society and I'm on the Immigrant and Refugee Commission.

Very excited to be here.

Next, we have Elisa Ramsey.

Hi, Eliza Ramsey.

Like Gunnar, I work at the Urban Indian Health Institute and particularly grateful to be here on Indigenous Peoples Day.

I'm proud to be appointed to the Board of Parks Commissioners as I believe that public spaces and public services like recreation opportunities are fundamental to building healthy and strong communities.

Wonderful.

That's what I sort of was trying to get at is why did you all migrate to that particular board?

And Eliza hit it on the head.

Thank you very much.

Next, we have Brian Stromer.

This is like hot potato.

I'm Brian Stromer.

I am at Microsoft Radio Marketing, and I'm going to be on the Seattle Transit Advisory Board.

I'm super excited because I think transit equals opportunity.

Very good.

Gregory Catron.

Hi, good morning.

My name is Greg Catron.

I'm a practicing architect with Methoon in Seattle, and I'm also a felt textile artist based here as well.

I'm very excited to be given the opportunity to serve on the Seattle Center Advisory Commission, not only as a frequent user of our beloved institution, but also as an architect.

I'm excited to bring experience in urban design and community outreach to the commission.

So thank you.

Thank you very much.

Next, we have Sheila Gaibi.

Hi, I'm Sheila Guybee, really close.

I am originally from Utah, moved to Seattle about five years ago, but consider this my home.

I do marketing for T-Mobile, and I'm on the Seattle Arts Commission.

I'm really excited to make sure that everyone feels like an artist and feels like they're a part of this community, because I feel like a lot of people have that within them.

Thank you, Sheila.

Next, we have Nathaniel Higbee.

Straight in the back.

My name is Nate Higbee.

I work at Virginia Mason Medical Center, and I'll be serving on the LGBTQ committee.

One of the reasons why I'm really excited about this is working at a hospital.

I see a lot of care gaps that we have for our LGBTQ population.

So I'm really excited to be having the opportunity to work on that this year.

Thanks, Nate.

Next, we have Adriana Lasso-Herrera.

Hi, everyone.

My name is Adriana Lasso-Herrera.

I'm the communications manager at the Statewide Poverty Action Network.

And I'm very much looking forward to working on the Seattle Women's Commission and working alongside the women of Seattle for gender equity.

Next we have Gloria Ma.

Hi, I'm Gloria Ma.

I will be serving on the Design Review Board.

I believe design is very important for our community and for our city, so I'm really excited to be part of this board.

I'm currently a project designer at Weber Thompson, and I have a background in architecture.

Thank you.

Before you go to the next one, I'd like to address my first mistake of the day.

of the week.

Did the presenters, Michael, did any of you want to come up and introduce?

Did we have presenters at the table that I was supposed to invite here?

I get five mistakes a week.

It's just Monday.

I got four more to go.

So please come forward.

And we stopped at

at Gloria Ma at Weber Thompson.

So let's stop there and Justin, just hold tight.

And maybe you all could talk about the apparent phenomenal job you did at recruiting these Get Engaged and talk maybe a little bit for the viewing public a little bit about the Get Engaged.

Introductions, please.

Is this on?

Yes.

Good?

Cool.

So I'm Kyla Blair, Director of External Affairs and Outreach for Mayor Durkin.

She is very excited to put this cohort forward today.

Our staff did a lot of work, did a lot of interviews, worked with the Y.

pretty closely to do a lot of the outreach, so we're excited to be here.

I'm actually going to just turn over to Ari to give an overview of the process that folks went through.

Hello, everyone.

My name is Ari Einbinder.

I am the Get Engaged program coordinator for the Accelerator YMCA.

The Accelerator YMCA is thrilled to be partnering with the city again this year and leading the Get Engaged program.

For those who may not be familiar, who may be listening, Get Engaged was designed to give seats on local city boards and commissions to those 18 to 29, presenting an opportunity to get younger voices.

younger people to have a voice and to literally have a seat at the table.

And as others have said, after a lot of consideration, we had over 75 applications this year, which is really, really great.

It was also a little bit daunting to narrow down the choices because really everyone was such a strong applicant.

But after carefully reviewing all the applications and conducting interviews, we're really, really proud of our 2019-2020 Get Engaged cohort.

Our cohort really represents a variety of backgrounds and life experiences, ranging from social services and nonprofits to urban planning to continued education.

There are individuals who are passionate about an array of issues, including working to improve education, social justice, and protecting the environment.

This cohort also represents the richness of our community's diversity, and we are excited to have members from every single Seattle district.

represented on these boards and commissions.

Also, before I lose the mic, I do want to say a thank you to everyone who helped make this possible, including the liaisons participating, the liaisons from both the boards and from the mayor's office.

I would also personally really like to thank Tao Madsen, who really helped me out a lot and fielded 1,000 emails from me.

But in general, my thanks to everyone who helped move this process along and get us to this point.

I'm really looking forward to an amazing year and learning with everyone here.

I'm sorry, Kyla.

Any questions of the process or these two fine people?

Council Member Bagshaw.

Thank you.

We know how important this program is.

I'm delighted that all of you are here.

Can you tell me, when did this get started?

Because I know that it's grown over the last 10 years, but do you know the first year we did this,

I believe it was 2001, if I'm not mistaken.

So, to those of you who have already spoken, thank you for this, but I want to say on the Parks Commission, this was a big deal about 10 years ago, and I was chairing parks at the time, and there was a conflict between how they were choosing somebody on the board.

There was, you know, various people that were appointed to the commission, and then they were voting for I believe their seventh member.

And it got to be a nasty conflict.

And it was at that point where I said, why don't you get a get engaged person on it?

You know, let's do the three and the three that the mayor and the council would appoint.

But again, the first get engaged person just transformed the entire board.

So I just want you to know that this is not an exercise in just sort of, you know, something nice to do.

You really will have a major impact.

So thank you.

Very good.

Thanks for those comments customer Bankshaw any other closing words And thanks for your patience.

I just didn't look at the notes.

I was too anxious to meet our get engaged Okay, so with that, please stay at the table and if and again, we may ask you some questions but for the first eight or nine that was very nice and and it's it's again free and You can talk about your background even more than just I work here.

You could talk about your passion and any career goals or any of that stuff.

So, we try to keep it somewhat informal to try to get to know you.

And we will be voting on your packages this afternoon.

Okay.

Great.

Next, we have Justin Panganiban.

Hi.

My name is Justin Panganiban.

I'm originally from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Lived in Seattle for about five years now.

I currently work as a urban designer and planner at Via Architecture, and I'm excited to be joining the Design Review Board with the East District.

And I'm just really excited to be helping shape places that are a source of community pride.

Thanks.

Next, we have Olivia Price.

It's okay to shout what districts you're from, too, by the way.

Gotta know.

There better be at least two of you from District 2.

I'm Olivia, and I just got my voice back today, so I apologize if it cracks, but I currently work at Village Reach, a global health nonprofit, and I studied public health at the University of Washington, and I will be on the Pioneer Square Preservation Board.

And I grew up in Ballard, so I'm really interested in preserving the historic character of our city, but also making sure that it's representative of and accessible to all.

Nice.

Very good.

Next, we have Lucas Whitesell.

Oh, Michael, I got it.

Hi, everyone.

My name is Lucas Whitesell.

I'm a proud constituent of District 3. Structural engineer by training.

I grew up in Olympia, Washington.

Went to UW for college, went to Berkeley for my master's, and then eventually moved back here to practice at a company called Arup.

Huge Sounders fan.

Love Seattle.

I've been involved in some community outreach around the region.

I'm doing a program called Mentor U to help mentor high school students get prepared for college.

I've done a lot of work fund banking and door-to-door canvassing for initiatives and candidates, both locally and nationally.

So I'd say that's definitely a passion that I hold.

And I see the opportunity to work on the commission, sorry, I should say the Seattle Design Commission, as a perfect way to marry my talents and my passion for infrastructure and for design with my passions for community engagement.

So I'm really excited to work on the commission.

Hopefully, as a member of the Seattle Design Commission, I can help hear design ideas that are going to impact the city and do my part to make sure that they take into account every single person who they're going to touch and try to make sure that they improve the city for everybody.

Thank you, Lucas.

Very good.

Next, we have Hannah Wilson.

Hi, my name is Hannah Wilson.

I'm originally from the San Francisco Bay Area.

And I just graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in environmental science.

I'm really passionate about environmental justice issues and disability justice issues, just because I'm a hard of hearing person.

So I will be joining the Seattle Commission for People with Disabilities.

And my goal is to bring an intersectional lens to the way we address these issues, including accessibility, inclusion, and bringing up a bigger community here at Seattle.

Thank you, Hannah.

Next, we have Ryan Lahiri Galloway-Watt.

Hi, good morning.

My name is Ryan Watt, and I'm a senior analyst at Abt Associates, which is a research and technical assistance firm.

I do work mostly for the U.S.

Department of Housing and Urban Development on issues of housing and homelessness.

And here in Seattle, I also work in direct service as a meal coordinator at Teen Feed, which is a low-barrier meal program in the U District for youth experiencing homelessness.

And Amanda, I have a Mockingbird pin on which is also a terrific organization.

I'm really excited to be able to join the planning commission because I think the voices of those experiencing homelessness and especially youth experiencing homelessness are not typically well represented in those spaces.

So I'm excited to see what we can do with respect to planning for those folks.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next we have Sharif Mahfouz.

Hi, my name is...

Sorry, a little sick.

My name is Sharif Mahfouz, and I am a software engineer at Vizio.

I live in Lower Queen Anne, also work in Lower Queen Anne, so very proud District 7. I am selected to serve on the Community Involvement Commission, and I'm very excited to serve on the Community Involvement Commission because I was born in New York City, family of two immigrants, and I know how structures and processes can prevent and disenfranchise people from being involved in their government.

And also after having lived in the South for a period of time, I'm very passionate to see that those people are represented by their government.

So I hope my lived experience, the lived experiences of the people around me, and my neighbors here in Seattle can help inform me on how to serve that commission.

But I also hope that I have the humility to know that I don't have the answers to all the problems we have.

Thank you.

Thanks, Sharif.

Next is Felicia Turner Murphy.

My name is Felicia Turner Murphy.

I'm in District 1. I'm from Ohio originally.

I grew up in Columbus, got a BA in Psych at Cleveland State University, and then my Master's in Social Work down at a university in Kentucky.

I currently work as a psychotherapist slash case manager at Downtown Emergency Service Center, and I'm also a trainer for mental health and equity.

for staff.

I'm going to be on the Seattle Renters Commission.

I'm a huge advocate for systems change.

I don't really see a point of working in a system that's broken, so why not change it?

And especially with the clients that I serve, a lot of them are the most vulnerable homeless with mental health and substance use.

So working on the Seattle's Renter Commission, I'm really excited to make some structural impact on the people that I serve every day.

Thank you, Felicia.

Next is Jayden Zwick.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Jaden Zwick, and I was born in Seattle, raised proudly in Federal Way, and I now live in Columbia City.

And I love my neighborhood, and I love my community, and community is something that's really important to me.

And so I am currently the program coordinator for a community-based leadership scholarship called ACT VI.

And in that role, I have the chance to do a lot of leadership development with young people.

And for me, I think that developing leadership is so, so, so central to the way that we're able to make social change for our communities.

And so I really believe in leadership that is community-oriented, that is equity-based, and that also is anti-racist.

And so for me, I get to serve on the Human Rights Commission, and I'm really excited to kind of bring my passion and understanding of the fact that all of us are connected in so many ways, and none of us are liberated until all of us are liberated.

And so being on the commission, I think, is just going to be a great place for me to be able to learn and kind of share my experiences and passion and curiosity with that team.

So thank you so much.

That's District 2 all day right there.

That's District 2. Thank you, Jadie.

Thank you.

Next is Catherine Cremins.

Hi, I'm Katie Crimmins.

I'm originally from Boston.

I've been in Seattle for about three years now, and I live on First Hill.

I have worked in a variety of sectors.

I've worked for the city of Boston, for Amazon, and now for the YMCA of Greater Seattle.

So I'm really excited to be part of this program and help support the Y in a new way.

And I've worked in digital my whole career, and I'm serving on the Community Technology Advisory Board.

I think technology is really powerful.

It can be a great equalizer and give people access to resources and tools they normally wouldn't have just by geographic location or other factors, but it's also powerful in negative ways.

And so I think the commission is really critical to make sure that the, that people have access to the right resources and that they're being, that technology is being used appropriately.

Thank you very much.

Next, we have Nayati Johnson.

Hi, my name is Nayati Johnson.

I will be on the Urban Forestry Commission.

I'm really excited to be working on issues of environmental justice, climate resilience, and overall livability of the city.

I live in Beacon Hill and work in Mount Baker at Treehouse, which actually has nothing to do with trees.

And I, so far, have been able to sit in on a couple of Urban Forestry Commission meetings where I really learned a lot and was able to see how some of my technical experience in urban forestry can be applied.

So I'm really looking forward to learning more.

District 2.

No, that's just two.

Thank you very much.

Thanks, Niani.

Next, we have Ian McLeod.

Okay, we'll go to Emily Meltzer.

Hi, I'm Emily Meltzer.

I'm the Director of Development and Communications at Accelerator Y, so the social services part of the Y of Greater Seattle.

I'll be serving on the Pedestrian Advisory Board, and I live in Rainier Beach, and I've lived in Seattle for a little over seven years.

I'm really excited about the Pedestrian Advisory Board because I think accessible sidewalks and safe routes to school and work are absolutely crucial to building a sustainable city.

Thank you, Emily.

I think that concludes our list.

All right.

Well done, everybody.

Well, let's give this talent.

No.

And Ari, will you make it clear to my colleagues that I have nothing to do with folks coming from District 2?

We look at the applications.

So I would like to say a few words, and many of you can I would like to take a moment and grab the mic and speak back if you like.

And that is, in all seriousness, the reason I am in a good mood this morning is people are willing to put their skin in the game and put their time and resources and their expertise into improving the lives of others, not your own life.

And by virtue of the talent we have running this city, that there would be, there's a lot of people who loved that narrative about how bad we're doing.

We are a growing city.

Many of you moved here within the most recent years and we have our pain points, we have our our issues we're trying to work through, but it's not because of a lack of talent, or a lack of commitment, or even a lack of intellect.

Big cities in our country right now are struggling with some very challenging issues, and the get engaged is sort of the lifeblood of where we're trying to go.

So I'm always excited when I see this kind of talent not criticized, but put the skin in the game.

So thank you very much for serving on these very important And so I look forward to supporting all of you.

There's 21, I think, we brought today, 21. So I'm only voting for 18. Three just didn't make the cut.

No, I'm just kidding.

A lot of talent, and I can't wait to vote this afternoon for you.

Any other comments from my colleagues before we go to our today's council actions?

I bet you if I wait long enough, someone's going to say something.

Everybody good?

Okay.

Thank you very much.

You're welcome to stay for our brief, and we're going to go business for today.

Thank you, God.

Thank you, Ari.

Appreciate it.

Appreciate it very much.

Okay, I'm going to do two things.

I'm going to talk about something that's on the IRC this afternoon and then present council members to want to come in to report.

What's on the IRC for today, which will be up for vote next week, is a resolution.

approving referendum 88, which supports I-1000.

And the reason we think this is critical is not only to show our strong support for I-1000, but to also make it clear how people are to vote on 88. Some people don't know if they should go yes or no on 88. And on 88, it's a yes, we approve it, because it affirms I-1000.

And we don't want any confusion on that.

And we certainly want Seattle to help lead the way in this effort.

So that'll be on the IRC for vote next Monday.

And I look forward to that next Monday.

I will move to Council Member Sawant's committee report.

She had a conflict and wanted me to read that.

Council Members who want to request that I read the report of the Human Services, Equitable Development, and Renters' Rights Committee because she is at the Indigenous Peoples Day March.

There are no items on today's City Council agenda from the Human Services, Equitable Development, and Renters' Rights Committee.

The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for a special time this Thursday, October 17th at 5 o'clock p.m.

At that time, we will hold the legally required public hearing into her office's legislation to expand options to build tiny house villages in Seattle.

So that's Thursday, October 17th.

Okay, any questions on that?

Okay, Council Member Woerz, you have the floor.

Thank you.

Good morning, everybody.

Good morning.

Good morning.

So, first of all, you okay?

Sorry.

I haven't even started yet.

Let me get in that stand.

I know, exactly.

Dang.

Now that we've had our show here from our president, I know it's a hard act to follow.

There are no items from the Civic Development, Public Asset, and Native Communities items on today's calendar or agenda.

And again, happy Indigenous Peoples Day.

As an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Nation, I have the pleasure of being Indigenous every day, so that's nice.

I want to thank Councilmember Herboldt for reading the proclamation today.

Thank you, Councilmember Herboldt.

And today I am wearing my Lummi Nation pins.

So the Lummi's are watching.

So today I'm Lummi.

That's it.

Thank you, Council Member Juarez.

Council Member Pacheco.

Morning.

At full council today, we will be voting on a corresponding council bill and clarify for a contract rezone of 5256 Rainier Avenue South from the Neighborhood Commercial 2 with a 55 foot height limit to a Neighborhood Commercial 2 with a 65 foot height limit.

Just wanted to make the announcement of the 24th.

We are doing the Seattle 150 anniversary with the Municipal Archives at the dock.

It's a trivia night.

And so I hope to see all the different teams and different from different offices be able to be there hopefully and I want to invite the community as well.

Thank you Councilmember Pacheco.

Councilmember Herbold.

Thank you so much.

There are no items on the full council agenda from the Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development and Arts Committee.

We do not have a committee meeting and just a couple of events to make note of before I do that though.

I do want to circulate the Indigenous People's Day proclamation and make note as well of the events today.

There is, as Council President Harrell mentioned earlier, celebratory march starting at Westlake Park that goes from 930 to 1130 a.m.

ending up here.

And then there'll be a celebration and birth of night land is between 1130 and 130 p.m.

where the mayor will present this proclamation.

And the evening celebration and dinner will be at the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center between 5 p.m.

and 9 p.m.

Other events that I have had last week and coming up this week, on Saturday I attended a fundraiser for Totem Star at Youngstown Cultural Center.

Totem Star is a fantastic organization focused on ensuring that Youth have access to recording space and equipment to engage young people in musical arts.

Later that evening, I also attended the West Seattle Helpline Gala Dinner.

The West Seattle Helpline is an organization that's focused on ensuring that people get the help they need to prevent homelessness in advance of their situation becoming a crisis situation.

Later on this week, I also want to make mention that the Admiral Church in West Seattle is looking at doing an affordable housing project.

And I participated in a little town hall that they put on to try to engage the community around their plans moving forward.

And it was, I think, a really useful first step to get that broader community engaged on the ground floor before anything moves forward.

I will be attending this evening's Business Improvement Area Public Safety Forum, and also will be attending Wednesday's Bellwether Housing Closer to Home Luncheon, and Tuesday's Housing Alliance event.

So, busy week, and I think that covers it for me.

We have a reminder that our second public hearing is next Tuesday.

We also, later this week, we'll begin the budget deliberations and issue ID sessions.

I also want to acknowledge Council Central staff.

Thank you to all members of the staff.

I know Ali and Dan were doing tremendous work over the last several weeks.

I know for the next five weeks it's going to be intense for them, so I just want to acknowledge and say thank you.

And so the ID sessions gives us an opportunity to talk about our priorities, and thanks to everybody for getting your Form As at 1010 at 10 a.m.

Those forms came in, and the central staff begins to get them organized, and I'll be talking with each of you about what your priorities are so I have an understanding.

And there's a lot of intersection around homelessness and the LEAD program and supporting the good work that...

a number of our entities and organizations are doing.

We'll talk a lot more about that.

So thank you for everybody being engaged and staying engaged.

On today's committee, Finance and Neighborhoods Committee, we have one item that is a collective bargaining agreement that comes directly to council.

It did not go through my committee, but I want to thank Karina Bull.

Thank you for putting all this together.

If this passes, which I assume that it will, it will provide for four years, a collective bargaining agreement for three departments, Seattle Public Utilities, Department of Transportation and Parks.

and recreation.

So this is certainly not pro forma, but it does come directly to this council, full council this afternoon.

If you've got any questions, please let me know beforehand.

And I do want to say big thanks to our folks in Beltan.

There has been, over the last couple of years, a real effort to make a park where the Battery Street Tunnel where it used to go in and come out, Highway 99, before the Viaduct came down.

We had a great meeting last week.

They pulled together all of the people that represented the major community organizations there.

Marshall Foster, thanks so much for coming.

And we really are getting a handle on what's looking forward, one of the items that I'll be bringing forward in the budget.

But we have money for it.

And I just want to acknowledge the fact that we're looking at $500,000 to really help get the geotech work going on that.

in line with what Marshall Foster's already doing on Bell Street.

So this is a great opportunity, and I do want to say thanks to everybody who participated in that.

And then lastly, this is just good news.

You know, once in a while, really great things happen, and I want to acknowledge that the work that we've been doing on Yesler Crescent, which is City Hall Park and down Second Avenue, in this last year, Parks has done a tremendous job in making it a more user-friendly place.

There are a lot of people who are going, making it more, You know, one of our touchstones is how many women are in that park?

Do they feel safe?

So great work has been done there, working with parks and SPU and police about what we're going to do with Prefontaine Fountain across the street.

But down on 2nd Avenue going south towards the King Street Station, we've made so much progress this year.

The Metropole building that has been boarded up for over 10 years has been sold now to the Satterberg Foundation.

For Tara will be the project manager, and they're looking at putting child care in down there.

So yay on that.

Colleen Echo-Hawk, God bless.

Her building right next to Seattle Center, Lazarus Day Center, is coming down in January.

There will be over 80 units of affordable housing there right around the corner.

Peter and Lisa Nitze have already started pulling down the old building.

Another 80 units of housing are starting right now.

Ribbon cutting is tomorrow on this, so another 80 units there.

And the cannery building that you've heard me fuss about for most of the last couple of years, I've been in touch with the property owner now.

He's met with me three times.

Last week, we reached out to the Filipino community.

We'll have another meeting.

next week to get their ideas on how their heritage and culture could be honored and with the potential of putting at least another 80 units of housing there.

So, you know, in just a year of pushing, pushing, pushing, we have gotten tremendous work going forward with hundreds of units right down on 2nd Avenue.

So thanks to all of you for helping me and putting up with that.

Thanks, Council Member Baxhaw.

Council Member Gonzalez.

Thank you.

Good morning.

I have a very short report.

There's nothing on this afternoon's full council agenda from the Gender Equity, Safe Communities, New Americans, and Education Committee.

Just really quickly, I wanted to go over a couple of events that I had the pleasure of participating in last week.

On Tuesday, October 8th, I and my staff, Vy Nguyen from my office, and Council Member Pacheco and Carlene from his office, We went out into community in district 3. We did a walking tour with a Capitol Hill eco district in sort of a ramp up in preparation for a budget ad that I'll be advocating for this budget season to provide $150,000 to that community to do some community visioning and planning around how to facilitate the process of making the portions within the ecodistrict more pedestrian-friendly and more accessible to a non-motorized vehicle, but also really focusing on how to transform those public spaces into something that feels safe and livable and sustainable for everyone who wants to use those spaces.

a follow-up and a product of the trip that I did to Copenhagen in August, and we are bringing home many of those lessons together with some of the representatives from major institutions in the area who joined us on the walking tour, as well as staff and leaders at Capitol Hill Housing and Capitol Hill Eco-District, as well as residents, workers, et cetera, within Capitol Hill, really broad coalition of support, to begin the process of not just doing a visioning plan, but of also formulating an implementation plan that could be leveraged and used as a blueprint, if you will, together with relevant agencies.

at the city to really begin the process of thinking more concretely about how to make the Capitol Hill Eco-District both economically viable in the future but also more accessible to pedestrians really excited about.

having had the opportunity to just walk the streets with these representatives and looking forward to having an ongoing conversation in the context of our budget process this year.

On Saturday, and also just huge thanks to Council Member Pacheco and his office for joining us as well.

It was a lot of fun and I think an hour worth, an hour and a half well spent.

On Saturday, October 12th, I had an opportunity to join between 50 and 70 members of the community who are looking at various democracy issues.

I want to thank the Fix Democracy First organization who organized the event and had me come out and speak about some of the democracy work that we've done here in the city of Seattle, including Honest Elections.

and a bill that I will be advancing with regard to independent expenditures and additional campaign disclosures for next year.

So really excited about continuing the education process around that and some advocacy around that and really appreciative of the fact that I was invited to join this important group of democracy advocates on this last Saturday, October 12th, I can't even remember.

what month it is anymore.

That is all I have to report for now and that'll it.

Thank you Council Member Gonzalez.

Council President, I forgot just to mention is circulating now the calendar for this week and our budget deliberation and issue ID and It was came to us from Kirsten last Friday.

I just want to make sure everybody saw this starting Wednesday at 930 Continuing all the way through next Tuesday

Very good, thanks for the calendar.

Sorry, one more thing.

Council Member Gonzalez.

Sorry, before we wrap up, I just, I wanted to, I know we were talking about it offline before the cameras turned on, but I just wanted to say congratulations to my good friend and our colleague, Council Member Teresa Mosqueda and her husband, Manuel Valdez, who just received, who just had their first child on October 9th.

Probably did not feel like just a receipt.

And really just want to express our congratulations on behalf of my office, certainly, and I'm sure all of you share the sentiment.

Really pleased that it was a healthy delivery and that Mom and Camila are both doing well.

So just want to wish them well as they venture down this new path and enjoy the family leave that they have accessible to them.

I'm really excited that we get to add one more person to the City of Seattle family.

You stole my thunder.

I was just asked, Council Member Wuerz, I couldn't remember the beautiful daughter's name and Council Member Wuerz gave it to me and I wanted to acknowledge that.

Thanks for doing that, Council Member Gonzalez.

Okay, having said that, and I'm sure both are probably watching us now.

I wouldn't be surprised if she was.

Yes, we love you both.

We love you both.

Okay, as presiding officer, I'm announcing that the Seattle City Council will now convene an executive session, and the purpose of the executive session is to discuss pending potential or actual litigation.

This gives us an opportunity to discuss confidential legal matters with our city attorneys as authorized by law.

However, a legal monitor from the city attorney's office is always present to make sure we reserve questions of public policy in our public, open, transparent sessions.

And I expect this session to last for 30 minutes.

That'll be until 1045. And if it goes beyond that, I'll announce its extension and public session.

And we move into executive session.

You