City Council 3/24/2026

Awesome.

Good afternoon.

The March 24th, 2026 meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is 2.03 p.m.

I am Joy Hollingsworth, your council president.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council member Lynn?

Here.

Council member Rink?

Present.

Council member Rivera?

Present.

Council member Sacca?

Here.

Council member Strauss?

Here.

Council member Foster?

Here.

Councilmember Kettle.

Here.

Council President Hollingsworth.

Here.

Eight.

Present.

Awesome.

And for the record, Councilmember Juarez is excused for today.

Colleagues, there are no presentations for today, but before we jump into the public comment period, I'd like to kick it over to Councilmember Foster, because we have some special guests in the audience today.

Councilmember Foster, you are recognized.

Thank you so much, Council President Hollingsworth.

I wanted to start off and extend a welcome to some students who are here with us today from Summit Sierra High School.

I just had the pleasure of sitting down with them and spending time both learning about their background and fielding some really fun questions.

So just wanted to welcome them and share The students are here as part of a two-week program with the City Attorney's Office where they will be interning and fellowshipping in the office and spending time learning about local government.

So we have future lawyers in our midst.

We maybe have some future central staffers, future doctors, future immigration attorneys and so much more and maybe even our next Seattle City Council member.

So welcome to the students from Summit Sierra.

Thank you.

Thank you Councilmember Foster, welcome.

We are so lucky to have you here today and we always love our youth to come see Democracy in Action and then also to see our public comment period and also meet with the council members.

So we really appreciate you all taking the time for coming today.

So thank you all for being here.

Colleagues, at this time we will open.

Yes, give me one second, we're at ease.

Okay, awesome.

Colleagues, at this time, we're gonna open the hybrid public comment period.

Public comment is limited to items on today's agenda.

The introduction and referral calendar and council's work program.

Clerk, how many speakers do we have signed up?

So far we have 18.

And in person?

We have 11 in person and excuse me, now we have eight in person, sorry, eight remote, 11 in person.

Okay, that's 18. So that's fewer than 30 and that is two minutes per speaker.

I do see we have more speakers potentially signing up.

And so I'm gonna allow Folks, I'm gonna allow folks to sign up, because if we have more than 30, then we will have to bump it down to one minute.

So we're gonna give time for people to sign up.

Colleagues, we're gonna be at ease.

Colleagues, while we allow people to sign up for public comments, we can have an accurate record of how many folks are signed up, okay?

So thank you.

Welcome you all, please sign up for public comment.

If you are coming in, you are all welcome to the people's house.

Thank you all for coming today.

Thank you all for coming.

We're just getting the full list for sign up.

We just are waiting to get an accurate account of all of our speakers.

Thank you everyone for your patience as we're just waiting to get all of our speakers, our public commenters.

Thank you.

Thank you all for being here as well.

Welcome.

It's good to see you.

It's good to see everyone.

We'll just wait till we get an accurate account.

Usually when I am out in the community, I say it's good to see you.

People who are older, around like 78, it's good to be seen.

It's always good to be seen.

Okay, awesome.

So we'll have an accurate account.

How many speakers do we have?

We'll calculate it.

Thank you, colleagues, for your patience.

Yeah, 18 in person and eight remote.

So 26 total?

Okay.

Awesome.

All right.

So we have 26 total speakers.

Thank you all for being here.

Um, so if it's fewer than 30, we give people two minutes.

If it's between 30 and 60, it's one minute.

So we have hit the magic number under 30. So everyone's going to get two minutes to speak.

Um, clerk, will you please read the public, uh, the rules for the public comment period?

Speakers will be called in the order in which they are registered.

Speakers will hear a chime when 10 seconds are left of their time.

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.

Okay, awesome.

And give me one second, because I lost my paper.

Is it this one first?

Okay, awesome.

Okay, so we're going to call up Noah Williams, followed by, I believe this is Caitlin.

and then Gary Lee.

And before we start, I just wanna thank everyone for coming.

This is a quick reminder that we all are gonna remain respectful.

There's gonna be a lot of people that are gonna have different comments raining on different subjects here today from transportation, to public safety, to ICE, to all different stuff.

So just wanna make sure that we are all courteous of people who are coming here as public commenters because everyone took off time today to come down here to speak as well.

So thank you so much.

Noah, you were up first.

Welcome, good to see you.

Thank you, Council President Hollingsworth.

Speak right into the mic and we'll reset your time just so you can speak into the mic.

All right, go ahead.

Thank you, council member.

For the record, my name's Noah Williams and I'm a West Seattle resident.

I'm also a member of the Transit Riders Union.

Unfortunately, my message today pertains to everything on this council's agenda here and going forward and it is an issue of being blocked.

We don't want to be out here testifying against cameras.

We want to be out here championing and testifying for your progressive legislation, social housing expansion, bus lanes, bike lanes, sidewalks, disability access, and the dozens of other priorities.

that the Transit Riders Union and the MAS Coalition are advocating.

I know that many of you want to do a lot of good for the city, and I'm asking here today that you act on that and help us get unstuck by ending this deeply unpopular pilot of cameras early.

The mayor is getting a lot of flack for something that a previous council implemented and that this council can undo.

It's not too late to reverse course.

The anger by the community isn't going away, and really there's no PR solution for it, either on the mayor's side or on the council's side.

I want to make a specific call to this council and further to my council member, Rob Saka, who, thank you, voted no on the SPOG contract that was the right thing to do.

Thank you for doing the right thing.

Please propose legislation to cut this pilot short and cut our losses.

The financial cost of this pilot may be a sunk one, but the damage itself is ongoing.

And I'd also like to address the efficacy of these cameras itself and their role or non-role, I don't know which, in the shooting and the investigation that happened in Rainier.

The footage that is being circulated includes footage from a metro bus that is not connected to these camera networks.

It is recorded to a local DVR that was rapidly retrieved without creating a surveillance dragnet.

There is somewhere on the spectrum and there are changes possible to the system that don't require a system like this to be implemented.

Thank you.

Thank you, Noah.

Next we have Carolyn, followed by Gary Lee, and then Beth.

Hello, Ms. Malone.

Welcome.

Take your time, you're all good.

Thank you.

Okay, I'm going to turn.

I'm Carolyn Malone, 910 Marion.

I'm a senior.

I'm going to address the audience instead of council, because obviously when the issue is unpopular or police are involved, I cannot reach city council.

I've come into the chambers to make an appointment and talk to them, but they have time to talk to others, but not my housing issues.

And because I'm an outspoken black woman, I like being outspoken about things worthy to talk about.

In my senior housing, Chancery Place apartments, the manager just ripped out the laundry room.

so we don't know where we're going to wash indefinitely.

He ripped out the women's restroom on the first floor.

It's like a prison there now.

The ping pong table was removed.

Asians were using that each day.

The television, the remote control has been hidden and just constant things are taken away.

And whenever I speak out, then I get a notice about pay up or you're evicted.

On February 18th, I was in King County Superior Court defending my right to remain in my housing of almost seven years.

The judge saw the scam, sham, fraud in it and dismissed the case and The next day, the manager retaliated by telling me, pay up or move out.

So I have a complaint before Seattle Office of Civil Rights and other agencies.

I follow the right processes.

I get no action.

So I'll keep coming out and speaking about what's going on.

And security also.

I'm treated as a pariah when I protest in the building.

Thank you, Ms. Malone.

Thank you, Ms. Malone.

So next, we have Gary Lee, followed by Beth, and then Tanya, and then Astrid.

Welcome, Gary.

Good afternoon.

I'm Gary Lee.

I'm from Chinatown, and I'm here with a bunch of friends from Chinatown.

And about two weeks ago, I emailed you a petition that we had submitted with over 1,000 signatures in support of the CCTV program.

Back in 2024, we submitted over 750 signatures in support of the program, and now we're submitting another 1,000 signatures to keep it going and to add more in the CID.

Let's see, we're requesting that you keep the program running and you add more cameras to it.

The program was put in place to protect the community and the residences there and to prevent crime.

And that's what we need to continue to do.

The CID has most recently in the crime dashboard been identified as the highest violent crime area.

So we need to work on that.

not put tools away that are trying to help prevent crime.

So that's what we're doing.

We have a bunch of people that are here that are in support of it.

These are the residents that you see here, seniors.

This is signed by business owners, employees, shoppers.

restaurant visitors, all the people who visit Chinatown, the CID.

I walked out, look at this.

This is all collected in the rain.

That's why it's all wrinkled up like that.

The PDF that you got, it was so hard to go put through the machine because it was all wrinkled up by collecting in the rain.

So I'm submitting this to you, over 1,000 signatures, to keep it going.

and that's what we're hoping you'll do.

Thank you.

Thank you, Gary.

Next we have Beth, followed by Tanya, followed by Astrid, and then Long.

Okay, understood.

Jody, can you please increase the time to four minutes?

Thank you.

Yeah.

May I ask for two more minutes to translate in Chinese for our group volunteer?

Absolutely.

Thank you so much.

Really appreciate it.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

And just pause for the re...

I'm sorry.

For the record, just so everyone knows, it is policy that when we are doing translation that we add an extra additional two minutes for speakers.

So I just wanted to be clear on that.

So anyone else said, can I have an extra two minutes?

It's for us, the translation.

So thank you so much.

Thank you.

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, I'm Beth.

a community volunteer and a public safety council member of Chinatown International District CID.

We have 1,032 supporting signatures to retain the CCTV for long term in our community.

Those signatures are from the nine low income affordable building residents and more than 100 business organizations, employees, managers, business owners, community members and leaders.

Public safety concern is the top priority in CID community as we're facing the homeless crisis, shelter crisis, crime crisis for years.

In May 2025, SPD launched a Pilot Real-Time Crime Center, RTCC, an evidence-based approach that uses technology to reduce crime and community harm.

The rule says disclosure or immigrating for enforcement purpose is prohibited by law and policy.

Without the CCTV evidence would allow the perpetrator to be arrested quickly.

We are all frustrated.

said feel no future.

Safety concern led to a significant drop in customers and everyone is taking precautions to avoid being a victim.

According to the police data, the use of high-tech CCTV increased the speed of solving cases by three times than the traditional way.

Actually, we demand more cameras in high risk and dark locations.

The 1032 signatures are the public opinion and the will of the CID community.

Urgent our mayor and the city leaders to listen.

If you have another way to reduce crimes, please also use the CCTV RTCC technology for double security, which would be high efficiency.

And there is no good reason to remove it or cancel it.

Thank you very much.

I'm Beth, I'm a community member and I'm a member of the National Public Health Organization.

We've got 1,032,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 over 100 of the company, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, business, Thank you.

Thank you.

Next, we have Tanya, followed by Astrid, Long, and then Gwendolyn.

So Tanya, Astrid, Long, Gwendolyn.

Welcome, Tanya.

Hi, thank you.

My name is Tanya.

I have a little bit of a cold.

I am here with the seniors from the Chinatown International District.

We have 2,500 elders who live in many different homes, and we have representatives from each apartment complex and they wanna come and represent the community because they felt like it was important.

They wanted to be here despite the rain.

So we walked all this way.

And so we applaud you to please listen to our elders, respect our seniors.

They will like the cameras.

We've had several incidences on 12th and Jackson where there was a shooting or a stabbing.

And it was great to have officers say, hey, we caught this on CCTV.

We're gonna go pick up this person right now.

We know who it is.

They went to the parks.

He wasn't there or they weren't there.

And so it was great that we didn't have to go to all the buildings and let our seniors know there's a person out there who could cause them harm.

It was great that we could be able to find them.

And that brought a lot of relief to our communities.

We also saw during the pandemic that many of our elders didn't feel safe.

So they were walking around in the parking lots near their buildings.

And this last week, I saw that happen again.

Many elders walking in the parking lots near their buildings because they don't feel safe coming to our parks.

2,500 elders and they're not in our parks or around the Chinatown International District.

Where are they?

And so we implore you to please look at the data.

SBD dashboard says that while crime is going down throughout the city, we are seeing an increase in the Chinatown International District.

And it's for elders, residents, as well as our small businesses.

and ahead of FIFA Soccer.

We are getting ready and we are hoping to be prepared for the many people who we hope will come, but we do have a reputation three minutes away from the stadiums.

So we're asking for your help to promote safety in our communities.

We're thankful and grateful for all that you've done, especially the safety ambassadors in Weed Liver Care, and we need more help, more investments, and more attention.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next, we have Astrid, followed by Long, and then Gwendolyn.

Astrid, Long, and then Gwendolyn.

Welcome.

Hi.

I actually wanted to start out by saying I'm a constituent of Robert Kettle, along with some other people here.

I just want to say the cameras have never actually helped prevent crime.

They helped maybe spot crime, but all that does is send police who actually continue to cause harm in their communities to those places.

They also tend to profile people of color very often.

CCTV cameras also don't prevent crime.

What prevents crime is helping people in poverty with social services and stuff like that.

A lot of these issues that are happening in these communities of the people who are leaving is not necessarily that there's just crime in a vacuum.

It's just happening.

No, what's happening is there's people with extreme poverty issues along with the city pushing people of homelessness into their communities rather than addressing the main root issues of these people's problems.

That's my time.

Thank you.

Thank you, Astrid.

Next, we have Long followed by Gwendolyn.

Long followed by Gwendolyn.

My name is Long.

I'm a barista.

I'm a member of Movement for Shama.

We have to shut down ICE.

Katie Wilson ran on shutting down the surveillance cameras.

Now that she's in office, she broke that promise.

Under pressure from the movement, she's now announced a pause on new surveillance cameras, but that isn't going to last long.

We need an immediate eviction moratorium.

Immigrants have been unable to go to work due to ICE raids and attacks.

and in Minneapolis, it is estimated that migrants have lost $47 million in January because of loss in wages in January alone.

These Democrats on city council would do nothing until pressure to do something.

To shut down ICE, we have to elect independent candidates.

Katie Wilson, Zora Mamdani, Bernie Sanders, and AOC, what have they done?

Nothing.

They have come nowhere near the record of Shama Sawant, who won a historic minimum wage for workers.

Movement for Shama will have a meeting on April 11th to talk about how we can break from the Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party has helped to create and build ICE every step of the way.

We will also be building neighborhood action groups with the power to throw out pro-ICE Democrats.

Every one of these council members that support ICE needs to be thrown out.

They will not abolish ICE.

We need a new party for the working class.

Stop the deportations!

Stop the deportations!

Shut down ICE!

Stop the deportations!

Shut down ICE!

Next we have Gwendolyn followed by Howard Gale and then Jason Thiel.

Welcome Gwendolyn.

The American Civil Liberties Union themselves have shown that surveillance cameras don't help solve crimes.

They cite sources including the words of actual police chiefs in this.

At the same time, it's been proven that ICE can use these surveillance systems to monitor and target people even when not granted explicit access through side door and back door loopholes.

That's why we need these surveillance systems shut down.

At the same time, we also need municipal IDs so that immigrants can access essential services without the fear of triggering federal surveillance systems.

And we need to take this temporary moratorium on ICE facilities that's been passed and make that into a permanent ban.

One year is not enough.

ICE is not going to become magically some wholesome, cuddly organization a year from today.

That needs to be a permanent ban as a concrete step towards shutting down ICE across the country.

City Hall has the power to do these things today.

And we're tired of City Hall dragging their feet on the bare minimum.

We demand much, much more.

Everyone who's here is someone who's here because we were able to take off work to be here.

I go around the city every day.

People are angry about ICE.

People are ready for it to end.

And if we don't get these demands met, we're going to have, well, we're going to escalate the movement until we get those demands met.

and we need to fight for much more than just the bare minimum.

We should take the demands from the Minneapolis street movement, like the call for an eviction moratorium in the city until ICE is out of Seattle.

Immigrants are losing money left and right due to fears of ICE, because they can't go to their jobs or losing income in the middle of a cost of living crisis.

We should have an eviction moratorium in the city until ICE is out.

This is in all workers' interests to fight for and win.

When immigrant rights are under attack, what do we do?

When a surveillance state goes on the attack, what do we do?

Stand up, fight back!

What do we do?

Stand up, fight back!

What do we do?

Stand up, fight back!

Solidarity.

Next, we have Howard Gill, followed by Jason, followed by M.

Smith, then Summer Miller, Jim Barnes, and then...

I'll figure out this last name.

I'm sorry.

Good afternoon, Howard Gale.

At council meeting last Tuesday, and again just yesterday at Seattle City Channel, council member Kettle made aspirational claims that are simply not rooted in actual law, executive order, policy, or SPD directive.

I guess I should be flattered that you have confused my constant repetition of some of the demands of the 36 District Democrats with actuality.

You said regarding SPD directive, not law or policy, that when confronted with people engaging in detentions or possible kidnappings, quote, confirming that it is a federal law enforcement officer is absolutely needed for SPD to do that.

Yet the only existing directives, not policy or law, states an officer will attempt to validate the status when safe and feasible, when safe and feasible.

Leaving SPD officers who have expressed their own willingness to do this via overwhelmingly electing a Nussbaum president against such policies leaves far too much discretion.

You said regarding SPD directive, not law or policy, that when confronted with people engaging in detentions or kidnappings, it is absolutely needed for SPD to do that to confirm that as part of that process they get a basic understanding of the probable cause that was behind the arrest." yet the only existing directives regarding that do not exist at all, period. What is wholly absent from these directives are directing SPD officers to obtain evidence of judicial warrants and probable cause, for having SPD officers intervene when proper law enforcement credentials are not provided, SPD officers to aid private property owners in preventing warrantless access, and SPD officers to prioritize protecting people from fourth event violations as opposed to protecting people from protesters, supposedly. Again, these are things that have been done in other cities. Mayor Wu recently said, calling 911 is an appropriate response for warrantless entry of private homes and that the Boston Police Department shall employ de-escalation tactics in such situations and deny access to city buildings and property for purposes of independent.

Thank you, Mr. Gale.

Thank you, Mr. Gale.

Next, we have Jason, followed by M, Summer, Miller, then Jim Barnes.

And then it's number 18 on here, and I think it's a M-I-L-L...

Okay, it's you.

Okay, I got you.

How do I say your name?

Oh, it's Michael.

Okay, I got you.

I got you.

That's my bad.

I got you, Michael.

You're number 18. Okay, so Jason, M, Summer, Jim, and Michael.

Go ahead, Jason.

Welcome.

Yeah, my name's Jason Thiel.

I'm a member of Labor Militant and Movement for Shama.

After months of protests around the country and here in Seattle, multiple murders by ICE agents and thousands deported, all the Democrats in this city council could do is pass a one-year ban on detention centers.

What the fuck?

People have been speaking at these meetings for months about the need for real action against ICE.

That is just fucking not enough.

This one-year ban was only one under that pressure, but it's totally inadequate.

That ban needs to be permanent.

ICE isn't gonna, as Gwen said, ICE isn't gonna be our friend in a year.

They will still be terrorizing immigrants and brutalizing our neighbors.

We need even more than a permanent ban.

I mean, banning the detention centers should be the first step.

We need a municipal ID system so that immigrants can access public services without triggering ICE.

We need to stop ICE surveillance.

Katie Wilson promised to shut down the surveillance cameras that are being used by ICE, even without the city's permission.

Instead, she's gone back on that promise.

Katie Wilson calls herself a socialist, but she is just another Democrat.

She has paused the expansion, but that is also totally inadequate.

We're also demanding an immediate eviction moratorium.

Immigrants are losing income from fear of going to work amidst an ongoing cost of living crisis for all working people.

These are things that could build real pressure against Trump and the right wing to stop the deportations here in Seattle and around the country.

Seattle also supposedly has sanctuary city laws against ICE, but the chief of the police union has said SPD's not gonna follow those laws.

If the city council and Katie Wilson are not gonna force SPD to follow the law, then working people should have community control of the police.

We should have an elected group of workers with the ability to hire and fire police officers who break the law.

The Democrats here are not friends of working people.

Joy Hollingsworth, the council president, attacked the minimum wage a couple years ago to try and create a permanent sub-minimum wage for the lowest paid workers in this city.

The Democratic Party as a whole created, funded, and expanded ICE.

We will only win these demands if we build a working class movement independent of the Democrats.

We need to defeat pro-ICE Democrats like Adam Smith and start electing independent socialists like Shama Sawant.

We need a new party for working people.

Thank you, Jason.

Next, we have Em, followed by Summer, Jim, and then Michael, and then on the next page, we have Nathan Wall and Miss Yvette Dynash, and then we're gonna jump to online.

Welcome, Em.

Hi, my name is M.

Smith.

I'm a member of Labor Militant.

We need real action against ICE.

The Democrats have completely failed to act.

Katie Wilson has gone back on her promise to shut down the surveillance cameras, which ICE is using.

This is documented.

But it's not just the surveillance cameras.

The Democrats have done virtually nothing.

They passed a one-year ban on ICE detention centers in Seattle.

What happens after a year?

ICE isn't going to change in a year.

We need a permanent ban.

There's any number of things that the Democrats on this council could be doing.

You could be shutting down the surveillance cameras.

You could be putting the cameras under Democratic community control.

You could be creating municipal IDs that are available to undocumented immigrants.

Other cities have done that.

There's no excuse not to do it.

You could be passing community control of the police to give an elected board the power to fire cops who are breaking the law, which they've said they're doing.

They said that they are not following the executive order that was passed to not cooperate with ICE.

We could be firing pro-ICE cops who are actively breaking the law by cooperating with ICE.

The Democrats aren't doing that.

We could pass a permanent ban on detention centers.

We could pass an eviction moratorium.

We need action, but the Democrats aren't going to do this by themselves.

and I want to talk to those in the room who have spoken who are concerned about crime in the community.

How do we solve crime?

Funneling billions more into surveillance and the police is not going to do it.

It's not going to work.

The Democrats' police budget is $486 million in the 2026 budget.

What do we need?

Another $100 million, another billion dollars?

What is actually going to stop this crime?

It's investment in our communities.

It's investment in affordable housing, in free childcare, in healthcare.

That's the thing that's going to stop crime.

That's going to be the thing that stops homelessness.

That is how we solve these problems, not more police and more surveillance.

We need an independent party because the Democratic Party isn't doing these things.

Katie Wilson just said that she will be cutting taxes on big business.

We need to be increasing those taxes and funding these services.

We need an independent socialist party that can throw out, frankly, every Democrat on this council and replace them with people who are actually going to fight for working people.

Solidarity.

Shut down ICE!

Shut down ICE!

Shut down ICE!

Shut down ICE!

Thank you, Em.

Next, we have Summer, followed by Jim and then Michael, and then we have Nathan and Miss Yvette.

Welcome.

My name is Summer Miller.

I'm a member of Labor Militant.

It's been over two months since Renee Goode was killed.

Katie Wilson and Democrats, including the Democrats on the city council, have had plenty of time to take action against ICE, and you haven't done it.

The latest numbers show that ICE is arresting over 300 people a month in Washington state.

And Katie Wilson's response to the suspected ICE abduction a few days ago at the University of Washington was that she was monitoring the situation.

We need real action against ICE.

That's why we're here.

Katie Wilson ran for election promising to shut down the cameras and hold SPD accountable, and instead she's expanded the cameras and is letting SPD break the law.

They're openly telling her they're not going to follow the law.

that they're gonna keep cooperating with ICE, and she's not doing anything about it.

Katie Wilson isn't concerned about crime.

If she was, she would be following through on her other promises, like universal childcare and affordable housing, but she's doing the opposite.

Like Em said, she's already met with business executives where she promised she'd be cutting taxes for big corporations.

The Democratic Party is not going to do anything unless they're forced, They helped create ICE and build ICE every step of the way.

Biden escalated deportations after Trump's first term.

We need to throw every pro-ICE Democrat out of office.

We need to throw every single one of these city council members out of office.

Not a single Democrat on this council has endorsed Shama Salwan, who's running a platform of abolishing ICE.

She's running against Adam Smith, who voted to create and fund ICE.

The Democrats are not going to abolish ICE.

They won't even stand up to pro-ICE Democrats like Adam Smith.

The only way to force them is to build a movement fully independent of the Democratic Party.

Socialists need to have a serious conversation about strategy.

We need to build a socialist party in Seattle that can defeat every Democrat on this council and fight for things that actually help working class people.

Shut down ICE!

Shut down ICE!

Shut down ICE!

Shut down ICE!

Next, we have Jim Barnes, followed by Michael, then Nathan Yvette, and then we'll jump online.

So if you're online listening, you are up in the next couple of speakers.

Welcome, Jim.

Thank you, Council Member Hollingsworth.

It's Jim Baines.

Jim Baines, my bad.

Jim Baines, we'll restart your time.

Hold on.

Give your full two minutes.

Give me one second.

Thank you for correcting me.

Thank you, council members.

I'm here today speaking directly about the use of AI within our police and public safety, especially related to the use of cameras.

We have seen an increase within our communities of AI being used to target and identify people for arrest, both by ICE and by police officers.

AI has also crept into our police department.

In 2024, we had to reprimand our police department to not use AI, generative AI, to go and write police reports.

Now, now that they have access to facial identification programs, they have the ability to offload their limited brain capacity of solving crimes to then go and take the first face that is seen when the slot machine of names and faces and cars comes past regardless of the accuracy of information.

We don't have transparency for how many cases are solved, how many arrests are made due to the use of generative AI and AI technology.

Member Kettle.

If one of your constituents is arrested by SPD or ICE because of misidentification, what will you do to go and support them?

If they are held in jail for a prolonged period of time, they are at risk of losing their house, their job, their cars, their livelihoods.

Will you support them?

Or are you gonna go sweep them off the streets when the World Cup comes?

That way we could go and have a palatable city for the globe.

This money that we're spending could be used in many other social programs, but we refuse to.

I call on us to divest from Axon Systems entirely and end all pilot programs for AI use.

Thank you, Jim.

Michael, you are next.

Welcome, my friend.

And next we have Nathan, followed by Yvette Dynish.

Thank you, City Council, for letting us come speak today.

I'm from the New District thing.

I was there that day when ICE...

Let's restart the time.

You're all good.

And you never need to thank us for allowing you to speak.

You're all welcome here to speak and give public comment every single time.

All right, so I just want to let you know that.

All right, Michael, two minutes.

Go ahead and start.

I was in New District when the ICE did that ring.

who took countless of people from there.

I was there watching it, filming it.

They're protesting against them.

I don't know what is going on in this city and all around Washington State right now.

I don't know what all ICE is doing right now, but with these and all of this.

It's not just our police using them, it's ICE.

And some of our police are even supporting ICE with what they're doing.

We need that thing, what other people have been saying here, with a party who can fire and hire police officers for our city.

Because that will keep us safe with people who we trust actually in office.

Because Katie, She came on and said she's going to help stop ICE in Seattle, but she has taken back on that word countless of times.

And also, I'm all fed up because there's been many reports about those ICE and those cameras all around Seattle saying they're not doing anything to stop crime.

Maybe they're helping a couple here and there, but it's real policing what's really doing something.

We need police who will support us, who will help us, who will watch over us because we are the ones who they need.

Bring the power back to the people, not to the government and the...

Bring the power back to the working class.

No justice, no peace, no racist police!

Ice out of Seattle!

Ice out of Seattle!

Ice out of Seattle!

Ice out of Seattle!

Thank you, Michael.

Next we have Nathan followed by Yvette Dynish.

Welcome, Nathan.

Hello.

So on the cameras, obviously I don't agree with the cameras.

I don't need to tell you that.

But I do understand why people feel unsafe in this city.

I think everybody has felt unsafe in the city at some point.

But I guess Seattle is a city of smart and compassionate people, and I think we can come up with solutions that don't involve expanding surveillance in the police state.

like we are really, this is a city of smart people and I think we can come up with solutions to these public safety issues that don't make all of us less safe.

In our society, everything we do, everything we say, I'm gonna go to this mic.

Everything we do, everything we say

Hold on.

Let's pause.

Hold on.

No, no, no.

You're good.

We're going to pause your time.

I caught you.

It was 1.25.

Lean down on that one.

Okay.

Sorry.

Hold on.

Don't start.

We're going to do 1.25 or at least 1.30.

I want you to get your whole time, Nathan.

Thank you.

You're good.

I just didn't want to crouch down the whole time.

No, you're fine.

Give us one second.

1.30.

All right.

Nathan, you're good.

So ever since 9-11, everything we do, everything we say, is monitored by this surveillance state and this society.

And it concerns me that we're not doing more to combat that at every level of government.

So please repeal this program.

I also don't really trust SPD to keep us safe.

On Thursday, members of our community protested.

Governor Ferguson's press conference asked him to do more to keep people safe in our community.

At that protest, Officer Mark Sierra from the South Precinct was rude and antagonistic towards me.

He made fun of the sign that I was holding.

And after the protest, he said to me, Jesus loves you, which I have no problem with.

but as a government official, your personal religious beliefs are not relevant to this job and you should not be...

It's not appropriate.

I've talked to a lot of you.

I think a lot of you are nice people.

But at the end of the day, when you are in these offices, our relationship with you is different than just a personal one.

It's a public relationship.

We have to put pressure on you.

whether that's because we don't think you're doing the right thing or it's because we want to give you permission to do this whether we want to just because we want it on the record that people in our community want this so you can go back and say like hey we're doing this because people want us to do this it's not personal so I encourage you not to take it personally please make them permanent I understand the short-term nature of emergency legislation allows it to be implemented right away but we need to expand this and my sign says if

Thank you, Nathan.

Next we have Ms. Yvette Dynish and then online folks, before you start, Ms. Yvette, we have online, this is just a call right now not present, it's Angela and then David Haynes, but everyone else is present and we'll switch to online after Ms. Yvette.

Good afternoon, glad to be here.

Couple of things I'm gonna speak on is that keep the cameras where they are wanted, The China International District wants the cameras.

The black community wants the cameras.

Let them have the cameras that they're asking for, because we don't feel protected.

Also, the mayor is dismissed of our concerns regarding these cameras, because we've been asking for this, and it still not has happened as far as having the cameras there.

Keep in mind, people, public is public.

It's not your living room.

So if you're doing something you're not supposed to be doing, be mindful of that.

And also in order to counteract ICE activity, all of you who are always anti-ICE, which I am, but show up at schools, show up at your workplace, show up at your churches in force, gathering to protect our community members from ICE's presence.

And keep in mind that the cameras work both ways.

ICE may be spying on us, but we're spying on them as well.

And then lastly, wait a minute.

I don't appreciate the thinly veiled campaign signs that are showing up for Sawant.

She had her turn.

I voted for her the first time.

I won't do it again.

Fool me once, shame on me.

Fool me twice, shame on her.

And then why is she attacking the Democrats?

It's the Republicans that, excuse me, fucking things up.

She's right to be scared of them because they are vicious in how they retaliate.

and again, show up at our schools to help protect them.

And keep in mind, there's not about the left wing, not about the right wing.

It takes two wings to fly.

Thank you.

Thank you, Miss Yvette.

We're gonna switch to online.

I don't believe there's any more in person, but we'll come back if there are.

We're gonna switch to online.

Kirk Robbins, followed by Angela Castenda, Charlotte, and then Catherine.

So Kirk, you are, press star six to unmute yourself.

We see you're online, Kirk.

Go ahead and press star six, star six.

Okay, we can go on to the next speaker, Charlotte, and we'll get you Kirk if you can.

Star six, Charlotte.

To unmute yourself.

Your phone might be on mute, but not a mute for Zoom.

So that's a start.

There you go.

Thank you, Madam President, members of the council.

It is 428 days since the President took office and 82 days since Mayor Katie Wilson took office.

Four hours ago, the Public Safety Committee unanimously approved Councilmember Rinks, Council Bill 121-179, expanding the 60-day suspension authority held by the Mayor and Police Chief to automatic license plate readers on SBD vehicles.

The suspension is required when the city or vendors receive a warrant, subpoena, or court order in a federal civil immigration matter.

This bill expands requirements to reproductive or gender-affirming care matters, and when the mayor and police chief have determined that footage potentially will be or actually is being used for civil immigration, reproductive health, or gender-affirming care enforcement purposes.

In my opinion, the threat that ALPR and CCTV footage might be used for nefarious purposes has existed since 9am on January 20th, 2025, and it will continue constantly until 9am on January 20th, 2029. In my opinion, the 60-day period should be longer.

It took the council 66 days from inauguration to pass a temporary detention center moratorium.

It may well take longer than that for this council to react and respond sufficiently if a federal incursion happens.

And it's important to note again the disregard for this administration that this administration has for the rule of law and the judiciary in general.

I hope that in the week ahead, an amendment can be brought forward to extend that period to meet the bureaucratic reality, whether 120 days or something, whatever.

Council Member Rink, thank you for this bill.

Thank you for doing something.

This bill is an important step to better position our city to protect our neighbors, many of whom were forced to relocate from elsewhere in the United States as the rights of women and trans people are shredded and warning signs of a genocide against trans people raised near daily.

You as our local elected officials are our last line of defense.

You have a duty to protect us.

I urge you to pass the bill.

Thank you, Charlotte.

Next we have Catherine followed by Harper and you're gonna go press star six, Catherine, to unmute yourself.

Star six.

And we can see when you're unmuted.

You're unmuted.

Go right ahead.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Catherine Van Henley and I serve as the program manager for the Digital Equity Learning Network.

We're a coalition of community-based organizations, public agencies, and anchor institutions who are all advancing digital equity across Seattle and King County.

I'm here today to encourage the Council to continue prioritizing efforts that close the digital divide as you consider the Comcast cable franchise.

We've made meaningful progress as a city, but we know that access alone is not enough.

Many residents still face barriers to affordable internet, reliable devices, and the digital skills they need to fully participate in today's economy, education, healthcare, and democracy.

At DELN, I work closely with organizations who are on the ground.

They are trusted members who are helping the community navigate everything from setting up home internet for seniors who might have to be reapplying to jobs, to people accessing healthcare, and to, say, immigrants supporting their children's education.

What we consistently hear is that the need remains high and in many cases is still growing.

The Comcast franchise presents an important opportunity to build on Seattle's leadership and digital equity.

We encourage the city to continue investing in community-based solutions, supporting digital navigator programs, and ensuring that resources reach those most impacted by the digital divide.

Digital access is not a luxury.

It is an essential infrastructure and sustained commitment from the city will be critical to ensuring that all Seattle residents can fully participate and thrive.

We thank you for your time and your continued leadership on this issue.

Thank you, Catherine.

Next, we have Harper, followed by Jim.

Press star six.

Harper, unmute yourself.

Hello.

So I'm here to read a statement from the Seattle Transit Riders Union.

As Seattleites and human beings, we have been horrified by the invasion of Iran by the United States and Israel.

This atrocity does nothing but increase the human suffering in the world up to an unimaginable degree.

We are additionally horrified by Israel's threats to invade Lebanon, an invasion that would be in part funded by the United States.

We call on our elected leaders to loudly, publicly, strongly, and unconditionally oppose the United States' actions in Iran and likely actions in Lebanon and any other in the region.

We believe it is the responsibility of our elected leaders to show their constituents and the American people what it looks like to lead on this issue.

Leading does not merely need means statements, but also bold action.

Leading means recognizing and responding to the fact that this war has been driving up an already untenable cost of living.

Our elected leaders must continue to find ways to improve access to affordable food, housing, and transportation.

and those other things required for a healthy, happy, and fulfilling life.

Our leaders must invest in expanding food assistance, rental assistance, shelter space, and public transit.

It is incumbent upon you to create the strongest safety net you can to catch those falling from economic stability, and the latter is necessary to raise people up onto it.

It is incumbent upon you to speak out when atrocities are committed, even when you have no direct control over them.

it is incumbent upon you to stand as moral beacons lighting the way in these dark times.

Sincerely, Seattle Transit Writers Union.

Thank you, Harper.

Next we have Jim.

You're gonna go ahead and press star six to unmute yourself, followed by Brian.

Hello, this has been quite interesting.

You know, to sit here and have to experience these clowns that Salon has there, to stand up there and just really show your ass.

You guys are ridiculous.

She's ridiculous.

She was scared to run for re-election.

Now, are you guys gonna come down talking shit?

You gotta be kidding.

You know, be good citizens.

Where's your advocacy for black descendants of the enslaved?

For 407 years, we've been devastated.

Cut it out in Seattle.

Why isn't that shit coming out your fucking mouth?

Yeah, you guys went there, so, you know, that's right in my alley.

What the fuck are you talking about?

You know, you got a campaign to try to run.

She's got to get her ass whooped again right now.

You're down here in Seattle.

What the fuck?

You can shut the fuck up.

Get the fuck out of there.

You don't represent the black community.

You're trying to walk back civil rights.

We spent the last 60 years Trying to get stuff like cameras so we can take it so everybody can see how we're brutalized.

You come up with this old lolly ass, lily white bullshit.

You know, then fuck that shit.

On my life and on our lives, right?

You're not going to walk back what we've died for.

So fuck you.

Thank you.

Next we have Brian.

Press star six to unmute yourself.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Brian McRae and I'm the managing director of Perskola Seattle and a member of the Digital Equity Learning Network.

I want to thank you for providing this platform.

For nearly 30 years nationally and five years right here in downtown Seattle, Perskola has been on a mission to advance economic equity.

We provide high growth, tuition-free, technical training to individuals 18 years of age and higher with at least a GED who have the talent but lack the access to the tech community.

In Seattle, we serve a diverse community of adult learners, women, people of color, those that are underemployed, veterans, LGBTQ, those from income-restricted households by equipping them with tuition-free, full-time training and certifications in in-demand tech fields such as IT support, cybersecurity, and cloud computing.

We aren't just a school, we are a bridge to the tech workforce.

With the support of wraparound services partners like Seattle Jobs Initiative, Dress for Success Seattle, and Asian Counseling and Referral Service, we have a graduation rate of over 85% and our alumni see a three-fold increase in their pre-training wages.

And 80% of our graduates secure a job within a year, mainly through our professional development training and our work with employer partners across the area.

for every dollar invested in our program yields an $8 return back to the local economy.

While we are incredibly grateful for the recent $45,000 digital equity grant from the city, as well as support from Comcast, the demand for our services far outpaces our current capacity.

We are operating out of a single classroom in Belltown and by 2030, our plan is to train 300 area residents annually.

However, to bridge this digital divide and ensure Seattle's tech growth is inclusive and available to everyone, prosolas, in addition to training programs similar to ours, need deeper public investment.

We are looking for partners in the City Council to help us expand our footprint so that zip codes no longer determine a person's economic destiny.

We see that talent is ubiquitous, but the opportunity is not.

With your support, we can shore up the future of Seattle's tech industry

Thank you, Brian.

Next, I believe Kirk Robbins, are you there?

Star Six, followed by Angela, you're not present, and David Haynes are the last speakers online.

Kirk Star Six, we see you.

Star Six, unmute yourself.

You're still muted, star six.

Come mute yourself.

We do see you online.

It just might be your phone is not unmuted for Zoom.

And I don't see Angela or David Haynes.

They're not present.

Okay, we're gonna switch to our in-person speakers.

We have two, last two, Bennett and Anita.

So Bennett, welcome.

And then Anita, welcome.

You raised your hand.

Okay, Bennett.

Bennett, you walked all the way around like that instead of walking that way.

I'm just playing, come on, you're good.

Come on, Bennett, you're good.

It's okay.

I observed that.

Go ahead.

All right.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, counsel.

As you know, I am against the surveillance technology.

I will say that I don't consider myself dogmatically against it.

And I'm interested in weighing the arguments from both sides.

There have been a couple times my car has gotten broken into before.

The first thing I did was go to the businesses that were right where it was parked and be like, do you have cameras?

Do you have some camera footage so I can see who did this?

I mean, does that make me a hypocrite that I don't want other people to necessarily have the same options?

And I was at a rally for the two students who were killed down outside Rainier Beach High School.

There were students there and adults there saying, we want more surveillance.

We want to have the ability to catch the people who did this.

So I think people understand that surveillance technology, it has benefits, but those benefits have to be weighed against the downsides.

And as the system stands now, there's still nothing stopping the Trump administration and ICE from subpoenaing the surveillance footage.

We understand only one employee in the Realtime Crime Center has access to the footage.

That prevents, at most, internal abuses by SPD, which is a real problem, but that's still one person that the government can subpoena.

We understand it'll be deleted after five days, but that still is a window of time for those to subpoena the footage.

We understand you have an off-ramp to shut it down if you receive requests from ICE, but that still means they will be able to get in at least once to get the footage, and as Councilmember Kettle said at the time, you know, we don't use facial recognition tech on the footage that's banned in the City of Seattle, but immediately after he said that, Councilmember Rink pointed out that once the government receives the video footage, they can apply their own facial recognition tech to it, and there's nothing we can do about it.

So, with all due respect to the people from the community who showed up here today to support it, and also, you know, that guy on the phone call, you know, he's not the first person to say, you know, our community wants this, but that has to be weighed against the downsides.

I yield my time to the Skull people.

Thank you, Bennett.

Next we have Anita.

This is the face of who's controlling the AI-powered surveillance cameras that you're unleashing on the average citizens of Seattle.

I see you when you exit your home.

Your neighbor's camera across the street records your everyday activity using AI-powered surveillance that they have initiated under all ring doorbells.

Pair that with all of the other stuff they're not focusing on in society, like the accent cameras that you set all over all the parks here, tracking everything you're wearing, your vehicle color, everything that you're doing with your daily life, being tracked, added into this database.

Think about your family's future.

Think about everything that will happen once your daily life is tracked, monitored, recorded.

Do you like that?

No, nobody likes that.

Nobody wants this AI-powered surveillance in Seattle.

Nobody.

Nobody asked for it.

Nobody wants it.

Ever.

Think about what you're doing, your money you're taking from these companies.

Bullshit.

Stop it!

One day you will be noticed and you will be tracked with these cameras, your family, your children.

Everything you do in your daily life will be noticed.

And that's when you lose all your freedom.

You were supposed to be understanding American values of freedom.

This is not the way to do that.

This is a destruction of society.

And everything that you choose to be doing in a private Bullshit.

You specifically.

Thank you, Anita.

Next we have Kirk Robbins online, star six.

If we can't get you, I'm sorry.

I know there's technical difficulties and let's bump up David Haynes.

Kirk, there you go.

Okay.

Thank you.

I'm calling about transit concurrency as a requirement of the Growth Management Act, and yet we have just learned that there will be no light rail in Ballard.

Apparently the whole 6th City Council District is going to have no light rail.

The Transit Riders Union is more interested in wars and cameras than it is in transit, which is a bad sign for the future of this neighborhood.

I don't know how many how much transit use was factored in to the comprehensive plan as far as that.

We've always thought that it might go into the late 30s or early 40s before we get it.

But are you going to have to go back and check the comprehensive plan, especially for the Ballard area and the interbay area, as to how much transit you planned on and how much you're going to get?

And does that invalidate the whole thing A shout out to Congressman Smith for not sending his campaign shills to disrupt and waste your time and I think the policy on cameras ought to have something to do with what the neighborhoods are saying rather than a city-wide ideological overreaction to things but I think it's more important that you stand together trying to get for us what we agreed to pay for and what we are certainly being charged for which is transit in our neighborhood and you know when they get them to ask the questions that Councilmember Strauss has requested that they ask about ridership if a transit system that ignores ridership is one that is doomed and I'm sorry that all this is coming to you on such short notice obviously the Transit Riders Union ought to consider this issue but Anyway, thank you.

Thank you, Kirk.

Final speaker, we have David Haynes, press star six, unmute yourself.

Hi, thank you, David Haynes.

Seattle values sometimes devalues innocent values.

We got opening day for the Mariners coming up this week, folks, and it's still to one say for my employees to set up my business, because we got all these scare mongers about surveillance cameras.

and it turns out it's a majority of the LBGQT community who is advocating for other people's kids to have sex changes.

And I'm a little confused about the amendment council member Rink introduced in the public safety committee that she's not a member of regarding taking the license plate readers away for 60 days.

Is that how it's going to work?

Or is it just specifically, I mean, I don't get that.

If you're like trying to find some people who stole a car and the cops seem to do a license plate reader because somebody has a protest by a sex change organization that all of a sudden all the cameras get taken away.

Is that what y'all are doing?

Anyway, Shama Sawant should be fined and her campaign staff and operatives should be banned, barred, and browbeat with a Robert's Rule enforcement and the Transit Riders Union should focus on the public safety and efficiencies that were being denied.

We still cannot even get on the bus between Pine and Pike.

And yet, nobody wants to address the fact that the cops and the transit security and the private security and the bus drivers refuse to work together to trespass in clear and literally ticket all of these drug addicts in and around the bus stop.

It's a living hell.

And when the police chief did a favor to the Downtown Community Council and the Chamber of Commerce big buildings.

He put fences around all these evil areas.

Instead of dealing with those criminals, he dispersed them to Belltown and Chinatown.

Nobody can get to and from because of the amount of evil that's conducting an uncivil war on the community and the police chief is focusing on an easier payday and overtime.

Thank you.

So we have, there's no one else signed up.

We have reached the end of the list of registered speakers.

I wanna thank everyone for coming to public comment today.

Folks that send us emails, folks that see us on the bus or walking on the street for all your comments today as well.

So just wanna thank you all.

And we are now gonna move to our items of business.

If there is no objection, the introduction and referral calendar will be...

the introduction referral calendar will be adopted do you all hear me right now hearing no objection the introduction referral calendar is adopted if there is no objection the agenda will be adopted hearing no objection the agenda is adopted we will now consider the proposed consent calendar items on the consent calendar the minutes of March 17, 2026. Council Bill 121-182, payment of the bills.

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.

Awesome, there is a second.

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

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

Council member Lynn?

Yes.

Council Member Rink?

Yes.

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council Member Saka?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

Aye.

Council Member Foster?

Yes.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council President Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Good, consent items, calendar items are adopted.

Will the clerk please affix my signature in the minutes, my signature to the minutes and the legislation on the consent calendar on my behalf?

Next, we're gonna get into committees.

Will the clerk please read item number one into the record?

They report the Governance and Utilities Committee to item 1 Council Bill 121-163 relating to cable television authorizing the mayor or the mayor's designee to execute an amendment to the cable television franchise agreement with Comcast Cable Communications Management LLC authorized by ordinance 124957. The committee recommends a bill pass.

Awesome, thank you.

As chair of the committee colleagues, I'm gonna provide the committee report.

On March 12th meeting, we voted to recommend the passage of a seven-year Comcast franchise agreement.

This ordinance would allow the city of Seattle to pursue another seven-year contract with Comcast to provide cable services to the city.

The franchise ends January 20th, 2033. Seattle IT conducted a community assessment to increase community benefits to the city and residents, and this includes raising our franchise fee and other public education and government fee to support programs funded by cable funds, including Internet for All and our Seattle channel.

I also want to note that in committee, before committee, we had requested that IT do a side-by-side comparison with other cities so we could see how we ranked amongst different municipalities.

And I was pleased to see how we ranked amongst other neighboring cities with the contract that we had received, which was, more benefits for our community during this process.

So I will pause here.

Colleagues, I urge a yes on this vote.

Are there any questions?

Councilmember Strauss.

Council President, thank you.

Colleagues, just as a reminder, a few years ago there was a proposal to cut the Seattle Channel's funding.

The reason for that is there are fewer and fewer people watching this presentation on cable TV.

Hi, Dad.

I'm sure you're watching on cable right now.

Love you.

and with fewer people watching cable TV, we have fewer dollars to fund the Seattle Channel with.

And so that's why there was a report this last year.

This bill is important for us to be able to continue this funding source.

And wait, there's more.

We will bring this back up and budget this year because there was a task force that provided us recommendations One of those recommendations was for it to be wholly contained within the library system and the library levy.

We are all under the understanding that that might not be totally possible and we are still committed to preserving the Seattle Channel.

So all of that context, thank you for this bill and helping to fund the Seattle Channel.

Quite honestly, Comcast was able to provide the equity access for all that they do not necessarily provide in other places any longer.

So thank you for continuing to do that work here in the city of Seattle.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you, Council Member Strauss.

And hello, Mr. Strauss, who's watching right now.

Are there any other final comments?

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

Council Member Lynn?

Yes.

Council Member Rink?

Yes.

Council Member Rivera?

Councilmember Saka Councilmember Strauss Councilmember Foster Councilmember Kettle Council President Hollingsworth 8 in favor none opposed Chair will sign it will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf

Clerk, will you please read item number two into the agenda?

Thank you.

The report of the Land Use and Sustainability Committee.

Agenda item two, Council Bill 121-152 related to floodplains adopting permanence regulations consistent with the Federal Emergency Management Agency regulations.

The committee recommends the bill passed as amended.

Awesome.

Councilmember Lin, as chair of the committee, you recognize the provide the committee report.

Thank you, President.

This legislation is necessary to comply with updated FEMA floodplain maps and regulations.

It has been an extensive six-year-long process with 10 interim extensions of interim regulations and we out of committee approved recommendation of the permanent regulations and just wanna point out that SDCI has done a great job of engaging with affected parties including Port of Seattle, industrial maritime property owners, waterfront pier owners over the many years.

and there were some questions and comments at one recent committee meeting, but those were addressed subsequently.

And so I would love your support to approve these final FEMA floodplain regulations.

Awesome.

Thank you, council member Lynn, and thank you for your work on this.

Are there any other comments Awesome, all right.

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

Council Member Lin?

Yes.

Council Member Rink?

Yes.

Council Member Rivera?

Aye.

Council Member Sacca?

Aye.

Council Member Strauss?

Aye.

Council Member Foster?

Yes.

Council Member Kettle?

Aye.

Council President Hollingsworth?

Yes.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Bill passes.

The chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature on my behalf?

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

And I do believe Councilmember Sacca has other business as well.

So, Councilmember Sacca, you are recognized.

Thank you, Madam Council President.

All right, hopefully a little good news and something to unite and sort of rally around, but I just wanted to share colleagues and members of the public our effort as a city to bring back our Sonics once and for all.

So Seattle's identity as a basketball city is deeply rooted, as we all know, in the legacy of the Seattle Supersonics.

Public support for the NBA's return remains very strong.

And as chair of our city's Sports and Experiences Committee, I'm excited to be able to introduce a joint mayoral and council resolution that affirms that the City of Seattle's readiness for a future NBA franchise declares that Climate Pledge Arena is ready to host an NBA team and affirms that the City of Seattle is truly a basketball city.

Colleagues, you each should have received a copy of this resolution and the corresponding summary and fiscal note, a hard copy at the dais, with you today.

But bottom line, this resolution affirms a commitment to honoring Seattle's rich basketball history while building a brand new era of professional basketball for men and alongside our women.

alike in our city.

So we'd like to thank Council President Hollingsworth for co-sponsoring this legislation with me and especially wanted to thank Mayor Wilson, everyone in her office for their partnership in this.

This is one of those pieces of council legislation, a resolution that is signed in concurrence with the mayor.

and also should note that the continued success of the Seattle Storm four-time WNBA champion Seattle Storm, I should note, two-time Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and world-class contending Mariners and other major league teams demonstrates that our city is a city where professional sports thrive.

Our local community has a history of supporting semi-professional teams as well.

In my own council district, we have at least two professional, semi-professional soccer teams, the West Seattle Roadies FC and the Junction FC each play in front of very passionate, engaged crowds.

And I know there are two great semi-pro teams in Ballard as well on the soccer front.

But again, as chair of the council committee that oversees the Seattle Center, I know firsthand that Climate Pledge Arena is truly a world-class, state-of-the-art facility specifically designed to not only meet but exceed standards for both NHL, the WNBA, in addition to NCAA and NBA usage.

So lease terms explicitly require ongoing efforts to secure an NBA team.

Our city has upheld its commitment, now it's time to reaffirm that.

And it's not just about a team, it's about a long-term community investment.

I know, colleagues, as we've learned in the news, the prospective ownership group for a new NBA franchise in Seattle led by Samantha Holloway and their new one-roof sports and entertainment entity structure, they're doing their part.

Now it's time for our city to step up and act, so we're doing our part, too.

That's why, in addition to this legislation we're announcing, you might have saw the mayor's press release a moment ago, but proud to share that we're going to convene a community conversation next week at our STEPS meeting on Thursday, April 2nd at 9.30 a.m.

and again, our steps meeting, we're going to host the Sonics Readiness Roundtable, where we'll hear directly from a panel of experts and leaders, including participants from the Seattle Sports Commission, Sonics fans groups, the mayor's office and others.

So my goal is to, in sponsoring this resolution and roundtables, to send a very clear and compelling signal to the NBA that Seattle stands ready to rejoin the league and grateful for the partnership, again, received from the Mayor's Office, Council President for co-sponsoring.

And let's bring our Sonics back.

Let's go get them.

Thank you, Councilmember Saka, and for your leadership on this.

I believe Councilmember Kettle has a comment.

Councilmember Kettle.

Thank you, Council President.

I just wanted to back up our colleague, Councilmember Saka.

Unfortunately, I don't have a hat to match in his remarks.

As I've said previously, we are Sportstown, full stop.

We see this across the board.

We see this with our Storm, four-time champions.

We see this with our new Torrent.

coming on board, breaking attendance records in their first home game.

It's unbelievable.

And then you throw on top or run ALCS with the Mariners, and of course, what we see in other sports, but with the Super Bowl champions, Seahawks, it's incredible.

But what I wanted to say is, since the arena's in my district, I have been close with all the issues related to the arena, working with OVG, working with the One Roof Foundation.

and I want to say that they have been a great community partner working with us on all the issues, particularly the One Roof Foundation.

We now have the One Roof Sports and Entertainment Group in terms of their various pieces, but I want to highlight One Roof Foundation.

The work that they've done, particularly related to the Memorial Stadium and the Memorial Wall at that location has been incredible, bringing the community together, has been unbelievable.

And to do this really shows that their commitment to our city, and I've seen this in my conversations with Sam Holloway, Samantha Holloway, and other members of the various pieces of the group, to include Todd Lawicki.

We have an opportunity here to really take it to another level with this effort.

And I recognize it's a long process with the NBA, but I think we're at the place.

We are ready, and we're doing it with efforts that really highlight the connection with community.

It's not just OVG and now One Roof Sports and Entertainment, but it's also those teams that we have, like what the Seattle Storm does for community, what the Torrent does for community, what the Kraken does for community.

It's incredible, and I think we need to build on those organizations, those sports teams, by bringing the NBA back and bringing, as Chair Saka said, bring the Sonics back.

So, Council President, thank you for that and the opportunity to show how One Roof has really been a community player.

Thank you.

Yeah, thank you, Councilmember Kettle.

And just for the record, this is gonna be brought into Councilmember Saka's committee and from the resolution as well.

And I know that the arena is in your district.

I know Councilmember Saka has the Seattle Center.

So there's a lot of synergy.

We all grew up loving the Sonics.

And if you didn't, you can just say you did.

So it's okay.

Anyways, are there any other comments from any folks?

no awesome okay thank you thank you all that's a great overview about what's coming down the pipeline and then if there's any further business to come for the council i don't hear any awesome we've reached the end of today's meeting uh the next meeting city council meeting will be march 31st at 2 p.m hearing no further business we are adjourned thank you all for coming peace