[0:08] I can hear you. MAY 28th, 2026
[0:09] meeting of the King County
[0:10] Council. I
[0:11] m Sarah Perry, chair
[0:12] of the council this year,
[0:13] joined by vice Chair Sawyer
[0:15] Brown and Regan Dunn and our
[0:16] council colleagues. Today in
[0:17] this meeting is called to
[0:19] order. Before we begin, please
[0:20] join me in acknowledging that
[0:22] we are on the traditional lands
[0:23] of the Puget Salish peoples,
[0:25] past and present. We thank
[0:26] these caretakers of this land
[0:27] who
[0:28] ve lived here and continue
[0:29] to live here since time
[0:30] immemorial, bringing their
[0:32] cultural ways of life and
[0:33] greatly enriching our
[0:35] communities. I also want to
[0:37] take a moment to observe a
[0:38] moment of silence for the
[0:39] members of our community who
[0:41] lost their lives in the tragic
[0:43] and senseless violence, gun
[0:44] violence. This past weekend at
[0:45] the Bite of Seattle. Please
[1:16] join me in a moment of silence.
[1:19] Thank you. Clerk. Will you
[1:21] please call the roll? Thank
[1:23] you. Councilmember Balducci.
[1:25] Here. Council member Baron
[1:28] here. Councilmember Dembowski
[1:32] here. Councilmember Dunn here.
[1:33] Councilmember Fain here.
[1:36] Councilmember Lewis here.
[1:40] Councilmember Mosqueda here.
[1:42] Councilmember von Reichbauer
[1:45] here. Chair Perry here. I have
[1:46] a full quorum.
[1:48] Thank you very much. Next,
[1:51] please join me in the Pledge of
[1:53] Allegiance. Pledge allegiance
[1:55] to the flag of the United
[1:56] States of America. And to the
[1:58] Republic by which it stands.
[2:00] One nation under GOD,
[2:02] indivisible, liberty and
[2:07] justice for all. Turning next
[2:08] to a special item, which is the
[2:10] recognition of the Freedom
[2:12] Plane. Documents that forged a
[2:16] nation. Exhibit at Mohi. This
[2:19] will be presented by both me
[2:25] and Council member Leron. And
[2:28] one moment. Councilmember
[2:29] Baron, are you ready to join
[2:30] me?
[2:31] I
[2:32] m ready. Chair. Great.
[2:33] I don
[2:34] t have my colors here, so
[2:34] I
[2:36] m going to go ahead and just
[2:37] start and we
[2:38] ll just share. I
[2:39] m
[2:40] pleased to co-sponsor this
[2:43] proclamation with Council Dunn
[2:45] and supported in the reading of
[2:47] it by Council Member Barone,
[2:48] recognizing the National
[2:50] Archives exhibit to celebrate
[2:52] the 250th anniversary of the
[2:54] signing of the Declaration of
[2:55] Independence. The exhibit is
[2:57] called Freedom Plain Documents
[2:59] That Forged a Nation, and you
[3:05] can visit it from. Let me see.
[3:09] You can visit it from JULY 30th
[3:11] to AUGUST 16th at our very own
[3:13] Museum of History and Industry
[3:15] in Seattle. King County is one
[3:16] of few counties nationwide to
[3:17] host this historically
[3:19] significant exhibit, which
[3:20] gives all of us a rare
[3:22] opportunity to view some of the
[3:23] foundational documents that
[3:25] helped shape our nation,
[3:27] including an original engraving
[3:28] of the Declaration of
[3:31] Independence, a secret printing
[3:33] of the Constitution in draft
[3:35] form, and the Treaty of Paris
[3:36] and Bill of rights. It
[3:37] s really
[3:39] something to see historical
[3:39] knowledge and deep
[3:42] understanding of our civic
[3:44] origins of our country are
[3:46] essential to maintaining the
[3:48] strength of our Constitution,
[3:49] the resilience of our
[3:51] democracy, and the values of
[3:53] freedom and justice for all
[3:55] that were and continue to be,
[3:56] the vision for this great
[3:58] nation. I hope that through
[4:00] this proclamation and through
[4:01] spreading the word about this
[4:02] exhibit, you
[4:03] ll join me in
[4:04] taking time to reflect on the
[4:07] history and ideals of our
[4:14] nation. Including, uh. One
[4:21] moment. And hope you
[4:22] ll also
[4:24] join us in participating in
[4:26] civic like life. Because we are
[4:28] all in the government vying for
[4:29] the government and our
[4:30] communities thrive when we all
[4:32] lean in and are engaged in our
[4:34] neighborhoods, communities, and
[4:36] local governments. Uh,
[4:38] Councilmember Brown and I will
[4:40] now read the proclamation, and
[4:41] afterward, I
[4:42] ll invite Anthony
[4:44] Long from the Museum of History
[4:46] and Industry, lo hi to share a
[4:52] few words. Whereas the Museum
[4:54] of History and Industry has
[4:56] long served as the Pacific
[4:56] Northwest
[4:57] s preeminent
[4:59] institution for preserving and
[5:00] interpreting the history of our
[5:02] region, fostering public
[5:03] understanding of the people,
[5:05] ideas, industries and events
[5:06] that have shaped our
[5:08] communities and nation.
[5:11] And whereas in 2026, the United
[5:14] States commemorates the 250th
[5:15] anniversary of the signing of
[5:16] the Declaration of
[5:17] Independence, marking a
[5:19] historic milestone in the
[5:19] nation
[5:20] s ongoing pursuit of
[5:22] liberty, self-governance, and
[5:23] democratic ideals.
[5:26] And Whereas, the Freedom Plain
[5:28] documents that forged a nation,
[5:30] national tour organized in
[5:31] partnership with the National
[5:33] Archives will provide members
[5:34] of the public with a rare
[5:35] opportunity to view
[5:37] foundational historical
[5:39] documents that helped shape the
[5:41] United States and define the
[5:43] principles on upon which the
[5:45] nation was established.
[5:47] And whereas King County has
[5:49] been selected as one of only a
[5:51] limited number of host regions
[5:52] nationwide for this
[5:53] extraordinary exhibition,
[5:54] reflecting both the national
[5:56] significance of the tour and
[5:58] the leadership of the Museum of
[5:59] History and Industry. As a
[6:01] trusted steward of historical
[6:03] education and civic engagement.
[6:06] And Whereas, the Freedom Plane
[6:07] exhibition will offer
[6:09] residents, students, families
[6:10] and visitors throughout King
[6:12] County an opportunity to engage
[6:13] directly with the nation
[6:13] s
[6:14] history, deepen their
[6:16] understanding of the American
[6:18] democratic experiment, and
[6:19] reflect on the enduring
[6:20] importance of civic
[6:22] participation, constitutional
[6:23] governance, and the
[6:24] preservation of historical
[6:25] memory.
[6:27] And whereas, at a time when
[6:29] civic understanding and
[6:30] historical literacy remain
[6:32] essential to the strength of
[6:33] democratic institutions,
[6:34] exhibitions that connect
[6:35] communities with the nation
[6:36] s
[6:37] founding history serve an
[6:39] important public purpose and
[6:41] help inspire future generations
[6:43] to participate in civic life.
[6:45] And oh no, that
[6:45] s it.
[6:47] Now, therefore, we, the
[6:48] Metropolitan King County
[6:50] Council, recognize the Freedom
[6:52] Plain documents that forged a
[6:54] nation national tour and
[6:55] celebrate the Museum of History
[6:57] and Industry for bringing this
[6:59] nationally significant
[7:00] exhibition to Seattle and King
[7:02] County. During the 250th
[7:04] anniversary of the United
[7:06] States, dated this 28th day of
[7:08] JULY 2026, and signed by all
[7:10] members of the King County
[7:12] Council. Thank you very much
[7:14] for joining me in that
[7:16] Councilmember Baron. Uh, I
[7:16] d
[7:17] like to now invite Anthony Long
[7:18] from the Museum of History and
[7:23] Industry to share a few words.
[7:25] Thank you, Chair Perry. Good
[7:27] afternoon, Chair Perry.
[7:28] Thank you. Yes.
[7:30] Council member Baron.
[7:33] Councilmember Dunn. The entire
[7:34] county council and friends from
[7:36] across King County. My name is
[7:37] Anthony Long, and I
[7:37] m the
[7:39] executive associate and Board
[7:40] of relations manager at zm of
[7:42] History and Industry in
[7:43] Seattle. We are extremely
[7:45] honored to receive this
[7:46] proclamation and to be
[7:47] recognized by the County
[7:49] Council. Oha is proud to offer
[7:50] this once in a lifetime
[7:52] opportunity for our community
[7:53] to experience our nation
[7:53] s
[7:55] founding documents before they
[7:56] return to the nation
[7:57] s, uh, the
[7:59] National Archives faults. We
[8:01] are especially proud to have
[8:02] been recognized by the Council
[8:03] for connecting to our nation
[8:04] s
[8:06] founding history for America
[8:08] 250 and to showcase the ideals
[8:10] of democracy and freedom in
[8:12] their original form. We hope
[8:13] you all get the chance to visit
[8:14] us during the Freedom Plains
[8:18] exhibit run from JULY 30th to
[8:20] AUGUST 16th. Thank you to the
[8:22] entire King County Council and
[8:23] most importantly, our
[8:24] community. We are grateful for
[8:26] your support. Thank you.
[8:27] Thank you, MR. Lang, for
[8:29] joining us and for hosting
[8:29] this. And we
[8:30] re proud to be a
[8:32] part of this. Thank you very
[8:37] much. We
[8:38] ll now turn to the
[8:39] reading of the items into the
[8:40] record and the hearing of
[8:43] public comments before the
[8:44] clerk reads the items into the
[8:45] record. Vice CHAIRMAN, MAY I
[8:47] please have a motion to relieve
[8:48] the employment and
[8:50] Administration Committee of
[8:51] item 12?
[8:52] Smith, chair.
[8:54] Thank you. The motion is before
[8:56] us. All those in favor say aye.
[8:57] Aye, aye.
[8:59] All those opposed say nay. Nay.
[9:01] Motion is approved with that
[9:02] clerk. Haley, please read the
[9:04] items into the record.
[9:05] Thank you, Chair Perry. Item
[9:07] four is recognition of freedom.
[9:09] Plain documents that forged a
[9:10] nation. Exhibit at Mile High.
[9:11] Item six is proposed.
[9:13] Substitute Ordinance Number
[9:16] 2026 0126 related to the King
[9:18] County Employee Code of Ethics.
[9:19] Item seven is proposed
[9:23] ordinance number 2026 0189
[9:23] approving and adopting the
[9:25] Memorandum of Agreement
[9:26] negotiated by and between King
[9:27] County and Pro Tech 17,
[9:29] representing engineering
[9:30] Services Manager employees in
[9:31] the Department of Natural
[9:32] Resources and Parks, and
[9:34] establishing the effective date
[9:36] of set agreements. Item eight
[9:37] is proposed ordinance Number
[9:40] 2026 0196, proving and adopting
[9:42] the Coalition Labor Agreement
[9:44] Agreement negotiated by between
[9:45] King County and the King County
[9:46] Coalition of Unions
[9:47] representing employees in the
[9:48] Department of Natural Resources
[9:49] and Parks. The Department of
[9:50] Local Services, and the
[9:51] Department of Executive
[9:53] Services, and establishing the
[9:54] effective date of the
[9:57] agreements. Item 11 as Proposed
[10:00] Motion number 2026 0115
[10:01] confirmed the executive
[10:01] s
[10:03] appointment of Juan Kato
[10:04] resides in Council District two
[10:05] to the Washington State Major
[10:07] League Baseball stadium. Public
[10:08] facilities. District board of
[10:10] directors. Item 12 is proposed
[10:13] motion number 2026 0197. A
[10:14] motion approving the job
[10:16] description for the position of
[10:18] Inspector General, and item 25
[10:19] is proclamation celebrating
[10:21] AUGUST 15th, 2026 as India
[10:21] s
[10:24] 80th Independence Day.
[10:26] Thank you very much. Uh, do we
[10:27] have we
[10:28] re going to turn now to
[10:29] public comment. Do we have
[10:31] folks in the room or online
[10:33] with us to provide public
[10:33] comment today?
[10:35] We have both.
[10:37] We have both. Okay. Well, now
[10:38] take public comment on those
[10:39] ordinances, motions,
[10:41] proclamations and recognitions
[10:41] on today
[10:43] s agenda for action
[10:44] and any topics directly related
[10:46] to county business. As this is
[10:47] the fourth Tuesday of the
[10:50] month, listening to public and
[10:51] taking into consideration the
[10:51] public
[10:52] s thoughts is an
[10:54] important part of our process
[10:55] and one that greatly enhances
[10:57] our deliberations. In order to
[10:58] allow everyone equal time to
[11:00] provide comment, please
[11:02] recognize the following chamber
[11:04] ground rules. Please limit your
[11:05] comments to two minutes. Remain
[11:07] seated until time for comment
[11:08] and do not make audible noise
[11:09] during the meeting without
[11:11] being recognized. It
[11:11] s also a
[11:13] reminder that public comment
[11:14] MAY not be used for the purpose
[11:16] of assisting a campaign for
[11:17] election of any person to any
[11:19] office, or for the promotion
[11:21] of, or opposition to any ballot
[11:23] proposition. Speakers should
[11:24] address their comments directly
[11:26] to the chair per cow, per
[11:27] council rules, disruptive
[11:29] behavior can or MAY lead to an
[11:30] audience member being asked to
[11:33] leave the meeting or be muted.
[11:35] Um uh. In addition to behavior
[11:37] already mentioned, uh, the
[11:38] disruptive behavior would
[11:41] include holding signs at the at
[11:44] the podium. Um, and the use of
[11:47] bullhorns or noisemakers not
[11:49] allowed for online comment.
[11:51] Press star nine on the phone or
[11:54] click the raise hand icon in on
[11:56] the zoom toolbar, located at
[11:57] the bottom of the screen to
[11:58] notify the clerk. The clerk
[11:59] will call the names or the last
[12:01] three digits of the phone
[12:02] numbers in order, and will then
[12:04] unmute each line, uh, lowering
[12:06] the hands. Then after the
[12:09] comment is completed with that
[12:10] clerk pass, please begin
[12:12] calling the names in person,
[12:13] followed by those hands raised
[12:16] online for public comment.
[12:17] Thank you. Chair. The first
[12:21] name on the list is Tamara.
[12:23] Hello, my name is Tamara. I
[12:23] m
[12:24] on the board of the directors
[12:26] of the Newport Hills Townhomes,
[12:30] located at 5800 1/23 Avenue
[12:32] Southeast, uh, Bellevue. Raegan
[12:35] Dunn, this is your district. We
[12:36] share a significant property
[12:39] border with the new border. Um,
[12:39] it
[12:40] s apartments owned by King
[12:43] County. On 1/19 Avenue
[12:45] southeast on the Newport side
[12:46] of the border is a densely
[12:47] populated row of
[12:49] well-established coniferous
[12:51] trees that, in my 13 years of
[12:52] living in this immediate area,
[12:55] has never been pruned, nor had
[12:57] the overgrown English ivy been
[12:58] cut back. These trees were
[13:00] planted about six feet apart,
[13:01] giving absolutely no
[13:03] consideration to the adult size
[13:05] of the trees and their root
[13:07] system. This neglect has
[13:09] unfortunately caused thousands
[13:11] of dollars in undue costs to
[13:12] the homeowners of the privately
[13:14] owned townhomes, which affects
[13:17] about 250 units, which were
[13:20] built in 1967. So you can
[13:21] imagine we have a lot of costs
[13:22] going on right now with
[13:23] plumbing. Um, we
[13:24] ve repaired
[13:26] sidewalks and parking lots over
[13:27] the years for problems we have
[13:30] not created by root damage from
[13:32] your trees. Uh, we sent this
[13:34] letter to King County Housing
[13:36] Authority on JULY 1st, alerting
[13:38] them to the situation and
[13:40] asking them to basically do the
[13:41] right thing and be responsible
[13:43] neighbors. Well, if you
[13:43] ve ever
[13:45] heard the sound of crickets,
[13:47] you can insert that right here.
[13:49] As if the tree damage isn
[13:49] t bad
[13:51] enough. Now we realize there is
[13:53] a rat infestation coming
[13:55] directly from the new quarter
[13:57] onto our property. We
[13:57] ve seen
[13:59] them traveling and there are
[14:00] highways underneath that border
[14:02] property fence. We
[14:02] ve paid
[14:04] thousands to control the rat
[14:06] problem. We simply cannot
[14:09] continue to absorb your costs.
[14:09] There
[14:11] s also several restaurant
[14:12] businesses in a strip mall
[14:15] nearby that appear to possibly
[14:17] be contributing to the problem
[14:19] as well, by not limiting access
[14:21] to their dumpsters on behalf of
[14:23] the homeowners of the Newport
[14:26] Hill Townhomes, please do the
[14:28] right thing. Uh. Communities
[14:31] thrive when we all lean in and
[14:36] do the right thing. Please,
[14:36] please.
[14:37] Thank you. Was that the timer
[14:38] that I heard?
[14:40] I guess you heard at the time.
[14:40] I
[14:41] m sorry.
[14:42] That is the timer.
[14:44] That is the timer for two
[14:45] minutes. Okay. Thank you very
[14:46] much for your time.
[14:48] Appreciate the letter that we
[14:48] have.
[14:50] Sent you. Thank you. Appreciate
[14:51] that.
[14:52] The next thing on the list is
[15:00] Mark Rosenberg. King County
[15:01] Council.
[15:02] Members, my name is Mark
[15:04] Rosenberger. I reside in
[15:06] unincorporated King County
[15:06] today. I
[15:06] m here again
[15:08] representing the Remington
[15:10] Homeowners Association and the
[15:12] surrounding communities that
[15:14] have expressed their opposition
[15:16] to the redevelopment of the
[15:17] Drews Glen Golf Course and
[15:19] primarily for the ecosystem
[15:20] impact that it will have for
[15:22] all of King County residents.
[15:24] Today, I wish to provide you a
[15:25] brief update and to thank you.
[15:27] When I speak of protecting the
[15:29] ecosystem within Jerusalem, I
[15:29] m
[15:30] referring to the local
[15:32] geographical area where the
[15:34] forest, ponds, streams, plants,
[15:36] animals, landscape, all that
[15:38] works together to shape this
[15:39] region. For King County.
[15:41] Recently we held a community
[15:42] meeting focused on protecting
[15:43] the environment was well held.
[15:45] It well attended, but currently
[15:45] we
[15:47] re in collaboration with the
[15:48] Greater Maple Valley
[15:50] Unincorporated Area Council for
[15:51] their experience in land
[15:52] development within
[15:54] unincorporated King County. If
[15:56] the preliminary land
[15:57] development application to
[15:59] eliminate the golf course and
[16:01] develop a gated community of
[16:03] elite homes were to advance to
[16:05] a development permit
[16:07] application, we call upon King
[16:08] County to declare a
[16:10] determination of significance
[16:12] which will require a full
[16:14] environmental impact statement,
[16:15] along with following all of the
[16:17] Washington state environmental
[16:20] policies. Also note that in
[16:22] 1998, the King County
[16:24] Assessment Office declared this
[16:26] property as open space land for
[16:27] all of King County and granted
[16:29] it special taxation rates.
[16:31] Therefore, we also call upon
[16:33] King County to address all the
[16:35] open land space penalties if
[16:35] there
[16:37] s a parcel of land were
[16:38] to be redeveloped into a
[16:39] housing community, I
[16:40] d like to
[16:42] extend a special thank you to
[16:43] council members Regan Dunn,
[16:45] Pete von Reichbauer and
[16:46] Steffanie Fain for their
[16:48] support. In closing, again, I
[16:48] d
[16:49] like to extend all of the
[16:51] council members an opportunity
[16:53] to visit the Jerusalem Golf
[16:54] Course and take in all the
[16:56] environmental impacts that I
[16:57] m
[16:58] speaking about. Uh, if the
[17:00] saying picture is worth a
[17:01] thousand words, a personal
[17:03] experience is worth a million
[17:05] words. Thank you for allowing
[17:06] me time today to bring this to
[17:07] your attention.
[17:08] Thank you.
[17:10] The next name on the list is
[17:15] Margaret Yajima.
[17:16] Hello, everyone. My name is
[17:18] Margaret Shima. I
[17:19] m a Sansei
[17:22] that is a third generation, um,
[17:25] immigrant from Japan. Uh, when
[17:28] i am able, I go to King County
[17:29] Airport. So this is about
[17:31] deportations at the airport,
[17:35] which happened 3 to 4 times a
[17:37] week today. Right now, as we
[17:39] speak, there is a second
[17:43] airplane bringing in a.
[17:45] Prisoners from other detention
[17:49] centers to ours near Tacoma and
[17:51] taking 71 men and six women
[17:52] out. And we
[17:53] re awaiting the
[17:56] second arrival. I do this
[17:58] because I believe that if
[18:01] something big is not witnessed,
[18:02] it does not happen. It
[18:03] s as if
[18:05] the people who are being
[18:07] deported. Thank you for your
[18:11] faces. Our faceless and don
[18:11] t
[18:14] count as human beings. In 1942,
[18:16] two sides of my immediate and
[18:19] extended family were taken by
[18:22] bus and then by train to an
[18:24] unknown place which happened to
[18:26] be Minidoka on Indian land in
[18:28] Idaho, where they were
[18:29] incarcerated for three years
[18:31] without due process. Accused
[18:33] and suspected of being of
[18:36] collaborating with the Imperial
[18:38] Army of Japan against the
[18:39] United States. Half of those
[18:41] people who were taken away
[18:43] were, as my parents were,
[18:44] citizens of the United States.
[18:47] They had lost all their civil
[18:49] rights. And that is happening
[18:50] today. And what is I
[18:51] m here
[18:53] most concerned is that people
[18:55] in Seattle, in the United
[18:57] States and the county don
[18:57] t
[18:59] know people are being
[19:01] disappeared like they are in
[19:03] third world countries. But here
[19:05] in our beloved country, people
[19:07] are being disappeared by the
[19:10] scores daily out of King County
[19:12] Airport, we were promised that
[19:14] we could see it, witness it,
[19:17] and we do not have clear access
[19:20] to those people.
[19:22] Thank you. Thank you very much.
[19:25] Yes, thank you for your time.
[19:27] Please make this right. It
[19:29] breaks my heart and makes me
[19:30] furious.
[19:30] Thank you.
[19:32] Thank you for your testimony.
[19:35] My name is Alex Zimmerman.
[19:41] Thank you.
[19:44] Yeah. Agenda number four. I see
[19:45] what freedom I don
[19:45] t
[19:47] understand. Where is freedom in
[19:49] King County? You count?
[19:50] Inaugural fascist county in
[19:51] America. There
[19:52] s only one
[19:53] fascist county. What is in
[19:55] Trump list? What is freedom?
[19:58] You talk. Ten year ago you
[19:59] changed rules. So right now we
[20:02] can speak only one time per
[20:04] month for two minutes. Is this
[20:06] a freedom of speech? You are
[20:09] more dangerous than Hitler. Not
[20:11] saying can stop. I explain to
[20:14] you why? Because Hitler, Nazi,
[20:15] Gestapo don
[20:16] t have a
[20:19] constitution for 250 years in
[20:21] freedom of speech. What is you
[20:23] talking about? Freedom. Freedom
[20:26] for who? For fascist. What is?
[20:28] Live here. But as I call them,
[20:30] Nazi. Gestapo. Fascist junta.
[20:32] This is exactly who you are.
[20:34] Understand this or not? Because
[20:36] I come to this place and speak
[20:38] in Council chamber from Tacoma,
[20:40] Seattle. Everett. More than 35
[20:43] years. You are in fascist. You
[20:45] are evil Nazi, human, dangerous.
[20:47] And indeed you said Hitler,
[20:48] Nazi, Gestapo don
[20:49] t have
[20:51] constitution. We have
[20:53] constitution for 250 years.
[20:55] Freedom of speech for 200
[20:57] years. You do not care. You cut
[21:01] everything one day per month
[21:03] for two minutes. You give us
[21:06] freedom of speech. You did this
[21:08] ten year ago, remember? I
[21:10] remember before people can
[21:11] come, American citizen can come
[21:13] and speak about everything. But
[21:14] you don
[21:15] t want this because you
[21:18] Nazi pig, Viva Trump! Viva new
[21:19] American Revolution! Stand up!
[21:21] Slept in happy cow. How many
[21:24] seconds? I have 20, 20. Okay.
[21:26] Good guys. And I talking about
[21:28] these rules for many years from
[21:29] beginning when you started
[21:31] doing ten years ago. Can you
[21:34] explain to me why people like
[21:36] Councilmember Balducci and
[21:38] Consular Power for five six
[21:40] years never have in person
[21:41] speech? Can you explain to me,
[21:45] is this a freedom, uh, Nazi pig?
[21:48] Thank you, MR. Zimmerman.
[21:50] Yes. We welcome my friend.
[21:52] Posting on the list is Glenn
[21:58] Stockwell.
[22:00] CHAIRWOMAN And council members.
[22:02] My name is Glenn Stockwell. I
[22:04] come before you today, and I
[22:07] have a handout here. And it
[22:09] represents it. I have given it
[22:12] to the clerk and also a cup for
[22:16] project Cup for you. Patty
[22:18] Murray has the opportunity to
[22:20] bring the, uh, our country
[22:21] s
[22:22] largest economic development
[22:25] and job project to Washington
[22:28] state in our history. And the
[22:30] project is already pre funded.
[22:38] It was a $1.2 trillion signed
[22:41] by Joe Biden. Uh, and, uh, the
[22:42] project that we want to fund is
[22:44] the completion of the Columbia
[22:46] Basin Project in eastern
[22:47] Washington. And also the
[22:50] expansion of the park districts
[22:54] in western Washington. And, uh,
[22:56] this is an opportunity we
[22:56] ve
[22:58] only had once before during
[23:02] Governor Gray was, uh,
[23:05] administration. And it gives
[23:08] the governor an opportunity to
[23:11] change his mind and go into a
[23:13] special session. And, uh,
[23:16] target is his efforts into
[23:18] acquiring the monies for this
[23:21] project. And hopefully during
[23:23] the special session, he will
[23:25] rescind what has taken place
[23:30] on, on the, uh, taxation and
[23:33] etc. And on the income tax.
[23:34] And, uh, since he
[23:35] s a chess
[23:36] master, I think he
[23:36] s looking
[23:38] for other alternatives.
[23:39] Hopefully he thinks he
[23:40] s going
[23:41] to be reelected. But I don
[23:41] t
[23:44] understand how he expects to be
[23:46] reelected. But, uh, with your
[23:47] help, I
[23:49] m asking you to to send
[23:51] a letter to Senator Patty
[23:54] Murray asking her to go out and
[23:56] try to acquire the funds for
[23:57] this project. It
[23:58] ll help
[24:00] eastern and western Washington
[24:02] for the next hundred years, and
[24:02] it
[24:03] ll help save Social
[24:05] Security. Thank you for your
[24:05] time.
[24:08] Thank you for your testimony.
[24:09] This is Justine.
[24:15] Guyot.
[24:16] I
[24:16] m going to stumble.
[24:17] So I.
[24:19] Apologize in advance. I am an
[24:21] observer of Ice flights at King
[24:22] County Airport. I
[24:23] m here today
[24:24] to talk about safety at King
[24:25] County Airport. I
[24:25] m here to
[24:27] talk about ending the use of
[24:30] chains on ice lights at King
[24:30] County Airport.
[24:32] And your name, please.
[24:34] Justine Guyot. Thank you. It
[24:35] s
[24:36] happening right now. I
[24:37] m here
[24:41] to inform each of you that the
[24:43] King County Council has the
[24:46] ability to end the use of
[24:48] chains on ice flags at King
[24:50] County Airport. You have the
[24:52] authority. We gave you the
[24:53] authority to work on behalf of
[24:54] the people. When we voted you
[24:57] into office, Washington State,
[24:59] our cw gives you the their
[25:01] authority to to regulate the
[25:05] airport. Uh, faa regulations
[25:09] exist that do that prohibit
[25:11] transporting people in chains,
[25:13] shackled at the ankles, wrist
[25:16] and waist. King County code
[25:18] title 15 gives you the
[25:20] authority to take action. You
[25:23] have the tools, the primary
[25:24] management compliance document,
[25:26] and the supplemental rules and
[25:27] regulations for King County
[25:29] Airport. Call out the King
[25:30] County Council
[25:32] s authority to
[25:34] supplement, amend, adopt rules
[25:37] or adopt rules, regulations or
[25:39] directives. The sr calls out
[25:40] the primary purpose of the
[25:42] regulations as airport user
[25:45] safety. That includes
[25:47] passengers. All passengers who
[25:50] fly in and out of King County.
[25:53] You have the responsibility. No
[25:54] part of the faa regulations
[25:56] with no part of the federal use
[25:57] agreement with King County
[26:00] Airport, allows the illegal and
[26:02] unsafe practice of transporting
[26:06] people in shackles. The faa
[26:07] recognizes the fact that people
[26:09] flown in chains cannot take the
[26:11] required action to save their
[26:14] own lives. The council needs to
[26:15] hold dhs, Department of
[26:18] Homeland Security, Airport
[26:19] operations, and pilots
[26:21] accountable for existing
[26:22] regulations. I
[26:23] m asking you to
[26:25] find the courage to stand up
[26:27] and stop the largest transport
[26:29] of people in chains since the
[26:30] end of slavery. It
[26:30] s what
[26:32] Doctor King would expect of
[26:32] you. It
[26:33] s what the people of
[26:35] King County are calling for,
[26:35] and it
[26:38] s serious violations of
[26:39] safety rules. Thank you.
[26:41] Accepting hundreds of
[26:42] passengers.
[26:43] Thank you. Thank you for your
[26:44] testimony.
[26:45] Thank you. Have a packet.
[26:47] Thank you for your testimony.
[26:48] Um.
[26:50] Next time to read that I gave
[26:51] to the clerk.
[26:53] Thank you for your testimony.
[26:54] The next name on the list is
[26:59] Angela Beck.
[27:01] Good afternoon. My name is
[27:03] Angela. Debbie. I am a resident
[27:04] of the Columbia City
[27:05] neighborhood in Seattle. I
[27:06] m
[27:07] here to speak about my concerns
[27:10] related to deportation, flight
[27:11] observations at King County
[27:13] International Airport as a
[27:15] weekly flight. Observer
[27:16] volunteer. I can confirm
[27:19] firsthand that Geo isis
[27:21] contractor purposely parks
[27:22] their vehicles on the tarmac at
[27:24] angles that obstruct are
[27:27] limited camera coverage. This
[27:29] is a very, very serious concern
[27:30] because this impedes our
[27:33] ability to observe and track
[27:34] who is being detained and how
[27:37] they are being treated.
[27:38] Observations are critical to
[27:40] make sure that all detainees
[27:42] are treated respectfully and
[27:44] humanely. We ask that you take
[27:46] steps to keep geo from hiding
[27:48] their activities by making sure
[27:50] buses are parked in a way that
[27:52] does not obstruct flight,
[27:55] observers view. Thank you.
[27:56] Thank you very much for your
[27:57] testimony.
[28:06] My name is Guadalupe Gonzalez.
[28:07] Hello everyone. My name.
[28:09] Is Guadalupe Gonzalez and I
[28:09] ve
[28:11] been observing the deportation
[28:14] flights since 2023. I came here
[28:16] today to talk about the online
[28:17] log. Which county has which
[28:19] tracks these flights? The King
[28:20] County Airport website states
[28:21] that by order of King County
[28:24] Executive in 2023, reaffirmed
[28:26] in 2026, King County maintains
[28:28] a log of federal Immigration
[28:29] and Customs Enforcement flights
[28:30] operating to and from our
[28:32] airport. However, since the
[28:34] first executive order in 2023
[28:35] passed, we have never had the
[28:37] numbers of people being brought
[28:38] in or out shared with community
[28:40] members. This is mentioned
[28:41] within the 2023 Executive
[28:43] decree, and it has yet to
[28:44] happen. I find this a little
[28:45] ridiculous when much more
[28:47] conservative counties like
[28:48] Yakima have been able to
[28:50] achieve the same using their
[28:52] own resources, and earlier this
[28:53] year, in MARCH of this year,
[28:55] the Executive Office promised
[28:56] us that a new position would
[28:57] start and that this promised
[28:59] data would be shared. That has
[29:01] yet to happen. Uh, I think that
[29:03] for the sake of transparency,
[29:04] the county needs to start
[29:05] sharing this information and
[29:06] use their resources so that the
[29:07] community can know what
[29:07] s
[29:09] happening at this airport,
[29:09] especially when we
[29:10] re seeing
[29:11] more than 4000 people being
[29:12] moved in and out every year.
[29:13] Hundreds of flights are
[29:15] occurring and only increasing.
[29:15] Thank you.
[29:17] Thank you.
[29:19] The next thing on the list is
[29:23] Michael c.
[29:23] It
[29:25] s very hard to hear the
[29:26] names when they
[29:26] re being
[29:28] called. Just relax.
[29:31] Oh yes. We oh sorry I
[29:32] apologize.
[29:32] It
[29:35] s my writing I apologize.
[29:37] Um. Good evening or good
[29:39] afternoon, Council members,
[29:40] thank you for the opportunity
[29:42] to speak in support of battery
[29:44] energy storage systems for
[29:46] best. My name is Michael Li,
[29:46] and I
[29:47] ve lived in practice
[29:49] medicine in King County for 40
[29:52] years. I support best because
[29:53] it will decrease burning of
[29:56] fossil fuels. Climate change is
[29:58] harming our health via extreme
[30:00] weather, heat events, and
[30:03] wildfires. If we fail to expand
[30:05] clean sources of energy, these
[30:06] impacts will continue to
[30:08] worsen, including right here in
[30:10] King County. Battery storage
[30:12] allows us to store excess clean
[30:14] energy for when sun or wind is
[30:18] not available. As a surgeon, I
[30:19] had to carefully weigh risks
[30:20] and benefits of surgery
[30:22] compared to alternative
[30:24] treatments. We should carefully
[30:25] weigh the risks and benefits of
[30:29] best, which the 2024 Council
[30:31] framework did quite well. We
[30:32] should also consider risks and
[30:34] benefits. Without this. A major
[30:36] risk is that we could easily
[30:38] need to build more gas fueled
[30:40] power plants that would
[30:42] definitely harm our health for
[30:45] 20 or more years. There have to
[30:46] be places in King County where
[30:49] best would be reasonable. I
[30:50] actually installed battery
[30:51] storage in my garage because my
[30:53] grid power has gone out 35
[30:56] times in two years, right? In
[30:59] Bellevue, I researched and used
[31:00] the safest type of batteries,
[31:03] the same type used in all new
[31:05] best facilities. Remember how
[31:07] we used to worry about charging
[31:09] EVs in our garages? Now with
[31:12] improved technology, we have
[31:14] over 100,000 EVs and other
[31:17] large batteries charging all
[31:19] over King County. I strongly
[31:21] support battery energy storage
[31:25] in King County using the 2024
[31:27] Council framework. It is
[31:28] absolutely needed to protect
[31:30] our health. Thank you very
[31:31] much.
[31:33] Thank you for your testimony.
[31:35] Next name on the list is Paul
[31:40] Lee. Everyone.
[31:42] My name is Paul Lee and I
[31:43] strongly support more battery
[31:45] energy storage in King County.
[31:46] Uh, I
[31:47] m a professional engineer
[31:47] with over eight years of
[31:49] experience in clean energy.
[31:49] Personally, i
[31:50] ve worked on over
[31:52] a dozen battery energy projects
[31:53] for the U.S. Department of
[31:55] Energy, City of Los Angeles,
[31:57] Texas, Massachusetts, to name a
[31:59] few. Uh, batteries are a
[32:00] critical part of our clean
[32:01] energy transition. They
[32:01] re
[32:02] proven to help lower
[32:05] electricity costs, improve grid
[32:07] reliability during outages and
[32:08] events. Our climate goals, uh,
[32:10] safety was paramount in my
[32:11] work. And, of course, there
[32:11] s
[32:13] always risks. But the industry
[32:15] has overcome many of these with
[32:15] improvements in battery
[32:17] chemistries and standards such
[32:21] as ul 9540 and nfpa 55, as well
[32:22] as a long and proven track
[32:23] record of many successful
[32:25] battery manufacturers. I
[32:27] support more best installations
[32:28] in King County across the board
[32:30] and accelerating more energy
[32:31] storage adoption. Um, for the
[32:33] region. Thank you.
[32:34] Thank you.
[32:36] The next name on the list is
[32:41] Nathan Hatch.
[32:42] Hello, Council members. My name
[32:44] is Nathan Hatch. I live in
[32:44] Seattle.
[32:46] In the Fremont neighborhood,
[32:48] and like Mike and Paul, I
[32:48] m
[32:49] here to talk about battery
[32:51] energy storage systems. Last
[32:52] time I was here, we heard a lot
[32:54] of concern from, uh, residents
[32:57] of Snoqualmie about thermal
[32:58] runaway for the proposed
[33:00] facility over there. I do share
[33:01] their worry about what that
[33:03] might do to the surrounding air
[33:05] and water systems. So I
[33:05] ve
[33:06] spent many hours over the past
[33:09] two months learning about these
[33:10] issues. And today, I
[33:11] m happy to
[33:12] report that the risk seems
[33:14] lower than I feared. Uh, best
[33:15] facilities are designed and
[33:17] tested so that a fire in one
[33:18] container cannot spread to
[33:20] another container. So even if a
[33:22] fire does occur, which is
[33:23] unlikely, only a small portion
[33:25] of the site will burn. The air
[33:26] pollution would be comparable
[33:28] to any structural fires, such
[33:30] as the warehouse in Ballard
[33:32] that burned down last month.
[33:33] Um, and of course, as Mike
[33:34] said, if we don
[33:35] t build this,
[33:35] we
[33:36] re going to get 20 years of
[33:37] air pollution from new gas
[33:40] powered energy plants instead.
[33:42] So I hope this information sets
[33:43] the hearts of council members
[33:44] and Snoqualmie residents at
[33:46] ease. Thank you.
[33:48] Thank you for your testimony.
[33:50] Next on the list is Billy
[33:58] Harston.
[33:58] Is there.
[33:59] Like a timer somewhere? And go
[34:00] ahead and just guess.
[34:01] Just. I
[34:01] m guessing.
[34:01] You got.
[34:02] It.
[34:04] 30 talk as fast as possible.
[34:06] Uh, hello. Uh, Council members,
[34:08] thank you for the opportunity
[34:09] to present and speak. Uh, I
[34:10] understand you guys have a very
[34:11] difficult job, and we
[34:13] appreciate all the work that
[34:14] you do. Um, my name is William
[34:15] Hairston. Uh, I have the
[34:17] opportunity to be one of the
[34:18] senior directors at center for
[34:19] Children and Youth Justice. And
[34:21] in lieu of recent events, i
[34:22] think it was pertinent to
[34:24] elevate some of the work that
[34:25] cci does in the community.
[34:27] Violence intervention and
[34:28] prevention space. Predominantly
[34:31] our Youth Link program, uh,
[34:32] Youth Link program is a
[34:34] regional adaptation of the
[34:35] National Gang Centers
[34:37] comprehensive gang model, uh,
[34:39] where cci coordinates and
[34:41] convenes partners to provide a
[34:43] collaborative wraparound case
[34:45] management and supports uh for
[34:46] young people at the highest
[34:48] risk of violence or system
[34:50] involvement. Link brings
[34:51] together partners from a
[34:53] multitude of disciplines, such
[34:55] as law enforcement, education,
[34:58] dcf or juvenile rehabilitation.
[35:00] Community based organizations,
[35:01] behavioral health, housing,
[35:02] employment and other service
[35:05] providers. Um, since 2020.
[35:08] Today, Link is served over 400
[35:09] young people across Kane
[35:12] County. 2025 to date. Those
[35:13] young people that link has
[35:14] served as accomplished over 300
[35:16] individualized goals based on
[35:19] their individualized, uh, plans
[35:20] that they create themselves.
[35:22] Um, these goals include things
[35:23] such as, uh, meeting court
[35:25] ordered probation requirements,
[35:26] re-engaging in education,
[35:28] securing housing, and meeting
[35:30] basic needs, uh, gang
[35:31] assistance and violence
[35:33] intervention and employment,
[35:34] and other things that are
[35:37] stabilizing goals. Um, and
[35:39] these are goals are in part
[35:40] thanks to our great
[35:41] collaborations and partnerships
[35:43] with organizations such as
[35:45] Choose 180, Urban Family and
[35:46] Freedom Project, Washington.
[35:48] Um, I would welcome the
[35:49] opportunity to share more about
[35:51] the link model in our program
[35:52] and our partnerships, as well
[35:53] as the impact of these
[35:55] collaborative efforts
[35:56] throughout King County to the
[35:58] Council or any of the
[35:59] subcommittees that you guys see
[36:00] fit. Thank you very much for
[36:01] your time and all the work that
[36:02] you do.
[36:04] Thank you for your testimony.
[36:07] Thanks, on the list is Lassie
[36:21] Lester.
[36:22] Hello, everyone.
[36:23] Thank you for.
[36:25] Letting me speak today.
[36:26] Um.
[36:28] My name is Lassie Webster, and
[36:29] I want to I
[36:30] m here to speak
[36:32] about the observation flights
[36:32] at King.
[36:33] County International.
[36:35] Airport. Um, I
[36:35] ve been
[36:37] observing for about a year, a
[36:39] little bit more, and I
[36:39] ve
[36:41] learned a lot. Uh, what I
[36:44] wanted to address specifically
[36:49] today is, um, I spoke with, um.
[36:50] Oh.
[36:50] My microphone
[36:53] s on. I spoke
[36:56] with, uh, executives. All I had
[36:59] hit Salahi, so I saw, I
[36:59] m
[37:02] sorry. Last year, um, and I
[37:03] asked him this question. Are
[37:06] you willing to introduce and
[37:07] support legislation when you
[37:09] are our King County Executive
[37:13] to increase the safety of
[37:14] people in detention and
[37:16] designate that the county sees
[37:18] and requires them to be treated
[37:20] as passengers as opposed to
[37:22] their current treatment by Ice
[37:25] as cargo? I want to acknowledge
[37:27] that since that time, there has
[37:29] been a pledge added by the King
[37:32] County Executive Office that
[37:33] the office of the executive
[37:34] will continue to collaborate
[37:37] with key leaders from immigrant
[37:39] and refugee communities to
[37:41] establish a countywide strategy
[37:43] that enhances the health,
[37:44] safety and well-being of
[37:46] immigrants. When traveling
[37:48] within or arriving at King
[37:51] County Airport. From the
[37:53] standpoint of an observer who
[37:54] is familiar with the treatment
[37:55] of the immigrants at King
[37:56] County Airport, I
[37:57] d like to.
[37:58] I
[37:59] d like you to know that while
[38:01] the intention of this part of
[38:03] the statement is well-meaning,
[38:06] little has actually changed, I
[38:07] think there have been a tense
[38:09] like, we have a new four new
[38:13] large monitors in our very tiny
[38:14] observation room, which, by the
[38:16] way, one of our volunteers was
[38:17] not able to continue
[38:20] volunteering to observe because
[38:21] it caused such trouble to her
[38:25] neck. Um, but I don
[38:26] t see any
[38:28] change, really, in the way that
[38:30] the immigrants are treated. I
[38:31] think there needs to be more
[38:34] than good intentions. I think
[38:35] there needs to be a deep felt,
[38:37] heart full hearted commitment
[38:39] to restore the dignity, safety
[38:41] and health to the people being
[38:42] transported in shackles.
[38:44] So my person.
[38:46] Can ask a question.
[38:48] Uh, this is a statement, not a
[38:50] question and answer
[38:51] opportunity. But you can
[38:53] certainly send emails.
[38:53] Okay.
[38:55] Thank you very much for your
[38:57] testimony.
[39:03] Next on the list is Zach Pinot.
[39:05] Thank you. Chair. Thank you,
[39:06] Council members. My name is
[39:07] Zach Pinard. I
[39:08] m a King County
[39:09] resident and I
[39:09] m speaking on
[39:11] behalf of clean and prosperous
[39:13] in strong support of King
[39:13] County
[39:14] s current battery energy
[39:16] storage system, or best
[39:18] ordinance. We have. Clean and
[39:19] prosperous are concerns that
[39:21] our state is ranked dead last
[39:22] in the nation for renewable
[39:25] energy growth. However, after
[39:27] reviewing existing best
[39:28] ordinances at the city and
[39:29] county level, clean and
[39:31] Prosperous has determined that
[39:32] King County currently has the
[39:34] single most effective ordinance
[39:35] for enabling well cited best in
[39:38] Washington State. So once
[39:39] again, thank you. That
[39:39] s
[39:41] awesome. As you
[39:42] ve heard, when
[39:44] real time solar and wind
[39:45] generation cannot meet demand
[39:47] best allows us to use stored
[39:48] clean energy instead of fossil
[39:50] fuel powered peaker plants. To
[39:51] meet those demand. Spikes we
[39:53] have clean and prosperous have
[39:54] identified 100 energy storage
[39:56] projects currently stuck in
[39:56] Washington
[39:57] s pipeline that
[39:59] could provide the grid with
[40:02] 10.72gw of clean energy
[40:03] capacity. These storage
[40:04] projects represent tens of
[40:06] billions of dollars in economic
[40:07] activity and thousands of
[40:08] highly skilled and long term
[40:10] jobs. Ten of these projects are
[40:12] located in King County. So just
[40:13] want to thank you again for
[40:14] passing this ordinance. It
[40:16] should remain in place so as to
[40:17] avoid delaying the grid
[40:18] reliability and the clean
[40:20] energy economy that we cannot
[40:22] afford to wait for.
[40:24] Thank you for your testimony.
[40:26] The next name on the list is
[40:33] Aaron Cargill.
[40:35] Hi, my name is Aaron McArthur.
[40:37] I am one of the security leads
[40:40] for the solidarity day. Uh,
[40:42] that happens down in Tacoma at
[40:44] the detention center. As a part
[40:47] of that, I try to create an
[40:49] environment that is safe by
[40:51] default, because that is what
[40:53] is required for safety. If
[40:56] safety requires action on the
[40:59] part of the people involved,
[41:01] they cannot be reliably
[41:05] considered safe. The Ice
[41:06] flights are doing what are
[41:09] called hot fueling, which is
[41:11] fueling while people are on
[41:14] board, they are shackled and
[41:16] they are unable to move at any
[41:18] kind of speed to keep
[41:19] themselves safe. It
[41:20] s against
[41:23] faa regulations, and it is
[41:27] risking the lives and safety of
[41:29] thousands of people that move
[41:30] through King County Airport
[41:33] every month. These are people
[41:35] that could not get themselves
[41:39] out. Fire safety requires clear
[41:42] exits, requires people to be
[41:43] reasonably be able to.
[41:44] Escape the space.
[41:48] They are in. There are so many
[41:51] people that would die, trampled
[41:55] and burning in the event of a
[41:59] fire. During this, I ask you to
[42:02] make the choice to create this
[42:04] safe environment, to design the
[42:06] safe environment so that we can
[42:10] treat people as people and not
[42:15] just things to be discarded.
[42:17] Thank you for your testimony.
[42:19] The next name on the list is
[42:27] Rick Bogart.
[42:29] My name is Rich. I
[42:30] m here to
[42:33] talk about the supporting the
[42:35] King County Battery Energy
[42:36] storage system. I
[42:37] m not going
[42:39] to repeat what other folks have
[42:43] said. My comments are more just
[42:46] in general with climate change
[42:50] to fight climate change. We
[42:52] have to reduce fossil fuels,
[42:54] and that means electrifying
[42:57] everything. To do that, we need
[43:00] more electricity. And as was
[43:01] pointed out, we
[43:02] re dead last in
[43:06] the country and making new
[43:12] energy. And that is because of
[43:16] geography. Renewable energy
[43:18] works best in the eastern side
[43:20] of the state, and getting
[43:23] transmission lines up over the
[43:27] Cascades is expensive. So the
[43:30] way out of that is with
[43:34] batteries. So, um, don
[43:35] t back
[43:37] down. Use your political will
[43:37] and don
[43:41] t cave in to any of the
[43:43] folks who say no to that.
[43:44] Thank you.
[43:47] Thank you for your testimony.
[43:49] Sure, you are currently no
[43:51] further names listed on the in
[43:52] person sign up, though we do
[43:54] have an online.
[43:56] All right. Is there anyone else
[43:58] in the room that would like to
[43:58] speak that didn
[43:59] t have a chance
[44:02] to sign up? Anyone else in the
[44:03] room who would like to make
[44:04] comments that did not have a
[44:07] chance?
[44:07] Thanks.
[44:09] Anyone seeing anyone.
[44:11] Know Chuck Berry?
[44:12] Thanks very much. Okay, let
[44:12] s
[44:14] go ahead and move on to online
[44:15] testimony.
[44:17] Thank you. Chair Perry. The
[44:21] first name online is Shalom
[44:22] Khan.
[44:25] Um, hi. Yeah. My name is, uh,
[44:27] Shalom Khanum, 16 years old.
[44:28] Uh, cricket has been one of the
[44:30] biggest parts of my life for as
[44:31] long as I can remember. It is
[44:33] shaped who I am, not just as an
[44:35] athlete, but as a person.
[44:35] Through cricket, I
[44:36] ve learned
[44:37] discipline, resilience,
[44:39] leadership, and the importance
[44:40] of working together as a team.
[44:41] Every match teaches me
[44:42] something new, whether it
[44:42] s
[44:43] celebrating a victory or
[44:45] learning from a tough loss.
[44:46] These lessons have helped me
[44:47] become more confident in
[44:49] school, in my community, in
[44:50] everyday life. As a girl who
[44:51] plays cricket, I
[44:51] ve also seen
[44:53] how powerful the sport can be.
[44:54] It gives young women a place
[44:56] where they can challenge
[44:57] themselves, build lifelong
[44:59] friendships and discover what
[44:59] they
[45:00] re capable of. But one of
[45:01] the biggest challenges we face
[45:03] is not having a dedicated place
[45:05] to play. We often have to
[45:06] adjust to fields that weren
[45:06] t
[45:07] designed for the sport, making
[45:09] it harder to grow the sport and
[45:10] welcome new players. A cricket
[45:11] field and Mary Moore would
[45:13] change that. It would create
[45:14] opportunities for youth
[45:15] programs, school teams,
[45:17] community events and
[45:18] tournaments while giving girls
[45:19] like me a place where we can
[45:21] train, compete and inspire the
[45:23] next generation. It wouldn
[45:23] t
[45:24] just be a field, it would be a
[45:26] home for growing community. I
[45:27] hope you support the Cricket
[45:29] Community Park at Mary Moore,
[45:30] because investing in cricket
[45:31] means investing in young
[45:33] people. It means creating
[45:34] opportunities, building
[45:35] stronger communities, and
[45:36] giving future generations a
[45:38] place where they can grow both
[45:39] on and off the field. Thank
[45:40] you.
[45:42] Thank you, Shalane, for your
[45:43] testimony.
[45:45] The next person on line is
[45:58] Swami.
[46:02] I, um, my name is Swami, and
[46:02] I
[46:04] m speaking not as a coach or
[46:05] administrator or as a girl. I
[46:05] m
[46:08] talking more like a father
[46:09] whose daughter has actually
[46:11] picked up cricket. Right? When
[46:13] she picked up, it was. It was
[46:14] not just about playing any
[46:16] sport. Right. So cricket has
[46:17] given her a lot of resilience,
[46:20] discipline, confidence and the
[46:23] teamwork. But, uh, we have
[46:25] faced some challenges here. So
[46:27] first we have to actually try
[46:29] very long distances, searching
[46:31] for fields similar to what she
[46:32] learned mentioned. Right
[46:34] practices are often squeezed in
[46:37] limited time slots. Right. And,
[46:39] uh, the young athlete finds it
[46:41] difficult to actually compete
[46:43] at the national tournaments
[46:45] with the lack of facilities
[46:47] available. Uh, a dedicated
[46:48] cricket community park at the
[46:50] marymount would actually change
[46:51] that. It would give a daughter
[46:53] a safe, reliable place to
[46:56] train, compete and train. That
[46:57] would create an opportunity not
[46:57] just for today
[46:58] s players, but
[47:00] also hundreds of girls who are
[47:01] actually waiting to discover
[47:03] this beautiful sport. This
[47:03] isn
[47:04] t just about building
[47:05] cricket fields, it
[47:05] s about
[47:07] investing in youth, promoting
[47:08] healthy lifestyle, and
[47:11] fostering inclusion and showing
[47:12] young girls that their dreams
[47:13] matter just as anyone else
[47:14] s.
[47:16] Right? As a father, my greatest
[47:18] hope is not that my daughter
[47:19] becomes a famous cricketer.
[47:19] It
[47:21] s more about how she goes
[47:23] into young women who believes,
[47:24] who can achieve anything she
[47:27] works hard for. I respectfully
[47:30] ask the King County and city of
[47:31] Bolivia to work together with
[47:33] our community to make sure that
[47:34] cricket, community park at
[47:37] minimal becomes a reality, and
[47:38] it will inspire the generations
[47:40] of girls, dream bigger, work
[47:42] harder, and proudly call this
[47:44] Community Day home. Thank you.
[47:45] Thank you for your testimony,
[47:47] Swami.
[47:52] Next name is Suwalki Singh.
[47:53] Hello Council members, my name
[47:54] is Swati Singh. I
[47:55] ve been King
[47:57] County resident for ten plus
[48:00] years now. Um, as as previous
[48:01] Swami and Shalom. I
[48:01] ve also
[48:04] been talking in support of
[48:05] Seattle Orcas commitment to
[48:05] women
[48:07] s cricket and developing
[48:09] cricket facilities throughout
[48:11] the King County. Uh, actually,
[48:11] I
[48:12] m speaking today for my own
[48:14] dream and for girls who will
[48:16] pick up cricket bat after me.
[48:18] Uh, I want them to have more
[48:19] opportunities, better
[48:21] facilities, and easier path
[48:23] into the game than we had at
[48:25] our time. Uh, the Seattle Orcas
[48:25] women
[48:27] s upcoming, uh, t20
[48:29] tournament gives us hope
[48:30] because it puts women
[48:30] s
[48:32] cricket, cricket in the
[48:33] spotlight throughout the
[48:35] international tournament coming
[48:37] up, which is a great spotlight
[48:38] on cricket. Women
[48:39] s cricket in
[48:42] Seattle. Uh, I trust Seattle to
[48:44] help deliver cricket. Community
[48:46] Park that hope into a permanent
[48:48] opportunity. Uh, so yeah,
[48:50] please. King County and City of
[48:51] Bellevue, please work together
[48:53] with Seattle Orcas and the
[48:55] cricket community. We have, uh,
[48:56] to move forward with this
[48:59] project. Uh, thank you so much.
[49:00] And you guys are doing great.
[49:01] Thanks again.
[49:03] Thank you for your testimony,
[49:05] Swati.
[49:10] Next on is iPhone.
[49:12] Um, hi.
[49:14] My name is Sarasa Ramanujan,
[49:14] and I
[49:16] m 14 years old. Um,
[49:18] cricket has given me role
[49:20] models, players who stay calm,
[49:21] under pressure, support their
[49:22] teammates and compete with
[49:24] courage. The women
[49:24] s t20
[49:26] tournament being conducted by
[49:27] the Seattle Orcas can be more
[49:29] of those role models into view.
[49:31] For girls like me, role models,
[49:33] inspires and but mentors and
[49:34] facilities help us take the
[49:35] next step at a cricket
[49:37] community park, experienced
[49:38] players could coach younger
[49:40] girls. Teams could practice
[49:41] regularly, and women
[49:41] s matches
[49:42] could become part of our
[49:45] community life by organizing a
[49:46] tournament for women, the
[49:47] Seattle Orcas are showing
[49:49] leadership. I trust them to
[49:50] help deliver a part that keeps
[49:51] girls and women
[49:51] s cricket at
[49:53] the center of its plans. I
[49:54] asked King County and Bellevue
[49:56] to support the Miramar project
[49:57] and work with the Seattle Orcas
[49:59] and our community. Please
[50:00] create a place where
[50:01] inspiration can become
[50:02] instruction and where
[50:03] instruction can become
[50:05] achievement. Thank you.
[50:08] Thank you for your testimony.
[50:09] So yeah.
[50:14] Next online is Veer Narayan.
[50:16] Hello, my name is Vienna and
[50:16] I
[50:18] m 12 years old and I
[50:18] m a
[50:20] budding cricket player. Bowling
[50:21] has taught me that real
[50:24] progress comes from patience,
[50:25] discipline and the ability to
[50:27] refine a skill through
[50:29] consistent practice, repeating
[50:31] the same motion again and again
[50:33] has shown me that improvement
[50:35] depends on balance, accuracy,
[50:36] and having the right
[50:38] environment to grow. Young
[50:39] cricketers need that same
[50:42] environment to develop fully as
[50:44] bowlers, batters and fielders.
[50:46] We need proper run ups, poorly
[50:48] practice nets and pitches
[50:50] maintain to recognised cricket
[50:52] standards. These are essential
[50:54] for learning the complete game,
[50:56] not just fragments of it. When
[50:58] given the right facilities, we
[50:59] are ready to show the
[51:01] dedication our community
[51:03] already has. This is why I
[51:05] request King County Council to
[51:07] move forward with the Cricket
[51:08] community. Park proposed at
[51:10] Mary Moore, building it as an
[51:12] international standard. Ground
[51:14] would place the Seattle region
[51:15] alongside other established
[51:17] cricket hubs across the country
[51:19] and allow us to host the same
[51:22] level of competition. It is a
[51:24] rare opportunity to create a
[51:26] world class venue for a sport
[51:27] that is already thriving here.
[51:29] I am fully committed to
[51:31] cricket. I practised several
[51:33] hours every week and I play
[51:34] matches that often lasts seven
[51:36] hours or more. My cricket
[51:38] friends train just as hard.
[51:41] Week after week, season after
[51:43] season. Together we are fully
[51:45] invested in the sport and we
[51:47] are asking you to invest in our
[51:49] future. We are ready to
[51:52] practice, learn and compete.
[51:53] All we need are the facilities
[51:55] that allow our effort to become
[51:57] an achievement. Supporting this
[51:59] park means investing in the
[52:00] future of cricket and in the
[52:02] potential of every young
[52:04] athlete in our community. Thank
[52:05] you for your time.
[52:06] Thank you for your testimony.
[52:10] There.
[52:13] Next up is Bob Barnett.
[52:15] I hope you can hear me. My name
[52:18] is Bob Rangarajan and I have
[52:20] proudly called King County Home
[52:22] for more than 11 years now. I
[52:22] m
[52:23] also a proud parent whose
[52:25] daughter has chosen cricket as
[52:27] a sporting pathway, and I
[52:27] ve
[52:28] also had the privilege of
[52:30] coaching many young cricketers
[52:32] and budding talent across the
[52:34] community. I want King County
[52:36] to be recognised as a place
[52:37] where girls and women
[52:38] s cricket
[52:40] can truly thrive. Uh, the
[52:41] Seattle Arcus Women
[52:41] s
[52:42] tournament is an important
[52:44] milestone. It provides women
[52:45] with a high quality,
[52:47] competitive platform while
[52:48] giving young girls the
[52:50] confidence to dream bigger and
[52:51] believe that they have a place
[52:52] in this sport. But a tournament
[52:54] alone is not enough. It is
[52:56] about creating a permanent home
[52:57] for cricket, a cricket
[52:58] community park at Mary Moore
[52:59] would provide year round
[53:01] opportunities for girls and
[53:02] women to train, compete and
[53:04] grow. It would strengthen youth
[53:06] development pathways, expand
[53:07] access to the sport and create
[53:08] an opportunity for women not
[53:10] only as players but also as
[53:12] coaches, mentors, officials and
[53:14] community leaders. The Seattle
[53:16] Orcas have demonstrated a
[53:18] genuine commitment to growing
[53:18] women
[53:19] s cricket by partnering
[53:20] with King County, the City of
[53:22] Bellevue, and our vibrant
[53:23] cricket community. We have the
[53:25] opportunity to create a lasting
[53:27] public private partnership that
[53:28] will benefit generations of
[53:29] residents. While establishing
[53:30] King County as a leader in the
[53:31] growth of cricket in the
[53:33] Pacific Northwest. I
[53:34] respectfully urge King County
[53:35] and City of Bellevue to come
[53:37] together and move this project
[53:38] forward. Please don
[53:38] t let this
[53:40] opportunity pass us by. Invest
[53:41] in a place where talent is
[53:44] nurtured. Girls are empowered.
[53:46] Women are celebrated, and
[53:47] future champions begin their
[53:49] journey. Thank you for your
[53:50] time and consideration,
[53:51] everyone.
[53:52] Thank you for your testimony
[53:55] and. Ash.
[53:58] Next up is Ben Jenkins.
[53:59] Well, good afternoon, Chair
[54:01] Perry and council members. Uh,
[54:02] my name is Ben Jenkins. I
[54:02] m a
[54:04] resident of unincorporated
[54:05] Snoqualmie. I
[54:06] ve been here for
[54:07] the past five years. I
[54:07] ve
[54:08] previously lived in Seattle for
[54:09] six. I
[54:10] m here to talk about the
[54:11] local land sale. There
[54:12] s a 4800
[54:14] acres, roughly of forest above
[54:14] Fall City. That
[54:15] s going on a
[54:17] sealed bid auction on AUGUST
[54:18] 5th. I know Chair Perry. You
[54:18] re
[54:20] aware of this? Um, yeah. Inside
[54:22] this land sale, there are three
[54:24] of the four parcels. Are have
[54:25] mountain bike trails on them
[54:26] that have been there for over
[54:27] 20 years, and they
[54:28] ve been, uh,
[54:29] been able to be used by the
[54:32] public via a permit system from
[54:33] the current landowner, which is
[54:34] a timber company. There
[54:35] s also
[54:36] other, uh, recreational
[54:38] opportunities in that zone for
[54:39] gravel riding and hiking and
[54:41] things like that. This region
[54:43] is, uh, has switched from a
[54:44] logging economy, obviously, to
[54:45] a recreation and tourism
[54:46] economy. And these, these
[54:47] trails and all these recreation
[54:49] areas in the, in the vicinity
[54:51] are really important for this
[54:54] community, for the economy and
[54:55] for the residents and all that
[54:57] kind of stuff. So the area of
[54:58] Tokyo in particular is
[54:59] important because it has south
[55:00] facing slopes and it
[55:01] s at a
[55:02] lower elevation and it drains
[55:04] well. So it becomes a really
[55:05] big hub for mountain biking and
[55:06] recreation. In the winter
[55:08] months, when the other areas
[55:09] are covered in snow or have
[55:12] condition problems. So, uh,
[55:13] what I would like the council
[55:14] to be aware of, and I know
[55:14] that
[55:15] s been on the agenda a
[55:15] little bit here, but that this
[55:17] area is not protected. And if
[55:19] it, you know, as soon as it
[55:21] gets sold to a new, uh,
[55:23] property owner, the right to
[55:23] have access to that
[55:24] s probably
[55:25] going to go away. So I
[55:26] m asking
[55:27] that, uh, the county is
[55:29] hopefully actively working on
[55:30] looking at securing parcels c
[55:32] and d at a minimum, which is
[55:35] 603 acres. Uh, also, there
[55:35] s
[55:36] another parcel b, which would
[55:36] be great, but I know it
[55:37] s at a
[55:38] higher price point. Um, I
[55:38] d
[55:39] also like to say that because
[55:41] of the way that auction is
[55:42] priced and structured, the
[55:43] likely buyer is not going to be
[55:43] someone who
[55:44] s going to be
[55:45] looking for a financial return.
[55:47] So this if this land ends up in
[55:48] tribal ownership, I
[55:48] m really
[55:49] hoping that King County will do
[55:51] everything in its power to work
[55:52] with that future owner to
[55:54] purchase a recreation easement,
[55:56] uh, on these trail corridors,
[55:58] hopefully for parcels b, c, and
[55:59] d. Uh, just to wrap up here,
[56:01] this area is critical to the
[56:03] community for Recreation Hub.
[56:03] It
[56:04] s right off the Snoqualmie
[56:04] Valley Trail and it
[56:05] s a great
[56:06] resource for the community.
[56:07] Thank you.
[56:08] Thank you for your testimony,
[56:10] Ben.
[56:14] Next up is Joe Kunstler.
[56:15] Hi, Joe.
[56:17] Council here. It
[56:17] s good to see
[56:19] all of you. Um, it
[56:19] s always a
[56:21] privilege in orange King County
[56:23] Council, though. Today is a
[56:26] tragic anniversary as it is the
[56:27] 20th anniversary since the
[56:30] assassination of Pamela Zell
[56:32] and the injury of five Jewish
[56:34] Federation of Seattle
[56:36] employees. This is also.
[56:38] Tomorrow will be the 16th
[56:40] anniversary of when I was home
[56:43] invaded by an anti-Semitic, uh,
[56:46] felon and his nephew. Um, so I
[56:48] think anti-Semitism very
[56:49] seriously. And these statements
[56:49] we
[56:50] re not supposed to address
[56:52] previous commenters, but I will
[56:53] say the statements by a
[56:55] previous commenter I find is
[56:57] always anti-Semitic, deeply
[56:58] offensive and deeply
[57:00] inappropriate. And I wish they
[57:04] would stop. Um, I ask that this
[57:06] council and others continue to
[57:09] stand up against anti-Semitism
[57:11] for a more inclusive community,
[57:12] as well as stand up against
[57:15] Islamophobia. Um, I think it
[57:15] s
[57:16] important that we all come
[57:18] together and address this, this
[57:20] kind of hatred that we see
[57:21] exhibited in public comment
[57:23] periods. We see exhibited in
[57:28] the community. Um, I take to
[57:31] heart, you know, the, um,
[57:32] statements have been issued by
[57:35] Jewish leaders remembering the
[57:38] tragedy of JULY 28th, 2006, and
[57:38] I
[57:40] m deeply grateful that one of
[57:43] the survivors, uh, decided to
[57:45] join gun responsibility and
[57:46] work to close gun violence
[57:48] loopholes like, uh, making sure
[57:49] the background check on every
[57:52] single firearms transfer and
[57:53] assault weapons ban and other
[57:54] stuff that keeps the public
[57:59] safe. Um, and I just wanted to
[58:00] bring that to your attention
[58:02] and that could that hopefully
[58:04] explains why I find this one
[58:06] individual who comes before you
[58:07] so offensive.
[58:13] Thank you, MR. Counselor.
[58:18] Next stop is Patrick Frye.
[58:20] Hi. Good afternoon Council. I
[58:23] am here to follow up with, uh,
[58:25] Ben Jenkins said about the Toco
[58:26] land sale. Uh, so I won
[58:26] t
[58:28] repeat the things that he
[58:29] touched on because he he stated
[58:30] them all perfectly. Toco is
[58:32] really important to the
[58:34] community. Um, and the false
[58:36] city community and surrounding
[58:39] mountain bike, uh, equestrian
[58:40] and trail running community.
[58:42] Um, what I will state, though,
[58:48] is that those 42 or 4800 acres
[58:51] of recreational use, uh, are
[58:52] incredibly valuable, and they
[58:54] actually already have access
[58:56] that King County already has.
[58:56] There
[58:57] s parking lots already
[59:00] constructed at the trailheads
[59:03] that are around. Uh, and so
[59:03] there would be little
[59:06] infrastructure needed to
[59:08] continue using these parks. And
[59:08] so I
[59:11] m hoping that when sealed
[59:13] bids for these local, either
[59:14] King County can be a purchaser
[59:16] or if not, uh, that they will
[59:18] work with the purchaser, uh, to
[59:21] secure access to those, uh,
[59:22] trails so that we can continue
[59:24] recreating and using those
[59:26] trails. Thank you.
[59:28] Thank you for your testimony,
[59:29] Patrick.
[59:31] Next on the list is Eddie
[59:33] Espinosa.
[59:35] Good afternoon, Chair Perry.
[59:37] Council members and members of
[59:37] the community. I
[59:38] m Eddie
[59:38] Espinosa. I
[59:39] m the executive
[59:40] director of the Evergreen
[59:42] Mountain Bike Alliance. Um, I
[59:44] live in Bothell. Our offices in
[59:46] North Bend, uh, and here to
[59:49] talk about local, um, I
[59:49] ll just
[59:52] add a little bit more to what
[59:54] folks have already said. Um,
[59:55] and a little bit more about us.
[59:56] We
[59:58] re the statewide nonprofit
[1:00:00] that advocates for mountain
[1:00:01] biking through education,
[1:00:02] community building, and
[1:00:04] partnerships. Uh, we have a
[1:00:06] membership of close to 10,000.
[1:00:07] And we also speak on behalf of
[1:00:09] the almost 1 million bike, uh,
[1:00:11] bike riders in the state of
[1:00:13] Washington. Um, mountain biking
[1:00:14] is an important part of the
[1:00:15] recreation economy in
[1:00:17] Washington, which is just as
[1:00:19] big in size as tech and
[1:00:21] aerospace, and vocal. Some of
[1:00:24] you MAY know is the is a is a
[1:00:26] pretty important part of a
[1:00:28] region full of mountain bike
[1:00:31] trails and areas that have
[1:00:33] national, if not world
[1:00:37] recognition for the and access
[1:00:41] for these trails. Um, also
[1:00:42] thank you, Chair Perry, for
[1:00:44] your work here. A little bit
[1:00:45] over a little bit over a year
[1:00:48] ago. Thanks for that. Um, and
[1:00:49] we
[1:00:49] re a little bit late in the
[1:00:51] hour. Uh, the auction is next
[1:00:52] month. We spent a bunch of
[1:00:55] months, um, this summer, uh,
[1:00:56] with outreach to to
[1:00:58] organizational partners to to
[1:01:00] other land managers and also to
[1:01:02] other, uh, offices within King
[1:01:04] County. Um, but to echo what a
[1:01:06] what everyone else has already
[1:01:08] said, um, we would love to make
[1:01:11] sure that access is maintained
[1:01:13] for whoever owns the property
[1:01:16] next. Um, and ideally, if it
[1:01:18] could be an acquisition, um,
[1:01:20] if, if, if the county could
[1:01:22] prioritize the acquisition
[1:01:23] itself. Um, in order for us to
[1:01:25] maintain that access and
[1:01:27] continue building on the, the
[1:01:29] economy and opportunity for
[1:01:31] mountain biking in this region.
[1:01:35] Um, that would be, uh, amazing.
[1:01:35] And we
[1:01:36] d be hugely, hugely
[1:01:42] appreciative.
[1:01:46] Thank you for your testimony.
[1:01:51] Next on the list is Japonica.
[1:01:51] Uh.
[1:01:54] Good afternoon councilmembers.
[1:01:56] My name is Chopin Edgar, and my
[1:01:57] age is 25. I
[1:01:59] m from India, and
[1:02:01] for me, cricket is like a food.
[1:02:02] If I need food to live, I need
[1:02:06] cricket to survive as well. And
[1:02:07] here in the United States, I
[1:02:09] start playing cricket because
[1:02:11] as a fun sport. But again, it
[1:02:13] becomes part of my life and I
[1:02:15] want to continue, uh, further
[1:02:19] and represent my national, uh,
[1:02:21] the most important part of my
[1:02:22] life is my teammates who
[1:02:24] encourage me when I make
[1:02:26] mistakes and celebrate with me
[1:02:28] when I improve. Cricket has
[1:02:30] helped me make friends and feel
[1:02:33] connected to my community. We
[1:02:35] practice everywhere, wherever
[1:02:37] space is available, but cricket
[1:02:40] needs, as my companion said,
[1:02:42] more than open pitches for
[1:02:44] grass. We need a ball to bounce
[1:02:47] at certain point, but due to
[1:02:48] the grass it is not able to
[1:02:51] bounce that much. We really
[1:02:53] appreciate if in Kansas, if
[1:02:55] King County will help us to
[1:02:56] build certain pitches that
[1:02:58] improve our game and we don
[1:02:58] t
[1:02:59] need to travel so far for
[1:03:00] leather ball matches like
[1:03:02] Linden and Northmen, it would
[1:03:05] be great initiative and will
[1:03:07] really appreciate the moment
[1:03:09] that my remote park bring it to
[1:03:11] reality. A dedicated home for
[1:03:13] cricket would give a team
[1:03:15] stability and give many more
[1:03:17] girls the chance to discover
[1:03:18] this sport. Thank you for
[1:03:20] listening to my voice. Thank
[1:03:21] you so much.
[1:03:24] Thank you for your testimony,
[1:03:25] Shibani.
[1:03:28] Next on the list is Saravia
[1:03:34] Chandrakant.
[1:03:36] Good. Uh. Good evening. Uh,
[1:03:38] members of council. My name is
[1:03:38] Rabia and I
[1:03:40] m 27 years old. I
[1:03:41] m
[1:03:43] here representing a passionate
[1:03:45] community of athletes. Uh,
[1:03:47] teammates who train beside me
[1:03:48] and the girls who look up to
[1:03:51] us. All of, uh, all of whom
[1:03:53] share a singular dream to see
[1:03:56] our sport thrive here at home.
[1:03:59] Cricket has been the defining,
[1:04:01] has been defining the passion
[1:04:03] of my life, a pursuit that has
[1:04:05] pushed me to test my limits. We
[1:04:07] are fully committed to this
[1:04:10] game. Uh, training for over 20
[1:04:12] hours every single week to
[1:04:14] reach our goal. However, even
[1:04:16] the greatest dedication is
[1:04:18] hampered when you lack the
[1:04:20] infrastructure to support it.
[1:04:23] The reality of my team is
[1:04:24] incredibly challenging right
[1:04:27] now. To make do. We are
[1:04:30] constantly forced to improvise,
[1:04:31] attempting to convert various
[1:04:34] multiple multi-purpose sports
[1:04:36] grounds just to make them even
[1:04:38] remotely suitable for cricket.
[1:04:41] This is not sustainable without
[1:04:44] a dedicated, dependable cricket
[1:04:45] ground, it is nearly impossible
[1:04:48] to properly simulate match
[1:04:49] conditions, develop a
[1:04:51] professional grade pitch, or
[1:04:53] even gain the competitive
[1:04:55] experience necessary to grow.
[1:04:57] Far too often we have had to
[1:04:59] travel great distances just to
[1:05:02] find adequate training, losing
[1:05:05] valuable time and energy that
[1:05:07] should have been spent honing
[1:05:09] our craft right here in our own
[1:05:12] community. The proposed cricket
[1:05:14] community Park at Miramar
[1:05:16] represents more than just a
[1:05:18] field. It is the infrastructure
[1:05:21] needed to create a legitimate,
[1:05:23] uh, sustainable pathway for all
[1:05:26] of us within this facility. We
[1:05:28] could establish consistent
[1:05:30] practice routines, access
[1:05:33] quality coaching, and finally
[1:05:33] host the tournament
[1:05:34] s that are
[1:05:36] that turn our collective
[1:05:37] potential.
[1:05:40] Into.
[1:05:42] Okay.
[1:05:44] Thank you very much for your
[1:05:49] testimony. Thank you.
[1:05:52] Next up is Mitch Corey.
[1:05:53] Good afternoon Council.
[1:05:56] My name is Mitch Corey. Um,
[1:05:56] I
[1:05:59] ve lived in Washington all 36
[1:06:02] years of my life. And in King
[1:06:06] in Seattle for 32 of those, um,
[1:06:07] and probably every weekend I
[1:06:09] travel on I-90 to go mountain
[1:06:13] biking and probably one half of
[1:06:14] those times I go mountain
[1:06:16] biking at Tokyo. And so I
[1:06:16] m
[1:06:19] speaking on the, uh, the land
[1:06:23] going up for auction. Um, I, I
[1:06:23] feel like I
[1:06:25] m almost a resident
[1:06:27] of, like, Tokyo. And it
[1:06:27] s been
[1:06:29] really important to me. Um, but
[1:06:29] it
[1:06:30] s also really important to
[1:06:32] the mountain biking community
[1:06:34] in the King County area. I
[1:06:34] think what
[1:06:35] s said before is
[1:06:36] that it
[1:06:38] s often used for bike
[1:06:40] riding. When the conditions
[1:06:42] further along I-90 are too cold
[1:06:44] or too snowy. Um, so it
[1:06:44] s
[1:06:45] really important just for
[1:06:46] people that mountain bike and
[1:06:49] King County, um, I think that
[1:06:51] the entire county and the city
[1:06:54] would benefit from, um, the
[1:06:56] conservation of that land,
[1:06:58] especially for recreation, um,
[1:07:00] for not only for mountain
[1:07:01] biking, but I know that there
[1:07:01] s
[1:07:03] a quest train and trail running
[1:07:05] in that area, too. Unlike was
[1:07:06] said before, there
[1:07:06] s also
[1:07:06] there
[1:07:08] s already infrastructure
[1:07:10] in place that would support the
[1:07:12] people that would use that. Um,
[1:07:13] and that would continue to
[1:07:16] travel, um, to, uh, Fall City
[1:07:18] and some of the other kind of
[1:07:21] areas, uh, almost like
[1:07:23] metropolitan areas to support
[1:07:25] the businesses that are there.
[1:07:25] Um, and I
[1:07:26] m thinking of coffee
[1:07:28] and restaurants and baked goods
[1:07:29] after I
[1:07:30] m done mountain biking.
[1:07:32] Um, I do think that the local
[1:07:35] area is very important for the
[1:07:36] mountain bike community in
[1:07:37] Washington. And like others
[1:07:39] have said, I hope that the
[1:07:41] council, uh, I mean, whether it
[1:07:43] could be purchased by the city,
[1:07:46] um, or whoever does purchase
[1:07:49] it, the there would be, um,
[1:07:51] cooperation to allow continued,
[1:07:53] uh, mountain biking on the
[1:07:55] property. Thank you.
[1:07:59] Thank you for your testimony.
[1:08:02] Next up is Rachel Dwivedi.
[1:08:04] Um, hello, everyone. My name is
[1:08:05] Rachel dvd, and I
[1:08:06] m 17 years
[1:08:08] old. Cricket has genuinely been
[1:08:10] one of the greatest gifts in my
[1:08:11] life. Um, it
[1:08:12] s taught me
[1:08:14] resilience, discipline,
[1:08:16] teamwork and confidence. Some
[1:08:17] of my closest friendships have
[1:08:18] been built on the cricket
[1:08:20] field, and every match teaches
[1:08:22] me something new about myself.
[1:08:23] Um, today, cricket is known as
[1:08:25] one of the fastest growing
[1:08:26] sports in the world. It has
[1:08:29] more than 2.5 billion fans
[1:08:31] globally, if I remember
[1:08:32] correctly, and it makes it the
[1:08:32] world
[1:08:34] s second most popular
[1:08:34] sport, and it
[1:08:35] s returned to the
[1:08:38] 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is
[1:08:39] helping fuel even more growth,
[1:08:41] especially here in the United
[1:08:42] States. A cricket community
[1:08:44] park at Mary Moore would allow
[1:08:45] our region to grow alongside
[1:08:46] that momentum. It wouldn
[1:08:46] t just
[1:08:48] be another sports field, it
[1:08:49] would become a home for rapidly
[1:08:51] growing community. It would
[1:08:52] create opportunities for youth
[1:08:54] programs, school teams,
[1:08:55] leagues, tournaments and
[1:08:57] community events while bringing
[1:08:58] families from all backgrounds
[1:08:59] together through a shared love
[1:09:01] of the game. As a girl who
[1:09:03] plays cricket, this park means
[1:09:04] even more to me. Cricket has
[1:09:05] traditionally been a male
[1:09:07] dominated sport, but that is
[1:09:09] also changing. More girls are
[1:09:10] stepping onto the field than
[1:09:11] ever before, and women
[1:09:11] s
[1:09:13] cricket is experiencing
[1:09:14] incredible growth around the
[1:09:16] world. I also believe that this
[1:09:17] park would become an incredible
[1:09:19] asset for King County, just as
[1:09:21] we proudly rally behind the
[1:09:22] Seahawks, the Mariners, the
[1:09:24] Sounders and the storm, we have
[1:09:25] the opportunity to build an
[1:09:26] equally passionate cricket
[1:09:27] community right here in the
[1:09:29] Pacific Northwest. We already
[1:09:31] have thousands of players and
[1:09:32] families who love this game. We
[1:09:34] have a dedicated I mean, a
[1:09:36] dedicated cricket park would
[1:09:37] help bring them together,
[1:09:39] attract new players and host
[1:09:40] regional and national
[1:09:41] tournaments, which would help
[1:09:43] establish King County as a
[1:09:43] leader in one of the world
[1:09:44] s
[1:09:46] fastest growing sports. For
[1:09:47] players like me, this park
[1:09:48] represents opportunity. It
[1:09:49] s a
[1:09:50] place where lifelong
[1:09:51] friendships are formed,
[1:09:52] confidence is built, and young
[1:09:54] people learn leadership.
[1:09:55] Cricket has shaped me into the
[1:09:56] person I am today, and I know
[1:09:57] it can do the same for
[1:09:59] countless others. I hope your
[1:10:00] support the Cricket Community
[1:10:02] Park at Mary Moore, and help
[1:10:03] create a space that will
[1:10:04] inspire generations of players
[1:10:06] and girls for years to come.
[1:10:08] Thank you.
[1:10:10] Thank you for your testimonial
[1:10:12] to..
[1:10:16] Next up is Radha Shriram.
[1:10:18] I love.
[1:10:19] Hi, my name is Radha and I
[1:10:20] m 16
[1:10:22] years old. One of my favorite
[1:10:23] moments in cricket is walking
[1:10:24] out to bat, knowing that my
[1:10:26] team believes in me. Batting
[1:10:28] takes focus, confidence and
[1:10:30] courage, and even when I feel
[1:10:30] nervous, I
[1:10:31] ve learned to trust
[1:10:33] my preparation, stay calm and
[1:10:35] make good decisions one ball at
[1:10:37] a time. But for girls to become
[1:10:38] strong, confident batters, we
[1:10:40] need regular opportunities to
[1:10:41] practice against different
[1:10:43] bowlers and play on proper
[1:10:44] cricket fields. Right now,
[1:10:48] limited access to quality
[1:10:49] facilities means fewer chances
[1:10:51] to develop our skills, play
[1:10:52] full matches and learn from
[1:10:54] both our successes and our
[1:10:56] mistakes. A dedicated cricket
[1:10:57] community park at Mary Moore
[1:10:59] would give girls like me the
[1:11:00] opportunity to practice
[1:11:02] consistently, compete
[1:11:04] regularly, and grow as players.
[1:11:05] It could also host youth
[1:11:07] matches and tournaments that
[1:11:08] help us prepare for the next
[1:11:09] level of cricket, while
[1:11:10] bringing our community
[1:11:12] together. I respectfully ask
[1:11:14] King County and the City of
[1:11:15] Bellevue to work together to
[1:11:17] make this park a reality. We
[1:11:17] re
[1:11:19] not asking for our dreams to be
[1:11:19] handed to us. We
[1:11:20] re simply
[1:11:21] asking for a fair opportunity
[1:11:23] to work hard and improve and
[1:11:25] pursue those dreams. Thank you
[1:11:26] for your time, your support,
[1:11:27] and for investing in the future
[1:11:28] of girls cricket.
[1:11:30] Thank you Radha for your
[1:11:31] testimony.
[1:11:33] Next on the list is Kevin
[1:11:51] Alzheimer.
[1:11:52] MR. Alzheimer, are you there?
[1:11:52] We
[1:11:54] re not hearing you. Are you
[1:11:54] muted?
[1:11:56] Can you hear me now?
[1:11:58] We can sir. Go right ahead.
[1:12:00] Okay. Yes, I thank Sir Perry
[1:12:01] and counsel. I
[1:12:02] m here in
[1:12:08] opposition to motion 2026 0197.
[1:12:08] I
[1:12:09] m in. I don
[1:12:09] t I don
[1:12:10] t approve
[1:12:11] of it, but I don
[1:12:11] t have a
[1:12:13] problem if if you decide to get
[1:12:15] an individual in this position.
[1:12:15] Here
[1:12:17] s where my dissatisfaction
[1:12:19] with this, uh, ordinance or
[1:12:21] potential uh, ordinance under
[1:12:23] this motion is you still have a
[1:12:24] legal issue, and your legal
[1:12:26] issue is that you have a
[1:12:28] constitutional issue. Perhaps
[1:12:30] under Washington state versus,
[1:12:32] uh, actually state versus
[1:12:35] miles. Now, in that there is a
[1:12:36] portion of the Constitution of
[1:12:38] Washington state, article one,
[1:12:41] section seven, that actually
[1:12:44] says that the that the state
[1:12:45] Supreme Court had already ruled
[1:12:49] a citizen cannot be compelled
[1:12:51] to be subpoenaed by an agency.
[1:12:52] And it seems like your
[1:12:53] legislation is still trying to
[1:12:55] push that. At the same time.
[1:12:58] Rob Dembowski was involved. I
[1:13:00] have his email way back in
[1:13:02] OCTOBER. I found his email that
[1:13:04] came and came in today where he
[1:13:05] was pushing for an inspector
[1:13:05] general
[1:13:07] s position, and that
[1:13:07] s
[1:13:09] why he wanted this to go to the
[1:13:12] office. And the office had no
[1:13:13] constitutional right to even be
[1:13:15] in investigate that potential
[1:13:16] crime when they don
[1:13:17] t even have
[1:13:19] it under the Constitution.
[1:13:19] Actually, under their
[1:13:21] ordinance, uh, under the
[1:13:23] county, what they have is the
[1:13:25] ability to investigate the
[1:13:27] agencies and investigate
[1:13:28] workers, but they can
[1:13:28] t
[1:13:30] investigate contractors. So you
[1:13:31] guys already went outside of
[1:13:33] that scope. I couldn
[1:13:33] t believe
[1:13:35] of all you people who were
[1:13:36] involved in this whole
[1:13:37] investigation with Clerk
[1:13:40] Newberg and getting him, uh,
[1:13:42] funded after he was already
[1:13:44] working from the executive
[1:13:46] office. And Rob Dembowski sends
[1:13:47] an email out to Shannon
[1:13:48] Braddock asking her to turn
[1:13:50] this over to, uh, Jeremy Bell
[1:13:52] with the office. Office? There
[1:13:53] is so much evidence against
[1:13:55] this. This, uh, this whole
[1:13:57] operation that it
[1:13:57] s about to
[1:13:59] come out. And I think that you
[1:14:00] guys know this, but you have a
[1:14:02] real big problem.
[1:14:10] Thank you, MR. Alzheimer. Are
[1:14:11] there more online?
[1:14:13] Yes, yes there are, chair
[1:14:13] Perry.
[1:14:15] Sorry any more? Are.
[1:14:16] Um, three.
[1:14:17] Okay.
[1:14:18] Next up is.
[1:14:20] Tom Reeves.
[1:14:21] Thank you.
[1:14:23] Hello. Council members. Uh,
[1:14:25] thank you for having me today.
[1:14:26] My name is Tom Reeves. I
[1:14:26] ve
[1:14:27] lived in the Central district
[1:14:30] of Seattle for 11 years. Uh,
[1:14:30] I
[1:14:31] m an avid mountain biker, and
[1:14:31] I
[1:14:33] m here to give my support for
[1:14:35] the total, uh, for conserving
[1:14:37] the local riding area in Fall
[1:14:39] City today. Uh, ever since I
[1:14:40] moved to Seattle, I
[1:14:41] ve spent a
[1:14:42] lot of time in Tokyo riding
[1:14:44] there on a consistent basis.
[1:14:44] It
[1:14:46] s great recreation for for
[1:14:48] my wife and I. I look forward
[1:14:49] to bringing my son there when
[1:14:49] he
[1:14:50] s old enough. Uh, it
[1:14:51] s also
[1:14:52] help helped us to bring build
[1:14:54] great community and get to know
[1:14:55] the people here, while also
[1:14:58] supporting the local community,
[1:14:59] uh, the local community in Fall
[1:15:02] City. Uh, you know, as we go
[1:15:04] forward, I ask that you do
[1:15:05] everything in your power to
[1:15:07] conserve that area. Um, it
[1:15:09] means a lot to us, a lot to our
[1:15:11] community. And thank you very
[1:15:12] much for your time.
[1:15:14] Thank you for your testimony,
[1:15:17] Tom.
[1:15:20] Next up is Kelly Amesbury.
[1:15:22] Hi. Uh, thank you for letting
[1:15:23] me speak here today. Um, my
[1:15:26] name is Kelly Amesbury. I am a
[1:15:27] mountain biker, mountain bike
[1:15:29] advocate. Um, former youth
[1:15:31] coach, and sometimes trail
[1:15:33] builder at local. Um, over
[1:15:35] Covid, I spent countless
[1:15:37] hundreds of hours building a
[1:15:39] trail and maintaining it
[1:15:41] specifically for youth and
[1:15:43] youth sports training there for
[1:15:45] youth cycling training. And I
[1:15:46] would just like to encourage
[1:15:47] the, um, the council to do
[1:15:48] everything in their power to
[1:15:50] help maintain this wonderful
[1:15:52] asset for recreation, not only
[1:15:54] for mountain biking, but for
[1:15:56] equestrians, um, trail runners
[1:15:58] and other outdoor enthusiasts.
[1:16:00] I would also encourage you to
[1:16:02] look at the model that the city
[1:16:04] of Bellingham has followed with
[1:16:05] the Galbraith Mountain
[1:16:07] Preservation, where the city
[1:16:09] has put together a consortium
[1:16:12] of private land timberland, um,
[1:16:17] protected, uh, uh, I think, um,
[1:16:18] forest pieces and also city
[1:16:21] park together into a
[1:16:22] recreational easement that
[1:16:24] really protects that, um, land
[1:16:25] in perpetuity for all sorts of
[1:16:27] recreational activities and
[1:16:29] also for wildlife and the
[1:16:30] environment. Um, thank you for
[1:16:32] my time. Really appreciate it.
[1:16:34] And and hope you can move
[1:16:35] forward in helping us protect
[1:16:36] this land. Thank you.
[1:16:37] Thank you for your testimony,
[1:16:39] Kelly.
[1:16:41] And the last hand raised on the
[1:16:44] list is Rachel. Damian.
[1:16:45] Hi there. Thank you, council
[1:16:47] members, for your time today.
[1:16:49] My name is Rachel Damian. I
[1:16:49] m a
[1:16:51] 34 year old. I live in Bellevue
[1:16:54] since 2019 and I board my
[1:16:56] horses in Fall City. I spent
[1:16:58] nearly half of my week for the
[1:17:00] past six years at the barn. And
[1:17:01] tackle is not just where I
[1:17:01] ride, it
[1:17:03] s part of my community
[1:17:05] and it is my home. To is
[1:17:06] essential because many riders
[1:17:06] don
[1:17:08] t own a truck and trailer
[1:17:10] with local access, they don
[1:17:10] t
[1:17:11] have another convenient place
[1:17:13] to ride. They lose the
[1:17:15] opportunity altogether, and
[1:17:16] horses are pivotal to our
[1:17:18] lives, so taking away that
[1:17:19] access takes away many
[1:17:21] livelihoods. Tokyo is also
[1:17:22] unique to horseback riders
[1:17:24] because of the soil. Even after
[1:17:26] heavy rain, the infamous Tokyo
[1:17:28] soil drains quickly and it
[1:17:30] allows year round riding.
[1:17:32] Previously in my life, I was
[1:17:34] limited to only six years or
[1:17:36] six months of outdoor riding,
[1:17:37] and moving to Seattle means
[1:17:39] that my season is every day and
[1:17:39] that
[1:17:41] s incredible. I
[1:17:41] d also
[1:17:42] like to speak to the
[1:17:43] friendliness that I
[1:17:43] ve
[1:17:44] experienced with the mountain
[1:17:46] bikers there. I do firmly
[1:17:48] believe that horseback riders
[1:17:50] and bikers can coexist on
[1:17:51] trails, and total is a
[1:17:53] testament to that. So I know
[1:17:54] it
[1:17:55] s a very challenging
[1:17:56] situation, balancing the needs
[1:17:59] of urban and rural and bikers
[1:18:00] and equestrians. But I do ask
[1:18:01] you to try and use with all of
[1:18:03] your resources and your skills
[1:18:05] to try and keep our public
[1:18:07] access there. Thank you.
[1:18:09] Thank you for your testimony,
[1:18:11] Rachel.
[1:18:13] That was the last hand raised
[1:18:15] Chair Perry that I see online.
[1:18:16] All right. Is there anybody
[1:18:17] else online that has not had a
[1:18:18] chance to speak who would like
[1:18:20] to? If so, please raise your
[1:18:23] hand again. Raise your hand if
[1:18:23] you haven
[1:18:24] t had a chance to
[1:18:26] speak and you would like to.
[1:18:27] Are we seeing anybody raising
[1:18:31] their hands?
[1:18:33] I am not okay.
[1:18:34] Thank you so much. Seeing no
[1:18:36] further request, I want to
[1:18:37] thank each and every person who
[1:18:39] showed up to testify in person
[1:18:41] and online. Today we take your
[1:18:43] comments and your time very
[1:18:44] seriously, and it matters a lot
[1:18:46] to our deliberative process. So
[1:18:47] thank you very much for being
[1:18:49] with us today. And with that we
[1:18:52] will close the public hearing,
[1:18:53] turning next to those
[1:18:55] ordinances on the agenda for
[1:18:56] discussion and action,
[1:18:57] beginning with item six, which
[1:18:58] is an ordinance concerning King
[1:19:01] County Employee Code of Ethics.
[1:19:03] Councilmember von Reichbauer,
[1:19:05] would you please move? Um, uh,
[1:19:10] ordinance 2026 0126.
[1:19:11] So moved.
[1:19:12] Thank you. Uh, proposed
[1:19:15] ordinance 2026 0126 is before
[1:19:16] us. Before we proceed, I
[1:19:16] ll
[1:19:18] note that we have Randy Bello
[1:19:19] and council staff available to
[1:19:20] brief the item or answer
[1:19:22] questions. With that, I
[1:19:22] d like
[1:19:23] to ask if Councilmember Dunne
[1:19:23] s
[1:19:25] as sponsor would like to offer
[1:19:26] any opening remarks, or if
[1:19:26] you
[1:19:27] d like the item briefed.
[1:19:28] Yeah, I don
[1:19:29] t think we need the
[1:19:31] item brief. We passed this
[1:19:33] unanimously up here. Um, from
[1:19:35] committee, but, um, just to
[1:19:37] remind my colleagues, as we
[1:19:38] continue to improve the
[1:19:39] functions of King County
[1:19:41] government as we continue to
[1:19:43] reform, uh, what we do,
[1:19:46] delivering local services. Uh,
[1:19:48] this is another piece of that.
[1:19:49] As you all know, we
[1:19:49] ve done
[1:19:51] some audits and really worked
[1:19:53] hard to make our grantmaking
[1:19:55] process, uh, greater
[1:19:57] accountability moving forward
[1:19:58] with the tax dollars that we
[1:20:01] are bestowed by the taxpayers.
[1:20:01] We
[1:20:02] ve done things recently like
[1:20:03] streamlined the homeless
[1:20:06] governance. Uh, organization,
[1:20:08] uh, working to make that more
[1:20:10] efficient, bringing employees
[1:20:11] back to work following the
[1:20:13] pandemic. And there are other
[1:20:13] things we
[1:20:14] ve been working on as
[1:20:16] well. This one is in the form
[1:20:18] of reforming our King County
[1:20:19] ethics code. It is always a
[1:20:22] work in progress as new
[1:20:23] situations are uncovered, new
[1:20:25] technologies are uncovered. The
[1:20:26] ethics code is a living
[1:20:28] document. Um, and this, uh,
[1:20:30] this piece of legislation seeks
[1:20:32] to continue to reform. It
[1:20:33] really came, I think, quite
[1:20:36] effectively from Seattle Times
[1:20:38] investigation that many of you
[1:20:39] will remember, uh, that
[1:20:42] involved an employee who, uh,
[1:20:44] according to the Seattle Times,
[1:20:48] uh, had distributed grants to
[1:20:51] five, uh, family members. Um,
[1:20:53] uh, on the nature of about
[1:20:56] $800,000. And so this gives us
[1:20:58] the option, and we have the
[1:21:00] legal authority to actually,
[1:21:01] uh, amend the King County
[1:21:02] ethics code. We can do that by
[1:21:03] ordinance, which we are
[1:21:05] attempting to do here in this
[1:21:07] resolution, this ethics reform
[1:21:08] package, uh, does a couple of
[1:21:11] things. First, it expands and
[1:21:14] clarifies, uh, the conflict of
[1:21:17] interest rules to very clearly
[1:21:18] prohibit close relationships.
[1:21:19] In other words, significant
[1:21:21] relationships as defined in the
[1:21:24] legislation. It also requires
[1:21:26] that conflicts of interest be
[1:21:28] resolved, uh, before a
[1:21:30] distribution not just
[1:21:32] disclosed. And right now, uh,
[1:21:34] in this case, disclosure, but
[1:21:36] no resolution. We need to have
[1:21:38] resolution. So a conflict of
[1:21:40] interest, uh, doesn
[1:21:41] t occur.
[1:21:43] Finally, this clarifies, uh,
[1:21:45] the ethics code, um, in a
[1:21:47] variety of ways to ensure
[1:21:49] consistency throughout reading
[1:21:51] of the document. There are a
[1:21:53] couple of amendments Brandi
[1:21:54] might want to speak to those,
[1:21:56] uh, Chair Perry, um, which I
[1:21:56] m
[1:21:57] happy to move at the right
[1:21:59] time. And that
[1:21:59] s the
[1:22:00] introduction and look forward
[1:22:02] to a discussion on this issue.
[1:22:03] Thank you very much,
[1:22:04] colleagues. Are there any
[1:22:06] questions for staff or comments
[1:22:07] for the discussion at this
[1:22:12] moment? Please say please speak
[1:22:15] out. If you do. Okay. I also
[1:22:16] understand there
[1:22:16] s a technical
[1:22:18] amendment. Councilmember Dunn
[1:22:19] would you please move amendment
[1:22:19] one?
[1:22:20] Sure, sure. Councilmember Lewis
[1:22:21] has her hand up.
[1:22:23] Oh, thank you, Councilmember
[1:22:24] Lewis. Thank you, Vice chair.
[1:22:26] Thank you. I just have a couple
[1:22:30] of, um, pretty basic questions.
[1:22:32] Uh, one being how will
[1:22:34] employees be be notified of
[1:22:37] these changes? And, um, given
[1:22:39] the opportunity to comply with
[1:22:41] them? And the other has to do
[1:22:43] with whether or not we should
[1:22:46] have a regular cadence to
[1:22:48] update the ethics code like we
[1:22:51] do with the charter and and
[1:22:53] other regulations. Those MAY be
[1:22:54] questions for the executive.
[1:22:55] I
[1:22:57] m not sure.
[1:22:58] Uh.
[1:23:00] For my brand. Do you want to
[1:23:01] take a cut at that? And then
[1:23:01] I
[1:23:02] m happy to add in what I
[1:23:03] know.
[1:23:04] Sure.
[1:23:05] Uh, thank you, Council members.
[1:23:06] For the record.
[1:23:07] Brandy parabola with council
[1:23:10] central staff. I can try to
[1:23:11] answer the first one, and I am
[1:23:13] not equipped to answer the
[1:23:14] second. Um, the first one.
[1:23:18] There is no language in the
[1:23:20] ordinance that directs how any
[1:23:22] county employees should be made
[1:23:24] aware of these changes. That
[1:23:26] would be, um, at the discretion
[1:23:30] of the executive side on how
[1:23:32] they would prefer to do that.
[1:23:34] Um.
[1:23:37] Great. Um, yeah. I think the
[1:23:40] work this, this legislation
[1:23:42] changes the code. Uh, then once
[1:23:45] the code is changed, um, we
[1:23:46] will encourage both the Board
[1:23:48] of Ethics as well as the
[1:23:50] executive to use their
[1:23:51] appropriate outreach channels
[1:23:54] to get the information to our
[1:23:56] employees. Things like our
[1:23:58] regular trainings will be one
[1:24:00] method, uh, newsletters, emails
[1:24:01] for managers will be another
[1:24:03] will certainly use the news
[1:24:05] media to enhance that. But it
[1:24:05] s
[1:24:06] one thing to have a rule, but
[1:24:06] if it
[1:24:07] s not broadly known, it
[1:24:09] has no effect. So we look
[1:24:10] forward to the next steps of
[1:24:13] this being that outreach
[1:24:14] process, which will, since the
[1:24:15] overwhelming majority of
[1:24:17] employees are within the
[1:24:18] executive branch. Uh, we got to
[1:24:20] make sure that that that will
[1:24:22] happen moving forward. With
[1:24:24] respect to the regular cadence,
[1:24:27] uh, first let me say that, uh,
[1:24:28] Councilmember Balducci has I
[1:24:31] think, uh, taken on, uh,
[1:24:33] laboring or on some additional
[1:24:34] ethics, uh, reform that needs
[1:24:36] to happen, including pulling
[1:24:37] together a stakeholder group,
[1:24:39] which I think is wise. It MAY
[1:24:41] be as part of that review that
[1:24:42] we look at a regular cadence of
[1:24:45] review to make sure that, uh,
[1:24:47] this code is updated from time
[1:24:49] to time. The Board of Ethics
[1:24:50] did weigh in recently, maybe a
[1:24:52] little bit too late, but very
[1:24:54] helpful still nonetheless. And
[1:24:55] then we want to continue to
[1:24:56] review, because we do have a
[1:24:57] board that
[1:24:57] s supposed to be
[1:24:58] making these recommendations.
[1:25:00] Of course, nothing stops us
[1:25:01] from doing that as well.
[1:25:03] Thank you, Vice Chair. Don.
[1:25:04] Great question. Councilmember
[1:25:06] Lewis. Um, Councilmember
[1:25:08] Dembowski has something.
[1:25:09] Thank you. Chair. Just adding
[1:25:10] to the discussion and maybe
[1:25:13] APRIL Sanders could supply some
[1:25:15] precision here. But in the last
[1:25:17] supplemental budget, we did
[1:25:19] increase the fte authority for
[1:25:21] the executive ethics function
[1:25:23] and added some additional
[1:25:25] dollars, uh, presumably to help,
[1:25:28] um, educate and and ensure
[1:25:29] compliance with this
[1:25:30] legislation that we knew was
[1:25:32] coming. I think it was a couple
[1:25:36] FTEs or just shy of that.
[1:25:38] Okay. Thank you. Uh
[1:25:39] Councilmember Dembowski. Any
[1:25:42] other questions? Oh, my
[1:25:44] colleagues for staff or
[1:25:48] comment. Okay. Not seeing any,
[1:25:48] um. Let
[1:25:51] s see. So technical
[1:25:53] amendment has been moved. Uh.
[1:25:53] No, it hasn
[1:25:54] t yet.
[1:25:54] I
[1:25:54] ll move. Okay.
[1:25:54] Would you.
[1:25:55] Please I think there
[1:25:55] s an
[1:25:56] amendment. I think there
[1:25:57] s two
[1:25:57] amendments. So I
[1:25:58] m happy to
[1:25:59] move amendment one.
[1:26:01] Amendment one. Okay. Thank you.
[1:26:02] Amendment one is before us.
[1:26:03] Would you like to speak to
[1:26:04] amendment one? Uh, Vice Chair
[1:26:05] Dan.
[1:26:06] Just very generally it
[1:26:07] s a
[1:26:08] technical Stryker. And what it
[1:26:10] does is it changes the language
[1:26:11] since last meeting or meeting
[1:26:13] before last, we put language in
[1:26:14] regarding the inspector
[1:26:16] general. This added and
[1:26:17] acknowledges the existence of
[1:26:18] that office. And so it
[1:26:18] s a
[1:26:19] technical Stryker, and I
[1:26:19] d urge
[1:26:21] your support.
[1:26:22] Thank you. Any discussions from
[1:26:24] my colleague on that amendment.
[1:26:25] If I MAY.
[1:26:26] She. Yes, Randy.
[1:26:28] Go ahead. Um, there is actually
[1:26:30] only one amendment, and the
[1:26:33] technical amendment, um, is
[1:26:37] related to a couple of, uh,
[1:26:38] suggestions by the Board of
[1:26:41] Ethics that really just cleans
[1:26:42] up the language a little bit to
[1:26:44] make it clearer to read. Okay.
[1:26:44] Um, I
[1:26:46] m not sure if
[1:26:49] Councilmember Dunn has another
[1:26:50] amendment that I
[1:26:50] m not aware
[1:26:52] of, but the one that I have
[1:26:54] worked on is amendment one.
[1:26:55] Will you.
[1:26:58] Brief amendment one for us?
[1:27:00] I just did amendment one.
[1:27:00] That
[1:27:01] s all you have. Okay.
[1:27:01] That
[1:27:04] s all you, Councilmember.
[1:27:06] My understanding was what Randy
[1:27:07] just spoke to was amendment
[1:27:09] two. Sounds like, uh, amendment
[1:27:11] one is the technical striker
[1:27:13] that provides clarity as
[1:27:14] recommended by the Board of
[1:27:15] Ethics, and I certainly support
[1:27:17] that as well. So, um, it
[1:27:17] doesn
[1:27:19] t change my motion for
[1:27:20] amendment one. I just want to
[1:27:20] make sure that what I
[1:27:21] m putting
[1:27:23] forward is properly labeled
[1:27:25] within the council meeting
[1:27:26] materials.
[1:27:28] It is properly labeled. So the
[1:27:31] additional materials packet
[1:27:33] that went out this morning from
[1:27:33] the clerk
[1:27:34] s office, it is
[1:27:36] labeled as amendment one. And
[1:27:37] it is the only amendment in
[1:27:38] that packet.
[1:27:39] Very well then, uh, and that
[1:27:40] will be all we
[1:27:41] ll amend with
[1:27:42] unless council members have an
[1:27:45] additional amendment as well.
[1:27:46] Okay. All those in favor of
[1:27:49] amendment one say aye.
[1:27:49] Aye.
[1:27:51] All those opposed? Nay. Nay.
[1:27:53] Amendment one is adopted.
[1:27:54] Moving on to the underlying
[1:27:55] ordinance as amended. And my
[1:27:56] colleagues have any closing
[1:27:58] comments before we proceed.
[1:27:59] Sure.
[1:28:01] Yeah. Uh, Council Member
[1:28:02] Balducci, I think, followed by
[1:28:05] Councilmember Dembowski.
[1:28:05] He
[1:28:06] s shaking his head. No.
[1:28:08] Okay. Councilmember Balducci go
[1:28:09] right ahead.
[1:28:10] Um.
[1:28:12] Thank you. Chair. I just wanted
[1:28:14] to speak in favor of the
[1:28:16] ordinance. I will be voting in
[1:28:18] favor of the ordinance. I think
[1:28:20] this is a very important change
[1:28:23] in clarification. Uh, it is a
[1:28:26] key feature of ethics code
[1:28:28] ordinances in many, many
[1:28:30] places. That individual
[1:28:32] government employees should not
[1:28:35] and cannot work on, uh,
[1:28:37] contracts or other projects
[1:28:39] that financially benefit their
[1:28:41] relatives or or business
[1:28:44] partners. Uh, and so, uh, this,
[1:28:46] this, in my view, closes an
[1:28:47] important hole that should have
[1:28:49] been closed in our code
[1:28:50] probably long ago. And I
[1:28:50] m glad
[1:28:50] we
[1:28:52] re doing it now. Uh, just
[1:28:53] wanted to quickly echo and
[1:28:54] update from what Councilmember
[1:28:57] Dunn said. Uh, it has been
[1:28:59] brought to our attention as a
[1:29:01] council that the ethics code,
[1:29:04] on the whole, is really in need
[1:29:06] of some updating and and
[1:29:08] clarifying. And I have indeed
[1:29:09] raised my hand to say that I
[1:29:11] will work on a larger project
[1:29:14] to try to clean up the code.
[1:29:15] You will be hearing from our
[1:29:16] office about this. We
[1:29:17] ve had a
[1:29:19] kickoff meeting with, uh,
[1:29:21] stakeholders. We have assigned
[1:29:23] staff and both central policy
[1:29:26] staff and from the Ombuds
[1:29:28] office to help carry the water.
[1:29:28] And putting this together, it
[1:29:29] s
[1:29:30] going to be a longer road and a
[1:29:33] more detailed progress project.
[1:29:34] And to Councilmember Lewis
[1:29:34] s
[1:29:36] questions, uh, have spoken to
[1:29:36] the executive
[1:29:37] s office. They
[1:29:39] will be included in the work
[1:29:41] because they have some
[1:29:42] interest, obviously, in this as
[1:29:45] well. And a really important
[1:29:48] need to have a clear enough
[1:29:49] code to put together employee
[1:29:51] training so that they can train
[1:29:53] the staff and inform the staff
[1:29:54] of what they need to do, and
[1:29:55] they are observing that the
[1:29:57] code in some places is not
[1:29:58] clear enough to do a good job
[1:29:59] of that. So they have a keen
[1:30:01] interest in implementation and
[1:30:03] in what the code should be, so
[1:30:04] they will be part of it. The
[1:30:06] Board of Ethics will also be
[1:30:08] invited to participate and have
[1:30:09] already expressed an interest
[1:30:11] in participating. So much more
[1:30:13] to come. But this is a really
[1:30:14] important step and I
[1:30:14] m very
[1:30:16] happy to vote in favor today.
[1:30:16] Thank you chair.
[1:30:19] Thank you. Councilmember
[1:30:21] Balducci. Seeing no further
[1:30:22] discussion, Claire Kay, will.
[1:30:22] You please close.
[1:30:24] To close to close.
[1:30:25] Oh, sorry about that. Uh,
[1:30:28] sponsor to close. Vice Chair
[1:30:28] Dunn.
[1:30:30] Uh, thanks very much. And thank
[1:30:31] you, Chair Perry, for having
[1:30:33] this in an expedited forum
[1:30:35] today. And I want to thank, uh,
[1:30:36] my colleagues, Councilmember
[1:30:37] Billie Jean Louis, uh
[1:30:39] Dembowski, and others for their
[1:30:42] comments. And, uh, and smithing
[1:30:43] this and making this better.
[1:30:44] Uh, we have a board of ethics.
[1:30:46] We should use them, continue to
[1:30:48] use them and listen to what
[1:30:49] they they have to say. We MAY
[1:30:51] not always agree with them, but
[1:30:52] they certainly have very
[1:30:53] positive input. That
[1:30:53] s
[1:30:55] important. We should have a
[1:30:57] regular update process. I want
[1:30:58] to thank investigative
[1:31:00] journalists like Lulu Ramadan
[1:31:03] and, uh, and uh, David Gutman
[1:31:06] and others for getting some
[1:31:08] information that helped make
[1:31:09] this legislation better. I
[1:31:11] continue to believe the Fourth
[1:31:12] Estate is an important part of
[1:31:14] our democratic process, and
[1:31:16] this is an example of that. Um,
[1:31:18] this is a good, um, significant
[1:31:19] piece of legislation.
[1:31:21] Obviously, you shouldn
[1:31:21] t be
[1:31:22] doling out public dollars to
[1:31:24] members of your family. It just
[1:31:24] isn
[1:31:25] t it just doesn
[1:31:26] t pass the
[1:31:27] laugh test. And it isn
[1:31:27] t
[1:31:28] appropriate. It might be
[1:31:29] illegal, and there
[1:31:29] s a lot of
[1:31:30] other things there. And so we
[1:31:32] have to make sure that we make
[1:31:33] it clear up front through our
[1:31:35] own ethics codes. Uh, that that
[1:31:35] isn
[1:31:36] t something we
[1:31:36] re going to
[1:31:39] stand for or tolerate. Um,
[1:31:40] County has run into some
[1:31:42] challenging issues of
[1:31:43] perception, and I think for
[1:31:44] good reason. And we
[1:31:44] ve got a
[1:31:46] lot of work in reform area to
[1:31:46] continue forward on. I
[1:31:47] ll be
[1:31:48] driving that forward. Other
[1:31:49] members of the council, uh, as
[1:31:51] well, that I mentioned in these
[1:31:52] comments and want to thank
[1:31:54] Kevin Reichbauer for holding
[1:31:55] this important legislation in
[1:31:56] his committee and properly
[1:31:58] addressing it. I would urge my
[1:31:59] colleagues support, and let
[1:31:59] s
[1:32:00] take another step in making
[1:32:02] King County, uh, a great county
[1:32:05] running well and, uh, fully
[1:32:07] reformed and paying great
[1:32:09] attention to the tax dollars
[1:32:11] that we are given, uh, control
[1:32:13] over. I urge support.
[1:32:16] Thank you, Vice Chair Dunn. Uh,
[1:32:17] seeing no further discussion.
[1:32:18] Clerk. Hey, will you please
[1:32:19] call the roll?
[1:32:20] Thank you. Chair. Perry
[1:32:21] Councilmember Balducci.
[1:32:22] Hi.
[1:32:24] Council member Baron.
[1:32:25] Hi.
[1:32:26] Councilmember Dembowski.
[1:32:27] I am.
[1:32:29] Councilmember Dunn. I
[1:32:30] Councilmember Fain.
[1:32:31] I.
[1:32:35] Member Lewis. I Councilmember
[1:32:41] Mosqueda. Councilmember
[1:32:45] Mosqueda. Councilmember von
[1:32:45] Reichbauer.
[1:32:49] All right.
[1:32:50] Mosqueda.
[1:32:51] Apologies.
[1:32:51] Mosqueda votes.
[1:32:53] I thank you.
[1:32:55] And I got Councilmember von
[1:32:57] Reichbauer chair Perry. I vote
[1:33:00] is nine eyes and zero nose.
[1:33:01] Thank you. By a vote we
[1:33:01] ve
[1:33:02] adopted proposed substitute
[1:33:05] ordinance 2026 0126, as
[1:33:07] amended. Turning next to item
[1:33:09] seven and eight, which
[1:33:10] concerned labor agreements.
[1:33:11] Vice Chair Ron, will you please
[1:33:14] move? Proposed ordinance 2026
[1:33:16] 0189.
[1:33:17] So moved.
[1:33:18] Thank you. Proposed ordinance
[1:33:21] 2026 says Dash 0189 is before
[1:33:22] us. Before we proceed with
[1:33:23] discussion, I
[1:33:23] ll note that we
[1:33:25] have Angela marshall, labor
[1:33:26] relations interim director, and
[1:33:27] John Woodcock, labor relations
[1:33:29] negotiator from the executive
[1:33:29] s
[1:33:30] office, available to answer
[1:33:32] questions. We also have Yusuf
[1:33:34] al-Hamawi, union representative
[1:33:36] for protec 17, available as
[1:33:37] well. But first, I
[1:33:37] d like to
[1:33:39] ask Erika Newman from council
[1:33:41] staff to brief the item. Erica,
[1:33:42] please go ahead when you
[1:33:42] re
[1:33:51] ready.
[1:33:52] Erica, you
[1:33:55] re on mute.
[1:33:57] There we go. Um, sorry about
[1:33:59] that. Um, uh, Erica Newman,
[1:34:01] Council central staff. The
[1:34:02] proposed items, uh, the
[1:34:04] proposed Ida, the item for
[1:34:08] proposed ordinance 2026 0189,
[1:34:09] begin on page 46 of your
[1:34:11] packet. The proposed ordinance
[1:34:13] would adopt the memorandum of
[1:34:14] agreement that was negotiated,
[1:34:18] became, uh County and 17, which
[1:34:20] represents engineering services
[1:34:21] manager, employees and the
[1:34:23] Department of Natural Resources
[1:34:25] and part um, this is from a
[1:34:26] broader alignment within the
[1:34:29] Solid Waste Division and the
[1:34:31] county and protect 17. They
[1:34:34] engaged in to discuss
[1:34:35] operational concerns with the
[1:34:37] operational structure of the
[1:34:39] engineering and environmental
[1:34:41] compliance work. Historically,
[1:34:42] these functions were
[1:34:43] consolidated under a single
[1:34:46] engineering services manager
[1:34:47] under the proposed structure,
[1:34:50] the engineering Service Manager
[1:34:52] classification would be able to
[1:34:53] serve as the manager of an
[1:34:55] engineering unit or the section
[1:34:57] Manager responsible for
[1:34:58] environmental science and
[1:35:00] compliance. Um, the the
[1:35:02] bargaining, the terms and
[1:35:04] bargaining include, uh,
[1:35:05] increasing the pay rate for the
[1:35:07] engineering services manager,
[1:35:10] which is currently at arrange
[1:35:13] 77 to arrange 78, and the King
[1:35:16] County uh, square table uh. If
[1:35:17] adopted, this agreement would
[1:35:19] be considered effective. The
[1:35:21] first day of the first full pay
[1:35:24] period following the effective
[1:35:26] date. Um, according to the
[1:35:29] fiscal note, uh, the cumulative
[1:35:30] total for the duration of the
[1:35:33] agreement is a little over
[1:35:35] $15,000 that would be expended
[1:35:37] from the solid Waste Operating
[1:35:39] Fund. Executive staff note that
[1:35:40] there will be no supplemental
[1:35:42] budget authority needed to
[1:35:43] implement the agreement. MADAM
[1:35:44] Chair, that concludes my
[1:35:46] remarks.
[1:35:47] Thank you very much, Erica.
[1:35:48] With that, I
[1:35:48] d like to ask if
[1:35:49] there
[1:35:51] s any discussion from my
[1:35:52] colleagues opening this up so I
[1:35:58] can see any hands or questions.
[1:36:02] Okay. Not seeing any questions
[1:36:04] from my colleagues. Let
[1:36:04] s
[1:36:06] proceed with a vote. Clerk.
[1:36:07] Hey, will you please call the
[1:36:08] roll?
[1:36:10] Thank you. Councilmember
[1:36:12] Balducci. I Councilmember
[1:36:13] Baron.
[1:36:14] Hi.
[1:36:15] Councilmember Dembowski.
[1:36:16] Hi.
[1:36:18] Councilmember Dunn. I
[1:36:20] Councilmember Fain I remember,
[1:36:23] Louis. I Councilmember
[1:36:26] Mosqueda. I Councilmember von
[1:36:28] Reichbauer.
[1:36:29] I.
[1:36:30] Chair Perry.
[1:36:31] Hi.
[1:36:32] Hello. It is nine I
[1:36:33] s zero nos.
[1:36:35] Thank you. Clerk. By our vote,
[1:36:35] we
[1:36:36] ve adopted proposed
[1:36:40] ordinance 2026 0189. Turning
[1:36:41] next to item eight, proposed
[1:36:44] Ordinance 2026 0196. Vice Chair
[1:36:45] Brown, will you please move
[1:36:49] proposed ordinance 2026 0196..
[1:36:50] So moved.
[1:36:51] Thank you. The proposed
[1:36:53] ordinance is before us. Before
[1:36:54] we proceed with the discussion,
[1:36:54] I
[1:36:55] ll note that we have Maria
[1:36:56] Williams, PRESIDENT Of the
[1:36:58] director of Teamsters Local 117
[1:37:00] and co-chair of the King County
[1:37:01] Coalition of Unions, along with
[1:37:02] Michael Gonzalez, senior
[1:37:04] business agent for Teamsters
[1:37:06] Local 174 and co-chair of the
[1:37:07] King County Coalition of
[1:37:09] Unions, available to answer any
[1:37:10] questions. First, I
[1:37:10] d like to
[1:37:12] ask Erika Newman from council
[1:37:13] staff to brief the item. Erika,
[1:37:14] please go ahead when you
[1:37:14] re
[1:37:15] ready.
[1:37:17] Thank you, MADAM Chair. Erika
[1:37:18] and Council center staff the
[1:37:22] items for proposed ordinance
[1:37:26] 20260167. Begin on page 50 of
[1:37:27] your packet. Uh, the proposed
[1:37:29] ordinance would adopt the four
[1:37:31] successor agreement to the 2125
[1:37:32] Forward Coalition labor
[1:37:35] agreement. And, uh, between
[1:37:36] King County and the coalition
[1:37:37] of Unions, which represents
[1:37:39] employees from the Department
[1:37:41] of Natural Resources and Parks,
[1:37:43] Department of Local Services
[1:37:45] and the Department of Executive
[1:37:46] Services. The changes are
[1:37:48] consistent with the item County
[1:37:50] labor policies. Bargaining
[1:37:53] began in JUNE of 25 and
[1:37:54] agreements were reached by the
[1:37:57] end of MAY of 2026. The the
[1:37:59] agreement would be. If adopted,
[1:38:00] the agreement will cover the
[1:38:03] period of JANUARY 1st, 26
[1:38:06] through DECEMBER 31st of 28.
[1:38:07] Um. This will be referred to as
[1:38:09] appendix 160, which represents
[1:38:13] um employees. Uh, like I said,
[1:38:14] of Department of Natural
[1:38:15] Resources and part local
[1:38:17] services and Department of
[1:38:18] Executive Services, these
[1:38:19] employees usually hold the
[1:38:21] title of truck drivers, sign
[1:38:24] and marketing specialists. Uh
[1:38:27] fleet uh divisions and road
[1:38:29] signing services. Um, there
[1:38:30] s
[1:38:33] some notable changes to the
[1:38:36] cla, which is which includes a
[1:38:39] 2.5% solid waste hauling of
[1:38:41] equipment premiums, uh,
[1:38:42] hazardous material endorsement
[1:38:44] premium increase from $70 an
[1:38:47] hour to $100 a month and added
[1:38:48] theory delay pay employees
[1:38:50] report to dash on will be
[1:38:51] compensated. Their normal pay
[1:38:53] for delay time when a scheduled
[1:38:54] theory is canceled and there
[1:38:56] are no remaining alternative
[1:38:58] free books available within one
[1:39:00] hour or less. Um, after that,
[1:39:02] council votes, there will be
[1:39:05] changes to our weather related,
[1:39:06] such as snow and ice alert.
[1:39:08] Work overtime will be paid when
[1:39:09] weather events require
[1:39:11] alteration of shifts without
[1:39:14] required advance notifications.
[1:39:15] Uh, there
[1:39:15] s going to be a
[1:39:17] adding added bargaining
[1:39:21] reopening to establish, uh,
[1:39:24] sorry, uh, to establish a
[1:39:27] discipline matrix, uh, to cover
[1:39:29] instances of motor vehicle and
[1:39:31] or equipment accidents,
[1:39:32] property damages, snp
[1:39:34] violations, um, and then the
[1:39:35] other one is they
[1:39:36] re going to
[1:39:38] pilot establishing of regular
[1:39:40] Friday and start time for solid
[1:39:43] waste division truck drivers.
[1:39:46] Um, and yeah there
[1:39:46] s uh,
[1:39:47] they
[1:39:48] re going to also do some
[1:39:51] 17 work schedules from Monday
[1:39:53] from a Monday through Sunday
[1:39:54] workweek, Tuesday through
[1:39:56] Monday work week. The
[1:39:58] cumulative total to implement
[1:39:59] the, um, the cumulative total
[1:40:01] for the duration of there is a
[1:40:02] little it
[1:40:05] s almost $9 million,
[1:40:06] which will be extended from,
[1:40:09] um, the way operating from the
[1:40:10] county Road Fund and the parks
[1:40:12] levy operating fund. Um,
[1:40:14] according to this, executive
[1:40:16] staff will be the supplemental
[1:40:17] budget authority, uh, needed to
[1:40:19] implement this approved. MADAM
[1:40:21] Chair, that concludes my
[1:40:22] remarks.
[1:40:24] Thank you very much. Erica. Do
[1:40:26] my colleagues have any
[1:40:28] questions, comments, discussion
[1:40:32] at this point? Okay.
[1:40:33] MISTER Chair Perry.
[1:40:34] Yes.
[1:40:35] Um.
[1:40:36] Councilmember Lewis, thank you.
[1:40:38] Thank you. Um, I would just
[1:40:40] like to say that I was really
[1:40:42] pleased to see the, um, the
[1:40:45] bilingual pay, um, provision
[1:40:48] in, uh, in the agreement. And I
[1:40:51] appreciate the Teamsters and,
[1:40:54] um, the county negotiating
[1:40:55] that. Thank you.
[1:40:57] Thank you, Councilmember Lewis.
[1:40:59] Okay, seeing no further
[1:41:00] discussion, let
[1:41:00] s proceed to
[1:41:01] the vote. Clerk, will you
[1:41:03] please call the roll?
[1:41:05] Thank you. Councilmember
[1:41:05] Balducci.
[1:41:06] I.
[1:41:08] Councilmember Marone. I
[1:41:11] Councilmember Dembowski. I
[1:41:13] Councilmember Dunn. I
[1:41:15] Councilmember Fain. I
[1:41:18] Councilmember. I Councilmember
[1:41:20] Mosqueda. I it
[1:41:21] s a member von
[1:41:21] Reichbauer.
[1:41:22] I.
[1:41:25] Hear Perry. I vote is nine I
[1:41:26] zero no
[1:41:26] s.
[1:41:28] Thank you. Uh, by our vote
[1:41:29] we
[1:41:30] ve adopted proposed
[1:41:37] ordinance 2026-0196. Thank you.
[1:41:38] Turning now to hearing examiner
[1:41:40] consent agenda items nine and
[1:41:41] ten. Clerk. Hey, will you
[1:41:42] please read the items into the
[1:41:43] record?
[1:41:44] Thank you. Chair. Perry, item
[1:41:45] nine is proposed. Substitute
[1:41:47] ordinance number 2026 0091,
[1:41:48] concurring with a
[1:41:49] recommendation of the hearing
[1:41:51] examiner to approve, subject to
[1:41:52] conditions, the application for
[1:41:53] both benefit rating system
[1:41:54] assessed valuation for Open
[1:41:56] Space. Submitted by Deborah
[1:41:58] Mallory and John Van. Wiring
[1:41:59] for property located in
[1:42:00] Enumclaw and item ten is
[1:42:02] proposed subsidy Ordinance
[1:42:04] Number 2026 0120, authorizing
[1:42:05] the vacation of a portion of
[1:42:08] County Road 393 se Twist Road
[1:42:10] and Enumclaw file number be
[1:42:13] 2776 for petitioners Alexis and
[1:42:16] Devin Jones and Garth Cook.
[1:42:18] Thank you very much. Council
[1:42:19] member Fain, will you please
[1:42:21] move consent agenda items nine
[1:42:22] and ten.
[1:42:23] So moved.
[1:42:25] Thank you. Consent agenda items
[1:42:26] nine and ten. And before us.
[1:42:27] Clerk, will you please call the
[1:42:27] roll?
[1:42:30] Thank you. Councilmember
[1:42:31] Balducci. I Councilmember
[1:42:32] Baron..
[1:42:33] Hi.
[1:42:34] Councilmember Dembowski.
[1:42:35] Hi.
[1:42:36] Councilmember Dunn..
[1:42:37] Hi.
[1:42:39] Councilmember Fain. I
[1:42:41] Councilmember Lewis. I
[1:42:44] Councilmember Mosqueda. I
[1:42:46] Councilmember von Reichbauer. I
[1:42:46] you
[1:42:47] re Perry.
[1:42:47] I.
[1:42:50] Go to nine eyes zero noes.
[1:42:51] Thank you. By your vote we
[1:42:51] ve
[1:42:53] adopted proposed substitute
[1:42:58] ordinances 2026 0091 and 0120.
[1:43:00] Turning next to the motion
[1:43:02] consent agenda. Vice chair,
[1:43:03] will you please move consent
[1:43:04] agenda item 11.
[1:43:06] I move item 11.
[1:43:08] Consent agenda item is before
[1:43:09] as clerk, will you please call
[1:43:09] the roll?
[1:43:11] Thank you.
[1:43:13] Councilmember Balducci I.
[1:43:14] Council member Baron.
[1:43:16] Aye.
[1:43:18] Councilmember Dembowski
[1:43:20] enthusiastically I.
[1:43:23] Never done. I.
[1:43:31] Fain. I Councilmember Lewis. I
[1:43:33] Councilmember Mosqueda. I
[1:43:35] Councilmember von Reichbauer. I
[1:43:36] chair.
[1:43:37] Perry I.
[1:43:40] Vote is nine eyes zero noes.
[1:43:40] Thank you bio but we
[1:43:41] ve adopted
[1:43:46] proposed motion 2026 0115.
[1:43:48] Turning the final action item
[1:43:48] on today
[1:43:49] s agenda item 12,
[1:43:50] which is motion approving the
[1:43:51] job description for the
[1:43:53] position of Inspector General
[1:43:54] Vice Chair Baron, will you
[1:43:55] please move? Proposed motion
[1:43:58] 2026 0197.
[1:43:59] So moved.
[1:44:02] Thank you. Proposed motion 2026
[1:44:04] 0197 is before us. Before we
[1:44:06] proceed, I will briefly share
[1:44:08] that the reason we relieved the
[1:44:09] committee of this item to take
[1:44:11] action today was to ensure that
[1:44:12] we could begin the Inspector
[1:44:14] General recruitment process in
[1:44:15] earnest, with council recess
[1:44:17] beginning next week. The
[1:44:19] Employment and Administration
[1:44:20] Committee, eac, will not be
[1:44:22] meeting again until SEPTEMBER.
[1:44:24] This is where this conversation
[1:44:25] is usually held. It
[1:44:25] s important
[1:44:27] that we begin this process
[1:44:28] expeditiously, so that the
[1:44:30] Inspector General can begin the
[1:44:31] crucial work of standing up the
[1:44:33] infrastructure of the office as
[1:44:35] soon as possible. With that, I
[1:44:36] will note that we have
[1:44:37] Stephanine Cirkovich Chief of
[1:44:39] Staff on the council available
[1:44:41] to answer any questions before
[1:44:42] I open it up to my colleagues,
[1:44:42] I
[1:44:44] d like to ask Councilmember
[1:44:44] Dembowski if you
[1:44:45] d like to
[1:44:46] provide any other opening
[1:44:48] remarks.
[1:44:50] Uh, thank you very much, chair.
[1:44:53] And this is the follow on step
[1:44:54] following approval of the
[1:44:55] Office of Inspector General
[1:44:57] that we did a week or two ago,
[1:45:00] I wanted to just express deep
[1:45:01] gratitude to our council Chief
[1:45:04] of staff, Stephanine Cirkovich,
[1:45:06] for accelerating the process
[1:45:07] here. We were looking at a
[1:45:08] couple of months through an eac
[1:45:11] process, and she really jumped
[1:45:12] on it and did a great bit of
[1:45:14] research. Looking around the
[1:45:16] country and inspectors, general
[1:45:18] positions and scopes of work.
[1:45:20] Uh, then the draft was shared
[1:45:21] out and a number of our
[1:45:22] colleagues provided some
[1:45:24] suggestions, I think, all of
[1:45:25] which were were included or
[1:45:29] will be and, uh, just really
[1:45:30] pleased to see the forward
[1:45:32] momentum on this to get the
[1:45:34] recruitment going. And I
[1:45:35] suspect we
[1:45:35] re going to have a
[1:45:36] lot of great candidates. It
[1:45:36] s
[1:45:37] an it
[1:45:38] s a really nicely done
[1:45:39] job description, and I
[1:45:39] m
[1:45:40] looking forward to seeing our
[1:45:43] applicants. So thanks for your
[1:45:45] leadership, Chair Perry. And as
[1:45:45] chair of the Employment
[1:45:46] Administration Committee and
[1:45:48] the Council and expediting this
[1:45:50] through and making sure we, uh,
[1:45:52] got it before everybody today.
[1:45:54] I appreciate you very much.
[1:45:56] Thank you. Council Member
[1:45:57] Dembowski, for your sponsorship
[1:45:59] and leadership on this. Is
[1:46:00] there any are there any other
[1:46:04] comments from my colleagues?
[1:46:04] Okay.
[1:46:06] I just want to say thank you to
[1:46:06] this.
[1:46:09] Council member Balducci.
[1:46:10] Thank you. Chair, I just want
[1:46:11] to say thank you to the
[1:46:13] sponsor, uh, and your office
[1:46:16] for seeking and incorporating
[1:46:17] feedback. Uh, we provided a
[1:46:18] couple of thoughts, and they
[1:46:20] show up very beautifully in
[1:46:22] this current draft, and that
[1:46:24] really makes it easy to move
[1:46:25] forward quickly. So really
[1:46:27] appreciate that effort. And I
[1:46:28] support the, uh, I support the
[1:46:31] both the proposal and the
[1:46:32] expeditious nature of the
[1:46:33] process.
[1:46:36] Thank you. Councilmember
[1:46:37] Balducci. Uh, seeing no
[1:46:39] further, we have a an amendment
[1:46:40] which attaches the job
[1:46:41] description to the motion.
[1:46:43] Councilmember Dembowski, please
[1:46:44] move. Amendment one.
[1:46:45] So moved.
[1:46:46] Thank you. Amendment one is
[1:46:47] before us. Any discussion from
[1:46:49] colleagues seeing no discussion
[1:46:50] on amendment. Let
[1:46:51] s proceed
[1:46:51] with the vote. All those in
[1:46:53] favor of amendment one say I.
[1:46:54] Aye.
[1:46:55] All those opposed. Nay.
[1:46:58] Amendment one is adopted. Any
[1:47:00] final closing remarks before we
[1:47:01] proceed with the final adoption
[1:47:04] of the underlying motion? Okay.
[1:47:06] Seeing no further discussion,
[1:47:07] clerk, will you please call the
[1:47:08] roll?
[1:47:10] Thank you. Councilmember
[1:47:10] Balducci.
[1:47:12] Hi, Councilmember.
[1:47:13] Hi.
[1:47:14] Councilmember. Dembowski.
[1:47:17] Aye. Councilmember Dunn.
[1:47:18] I Councilmember.
[1:47:20] Fain I.
[1:47:22] Councilmember Lewis. I
[1:47:25] Councilmember Mosqueda. I
[1:47:27] Councilmember von Reichbauer.
[1:47:27] I.
[1:47:29] Chair Perry.
[1:47:29] I I
[1:47:30] m.
[1:47:31] In our meeting.
[1:47:33] The vote is nine I zero no.
[1:47:34] Uh thank you. By our vote,
[1:47:34] we
[1:47:36] ve adopted proposed motion
[1:47:40] 2026 0197, as amended. If
[1:47:40] there
[1:47:41] s no objection, the
[1:47:42] publish marked agenda, together
[1:47:43] with any changes made in
[1:47:44] today
[1:47:44] s meeting, we
[1:47:44] ll stand
[1:47:46] approved as the first reading
[1:47:47] and referral of ordinances and
[1:47:49] motions. Items 13 through 23,
[1:47:53] as listed. And before we
[1:47:53] adjourn, I
[1:47:54] ll note we have a
[1:47:55] proclamation celebrating
[1:47:56] India
[1:47:57] s Independence Day being
[1:47:59] presented in community by
[1:48:01] Councilmember von Reichbauer.
[1:48:02] Additionally, I want to take a
[1:48:04] brief moment to announce the
[1:48:07] names of the nominees to fill
[1:48:08] Council nominated At-Large
[1:48:09] vacancy on the Conservation
[1:48:11] Futures Advisory Committee.
[1:48:14] Ellen Sheffer, Jamie Strobel,
[1:48:17] Masa Clements, Jane Boyce.
[1:48:19] Before we move on, I want to
[1:48:21] briefly recognize Vice Chair
[1:48:23] Barone to say a few final words
[1:48:25] after the recent tragedy at the
[1:48:29] bite of Seattle, Councilmember
[1:48:29] Baron.
[1:48:31] Thank you, Chair Perry, and I
[1:48:32] appreciate your taking a
[1:48:33] beginning of the meeting with
[1:48:35] with a moment of silence. I
[1:48:37] also wanted to take a moment to
[1:48:38] acknowledge the horrific
[1:48:39] incident that took place this
[1:48:40] weekend. Industry for at the
[1:48:41] Bite of Seattle event in
[1:48:43] Seattle Center. I believe I
[1:48:45] speak for everybody here when I
[1:48:46] say that our hearts are with
[1:48:47] the victims of this tragedy,
[1:48:49] their families and loved ones
[1:48:50] and everyone who has been
[1:48:51] impacted, and that we
[1:48:52] re
[1:48:53] grateful for the prompt actions
[1:48:55] of first responders, including
[1:48:56] Seattle police and fire
[1:48:57] departments and the staff of
[1:48:59] our own county hospital,
[1:49:00] Harborview Medical Center. So
[1:49:01] thank you on everybody
[1:49:01] s and
[1:49:03] our thoughts.
[1:49:05] Thank you very much. Vice chair
[1:49:07] maroon. With that, I want to
[1:49:08] share a quick reminder to the
[1:49:10] public that the council will be
[1:49:11] observing our annual AUGUST
[1:49:14] recess from AUGUST 3rd through
[1:49:16] AUGUST 14th. The council will
[1:49:18] not be meeting during this
[1:49:19] time, and our next regularly
[1:49:21] scheduled council meeting will
[1:49:23] be held on Tuesday, AUGUST
[1:49:25] 18th. With that, do my
[1:49:26] colleagues have any other
[1:49:27] business for the good of the
[1:49:30] order? Seeing no further
[1:49:32] business before us, the meeting