i
d like to welcome you to the
AUGUST 18th, 2026 meeting of
the King County Council. My
name is George Baron. I have
the privilege of serving as
vice chair of the council. I
will be acting as chair today.
I
m joined by my colleagues.
Council colleagues here today
and online. And this meeting is
called to order. Before we
begin, please join me in
acknowledging that we are on
the traditional lands of the
Salish peoples, past and
present. We thank these
caretakers of this land who
have lived here and continue to
live here since time
immemorial, bringing their
cultural ways of life and
greatly enriching our
communities. With that. Clerk
Foss, would you please call the
roll?
Thank you. Chair. Baron
Councilmember Balducci. Here.
Council member Dembowski here.
Council member. Dunn.
Councilmember Fain here.
Councilmember Mosqueda.
Councilmember. Louis.
Councilmember Mosqueda. Here.
Council. Perry. Councilmember
von Reichbauer.
Here.
Chair. Baron.
Here.
You have a quorum.
Wonderful. Thank you very much.
Next, I will lead us in the
Pledge of Allegiance. So if
you
re here in chambers, please
stand. If you
re able. I pledge
allegiance.
To the flag of the United
States of America. And to the
republic for which it stands.
One nation under GOD, and.
Thank you very much. Next,
we
ll have approval of the
minutes. Vice chair Dunn. MAY I
please have a motion to approve
the minutes of the JULY 21st,
2026 and JULY 28th, 2026
Council meetings. Move
approval.
Of JULY 21st and JULY 28th,
2026 meeting minutes.
Thank you very much. The motion
is before us. Are there any
comments or questions regarding
the minutes? Seeing none. All
those in favor, please say aye.
Aye aye aye. Any opposed?
Please say nay. The minutes are
approved. Clerk Foss, I
understand that we have some
additions to the Council
agenda.
I have one item being added to
the agenda today. It
s item
2820 260207. A motion accepting
a King County regional
Homelessness Authority contract
transition plan and report
providing responses to motion
16970. And this item is being
referred to the Committee of
the whole.
Thank you very much. We
re
going to turn next to a special
item, which is a proclamation
of AUGUST 18th, 2026, as
Dolores Dane, King County,
Councilmember Dembowski, and
the Chief Operating Officer for
Executive Sarlahi. Kim will be
presenting this item. So I
would invite you to come to the
podium and, get started
whenever you
re ready.
Thank you very much, chair and
colleagues. It
s my pleasure.
Today, uh, to present a very
special proclamation on behalf
of the Council and the
executive, uh, declaring AUGUST
18th, 2026. Dolores Day in King
County. I
m really happy to be
joined by our King County chief
operations officer, Hale Kim.
Uh, and together, we
re going
to share a few remarks about a
very special person who has
lived a tremendous life in King
County and made an incredible
difference for so many folks.
Uh, but before we get into the
proclamation, those remarks, I
thought I would let Ko Kim say
a few words as well.
Thank you. Council member
Dembowski, on behalf of
Executive Zahilay, I just
wanted to acknowledge and thank
Randy, you and your family for
being here on behalf of your
mother. Um, it means so much to
me as a young person who got
started in politics. I think
Dolores was one of the first
people that I got to meet, and
she was already retired, but
still a force of nature. And
like so many people, I think,
that have read about her life
and are going to enjoy reading
some more. In her new memoir.
Um, I think it is such an
inspiration to not only past
generations, but to future
generations to know that she
broke so many barriers. She was
such a trailblazer, and she was
so courageous in the face of
incredible, incredible,
systemic challenges, many of
which we still face today. But
she led the way in breaking
barriers that I think so very
few of us can really, truly
appreciate. So on behalf of
executive administration, I
joined Councilmember Dembowski
in just expressing our deep
appreciation to your mother
s
leadership..
Very nice.
Um, Dolores turned 95 years old
just a few days ago on AUGUST
12th. Um, she was the first
Filipino American to graduate
from the University of
Washington journalism program
in 1952. She was the first
Filipino American man or woman
attorney in the state of
Washington. In 1973. She served
here at the King County Council
as a legislative aide to
groundbreaking Councilmember
Ruby Chow. Uh, after leaving
the county council, she worked
in the county
s Office of Civil
Rights. She was the first woman
of color to serve on the
Seattle City Council, starting
in 1978, where she led the push
for Seattle
s first affirmative
action ordinance and funding
for parks and recreation
programs. Dolores, Zamboanga
was the first female executive
of the Washington State Human
Rights Commission. She served
on the King County Board of Tax
Appeals and Equalization until
just very recently. Her family,
where she got started as a
little girl, uh, ran a cafe in
the Chinatown International
District. She a pioneering
Filipino business in our
community, and she writes about
that experience in her new
memoir, which I commend to
everybody. Um, she and her late
husband, Martin, published the
Filipino Forum, a community
newspaper which advocated for
and coalition led civil rights
for the Filipino American
community in the 1970s. And she
paved the way for women of
color to seek and win elected
office. She has written the
memoir, which I mentioned. I
commend it to everybody. And
here at the county. Now, as you
all know, for a number of years
we have run a program called
the Ruth Wu Emerging Leaders
Fellowship. Uh, I think we
ve
had 50 young people, maybe
more, a little less. We
re
hoping for 50 soon. Come
through the program. Uh, but it
would not. We would not have
the program which brings young
people who traditionally don
t
have access to opportunities in
government into the halls of
power here at the county to
learn about careers and to be
able to serve across our
various departments. Uh, the
idea came from Dolores and her
good friend Joan Yoshitomo. Uh,
they came to see then
Councilmember McDermott and I
many years ago now and asked
that we form it. And it
s been
a very successful program, and
it is consistent with the life
that she has led. Uh, in terms
of building systems to create
pathways of opportunity for
those who, uh, Hale talked
about might not otherwise have
as easy access to it. So she
has done an incredible amount
of civic work in her time here,
and we wanted to take a moment
to recognize her today. And
with that, maybe q Kim, you
could help me read the
proclamation. Absolutely. All
right. Would you like to go
first?
Thank you. Whereas Dolores was
born on AUGUST 12th, 1931,
growing up in Seattle
s
Chinatown International
District, where her family ran
the Iroquois Cafe. A pioneer of
business in Filipino town.
And whereas Dolores is a
trailblazer in many different
fields. As I mentioned, she was
the first Filipino American
attorney in the state of
Washington. In 1973, the first
female executive of the
Washington State Human Rights
Commission. In 1975, and the
first woman of color to serve
on the Seattle City Council in
1978. And whereas.
During her time on Seattle City
Council, she led the push for
Seattle
s first affirmative
action ordinance, elevated
workers rights and employment
issues, championed economic
development, and fought
discrimination against women of
color, and.
Whereas her public service
extends beyond elected office,
and she served on several
public service commissions,
including the Washington Horse
Racing Commission, the State
Human Rights Commission, and
our own King County Board of
Tax Appeals and Equalization.
And Whereas.
Throughout her life, Dolores
has been a voice for the
community, with a journalism
career spanning across print,
television, and eventually
garnering an Emmy nomination
for her work with komo tv. And
Whereas.
In the spring of 2017, Dolores
Vega and John Yoshitomo
approached the county about
creating the Ruth Wu Emerging
Leaders Fellowship to honor
their late friend Ruth Wu and
provide disadvantaged young
people with opportunities in
government. And whereas.
, in these ways and countless
others, Dolores shines as an
advocate, a leader, a
trailblazer, and a role model.
Now, therefore, we, the
Metropolitan King County
Council and the King County
Executive, proclaim AUGUST
18th, 2026, as Dolores Day o.
In King County. In recognition
of her achievements and
contributions to the community.
All right.
As Dolores texted me and
Christina recently, we
re going
to go try and see her. She said.
The mind is willing, but the
body isn
t. Um. We
ve both.
She
s been in touch with us
today, and she. Sorry she can
t
be here, but, um, one of my
favorite constituents in Lake
Forest Park, her daughter Randy
is here, and I wondered if you
might want to come up and say a
few words.
I am.
Honored to represent mom today.
Um, she turned 95 last week,
and her mind is keen as ever,
but her body, unfortunately, is
really failing her. Otherwise,
she would be here today to
express her deepest gratitude
for this recognition. Mom isn
t
one to ever expect or want
accolades for her achievements.
So over the years, any number
of community folks would urge
her to write her memoir. Um,
she finally capitulated after
realizing that, oh my goodness,
this history of growing up in
Chinatown in the 30s needed to
be captured. Um, and also that
if her story would inspire
anyone, particularly young
people, to become activists and
advocates, then it would be
worth it. So at 90, for her
book The Best Adobo in Town was
birthed. Um, mom, I asked mom
to think about three, uh, key
life lessons that she
d want to
share with you all today. The
first is, and I think she talks
about this in her book, When
Doors Open, walk through them
and she speaks about folks who
came before her. Trailblazers
like Ruby, Councilmember Ruby
Chow, um, publisher Victor
Velasco. And throughout her
career, she
s also tried to do
the same. Um, and as she
s been
declining in health, so many
people have stepped forward and
she
s just been so comforted by
the fact that, um, people tell
her it
s because of you that I
went to law school. It
s
because of you that I got into
journalism and decided to run
for public office. The second
is, you need to have a seat at
the table if you want to make a
difference. Um, be the advocate
for folks who don
t have a
voice. And finally, um, know
your worth and never stop
fighting for justice. Thank you
again. Oh.
Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you.
We
ll just do a little.
Photo right here. Okay.
Alex, if you want to join. Uh
Councilmember Dembowski.
This is is. I speak. East
Tulsa, okay. I don
t want to.
Because. So. Great. You
re here.
Yeah. There
s two.
Of us. Oh, beautiful.
She
ll put it on display.
Good.
Thank you very much.
Councilmember Dembowski and ceo
Kim for that presentation. Uh,
we are now going to turn to the
reading of items into the
record and the hearing of
public comments. Uh, but before
we start that, um, before the
clerk reads the items into the
record, we have a handful of
procedural matters to take care
of colleagues. So bear with me
here. Uh, first Vice Chair
Dunn, will you please make a
motion to relieve the local
Services and Land Use Committee
for items seven and eight.
Move to relieve the local
Services and land use Committee
for items both seven and eight.
Thank you very much. That
motion is before us. All those
in favor say aye. Aye. All
those opposed, please say nay.
The motion is approved. Next.
Council member Dembowski, will
you please make a motion to
remove item nine from the
consent agenda? So moved. Thank
you. The motion is before us.
All those in favor say aye.
Aye, aye. Those opposed say
nay. The motion is approved.
Turning to our next procedural
matter, which concerns agenda
item 13, the sponsor of this
legislation, Councilmember
Dembowski, has requested this
item not be taken up today and
is to be placed on the agenda
for first reading and referral.
This item will therefore be
referred to the transportation,
Economy and Environment
Committee. I understand that
Councilmember Dembowski would
like to make a few remarks, so
please go ahead, Councilmember
Busk.
Thank you, MISTER Chair. Um,
this particular ordinance is is
unusual in nature, I
acknowledge, and it relates to
a service change that is
occurring largely in my
district related to route 372,
a very popular route that
basically runs from uw Bothell
to the uw main campus, right
down what I call the spine of
my district, which is State
Route 522 Bothell Way, Lake
City Way. Depending on where
you are on it. It
s a real
workhorse route. It has been
for many years. It
s the
interestingly, the most popular
University of Washington. You
pass route, uh, in 2025, they
had 919,000 boardings. Using a
you pass on route 372, a lot of
riders, uh, it
s going away in
a couple of weeks, and it
s
caused a lot of concern in my
district. I think all of you
received a letter, uh, signed
on by a number of folks,
including, uh, cities of Lake
Forest Park, the city of
Kenmore, City of Bothell, the
North Urban Human Services
Alliance, um Transit Riders
Union, the Urbanist, shoreline,
um Lake City Business Alliance,
the Non Drivers Alliance, and
others. Um, it
s in my time
here on the council. I
ve done
a lot of service changes and
when you eliminate a route,
it
s usually not very popular.
People don
t like to see their
routes go away, and sometimes
it
s hard to see the
replacement routes. But this
one has caused quite a bit of
challenges. Um, I had the
ordinance drafted introduced
because there was some
communication from Metro at a
presentation to the Lake Forest
Park City Council, and then
also in some written
communication, basically kind
of saying, well, the county
council did this and it would
take a legislative act to undo
it. Um, which is true. But
really what we did was adopt
the Metro proposal. Um, and uh,
I was in communication with
Metro in the office. I thought
perhaps there might be given
the great interest in the
route. A pause, administrative
pause, and they might need a
legislative companion to
endorse that. So, um, I
m not
asking for a vote here today
because it
s not practical. The
way we run routes, um, you
know, routes are picked by our
drivers. You got to have the
equipment to run it. Um,
there
s a lot that goes into a
service change, but I did want
to take a few moments to just
acknowledge that this is a
difficult change for the
community. We included in our
budget a proviso asking for a
Gaps analysis to see how we
might. We
ll see the impacts of
this and then see how we might
address it later. But the core
of it is, um, a lot of one seat
rides can serve a lot of
communities, including the
struggling community of of Lake
City, where we
ve lost a number
of drugstores and grocery
stores. Um, are going to have
some challenges getting through
this corridor. There
s
definitely replacement service
coming to connect to light
rail. Um, but for certain
rides, it
s not as convenient
and not as effective. And and
the transfers around 145 Lake
City were particularly
challenging. So I guess what I
wanted to say is, um, I
appreciate the outreach from
the community. We are going to
keep working on service in this
in this area. And, um, but this
this is not ready, ready to
take action on practically. So
thanks for letting me share a
few words. And thanks for Metro
for being here.
Thank you very much.
Councilmember Dembowski. Um, we
will move forward then with
that. Uh, Clerk Foss, will you
please read the items into the
record?
Thank you. Item number six,
proclamation of AUGUST 18th is
Dolores Day and King County.
Item seven is proposed. Motion
2026 0168. Appointing a
qualified person to position
number two on fire. District
number 24. Board of
commissioners. Item eight is
proposed. Motion 2026 0169
appointing a qualified person
to position three on the fire
district. Number 24. Board of
commissioners. Item nine is
proposed. Substitute ordinance
2026 0097 relating to the sale
of surplus property. Parcel
1521049016 located near South
328th Street and Military Road,
South Federal Way, Washington
and Council District seven,
item number ten is proposed
ordinance 2026 0117 authorizing
the County Executive to enter
into an interlocal agreement
for the provision of autopsy
and forensic pathology services
by the King County Medical
Examiner
s Office to Skagit
County. Item 11 is proposed.
Substitute Ordinance 2026 0161,
authorizing the execution of a
new lease to support the
operation of Department of
Public Health. Item 12 is 2026
0165, an ordinance that adopts
the Harborview Medical Center.
2027 Capital Improvement
Program annual budget for the
year ending JUNE 30th, 2027,
and makes appropriations for
the capital improvements for
the Harborview Medical Center.
Item 18 is proposed. Substitute
motion 2026 0119 acknowledging
receipt of the Harbor Island
Studio Assessment Report
required by the 2026 2027
Biennial Budget Ordinance. Item
19 proposed Motion 2026 0146
acknowledging receipt of the
Harbor Island Surplus analysis
as required by the 2026 2027
Biennial Budget Ordinance. Item
20 is proposed. Substitute
motion 2026 0145 acknowledging
receipt of the Harborview
Medical Center Long Range
Planning Committee plan
required by the 2026 2027
Biennial Budget Ordinance. And
item 21 is proposed. Motion
2026 0213, confirming the
executive
s reappointment of
Francesca Renoir, who resides
in Council District two to the
King County Landmarks
Commission as a representative
of professionals with
experience in historic
preservation related
disciplines.
Thank you very much. Clerk Fox
appreciated the Council will
now take public comment on
those ordinances, motions,
proclamations and recognitions
on today
s agenda for action.
Listening to the public and
taking into consideration the
public
s thoughts is an
important part of our process
and one that enhances our
deliberations in order to allow
everyone equal time to provide.
Comment I would like to set the
following ground rules. Please
limit comments to two minutes.
Remain seated until time for
your public comment, and do not
make audible noises during the
meeting without being
recognized. This is also a
reminder that public comment
MAY not be used for the purpose
of assisting a campaign for
election of any person to any
office, or for the promotion
of, or opposition to any ballot
proposition. Speakers should
address their comments directly
to the chair per council rules.
Disruptive behavior can or MAY
lead to an audience member
being asked to leave the
meeting. In addition to the
behavior already mentioned.
This includes holding signs
that obstruct the free
passenger view of others
attending the meeting, or
holding signs at the podium
while providing comment and the
use of bullhorns or noisemakers
for online comment. Press star
nine on the phone or click the
raise hand icon on the zoom
toolbar, located at the bottom
of the screen, to notify the
clerk. The clerk will call the
names of the or the last three
digits of the phone numbers in
order, and will then unmute
each line at the end of each
comment. The clerk will lower
hands with that clerk. Mueller,
please begin calling the names
in person, followed by those
hands raised online for public
comment.
Thank you. Chair. The first
name on the list is Alex
Zimmerman.
Thank you very much. Hi. My
name Alex Zimmerman. I
president of Stand Up America.
MR. Zimmerman, keep the sign
up.
Thank you.
Yeah yeah yeah I rules very
important who destroy rules
will go in jail. Yes. So
because I know council
Dembowski for many years. You
know what this means. So I want
speaking about buses
proposition. What is he did so
for ten years. Very interesting
situation. Come to Seattle. The
Seattle is King County to. So
ten year ago Council make third
street only for buses. Smarter
day. Exactly. Absolutely. So
for ten years I
m talking why
buses have a special street
number three in downtown. You
know what is mean. But most
buses go in street for why?
What is the reason for this?
Who these people with soft
brain who cannot fix this
problem is idiotic situation.
Please cost us a million bucks.
And this complication. Because
four in downtown is very busy.
So these buses make situation
complicated, dangerous and cost
a ton of money. I don
t
understand who this freaking
idiot who different in
approximately 3040ft from one
line to another cannot move
buses to street number three.
And I token, this doesn
t time
for three for ten years and
nothing happened. No one. Sorry
man, without brain, you know
what this mean? One fixes this.
So my question right now why
people in King County, you
know, what is men don
t
understand says I, African and
Nazi buster. You know fascist.
You know what is mean? What is
not care about people, money.
Viva Trump. Even your American
ReReRevolution. It
s very
complicated. Stand up Slovene
happy cows, very complicated.
Make one third avenue.
Thank you. Your time is up.
The next name on the list is
Yvette Danish.
Welcome, Yvette.
So this is.
A quick aside. I didn
t know
that we
re here long. She
s
just so secret. I had to
comment out of. So no.
Uh. Good afternoon. Yvette.
Donna, I
m from the South End,
and, uh, the the Lord
s day was
remarkable because the honors
her achievements and advocacy,
which in turn reminded me of
another female trailblazer,
Jennifer Dunn, which in turn
reminded me of her son,
Councilmember Reagan Dunn,
which in turn are brought to
mind the article in the Seattle
Times that he wrote saying that
the Seattle region
s approach
to homelessness needs a
complete overhaul and that it
does. And in particular, I
refer to the last paragraph in
which he states that King
County and Seattle have an
opportunity to move beyond the
false choice between compassion
and accountability. We need
both a successful system to
invest in our diversity of
solutions, but not shy away
from holding people accountable
and intervening when people are
too sick to help themselves.
Other jurisdictions are proving
that these strategies work.
Local leaders should implement
them here and revert to failed
policy. Experiments over the
last decade. Well written and I
totally agree with what he had
to say. Thank you.
Thank you. Reagan all signed
that. If you want an
autographed copy of it.
Well.
Yeah, I
m serious.
If you want.
Thank you very much.
Let
s go to. The next one. Next
speaker. Gotcha.
That
s good buddy.
The next name on the list is
Joe Kunstler.
Craigslist.
Joe.
Hi, everybody. Can you hear me?
Yes.
Great. Joe Kunstler here.
Always happy to call in. I
understand what your
Councilmember Dembowski needs.
A bus saved from Nazis. And,
uh, I very much support his
efforts today. I think it
s
important we have neighborhood
service. I think it
s important
that we have democratic
representation over public
transportation. And I believe
that route free 72 should be
renamed the Dombrowski route.
Um, to remain consistent with
all my teachings. Like, for
instance, we should name the
East Main station the Claudia
duty station. Hi, Claudia. And
we should also, um, you know
what? What? We
re, uh,
yammering away here. Um, you
know, really make sure that,
uh, King County metro is
responsive to the local
residents and fans of King
County Metro, especially as
I
ll be writing Sound Transit
tomorrow to go to the airport.
So I want to thank you for
public service. And, uh, and
I
ll leave it at that.
Thank you.
Thank you. Joe.
Chair Barone, there are
currently no.
All right. Seeing no further
requests for public comment, we
will close public comment for
today. Uh, turning to the first
action items on today
s agenda
item seven and eight, which
concerned appointments to the
fire district. Number 24, Board
of commissioners. Uh
Councilmember Fain. Will you
please move? Proposed motion
2026 0168.
So moved.
Thank you very much. Proposed
motion 2026 0168 is before us.
Uh, before we proceed, I will
note that since the Local
Services and Land Use Committee
has been relieved of, item
seven and eight will begin with
a briefing from Sherrie Hsu,
from council staff. After the
briefing, colleagues can ask
any questions with central
staff, and then we
ll move on
to the next part of the
appointment process. With that.
Sherry, please go ahead when
you
re ready.
Thank you. Vice Chair Brown.
Good afternoon. I
m Sherrie Hsu
with council staff and the
materials for this item begin
on page 32 of the meeting
packet. Um, the clerk also
emailed some additional
materials out to members this
morning. Before you today are
two motions. Proposed motion
2026 0168 and 0169, which would
fill two vacant positions on
the fire district number 24,
Board of Commissioners. All
three board positions are
currently vacant, and the
district has not held any
elections for commissioners
since 2013. Under state law, if
there are less than two members
of a governing body for a
special purpose district, then
the legislative authority of
the county is responsible for
appointing physicians until the
body has two members, and then
those two commissioners have 90
days to fill the remaining
vacancy. As a brief background,
Fire district 24 is a small
special purpose district
located in unincorporated King
County. There is a map on the
screen, um, and it
s in between
the cities of Tukwila, Kent and
SeaTac. Uh, just some brief
history. Originally included
what is now the city of SeaTac.
Uh, the city was incorporated
in 1989. Um, just 2% of the
district at that time remain
outside of that area. And then
ten years later, in 22,009, um,
three fourths of the district
was annexed by the city of
Tukwila. So the district
currently does not provide
direct fire services. Instead,
there is an Mou under which
Tukwila provides services to a
portion of the district that is
within Tukwila. Potential
annexation area, and then under
another legacy agreement with
the city of SeaTac, the Puget
Sound Regional Fire Authority
provides services to the
remainder of the district,
which is in the City of Kent
s
potential annexation area. Um
under state law, by JUNE 1st of
each year, the county
s
auditor, which in the case of
King County is the Department
of Elections, is required to
search records and then notify
the legislative authority,
which in the case of King
County is you, the council, um,
if any special purpose
districts are appear to be
inactive after this notice from
elections, the council is
required to hold a public
hearing before SEPTEMBER 1st to
determine whether these
districts are meeting the
criteria for being inactive.
Every year since 2000, 22,
elections has notified the
council of the apparently
inactive status of this
district. Um, as I mentioned,
elections has no record that
the district has held any
elections for commissioners
since 2013, and the state
Auditor also declared the
district as quote unquote,
unaudited in its report from
2021. The council has provided
a public hearing in accordance
with state law each year since
2022, and it has chosen to
defer action. The next hearing
is scheduled for next Tuesday,
AUGUST 25th. So that brings us
to today. As I mentioned, all
three positions are currently
vacant, and the proposed
motions would fill positions
two and three, after which the
two commissioners would then
have 90 days to fill the
remaining vacancy for position
one. If those two commissioners
do not fill that position, this
will come back to you, and the
Council will then have 180 days
to fill the third position. Uh,
as far as terms go, any of the
positions appointed by council
would be held until the next
general election in 2027. And
then after that election,
position one would be a two
year term. Position two would
be a four year term, and
position three would be a six
year term to stagger those.
Next up for the district, due
to the apparent inactivity of
the district and the need to
continue to provide ongoing
services, the council has
considered different options
over the years regarding the
future of the district, and one
potential would be a proposal
to merge the district with Fire
District 37. Filling the board
would allow the commissioners
to work together to determine
the next steps on their own. Um
proposed motion 2026 0168 would
appoint MR. Anton, Joseph, Zach
or Tony to fill position number
two on the board. Uh, he grew
up in the neighborhood
associated with Fire District
24 and has served as a
commissioner for King County
Drainage District Number two
and has experience in fund
accounting from working with
Kent School District. Proposed
motion 2026 0169 would appoint
MR. James Donald Hopf or Jim to
fill position number three on
the board. He has lived in Fire
District number 24 with his
family for ten years, and has
experience in account
management. Uh, MR. Hoff is
with us today for an interview.
And since MR. Dragon wasn
t
able to join, uh, I believe
Councilmember Fain office has
distributed written responses
to the interview questions. And
as I mentioned, you all have
the resumes in your email as
well. Thank you.
Thank you very much, cherry.
Appreciate that report. Uh, do
my colleagues have any
questions for Sherry or
comments for discussion before
we proceed? Kent Councilmember
Fain.
Thank you. No questions. Just
would like to speak to it.
Thank you. Thank you all for,
uh, allowing these appointments
to bypass the committee. For
context, they were referred to
committee, but because of
timing and, um, somewhat urgent
need to move this along, we
asked the chair to bring them
directly to us at council for
consideration today. So, uh,
motion 0168 relating to, uh,
MR. Reagan
s appointment is
before us, but I
m going to
speak to, um, well, what I
speak to will apply to both. So
we
ll save some time here. Um,
this is an unusual situation
that has been unresolved for a
long time. As you heard, uh,
fire district 24 sits in
unincorporated district five.
We had put the map up earlier.
Just, um, to illustrate that
the unincorporated area is in
red. Uh, here in the center of
the page, it sits somewhat of
as an island. Um, you
ll see to
the west it sits SeaTac,
directly to the east is Tukwila
in the darker yellow and then
pale yellow to the east and
south sits Kent, and then Des
Moines is in the orange there.
Um, it is complicated, as you
can imagine, with several
different potential annexation
areas with Tukwila and Kent.
Um, and then SeaTac also
providing some services there.
So, um, residents, I do want to
reiterate, residents, uh, do
receive fire service, so
they
re not without fire
service, but it
s through
existing agreements and there
s
no functioning board of
commissioners to oversee the
district or oversee any
outstanding financial issues or
even really address the future
of this district. So over the
past seven months, our offices
work closely with our local and
regional affairs team and the
residents of the district to
identify available options and
identify um residents who are
willing to serve as
commissioners, for which we are
very grateful. Um, after many
conversations and meetings with
property owners and residents,
i agree with the residents that
appointing commissioners is the
next best next step. It
restores local representation,
gives the residents a direct
role in addressing the
district
s outstanding issues
and and ability to work on the
best long term plan. As you
ve
heard from Sherry
s report, um,
council has previously
considered other options for
the district, including a
potential merger with another
fire district. But rather than
us making that decision for
them, these appointments give
residents a more direct role in
determining what comes next. So
with that, I am pleased to
sponsor both appointments. But
the first one here before us
today is the appointment of,
um, MR. Anton Reagan. And he is
a lifelong resident of the Fire
District. He was not able to
join us today. So he has
submitted written comments,
responses to questions that we
provided ahead of time with
your office
s collaboration.
Um, those have been emailed and
a hard copy, I believe is at
your desk. Um, I think that
restoring a functional board is
going to be the best path
forward. Gives residents a
voice in what happens in their
district going forward, and ask
for your support. Um, again,
for both, I want to thank our
local and regional affairs
team, especially Tom Goff and
Tanya Medaka, for their work
with residents in this small
unincorporated area over many
years. Um, I also want to thank
Sherrie Hsu for providing
policy support. Kendall Morris
provided a fair number of or a
fair amount of legal guidance.
So thank you. Um, and a special
thanks to my district manager,
Cimarron Paddle, for leading
this effort. It is, um, been
complicated. So, with that
support, appointment number
one, which is, um, motion.
Sorry, I lost that.
260168. Thank you.
Wonderful. Thank you very much.
Councilmember Fain appreciate
your work on this. Uh, to to
try to resolve this issue, uh,
as colleagues, as we heard, our
first candidate, MR. Gregory,
is not available to join us.
Um, but the materials were
distributed to council members
in the first green folder sent
at 10:09 A.M. Today. Do my
colleagues have any discussion?
Um, further discussion or
questions regarding the
candidate, his qualifications
before we proceed with a vote?
Anything further from
Councilmember Fain? All right.
Clerk Foss, will you please
call the roll on this motion?
Thank you. Councilmember
Balducci.
High.
Council member Dembowski.
I.
Councilmember Dunn.
Aye.
Councilmember Fain. I
Councilmember Louis.
Councilmember Mosqueda. I
Councilmember Perry
Councilmember von Reichbauer.
I.
Jerry Bratton. I the vote is
seven I
s and council members
Lewis and Perry excused.
Thank you very much. By our
vote, we have adopted proposed
motion 2026 0168.
Congratulations to Anton, and
thank you very much for your
willingness to serve. We are
now going to turn to item
eight, which is the second
appointment to the fire
district number 24 board. We
will be interviewing the
candidate today. Councilmember
Fain, will you please move?
Proposed motion 2026 0169. So
moved. Thank you very much.
That motion is before us.
Sherry already gave us a
briefing, so I would like not
to invite James Hough to join
us. He
s at the table there.
Thank you very much for your
willingness to serve. Um, uh,
we, um, are going to have a
series of three quick questions
for you to answer. I
ll be
asking the first question.
Councilmember Fain what
s the
second question of
Councilmember Dunn last, third
question? And then, uh, let
s
get us started. Please tell us
a little bit about yourself and
your qualifications to be a
commissioner for Fire
Protection. District number 24.
Um, yes. Hi. Thank you for
having me today. Um, and thank
you for Steffanie Fain
Councilmember Fain, uh, staff.
That
s been amazing through
this whole process. Um, I
didn
t know such issues existed
when I moved into this, um,
beautiful piece of property
that we have. And, um, when I
first started getting all of
the letters, I was like, oh,
somebody else is going to take
care of this, you know, it
s
it
s not can
t be me. Like, I
m
like, I
m not qualified to do
any of this stuff and then
realize that we are in a very
small district and there really
isn
t a whole lot of other
options. And so when, um,
council member Fein
s uh, staff
reached out to me, finally
answered, I
m like, what
s
what
s going on here? Like
what? What can I, you know, is
this a spam email or spam call?
Like, you know, you get all
these things like, yeah, sure,
sure, buddy. Um, but but you
know, realize Tom did a great
job of, uh, outlining what it
was that was in front of us and
what we needed to do. Um, the
whole staff has been great. And
and bringing this to my
attention and knowing that it
s
not a spam issue. And, um, so
who am I? Uh, James Hoff? I
grew up here. Uh, I grew up,
born in Seattle, grew up on the
East side. Um, moved out to
Enumclaw, uh, quickly started a
company back in 2000. We moved
to Kent, and, um, I
ve been
running a trade show exhibit,
uh, company for the last 25
years. Uh, we
ve kind of. We
started this company in 2000,
quickly had to deal with that
11 and being a live events
company, that was an easy, uh,
then, you know, 2007, 2010
happened and we had to navigate
the whole economic downturn.
Um, and then Covid was the
real, um, one that really threw
us for a loop. So, um, I
ve
been able to navigate a live
event company through the ups
and downs of the economy over
the years. Um, I think outside
of that, I don
t really have
qualifications to be a fire
commissioner, but I would look
at this as as I do any other
project that that
s in front of
me and kind of get the facts
and get the, uh, what what
options we do have and, um,
kind of work alongside Tony to,
um, figure out what is the best
course for us. Um, so as far as
qualifications for a business,
I live in the district. Um, and
I
m willing and able to, um, to
help out and do what I can, um,
for you all. And and the people
in our district.
Thank you very much, MR.
Councilmember Fain. Do you want
to ask further questions?
Sure. Thank you so much. I
would say that, um, you are
qualified as an engaged
resident. Um, and you own a
business and and employ folks
here in Kent, in our district.
And thank you for being willing
to serve and for hosting us
several times, both at your
home and your business, um, in
meetings so that we could meet
with you and other community
members. It
s been very helpful
to have you there. So you are
qualified. Um, if appointed,
would what do you believe is
the best long term path for
Fire District 24 and the
residents it serves?
Uh, well over the last seven
months? Uh, it
s we
ve went
around and around about
different options and, um,
what
s seems to be the most
likely option is merging with
37. Uh, Tony and I both kind of
agree with this. Um, direction.
I don
t honestly think that
there
s any other viable
option. There are other options
out there, but I think that
this is the best for our
district.
Thank you, and chair, for
context, uh, Fire District 37
sits, um, to the west, east.
Uh, it
s right next door, so it
would not have to provide its
own services and fire district.
The other option really is Fire
District 24 would contract with
Fire District 37 for services.
So, um, it makes sense for a
merger to be the most efficient
way. And then the fire district
24 wouldn
t have to maintain a
board of commissioners and
maintain all of its, um,
structure going forward. Uh,
just for context, thank you.
Thank you very much.
Councilmember Fain. Are there
any further questions or
comments from colleagues?
And a quick.
Comment, COUNCILMAN.
Just wanted to thank you for
your willingness to serve. I
think you
re eminently
qualified and you do great in
politics, except you
re too
modest.
Thank you, Councilmember
basket. Agree. Uh, colleagues,
we normally ask the candidate
to step aside for a moment, but
I don
t know that that
s
necessary now. So do we have
any further comments or
questions before we move to
vote? Thank you very much, MR.
Hoff, for being willing to
serve. Seeing no further
discussion, clerk, will you
please call the roll?
Thank you. Chair. Brian
Councilmember Balducci.
Hi.
Councilmember Dembowski. Hi,
Councilmember Dunn.
Hi.
Councilmember Fain.
Hi.
Councilmember Lewis
Councilmember Mosqueda. I
Councilmember Perry
Councilmember von Reichbauer.
Hi.
Jerry Bratton.
Hi.
Vote is seven eyes and council
members Lewis and Perry
excused.
Thank you very much. By our
vote, we have adopted proposed
motion 2026 0169.
Congratulations, Commissioner
or board member. Huff, thank
you very much for your
willingness to serve and look
forward to getting the issues
resolved with the Fire
district.
Clerk on.
The swearing. Councilmember.
We have plans to get sworn in.
I
ll be doing both separately.
Great.
Thank you. Great. Thank you for
checking you on that. All
right, colleagues, now we
re
turning now to the consent
agenda. Items ten through 12.
As a reminder, item nine was
removed from the consent
agenda. We
ll take it up after
items ten through 12. Vice
Chair Dunn, will you please
move? Consent agenda items ten
through 12.
Move consent agenda items ten
through 12.
Thank you very much. Those
items are before us. Clerk,
will you please call the roll?
Thank you. Councilmember
Balducci. Hi. Councilmember
Dembowski. Aye. Councilmember
Don Councilmember Fain.
Councilmember Lewis.
Councilmember Mosqueda..
Aye.
Councilmember Perry.
Councilmember. Von Reichbauer.
Aye. Chair. Baron.
Aye.
The vote is six I
s and
Councilmember Fain Lewis and
Perry excused.
Thank you very much. By our
vote, we have adopted Proposed
ordinance 2026 01170161 and
0165. Turning back to item
nine, Proposed Ordinance 2026
0097 concerning the sale of
surplus property in Federal Way.
Councilmember von Reichbauer.
Will you please move? Proposed
ordinance 2026 0097. So moved.
Thank you very much. The
proposed ordinance is before
us. Before we proceed, I will
note that we have Nick Bowman
from council staff available to
answer questions or to provide
a briefing if needed. There is
an amendment to this
legislation, which is I think
we pulled it out of consent.
Uh, do my colleagues have any
opening comments or questions
for discussion?
I would just.
Say.
Before the council, and I do
pass the recommendation out of
the Budget and management
committee. There was a
technical error with regard to
the attachment. So we
re merely
bringing it off to get the
correct attachment on there.
That
s correct. Yep.
Thank you very much, Nick.
Anything, any anything else
that we should know?
No, I would just if you would
like me to brief the amendment,
I can do so quickly. But the
council member just described
it perfectly. It
s just a
simple error with the
attachment, and we
re
correcting that error.
Great. Thank you. Seeing no
further discussion, let
s
proceed with the amendment.
Councilmember basket, will you
please move amendment one?
Thank you very much. Amendment
one is before us. Would you
like to speak any further to
it? No. All right. Any
discussion from colleagues? No.
If there
s no further
discussion, we
ll proceed with
a vote. All those in favor of
amendment one, please say I. I.
All those opposed say nay.
Amendment one is adopted.
Turning to the underlying
ordinance, as amended before we
proceed to the vote, any
further comments on this
legislation? Seeing none. Uh,
Clerk Foster, will you please
call the roll?
Thank you. Councilmember
Balducci. Hi. Councilmember
Dembowski I, Councilmember
Dunn. I Councilmember Fain. I
Councilmember Louis.
Councilmember Mosqueda. I
Councilmember Perry.
Councilmember von Reichbauer.
I.
Chair Baron. I vote is seven
eyes and council members Lewis
and Perry excused.
Thank you. By our vote we have
adopted proposed Substitute
Ordinance 2026 0097, as
amended. Uh, as a reminder,
colleagues, uh, item 13 has
been referred to tree. So we
will now be taking action on it
today and will be proceeding to
the next item of the agenda.
Turning to hearing examiner
consent agenda items 14 and 17.
Clerk Foss, will you please
read the items into the record?
Yes, I will. Item 14 is
Proposed Substitute ordinance
2026 0065, authorizing the
vacation of a portion of a
portion of 149th Avenue
Southeast and portions of King
County Road numbers nine, 49,
1182, 12, 44, and 2323-5 for
lying between the Cedar River
and the existing cul de sac
limits for 1/49 Avenue
Southeast, north of Maple
Valley Highway. Item 15 is
proposed. Substitute ordinance
2026 0148, concurring with the
recommendations of the hearing
examiner to approve subject to
conditions, the application for
Public Benefit Rating System
assessed valuation for Open
Space. Submitted by Justin and
Michelle Van Hall for property
located at 16519 300 and Avenue
Northeast, Duval, Washington.
Item 16 is proposed substitute
Ordinance 2026 0149 concurring
with the recommendation of the
hearing examiner to approve,
subject to conditions, the
application for Public Benefit
rating System assessed
valuation for open Space
submitted by Justin and
Michelle Van Hall for property
located at 1650 1/300 Avenue
Northeast, Duvall, Washington.
Item 17 is 2026 0151,
concurring with the
recommendation of the hearing
examiner to approve, subject to
conditions, the application for
Public Benefit Rating system
assessed valuation for open
space submitted by Jeremy and
Kristen Tinder et al. For
property located at 65056
6036515 282nd Avenue Southeast
Issaquah, Washington, 98027.
Thank you very much. Clerk
Foss. Uh Councilmember Fain.
Will you please move? Consent
agenda items 14 through 17.
I move consent agenda items 14
to 17.
Thank you very much. Those
items are before us. Click.
Foss, will you please call the
roll?
Thank you. Councilmember
Balducci. Councilmember
Dembowski.
Councilmember Balducci. We had
a hard time hearing you.
Councilmember Balducci. We did
not record your vote. Do you
want to try again? I, I take
that as an I councilmember.
Dembowski Councilmember Dunn
aye. Councilmember Fain. I
Councilmember Lewis.
Councilmember Mosqueda. I
Councilmember Perry
Councilmember von Reichbauer.
I.
Chair. Barton. A vote is seven
eyes and councilmembers Lewis
and Perry excused.
By our vote. We have adopted
proposed ordinances 2026
006501480149 and 0151 turning
next to the motion consent
agenda, Vice Chair Dunn, will
you please move consent agenda
items 18 and 19.
Move consent agenda items 18 to
19 for approval.
Thank you. Those items are
before us. Clerk Foss, will you
please call the roll.
Councilmember Balducci.
Councilmember Balducci. We
still can
t hear you, but you
can give me a thumbs up if you
like. Or down. Thumbs up.
Thank you.
Councilmember Dembowski. Hi.
Councilmember Dunn aye.
Councilmember Fain I
Councilmember Lewis.
Councilmember Mosqueda.
I.
Councilmember Perry
Councilmember von Reichbauer.
I. Hear I.
The vote is seven eyes and
Council members Lewis and Perry
excused.
Thank you very much. By our
vote, we have adopted proposed
substitute motions number 2026
0119 and proposed motion 2026
0146. Turning to item 20,
proposed motion 2026 0145,
which acknowledges receipt of
the Harborview Medical Center
Long Range Planning Committee
plan. Councilmember Mosqueda,
will you please move? Proposed
Substitute motion 2026 0145.2.
So moved.
Thank you very much. The
proposed motion is before us.
Before we proceed, I will note
that we have, uh, do we have
Sam Porter? Oh, she
s on line.
Okay. Thank you. Sam, thank you
very much. From council. Staff
is available to answer your
questions or provide a briefing
if needed. Executive staff are
also available for questions
with that. Councilmember
Mosqueda would you like to
provide any opening remarks?
Thank you very much, MR. Chair.
I want to thank Sam Porter, as
well as Olivia Bray, for their
work on this. In addition to
Chris Lampkin from my team
colleagues. Thanks for your
support in the 2026 2027
budget, which included a
proviso asking for the creation
of the Harborview Long Range
Planning Committee. This is a
long awaited committee that
many people are very interested
in in terms of merging
together. Conversations around
financing, planning and
strategy for our county
s
hospital, Harborview Long Range
Planning Committee will serve
as a forum for Harborview, the
University of Washington
Medicine, and the Harborview
Board of Trustees, along with
King County members to support
coordinated, forward looking,
transparent approach to
planning. Very excited about
this committee, and I thank the
members of the health, Housing
and Human Services Committee
for their feedback and making
sure that this committee is
creating an integrated
financial plan and will be
focused on discussing topics
related to long range planning
for the medical center. Very
important as we think about the
compounding pressures from the
federal government and our need
to make sure that our county
s
hospital has all of its revenue
streams and financial planning
in order. Very proud to work
with you all on this. Thanks
for all your support.
Thank you very much.
Councilmember Mosqueda. I
m
going to call next on
Councilmember Fain.
Thank you chair. Thank you,
Councilmember Mosqueda for
putting this in the budget
proviso. Um, it is um, speaking
as a long time, uh, Harborview
Board of Trustees member and
board PRESIDENT, I very
strongly support this, and I
m
very excited to see this move
forward. This gives, um,
University of Washington, um,
University of Washington
medicine, uh, Harborview
leadership, the executive and
Council, an opportunity to have
conversations on all sorts of
issues that we can
t get to
every month in our own public
meetings here at council. So it
allows them to discuss
financial and long term
clinical strategies. And, um,
hopefully the Harborview Bond
project, uh, very strongly
support this. Really appreciate
all the work that was done with
all the parties. And again,
thank you to Councilmember
Mosqueda for leading this
effort.
Thank you very much.
Councilmember Fain. I joined in
those comments. I think this is
going to be an Important venue
to have some important
conversations about Harborview.
And so I appreciate that. And I
want to recognize you and go,
good to you. Who
s here from
you, the medicine, and look
forward to this, this
important, uh, venue to get
started soon. Colleagues, any
further discussion or anything
else to close? All right.
Seeing no further discussion,
we, um, we
re going to turn to
final adoption. Clerk Foss,
will you please call the roll?
Thank you. Councilmember
Balducci. Councilmember
Dembowski.
I.
Councilmember Dunn I.
Councilmember Fain. I
Councilmember Councilmember
Mosqueda.
I.
Councilmember Perry
Councilmember von Reichbauer.
I.
Chair Baron.
I.
The vote is six eyes and
Councilmember Balducci Louis
and Perry excused.
Thank you very much. By our
vote we have adopted proposed
substitute motion 2026 0145.
Turning to the last action item
on today
s agenda, a
reappointment consent agenda
item 21. Vice Chair Dunn, will
you please move? Consent agenda
item 21.
So moved.
Thank you very much. The item
is before us. Clerk Foss, will
you please call the roll?
Thank you. Councilmember
Balducci Council member
Dembowski.
I.
Councilmember Dunn. I
Councilmember Fain. I
Councilmember Lewis.
Councilmember Mosqueda.
I.
Councilmember Perry
Councilmember von Reichbauer.
Aye.
Here.
Button a.
Vote is six eyes and
Councilmember Balducci Lewis
and Perry excused.
Thank you very much. By our
vote, we have adopted a
proposed motion. 2026 0213. If
there is no objection to
publish marked agenda together
with any changes made in
today
s meeting, will stand
approved as the first reading,
referral and referral of
ordinances and motions items 22
through 25 is listed. Item 26
Proposed Ordinance 2026 0217 is
listed as being referred to the
local Services and Land Use
Committee. It will instead be
referred to the Budget and
Fiscal Management Committee.
Item 28 proposed motion 2026
0207 is being referred to the
Committee of the whole and as I
noted earlier, item 13 Proposed
Ordinance 2026 0218 is being
referred to transportation,
Economy and Environment
Committee. Do my colleagues
have any other business for the
good of the order? Seeing no
further business, this meeting