Good afternoon, everybody. I
d
like to welcome everyone to the
AUGUST 25th, 2026 meeting of
the King County Council. I
m
George Baron, I
m vice chair of
the council, but I
ll be acting
as chair today. We
re joined by
my colleagues, and this meeting
is called to order. Uh, before
we begin, please join me in
acknowledging that we
re on the
traditional lands of the Puget
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
Councilmember Dembowski.
Here.
Council member Dunn.
Councilmember Fain.
Councilmember Lewis. Here.
Council member Mosqueda. Here.
Councilmember Perry
Councilmember von Reichbauer.
Here.
Chair.
Barton here.
Councilmember Dunn here.
Thank you very much. We have a
quorum of the Council. Next,
please join us in the Pledge of
Allegiance led by Councilmember
Fain.
Please stand if you
re able. I
pledge allegiance to the flag
in America. As you republic,
for which stands one nation
under GOD, indivisible, with
liberty and justice for all.
Thank you very much. Vice Chair
Dunn. MAY I please have a
motion to approve the minutes
of the AUGUST 18th, 2026
Council meeting? Move. Approval
of the AUGUST.
18th minutes.
Thank you very much. The motion
is before us. Any questions?
Comments regarding the minutes.
Seeing none. All those in
favor, please say aye. Aye. Any
opposed? Say nay. The minutes
are approved. Clerk. Are there
any additions to the Council
agenda?
I do not have any additions to
the agenda, sir.
Thank you very much. We will
now turn to the reading of
items into the record and the
hearing of public comment. Uh,
Vice Chair Dunn, will you move
to suspend the rules to hold an
advertised public hearing on
item seven? Proposed ordinance
2022 0297.
Move to suspend the rules to
hold an advertised public
hearing on item seven, which is
proposed. Ordinance 2022 0297.
Thank you. The motion is before
us. Any questions or comments
on that? All right. All those
in favor, please say aye. Aye.
Any opposed? Say nay. The
motion carries. Uh, item seven
will remain in the Local
Services and Land Use Committee
until the committee has taken
action. It will then be placed
on the council agenda for
action. Clerk, will you please
read the items into the record?
Thank you. Item number seven is
proposed. Ordinance number 2022
0297 determining the King
County Fire Protection.
District number 24 is inactive
under state law, and it is in
the public interest to dissolve
King County Fire. Fire
Protection District Number 24.
Item eight is proposed. Motion
number 2026 0178, confirming
the executive
s appointment of
Susan Lewis Moore, who resides
in Council District six to the
Washington State Major League
Baseball stadium. Public
facilities. District board of
directors. Item number nine is
proposed. Motion 2026 0208,
confirming the executive
s
reappointment of young Sang
Song, who resides in Council
District nine, to the King
County Priority Hire Advisory
Committee representing local
business organizations. Item
ten is proposed. Motion 2026
0210, confirming the
executive
s reappointment of
Drew Gibson, who resides in
Council District nine to the
King County Priority Hire
Advisory Committee. Item 11 is
proposed. Motion 2026 0211,
confirming the executive
s
reappointment of Dave Johnson,
who resides in Council District
three, to the Priority Hire
District Committee representing
contractors.
Thank you very much. The
council will now take public
comment on those ordinances and
motions on today
s agenda for
action, along with any topic
directly related to county
business. That is because it
s
the fourth Tuesday of the
month. Listening to the public
and taking into consideration
the public
s thoughts is an
important part of our process,
and it
s one that enhances our
deliberations in order to allow
everyone equal time to 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 noise during the
meeting. 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. In addition, per
Council Rule ten, disruptive
behavior can or MAY lead to the
commenter being asked to leave
the meeting. Disruptive
behavior includes the
following. Among other
considerations. Standing rather
than remaining seated except
when entering or leaving the
chambers, or when providing
comment at the podium after
being called on to speak.
Speaking from the audience
without being recognized to
provide comment. Making audible
noises in the audience. Beyond
speaking. Holding signs that
obstruct the free passage of
view or view of others
attending the meeting. The use
of bullhorns or noisemakers,
uh, for online comment, please,
please 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 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 our hands with
that. Clerk. Mueller, would you
please begin calling the names
here in person, followed by
those hands raised online for
public comment?
Thank you. Chair. The first
name on the list is Kevin
Altmire.
Chair. Today we stand here,
folks, witnessing an atrocity.
Last year, AUGUST 25th, 20 26
2025. Two men sitting up there
were involved in one of the
worst things you could have
done. And I
m accusing these
two men of atrocities. Number
one, Reagan, Don sends a letter
to the Seattle Times feeding
them propaganda. Rob Dembowski
sends propaganda. Reagan. Don,
you remember that article that
came out OCTOBER the 31st? And
he said that somebody at dch
needs to be fired. It was Kelly
Rider. You know why? Because he
had his staff send an email,
and I have it to the Seattle
Times and said, because Kelly
Rider said dch had no no loss
and said Magee had no ethic
violation and they went through
three investigations. Then they
made a legislative record by
basically him passing this
ordinance called ordinance
19978. And it
s all de facto.
This guy standing there got a
writer by the name of Lula
Ramadan. Seattle Times, she
said, hey, did you notice that
Thomas Birmingham Barrington,
who
s the director of ethics,
says there was no ethics
violation? You know what he
did? He wrote and said, I
ve
been trying for three years to
open up a inspector general.
It
s in my article. So if you
go to King County Oversight
files, dot com, you can read
about these guys. So what
you
re witnessing are criminals
who need to be charged a
federal government arbitrator
needs to come in here and take
over the King County
government, because this is an
atrocity. What you have here.
MR. Zimmerman, you can
t
applaud. Okay, that
s your
first warning.
Now, they MAY sit there. Guess
what? And I sent out today I
see Sarah Perry
s not here. And
I see Claudia because they
re
probably shocked of all of your
emails I got. I have over
60,000 emails through public
disclosure requests.
MR. Alzheimer, thank you. Next
speaker.
The next name on the list is
Alex Zimmerman.
Thank you very much.
I my you.
Mind? I
m Alex Zimmerman. I
ever never clapping. You know
what this means for me Nazi
Gestapo principle come to
absurd. Yeah okay. My number my
name Alex Zimmerman. I
m
PRESIDENT Of Stand-Up America.
I open right now. Our of this
case about Ponzi schemes are on
transit for $35 billion. It
s a
serious problem that we have
right now. I demand that is you
counsel will be support this
$35 billion. And talking about
the Spanish scam for ten years
from beginning. So $35 billion,
what they steal from us now?
It
s never happened before in
American history. You need to
in very important because we
have a leader in this business
council. Banducci you know what
is mean by definition. She
totally destroyed Bellevue
because first train, what has
come from this Ponzi scheme is
come to Bellevue. What is cost
us $1,000,000,000 billion in
train go for one year right
now. Totally empty. Totally
empty. You know what is mean,
Bellevue. This very rich place
right now on from more rich
city in America. People drive
Mercedes Beemer car for
$100,000. Nobody will be uses.
Idiotic situation. I talking
about this for many years. But
what you don
t do is this ship
possibly be in jail. Trump
absolutely right. It
s time
right now put Democrat Keefe
and Bandito Mafia to jail. If
we need to start something
doing right now. So this is my
first complaint. What they have
right now in auditor office.
Second complaint will be about
King Country House, an
authority who spent $100
million for thousands and
thousands of legal immigrants
who violate Trump
s executive
order. Viva Trump, Viva new
American Revolution stand up
slap and happy cow. Now.
The next name on the list is
Chris Maniots.
Yeah, yeah.
3:00 okay, I
m not going to be
as loud as these guys. I have a
safety issue at King County
Airport I want to talk about.
There
s hot fueling happening
since 2025. That
s against the
airport. Supplemental rules and
regulation. It
s not in
accordance with faa policy.
That
s a public safety issue.
And it
s up to you guys to
enforce that, not to encourage
vendors to do it or encourage
folks. But my problem is
there
s actually fueling with
passengers on board. You have
an observer that you have hired
who is not on the on the tarmac
when the pipes are connected.
So therefore cannot say whether
there
s hot fueling happening
or not. This is a safety issue.
Yes. These are Ice flights. But
you know, these people are
shackled. They cannot run.
They
re on the actual airplane
when it
s happening. For all
that is holy, do something
about that. Encouraging a
contractor to follow a rule is
not enough. That
s it.
Thank you.
The next name on the list is
Dan Sakuma.
Good afternoon. My name is
Stanley Sakuma. I come
representing Soohoo for
solidarity. I
m the national
co-chair. Co-Chair of that
organization, as well as the
Japanese American Citizens
League. I
m a past PRESIDENT
And current vice PRESIDENT For
civil rights. With that
organization, both
organizations have been in
support of Larry
s intentions.
Attempts to shut down the
Northwest Detention Center and
specifically for this group to
stop the deportation flights in
and out of the King County
International Airport. I
ve
been working with a lot of
assistance to observe and
monitor flights for the last
three years, and I can tell you
that it is very disturbing to
sit there and watch people
being boarded on and off
planes, occasionally being
taken to the ground. It reminds
us from the Japanese American
community
s history of 1942,
when our community, my mother
was taken from Shelton. No
charges, no evidence, no due
process, no hearings, no way to
appeal. Uh, she was taken away
and put on a train. Did not
know where she was going. Did
not know how long she would be
gone. I did not know what the
future would hold right now.
That is happening again. We
re
using planes instead of trains,
but the same process has been
going on and it
s time for this
county to stop it. Thank you.
Thank you.
The next name on the list is
Benjamin Silberman.
Hi, my name is Ben. I
m with
Southend, indivisible. I
m
calling on the council to start
from the premise that
immigrants are human beings
from which it flows, obviously,
that they should not be held in
shackles on airplanes that
could explode due to hot
fueling, that they should not
be unobserved when crimes are
taking place that could
endanger them. There should be
somebody watching to ensure the
rules are being followed, or
document when they
re not at
all times. When deportation
flights or flights into the
Tacoma Detention Center from uh
King County Airport are, uh,
respectively, taking off or
landing, um, this is, uh, you
know, useless. Of course, if
the rules are not enforced and
the.
I
m sorry, can we pause the,
uh, MR. Alzheimer, you can
t be
standing unless you
re
providing public comment. Okay.
Oh, I thought we could take
pictures.
You can take pictures. You just
can
t be standing.
Thank you. You know, I am
meeting.
I need you to sit down. Thank
you. Sir, thank.
You, thank you.
Thank you. Go ahead.
So I understand that the
federal government could, uh,
sue to strike down any rules.
They don
t like that could.
That will take time. And in the
time that you are enforcing the
rules, people will be safer.
That is worth it. The, uh, the
fact that you would be standing
against the federal
government
s cruelty is worth
it. There should be no fear of
the federal government doing
something legal against basic
treatment of human beings. As
human beings. Thank you.
Thank you. The next name on the
list is Greg Carlucci.
Hi. My name is Greg Carlucci,
and I
m a community member
here. I live in Seattle. I
m
very concerned also about the,
um, ice, uh, flights in and out
of King County Airport. Um,
also specifically about the
lack of, um, a observer for
what
s happening and who
s on
the flights. Um, so La
Resistencia has been doing a
lot of the observing, but King
County should hire a person,
and I think they have hired
somebody. But, um, that person
has to be on the tarmac to do
their job. And if they
re not,
then we don
t know exactly what
is happening with these people.
And so we do want to just have
you all, uh, have King County,
um, follow the laws. Thank you.
Thank you.
The next name on the list is
Joe Harrington.
Hello. My name is Joe
Harrington. Uh, I
m with
Southeast Seattle, indivisible.
Um, and we are. I
m
specifically speaking to the
use of chains on ice flights.
Um, Ice has agreed to follow
faa rules on this, uh, faa
rules are very clear that the
planes must be, uh, capable of
being evacuated within 90s. Uh,
flight attendants know this.
Pilots know this, um, the
people on these flights are
being shackled. They have their
hands shackled to their waists.
Their feet are shackled
together, and those are
shackled together. They walk
hunched. Uh, they cannot walk
quickly. If on a flight, the
oxygen mask drops from above,
they can
t reach up and put
that on themselves. Um, the
ratio of guards to, uh, people
detained on the flights is one
for two. So the risk to the Ice
agents on the flights, is it
approaches zero. Um, there is
no point in this except
cruelty. Uh, we are asking the
council to insist that the faa
follow its own rules, that ice
follow the rules that they have
adopted. And, uh, we would
really appreciate seeing a lot
more fight. There are, uh, we
understand that you can
t kick
ice out of King County
s
airport, but we can make a
much, much bigger noise than we
have been making to insist that
they not use unnecessary
cruelty. Thank you.
Thank you.
I
m going to start calling
three names at a time. The next
up is Angela Depp, followed by
Cynthia o
Toole and Rebecca
Kate.
Thank you for your time today.
My name is Angela Depp. I live
in Columbia City. I
m horrified
by what is happening here in
Seattle and across the country.
Ice is unlawfully taking our
friends, our neighbors and
family members. Isis violent
and has shot and killed
individuals across the country.
Isis violating individual human
and civil rights. We fear for
their safety. I volunteer
weekly to witness deportation
flights at King County
International Airport. We are
concerned because detainees are
not safe. We also monitor and
track isis activity because Ice
does not share information. We
need your help to ensure that
our flight witnessing team has
clear access to all detainees,
that we can monitor how they
are being treated, and track
who is being detained. Ice
parks their buses in a way that
obstructs our camera view. We
need your help to ensure that
Ice parks their buses in a way
that gives us full visibility
to all Ice activity during
deportation flights. We also
ask for assistance from King
County International Airport
Operations team to ensure that
airport cameras are adjusted to
maximize our visibility for
detainees, to give us clear and
unobstructed view of what is
going on during deportation
flights. If operation could
consult with us to understand
the challenges we are having,
we think the camera view can be
adjusted for better visibility.
Thank you for your time today.
Hello, my name is Cynthia
o
Toole. I
m a resident of King
County, live in South Seattle.
I have been observing in
immigration courts. I have been
to the observation room that is
at the King County Airport, and
I know that many of us are very
aware of the horrors that are
going on under the Trump
administration. And Stephen
Miller
s mass deportation
program, and we don
t need to
elaborate on that. What is
deeply upsetting is that King
County is not doing as much as
we can to resist these things.
There are rules and regulations
that are not being adequately
followed there. Have these
things have been documented by
the center for Human Rights at
the University of Washington by
La Resistencia, by Sudo.
Everybody is aware more people
need to be aware. How can we
help more people? Be aware.
Follow your regulations, get
that observer on the tarmac for
every single deportation flight.
So we know how many people are
coming on and off the planes in
shackles. We need to know how
many people are injured in this
process. We need to know if
there is hot fueling going on.
We need to know these things.
They need to be part of the
public record. We as citizens
of this county deserve this
information because these
things are happening to people
that we care about. I know that
a lot of you care about this
issue, and so we need to work
together to make sure the rules
and regulations are followed as
much as possible. Thank you.
Good afternoon. Rebecca. Kate.
Um, King County resident, I
d
like to add my voice to the
concerns around this topic of
hot fueling on these flight
deportations. Um, as as as
already reiterated it, it it
seems that the King County
Airport is not following its
own rules and regulations, and
faa policy. Um, this seems like
a tremendous safety concern for
this vulnerable population. Of
shackled immigrants on these
planes where they MAY be, um,
uh, open to, um, tremendous
harm if something should happen
and, um, to our knowledge, no
long standing disciplinary
measures have ever been taken
to stop the contractors from
violating local policy and
putting people in danger. So I
think if we were going to say
that we support immigrants, we
need to ensure their safety.
This should be the highest
priority. If we were going to
have these deportation flights,
which I
m not for, I
m not in
favor of in any way. But if
we
re going to be having these,
the safety of this very
vulnerable population needs to
be assured. Thank you.
The next name on the list is
Laura Cooley, followed by Kathy
Cryan and Brian Dang.
Thank you very much. My name is
Laura Cooley. I live in
Northeast Seattle. I
m a former
United Nations and uw employee,
and the reason I
m here is to
add my voice to the concerns
that are being raised here,
both on the humanitarian front,
the safety front, etc. But I
also want to make people aware,
a different angle that people
MAY not have thought about. I
m
not sure if people are aware
that Geo Group has more than
doubled its profit over the
last year. We
re part of that.
Specifically, Geo Group has
said that it grew its net
income in the first quarter of
the year from by 96% to 38.3
million, from only 19.5 million
in the same period. So revenues
have increased by 16% to 705
million, from 606 million. Do
we really want to be part of
that? I don
t think so,
especially when they
re not
enforcing the rules and
regulations of safety concerns
that they
re supposed to be. So
everyone here in the room will
be speaking, I
m sure, to
various angles of this. I just
think, please show some
gumption. This is this is this
is not who we are. Thank you.
Hello, I
m Kathy Crayon. Um,
I
m with South Seattle,
indivisible and with Southeast
Seattle, Indivisible and with.
I
m a volunteer at the Riverton
Church in a legal clinic that
assists immigrants. And I also
volunteer at Casa Latina. Um,
with all the horrors being
perpetrated against immigrants
right here in King County. And
throughout this country. Um,
many of us feel powerless. It
s
very we
re overwhelmed. It
s
it
s we don
t want it to
happen. We don
t know what to
do. But in this case, you have
the power to do something. And
I think if King County takes a
strong stance of, um, enforcing
the regulations, the safety
regulations at the airport and
ensuring that your own rules or
our own rules are followed,
that will be, um, that will be
something you have the power
here, and I
m asking you to
take it. Thank you.
Good afternoon. Uh, city
council. My name is Brian Dang.
I
m based in council mosquito
s
district. I
m here to urge King
County, uh, King County Council
to enforce its rules at the
King County Airport. And not
just encourage them to follow
safety protocols, as we
re just
allowing Ice to deport
Americans unchallenged. First,
we should be ashamed that we
re
even allowing these flights to
happen. That
s inhumane. We
re
sending people to countries
they
ve never been to before,
that they are separated from
their families. We
re not doing
enough to stop it and get in
their way. King County has
finally hired someone in a
position to observe the flights
at King County Airport.
However, this role is
incomplete. They
re not
exclusively monitoring Ice
flights, and they
re not on the
tarmac for the entirety of the
time. King County must enforce
that cameras are not obstructed
from view of the observer
s
view. We need all Americans
accounted for, and I keep using
this word Americans because
that
s who they are. Please
ensure that hot feeling does
not occur and that it doesn
t
put people in positions of
danger where they are already
shackled. Again, please enforce
the existing safety protocols
and get in the way of all these
Ice flights. Thank you for your
time.
The next name on the list is
Guadalupe Gonzalez, followed by
Filemon Tapia and Dalila
Scholls. Our apologies. Delia
Shoals.
Uh. Hello everyone. My name is
Guadalupe Gonzalez, King County
resident and a member of La
Resistencia. I
ve been working
with lr for the past couple of
years to really document what
s
been going on at the airport
and try to contact both airport
authorities and the King County
Executive about the issues, to
see if any of them could be
resolved during these last
couple of years. Most of last
year, we were just completely
ignored. We often wouldn
t get
responses from the people in
leadership positions and it
felt like no one was listening.
Listening to what we were
reporting, which included
examples of hot fueling and
other issues we were running
into when carrying out
observations. Uh, really at the
beginning of this years, when
we finally started hearing back
from the county, and they got
to a point where we were told
that once the new position was
hired, then that position could
document any violations of the
rules, and actions could be
taken. However, it seems that
since this position has been
instituted, things have
changed. We
re now being told
that they
re going to document
violations of the rules. But
rather than punishing isis
contractors which break safety
procedures, something which the
airport
s supplemental rules
and regulations include, it
states punishments and how
they
re going to increase
depending on like subsequent
violations, rather than usage
utilizing that which is in the
rules, they
re instead going to,
quote unquote, encourage
contractors on a voluntary
basis to follow suit rules. To
me personally, this feels like
very cowardly behavior from
those in power, and it feels
like there are no points. Often
we
ve talked to the county,
though, often say, you know,
our rules at the airport for
Ice flights are above what most
of the us is doing. You know,
compared to many other
airports. We
re going we
re
leading ahead. These rules
don
t matter if they
re not
being enforced. It
s just that
words on paper. So I
m going to
reiterate what a lot of folks
have talked about today, which
is that we need to enforce
these safety procedures. I
understand that removing ice
from King County
s airport is a
whole different conversation,
but if this county is going to
support migrants, as it states
within its many ordinances, its
many public releases, and
everything included, then it
needs to actually take actions
over what it can control, which
is its own airport and the
treatment of human beings who
have rights within it. Thank
you.
Good afternoon. Council. I know
the King County Council has
made many good statements in
individual members of the
council have been active in the
struggle for immigrant justice
throughout their lives, which I
applaud and respect. But the
reality is the Ice is actively
and openly operating at the
King County Airport, which of
course is on King County
property with little to no
pushback from the King County
Council. There
s countless
amount of human rights
atrocities that Ice commits on
a daily basis, and usually
there
s no oversight because
they
re given the green light
by the federal government to
act with impunity in the
streets of our communities. But
we
re talking about today is
isis actions on King County
property and what seems to be
county officials refusal to
step in and enforce existing
rules and regulations. The ice,
these ice bites at King County
Airport continue to be fueled
with the well while the engine
is running, in the process
known as hot fueling, which,
according to the National
Transportation Safety Board, is
extremely hazardous. Yet this
is done right here at the King
County Airport. While shackled
immigrants are on board. When
will aviation contractors like
Sky service be sanctioned or
stopped from continuous
practice? And even when tragedy
strikes due to this potentially
volatile, explosive practice,
will you be able to step in and
say you did everything you
could to stop it? The Geo
Group, the private corporation
that operates the Northwest
Detention Center, whose bus is
detention buses, are used in
the facilitation of these Ice
flights. Buses are parked in a
way that intentionally blocks
the cameras on the runway. This
is a clear attempt to hide
their mistreatment of migrants
on the on the on the bus, who
are shackled and heard on these
ice flights for more detention
and eventual deportation. Now,
I know the county recently
enacted a sanctuary or
welcoming policy, but this
means very little. If nothing
is being done to restrict isis
movements on King County
property. So in closing, I just
want to say the entire council
must stay stronger and more
decisive actions to challenge,
disrupt and ultimately end all
Ice activity at King County
Airport, Alameda. Thank you.
Good afternoon. Thank you for
your time. My name is Delia
Scholes. I have I
m a resident
of South Seattle. I
m a member
of several organizations that
work with immigrant justice,
and I have been accompanying
migrants to court and to ice
check ins for the past year.
I
m certainly aware of the many
infections that Ice commits.
Um, and I am have my house
looks at. I live on Beacon Hill
and my house looks at, um, King
County Airport. I am
increasingly concerned about
the humanitarian and safety
violations that are occurring
from those flights, and I feel
complicit in all those that are
happening. I am, I think, very
highly of this body, and I
think that it
s encouraging
that you are in a position to
act and to enforce, rather than
encourage, and I hope you will
do that and let all of us as
citizens feel that we are
participating in distancing
ourselves from what
s
happening. Thank you.
The next name on the list is
Leonard Sklar, followed by cj.
And finally Julie Ginger Rich.
Um, hello. My name is Leonard
Sklar.
I
m a resident of district two.
I
m a retired geologist, and
this is my first time here. Um,
thank you for listening. I
m
adding my voice to the
community concern over the
human rights violations taking
place in our public airport. I
was shocked when I learned some
of the facts of what
s going
on. Uh, apparently, people are
being loaded onto planes in
shackles because they
re
categorized as cargo. My
ancestors in Germany and in
France, my Jewish ancestors
were categorized as cargo and
were loaded onto transport
vehicles. And we said, never
again. And in this context that
it is happening again and
people are being sent to
countries where they
re like an
El Salvador, uh, you know, and
the deaths that are happening
under Ice detention, um, I
think we should all be losing
sleep over this. We should all
be doing everything in our
power to minimize, at the very
least, the risk that people are
going to die in some fiery
explosion because some company
wants to cut corners. I mean,
you think about this hot
fueling. This is to make money,
right? They could wait. They
could take the time to do it.
Right. But they
re treating
these passengers, these human
beings, as cargo. And this is
an excuse for them to make
money. So anyway, please, I
hope you will join me in losing
some sleep. And you will do
everything we elected you to do
to stop this.
Thank you. Cj, our rules do not
allow for, uh, science at the
podium. So I
m going to have to
ask you to put it down. Thank
you.
Okay. Um, so I
m here also
speaking about the lack of
safety at the Boeing field. Um,
you guys have been just doing
performance up here. I have a
rising sixth grader who
s going
to start studying about
government, and they
re very
well aware of the dark times
that we are living through and
what
s going on. And I can
t
honestly point to you guys and
tell them and share with them
what you actually do, because I
don
t see that you do anything
except just speak empty words.
You
ve passed measures that
have absolutely no teeth behind
them. You all of you lack
spines to even speak out
against the heinous crimes of
human trafficking that is
happening here in this county
every single day. So it
s
disgusting. And how am I
raising a child in these dark
times to tell her and show her?
Oh yeah, we
ve got government.
We
ve got government that
serves and supports the people,
that upholds values of justice.
I none of you are an example of
that. None of you. So what are
you going to tell your
grandchildren when they ask you
what you did during these dark
times? What are you going to
tell them? Because you white
guys have the most power in the
opportunity to do something,
and all you do is just pass
empty measures without any,
any, any spine behind them. So
we
ve heard about the hop
fueling. Do we need to see
people actually incinerated on
the tarmac before you do
something? Just like we see
people incinerated in Gaza? Do
we need to see that before you
actually take action? So before
I leave, he who passively
accepts evil is as much
involved in it as he who helps
to perpetrate it. That is from
Martin Luther King.
Chilly welcome.
I
ve come.
Today as a resident of
Southeast. Seattle. From my
home, I can see, um, Boeing
Field. I can go for a walk and
go past King County Airport.
And the more that I
ve been
learning over time through
advocates, um, like everybody
else, I
m appalled. And today
I
m even more appalled at the
things I
ve heard. And although
I don
t like to speak in
public, I showed up to give my
voice and to support other
people who are speaking out.
And that
s what you put some
muscle to it. Um, I had
forgotten that we call
ourselves a sanctuary city, and
I hope y
all can find a way to
put some muscle to it. Thank
you.
The next name on the list is
John Vito, followed by Suzanne
Parenteau. And the final name
on our in-person list is Yvette
Danish.
Hi, John Vito, I
m a member of
the six District Democrats,
and, uh, you know, we
re in a
situation where, uh, those who
are wielding the power of the
federal government, uh, do not
conform to the laws and
violate, uh, the rights of, uh,
the the people. Uh, we, uh, as,
uh, you know, members of or
residents of, King County, uh,
have, uh, responsibility for an
airport that
s, uh, being used
to, uh, uh, move people that
are being subject to this, uh,
extra legal, uh, confinement
and, uh. Sometimes torture, uh,
and it
s, uh, incumbent on us
to find ways, uh, to resist,
uh, and protect those who are
more vulnerable than we are and
have, uh, less privilege. Um,
as, um, our council members,
uh, people here have been
asking you to, uh, uh, use
enforcement powers. Uh, and I
think that
s, uh, the minimum I
do acknowledge that the county
did, uh, uh, remove those, uh,
flights from the airport at one
point and, uh, federal judges,
uh, uh, vacated, uh, that
authority. But there
s still
some authority that, uh, our
county should be exercising
over these.
Hi, I
m Suzanne parenteau. I
m
a resident of King County. Um,
I just want to say from a
personal perspective,
personally, I owe so much to
immigrants in this country who,
in my privileged background,
basically helped to raise me.
And I have a lot of really
strong feelings about the
gratitude that we owe the
people that have been in clubs
and babysitters and nannies.
And I hate to say that, but,
you know, we aspire to these
things sometimes in business.
And when you get right down to
it, they can be raising your
children for you, you know? So
when I from a personal point of
view, I have so much gratitude
for, for the, the labor that
has been given to or to
bestowed upon immigrants in
this country. And I don
t see
enough gratitude for what our,
our ancestors who were
immigrants have built, how much
gratitude we owe the black
community, how much we owe
immigrants. We are on borrowed
time. We are on borrowed land.
We need to turn our
perspectives around and maybe
look at the strengths that we
have built as a country and
give back. Be appreciative and
tune into to, uh, actual
feelings you might have for
people in your lives who are
immigrants. It
s a very
personal thing. Um, when I
worked in mental health my
whole life and worked with many
immigrants and immigrants tend
to struggle a lot, and they
struggle more these days than
they used to, I think. I don
t
know, but anyway, um, please
use the powers that you have
through our privilege in this
country to to follow the laws
and fight for freedom. And
thank you for your work.
Thank you.
I came back.
Welcome, Yvette.
Thank you. Good afternoon,
Council members. At first I
want to thank you for money
well spent. Uh, this month of
AUGUST, I participated and gone
to the big day of play, Cedar
Arts Fest. And the festival,
the Marina Beach Grill off
competition, and mostly the
festivals on Sunday, which
featured as a closing act,
Morris Day and a time. It was
just wonderful, wonderful,
wonderful. That
s very money
well spent. I really appreciate
that. And also in that same
note, I
m wondering if the
office of the Inspector General
was created yet regarding
misuse of funds, and if so, can
we expect to see an update? Um,
because that was very
disconcerting that how much
money was screwed off by
people, by, uh, people with no
conscience stealing taxpayer
money and, uh, using it
incorrectly. And then lastly, I
have a handout for you
regarding, well, kind of sort
of good news. Um, it
s
regarding this program that was
started in Philadelphia called
the Group Violence Intervention
Program, and it
s an effort to
reduce to redirect youth from
lives of violence by providing
counseling, therapy, employment
and assistance, and help
completing high school,
enrolling, enrolling in ged
programs. And that model is
very successful. So I
d like to
see something like that
emulated here now. But also
given this information to the
Seattle City Council, because
I
m sorry of hearing about
sorry for your loss or it
s a
sad day, more kids get shot.
And many beaches particularly
prone evidently to kids running
around with guns. So I
d like
to see something like this. Um,
at least think on it. Regarding
implementing this in King
County. And again, you know, I
appreciate the work you guys
do.
Thank you.
Thank you that you can hand
that to our clerk and we
ll
we
ll get a copy of it. Thank
you so much. Um, do we have
folks signed up? I think that
was the last person on, uh, in
person. Is that right? Right.
Can we go to online, please?
The first name for online
comment is h. Brown.
The proposed Petrovsky Park
Disc Golf Course project will
be harmful to the environment
and should be halted. This is a
professional opinion based on
my Phd in soil management and
many years of natural resource
stewardship. I authored the
book caring for Land Trust
Properties for the Land Trust
Alliance. If parks cared more
about the natural area in
Petrovsky Park, they would
protect this forest home for
animals ranging from black
bears to hummingbirds. The
county issued a Sepa checklist
that has numerous errors, and
the project does not comply
with King County regulations
relating to soil erosion, steep
slope hazards, grading and
wildlife habitat networks. My
first concern is that parks is
circumventing the requirements
spelled out in a letter from
permitting, that lists the
actions required. If a project
disturbs more than 7000ft, the
Northwest Disc Golf Association
plan estimated the area to be
cleared at 121,807ft. The
second issue is the presence of
a wildlife habitat network
identified in the Critical area
Assessment by Counties
consulting firm esa. Bears,
cougars, coyotes, beavers and
otters travel through this
park, but the checklist
dismissed the importance of the
corridor, which is regulated by
King County Code. These two
issues are just a few of the
many problems created by this
project.
I need you to wrap up, please.
My hope is that the council
will terminate the project
because of its shortcomings. At
a minimum, it should comply
with all of the regulations
detailed in my written remarks.
Thank you for your
consideration.
Thank you.
The next name on the list is
Caleb Navarre.
Hello, my name is Caleb
Navarre. Good afternoon,
Council members. I
m the vice
PRESIDENT Of the nonprofit for
Northwest Disc Golf
Association. I
m here to this
afternoon to thank the King
County Parks for their
willingness to be able to
partner with us to install a
disc golf course at the
Petrovsky Park. As a longtime
resident of Renton, I
ve spent
over 35 years using Petrovsky
Park from playing baseball as a
child to taking my kids as
adult to the play area. I
deeply appreciate the county
s
continued investment
enhancement of this park. We
have been working with King
County Parks for on this
project for over four years,
and grateful for their support
and vast majority of the
community members who also
support this. Um, we, uh, have
already, um, spent a lot of
time and effort to be able to
address the concerns of the
community and have gone through
all the different regulatory
requirements that are necessary
to be able to stay within the
the bounds of the law and be
respectful of our
environmental, regulatory and
native sites that are important
to be able to ensure that we
are being respectful and
useful. This land and property,
um, we are so grateful for this
opportunity to be able to
partner with the parks and the
support of the council, as well
as well. We acknowledge that we
have a small majority or
minority of neighbors who are
not supportive of this course,
due mainly to their
unwillingness to share their
space. Um, uh, the park space
near their homes. Uh, we want
to assure you that we
ve been
taking all the steps that we
can with the King County Parks
people to address these
concerns. If you
d like to hear
more factual information about
this project, you can visit our
Petrovsky Disc Golf Course
Project website. Through King
County Parks and our website
about this course. Thank you so
much for your time and your
dedicated service, and continue
support of King County Parks.
The next name on the list is
Brandy.
I have been an active Fairwood
resident for 13 years, where I
have served our community as an
rn at Valley Medical Center. I
have three children in the Kent
School District and I
m
PRESIDENT Of the Park hoa. I
m
here to express my sincere
disappointment and frustration
with the process. King County
Parks has used to advance an
unfavorable disc golf course at
Petrovsky Park. In addition to
speaking today, I have
submitted thorough
documentation and evidence of
my concerns. We learned about
this project. Incidentally, in
2024, despite being the
neighboring hoa already
identified as a project
concern, we immediately met
with parks where both Trubisky
Park and Woodside Homes
expressed substantial
opposition. We were repeatedly
assured it
s early and you
ll
have a chance to weigh in as
stakeholders. Then in MAY, we
were blindsided with a
finalized design that
disregarded every single
concern we brought forward at
the meetings. No opportunity to
weigh in on the design as
promised, and the project had
expanded from 18 to 27 holes
for an even bigger negative
footprint. Flying discs will be
approximately 50ft from
neighboring homes and 20ft from
the existing trail. Despite
being able to travel hundreds
of feet when we requested
greater setbacks, project
manager Charlie Holbein
responded with a factually
inaccurate code citation,
telling us the course could be
just five feet from our
property. Lines, as though we
should be grateful for what we
got. This is just one example
of the dismissive disrespect
we
ve experienced from parks.
Rather than being treated as
residents who live here, know
this park and deserve a
meaningful voice, and what
happens in our own backyard, I
expect more from King County,
and this does not reflect the
standards King County claims to
uphold. We are still waiting on
outstanding public records
requests from JUNE. I
ve
reached out to leadership on
multiple occasions. Our
concerns continued to be sent
back to the very people in
charge of the project were
complaining about, or ignored
entirely. We have lost faith in
this process, and we are
dangerously close to losing
faith in King County
s ability
to hold its own departments
accountable. The 740 and
growing signatures opposing
this project should tell you
that this loss of trust extends
far beyond me. I
m asking you
to halt this project and
withdraw the current proposal.
Listen to the actual community
before our park is permanently
changed and your Fairwood
residents rally against you.
Thank you.
Next name on the list is Joe
Councilor.
Hi. Thanks. It
s Joe Councilor
here for the monthly open mic
time. Um, this month I want to
address several issues. First
off is, um, the situation
around, uh, the Seattle Public
Libraries. I understand there
s
a lot of open drug use down
there. Um, I
ve seen Jonathan
Cho videos as well as stuff
from Seattle, so you MAY want
to send some King County
health, public health
inspectors over to the Seattle
Public Libraries, make sure
there
s no open drug use, and
that the workplace is safe. Um,
I just figured I should flag
that for your office. Um,
especially considering how your
audience is so worried about
immigration enforcement. Um,
gotta keep the public safe. Um,
the second thing is moving
along. Um, you know, I
ve asked
you to do this before, and I
think this week, with some of
you looking forward to a great
change of board meeting this
Thursday, you need to adopt
Sound Transit
s public comment
rules for King County Council.
Alex Merriman should not be
allowed to come down there and
hurl hate, as he does almost
every single week, like it
s,
uh, like like the King County
Council is just punching bag
like like like he forgets that
behind every council member is
a family giving us a family
member to a service of Martin
Luther King County and Martin
Luther King Junior County
deserves much better than drugs
and libraries. And Zimmerman
s
hate. And with that, I rest my
comments for the month. I want
to thank you all for your
awesome public service. MAY GOD
continue to bless America and
protect our troops. Thank you.
The next name on the list is
James Hutchison.
Uh, the Community Partnerships
and Grants, or cpg, has a
projects webpage dedicated
entirely to the Petrovsky Park
Disc Golf course. It complains.
It claims that 78% support the
disc golf project, and survey
results indicate strong support
among park neighbors. This is
based on a 2024 survey that
asks if King County Parks were
to build a new backcountry
style disc golf course at
Petrovsky Park. I would. That
s
it. No map, no design, no
picture of what it would look
like. What does backcountry
mean? Where will it go? Is the
park bigger than we thought? We
emailed Parks and Rec and
Reagan Dunn
s office and told
them the survey was biased. It
targeted disc golfers and had
no measures to prevent ballot
stuffing. We have evidence
shared this across their
network. Cpg spent 15 hours
conducting their survey. Those
15 hours were spent trying to
sell people on the project.
Fast forward nearly two years
later, that is still the only
survey cpg has done for this
project. Of the over 400 hours
I
ve spent defending this
project this past week and a
half, I spent over 80 going
door to door, dropping off per
household access codes to an
informed survey that provides
both sides of the argument. The
survey spans eight
neighborhoods and consists of
responses from over 365
households and 455 individuals.
The cpg website claims 78%
support the disc golf course.
We measured 18%. Let me
reiterate what this is. You
have a project literally weeks
away from breaking ground that
only has 18% support from the
surrounding communities, while
the Parks Department claims a
supermajority supported. That
s
a huge, embarrassing difference
of 60 percentage points. This
should never happen, and it is
a scandal when not sure is
excluded. Over 80% of votes do
not support the course. We have
asked Regan
s office to step up
and do.
Something about this. To wrap.
Up, let
s do the right thing
and put a stop to this farce
today. Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Chair Barton. I currently have
no further hands raised.
Wonderful. Thank you very much.
Seeing no further request for
public comment, we will close
our.
Public hearing public comment
today. Uh, thank you to
everybody who provided public
testimony. Uh, we
re going to
move on with our agenda,
colleagues, as a reminder,
we
re going to item seven. As a
reminder, this item will remain
in the Local Services and Land
Use Committee until the
committee has taken action. It
will then be placed on the
council agenda for action. But
I
m going to call on
Councilmember Fain, uh, to, uh,
speak on this on this item.
Thank you. Chair. Um, this
proposed ordinance would
effectively move the King
County Fire Protection District
number 24 towards dissolution.
And last week, this body, uh,
confirmed two new commissioners
for fire district 24. They
re
going to be sworn in shortly.
Um, I
d like to give them an
opportunity to be seated and
understand the district
s
current situation. And, uh,
weigh in on its future. Um,
before we move to dissolve, uh,
that body. So for that reason,
I
m asking that we defer this
matter.
Thank you very much. I don
t
think there
s any objection to
that that I
ve heard. So thank
you very much. Councilmember
Fain. Uh, colleagues, we
ll
continue with our agenda. Uh,
Vice Chair Dunn, will you
please move. The consent agenda
item eight.
Move consent agenda item eight
for approval.
Thank you very much. That
motion is before us. Uh, clerk,
would you please call the roll?
Thank you. Councilmember
Balducci. Councilmember
Dembowski.
Councilmember Dunn.
Aye.
Councilmember Fain.
I.
Councilmember Lewis. I
Councilmember Mosqueda.
I.
Councilmember Perry.
Councilmember Reichbauer.
Councilmember.
Von Reichbauer.
I.
Chair Baron.
I.
The vote is seven I zero nose
and Councilmember Balducci and
Perry excused.
Thank you very much. Uh, by our
vote, we have adopted proposed
motion 2026 0178. Next, we
ll
move to our reappointment
consent agenda items nine
through 11. Vice Chair Duncan,
would you move the
reappointment consent agenda?
Items nine through 11.
Move the reappointment consent
agenda items
Nine through 11 for approval.
Thank you. Clerk. Would you
please call the roll in the
consent of the.
Councilmember Balducci.
Councilmember Dembowski.
Councilmember Dunn. I
Councilmember Fain. I
Councilmember Lewis. I
Councilmember Mosqueda I
Councilmember Perry.
Councilmember von Reichbauer I
chair.
Pardon. I the vote is seven
eyes and Councilmember Balducci
and Perry excused.
Thank you very much. By our
vote we have adopted proposed
motions 2026 02080210 and 0211.
If there
s 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
12 through 19, as listed. Uh,
before we adjourn, I want to
give Councilmember Dembowski an
opportunity.
To say a few words.
I
ll do the. Well. Oh, thank
thank you, MR. Chair. Um, this
morning, I think many of us
became aware of the passing of
a national icon, a personal
hero of mine from Sevierville,
Tennessee. Dolly Parton, uh,
from a young childhood in
Renton watching on my dad
s
nine inch black and white
television. I always loved the
Dolly Parton show. And her song
Coat of Many Colors spoke to
me. Um, as someone whose
clothes came more often from
the Goodwill and Salvation
Army. Uh, although sometimes,
on a good day, the Kmart. But
she rose from poverty, uh, to
really an advocate for all of
the best of America. She was a
champion for lgbtq communities.
Um, and, uh, really just lifted
people up. Loved her songs. 9
to 5, coat of Many Colors.
Jolene. Of course. Do I ever
cross your mind? And, uh, had
the privilege to see her years
ago in concert down at Kent at
the beautiful show where arena.
Uh. And then in our state. She
was a great champion for
reading. Uh, she founded the
Imagination Library in
Tennessee, and it spread around
the country, providing a
monthly free book to children.
Uh, millions of them, because
she saw their father couldn
t
read and all that. That meant
in his life. Uh, so I
appreciated that. I appreciate
the opportunity to just reflect
here a little bit on the
passing of this American icon,
great feminist leader, uh, and
a great leader for our country.
And we
re privileged to have
been able to spend some time
with her as a country. And
thanks for letting me say a few
words.
Thank you very much.
Councilmember Dembowski. Um,
the chair has received a
request to adjourn the AUGUST
25th, 2026 Council meeting in
memory of DeShawn Bennett
Myers, and I
m going to call on
council member Fain and then
later Councilmember Lewis as
well. Councilmember Fain.
Thank you so much, chair.
Uh.
Today we are joining our.
Meeting in.
Memory of Tyshawn.
R Bennett.
Myers, who has lost to a tragic
act of gun violence in SeaTac
on JULY 27th, 2021. I want to
recognize not only to Sean, but
also the large and loving
family who continues to carry
his loss. Tyshawn was a father
of eight, a son, a brother, a
cousin and a friend. His
absence has left an
immeasurable hole in the lives
of those who loved him. Today
we honor to Sean
s life and the
memories his family continues
to carry. I especially want to
recognize the members of his
family who have joined us here
today, including his mother,
Diane Bennett, and his father,
stepfather, Jamala Myers, and
thank them both for joining us
today, as well as other
members, family members and
friends. To Sean was loved. He
was needed, and his life
mattered. I hope this moment
makes clear to his family that
to is remembered, and that the
love that they shared with him
continues to matter today and
always. Thank you chair.
Thank you Councilmember Fain
Councilmember Lewis.
Thank you chair I would like
to, um, um, amend or not amend,
but add on to or piggyback on
the comments from Council
member Fain. I want to first
express my condolences to the
Bennett Myers family. Not only
have the family members been
longtime district to residents,
but one of two Sean
s family
members was my son
s
kindergarten teacher. The loss
of Tyshawn, in addition to
being a loss to his family, it
was a blow to our community.
The bright light of a light,
that of a life that is engaged,
involved in community is a
blessing to all. Too many of
our bright lights have been
extinguished by gun violence.
The passage of time has
amplified the need for us to be
vigilant with regard to gun
violence prevention. One of my
friends, Annie Lee, the former
director of of Team Child, used
to say at every meeting that I
attended with her, what
opportunities have we given for
children to succeed? What are
we giving to them in terms of a
legacy and how do we pay the
debt to future generations of
doing more to stop these gun
violence incidents? Thank you
very much.
Thank you. Councilmember Lewis
and Councilmember Fain. Uh,
seeing no further business,
this meeting of the King County
Council is adjourned in memory
of DeShawn r Bennett Myers.