1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,160 ♪ 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:07,120 Welcome to City Inside Out Council Edition. 3 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:09,400 I'm your host, Brian Callanan. 4 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:12,220 The City of Seattle is trying to tackle homelessness 5 00:00:12,220 --> 00:00:14,560 with a plan to add 1,000 units of shelter 6 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:16,199 by the end of this year. 7 00:00:16,199 --> 00:00:18,100 But there's a new audit of the county's 8 00:00:18,100 --> 00:00:20,733 Regional Homelessness Authority that's raising 9 00:00:20,733 --> 00:00:21,980 some new questions. 10 00:00:21,980 --> 00:00:23,699 Plus, there's some added scrutiny 11 00:00:23,699 --> 00:00:26,320 facing Seattle's Vision Zero Traffic Safety Program 12 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:30,079 program after an alarming spike in pedestrian deaths. 13 00:00:30,079 --> 00:00:33,235 Council members Eddie Lin and Rob Saka are discussing 14 00:00:33,235 --> 00:00:36,606 these issues and answering the questions you're sending in 15 00:00:36,606 --> 00:00:38,259 too, next on Council Edition. 16 00:00:38,259 --> 00:00:42,246 We need to do a better job of bringing people indoors and then 17 00:00:42,246 --> 00:00:45,799 importantly surrounding them with wraparound services. 18 00:00:45,799 --> 00:00:49,679 I have a lot of concerns about citing new mega data centers. 19 00:00:49,679 --> 00:00:52,399 All that and more coming up next on City Inside 20 00:00:52,399 --> 00:00:53,759 Out, Council Edition. 21 00:00:53,759 --> 00:01:03,759 ♪ 22 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:14,864 And glad to be with you once again on City Inside 23 00:01:14,864 --> 00:01:17,159 Out Council Edition here on the Seattle Channel. 24 00:01:17,159 --> 00:01:19,912 I'm Brian Callanan and with me this month I have two council 25 00:01:19,912 --> 00:01:22,719 members that are ready to talk about issues that affect you. 26 00:01:22,719 --> 00:01:25,045 First up, Councilmember Eddie Lin representing 27 00:01:25,045 --> 00:01:27,701 District 2 which covers the south part of Seattle, Yesler 28 00:01:27,701 --> 00:01:28,920 Terrace to Rainier Beach. 29 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:29,739 Good to see you. 30 00:01:29,739 --> 00:01:31,040 Thanks for having me back. 31 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:33,927 Also with us, Councilmember Rob Saka representing District 32 00:01:33,927 --> 00:01:36,248 1 from South Park out to West Seattle, Georgetown 33 00:01:36,248 --> 00:01:37,379 over to Pioneer Square. 34 00:01:37,379 --> 00:01:38,560 Thank you for being here too. 35 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:39,352 Thank you, Brian. 36 00:01:39,352 --> 00:01:40,200 Excited to be here. 37 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:42,453 Yeah, there's a lot to talk about here, some big, 38 00:01:42,453 --> 00:01:43,579 big stories unfolding. 39 00:01:43,579 --> 00:01:45,831 Even as we're recording the show, I want to start with the 40 00:01:45,831 --> 00:01:47,219 city's response to homelessness. 41 00:01:47,219 --> 00:01:49,640 And Councilmember Lin, let me begin with you. 42 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:52,266 Mayor Wilson has called for 1,000 new units of shelter to 43 00:01:52,266 --> 00:01:55,126 house people who are homeless, which would include services 44 00:01:55,126 --> 00:01:56,140 by the end of the year. 45 00:01:56,140 --> 00:01:58,155 You sponsored some bills to help cut some of the 46 00:01:58,155 --> 00:01:59,239 red tape in that process. 47 00:01:59,239 --> 00:02:01,906 The council's also working on adding units at 48 00:02:01,906 --> 00:02:03,379 existing shelter sites. 49 00:02:03,379 --> 00:02:05,819 Is the city going to hit that number, 1,000 new units? 50 00:02:05,819 --> 00:02:08,258 Because I know council staff wasn't so sure about that. 51 00:02:08,258 --> 00:02:09,280 What's going on? 52 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:13,280 - Yeah, I'm not sure if we're gonna hit that target number, 53 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,259 but the important thing is to do as much as we can 54 00:02:16,259 --> 00:02:19,199 as quickly as we can, while also being very mindful 55 00:02:19,199 --> 00:02:23,000 and thoughtful of how we're gonna support the residents 56 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:25,900 in these shelters, how we're gonna make sure 57 00:02:25,900 --> 00:02:27,879 that they're well integrated into the neighborhoods, 58 00:02:27,879 --> 00:02:30,340 address any public safety concerns. 59 00:02:30,340 --> 00:02:31,680 So very supportive. 60 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:34,759 There was nothing more important to me last year 61 00:02:34,759 --> 00:02:38,000 here on the campaign trail, hearing from residents, 62 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:41,340 I think we are all frustrated by our lack of progress. 63 00:02:41,340 --> 00:02:43,259 I'm excited that the mayor's office 64 00:02:43,259 --> 00:02:46,340 is taking a more hands-on proactive approach. 65 00:02:46,340 --> 00:02:49,360 In the past, too often we sort of outsourced this 66 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:51,780 to our nonprofit providers. 67 00:02:51,780 --> 00:02:55,063 We also outsourced it to a bit to the King County Regional 68 00:02:55,063 --> 00:02:56,430 Homeless Authority, and we're gonna talk 69 00:02:56,430 --> 00:02:58,780 about that probably a little bit later. 70 00:02:58,780 --> 00:03:01,680 - But, you know, so I think we need to take ownership 71 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:02,180 of this issue. 72 00:03:02,180 --> 00:03:04,360 So I think the mayor's office is leading in that 73 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:06,659 and I'm excited to see that. 74 00:03:06,659 --> 00:03:10,039 And I think what is new is this approach of making sure 75 00:03:10,039 --> 00:03:14,280 that we have robust services on site security, 76 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:18,000 that people can get mental health, substance use treatment. 77 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:19,699 I think that that's really the key 78 00:03:19,699 --> 00:03:21,180 to making sure that this works. 79 00:03:21,180 --> 00:03:22,219 And we're gonna have to make sure 80 00:03:22,219 --> 00:03:24,599 that we appropriately fund those services 81 00:03:24,599 --> 00:03:25,860 and that's gonna be the tricky part. 82 00:03:25,860 --> 00:03:27,180 - Absolutely, going into next year. 83 00:03:27,180 --> 00:03:28,479 I know there's been a lot of talk 84 00:03:28,479 --> 00:03:29,759 on the council about that. 85 00:03:29,759 --> 00:03:32,383 Councilmember Saka, I want to talk about a new shelter 86 00:03:32,383 --> 00:03:34,599 that I believe is set to open in your district, 87 00:03:34,599 --> 00:03:37,258 Glassyard Commons, West Marginal Way Southwest, near 88 00:03:37,258 --> 00:03:38,759 the First Avenue South Bridge. 89 00:03:38,759 --> 00:03:41,969 This site would have RV parking, tiny homes as well, with 90 00:03:41,969 --> 00:03:45,180 room for more than 100 people, along with 24-7 staffing. 91 00:03:45,180 --> 00:03:46,740 Is this project on track? 92 00:03:46,740 --> 00:03:48,707 What do you want to say to people in your district, 93 00:03:48,707 --> 00:03:50,963 maybe, who might be concerned about the impacts of this, 94 00:03:50,963 --> 00:03:52,020 public safety, et cetera? 95 00:03:52,020 --> 00:03:54,967 Yeah, so first off, my understanding is the 96 00:03:54,967 --> 00:03:56,360 project is on track. 97 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:59,962 I've been working now with two administrations to 98 00:03:59,962 --> 00:04:03,479 deliver this project, and it's very much needed. 99 00:04:03,479 --> 00:04:05,020 Yeah, it's been around for a while is what you're saying. 100 00:04:06,060 --> 00:04:11,539 So I would like to see this open up as soon as possible. 101 00:04:11,539 --> 00:04:16,757 Brian, you should know that my council district has the highest 102 00:04:16,757 --> 00:04:20,641 number of RV encampments and very high in tent 103 00:04:20,641 --> 00:04:22,600 encampments as well. 104 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:25,807 And people want to see us do better 105 00:04:25,807 --> 00:04:27,779 for our unhoused neighbors. 106 00:04:27,779 --> 00:04:31,286 We need to do a better job of bringing people indoors and 107 00:04:31,286 --> 00:04:34,889 then, importantly, surrounding them with wraparound services 108 00:04:34,889 --> 00:04:37,319 to address the various behavioral health needs and 109 00:04:37,319 --> 00:04:43,084 so I say that because my district is disproportionately 110 00:04:43,084 --> 00:04:46,432 impacted by the homelessness crisis that 111 00:04:46,432 --> 00:04:49,699 our entire region is suffering from and I see this 112 00:04:49,699 --> 00:04:53,538 Glassyard site as a critical component of the 113 00:04:53,538 --> 00:04:57,387 broader solution to to better address that. 114 00:04:57,387 --> 00:05:00,391 I'm really excited about the RV 115 00:05:00,391 --> 00:05:04,783 safe lot component where folks have proper access to 116 00:05:04,783 --> 00:05:07,088 sanitation services, cleanup. 117 00:05:07,088 --> 00:05:09,916 And the idea is to get them out of those RVs at 118 00:05:09,916 --> 00:05:11,295 some point too, right? 119 00:05:11,295 --> 00:05:12,382 Yes, absolutely. 120 00:05:12,382 --> 00:05:14,341 But we need to start somewhere. 121 00:05:14,341 --> 00:05:16,274 Okay. And so I'm excited about 122 00:05:16,274 --> 00:05:17,589 the Glassyard site. 123 00:05:17,589 --> 00:05:20,504 That said, I'm also mindful 124 00:05:20,504 --> 00:05:25,939 of some of the very valid concerns being expressed by some 125 00:05:25,939 --> 00:05:27,680 of the surrounding neighbors. 126 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:30,137 We want to make sure, as we welcome these new 127 00:05:30,137 --> 00:05:33,040 neighbors in, that are—many of which are unhoused 128 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:36,440 or unsheltered, that we're all living up to 129 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,634 our community agreement—to be good 130 00:05:39,634 --> 00:05:40,699 neighbors to each other. 131 00:05:40,699 --> 00:05:43,687 And part of that is, you know, establishing good neighbor 132 00:05:43,687 --> 00:05:46,180 agreements, or whatever you want to call them— 133 00:05:46,180 --> 00:05:49,112 to make sure that there's a single point of contact where 134 00:05:49,112 --> 00:05:52,420 neighbors can call if they have challenges, issues, concerns, 135 00:05:53,620 --> 00:05:58,060 and address any local issues from that perspective. 136 00:05:58,060 --> 00:05:58,562 Sure. Okay. 137 00:05:58,562 --> 00:06:00,473 I know there's a lot still ahead with that, but 138 00:06:00,473 --> 00:06:03,040 it's going to be a lot of action the next couple of months here. 139 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:04,600 Absolutely. But I'm excited about it. 140 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:06,560 I'm interested to see what's next there. 141 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:09,161 I want to talk about some news really developing as we speak 142 00:06:09,161 --> 00:06:12,079 with regard to the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. 143 00:06:12,079 --> 00:06:15,499 An audit commissioned by Seattle and King County found 144 00:06:15,499 --> 00:06:19,141 that the KCRHA lacks internal controls and oversight over 145 00:06:19,141 --> 00:06:22,189 its $205 million budget and lost track of at least 146 00:06:22,189 --> 00:06:23,899 $8 million in public funds. 147 00:06:23,899 --> 00:06:25,759 Councilmember Lin, I want to talk about this. 148 00:06:25,759 --> 00:06:28,259 The mayor has some issues about this, I know. 149 00:06:28,259 --> 00:06:30,617 One of your colleagues, Councilmember Rivera, actually 150 00:06:30,617 --> 00:06:32,680 made this statement at a recent press conference. 151 00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:37,601 The evaluation shows a pattern of mismanagement of funds that 152 00:06:37,601 --> 00:06:39,779 can no longer be tolerated. 153 00:06:39,779 --> 00:06:42,982 It is time to find a different way to make this 154 00:06:42,982 --> 00:06:45,060 very important work happen. 155 00:06:45,060 --> 00:06:48,401 Councilmember Dembowski and I will be issuing 156 00:06:48,401 --> 00:06:52,000 companion resolutions to officially call for the 157 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:57,543 dissolution of KCRHA and a plan for the future that includes all 158 00:06:57,543 --> 00:07:01,906 of us, the city and the county, continuing to work together 159 00:07:01,906 --> 00:07:03,144 to find a better way. 160 00:07:03,144 --> 00:07:05,839 The mayor has said that all options are on the 161 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:09,226 table but Councilmember Rivera clearly wants the KCRHA to be 162 00:07:09,226 --> 00:07:13,492 shut down county Councilmember Rod Dembowski too is it time to 163 00:07:13,492 --> 00:07:18,339 shut down the KCRHA i think we definitely have to i agree all 164 00:07:18,339 --> 00:07:21,180 options need to be on the table i think we certainly need to 165 00:07:21,180 --> 00:07:24,714 understand what the role of the KCRHA is going forward it's a 166 00:07:24,714 --> 00:07:29,120 very concerning uh audit report certainly want to hear KCRHA's 167 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:30,762 response to the audit. 168 00:07:30,762 --> 00:07:32,749 But as I was saying earlier, 169 00:07:32,749 --> 00:07:36,120 you know, I think it's critical that we as a city 170 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:38,862 take a much more proactive role in this, that we take a 171 00:07:38,862 --> 00:07:40,420 more proactive role in siting 172 00:07:41,500 --> 00:07:42,978 locations, permitting. 173 00:07:42,978 --> 00:07:45,440 Really appreciate Councilmember Saka's 174 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:48,557 leadership in saying, yes, we need more sites in my 175 00:07:48,557 --> 00:07:52,579 district. Too often, you know, we have folks saying not here, 176 00:07:52,579 --> 00:07:56,471 somewhere else and we need folks stepping up to say 177 00:07:56,471 --> 00:07:57,862 we need this here. 178 00:07:57,862 --> 00:07:59,641 And so I think there is a big 179 00:07:59,641 --> 00:08:03,120 question about what is KCRHA's role especially as we 180 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:06,012 take a more proactive response here. 181 00:08:06,012 --> 00:08:08,720 I also think you know there was good 182 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:12,254 intentions behind having a more regional collaborative 183 00:08:12,254 --> 00:08:16,141 approach we need that but But I think the cynic in me says 184 00:08:16,141 --> 00:08:20,451 the KCRHA was set up to fail a bit, that we never gave them 185 00:08:20,451 --> 00:08:22,699 the powers that they needed. 186 00:08:22,699 --> 00:08:26,060 We never gave them independent financing tools. 187 00:08:26,060 --> 00:08:29,732 And so we kind of created this agency that was essentially kind 188 00:08:29,732 --> 00:08:33,475 of a pass-through administrator for our funds without any real 189 00:08:33,475 --> 00:08:35,100 tools to solve the problem. 190 00:08:35,100 --> 00:08:39,480 And so we certainly need to reimagine what their role is. 191 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:41,623 And what would happen to our homelessness response 192 00:08:41,623 --> 00:08:42,720 if it would be dismantled? 193 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:43,580 What do you think? 194 00:08:43,580 --> 00:08:46,820 Well, if it were shut down, the city would take on, 195 00:08:46,820 --> 00:08:51,279 reassume control of responding solely from a city perspective. 196 00:08:51,279 --> 00:08:53,629 There's inherent challenges and opportunities 197 00:08:53,629 --> 00:08:54,720 associated with that. 198 00:08:54,720 --> 00:09:00,688 But the underlying rationale and motives surrounding 199 00:09:00,688 --> 00:09:05,620 the establishment of the KCRHA was terrific. 200 00:09:05,620 --> 00:09:09,398 The problem we're seeing, and we see in various headlines, 201 00:09:09,398 --> 00:09:11,480 most recently the audit report, 202 00:09:12,919 --> 00:09:16,221 is that we haven't fully—that organization hasn't fully 203 00:09:16,221 --> 00:09:19,019 lived up to its intended goals for any number of challenges. 204 00:09:19,019 --> 00:09:21,960 And check the newspapers for dating back since its inception. 205 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:27,878 And I am personally gravely concerned about the latest 206 00:09:27,878 --> 00:09:32,780 financial audit and findings and deficiencies noted 207 00:09:32,780 --> 00:09:34,159 in that audit report. 208 00:09:34,159 --> 00:09:39,567 I would like to see prompt, immediate action to 209 00:09:39,567 --> 00:09:42,480 address those findings. 210 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:46,000 I'd like to see stronger, tighter financial controls. 211 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:50,192 I'd like to see fast, quick and appropriate remediation 212 00:09:50,192 --> 00:09:52,600 and mitigations in that regard. 213 00:09:54,100 --> 00:09:59,600 I'm not personally in a position to say at this stage 214 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:04,543 that we should affirmatively and definitively shut 215 00:10:04,543 --> 00:10:06,379 down and abolish KCRHA. 216 00:10:08,179 --> 00:10:12,504 That said, I do think it is fair to say, at least from my 217 00:10:12,504 --> 00:10:17,559 perspective, the future of that organization is very fragile. 218 00:10:17,559 --> 00:10:21,932 One could say the organization is effectively on life support 219 00:10:21,932 --> 00:10:26,413 at this point, subject to to making prompt repairs, 220 00:10:26,413 --> 00:10:29,294 what it's going to take, the transactional, 221 00:10:29,294 --> 00:10:33,059 operational costs, administrative costs of doing 222 00:10:33,059 --> 00:10:37,659 that, because the report expressly said to adequately fix 223 00:10:37,659 --> 00:10:41,080 this, it's going to be a very time and resource 224 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:42,519 intensive effort. 225 00:10:43,519 --> 00:10:45,998 When you layer that on top of the fact that their 226 00:10:45,998 --> 00:10:48,539 administrative costs are already escalating, 227 00:10:48,539 --> 00:10:51,857 rising, mounting through the roof. 228 00:10:51,857 --> 00:10:53,960 So we need to evaluate. 229 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:57,500 I favor a more, you know, deliberative 230 00:10:57,500 --> 00:11:00,923 approach and finding what's going to take to make 231 00:11:00,923 --> 00:11:01,758 this right. 232 00:11:01,758 --> 00:11:03,928 But everything is on the table. 233 00:11:03,928 --> 00:11:05,350 All that is to say, everything is on 234 00:11:05,350 --> 00:11:06,523 the table from my perspective. 235 00:11:06,523 --> 00:11:08,769 Councilmember Saka, back to you talking about audits. 236 00:11:08,769 --> 00:11:10,774 You're calling for one focused on our city's 237 00:11:10,774 --> 00:11:13,140 Vision Zero program, which which aims to eliminate 238 00:11:13,140 --> 00:11:15,159 traffic deaths in the city by the year 2030. 239 00:11:15,159 --> 00:11:19,011 So there was a recent report on this that showed overall 240 00:11:19,011 --> 00:11:23,200 traffic fatalities fell between 2024 and 2025 from 31 to 27. 241 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:27,000 But the number of pedestrians killed jumped from 10 to 18. 242 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,879 Got an email on this from Britt, who writes this. 243 00:11:29,879 --> 00:11:33,059 It seems we spend a lot of Vision Zero money on education. 244 00:11:33,059 --> 00:11:35,379 Why not spend more of that money on road design? 245 00:11:35,379 --> 00:11:38,326 That would make roads safer for the most vulnerable 246 00:11:38,326 --> 00:11:40,039 users, pedestrians, bikers. 247 00:11:40,039 --> 00:11:42,059 That means curbs, Councilmember Saka. 248 00:11:42,059 --> 00:11:44,059 How do you respond to Britt's comment? 249 00:11:44,059 --> 00:11:45,580 How's an audit going to help out here? 250 00:11:45,580 --> 00:11:46,980 I appreciate Britt's comment. 251 00:11:46,980 --> 00:11:47,639 Shout out to Britt. 252 00:11:49,980 --> 00:11:51,139 Shout out to Britt. 253 00:11:51,139 --> 00:11:53,860 And proud that we were able to save Kirby. 254 00:11:53,860 --> 00:11:55,539 Yes, we need curbs too. 255 00:11:55,539 --> 00:11:59,458 But in any event, to address the question, I'm calling 256 00:11:59,458 --> 00:12:03,552 for an audit because we are currently not on track to meet 257 00:12:03,552 --> 00:12:07,820 this very ambitious, laudable goal that we all want to see. 258 00:12:07,820 --> 00:12:11,701 The elimination of traffic, deaths, and serious 259 00:12:11,701 --> 00:12:13,500 injuries on our roads. 260 00:12:13,500 --> 00:12:16,734 And while on the one hand, while we've made some great 261 00:12:16,734 --> 00:12:19,822 and encouraging progress, we're still way behind 262 00:12:19,822 --> 00:12:22,981 the eight ball in terms of being in a better position 263 00:12:22,981 --> 00:12:24,600 to actually achieve this. 264 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:28,715 Now, Brian, an audit is the most powerful, one of the most 265 00:12:28,715 --> 00:12:31,929 powerful accountability tools that we have at our 266 00:12:31,929 --> 00:12:34,539 disposal, certainly from a legislative perspective. 267 00:12:34,539 --> 00:12:39,897 And so that layered with other things, I'm confident 268 00:12:39,897 --> 00:12:42,820 will help make a difference. 269 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:48,779 The intent there is to, and it's intentionally an outside audit. 270 00:12:48,779 --> 00:12:54,100 SDOT does its own independent reviews and they shall continue. 271 00:12:54,100 --> 00:12:56,600 They should continue that great work. 272 00:12:56,600 --> 00:12:59,340 We also need an outsider's perspective. 273 00:12:59,340 --> 00:13:05,500 And so I've tabulated it up, rough estimate, roughly 274 00:13:05,500 --> 00:13:11,519 just under $900 million that council wrote into the 275 00:13:11,519 --> 00:13:17,539 transportation levy that voters approved in 2024. 276 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:22,740 roughly almost half of the $1.5 billion eight-year levy 277 00:13:23,740 --> 00:13:25,639 was used for traffic safety investments, 278 00:13:25,639 --> 00:13:28,779 including, by the way, to the commenter's point, 279 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:32,898 that covers road designs, because under our 280 00:13:32,898 --> 00:13:35,783 Complete Streets Policy, every single time there's 281 00:13:35,783 --> 00:13:37,919 a major rehabilitation pavement project, 282 00:13:37,919 --> 00:13:41,519 the city sort of reimagines the use of that road 283 00:13:41,519 --> 00:13:44,957 and redesigns it and optimizes it for current 284 00:13:44,957 --> 00:13:48,024 and future uses and trends, which includes safety 285 00:13:48,024 --> 00:13:49,059 as an important factor. 286 00:13:49,059 --> 00:13:52,399 So we're spending a lot of money on, as we should, safety. 287 00:13:53,860 --> 00:13:55,259 I just want to see us. 288 00:13:55,259 --> 00:13:58,471 I'm not in the business of having these 289 00:13:58,471 --> 00:14:02,580 lofty, ambitious goals and not doing anything about it. 290 00:14:02,580 --> 00:14:07,038 Now, whether it's the 30 by 30 initiative for SPD female hiring 291 00:14:07,038 --> 00:14:10,511 or this or any other goal, why have a goal if you're not 292 00:14:10,511 --> 00:14:14,149 going to set and enforce high standards and hold yourselves 293 00:14:14,149 --> 00:14:16,039 to the highest, that standard? 294 00:14:16,039 --> 00:14:17,620 And that's what this is all about. 295 00:14:17,620 --> 00:14:18,620 Thank you for that. 296 00:14:18,620 --> 00:14:20,649 Councilmember Lin, I'll throw another email your 297 00:14:20,649 --> 00:14:21,500 way about this topic. 298 00:14:21,500 --> 00:14:22,720 Kyle asks this. 299 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:25,264 Do you have faith that SDOT will dramatically 300 00:14:25,264 --> 00:14:28,279 decrease crashes on Rainier, MLK, and Aurora by 2030? 301 00:14:28,279 --> 00:14:31,240 What about the rest of Seattle's high injury network? 302 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:33,772 As you know, there are a lot of issues on Rainier and 303 00:14:33,772 --> 00:14:35,158 MLK in your district there. 304 00:14:35,159 --> 00:14:36,940 I'm thinking about the safety of that area. 305 00:14:36,940 --> 00:14:38,559 How do you respond to that question? 306 00:14:38,559 --> 00:14:41,179 I know the goal was to say zero deaths by 2030. 307 00:14:41,179 --> 00:14:42,620 Is that going to happen? 308 00:14:42,620 --> 00:14:45,740 Yeah, I'm certainly concerned that we are not on track. 309 00:14:45,740 --> 00:14:51,590 I think it's going to require electeds to lean into this 310 00:14:51,590 --> 00:14:57,059 issue, to insist that SDOT take very bold measures. 311 00:14:57,059 --> 00:15:00,037 You know, unfortunately, their North Rainier 312 00:15:00,037 --> 00:15:01,639 is extremely dangerous. 313 00:15:01,639 --> 00:15:04,759 And we just opened up the Jutkins Light Rail Station, 314 00:15:04,759 --> 00:15:08,162 and there's a lot of pedestrian issues with people trying 315 00:15:08,162 --> 00:15:11,139 to get through the on-ramps and off-ramps of I-90. 316 00:15:11,139 --> 00:15:14,889 And, you know, there was a reported death just 317 00:15:14,889 --> 00:15:17,159 recently from an accident. 318 00:15:17,159 --> 00:15:21,484 And, you know, last year I participated with a group 319 00:15:21,484 --> 00:15:25,707 that did a kind of like a funeral walking across the 320 00:15:25,707 --> 00:15:27,820 street at that location. 321 00:15:27,820 --> 00:15:31,633 And, you know, so for that to come true so quickly 322 00:15:31,633 --> 00:15:33,539 is pretty devastating. 323 00:15:33,539 --> 00:15:37,159 And our district has some of the most dangerous roads. 324 00:15:37,159 --> 00:15:40,440 I think Osaka's district as well. 325 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:43,586 And, you know, there's a few different things in 326 00:15:43,586 --> 00:15:45,240 terms of traffic safety. 327 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:49,159 It is typically engineering, enforcement and education. 328 00:15:49,159 --> 00:15:52,399 Right. Engineering is certainly the preferred route. 329 00:15:52,399 --> 00:15:54,236 We need to get people to slow down. 330 00:15:54,236 --> 00:15:56,797 We need to make sure that our roads are designed 331 00:15:56,797 --> 00:16:00,144 well with appropriate safety measures for pedestrians, for 332 00:16:00,144 --> 00:16:01,720 bicyclists, for everybody. 333 00:16:02,779 --> 00:16:06,388 But, you know, we also have to look at the other things around 334 00:16:06,388 --> 00:16:08,120 enforcement and education. 335 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:10,190 You know, even though enforcement is not a 336 00:16:10,190 --> 00:16:12,437 preferred option, that that needs to be one of 337 00:16:12,437 --> 00:16:13,740 the tools in the tool belt. 338 00:16:13,740 --> 00:16:18,940 But most of all, we just need drivers to slow down. 339 00:16:18,940 --> 00:16:22,355 You know, that is the number one reason why we see fatalities 340 00:16:22,355 --> 00:16:25,840 is, you know, the faster you go, the more likely there's going 341 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:27,480 to be that serious incident. 342 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:29,999 So we need to do everything we can in that regard. 343 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:30,700 Thank you. 344 00:16:30,700 --> 00:16:32,577 Councilmember Lin, let me stick with you and talk 345 00:16:32,577 --> 00:16:34,859 about the comprehensive plan process that you're chairing. 346 00:16:34,860 --> 00:16:38,052 This is the roadmap, I should say, for how and where 347 00:16:38,052 --> 00:16:39,799 growth happens in Seattle. 348 00:16:39,799 --> 00:16:43,200 You actually hosted the first public meeting on Phase 2 of 349 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:44,899 the comp plan a few weeks ago. 350 00:16:44,899 --> 00:16:47,580 Tell me about what you heard at that hearing, and what 351 00:16:47,580 --> 00:16:48,859 does Phase 2 really mean? 352 00:16:48,860 --> 00:16:51,086 Yeah, that is a good question that I'm getting a lot, 353 00:16:51,086 --> 00:16:53,365 because it's pretty confusing for folks, this whole 354 00:16:53,365 --> 00:16:54,659 comprehensive plan process. 355 00:16:54,659 --> 00:16:56,600 We've been going through it for years. 356 00:16:56,600 --> 00:16:59,701 We adopted the comprehensive plan last year, at 357 00:16:59,701 --> 00:17:01,019 the end of last year. 358 00:17:01,019 --> 00:17:04,567 We also adopted the zoning for our neighborhood residential 359 00:17:04,567 --> 00:17:07,419 areas, which used to be our single-family areas. 360 00:17:07,420 --> 00:17:09,220 Now they're neighborhood residential. 361 00:17:09,220 --> 00:17:12,960 We did not adopt zoning for the rest of the city. 362 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:16,220 And so now we have to go through and adopt that zoning. 363 00:17:16,220 --> 00:17:18,559 And so I'm trying to come up with a good analogy. 364 00:17:18,559 --> 00:17:21,739 not sure if this quite does it, but it's almost like if you were 365 00:17:21,739 --> 00:17:24,603 painting a picture and you sort of, the comprehensive plan 366 00:17:24,603 --> 00:17:25,576 is the broad outline. 367 00:17:25,576 --> 00:17:27,740 Now we're going back and filling in the details, 368 00:17:27,740 --> 00:17:30,654 right? And so, and again, we filled in those details for the 369 00:17:30,654 --> 00:17:32,380 neighborhood residential zones. 370 00:17:32,380 --> 00:17:34,398 Now we have to fill in the details for everywhere 371 00:17:34,398 --> 00:17:35,813 else. We're painting by numbers. 372 00:17:35,813 --> 00:17:37,684 Yes. And we don't have to be super strict on the 373 00:17:37,684 --> 00:17:40,259 lines. There's a little bit of flexibility around those lines, 374 00:17:40,259 --> 00:17:44,420 but we are filling in the exact zoning sort of requirements. 375 00:17:44,420 --> 00:17:47,819 You know, what, you know, how tall you can build, setbacks, 376 00:17:47,819 --> 00:17:50,279 all those details, which really matter. 377 00:17:50,279 --> 00:17:52,579 That's what we're doing for what's called 378 00:17:52,579 --> 00:17:54,299 centers and corridors. 379 00:17:54,299 --> 00:17:57,900 So this is along a lot of our, you know, arterials, 380 00:17:57,900 --> 00:17:59,480 along our frequent transit routes, 381 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:01,499 also a lot of the new neighborhood centers 382 00:18:01,500 --> 00:18:04,140 and other more dense areas. 383 00:18:04,140 --> 00:18:07,160 Those are the next phases of the comprehensive plan. 384 00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:08,299 - That was a pretty good breakdown. 385 00:18:08,299 --> 00:18:08,794 Thank you. 386 00:18:08,794 --> 00:18:10,880 I've been talking about that plan for a while. 387 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:13,226 Councilmember Saka, another viewer email coming in 388 00:18:13,226 --> 00:18:14,398 your way about this topic. 389 00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:15,739 Lin wants to know this. 390 00:18:15,740 --> 00:18:18,419 We desperately need housing and better transit everywhere. 391 00:18:18,420 --> 00:18:20,989 Will Councilmember Saka work with pro-neighborhood 392 00:18:20,989 --> 00:18:23,329 center groups, the mayor, and councilmembers to 393 00:18:23,329 --> 00:18:25,499 find a way forward for the Alki neighborhood? 394 00:18:25,500 --> 00:18:27,898 Lin wants to know about the Alki neighborhood in particular. 395 00:18:27,900 --> 00:18:30,037 Any thoughts about that and just how you're approaching 396 00:18:30,037 --> 00:18:31,220 this next phase of the process? 397 00:18:31,220 --> 00:18:32,239 Yeah, excellent question. 398 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:32,799 Shout out to Lin. 399 00:18:32,799 --> 00:18:35,932 And first off, that was an A-plus summation of 400 00:18:35,932 --> 00:18:37,499 the phase two process. 401 00:18:37,500 --> 00:18:37,819 Thank you, Councilmember Lin. 402 00:18:37,819 --> 00:18:39,740 That's the Transportation Committee chair saying that. 403 00:18:39,740 --> 00:18:42,619 And I love the analogy of painting. 404 00:18:42,619 --> 00:18:46,359 In my head, I had this vision of Bob Ross just painting. 405 00:18:46,359 --> 00:18:47,819 Your hair's a lot shorter. 406 00:18:47,819 --> 00:18:49,599 Puffy little clouds and everything. 407 00:18:49,599 --> 00:18:53,140 But I appreciate Lin's question. 408 00:18:53,140 --> 00:18:57,940 I, during the phase one portion, I met with everybody. 409 00:18:57,940 --> 00:19:01,445 I listen to everybody, in neighborhood groups, 410 00:19:01,445 --> 00:19:05,480 people who are pro-housing, pro-density, pro-trees, 411 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:10,180 pro-development, all of the above and everywhere in between. 412 00:19:10,180 --> 00:19:13,184 And we're already—my office is already undertaking similar 413 00:19:13,184 --> 00:19:17,288 effort to make sure whatever policy decision I do make on 414 00:19:17,288 --> 00:19:20,740 the final phase two legislation is going to be one that's 415 00:19:20,740 --> 00:19:22,960 That's 100 percent informed by community. 416 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:27,676 With respect to the Elk High Neighborhood Center, one reason 417 00:19:27,676 --> 00:19:31,041 why I did not support that last year, in addition to the 418 00:19:31,041 --> 00:19:34,359 whole procedural due process or lack thereof—this is essentially 419 00:19:34,359 --> 00:19:36,900 sprung upon communities at the last minute. 420 00:19:36,900 --> 00:19:40,291 Meanwhile, others had years and many months at a bare minimum to 421 00:19:40,291 --> 00:19:44,240 plan and prepare an opportunity to provide feedback, it 422 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:48,569 just did not meet the evaluation criteria that 423 00:19:48,569 --> 00:19:51,779 we use for determining neighborhood centers. 424 00:19:51,779 --> 00:19:53,799 Now, and one of those pertains to transit. 425 00:19:54,859 --> 00:19:59,179 I would like to see if the city policy direction is to create 426 00:19:59,179 --> 00:20:03,128 a new Elk High Community Center, or excuse me, neighborhood 427 00:20:03,128 --> 00:20:06,539 center, rather, I would love, love, love to see in parallel, 428 00:20:06,539 --> 00:20:09,126 and I'll be overseeing and shepherding this process 429 00:20:09,126 --> 00:20:12,368 from a council perspective during the upcoming potential 430 00:20:12,368 --> 00:20:15,638 renewal of the Seattle Transit measure, let's expand 431 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:17,817 transit service out there. 432 00:20:17,817 --> 00:20:21,319 So we either revise the evaluation criteria 433 00:20:21,319 --> 00:20:22,781 or make it actually fit. 434 00:20:22,781 --> 00:20:24,391 And so one way we can do that 435 00:20:24,391 --> 00:20:27,396 is expand transit service and I'm excited about 436 00:20:27,396 --> 00:20:28,638 that opportunity. 437 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:32,640 But, you know, continue to listen to stakeholders 438 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:33,960 across the board. 439 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:35,740 - Okay, can I ask you just briefly 440 00:20:35,740 --> 00:20:38,200 on what's happening with data centers in Seattle? 441 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:40,240 Big headlines on this, I know a lot of people wrote 442 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:42,240 just about every council member out there. 443 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:43,559 Some of these big tech companies are saying, 444 00:20:43,559 --> 00:20:45,500 yeah, we need to build data centers here. 445 00:20:45,500 --> 00:20:47,359 There's been a lot of pushback about this. 446 00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:49,359 People worried about environmental concerns 447 00:20:49,359 --> 00:20:50,200 and things of this nature. 448 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:51,200 What's going on? 449 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:54,390 - Yeah, no, we have certainly, we're flooded with 450 00:20:54,390 --> 00:20:55,619 quite a few emails. 451 00:20:55,619 --> 00:20:58,079 There's a lot of concern and a lot of it got triggered 452 00:20:58,079 --> 00:21:01,660 by some reporting that there is inquiries about, 453 00:21:01,660 --> 00:21:04,319 and these aren't just sort of your standard data centers. 454 00:21:04,319 --> 00:21:08,400 These were mega data centers, 50 megawatts and up. 455 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:10,079 - 'Cause the city has some smaller ones, right? 456 00:21:10,079 --> 00:21:11,019 - We absolutely do. 457 00:21:11,019 --> 00:21:13,038 We have quite a few small data centers. 458 00:21:13,039 --> 00:21:16,940 You know, we have big tech, we have biotech, 459 00:21:16,940 --> 00:21:21,527 We have a lot of needs for data, but certainly I have a lot 460 00:21:21,527 --> 00:21:26,559 of concerns about citing new mega data centers in our city. 461 00:21:26,559 --> 00:21:30,747 What we heard from all the reporting is that this would 462 00:21:30,747 --> 00:21:34,920 require enormous amounts of new energy sources. 463 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:37,528 Besides, at least in other locations, data 464 00:21:37,528 --> 00:21:40,500 centers are consuming massive amounts of water. 465 00:21:40,500 --> 00:21:43,759 I'd be concerned about security issues. 466 00:21:43,759 --> 00:21:47,480 And so, you know, typically, or not typically, 467 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:51,140 but oftentimes when there's a proposal like this, 468 00:21:51,140 --> 00:21:54,190 it is a newer proposal, some one tool that we 469 00:21:54,190 --> 00:21:57,499 have is a moratorium that buys us some time. 470 00:21:57,500 --> 00:21:59,440 So typically a moratorium would be like 471 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:02,279 a 12 month moratorium and you develop a work plan 472 00:22:02,279 --> 00:22:03,779 to study the issue. 473 00:22:03,779 --> 00:22:06,480 And it just allows council to have the time 474 00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:09,929 to understand the issue better, to put some 475 00:22:09,929 --> 00:22:11,299 guardrails around it. 476 00:22:11,299 --> 00:22:13,259 And so that's something we're looking into 477 00:22:13,259 --> 00:22:15,059 and something that I would support. 478 00:22:15,059 --> 00:22:16,843 There was just to mention that there were 479 00:22:16,843 --> 00:22:19,101 other councilmembers that had already been looking 480 00:22:19,101 --> 00:22:21,746 into this for a few months, Councilmember Juarez, Council 481 00:22:21,746 --> 00:22:23,780 President Hollingsworth, they were already 482 00:22:23,780 --> 00:22:26,420 looking into it before sort of the firestorm. 483 00:22:26,420 --> 00:22:29,859 But it's certainly something that I think is warranted. 484 00:22:29,859 --> 00:22:31,259 - Okay, thank you for that. 485 00:22:31,259 --> 00:22:32,819 I'm gonna try to fit in a big question 486 00:22:32,819 --> 00:22:34,000 about public safety if I can. 487 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,489 And Councilmember Lin, you very recently held a public 488 00:22:36,489 --> 00:22:39,230 safety meeting in your district after some concerns about 489 00:22:39,230 --> 00:22:42,090 increased drug use, fires, safety issues, and a number of 490 00:22:42,090 --> 00:22:43,700 Beacon Hill green spaces there. 491 00:22:43,700 --> 00:22:46,388 There's actually been some talk about temporarily 492 00:22:46,388 --> 00:22:49,077 closing Lewis Park near the Jose Rizal Bridge due to 493 00:22:49,077 --> 00:22:50,578 some illegal camping there. 494 00:22:50,579 --> 00:22:53,160 Can you give us an update on what's happening and the 495 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:54,359 message you have for D2? 496 00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:54,740 Yeah, no. 497 00:22:54,740 --> 00:22:58,180 - So North Beacon Hill, Little Saigon, 498 00:22:58,180 --> 00:23:00,859 and they are very interrelated. 499 00:23:00,859 --> 00:23:02,778 There's just the Jose Rizal Bridge there, 500 00:23:02,779 --> 00:23:05,799 but otherwise it's very similar activity 501 00:23:05,799 --> 00:23:08,278 on both sides of the bridge there. 502 00:23:08,279 --> 00:23:12,278 And North Beacon Hill has experienced a significant uptick 503 00:23:12,279 --> 00:23:17,160 in drug dealing and related fires, 504 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:18,700 crime in the neighborhood. 505 00:23:18,700 --> 00:23:22,640 And we certainly have to get our handle around this. 506 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:24,920 And it's a complex issue. 507 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:28,140 It's obviously related to our homelessness issue. 508 00:23:28,140 --> 00:23:32,667 And I think what we are seeing with our unhoused population 509 00:23:32,667 --> 00:23:36,917 and similar, you know, hot spots for drug activity, for 510 00:23:36,917 --> 00:23:40,707 black market goods, is we are seeing a mix of needs 511 00:23:40,707 --> 00:23:45,420 around, you know, unhoused, mental health, drug addiction. 512 00:23:45,420 --> 00:23:49,079 And the mayor's office has spoken quite a bit about this. 513 00:23:49,079 --> 00:23:51,628 And I think we need to talk more about many of our 514 00:23:51,628 --> 00:23:54,441 unhoused neighbors, you know, are very vulnerable 515 00:23:54,441 --> 00:23:57,599 in terms of public safety, who experiences some of the 516 00:23:57,599 --> 00:23:59,319 most public safety issues. 517 00:23:59,319 --> 00:24:00,109 It's our unhoused. 518 00:24:00,109 --> 00:24:01,000 They're preyed upon. 519 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:03,961 And I think we need to, you know, deal with that 520 00:24:03,961 --> 00:24:06,844 reality that they are often taken advantage 521 00:24:06,844 --> 00:24:08,480 of by criminal elements. 522 00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:11,923 And so I believe we need to focus more on the folks 523 00:24:11,923 --> 00:24:15,625 that are coming in to take advantage or to take cover 524 00:24:15,625 --> 00:24:19,845 within, you know, they might set up a tent and it's actually 525 00:24:19,845 --> 00:24:21,739 a drug dealing operation. 526 00:24:21,740 --> 00:24:22,240 It's happened before. 527 00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:25,680 or an RV that might be not, nobody's living in the RV, 528 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:27,099 it's just a drug dealing operation. 529 00:24:27,099 --> 00:24:30,316 And so I think we need to absolutely have increased 530 00:24:30,316 --> 00:24:32,460 enforcement on the drug dealing. 531 00:24:32,460 --> 00:24:34,680 We also need to deal with the black market, 532 00:24:36,019 --> 00:24:38,846 just goods that are happening at 12th and 533 00:24:38,846 --> 00:24:40,759 Jackson that we can all see. 534 00:24:40,759 --> 00:24:42,723 So certainly look forward to working more with 535 00:24:42,723 --> 00:24:44,779 the mayor's office, city attorney, King 536 00:24:44,779 --> 00:24:45,980 County prosecutor. 537 00:24:45,980 --> 00:24:49,400 We need to have an all hands on deck approach. 538 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:52,076 We need to include the care team to help us with our 539 00:24:52,076 --> 00:24:53,140 behavioral health. 540 00:24:53,140 --> 00:24:54,359 And this is why it's so important 541 00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:57,739 and why I'm so supportive of this proposal 542 00:24:57,740 --> 00:25:02,599 to expand our shelter with super robust mental health 543 00:25:02,599 --> 00:25:04,638 and drug addiction supports. 544 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:06,099 - Hopefully we'll help in that area. 545 00:25:06,099 --> 00:25:08,240 Councilmember Saka, I'm gonna try to squeeze this in. 546 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:09,740 I've read recently in the Seattle Times 547 00:25:09,740 --> 00:25:13,840 that City Parks is paying for private security overnight 548 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:16,403 at Golden Garden Park over in Ballard there over 549 00:25:16,403 --> 00:25:16,869 the summer. 550 00:25:16,869 --> 00:25:18,499 You serve on the Parks Committee and I know 551 00:25:18,500 --> 00:25:21,007 you've been trying to keep Alki Beach safer in your 552 00:25:21,007 --> 00:25:22,319 district for example too. 553 00:25:22,319 --> 00:25:24,740 Is it time to bring private security to more parks 554 00:25:24,740 --> 00:25:26,644 around our city, maybe West Seattle? 555 00:25:26,644 --> 00:25:28,554 What's what's going on with this? 556 00:25:28,554 --> 00:25:30,599 Yes, yes it is time and I would love to 557 00:25:30,599 --> 00:25:35,099 see an expansion of private security, either private 558 00:25:35,099 --> 00:25:38,778 security—so, you're referring to the initiative by 559 00:25:38,778 --> 00:25:41,079 our Parks Department to hire private security. 560 00:25:41,079 --> 00:25:42,939 That would essentially be a second set of eyes. 561 00:25:42,940 --> 00:25:45,373 And if there's a public safety emergency that rises to the 562 00:25:45,373 --> 00:25:47,936 level of criminal activity or conduct, then they 563 00:25:47,936 --> 00:25:49,798 would immediately call SPD. 564 00:25:49,799 --> 00:25:54,786 I would love to see that at—you know, rolled out more broadly 565 00:25:54,786 --> 00:25:58,613 across the city, especially and including Alki 566 00:25:58,613 --> 00:25:59,819 and Harbor Avenue. 567 00:26:00,898 --> 00:26:04,325 Would also love to see additional SPD emphasis 568 00:26:04,325 --> 00:26:07,400 patrols and directed patrols in the area. 569 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:12,433 I—because of some efforts that we undertook a few years ago 570 00:26:12,433 --> 00:26:17,140 now, including some of these speed humps, we're seeing less 571 00:26:17,140 --> 00:26:19,378 problems speeding and racing. 572 00:26:19,378 --> 00:26:23,528 But the underlying activity, in terms of 573 00:26:23,528 --> 00:26:28,900 excessive noise, partying, the trauma that that has 574 00:26:28,900 --> 00:26:31,509 on impacted residents and neighbors is still 575 00:26:31,509 --> 00:26:34,118 completely out of hand and unacceptable, and 576 00:26:34,118 --> 00:26:35,098 I won't stand for it. 577 00:26:35,099 --> 00:26:38,659 Yes, we need those, and I've already been asking for them. 578 00:26:38,659 --> 00:26:39,159 Okay, great. 579 00:26:39,159 --> 00:26:42,194 We do need to wrap up, and I do want to make sure we take a 580 00:26:42,194 --> 00:26:45,480 look at the latest viral video starring Councilmember Rob Saka. 581 00:26:48,759 --> 00:26:50,578 Were you waiting for that ball to hit me? 582 00:26:50,579 --> 00:26:51,538 Well, guess what? 583 00:26:51,538 --> 00:26:53,940 I'm waiting for our Seattle Supersonics to come back. 584 00:26:53,940 --> 00:26:55,771 And as chair of our city's Sports and 585 00:26:55,771 --> 00:26:58,398 Experiences Committee, otherwise known as STEPS, 586 00:26:58,398 --> 00:27:02,200 I'm doing everything in my power to bring our Sonics back. 587 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:04,898 Councilmember Saka, pretty incredible video there. 588 00:27:04,898 --> 00:27:06,796 You sponsored a resolution to welcome 589 00:27:06,796 --> 00:27:08,098 the Sonics back recently. 590 00:27:08,099 --> 00:27:08,720 What's the latest? 591 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:09,599 What's going on? 592 00:27:09,599 --> 00:27:12,923 Well, the latest is we are well positioned as a city, from 593 00:27:12,923 --> 00:27:16,618 a city of Seattle government perspective, to 594 00:27:16,618 --> 00:27:18,618 win a Sonics bid. 595 00:27:18,618 --> 00:27:23,808 Ultimately, those decisions rest in the hands of third parties, 596 00:27:23,808 --> 00:27:27,730 private stakeholders, the of the league, prospective 597 00:27:27,730 --> 00:27:28,919 ownership groups. 598 00:27:28,919 --> 00:27:31,618 All we can do on the city side is ensure 599 00:27:31,618 --> 00:27:36,839 that our city-owned, operated, or co-owned, operated facilities 600 00:27:36,839 --> 00:27:40,838 in the surrounding area is NBA ready. 601 00:27:40,839 --> 00:27:44,299 And proud to share that our Climate Pledge Arena 602 00:27:44,299 --> 00:27:46,797 is a world-class arena, successfully 603 00:27:46,797 --> 00:27:48,278 hosts the storm today. 604 00:27:48,278 --> 00:27:50,339 Why not the new Sonics? 605 00:27:50,339 --> 00:27:54,664 And I think a cherry on top to this would be, and we're 606 00:27:54,664 --> 00:27:58,990 currently exploring right now, a pathway to do that 607 00:27:58,990 --> 00:28:03,719 is to renovate and modernize the Seattle Center campus. 608 00:28:04,839 --> 00:28:08,230 I think the actual Climate Pledge Arena itself is 609 00:28:08,230 --> 00:28:09,719 ready, but more of it. 610 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:12,871 Why not renovate and modernize and restore the vibrancy 611 00:28:12,871 --> 00:28:15,619 and the beauty of the Seattle Center in parallel? 612 00:28:15,619 --> 00:28:17,378 That would be the cherry on top. 613 00:28:17,378 --> 00:28:17,878 That would be. 614 00:28:17,878 --> 00:28:18,559 Love to see that. 615 00:28:18,559 --> 00:28:20,739 Councilmember Lin, just a quick check on this. 616 00:28:20,739 --> 00:28:23,523 Did that viral video, did it make you feel like you had 617 00:28:23,523 --> 00:28:24,979 a virus when you watched it? 618 00:28:24,980 --> 00:28:26,339 Or what was your thought about it? 619 00:28:27,579 --> 00:28:30,878 As viral as the video is, I actually have not seen it. 620 00:28:30,878 --> 00:28:31,779 I need to watch it. 621 00:28:31,779 --> 00:28:32,318 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 622 00:28:32,319 --> 00:28:33,299 Tune in. 623 00:28:33,299 --> 00:28:37,460 But super excited for the potential Sonics return. 624 00:28:37,460 --> 00:28:41,464 You know, we, I think there's no better place to be as 625 00:28:41,464 --> 00:28:43,700 a professional sports team. 626 00:28:43,700 --> 00:28:47,038 No better fans for both men and women's sports. 627 00:28:47,038 --> 00:28:49,059 And super excited to see their return. 628 00:28:49,059 --> 00:28:52,519 Hopefully we have some local high school basketball players. 629 00:28:52,519 --> 00:28:56,419 We got the award-winning Rainier Beach basketball team. 630 00:28:56,419 --> 00:28:59,019 I'd love to see them in some Sonics gear. 631 00:28:59,019 --> 00:28:59,579 - That's great. 632 00:28:59,579 --> 00:29:00,960 Councilmember Lin, Councilmember Saka, 633 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:01,959 thank you for joining us. 634 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:03,720 We'll see you next time on Council Edition. 635 00:29:06,019 --> 00:29:23,259 ♪ ♪