City Council - Regular Meeting

You to the 03/10/2026 meeting of the King County Council. I'm Sarah Perry, chair of the council, and, joined by vice chairs Jorge Baron and Reagan Dunn and our council colleagues today in this meeting is called to order. Thank you to everyone who've joined us. I wanna recognize council member Dambowski and Van Reichbauer with us online as well. Before we begin, please join me in acknowledging that we are on the traditional lands of the Puget Salish peoples past and present. We thank these caretakers of this land who've lived here and continue to live here since time immemorial, bringing their cultural ways of life enriching our communities. With that, clerk Hay, would you please call the roll?

Thank you, chair Perry. Council member Balducci? Here. Council member Barron?

Here.

Council member Dombowski? Here. Council member Dunn? Council member Fain? Here. Council member Lewis? Here. Council member Mosqueda? Council member Von Reichbauer? Here. Chair Perry? Here. You have a quorum.

Thank you very much. Next, please join us in the pledge of allegiance led by council member Fain. Please stand as you are able and join me in the pledge of allegiance. Mister Zimmerman, that's your first warning? For speaking from the dais, that's your second warning.

Vice chair Burrow, may I please have a motion to approve the minutes of the 03/03/2026 council meeting?

I move approval of the minutes of March 3.

Thank you. The motion is before us. All those in favor say aye.

Aye. All

those opposed say nay. Minutes are approved. Clerk Hay, are there any additions to the council agenda?

There are none.

Thank you. We'll now turn to the reading of items into the record and the hearing of public comments. Clerk Kaye, would you please read the items into the record?

Thank you. Item six is proposed ordinance number twenty twenty five dash zero three five nine authorizing execution of a new lease at an existing location to support the operation of public health Seattle and King County. Item seven is proposed substitute ordinance number twenty twenty five dash zero three six one authorizing the execution of an amended and restated lease to support the operation of public health Seattle and King County. Item eight is proposed ordinance number twenty twenty six dash zero zero two four, authorizing the manager of treasury operations of King County to cancel the attached list of uncollectible personal property taxes in the amount of $1,218,769 for the years 2018 through 2025. And item nine is proposed motion number twenty twenty six dash zero zero one one confirming the appointment of Steven Heard as director of the King County Department of Information Technology.

Okay. Thank you very much. The council will now take public comment on those ordinances and motions on today's agenda for action. Listening to the public and taking into consideration the public's thoughts is an important part of our process and one that enhances our deliberations. In order to allow everyone equal time to provide comment, I'd 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 number 10, 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 noise in the audience beyond speaking, holding signs that obstruct the pre passage or view of others attending the meeting, the use of bullhorns or noise makers, and signs are not permitted at the podium or when walking up to the podium. For online comment, press 9 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 the hands. With that, clerk Foss, please begin calling the names here in person followed by those hands raised online for public comment.

Thank you, chair Perry. First name in chambers is Alex Zimmerman.

Thank you.

My name, Alex Zimmerman. Yeah.

My name, Alex Zimmerman. I'm president of Stand Up America. I come to this council meeting, almost, for thirty five years. Thirty plus year. So my question to you very simple. When you dirty Nazi fashion

Mister Zimmerman Mister Zimmerman

Us constitution right freedom.

Thank you.

That'll be all mister Zimmerman. We're in recess. Thank you. Thank you. Clerk Paz, are there others in person or online?

One more name in person, and that's Yvette Dinish.

First of all, I want to thank you for fiscal responsibility, money well spent regarding this coming Saturday. The Buffalo Soldiers of Seattle are having an event called equine in the park. Partly sorry. Funded by

I'm sorry. Is is your comment related to something on the agenda

Fiscal responsibility maybe.

I'm sorry.

It's still not Is there anything helping to fund that.

Okay.

And then then I'll just skip to I just want about Jews. I'll just leave I'll cut cut to the chase. According to Jesse Jesse Jackson, during a struggle of the time, political struggle, it's not about the left wing or the right wing. It takes two wings to fly. And I think that's what you're doing. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much. And reminder to come on the fourth Tuesday of every month. Thank you very much. Everything's a lot. Thank you. Okay. Thank you very much for those who stepped up to comment today. And at this time, we're gonna at this time, we'll turn to the first action on today's agenda, which is approval of the consent agenda. Vice Chavarone, would you please move consent agenda agenda item six through eight? So moved. Thank you. Consent agenda item six through eight are before us. Clerk Hay, would you please call the roll?

Thank you, chair Perry. Council member Balducci. Aye. Council member Barron.

Aye.

Council member Dombowski. Councilmember Dembowski.

He's frozen. He's

frozen. He's frozen but he's definitely here. Look at him.

There he is.

There he is. Thank you. Councilmember Dunn. Here. Councilmember Fain.

I don't know why.

Councilmember Lewis. I. Councilmember Mosqueda. Councilmember Von Reichbauer. Aye. Chair Perry. Aye. Vote is eight ayes and council member Mosqueda excused.

Thank you. By our vote, we've adopted proposed ordinance number twenty twenty five dash zero three five nine, twenty twenty five dash zero three six one, and twenty twenty six dash zero zero two four. Turning now to the last action on today's agenda, which is approval of consent agenda item nine. Vice chair Barron, would you please move consent agenda item nine? So moved. Thank you. Consent agenda item nine is before us. Clerk Kaye, would you please call the roll?

Thank you. Council member Balducci. Aye. Council member Barron.

Aye.

Council member Dunbaski.

Aye.

Council member Dunn.

Aye.

Council member Fain? Aye. Council member Lewis? Aye. Council member Mosqueda? Council member von Reichbauer? Aye. Chair Perry? Aye. The vote is eight ayes and council member Mosqueda excused.

Thank you. By our vote, we've adopted proposed motion number twenty twenty six dash zero zero one one. If there's no objection, the published marked agenda together with any changes made in today's meeting will stand approved as the first reading and referral of ordinances and motions, items 10 through 19 as listed. Do you have any other reports on special or outside committees? No.

Other moving on to other business, I'm noting that the office of labor relations has a public employee relations commission notice that needs to be read into the record in order to meet compliance orders. This notice was included in the meeting packet on page one thirty seven and was also emailed directly to council members yesterday. Labor negotiator Andre Chevalier is on Zoom as OLR's designated agent to read the notice. Andre, please go ahead when you're ready.

Thank you. The Washington State Public Employment Relations Commission conducted a legal proceeding, issued a ruling that King County committed an unfair labor practice and ordered that this notice be posted to employees. We unlawfully failed or refused to provide the King County Juvenile Detention Guild notice and opportunity to bargain the impacts of its decision affecting bargaining unit employees, wages, hours, working conditions by adding voluntary mandatory overtime to the OT restrictions forms. I think that's what I need to read into the record.

Alright. Thank you very much, Andre. Welcome. I'd also like to you, to take this time to read a short statement regarding the Oleo reappointment. On 03/06/2026, we received notice from the King County director of the office of law enforcement oversight, Tamar Abuseid, that he has requested not to be reappointed as director of Oleo, and he will conclude his tenure by 10/03/2026.

King County code states that the the director shall be selected by the council through a nationwide search and through a merit based selection process. By King County code, with receipt of this notice, the council will begin the nationwide search for the next OLEO director. I wanna take this opportunity also to thank director Abouzaid for his dedicated service to the people of King County over these years, and I wish him the very best in his next endeavor. With that, I do have something, but before we adjourn, do my colleagues have any further business for the good of the order? Okay.

At this time, I would like to recognize Erin Ozens as she leaves this wonderful team that she has helped build and sustained for so many years and goes across the street to the executive's office. You will be missed. You have been an amazing partner for me since I arrived four and some years ago, and I learned I know so much more about land use than I ever wanted to. Yeah. And you've been a remarkable team member, I appreciate your expertise, and you will be absolutely missed. I'm so grateful your expertise will be with the executive. Would my colleagues like to say anything, council member Balducci?

Who will we torture with the Mammish Valley? Love you. So I didn't prepare any remarks, Erin, but you know that how much expertise and labor and effort and nights and weekends that we have seen you put into making sure that our land use code is what it should be. And I just have I've always appreciated your work and the creativity that you bring to it. That's that's it's a unique skill to not only understand something so technical, but also to be able to think about how to make it bend and shape into something that works for people.

And I've just enjoyed working with you so very much and we will miss you here. And we'll find new people to torture with with the Sammamish Valley. Anyway, congratulations Thank to

you, council member Balducci. Council member Von Reichbauer.

Thank you, chair Perry. Today at GEO was Erin's last, council meeting, and her report, as always, was absolute complete, on every detail. What is her strength, however, in my opinion, is not her reports, but how she works with people. My constituents are gonna miss her a lot. As I said to this morning at the GAO committee, whether it's good news or bad news, she's straight up.

She gives no sugar coating. She gives a fair analysis of what's going on, And I have a lot of very, controversial issues in my district over the last two decades. But in every case, everyone asks me afterwards, man, how much you pay her? She's amazing. She is an incredibly, her assets are not just her intellect. It's her patience, her her performance, and quite frankly, her personality. So she's been missed on so many levels.

Thank you, council member von Reichbauer. Council member Lewis.

Thank you, Erin, when I came to the Ledge branch, thought I knew a lot about land use. You've been a great partner in helping me find those nooks and crannies that I've not experienced before. And in D2, a lot of the land use legislation was for first time projects or things that hadn't been done before, things that needed creativity. And you brought that to the table and more. So I appreciate all the help that you've given me over the years and I look forward to tapping into your help just when you move across the street. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much colleagues. I really owe it. Councilmember Dunn.

Yeah, just a shout out to Aaron. Aaron, thanks for your years of leadership. It is I am a big believer in the importance of our career civil servants who work in senior executive capacities not elected, but every bit as important in terms of doing your job. Somebody once when I took over the the Bush Bush Cheney transition team and I was initial one of six people to join the Justice Department called parachute teams. Somebody very senior once said that running a large government like King County, people like to think that you're at the wheel of the ship and that you can just turn that big freighter of government on a dime.

The truth is, as an elected leader, the best we can do is sort of set the trim controls on how that freighter runs. The people that really can wield and turn the ship around quickly are senior career civil servants like yourself. Mhmm. And I've seen it in a number of times, most recently here when we were all required to respond to the pandemic and how quick we we all had to move when Chair Baldicci was running that and senior staff and you were part of that. We're gonna miss you a lot, but you're off to even greener pastures and your work cannot be understated. So thank you.

Thank you, council members. Will you please join me in recognizing Erin?

Thank

you very much for coming down and allowing us to thank you, Erin. Really appreciate that. And with that, colleagues, seeing no other business before us, this meeting is adjourned.

District 5. Flood District 5.

Oh, yes. We have Flood District in five minutes. So at five at 01:55, council members will convene for our Flood District Meeting. Thank you. This meeting is adjourned.