City Council - Regular Meeting

You to the 03/24/2026 meeting of the King County Council. I'm Sarah Perry, chair of the council, joined by vice chairs Barron and Dunn and our council colleagues today, this meeting is called to order. 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 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 Hay, would you please call the roll?

Thank you. Council Member Balducci? Here. Council Member Barron?

Here.

Council Member Dombowski? Council Member Dunn?

Here.

Council Member Fain? Here. Council Member Lewis? Here. Council Member Mosqueda? Here. Council Member Von Reichbauer? Here. Chair Perry. Here. You have a quorum.

Thank you. Next, please join us in the pledge of allegiance led by council member Dunn.

Please stand and join me in pledging allegiance to our nation's flag.

I

pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Okay. Thank you. Vice chair Brown, may I please have a motion to approve the minutes of the 03/17/2026 council meeting?

I move approval of the minutes of March 17.

Thank you. The motion is before us. All those in favor, aye. Aye. Those opposed say nay.

Minutes have passed, approved. Clerk Hay, are there any additions to the council agenda? I have none. Okay.

Thank

you. We have standing room only at this point. Before we begin, I want to note that per council rules, we need to make sure that we do not have folks standing during the meeting as it blocks access to entrances and exits as well as the view of other meeting attendees and can cause safety issues. So at this point, those who are standing or those who will be providing comment to allow those who are standing if they're here for the proclamations and recognitions, I'm asking you to go to Room E 942 on the 9th Floor where the there are signs. So we'll wait until we have the room cleared of those standing.

Oh yeah, we will be broadcasting from E 942. So you'll be

able to see the meeting on the screen there as well.

Hi, Melanie. Would you note my attendance?

Noted.

Any others still standing? We'll wait. There are some somebody just made a seat available in the middle over here. Anyone else who is still standing, you'll be able to see when it's time to come up for public comment. I'd like to ask you to go to E 942, please.

And again, you can come back up when, the speakers are done speaking. They'll tag you out. Take place take place. Thank you. Alright.

Great. Turning next to two special items on the agenda, the first of which is a recognition related to the Cricket World Cup led by council members Balducci, Von Reichbauer, and myself. We can go down to the podium at this point. Thank you. I'm honored to be joining Council Member Valducci and council member Von Reichbauer online today to recognize the extraordinary performance of Chadly, a King County resident at the t twenty Cricket World Cup.

Cricket is growing in popularity in our county. Tens of thousands of folks are involved, and especially in my district, I share much of that space with council member Balducci, and I've had the pleasure of connecting with youth and amateur cricket teams from Redmond to Snoqualmie who have a deep love of this game. A couple years ago, we were invited as East Side elective women, to come and learn cricket and play with, play against the the mothers of, of some of the youth and that was really great. Whether they only play cricket with family and friends in their backyards or dream of going pro one day, Shadley is an inspiration to all in King County who play cricket. This recognition recognizes Shadley's extraordinary skill but also, a thank you for his contributions to our communities acting as a mentor for youth across our county, promoting this great sport sport with a great team spirit and a very very healthy, healthy competition for, for a great choice.

Yeah. I'm proud to join this proclamation. King County, King County, we know that sports and athletic activities build leadership for our residents, support health, and build community and knit community together. And this is more important than ever because a sport like cricket brings together people who are local, who have lived here all their lives, and people who have come from all different parts of the world and gives them something positive and exciting, to work on together and to learn how to be a team and excel. Thank you council member von Reichbauer.

Thank you council member Perry, for joining in this proclamation honoring one of our local heroes, Chadly Von Scalquic, who's with us today. Shadley's story tells us what is possible when we invest in programs and spaces that allow people to pursue their dreams as he has. We should remain committed to making these investments in our communities, supporting our local cricket cricket teams, and expanding the infrastructure for young people through semi pro, through professional to play, and to build the sport here in the Northwest. And in one person, Chadley has has represented that. He's played in the minor league here.

He played on the major league team, the Orcas here, and he just finished representing us on the United States national cricket team. And he is more than just an as credible and accomplished athlete. He's a role model for young cricket players across King County demonstrating what they can achieve through dedication and passion for their sport. And if we do our job, we'll support that next of cricketers. I hope that's the right term. Cricketers? I don't wanna say cricketers, like, but that's like mouseketeers. Right? That's a mouseketeers. So that our country's next cricket hero comes from right here in King County. Yes. Yes.

Would you like to invite council member von Reichbauer?

Council member von Reichbauer, please go ahead.

It's appropriate that I speak about cricket because today I am in Oxford, England as part of a labor group meeting here with our folks coming together from all over the world to talk about how we improve apprentice programs. And today, we spent time looking at, some cricket matches, so it was very appropriate. I've said many times, and I'll say again, sports brings people together, and cricket brings a lot of people together. Thank you very much.

Yep. You first. It's you.

Okay. Now we'll read the proclamation. Whereas the ICC men's t twenty World Cup brought together the world's leading cricketing nations in one of the sport's premier international competitions followed by hundreds of millions of fans worldwide. And just gonna leave this here. Okay.

Whereas, the United States men's national cricket team competed with distinction on the global stage reflecting the continued growth of cricket within The United States and whereas King County Washington resident, Chadly Von Skullquick delivered an exceptional individual performance during the tournament's group phase, finishing the group stage as the leading wicket taker among all participating players. And I'm gonna go off script for a quick moment to say, if you don't know what any of those words mean, he was the MVP of the entire tournament at that stage.

And whereas a King County where's

the

leading did you you're there. Okay. Whereas leading the tournament in wickets required dismissing some of the most accomplished batters in international cricket and demonstrated extraordinary skill, discipline, and competitive excellence and

Whereas Shadley Von Scalquic contributions, sorry, say that twice, to Seattle minor league team, the Seattle Thunderbolts youth development programs at the Major League Cricket Academy Seattle reflects his contribution to the sport's growing presence and his community impact across the region and

now therefore we, the Metropolitan King County Council, recognize Chadly Von Schaubik on the occasion of his extraordinary accomplishment on a global stage and commend him for exemplary performance and extend best wishes for a fulfilling career and great gratitude for representing all of us so well. Thank you.

Is he coming up? Yeah. We'd like to invite you and your guests to please come up. Jay Jagan and Vijay, please come on up. Yeah. Okay. You're welcome to say a few words. Please say a few words if

you'd like, then we're gonna take a picture. Hi,

everyone. Firstly, thank you for for having me here. It's a a re a huge privilege and honor to be here. Although, I wanna say a few things. This is just a small stepping stone to the twenty twenty eight Olympics that's coming, which will feature cricket and and grow cricket quite quite amazingly within the country. And the one thing I wanna say, although my name's on the recognition, it's it's not just me. It's teammates. It's community at Seattle. It's King County that that's got behind cricket in Seattle that's helped me given the platform to perform at the highest level. So I'd like to say thank you firstly to everyone here, to the community around Seattle and also to those who have helped me come over to USA and fulfill my dream. So thank you very much.

Congratulations. Thank you. You're very proud. A few colleagues. Yes. I'd love to invite our colleagues on down to take a picture with this star and his pals.

Should we

move this? Yes. Okay. There's a we need the signs to actually not impede the block anybody else's view behind you. We need it to not block the screens.

So I'm gonna ask you to put your signs in a place that does not block the screens or anyone else's view. Thank you. Okay. At this point, we have a next item. The next item special item is led by council members Barron and Balducci, which is a proclamation recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility in King County. Council members, please go ahead when you're ready.

Thank you, chair Perry, colleagues. Today, I'm honored to present this year's Transgender Day Visibility Proclamation alongside my colleague and cosponsor council member Claudia Balducci. Joining us today, have Jade Lenore Ladoff, who's the chief of staff of Lavender Rights Project, and I'm gonna invite Jay to please come on up as we as we continue presenting it, who will accept this proclamation and provide brief remarks on the important work by Lavender Rights Project to stand with our trans family, friends, neighbors, and fellow residents. Colleagues, this proclamation is important to me on a personal level as the proud parent of a trans daughter, and I wanna acknowledge that my daughter Luna is here joining us today. Thank you, Luna.

I'll invite her to come up in a minute. At a time when rhetoric and attacks against our trans community continue to come from Washington DC and elsewhere, it is vitally important for the King County Council to be clear in our support of the community by recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility. I am proud that King County and our state of Washington have laws prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity. And I'm grateful for the work being done to protect gender affirming care for young people and the right to live an authentic, beautiful life. At the same time, we recognize that more work, much more work, will be needed in the years to come to defeat the attacks that our trans residents are experiencing daily.

I am deeply grateful for the work that organizations like Lavender Rights Project and others do in King County and across the country to fight for the rights of this community. With that, I will invite council member Balducci to share a few remarks.

What about trans people and toxic racism?

Thank you so much. Thank you so much, council member Barron, for your outspoken leadership on, trans rights and representation and for including me in this proclamation. It's a really difficult time right now. We we talk a lot about, the way our government in many ways is behaving like, an autocracy And the way that people in the trans community have been scapegoated and targeted is absolutely right out of the autocrats' playbook. Take a marginalized community, take a community that's perceived to not have power, and you turn them into a a scapegoat and then invite people to dehumanize and therefore then act out in ways that are harmful and dangerous.

And I'm sorry to say this in such a negative way, but I am just I am just so concerned and so fearful right now, and we need to all stand up and speak out in our loudest outdoor voices on behalf of our trans neighbors and the trans community today. We can make a difference. We can counterbalance these forces. We can be the leaders who help lighten the load. I wanna share a brief story about a very special organization that straddles my district and chair Perry's district.

It's called Pride Across the Bridge, And they provide a wide range of programs and services for the LGBTQIA plus community. I recently met with their executive director and founder, Axton Burton, who many of you may know. And they shared an incredible story that I want to share just briefly with you. They have created a trans and non binary swim program, which, reserves space in local pools for people to come out and swim on a day that is specially reserved for this community. Because of all the challenges with swimming, locker rooms, sharing space, many of these participants haven't swum in decades, learned when they were children because everybody loves to swim, but were too worried about how they appeared, how they would be treated, whether they could be in spaces that were appropriate for them.

And for the first time in decades with this program starting up just recently, many people got to enjoy swimming in a welcoming space. And one person in their, later years said, I haven't swum since I was a child decades ago. And I came on the very first opening day because that was the demand and the desire to engage in this very human, very basic activity. These are the sorts of things that we can and should be doing for our neighbors. And I'm so proud to be part of this council when I know that all of you, all of my colleagues support our trans community and our outspoken advocates for them. Thank you very much, and I look forward to reading the proclamation.

Jade, go ahead. Can we go now? Yeah.

Greetings and salutations, beautiful people. I won't be before you long. My name is Jade or Jaylen or Ladoff. My pronouns are she and her, and I currently serve as the chief of staff at the Lavender Rights Project. Like many others, have looked to Seattle to be, a shining beacon for progressive policies, and protections for not only transgender individuals, but for gender diverse individuals.

In a country that continues to wage war or attacks against our people, just for simply existing, we look to King County and the council, to continue to lead the charge and to continue to be, advocates of change. We truly do appreciate this dedication or this opportunity to acknowledge Transgender Day of Visibility as we are continuing to fight against many different acts of oppression that we are experiencing currently. I also do wanna say that we truly appreciate the commitment and dedication to housing justice as we continue to build upon a vision for housing for all. And we recognize that creating solutions and policies with the most marginalized people in mind creates a collective creates a collective uplifting of communities for us all. And lastly and most importantly, I want to acknowledge the people who are often and most oftentimes overlooked, my people, my community, and young people, elders, immigrants, those who at these very moments may feel invisible or without a voice.

I want to take this opportunity to speak directly to you. This is what we will do together. We will continue to exist in the fullness and most beautiful expression of our humanity. We will continue to grow and love ourselves first and foremost more than ever. We are going to believe that the greater good of humanity exists in every fiber of our being of our being, and we will never, won't ever give up not only on ourselves, we won't give up on our communities, and we will not give up on the vision our ancestors have dreamt for us. Thank you so much.

We're gonna read it and then we'll listen to the Thank you, chair Perry. We're we're gonna read the proclamation now. It says, whereas March 31 is recognized and celebrated as International Transgender Day of Visibility in communities across the world and

Whereas Transgender Day of Visibility founder Rachel Crandall Crocker established this day in 2010 to celebrate and uplift transgender people, strengthen community connections, and foster hope and

Whereas according to the Williams Institute of the UCLA School of Law, approximately two point eight million people in The United States identify as transgender, a term from persons whose gender identity, gender expression, or behavior does not align with those typically associated with the biological sex they were assigned at birth, and

Whereas transgender, two spirit, non binary, and gender expansive individuals are valued members of our communities, yet their safety and ability to live authentically remain at risk due to actions of individuals, groups, and governments across the country with black trans women and other people of color facing disproportionately high levels of violence. And?

Whereas King County values and respects every resident and recognizes our county's rich history of transgender, two spirit, non binary, and gender expansive leaders who have worked tirelessly to celebrate and protect gender inclusivity and.

Whereas support and advocacy for the transgender community includes standing with transgender people, honoring pronouns, learning from their experiences, challenging anti trans language, and safeguarding the rights of transgender people.

Now, therefore, we, the Metropolitan King County Council, proclaim 03/31/2026 as Transgender Day of Visibility to celebrate gender diversity, extend love, community, and respect to our transgender, two spirit, non binary, gender expansive, and gender non conforming family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors, and to recognize the enduring contributions of the transgender community in our past, present, and future dated this March 2026, and signed by all nine county council members. Thank you. Colleagues, can we do a photo? Thank you.

Colleagues, let's join join council members Barron and Balducci at the podium.

I'm gonna stick this right here.

Thank you. Please do. Thank you. Yeah. Josie, why don't you come up front?

Job. Great. Thank you council members for that special proclamation and recognition. We will now turn to the reading of items into the record and hearing of public comments. Clerk Hay, will you please read the items into the record?

Thank you. Item six are the two special items. Recognition of Shadleash Bon skull quick first performance as a USA national player at the T. Twenty cricket world cup and the proclamation of 03/31/2026 is transgender day of visibility in King County. Item eight is proposed ordinance number twenty twenty six dash zero zero three seven approving Southlink connections public transportation service changes for King County.

Item nine is proposed ordinance number twenty twenty five dash zero three two nine relating to the development of regional motorsports facility demonstration project. Item 10 is proposed to see orders number twenty twenty six dash zero zero two seven limiting the use of King County owned and controlled property. Item 11 as proposed motion number twenty twenty six dash zero zero one nine A motion confirm confirming the executive's appointment of Trip Switzer who resides in Council District 1 to the King County Airport Roundtable as an at large representative. Item 12 is proposed substitute motion number twenty twenty six dash zero zero two one related to the rules of procedure and mediation of the King County hearing examiner. And item 13 is proposed motion substitute motion number twenty twenty six dash zero zero one seven motion stating the council support for continued in the engine related research for alternative treatment modalities structured medical models and full decriminalization of in the engine related activities and requesting that the investigation arrest and prosecution of any adult engaged in certain and theogen related activities be among King County's lowest criminal enforcement priorities.

Oh, and actually, we have one more recognition. Item 21, recognition of Empowering's sponsoring of the Seattle Color Festival Holy twenty twenty six.

Thank you very much. We'll now turn to the reading of items into the record and, sorry. We'll now turn take, turn to taking public comment on those ordinances, motions, proclamations, and recognitions on today's agenda, along with comments on any topics directly related to county business as today is the fourth Tuesday and it is open for items that are not on the agenda as well. 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. We are grateful to have a democracy, a country that recognizes the voice of everybody and their opportunity to share that voice and we appreciate that.

In order to allow everyone equal time to provide comment, I'd like to set the following ground rules. First of all, I'd like to know how many people are signed up to speak in person? Clerk k. No. I'm sorry. Sorry. I'm asking the clerk. And how many online? Do if there's anyone online, we we do have a number online but we don't see your hands. Okay.

So we usually have two minutes because we need to get through this and want to make sure everybody has a chance to speak. We'll limit it to one minute today for comments. Please remain seated until time for your public comment. Do not make audible noise during the meeting. It's 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 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 noises in the audience beyond speaking. Holding signs that obstruct the free passage or view of others attending the meeting.

We appreciate your signs but if your sign is prohibiting people from seeing behind you, then we have to ask you to take put your sign down so that their view is not obstructed or will be asked you'll be asked to leave the chambers. And then also there's no use of bullhorns or noisemakers and no signs at the podium or behind the podium. For online public 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 then will unmute each line. And at the end of each comment, the clerk will lower the hands.

And with that and so I also want to to make sure that folks understand those rules of disruption. And if there are some disruptions, I will name the disruption and I will give one warning. I'll name the disruption. I'll give a second warning. And then you may be asked to leave or we may go on recess. And we very, very much want to stay through all the discussion today. It's really important to us to hear all the comments and to hear all the items on our discussion and to not do it online. So please help us stay here with you because it's very much what we would like to do. So I wanna thank everyone for coming. And with that, clerk Foss, please begin calling the names here in person following followed by those hands raised online for public comment.

Thank you, chair Perry. First name on the list is Yvette Dynech.

I'm sorry. I don't know what the red sign is, but it is blocking a person behind you. So if you can please put it down a little bit lower, please. Thank you. Oh, you're with you?

Okay. Thank you. Thank you.

Okay. Go right ahead.

Yvette Dynej.

I'm paying attention. Thank you very much. Of all, I want to thank you all for showing up today and to keep up your civic community and civil engagement. It's very important. And I also want to give props to our veterans.

It breaks my heart that they're in a war that we have no business being involved in. And, a recent article in the the the disabled American veteran said that recent congresses make among the least productive in modern history, paralyzed by dysfunction, partisan infighting, and apparent inability to do the basic jobs voters sent them to Washington to do. Veterans pay the price without an act at an inaction. When congress stalled, veterans wait longer for care, benefits, and justice they have already earned. We can and must do better for our veterans. Thank you, mister. And I also gave you a copy of the complete article that was well written. Thank you.

Thank you.

Next on the list is Andrea Ornelas.

Go

right ahead whenever you're ready.

Thank you. Hi. My name is Andrea Ornelas, and I represent Lionel Local two forty two, a union of 6,000 plus dedicated tradespeople right here in King County. I'm here today to express strong support for the Jupiter project. It's essential to recognize the overwhelming benefits that the energy storage brings to our community and environment.

Reliability of the energy supply as we transition to cleaner energy sources like wind and solar. We must acknowledge that these things don't produce energy around the clock. Without this capability, we risk failing to meet our community energy needs. For example, the power outages in Texas are as a reminder of what can happen when we don't have a robust energy storage system in place. Those outages left millions of people without power, causing the state to dramatically increase the battery storage to more than 2500%.

The increasing demand, experiencing a surge in energy demand due to the rise of electric vehicles and population growth, we're feeling the strain now and especially during extreme weather. The Jupiter project will help stabilize our energy system ensuring that we can meet this demand. Also, job creation. This project will create good jobs, family wages for local workers, and apprenticeship opportunities. The BEST ordinance has a solid framework for safety and environment standards, ensuring a safe responsibility in the project. Thank you. Thank you.

Next on the list is Michael Westgard.

Hello. Thank you, counsel. My name is Michael Westgard. I'm a shop steward for my team. I'm the e board member representing local government for my union, and I'm a wastewater treatment operator for the Westsection off-site team.

We are currently in contract negotiations and the Department of Labor Relations has been dragging its feet in our negotiations this year. We were already four years or four months of an expired contract on this contract. And the previous contract was expired for eighteen months before we were able to come to a TA. And this has become very problematic for our workforce while at the same time at the table we've been treated with disrespect and disregard and told that we are easy easily replaceable and that they are going to take benefits away for us, such as our benefit time, which is a combined PTO bank and sick bank that they negotiated four years ago to make timekeeping easier on management and supervisors. But now they want they're telling us they're gonna take it from us without negotiating fairly.

And I think that is wrong, it goes against the true North values of King County and would respect would appreciate, getting some respect at the table so we can get fair wages and have a, supported workforce.

Thank you.

Next on the list is Kevin Ulfmeyer.

Good afternoon, council members. 05/14/2025, Auditor Kimber Waltzmann sent you a letter, email stating that she was going to change the juvenile diversion audit and it required you guys to respond. For some reason or another, there was no response so she went outside of the scope. Now y'all took y'all took an oath to the constitution, and you took an oath to Washington. And she violated RCW 69.504017 that said it's mandatory you shall give an account of juvenile diversion when you do an audit.

She didn't. So I told you in December that this audit that happened and this ordinance one nine nine seven eight is de facto. So is your motion that you put Balducci because of what you guys failed to do. So I hope that you guys can take this to let you know. For all of those who want to know, you can read this article

at

kingcountyoversight.substack.

Thank you. Next

on the list is Andrew Hink.

That's Hakey. Thank you. My name is Andy Hakey. You heard from my member Michael Westgard. I'm the SEIU local nine two five King County wastewater chapter president. You'll hear from other members here today. All I'm here today is to tell you that I'm not here as just as a citizen of King County or a union president or a King County employee. I'm here today with others as the backbone of services that keep our community running. Every dough every day we show up on-site, we do the work, we serve the public with dedication, professionalism, and pride. All we are asking for in return is something simple, something spelled out on every document, every website, and every communication sent out by King County.

This is fairness, respect, and honesty at the bargaining table. Let me say this to the leadership of King County. We are united. We are organized. We are prepared to stand together for as long as it takes to see our to secure a contract that is fair, equitable, and negotiated in good faith. It's about setting a standard. It this is an opportunity for King County to prove to the people who who do the essential work that we deserve a real voice in the decisions that affect our lives. Thank you.

Thank you, Andy.

Next on the list is Matthew Renner.

Council members,

first, let me offer you an apology for my outburst earlier. Many of you have, known me and heard me speak for years, and you know I sometimes have a bad habit of letting my emotions get the better of me. Again, I apologize.

And I'm sorry. That is one warning from speaking from the chambers. That's the first warning. Thank you.

Thank you. I appreciate that. As you know, I'm usually when you're speaking about South King County or King County Metro, and today it's King County Metro. I sent I sent an email to every member of the council as well as the executive and Michelle Allison, the general manager of Metro, showing giving my proposals as to a stronger, fair enforcement method that takes what the current one is and enhances it a bit. I'm not asking you guys to pass it or accept it or even like it. I'm just asking you to read it and consider it. And if someone could get back to me, would appreciate it. I have more respect to people who call me an idiot than people who ignore me. So if you would just do that, I would greatly appreciate that. Even if it's rejected, just knowing that you read it is enough for me. Thank you.

Thank you.

Next on the list is

Austin Field.

Would you

please announce the next three names and so folks can come up and be ready?

Austin Field, Christina DiFlorio, and Jaden Knoll.

Good afternoon. My name is Austin Field. I am a King County public defender, I'm a mess a member of SEIU nine two five. You're gonna hear from a lot of nine two five members today because we've all been working for about four months with expired contracts. The folks who you're gonna hear from do critical, unglamorous work.

We all wanna live in a county with beautiful parks and clean water and fair courts. And unfortunately, the members of my union have been experiencing a pay cut because our health care premiums have gone up and we haven't gotten COLA and we're working without a contract. And while that is happening, we are under more pressure than ever because our clients are under more pressure than ever, whether those are the undocumented folks for whom the only safe outcomes in our courts are either dismissals or acquittals, which require far more work than simply negotiating a plea bargain, or whether it's the trans individuals who are in our jails who suffer horrifically as a result of incarceration. We advocate for all of these people, and we are doing so without the respect of a contract because we refuse to compromise by allowing them to remove caseload standards and staffing ratios from our contract language when it was in the previous contract.

Thank you.

Give us a

fair contract.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm sorry. That's your second warning with the noisemaker. Noisemakers are not allowed, and we stated that. So this is the second warning. The next time something like that happens, we'll ask you to leave the chambers. Thank you. Go right ahead.

Hi. Good afternoon. My name is Christina DiFlorio. I'm here today as a lifelong resident of King County, a mom, and a deeply concerned community member about the proposed Cascadia Ridge battery energy storage system. This project inter introduces significant long term risk to the community and the county at large. I wanna talk today about the strain on our resources. To be clear, a lithium ion fire is not fought by your community fire department. The crews that put out your house fire and respond to your incidents are not the ones that are needed. You need a hazardous disaster, and therefore, they need special hazmat training. Did you know that on any given day, Eastside Fire And Rescue has just one person available, from the hazmat team?

Even with lights and sirens, it could take up to twenty two minutes to reach the site. And when they arrive, they won't be able to manage it alone. They'll need additional support. So whose responsibility is that, especially while an entire community may be trying to evacuate? My husband is legally blind and cannot drive. My children would be home with him. They would be unable to leave on their own. Families like mine are not hypothetical. We are part of this community. We do deserve to feel safe in our own homes. If we are not prepared to respond, we are not prepared to be clear, grade, or build.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Hi, council members. My name is Jada Knoll, and I'm a certified playground, safety inspector for King County Parks. I'm also here speaking on behalf of employees currently negotiating their contract. Over the same time that our classification has remained unchanged, the supervisory positions overseeing our work has been reclassified twice. Today, those super supervisory roles earn roughly $60,000 more annually than the employees performing the work in the field.

We respect our supervisors and the leadership that they provide. This is not about questioning their value. But when the gap between field staff and supervisors grows that large while the classification performing the work has not been reevaluated in more than a decade, it suggests that something in the structure may be out of balance. The employees doing this work simply want the same level of evaluation and consideration that other classifications have received. We believe that a fair review of the work itself would help us, move negotiations forward. Thank you.

Thank you.

Next three names are Alex Zimmerman, Desiree Leonard Hodge, and Hamilton Anderson.

Mister Zimmerman?

Yep. Thank you. My name Alex Zimmerman. I'm president of Stand Up America for many year. I 15 times candidate for election. You prosecute me seven times, and you give me seven thousand day of trespass. Seven thousand day of trespass. I cannot come to council chamber and speak. Nobody have this in America. This Nazi gestap of fascist fifteen year ago cut us freedom of speech totally.

What has happened right now, we have only one day per month for two minute, for two and a half million people. This is exactly what has happened. They, by definition, are Nazi fascist. You know, they are Bandita. That's exactly what has happened. Absolutely. Cut us fundamental right for speak is a terrible. Viva Trump. Viva new American revolution. Stand up, slap, and happy cow. Thank you very much.

Thank you, mister Zimmerman.

Have a good day.

Good afternoon, council members. My name is Desiree Leonard Hodge, and I started with the parks department in 2010 as a seasonal employee. In in 2015, I was hired as a full time park specialist too. For over fifteen years, I've been part of the workforce that keeps the county's parks and public spaces open and usable for the community every day. We are mission critical employees.

We work in the field. We were out during COVID, floods, bomb cyclones, snowstorms, and through wildfire smoke, keeping parks safe and usable when the community needed the most. Despite that dedication, our classification has not received a structural wage adjustment since 2009. That's more than fifteen years of growing responsibilities without the position being reevaluated. The county asked voters to invest in these services and they did, but the employees delivering those services still haven't seen the investment reflected in our work.

We are now seeing new positions, many of them office based, being hired at higher pay than the employees who have been maintaining these services for years. That makes it hard not to feel overlooked. During negotiations, we've tried to show what our jobs actually involve, the skill, the responsibility, and the scope of work. Too often it hasn't felt like that reality is being fully considered. After fifteen years of service, it's frustrating, discouraging, and honestly exhausting to feel like the work I've dedicated my career to is not being seen.

Thank you, Desiree. Thank you. Thank you.

Good afternoon, council members. My name is Hamilton Anderson and I'm park specialist two at Marymoor Park. I grew up spending countless hours in King County Parks and I'm it is my profound pleasure to help keep the car parks beautiful and welcoming today. One of the most concerning issues for park staff in SEI 925 is that our classification has not received a structural wage adjustment since 2009. Obviously, Desiree always already touched on a good amount of that, so I'll just say that King County has long stood as a beacon for progressive values and a stronghold for for the labor movement.

In an era where unions across the country are under attack and working people are struggling more than ever to secure a dignified livable wage, our our region has the opportunity to lead by example. Supporting a pro union environment means more than just platitudes. It means ensuring that people who maintain our may maintain our public treasures can actually afford to live in the communities that they serve. Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Next three names are Ryan Porter, Kimmy Reedy, and Ron Zwelski.

Welcome. Good job.

Hi. My name is Ryan Porter. That is a bit of a jungle gym to get over here. I'm the chapter president for SAIU nine twenty five at King County Parks. I wrote a whole statement here, but I have a lot of great people behind me that have a lot to say.

So the main point that I wanna get across is that we have been coming up on our second year of bargaining a contract, and we are sitting across the table from people who perpetually dismiss the information that we bring to the table. And when we finally show up and we show them the data that says people working within this county are making $20,000 a year more than we are for the same work, they say, well, why? Why do you have to ask for so much? Because it is so incredibly expensive to live here. And if King County is going to undersell our work so that we can't afford to live in this county, then they're just gonna be outsourcing cheap labor outside of their own county.

The people who serve this community deserve to live here, and we deserve a living wage. That means that we can do more than just exist. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon council members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you again. My name is Kimmy Reedy and I am here both as a woman living in long term recovery and the director of the Pure Washington Recovery Navigator Program. Peer Washington's recovery navigator program connects individuals facing substance use mental health challenges and housing stability to critical services for vulnerable populations. But more than that we walk alongside people we help them navigate systems that feel overwhelming or out of reach We stay with them through the process.

Every day we work with individuals who have often been turned away or have lost trust in traditional systems. We see what happens when someone is finally met with understanding. This work directly supports King County's goals around public health and community safety. When people are connected to care, it reduces reliance on emergency services and creates better outcomes for everyone at a significantly lower cost to taxpayers. I encourage you to continue investing in peer led community based organizations like ours. They are effective because they are built on lived experience, trust, connection. Thank you.

Thank you, and congratulations on your recovery.

Good afternoon, counsel. My name is Ron Zolski. I'm a team manager at the Recovery Navigator program. I have the honor of serving a team of individuals who've survived abuse incarceration poverty homelessness and addiction and those individuals show up every day to help their fellows in need to reach out with their hearts compassionately and to connect. Our program is under duress from lack of funding.

This funding allows us to continue this beautiful mission that we do every day. There are so many people out there suffering. There are so many things in this world that we can't control. But what we can do right here in this county is continue to push programs that lead with heart, with love, and with compassion to lift up our fellows and to be a better people. Thank you so much for your time. The next two individuals who are going to speak are individuals who are part of our program who we've had the honor of working with. Please allow them the time to share their story. They come up here and share intimately and vulnerably. Please give them the time. Thank you.

Thank you.

The next three names are Jay Heron, Jennifer Grennan, and Daniel Alvarado.

Good afternoon. My name is Jay Heron. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I've been a resident of King County my whole life, and over the years, I've seen firsthand the devastation addiction has caused in our community, and I've lived it my spell myself. I spent nearly decade struggling with addiction. First, heroin, meth, and fentanyl entered the picture, watched people around me die at an alarming rate. By that point, I was already trapped. Some days, I wanted help. Most days, I just didn't wanna wake up. Tried to get clean many times, detox, inpatient, outpatient, but always with a relapse in days.

Eventually, I found myself living in my car parked outside a Walmart just recently after being kicked out of an Oxford house. Then one day, someone knocked on my window. That person was a recovery navigator, that moment changed my life. They didn't treat me like an addict. They treated me like a human being. They sat with me, listened to me, offered me help, got me into detox, and helped coordinate my transition into inpatient treatment, and most importantly, they stayed connected. They checked in on me, helped me find housing, and supported me every step of the way. For the first time, I didn't feel alone. Today, because of that support, I stand before you, eighteen months sober. I now Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you and congratulations on your sobriety.

I just gotta say, if it wasn't for the help of the Recovering Navigators, I wouldn't be here today. Interested. Programs like this are essential when we have an addiction outbreak right

now. Thank you for your testimony.

Can I go? Okay. Hello. My name is Jennifer Greenan, and I'm here on behalf of the recovery navigator program as well. I struggled with addiction for the last twelve years of my life. I hit rock bottom. I was living in my car when I was, got in touch with the navigator program. They never gave up on me when I gave up on myself. They continued to come visit me. They continued to support me.

They continued checking on me. And in the last eight months, I have gone from being homeless, wanting to kill myself, Ron saving my life because he heard me the day that I got help, he promised to get me that help. And it's because of them that I'm here standing before you guys. So please give them the funding, give them the support that they need because they're touching people's lives every single day, including mine. And my kids have a mom today, and the community has another person here on behalf of them. So thank you for letting me speak with you guys.

Thank you, Jennifer. Thank you for your courage and your sobriety. Congratulations.

Daniel Alvarado.

Hi. My name is Daniel Alvarado. I'm a member negotiator for Local nine twenty five. In the previous contract that was conducted, with our union, there was a salary study that was performed. This salary study that was performed had a couple glaring issues.

One of them was the that, for certain positions, King County stated that we did not have a comparable position when we in fact did. Another, gross error was when King County stated that certain positions were actually mismatched. And, one pristine example is, like, a loop mechanic was being, identified as an engine mechanic, which is not the case. In our current contract, the King County has expressed interest in allowing smaller municipalities or local municipalities into our wage study and they have not provided a detailed reasoning in terms of the size, scope, or breadth of work that is done to justify this claim. And we would like to ensure that when an error in a title mismatch does occur, that we have an opportunity to correct that and when presented with proof that King County will do the right thing and actually make the correct call.

Thank you. And Daniel, are you with Parks?

I'm with Department of National Resources. Thank you. The

next three names are Kenny Sue, Carolyn Bennett, and Nicole Wolffley.

Good afternoon, council members. Thank you for the time and space to talk about I'm Kenny Hsu. I'm a member of SEIU nine twenty five, and I'm asking for your leadership to ensure the Office of Liver Relations would do, timely, fair and respectful negotiations.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Carolyn Bennett and Nicole Wolffley.

Good

afternoon. My name is Carolyn, and I'm a resident in of the Central District in Seattle. I'm here today with my King County Parks Union colleagues and in solidarity with our King County wastewater and public defense counterparts, who are all currently engaged in contract negotiations with the county. This bargaining process has proved very challenging with major delays in scheduling and lack of attendance from key county negotiators, while our labor representatives have prepared extensively to engage in good faith. Our contract expired at the 2025.

We ask that the council recognize the valuable services that our members provide to our communities. We asked that the council encourage a collaborative bargaining process to reach a fair contract that reflects this. Additionally, I wanted to acknowledge that we are on native land today in this courthouse and on native land while we as parks, operations staff steward our parks and green spaces. No one is illegal on stolen lands, and thank you.

Thank you.

We ask that the county implement and, implement real protections, please, against immigrations and customs enforcement to support our migrant community. Critical.

Thank you very much.

My

name is Nicole Wolffley. I am speaking on behalf of Snoqualmie Neighbors for Responsible Energy Development. We want to begin by acknowledging the county's leadership in advancing energy policy, particularly ordinance one nine eight two four, which established important baseline standards for battery energy storage systems, referring to Jupiter. We also respect the distinction between the council's legislative role and the executive's permitting authority. We are not here to ask for intervention in specific permit decisions.

We're here because the Cascadia Ridge Best Jupiter program led by Jupiter raises a broader question. Does the county insurance framework is sufficient when a project introduces nontypical conditions? In Snoqualmie, we're seeing combination of a scale, proximity to residential communities, and constrained geography that does not appear to align with typical sighting patterns based on independent analysis we will be submitting. When conditions are not typical, the level of review should reflect the reality because the strength of any framework is measured by the public trust it earns. We respectfully ask the council's review whether current policy fully address site specific factors like population density, terrain, proximity to assets, environmental sensitivity, and whether additional guidance is needed to ensure public confidence.

Thank you. You know, if you would please, if you haven't already, because we've gotten a lot of emails, which are great. But if you have not turned in that email, if you could either send the email or submit your written comments to the clerk, that would be great. Appreciate that. Thank you.

Next three names are Danielle Wallace, Melody Correa, and Rajshri Jadeha.

Hi there. My name is Danielle Wallace. I'm, speaking on behalf of the Snoqualmie Neighbors for Responsible Energy Development. We support the safety standards that ordinance one nine eight two four established. They provide essential baseline protections, but baseline protections are not the same as site specific sufficiency.

The Cascadia Ridge proposal by Jupiter Power, is backed by BlackRock, introduces a combination of operational scale, residential proximity, and constrained terrain that does not appear to align with any sort of typical sighting patterns for a utility scale best anywhere in The United States. And we will provide the data that is a government backed to produce that evidence. In these cases, compliance with existing standards does not necessarily demonstrate that risk has been fully characterized or mitigated. Additionally, based on previously available materials, it is not clear that key analyses such as hazard mitigation, community risk, and emergency response are fully developed at the point where major decisions are made. When conditions differ from what standards are designed for, the level and timing of analysis becomes just as important as the standards themselves.

We ask the council to consider requesting a brief on how current standards perform under nontypical conditions and to consider threshold based triggers for additional review. Thank you for your time. Thank you.

Good afternoon. My name is Melody Correa. I'm speaking on behalf of the Snoqualmie neighbors for responsible energy development. While the Cascadia Ridge Jupiter Best facility is proposed to be in located in Snoqualmie, its implications extend across King County. The conditions present here, growing residential populations, constraint constrained terrain, and environmentally sensitive systems exist in many parts of King County.

Decisions made under these conditions can function as policy signals shaping how similar projects are proposed and evaluated elsewhere. When impacts are highly localized but decision making is distributed, it becomes more difficult to ensure all perspectives are fully reflected. That's why the structure and consistency of the review process matter as much as outcome? When a project introduces nontypical conditions, consistency consistency across county depends on aligning the level of review with the complexity of the conditions. To to encourage the county to clarify how projects with atypical conditions are evaluated and to consider incorporating alternatives or suitability analysis into the process. Thank you for

your time. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Good afternoon, chair and council members. My name is Rachri Jadeja and I'm a Snoqualmie resident representing Snoqualmie members for responsible energy development. The proposed casket rich best facility, it's proposed by Jupiter Power. It's the far reaching impact of a complex project like this on public health, on emergency response and our environment. While the framework like SEPA and EFSEC exists, the effectiveness depends entirely on the depth and the time of the review.

Because EFSCE can centralize decisions outside the local control, it's vital that any review process of any level incorporates specific site local control. We ask council to demand a high standards environmental review that matches the complexity of this infrastructure. And secondly, explore independent third party technical review to properly assess this multi domain risk. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. The next

three names are Valerie Pacheco, Nivedita Tanwar, and Hannah Pral.

Good afternoon, chair and council members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today regarding the Jupiter Power vest project. My name is Valerie Pacheco, and I'm a resident of Snoqualmie. I'm speaking on behalf of the Snoqualmie neighbors for responsible energy development. We recognize the importance of expanding energy infrastructure and supporting grid reliability, and we appreciate the county's leadership in advancing this work.

But as any emerging technology, the first set of policies is rarely the last. And as projects evolve in scale and complexity, the frameworks used to evaluate them need to involve as well. This is not just one proposal. It's about ensuring that the county's approach continues to reflect its values around public safety, environmental stewardship, and thoughtful land use. We are not asking for a specific decision on a specific project. We are asking for the process that is robust enough to support whether decisions are ultimate ultimately made. Thank you. We encourage to incorporate factors like proximity to schools, ecological sensitivity, and community assets into the evaluation. Thank you.

Thank you

so much for your

time. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Chair and Council members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak here today. My name is Nivedita and I'm a resident of Snoqualmie Ridge and also a member of Snoqualmie Neighbors for Responsible Energy Development. I want to acknowledge the county's leadership with ordinance nine nineteen thousand eight twenty four. My family has lived in Snoqualmie since 2012 and we there currently reside with our two little kids.

Our home is less than half a mile away from the proposed Jupiter Power BIS facility and this facility is being planned currently in the middle of a residential area with multiple elementary schools nearby and multiple parks. I'm here today because I care deeply about how decisions that affect our community's health and safety are made and this is not a hypothetical or a theoretical question. Two years ago, the house next to R. Scott Fire due to the lithium ion batteries that were saved or stored in their garage. It took the it caught fire three times over the next three days and it was quite a bit of work for our fire extinguishing department to work on that.

So, at this point, I'm just requesting the council to really deliberate the permits that are giving out especially for residential areas. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Can you call the next three names now too, please, just before so they can line up?

Next three names are Rosario Lopez, Alexander Jimenez, and Nathan L.

Thank you. Hi.

My name is Hannah Prowl, and I'm a resident of Snoqualmie. I'm concerned about the Cascadia Ridge best facility by Jupiter Power and site specific risk needed to be addressed for resident safety in event of a realized risk of fire. My concern about site specific risk not being covered in safety cleaning nor testing based on talking directly to a Jupiter Power engineer at the community event along with, like, the close proximity to residents, a hospital, elementary schools, and other schools caused me to object to the location of any best project on this location. I'm asking the county to formally update King County ordinance nineteen eight two four to include site considerations like proximity to school, hospitals, and homes, and to consider pausing new BEST approvals and proposals until those standards are in place to prioritize King County residents safety. Thank you for your time.

Thank you very much.

Thank

you. Thank you, Rosario. Thank you. We're on we're on recess. Council's on recess.

Council's on recess. Zoom, we are back in session. And let's resume with online comment. Christophe, please begin calling the names online who have raised their hands or signed up. And if those and then we will close when we've heard from from folks.

And again, it's one minute per comment. Go right ahead.

Christian Nelson is the first name online.

Yeah. Hi. Thank you. Can you hear me?

Yes. We can. Go right ahead.

Okay. Thanks. Yeah. I'm calling to voice my concerns about this Snoqualmie Jupiter best facility. I have four kids who live about a mile away from this. There's lots of trees, wildlife, streams, and I still consider this type of facility to be experimental. The battery lifespan, there's like 5,000, 15,000 battery cells in each of these shipping containers. Lifespan might be ten years. They become more unstable over time. The oldest super best facility is about five years old. So I still consider experimental. Worst possible place for an experiment of this kind. Also,

bring

your attention HB nineteen sixty on the governor's desk, which would give tax exemptions to these facilities. So the tax benefits we've been promised are actually not gonna be as much, And we're asking that is something you guys look into to see the fiscal impact on local communities about this tax exemption for battery energy systems. Yes, so thanks for your time.

Thank you very much. Next on the list is GM. And you you could name three people and then they'll be prepared in line like that. Thank you. Go right ahead.

Can you hear me? Am I audible? Okay. Excellent. My name is Gail McArthur.

I'm not here as an angry parent, but I'm here as a subject matter expert for the family court system, especially with GALs in King County. This system of guardian ad litems is managed at the county level, but there is no meaningful verification on GAL credentials. So they only require thirty two hours of training and there is no continuing education requirement. Bad actors are slipping through the cracks and the judges are taking their opinions over a teacher's therapist licensed psychologist. Just for perspective, a hairstylist and manicurist require one thousand hours, a psychologist requires three thousand hours of training, a GAL requires thirty two hours, no continuing education.

There's only 26 of them in the state, and the one that I worked with from 2002 has taken no course of control, no domestic violence, and has made, poor decisions, pay to play, over my child. And somebody in the county needs to oversight this. I am happy to work with you. I am a subject matter expert. I have been to Washington DC, talked to Maria Cantwell. I've talked to senator Fortinato, and, RFK junior is passing a national bill about this. But this needs reform ASAP. I'm also working with a lot of moms. The GAL Guardian ad litem has no oversight or whatsoever. Thank you.

Thank you. Would you please email your comments as well?

Yes. Thank you.

Thank you. Melanie, can you call the three names?

Next three names are Harper, Janine Barber and Joe Kunzler. I will unmute Harper.

Thank you very much. Harper, are there? All right, Melanie, let's go to the next one and come back to Harper.

Janine Barber, please go ahead. Hi.

WAC 29682314060 sets strict requirements for handling, storing, and discarding of contaminated sharps. The, health care and wellness committee passed in h b twenty three sixty regulating Sharpe's disposal for the state of Washington. They recommend that a group be created to steward and also explain to the public what would be required for for disposing of sharps so that we can discourage, disposal of sharps in solid waste recycling or garbage. When it is even stated that when one sharps collection, site per city plus at least one additional for every 20,000 people. I live in Federal Way.

My name is Barber, and the transit center will need

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Up next, Harper, are you are you able to speak?

Yes. Sorry. I was giving comment to Seattle City Council. I'm here to give an abridged letter from the Seattle Transit Riders Union to this council. As Seattleites and human beings, have been horrified by the invasion of Iran by The United States and Israel. We call on our elected leaders to loudly, publicly, strongly, and unconditionally oppose United States actions to Iran and the likely actions in Lebanon and any others in the region. Region. We believe it is responsibility of our elected leaders to show their constituents and the American people what it looks like to lead on this issue. Leading does not merely mean statements, but also bold action. Leading means recognizing and responding to the fact that this war is driving up an already untenable cost of living.

Our elected leaders must continue to find ways to improve access to affordable food, housing, and transportation, and those other things required for a happy, healthy, and fulfilling life. Our leaders must invest in expanding food assistance, rental assistance, and shelter space, as well as public transit. It is incumbent upon you to create the strongest safety net you can to catch those falling from economic stability and ladders necessary to raise people onto it. It is incumbent upon you to speak out when atrocities are being committed even when you have no direct control over them. Thank you.

Thank you, Harper.

Next up is Joe Kunzler.

Thank you for having me. As promised, madam chair, Joe Kunzler here. I wanted to ask you to counsel adopt rules to deal with some of the instability of late, not just from Alex Sherman, but we saw today, madam chair. I think it I think the council deserves to be treated a lot better. I think your public service matters, and it is much appreciated. Now I'm sorry I won't be there Saturday for the Claudia badass UT cross line link opening, but I certainly will be there in spirit. It'll be a great opening, and I hope we can all work together to make sure that Sound Transit builds all its lines, especially the Ballard and Everett and Tacoma. I wanna thank you all of you for your service again, and those on transit. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kunzer.

The next three names are Sam Hem, Sarah Jet Razer and Rand McDonald. Sam Hem, please go ahead.

Hi, everybody. My name is Sam Hem. I serve as the President of Seattle Building Trades Seattle King County Building and Construction Trades Council representing thousands of skilled construction workers across this region. Also served as the political director and regional representative for the sheet metal, air rail and transportation workers local sixty six. I'm here today to speak in support of energy storage projects like the Cascadia Ridge project that has been discussed today.

As you all know, Washington passed the Clean Energy Transformation Act, committing us to a cleaner electric grid. King County has embraced that vision through its strategic climate action plan. But to make that transition work in real world in the real world, we need the right infrastructure, and storage is a critical piece of that. At the same time that we see that there's demand growing rapidly from whether it's electric vehicles, population growth, building electrification and more extreme weather events, we need to maintain reliability and resiliency. But it's also about something equally important. It's about the economic opportunity and workforce development. Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Sam. Nice to see you again.

Sarah Jet Racer, it's your turn.

Hi. Thank you for taking the time to listen to our comments today. I'm Sarah Jet Racer. I had the pleasure of testifying last week on the resolution up for vote today on anthogens. I'm the former wilderness EMT and emergency management professional that worked my way out of a wheelchair through illegally healing with anthogens and cannabis.

As I said last week, that healing did not happen in a clinical or medicalized setting. It happened through intentional personal and community supported use. At times, that was a truly scary and exhausting and incredibly expensive learning curve that shouldn't be what other people experience when they are so desperately seeking healing. By depriorit by deprioritizing the use of entheogens, you allow for those safe spaces and communities to be created and held, and it brings conversations and risk reduction resources into the light so that safe healing can actually begin. Other areas of the state have already voted in similar resolutions with Tacoma and Olympia voting unanimously and calling for other cities and counties to follow forward. I respectfully ask for you to protect personal autonomy, community practices, and equitable access by voting yes on this resolution. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Gwen McDonald, please go ahead.

Our next three names and we'll come back.

Next three names are Maribel Garcia, Anthony Natale, and Cody Zalewski. Ren McDonald, please go ahead.

Oh, great. Excellent. Sorry. I forgot to hit on mute. Howdy. I'm a member of SEIU nine twenty five and a taxpayer of District 9. As one of the people who keep our natural spaces beautiful and safe for you and your family, I believe it is my duty to bring attention to the unfair and downright embarrassing treatment we, as your public servants, receive. Parks workers and the people who keep you safe on trails haven't received a real wage since 2008 or a real wage increase since 2008. Could you imagine having a stagnant wage for almost two decades in one of the most expensive places to live? Many of us came to the county because of its reputation, but those low wages have priced my coworkers and myself in starting families or even getting homes amongst our friends and neighbors.

A recent levy just passed that gave a DNRT $810,000,000 of the hard earned income of our constituents. Our taxes increase and projects grow, but our wages stay the same. I have to have four roommates in order to afford a simple apartment and buy groceries. One paycheck covers only half of that. Enough is enough, and it's time for the county to recognize that the people that live and work in these parks every day deserve pay that can afford them to live

Time.

Without struggle. Thank you. Have a good day.

Thank you.

Maribel Garcia?

Hi. Good afternoon, everyone. I want to thank the council members and thank council member Mosquela for your leadership on the ICE Out ordinance in order to keep our community safe. Comonidad highly appreciates the thoughtful work in developing these protections. My name is Maribel Garcia, a longtime bilingual educator and leadership for education diversity fellow with Comonidad.

As a proud first generation Latina graduate and Mexican Colombian roots, I can relate to a thousand youth and adults. What we hear is clear. Our young people are demanding accountability, transparency, and dignity on how ICE operates in their communities. Juanita wants to thank council member Mosqueda for the ICE Out ordinance to prohibit staging of ICE agents in parks and properties regulated by King County and removing the term alien as the word dehumanizes our people. We urge you to continue leading with courage and past protections to ensure that every family in our county can live, learn, and play without fear. Recognizing this moment will shape the legacy for our communities. Thank you. Thank you.

Up next is Anthony Natale.

And, Melanie, can you name a few others?

There's only one name left after, Anthony with a hand raised.

Okay. Anthony, are you with us? Okay.

Can you hear me, folks? Yes. Wonderful. My name is Anthony. I'm the director of emergency response for the Farnell Risk Alliance. I'm working in the utility and energy storage space. I'd like to speak on the battery energy storage ordinance. Since 2018, I've helped to develop NFPA eight fifty five, which is the safety code on citing these projects. I just wanted to commend the council on adopting that code or key tenants of it, which is the gold standard and the key to managing community risk. Establishing this standard sets a high bar and removes less than stellar projects from consideration.

The standards that you've developed require emergency response planning with the fire services and training to ensure that they are prepared. Response to these events do not require a specialized hazmat team, just a well prepared fire department. Hopefully, your hard work will put to put to rest the fear that the Internet generates generates on this topic. Thank you, folks. I appreciate your time.

Thank you very much. Is there anyone else online who would like to speak who has not had a chance to raise their hand?

We've got Cody Zalewski up next and then Joshua Simison.

Great, thank you.

Please go ahead, Cody.

Hello, King County Council. My name is Cody Zalewski with the Psychedelic Medicine Alliance of Washington. Allowing the use of psychoactive antigens is a matter of autonomy, personal liberty, a matter of treating otherwise untreatable mental health disorders, a matter of cost effective solutions to tackling substance abuse, including opioids, and fundamentally a matter of not treating antigens as a law enforcement issue. King County has the opportunity today to join dozens of other jurisdictions both here in Washington, elsewhere elsewhere in California, Colorado, DC, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, and Michigan to destigmatize the use of these profound medicines. Many politicians here in Washington are baselessly worried this is a fringe or unpopular issue, and this couldn't be farther from the truth.

In the dozens of hearings I've attended over the years, these are parents, law enforcement officers, veterans, firefighters, medical doctors, nurses, and respected members of the community who are wary of the stigma this topic carries. I strongly encourage the council to pass this measure and thank you.

Thank you very much.

Last hand raised is Joshua Simison.

Hello. My name is Joshua Simpson. I'm Iraq war veteran and educator in Seattle. I'm here to speak in support of continued and theogen research into criminalization. Many veterans I know have found and theogen therapy deeply helpful in treating PTSD.

Helps them learn to let go, stay present, and make peace with the past. This helps shift their relationship to anxiety, build psychological flexibility, and embrace the idea that everyone deserves forgiveness. Importantly, the VA is conducting ethogen research, which will allow veterans to treatment in a monitored therapeutic setting to give medical professionals greater legal freedom to do this work. The council's continued support also allows medical providers to have credentialed and licensed, expanding access to everyone struggling with mental health. Endoedrogen treatment isn't for everyone, but the science has been advancing legally for years. I support King County doing whatever it can to destigmatize ethogen to use for both medical and professional purposes. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Is there anyone else, okay, that you can see?

That's it.

Okay. Seeing no further requests, we will close a public hearing. I do want to thank everybody who came today, whether you testified or not, to express your views. We strongly encourage public comment and civil discourse and very much appreciate you bringing the issues to our attention, which is sometimes not easy, takes a lot of courage, and we're very appreciative of that from you. So thank you very much. Turning next to Consent Item eight, the first action on today's agenda. Vice Chair Barron, would you please move Consent Agenda Item eight.

I move Consent Agenda Item

Thank you. Consent agenda Item eight. Eight is before us. Clerk Hay, would you please call the roll?

Councilmember Balducci. Councilmember Balducci. Councilmember Varone?

Aye.

Councilmember Dembowski?

Aye.

Councilmember Dunn?

Aye.

Councilmember Fane? Aye. Councilmember Lewis? Aye. Council member Mosqueda. Aye. Council member Von Reichbauer.

Aye.

Chair Perry. Aye. The vote is eight ayes and council member Balducci excused.

Thank you. By your vote, we've adopted proposed ordinance number twenty twenty six dash zero zero seven. Turning next to those ordinances up for council action today, the first of which is item nine, proposed ordinance twenty twenty five-three 29. As my colleagues may recall, I've been working on a meeting materials pilot program with our communications team for a few months now, and we'll be continuing with the pilot today using a slide to help contextualize item nine. Going forward, we will This happened rather quickly, and we did not have time for the full review we would like, so going forward, we will make sure that we work with council members on the items that they sponsored so that they can approve or not approve what would be presented so that folks can essentially lean in, listen to what we're presenting in a way that will make sense to the public so that we can really hear your thoughts and ideas because that is very important to us.

So we now have a slide, I think, that will be up. There we go. Pacific Raceways is located in unincorporated King County and is operated under a conditional use permit since 1984. In 2012, the council created a demonstration project to allow improvements under different review rules. In 2015, the council allowed certain activities through an interim use permit, including building structures for regional motorsports facility use and preparing materials for construction.

The purpose of the ordinance itself would be to update rules for the demonstration project and interim use permit. It would allow additional uses such as cycling and running events and allow changes to the road course. It would also streamline review and the approval process. Council Member Barron, would you please move the item?

Well, I want to defer to the sponsor because I see him online. I don't know if he wants to move the item, Chair.

I do.

Okay. Well, I was going to ask Council Van Ragbera to speak, but would you please move proposed ordinance twenty twenty five dash zero three two nine?

Thank you, chair. I move adoption of proposed ordinance twenty twenty five zero three two nine.

Thank you. Before we proceed, I will note that we have Jake Tracy from council central staff with us here today in case any members would like a briefing or have any questions, and there's also a striking amendment. At this point, council Van Reitbauer, would you like to speak to the item as a sponsor or have the briefing or both?

I'd be happy to I would point out to my colleagues, it's 10:11PM, in Oxford, England right now.

I don't know if we can trust you.

But, no. I I I a number of, people that you and I know and everybody knows are here, and they're visiting a local establishment, and I am not. I would suggest too that, I'm very pleased that, I was invited, here because of my interest in jobs. Part of my delegation is local two forty two, Billy Heatherton. Senator Orwell is here.

Senator Toudreaux is here. Pierce County executive Ryan Melo is here as well as a number of people who are also committed as I am, and I think my colleagues know how much I committed to helping, apprentice programs. I look at apprentice programs as a pathway that we need to develop as we look at what's changing in the culture of jobs today. A proposed ordinance twenty twenty five zero three two nine would modernize the provisions that were adopted over a decade ago. It would make some updates to reflect changes that were made since then to the property zoning.

Our permit review processes provide additional flexibility for the property owners to do some interim improvements to the property before completing the full demonstration project that was adopted by this council. My priority has always been jobs. AI will never be able to fix a race car, and Pacific Raceways is a job center in South King County. I was invited to Oxford this week to learn how we can protect and promote trade programs that create pathways to high paying AI proof jobs. While the time here is late, I am committed to working as much as it takes to get our next generation every available path to success.

No college debt and a real job. Today, labor management and thinking Americans have come together and realized as we see the headlines where tens of thousands of people are being laid off. And we can see in the future the impact of AI on people who are now in their mid twenties, the thirties, and forties. They're gonna be getting knocks in the door because their jobs are gonna be eliminated. We have to get ahead of the problem.

We have to be proactive, and this ordinance is a proactive attempt at helping a a growing need in South King County and a growing need in the Puget Sound region for jobs. I thank you for the opportunity to address this, and I thank you, chair Perry, for understanding how important jobs are not just to Woodinville and Lake Forest Park, but throughout our region. And we have to do everything we can as a county regional body to promote, encourage jobs, and that's what this is all about.

Thank you very much. Councilmember von Reichbauer, Jake, would you go ahead and offer a briefing of the item, and then would love to hear if my, colleagues have any comments or questions for discussion.

Sure. Would you like me to, just brief the striking amendment or the underlying legislation?

Underlying and striking, if you would. Okay. Or striking if it yes. The striking amendment. Yes.

Just the striking amendment?

I think so. Although, I'm not sure everybody knows exactly what this legislation is about. So

It passed out the committee the whole nine to nothing. So I I think it's important to focus on the the striking amendment, chair.

Okay. Good. Thank you. Go ahead, Jake.

Sure. So Jake Tracy, council staff, the striking amendment is on page two or begins on page two of the green folder, and the effect statement begins on page 46. Substantive changes fall into two categories, some additional restrictions on activities under the demonstration on demonstration project and added flexibility for the permitting division. On the first topic, the amendment would remove language requiring that all operating and development agreement conditions be no more restrictive than existing permits. Instead, it would say that any new or expanded uses could be subject to more restrictive conditions in order to mitigate any impacts from those newer expanded uses.

The amendment would also place limits on two stroke vehicle usage, limiting those to one weekend per month on the kart track during the racing season. And on the second, topic of flexibility, the amendment would remove a requirement that the permitting division issue a SIPA determination within sixty days of the complete application for the demonstration project. The amendment would also add a couple of findings, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you very much. Do my counsel, colleagues have any questions about either the underlying or the striking amendment? Please speak up. I cannot see all of the I'm not seeing any. Well, if there is no further discussion Sure.

Council Member Mosqueda has had her hand raised. Just

want

to Oh, thank you. Council Member Mosqueda, please go ahead.

Excellent. Well, thank you, Chair. And I just wanted to thank the sponsor. We are so pleased to support this legislation. We wanted to emphasize the importance of this partnership and the work that has been done in this location to build strong, not only opportunities for community members, but strong relationships with our labor partners.

As you heard the chair or excuse me, the sponsor mentioned, this is an incredible opportunity to support our investments in working families. And I wanted to call out that at a time when gas prices are soaring, it's heartwarming to know that this Raceway is all also helping to drive towards a future where we can rely on these powered by renewables. Thank you very much to the sponsor and the community. We are so thankful to be able to support the Raceway and all that occurs at this location, including the support of this current generation of workers and future generations of workers.

Thank you very much. Councilmember Fain followed by Councilmember Lewis followed by Councilmember Dunn.

Thank you. Well, I'm sorry that I don't have any puns at the ready here, but I just wanted to also state my support since I wasn't part of this body when the original legislation passed unanimously out of Cow. The economic benefits of the Pacific Innovation Campus will extend far beyond its home in South King County and the support that we've seen from neighboring cities, including a number of cities in my district, the labor community and sales sports commission. It's a testament to that. So thank you again to the sponsor for bringing forward this legislation and to our community partners for your ongoing advocacy for job growth and economic development in South King County.

And I very much look forward to supporting this

legislation. Yeah. Council Member Lewis. Thank you. My

staff and I have been visiting different schools and listening around the county, around, I'm sorry, around our district too. And one of the things that we've heard very loudly and clearly is opportunities for young people who either aren't gonna go to college at all or maybe they wanna defer going to college. And so we've heard apprenticeships, apprenticeships, apprenticeships a lot. And I too want to add my thanks to the sponsor and look forward to voting in favor of the ordinance.

Yeah. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Councilmember Dunn.

I want to thank the sponsor, councilmember

von Reichbauer, for his long leadership on this important issue. This is an asset of very important regional significance we have here, and the Fiorita family has stewarded it for a long time, working very closely with the community out there. And, you know, I think this is a a a very well drafted piece of legislation. I wanna thank the sponsor, and, I urge colleague support.

Thank you very much. Council member Dombowski.

Thanks very much, adding my appreciation to the sponsor, and to the, owners of the facility. It's a terrific regional asset. I wanna express my appreciation for their work in recent years to help develop it as kind of an innovation center, as automobile technology changes and we look to become a greener world. They have been absolutely tremendous partners, working at the forefront of, the emerging, science and and technology in that space. And if it's okay with council member, I've asked the clerk to add my name as a cosponsor to the legislation. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else? Let me just look. Okay. Not seeing anyone else.

I would like to add my gratitude to the sponsor and to the focus on apprenticeships. I am a huge fan of apprenticeships as well, and I'm jealous that you're there with Billy Hetherington and the crowd, But I am very also very appreciative of Jason Pierino and the whole team that has put so much work into this over the years and been incredibly respectful of the processes and of the neighbors and of all of the input and gone to great lengths to make sure everybody is with him on this. So I very much appreciate that and lend my support to this as well. With that, and you have moved the striking amendment.

I I I would like to move, striking amendment one s one.

Thank you very much. Striking amendment s one is before us. If there are no other questions, for the discussion, we'll proceed to the vote. All those in favor of striking amendment S1, please say aye.

Aye. All

those opposed say nay. Thank you. Striking amendment S1 is adopted. Turning now to the ordinance as amended before we vote on final adoption. One more chance for any other comments. Councilmember Dunn, I do see your hand still up. Would you like to make a comment?

Oh, no. I think that's appropriate for the sponsor if he wants to speak. Sorry. I put my hand down.

Thank you. Councilmember Von Reitbauer, do you have a closing comment?

Just briefly, getting back to what councilmember Lewis mentioned in terms of changing the culture and the approach people have to apprentice programs. We're gonna work together, and I look forward to working with you, Rhonda, on how we work to rebrand that pathway to apprentice jobs. Again, in today's world, apprentice jobs lead to $80,000 a year jobs, pension, health plan, and the like. We gotta change the brand so it's desirable pathway for young people. Otherwise, we have people who are going to leave college with a degree and a debt and working at a as a barista.

We need to really move we have a great need in this community and in this country for skilled labor, plumbers, electricians, and the like. And we need to focus as a county body, not just on this legislation, goes in that direction, but other legislation. We have to take a lead because if we don't, the next generation are gonna be victims of AI. Thank you.

Thank you very much. At this point, we will turn to the ordinances amended twenty twenty five-three twenty nine. Clerk Hay, will you please call the roll?

Thank you, Chair Perry. Council Member Balducci? Aye. Council Member Barone?

Aye.

Councilmember Dembowski.

Aye.

Councilmember Dunn.

Aye.

Councilmember Fain. Aye. Councilmember Lewis. Aye. Councilmember Mosqueda. Aye. Council Member von Reichbauer.

Aye.

Chair Perry. Aye. The vote is nine ayes, zero nos. Thank you.

By your vote, we've adopted proposed ordinance 2020 five-three 29 as amended.

You.

Thank you.

Yes. Thank you. Turning next to item 10, proposed ordinance twenty twenty six-twenty seven, which concerns the use of King County owned and controlled property. Council member Lewis, if you would move the item and then we'll we'll have a we'll ask if we want to if council member Mosqueda, the sponsor, would like to speak to it or have it briefed. If you would move item ordinance twenty twenty six-twenty seven.

Thank you. Proposed Ordinance twenty twenty six-twenty seven is before us. Before we proceed, I'll note that we have Jean Paul from Council Central staff with us here today for any questions, along with Misha Werschkel and Jeffrey Thomas from executive staff. There's also a striking amendment, line amendment, and title amendment. Before we have discussion, Council Member Mosqueda would like to speak to the item as sponsor of the legislation, and I don't know if you'd like to have it briefed or not. That's up to you.

Thank you very much, and thank you to the Chair of Law and Justice for the conversation about this. Thank you very much, Chair Lewis. Chair Perry, I would like to speak to it, but I'd love to speak to the striking amendment. Would you like me to move the striking amendment so that's before us for the briefing? Sure. Thank you very much, Sheriff Perry. I move striking amendment S-one.

Okay. I wondered if we actually I had striking amendment after there was a potential for an executive session. I Do

mind if I speak to the underlying bill and then maybe Please. Yes.

Think that's be great.

Okay. Yeah. Great. Well, I appreciate that, Chair Perry. I wanna say thank you to my colleagues for your ongoing conversation on this legislation. We are very thrilled that this is in front of the council. It's been almost two months that we've had the chance to be working on this policy. And then in partnership with the executive's office as well, we are very fortunate that we have the ability to come together as a body to show the residents of King County how we are continuing to stand up and protect the rights of all residents. We are fortunate in King County to have an abundance of immigrants and refugees in our community. We are home to many community members who have come to this region from other parts of the world.

And with that responsibility comes an obligation to make sure that we're standing up and protecting all residents. As we have seen in King County from a recent study from the University of Washington, we have seen not only that there has been an increase in immigration arrests over the last year and two months, but that King County has the highest number of arrests occurring in Washington State. It is our duty to be clear to both the federal government and to our residents that we will not stand by or allow our land resources to be used for the arrest and detaining of immigrants who are being pursued from ICE officials. This ordinance strikes an important balance. It recognizes that while we cannot obstruct lawful arrest by the federal government, we can make sure that our land use code is very clear.

This legislation in front of us strikes an appropriate balance by recognizing that all of the residents in King County are better protected when we have an obligation to ensure that land signs should stand up and protect residents. I'm gonna pause here and allow for central staff to do a briefing on the Stryker. And then if I could, I'd love to come back and provide some comments.

Thank you. I Okay. So if we could have Jean Paul, Misha Borschtvill and Jeffrey Thomas from executive staff provide a briefing at this point, that would be great. And then there has been a request for executive session.

Thank you, chair Perry, and good afternoon council members. I'm Gene Paul from council staff. The materials for this item begin on page 134 of the main meeting packet. The amendments that, were sent out this morning begin on page 96 of the additional materials packet. Proposed substitute ordinance twenty twenty six zero zero two seven point two would limit the use of county owned and controlled property as a staging area, processing location, or operations base for civil immigration enforcement operations.

As you mentioned, there's a striking amendment, a line amendment to the striker, and a title amendment for your consideration. And to help explain them, I'm going to reference the amendment tracker that's included on page 96 of the additional materials. Striking amendment s one, which begins on page 99 of the additional materials, would make the following changes. It would remove existing references in the code to the term alien. This change would reflect a new law passed by the state legislature this past session to remove the term alien from state and local codes, rules, and regulations when referring to an individual who is not a citizen of The United States.

Next, the striker would consolidate the definitions of operation base, processing location, and staging area into one new term called civil immigration enforcement related area, and it would use that new term where the three previously defined terms were used. Next, the striker would update the definition for county owned and controlled property to county owned or controlled property. The definition would also be updated to include any designated open space lands and public parks where each is provided for recreational purposes. And it would specify that civil immigration enforcement is not a recreational purpose. Next, the striker would add the definitions for the terms peace officer and public officer as defined in state law.

It would update two additional areas of existing code to include real property assets in the list of resources that a county employee, agent, or contractor shall not use to facilitate or participate in civil immigration enforcement operations. Next, it would specify the King County Sheriff's Office response when public or peace officers attempt or actually use county owned or controlled property as a civil immigration enforcement related area. The response sequence can be found beginning on page 109 of the additional materials packet. But in summary, where there is reasonable opportunity and resources allowed, the sheriff's office would respond to attempts or actual use of county owned or controlled property as civil immigration related or civil immigration enforcement related area, to confirm the credentials of public or peace officers. They would document and report the activity and advise the public or peace officers of the county code and request they leave county owned or controlled property.

If the public or peace officers refuse to leave, the sheriff's office would document that and provide evidence of the refusal to the prosecuting attorney's office for appropriate legal action and enforcement. If a court provides an order granting an injunction or other relief, the sheriff's office would follow standard procedures for enforcing such orders. That portion of the striking amendment that specified the sheriff's response would conclude by specifying that except where required by state or federal law, the use of county owned or controlled property as a civil immigration enforcement related area is prohibited, and activities and uses in violation of this prohibition may be subject to removal upon issuance of appropriate court order. Next, the striking amendment would update the code to specify that the only remedies against the county, its employees, agents, and contractors under this chapter for damages as a result of a violation of this chapter are filing a complaint with the King County Office of Equity and Racial and Social Justice or OERSJ or its successor in accordance with chapter 12.22 of the code. This update would also specify that the chapter did not create a private cause of action against a county employee, agent, or contractor in their individual capacity.

Next, the striking amendment would clarify that the requirement for the executive to develop signage and strategies to increase security measures would only apply to properties considered high risk for being used as a civil immigration enforcement related area. Additionally, the striker would update the language in the sign templates and allow agencies to add the required, statement to existing signs. Next, the striker would direct that the executive shall work with OERSJ or its successor and other relevant staff to develop training for county employees on this chapter or incorporate training on this chapter into existing training for relevant staff. And finally, it would remove the requirement for the executive to design signage template for private property owners and remove the requirement for the executive to make know your rights materials available to the public. This change would be made to reflect that the state attorney general has been directed to produce guidance for private businesses.

That concludes the summary of the striking amendment. There is one line amendment to the striker. Amendment one to s one, found on page 121 of the additional materials, relates to the complaints for violation of chapter two fifteen. Amendment one would refer to language being beginning on line four zero three of the striker to the existing language in the code. It would include the additional language from the striking amendment that the chapter does not create a private cause of action against county employees, agents, or contractors in their individual capacity, and it would make clear that the private cause of action in chapter 12.22 that is referenced in existing code would be an avenue to address violations of chapter two fifteen by allowing claims against the county.

Finally, there is a title amendment t one that would amend the title to comport with the changes made in striking amendment s one. And as I wrap up, I'll just point out that we once again have the ability to enter executive session if the members desire. That concludes my remarks.

Thank you very much. Before we go into executive session, we do want to give my colleagues an opportunity to have comments or questions for discussion. Council member, Vice Chair Dunn, you have your hand up.

Yeah, thanks for allowing the question. Say, what happens under this particular piece of legislation if a federal judge signs an arrest warrant for somebody, and that arrest warrant is served or attempted to be served in one of these, one of these spaces that the council's considering quarantining off? What is what is the sheriff's office supposed to do when encountering federal agents with a a valid arrest warrant?

Thanks for the question, council member Dunn. I can respond to that, or I can also defer that to legal counsel if there's a desire to hear a response from attorney on that.

Yep. Legal counsel would be great.

And I think, Monique Cohen, the legal counsel for the council, might be available. There are also a couple, prosecuting attorneys, or attorneys from the prosecuting attorney's office who have been working on this matter. I think I don't know if they're available on this or potentially just in the executive session, but, I see money

Well, it seems like it probably needs to be public so that our federal partners can understand exactly what it is that they would be asked to do. And, you know, since we just got sued at Boeing Field for stopping ICE deportations and the county lost badly costing its taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, I think it's important that we have a a public response. I I And

I agree. I agree, council member. And I think that there is a explicit indication in this legislation we are not obstructing lawful arrests because we cannot do that. Immigration arrests that are signed by a judicial warrant or court order are not going to be obstructed. So I just wanna make sure you and I are also clear with the public. There would be no interruption there, and I welcome the legal feedback as well as central staff.

Thank you. Monique, can you share from your perspective, please?

Monique Cohen, counsel for the council. Both, as, council member Mosqueda and council member Dunn are have indicated, if there is a valid warrant, there would be no obstruction. The intent of this is to, allow federal agents to continue to do their work as long as there is a valid warrant in place.

Thank you. Do my other colleagues And this oh, go ahead, please.

I'm say, and this legislation does not call for any obstruction or for the sheriff's officers to, interfere or take any, proactive steps against, the law enforcement.

Well, how are they gonna know it's a valid warrant without confronting them and then looking to see the the warrant? That's what I guess I'm trying to understand because they're

gonna be under this legislation, they're gonna be called up to deal with the situation. I'm just

trying to see how it actually work on the ground.

Sure. I didn't actually get to summarize the full bill, before handing it over to central staff. I'd love to both answer that question and the summary that I had prepared before I turned it over to central staff as I think that does help speak to that question.

Just before we go there, Councilmember Mosqueda, there was also Councilmember Barron had a question, so I want to make sure that those are raised and then go to you.

I'll defer to the Chair, to the sponsored.

Okay. Thank you very much. Council Member Mosqueda. Excellent.

Thank you. And I want to thank my colleague as well, Council Member Dunne, for the questions and central staff for the summary. I think it's an important question that we are explicitly clear about in this legislation. While at the local level, we are not asking our local law enforcement officers to do anything to obstruct lawful arrests because, again, we cannot do that for immigration arrests that occur in public spaces. We also recognize there are a number of places around King County that we've already seen signed judicial warrants or court orders go into effect and immigration enforcement officers, arresting individuals.

What this legislation does instead is say that on property that the county owns or that the county operates, We are not going to facilitate civil immigration enforcement. And by definition in this legislation, that means for staging, processing, operating, creating the infrastructure so that a larger scale immigration civil immigration enforcement will be deployed. What this legislation does is it limits the use of county owned or county controlled property, including nonpublic areas of buildings or county facilities, parks, parking lots, garages, and vacant lots, as well as any designated open space that the county owns or operates. And it prohibits it from being used as the staging area, the processing location for operations. So again, this is being applied to larger scale immigration enforcement operations versus one individual arrest.

Under this legislation, we've clearly said that a staging area means the assembly, mobilization, deployment of vehicles, equipment or materials or the, bringing together of personnel for the purposes of executing civil immigration enforcement operations. When we talk about processing location in this legislation, it is defined as the setting up of a facility or temporary location that allows for the processing of paperwork, identification intake, or processing of documentation for people who will be arrested or detained or temporary held. Anything that is set up in this processing location for larger scale civil immigration enforcement operations will be prohibited. Lastly, we're talking about operation base, right, allowing for immigration to use our property for planning, coordinating for the execution of larger scale civil immigration enforcement operations are not allowed on our property. I think that's an important distinction that the council member is getting at to really make sure that we're not standing in the way of individual federally authorized court ordered or judicially signed warrants.

Of course, we cannot do that. But what we can do in this county is put into place legislation that protects our land use code. This is a land use policy. What we're saying in this legislation is that we want there to be signage at these county properties, designated signage templates developed by the executive that give notice of this type of limitation. I want to give a special thank you to the state attorney general who is working on a similar policy that will allow for private property owners to put up their own signs, but here, we're just designating signage for our county properties.

We're also requesting the executive to work with its county agencies to prioritize properties that could be used for these larger scale operations, again, staging, processing, operation basis for civil immigration enforcement, and we're asking them to develop strategies to increase securities for those properties. For example, that could mean for vacant lots, for properties that are not fenced already, it is asking if physical barriers would be appropriate, please deploy those fences or those locks to help limit access to those county owned and county controlled properties. And it's also asking the executive to help provide information to county employees, training to county employees. And thank you to council member Fain for her encouragement on this amendment and the striker to make sure that people know what type of, responsibilities employees of the county would have to notify the executive if there was ever an individual who tried excuse me, if there was ever an attempt by ICE to try to create an operation on our county property. Lastly, I just want to say thank you to the King County Sheriff's Office and the King County Prosecutor's Office who worked with us along with the executive's office to help identify ways that we could be very clear in this legislation that we are not impeding or interrupting federally required deployment of individual arrests where there's a judicial warrant or a warrant signed by a judge.

What we are asking for is for King County to respond to a scene if there's a number of federal officers there. And to the question that was asked, verify if they're federal officers, verify that they're trying to set up more than just a temporary one time, one individual type of arrest, and then inform them, inform the ICE agents of the policy that's in place. Request them to leave voluntarily, and ideally, they will leave voluntarily. Voluntarily. If this does not occur in the legislation and in partnership with the King County Sheriff's Office and the prosecuting attorney's office, there is a directive here that King County Sheriff's Office will continue to document how the individuals who are on King County property are potentially violating our statute here and with their body worn cameras, to take footage of what is happening.

The prosecuting attorney's office can request an injunction or a court order to ask the individuals to leave if, again, this is more than just a, you know, very quick, very, temporary arrest of, like, one individual or something. And if the court grants this request, the King County Sheriff's Office will follow their normal standard process and procedure for enforcing any court order that requires someone to leave certain property areas. So what we are effectively saying in this legislation is that no one is above the law, that we are clear that we will conduct the same protocol for any individual who's violating this land use policy. I really want to thank again all of my council members who provided excuse me, all the council members who provided feedback to the Stryker and Chair Perry. I I do have a list of thank yous to go along with specific policy changes that were requested, but I just wanted to be very clear in response to those questions that were asked about what this legislation does and what it does not do.

It will not impede individual officers from doing their obligation under the law. It does not ask King County Sheriff's Office to interfere or arrest or impede in any way with those with the federal directive, but it does provide guidance on how we want to use county owned and county controlled property.

Thank you. Thank you. This is very, very helpful, Council Member Mosqueda, the clarity is much appreciated. We have more comments from Vice Chair Barron and Council Member Fain. And then back to Council Member Dunn, if there are more comments, because I still see your hand there. So go right ahead, Vice Chair Barron.

Thank you, Chair Perry. And I want to thank the sponsor. I just wanted to address kind of the specific question that was raised, and I do appreciate that. Think it's important for us to talk publicly about this and make sure the community understands exactly what we're doing. And I first want to note that I want to remind everybody that since 2018, the King County Code already has had restrictions on the use of County property for immigration enforcement in the non public areas of our building.

So I just want to highlight that just because I think this isn't completely new in terms of like, we've already had experience with this kind of restriction. And I want to commend Councilmember Larry Gossett, who was the sponsor of that ordinance back in 2018, that put some very strong restrictions that are actually higher than we have a state law. So I think I'm proud that the county has been a leader on this, and I appreciate that Council Member's Quellada is now extending those protections further given what we've seen in other parts of the country. But to the specific question that was raised, both the existing code and the amendments that are being proposed through this through the through the ordinance and the the proposed ordinance and the striking amendment all talk about civil immigration enforcement. So I wanna make sure that everybody understands that this is this has no impact on criminal investigations, criminal arrests.

Anything that involves violation of criminal law would not be impacted by either the existing code or the proposed changes that we're making here. In addition to that, if there is even in the situations where there's civil immigration enforcement and I'm, you know, I'm a lawyer, but I'm not speaking here as a lawyer. I'm speaking as my own intent as a council member. The language I think has been carefully crafted to say that even in the situations where it is civil immigration enforcement, that there's an exception where state or federal law regulation or court order or rule shall so require. And so even in a situation where there is a federal court order, even in a civil immigration enforcement situation, if there is a court order that allows this activity to happen, we will abide by that.

And so I think the legislation is carefully balanced to make sure that we are only focused on civil litigation enforcement matters that are not supported by a court order or that are not required for us to allow because of federal law or because of state law. And so I appreciate that this has been carefully crafted to make sure that we are being consistent with law, with court orders. And definitely support. I'll wanna add more, but I just wanted to address that point in this conversation.

Thank you very much. Council Member Fain.

Thank you. And I also want to add more later, but one thing I wanted to make sure I understood and everyone else understands is around the signage. Could you maybe central staff, council member Miskita, just or you explain about where the signage will go and kind of explain the the priorities just so I can track what we're doing there.

Would Gene Paul like to address that or Councilmember Mosqueda?

I I can start here, Perry.

So in the striking amendment, basically, signage will only go on properties that executive staff deem high risk, for being used as civil immigration enforcement related areas. So there's a little bit of work to be done, but, essentially, this would not require scattering signs across every county property, just, you know, those areas where after an analysis is done that that those, you know, high risk areas, that might be used for those purposes would get assigned. And and the sign would simply say this property shall not be used for civil immigration enforcement staging operations or processing.

And will that be in more than English?

The ordinance does not direct it to be more than English at this time.

K. That's that's something that maybe we could discuss. I had do I have a couple things to before we go into executive session to discuss this further, do any of my other colleagues have anything more to say? I do have a couple of questions.

Okay.

On that question though, I would invite as well the executive, if the executive branch wants to chime in. I do appreciate their feedback on this. Again, the signage requires the executive to design the signage templates for the county agencies. I think that there's the opportunity there for them to do that in a different language as well and give notice to post those notices. It also, again, requests the executive to work with the county agencies to prioritize those properties that could be used as a staging area processing location or potential operating base for the civil immigration enforcement.

And we're asking them to develop the strategies to increase security on those properties. So it is deferential to them for identifying the priorities and the placement. And again, thank them for their feedback on that.

Thank you very much, Councilmember Mosqueda. I would like to ask thank you as always to Jean Paul for a great report. And I would like to ask Misha and Jeffrey if you could respond from the executive's office about any concerns you have or if there is if everything is meeting the approval. I know there's been a lot of work with the executive's office, so I would just like to hear if this meets with the executive's agreement as presented. And also, if you could speak to the signs, anything you might know, I certainly would like to follow-up on that, because I think it's very important that it's in the language, also for those it intends to protect.

Is Misha Jeffrey Misha, are you on?

Council member, this is Garrett Holbrook from the executive office.

Hello, Garrett. Yes.

Glad to be here. Thanks for the questions and the the collaboration with the executive office and, executive departments, in the, work on this legislation. The executive is comfortable with the legislation. We believe in alliance with the executive order and happy to work further with council members on any desired kind of outcomes in the science and the languages that are included there. Happy to answer any other questions you might have.

Thank you very much. And we also have Jeffrey Thomas with KCSO here. I just wanted to check-in with you along the lines of what Vice Chair Dunn was saying and hear how I know that you've also been working together with Councilmember Mosqueda on this. Do you have any thoughts that you would like to contribute as well?

I'll just say that I'll just echo what Garrett Holbrook had just shared from the executive's office. I've been working closely with the executive's office and have been also had the opportunity to review material from the council office and that council member Muscatow did a really good job of summarizing what our actions would be in one of these cases. I have nothing further to add at this time though, council member Perry, Chair Perry?

Very good. Thank you very much to Jeffrey Thomas for that. And with no other comments, we will move into Chair? Yes.

I see Council Member Dabowski has his hand.

Thanks so much. Council Member Dabowski.

Thanks. This is just on the exec session. Mean, since we're all mostly here on the 12th Floor, can we do it live in Southwest or Horiucci?

That fine for our staff?

The PAO attorneys will have to be remote. But

Okay. Melanie and others, can is that something that is easily doable, or does it take a lot of time? And do we need more time to prepare it?

I can move to the room in person if you'd like.

For you, Chi. Okay, let's honor council member Dombowski's request. Chair? Yes, council member von Reichbauer.

Well, those of us who are remote be able to participate remotely?

Yes, I will open the Zoom in just a moment.

Okay, very good. Thank you. So as was alluding to before we proceed, I want to note some questions were raised that may warrant additional discussion in executive session. To that end, the council will now meet in executive session. The grounds for the executive session is allowed by RCW 42Dot30Dot1101 I.

They are to discuss with legal counsel the legal risks of proposed action to which the county is or is likely to become a party when public knowledge regarding the discussion is likely to result in an adverse legal or financial consequence to the county. The council will be in executive session for approximately fifteen minutes until, four well, help me out here. 04:10 four four, 04:12? 04:12. The council will be off the Zoom call for this executive session together with only those county employ employees directly necessary for the discussion.

I must now ask council members, required county staff, and the PAO attorneys, and council's legal counsel to please move to the to Horiachi Room, for executive session. I'm asking KCTV to please post the Zoom meeting to that effect and to turn off the microphones. Counsel is expected to take further action following the executive session. Thank you.

The chair has extended the meeting for fifteen minutes until 04:27. The chair has extended executive session for fifteen minutes until 04:42PM. The chair has extended executive session for fifteen minutes to 04:57PM.

The

chair extended executive session for five minutes until 05:02.

And so for that reason, we're going to ship the order while they do that and proceed with the existing business at hand, and then we'll come back to that. So we will table that particular item and we will come back to that. So we're moving on at this point to consent motions, items eleven and twelve. Turning next to those, Vice Chair Barone, would you please move consent items eleven and twelve?

Chair Perry, I think we are short a couple

members now that I'm looking.

I see two, three, four. I think we're good to go, right? I see Councilmember Baducci and Councilmember Lewis, Councilmember Dunn.

We have five.

Yeah. Okay, great. And if I don't see Councilmember Varone

Or Dan Basky.

Council Member Dunn. Council Member Balducci, will you please move consent agenda items eleven and twelve? So moved. Thank you very much. Clerk Hay, will you please call the roll? These are before us.

Thank you. Council Member Balducci. Aye. Council Member Barone. Council Member Dembowski. Aye. Council member Dunn.

Aye.

Council member Fain. Aye. Council member Lewis. Council member Lewis. I think you're muted.

There you are.

Hi. Thank you. Councilmember Mosqueda. Here.

Aye. Councilmember

Von Reichbauer and Chair Perry. Aye. The vote is seven ayes and Councilmembers Barone and Von Reichbauer excused.

Okay. Thank you very much. By our vote, we've adopted proposed motion number twenty twenty six-nineteen and 21. Turning next to those motions up for council action today, is item 13 proposed motion twenty twenty six-seventeen concerning ethigen related research. Council member Muscado, would you please move proposed motion twenty twenty six dash zero zero one seven? So moved, chair. Thank you. Proposed motion twenty twenty six dash zero zero one seven is before us. Before we proceed, I wanna note we Nick Bowman from council central staff with us here today in case any members would like a briefing or have any questions. Council member Musqueda, would you like to speak to the legislation or have a briefing before I open it up for discussion?

I would love to just say some opening comments if I could. Absolutely. Colleagues, thank you. I want to first note on this item, there is no amendments, and this is a motion, meaning it's a resolution. This is a resolution narrowly scoped to the personal use of entheogens for therapeutic and related uses, which existing research shows us is highly effective for a range of conditions like traumatic brain injuries, post traumatic stress disorders, substance use treatment, and major depressive disorders.

It's for treating situations like my dear friend is facing with a traumatic brain injury, where all of the remedies that she has currently sought through the traditional medical system are not working. It is the reality that this substance is already deprioritized by our prosecuting attorney's office and the King County Sheriff's Office. But the motion in front of us is trying to make it clear to our community that we support the further research and the continued advocacy at the federal and state level to allow for more people to have access to entheogens as a way to treat traumatic brain injury, PTSD, substance use, and major depressive disorders. We've heard over the course of the last two weeks from many members of the veterans community about the importance of allowing for people to pursue the use of infusions without the fear or potential stigma of being able to access this this, potential remedy. This motion simply states the council support for existing strategies that are already in place, thanks to our King County Sheriff's Office and our prosecuting attorney's office who have already deprioritized either arrest or prosecution of the single use of enviogens when there's no other risky or illegal behavior that is being exhibited.

In addition, it states the Council's support for additional research that's being done to help understand the medical benefits of entheogens. I want to thank members at the University of Washington, for example, who have currently launched a medical research program, starting two years ago, and they are working with members of our communities now to evaluate and lift up the medical benefits of entheogens. Again, chair Perry, this motion reaffirms current policy at King County. We do not aggressively police or prosecute the use of entheogens for personal quantities for adults. And that made it really easy to support the request from community that we join members of the community around the state and others who have already stepped up to support this call for additional deprioritization and further research.

Thank you, Chair Perry, and I'll save some comments for closing.

Thank you very much. Would any of my colleagues like to hear the briefing on this item? Please just show raise a hand if anybody would like to hear the briefing from central staff. Okay. Seeing no hands, oh, Council Member Vice Chair Dunn. So let's go ahead and have the briefing on this item, and then we'll open it up for questions and discussion.

You don't have to make

it long. I'm just throwing it out there. I'd like to hear at least hear something about it. Thanks.

Thank you. Nick Bowman, whenever you're ready.

Absolutely. Thank you council members for the record. Nick Bowman, council central staff. I will just cover the analysis section then in, order to make this brief. Proposed motion twenty twenty six zero zero one seven states the council support for continued research for and theogen related alternative treatment modalities and structured medical models and the council support for the full decriminalization of the personal use of amphiogens by adults 21 years age or older or older at the state and federal level.

The proposed motion also requests that the investigation, arrest, and prosecution of any adult engaging in the cultivation of amphiogens for the use in religious, spiritual, healing, or personal growth practices be designated among King County's lowest criminal enforcement priorities and that county resources not be expended for law enforcement actions against such uses. The proposed motion clarifies that these requests are limited to the unincorporated areas and are not intended to reflect intent on the part of the council to infringe upon the laws, procedures, or priorities of jurisdictions contracting with the sheriff's office or for the prosecuting attorney's office to decline the prosecution of cases for antigen related offenses, which involve other substances or public safety is put at risk. The proposed motion further states that passage of the motion does not reflect any intent on the part of the council to support or encourage driving under the influence of enviogens, possession or distribution of enviogens in schools, use of enviogens on any form of public transit or in public places, possession, distribution, or sale of enviogens by or to persons 21, commercial manufacturing or or sales of enviogens, or conduct that puts public safety at risk. That concludes my remarks.

Happy to answer questions.

Very good. Thank you. Council vice chair Dunn, do you have questions for Nick?

No real questions for Nick. I think he summed it up, the staff report.

Okay, very good. Thank you. Do any of my other colleagues have questions? Please speak up. I cannot see your hand, if so. Chair Perry. Council Member Fain.

I don't have questions. I just wanted to thank Councilmember Mosqueda and her team for working on this in committee and really allowing me to work with everyone to narrow the use to ensure that we were clear that this is not commercial intended for commercial use or any ability for it to be expanded to commercial use right now. Really clear narrowing kind of cultivation language, allowing public safety to be addressed, to make clear that this doesn't mean and it actually ensures that King County law enforcement or emergency responders can act if there's an immediate risk to public safety, so we did a lot of work to make sure that we were clear on the roles and the use and I think it's important, to recognize that, a lot of, behavioral health, mental health issues right now need all sorts of different methods to address challenges and I am loath to limit them but I did want to be careful that even though this is just a letter of support and a directive that this is not a top priority for the County, that if anyone takes this motion forward to make legislation that we've already considered a lot of the concerns that I think would come up and so I think it's a great starting point and again thank Councilmember Mesqueta, her team, Central Staff Nick Bowman, and all of the people who for so many meetings now have come and advocated for this and really just appreciate the collaborative effort.

Thank you. Council Member Dunn, you are the only one that is unmuted. Does that suggest you would like to make another comment?

Well, yeah, I think you were just in the section where we're asking questions to the staff report. If we're on final passage, I wanna make a statement if possible.

I think we are coming to final passage at this point. Go ahead.

Let me

It's closing and vote on final passage of twenty twenty six dash zero zero one seven. Do my colleagues have any closing remarks before we proceed with a vote?

I I do. I do.

Council member, vice chair Dunn.

Thanks. Appreciate that. Surprised there is more discussion on this issue. So I just want to make sure everybody understands this is not a letter. This is legislation twenty twenty six-twelve.

It's a motion stating the council's support for methanogen related research and the decriminalization of related activities, as well as requesting that law enforcement actions towards certain ethigen related activities be among the county's lowest priorities. And I appreciate the tense spirit of this, but we all know that King County is facing a drug overdose epidemic. Last year was the second highest overdoses on record. The year before that was the highest in history of the county. And I fear that while well intentioned, this ordinance could exacerbate the problem.

Short memories, guess, but the state of Oregon experimented with this drug decriminalization in 2021, it failed so spectacularly that it was so unpopular the state had to reverse course and recriminalize in 2024. And you should look at the political article from March 2024. Why why Portland failed where Portugal succeeded in decriminalization decriminalizing drugs. That's important for people to look at. And you're pulling some of the language of the motion, refusing to prosecute crimes is not the same thing as research.

Drug decriminalization is not the same thing as exploration, and so called controlled settings are as imaginary as the hallucinations that these drugs cause. Well, that's good. My staffer really went out and swung for the fences on that line. That's pretty good. These are not harmless drugs, and we shouldn't pretend that our actions won't have consequences.

First of all, some of these drugs, and I'm going to read a list of them in a second, have an addictive quality to them, which is important for people to understand. And very importantly, bad trips can happen and can put those at risk for self harm to themselves or others through an even greater state of panic or depression, okay? In 2023, soldier took magic mushrooms and started hallucinating during a music festival. He killed Jocelyn Ruiz and Brandy Esco Scamala of Seattle while he was hallucinating in our very own state. That's important for people to know.

An Alaska Airlines pilot, you guys might have remembered this. An Alaska Airlines pilot self medicated with psychedelic mushrooms and tried to shut down the engines of a plane mid fight flight. He put 83 souls at risk because he thought he was in a dreamlike state while under the influence of magic mushrooms. And so while I understand there is a need for research, and I'm sure there are situations where these drugs can be therapeutic, it shouldn't be studying from experimentation in one of the nation's largest cities though. And effectively this ordinance or this motion effectively goes to the point of making the statement that we're legalizing drugs like magic mushrooms, horse shrooms, peyote, ala Husqa, hallucinosis and all sorts of other drugs associated with party as a way that is somehow being considered facilitating research.

It doesn't make sense, especially when we know these drugs are often used in tandem with other drugs like ketamine, LSD and DMT and other drugs with other drugs being sold illegally is not a guarantee or process to ensure these products are safe for consumption. So you don't have any FDA regulation, that sort of thing. I'm also worried that this motion will have unintended consequences of bad actors coming to King County and abusing the intent of this ordinance, distribution for a higher client market. You certainly saw that happen in Oregon. That was one of the big problems there.

I think we should be doing everything we can to help those struggling with drug addiction to get the treatment they need to save lives. Treating King County as a testing ground for an experiment in hallucinogenic drugs is not a route we should take. Studies show that the number one way to get people the treatment they need is arrest and contact with our court system. It is the best way for somebody to enter the portal for treatment. We want to get these drug addiction stats down, which has stopped saying that we are going in the direction of legalizing these kinds of hard drugs. I don't I'm not passionate about being against it. I think it's fraught with downstream consequences that we should take more seriously than we are today. Thank you.

Do my other colleagues on the dais have other closing comments before we turn it to the sponsor. Councilmember Mosqueda, would you like to make closing comments?

Sure, absolutely. Thanks for the opportunity to correct the record. Let's not be hyperbolic about this. The reality is this is a existing practice here in King County. Let's not exaggerate or overemphasize the efforts here in a simple motion, again, a resolution that states existing practice.

I know that this is something that is a important tool for veterans. I know that this is an important tool for those who have post traumatic stress disorder. I know that this is an important tool for those who are facing substance use disorder and needing additional treatments. What we have seen from the research is that ethnogens are a promising treatment option for those who are facing an array of behavioral health issues, including the possibility of treating substance use disorder. I wanna make sure I clarify for the record that this council is supporting King County Sheriff's Office and the prosecuting attorney's office existing policies, and their existing policies focus on protecting the public's health and protect the public's safety.

If there is any action that is corresponding with a a behavior that is illegal, those other actions are being prosecuted. Arrests are being made. What is current practice is to not simply prosecute or pursue someone for an arrest simply because they are engaged in using ethnogens for medical purpose for individual consumption. The data supports the continued push towards allowing more members of our community to have any destigmatized approaches to be able to access these substances. We know that ethnogens are relatively safe, substance to use with very, very low risk of addiction.

And to the degree that these tools can help people get off of very harmful and illegal substances, that is a value add to our community, and that protects the public's health. This motion formalizes what has already been true for a very long time in King County. We will not aggressively police or prosecute this substance, and we will continue to call for the ability for our federal government and our state government to further research so that more people can have, the ability to benefit from this in the long term. This is not a decriminalization motion. It is a, deprioritization effort here in King County, and we are growing a chorus of jurisdictions across this country that support taking this public health evidence based approach to supporting veterans, to supporting folks who have behavioral health challenges and mental health challenges.

Colleagues, some of our additional jurisdictions include Port Townsend, Tacoma, Jefferson County, Oakland, Santa Cruz, places in California, in Michigan, and in Washington, DC. I am thankful that along the, Pacific Northwest here here in the Puget Sound, we've also seen Seattle and Olympia step up with very similar legislation. In addition to that, we have the states of Colorado and Oregon who have passed similar motions. I have brought this issue before the Health, Housing, and Human Services Committee three times over the course of the last year, and I really appreciate hearing from Jefferson County commissioner who came to testify about why they passed their, motion. We heard from medical professionals, from research, from community advocates, and maybe most importantly, our veterans themselves who asked us to further this motion to really make it clear to our community, we want everyone to be able to have access to the medical treatments in our community.

We have adopted this in the committee. Thanks again to my colleagues for your support there. And we've done so with an effort to further additional, not only research, but the potential for additional, care for those who have traumatic brain injuries, post traumatic stress disorders, dealing with their own substance abuse issues, or major depressive disorders. We wanna make sure that this is explicitly clear as council member Fain noted. This is only for individual uses and only for adults.

And a big thank you to the King County Sheriff's Office, the prosecuting attorney's office for explaining what existing practice is. We have not changed that in this motion. A big thank you to the executive and the executive team for their feedback. We have incorporated their feedback and appreciate their support. Huge thank you to Melanie Cray from my team, who has spent a long time researching this topic in partnership with the Psychedelic Medicine Alliance of Washington, and to my co sponsors on this motion in front of us, council member Lewis and council member Barron, for signing on. I appreciate the thoughtful engagement on this, and I want folks to know this is being advanced with the efforts to try to address the health, safety, and well-being of all in our community. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much, council member Musqueda. You know, I love my job. I love being Chair of the Council. I love that we are representing each of our districts very, very well, and our districts vary widely. So being able to hear from all these different perspectives, not only for our district, but for all of King County as we lead together, it's the best job in the world. I got the best colleagues, and I want to thank everybody for their participation today. So at this point, I'm going to pause just to see if anybody else has any questions after that closing. Chair. Council member Balducci. I apologize.

It is out of order to speak after closing, and I know I am doing that. May I ask one final question? Indeed. Does this set the enforcement priority for any individual as defined in the ordinance over '21, I believe, for any purpose or for medical purposes Who are using amphiogens for any purpose or who are using them for medical purposes only?

Nick, would you like to answer that?

I'm sorry, councilor. So can you are you asking, well, so the the the motion is it requests that the sheriff's office, treat personal use, for either religious or personal growth purposes as a low priority. It does not require, them to do it them to if they if they were to run into an individual who was who in possession of entheogens or was on entheogens and admitted that they would still, under the law, be able to arrest that individual.