City Council - Regular Meeting

meeting of the king county council i'm sarah perry chair of the council joined by vice chairs jorge barone and reagan dunn and our council colleagues today and 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 people's past and present We thank these caretakers of this land who've lived here and continue to live here since time immemorial, bringing their cultural ways of life and greatly enriching our communities. With that, Clerk Hay, would you please call the roll?

Thank you. Council Member Balducci. Council Member Barone. Here. Council Member Dembowski. Here. Council Member Dunn. Council Member Fain. Here. Council Member Lewis. Here. Council Member Mosqueda. Here. Council Member Von Reichbauer. Chair Perry. Here. You have a quorum.

Thank you very much. Next, please join us in the Pledge of Allegiance led by Council Member Barone. Vice Chair Barone.

Please rise if you're able.

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

Vice Chair Brown, thank you for that. May I please have a motion to approve the minutes of the May 29th and June 2nd, 2026 council meetings?

I move approval of the minutes of the May 29th special meeting and the June 2nd regular meeting.

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

Aye.

Those opposed say nay. Minutes are approved. Clerk, are there any additions to the council agenda? I have none. Thank you. Okay, next we'll turn to our special items, which include two proclamations, one recognizing Pride Month, led by Vice Chair Barone and the executive, and the other recognizing Juneteenth, led by Council Member Lewis and the executive. Vice Chair Barone, please begin whenever you're ready.

Checking, checking. All right. Thank you, Chair Perry and colleagues and members of the public. Greetings. Jorge Barron to represent District 4 on the County Council. And I'm very pleased to jointly present this year's Pride Month Proclamation on behalf of the council as well as King County Executive Grimae Sahelai, who unfortunately could not join us today, but we do have members of the executive branch who will join me in a minute. to be part of this presentation. Colleagues, since 2011, this council has reaffirmed our commitment to continue being vocal, resolute, and unapologetic in our support of the LGBTQ plus community through the presentation of this type of pride proclamation. And I think it is particularly important that we renew this tradition this year as members of this community see their rights increasingly threatened. As a proud parent of a trans daughter, I am particularly concerned about rhetoric and attacks that question the very existence of our trans residents. Because of that, I'm honored to present this proclamation that says to our LGBTQ plus residents that King County stands with you, sees you, and you are all valued here. With us today, we have our guests. We have Deputy Executive Director Jose Vasquez of Enter Hermanos, who's going to join us here at the podium, along with folks on Enter Hermanos. And I also want to express my sincere appreciation to the county staff who have put together an outstanding event on June 1st, where Executive Sahilay and a few of us on the council raised the pride flag at the administration building. And I particularly want to acknowledge Evelyn Chow, who is with the executive team, and Deontay Damper from our public health team, both of whom are here today. And I will note that we should take particular pride that one of our fellow county employees, Deontay, will be this year's Grand Marshal for the Seattle Pride Parade. So since the executive could not join us to present this, but this is a joint council and executive proclamation, I've invited Evelyn and Deonta to join me here at the podium to read the proclamation together as we present it. So I'm going to get us started, and then we'll take turns here. Whereas King County values and recognizes the contributions of the LGBTQ plus community, including two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, and asexual residents and leaders who have advocated for visibility, dignity, and equal rights, and.

Whereas the modern movement for LGBTQ plus equal rights in this country began with the Stonewall Riots in June of 1969, and.

Whereas adults, youth, children across this nation continue to face discrimination and threats of their civil rights in housing, employment, education, and public accommodations. And...

Whereas the first Seattle Pride Parade was held in 1974 and the 2026 Seattle Pride Parade will take place on Sunday, June 28th. And...

Whereas the theme of this year's parade, Rally, emphasizes solidarity, action, and empowerment through peaceful protest and...

Whereas King County strives to advance equity and inclusion by supporting policies and practices to promote dignity, safety, and belonging across all residents and...

Whereas pride celebrations and events foster visibility, belonging, and connection while honoring the diversity and resilience of LGBTQ plus communities. Now therefore, we the Metropolitan King County Council and King County Executive proclaim June 2026 as LGBTQ plus pride month in King County and encourage all residents to honor the ongoing march toward equality for LGBTQ plus individuals stated this ninth day of June 2026.

Give it up for Pride.

So before the photo, I wanted to invite Jose from, who's the Deputy Executive Director of Enter Manos to give a few words. I want to say Enter Manos is a local organization that provides services to, particularly to the Latinx community, LGBTQ plus community that I partnered with over my years at Northwest Minaret Project, very much appreciate their work. So I wanted to invite Jose to come join us and say a few words.

Good afternoon. My name is Jose Vasquez, and I'm here representing Entre Hermanos, our Washington State Latin A LGBTQ plus organization. We are delighted to be here. For the past 35 years, we have answered to the needs of our communities. We have created safe spaces, programs to educate us in HIV and STIs prevention and care. We have created a support group for folks living with HIV. We have created, if not one of the few, the only peer support group for trans Latina women. We also created our legal program to support our Latina LGBTQ immigrant community. And just last year, we opened our satellite office in Yakima. For us, June is a month to celebrate, commemorate, and honor our ancestors of our Latin A LGBTQ plus communities who came before us, created grassroots resistance, and protested violence against us. It is our job and responsibility to continue the fight for our own existence. As we look into our next 35 years, our hope is to continue to receive the support and advocacy of all of you, so that our impact can continue for generations to come.

Happy Pride Month, everyone. Happy Pride Month indeed. Colleagues, if you would join.

All right, colleagues, let's join Vice Chair Barron.

Thank you for allowing me to talk to you today.

Is there anybody else from QIA? Would like to bring the picture?

What do you say?

Thank you.

Well, that was lovely. Thank you, Vice Chair Barone. Turning next to Juneteenth, the proclamation led by Council Member Lewis. Please begin whenever you're ready, Council Member Lewis.

Thank you, Chair Perry. I have some guests here with me from Northwest African American Museum. They will tell you more about themselves in their comments, but I'd like to have them join me at the podium. So before I read the proclamation, I want to acknowledge that with all of the uncertainty in the world today, we should reflect on what Juneteenth asks of us. Juneteenth asks us to remember. It asks us to reflect. It asks us to find joy, even when joy is hard to reach. It asks us to call forward the experiences, the history, and the legacy our people have carried and ask ourselves, what are we doing with freedom? As Secretary of the Smithsonian Lonnie Bunch said, it is important to look back at history to understand the fragility of freedom and celebrate its progress. And we do that today. We remember how freedom was delayed and how even after freedom came, our people had to carve out dignity, humanity, and joy in the shadows of bondage. We remember how formerly enslaved people walked into the unknown and began gardening despite the fact that everything around them was still burning. They built joy in the rubble. That joy is how we survived. And that joy is the thread back to ourselves. Today, we honor the voices who have kept our stories and that joy alive. And I am proud to present this proclamation to one such story keeper, the Northwest African American Museum. The Northwest African American Museum is a premier institution that makes sure learners of all ages learn about our unspoken history, art, literature, and heritage in a manner that leads to self restoration and community healing. And like Dr. King, the Northwest African American Museum uses their voice to build a platform for the betterment of our community. As we celebrate Juneteenth, we also honor those across the African diaspora whose histories have traveled different paths, but they share that same thread of resilience, creativity, and liberation. Dr. King reminded us that out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope can rise. And his wife, Coretta Scott King, taught us and the community that freedom is never really won. You earn it and win it every generation. Our county's namesake, Dr. King, showed us how to move forward for freedom, and Coretta Scott King reminded us of our duty to preserve, protect, and pass it on. And as we pass it down, not just for ourselves, but for all of those who share in this long, intertwined struggle, freedom is our responsibility and freedom is our legacy. So today, we celebrate it through joy and through each other. So I will read the proclamation at this time. Whereas Juneteenth commemorates the effective end of chattel slavery in the United States, and whereas on January 1st, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that all persons held as slaves within any state or designated part of a state, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States. shall be then henceforth and forever free." And whereas on June 19, 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was announced, General Gordon Granger went to Texas and issued Order No. 3, which stated, in accordance with the proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. And whereas on June 19th, 1866, three years after the emancipation was announced and one year after Major Granger's announcement in Texas, the freed African American men and women in the state of Texas held the first official Juneteenth celebration. And whereas Juneteenth was first observed as a federal holiday in 2021, 158 years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and whereas the King County Council adopted Ordinance 19209 on November 17, 2020, making Juneteenth an official holiday for King County employees, leading the state of Washington as the first local government to do so. And whereas June 19th, 2026 marks the 161st anniversary of Juneteenth, a profound symbol of freedom, resilience, and the ongoing journey towards justice. And whereas Juneteenth is an important opportunity to reflect on the progress, achievements, and contributions of African Americans that African Americans have made and continue to make. and an occasion to look forward to the work that remains to reach full economic and social equity for the descendants of enslaved African Americans. And whereas, on Friday, June 19th, the Northwest African American Museum will host a Juneteenth celebration and FIFA World Cup watch party at Judkins Park in collaboration with King County, along with dozens of other celebrations around the region, Now, therefore, we, the Metropolitan King County Council and King County Executive, proclaim June 19th, 2026 as Juneteenth in Martin Luther King Jr. County. We recognize its historic importance and we encourage all residents to join us in its commemoration. Signed by all nine council members and the King County Executive. So at this time, I would like to invite my guests up to introduce themselves and to talk about what Juneteenth means to them.

Thank you, Councilman Lewis. Thank you so much. Good afternoon, everyone. So happy to be here, and thank you so much for that proclamation. I want to thank the council and Council Exec Zachariah. My name is Sherry Williams. I serve as Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Northwest African American Museum. And I'm here with my colleague and community friend, Eric Greer, to accept this proclamation. We're deeply grateful to the King County Council and Council for recognizing the historical significance of Juneteenth and for honoring the work being done today to help us continue to live, learn, and to celebrate. Juneteenth reminds us that the freedom was not given to us all at once and that the work of freedom continues across generations. It is the day to honor the past, celebrate resilience, and gather in the presence to support purpose, reflection, and joy. At NAMM, Juneteenth is central to our mission. As a Northwest Museum, we use Black heritage to cultivate healing and hope for all, and we are proud to create opportunities for people of all generations to gather and learn. We invite everyone to join NAMM on Friday, June 19th at our Juneteenth celebration, The Sound of Connection. NAMM believes that this unique vibration and rhythm reverberates through all of us and the spirit of our community. The day will feature local artists, the Skate for Freedom Park and Party, sports clinic, family activities, community conversations with local leaders. We are proud to commemorate Juneteenth in partnership with artists, families, community leaders, volunteers, supporters across the region. We are grateful to our sponsors to support us in a meaningful way, especially the King County Exec Office, as well as the lead sponsor, and as well as for culture. This proclamation is a commitment to uplift our stories and continue contributions of the black community, supporting spaces and fostering hope. So thank you so much. Thank you so much for this proclamation and celebrating Juneteenth with us here at NAMM.

Council Member Lewis, would you like us to join you at the podium? Okay, let's join Council Member Lewis.

Oh, wow.

Thank you. Thank you.

thank you very much council member lewis we will now turn to the reading of items into the public record and the hearing of public comments uh clerk hey would you please read the items into the record when you're ready thank you chair perry item six is proclamation of june 2026 as lgbtq plus pride month in king county and proclamation of june 19th 2026 says juneteenth in king county item 7 is proposed substitute motion number 2026-0080 confirming the appointment of Sandra Valenciano as the Director of Public Health, Seattle and King County. And item eight is proposed substitute ordinance number 2026-0066, updating the capacity charge methodology and adding a report requirement. Item nine is proposed motion number 2026-0136, confirming the executive's reappointment of Brandon Graham, who resides in council district six to the King County Board for Developmental Disabilities. And item 10 is proposed motion number 2026-0137, confirming the executive's reappointment of Deveny Boyle who resides in council district two to the King County Board for Developmental Disabilities.

Thank you very much. The council will now take public comment on those ordinances, motions, proclamations, and recognitions on today's agenda that are on the agenda for action. Listening to the public and taking into consideration the public's thoughts is a very important part of our process and one that greatly enhances our deliberations to make the best legislation for all residents of King County. In order to allow everyone equal time to provide comment, the following ground rules are in place for the chamber. Limit comments to two minutes. Remain seated until time for your public comment. Do not make audible noise during the meeting. It's also a reminder that public comment cannot 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, disruptive behavior can or may lead to the commenter being muted or asked to leave the meeting, which would include, in addition to not remaining seated and making audible noise, it would also include bringing um signs to the podium showing them at the podium using signs to block the view of others attending the meeting or bullhorns or noisemakers so for online comment please press star 9 on the phone or click raise hand icon on the zoom toolbar located at the bottom of the screen to notify the clerk The clerk will call the names of the last three digits of the phone numbers in order and will then unmute each line at the end of the commenter's time. The clerk will lower the hands. And with that, Clerk Voss, would you please begin calling the names here in person, followed by those online? Thank you. First name in chambers is Alex Zimmerman.

Thank you.

Please leave your sign at the chair, Alex. Please do not lift it. Please leave your sign at the chair. Mr. Zimmerman, please leave your sign at the chair. Do not lift that sign. That's your second warning. That's your second warning. The first was audible noise today. Thank you very much, sir.

I am sorry to hear that. Your time is going. Okay, guys. My name is Alex Zimmerman, and I want to speak about agenda number six, genitine. So my name is Alex Zimmerman. I'm a Jew. I'm president of Stand Up America. I can be 50 times candidate for election. I spoke 5,000 times Tacoma, Seattle, Everett, and I speak every day. Can country... Can country... Oh, fascist prosecute me seven times in seven... Mr. Zimmerman, is this about Juneteenth? Yes, exactly.

Is it? I thought it was about you. Could you please reframe?

No, it's not about me. I want only to introduce you who I am. I have right doing this like everybody.

We understand, Mr. Zimmerman. Thank you. Please keep it to the agenda item.

Yes, exactly. So in country, fascist government prosecute me seven times, seven times case is dismissed. And I have 7,000 day of trespass. Nobody in America have this. I want to speak about G-19. Because what is for 40 year I live here, I have a knowledge under Martin Luther King. Yeah. He's my favor. He's my God here. You know what it means? Black and Jew treat absolutely identical. This is exactly what I see for the last four years. But when we come to history, you know what it means. 250 years, 150 years, 50 years, nothing changed. Jew and black have exactly same condition. It's very interesting because it's absolutely idiotic situation in exactly in Martin Luther King County. I never saw like this before in my life. You guys are sick fascist. It's exactly who you are. Viva Trump, viva new American revolution, stand up slave and happy cow. We possibly have freedom of speech to everybody. You stop and steal us money.

Thank you, Mr. Zimmerman, and God bless our First Amendment.

Next, please. Next on the list is Kevin Alzheimer.

Chair Perry and Council, I'm here today to talk about Item 22. This is dealing with Ole. This is the motion that was passed and voted approved to allow for a subpoena power for law enforcement. But we mustn't forget subpoena power still must go through adjudicated branch. You guys are contemplating. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry, Mr. Altimer. That item is on for referral, not for public comment.

Okay, then I'll talk about Juneteenth. So, Juneteenth. Thank you. You sat up here and you shook hands and you said these wonderful things about black people. But each and every one of you were a part of a takeover of four black and brown organizations in 2020. 2025 what happened was the auditor told you guys that she was going outside the scope you all sat there like bumps on a log did not use your powers and you subordinated to this auditor and she went outside of the scope and when she went outside of the scope she brought in a best starts for kids which is a voter initiative approved the funding comes from every one thousand dollars $19 comes from a voter.

Mr. Alzheimer, that is not.

This is, I'm talking about Juneteenth. I'm talking about what happens to black people. So these black organizations. I'm sorry, Mr. Alzheimer, this is not.

You're interrupting me, ma'am.

Yes. These black organizations, these black organizations were maligned. It needs to be about Juneteenth. And they were not treated, they were treated just like the slaves.

Stay on the agenda, Mr. Altimer.

Sorry, you're not staying on the agenda. You need to stay on the agenda. Thank you, Mr. Altimer. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Zimmerman, he can leave.

Mr. Zimmerman, please leave. Next on the list is Yvette Dynish.

Oh, that's good.

Good afternoon, I'm sorry I showed up late and I missed one of my favorite parts of the Pledge of Allegiance, so thank you for doing that even though I wasn't here.

Good afternoon. Pardon me? Good afternoon.

Thank you. I also want to thank you guys for taking corrective act, working with the mayor. To take corrective action regarding the King County Regional Housing Authority and how they handle their funding. Because a lot of people of color are affected by the housing crisis. And with money being misspent.

I hate interrupting you. Okay, I tried. I'm so sorry, because you're so lovely. It needs to be on the agenda. Okay. So the fourth Tuesday is great for any comment.

Okay. Yeah. Okay, and I try to sneak in, I know that. I also wanted to thank you for the proclamation of Juneteenth. And it was jarring to my psyche to realize that way back in the day, when I began my elementary school education in Seattle, it was Coleman School. And that's where I went to grade school. So I was like, what? But anyway, thank you for the Juneteenth proclamation. And of course, I will be attending events at NAMM. And thank you for funding the work that they do. I appreciate it.

Thank you so much. Is there anyone else in chambers that wanted to speak that did not have a chance before we go online? Okay, thank you. Go right ahead.

Next online speaker is Joe Kunzler.

Volunteer call tomorrow at 7 p.m. Yes, just a second. Joe Consular here. Council, I just want to say real briefly, thank you for filling out Alex Zimmerman, and thank you for recognizing Juneteenth. We all need to be sensitive to each other's historical holidays. And with that, I will hang up. Thank you for your public service.

Is there anyone else online that would like to make comment that has not had a chance? If so, please click the raise hand feature. Okay, seeing no... Oh, we do. Okay, go right ahead.

David, you are up next.

Thank you, David Ains. I'd like to comment on Olio's review of the police. I think you all are missing one thing. I'm sorry, David.

I'm sorry to interrupt. I really welcome you to come to the last Tuesday of the month at 1.30 where you can speak to anything that is not on the agenda. This is here only as an item for referral. It's not an item for comment on the agenda today. I apologize. Is there something else you'd like to talk about?

Well, there seems to be a lack of an agenda considering we have a societal implosion and you all are still exempting drug pushers from jail and misinterpreting that constitutional right. Thanks very much.

I appreciate your comment. Thank you.

Is that it? Okay. Thank you very much.

Okay. Seeing no further requests, we'll close public hearing. Turning to the first action item on today's agenda, which is proposed substitute motion 2026-0080, confirming the appointment of Dr. Sandra Valenciano as Director of Public Health, Seattle, King County. Vice Chair Barone, would you please move proposed substitute motion 2026-0080? So moved. Thank you. Proposed motion 2026-0080 is before us. For the public's information, council members interviewed Dr. Valenciano during May 26th meeting of the Committee of the Whole, so we do not plan a second interview of her today. I'd also note that Olivia Bray from Council Central staff is available to answer any questions. With that, do any of my colleagues have any questions or comments for discussion? Council Member Mosqueda.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and I want to thank again my colleagues for your input on the various questions that we sent around to the council and you all provided feedback. Dr. Valenciano received those and provided comprehensive answers and came and did a presentation, as you heard, at the Committee of the Whole meeting. I want to underscore my appreciation for what we said yesterday when we were actually considering Dr. McLaughlin's consideration. Dr. Valenciano, you could be doing anything with your skills and your credibility, your experience, and you are choosing to work for public health Seattle-King County. You're choosing to work for public, as a public servant in our public health department here. And I think that the opportunity to step into this role in this critical time is something that we greatly appreciate. As the central staff summary said in the Committee of the Whole, and as the materials show from the executive's transmitted packet, Dr. Valenciano has a strong academic background and training. Her credentials in medicine and public health are unparalleled. Dr. V, as she goes by, is serving as the county's health officer, as the interim director of public health, Seattle King County here. In her nomination packet, you will see several letters of recommendation from every level of her career. We also reached out to some folks from the previous jurisdiction that she worked with, and we're happy to hear about the ongoing conversations and relationship that was had with members within public health, direct frontline workers, and the community from the labor community also appreciated her work in the past. but looking forward steady leadership compassionate leadership and really an eye towards how we care for our most vulnerable is critical folks might recall if you participated in our health housing and human services committee that because of the changes in hr1 the big bad bill from the federal administration around 215 000 people in king county alone are poised to lose their medicaid their apple health for Their Apple Health coverage will be terminated in the very near future, and their loss of health coverage means we have an opportunity to scale up our commitment to care for our most vulnerable through our public health systems, both our clinics, our direct care, and the preventative services that public health provides every day. What we know is that we need to have a compassionate cohort of workers and systems, community locations and preventative services that we will deploy on a regular basis and ideally scale up to both mitigate and serve eligible clients who are losing coverage and to provide coverage to all of those who are either underinsured or will be uninsured. The strategies to deploy our trusted staff, to use outreach teams, to make sure that we have our public health team who is able to be bilingual and provide cultural competency throughout King County is ever more important. And having a public health director who will recognize that we need to Make sure that we not only provide health coverage to the currently eligible folks, but think creatively about how we create health coverage opportunities for those who will be losing it and how we provide preventative health services so that people never actually have to go to the clinic or the hospital in the first place is the role of public health. We appreciate that Public Health team, the Regional Health Services Administrator for Access and Outreach in Community Health Services, Daphne Pye, came and presented along with Keith Seinfeld, the Policy Programs and Communications Specialist in Community Health Services. They provided an overview of the role that King County Public Health workers play in making sure that people are not only getting screened and enrolled in various health programs, that they are eligible for, but they are getting screened for every health service and every social service that's available. Dr. Valenciano in her packet talks a lot about her commitment to the social determinants of health on what we must do to make continuous improvements upstream in addition to making sure people have that plastic health insurance card in their wallet. I am thankful for the opportunity to work in partnership with Dr. Valenciano as we head into the next phase of both evaluating how we are going to mitigate for the federal cuts, recognizing that foundational public health funding from the state has also been reduced, and doing everything that we can with every tool in our tool belt and inventing new ones if needed to make sure we're doing the outreach and enrollment for folks who could be eligible for existing health coverage or future health coverage opportunities. We are bringing money into this county through public health. We are getting people insured and making sure that we have reimbursable coverage options. We are preventing people from having unnecessary, complicated, and costly services needed at the Harborview Medical Center. We are doing this work that often goes unnoticed or undervalued at public health. And I want to thank Dr. Valenciano for her willingness to step into this role with compounding crises upon us and highlight her commitment. She says in her materials, protecting access to critical public health services, centering the needs of our patients and communities, and working collaboratively to identify sustainable solutions that strengthen our public health system now and in the future is her priority. Any structural changes, any transparent process is going to be done here with King County, and I look forward to engaging with the executive and the director, Dr. Valenciano, and the frontline public health workers as we talk about how we will respond to these compounding... working with our labor and community stakeholders, and together making sure that we maintain a strong and effective public health system. That underscores what Dr. Valenciano is committed to, quote, working together to maintain a strong and effective public health system. With that, Chair Perry, it's my honor to be able to again recommend Dr. Valenciano for our consideration, and I look forward to the future conversations about how we use our budget, our legislative branch authority, and our partnership with labor and community to strengthen and grow how we provide services in community to our clients who currently rely on public health services and to the future population that will be ever more reliant on public health, Seattle, King County, due to the federal and state cuts.

Thank you very much. Council Member Mosqueda, any other comments from my colleagues? Council Member Dembowski.

OK, thank you, Chair. As folks may recall, I was a reluctant no vote in committee on this nominee, and I'm going to keep that vote today. But I want to make clear on the record that it has nothing to do with Dr. V's qualifications or the talents that she has to lead the department. I think the executive has found the right person uh but on four touch points on the future of our public health clinics in a direct conversation in community in the interviewing committee in the questionnaire that counselor mosqueda prepared and then in a follow-up communication that counselor mosqueda shared the june 9th email there is not a commitment to really have an orientation to really work to keep our public health clinics open. Instead, the focus seems to be on a financial analysis, where does it fit in the big picture kind of a thing. Personally, I'm a believer in single payer systems. I don't like insurance companies deciding who gets care and whether they should get it and what kind of care they should get. I think here at King County, the closest we get to that is our public health clinic system. Harborview also plays a role. For the reasons Councilmember Muscata articulated, the hundreds of thousands of people whose health care at risk here in King County, I think the orientation of the public health department should be proactively investing in rebuilding a robust public health clinic network that's no barrier for our immigrants and refugees and folks without economic power. And because over several opportunities, I don't see that particular commitment. I'm a reluctant no on this, but it's for that policy. It's not about the doctor herself. So I look forward to working with her. And I think we probably owe the executive a policy motion to determine where the government government's leaders sit on this question as to the future of our public health clinic and I think that's something that we can work on we're doing some work in the budget but because I'm a it's a rare no vote the executive is usually entitled to who they wish to have serve but there is a role for the council to play and that's just kind of where I am on that so thank you for letting me share that perspective.

Thank you, Councilmember Demboski. Any other comments? Okay. Well, thank you very much. No further discussion from my colleagues. Let's proceed to final adoption. Clerk Hay, will you please call the roll?

Thank you. Councilmember Balducci? Aye. Councilmember Barone?

Aye.

Councilmember Demboski? No. Councilmember Dunn?

Aye.

Councilmember Finn? Fain, sorry. Aye. Councilmember Lewis? Aye. Councilmember Mosqueda? Aye. Councilmember Von Reichbauer? Aye. Chair Perry. Aye. The vote is eight ayes, and Councilmember Dombaski voting no.

Okay, thank you very much. By our vote, we've adopted proposed substitute motion 2026-0080.2. Congratulations, Dr. Valenciano and King County. Turning next to item eight, proposed substitute ordinance 2026-0066 concerning updates to the capacity charge methodology. Council Member Balducci, would you please move Proposed Ordinance 2026-0066.2? Thank you, Chair.

So moved.

Thank you. Proposed Ordinance 2026-0066.2 is before us. Before we proceed, I'd like to note we have Andy Miklo from Council Central Staff available to answer questions. Council Member Balducci is sponsor and chair of the Regional Water Quality Committee. Would you like to speak to the item before briefing and discussion?

Thank you, Chair. Just really briefly, as you likely know, every year this Council adopts a proposed sewer rate and capacity charge. These are the two main ways that we collect fees that pay for our very critically important wastewater treatment system. The capacity charge is a growth pays for growth. kind of charge where new connections to the system are charged a fee that can be amortized over time by the owners. And we have not updated the methodology for calculating that charge in a while. And Wastewater Treatment Division proposed earlier this year a new methodology. They had pretty thoroughly briefed all the stakeholders on the proposed new methodology. I've had a running joke with budget chair Dembowski that he gave us an assignment like, was it Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer? Like, don't you want to paint this fence? So we took over the review of this ordinance at regional water quality from the budget committee. And we spent quite a bit of time on it, learning about it and how it worked. Andy Miklo of Central Staff helped with a very significant striking amendment that further explained what the methodology was and made sure it was clear and documented in code so that we are committed to this methodology and people can understand it. We approved the striking amendment and the ordinance as amended with a do pass recommendation unanimously at our last regional water quality committee meeting. And we recommend that the council update this, adopt this today to be followed this month by a vote on the sewer rate and capacity charge for 2027 itself. That will be at least the capacity charge portion based on this methodology. So this ordinance updates the methodology. The next ordinance will impose a rate and a sewer rate and a capacity charge with the capacity charge based on this new methodology. And we encourage your support. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Any other comments? Council Member Dembowski.

I just wanted to extend my gratitude to Council Member Balducci for doing all the work that it was necessary to prepare her committee to quickly and easily receive this body of work. Because when it came forward to the budget committee, I'll just say it is so complicated and so detailed that it really was going to require a lot of work. And we were never going to get to the level of competence in a reasonable amount of time that Council Member Balducci has developed over at the RWQC for this work. I just thank you for being one, prepared, and then two, being willing to take it on and all of the work that you are doing in this space, because you've really raised the alarm that we've got a real serious challenge with respect to the costs and the delivery of the program over at Wastewater Treatment Division. So thank you, Chair.

I see that Council Member Lewis would like to speak. I'd also like to know if we want to hear from Andy Micklow for a briefing. We've gone over this a number. Okay. Okay. All right then. Council Member Lewis.

Thank you. I just want to first express my appreciation to my colleague, Council Member Balducci, for deftly... guiding us through the conversation and getting us to this point. I also want to thank Dr. Miklo for all of her work and also WTD staff. It was a lot and we deliberated and came to an agreement. So I appreciate everyone who brought us this far.

Thank you very much. Any final comments?

Just I was remiss in not acknowledging WTD leadership and staff who are here with us today. It was a team effort for sure to get to this final ordinance. And I think we all are feeling good about where it is. But as Councilmember Domowski pointed out, when it comes to the bigger picture of how we pay for wastewater treatment, that is work that will be ongoing. And we will be working on it together, colleagues. And again, on this ordinance, I strongly urge your support.

Very good. Thank you very much. Uh, Claire Kay, will you please call the roll? Thank you.

Council member Balducci. Aye. Council member Verone.

Aye.

Council member Dombaski. Aye. Council member Dunn.

Aye.

Council member Fain.

Aye.

Council member Lewis. Aye. Council member Mosqueda. Aye. Irvine Ragbauer. Aye. Chair Perry.

Aye. The vote is 9 ayes, 0 noes. Thank you. By our vote, we've adopted proposed substitute ordinance 2026-0066.2. Congratulations. We now turn to the reappointment consent agenda, items 9 and 10. Vice Chair Barone, would you please move consent agenda items 9 and 10?

I move items 9 and 10.

Thank you. They are before us. Clerk K, will you please call the roll?

Thank you, Chair Perry. Councilmember Balducci. Aye. Councilmember Barone. Aye. Councilmember Domboski. Aye. Councilmember Dunn.

Aye.

Councilmember Fain. Aye. Councilmember Lewis. Aye. Councilmember Mosqueda. Aye. Councilmember Von Reikbauer. Aye. Chair Perry. Aye. The vote is nine ayes, zero noes.

By our vote, we've adopted proposed motions number 2026-0136 and 0137. If there's no objection, the published marked agenda together with any changes made in today's meeting will stand approved as the first reading referral and referral of ordinances and motions items 11 through 23 as listed. Under Other Business, I have a few announcements to share, the first of which is the names of the nominees to fill the Women's Advisory Board vacancies. As you may recall, the vacancies were noticed at the previous two Council meetings. The nominees include Hen Alnawi, Hafsa Azas, Leslie Amata, Allison O'Mahony. Those names will be forwarded to the Executive for consideration. Additionally, as related to the proposed Kent opioid treatment facility that I noted at the last two Council meetings, I want to share that the Department of Health has extended Council's response deadline to July 8th and staff continue to work with DCHS on next steps. Finally, I want to call on Councilmember von Reichbauer to share a brief announcement.

Thank you, Chair. I just want to remind our friends that we're going to have an event at Emerald Downs where all county employees are welcome. And I hope we can have a good turnout because we have a number of ringers among our partners, one of whom lives on Queen Anne. But we look forward to having an opportunity for everybody to win some money, have some fun, and support an industry that creates thousands of jobs throughout our region. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Councilmember von Reikbauer. That is a wonderful opportunity. With that, do my colleagues have any other business for the good of the order? Sure. Council Member Mosqueda.

I always just like to give an early heads up at least two weeks if I'm going to be out of town. And I will be on June 23rd. I'm going to visit my grandma. She's 96. So I apologize. I'll be on a plane at the time of our meeting. But I just want folks to know.

more here councilmember done just a flood control district right after this five minute recess thank you and before we adjourn I'd like to note we had a request for an adjournment in memoriam vice chair burrow

Thank you, Chair. I appreciate the opportunity to adjourn today's meeting in the memory of Magdaleno Rosavila. He was a human rights activist and writer who spent his career, his lifetime devoted to human rights. He was also my predecessor as Executive Director of Northwest Human Rights Project. He was the inaugural director of the Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs. He passed away last month here in Seattle. So I wanted to have that be acknowledged by the council today in the adjournment, and we'll be celebrating his life in July. I wanted to pass that recognition over to his family. Thank you, Chair.

Very good. Thank you. Seeing no further business before us, we adjourn the June 9th, 2026 council meeting in honor of Magdaleno Rosa.