Here are some highlights and notes from today’s City Council meetings.
This afternoon the Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting local students’ right to demonstrate for gun safety in schools. Several high school and college students showed up for the public comment session to speak out in favor of the resolution. Local students plan to walk out of classes on Wednesday for 17 minutes in honor of the Parkland, Florida students killed in a mass shooting there.
Tuesday afternoon in Council member Sawant’s committee, FAS will discuss their weekly reporting on “sweeps” of unsanctioned homeless camps. Given Sawant’s opposition to clearing unsanctioned encampments, there are bound to be fireworks. Here is last week’s report, with five cleared encampments and their explanation for why they were prioritized.
Wednesday morning in Council member Gonzalez’s committee, the Department of Education and Early Learning will present the details of Mayor Durkan’s “Seattle Promise” scholarship program guaranteeing two years of free community college.
Wednesday afternoon in Council member Bagshaw’s committee, they will take up the reappointments of Ben Noble as Director of the City Budget Office and Jennifer Greenlee as Executive Director of the Civil Service Commission, as well as hear the final report from the Progressive Revenue Task Force.
Thursday morning in Council member Mosqueda’s committee, they will consider the appointment of Martin Garfinkel as Director of the Office of Labor Standards. They will also have a first discussion of a “domestic worker’s bill of rights.”
Thursday afternoon in Council member O’Brien’s committee, they will review an agreement with WSDOT on decommissioning the Battery Street Tunnel once the new SR99 tunnel opens. They will also hold a first discussion on possible transportation impact fees.
This morning the Select Committee on City-wide MHA met to review the community feedback on proposed changes in District 4, and to hear about the proposal for Districts 5 and 6 in preparation for tonight’s public hearing (watch it live here). There will be an open house on the proposal for districts 3 and 7 on March 29th at Washington Hall, with a public hearing to follow on April 16th. The full schedule for open houses, public hearings and committee meetings can be found on the committee’s web page.