Notes from today’s Council meetings

This afternoon’s Council meeting lasted a mere 15 minutes with no major votes, but here are my notes from this morning’s Council Briefing.

  • Some Council members are worried about the safety of the recently-redone 35th Avenue NE. Council member O’Brien noted this morning that there have been two collisions since the project was finished. He has invited SDOT to present to his committee tomorrow afternoon, after sending the department a letter two weeks ago raising concerns. Council member Bagshaw also chimed in, saying that based on video she’s seen it looks “really scary.”
  • Council member Herbold is working on scheduling a “lunch and learn” session on the AIDS legacy memorial project. In 2015 the Council allocated funds for the Office of Arts and Culture to start work on it, and in 2017 it passed a resolution to pull together an inter-departmental team to move the project forward. Herbold said that it’s “time to check in on their work.
  • Council member Bagshaw congratulated former Council member and Mayor Tim Burgess on graduating from college this past weekend.
  • Council member Gonzalez announced that her Thursday evening special meeting to discuss gun violence in the Central District has been moved from Washington Hall to the Seattle Vocational Institute, so that it can be held jointly with a meeting of the African-American Advisory Council. Gonzalez said that in addition to opportunities for public comment, several city departments will present on strategies, including SPD, SDOT, Seattle City Light, the Department of Neighborhoods, the Human Services Department, Parks and Recreation, and the Office of Economic Development. Both she and Council member Sawant will be in attendance.
  • Council member Pacheco announced that the grand opening of his District 4 office, in the south end of the University Heights building, will be this Saturday morning between 10am and 1pm  — co-incident with the University District Farmers Market.  There will be an open house, and a demo of Lime e-scooters.
  • Pacheco also announced that the agenda for Wednesday morning Planning, Land Use and Zoning Committee will include: the temporary expansion of the North Precinct, an ordinance clarifying the definition of a “vessel,” and a small update to the Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance to align it with state law.