Now Live – Vacant Building Monitoring Program The Council passed legislation during budget last year to implement a fee-based enhanced vacant building monitoring program. The enhanced vacant building monitoring program went into effect on June 1.  I will continue to monitor its effectiveness and receive monthly reports from the department. As the program rolls out, […]

Sound Transit Board Selects Options for EIS On May 23rd the Sound Transit Board selected options to study for light rail to West Seattle and Ballard in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The Sound Transit Board has regional membership from King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, and approves all projects and spending for Sound Transit. The […]

Legacy Business Program Update At my last Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development and Arts (CRUEDA) Committee meeting on May 14, I hosted new acting Director Bobby Lee and Michael Wells from the Office of Economic Development (OED) to  give an update on the Legacy Business program that I have been working to develop since taking office […]

Accountability on Spending and Oversight of Ship Canal Water Quality Project In my Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development, and Arts committee (CRUEDA) on Tuesday we received another update from Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) on the Ship Canal Water Quality (SCWQP) project. As I’ve written about previously, the SCWQP is a joint project with King County […]

Firefighters Propose Health Help Changes for Homeless People This week, in Councilmember González’s committee, the Council received a report and an update from the Seattle Fire Department on the Mobile Integrated Health Response Team pilot program. Under Councilmember Bagshaw’s leadership, the Council passed funding during the last budget to provide services to individuals, primarily homeless […]

Elected Leadership Group Recommendations for Light Rail EIS Alternatives in West Seattle Last Friday the Sound Transit Elected Leadership Group (ELG) made recommendations for what options to study in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for ST3 light rail to West Seattle and Ballard. The recommendations go to the Sound Transit Board, which is scheduled to […]

Community Service Officers The Mayor and Chief of Police announced the relaunch of the Community Service Officer (CSO) program initiated by the City Council in the 2016 budget. Bringing back Community Service Officers will be a valuable addition to policing in Seattle, especially in the Southwest Precinct, where a top community concern is that the […]

North Delridge Action Plan Resolution On Wednesday, the Planning, Land Use, and Zoning Committee passed a resolution recognizing the North Delridge Action Plan. This resolution memorializes the many years of effort by community members in North Delridge to develop their neighborhood plan. I want to thank David Bestock, representing Delridge Neighborhood Development Association/Youngstown Cultural Arts […]

South Park Library Temporary Closure The South Park Library will be closed starting Tuesday, April 16 for up to two months for refurbishing and improvements. The project has an approximate budget of $424,000 and consists of: Re-carpeting Repainting inside Adding new electrical outlets New furniture Modifications of the circulation desk New mobile shelving New collaborative […]

Prolific Offenders Report Follow Up There has been a lot of discussion and coverage of a recent report commissioned by a collaborative effort of several of Seattle’s small business associations. The television special called “Seattle is Dying” further amplified the public dialogue. Let me first say that we need, and I commit to bring urgency […]