Speaker 0: Very good things you can see around. Just any further comments. Those in favor of confirming the appointments. Please vote i. I. Those oppose vote no. The motion carries and the appointments are confirmed. Please read the report of the Sustainability and Transportation Committee.
Speaker 6: The Report of the Sustainability and Transportation Committee. Agenda Item 16 Council Bill 119215 An Ordinance relating to the State Route 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Program authorizing the mayor or the mayor's designee to execute an agreement with the State of Washington to set forth roles and responsibilities for the state of Washington's project to decommission the Battery Street tunnel. Once the border tunnel is open to drivers, the committee recommends the council pass the bill.
Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilmember O'Brien.
Speaker 5: Thank you. So I want to thank all the folks who came out to testify today and have been engaging for a number of months on this issue. And in my review of this work as it came through committee, I feel the appropriate next step is to authorize this agreement to move forward. This is a work that has been in the planning phases for a number of years. Committee We heard from the folks at the Department of Transportation a variety of opportunities that they explored to perhaps repurpose the existing Battery Street tunnel. And the conclusion, after doing their analysis, was that the costs and risks associated with doing that did not warrant it at that point. I don't want to preclude that just because the city has reviewed that and decided that it doesn't make sense that there aren't perhaps other great alternatives out there. And I really applaud folks in the community who've worked hard to try to find some alternatives right now because of the tight timeline on everything that's happening downtown related to transportation. In any other scenario, it would be much easier for me to support delaying this for a few weeks or a few months to try to get some more information. But any delay on this at this point puts into jeopardy both the arrangement that my state and our state have been working on and the overall timeline of how we will manage construction and transportation projects in a complex series of things, including transferring vehicles over to the new deep water tunnel demolition of the viaduct. We have convention center work, other construction projects happening to the. I have looked at the work that King County Metro did to analyze the possibility of using this facility as a layover spot for busses. And we know that there's a shortage of layover spots downtown, especially with the convention center work happening. King County Metro's analysis was consistent with what the city saw. They they looked at, I think, about $40 million just to do the seismic work to upgrade the steel and the walls of that tunnel that are eroding faster than they need to be an additional 30 or 35 million to build the infrastructure they need on top of that, to actually have the layover space. And they said that this doesn't pencil out for them. And so I, I wish I were in a spot where I could say, wow, there's an option, an excellent opportunity before us, and I want to be the champion of that. But my analysis at the moment is that we should agree to this memorandum of understanding.
Speaker 0: Thank you, Councilman Brian Kaspar and Becky Shaw.
Speaker 1: Yes, thank you. I want to say thank you to all of my both friends, colleagues and constituents from Belltown and Uptown and South Lake Union who are here today. And I want to recognize in particular John Key now. Erin, thank you for the amazing work Buster Simpson on focusing on recharge the battery. The visions that you came up with struck me and everything ranging from brilliant to great economic development opportunities to fanciful. I think that there are some opportunities here. I think, unfortunately, we're a little too late. But that said, here's here's what I want to recognize. Carol. Guys, thank you for growing Vine Street, the work you've done over the last, what, two decades? Any way to bring Belltown the kind of environmental impacts positively? There's still room for some work to be done around here. John I recognized Aaron David Miller. Miller Hall, the work that you are doing and helping us connect the waterfront through the aquarium all in there, that is so critically important. I do want you to know that then I spent some time looking and being with you as you were doing recharge the battery. And I went back to Seattle Public Utilities, I went back to Seattle City Light. I met with Scott multiple times. As with our waterfront folks, I met with Metro people asking, Is there some way we can do something to preserve this tunnel while we were giving our. Sells more time, even if it was to encapsulate the ends rather than fill it up with rubble. I've also, as I mentioned, my conversations with White Dot and Metro. I spoke with Danny West. And you remember he wrote something a couple of months ago. So why are you doing this? Can't you just leave it open and figure that out later on? So every time I kept running into these dead ends saying, no, we're past that, no is going to be too costly. No, it's not going to work. But I do want to say this. I think there's some real opportunities for Belltown because your voices have been so strong, so clear, that there are ways that we can take that two acre property that our store has on the west side or just east of Western, but on the west side. Make sure that we have now pivot to look at what can we do with that battery tunnel. I mean, Anthony, Aaron, Luis, you you spoke to about battery is really pretty awful right now. And as a street, we can look at replanning, making it a pedestrian, perhaps a bicycle priority. I want that to be a connection that we can be really proud of. Belltown is cool and weaved. I mean, and Bell Street, the Parkway. What all of you and John. John, again, you were a visionary along that and our friend John Pearson with Market Demo. There's some extraordinarily good ideas here. I think we can take this make sure that washboard helps us create a cool park. They're going to use that two acres for staging, after which we have an opportunity to decide is it going to be a park with some affordable housing? Is it going to be a park enlivened with a community center or many things that we can do? I want us to get started on that right away. I want my colleagues to know that I feel like I have exhausted this with every department that has touched it. I'm going to be casting a symbolic probably no vote today because I want us to go forward. I want us to make sure that Belltown gets what it needs for parks, for green space. But that said, I also know that washed on an escort have looked at this extensively. They're going to move forward. We need to move forward. That's scheduled, though, of connecting the streets. John Thomas and Harrison, that has to be done. Right. So as I say, I recognize it's probably a symbolic no vote, but nonetheless something important. I want to continue to work with my Dell Bell Town constituents to make sure that as this project moves forward, that Belltown has that wonderful connection that we need and that includes transportation to many of us have talked about First Avenue having a some kind of a connector. It's going to really be a fabulous place connecting with the arena. But I know it's Councilmember O'Brien that you have looked at this thoroughly and I've said my piece.
Speaker 0: Thank you very much, Councilmember Bagshaw. Any other comments? A Councilmember.
Speaker 8: Herbold Yeah.
Speaker 6: I just have a question if I'd love to know a little bit about how this authorization of Washboard intersects with some of the noise ordinance variance issues that we heard from folks today. And we've received, I think, a petition as well on that.
Speaker 5: Yeah, my the noise ordinance didn't come up at all in committee. My understanding is that is part of a separate process related to the demolition of the the viaduct, which this agreement doesn't touch on. And then the noise ordinance waivers in general or not a council authority that would be a administrative one. But it's obviously something that we could look into separately.
Speaker 6: I was wondering whether or not we might be able to ask washed out to have a public hearing on the on the topic before before authorizing that. Or I guess maybe it.
Speaker 1: Would be a I.
Speaker 5: Yeah. My my understanding is one site has asked the city to give them authority. And from what I heard in testimony today, it sounds like that was just recently granted. So why don't we start with the city and Councilmember Johnson, you and I can figure out which department that is, but I think you're probably right. It's Stsci and we can get a little more information for you and share that with folks that have concerns.
Speaker 1: So I have one one tiny bit of information they may be able to use as an enlightening point. There were several surveys done. I don't know whether there were public hearings or not, but one of the questions that was asked, those of us who live in the neighborhood was, do you want to go fast and have it done quicker, even though it may be a 24 seven or like Alex, I'm sorry, I've forgotten your name. And Drew pointed out that it goes faster, but it's noisier for a shorter period of time. But as long as the actual noise, you know, the. The chomping at the concrete is done by 10:00 at night, but the truck continue. Or do they want to extended for another 6 to 9 months? So that was something a decision that was made. I know the survey was taken. I received it at my home for whatever that's worth. How how widespread it was. I couldn't tell you.
Speaker 0: That's from Johnson.
Speaker 9: All things I would have said.
Speaker 0: Okay, good. Any further comments from any of our colleagues? Well, I just want to say, I didn't sense unbridled enthusiasm and Councilmember O'Brien's description of this. And I think that's because he did look high and low for all kinds of ideas to think outside the box. And I really want to applaud him for the work he did on some difficult legislation. But certainly it was extremely thoughtful and I will support the bill. So having said that, please call the roll on the passage of the bill.
Speaker 2: O'BRIEN All right. So on.
Speaker 1: I beg to know. Gonzales, I. Herbold, I.
Speaker 2: Johnson. Whereas. Mascara. I. President Arroyo.
Speaker 1: Seven In favor. Two Opposed.
Speaker 0: Show assignment. Please read agenda item number 17.
AN ORDINANCE relating to the State Route 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Program; authorizing the Mayor or the Mayor’s designees to execute an agreement with the State of Washington to set forth roles and responsibilities for the State of Washington’s project to decommission the Battery Street Tunnel once the bored tunnel is open to drivers.