Speaker 4: Reported, the Transportation and Utilities Committee condemned 42 counts of a120042, and many audits went to 6 to 37, which adopted the 2021 budget and put in 2021 through 2026 Capital Improvement Program. The committee recommends the bill passes amended.
Speaker 0: Thank you so much, Councilmember Peterson. You're the chair of the committee. Someone handed over to you to provide that committee report.
Speaker 2: Thank you. Council president, colleagues. Last week our committee amended and then unanimously approved Council Bill 120042. This legislation is the recommendation from the Seattle Department of Transportation on how to invest the additional $7 million each year that we expect from the new $20 vehicle license fee this council authorized. As soon as we could. A few months ago, the amended council bill implements its recommendations for 2021 and then asks to return to the City Council at the start of our budget deliberations this fall with information we would need to consider going bigger and bolder with bonds to support Seattle's aging transportation infrastructure. Our infrastructure includes our cities. Older bridges that connect our communities, enable mobility for all modes of transportation, and keep our economy moving, especially as we strive to emerge from the COVID pandemic. I'd like to thank our state and the stakeholders selected to participate in the four meetings to discuss how to divide the $7 million into several transportation categories. I hope our staff will be able to use that additional input, not just for the $7 million, but as it crafts its $700 million budget for 2022. Thanks also to everyone who took the time to call in to public comment for both of our committee meetings. Special thanks to Nicole Grant, the head of MLK Labor Council, for joining the construction, labor unions and many of those in the community supporting the proposal to have us strongly consider bond financing. Since interest rates are at an all time low and because we have a strong interest in boosting our local economy to build back better. Again, our committee recommends approval of this bill. Thank you.
Speaker 0: Thank you so much, Councilmember Peterson. Are there any additional comments on this bill? Hearing and see no additional comments on the bill. Oh, no, that's okay. We're drawing a little bit of a delay this morning or this afternoon. Councilmember Mosquito, please.
Speaker 4: I thank you very much. Madam President, I first want to thank Councilmember Peterson for bringing forward the legislation in front of us today. Thank you very much, Councilmember Peterson, for your leadership on that. And I also want to thank Councilmember Strauss. I was deferring to see if Councilmember Strauss had any additional comments, because I know that there was a pretty robust discussion in committee. And since I'm not on the committee, you just wanted to offer a few comments and to just say thank you thanks to Councilmember Strauss for the amendment that he brought forward to make sure that the underlying policy helps to get at one of the bigger issues. That was really a driving interest of mine as well, and that's to make sure that the discussion and the future conversations really involve an approach to our investments in transportation and infrastructure that recognize the overlapping opportunities, the overlapping investments between our aging infrastructure like bridges and things that we should be carrying over those bridges, including busses and safer pathways for walkers, for bicyclists, for all those who need to use a stroller of their own or to push a stroller for their kiddos. I think that there's real opportunity here. I just want to pause for a second to make sure I wasn't interrupting. Councilmember Peterson, I it looks like you wanted to say something, but is it okay to continue with my comments here? Okay. Okay, great. Councilmembers and the Council President. Thank you so much, because I did want to take a quick second to recognize all of those who have called in, who have offered public comments as well. And for the comments that were made today about the opportunities for bonding, to allow for us to put people back to work, putting people back to work, especially for those who've lost their jobs or their small businesses in the wake of COVID, offers us a chance to frontload these dollars to invest in infrastructure projects or maintenance dollars that will allow for family wage jobs as part of our commitment to equitable recovery. And I think that by bonding in this moment, we can push forward a Green New Deal type of proposal here. It's not just New Deal by putting people to work, but it could be Green New Deal esque in that we are bringing together, I think, pillars of commitments in this revised legislation in front of us that really do complement our commitment to a blue green coalition, bringing in labor and environmentalist perspectives to push for projects that can be part of our ongoing effort to address the climate crisis as well as the crumbling infrastructure in front of us. I do think that we can do a both and approach, and I'm hopeful that the plan and the presentation in front of us this fall will allow for us to see that there is the the pathway forward to doing so. I know that we all are cognizant of the fact that cars and single occupants of vehicle are one of the largest source of if not the largest source of climate emissions in Seattle. And our commitment continues to be to reduce climate emissions. And so as we rebuild our infrastructure, as this proposal in front of us outlines, I think there's a lot of opportunity for us to marry these dollars with our commitments to create more multimodal transportation options, and that we can have a better sense of the total universe of dollars available for this both and approach when we know more about the federal infrastructure bill that is going to be passed this summer, and when we have a better understanding of the dollars that are coming from the state as well in the form of transportation and capital projects. I do want to thank the council members who are already mentioned and the stakeholder process that brought together the initial proposal. And I believe by allowing those initial recommendations to move forward now and not bonding against those dollars in this year's allocation, we will be able to see significant improvements in just the infrastructure in front of us in this first year. And then when we get the report in front of us, make sure that we can complement these federal and state dollars with our intended effort here to bond. I think that it's it's an opportunity for us to really put people back to work and to do so through an equity lens of making sure that those who have lost their livelihoods really do have an opportunity to come back and have an opportunity to rebuild our city. Today's legislation is not being done in a vacuum. The Council anticipates as part of the presentation in the 2022 proposed budget this fall, that the Executive will be providing updates on the implementation of the Vision Zero program and other transportation strategies, including the ADA Transition Plan, the modular master plans for bicycles, freight, transit and pedestrians, and commitments made to the Seattle levy that we must take into consideration as well. And it's really important from my perspective that we take a holistic look at those recommendations, because not only do we want to put these bonding dollars to use very quickly, but we need to make sure that we're honoring our promises made through the levies and keeping those commitments to voters so that voters see what they asked us to invest in really did get funded. So there's going to be a lot of opportunities coming forward for us to, I think, recommit to a both and approach and to make sure that we're fulfilling our obligations to not only move individuals single occupancy cars and. On goods, but also people safely. My interest continues to be in examining and prioritizing infrastructure. Infrastructure projects can that can do this both and work and put people back to work now. And I'm really excited about the funding opportunities that this legislation sets up. I think it's the right thing to do to look for opportunities to put people to work now. And I'm really also interested in hearing more about the project list that comes forward and hearing more about where each project list can support these multiple multi-modal transit options and how we can put people to work. So with that, thanks to folks from TCC, Mars Coalition, three of the Seattle Urbanists and our labor friends from ironworkers, carpenters, the laborers and the Seattle building and construction trades. At the end of the day, I think this is the right approach to make sure that we have a plan, to make a plan, and we have much more conversation to come this fall. But excited about the first steps taken here. And thanks again to Councilmember Peterson for your leadership and Councilmember Strauss for the amendment.
Speaker 0: So much it and I do see that Councilmember Strauss has his hand up something that I call on him next.
Speaker 3: Thank you. Council President. I will be brief prompted by Councilmember Moscato to speak understanding. We have 46 items on today's agenda. I did not want to spend too much time rehashing the things that we've already discussed. I think that Councilmember Mosqueda put it well, which is that we need to have ready and be ready to bond against any investment or any funding source, whether it's the VLF or others. And we need to have a good understanding of what our bonding needs are and what the schedule of those needs are so that we're not paying bankers interest on money we can't use before we're ready to use it. And I think it's important for us all colleagues, that when we ask stakeholder groups and departments like start to run a stakeholder process, that we honor what they bring to us in their reports is not I don't find it to be a good practice for us to ask others to do work and then for us to go in a completely different direction at the last minute. And so I just want to thank the sponsors of all of the initial legislation, of the initial amendment, and for everyone supporting a good way to move forward, keeping bonding on the table and asking for the information we need to make good, fiscally responsible decisions. Thank you. Council President. Thank you, colleagues.
Speaker 0: Thank you so much, Councilmember Strauss. Are there any additional comments on the bill? In December. Pearson As a prime sponsor, you get the last word. If there's anything else you'd like to add.
Speaker 2: Let's just vote.
Speaker 0: I like it. I like those last comments. All right, folks, with that and with that direction and the second that I'm hearing from Councilmember Juarez on let's vote, I would ask that the clerk please call the roll in the passage of the bill.
Speaker 1: Mosquera I. Peterson.
Speaker 2: All right.
Speaker 1: Silence. Yes. Strauss.
Speaker 2: Yes.
Speaker 1: Lewis.
Speaker 2: Yes.
Speaker 1: Whereas I. MORALES Yes. Council. President Gonzalez I am in favor and oppose.
Speaker 0: The bill passes and the chair will sign it. Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf? For the quick, please read the short title of item 43 into the record.
AN ORDINANCE amending Ordinance 126237, which adopted the 2021 Budget, including the 2021-2026 Capital Improvement Program (CIP); changing appropriations within the Transportation Benefit District Fund; revising project allocations for certain projects in the 2021-2026 CIP; and lifting a proviso.