OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Seattle City Council Briefing – May 4, 2026: Committee Reports, Executive Sessions

City Council — Monday, May 4, 2026
BodySeattle, Washington
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, May 4, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 49:46

Transcript — Verbatim
0:16

Good afternoon.

0:17

Today's May 4th.

0:18

The council briefing will come to order.

0:20

The time is 2 03 p.m.

0:21

Will the court please call the roll?

0:23

Councilmember Lynn.

0:25

Councilmember Rink.

0:27

Councilmember Rivera.

0:28

Present.

0:29

Councilmember Saka.

0:30

Here.

0:31

Councilmember Strauss.

0:32

Councilmember Foster.

0:33

Here.

0:34

Councilmember Warez.

0:35

Councilmember Kettle.

0:37

Here.

0:37

Council President Hollingsworth.

0:38

Here.

0:39

Seven present.

0:40

Councilmember Wars and Councilmember Lynn R.

0:42

Excuse.

0:42

If there's no objection, the minutes of April 27th will be adopted.

0:46

Hearing no objections, the minutes are adopted.

0:49

Today there are no presentations or proclamations.

0:51

There are seven items on the introduction and referral calendar, and there are two executive sessions.

0:56

Next Monday, May 11, Council briefing is canceled.

1:00

A cancellation notice has been issued.

1:02

Colleagues, I've talked to you all, and I will go around, but um us trying to figure out a cadence for council briefing and trying to fit it into a lot of the information that we have coming down the pipeline.

1:14

So I will be talking to you all individually about uh scheduling you know our council briefings that are appropriate to uh some of the council actions as well.

1:24

So just a heads up, we have that canceled next Monday.

1:28

Um also the full council meeting on Tuesday, May 26th is canceled as well.

1:33

Um so that is May 26.

1:36

That is the day um Memorial Day uh weekend, and so that Tuesday we will have it canceled, and the following week we'll resume all of our well, we're we'll have business that week, but we'll take on the full council meeting the following week.

1:50

Um there are no signing of proclamations to sign today.

1:53

Um we will begin our discussion on the preview of city council actions, council and regional committees.

1:59

Uh I guess we'll start.

2:00

I think last time we started with our left.

2:02

Is it okay if we start on our right today?

2:05

Awesome.

2:06

Councilmember Rivera, I know.

2:08

Surprise.

2:09

Surprise.

2:11

I sat here, so I shouldn't have been that surprised.

2:15

I don't want to scare anyone from not sitting here because you never know.

2:17

But Council More.

2:19

I know you're keeping us on our toes.

2:20

I appreciate that, Council President.

2:23

Umleagues, last week, I'll go with um what I worked on last week.

2:29

Um, as you all know, last Wednesday, the Families Education Preschool Promise Implementation and Evaluation Plan was transmitted by the mayor to the council.

2:38

I know you've all received that legislation.

2:41

I'll be reviewing that legislation.

2:43

I'm working with central staff and my office will let you know next steps for the committee schedule.

2:49

Um sadly, I I do want to say the mayor had a press conference um last week to announce transmit all of the INE.

2:58

Um, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention it was impacted by gun violence, which occurred yet again in our city.

3:07

Luckily, no one was injured.

3:09

As you all know, colleagues, public safety is something I deeply care about, as I know we all deeply care about.

3:16

And as I said in a statement last week, it was jarring to realize that the local children identified the gun um fire instantly.

3:25

Uh as you know, last year I put forward um in the 2026 budget some funding for gun gun violence intervention, either summit um or symposium as part of that.

3:36

I've been having ongoing conversations with God bless you, um, national a national leader in the gun violence intervention efforts, David Kennedy, um his organization, the National Network for Safe Communities, which identify which I identified in that CBA um has worked with many cities, including Baltimore and Philadelphia to significantly reduce gun violence.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Community Engagement████████████████████████████████32%
Public Safety███████████████████████23%
Transit Funding█████████9%
Fiscal Sustainability████████8%
Youth Programs███████7%
Procedural██████6%
Transportation Funding█████5%
Parks and Recreation███3%
Water And Wastewater Management███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Seattle City Council Briefing – May 4, 2026

The Seattle City Council held a briefing on Monday, May 4, 2026, at 2:03 p.m. in the Council Chamber. The meeting covered approval of previous minutes, preview of upcoming council actions and regional committee work, individual councilmember reports, and two closed executive sessions on litigation. Seven councilmembers were present (Council President Hollingsworth, Foster, Kettle, Mercedes Rinck, Rivera, Saka, Strauss); two were excused (Juarez, Lin). The meeting adjourned early at 3:26 p.m. (executive sessions concluded ahead of the 4:00 p.m. estimate).

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: The April 27, 2026, Council Briefing Minutes were approved without objection.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No oral public comment was taken. Only written comments were accepted prior to 10 a.m. on the meeting date.

Discussion Items

  • President's Report & Meeting Cancellations: Council President Hollingsworth announced the May 11, 2026, Council Briefing is canceled and the May 26 full council meeting is canceled due to Memorial Day weekend. She noted ongoing efforts to improve briefing scheduling.
  • Preview of City Council Actions / Committee Reports:
    • Councilmember Rivera reported on the Families Education Preschool Promise Implementation and Evaluation Plan transmitted by the mayor; her ongoing work on gun violence intervention (including a potential summit with David Kennedy’s National Network for Safe Communities); and outreach to small businesses in the University District concerned about repeated break-ins.
    • Councilmember Kettle highlighted upcoming Public Safety Committee meetings: May 12 (accountability partner day with SPD and OIG review of the Centennial Anderson protests SEER report) and May 26 (OEM and World Cup preparedness). He also noted community events, a town hall with Sound Transit, and work on the Queen Anne Pool leak (four loads of water lost per month, 1.5-year repair timeline).
    • Councilmember Mercedes Rinck (Finance, Native Communities & Tribal Governments) outlined her committee’s May 5 agenda: a briefing on the Centennial Accord, a vote on a FIFA World Cup grant bill (with a technical amendment correcting grant amounts), and the first of two hearings on Dwight Dively’s nomination as Office of City Finance director. She also described her work on Sound Transit, stating that removing Ballard from the map is “completely unacceptable.” A community town hall on light rail will be held May 7 (at City Hall) and a Sound Transit presentation at the National Nordic Museum on May 11.
    • Councilmember Saka previewed the May 7 Transportation Subcommittee: shared streets legislation (sponsored by Councilmember Strauss), district project fund briefing, and U Alley vacation. He also attended a roundtable on Seattle Center’s future, the Seattle Fire Awards, and a school visit to Pathfinder.
    • Councilmember Foster reported on the upcoming May 15 Human Services, Labor, and Economic Development Committee vote on a resolution addressing KCRHA forensic evaluation next steps, and the confirmation of Bedo Yarse as Office of Economic Development director. She also participated in a junk fee town hall at UW and visited the Recovery High School/Bridges program.
    • Councilmember Strauss (not present? Actually he was present but did not give a separate report? The transcript shows he did not give a separate report after Foster; instead Council President Hollingsworth continued. Actually the transcript has Councilmember Strauss giving a brief report? He spoke about district fund and shared streets. Then Council President Hollingsworth gave governance utilities committee update. The summary should include that.)
    • Council President Hollingsworth (Governance, Utilities) noted the May 14 committee agenda: reappointment of SPU GM Andrew Lee, King County flood control agreement, stormwater code updates, and Q1 AI report. She announced a letter with Councilmember Lin to King County asking to reduce the proposed wastewater rate increase from 12.75% to 10.75%, and a planned affordability briefing on June 1 at 2 p.m. to review cumulative impacts of recent levies and taxes.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes Approved: April 27 meeting minutes adopted unanimously.
  • Executive Sessions: The council convened two closed executive sessions on pending, potential, or actual litigation from 2:51 p.m. until 3:26 p.m. (estimated to end at 4:00 p.m. but concluded early). The meeting automatically adjourned at conclusion.
  • Upcoming Cancellations: Council Briefing on May 11 canceled; full council meeting on May 26 canceled.
  • Next Steps: The May 5 full council agenda will include the shelter census legislation (vote on Wednesday) and committee actions noted above. The next regularly scheduled council briefing is May 18, 2026, at 2 p.m.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon. Today's May 4th. The council briefing will come to order. The time is 2 03 p.m. Will the court please call the roll? Councilmember Lynn. Councilmember Rink. Councilmember Rivera. Present. Councilmember Saka. Here. Councilmember Strauss. Councilmember Foster. Here. Councilmember Warez. Councilmember Kettle. Here. Council President Hollingsworth. Here. Seven present. Councilmember Wars and Councilmember Lynn R. Excuse. If there's no objection, the minutes of April 27th will be adopted. Hearing no objections, the minutes are adopted. Today there are no presentations or proclamations. There are seven items on the introduction and referral calendar, and there are two executive sessions. Next Monday, May 11, Council briefing is canceled. A cancellation notice has been issued. Colleagues, I've talked to you all, and I will go around, but um us trying to figure out a cadence for council briefing and trying to fit it into a lot of the information that we have coming down the pipeline. So I will be talking to you all individually about uh scheduling you know our council briefings that are appropriate to uh some of the council actions as well. So just a heads up, we have that canceled next Monday. Um also the full council meeting on Tuesday, May 26th is canceled as well. Um so that is May 26. That is the day um Memorial Day uh weekend, and so that Tuesday we will have it canceled, and the following week we'll resume all of our well, we're we'll have business that week, but we'll take on the full council meeting the following week. Um there are no signing of proclamations to sign today. Um we will begin our discussion on the preview of city council actions, council and regional committees. Uh I guess we'll start. I think last time we started with our left. Is it okay if we start on our right today? Awesome. Councilmember Rivera, I know. Surprise. Surprise. I sat here, so I shouldn't have been that surprised. I don't want to scare anyone from not sitting here because you never know. But Council More. I know you're keeping us on our toes. I appreciate that, Council President. Umleagues, last week, I'll go with um what I worked on last week. Um, as you all know, last Wednesday, the Families Education Preschool Promise Implementation and Evaluation Plan was transmitted by the mayor to the council.

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