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Record of Proceedings

Tacoma City Council Meeting - October 8, 2024: Proclamations, Honorary Street Naming, and Public Comment

City Council — Tuesday, October 8, 2024
BodyTacoma, Washington
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, October 8, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:06

I'd like to call to order the city council meeting of October 8th, 2024.

0:10

Clerk, will you please call the roll?

0:12

Councilmember Bushnell.

0:15

Absent.

0:15

Councilmember Daniels?

0:17

Councilmember Diaz.

0:19

Deputy Mayor Hines.

0:20

Councilmember Rumba.

0:22

Here.

0:23

Councilmember Sidalgay?

0:25

Here.

0:25

Councilmember Scott, absent.

0:27

Councilmember Walker?

0:28

Here.

0:28

Mayor Woodards?

0:30

Here.

0:31

Please join me in listening to the land acknowledgement and flag salute led by Councilmember Daniels, followed by a moment of silence.

0:39

We gratefully honor and acknowledge that we rest on the traditional lands of the Puala people where they make their home and speak the Leshut seed language.

0:46

Please stand for the flag salute and remain standing for a moment of silence.

0:59

And to the Republic for which to stand under God.

1:42

All right, agenda modifications.

1:44

Are there any modifications to the agenda this evening?

1:47

Seeing none, we will move on to the consent agenda.

1:50

I move to adopt consent agenda.

1:52

Second.

1:53

Are there any questions, comments, or corrections?

1:55

Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting the consent agenda, please signify by saying aye.

2:00

Aye.

2:00

All those opposed, the consent agenda is declared adopted.

2:04

Tonight we have three ceremonials.

2:07

Um and they may be in a certain order on your um on your agenda this evening, but I'm gonna just change the order up just a little bit.

2:15

And we're gonna the first proclamation we're gonna do is proclaiming Monday, October 14th, 2024 as Indigenous People's Day.

2:23

And I'd like to invite Sylvia Miller, Tribal Council Vite, Tribal Council Vice Chairwoman from the Puallop tribe of Indians to the podium as I read this proclamation.

2:42

Right.

2:43

Whereas the City of Tacoma recognizes that the indigenous peoples of the lands known as the Americas have occupied these lands since time and immemorial, immemorium.

2:56

Whereas the city acknowledges that Tacoma is built upon the homelands and villages of indigenous people of this region, and in particular, recognizes and honors the ownership rights and the land restored to the Puallop tribe of Indians under the Puallop Lane Clam Settlement of 1990.

3:15

And whereas Indigenous nations have made and continue to make invaluable contributions to the diversity, the arts, the knowledge, labor, technology, science, philosophy, and it and the economy of Washington State and their historical and cultural contributions, particularly those of the Puallop tribe, have substantially shaped Tacoma's character.

3:39

And whereas the city has a responsibility to oppose institutional and systemic bigotry and racism towards indigenous people in the United States, which has perpetuated high rates of poverty and income equality, exacerbated adverse health, education, and social outcomes, and contributed to the disproportionate rate of incarceration.

4:04

And whereas Indigenous People's Day was first proposed in 1977 by a delegation of Native Nations, and in December 2010, the United States announced support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which recognizes the suffering caused by the historic injustices of colonization and dispossession of their lands, territories, and resources.

4:32

And whereas the city and the Puallop tribe continue working to build and strengthen the relationship between our two governments through the sponsoring of Canoe Journey Journey, the partnering efforts to raise the pride flag over the Tacoma Dome for LGBTQ Pride Month, the renaming of the Puallop River Bridge to the Fishing Wars Memorial Bridge, and we will continue building that relationship and collaboration for the greater good of our communities.

5:00

Now, therefore, I, Victoria R.

5:02

Woodards, mayor of the City of Tacoma, on behalf of the City Council, do hereby proclaim Monday, October 14th, 2024 as Indigenous People's Day in the City of Tacoma, and encourage our residents to reflect on the accomplishments and the contributions of all people from Indigenous backgrounds and how they have made our city and our nation so strong.

5:28

Please join me in a round of applause.

5:38

And I'd like to call on Vice Chairwoman Sylvia Miller for comments.

5:43

Do I have two minutes?

5:44

Oh, you have as you have as many minutes as you'd like.

5:46

That's an old joke.

5:48

I I want to say what an honor, what an honor for us to be standing here today, because our identity is something that has been tried over centuries and centuries to be stripped from us to make that indigenous people not be here.

6:05

But this speaks many words.

6:09

We're here, we're here today, and we'll continue to be here forever.

6:13

These lands, these waters, everything that we have that we have been gifted by the Creator, I want to say that these things we all share together, the Creator gave to each and every one of us in these lands.

6:27

We should be sharing together this all this is a great honor to be here and uh to finally be recognized as indigenous people.

6:35

So thank you so much for this.

6:36

It's a big honor.

6:37

Thank you.

6:38

Thank you.

6:45

And Vice Chairwoman, before you take off, we're gonna have you come up and present you with the proclamation.

6:50

But I do want to say that we are so grateful here in this region to have such a great relationship with the Puallop tribe of Indians, and that doesn't happen in in every city, and that's because we have a tribal nation that is willing to work with us, and and we are so grateful for the partnership that we share.

7:11

I am very much looking forward to what we will do in just a few minutes.

7:15

In addition to this proclamation this evening, you all will hear about something else that we're doing in support um of our tribal nation here.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Comment█████████████████████████25%
Historic Preservation█████████████████17%
Environmental Protection████████████12%
Public Safety███████████11%
Human Rights███████7%
Homelessness█████5%
Procedural████4%
Tree Preservation████4%
Public Works████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Tacoma City Council Meeting - October 8, 2024

The meeting was called to order at 5:00 PM with roll call (Councilmembers Bushnell and Scott absent), a land acknowledgement, flag salute, and moment of silence. The council adopted the consent agenda, issued three proclamations, and unanimously passed a resolution to install honorary street signs in the Puyallup Tribe's Twulshootseed language. Public comment and community forum sessions covered a range of topics including tree preservation, homelessness, labor standards, and calls for divestment from Israel.

Consent Calendar

  • Adopted minutes of study sessions and meetings from January 2024 and Public Utility Board meetings from August–September 2024.
  • Approved payments totaling $46,875,858.09 (payroll $22,563,337.14; other payments $24,312,520.95) for the period September 9–22, 2024.

Proclamations

  • Indigenous Peoples’ Day (October 14, 2024): Mayor Woodards read the proclamation, acknowledging the Puyallup Tribe's history and partnership. Vice Chairwoman Sylvia Miller accepted, speaking to the importance of recognition and resilience.
  • Hindu American Awareness and Appreciation Month (October 2024): Councilmember Sidalgay read the proclamation. Shashank Chitness, representing the Hindu American community, accepted and highlighted contributions of Hindu Americans in the region.
  • Green Tacoma Day (October 12, 2024) and Arbor Day (October 26, 2024): The proclamation was accepted by Michael Carey (Urban Forest Program Manager), David Cuavas (Tacoma Tree Foundation), Dana Coggan (Pierce Conservation District), and Lizzie Matheary (Environmental Services). They emphasized the importance of tree planting and volunteer efforts, noting Tacoma’s 30th year as a Tree City USA and 20th Tree Line USA award.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • On Agenda Items:
    • April Smith (District 5) expressed support for the Green Tacoma Day proclamation but criticized the Planning Department for allowing removal of large native trees in the South End, stating that small trees cannot compensate for the loss.
    • Michelle Reich spoke in support of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, drawing parallels to displaced indigenous peoples in Lebanon and Gaza.
    • Kathy Laha supported the resolution for honorary street names, suggesting a street be named after Ramona Bennett, and praised the Puyallup Tribe’s resilience.

Discussion Items

  • Resolution 41535 – Honorary Street Names in Twulshootseed Language: Brennan Kidd (Public Works) presented the proposal to confer honorary names on 28 roadways (62 intersections, ~174 signs) within the 1873 Survey Area of the Puyallup Reservation. The names are in the Twulshootseed language and reflect the tribe’s creation history. The city’s naming policy, adopted in 2022, allows such applications, and the tribe will cover costs of manufacturing, installation, and maintenance (expected 15-year life). The Infrastructure, Planning, and Sustainability Committee had unanimously recommended approval on September 11, 2024. Councilmembers expressed excitement and gratitude, highlighting the importance of language visibility and education. Tribal representatives (Amber Sterud Hayward, Chris DeWeinis, Andrew Stroble) spoke about the seven-year effort and the significance of reclaiming language. The resolution was adopted unanimously by voice vote.

Community Forum

  • April Smith (District 5) described dangerous sidewalk conditions due to poor maintenance, almost causing her to fall from a wheelchair.
  • Teresa Evans praised the honorary street naming resolution and noted the application materials are publicly available.
  • X (anonymous) accused the city of complicity in genocide, funding Zionists, and failing to protect the environment, and called for officials to step down.
  • Joseph Oseller criticized tree protection policies, stating mature trees cannot be replaced by new plantings and that current protections have loopholes.
  • Michelle Reich discussed the anniversary of the October 7, 2023 attacks and linked the conflict to displacement of Lebanese indigenous people.
  • Mariana Heik highlighted partnerships with Seattle on wage theft ordinances and subcontractor transparency, supporting labor standards.
  • Vanessa Patterson shared her journey from single mom to journey-level carpenter through a pre-apprenticeship program, and expressed desire to work locally.
  • Nick Jesh (fifth-generation Tacoman) noted the difficulty of recovering unpaid wages without union membership and thanked the Carpenters union.
  • Darren Holter argued that the city’s use of general funds to maintain rights-of-way violates state law and that property owners should be responsible; he planned to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s office.
  • Sally Perkins highlighted World Homeless Day (Oct 10) and criticized the city’s treatment of unhoused people, noting quarterly memorials and calling for an end to “sweeps.”
  • Kit Burns (architect) criticized the city’s permitting process, specifically the separation of site work and building permits, and urged revisions to Home in Tacoma 2 to avoid overdevelopment.
  • Anthony Steele (Pastor) expressed concern over the handling of the police chief’s reprimand and called for more community input in police contract negotiations.
  • Claire Thomas (joint comment) demanded the city council reject ShotSpotter technology, divest from Israel, strengthen the ceasefire resolution (including an arms embargo), and eliminate the city manager position. Speakers linked ShotSpotter to Israeli military technology and argued it would not reduce gun violence.
  • Sean presented a longitudinal study (1999–2016) showing ShotSpotter had no significant impact on firearm homicides or arrests, and urged the council to consider cost-effective alternatives.
  • Kathy Lahan endorsed the previous comments and criticized the city’s contribution to climate change, pointing to a methane tank at the port and the increasing severity of hurricanes.
  • Marilyn Kimmerling (member of multiple peace and climate groups) called for boycotts of Israeli products and an end to military aid to Israel, citing her experience visiting Israel in 1966.
  • Eric G criticized the approval of a mega warehouse project in South Tacoma without a public vote, noting it is built on a superfund site over the city’s aquifer and raises environmental justice concerns.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda adopted unanimously.
  • Proclamations issued for Indigenous Peoples’ Day (Oct 14), Hindu American Awareness and Appreciation Month, and Green Tacoma Day/Arbor Day (Oct 12 & 26).
  • Resolution 41535 adopted unanimously authorizing honorary street signs in Twulshootseed language for 28 roadways; installation expected within six months.
  • Councilmembers Bushnell and Scott excused from the meeting by unanimous vote.
  • Meeting adjourned at approximately 8:45 PM (estimated from transcript length). No further business was conducted.

Meeting Transcript

I'd like to call to order the city council meeting of October 8th, 2024. Clerk, will you please call the roll? Councilmember Bushnell. Absent. Councilmember Daniels? Councilmember Diaz. Deputy Mayor Hines. Councilmember Rumba. Here. Councilmember Sidalgay? Here. Councilmember Scott, absent. Councilmember Walker? Here. Mayor Woodards? Here. Please join me in listening to the land acknowledgement and flag salute led by Councilmember Daniels, followed by a moment of silence. We gratefully honor and acknowledge that we rest on the traditional lands of the Puala people where they make their home and speak the Leshut seed language. Please stand for the flag salute and remain standing for a moment of silence. And to the Republic for which to stand under God. All right, agenda modifications. Are there any modifications to the agenda this evening? Seeing none, we will move on to the consent agenda. I move to adopt consent agenda. Second. Are there any questions, comments, or corrections? Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting the consent agenda, please signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed, the consent agenda is declared adopted. Tonight we have three ceremonials. Um and they may be in a certain order on your um on your agenda this evening, but I'm gonna just change the order up just a little bit. And we're gonna the first proclamation we're gonna do is proclaiming Monday, October 14th, 2024 as Indigenous People's Day. And I'd like to invite Sylvia Miller, Tribal Council Vite, Tribal Council Vice Chairwoman from the Puallop tribe of Indians to the podium as I read this proclamation. Right. Whereas the City of Tacoma recognizes that the indigenous peoples of the lands known as the Americas have occupied these lands since time and immemorial, immemorium. Whereas the city acknowledges that Tacoma is built upon the homelands and villages of indigenous people of this region, and in particular, recognizes and honors the ownership rights and the land restored to the Puallop tribe of Indians under the Puallop Lane Clam Settlement of 1990. And whereas Indigenous nations have made and continue to make invaluable contributions to the diversity, the arts, the knowledge, labor, technology, science, philosophy, and it and the economy of Washington State and their historical and cultural contributions, particularly those of the Puallop tribe, have substantially shaped Tacoma's character. And whereas the city has a responsibility to oppose institutional and systemic bigotry and racism towards indigenous people in the United States, which has perpetuated high rates of poverty and income equality, exacerbated adverse health, education, and social outcomes, and contributed to the disproportionate rate of incarceration. And whereas Indigenous People's Day was first proposed in 1977 by a delegation of Native Nations, and in December 2010, the United States announced support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which recognizes the suffering caused by the historic injustices of colonization and dispossession of their lands, territories, and resources. And whereas the city and the Puallop tribe continue working to build and strengthen the relationship between our two governments through the sponsoring of Canoe Journey Journey, the partnering efforts to raise the pride flag over the Tacoma Dome for LGBTQ Pride Month, the renaming of the Puallop River Bridge to the Fishing Wars Memorial Bridge, and we will continue building that relationship and collaboration for the greater good of our communities. Now, therefore, I, Victoria R. Woodards, mayor of the City of Tacoma, on behalf of the City Council, do hereby proclaim Monday, October 14th, 2024 as Indigenous People's Day in the City of Tacoma, and encourage our residents to reflect on the accomplishments and the contributions of all people from Indigenous backgrounds and how they have made our city and our nation so strong. Please join me in a round of applause. And I'd like to call on Vice Chairwoman Sylvia Miller for comments. Do I have two minutes? Oh, you have as you have as many minutes as you'd like. That's an old joke. I I want to say what an honor, what an honor for us to be standing here today, because our identity is something that has been tried over centuries and centuries to be stripped from us to make that indigenous people not be here. But this speaks many words. We're here, we're here today, and we'll continue to be here forever.

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