The Tacoma City Council met on June 17, 2025, at 5:00 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting included a moment of silence for former CED Director Jeff Robinson, a proclamation for Juneteenth, the Mayor's Youth Commission annual report, public comment, approval of consent agenda items, two motions on fire department and police recruitment, and multiple appointments to city boards and commissions.
I'd like to call to order the City Council meeting of June 17th, 2025. Clerk, will you please call the roll? Councilmember Bushnell. Present. Deputy Mayor Daniels. Here. Councilmember Diaz. Councilmember Heinz. Councilmember Rumba. Here. Councilmember Sidalga. Councilmember Scott. Councilmember Walker. Here. Councilmember Walker's virtual. Mayor Woodards? Here. Please join me in listening to the land acknowledgement and flag salute led by Deputy Mayor Daniels, followed by a moment of silence for our beloved former CED director, Jeff Robinson. Tonight we dedicate this moment of silence to the passing of someone who served this city with distinction. Jeff was our former community and economic development director and a longtime passionate advocate for creating opportunity in every neighborhood of Tacoma. Many of us had the privilege of working alongside him, and we know how deeply he cared about lifting up others, especially those too often left out of growth and progress. Jeff was more than a colleague. He was a friend, a mentor, and a tireless advocate for economic development and community development in Tacoma. Jeff truly believed in this city and in its people. Through his leadership vision and compassion and compassion, he helped shape Tacoma into a place where more people could see themselves building a future. His passing leads a deep, deep void, but his legacy lives on in the work we continue to do and in the lives he touched along the way. When he was the executive director of the Martin Luther King Housing Development Association, and I think a lot of us who are in this room tonight know Jeff more for than just his time here as the CED director. And what I would say about Jeff personally is that whether it was when I met him 25 years ago or when I saw him just a year ago. And he gave back to this community. And I've never seen a person other than Alberta, Canada, who was one of his mentors, who cared more deeply about housing and making sure that everyone had one. And I hope that we'll all take these words to heart, because I think Jeff Shirley did. To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn praise of honest critics, and endure and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to give of oneself, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition, to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exaltation. To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have success. Tonight to Barbara, his loving wife, to his children and his family, both by blood and by those he adopted along the way. May we remember that we all breathe better because Jeff was a part of us. We offer sincerest condolences to Jeff's family. And Jeff, we know that while you have left us here, you are in a better place looking down on us, and we will continue to carry out your work. Deputy Mayor. We gratefully honor and acknowledge that we rest on the traditional lands of the Piala people where they make their home and speak the Leshutsi language. Please stand for the flag salute and remain standing for a moment of silence. All right, agenda modifications. Are there any modifications to the agenda this evening? Seeing none, we'll move on to the consent agenda. And accepting the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the hearing examiner for ordinance numbers two nine zero four three and two nine zero four four. Second. Are there any council questions, comments, or corrections to the consent agenda? All right. Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting the consent agenda, including resolution numbers four one six nine nine and four one seven zero zero, and accepting the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the hearing examiner for ordinances number two nine zero four three and two nine zero four four. Please signify by saying aye.