Councilmember Romba, did you see you're on salute?

Thank you.

Got it.

I would like to call to order the city council meeting of October 7th, 2025.

Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Councilmember Bushnell.

Present.

Deputy Mayor Daniels?

Here.

Councilmember Diaz.

Councilmember Hines.

Councilmember Rumba?

Here.

Councilmember Sidalgay?

Here.

Councilmember Scott?

Here.

Councilmember Walker?

Here.

Mayor Woodards.

I think that was it here.

Thank you.

Deputy Mayor, you have quorum.

Okay, perfect.

Thank you.

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

We gratefully honor and acknowledge that we rest on the traditional lands of the Pial people where they make their home and speak the La Shitsi language.

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

Number one, we will be removing ordinance numbers two nine zero six one and two nine zero six two from the meeting and set them for over for first reading at the council meeting on Tuesday, October 14th, 2025.

We will also consider a substitute ordinance for Tacoma Creates and proposed motions.

And lastly, we will consider a revised substitute ordinance for the multifamily housing limited property tax exemptions.

Are there any additional modifications to the agenda this evening?

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

I move to adopt the consent agenda including resolutions numbers 41768 through 4170 and first and final reading of ordinance two nine zero six zero and first reading of ordinances numbers two nine zero six one and two nine zero six two.

Second.

Are there any questions, comments, concerns?

I move to remove the ordinance numbers two nine zero six one and two nine zero six two from tonight's meeting and set them over for first reading at to the October 14th, 2025 meeting on the regular agenda.

Second.

All right, all those in favor of setting the ordinances numbers two nine zero six one and two nine zero six two over to next week.

Please signify by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed signify by saying nay.

The motion is declared adopted.

All right, are there any other questions, comments, or corrections to the remaining items on the consent agenda?

I move to accept the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the hearing exammer for first and final reading of ordinance number two nine zero six zero.

Second.

All those in favor of adopting the consent agenda, please signify by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed, signify by saying nay.

All right, the the consent agenda is declared adopted.

Moving on to proclamations, recognitions, and presentations.

Uh we have three proclamations tonight.

Um we will be starting with proclaiming Saturday, October 11th, 2025, as Arbor Day and Green Tacoma Day, Green Tacoma Day.

Um for that I would like to bring up Lizzie Materi from the rest the restoration ecologist from Environmental Services, Jayla Smith, the planting director from the Tacoma Tree Foundation, and Jess Chandler from the Green Tacoma Partners, our Green Tacoma Partnership Manager from Pierce Conservation District to the podium as Councilmember Walker reads the proclamation.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

Whereas Tacoma's urban forest is an irreplaceable asset, essential to urban infrastructure and part of the greater ecosystem of the Puget Sound region, helping to reduce climate impacts.

And whereas the City of Tacoma recognizes that its resilient community can come together to enhance the ecology and livability of our neighborhoods now and in the future through the planting and stewardship of trees and native plants.

And whereas we celebrate the Green Tacoma Partnership, a collaborative effort between government, conservation partners, parks, educational institutions, and community organizations to engage Tacoma's in the restoration of our urban landscapes.

And whereas in 2025, Tacoma anticipates receiving its 32nd Tree City USA Award and Tacoma Powers 22nd Tree Line USA Award from the United States Commissioner of Public Lands.

And whereas the annual Green Tacoma Day and Arbor Day celebration on October 11, 2025, will feature native plant and tree planting, litter pickups, and other restoration activities at 13 sites throughout the city, along with other great activities in parks, neighborhoods, and green spaces throughout Tacoma to help increase public awareness and appreciation for the environmental and health benefits trees provide to our community.

Now, therefore, I, Christina Walker, on behalf of the mayor and the city council do hereby proclaim Saturday, October 11th, 2025 as Arbor Day and Green Tacoma Day in the City of Tacoma, and urge all residents to become more involved in the protection and enhancement of one of our greatest assets, our urban forest.

Thank you, Councilmember Walker.

All right, I will leave it to you all to make comment.

Thank you so much.

Good evening, Deputy Mayor Daniels and members of the council.

Thank you so much for welcoming welcoming us back again to celebrate Green Tacoma Day and Arbor Day.

My name is Lizzie Materi, and I'm a restoration ecologist with the city's open space program.

And tonight, Jayla Smith with the Tacoma Tree Foundation and Jess Chandler with Pierce Conservation District are here with me, and we are representing the Green Tacoma Partnership, which is celebrating 20 years of collective efforts to green our city this year.

And we'd like to share a few words with you.

Residents of our city, where we live, work, and play, depend on access to nature as a critical part of daily urban life.

Trees and open spaces are not just amenities.

They are essential infrastructure in the fight against growing environmental challenges.

They help manage stormwater, filter pollutants from our air and water, and provide natural cooling that combats the escalating threat of urban heat islands.

Our green spaces also serve as frontline defenses in the fight against climate res climate change, providing climate resilience by buffering neighborhoods from extreme weather and reducing our city's carbon footprint.

Beyond its environmental value, nature directly supports our physical and mental well-being, improving public health, lowering stress, and fostering a stronger, healthier community.

This year we're celebrating both Green Tacoma Day and Arbor Day on Saturday, October 11th.

The Green Tacoma Partnership is hosting 13 different events all across the city, including restoration work parties, tree plantings, a litter pickup, a watershed festival, and a free tree giveaway for community members.

We're also celebrating Tacoma's 32nd year as a tree city USA community and Tacoma Powers 22nd year as a tree line USA community as nationally recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation, reaffirming our long-term commitment to the care of Tacoma's urban forest.

I would like to thank all of you and all of our amazing community members for their continued support in prioritizing Tacoma's urban green spaces so that they can be beautiful and healthy assets long into the future.

I look forward to seeing so many Tacomans this Saturday, October 11th from 9 a.m.

to noon.

I'll pass things to Jayla.

Hi everyone, I'm Jayla.

I usually her and they them pronouns.

I'm the planting director at the Tacoma Tree Foundation.

Great to see you all.

I am proudly raised in Tacoma, an organizer and social worker and educator.

So thank you for having me here to celebrate trees and our city with you tonight.

So Green Tacoma Day is a culmination of efforts by a number of different partners, illustrating the teamwork and cooperation it needs to take to create a healthy and vibrant city.

The Tacoma Tree Foundation and all Tacoma Partners, Green Tacoma partners are committed to empowering stewards and volunteers by providing direction, support, and resources for planting trees, connecting neighbors, and lowering barriers to greening our city.

At the Tacoma Tree Foundation, we're committed to lowering the barriers to planting and having local access to trees by providing family-friendly tree walks or webinars on the importance of trees, teaching volunteers how to plant trees and even matchmaking residents with the right tree for the right for their property, and even sometimes when we can, watering all through the summer.

And many residents and families are overburdened by the competing priorities in their day-to-day lives, and we know that people are also grateful to have access to green spaces and trees in their neighborhood.

And because of our Tacoma Tree projects, we're able to provide that access.

And on Arbor Day this year, the Tacoma Tree Foundation is working with the City of Tacoma to distribute over 265 trees to our neighborhood in the South End for our green blocks program.

We're so grateful we were delivering them all day today and all day yesterday.

And we were able to partner, like I said, with the urban forestry team, Washington State Conservation Corps, our Northwest Youth Corps, and volunteers who live in the city.

So please join us.

I invite everyone in the room and anyone watching to join us on October 11th to plant trees at 9 a.m.

at Mann Elementary will be joining outside.

And we're providing planting assistance for those who aren't able to plant their trees, which is a huge offering for those folks.

And they're family-friendly, open to all experiences.

We provide all the tools for everyone.

So thank you again, you all for your leadership and your commitment to green spaces and your future commitment to green spaces.

And I'll see you on Saturday.

I'm going to pass it off to Jess.

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

I'm Jess Chandler, the Green Tacoma Partnership Program Manager with the Pierce Conservation District.

Conservation districts exist to conserve natural resources that are essential to our quality of life, economy, and future.

We work with people to support them in taking care of the commons on which we all rely.

This work seeks to create a more just food system, improve water quality, recover wildlife habitat, and create resiliency in the face of climate change.

I want to start off by thanking you all for the opportunity to speak here tonight.

Pierce Conservation is proud to be a part of the Green Tacoma Partnership and grateful for your consistent support and dedication to our city's urban forests.

In the early 2000s, it became understood that we were facing an ecological crisis within our Pacific Northwest cities.

Urban forests were overrun with invasive plants and mature trees were nearing the end of their natural lifespans.

This partnership is built on the foundation that environmental problems are too complex to tackle alone and too critical to avoid ownership.

In 2005, upon the initial establishment of the Green Cities program, Tacoma became a part of this network, and since its establishment, we have created a coalition of organizations, schools, government agencies, and neighbors to support each other in not only the physical labor of restoration, but creating a culture of stewardship.

The Green Tacoma Partnership is a community-oriented program sustained by volunteers who have dedicated their time to caring for our lands, trees, and ecosystems.

Our neighbors are the foundation of the partnership's success because they show up week after week to devote their time and energy to improving our city.

It is my belief that stewardship of place is a radical act of love.

We love Tacoma, and so we work to make our air clean, our water clean, and create the foundations which allow people who live here to thrive.

On behalf of the Conservation District, we appreciate your continued support of the Green Tacoma Partnership and proclaim October 11th, 2025 Green Tacoma Day.

Thank you so much for your time, and we can't wait to see you all on Saturday.

Thank you.

Will you please uh join me in a round of applause?

And then if you'd like to come up and accept your proclamation while we take a picture of it.

Can I have the three of you just scoot this way a little bit just to center?

Yep.

Fantastic.

All right.

Councilmember Bush, now I'm gonna have you just scoot this way just a little.

There we go.

All right.

One, two, three, one more.

One, two, three.

Thank you all so much.

Okay, we're gonna do our third proclamation second.

Um, and we are going to uh be proclaiming October 5th through 11th uh the freedom to read week.

And for that, I would like to call up to the podium, Amita Loneel, our director for the Tacoma Public Library, Michelle Kelly Baroga from the OASIS Youth Center, um, as Councilmember Rumbaugh reads the proclamation.

Whereas the City Council of Tacoma and the Tacoma Public Library are committed to providing open access and allowing free inquiry at Tacoma's libraries.

And whereas the roles of libraries is to collect and make available diverse works and information reflective of many perspectives and lived experiences to affirm and reflect the communities they serve.

And whereas organized campaigns to censor books are increasing nationwide with the majority of targeted books addressing topics related to race, gender, and LGBTQ IA2S Plus experience.

And whereas removing and banning books from public libraries is a form of censorship and erodes our country's commitment to freedom of expression, and whereas library staff respect and uphold each person's individual right to read what they want and support the rights of access for all.

And whereas Tacoma's year of belonging is anchored in the belief that everyone's story belongs at your library.

And whereas Freedom to Read Week brings together our community in shared support of the freedom to seek and express ideas.

Now, therefore, I, Sarah Rumba, on behalf of Mayor Victoria R.

Wittards, Mayor of the City of Tacoma, on behalf of the City Council, do hereby proclaim October 5th through the 11th, 2025, as Freedom to Read Week in the City of Tacoma and joins the Tacoma Public Library Board of Trustees in supporting the American Library Association's freedom to read and statement and opposing book bands.

Together, we affirm our commitment to inclusivity, access to diverse materials, and a vibrant cultural sector that fosters a creative, cohesive community.

Please join me on round of applause.

Good afternoon, everyone.

Again, my name is Michelle Kelly Baroga.

I'm the deputy director at Oasis Youth Center.

I use they than pronouns.

Thank you, Council members, for this proclamation and for recognizing that the freedom to read is at its heart our freedom to exist.

At Oasis Youth Center, we see every day how powerful it is when a young person finds a story that reflects who they are, sometimes for the very first time.

That spark of recognition, that quiet moment of OMG, that's me.

It can change everything.

At Oasis, we have a queer library.

It's probably one of the biggest ones that we know of over here.

In my past decade with Oasis, we have gone to Powell's bookstore in Portland to be able to bring our youth where we'll have more access to LGBTQ anything.

They love it.

I don't, we keep going to Portland, it's a fun field trip.

But we provide we provide access to the youth because representation really matters.

That's why book bands don't just remove words from shelves, they remove mirrors, maps, and possibilities.

When stories with LGBTQ characters are targeted, it sends a message to our youth that their lives are too controversial to be seen.

But our youth already know the truth.

They are the main characters.

They're brave, complicated, and full of storylines that are worth telling.

The freedom to read is about curiosity, courage, and community.

It's about raising a generation who can think critically and love themselves unapologetically.

We know that some people worry that these books might influence young minds.

And um Yes.

Yes.

Books do influence young minds.

They teach empathy, resilience, and the art of being human.

And if that's dangerous, then maybe the danger is exactly what keeps that hope alive.

So on behalf of our youth, our mentors, our families, the libraries, and really everyone who's ever found that comfort in a story that told them that they're not alone.

Thank you.

Thank you for affirming that every step, every story deserves a place on the shelf, and every reader deserves to see themselves in the world.

Because a city that protects the right to read is a city that believes in every voice and every chapter and every kind of love.

Good evening, uh, Deputy Mayor Daniels and City Council.

Uh, thank you for standing with Tacoma Public Library and Public Libraries Everywhere in protecting intellectual freedom and our individual rights to read, what interests inspires or challenging us, not only during Freedom to Read Week, but every day.

This week is not just about books, it's about the values and rights that underpin our community and our democracy, which includes freedom of speech and the rights of every person to see themselves and others reflected in the stories and information we provide.

This does include information that makes us uncomfortable, could be controversial or just unfamiliar.

And upholding intellectual freedom, just like democracy takes work and it increasingly takes courage and grits.

In recent years, we've seen a sharp rise in attempts to ban or restrict books in schools and libraries across the country.

Many of these books center the voices of LGBTQ plus individuals, people of color, and others whose stories have been historically marginalized.

These challenges are not just taking place in faraway places.

They're happening here in Washington, in Pierce County, and even here in Tacoma.

But what we do know is that censorship is not a winning strategy.

Censorship doesn't protect children and it doesn't protect anyone.

In fact, it limits our ability to think critically, to empathize with others, and to understand the world around us.

And those are all the skills that we need for a healthy and functioning democracy.

So when we allow a small group of voices to dictate what others can read, we lose out in big and vital ways.

That's one of the reasons why these stickers you'll be getting say the only thing we shush at the library is censorship.

So thank you for uh standing with us in affirming people's right to be informed.

I hope you'll check out some of the events we're doing this week around censorship.

And if you see our staff out and about, please thank them for the work that they do every day to protect access to information.

And of course, I hope I see you next week at Tacoma Reads as well.

Thank you so much for your support of this proclamation in the libraries.

Thank you, Director.

Would you guys like to come up and take a picture?

Wonderful.

Everybody look this way.

Smile big.

One, two, three.

Take one more.

One, two, three.

Yay!

Okay.

And for our final proclamation for Indigenous People's Day, I will have Council Member Bush now read for proclaiming Monday, October 13th, Indigenous People's Day.

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

And whereas the city acknowledges that Tacoma is built upon the homelands and villages of indigenous peoples of this region, and in particular recognizes and honors the ownership rights and land restored to the Pialb tribe of Indians under the Pialp Land Claims Settlement of 1990.

And whereas indigenous nations have made and continue to make invaluable contributions to the diversity, arts, knowledge, labor, technology, science, philosophy, and economy of Washington State and their historical and cultural contributions, particularly those of the Peol 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 inequality, exacerbated adverse health, education, and social outcomes, and contributed to disproportionate incarceration and whereas Indigenous Peoples 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 disposition of their lands, territories, and resources.

And whereas the city and Pialb tribe continue working to build and strengthen the relationship between our two governments through the sponsoring of the Canoe Journey, the partnering efforts to raise the pride flag above the Tacoma Dome for Pride Month, and the renaming of the Pealb 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, Joe Bushnell, on behalf of the mayor and the Tacoma City Council do hereby proclaim Monday, October 13th from the City of Tacoma, Indigenous Peoples Day, and encourage our residents to reflect on the accomplishments and contributions of all people from Indigenous backgrounds that have made our city what it is today.

Our tribal council member couldn't join us tonight, so we are going to take that proclamation on her be on their behalf.

Okay.

Moving on to public comment.

On tonight's agenda, there are two opportunities for people to comment.

Under public comment, you can speak about motions, resolutions, and ordinances on tonight's agenda.

Under the public hearing, you can speak about the proposed amendments to Title 13 of the municipal code relating to historic preservation.

Again, that's going to be at a later uh time tonight.

These forums are intended to give speakers the opportunity to share their viewpoints and feedback with the city council to aid in our decision making, and it's not meant to be a back and forth dialogue.

Your emotion remarks should be directed toward the city council and not at individual staff members.

If you want to speak under the public comment period, press the raise your hand button near the bottom of your Zoom window or star nine on your phone now so we can see the number of people wishing to testify this evening.

If you're speaking in person, please sign up at the back of the room if you have not done so already.

Your name or the last four digits of your phone number will be called out when it is your turn to turn to speak.

Clerk, will you please read?

This is the time set aside for public comment.

Speakers are asked to identify the specific legislation they wish to address.

I would like to remind everyone to please keep your comments respectful, relevant, focused, and on topic.

We strive to provide a comment period where people can feel respected while sharing a wide variety of viewpoints and acknowledge that we may hear comments that conflict with our values.

To ensure all speakers can express their First Amendment constitutional rights, we ask that you refrain from clapping, cheering, booing, or otherwise being disruptive.

You will have 90 seconds to make your remarks.

Please be mindful of the time frame.

As always, you are not required to use all of your time to make your point.

If you cannot remain on topic, you will be given two warnings.

If you remain off topic, we will have to move on and we'll end your time.

We have not for tonight's evening.

I'm not sure.

I've got um, I'll just read this for you.

How about that?

Deputy Mayor, can you hear me?

Yes, I can.

I am here.

Oh, oh, perfect.

Okay.

All right, you can go forward.

Did you want to read this piece of the public comment period?

Or do you want me to read it for you?

No, you can just continue on with public comment.

Just continue on with oh, okay.

Great.

All right, so we will start with those on um online.

Starting with Sulan Minarek.

Hi.

Um, can you hear me okay?

We can.

Cool.

Hi, my name is Sulan Mulnaric.

I live in Joe Bushnell's um city council district.

I'm a longtime Tacoma resident here on the South End and a parent of an almost middle schooler um here in Tacoma.

Currently, she goes to Foster Elementary School.

Um, I'm here tonight to urge all of you to vote yes on the community ownership amendment.

Our city's arts and cultural spaces have been disappearing for years, and every loss takes a part of Tacoma's soul with it.

Um not only is this crucial crucial for us currently, but um this is crucial for the health and safety of all of our children growing up here.

Um, so really please urging our city council members to stand with our constituents here in Tacoma and vote yes on the community ownership amendment.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments tonight, Sulan.

Uh, next up we have Isaiah Hunt.

Can you hear me?

We can.

All right, good this time.

Um, I just want to say um, first of all, uh, thank you.

Um Mayor Wooder, Deputy Mayor Daniels, Council Scott and Walker for uh and all the sponsors for the bill or for the you know community ownership bill for pushing it forward.

Um, obviously, I I spoke last week, and uh this is something that's very important to me and to my family as long-standing Tacoma residents, um, business owners and artists.

Um, I think it's important to acknowledge that like without ownership, we are we're we can be depriving our city of the next um quabi or Chris or Will Jordan or many other like talented artists, the next, you know, even businesses that that make up the mosaic of our city.

So um thank you so much for pushing this bill forward.

Thank you for your comments tonight, Isaiah.

Okay, with that, we're gonna close the online portion and we will start public comment in the room.

And first up, we have Lua Pritchard.

Okay, guys.

I know, I know.

I'm gonna give you that one.

Honorable Deputy Mayor and respected members of the council.

Good evening.

I'm Lua Pitchard, Executive Director of Asia Pacific Culture Center, and I'm also the chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition of Pierce County.

We're all here tonight to, on behalf of our community, for to thank you for your intent to reauthorize Tacoma Creates and for your considerations for updating the code in a way that provides flexibility for nonprofit cultural organizations to meet community needs.

And we are so proud of all of you.

Thank you so very much.

Thank you for your comments in our era.

Okay.

Um Michelle Reich.

Michelle Raj.

I'm speaking to indigenous people's day.

Um indigenous people land are under assault worldwide.

And today happens to be the NROC October 7th massacre in Israel.

We do not remember or we like to forget that 135 years ago in America, Nadian Americans committed the same atrocities as committed in October 7th two years ago by the Palestinians.

The Native Americans they destroyed villages, captured people, hostages.

So in Gaza proper 30% of them are indigenous to Gaza.

70% of them in Gaza are indigenous to Israel proper.

And this might be some of the reasons why we had October 7th, because the 70% that wanted to return to their indigenous land in Israel proper are denied that opportunity.

And they fought for their land the way in the same way the Native Americans fought for the land 135 years ago.

So you gotta keep that in mind in perspective that indigenous people will fight for the land anywhere in the world.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments tonight, Michelle.

Next up in the room, we've got Kevin Smith.

Chair, Council members, thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight.

I want to talk to you about what's missing in the ordinance 29059.

Labor standards and prevailing wage protections.

That's what's missing.

Right now, this amendment expands tax breaks that already deliver maximum benefits to developers, minimum returns to the public.

We're we're subsidizing million multi-million dollar projects while our workers are and constituents are trapped in low-wage jobs.

The very same jobs that require more affordable housing just to survive.

Who benefits versus who pays?

These developers, including some nonprofits, are realizing massive gains, property tax are realizing massive gains, property tax exemptions under Chapter 6A110 can erase hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes over eight to twelve years.

Meanwhile, construction and maintenance workers on these same projects are making barely enough to cover rent.

Tacoma's average apartment rent is about 1,760 a month.

That means a 50-unit building generates over one million a year in rent revenue, often tax-free.

And yet, these people, those people building those units can't afford to live in them.

That's a cycle of subsidy and poverty.

Public breaks for developers, low wages for workers, and more demand for subsidized housing.

Thank you, Kevin.

If you have written remarks, uh you can pass them to the clerk and then she can get um make sure that we get to read the rest of them if you'd like.

Okay, next up we have Leon in I can't read the rest of nettles.

Uh thank you very much, uh Deputy Mayor Daniels.

Um and uh council members uh for letting me speak tonight.

My name is Leon Nettles.

I'm the executive director of Second Cycle Community Cycle Center.

Uh I want to start by sincerely thanking you for your continued support and partnership uh for Second Cycle.

The city and Tacoma, the City of Tacoma has collaborated.

Uh sorry, the City of Tacoma's collaboration has allowed us to bring no cost programming to residents across our community, creating real lasting change through the power of the bicycle.

Over the past year together, uh the city and second cycle have been able to offer uh earnabike programs where youth learn the mechanical skills and life skills where earn it and they uh culminate in owning their own bicycle.

Uh we've launched an earnabike learn to ride class for community members who receive who've received an e-bike rebate, ensuring everyone, regardless of age or background can enjoy the freedom of riding a bike, hosted Kitticle Mass family rides throughout the spring and summer, helping fe uh helping families feel confident and connected on Tacoma Streets, supported uh Safe Ross to school by putting on traffic gardens and bike rodeos as well as uh summer camps.

Uh I'm almost at time, so I just uh thank you for considering um sponsoring bike stories, and I appreciate uh everything that you all are doing.

Thank you for your comment tonight.

I know, I know.

Okay.

It's you, issue.

You the problem.

Okay, I'm gonna bring up Kim Keith.

I know you all are artists in here and creatives.

If you hold it, please hold it tight for me so that I could be fair.

I'm looking everywhere.

Okay.

Good evening, everybody.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor Daniels and Mayor Woodards coming from the interwebs, and the rest of you, council members.

I want to thank you so much for engaging in conversation with us over the last 22 months about the reauthorization of Tacoma Creates, and thank you so much for considering that tonight.

It is a vital lifeline for so many organizations in our community.

And I'm hoping you're gonna reauthorize it.

And uh so that would be awesome.

Thank you so much.

Um, and you have so many other things that you're thinking about and doing.

I just really appreciate you putting time, energy, and effort into this particular project.

I also want to thank you for considering sponsoring bike stories because I too love second cycle.

It's amazing.

And I'd like to give a recommendation for See No Stranger.

If you have not read the Tacoma Reads book, it is really amazing.

And I hope that we um see you all on the 16th at Tacoma Reads with Valerie Carr and Mayor Woodards in conversation, because it's just incredible.

We have so many wonderful creative artistic things going on in our community.

I'm just really proud to be a native Tacoma person, a hilltop person, and uh to be here tonight.

So thank you.

Thank you all so much.

Thank you for your comments tonight, Kim, and thank you all for being tight.

We're showing Mayor Woodards that I can run a meeting for sure.

Um, okay.

Next up we have Tanya Durand.

Good evening, Deputy Mayor, Mayor Woodards, and members of the council.

I am here just delighted to say thank you for your hopeful, hopeful uh reauthorization of Tacoma Creates.

It was historic when we did it, what was that, seven years ago?

And tonight we will hopefully be the first on the West Coast to reauthorize such a thing.

And I'm struck by, I know several of you attended the Hilltop Artists uh luncheon today, and it made me reflect on one of the reasons why Green Trike is so passionate about Tacoma Creates, and that's because when children are asked to identify the sparks, the thing that is in them that's just alive and beautiful.

Over 25% of children will say that it's a connection to the creative arts, or it's a connection to love of earth or compassion toward their fellow um humankind.

And so a child in Beyond the Bell may not understand that it was Tacoma Creates that gave them the opportunity to experiment with the ukulele.

Or they may not understand that it's because you know they got um brought alive through dance or drumming or any number of things they get to experience.

And I'm just talking about Beyond the Bell, not to mention the thousands of children in our community that engage with organizations in this room and beyond.

So it really is quite an inspired thing that we've all gotten to do together.

Thank you very much.

Thank you so much, Tanya.

Okay, Madison Mangial.

Nine.

I know I butchered that.

Hello, my name is Madison Mangellardi, and I just wanted to thank you all for considering the um Trigger Streets initiative resolution.

I am a mom of two small children, and I really, really value community in community events.

I've closed the street to host block parties and bring neighbors together.

And I think that this initiative really creates a space for all community members to come together.

It'll make it more equitable so that we can gather safely and our kids can stay safe.

I'm just really grateful that you all share the same values that we do as Tacomans of just raising our children in a space where they can have fun, be safe, be seen.

And thank you for your consideration.

Thank you so much for your comments tonight, Madison.

Gabby Goodsell.

Good evening.

My name is Gabby Goodzell.

I am a Tacoma resident in Councilmember Heinz district.

And I would like to encourage the council to approve resolution 41774 implementing the Tricker Streets program in Tacoma.

As a mother of three small kids and a wife to a Tacoma First Responder, Tacoma Citizen Safety, especially of our children, is of deep importance to me.

I'd like to thank Council Members Rumba, Heinz, and Walker for taking a meeting from a community member to consider implementing a new program to protect pedestrians around Halloween and Dia de los Mortos, especially with such short notice before those take place this year.

I'd like to thank Council Member Heinz for heading this effort and thank State Safe Streets for committing to implement a solution to the pressing issue that pedestrian safety presents, especially in this time of year.

The status quo shows us that Halloween is an especially dangerous time of year for pedestrians, especially to young children.

The current street closure permitting process is expensive and difficult for the average resident to navigate.

Making community street closures during this time free and accessible for all is an important step for all citizens of Tacoma.

I wholeheartedly support this resolution, and as a mom of little kids running around in costumes in the dark, thank you sincerely for your consideration.

Thank you for your comments tonight, Gabby.

Next up, we've got Katie Maultron.

Hello, good evening.

I'm speaking to Ordnance 29058.

My name is Katie Matran.

I'm the chair of the Tacoma Creates Advisory Board.

To begin, I'm here tonight to reiterate the advisory board's support for Councilmanic reauthorization and our renewed commitment to continue supporting Tacoma Creates through the next seven years of cultural access in our city.

It's fitting for Tacoma to lead the way in this first of its kind action in Washington.

The arts, culture, heritage, and science programming happening here, adds to the vibrancy of our entire region.

Secondly, I want to give my sincere thanks to Mayor Woodards, Deputy Mayor Daniels, Councilmembers Scott and Walker for your commitment to working with the advisory board and the arts community to shape the code updates in a way that meets the diverse needs of our sector.

I also share gratitude for my district two rep council member Rumba for engaging with me over the last several weeks.

I'm in full support of the latest proposed ordinance and excited to get to work on this next phase of Tacoma Creates.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments tonight, Katie.

Next up, we have Jasmine Brown.

Thank you, Council.

I'd like to speak again in favor of uh reauthorization of Tacoma Creates as a five-year arts commissioner and founder of Swan Creek Art Academy.

Thank you, Council, for hearing the concerns of small grassroots organizations by providing new language that explicitly allows Coma Creates funding to support capital expenditures, operating expenses, and facilities costs related to providing and producing cultural programming.

Thank you for the acknowledgement of the realities small organizations face who are trying to provide programming to underserved neighborhoods and communities and populations in our city.

Thank you for your comments tonight, Commissioner.

Next up, we have Katie Lappier.

Good evening.

I felt it was important for me to speak tonight because I have a deep affiliation with two Tacoma Creates funded organizations.

I serve as the co-CEO of Tacoma Arts Live, which receives comprehensive organizational support, and I am a founding member and co-director of Barefoot Collective, which is a very, very tiny volunteer-led organization that supports opportunities for dance and creative movement for teens and adults in our community, um, and fills a very unique need and receives impact funding, which is in some of the smallest category of funding.

And so I've seen how Tacoma Creates has been transformative for both large and small organizations and the amount of opportunity and flexibility that exists within that funding and the way we have seen service delivery change across both Tacoma Arts Live programming and in my experience barefoot collectives programming has really been incredible.

And to be in a city where this is the kind of thing that is possible is really uplifting and makes me very proud to be a part of this community.

So thank you again for your support of Tacoma Creates and reauthorization.

Thank you for your comments tonight, Katie.

All right, and last, oh no, not last ups.

We've got a couple more.

Courtney Chamberlain.

Thanks for um having to come and create reauthorization and ordinance changes uh on the um agenda today.

I have appreciated from the very first time these conversations started that you all have been wholeheartedly in support of this program and the impact that these organizations make in our community for all of us to make connections, find joy as to what everyone else has spoken to today.

I also um wanted shout out to Mayor Wittards somewhere out there.

Um thank you for being in continued conversation this past week.

Thank you to Tacoma Create staff, and in particular uh Christina Kahn for thinking um kind of outside the box and really listening to what all of the organizations need.

Um, you all are definitely precedent setting for the reauthorization of cultural access programming in the state.

So thank you.

We have built something together that none of us uh could have in this ordinance built alone.

So thank you for taking the time to listen.

Thank you for your comments tonight, Courtney.

Um, next up we have Jasmine Broadnacks.

Good evening.

Thank you all for your service and what you're doing today and all the time.

Um I'm speaking on behalf of the creative one that everyone's been mentioning just these past few people.

I just wanted to say that it was very helpful for me growing up to go to Fabitat since I was around 12 years old.

It was one of the only safe spaces that I found.

And along with the bike, the bike one, that one I can't remember the name of, also a really awesome space.

I can't even think of all the creative spaces that I found myself in, but going to those was very much so life-saving for me.

And I I now have two children, and I would love for them to be able to access those spaces as they grow in age.

So thank you for your time.

Thank you for your comments tonight, Jasmine.

And last up in the room, we've got JD Davis.

Uh, to our honorable mayor and deputy mayor and council.

I'm here in support for Tacoma Creates and the reauthorization of it.

Um I can only imagine if uh back I've been doing this for about 20 years.

I can only imagine if we would have had something like this 15 years ago when you had other organizations striving to try to reach our community, and we couldn't because we did not have the support.

Well, here I stand now being a recipient of Tacoma Creates funds, and we are able to reach so many more people.

Uh, we were able to put on the Juneteenth of the largest in Washington State, bringing together 20,000 people right here to Tacoma on the east side.

So all these people brought economic development to our town and to the east side specifically.

That is one of the areas that is uh less less resources and things like that.

Uh, we're also able to work into the schools because of this funding.

And I can only imagine if we would have had that opportunity years ago when there were companies, organizations around like Das Center and so many others.

Uh so please just consider reauthorizi reauthorized reauthorizing Tacoma Creates uh as we can continue to reach our community.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments tonight, JD.

Um, that was our last public comment request.

So with that, we are gonna close public comment and move to our regular agenda.

Starting off with purchase resolutions.

Item 15, Clerk, will you please read?

Resolution 41771, a resolution awarding a contract to Petro Card Inc.

in the amount of 23 million dollars budgeted from the equipment rental fund for fueling services for an initial contract term of five years with the option to renew for two additional one-year periods for a projected contract total of 32 million two hundred thousand plus applicable taxes.

I move to adopt resolution number four one seven seven one.

Second all right, are there any council questions or comments?

Seeing none, all those in favor of adopting resolution number four one seven seven one signify by saying aye.

Aye.

All of those opposed signify by saying nay.

The resolution is declared adopted.

Do you want me to yeah?

No, no, no, not yet.

Okay.

Uh one second.

Was that all the purchase resolutions?

I want to make sure I didn't miss any present.

Okay.

Okay, yeah, no.

All right, moving on to the regular um agenda.

Uh Councilmember Walker.

We are gonna move, sorry, we're gonna move Tacoma Creates to the beginning.

Number one, because we have a lot of people in here for Tacoma Creates, but I also want to make sure that Mayor Woodards gets a chance to comment on it.

So if that's okay with y'all, we will move forward with that.

I move to suspend Rule 4A of the Council Rules of Procedure to consider ordinance number 29058 at this time.

Second.

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed signify by saying nay.

The motion is declared adopted.

Mayor Woodards, do you want to start us off?

Absolutely.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor Daniels.

Councilmember Scott, Councilmember Walker and I are excited to share the proposed proposal to reimpose the one-tenth of one percent sales tax to fund Tacoma Creates.

I'm going to turn the microphone immediately over to Deputy Mayor Daniels, Councilmember Walker and Council Member Scott to lead us to lead us to this vote reinstating Tacoma Creates.

I will turn it over to you, Councilmember Daniels.

Can you go first?

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

Um, I've got so many things tonight.

I don't know how you do this.

Uh it is truly an exciting night for all of us up here and for our entire community.

Tacoma Creates has been one of the most successful programs that we have undertaken in this city.

Through a one-tenth of one percent sales tax, Tacoma Creates has provided over 30 million dollars in funding to more than 100 cultural organizations who in turn have produced more than 5,000 programs and events, reaching more than 4 million participants.

Tonight we have the opportunity to reimpose that sales tax with councilmanic authority and continue the Tacoma Creates program for seven additional years.

Before we vote, I put a note for each council member at their chair for sh with with a short line to recite.

Thank you, Christina, for ghostwriting this for us.

Everybody ready?

Okay.

We're gonna go straight down the dais, starting with Council Member Sidalge.

Let's hear it.

From the Tacoma Tree Foundation to the Tacoma Refugee Choir.

From Wright 253 to the Museum of Glass.

From the Barefoot Collective to Green Shike.

From Way Out Kids to the Tacoma Youth Symphony Association.

Submentergize Tacoma to the Hilltop Artists.

From the Tacoma Historical Society to the Tacoma Little Theater.

From communities for a Healthy Bay to the Grand Cinema.

From the Asia Pacific Cultural Center to the Tacoma Boat Builders.

And from Classical Tuesdays, an old town Miss Intro and so many more.

So we want to take a moment to applaud the hard work of our arts, cultural, heritage, and science organizations that have put all of themselves into this community for the past seven years and to celebrate their commitment to bringing out the best in Tacoma.

Thank you.

Okay, are you kicking it back to Mayor Woodards?

Oh, sorry.

All right, Mayor Waters.

It's your back up for the final comments.

Well, thank you.

Um not the final comment.

I wanted I was gonna say, I I want to I do want to again thank um thank all of you tonight.

Um sometimes we just continue to um to go through the motion, and sometimes it's fun just to take a moment um and have a little fun and do something different from um the dais.

I am so excited um to celebrate the cultural organizations that receive Tacoma Creates funding.

Um I want to be honest with you I'll say it's not easy to get funded, but these organizations must complete a robust application process and meet a very high standard.

You know, um, speaking of Tacoma Creates, I had the pleasure of visiting one of our organizations just this Sunday called the Ted Brown Music Outreach.

They are um they are opening up uh their nonprofit with a vision to help people improve their lives through the gift of music.

They opened their new location um right on Tacoma Avenue, and I was blown away.

Um they're located in the beautiful historic building.

Some of you may drive by it and wonder what it is, and that's the one on Tacoma Way that has the red piano on top of it.

Um, in that building, they are expanding their programming.

Um, a couple of programs I'll mention.

One is that they refurbish instruments and give them away to young people who wouldn't be able to afford instruments.

The second is that they do a program over the summer, inviting youth in, and they get to form bands and practice and learn how to work with each other.

So not only are they learning music skills, but they get to learn life, practical skills for life.

Um, in this building, they also have rehearsal rooms available, and they're gonna actually have a community room that's gonna be open to the community.

So it's cultural organizations like Ted Brown Music and everybody who spoke this evening that broaden our horizons and deepen our ability to listen to each other.

And in this current climate, we need that now more than ever.

Councilmember Scott, would you would you do us the honor of making our final remarks?

Thank you, Madam Mayor.

I definitely will.

Um tonight is our opportunity to really show love for our creative side, the creative side of our city.

And remember tonight that we have a chance to become the first city in Washington State to use councilmanic action or authority to reimpose our cultural access program.

So, council members, let's show everyone how it is done and let the world know that Tacoma is and always will be a city that believes in art, culture, heritage, and science, and we are uh and believe that they are unstoppable forces that unite us and lift us up as our as a community.

So I think that's mayor, but I think we're I think we're ready to take the vote.

Stay close.

We gotta keep it in the record first.

Thank you, Council Member Scott.

I'm gonna slow us down here just for a second to make sure we do the legal part of this.

We've got to read it into record, which is gonna be a little bit boring, but we're gonna be we're gonna get there.

We got a couple of things that we gotta do, and then we will have a final celebration at the end.

So let's start with uh ordinance number two nine zero five seven, item 21, right?

We'll do item 22.

22.

You guide me.

Okay.

Item 22.

Um, ordinance number 29058, an ordinance amending chapter 1.55 of the municipal code relating to Tacoma Creates by amending various sections to restructure funding categories to better reflect administrative costs and identified needs in the community, expand support for the public school cultural access program, and update language for consistency.

All right, this item was presented last week.

Are there any council are there any additional council comments or questions?

I move as a substitute, substitute ordinance number 29058, including exhibit A to revise the annual funding allocations in Tacoma Municipal Codes section 1.55.030 and add a new subsection N to TMC 1.55.0100, which provides guidance on administration of funding for capital-related applications.

Second mayor, this is yours.

Great.

Thank you.

Thank you for reading that um amendment to the record.

Um, you know, you heard people comment this evening about how hard we've been working together to find a solution that really addresses all the needs of our community.

Um, the Tacoma Create co-sponsors and I spoke with many of our arts, cultural heritage, and science organizations as we prepared our set of updates for Tacoma Creates.

We are not going to review all the changes we are proposing because you have the red line code proposal.

Um, and we've discussed our proposal revisions at length during study session earlier today.

What I want to focus my remarks on tonight is something that I heard from a group of leaders in our cultural organizations.

They shared with me that this process has reignited a passion for collaboration among those in our creative community.

Our most established cultural organizations are also recognizing a new role they can play, that of mentor to those who will become our next generation of creative leaders.

This revised proposal that the co-sponsors are bringing forward tonight reflects our commitment to ensuring the growth and longevity of our cultural organizations and their incredible programs.

We are thrilled our proposal now ensures that 78% of Tacoma Creates funding will go to cultural organizations and that they will have the option to request support for capital expenditures.

Before we vote, I want to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude to my fellow co-sponsors, all of the community members we've spoken with and heard from, and all of our council colleagues who have provided vital feedback for us.

I want to especially thank the Coma Creates Advisory Board and the Tacoma Crates Reauthorization Committee for their engagement in this process, for sharing their perspectives, and for their dedication to our community.

Also want to thank the take this moment to thank our uh Tacoma Creates staff who have done an amazing job of trying to work closely with us and with the community to come up with a new process or with new rules that really addresses all the needs of our community.

I couldn't be more proud to be a part of a city where we have dedicated staff who really worked this hard to make sure that we're addressing all the needs of our community.

I would be remiss if I didn't also thank Christina Cod for sitting in a room with us last Friday and hearing us all go back and forth, but understanding the heart of what we wanted and taking an opportunity to propose a solution that is now before you this evening.

So often we sit on the dais um as elected officials and take the votes and people thank us for our work.

But the reality is that this work again would not be possible without the amazing staff that we have at the city.

So thank you all so very much.

You know, um, to everyone who came to every meeting who has testified, who was shared on their concerns and their needs.

I hope that what you hear tonight in this legislation is that we urge you, that we agree with you, and that we're committed to doing the right thing for Tacoma.

It takes hard work to get it right, but this process has reminded me that when we're all in this together, we all succeed.

When one of us succeeds, we all succeed, and that will be evident tonight.

You know, we get a lot of fleck, and I say this often, and I don't know what the vote will be tonight, but I think it's gonna be a lot closer than it would have been if we took this vote last week.

People get frustrated because they think that because we vote 9-0 or 8-0 or 8-1 that there's something wrong with us, that we're just agreeing to agree, and that we don't work hard.

This this particular legislation is an absolute reflection of what it means to work hard to come up with a solution that everyone can be proud of, that everyone felt like their voice was heard.

So, congratulations to my colleagues.

I know we haven't taken the vote yet.

Um, but congratulations to my colleagues for their hard work for everyone's hard work and for working with us.

Thank you all for your efforts and your collaboration.

I couldn't be more proud to be the mayor of Tacoma than I am this evening.

Thank you so much for your comments tonight, Mayor.

Um, council members, if we want to do all of the um amendments and things like that, and then if we want to make more comments, we can do it at the very end.

Is that okay?

Okay.

Um, all right.

So are there any council questions or comments on the uh substituted on the substitute version?

All right, the vote is on the substitution of ordinance number two nine zero five eight.

All those in favor, please signify by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed, signify by saying nay.

All right, the motion is declared adopted.

Substitute ordinance.

Number two nine zero five eight is now before us.

And for that, I would like to call on council member Rumbaugh.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

I move to amend substitute ordinance number 29058 exhibit A to revise page 11 line zero to replace subsection 1.55.090 point B.12 to read as follows.

A community member between the ages of 16 to 24 at the time of appointment, this position shall be named an emerging leader member.

I further move to revise page 11 lines two through four to replace subsection 1.55.090 point C to read as follows.

All terms shall be three years except the emerging leader member position, which shall be a one-year appointment.

Members may be reappointed, but shall serve no more than six consecutive years.

In the event that a position is vacated before the expiration of the term, the position shall be filed, filled by the city council for the remainder of the unexpired term.

Second okay.

Um let's see.

Are there any council questions or comments?

Okay.

Okay.

Oh, Councilmember Ramba, this is here.

I'd like to call I would like to tell you again.

Okay, thank you.

This amendment would revise amendments to municipal code subsection 1.55.090 point B, point twelve, and C regarding the youth young adult position on the Tacoma Creates Advisory Board.

The amendment brings Tacoma Creates terminology into alignment with the emerging leader policy of proposal, which aligns how all committees, boards, and commissions with youth and young adult positions administer the positions to engage youth and young adults early in life in order to encourage lifelong community service, create opportunities for youth professional development and leadership opportunities, and value youth specific feedback in city council policy development.

Okay.

Now are there any questions or comments on this uh substituted um ordinance?

Okay.

Um the vote is on the motion to amend substitute ordinance number two nine zero five eight.

All those in favor, please signify by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed signify by saying nay.

The motion is declared adopted.

Um more one more amount.

Oh, okay.

Amitted substitute ordinance number two nine zero five eight is now before us.

Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Councilmember Bush now.

Aye, Deputy Mayor Daniels.

Aye.

Councilmember Diaz.

Aye.

Councilmember Heinz.

Aye.

Councilmember Rumba.

Aye.

Councilmember Sidalgay.

Aye.

Councilmember Scott.

Aye.

Councilmember Walker.

Aye.

Mayor Woodards.

Aye.

Okay.

Um, I would like to call on Council Member Rumbaugh.

Sorry, the ordinance is declared passed.

Councilmember Rama.

I'm here again.

I move in conjunction with ordinance number two nine zero five eight to direct the city manager to schedule a presentation to the city council at study session of the proposed new criteria for Tacoma Creates capital funding for review and comment once the proposed criteria have been developed in consultation with the Tacoma Creates Advisory Board.

Second.

I would like to call on Councilmember Rambah.

This motion would allow the city council to be informed about the proposed criteria for Tacoma Creates capital funding and give feedback.

It's okay.

To ensure the criteria meets the needs of the community.

Are there any council comments or questions?

Seeing none, the vote is on the motion to direct the city manager to schedule a study session on the proposed new criteria.

All those in favor, please signify by saying aye.

Aye.

All those aye.

Sorry, Mayor.

All those opposed signify by saying nay.

The motion is declared adopted.

Okay.

Do we have any more?

Was that was that it?

No, no, no.

There's one more.

We've had to do we need to we need to do 22.

We voted on.

Oh, you moved out now.

Or 29057 is the final one, right?

Or was that the beginning one?

22 21.

Once um, we stopped at item 15, which was the purchase resolution, um, and then move straight to 22.

So we could go back to 16, or we could make a motion to change the order again.

Okay.

I move to suspend rule 4a of the council rules of procedure to consider ordinance number 29057 at this time.

All right.

Um all those in favor, please signify by saying aye.

Second.

I second, thank you for seconding that.

Come on, you guys.

Let's get this choreography together.

Okay, the motion has been passed.

Okay, so now item 21.

Clerk, will you please read?

Ordinance 29057, an ordinance reimposing the Tacoma Creates Cultural Access Program, Chapter 1.55 of the municipal code and the one-tenth of one percent sales and use tax that funds it for an additional seven consecutive years.

Okay.

This item was presented last week.

This is our chance, council.

This is our last and final vote related to Tacoma Creates tonight.

So if you would like to make some additional additional comments, now is the time.

Okay, Councilmember Bush.

Now we will start with you.

Uh thank you, Deputy Mayor.

And um, I just want to really appreciate um the all the sponsors for the Tacoma Creates um and as well as all the different cultural organizations and different groups that were engaged in this whole process.

Uh it was certainly not easy.

And I know that there was a lot of tough conversations that were had.

Um, but we heard a lot of feedback from a lot of people and try to incorporate as much of it as possible into this reauthorization.

Um, Tacoma Creates has really been a transportative transformative program since it was first approved in 2018.

Uh, and it's brought more arts, it's bring brought the arts and cultures to more lives in Tacoma and supported more local jobs and helped create and grow a strong creative economy here in Tacoma than I think any other program uh that has ever existed in this city.

Um being able to look back at everything that this has offered um and seeing the the support of the council and the community around this.

I'm really just heartfelt uh love for the city and the engagement and and the love that everybody has for this.

You know, when this was first authorized uh back in 2018, it was it was an overwhelming majority of residents that wanted to see this, and I'm really happy that we have the opportunity to do this councilmanically and to continue that support.

Um I'm especially proud that we are expanding the program to allow the flexibility for capital investments, which I think will open up the door to more economic opportunities citywide, uh, as well as help organizations stay rooted in our community and to um be resilient for years to come.

So thank you so much for everybody that's been a part of this process, and and thank you for uh mayor your leadership and everybody else in the council.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Bushnell.

Next up is Councilmember Sidake.

Uh thank you, Deputy Mayor.

Um gosh, I'm so proud to be here right now.

Uh I'm proud to be here to represent my district, District 4.

Um, because time and again, District 4 has made the intentional choice to celebrate our histories with one another.

And that centrally includes celebrating our cultures and arts with one another.

That choice, I believe, is rooted in the deep belief that sharing our cultures and heritage connects us in a profound manner.

And our community showed up not once but twice.

Uh, not only in the first authorization, but in District 4 in participatory budgeting, over 12,000 individuals, including children, chose cultural and heritage programming as one of their top two choices, as well as youth programming.

And I was reminded of that this weekend myself in going to a number of cultural programs, whether it's the Festival of Lights, uh, Chu Siuk um Korean uh festival.

I didn't make it to the Greek festival, and my kid got a little uh antsy over there by that time.

Um but I just you know, this can be a tough job, but there are times like this where you just feel proud doing it.

So uh I'm just glad I have this opportunity to vote.

Yes.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Next up is Councilmember Walker.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor, and I've had an opportunity to say a lot of things, but I did want to just take a moment to say again how proud I am to be a Tacoman.

Um I love that we were the first one to do this by a vote of the people.

I love that we're the first ones to do it councilmatically.

It just really shows um how much this community appreciates the arts.

And um I do want to take a moment to thank Mayor Woodards um for her leadership, and I am so happy that we were able to do this in her tenure.

It's just such a beautiful legacy that you leave um with us in the community as you um near the end of your term.

Um and of course, as everyone has said, thank you, Christina Kahn, for all the work and um interpreting our back and forth and our ins and outs and uh getting us to this point.

So really proud uh to pass this and to continue to enjoy the arts in Tacoma.

Thank you all.

Thank you, Councilmember Walker.

Mayor Woodards, do you want me to go to you first or continue on with Council Member Hines first?

Yes, I just if I'll just jump right in if I could very quickly want to say I didn't I just said that the Tacoma creates staff.

Lisa and Rebecca.

I want to say their names because I want people to know who they are, and if you see either one of them, um I want to make sure that we all show them our love and appreciation.

So I just wanted to make sure I said their names.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor Woodards.

Okay, Councilmember Hines.

Yeah, I'll make this quick and not belabor the point.

Um, I just want to thank the sponsors for all your work on this and putting this together.

I want to thank staff for all the support they took to kind of get us to this point.

I want to thank the community groups that I think and arts organizations, cultural organizations, historical organizations that um were part of this, but also I think really make our city the special place we all believe it is.

You know, we often have been kind of seen as this dusty gritty city, but I think that we have this great little arts, cultural heritage and science sheen that really makes us special and unique compared to a lot of other places like us.

And so I think this is a real testament to it.

Um as you know, I think I was one of the I was one of the the former councilmember on the arts commission prior to Councilman Scott being here, and my kids attend one of the art schools here at Tacoma, and so this is a deep part of my life and many of our lives as a community.

So I'm so happy and proud to be here this evening and voted to reauthorize this.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Hines, Councilmember Romba.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

And I just um I just first off want to reflect on the fact that community really showed up and helped us come up with what this should look like, and I really appreciate all of you.

Um I want to say, you know, I went to Evergreen State College for my master's degree, and everything that happens at Evergreen State College with science or whatever you're doing has art tied to it.

So art is such a big big part of um who we all are.

And um Tacoma Creates has had a lot lasting and meaningful impact on our city, and it reflects how much our residents value access to the arts and the organizations that serve every corner of Tacoma.

I support this reauthorization because every cultural organization, whether large or small, plays a role in building a stronger community.

Arts funding also supports good jobs and local families, and this policy helps sustain that impact.

And I can tell you it does because we just went to Hilltop Artists today to their event, and I got these really this really cool pumpkin.

I actually got five other ones too, but um I just the kids at Hilltop Artists are just so fantastic.

And they talked about Arts Connect and how they you know how it had changed their lives, and I'm just so proud of our city for having this this community asset that we can use to help create stronger youth and a stronger community.

And so I just thank you so much for being here tonight.

And I just appreciate my um I appreciate the mayor and the sponsors who brought this forward and that they listened, and here we are today.

So thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Ramba.

Councilmember Diaz.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

Um, I wanted to add and sort of plus one everything that my colleagues have said, but particularly thank every organization and all the arts commission members and all the Tacoma Creates board members for all of their work in the community on not just the programming that's already been funding, but the stuff that's going to be funded in the future and the work that y'all put in to advocate that this be re-authorized.

I think really, really matters.

Um, I feel really blessed to be on a council where I don't think it was ever question about whether or not we were reauthorize it.

It was really always a question of what can we do to make this program really serve everybody and the most people possible in the next next version of it.

And so I'm really grateful to be in that um space, having just been a voter who got to vote for it the first time.

It's really cool to be on this side this time around.

Um I really wanted to just reiterate how much of a critical moment this is for our city to be investing locally in our students and our families in our community.

Um, with light in light of what's going on federally.

We have our really important tool here to make sure that we're continuing to fund art, um, culture, STEM, all the things that might not be um as uh supported by other levels of government these days.

So I'm really looking forward to have this tool for our community um and for our folks.

So thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Diaz.

Councilmember Scott.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

Um I just I wanted to be clear like this is this is the vote we're taking.

Um I know that we're not usually allowed to like clap in this room, but I feel like this is an Auntie Carl that likes to clap for things.

So I just wanted to see if that was okay if they could do that.

But also, okay, okay, cool.

So just so y'all know.

And then um, the other thing I want to say is just I'm yeah, I'm just really grateful that this is happening.

And as a kid who grew up in Tacoma, whose life was uh shaped and guided and changed in many, many ways by having access to the arts.

Um, you know, some of the ones I was, you know, all right at like photography, and some of the ones I wasn't so great at, like tap dancing.

But um, but having that experience, having the connections with my peers and uh mentors in my community and just being able to um really create a space for myself uh within the spaces that were created for me and and others to find my voice and to find my passion and find the things that um when I have to remember that being an adult is hard, and sometimes being a human is hard.

Uh that there are ways in which that I can I have an outlet.

And so I just I'm really proud in this moment that we are continuing to uh validate that that is that that things like arts and culture and science and heritage are really really really important things for uh not just for the youth in this community because yes, to come into creates does impact a lot of youth, but um these youth are served by people who were once youth themselves, and they also get something out of taking the time to work with uh you know and and share their culture, share their heritage, teach people the things that they've learned, um help kids express themselves in the ways that um make them feel the most validated and heard and seen.

And so I am just really really excited to take this vote, and I'm really excited to live in a city that um uplifts the creative economy and uh and always finds ways to to uplift people and their ability to share their voices and their art with the world because I think that truly truly is a thing that um brings us together and gives us these moments where um there are it it becomes more and more clearer how the divisions between us are not as big as we as we like to think they are sometimes and as uh various forces in the world can make them feel at times.

So I'm just appreciative of all of you guys, and I'm appreciative of the work that I got to to do alongside you and um and to our wonderful community that um really showed up and they always hold us accountable and they were clear with what they wanted and what they needed and what they desired, and I'm really glad that we were able to put something together that uh you all can be just as proud of as we are.

So thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Scott.

Um I we've been so deep in tax code that I haven't been able to really uh reflect on uh my upbringing in the city of Tacoma, particularly as it relates to the organizations that are here.

Um and uh JD alluded it alluded to it earlier.

Our organizations I'm so thankful for that have been doing the work 20 and 30 years before we ever even had funding for it when they were fighting every day, every year to try to scrap together uh things for the kids to enjoy and have creative freedom and space.

And to that end, um, I want to acknowledge that last week Joy called me an artist.

Um that I have uh got a chance to experience a lot of these organizations.

Uh shout out to JD with Way Out Kids.

I remember when I came to the studio, and that was one of my first jobs is uh helping kids record on the east side their rap records.

Um I went to the computer clubhouse for programming and learning coding.

Um I went to the Dash Center, I performed at the Dash Center that's no longer here as a young adult.

When I got older, I volunteered at Fabitat.

Um I practiced in the Ted Brown building.

Um I went to high school, which is funded or supported by the elements of education.

Um, and over 20 years ago, I painted and did family arts classes at TAM, and I partnered, and I also uh when I finally did get to work for an organization where I did have a budget, I got to partner with um uh rest in peace Mary Fox with Ride at 253 to bring blogging to the McCarver Scholars and to bring um Asia Pacific Cultural Center, hula to the little girls there.

Um there's so many more impacts that this program um will continue to make on our young people, and while Joy considers me to be an artist, really um what arts and culture has brought to me or access to arts and culture has brought to me is the ability to make uh to bring art to hard decisions.

Um and I feel like I have become a creative in how to think about problems and how to remind myself of the culture that we have in our community um and every decision that we make.

Um so with that um again, thank you to all the organizations.

Thank you to Christina and our um and my co-sponsors and the rest of the council for making this happen tonight.

Um the final vote, clerk.

Will you please call the role?

Deputy Mayor Daniels.

Aye.

Councilmember Diaz.

Hi, Councilmember Heinz.

Hi.

Councilmember Rumba.

Aye, Councilmember Sidalgay.

Hi.

Councilmember Scott.

Aye.

Councilmember Walker.

Hi.

Councilmember Bushnell?

Hi.

Okay.

All right, I would like to call the city council meeting back to order.

There we go.

Perfect.

Um just a second here.

We've got um we have a council full of artists, and I wanted to take a really quick second before um we get on to the rest of the agenda, uh, to bring up the members of CED and um Councilmember Khan.

Christina Kahn.

So if um Rebecca, if you could come up, Lisa, if you could come up, all of you all if you could come up.

We have a special gift for you all um that we want to present to you.

And we are going to take a picture, so we're gonna pretend that this is a proclamation that we just read for the last hour to you.

Round of applause.

And here's a card for the whole CED, Tanya.

That's you too.

She's here.

Okay.

Okay, we're gonna take our picture now if you guys want to come up.

Council member?

Council member.

There we go.

There we go.

Everybody ready.

One, two, three.

Resolution 4172, a resolution authorizing the execution of a multifamily housing eight-year limited property tax exemption agreement with 812108 MLK Partnership LLLP for the development of six multifamily market rate rental housing units located at 2110 Martin Luther King Junior Way in the downtown regional growth center.

I move to adopt resolution number four.

I move to adopt resolution number four one seven seven two.

Second.

Okay, I would like to call on Paul Bacher uh to present this presentation.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor Daniels and uh Council recognizing that I have a tough act to follow with Tacoma Creates.

Uh I'll be presenting on resolution number 4172.

Um for this project uh 2108 MLK Partnership LLLP is proposing to develop six new market rate rental units in the downtown regional growth center.

And the PowerPoint's catching up on this slide you can see a breakdown of the units, and since this is an eight-year project, all of these units will be market rate.

Here's a photo of the location of the project right off of MLK Junior Way.

Um the project costs are estimated at 9,000 980,000 and will provide 4600 labor hours of employment.

The total tax to be generated over the life of the project is estimated at $53,800.

Projected property taxes exempted exempted by the city are $14,000, leaving this project to provide a net positive impact to the city of $39,800.

And when the exemption is complete, they will pay full taxes annually.

This concludes the presentation, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you so much, Paul.

Do we have any questions from uh council for Paul?

Okay.

All those in favor of adopting resolution number 4172, signify by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed, signify by saying nay.

All right, the resolution is declared adopted.

Item 17.

Clerk, will you please read?

Resolution 4173.

A resolution authorizing the one-time use of council contingency funds and the amount of 2500 to support second cycle bike stories 2025.

I move I move to adopt resolution number 4173.

Second.

I would like to call on Council Member Walker.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

I'm excited to bring forward this council contingency fund request for $2,500 to sponsor Second Cycles Bike Stories 2025.

Um, this is one event that raises essential funds to support Second Cycle's mission of empowering youth engaging the community in advocating for safer, more equitable cycling in Tacoma.

And um this city sponsorship um will include recognition on as an official sponsor.

Um obviously our logo on different marketing pieces and also an opportunity to attend the event.

Um this um sponsorship also helps Second Cycle continue expanding opportunities for riders of all ages and backgrounds and celebrating the role bikes play in building a connected resilient Tacoma.

Um very happy to support this um because it's a great organization, but also because it is an opportunity to help advance key city goals in our climate action plan, vision zero, Tacoma 2025, and our community safety action strategy.

I do want to thank Council Member Rumba and Council Member Sidalge for joining me as co-sponsors of this request and a big thank you to Leon, their executive director, who has been so patient to wait through all our other agenda items.

And because we are on an arts night, I do want to um shout out their beautiful art, bike art for their event.

That's all I got.

Okay, thank you, Councilmember Walker.

Do we have any other council questions or comments?

Uh Councilmember Zedalga.

I I'll I'll try to be real quick because you're recording, it looks like I, you know, well, well before I was a council member, uh, second cycle, I ran into second cycle because uh I found a bike at a at a uh thrift store in older bike and second cycle helped me uh replace out the wheels, got some aluminum wheels, and started riding around the the city and helped give me some skills and other people's skills to do that.

Uh and it did come around full cycle because uh I think within a month of being a council member, I was able to go to second cycle and we did a ride around uh town.

Uh the point of this story is is these actions have meaning, you know, throughout our community.

Uh Leanne, you're a resident of Tacoma and actually a neighbor of mine.

But when we have connection like that and uh intentional um when we help each other in that way, it it permeates and we need more of that.

So I'm I'm really proud to be here to be able to vote aye on this.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Zedalgay.

All right, with no other comments.

All those in favor of adopting resolution number 4173, please signify by saying aye.

I'll sorry, Mayor.

All those opposed signify by saying nay.

Or was that all right?

The resolution is declared adopted.

Moving on to I um item 18.

Clerk, will you please read?

Resolution 41774, a resolution authorizing the one-time use of council contingency funds in the amount of 7500 to support to sponsor trick or streets in the city.

I move to adopt resolution number 4174.

Second.

All right, for this, I would like to call on Council Member Hines.

All right.

Uh thank you, Madam Deputy Mayor.

Um, you know, I would say I would I'm reading my talking point said a community member approaching, but she's here right now.

Uh Gabby Goodzills in the room here today.

So this all started about a month ago or a month and a half ago, where Gabby reached out to me and a couple of my colleagues about this idea around trying to open up more of our streets for Halloween for families to gather and be together.

And I instantly picked up on this idea and loved it because my neighborhood for the last five years has shut down our street and had kind of a Halloween party amongst ourselves, right?

So we put some put some cars on either end, close it down.

One of my neighbors is retired, so he has no problem doing the work to get the permits in order to shut our street down.

And we've done it for about five years now.

So when she reached out to us, um it was a good reminder to me that you know it'd be great if more people in the city could do something like this.

If more families could gather, especially on Halloween, um, would love to do what I can to support that, or love to get us to support that as best we can.

And so as it came out of that conversation, the first thing in my mind that came to me was this sounds a lot like national night out, but on Halloween.

And so we worked, my colleagues and I worked to reach out to Safe Streets and set up basically Trick or Streets.

So this evening, the CCR is gonna fund the $7,500 um for safe streets to hold Trick or Streets and allow more neighborhoods to be like mine or others to close down their street and come together as neighbors and celebrate Halloween.

Um, as many of you know, and many of you who like me maybe have smaller children, though my kids are not as small as they once were.

Um, Halloween can be both a fun night and also a scary night.

You're out in the dark, you're walking around, um, and people are driving through neighborhoods.

Um it's always kind of a risky bet of you know, pedestrian safety.

And so what I really loved about this was not only do I think it's a great chance for people to get together, especially post-COVID, as we're trying to get more and more people together and kind of share in community.

I think it also really supports some of our visions around Vision Zero and helping to make sure that we are reducing pedestrian fatalities and injuries.

Um importantly, just being a great community event and to add to the roster of wonderful community events we have here.

So I'm excited about this.

I also want to thank Council Member Walker and Councillor Rumbaff for being my co-sponsors on Tricker Street this year.

I also want to thank Safe Streets for being a willing partner on this, and I look forward to moving this forward, and I appreciate all of your support here this evening.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Heinz, for bringing this forward.

Um, I'm gonna uh pass it over to Councilmember Rumbaugh, followed by Councilmember Walker.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor, and I want to thank um Councilmember Hines for being the sponsor for this, but and also um the co-sponsor um councilmember Walker.

But I want to say not only is this a great idea, it's an idea that came directly from this Gabby woman who's out there, and um community and neighbors, and they sometimes bring you the best ideas, and we care deeply about building a stronger safety, safer community.

And trick or streets is about creating spaces where families can enjoy Halloween without worrying about traffic or safety.

It reflects the kind of local leadership we should celebrate, where residents coming forward with creative solutions that serve everyone, and I'm proud to support this first step, and I hope that this can grow into a broader citywide tradition in the years ahead.

And just thank you so much for bringing such a good idea forward.

It makes a lot of sense.

And um, since District 2 has had um accidents where kids have been hit at Halloween, I want to make sure that there's never another accident um in our city, especially on Halloween.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Ramba.

And thank you, Miss Gabby Woman.

Councilmember Walker.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

Um, just real quickly, I guess I will second everything that's been said.

Thank you, Councilmember Heinz, for your leadership on this.

Um, but also your continued work with Safe Streets.

I know um this wouldn't have happened without them, and I'm so appreciative of their willingness to do that.

Thank you, Gabby, for bringing the idea forward.

It makes so much sense and I am delighted to be moving something forward that supports pedestrian safety and moves us towards our vision zero goal of zero crashes and serious injuries on our streets.

So thank you.

Looking forward to supporting this.

Thank you, Councilmember Walker.

And it looks like we've got Councilmember Diaz online with comments.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

I wanted to add my thanks to the sponsors and to Gabby there in the room for bringing this forward.

I'm pretty sure that as soon as everybody left that meeting with Gabby, all three of them ran up to me and said, We have the coolest thing, you're gonna love it.

Um, because they know that I am basically Miss Halloween and I love Halloween.

Um and as someone who does not have small children, I am particularly excited to help my neighborhood um get a program like this going so I know when to be ready with the candy.

I'm never quite sure what time the kid starts, I think this will be helpful, even for folks who don't have kids.

So really excited to vote for this, and thank you all for bringing it forward.

Thank you, Councilmember Diaz.

Okay.

Seeing no other comments, um, all those opposed, or all those in favor.

Uh of mo sorry, one second, you know.

Let me get my papers together again.

Um all those in favor of adopting resolution number 4174, signify by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed, signify by saying nay.

All right, the resolution is declared adopted.

Tricker Street.

Um, we are on 19.

Let's see if I can get my paper back now.

Okay.

Moving on to the final reading of ordinances.

Um, I item 19.

Clerk, will you please read?

Ordinance 29054 and ordinance amending section two of ordinance number two nine zero four nine to establish an effective date of January 1st, 2026 for the changes to the assumed waters use usage for customers with incomplete or no water winter flow records.

Thank you, Clerk.

This item was presented last week.

Are there any additional council questions or comments?

Seeing none, Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Councilmember Diaz.

Aye.

Councilmember Heinz.

Aye.

Councilmember Rumba.

Aye.

Councilmember Sidalga.

Aye.

Councilmember Scott.

Aye.

Councilmember Walker.

Aye.

Councilmember Bushnell?

Aye.

Deputy Mayor Daniels.

Aye.

Mayor Woodards.

Aye.

Okay.

The ordinance is declared passed.

Item number 20.

Clerk, will you please read?

Ordinance 29056, an ordinance implementing an emerging leader position on various committee boards and commissions by renaming existing youth and student positions, repurposing other existing positions, and amending various chapters in Title One of the Municipal Code.

This is some this item was also presented last week.

Do we have any additional council questions or comments?

Councilmember Walker.

Councilmember Rumbah.

I'd be okay being her.

That's okay.

She's tall.

Um, thank you, Deputy Mayor.

I'm so excited to bring this ordinance forward for a vote tonight.

The emerging leader position proposal has three main goals to engage youth and young adults early in life to encourage lifelong community service to create opportunities for youth professional development and leadership opportunities, and to center the value youth specific feedback and city council policy development.

We cannot build the future of our city without the energy, passion, and perspective of our youth.

The reality is that youth have not always had a clear access or encouragement to serve on boards and commissions.

I have felt that gap myself as a committee chair, rarely seeing young candidates.

The ordinance in front of us tonight tackles these challenges and is a step towards making our volunteer roles more inclusive and enticing.

This proposal opens doors and creates real opportunities for youth leadership and professional growth.

I'm inspired by the chance to include their voice, their voices, and watch them lead to come toward a brighter tomorrow tomorrow.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Rambaugh.

Do we have any additional council, any additional council questions or comments?

Councilmember Bushnell.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

I'll just make a quick uh council member Rambaugh.

I really appreciate your leadership on this.

I think it's um really important to um to show that these youth seats and these youth positions are not just uh just a placeholder for young people.

It's really an opportunity to grow and be leaders in our community.

Um and it as the mayor would would say our young people are not just our future, they are now.

Um and so it's really important that they're a part of this process, and they can put this emerging leaders on their resume as as uh building uh their career and furthering their uh own education and their own betterment.

So I think this really reflects that, and also I really appreciate how it's gonna be consistent across the board so that there's no ambiguity on the different positions across all the different boards, committees, and commissions that we have.

So thank you very much.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

All right, thank you, Councilmember Bush now.

Uh, do we have any additional council comments or questions?

Okay.

Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Councilmember Hines?

Aye.

Councilmember Rumba.

Hi.

Councilmember Sidalga.

Aye.

Councilmember Scott?

Aye.

Councilmember Walker.

Hi.

Councilmember Bushnell?

Aye.

Deputy Mayor Daniels.

Aye.

Councilmember Diaz.

Councilmember Diaz.

I'll take that as an aye.

I think that was an aye.

Mayor Woodards.

Aye.

Okay.

Uh the motion is declared adopted.

One second here, cuz now I am back to being missed.

23.

My papers are out of order.

Okay.

An ordinance amending chapter 6A.

Oops.

I'm 23.

Clerk, will you please read?

Yes.

You do it better than me though.

So ordinance 29059, an ordinance amending chapter 6a.110 of the municipal code relating to property tax exemptions for multifamily housing by amending section 6a.110.020 entitled Property Tax Exemption Requirements and Process to Implement Program Updates as recommended by the Government Performance and Finance Committee.

Okay, this item was presented last week.

Are there any additional council questions or comments?

Councilmember Sadalge.

I move to substitute substitute ordinance number two nine oh five nine, referenced as substitute number three.

Second.

I would like to call on Council Member Zedogay.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

I wanted to talk about some of the uh uh updates to this, I guess substitute, substitute, substitute fund.

I'm not really sure which number we're on.

Oh, I guess number three.

Um this adds a section to clarify that this goes into effect 30 days after the ordinance is published, um, based on uh request from legal.

It also uh updates the MFTE program as a whole to ensure that the we record MFTEs on the title of any MFTE project, not just the eight-year owner-occupied title recording.

This is a recommendation from staff um for two key reasons.

State law will actually soon require this to be recorded on title, uh, and this gets us ahead of that.

Uh second, uh we've actually experienced folks buying MFTE units without realizing the tax exemption uh where it came from, when it was gonna expire, and um this is to avoid uh uh surprises.

It also updates the eight-year MFTE to uh allow for any any development that is 20 plus units, and then for any uh four to nineteen unit uh projects, it is limited to owner occupancy units and restricts the uh to um those who make 150 percent of AMI or less.

I want to express gratitude to all of the council members um that supported me uh on this, including you, Deputy Mayor, um councilmember Hines, Councilmember Diaz, and Councilmember Bushnell.

Um I think this is um a good step forward in dovetailing with uh state priorities and priorities we should have on a local level to uh encourage home ownership um uh development and to ensure that those homeownership developments actually go towards uh uh middle income uh individuals and families.

That's it actually.

Okay, thank you, Councilmember Sadal Gay.

Uh Councilmember Hines, uh uh thank you, Madam Betty Mayor.

Just uh Councilman Sharley to clarify just real quick before I we move forward.

Uh the AMI requirement is applying to the four to twenty units range, correct, but not four to nineteen only.

Four to nineteen only.

Thank you very much.

Councilmember Walker.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

Um, I feel a little nervous about this because I feel like we haven't had enough time to talk about it, and there's there were a lot of changes today.

So I just want to clarify a few things.

So the um home ownership requirement is only for the eight-year projects.

Uh yes, for the eight-year MFTE, uh, if you're building four to nineteen units.

So if you built something that was 25 units, could you use the eight-year-old.

You could still use it either as a rental or a homeownership as well, but it would not uh have all the other restrictions.

So the original um ordinance had limited eight years just to 20 plus units, if you recall, and so I'm allowing for this would allow for uh the eight-year to be used for 14 to 19 units of their homeownership uh uh units limited uh with an income restriction on those purchasers.

Okay, um and thank you, Deputy Mayor, for adding that piece in today on the um the requirement for households.

It I'm I'm nervous that we will now be selling or requiring developers to sell something to someone who can't afford it because we didn't make the building cheaper.

We just said you can only sell to households making less than 150 percent of the Pierce County family median income.

Um council member Walker, um, I think there was two couple of things that I heard us.

Is it okay, Councilmember?

Go ahead.

Um, so one of the things that we did and trying to make the eight-year more uh make our investment in terms of our uh uh property tax um to get more on our investment uh for the city was we removed it from four to nineteen.

And so we said you can only do 20 and up and use the um and use the eight-year because density is something that we need, and we needed it in multiple areas of the city, and so we didn't quite feel like it was ready for that yet.

So Councilmember Zidalge's amendment brought it back to the uh 19 and under units, um, which is the second step that I feel like kind of got lost in there, and in bringing it back, it's specifically for home ownership for those smaller units, and then on the other side, um homeownership is on all three of the options for the MFTE, and you can build home ownership anytime you want to, but if you want to engage the MFT, the eight-year MFTE specifically for units four to nineteen, they must be for home ownership.

And I could add one other thing.

Um the tax break actually goes to the purchaser, and that does make it easier for you to afford something a little bit more expensive, whatever that tax break advertises to on a 30-year basis.

Okay.

Uh appreciate that.

That was really helpful.

Um, I will say again what I said at study session that I really appreciate um council member Hines that there is a three-year check-in on this, um, because it does feel like this piece didn't get vetted the way that everything else did.

I am willing to trust the motion makers and and um give it a try, but I feel a little bit nervous that that it wasn't vetted um as thoroughly as the other stuff, and I know GPFC did a ton of work on this and met with a lot of stakeholders.

So appreciate the concept.

I think I like it.

I'm a little nervous about it, but uh willing to give it a try.

And um, I do really appreciate the MFTE tool, and I like that we are um evolving it over the years as we see the changes in the city.

So thank you to the GPFC committee for their leadership on this.

Thank you, Councilmember Walker.

Any other hello, Debbie from the heavens, Deputy Mayor Daniels.

Can I just clarify something?

Uh Councilmember Walker's question.

So in the code, when it we have um say for any any of that says up to like 115%, you can charge AMI for ownership on the 12-year projects or on the 20-year, it has specific AMI that does also include a maximum sales price.

We don't it's not written into the code, but that is in the RCW, that's what it is.

So we use the same um charts.

I don't have them in front of me, but that uh housing uses when they you know our housing department when they can sell up to 80% AMI, that's your income level, but it also does have a maximum on what you can sell it for.

Okay, thank you, Mr.

Clifford.

Sorry, I didn't understand your question.

So you've got to qualify both ways.

Okay.

Um thank you, Councilmember Zidage.

Uh Councilmember Walker said majority of what um I was gonna say, and thank you, Councilmember Hines, for bringing this forward and for all your work over the time to make all of the additions and to meet me halfway on a bunch of things, and then also uh to Councilmember Satalge for uh taking that friendly amendment um to add some level of affordability to our MF to our eight-year MFTE.

I really um appreciate that.

And to Councilmember Walker, I feel like we are making new tax policy and um a lot of what we're doing, we are piloting and trying every single different way and every single tool in the box.

So if it if you're not nervous about it, um then that's probably not a good sign, right?

This is new stuff that we're um doing and amending, and we are hoping for the best at the end that we get more housing units.

So um, with that being said, um Can I ask that?

Oh, yeah.

I'll just uh Council Robot.

Yeah, thank you, Deputy Mayor.

I just wanted to ask um Councilmember Hines.

This can be reviewed in three years, correct?

That's what okay.

Just wanna I and we could review it sooner if we wanted to.

Okay, thank you.

Okay.

So substitute ordinance number two nine zero five nine is now before us.

I don't think we voted on the amendment.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Sorry.

The voted on the substitute ordinance of 29059.

All those in favor, please signify by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed signify by saying nay.

The motion is declared adopted.

Substitute ordinance number two nine zero five nine is now before us.

Clerk, will you please call the role?

Oh, I gotta make one comment.

Can I make one comment before we do the final one?

No, it's fine.

Councilmember Hines.

Before we call the roll, I just want to take a couple minutes to say a couple thank yous and and appreciate.

First of all, I want to thank Debbie and all her efforts helping support us on this.

This is the second time we've been through this since I've been here, and so I really appreciate all your efforts along this and and CED in supporting this conversation.

I want to thank my government performance of finance committee members for all their work and time and discussion and thoughts on this.

I think um I came into this review kind of open to a lot of discussion, open to conversations.

Just wanted to kind of think about what we might do, and I appreciate the kind of creativity and thought we brought to this.

Um to Councilman Rumbaugh's point, I do think the value has been that we had this three-year kind of look back period where we after three years we could review it.

So that was I was glad that we had that as part of this, and that is part of the uh policy going forward.

Um I think that's really just important to thank people.

I I just want to make sure that um some of the things I'm just really proud of is just kind of um moving away from the eight-year MFTE and kind of the smaller scale products.

We approved an eight-year MFT today, that after this change would no longer be allowed, um, just because it was a six-unit project for an eight-year MFT in a mixed use center.

Um, and so the uh that kind of project, which is great, but you know, we think about what the mid-scale kind of product is that kind of four to twenty units with affordability.

I think that that seems to fit better in that way.

And so this change allows us for that, unless we have some ownership, which I appreciate Council Mr Stalge bringing that forward.

Um, and just I think the continued uh uh focus on using our other strategy tools to think about how we build the housing network.

So thank you to Deputy Mayor Daniels for kind of um bringing in the anti-displacement map and thinking about how we can utilize that.

I really think well, I'm very proud of kind of how we've used the MFT in my five years here, where we've really tried to look at some of our tools from anti-displacement to our equity index to kind of our home and comb plans to really think about how we utilize this incentive in a way that meets multiple goals that we have here in the city.

Um that being said, and we heard this evening there are other goals that we should be and could should and could be considering in future updates to the multifamily tax exemption that um again is all part of the conversation as we go forward because we really want to make sure that when we're doing more incentivizing things to bring them to the city that they as best as possible meet some of our other objectives here in our city too.

Um and I think this package of changes really gets us closer and closer to that.

So uh thank you very much, Deputy Mayor, and um excited to vote and move this forward.

Thank you, Councilmember Hines.

Uh Councilmember Bushnell.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor.

I'll just try and keep this brief.

Um, just to appreciate all the work on GPSC and everybody else that's engaged in this process.

So it's an iterative process, you know, no policy is perfect, and so we definitely want to continue to work with the community and make sure that the MFTE can be the best tool it can be to create affordable housing uh and as an economic development tool across our city.

Um with these changes uh brought by Home and Tacoma, you know, there's been a lot of shifts in the housing market.

Um, and it's been a really great time to reflect on this and how the MFT program has come and where we're at now.

Um and I'm especially glad to see uh through this update that we're uh seeing more flexible regulations that help individuals and families uh remain housed as they experience wage growth.

Um one of the things that we did increase is the abil ability for folks to stay in their home, even if they are pursuing higher um wages or or get a better job.

Uh we're we're moving it up from 70% AMI uh where they wouldn't be able to qualify for that unit anymore, but they could stay in that unit up until 90% AMI.

Uh that gives families and individuals flexibility to stay in their home uh to improve their situation uh and um but then doesn't necessarily uh keep people there for too long, so other folks that are in need that are at 70% level or lower are able to uh achieve that support with um the MFTE projects.

Um I'm also really excited to um uh support the homeownership um amendment that we just passed.

Uh well owner occupancy amendment.

I think this is a really great opportunity for us to see uh if there is an opportunity for more uh ownership opportunity at the condominium level, uh town home level.

Uh there's been a lot of changes at the state level regarding liability.

Um, and so I'm really looking forward to seeing if this can uh bring some opportunity for uh homeownership and home owner occupancy uh within uh areas all across the city.

So thank you so much for everybody that worked on this, and that's all I got.

Thank you.

Thank you to everyone.

You got it.

Thank you, Councilmember Bush now.

Okay, any other council comments.

Substitute ordinance number two nine zero five nine is now before us.

Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Councilmember Rumba.

Aye.

Councilmember Sidalgay.

Aye.

Councilmember Scott.

Aye.

Councilmember Walker.

Aye.

Councilmember Bushnell.

Aye.

Deputy Mayor Daniels.

Aye.

Councilmember Diaz.

Aye.

Councilmember Heinz.

Aye.

Mayor Woodards.

Aye.

Okay.

The substitute ordinance is now declared passed.

Tax code.

Public moving on to public hearings and appeals.

We've got a crowd.

Item number 24.

This item will have a PowerPoint presentation.

Clerk, will you please read?

This is the date set for a public hearing by the city council on the proposed amendments to Title 13 of the municipal code relating to historic preservation.

I would like to call on Ruben Reuben McKnight to begin the presentation.

Uh thank you, Deputy Mayor, members of the council.

I'm Ruben McKnight.

This is a similar but shorter presentation to one you received earlier today, so I'm gonna kind of go through it and if anybody get to the public testimony part of this.

Uh, this is a public hearing to consider uh amendments to the um sections of the municipal code that are related to historic preservation.

And um this is based on direction that was received over the past uh couple of years from variety of sources.

Um, the um some of the findings and recommendations from the historic uh district moratorium, policies and priority actions that were um identified uh during the 2025 plan uh comprehensive plan amendment, which was adopted back in June, community workshops, commission feedback.

We had some uh directors' rules that were um code clarifications.

We incorporated as well.

We talked about that earlier today, and then legislative changes at the state level.

So in general, the re you know, revisions include changes to the nomination process both for historic districts and for um individual landmarks, including criteria, the process through which we go from the landmarks commission to the planning commission and so forth.

Uh and then design review, uh, really we were looking for ways to reduce the burdens uh of design review uh in residential historic districts, such as relaxing some requirements, and then we had some changes to make to our demolition review um permitting policy as well.

Um so just a real quick summary again to recap.

Uh, we amended the nomination processing criteria for historic districts and individual landmarks, uh, exemptions for certain projects within residential historic districts.

You may either read or hear some comments on that from the public, uh, the creation of a new community heritage register, the expansion of the special tax valuation program, which is done about $300 million worth of tax advantaged uh historic rehabs during the history of the program to now include not only city landmarks but also national register properties.

Uh state law requires us also to consider or require owner consent for most historic nominations, and so we've made that change, and then also some mitigate mitigation guidance and other off-ramps in the demolition review process.

So just to again the schedule, so today is the public hearing.

October 14th will be the first reading scheduled, and then on October 21st, the final reading.

If you recall the November 5th is the expiration of the historic district moratorium, and so we hope to have an effective date by November 2nd.

Um and for those that are watching or for the council members that are interested, also we do have the exhibits for the code amendment posted at the website this there on screen, um, as well as uh updated section with the FAQs explaining some of the changes in more detail.

So thank you.

Thank you, Ruben.

Okay, are there any council comments or questions?

Seeing none, at this time I would like to ask attendees if you want to speak under the public hearing regarding the proposed amendments to Title 13 of the municipal code relating to historic preservation.

Press the raise your hand button near the bottom of your Zoom or star nine on your phone now so we can see the number of people wishing to testify this evening.

If you are speaking in person, please sign up at the back of the room if you have not done so already.

Your name of the last four digits of your phone number will be called out when it is your turn to speak.

You will have 90 seconds to make your remarks for the public hearing.

Please be mindful of the time frame.

As always, you are not required to use all of your time to make your point.

Clerk, have we received any written comment for the public hearing?

Um Deputy Mayor, we've received no written comment and currently have no one signed up to speak in person or online.

Okay.

Um, with that, I will declare the public hearing closed.

Thank you, gentlemen, for staying the entire night for that.

We appreciate you.

Um moving on to unfinished business.

Is there any unfinished business?

See none.

Uh reports by the city manager, interim city manager.

Do you have a report this evening?

Thank you.

Um, Deputy Mayor, just a short report for you.

Um, the city of Tacoma has been selected to receive a 10 million dollar low interest loan from the Washington State Public Works Board.

Congratulations to our team of that amount.

7.1 million will be allocated to the environmental services department for the Pulp Avenue project, and 2.9 million dollars will be uh allocated for the public works project on South 12th Street, uh, the preservation and safety improvements for that project as well.

Um and then also just a report on on fill and the pothole Palooza polar course crew is officially halfway through this year's pothole Palooza and are already exceeding expectations.

Five projects have been completed to date, covering over 7,552 square yards, which equates to 1.07 lane miles using uh 1,608,000 tons of mix, putting the team 3% ahead of planned square yardage and 11% above planned asphalt mix usage.

Wow, mouthful.

Congratulations to the team.

Uh this model reflects an outstounding and outstanding team effort across the department.

Uh thank you to everyone's help, including the Tacoma Streets uh operations team as well as um the city council for your sponsorship of this program.

So that is my report.

Uh Deputy Mayor, thank you very much.

Thank you.

Okay, moving on to comments and committee reports of the city council.

Uh, we will begin with Councilmember Rumba, chair of the community vitality and safety committee.

I don't have a report.

Did you have something?

Yeah.

All right, with that, are there any final council comments?

All right.

Uh Council Member High.

Yes.

So for those of you that are ready to have a spectacular Halloween on a hopefully less scary street, uh, with the approval of Trick or Streets this evening.

I would encourage you to please check out the Safe Streets website, safest.org.

If you go online, you can find Trick or Streets right on the website and sign up your block today to close your street down and have a fantastic Halloween.

So with that, Deputy Mayor, those are all of my puns and comments this evening.

Really uh sinking into the dad jokes.

Okay, um I'm gonna circle back to Councilmember Rambaugh, chair of the community vitality and safety committee, uh, to see if she has an update.

I do have an update, um, Deputy Mayor.

So this is for the October 7th, 2025 community vitality and safety committee meeting.

The community vitality and safety committee has convened three times since the last report that the CVS committee met on August 28th with two agendas.

Two agenda items.

The first was an informational briefing on the Tacoma Rental Housing Code and Landlord Fairness Code initiative, and the second was an informational briefing on the city's response to inclement weather.

The CVS committee met on September 11th with an agenda featuring one item at this meeting.

CVS plan to interview interested parties to fill six seats on the Human Services Commission.

This body moved to recommend the council the reappointment of two incumbents and will recruit the remaining vacant seats in January of 2026.

The CVS committee met on September 25th.

The event the agenda for this meeting consisted of two items.

The first was a briefing of the unified regional approach to homelessness, followed up by interviews for the human rights commission to fill nine vacant seats.

The next CBS meeting will take place on October 9th at 4:30 in room 248 of the Tacoma Municipal Building.

Virtual attendance option options will be available for the public.

The agenda for the next meeting includes an informational briefing from a study group that assessed effects of Tacoma's new renter protection ordinance and the study results.

Madam Deputy Mayor, that concludes my report.

Thank you so much, Councilmember.

Okay, are there any final council comments?

Seeing none, um, I will take the final motion.

Move to adjourn.

Second.

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

All those opposed signify by saying nay.

Motion is declared adopted.

We stand adjourned.