The Yakima City Council held its regular meeting on June 3, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting included public comments, several proclamations, approval of consent items, a public hearing on transportation improvements, naming of features at the new Aquatic Center, support for a pedestrian crossing grant, a city manager update on a sanctuary city listing, and a motion to review crosswalk policies. All votes were unanimous except one.
Hey, we're on. Like, oh. Yeah, it is a seven five thirty. Good evening, and welcome. I'm going to call to order the Ackima City Council business meeting of June the third, twenty twenty-five. We will start with roll call, please. Here. Frown. Assistant Mayor Brown. Buyers. Present. DC. Here. Glenn. Here. Herrera? Here. Roy. Here. Thank you. Please stand and join us at the Pledge of Allegiance. Now, yes, good evening. All right. Next is public comment. There'll be 35 minutes allowed for public comment. If you wish to make a comment, you may sign a form in the uh lobby and bring it up to the city clerk. Each person will have two and a half minutes. When you come to the podium, please identify yourself with your name and the city in which you live. Also, um, state law prohibits electioneering at city facilities. During public comment, speakers cannot campaign for or against candidates or support or opposed any ballot measure in the upcoming election. All right. Hey Mayor, I'm here now. Thank you, Deputy Mayor Brown. The first we have is um Marcia Gutierrez. Sorry, give me one second. Okay. Okay. Ready? Hi, my name is Marcy Guterres. I'm born and raised in the city of Yakima. I'm here today because of the impact that fentanyl is having on our community, and to ask for help from you and other community members. Did you know fentanyl is purely synthetic, meaning it can be made easily and cheaply anywhere? Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and a hundred times stronger than morphine. Fentanyl can be laced into anything, vapes, cannabis, cocaine, meth, fake pills, molly, etc. Yakima has gone from number three in the state to number one in the state for overdoses. Last year, overdoses killed 144 Yakima community members. Today, June 3rd, Yakima is at 51 overdose deaths this year. Now Yakima has a new fentanyl called carfentanol, which is a hundred times stronger than regular fentanyl, 10,000 times stronger than morphine. This is a drug not safe for humans. It's a deadly in even the smallest amounts.