By Alia Sinclair
Three motions were approved unanimously, and an update on crime stats presented at Tuesday night’s (Oct. 25, 2022) SeaTac City Council meeting.
Public Comments
The meeting began with public comments from community members speaking as a group with an appointed spokesperson about their safety concerns for the Riverton Heights neighborhood. The spokesperson detailed a recent car crash that destroyed a neighbor’s fence and left both drivers quite shaken. The spokesperson went on to say this is only the most recent in a series of similar crashes through the years and made a plea to the city council to create speed bumps in the streets to slow the traffic that will only continue to grow with new housing development plans in the area already underway.
City Manager Carl Cole responded to this comment later in the evening, stating traffic improvements designed to address this issue were slated to take place in 2025, but current comments would be taken into consideration to see if the priority for the project could be set higher.
Police Captain Gives Statistic Report
Police Captain Troy Smithmeyer presented both historical and present year third quarter crime statistics to the council, showcasing that crimes against persons and narcotics violations were both down in 2022 from their height in 2021.
Smithmeyer acknowledged that the year is not yet over and therefore the statistics will likely be comparable to those of 2021.
Response time to Priority X offenses (the most urgent, including felony crimes, shootings, and stabbings) was down to 4 minutes and 56 seconds in 2022 as compared to 5 minutes and 71 seconds in 2021.
Response time to Priority 1 Offenses (less urgent, including accidents, alarms, major disturbances, domestic violence, and fights) was up for an average of 10 minutes and 17 seconds compared to 8 minutes and 24 seconds in 2021.
Motion to Confirm SSRTA Board Members Passes
The City Council voted unanimously to confirm the appointments of Annie McGrath, President/CEO of Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce, and Kelly Dross, General Manager Courtyard by Marriott, Seattle Southcenter, to the Seattle Southside Regional Tourism Authority (SSRTA) Board of Directors.
Motion to Consolidate Transit Way Agreement (TWA) Passes
The City Council voted unanimously to authorize the City Manager to enter into a consolidated agreement between the City of SeaTac and Sound Transit, thus unifying three existing agreements that cause unnecessary complexity to the arrangement.
City Council Administrative Procedures Amendment Passes
Due to the COVID emergency proclamation being lifted as of Oct. 31, 2022, amendments were made to the City Council Administrative Procedures that will allow for the continued use of hybrid meetings, regardless of emergency status. The amendments passed unanimously.
A recording of the council meeting can be found on the City of SeaTac’s website or viewed below:
Alia Sinclair is a writer residing in SeaTac. She is passionate about the arts and connecting people through the written word. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of her passion project Patchwork Mosaic, a magazine for creatives.
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