By Alia Sinclair

Here’s what happened at Tuesday night’s (Nov. 8, 2022) SeaTac City Council Meeting:

Public Comments
The meeting began with a resident expressing concern over the language historically used by City Council in RFPs and studies that implied its intent to pursue privately held land for the purpose of eminent domain. A plea was made to the council to redraft these historical documents to reflect that this is not their intent.

Flood Reduction Project Complete
City Engineer Florendo Cabudol gave a presentation displaying the completion of the South 180th Street Flood Reduction Project. This project was completed $100,000 under budget and ahead of schedule. Cabudol presented a “before” and “after” view of the project, exhibiting its efficacy (see photos above). Final approval was being sought from the council and it was granted.

Resource Fair a Success
City Manager Carl Cole reported on the success of SeaTac’s first-ever Resource Fair held on Nov. 3 at the SeaTac Community Center. Over 200 were in attendance seeking resources from 29 vendors from human services organizations offering assistance with rent, power, water, food, education, healthcare and more.

0% Property Tax Levy Increase Passes
The Council voted unanimously that an increase of 0% would be applied to the 2023-2024 Biennial Budget in adherence to the adopted Financial Policies formerly established that state that if the General Fund Reserves are within the set reserve target (4-months), the City will not increase its property tax levy.

Biennial Budget Passes
The Biennial Budget, originally drafted in budget workshops in October 2022, passed with an amendment to clarify the language surrounding the inclusion of a feasibility study brought forth by Deputy Mayor Senayet Negusse. A Public Comment was heard voicing concern that dipping into reserves to cover costs when we should only approve what we can spend could lead the city into debt that could result in layoffs and urged the council to re-consider their budget plans.

2023 Legislative Agenda Approved
The City of SeaTac’s 2023 Legislative Agenda was approved after changes were incorporated based on feedback the Council had given previously. This feedback included broader, more inclusive language and the current version passed unanimously.

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.