AN ORDINANCE relating to the lease of City property; authorizing the Director of Finance and Administrative Services or the Director’s designee to execute a 99 year lease agreement with Africatown Community Land Trust for former Fire Station 6 located at 101 23rd Ave, Seattle, WA 98122, for use as the William Grose Center for Cultural Innovation to provide for culturally responsive services that support the African-American community in the Central Area to create pathways to self-determination, and for future development and expanded activation of the property as described in the lease.
Thank you. Bill passes and the chair will sign it. Will the court please affixed my signature to the legislation committee reports of the City Council. Item one Will the clerk please read item one into the record? And then one counts. About 119905 fell into the lease of city property authorizing the Director of Finance, Administrative Services or the directors designee to execute a 99 year lease agreement with Africa. Town Community Land Trust for Former Fire Station six, located at 101 23rd Avenue. Seattle, Washington. 981224. The use as the William GROSS Center for Cultural Innovation to provide for culturally responsive services, to support the African American community and the central area, to create pathways to self-determination and for future development and expanded activation of the property as described in the lease. Thank you, Madam Clerk. I need to pass Council Bill 119905. Is there a second? Second? It's been moved and seconded to pass the bill. Member must get it. You are the sponsor of this bill and are recognized in order to address this item. Thank you very much, Madam President. I really am excited about this and the next item on our agenda today. This legislation and the following one come to the Council after many years of advocacy from members in the community. We recognize the long wait that these organizations have gone through and their strong advocacy and their continued commitment to making sure that the plans for these two areas and these two sites continue to move forward. We both through this council and previous councils, have worked with them and and helped to advance this legislation in front of us , recognizing the opportunity that this place provides for us to create a true community space. We do recognize that during budget deliberations, we don't often take up additional pieces of legislation. But given the long wait that these organizations have gone through, it's an incredible opportunity and privilege for us to be able to move this forward today. I want to thank the council president who's been working with us to carve out time during both the council briefing to make sure that both pieces of legislation had the time and the opportunity to provide the historical context to it, and also to make sure that we got these items added to the agenda. This is an incredibly important opportunity for us to both highlight the work that's gone into these efforts, but also to have public recognition for the long advocacy that it took to get here. Last week, we heard from representatives from Africa, town, community, land trusts one worry from flourish financial and please come again about what this site will mean, particularly for black youth in the neighborhood named after the entrepreneur, the building developer of the site of the Central District, William GROSS. This center would invest in education, skills and job opportunities for community members, particularly youth serving as a hub for innovation already taking place in the Central District. This community asset will help close the gap we are already seeing in Seattle where there is an astronomical economic growth that is not resulting in all communities benefiting. In fact, economic disparities have grown, particularly in Seattle's black, indigenous and people of color communities. The opportunity to provide support through Africa, town, community, land trust. And from this former site, which was Fire Station six for the use of William Grove Center for Cultural Innovation, couldn't come fast enough and really excited about the vote today. Thank you, Councilmember Muscat, for those comments. And I see that comes more. Salon also has her hands up. And colleagues, for those of you who may also want to make comments, please do let me know because first one, please. Thank you, President Gonzalez. I am, of course, very happy to be voting yes on this and finally voting on the legislation, leasing the former fire station six to Africa down. Community organizers have been demanding this for years and this legislation has long been overdue. In a sense, today we are celebrating the property transfers of the former fire station six and in the upcoming item, the central into community control. After years of organizing and the efforts of hundreds of community members. And at the same time, we have to ask why does it take years? And in the case of the central over a decade to get a central single building into. Permanent community needs. Why did the mayor said on this legislation for almost three years of our term and why did she finally agreed to move on it now? Ultimately, I believe that we would not have had this legislation in front of us had it not been for the tremendous impact of the Justice for George Floyd movement all around the world, tens of millions of people took to the streets in multiracial protests against police violence. In fact, just in the United States, we had over 26 million show up. But also in opposition to the crushing neglect and underinvestment in our black and brown communities by the political establishment in cities around the country and around the country, the political establishment have, under the pressure of that movement, conceded real community investment, which is a victory for the movement even, and however small they are very important nonetheless. But at the end of the day, the political establishment is not conceded. It's power in any real sense in city after city. The police have not been defunded by 50%. Or do you find it at all? In reality, although some small changes have been made in different cities, which is also important. But they but we have not seen the scale of affordable housing that our community needs, communities need. And what we see is political establishments making the smallest investments that they can get away with in the face of community pressure. It is excellent that these property transfers are going through. It's a testament to the organizing of Africa Down and the Black Lives Matter movement as a whole. And while welcoming this development, we also should remember that Africa donors proposed to develop a whole city block in the heart of the Central District, at the site of the former Cairo Center, to provide a full square block of affordable housing to help prevent and reverse the displacement of working class black people from the central area. And as of now, only Councilmember Morales has supported the amendment from my office to the budget amendment from my office to make sure that this project is fully funded by the city. And I really urge all council members to support this because it should not take another five, ten or 15 years for them to win that project as well, because we know that affordable housing is in dire crisis and whatever investments we can make this year, we should make them, especially in the face of the pandemic. So again, I'm happy to vote yes and will continue to support African Downs community development in the budget vote later this month. Thank you so much. Thank you, Councilmember Salon. Any other comments on the bill? A hearing and seeing none. Will the court please call the role on the passage of the Bill Herbold. Yes. Juarez. Hi, Louis. I. Morales. Yes. Mosquera. Yes. Peterson Yes. Sergeant. Strauss. Yes. President Gonzalez. High. Nine in favor. None opposed. The bill passes and the chair will sign it. Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation? Item number two Will the court please read agenda item two into the record? Agenda Item two. Countable.