By Tim Clifford

The final SeaTac City Council meeting for the month of February was held at City Hall on Feb.24, starting off at 6:45 p.m. Meetings are held every two weeks with study sessions at 4:30 p.m. followed by council meetings at 6:30 p.m. All meetings can also be viewed live on CTV Channel 21.

For the first time in 2015 Deputy Mayor Tony Anderson was physically present and not skyped into the meeting. Signal delays and clicking noises have been a problem during his skype appearances.

Numerous special presentations were held with over 40 people in attendance. Here are the highlights:
• On Feb. 28 the City of SeaTac turned 25 years old. Mayor Mia Gregerson proclaimed Feb.28 as a day of celebration for the anniversary and gave time to each councilmember to give their praises of the city.

• A certificate of appreciation was given to Jon Ancell of the Senior Citizen Advisory Committee. Ancell was not able to attend the meeting and was given the recognition by mention only.

• A CPR save recognition was given to four basketball coaches from Seattle Christian located on 18301 Military Rd. S. On Nov. 28 last year 16-year-old Cees Berlage went into cardiac arrest while doing running drills and was brought back to life with a portable defibrillator. Shaun Deyager, Michael Watts, Braque Hildreth, and Patrick Donovan are the four coaches who implemented the device and each was given a plaque for their quick actions by the Fire Department. (See full story…)

• Next up was a follow-up from the Neighborhood Grant Program focusing on the 2014 use of funds by SeaTac United. Coordinator Trudy Olson and SeaTac United Principal Mike Doughty explained how the grant was used to create an afterschool STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) program in addition to the afterschool soccer program that SeaTac United offers. This resulted in the launch of the SUMA (SeaTac United Math Academy) program. Funds were used to purchase the curriculum, 22 Chromebooks, and a storage cart. An unusually high grant match of 4:1 was used to secure the necessary funds. The grant gave the school $3,000 dollars with a needed match of $12,000 dollars.

• A presentation on recycling and maintaining greenspaces was given by Recology Cleanscapes. A storefront for Recology was recently opened in the Five Corners Shopping Center where Burien and SeaTac locals can learn more about helping the environment, recycling properly, and buy repurposed green products. The projects that Recology have undertaken in the community over the past year were commended and praised by all the councilmembers. More information can be found at the Recology store.

• Forterra gave a presentation on the Angle Lake Station proposal as well as their work within their community liaison project. An explanation of the Global to Local charity, founded in SeaTac and now partnered with Forterra, was given. Global to Local is a charity that works to improve the health and community relations of the underprivileged in local cities. The presentation at this meeting mostly concerned work that was done between both organizations last year in SeaTac. Volunteer opportunities are currently available through both programs.

• Further discussions and a vote were had concerning Senate Bill 5332 and House Bill 1934. This topic was held over from the last meeting. House Bill 1934 had “died” in the two weeks between meetings and thus was irrelevant. Senate Bill 5332 would essentially preempt Proposition 1 by allowing bargaining agreements between unions and guilds to exclude the $15/hr. minimum wage ordinance. The council voted unanimously to stand against Senate Bill 5332.