WHEREAS, the first case of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was identified in Seattle in 1982; and
WHEREAS, by 1989, the rapid spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection resulted in 1,433 cases of HIV infection and 704 AIDS deaths; and
WHEREAS, by 1996, when effective treatment for HIV/AIDS first became available, 5,111 King County residents had been diagnosed with AIDS and 3,273 persons had died from HIV; and
WHEREAS, while AIDS affects people of all ages, incomes, genders, and races, AIDS has disproportionately affected people of color; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people; and refugee and immigrant communities; and
WHEREAS, The City of Seattle (City) recognizes the ways in which homophobia, transphobia, classism, and racism contributed to the AIDS pandemic being historically and culturally ignored; and
WHEREAS, the historical public reactions to the AIDS pandemic was based in fear, discrimination, and condemnation of those diagnosed with HIV and AIDS; and
WHEREAS, in spite of hostility, and indifference toward the suffering of others, courageous people including others members of the LGBTQ community, and more specifically lesbian, bi-sexual, and queer women, stepped forward to help those who were ill; and
WHEREAS, current grassroots community organizations, such as Seattle Gay Clinic, Northwest AIDS Foundation, Chicken Soup Brigade (collectively now Lifelong); People of Color Against AIDS Network (now POCAAN); and Seattle AIDS Support Groups (now SASG) were created by these courageous people to politically advocate and provide a continuum of care including treatment, prevention, counseling, and housing resources; and
WHEREAS, progressive leadership at Seattle-King County Public Health took decisive actions in response to AIDS such as: establishing the second U.S. AIDS Assessment Clinic in 1983; initiating one of the nation's first AIDS Prevention Demonstration projects, with Federal funding through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1985; creating a community-based continuum of care through a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant supporting provision/coordination of AIDS services in 1986; advocating for the enactment of Washington State’s AIDS Omnibus Bill in 1988; running the nation's second syringe exchange program in 1989; establishing the Northwest Family Center, providing medical and social services to women, children, and families affected by HIV in 1990; and
WHEREAS, the City took early leadership in responding to the HIV epidemic, with Mayor Charles Royer establishing the Mayor's Task Force in 1984 advising City departments about humane responses to City employees afflicted by HIV/AIDS and crafting the continuum of care model resulting in the award of the first coordination of care grant; and
WHEREAS, community-based organizations were established by individuals to advocate and address the HIV care, treatment, housing, social services, and prevention needs of Seattle and King County residents diagnosed with or at risk of HIV infection and to work with public health authorities; and
WHEREAS, the engagement of community organizers and activists, including the Seattle chapter of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP/Seattle), was responsible for politically awakening the AIDS crisis and essential in creating a comprehensive system of HIV care and prevention, including the provision of street-based syringe exchange in 1989 and overcoming community opposition to allow Bailey-Boushay House AIDS hospice to open in 1992; and
WHEREAS, diverse community members have determined that the many stories of AIDS in Seattle must be told; and
WHEREAS, community volunteers and organizations have stepped forward to seek to create the Seattle AIDS Legacy Memorial (SALM) to tell the many stories about the first days of AIDS; and
WHEREAS, in response to support from the community, the Seattle City Council in 2015 approved Green Sheet 54-1-A-2 to “Add $75,000 to The Office of Arts & Culture to support an AIDS memorial legacy planning process”; and
WHEREAS, a volunteer community advisory group and volunteer steering committee now meet regularly to support the development of the SALM; and
WHEREAS, the community advisory group has developed site criteria for the SALM and researched numerous Seattle locations as potential sites; and
WHEREAS, the SALM work groups have identified the appropriate site for the AIDS legacy memorial, described collectively as the north edge of Cal Anderson Park, the adjacent public plaza on the Capitol Hill Link light rail transit-oriented development, and the block of East Denny Way between Broadway Avenue East and Tenth Avenue East deemed by the Seattle Department of Transportation as a festival street; and
WHEREAS, the SALM, having received approval from Gerding Edlen Development, is currently negotiating a memorandum of understanding with the developer to site legacy memorial elements on and near its public plaza in Capitol Hill; and
WHEREAS, the SALM has received strong support and endorsements from the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, the Cal Anderson Park Alliance, and the Capitol Hill Champion, which has been advocating for the incorporation of community goals into light rail station development through engagement with community and neighborhood groups and business interests; and
WHEREAS, the SALM is prepared to engage artists, design and engineering professionals, historians, and curators to: develop concepts; prepare collateral materials to share options for a legacy memorial project; produce a final report that outlines scale, location, timeline, financial information, and other components of the project; complete preliminary research; and present legacy memorial options to the community advisory group for consensus on a recommended legacy memorial project and course of action; NOW, THEREFORE,