♪♪
-Good afternoon everyone and welcome to
the Seattle Public Libraries University Branch.
I'm Tom Fay, Chief Librarian of the Seattle Public Library.
Joining us today city of Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell.
FEMA Deputy Administrator, Victoria Salinas.
FEMA Region 10 Administrator, Willie Nunn.
Washington Emergency Management Director, Robert Ezelle.
And Seattle Office of Emergency Management Director,
Curry Mayer.
We are together today
to announce a truly historic investment in Seattle's
landmark Carnegie Libraries
and in our cities climate resiliency.
I'm very pleased to share that FEMA,
through its Hazard Mitigation Grant program,
has awarded 5.5 million dollars
towards a 6.1 million dollar projects,
to modernize cooling
and clean air systems at the University Branch Library,
you see behind me.
As well as Columbia, Fremont, Queen Anne and West Seattle.
For those who for lived in Seattle for some time,
we know the impacts of climate change
and they are becoming more frequent and more pronounced.
We have seen the public health threats
climate change can pose to our region.
We have faced these threats and libraries
have increasingly played a more important role.
One of our top priorities at the library in my time
as the Chief Librarian,
has been to install air conditioning
and more efficient ventilation systems
at each of our 27 locations.
Our work in this area has increased the number
of publicly available cooling centers during extreme heat
and clean air centers during wildfire smoke events.
Thanks to FEMA's funding,
we will be able to ensure all Seattle libraries,
including our Carnegie libraries
that have served the city for over 100 years,
conserve in this increasingly pivotal role
for future generations.
These five libraries are the last remaining libraries
in Seattle without air conditioning.
We're extremely grateful for this funding
so that we can complete our modernization efforts.
As public spaces open to all,
libraries make our communities more resilient
to the impacts of climate change,
especially for our most vulnerable neighbors.
With every new HVAC system we install,
we are reducing our libraries carbon footprint
by replacing fossil fuel powered systems.
We're helping Seattle meet its decarbonization goals
and providing respite from heat waves and wildfire smoke events.
In recent years we've made great progress in this work.
With generous funding from Mayor Harrell
and the Seattle City Council,
we installed new HVAC systems for northeast
and southwest branches, two of our busiest locations.
The Green Lake branch,
which will reopen from its seismic retrofit
in coming weeks, will also future a new HVAC system.
At the University branch,
we will begin this work in early 2025
when the branch will close for a seismic retrofit
and other renovations.
The Columbia branch will be next in line
and we are working on a timeline for Fremont,
Queen Anne and West Seattle. I want to think the libraries
Administrative Services Director, Rob Gannon.
Capital Improvement Project Director,
Dennis Reddinger and Communication Specialist,
Bennett Barr, for their work in securing this grant.
I also want to thank Washington State
for contributing an additional $300,000 toward this effort
and our partners
at the Washington State Emergency Management division
for their support. FEMA district 10,
for all of their help along the way, thank you.
Erika Lund, from the city's Office of Emergency Management,
whose expert guidance
throughout the grant process was invaluable.
And also, a big thanks to Mayor Harrell for his vision,
leadership and constant support of the library.
Public investments like this,
are only possible when agencies work together.
In this effort, it was One Seattle and beyond,
all the way to the finish line.
And now, I'd like to introduce, Seattle's mayor, Bruce Harrell.
-Thank you Tom!
So, I want to make something very clear,
in case someone looks at this months from now,
today is August 20th, 2024.
And I want to make that clear in case they see --
why they ask why are there rain jackets
and why are we under a tent when we announce this?
It's August 20th,
and that's why we are excited to celebrate this news.
For us it's all about partnerships,
so I need to first, of course, thank the leadership at FEMA.
What FEMA does for a city like ours,
our senators Murray and Cantwell.
Our congressmembers Jayapal and Smith.
Our state delegation, for stepping up.
Our Washington Emergency Management
and of course our home here at University Branch Library.
It should not be lost upon us that a few years ago
when I took office,
that we had Present Biden sign an executive order
on Earth Day here in the city of Seattle.
And it should not be lost on us that we're standing,
in addition to a library,
right next to the University food bank.
Because our city would only be great if we look at those
who are most unfortunate and how we can protect those
who are less fortunate, those who need resiliency hubs,
in order to protect themselves,
their health and their welfare, from what we're dealing with.
Climate change is real,
climate change is here and it has a real
and serious impact in our community.
I would like to enter a quote that our governor Jay Inslee
made, I thought it was quite supportive
of what we're trying to do.
I said publicly that we had the greenest governor
in all of our 50 states and I'm very proud of that.
Governor Jay Inslee said,
"We are the first generation
to feel the effect of climate change
and the last generation who can do something about it."
So I said I want to do a level set with that quote
by talking about how our libraries,
I think many of you know my mother worked most of her career
in a library
and we've always sort of historically thought of it
as just a place to learn and education yourself,
and the fellowship and enhance our experience
and turn around books.
But now we have to look at these key assets
as part of our resiliency strategy
and now that we have over 20 of them acting as cooling
and cleaning shelters during our whether events,
that we have to look at all of our assets
and sort of combining them in a strategic way.
I want to thank our director, Jessyn Farrell,
and the work that she does in our sustainability
and environment department.
It is under her leadership, again,
that we're able to pull this together
throughout our city wide assets.
It's a great strategy.
We are trying to reduce emissions
and improve sustainability in everything that we do,
preparing for the impacts of climate change.
In addition to expanding capacity in cities facilities
like libraries,
we are working with partners to plan for resiliency hubs
to transform community owned spaces as well.
So this is again, part of our robust strategy
when we're looking at heat and smoke events.
Quite honestly, I think you've heard many of us here,
in leadership positions,
that we've talked about climate change,
we could only -- that dog is happy.
He's celebrating with us right there,
see that's music to my ears.
That's a fan right there, for climate change!
He's say, "Climate change!" Beating climate change.
Climate change, we will only defeat this,
I use the analogy of locking fingers.
Partnerships, partnerships, collaborative partnerships.
We're in this together. This is a very unifying effort.
And so, this kind of unprecedented investment
in addressing climate,
the impacts of climate change is part and parcel
of our strategy again, to work with our federal government
and I want to close by saying,
thank you again FEMA,
for your commitment and your follow through
and your resources.
We'll put them to good work.
And most importantly it'll be for those who really need it,
and those again are underrepresented committees
and people that will look for health, protection,
from climate change in our resiliency hubs.
So thank you very much
and we celebrate with a spirit if humility.
Thank you.
Was I supposed to introduce somebody?
And next you will hear from the super star, Victoria Salinas,
and she will speak.
Super star! Thank you.
-Thank you so much, appreciate it.
Good morning or good afternoon.
It is such a polar to be with you
all here today to celebrate this important milestone.
I oversee FEMA resilience at the national scale and oftentimes
when people think about FEMA, what comes to mind
first is our response and recovery mission set.
The images of communities devastated
is what comes to mind.
But for FEMA, resilience is also a core part of what we do.
And we're actually now, as we said, in August,
which is also National Resilience Month and this is
a year that our administrator has lifted up
as the year of resilience. Why?
Because we want to make sure that everyone understands
how we want to be a partner and support
in the resilience of all communities, for all hazards.
And so when I saw
that this project was getting the big dollars
to help with the libraries in Seattle,
I was excited for a number of reasons.
One is that we all remember the recent impacts of the heat dome
and just the struggles
that this community and so many others have faced,
because of extreme heat.
We also recognize that wild fire smoke has continued
to plague so many communities.
And heat and wild fire smoke, end up in a situation
where opening the windows,
doing things we used to do in the past, are no longer tenable.
And so to see a project that was already tackling two hazards,
heat and wild fire smoke, was already exciting.
But what really drew my attention
about this work going on here in Seattle,
it really gets to how we want to be a partner at FEMA.
Which is that we want to be part of your solutions,
of your resilient solutions.
And so when I walked in the door today to this library
and saw the project scope,
it was another reiteration of what that looks like.
We are helping through the hazard mitigation grant program,
address a couple of those hazards, right?
Wild fire and heat.
But the project is so much more.
There's a seismic retrofit happening that we heard about,
to keep people safer when the big earthquake comes.
There's changes to accessibility,
so that this can be a place of respite and learning for all.
There's the recognition in making sure that every action
we take leads to decarbonization and a greener future.
All of those things are part of what really are
at the heart of resilience building
and this project brings that to life in beautiful ways.
Including as the mayor mentioned,
being nested next to other community assets,
like the food bank next door.
And so that really is the future of resilience building
that we see here at FEMA,
is that when we're looking to be a partner to a community,
to- it's for all of the hazards, all of those shocks and stresses
and the work underway in Seattle is emblematic of a city,
a county and a state who understand that deeply and so
for us it's been a true pleasure to be a partner on that front.
And contribute to this major milestone.
It's important to,
for us,
to lift up all the ways in which these hazards can be tackled.
Libraries are part of our frontline
when it comes to emergency response.
They're the frontlines
as cooling options to help make sure that people can go
where they want to be
when their home is no longer warm -- is too warm.
And we're seeing cities, in particular,
take so many new ways to tackle this.
In the last couple years alone from a project like this,
to covered bus shelters and Washington DC,
to more tree canopy in Portland, Oregon,
the innovation is coming from cities,
when it comes to how we actually tackle resilience building.
So it's a true honor as the person
who leads resilience for FEMA,
to be here at this critical milestone,
in this project and in your trajectory here in Seattle,
to celebrate the good work.
We are here with you
and really look forward to the continued work,
collaboration
and to seeing these places serve their intended purpose
so this every resident of Seattle, the county,
and the nation,
can have the resilient community they all need and deserve.
So thank you so much for having me today
and congratulations Seattle.
[ Applause ]
-Good afternoon everyone.
Thank you Mr. Mayor for inviting us
and all the partners behind me.
What a great day for Seattle.
I am Willie Nunn, I'm the FEMA Region 10 Administrator,
which includes Seattle and the beautiful, diverse,
Pacific Northwest. I'm pleased to join you
to celebrate today the new cooling centers
at the public libraries here in Seattle.
As you just learned from one of the speakers,
that this is organizing for five --
the last five libraries here in Seattle.
As we know, extreme heat is now a reality for our region.
And air conditioners becoming a necessity.
Yet, many can't afford this.
Many can't afford the air conditioning
and they face the life threatening conditions
that extreme heat can bring.
In the summer of 2021, there was a heat dome and Seattle,
statistics say,
that Seattle is the least air conditioned city in the nation.
That's why I'm so excited to be here
and that FEMA has the opportunity to award this grant.
To equip these libraries to be an option,
to be a cooling center.
The FEMA, as it was said earlier,
the FEMA has a mitigation grant program funds are investment
in community resilience.
FEMA gives grants to communities not only
to provide when we're doing here,
but providing cooling options. Not just centers,
but cooling options, green infrastructure,
and nature based solutions.
I want to applaud the state of Washington and Seattle,
for the foresight to use these grants
for this great opportunity. Thank you mayor.
And all of the partners behind me and all of you,
because we're all partners,
and relationships are very important as the mayor says.
And FEMA is proud to work with the state.
Proud to work with our tribal nations and the locals,
to make the projects like these
come to create these options in extreme heat.
And thank you all for putting people first
and helping our communities stay safe in extreme heat.
Thank you.
[ Applause ]
-Good afternoon.
I appreciate the opportunity to join you today.
I'm Robert Ezelle,
Director of Washington State Emergency Management Division.
Projects like this,
help me sleep a little better tonight or at night.
As director of the state office charged with protecting lives,
property and the economy of our state,
it's heartening to see the most meaningful efforts
to truly provide people, often our most vulnerable,
with protection from extreme weather.
As we saw in 2021 in Washington state,
extreme heat can be deadly. Since then,
we've had our mitigation team work with jurisdictions
across the state,
to secure federal funds to address this growing threat.
It's always a good day to see these efforts pay off.
I want to extend my gratitude
to the Seattle Public Library system for recognizing the need,
and not giving up on this grant opportunity.
You've been an excellent partner
and our team enjoyed working with you
to develop a convincing grant application.
It's exciting to see a project like this move forward.
This is the first federal award our state has received,
to support a cooling center.
And I'm confident it will serve as a model
to help us apply for future federal funding,
to support similar projects down the road.
And my thanks to FEMA,
for allocating the funds necessary
to bring this project to life.
It's an honor to welcome Deputy Administrator Victoria Salinas,
to our beautiful state
and thank you for making the trip out here.
While air conditioning seems like such a simple solution,
it can be costly and require an awful lot of work.
This federal funding ensures this vital work continues
and provides people across the region
with a refuge from extreme heat and wild fire smoke.
We know with climate change,
these threats are only increasing.
In emergency management we often say it's a team sport.
Same goes for taking care of our communities.
I'm proud to be surrounded by so many dedicated partners,
who share our commitment to the wellbeing of our residents.
My congratulations to everyone involved
and my thanks for your partnership
to help protect those who call Washington home.
-Good afternoon, my name is Curry Mayer
and I currently serve the city as the Director of Seattle's
Office of Emergency Management.
This project is really exciting for a lot of reasons.
You've heard a lot about partnership,
but there's really so much power in that.
The partnership of city departments,
working with our state partners at Washington EMD
and also with FEMA, was really why this became a reality.
And I want to give special kudos to my team member, Erika Lund,
whose the Applicant Agent.
There's a huge amount of work
that goes into being able to get a grant such as this
and we're very proud of that.
It is one of the largest grants in the mitigation funding arena.
So that's also exciting.
So not only as part of the city's immediate plan,
the short-term goals for what do we do
to mitigate both heat and smoke?
But it's also part of a longer solution.
So our short-term actions really focus
on what can we do immediately?
Give people a place go do.
And not only is this a place to with air conditioning,
but it's also a beautiful library,
so people have something to do while they're escaping the heat.
Some of those longer term actions that we look at
have to do with tree canopies, increasing green spaces,
those things take longer so it's always exciting
to see what can we do in the short-term
and what are the immediate things
that will have impact on the community right away?
It's also exciting because it's part
of our reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.
So, it's my distinct privilege to be part of the city
that really cares about helping people
and the effects of climate change.
And I appreciate you being here today to celebrate this with us.
-Is that it?
-Yeah. -Want to take some pictures?
-Absolutely.
You want me to ask for questions?
-If there are any, we're going to take some pictures,
but if there are any questions for any of the speakers,
we'll entertain one or two.
And if not, we're going to take some cool pictures.
And again, in closing, thank you very much,
on behalf of the city.
Thank you for this partnership, we really look forward to it.
So, we're all good? Three, two, one Seattle.
Thank you very much, let's take a picture.
[ Applause ]