Renton Mayor Armondo Pavone opened the June 10 meeting of the Renton City Council with a proclamation designating June as Pride Month. The proclamation said this was to honor the 1969 Stonewall Riots, which is acknowledged as starting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual rights movement.
“The City of Renton, through active partnership and communication with residents, businesses, and educational institutions, commits itself to fostering an inclusive environment that affords opportunities for all,” according to the proclamation. “Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual residents enrich the cultural tapestry of our community, generously giving their time, talent, labor, and financial support to various community organizations.”
Accepting the proclamation was the president of the Renton LGBTQIA+ Community, Sara Palmer.
“I want to thank the council for the proclamation again this year, and the wonderful Pride ceremony, and flag raising ceremony this morning, and the beautiful video that came out already,” Palmer said. “We were receiving beautiful social media feedback from that already. It’s very meaningful especially with some of our neighboring cities not acknowledging Pride Month, and so we really appreciate that you acknowledge these citizens, this community here.”
In other council news
• The council reminded Renton residents to vote for the King County Small Business Awards. The categories include Small Business of the Year, Minority‐Owned Small Business of the Year, Workforce Development Small Business of the Year, and others. Nominations are due June 30, and people can nominate businesses at kingcounty.gov/smallbusinessawards.
• The Renton River Days Advisory Board was called to be repealed. With a follow-up question, councilmember Kim-Khanh Van asked if the Renton River Days Advisory Board was being fully dissolved or if it was just taking another form.Mayor Pavone responded to the question, clarifying the future of Renton River Days planning: “Yeah, this is mostly housekeeping. This really is changing the format. There still will be an advisory board representing businesses and restaurants, residents and businesses representing the community when it comes to River Days,” Pavone said. Councilmember James Alberson added that the Renton River Days Advisory Board would no longer exist.
For legislation, the docket included Resolution No. 4527: Authorizing Recreation and Conservation Office Youth Athletic Facility Grant Application and the first reading of Ordinance No. 6136: Repealing Chapter 2-22. Ordinance No. 6136 completely repeals the Renton River Days Advisory Board and calls for a code change.
