City Council Meeting - August 5, 2008

Tonight’s Council meeting began on a rather sober note with a Proclamation to set aside Thursday, August 7, as a day to respect Fire Chief Dan Packer, who passed away on July 26th fighting a wildfire in California, and reflect on his service to the City of Tacoma.

Only six council members were present this evening, but it was business as usual.

Consent Agenda
A lengthy Consent Agenda was passed, filled with resolutions that budgeted funds from the Economic Development Special Revenue Fund to help operate the programs of various organizations such as the Metropolitan Development Council, William M. Factory Small Business Incubator, Tacoma Housing Authority, Impact Capital, and Associated Ministries of Tacoma.

Regular Agenda
Resolution # 37559 was adopted to appoint individuals to committees to prepare statements “for” and “against” the City of Tacoma’s Proposition No. 1, to amend the City Charter by eliminating term limits for the Mayor and City Council Members, which will appear in the voter’ pamphlet for the General Election on November 4, 2008.

The individual chosen to write the “for” statement is Randy Harrison.
The individuals chosen to write the “against” statement are Catherine Ushka-Hall, Tom Stenger, and Marty Campbell.

Resolution # 37561 authorizes the agreement with United Way of Pierce County, in the amount of $150,000, budgeted from the General Fund, to administer the Pierce County Early Learning Consortium’s First Five Fundamentals Initiative to improve school readiness.

Resolution # 37563 authorizing an agreement with the Museum of Glass, in the amount of $100,000, budgeted from the Council Contingency account in the General Fund, to assist the Museum in acquiring a specialized truck and forklift for housing and transporting the Mobile Hot Shop for art outreach services.

This Resolution was suspended indefinitely because, Councilman Lonergan explained, that after receiving a report on the City’s finances, the Council had to focus on priorities and this Resolution needed to be set aside.

Final Reading of Ordinances
Ordinance # 27735 authorizes the grant agreement with the State of Washington Community, Trade, and Economic Development Department, in the amount of $2,480,000, along with $25,000 from Pierce County, for the completion of Phase II renovations at Cheney Stadium.

Citizens’ Forum
Tonight’s forum, among other speakers, had three individuals speak out against the behavior of the Tacoma Police Department at a recent Port of Tacoma protest. To which, Council member Lonergan later responded to the remarks by complimenting Tacoma police on their actions, noting that the Cities of Olympia and Seattle have looked to Tacoma as an example for handling protests effectively. Lonergan felt that police reacted appropriately. A policeman was overheard saying that “That’s nice to hear.”

In closing comments Councilwoman Walker mentioned a new project she was fan of called “Keep Kids Alive, Drive 25.” While that’s definitely a law that should be followed, the project’s name sounds a little dark. But hey, at least it rhymes.