Pierce County Rules Committee - Sept. 29

Two interesting proposals received due pass recommendation from the Pierce County Rules Committee on Tuesday.

Proposal R2008-139 A resolution to approve the grant proposals recommended by the Landmarks and Historic Preservation Commission for the 2008 Pierce County Historic Preservation Grant Fund Disbursement. We’ve seen these before … if you may recall.

The County Council appropriated $200,000 for the Grant Program for the 2008 Fiscal Year. Twenty-two applications were received by the July 7, 2008 deadline, and fifteen projects were chosen to be funded. The largest grant requests were for $25,000 and this amount will be rewarded to:

• Anderson Island Park and Recreation District for the restoration of Anderson Island School
• Harbor History Museum for the F/V Shenandoah restoration
• Tacoma Historical Society for the Allen C. Mason Plaza.

Initial projects must be completed and organizations must apply for reimbursement before grant funds are made available.

Proposal R2008-146 A resolution to accept the Local Economic Stimulus Plan for Pierce County developed by the Office of Economic Development pursuant to Resolution R2008-77s; and request the County Executive to develop and propose action items to implement the recommendations of the plan for consideration during the 2009 County Budget review process.

One council member remarked that a positive outcome of an off economy is that “it gives the ability to clean house.” The Office of Economic Development conducted a number of interviews with stakeholders – mainly business owners – to find out what would improve the economy. Some recommendations included making tenant improvement permitting an easier process and increasing job training programs that not only teach specific skills, but important soft skills such as work ethic. The Office of Economic Development felt that many of these changes should be made permanent rather than serve as a temporary fix to the economy.

Does this mean we can stop stashing our cash under the mattress?