Tacoma City Business Preview - Week of January 22, 2013

Link Alternatives
At Tuesday’s Study Session, Sound Transit staff will present an update on the Tacoma Link Alternatives Analysis that started in August and is expected to conclude this April with the identification of a preferred alternative for expanding the Tacoma Link Light Rail system. A review will be provided of the alternatives being considered, community input, and comment opportunities going forward.

Prairie Line Trail
The University of Washington-Tacoma is completing its design for the portion of the Prairie Line Trail that runs through the campus. They will begin construction of the trail and linear park in mid-2013. As a second item on Tuesday’s Study Session, Chancellor Debra Friedman and her design team will share images of the proposed Prairie Line Trail – UWT Station, the philosophy behind the design and the timeline for construction. The original proposed UWT Prairie Line Trail design met with some challenges, so we’re looking forward to seeing those addressed in this new design.

Point Ruston
A resolution on this week’s agenda would authorize a Fourth Amendment to the Agreement for Improvements with Point Ruston, for reimbursement for certain
improvements within the ASARCO Tacoma Smelter Superfund site.

In 2009, the City executed an agreement with Point Ruston for construction of infrastructure improvements within the City of Tacoma and the Town of
Ruston. The improvements were to be completed and financed under a Local Improvement District (LID), with Point Ruston securing construction financing to complete the final funding of the project. Three amendments were subsequently made to the original agreement. The LID, originally capped at $11 million, was increased to $15.5, and then to $28.7 (including costs for the waterfront walk).

City staff and Point Ruston have recommended a Fourth Amendment to increase the LID cap to $31 million to cover increased bond and financing costs and to retain funds from the purchase of the Point Ruston Waterwalk in a City account to be applied to the first two years’ LID installments. The sewer, water, streetlighting, roadway/storm, and electrical distribution LIDs have been completed. The contractor is currently working on the Waterwalk, with an expected completion date in the first quarter of 2013.

Tacoma Rail Mountain Division
A pair of resolutions on this week’s agenda would authorize transactions related to Tacoma Rail Mountain Division (TRMW). One would authorize a 20-year lease of 1.2 acres of vacant TRMW property to Stiebrs Farms, Inc. for loading and unloading grain and other agricultural products. The second would authorize a non-exclusive perpetual easement for sewer pipeline under and across the TRMW right-of-way in the Frederickson area. The revenues from both these deals would go to the struggling TRMW fund.

Purchase Resolution
This week’s purchase resolution has four items:

1. $441,656, budgeted from the Wastewater Fund, for rehabilitation of 11,000 linear feet of 8- and 10-inch diameter wastewater sewer pipes using Cured-In-Place Pipe technology;
2. Tacoma Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau, in the amount of $450,816 budgeted from the Convention Center Operating Fund, for sales and promotion services to support the sales program at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center, for an initial one-year term, with the option to renew for one additional one-year terms for a projected contract total of $901,632.00;
3. $250,000, for a cumulative total of $1,154,860, budgeted from the Wastewater Fund, to increase and extend the contract for liquid aluminum sulfate for wastewater treatment through January 31, 2014; and
4. $300,000, for a cumulative total of $648,150, budgeted from the Wastewater Fund, to increase the contract for additional project work resulting from unanticipated field conditions for modifications and construction at three wastewater pump stations in the vicinity of Northeast Tacoma and the Tideflats.

Item 1 would replace 11,000 feet of the more than 700 miles of pipe in Tacoma’s wastewater collection system; the pipe being replaced this time is all at least 50 years old. The replacement is part of the City’s ongoing effort to replace the aging pipe in the poorest condition. The Cured-In-Place process is a less invasive trenchless method that avoids more costly and disruptive open replacement processes.

Item 2 would fund “a long lead sales program to maximize economic impact and operating revenue” by increasing bookings for the Convention Center. The City’s Public Assembly Facilities Department and the Convention Center decided to hire a “Destination Marketing Organization.” The TRCVB is the only agency exclusively performing such services for the Tacoma/Pierce County area.

Item 3 would pay for liquid aluminum sulfate, which assists in settling solids out of wastewater in the treatment process.

Item 4 would improve three wastewater pump stations constructed In the early 1970s. Increased wastewater flows have overloaded station 4102 to the point where the pumps cannot handle some larger peak weather conditions, resulting in overflows of untreated wastewater into Commencement Bay. The valves being replaced at stations 4103 and 4106 no longer operate properly, and many spare parts are no longer available, resulting in high maintenance costs and some discharge of wastewater into an unreliable force main.

Other Items
The Mayor will proclaim January as Mentoring Month in the City of Tacoma.

The Council will hear the final reading of the ordinance re-funding up to $45,630,000 of City debt. With this re-funding the City expects to realize significant savings over the life of the debt. The money saved would be directed back to the City’s unrestricted fund, to be available for unexpected circumstances. The savings would run throughout the term of the bonds, but it has been structured to be concentrated on the front end. If passed, we would start seeing those savings in the next biennium.

Also on the agenda, one resolution and one ordinance would each authorize an agreement discontinuing the City’s $30 per month per employee contribution to a benefit plan, and allowing a one-time $360 payment to various groups of eligible City employees.