Tacoma City Business Preview - Week of June 2, 2015

Legislative Update

At this Tuesday's Study Session, Government Relations Officer Randy Lewis will provide the City Council an update on the Legislative Session in Olympia.

Old City Hall

A resolution on this week's regular City Council meeting would authorize the City of Tacoma to purchase of the property located at 625 Commerce Street, a.k.a. Old City Hall, for $4 million, plus closing costs, budgeted from the Economic Development Special Revenue Fund. The purchase would allow the City to preserve the historic landmark, making necessary repairs to prevent further deterioration, and make it available for future private development. Read more here.

Rules of Procedure

Last month we heard the first reading of a resolution that would amend the Rules of Procedure for the city council to remove language relating to study sessions and Committee of the Whole meetings for the council. The proposed changes would eliminate regular Committee of the Whole meetings, moving any items that would have been discussed at those meetings to the council's study sessions. Those study sessions would be moved from noon to 10 a.m. The intent is to improve the efficiency of the council, and to allow council members to attend events held at the lunch hour on Tuesdays. Because it involves changes to the rules of procedure for the council, the resolution requires a second reading, which is on this week's agenda.

LNG Facility

A resolution on this week's regular agenda would authorize an Interagency Agreement with the Washington State Department of Ecology to expedite the review of certain permits relating to the Puget Sound Energy Liquefied Natural Gas Facility proposed to be located in the Tacoma Tideflats. Tacoma's Planning and Development Services Department will be the lead permitting agency for environmental review, shoreline permitting, and building permits for the project, with Ecology reviewing them. The agreement sets up a cost reimbursement for dedicated review time, the costs of which would then be passed along to the applicant, PSE. 

Purchase Resolutions

Two purchase resolutions appear on this week's council meeting agenda

• $513,893, budgeted from the Wastewater Fund, for the construction of approximately 940 linear feet of 8-inch diameter underground wastewater pipe in the vicinity of 6th Avenue and Monroe Street. 
• $350,000, plus sales tax, budgeted from the Street Fund, to perform a pavement condition index survey. The survey will provide updated information to inform Public Works' decision making on capital improvement projects. The Arizona-based company being considered to complete the survey would rate the condition of Tacoma's streets on a scale between 0 and 100, which will help Public Works identify and prioritize immediate needs, and to develop a preventative maintenance strategy. The last such survey was done in 2007. 

Other Items

Three resolutions on this week's council meeting consent agenda set dates for public hearings by the Hearing Examiner on requests to vacate three separate pieces of City-owned property.

• Thursday, July 9 at 9 a.m. - Hearing on the request to vacate the portion of South 22nd Street between the west margin of I-705 and the east margin of Dock Street, to facilitate full closure of the rail crossing. 
• Thursday, July 9 at 1:30 p.m. - Hearing on the request to vacate a one-foot portion of Commerce Street, South 15th Street, and Pacific Avenue to cure a building foundation encroachment previously permitted under Street Occupancy Permit 140. 
• Thursday, July 16 at 9:00 a.m. - Hearing on the request to vacate a portion of South 52nd Street lying east of South Trafton Street and west of the alley, for residential development. 

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 483, will be recognized for their Peanut Butter Drive to support the Emergency Food Network. 

A resolution on the regular agenda this week appoints and reappoints four individuals to the Sustainable Tacoma Commission.