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October 6, 2014 · Exit133

Tacoma City Business Preview - Week of October 7, 2014

Budget

The City's budget for 2015-2016 will dominate the conversation at City Council study session this week. City Manager Broadnax will present his recommendations for the next two years of City budget to the Council at the meeting, which will be televised live on TV Tacoma, so you watch the action from wherever you are, beginning at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

If you don't catch the budget presentation live on TV Tacoma, or if you want a more interactive experience, there will be three Post-Proposed Biennial Budget Community Meetings in October: 

  • Monday, October 13th, 6:00-8:00 p.m. - Evergreen Community College, 1210 6th Avenue (Citywide meeting, Mayor hosting) 
  • Wednesday, October 22nd, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.  - Wheelock Library,.3722 North 26th Street (Regional meeting for North End, New Tacoma, West End, and Northeast Tacoma)
  • Thursday, October 30th, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. - Lincoln High School, 701 South 37th Street (Regional meeting for Central, South Tacoma, South End, and Eastside)  

Legislative Policy

Last month the City Council considered a draft Legislative Policy Statement for the City of Tacoma for 2015 through 2016. The document included some changes positioning the City in favor of fiscal home rule for cities. The proposal from staff drew a fair amount of Council comment, including concerns over implications of the position, and potential unintended consequences not yet explored. When presenting the draft to Council at study session, staff described the original proposed changes as intended to start a conversation with the state over options for cities to have more control over revenue streams.

They definitely started the conversation for the Council - we'll see where it leads this week, as a resolution on the agenda for this week's regular Council meeting would adopt the legislative policy agenda. The draft attached to this week's agenda shows a few changes since last month's discussion.

The September draft included an offer to forgo some revenue from state shared funds in exchange for greater authority for cities in other areas. The latest draft backs off a bit on the specifics and adds language proposing a more collaborative approach. Read more here.

North Downtown Subarea Plan ... and Reduced Parking Area 

Work on the North Downtown Subarea Plan is finally nearing completion, with an ordinance adding a new North Downtown Subarea Plan element to Tacoma's Comprehensive Plan. 

The plan is intended to  anticipate, support, and guide long-term development in the North Downtown Subarea (which includes the Downtown commercial core, Stadium district core, and residential neighborhoods), and completes a pre-development environmental review that identifies ways to address environmental and community issues on an area-wide scale, rather than project-by-project, while reducing development uncertainty and risk.

A second North Downtown Subarea Plan-related ordinance on the agenda for today would make an amendment to the Municipal Code. The amendment is a minor one adjusting the boundary of the Reduced Parking Area in downtown Tacoma.

At recent comment sessions, after a lengthy public process, we didn't hear much in the way of objections to the plan as written now, so we expect it to pass without a problem.

Straightening South 17th

Last December the City of Tacoma and UW Tacoma agreed to partner on a project to straighten out South 17th Street between Broadway and Pacific. The project will put 17th through to Pacific in a straight line, rather than the zigzag of the current arrangement. The little park next to Twokoi will disappear, only to reappear on the other side of 17th, contiguous with the corner of the UWT campus. The project will include the construction of a retaining wall along the Twokoi side of the new stretch of 17th, as well as new sidewalks, bulb-outs, ADA ramps, new street lights, and improved road and pedestrian crossings.

A purchase resolution on this week's Council meeting agenda would award a $1.8 million contract for the project. More than $1 million of the $1.8 million cost will come from UWT.

Another resolution on this week's agenda would authorize the amendment of the original agreement between the City and UWT, putting the City in charge of project management, construction management, inspection, and public outreach for the project.

If everything gets approved, construction is expected to begin this month, with completion expected sometime next spring. Work will shut down temporarily between November 24 and January 2 for the holiday shopping season.

Other Items

Also on this week's Council meeting agenda are the presentation of the Disability Advocate of the Year Awards, the proclamation of October 11, 2014 as Arbor Day and Green Tacoma Day, and the proclamation of the week of October 5-11, 2014 as Public Power Week and the week of October 13-18, 2014 as Careers in Energy Week. 

A second purchase resolution on this week's Council meeting agenda would award a $322,269 contract, budgeted from the Wastewater Fund, for the replacement of approximately 1,000 linear feet of 8-inch diameter underground wastewater pipe in the vicinity of Wright Avenue and East I Street.

Another resolution on this week's agenda would authorize an interest-free, 10-year, $1,037,012 loan agreement with the Washington State Department of Transportation to upgrade a segment of railroad track paralleling State Route 509 between Alexander Avenue and Taylor Way. The project will remove 4,200 feet of old, heavily-used freight rail and other deteriorated components; replacing it with new, heavier materials. 

A final resolution on this week's agenda would authorize a multi-family housing eight-year property tax exemption for the development of a new 94-unit, market-rate rental housing project on Pacific Avenue between South 74th and South 76th. Under this kind of tax break the land continues to be taxed, but the new development goes untaxed for the first eight years. After those eight years are up, the entire property goes back on the tax rolls.

The Council is also scheduled to hear the final reading of an ordinance implementing a negotiated agreement with a group of represented City employees. The ordinance got its first reading at last week's City Council meeting.

Filed under: City Council, Legislation, City Government

8 comments

  • Nick M October 7, 2014

    Why is the city proposing to spend $4.2M on Lincoln Business community while the entry to Tacoma from UP looks terrible? How much does the city spend on the Narrows business district? People pay $7000 a year in taxes on the West Slopes and are getting ziltch as far as any return on investment. Many also are wondering why we have to fork over $50,000 to UWT a year for a law school too! Time for the city to start giving $1 for $1 for taxes paid by tax inflated neighborhoods.

    • talus October 7, 2014

      Thanks for posting as a Stephen Colbert-esque character, Nick. Good parody.

    • JDHasty October 7, 2014

      Nick, When the politicians were out pumping Pop 1 I asked a simple question of the Council persons present at the Fern Hill Library iteration of that summer long dog and pony show: Mr Lonergan, do you have any idea what so ever how many dollars have been spent in each of Tacoma's districts? I then asked if he was interested in whether the District he represented was getting an equitable share. Mr Lonergan promised to find out and report back to me. I am still waiting. Here is the bottom line Nick; your neighborhood is looked at as a revenue source and nothing more. Your tax dollars are being poured down that rathole known as the downtown redevelopment zone, just as they have been for the last two decades. They will continue to flow in that direction so long as voters keep electing the same quality of individuals to public office.

    • Xeno October 8, 2014

      Boo hoo, Jackson Street doesn't look as nice as UP's Bridgeport. I mean I can still drive and walk on both sides of the fully functional street but it isn't a boulevard with seasonal Mums planted in the landscape strip like on the other side of the city boundary. And oh my goodness, utility poles everywhere! Do they give me cancer? I mean I live in an affluent neighborhood that pays more taxes than poorer neighborhoods, shouldn't my concerns be addressed first and foremost? I propose a 5 foot rule, where my taxes can only pay for things within 5 feet of my property. It is the only fair way!

      • Sara October 8, 2014

        One more reason to leave Tacoma!!!

        • Xeno October 8, 2014

          People say satire is dead, sometimes I think they may be right.

  • Nick M October 8, 2014

    Well reading that the City of Tacoma is now giving $1M to the UW Law School and all these other puff-and-stuff projects just proves my point that this city has no common sense or economic acumen to manage our tax dollars. The west end including the west slopes pays a hell of a lot in property taxes and gets zero improvements from this city! We've got no business district and have to put up with a second Narrows Bridge with constant noise from the joists. You'd think the impact would cause the city to plant more trees or request state funds to aid with the impact. But that hasn't happened. Nor have we received any response from the city council regarding where all our property tax money is going. Certainly not on the west side. The west side upheaval has caused many long time residents to talk about of all things secession and the ability to create our own town and get out of Tacoma. How fed up are we about getting no representation. Imagine if Mercer Is was part of Seattle and kept paying and paying into the coffer and never received a dime for its business district or neighborhood while seeing vacant abandoned businesses close or seeing improvements going to other neighborhoods who don't nearly pay a 1/4 of what Mercer Is did. That is what long time residents feel on the west side. Like you said we are used as a revenue source. Well we sure are fed up.

  • JDHasty October 10, 2014

    Nick, What you are talking about is what is known as geographic equity, or location allocation. You are absolutely 100% correct, the City of Tacoma views certain neighborhoods and Districts as little more than revenue sources. Your own west slope is an outstanding example of neighborhoods are full of families who contribute far more to the public coffers than is spent on government services that directly, or indirectly benefit them. The reason that you feel you are being used as a revenue source is because you are being used as a revenue source. It really is that simple. From the time that local politics was taken over bey an insider cabal (remember the Visualize Tacoma campaign? That is when this really got started.), most of Tacoma's population has been used as NOTHING BUT a bottomless piggy bank by politicians and appointed upper level City staff.