Tacoma City Council Meeting - Dec. 1st, 2009

Last night’s Tacoma City Council meeting had two agenda items on it that you all hold dear to your hearts – the Elks Building and the Murray Morgan Bridge. Both projects just took another step forward. Here are our the rest of our notes:

R E G U L A R A G E N D A

APPOINTMENTS
Resolution No. 37935 appoints Keith H. James to serve on the Citizen Review Panel for a term to begin December 2, 2009 through December 31, 2012.

RESOLUTIONS
Purchase Resolution No. 37936 awards a contract to:
Ticketmaster, for ticketing services for the Tacoma Dome and the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center, for a three-year period, with the option to renew for two additional one-year periods, generating approximately $3,440,000 of revenue over the five-year contract.

Resolution No. 37937 authorizes the execution of an eight-year Multi-Family Property Tax Exemption Agreement with O’Connor & Associates, LLC, for the development of 32 market-rate apartments as part of a mixed-use development, including a private medical office, located at 712 South 19th Street (South 19th and Yakima) in the Downtown Mixed-Use Center.

Resolution No. 37938 amends the policy for Sister Cities by authorizing any interested community member to apply to be on a Sister City Committee and allowing each Committee to appoint its own members.

Resolution No. 37939 authorizes the execution of a Project Management Agreement with Elks on Broadway, LLC; and authorizing the use of $450,000 of Urban Development Action Grant funds for predevelopment expenses to facilitate a mixed-use development project located at 545-565 Broadway … another step forward. The next step will be an RFQ for design/build services. A contract for pre-construction services should come before Council in February.

Resolution No. 37940 authorizes the execution of an amendment to the lease agreement with the United States Government, General Services Administration, for the continued lease of 6,014 square feet of office space within the Tacoma Municipal Building North, through July 31, 2010.

Resolution No. 37941 authorizes the execution of Supplement No. 2 to the Turnback Agreement with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) transferring the ownership of the Murray Morgan Bridge from WSDOT to the City of Tacoma and for state funding for the rehabilitation of the Bridge. This continues the phased approach toward a rehabilitation of the bridge. It will be reconfigured from four lanes to two lanes. Mechanical systems will be upgraded. The structure will be repaired. Then, the bridge can be reopened to traffic. The City and Port approaches to the bridge will then be rehabilitated and seismically upgraded. Five to eight years from now, the final phase will include subsurface seismic upgrades. Total costs are a little over $61 million. The speeches from the dais kept going and … it passed unanimously.

FINAL READING OF ORDINANCES
Ordinance No. 27854 amends Title 17 of the Municipal Code, entitled “Animal Control,” to clarify liability for animal violations, responsibilities of owners of potentially dangerous dogs, and to impose requirements that animals be humanely restrained.

FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES
Ordinance No. 27855 amending the Biennial Budget for the fiscal years 2009-2010 to appropriate funds for 2009-2010 contract obligations, transfers, and other budget adjustments; authorizing interfund transfers and contributions; authorizing the acceptance, deposit, and appropriation of miscellaneous donations, contributions, and/or fees; and declaring an emergency making necessary the passage of this ordinance and its taking effect immediately upon publication.

Ordinance No. 27856 amending Chapter 6A.90 of the Municipal Code, relating to natural or manufactured gas tax, to clarify the application of natural gas utility tax to every person engaged in or carrying on the business of transmitting, distributing, brokering, or selling natural or manufactured gas within the City of Tacoma.

Ordinance No. 27857 amending Chapter 12.08 of the Municipal Code, relating to waste water and surface water management, to implement a private property inflow and infiltration removal program. See our discussion from a few weeks ago.

Ordinance No. 27858 amending Chapter 1.12 of the Municipal Code, relating to the Compensation Plan, to implement the 2010 provisions of various collective bargaining agreements and a letter of agreement negotiated with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 483, Clerical Unit.

The year is nearly over. Should we talk about the appointment process again?