Tacoma City Council Meeting for May 4th, 2010

Tonight was a long meeting by current Council standards. There were two issues that brought people to the podium. First, the Foss site 4 indemnification agreement was back. Second, Citizen’s Forum brought out a long list of citizens from the Hilltop who spoke passionately about the alleged gang members swept up under conspiracy laws a few months ago. So, let’s get started. Here are our notes:

C O N S E N T A G E N D A

RESOLUTIONS
Resolution No. 38020 approves the final plat of “Yakima Villas”, a 20-lot single-family townhome subdivision located at 2347 Yakima Avenue. (Yakima Villas, LLC; File No. PLT2008-40000116874)

PROCLAMATIONS

• Mayor Strickland proclaimed May 5, 2010 as Benito Juarez Day in the City of Tacoma.
• Mayor Strickland proclaimed May 3rd through 9th, 2010 as Public Service Recognition Week in the City of Tacoma.

PUBLIC COMMENT
We’ll start with the summary of the non-Hollander related comments:

• The owner of a window cleaning service came forward to speak against the hiring of a national company for janitorial services.
• A.D. Redding came forward as the owner of a local janitorial cleaning service to speak against the Purchase Resolution.

Now let’s talk about that little hotel project on the water:

• Five speakers came forward to urge the council to approve the Hollander indemnification because this is about indemnification and not other issues.
• One speaker came forward to call the Hollander indemnification a subsidy and urge that it not be approved.
• Barbara Mead came forward from the Foss Waterway Development Authority to urge the passing of the Hollander indemnification.
• Eight people that work for other Hollander hotels in Puyallup and Tacoma came forward to speak in favor of the indemnification resolution and many stated how proud they are of their work and their company.
• Brian Haynes came forward to express a concern that the new hotel would cause the Hotel Murano to lower its standard of service.
• Coy Wood from Woody’s on the Water came forward to urge the passing of the indemnification agreement and resolution No. 38013 related to the HUD grant for the LeMay Museum.
• Alton McDonald came forward in opposition to the Hollander indemnification because companies with money are driven by greed and don’t look out for their employees. He also spoke about the LeMay Grant and urged the council to find $3.6 million to support the citizens.
• The representative for the Hotel Murano’s union came forward. He says that this indemnification may wipe out the benefits the Murano’s employees have fought for as the Murano will be unable to compete with a limited service hotel in the community.
• Kelly Wilson from Savi Day Spa came forward to speak against the indemnification resolution as any change at the Murano will affect her business.
• Former Councilmember Mike Lonergan urged the council to “do the right thing” as it is an indemnification agreement and that a no vote would send a signal to developers can stop a project due to competitive or political concerns.
• Eric Cederstrand came forward as an investor in Thea’s Landing to urge the passing of the indemnification.
• Grace Pleasants came forward as the developer of Albers Mill to urge the council to vote against the Hollander indemnification.
• A representative from Jobs With Justice came forward and asked Councilmember Joe Lonergan to recuse himself due to the position of his father. He then urged more investigation into the “common good” of the project.
• A representative of the Hotel Murano’s housekeeper’s union came forward (with many of the workers) and described the positive work environment they have at the Hotel Murano.
• Bruce Kendall from the Economic Development Board came forward in support of the indemnification.

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

APPOINTMENTS
Resolution No. 38021 appoints and reappoints individuals to the Sustainable Tacoma Commission
and Board of Building Appeals.

RESOLUTIONS
Resolution No. 37870 (Continued from November 3, 2009) authorizes the execution of a Hazardous Substances Indemnification Agreement with the Foss Waterway Development Authority, and Hollander Investments, LLC, for property located at 1543 Dock Street.

Some councilmembers focused strictly on the indemnity agreement. Others wanted to consider other factors in the decision and thought it was within their purview to ask those questions. There were several comments made about strengthening future agreements to give greater oversight by Council. This will need to come up when the operating agreement is renegotiated with the FWDA.

In the end, the resolution passed unanimously.

Resolution No. 38013 authorizes the execution of a loan agreement with the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development for a $3,600,000 Community Development Block Grant Section 108 Guarantee loan to assist with the development of the Harold E. LeMay Museum.

Purchase Resolution No. 38022 awards contracts to:

1. S&W Utility Contractors, Inc., on its bid of $744,080.86, plus sales tax, budgeted from the Streets Special Revenue Fund, for alley, sidewalk, and sewer work at various sites associated with Local Improvement District 8644;
2. Miles Resources, LLC, d.b.a. Woodworth & Company, on its bid of $1,521,638.93, for a cumulative total of $1,673,802.82, budgeted from the Wastewater Fund, for sanitary sewer main replacement from South M Street to South J Street between South 48th Street and South 54th Street; and
3. American Building Maintenance, d.b.a. ABM Janitorial Services, in the amount of $350,000.00, for a cumulative total of $4,551,052.32, to increase and extend the contract for janitorial services for City facilities through October 29, 2010. It was noted that this is an extension of a current contract and the City will be putting it out for RFP in the future to try and encourage more local businesses.

Resolution No. 38023 authorizes the execution of Amendment No. 258 to the Tacoma Community Redevelopment Authority (TCRA) Agreement, authorizing the TCRA to administer $471,930 of Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds for eligible housing activities.

Resolution No. 38024 authorizes the submittal of the 2010-2015 Five Year Consolidated Plan, which
includes the 2010-2011 Annual Action Plan, to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

FINAL READING OF ORDINANCES
Ordinance No. 27885 amends Chapter 1.12 of the Municipal Code, relating to the Compensation Plan, to implement rates of pay and compensation for employees represented by Teamsters Local 117, Public Assembly Facilities Unit, which covers 32 budgeted, full-time positions.

Ordinance No. 27886
Amending Title 1 of the Municipal Code, relating to Retirement and Pensions, to remove requirements of separate specific year actuarial studies of active and retired members; adding language allowing future actuarial studies to be combined, and going forward to continue the existing practice of conducting
actuarial studies at least as often as required by state law; and changing all instances of the outdated spelling of the word “employes” to “employees.”

CITIZENS’ FORUM
The purpose of Citizens’ Forum is to assist the City Council in making policy decisions. Items of discussion will be limited to matters over which the City Council has jurisdiction and speaker’s remarks are limited to up to three minutes per person. Arguments shall not be made in support of, or opposition to, any matter on
this week’s agenda.

• Terry Morris came up as a person that loves mankind and urged the City to look at safety first.
• Tom McCarthy came up as a resident of Hilltop to state his concern over the recent prosecution of alleged gang members in the Hilltop.
• Marie Johns-Davis came to voice her concern of “non-justice” happening in Tacoma and the prosecution of alleged gang members, including her son.
• Janis Gbalah came to voice her concern about the dollars being spent to arrest the alleged gang members versus gang prevention and intervention.
• Chastity Bryant came to voice her concern about the arrest of the alleged gang members that include her fiancée.
• Dorothea Schaefer came forward to state that the arrest of the alleged gang members smacks of racism. “The more things change, the more things remain the same.”
• Alice Phillips came IBEW 43 to voice her concern with the Pay and Comp study. She stated that the process has not been transparent and raise concerns about the survey data.
• Harmony Wortham came forward to read a letter from one of the inmates alleging illegal actions by detectives.
• Alton McDonald came before the Council, called himself a gadfly and agitator, and urged the Council to look into these complaints against the City.
• Amir Abdul-Matin came forward and criticized The News Tribune for plastering the photos of the alleged gang members as guilty before being proven guilty.
• Mercede Hall came forward to “open your eyes to what is going on in Pierce County” and argue that the 36 inmates have lost their right to a speedy trial and the prosecutor has mismanaged the cases.
• Monica Fowler came forward to speak of her two sons currently being held in this prosecution and argued that law enforcement is just as corrupt.
• Jacob Carlton from Jobs With Justice asked the Council to “do things in a different way” and argue that their justification for the Hollander resolution lacked leadership.
• Glen Holbert came forward to support the crackdown on gang members on Hilltop.
• Robert Hill came forward to talk about … nevermind.
• Thelma Stewart came to say that she has seen the system at work and it’s not fair.
• Yvonne Masson came forward to state that United States v Garcia says it’s not a conspiracy to join a gang. She said that their fate is being determined without going to trial.

Okay. 3 hours and 30 minutes … and without the history lessons of Baarsma. Impressive.