Tacoma City Council Meeting - November 12, 2013

CONSENT AGENDA

RESOLUTIONS

Resolution No. 38770 A resolution setting Tuesday, November 26, 2013, at approximately 5:30 p.m., as the date for a public hearing by the City Council on the proposed 2015-2020 Six-Year Comprehensive Transportation Improvement Program and proposed amendments to the 2013-2014 program. [Jennifer Kammerzell, Engineer; Kurtis D. Kingsolver, P.E., Interim Director, Public Works]

Resolution No. 38771 A resolution setting Tuesday, November 26, 2013, at approximately 5:30 p.m., as the date for a public hearing by the City Council on the proposed modifications to the 2013-2014 Biennial Budget. [Tadd Wille, Budget Officer; Andy Cherullo, Director, Finance]

The full consent agenda was adopted without comment.

PUBLIC COMMENT

No comment this week.

REGULAR AGENDA

APPOINTMENTS

Resolution No. 38772 A resolution appointing and reappointing individuals to the Foss Waterway Development Authority. [Doris Sorum, City Clerk; Elizabeth Pauli, City Attorney]

Two current members were reappointed and two new individuals were appointed to the FWDA, which focuses on development along the Foss Waterway.

RESOLUTIONS

Resolution No. 38773 A resolution creating a Charter Review Committee, consisting of 15 citizens, to review the City Charter and make recommendations for change as the committee may deem necessary and proper; and submitting its recommendations and findings to the City Council on or before May 6, 2014. [Doris Sorum, City Clerk; Elizabeth Pauli, City Attorney]

Tacoma's Charter requires review every 10 years by a citizen charter review committee. This was last done in 2004, so it's time to do it again. This resolution creates the Charter Review Committee, which will be made up of 15 citizens. Each council member and the mayor will recommend an individual for the committee, and applications will be available to the public as well in the City Clerk's office, at cityoftacoma.org/cbc, or by calling (253) 591-5505 to receive an application in the mail. The deadline for applications is December 4, with selected committee members to begin work in the new year, and recommendations to be sent to Council by May 2014. Applicants should expect to make a significant commitment of both time and effort to the project. In 2004 the full committee met 18 times, ith 37 sub-committee meetings, two public hearings and 32 presentations. 

FINAL READING OF ORDINANCES

Ordinance No. 28184 An ordinance amending Subtitle 6B of the Municipal Code, relating to licenses, by amending Section 6B.160.025; and repealing Chapter 6B.190 relating to Scrap Metal and Recyclable Material Dealers in its entirety; and amending Chapter 8.37 relating to Theft, by adding a new Section 8.37.115 Metal Businesses - “Unlawful Acts and Exceptions,” to comply with state law. [Danielle Larson, Tax and License Division Manager; Andy Cherullo, Director, Finance]

The ordinance passed unanimously with no further comment.

PUBLIC HEARINGS AND APPEALS

This was the date set for a public hearing by the City Council on the proposed Ad Valorem levies for General Property taxes and Emergency Medical Services for 2014. [Tadd Wille, Budget Officer; Andy Cherullo, Director, Finance]

The hearing covered two City of Tacoma property tax levies - the regular property tax levy that goes to the General Fund, and the emergency medical services levy that funds Tacoma Fire Department's EMS functions. Assessed property values in Tacoma re up 3.5% for 2013 over 2012 levels, but that comes after a 2011 to 2012 decrease of $9.27%, leaving the total still $5 billion short of the 2009 high. There was no public comment following the staff presentation, possibly because the rest of the public is still as fuzzy as we feel on the details of this one. We're not confident we can summarize the presentation clearly (was it clear to anyone?), so here it is for your watching pleasure:

CITIZENS’ FORUM

This month's Citizens' Forum had better turnout than we've seen in recent months. A group of citizens representing a coalition of organizations including Occupy Tacoma, among others, presented the Council with a suggested draft resolution opposing coal trains in Washington State. Nine commenters spoke to the resolution - first reading it in full, then adding comments in support. We heard about environmental, health, and safety consequences of coal trains. One speaker voiced opposition to the proposal, countering with an argument that the coal will find its way to China one way or another, and that the trains would bring jobs and money to Washington ports.

We also heard from some Citizens' Forum regulars, including a citizen who renewed his request that the Council and City Manager look in to racial issues within the Tacoma Police Department. Another regular speaker shared his ... concerns ... about everyone from John Ladenburg to President Obama and Jesse Ventura. He's a little hard to follow, but there's definitely some sort of conspiracy afoot. Another speaker returned to once again ask Council to encourage people to commute, rather than driving single-occupant vehicles. This month he added an interesting thread about the importance of homeownership, and the negative effects of all this multi-unit development going on in Tacoma. Rounding out the list of commenters, we heard from a new resident of Tacoma, asking that the Council look for a way to either preserve the graffiti garages as they are, or find a new location to allow the public to have the same kind of physical interaction with alternative art forms. An MSW student from UWT shared with the Council some of the work he and other volunteers do through the Long-term Care Ombudsman program, in which they serve as advocates for residents of a variety of long-term care facilities in the area. 

We also heard from Chelsea Levy of Sound Transit about the long-range planning process Sound Transit is undertaking. Separate from the Tacoma Link Expansion conversation, the ST long-range planning will consider the future of transit for the whole ST district from Dupont to Everett, and east to Bellevue. This long-range plan represents the vision for transit in our region, which currently accounts for more than 40% of the population of Washington State, with more growth forecast for the future. The current ST plan includes more than 400 projects, and the new plan will guide the direction of future transit. The current scoping period continues through November 25, including a meeting in Tacoma next Monday, November 18 at the Convention Center, with the presentation beginning at 6:15. This meeting, and others being held around the region are opportunities for the public to talk about current and future projects and plans, to ask questions, and to give feedback on future directions for transit. If you can't make a meeting, you can also call or write Sound Tansit. Either way, they want to hear your ideas.

COMMENTS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS OF THE CITY COUNCIL

Councilmember Walker reminded us that Thanksgiving is coming, and that not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to afford to prepare a full holiday feast. She invites everyone to join Stewart Middle School and Safe Streets in their food drive by dropping off donations of food at the Safe Streets office at 622 Tacoma Avenue South.

Councilmember Boe mentioned that if you miss the phone number for any City services or any of the application processes, dialing 311 in Tacoma will take you to the City's main switchboard, where they can direct you do the proper department. Boe also shared that Pacific Avenue Streetscape work is drawing ever closer to completion. Paving is done on the streets and sidewalks have been installed. He once again encourages everyone to come on down and support local businesses affected by the construction. As a final note, Boe encourages everyone to join the Broadway Center for their annual sing-along, which this year will feature songs from Grease. The sing-along is followed by the 68th Annual Holiday Tree Lighting, which begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Pantages Lobby. 

Councilmember Thoms was absent from this week's meeting.

ADJOURNMENT

For more on the items on this week's agenda, see our City Business Preview for the week.