Tacoma City Council Meeting - Oct. 27th, 2009
Tonight’s City Council meeting was a relatively calm affair featuring a chatty Mayor Baarsma. Councilmember Talbert is still out sick … maybe next week. Items on the agenda included parking pay stations, cable tv franchise agreements, and the transfer of City parks to Metro Parks. Here are our notes:
PROCLAMATIONS
- Mayor Bill Baarsma proclaimed November as Art at Work Month in Tacoma. More information at ArtAtWorkTacoma.org
- Mayor Bill Baarsma proclaimed Oct 27th, 2009 is TAPCO Credit Union Day.
- Mayor Bill Baarsma proclaimed November as Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month in Tacoma.
REGULAR AGENDA
RESOLUTIONS
Purchase Resolution No. 37903 awards a contract to Piper Jaffray & Co., in the amount of $275,000 for bond underwriting services in connection with the proposed issuance of 2009 Limited Tax General Obligation Bonds for certain capital improvements within the city.
Resolution No. 37904 authorizes the execution of Amendment No. 4 to the agreement for legal services with Moss & Barnett, in the amount of $50,000, for a cumulative total of $305,000, budgeted from the IT Municipal Cable TV Fund, for legal services in connection with telecommunications, cable, open video, and private communications systems.
Resolution No. 37905 authorizes the conveyance of 22 City-owned parks and associated parcels to the Metropolitan Park District of Tacoma. This resolution follows the November 6th, 2008 interlocal agreement that consolidated park services under Metro Parks. The process has taken some time to finalize the deeds and terms.
Resolution No. 37906 authorizes the conveyance of Wright Park to the Metropolitan Park District of Tacoma. Essentially, this resolution cures a long standing title issue that will allow Metro Parks to get grants for the park. The ordinance that created Metro Parks in 1906 intended to include Wright Park, but title conveyance was not completed. Oops.
FINAL READING OF ORDINANCES
Ordinance No. 27839 amends Chapter 11.05 of the Municipal Code, relating to parking restrictions, by repealing and reenacting Sections 11.05.240 and 11.05.250, granting the City Manager, or his or her designee, the authority to establish school zones and on-street parking restrictions within the city.
Substitute Ordinance No. 27840 amends Chapter 11.05 of the Municipal Code, relating to the implementation of parking pay stations, by reenacting Section 11.05.260, establishing parking rates for parking pay stations based on market rates; incorporating revenues into the Parking Enterprise Fund; and authorizing the City Manager to manage the parking system with the assistance of a citizen advisory committee. Previously discussed back in August.
FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES
Ordinance No. 27843 Amending Chapter 12.13 of the Municipal Code, relating to Click! Network TV Products, to increase rates for cable television products and related services. This ordinance will be back for final reading next week.
PUBLIC HEARINGS AND APPEALS
This evening was the date set for public hearing on the proposed ten-year franchise agreement with Comcast of Tacoma and the proposed ten year agreement with Click! Network to provide cables services in the City of Tacoma. The only member of the public to speak was Mr. Alan Douglas … twice.
That’s it. Are you ready for parking meters in downtown Tacoma?
Filed under: City-Council, City-Council
11 comments
J Jesse October 28, 2009
Ord. 27840 authorizes parking meters but Ord. 27839 authorizes on-street parking restrictions. Are we talking about zone parking with applied for permits just outside of the pay for parking zone? I would think if that’s the case, the city is preparing to eliminate parking requirements downtown all together and go for all market rate parking. No?
C Christine October 28, 2009
Does 27839 have anything to do with all the crazy lane changes and suicide-worthy bike paths on places like S. 12th and N.21st?
P Papasan October 28, 2009
Someone down at City Hall had better tune in to the A&E channel (Channel 50 on Click) and watch a few episodes of “Parking Wars” to see what they are getting themselves into. Enforcement officers, Wheel Boots, Tow Trucks, Impound lots. Assaults, angry citizens and frustration.
Also, will the Anderson Plan factor in an adequate number of disabled parking permits per block? Will Disabled Parkers be discounted? You just don’t realize how much business you are going to drive OUT of Downtown, but you will.
M Mike October 28, 2009
How can you drive business out of downtown when there’s no business to begin with? There’s a Subway, a Tullys, a few shops nobody actually goes to, and some bars. At 5pm the suits leave and it’s a ghost town. The simple truth, is that in 1964 the Tacoma Mall buried the coffin that is Downtown, and it’ll never recover. Bring on the meters so I don’t have to rally my car around every two hours.
M Mofo from the Hood October 28, 2009
The obsession with parking in Tacoma—-Its taken on the status of deciding the fate of the planet.
When I walk from the Stadium District down Broadway to as far as the Convention Center, I pass hundreds diagonal parking spaces plus several multi-level garages.
Just from 7th to 15th and from Broadway to A Street I can think of nine public garages. I know there’s more, plus surface lots, within those parameters.
How did downtown function before the mythic Tacoma Mall lured all the retail customers and then caused City Hall to demolish blocks of buildings and narrow the streets?
D Douglas Tooley October 28, 2009
On Comcast, what’s the deal with Net Neutrality and the whole Comcast/BitTorrent/FCC thing not too long ago?
J joey October 28, 2009
From what I gather in the TNT, there is no net gain in revenue to the city from this new parking effort. There is an upfront outlay, which the revenue will ultimately pay back, and then the revenue will just perpetuate the parking system (meters, maids, maintenance). So why are we doing this? What is the ultimate positive good that we are going to all this trouble for? I am surprised it is going into effect so easily.
M Mofo from the Hood October 28, 2009
So this new government system of parking regulation will generate revenue for government employees.
More parking spaces = More revenue.
Is there a historical correlation with the mythic Tacoma Mall and demolishing downtown buildings and narrowing downtown streets?
First, the sphere of operation for independent retail was significantly reduced.
Although recently new space became available for retail at Pacific Plaza on 13th & Pacific. Yet I’ve read that the developer is pursuing a government agency to rent the space.
At comment 7 joey says that he’s surprised that the new government program is going into effect so easily.
What economic system replaces capitalism? Evolutionary speaking.
T tressie October 28, 2009
I think it’s time for a Chicken Soup Vending Machine….to replace the parking kiosks……….Sorry Kurtis Kingsolver…you do not rule the parking domain at all anymore….
D DavidS October 30, 2009
@1: Ord. 27839?
Ord. 27839 is about allowing staff to authorize the creation of all parking zones. Previously, if a time zone needed to change from 1hr to 2hr it could only be completed through an ordinance to the City Council that changed the City’s regulations. (A bit of public process overkill in my opinion.) Now it will be up to staff to determine a process for these changes as they are no longer codified.
P Papasan November 1, 2009
@#10.
Great, so parking regulations will be regulated by a faceless beurocrat that answers to nobody!
Also parking related: A Resident came up with a great idea of having volunteers cite parking scofflaws in shopping centers such as Westgate. It was a great plan following one that is working well in other localities such as Lakewood.
City Manager Anderson, instead kissed the butts of the Union and promised to hire 3 more enforcement officers to patrol primarily shopping centers such as Westgate. Have they been hired? If so, are they actually doing patrols as promised, or are they just an addition to all the officers downtown? Can anyone at Exit 133 check this out?