Tacoma City Council Meeting - October 16, 2012

This week’s meeting was another fairly quick one.  Arbor Day is coming up this weekend, as is a certain election that you might have heard about.  This week we heard a few tips for voters, and a little about Tacoma’s trees.

CONSENT AGENDA

RESOLUTIONS

Resolution No. 38550 Authorizing the execution of a grant agreement with the Washington State Department of Ecology, in the amount of $710,000; accepting and depositing said sum into the Surface Water Fund; and authorizing the expenditure of $236,667 in matching City funds from the Surface Water Fund, for a total project cost of $946,667, to fund the replacement of certain failed roadways and sidewalks with new pervious pavement roadways and pervious concrete sidewalks within the Wapato Lake tributary area. [John O’Loughlin, Science and Engineering Division Manager; Dick McKinley, Director, Public Works]

Resolution No. 38551 Authorizing the execution of a grant agreement with the Washington State Department of Ecology, in the amount of $1,000,000; accepting and depositing said sum into the Surface Water Fund; and authorizing the expenditure of $487,800 in matching City funds from the Surface Water Fund, for a total project cost of $1,487,800, to fund the retrofitting of approximately two acres of existing parking lot at Cheney Stadium with porous asphalt and landscaping improvements. [John O’Loughlin, Science and Engineering Division Manager; Dick McKinley, Director, Public Works]

Resolution No. 38552 Authorizing the execution of a grant agreement with the Washington State Department of Ecology, in the amount of $1,000,000; accepting and depositing said sum into the Surface Water Fund; and authorizing the expenditure of $1,051,757 in matching City funds from the Surface Water Fund, for a total project cost of $2,051,757, to fund the regional stormwater treatment facility, which will be included in the redevelopment of a portion of Point Defiance Park. [John O’Loughlin, Science and Engineering Division Manager; Dick McKinley, Director, Public Works]

Resolution No. 38553 Authorizing the execution of a grant agreement with the Washington State Department of Ecology, in the amount of $1,000,000; accepting and depositing said sum into the Surface Water Fund; and authorizing the expenditure of $858,277 in matching City funds from the Surface Water Fund, for a total project cost of $1,858,277, to fund retrofit improvements related to the A Street stormwater line, including construction of a regional stormwater treatment facility and replacement of decaying infrastructure. [John O’Loughlin, Science and Engineering Division Manager; Dick McKinley, Director, Public Works]

All items on the Consent Agenda passed without comment.

PROCLAMATIONS, RECOGNITIONS, PRESENTATIONS, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
We had quite a few items this week.
Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson made a presentation on the November 6 election, with tips and facts about voting.

• You should have received your state and local voter’s pamphlets in the mail.
• Pamphlets are also available at local libraries, and the information is online at the Pierce County Auditor Elections page.
• It isn’t too late to register if you’re a brand new voter, but if you’re already registered and need to make changes, it’s too late for this go around.
• Anderson encouraged everyone to vote early, giving a reminder that votes not cast by 8 p.m. on Novembre 6 would not be counted.
• Ballots will be in the mail by the end of the week.
• If you have other questions, visit the election website, or call (253) 798-VOTE.

The Tacoma Commission on Disabilities presented two awards for exemplary service to individuals with disabilities:

• Ken Gibson, director of the Tacoma Area Coalition of Individuals with Disabilities (TACID), received the Professional Advocate award for his work.
• Nan Hogan received the Volunteer Advocate of the Year award for her dedication to improving parking for persons with disabilities in the City of Tacoma.

Mayor Strickland proclaimed Saturday, October 20, 2012 as Arbor Day and Green Tacoma Day in the City of Tacoma.

The Mayor also proclaimed October 2012 as Crime Prevention Month in the city of Tacoma, and encouraged everyone to invest in prevention efforts. 

PUBLIC COMMENT
Only one commenter spoke, taking the opportunity of the Mayor proclaiming Arbor Day to ask why, when Tacoma is designated as a “Tree City USA,” and identifies a goal of 30% urban tree canopy, the City doesn’t have laws against the removal of trees, like those in front of Kmart on 6th Avenue she says were “gutted” recently.

REGULAR AGENDA

COMMUNICATIONS

The Public Employment Relations Commission Notice to Employees will be read into the record.

A notice was read into the record relating to Washington Public Employment Relations Commission findings in which the City was found to have unlawfully interfered with employee rights in a case relating to an annual charity basketball game.  The City will remedy the situation, returning wages to members who participated.

RESOLUTIONS

Purchase Resolution No. 38554 Awarding a contract to: Coatings Unlimited, Inc., on its bid of $47,440, plus sales tax, budgeted from the Solid Waste Fund, for equipment sandblasting and painting services for fork boxes, drop-off boxes, and other equipment for an initial one-year term with the option to renew for four additional one-year terms, for a projected contract total of $237,200 – Specification No. PW12-0461F. [Gary Kato, Acting Solid Waste Management Division Manager; Dick McKinley, Director, Public Works]

The resolution was adopted without comment.

Resolution No. 38555 Authorizing the execution of a Memorandum of Agreement with South Sound 911 and Pierce County to clarify roles and responsibilities of all parties in connection with upgrades to the City’s public safety communications equipment and services, and similar upgrades for other South Sound 911 Member Agencies. [Tansy Hayward, Assistant City Manager]

This resolution addresses issues of aging and incompatible communications equipment for police and fire.  The MOA addresses five areas: purchasing, ownership, roles and responsibilities, use, and associated capital improvements.

Resolution No. 38556 Authorizing the execution of a Communications System Agreement with South Sound 911 and Motorola Solutions, Inc., for public safety communications equipment and services, which assigns project management responsibilities to the City. [Tansy Hayward, Assistant City Manager]

This three-party agreement says that SS911 will purchase the equipment, which Tacoma will be responsible for operating. 

FINAL READING OF ORDINANCES

Ordinance No. 28093 Amending Chapter 1.06 of the Municipal Code, relating to administration, establishing three new departments entitled Planning and Development Services, Neighborhood and Community Services, and Environmental Services; renaming the Legal Department to the City Attorney’s Office; and amending various sections of the Municipal Code to align with the newly established Environmental Services Department. [T.C. Broadnax, City Manager]

Mayor Strickland thanked Broadnax for rearranging departments to provide better service to Tacoma’s citizens.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None.

REPORTS BY THE CITY MANAGER
No report.

COMMENTS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS OF THE CITY COUNCIL

Government Performance and Finance Committee – Deputy Mayor Lonergan reported on topics discussed at recent meetings.

• The Local Employment and Apprenticeship Training Program (LEAP), which develops and trains the local workforce.
• Event permitting – including proposed changes, a new fee schedule, and transferring permitting from the City Clerk’s office to Community and Economic Development.
• The “P-card” program, which will streamline procurement processes for the City.
• The next meeting will include a discussion of Click rate changes and Tacoma Rail budget changes.

Councilmember Boe had a couple reminders for us.

• There is a new detour in place for Stadium Way, which is now closed for the next year.  There are signed detour routes, or if you tend to use the Stadium Way exit, which is no longer an option, shake things up and try a new route.
• November will be Art at Work Month in Tacoma, with events all month long, including opportunities to visit artists’ spaces around town, and see where they do their work.

Councilmember Ibsen also had a few comments.

• The latest round of community budget input meetings will kick off next Wednesday, October 24 at the Wheelock Library in Proctor from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.  Come on out and join the conversation.
• This Sunday, October 21, UWT will be hosting a free community health and fitness fair open to the public with free samples and demos.
• Ibsen shared a voting tip for avoiding political phone calls – vote early, and you should get dropped from a lot of lists.  It could save both you and the campaigns time.

ADJOURNMENT

So there you have it.  Go enjoy the sunshine, and don’t forget to vote.  Early and often…