OK, IT’ ALL MY FAULT…I’LL TAKE ALL THE BLAME!!!

Recent council member Del Brewer sets the record straight:

February 11, 2008

OK, IT’ ALL MY FAULT…I’LL TAKE ALL THE BLAME!!!

'Seems like all to often in our modern, progressive world that solutions and resolving of problems starts when someone is willing to take the blame, the hit, the fall and move on.

So kick me, poke me, run me out of town…..and then the rest of you can get on with banding together, supporting instead of dividing and make the dream come true by making the ugly duckling little smelter town the handsome Prince (or Princess) that it so richly deserves to be.

Now, if you are really interested (ahhh..here it comes) please allow me to share and maybe clear the way with the FACTS:

* Ruston would not be in this period of conflict if a previous administration had not done something (in contrast to more recent ones) and put a nest egg of four and three-eights million dollars in the bank.

The reason: RUSTON would not exist.

Ruston was almost broke and getting there fast. For those who do not believe that and feel we could have pulled it out by having bake sales…. why did the town have to already dip into the nest egg last year to the tune of a quarter million???

Ruston would not exist, the area would likely and painfully be an unincorporated part of Pierce County waiting to be annexed by Tacoma…to the glee of some.

* The previous administration realized that doing something with the Town’s sole remaining major asset was likely to be the only realistic hope. An idea expressed as early as 1998 by none other than Councilmember Mary Joyce in the meeting notes that were clear and complete enough to know what actually happened at the meeting.

* A professional (ha!) appraisal of the school and all of the property was done and paid for ($6.5K I recall). Results: Total value; $1.2 Million (and hinted that if we tore down that ugly old building….the value might increase a bit).

* Word went out to the “development community” and at the end of the ’offering period’, five responses were in hand. Two of them basically said, “sure, we’ll give you $1.2M for it; then figure it out, be fools not to! Another one said, “how about you give our long standing and trusted planning company about $350,000 to study the problem and we’ll use that in addition to the years of data already collected, known and paid for to tell you what the best direction is for you dummies.”

One said, we’ll give you the $1.2 M for the whole package and build market rate apartments and allow a few spaces for retail shops and some community space.

The other one said, keep your school building and parking lots because we realize it is important to many of the town folks. We’ll pay the full price and throw in several bonus items like a $100K that you’ll never be likely to get from the bankrupt ASARCO groupo and remodel the school to become the Town Hall and build a Fire Station/Utility Building to improve the current facilities. We’ll use the lower vacant property to construct Upper End Condominiums that will generate on going revenue for the Town every time one of the Condos changes hands by being sold in the future.

So, being the brainless lackey that I am (recent assessment) and realizing that a multi-story condo project would be a bit out of context for the neighborhood, the trade off seemed the better of the two offers for several reasons. (1) HOPE, the sale would give hope dollars to bridge the gap until hopefully the ASARCO issues were resolved and development a la income would buoy the Town for the future. (2) Market rate apartments with multi-million dollar views of Commencement Bay, unheard of. Plus as that business goes, the year after normal wear and tear starts taking its toll, appearance starts to run down and maintenance cost rise, the complex gets sold to a investment group, foreign likely as not! (3) Change happens, something had to be done and the sands of time were sifting through the hour glass much too quickly.

After talking to several commercial real estatebrokers , I was convinced the we were WAY under priced for the land and brought back to the council a set of figures to support that. Negotiations with chips from both sides proceeded and a final purchase and sale agreement was signed for almost FOUR times the appraisal price for 40% of the property.

* Some folks did not like that decision. Imagine that!! The ‘market rate apartment’ folks launched an all out and very effective crusade to throw the bums out with the next election and take over Town government. Worked pretty well to except their hand picked Mayor has turned out not to be their YES man; but, that is being dealt with now.

Ironic how with all the friction, one of the first questions on the list and lips of the ’become Tacomacommittee’ that covertly met with Tacoma’s Mayor a few weeks after taking the oath of office was….CAN WE KEEP OUR MONEY?

* Five points of the agreement that some folks did not like were worked on and four of them were positively resolved by the interim council leaving the long term lease for efforts at a later date. It would seem that success on four of five and the fifth still on the table that a resolution could still be realized until a couple of council members dug their heels in on the issue of getting the school auditorium emptied so that ballet practice could get underway. Not to worry, that only cost the Town tens of thousands of dollars in rental revenue, plus a lawsuit scheduled for the end of this month. Don’t know what the outcome will be….. just wait for the legal costs on that one.

* Time passes, someone new owns the former ASARCO property and does have a plan. The condominium project is underway and based on what we have seen of the POINT RUSTON plans, The Commencement may turn out to be more of a transition link to the size and style of the lower shoreline development to Ruston than one might think.

The preceding is background and my perspective for people new to Ruston, those looking for newspaper filler or the spin doctors and their agenda. I love this little town and never expected to leave it until I assumed room temperature. As many of you know, family and personal reasons have taken us in a new and very different direction. I deeply appreciate having had the opportunity to serve on theTown Council for more than three full terms. Thank you.

I want Ruston to survive and prosper. It can if there is the will. I am pleased to see Town Council meetings well attended, it sure beats ‘ the hallowed and hollow’ halls we sat in for far to many years. The years to come should and can be the best ever and they will be for someone because this area can not be over looked. The potential is over the top in to many ways to count. SO, get passed the tug of war, get on the same end of the rope, dig in and pull together against the obstacles that are plentiful enough without them being yourselves. Establish and concentrate on the vision, the repairs, state and federal help, sewers and underground utilities.

Unite and support the Fire Department, it’s a work inprogress. It can sustain for the next several years and then transition into whatever the needs are as we come to know what the needs really are down the road. What is important is that they have proven time and time again that they can save your life, your families lives today and tonight !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Again, I am willing to take all the blame in an accountability free society. Spit on my grave if you must (just watch out for the recoil !) and for the good of this wonderful little piece of paradise make a plan, work for the common good, set goals, believe and achieve them and future generations will honor your labors and selflessness in one of the most beautiful places on God’s green and blue Earth.

Let me come back and visit from time to time. I look forward to being very pleasantly surprised.

Sincerely with Care and Best Wishes for ALL,
Porkchop (aka: Del A. Brewer)

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