Council Meeting: May 5, 2008

These are some of my notes from this meeting. There was more discussion than I could capture here, so please attend the meetings or order a recording yourself from Town Hall. Thanks for staying informed and involved! ~ Karen

The meeting began at about 7 pm. I was in the hallway waiting to sign up to speak on agenda items until 7:10 pm (per new council rules). It appeared that the ordinance increasing the gambling tax was postponed until the May 27th study session.

The electrical consultant hired by Ruston to oversee both The Commencement and Point Ruston developments was on hand to explain why he decided to have the underground lines installed as they were at the school alley on 53rd Street.

There was discussion (as outlined in the notes from Huitt-Zollars) about the discrepancy in Ruston’s codes for when council approval is required on permits. In the past, street obstruction permits were handled administratively, but the council interpreted the code to require their approval. Council Member Albertson proposed a cease and desist order for the Commencement under this interpretation, but the town attorney notified him that permits could not be changed after they had been issued. The mayor confirmed that any emergency sewer repair that required a street cut would then need council approval. The motion passed 5-0.

The council was informed that they must take action to implement the schedule and work outlined in the state grant at tonight’s meeting or the grant would be rescinded. The mayor felt there was too much work involved in tracking which work was reimbursable and recommended giving the money back. The council moved to terminate the contract with the state, which passed 4-1. Hedrick voted against, noting he did not believe we should leave money on the table.

The outstanding bills from Huitt-Zollars were approved without any more explanation beyond the notes provided. Council Member Huson then moved to terminate Huitt-Zollars services as soon as possible. Alberston berated what he called the mayor’s interference with the council’s attempts to negotiate with Tacoma’s planning department for services.

Hedrick stated he thought this was a vendetta by the council against Huitt-Zollars (as evidenced with Albertson calling them the ‘Freddy Kruger of Ruston’ at the last meeting). He felt the town should have other planning services secured before terminating this contract. The mayor pointed out that any building permit needing planning services would be put on hold (i.e. current projects underway) or not issued (for new permit applications). Albertson said current developers he had spoken with would prefer to wait for a new planner. The mayor cautioned that based on his conversations with the Tacoma city manager, it would be at least 45 days until Tacoma’s services could be secured. The motion passed 4-1.

Point Ruston noted that they have received the foundation permit for the development on the Tacoma side. The dirt movement at the south end of the site was to prepare the basement for this building. They are working on the shoreline permit process (I think Ruston has a different consultant for this permit than Huitt-Zollars).

The town attorney asked if the resolution supporting a change to a council-manger form of government was having its first reading tonight (per the new council rules). The timing of the election for this measure was discussed and the council wanted it passed at this meeting so it could be placed on the August 12th primary ballot. It was pointed out that more residents would likely be voting in the November primary election, but the motion passed 5-0.

Resolutions 416 and 417 passed with little discussion (supporting Point Ruston and the agreement outlining the process for negotiating the developers agreement).

Instead of the ordinance on gambling taxes, Albertson unexpectedly passed out a new resolution authorizing the council to negotiate with Tacoma for planning services. The mayor expressed disappointment that this resolution did not reflect the good faith agreement he thought he had reached with the council on how to proceed. Council Member Hunt said this was only an attempt to follow the instructions of Tacoma Council Member Manthou. She tried to change the wording so that the mayor would also be authorized to negotiate on this issue. Her request was denied.

Hedrick noted he was only supporting this because the town now had no planning services. The mayor felt that services with Tacoma should be set up on a direct hourly rate rather than a fee schedule. Tacoma’s fee schedule uses an average cost (some actual costs are below, some are above the average), which might not be a fair way to pay for Ruston’s services. Council members, in their talks with Tacoma’s planning department, had not explored this approach yet. The resolution passed 5-0.

Sally Everding (wife of former council member Bob Everding and editor of the Ruston Connection web page) was authorized to correct scrivener’s errors as she codifies Ruston’s codes.
Appointments of the council liaison (as required in the new council rules) were postponed until the May 12th study session. The tree committee issue was also postponed.

There were a few public comments. The mayor briefly discussed the problem with the sewer pump station at the credit union. He will have the town attorney look into the issue.
The meeting adjourned a little after 10 pm with no council time.

Here is the surprise resolution: