Study Session: June 9, 2008

The meeting began at 7 pm with Council Member Stebner arriving as roll call was taken. The agenda was approved after switching items 2 and 3.

1. Mo Fesharaki, Ruston Electrical Consultant: After hearing from Tacoma on the proposal to add a second feeder to Ruston's electrical system, Mr. Fesharaki now recommends that we no longer pursue this option (see packet for details). Tacoma now wants a contract with Ruston if they are going to continue to provide power. Tacoma must find ways to get 15% of their power from new renewable sources, such as solar and wind by 2020 and undertake cost-effective energy conservation which can be very costly. This new contract gives Tacoma some protection against these costs and the stranded conservation cost needs to be recovered should Ruston decides to switch to BPA after say a few years. Mr. Fesharaki thought that Ruston was probably the only Tacoma Power customer that resells the power it purchases. Ruston does not have a special rate, but buys power as part of class of customers. There are other customers that buy power in this class besides Ruston.

Ruston has the option of buying power from Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) or from Tacoma. The cost is approximately1 cent less per kilowatt hour with BPA, but Ruston would have to pay to install a telemetering equipment. The cost for a meter could be as much as $100,000, but Ruston could petition to have that cost waived. The decision to waive the cost would be made after Ruston requests to purchase power from BPA. Council Member Hunt wants to meet with Tacoma and Mr. Fesharaki to get a better understanding of the issues. Stebner confirmed that Tacoma would not charge to use their lines to have BPA deliver power to Ruston (this is according to BPA representative). Ruston could save about $55,000 with BPA, but may have to pay for the meter.

2. Stack Hill Update: Gary Pederson gave a slide presentation regarding Stack Hill final plat. In order to get the final plat for this development approved in time to get on the assessors tax rolls this year, quick action is needed. Point Ruston is asking for 2 changes to the development plan that were added by the council after planning commission approval last summer: 1) make the side yard set backs 7.5' rather than 10' (7.5' is the normal residential requirement in the rest of town) and 2) reinstate a building lot at the end of the view corridor that was eliminated when the preliminary plat was approved. Point Ruston had a display board showing the elevations/views and reasoning for their proposal that is available for viewing by calling their office (I'll list a phone number here tomorrow). John Anderson, who lives on Commercial Street , protested the reinstatement of the building lot and the reduction in length of the view corridor, but Hunt reminded him there would be a public hearing where his concerns could be heard.

After further discussion, the mayor confirmed his intention to have the council serve as the planning commission on this issue. Point Ruston will send notice of a public hearing tomorrow, to be held on June 25th for an ordinance to approve the final plat and make these two changes to the development plan. The town will need to designate Sound Inspections as the Town Engineer for this project at its meeting next week. It sounds like the council may suspend their rule for a second reading on this ordinance and make a decision on it the same night as the public hearing in order to get the final plat recorded and on the property tax rolls by July 1, 2008 for 2009 tax collections.

Any work that has not been completed yet will be bonded to insure it will be done. Stebner asked what would happen if the LID was not approved (the developer would bear the cost of the LID). Council Member Alberston confirmed that Stack Hill is part of one large tax parcel that includes the lower waterfront portion, all of which is he thought was assessed at about $5 per year right now. This plat approval breaks off Stack Hill from the larger parcel and puts about $8 million in raw land value on the rolls for 2009 (about $15,000 property tax income for Ruston). As homes are built, the improvements are added to the tax rolls. Huson thought the next council meeting would have to be continued to June 25th rather than holding a special meeting.

3. Point Ruston Services: Point Ruston has asked Ruston to consider giving the utilities to Tacoma on all the lower property. This will give Point Ruston cost savings and efficiencies as they build the infrastructure. The City of Tacoma has asked for a resolution from Ruston stating that the mayor and council agree to begin negotiations to have Tacoma take over Ruston's services (such as building and planning). Huson wants to talk to Tacoma about having Tacoma provide all public services to the entire Point Ruston property to include:

• power
• water
• sewer
• storm water
• streets
• garbage and solid waste
• police
• fire
• Click! (broadband Internet service)

Stebner asked why Point Ruston even wanted to be in Ruston if they wanted all their services provided by Tacoma. Mike Cohen and JJ Mc Cament offered assurances that they want to remain part of Ruston. Their primary request was to have the utilities served by Tacoma. This proposal does not include Stack Hill. Stebner wanted more information on what the costs would be. Hunt felt there would not be any answers until negotiations began. She noted that Ruston may want to give all the electrical services to Tacoma so residents could qualify for Click!.

Alberston confirmed with Cohen that only half the retail development will be done when the hotel opens in 2014, the rest will be built based on market demand. Cohen noted the Ruston is prohibited from making a profit from its utilities, but Mr. Fesharaki mentioned that the Point Ruston development and the existing services would provide a gross revenue of about $530,000 annually for the electric reserve, which could be used for system upgrades and repairs throughout the entire system (in other parts of town). It appeared the council would entertain a resolution to negotiate with Tacoma for providing all public services to Point Ruston.

The meeting adorned about 8:25 pm.