The Tacoma Weekly has an article outlining Council Member Albertson's speech at the last council meeting where Albertson cited all the reasons he thinks Ruston should consider annexing to Tacoma.
I am far from neutral on this issue. Keeping Ruston alive and well is the main reason I manage this blog. There are many, many important facts that Albertson does not address and this one-sided article does not even cover the arguments presented at the meeting in favor of keeping our town intact. We have much more at stake than just loosing a neighborhood name. Even those outside Ruston recognize the value of maintaining our small town in the midst of modern suburbia. (see discussion here and Heineman's story here as a start)
Karen
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23 comments:
One sided article? The reporter is covering the subject that was brought up at the Council meeting, not the whole subject of annexation.
When you look at Ruston's situation, annexation makes total good, responsible sense. Fiscally we're in a deep pit, digging deeper every day. Our Council and mayor haven't done one thing to reduce our spending, and that may be because without spending the way we are, we can't support the new salaries and positions that were recommended for the police department, etc.
With the economy worsening, it would not be at all surprising to see Pt Ruston delayed significantly or even fail financially. You need to look at these issues squarely and conclude what Ruston's options are. Annexation has much going for it.
Somewhere filed in the back of my mind, I recall the small town of Garden City, ID. It's mostly surrounded by Boise and at one time tried to just get Boise to annex it. At the time, the Boise council decided they didn't want it and declined.
I worry about that. Should Ruston be forced to unincorporate, what makes anyone so sure that Tacoma would annex it?
Beth left this comment earlier today - I made one small edit...
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Albertson was appointed by his friends and he continues to carry their banner of annexation after most of them have left the stage. Albertson was NOT elected by the citizens. He does not represent my best interests in any way shape or form by continuing to focus on annexation. I do not need to be bombarded with his retoric at every meeting and be told it is for my own good to be given a choice. It shows me he is too busy preparing his speeches for annexation which leaves him no time to do anything positive to protect our Town. Others before him have made it work in worse times than we have now.
To Beth and Ruston Home,
What worse times do you refer to? And who are the 'others' that you say made it work in the past? Do you mean the Great Depression of 1929? That is the only worse time economically than this period that we've ever gone through.
The Commencement has failed; it is now only completing the few units that have sold. If it recovers it won't be for a long while.
There is very little activity on the Asarco site. With building permits being held up by Tacoma and the banks holding on to their money, it's not far off the mark that Cohen's project is at a near standstill, or more optimistically, has at least a long period of slow down until it gets financing.
These are legitimate wakeup calls and Ruston should look hard at what is the best course to take while we still have some assets. We should not continue to overspend and then look for solutions at the point when we're broke.
Tacoma won't want to deal with Ruston if we can't offer to carry some of the financial weight of paying for our very serious infrastructure problems.
We should look at all our options right now. Mr. Albertson is correct, whether one likes him or not.
The rougher were when Ruston lost its major tax base when the smelter shut down in 1985. Ruston lost $800,000 in annual B&O tax - a huge deal in 1985 dollars. The budget didn't balance several of the years that followed, but we pulled through.
The fact that the last commenter did not know this basic information about Ruston shows they clearly do not have any history here, and apparently have not cared to learn much about who we are. Our past is what makes us what we are today and its lessons should not be ignored. The lesson in this instance is that we can make it through this rough time again.
I am concerned about the allegations about the local development projects. Nothing noted in the last comment is confirmed publicly. Either the commenter has inside knowledge or its conjecture. It does not help build your case to base your arguments on rumors.
In the oath of office for council members, Albertson and Stebner swore to do everything they could to make Ruston better, to support and build this community. Their actions to pursue dissolving the town are just the opposite. They are in a position of trust that is being betrayed.
Some of the arguments this article missed, that were clearly stated at the meeting, are the fact that these council members are not doing what they are elected or appointed to do. We are 6 weeks into a deficit budget, way too soon to cut and run. Another major point by Council Member Hedrick is that every level of government is running at a deficit right now. Just because Ruston faces the same issue is not a reason to try to annex to Tacoma.
“Exploring our options before we go broke” does not rise to the level of justifying negotiations with Tacoma for annexation. I agree with Beth, Albertson and Stebner would better serve this community by putting their abundant energy to use looking for ways to strengthen Ruston, not destroy it.
Did anyone read last Sundays Tacoma News Tribune (February 8th 2009)and wonder why Ruston was not mentioned in the front page artical "Who'll get what?" and the insert on the back of section A titled "REQUESTS FOR STIMULUS MONEY"? I was embarrassed and appalled that our representitives ie council & mayor did not see fit to respond to this article. I'm sure it is not too late to contact the paper to add our intensions to the list. The council meeting, before this paper hit the streets, had our projects on the agenda.
Are our representitives preparing to present or apply for the federal stimulus package for our infrastructure needs? This is a critical avenue to pursue!
Are our representitives ie the council & our mayor doing everything they can to cut the fat?
Have our representitives ie the council & mayor met with each dept.and asked the dept heads to suggest the best cuts they can live with until the worlds gets on better footing?
Have our representitives & mayor asked the community ie US what we can do to help the town?
We are not alone in this mess. As Karen said we are only 6 weeks into this budget. I honestly believe we do have the resources(people)and the history which gives us the strength to show who we are and how it works to be a Town that cares!
We can either throw up our arms and say "I'm tired of the fight, let's 'explore' annexation" or throw up our arms and say "bring it on, we can make it work".
Life is about choices and it is time to choose.
I choose annexation.
I do not have confidence in what either Karen or Beth has argued, and I do not have confidence that the mayor and council can handle years of major deficit spending to try to survive.
As for history, fine if you remember it; today is a whole new ball game.
It doesn't help us for you to continually blame Stebner and Albertson for the mess Ruston is in. The rest of the council and mayor(s) have just as much responsibility.
Haven't you noticed for the past 3 months that the Commencement and Point Ruston haven't had anything but a few workers on site and haven't you noticed that the trucks and equipment mostly sit parked on the sites? Doesn't that mean slow down to you? It does to the people on my street near the (lack of) action.
I say, 'bring it on' - we can make annexation work.
I live in the area of the Commencement development and work 10 feet away from the building. I have not seen any decrease in activity other than work has moved indoors. The council asked the contractor to address parking problems in the neighborhood, so they have found ways to not park as many employees on the streets. If this observation is used to justify making a very large and damaging assumption, its way off base - and certianly not a reason to give up on Ruston.
I don't blame Albertson and Stebner for the mess we're in I blame them for not being the representitives they vowed to be when they took their oath of office. Yes today is a whole new ball game and we do need to get in the game and write the rule book! I do not envy the job our council, mayor or the town employees have. In times like this it is the most thankless job there is. We are all in this together and all of us can carry some responsibility. I do believe the rest of the council and mayor are doing what they can to not roll-over and scream annex me. I thank them all for their tireless efforts including our staff & employees.
As for The Commencemnt and Point Ruston they are in the game. At least my lunch crowd of workers show up everyday and support the local businesses. Thanks guys!
Now that is where we could cut some fat...quit dragging everyone in to court, settle some of these messes out of court and move forward..novel concept. Maybe we could use the extra savings to pay our 'locator' bills.
Your observations about percieved troubles with the construction projects need a bit more reserch to qualify for "legitimate wake-up calls". It is that type of irresponsible talk that hurts our town.
Fewer workers, fewer parked cars on the street.
Damaging? Why do you say that, Karen? Because some of your neighbors have opinions that there's a drop in the work on the condo building, should they be afraid to say so on this blog?
No one who has posted a comment so far has pointed to the condo building as the reason Ruston has financial problems. What I read is worry about this town's financial future.
People should be asking lots of questions about Ruston's money problems. You give them the chance to do that on your blog and if you don't agree with them, then you put them down for asking.
Will the world come to an end if Ruston annexes or doesn't?
No, your right, the world won't come to an end just our quality of life. My fingers are getting tired of this conversation how about joining in on the local discussions at the market? They get pretty good and not one sided at all.
A comment came in tonight complaining about how this blog is managed. It is available on the Free Ruston site (www.freeruston.proboards.com)
This comment came in tonight. I edited out one part of the last sentence that did not seem to me to speaking to this debate. The full comment is available on Free Ruston.
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Beth you say you are tired of this one sided conversation. This is a two or three sided conversation, but I guess you haven't noticed that. When one person says he's ready to annex, another person says basically, why do you argue so much against the annexation concept and that the world wont come to an end either way, and then you and karen say you don't want annexation, well that's a real debate, not what goes on in your market ....
February 13, 2009 9:50 PM
Wow, I just went to Free Ruston and read the comments posted by someone who is unhappy with your attitude, Karen. I recommend everyone go and read it. It sums up neatly what so many of us think about you, your supporters and your blog.
and how would you know what goes on in the market?
Why are you pushing the Free Ruston blog? I looked at it yesterday and it's a dead zone - dull. It looks like you post more than any of the other nine members.
It is a cemetery for messages sent to you on Ruston Home blog.
The Free Ruston message board was set up by someone else who wanted a "free-for-all" site where any and all conversation would be allowed. I try to post most comments that I don't consider "civil and accurate" over there so folks can see if they want.
Karen,
You set this blog up to let people vent and argue. You are not responsible for what others write. Let your hair down and let these fools make their own beds.
A new comment has been post on Free Ruston that contained too many rumors to warrant posting here... (www.freeruston.proboards.com)
First of all, Karen, I appreciate your efforts. I may not always agree with you, but your heart is in the right place and you are trying.
In re: annexation - I am NOT opposed to keeping Ruston, Ruston. But why is this dialogue so free of facts and so heavy on accusations? Perhaps someone should look at our current account balances, and our last 2 or 3 budgets, and figure out how much we are deficit-spending each year. (Hint: it's about a half-million dollars annually). Since losing the ASARCO subsidy, we have been surviving by selling off Town-owned property. The Town does not own an infinite amount of property. In fact we are about tapped out now.
On the other side of the ledger, how much will our revenues increase with the Commencement and Point Ruston, even in the best-case scenario of 100% occupancy within 5 years? Is the additional revenue (mostly in property tax - the other taxes the Town can charge are tiny) enough to make a go of it long-term? What if those projects are delayed? will the Town's funds suffice?
And (most importantly), if we find that it's not enough, what services will we cut? What economies can we achieve? Even in the best case, does the "Save Ruston at All Costs" faction have a PLAN for long-term survival? If you just assure us that there will always be another rabbit in the hat, nobody will buy it. What are your ideas, guys?
Again, I really do think you and Beth and the others mean well. But we need to be a lot more realistic about this issue - if we continue to ignore the facts in favor of personal attacks, we are walking blindly into a crumbling, unincorporated slum.
To the last commenter, I couldn't agree with you more on the need to put some energy into studying the issue. I acknowledge I focused too much on the personalities involved in this dialog. We need to take a serious look at our financial future. I don't believe it is as bleak as some paint it. And I firmly believe we should not rely only on a couple of big developments to save us. We've counted on one big economic savior for too long. We should be supporting our current businesses and looking for ways to build a sustainable future - which goes way beyond the Point Ruston boundaries.
And there are other sources of revenue beyond raising taxes. We have existing businesses we can support, we can look for ways to encourage new businesses, we can support the retail development at Point Ruston (which will bring in much more than property tax).
My point is its way too early to give up. Maybe citizens can take the bull by the horns and do the budget review you suggest. Even better, our council members and mayor could take this as a first step. Any review should include not only a realistic look at how much we might be running short, but how to build that sustainable mix of taxes and budget cuts if needed.
But I disagree that the "Save Ruston" crowd don't have a long term plan. I know of several folks who have been throwing out ideas and suggestions for years that have been ignored (much more than selling off town-owned property). Beth posted some suggestions a few days ago on the council agenda announcement on Feb. 17th. And I expect current council members are getting tired of my emails with ideas and suggestions.
For instance, besides the fiscal review, we need to find some way to bring the many factions in this town together to find a unified vision for the future. I'm convinced that exercise will generate other creative solutions to the current problems and build a better quality of life for all of us.
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