Council Meeting Notes: June 1, 2009

The meeting materials are available on Ruston Reports, including the proposed fireworks ban ordinance.

The meeting began a 7 pm with all present except Council Member Hunt, who was excused. The agenda was approved as presented, but Council Member Hedrick noted that the council needed to formally change their meeting rules so that public comment could consistently happen before business items were discussed. The town attorney will have the rule change ready for the next meeting.

The hearing on the Phase 1 sewer project had been continued to this meeting. The mayor opened the hearing to allow any new public comment. There was one quick question (I couldn't make it out on the tape) with no further comment, so the hearing was closed.

The minutes from the May 18th meeting were approved.

Public Comment
Sherri Forch liked the new format for the town newsletter. She wanted to confirm if people were allowed to park cars in their yard for a fee during the Taste and drive vehicles over the curb. She invited everyone to participate in the post-Taste clean up (collect trash from your street, bring it to town hall and eat cookies provided by our seniors).

Edie Tallman thanked Mayor Hopkins for taking the job as mayor and she was pleased to see he was going to run for election.

Sgt. Kunkel noted that a crew from Remann Hall is painting curbs. The town supplied the paint. He confirmed that people can park cars in their yards, but they are not allowed to drive over the curb. Council Member Stebner wanted to be sure the police checked people making money from parking had a current town business license. Sgt. Kunkel felt the police would need to focus on life/safety issues.

Old Business
Ordinance 1278 - Regulation of Private Alarm Systems, Pending: This ordinance is not ready yet. The vote to table it was 2-2, so the mayor broke the tie by voting to table the ordinance to the next meeting.

Ordinance 1280 - Designating Off-Leash Areas, Pending: The council had already passed an ordinance making the park on-leash only. This ordinance is to create an off-leash area to the east of the park. Council Member Albertson did not like having these issues held from one meeting to the next. Issues should come back as new business when they are ready. The mayor agreed. The vote to remove this from the agenda passed 4-0.

Ordinance 1285 - Recovery of Emergency Response Expenses, Second Reading: Sgt. Kunkel provided some examples of how other cities calculate their emergency response expenses and suggested Ruston follow the Lakewood example. The ordinance passed 4-0.

Ordinance 1286 - Prohibiting Fireworks, Second Reading: Hedrick wanted more input from the fire chief. He felt the $1000 permit for public displays was too expensive and he wanted to talk more about enforcement of the current code before voting on this. Albertson wanted fireworks banned regardless. Stebner wanted to see this ban passed before the 4th of July this year so that it can become effective by the holiday in 2010. The issue was tabled till the next meeting with a vote of 4-0.

New Business
Ordinance 1287 - Indemnification of Elected Officials and Town Employees, First Reading: Hedrick felt the requirement to bring any summons to town hall within 5 days was not long enough. He also wanted to clarify who who would pay if there was insurance (insurance first, then town if needed).

Ordinance 1288 - Amending Traffic Code:
Ordinance 1289 - Amending Parking Code: The town planner explained that these changes addressed occasional problems with overflow parking from large events at Point Defiance Park, and prohibited commercial vehicles from parking in residential zones. It still allows small businesses to park their commercial vehicles in their driveways. Stebner felt the new high school at the park might cause boats and trailers to park in Ruston. The mayor pointed out this change allows the town to set up a system to issue parking permits to town residents if needed.

Resolution 444 - Accepting Right-Of-Way Deed: As part of the Baumgardner development at the end of Orchard Street, a right-of-way for emergency vehicle turn-around is required. This deeds this portion of land to the town. Council Member Huson wanted to be sure accepting this would not imply that more homes could be constructed on the site. The resolution was approved 4-0.

Claims and Payroll
Approved 2, Stebner no, Albertson abstain

Mayor's Time
The tree committee needs to purchase more trees but there is no money budgeted. Huson felt the previous tree committee had decided on only 5 types of trees that would be allowed, not 16 as proposed by the current committee. He would pay for trees to finish Winnifred Street. He thought the committee should focus on which of those 5 types of tree to plant on which street and that the committee was wasting too much of their time. He wanted the mayor to give them more specific direction.

The mayor noted that the sewer project is proceeding. The town is working with some potential lenders. He noted that he had directed the police department to issue parking tickets for anyone parking in the new red zones, even local residents.

Council Time
Hedrick felt that signs were needed and stronger enforcement of the leash requirement at the park. He hoped the council would support the effort to organize a kids parade along Winnifred Street on the 4th of July. He will have a resolution ready at the next meeting.

Albertson wanted to be sure Ruston is getting refunded for its LID costs. He also noted that it was filing week for council candidates. He urged Stebner to run for re-election. He felt Stebner had always put the interests of the people of Ruston first, dealt with policy not personalities and had never voted to block any of his neighbor's views.

The meeting adjourned at about 8 pm.

Random Thought For The Day

I have been noticing the "For Sale" signs seemingly on every corner these days. So I did a little research. There's no point to this, just curiosity...

• According to ZipRealty.com, Ruston has 18 properties listed for sale. I counted 17 driving around town on Wednesday, not including Stack Hill and The Commencement condominiums. I expect Zip does not list everything.


• Of the 18 listed on ZipRealty, two are vacant lots. For the homes, the median price asking price is just over $781,000. The high was $1.5 million for a 2 bedroom/2 bath, 2334 square foot new construction. The low was $199,500 for a 4 bedroom/1 bath, 1782 square foot older construction house.


• The average price for the new construction (most were from The Commencement) was about $1,193,000 - older construction averaged $369,430.

I was curious about our property tax trends. Property tax is the mainstay for Ruston's municipal budget. Like everywhere else, decreasing home values has reduced the town's funding. The county assessor values properties, the town receives taxed based on the previous year's value. Here is what the assessor reports for Ruston:

• 2006 total value (taxes paid in 2007): $95,898,389
• 2007 total value (taxes paid in 2008): $106,286,060
• 2008 total value (taxes paid in 2009): $125,083,079

I don't have any point to all this, just the observation that we are normal. There are lots of properties for sale for less than they would have cost a year ago. I expect we will see a reduction in tax income in 2010. Town leaders have a tough road ahead of them, as do the many residents who are loosing value. I hope things turn around quickly.

Karen

No Insurance, Likely Total Loss

It has been confirmed that the Bergman family did not have insurance to cover their losses from the fire that consumed their home a week ago today. The family was renting at the time and did not have renters insurance. It's likely the bank had insurance for the structure, but the family's belongings appear to be a total loss.

Just a reminder you can make donations to the Bergman Family Fire Fund at the Tacoma Narrows Credit Union or drop something in the collection jar at Don's Market or Town Hall. There has been a total of $167 donated in this effort so far.

Final, Final Slate?

UPDATE: 6:15 pm:

I spoke to Kim Wheeler this afternoon. He confirmed that he has withdrawn from the upcoming election. His sole reason for running was to be sure citizens had a choice other than the incumbent, Wayne Stebner. Since there were no candidates for this position on final day of filing week, he signed up.

He spoke to Ms. Kristovich over the weekend and felt he could support her candidacy. So he withdrew his name on Monday morning. I have not heard back from Mr. Wendell yet as to his reasons for withdrawing.

____________________________________________

The auditor updated the list of candidates today with some changes in the Ruston races. It appears Mike Wendell and Kim Wheeler have withdrawn. I have an message in to both of them asking for confirmation and details.

Here is the unofficial slate of Ruston candidates as listed by Pierce County Elections Department at 8:23 am today:

• Mayor: Bruce Hopkins, running unopposed
• Council Position 1: Lyle Hardin, running unopposed
• Council Position 2: Deb Kristovich, running unopposed
• Council Position 4: Bryan Ficiala and Jane Krock Hunt

This means Ruston voters will not have any races to vote on in the August primary. The only real choice will be for Council Position 4 on November 3rd, unless someone mounts a write-in campaign.

Planning Commission Recommends Pearl Street Height Increase

The staff report is available on Ruston Reports.

After a very short public hearing tonight, the Ruston Planning Commission recommended two changes to Ruston's zoning code for the commercial zone on the east side of Pearl Street: 1) allow 2 stories and up to 35' for structures from Ruston's southern border to N. 50th and 2) allow 3 stories and 45' from N. 50th to 52nd. The rest of Pearl from N. 52nd to 54th is zoned residential.

The meeting began at 7 pm with Chair Kevin Moser reading the usual script for a public hearing. After the flag salute, the planning commission members and anyone in the audience wishing to testify raised their right hand and swore their testimony would be truthful. Commission members were given the opportunity to state any conflict of interest and the audience was given a chance to challenge any of them.

There were only two members of the public in attendance; both of us spoke in favor of the proposed amendment. After the public hearing was closed, the planning commission began their deliberations. Commissioner Dick Pederson was concerned that the discussion in the staff report did not draw a clear enough line between the two heights allowed in this area. But he agreed that the change to the wording in the code text was clear enough.

Commissioner Cherrie Anderson moved to recommend that the council approve the zoning code changes as written. After Bryan Ficiala seconded, the motion was approved by all 5 commissioners. The meeting adjourned about 7:20 pm. The issue will be considered by the Ruston town council sometime in July.

Has The Time Come?

Tim Johannes is an experienced farmer. He's also done his share of farmer's markets. And he thinks Ruston is primed for a farmers market of our own. He said he wants to not only support our local farmers, but create a living, breathing social space for the community.

Tim attended the last business district meeting and gained their support for a venture. His handout from the meeting is below. This is a preliminary outline that has already undergone some changes. Tim wants to put together a board to set the policy and make the basic decisions like which day to hold the market, the location and such.

If you want to lend your support, share ideas or shout a big hurray, please contact Tim at 253-495-2552. The more folks who provide input, the better chance we have of pulling this off ~ so take a moment and give Tim a call.

Spiffy

Ruston is getting a coat of red paint just in time for the annual Taste of Tacoma parking challenge. We have a crew from Remann Hall who started the fun two weeks ago.

Last weekend, some of the neighbors decided to join in. Mayor Bruce Hopkins and his wife, Lyle and Patti Hardin, Edie Tallman, Council Member Bradley Huson spent part of their Saturday and Sunday scraping and painting. The goal is to have all the curbs painted by the end of the summer.

The fun continues next Saturday. Things should get underway about 10 am on the corner of 52nd and Highland. Meet some neighbors, get grubby and beautify the town if you have some spare time!

You Can Help

After some struggles, a fund has been established at the Tacoma Narrows Federal Credit Union to help the Bergman family recover from the fire that claimed their home last week. It turns out its not easy to set up an account for someone else. So there is an account under my membership at our local credit union. That means I'll be in charge of the money until we hand it over to Joanne, but anyone is welcome to examine the books at anytime.

You can drop off your donation to the Bergman Family Fire Fund at the credit union (at the bottom of 51st Street) or in the donation jar at Town Hall (5117 N. Winnifred) or Don's Market (51st and Winnifred).

Karen