Council Meeting Notes: Feb. 16, 2010

Meeting materials available on Ruston Reports here...

Mayor Hopkins called the meeting to order at 7:03 pm. All the elected officials were present. The agenda was approved after it was amended to add staff reports and have the business items changed to 1) US Archives 2) discussion of a car show on Winnifred Street and 3) Ordinance 1306. The minutes for the regular council meetings of Jan. 4th, Jan. 19th and Feb. 1st and the associated study sessions were approved with a vote of 5-0. Council Member Hunt said she was very pleased with minutes. Council Member Huson liked that they were more informative than in the past.

Staff Reports
Police: Chief Kunkel informed the council that the department has the original bid on the proposed security upgrade at police office and is waiting for second bid. He outlined the types of calls for January, which included a suicidal subject. Two of the police cars now have the E-ticket system installed. Huson noted that 13 of 100 calls last month were from the Unicorn Tavern. Kunkel explained that the security/bar checks are listed as a call, even if there is no trouble reported at that location.

Fire: Chief Torbet said there were only had 4 calls in January, with two at the same address. He noted that they have added training on Tuesday nights (in addition to the regular training on Thursdays) to bring new fire fighters up to speed. Hunt complimented both chiefs on their dress uniforms. Council Member Hardin noted that the city of Woodway had contacted Ruston for help with putting together a volunteer fire department and appreciated all the great input from Chief Torbet.

Public Comment
Terry Knapp wanted to know if picketers at Point Ruston were gone. The mayor told him the town is still waiting on a court case before send letter to them.

Sherri Forch commented on drill she witnessed taking place with various emergency responders in the tunnel. She was glad to see the advance preparation.

Dan Wombacher asked for help with a proposed short plat on his property. He has been working on the issue since last September after being told by the Pierce County assessor office that he could do a segregation to divide the property. The town planner denied that request saying a subdivision was required, but later told Wombacher that an application for a boundary line adjustment would be needed. Wombacher outlined numerous steps he has gone through. The mayor attempted to stop his public comment at the two-minute limit, but the council allowed him to finish outlining his case. Wombacher ended by asking the mayor and council to direct the town planner to approve his short plat request. There was no response from the mayor or council.

Don Torbet thanked the mayor and others for all the personal time they give to the town.

Business
1. US Archives Update: The mayor described the trial on-line site for town documents. He noted that it has space to hold town emails, something that appealed to him since he has reached capacity with the current email service. The town web site can be linked to this resource so residents can find resolutions, ordinances, building codes and laws, meeting minutes, etc. The contract as proposed would be to build this on-line site, with a second project later to scan and add all the old documents. Hopkins supports the contract, which calls for $1,500 dollars for set up and $250 per month thereafter (maximum storage of 2.5 gigs per month for up to 5 concurrent users).


The full price list is still coming. More storage can be added with an increase in the monthly charge. US Archives agreed to provide an estimate for the final amount of storage that the town is likely to need. The trial period was extended for the web site until the next council meeting at the March 1st meeting. Council Member Hedrick asked for a simple spreadsheet showing what on-going costs will be for both US Archives and BIAS. The mayor agreed to provide that along with information on the town's savings from the resulting staff reduction. Hunt solicited volunteers to help prepare the old documents for scanning when the time comes. The mayor recommended a decision on scanning be made after using the web site for a while. Council Member Hardin stated he supports the proposal and wanted the cost information before the meeting so the council can make an informed decision.

2. Car Show on Winnifred Street: Council Member Huson suggested that the town host a car show along Winnifred Street on August 29th. He is co-chair of the Cadillac South Club. The group's annual event includes organized drives culminating in a car show. Hedrick liked the idea of more community events. He felt it was one of the things that set Ruston apart from Tacoma. Huson noted there are usually about 100 cars. Hunt felt it would be good for the business district and wanted to know if there would be vendors at the event. Huson said the group was open to any suggestions and they would pay all town costs. He also mentioned that he will discuss the Easter event at next meeting after he talks to Sherri Forch.

3. Ordinance 1306: Chronic Nuisance (First Reading): Town attorney Britton said this proposal was modeled after Tacoma's ordinance. Since Tacoma's law had stood up to several challenges, he was most comfortable having Ruston adopt something similar. If a property is cited for causing too much trouble within a certain time period, the owner is held responsible. Huson wanted to know if fines listed in the draft ordinance were the maximum available. They match Tacoma's fines, but Britton will check to see if higher fines are possible. Hedrick liked the wide definitions and other provisions. The council then allowed questions from the audience. Sherri Forch recalled a problem in the past with a motor home in the alley behind her house and wanted to know if this ordinance would have helped in that case. Police Chief Kunkel did not think so. Huson read part of the ordinance that he felt might have addressed the problem. Terry Knapp suggested moving the clock so audience members can see it.

Claims and Payroll
Passed 5-0

Mayor's Time
Mayor Hopkins reported that he and Council Members Hunt and Hardin attended the AWC training for newly elected officials. He came away very impressed with the elected officials in Ruston and how professional this group is. The BIAS on-line utility billing starts at end of February. He thanked Hardin for working with him on Valentines Sunday on the town web site. He exploring options for the web site, but the pricing he has found so far is high cost. His brother might be able to give town a better price. He is setting up an interview by Hardin and the current web master. Anyone with ideas on this issue was invited to contact him.

He notified the council that he will be showing space at the school to a company interested in renting 2500 to 5000 square feet. This company, Triple Net, is taking over for MRC Construction on the environmental clean up work for EPA. He is asking for $10 to $12 per square foot, depending on what space is available at the school. They also wanted the soil lab testing space at the school for a similar operation. Hopkins had received an email from former mayor Phil Parker's former fiance and his children wanting to know when the trees Parker had bequeathed would be planted. Hedrick thought there was some discussion for placing them on Stack Hill.

The Burlington Northern Railroad 100 year lease for the right of way through Ruston expired this year. Hopkins has notified them and expects to negotiate a new lease soon. The town has received another request to purchase surplus town property, specifically a right of way near Bennett and Court Streets. He suggests that the town get the property appraised and sell it at full price. He is tasking the real estate committee to come up with a consistent policy for this and any other remaining town property. The fiance report should be available by end of week for December and January. He also reminded the council that someone from the town should be at each business district meeting. Hunt said she attended the last meeting. Finally, the mayor suggested that council members contact state legislators to oppose House Bill 6686. This bill would require towns like Ruston to elect its judge and could impact Ruston's court system.

Council Time
Huson had nothing.

Hedrick suggest talking to Peterson about HB 6686, but had nothing more.

Hunt attended a class in conflict management at the AWC conference. She learned about the phases of group dynamics and was glad to see that the Ruston council is now in a productive group phase.

Hardin also attended the AWC conference and was struck with 3 to 4 hours of instruction from an attorney about all the ways elected officials can get into trouble, especially with email. He suggested the council revise the council policy to include this issue. He also apologized to the clerk-treasurer for the problems with the winzip install.

Kristovich had nothing.

The meeting adjourned a little after 8 pm.