Catching Up With Council Actions

Reading council meeting minutes may not be the most thrilling, but it's a good indication of what's happening around town. Here are a few highlights and links to the minutes if you want to read for yourself:

• Lynn Syler was appointed to fill the council seat vacated by Bruce Judd. The council discussed the process of filling that vacancy at the May 3rd meeting, but Holland Cohen was the only applicant at that time. The council decided at the next meeting (May 20th) to appoint Ms. Syler without interviewing or contacting both candidates;  citing the fact that Syler frequently attends council meetings.
• The fire pumper truck failed in late May. Repair costs were too high, so the council approved the emergency purchase of a 'new' used rig for $76,500. Chief Torbet managed to find a truck in good working condition that fits in Ruston's small engine bay at Town Hall. 
• Garbage rates increased - up to $30 for a 35-gallon can (from $25 per month).
• Ruston has created its own Emergency Management Organization, with the expertize of Firefighter Eric Cunningham.
• Rental space is officially available via professional listing agents with Neil Walter Company.
• The green space along Winnifred Street is in the process of becoming an official park.

Meeting Minutes:
May 3, 2014
May 20, 2014
June 3, 2014
June 17, 2014

Michael Johnson: 1953-2014

I haven't had the time to do this community blog justice lately, but I'll l stay up late tonight because this is important. Former Ruston council member Michael Johnson died earlier this month (obituary link here). Michael grew up in Ruston and his mother Corrine, lived here until recently. I remember him as someone with a smile that would light up a room, but was tough when he needed to be. Besides the time on the council, Michael served our community as a firefighter and EMT. He was only 62 years old, too young to leave us. We were lucky to have his dedication and selfless service. He will be missed.

Latest Election Numbers

Below are the election results as of Tuesday, November 19th. These numbers are not likely to change before the election is certified later this month.

Mayor

• 209 - Bruce Hopkins (93.3%)
• 15 - Write In (6.7%)

Position 1

• 196 - Lyle Hardin (95.61%)
• 9 - Write In (4.39%)

Position 2

• 95 - Holland Cohen (37.25%)
• 158 - Deb Kristovich (61.96%)
• 2 - Write In (.78%)

Position 4

• 179 - Jane Krock Hunt (93.33%)
• 13 - Write In (6.77%)

Position 5

• 175 - Bruce Judd (94.59%)
• 10 - Write In (5.41%)

Commercial Development Moratorium Lifted

The Ruston council waived the second reading for the trio of ordinances that updated their development codes and removed the moratorium on commercial development at their meeting last night. Despite Councilmember Hardin's concerns about repeating the complaints about rushing the issue through without public input, the council unanimously approved the changes recommended by the planning commission after their public hearing in May.

The changes are primarily focused on rearranging the requirements into an easier-to-understand format. But the changes also included adding the design requirements from the Pearl Street zone to the rest of the commercial zone. When the design elements were first adopted along Pearl Street, higher heights were allowed to offset the additional costs of those requirements. Only the increased design requirements were added to the rest of the commercial zone without allowing the increased heights or the less restrictive parking of the Pearl zone.

Meet Ruston's Newest Politician

I've asked the candidates for Ruston council and mayor to respond to a few questions. To date, I have heard back from two of the six candidates. I met with Lyle Hardin, the incumbent running to retain his seat on the council. I'll post the notes from our conversation soon. The only candidate to respond directly to the questions is Holland Cohen, who is running against Deb Kristovich for Council Position 2. Read on to learn a bit more about our newest local politician:

Holland Cohen

Why are you choosing to run?

I am running for Ruston Council because I love this community. In Ruston there is a true sense of place - a real sense of community. I know my neighbors; they come to our home for BBQ's and attend our Christmas parties.  In Ruston we take pride in what we do and how we do it. We gather for Easter egg hunts and car shows. And we visit our neighborhood parks or go on a walk along our beautiful new Ruston Way.  I believe we must take great care, and work hard, to preserve the sense of community we enjoy in Ruston. Ruston is the place that I want to call 'home' forever; but I also feel that if this is going to be my home forever I want to do everything I can to ensure that it is a place striving to be its best.

Ruston should be a place we only leave when we want to – not because we need to.  I envision a place that offers a variety of shopping and retail opportunities; restaurants lining Pearl Street, that stay busy morning, noon and night. I imagine what it would look like if our business district were fully occupied, and see sidewalks that are teeming with people - residents and visitors alike - who have come to our beautiful corner to enjoy fully walkable sidewalks, and our safe, passable streets.  I see a place that strives for beauty and art, investing in those little extras that changes ordinary to extraordinary.  I see a town that takes pride in its parks and invests in new play areas for our kids.  I believe that my vision is attainable. And in fact, we may be relatively close. But I also believe that we can do better in preserving and strengthening our community.  I am proud to call Ruston my home.  And I care about doing better. So it’s because I love Ruston that I choose to run.

What are the priorities for Ruston?

I have 3 main priorities if I am elected to serve this community:

First, I will work to implement strategies that grow our economic base. Without an increased tax base our municipal finances are unsustainable. Even with the strong fiscal management implemented under the current Mayor, Ruston continues to run a deficit. We spend more than we take in. This is not sustainable. We have a revenues problem, and a stable fix is to work on strategies that increase our sales tax base. I will work collaboratively and cooperatively with our business community. Streamlined permitting, and efficient processes are critical to all businesses. I will work to update aspects of our code that have become a burden to our local business’s success. We must proactively engage with our local commercial district to help produce a thriving economic base. Increased sales tax revenues will propel our community into the future. We should be a city that businesses want to be part of.  Unfortunately recent decisions have harmed our reputation as a community, and we have relationships to repair with our partners in business. I oppose the Council’s recent decision to impose a moratorium on commercial development and my number one priority is to fix the problems that our local businesses are faced with as a result of our city code.

We are so lucky to be geographically located where we are – the amenities that surround our community place us head-and-shoulders above other parts of Pierce County, and beyond. Point Defiance has 3.1 million visitors per year, and the State Highway serving our state ferry system provides thousands more potential visitors. I will make it my top priority to reach out to the local business community to ensure that our inherent strengths lead to a lasting and continued success. When Ruston’s businesses prosper our city will prosper. Through thoughtful planning, we can create a sustained prosperity for Ruston.   But this means that we must listen to what our residents and business owners are saying. We must ensure that our zoning code reflects the direction and vision that our citizens envision for our community.  We are not Tacoma. Nor are we Gig Harbor, Parkland or Seattle for that matter. We are Ruston. And we must make the best land use planning choices that ensure that our community is best served for future growth and sustained prosperity. I do not believe reactionary planning benefits our town in the long term. We must seek the trust of our business community partners, and make any new businesses know that if they take the risk of setting up shop in Ruston, we will do everything within our power to help them succeed. Arbitrary increases in taxes, moratoriums, and overbearing process will stymie our growth and our community’s future. And while we must ensure that our land use codes are up to date and compatible with our community’s vision, so too must we ensure that our reputation reflects our government as fair stewards of the public's trust.

Secondly, I will work to leverage our partnerships with our local government partners to ensure that our costs are managed as responsibly as possible. For instance, furthering our relationship with Tacoma has the potential to lower our City’s costs and our personal costs. Everybody has a household budget to balance – as does our local government. With Ruston’s utilities all serviced by Tacoma through the willingness of TPU-Power to sell us electricity, TPU-Water to serve our water system, and Tacoma’s general government accepting our sewage, storm water and garbage, we must find more ways to ensure that are costs are kept as low as possible I believe that Ruston pays more than it should for many of the services it receives and we must make sure that our tax payers are asked to pay the least, but receive the best level of service we deserve. If services can be provided through third parties or other municipalities that would meet or exceed the current level of service, then I believe there is no reason for Ruston to continue to provide such services. Examples of partnerships that should be explored include our parks service - we should explore the opportunities for cost savings and partnerships with Metro Parks; planning and engineering services must be examined to ensure that the costs to our business community and citizens are comparable to other municipalities, and if not whether partnerships can be achieved with established planning departments that bring these costs in line with market expectations.  And I believe we should explore third party garbage service. While our city recently invested heavily into its own automated garbage truck and new garbage cans, I believe that we can more efficiently meet our citizens’ garbage needs through third party contracts, removing the burden of maintaining the costly infrastructure from our municipal waste stream. Our local government partners have treated us well and treated us fairly. And we have smartly leveraged these partnerships in many instances, but I believe Ruston can do more to ensure that the expenditures associated with running our government do not continue to exceed the income produced by our community.

My third priority is to continue the betterment of our infrastructure as well as bringing a responsible ‘maturing’ of our land use code. The last four years have seen remarkable change in town – Point Ruston’s completely replaced Ruston Way and the city sponsored sewer replacement project are two projects that we can all be proud of.  These projects took care of some of the most seriously neglected systems in town. But remarkably, these projects were financed by others, with very little cost to the tax payers (though the costs to repay the sewer bonds will be included in the rate-payer structure).  But if Ruston’s antiquated infrastructure is going to keep pace with the pending growth that’s to come, then we must take pains to plan for tackling these every-growing liabilities. We must protect and preserve the stability of our existing neighborhoods by making improvements and maintaining our infrastructure.  At the same time, our zoning code and long range planning must foster a diversity of housing opportunities with a thoughtful eye toward future expansion that stays consistent with the values of the community. However, in pursuing any zoning code changes we must seek-out advice from our resident-citizens and resident-businesses, alike. I pledge to communicate openly and honestly when making decisions that will have an impact and alter the lives of our citizens and local businesses. No decision will please everyone. But I believe it is the duty of our public officials to communicate the rationale for their decisions. Right, wrong or indifferent the decisions that a council makes affects its citizens. Open communication and responsiveness is my promise, and is how I pledge to do this job.

What are Ruston's greatest strengths/weaknesses?

Strengths:

• Location, location, location.   The greatest strength that Ruston has to offer is our location... We are blessed with some of the most phenomenal natural beauty and public amenities of any community around. We are surrounded by peaceful, natural beauty, which is enjoyed by our residents. The natural bowl around which this town was developed sets up some of the most dramatic and beautiful mountain & water views, rivaling anything else on the Puget Sound. As a city seeking financial independence this also gives us a great advantage in promoting tourists and visitors to town (i.e. outside dollars), as well as giving us an advantage in the recruitment of business.
• Emergency Services – Ruston Fire and Ruston Police. We have a low crime rate due in large part to our professional police force, who we are so fortunate to have in town. We also have an amazing volunteer base of emergency responders in our fire department.  I personally have seen them in action saving my neighbor's life and can attest to their absolute professionalism.  Fast response times, localized service. We have the best of both worlds with our emergency service personnel and it is a strength of ours that I will work to preserve.
• Pearl St. Business District. Our Pearl St. commercial district also gives our community a great advantage – if we can capitalize on the traffic that passes through the town along this corridor we will strengthen our town’s bottom line.
• Proximity to the ‘Market’. We are also proximate to a robust job market with Tacoma’s commercial business district only minutes away and also being relatively proximate to the major metropolitan and business districts north (Kent, Seattle, etc.), which allows our residents to enjoy the benefits and beauty of our ‘small town life’, while directly accessing the broader economy and its jobs. 
• Community. And last, but certainly not least, our greatest strength is the true nature of our ‘community’. Our neighbors are nice and engaging. We wave to each other as we walk or drive by. We support each other; and we hold each other accountable. We are small enough to make a meaningful difference in our government and our future, yet strong enough and well positioned to continue to do it on our own. We have stable local business anchors that have served our community for many years, and we are on a trajectory to grow into a stronger tax base as Point Ruston develops the Ruston-side of its project. 

Weaknesses:

• Business Climate. Ruston has a reputation for not working well with the business and development community. The 10 empty storefronts along our Pearl Street business district are a reminder of our community’s struggle to balance the business community’s and residential interests in town. While empty stores are certainly a sign of the times due to the recession, Ruston residents should not need to leave town for their shopping and entertainment needs.  The potential of our business districts to offer retail shopping and dining is far superior to many other competing areas, yet Ruston is struggling to make common sense zoning decisions that give our commercial landlords and business owners the certainty that they need and deserve to make long-term commitments to our town. Reactionary decisions, be it zoning codes or other regulations that interfere and alter the way an organization conducts its affairs, are not fair and do not create a climate to attract growth.  We can, and we must, do better.
• Failing Infrastructure. Our sidewalks and streets are not walkable. Even the newest sidewalks built when Ruston replaced the sewer system were not fitted with curb-cuts and ramps. This is not good planning and difficult on our disabled citizens and those of us with strollers (try getting a double stroller lifted up onto every curb at every street you cross).   Also, our recreational spaces are becoming run-down and if left to decay will become nuisances to our neighbors and liabilities to the town. We must prioritize our spending in a way that leverages capital improvements in a meaningful way that provides long term answers to our antiquated infrastructure and town assets. 
• Community-Wide Involvement.  We must do better to include a much more diverse group in our decision making process. While I am amazed to be the only person to file for a council position other than the incumbents, our council must be inclusive and welcoming as possible. So often the red-tape of process gets in the way of progress. I believe this is off-putting to those who would otherwise be interested to serve on the town’s various committees and boards. Our code should be stripped of arduous, duplicative laws that result in process. Progress should trump process, and as a council person I would focus on ensuring that we proactively reach out to include community-wide voices in our government choices, instead of sitting back and waiting for the community to come to the council. We are only as strong as the electorate.
• Utility Costs and Govn’t Expense.  We must do more as a government to control the costs for both our residents as well as our municipal costs. Our utilities and garbage can be provided more cheaply. We don't have access to the same recycling programs Tacoma does, and yet we pay more for our garbage collection. Paying more for less is a disservice to our community. We can do better.  

How do you view the balance between residential and commercial interests?

It's important to recognize that both sides sustain each other.  Without commercial growth, our town would not have the financial resources to exist at all.  Growing our commercial sector while sustaining our existing businesses is good for our residents, and good for our government. More commercial options for our residents benefits our neighborhood by not only providing great, localized services, but also sustains our tax base.  However, we must take great care in preserving the charm of our community through thoughtful planning and regulation. 

What are the revenue/expenditure priorities?

Ruston must increase its  revenues if it is going to survive over the long term. We cannot sustain deficit spending forever. The best way to do this is to ensure that we attract new businesses that generate sales tax. There is very little residential property tax value that can be added to our tax roles. There are, however, significant revenues to be had if our commercial business district is built out and fully developed. Ruston must make a concerted effort to ensure that our local business climate is hospitable to new entrants into town, and the best way to do this is to make our land use and zoning codes easy to understand and implement. Our reputation can be made through a simple code that creates a climate that is easy to do business in.  But Ruston’s reputation in the business and development community must first be corrected if we are going to increase our revenues in the pursuit of a sustainable tax base.

My top budget priority is public safety.  Maintaining our police force and emergency response capacity is crucial.  We must invest in a 24/7 police force. It is inexcusable that we are denied full time police protection. Secondly, we must maintain our infrastructure systems and invest in improvements that beautify and benefit our city.   Our streets should be maintained better and those with past due maintenance issues should be made a priority, while focusing on a strategic plan that ensures that we have safe and accessible streets and alleys. Our city must be kept clean as well – regular pick up of litter should be a priority and adequate funding should be provided for garbage cans at strategic corners in the most heavily used parts of town. We also should make better use of our city’s assets – one example is the historic school house. There is unused space in our historic school house, yet City Hall is located in a separate house away from the Council Chambers and the police department, which are located in the school.  This is redundant and costly. For a small upfront investment Ruston could and should co-locate City Hall and Council Chambers together in the school house with the Police Department.  We also must study the other redundancies that can be removed from our small system, and understand whether outside partners would serve us in a more efficient way.

Why should Ruston vote for you?

Ruston should be a place that people want to visit - offering shopping, restaurants, and vibrancy. Ruston should also be a place where people want to live.  We are located in one of the most unique, beautiful settings, right next to the water and all of nature's beauty.  Ruston must treasure what it has, but also strive to gain what it is missing. I believe our town is a place that we can all be proud of.  I believe I have a few good ideas. But I also know that there isn’t a single person in town that knows it all, and I welcome your input and ideas. I will be your voice to help make those ideas become reality. I pledge to be accessible. And I pledge to be responsive. I look forward to talking to the community and learning more about your specific issues, and I can’t wait to meet you at your front doors as I begin this adventure to represent this community that I love so much.

Timeline To Allow Commercial Development

Ruston planner Rob White provided the following outline of what the process will be for updating the city codes so that the current moratorium on commercial development can be lifted:
________________________________________

Amendment to the City's zoning code is a legislative process which involves the following steps:

1) A SEPA determination must be made and notice provided to the Dept of Ecology and other interested agencies.

2) Notice of the proposal must be given to the Dept of Commerce.  They require 60 days, but usually grant requests for expedited review, which is 2-3 weeks.

3) The Planning Commission will hold a work study session and public hearing on May 22 and hopefully forward a recommendation on to the City Council without the need for additional meetings.

4) I expect to have the amendments to Council for first reading on June 4 and then for second reading and passage at their June 18th meeting.

5) After adoption, the final ordinance is sent to the Dept of Commerce for filing, then sent to the codifier so the online code can be updated.

6) Upon adoption, I expect that the Council will remove the moratorium, which is required to be done by ordinance.

Hopefully the above gives you a better understanding of the process.

As you can imagine, this project has been top priority and will continue to be until it's completed.  The draft ordinances with details on the amendments will be available before the end of the week.  I set up a web page for the project, so check back on Friday for more info.  The link is here:

http://www.rustonwa.org/current-projects/ord-1407---commercial-zoning-standards-update

Four of Five Council + Mayor Seat Up For Grabs

During sleepy political times like this, getting Ruston citizens interested enough to run for office is a challenge. It will be interesting to see if that trend holds true next week when election filing opens. We could face another quiet season where the biggest challenge is finding even one candidate to run for each office, much less two candidates so voters have some choice.

Out of the five council seats, four will face election this fall. The position of mayor is also open. Ruston could see a major change in direction or more of the same. We will know more by next Friday. Offices facing election are:

• Mayor (currently held by Bruce Hopkins)
• Council Position 1 (currently held by Lyle Hardin)
• Council Position 2 (currently held by Deb Kristovich)
• Council Position 4 (currently held by Jane Krock Hunt)
• Council Position 5 (currently held by Bruce Judd - appointed and must run for election for the remaining unexpired term)

Although no one wishes to return to the cantankerous political fighting we have experienced in the past, it would be wonderful for Ruston voters to have more than one choice on the ballot. Even if you've never considered serving your community in this way before, please think about running for office. We need fresh perspective and new voices. The list of open offices can be found via this link. Details about how to file for election are on the auditor's web page here...

No New Business Allowed In Ruston: Opinion

The Ruston council decided last night that the moratorium on any new business will stay in effect. Staff outlined the emergency exists because there are inconsistencies between zoning code changes that are not yet reflected in the comprehensive plan (which can only be updated once a year). After overwhelming testimony from business owners outlining the very real harm they are experiencing from this moratorium, elected officials directed staff to hurry the process as much as possible rather than lift the moratorium. Officials are concerned the floodgates will open and undesirable business will try to locate in Ruston before the codes can be clarified. One council member said she wants to protect the investments of those who testified tonight by not allowing a bad business to open next to them and decrease the value of their property.

In short, Ruston leaders have determined the small risk of having a unpopular (but legal) business try to fill one of our many vacant retail spaces over the next six to eight weeks outweighs the real harm to current landlords trying to not only improve their property but enhance the quality of life in Ruston. The town attorney confirmed the council can declare an emergency at any time for any reason to impose moratoriums and such legislative action is pretty much bulletproof. Despite the pleas from everyone who testified tonight, the council would not consider releasing the hold on development while they update their codes and plan.

This emergency was declared at the March 19th regular meeting. There was nothing announced to indicate the issue was under consideration. Minutes from that meeting are not yet available. The town has sent out two newsletters since this major action was taken, yet the only indication was Ordinance 1400 filed with the other ordinances on the town web site. The issue came to light this weekend when a potential tenant for the corner building on Pearl contacted the president of the business district to confirm what he had been told by the Ruston planner - no new business is allowed in Ruston for the next six months.

I do not agree that the risk of having a "bad" business open in Ruston while the process of updating our books comes anywhere close to justifying the harm their moratorium creates on our businesses. The business district has been working very hard to recruit and promote this area to potential businesses. All those efforts, not to mention those of the property owners, has been flushed. Even under the expedited process discussed tonight, we lose the best marketing time of the year to recruit new life into our all-to-empty spaces. And such drastic action for what is a normal updating procedure sends the wrong message to potential developers - that we don't care about businesses; that we want to pick and choose what types of business we like and exclude those we deem not up to standard.

There is a balance in life that even applies to legislative action. The risk should outweigh the harm. All voices are important and should be sought out, listened to and considered. That is not what happened with this issue and I am disappointed in our leadership. That's my opinion - what's yours?

Karen

Ruston To Hire Environmental Consultant

There are several items on the agenda for the council to address at their meeting tomorrow night. Among other things, they are poised to appoint new planning commissioners and approve a change in the zoning code for the lots behind the former Coles Tavern. They also plan to hire Richard Brady & Associates to assist with plan reviews that need some environmental expertise. Brady & Associates is familiar with Superfund issues. The contract is for a not-to-exceed cost of $100,000 over 2 years, with the costs passed on the developer.

The meeting starts at 7pm at the Joyce Community Center (5219 N. Shirley) tomorrow night (February 5th).

Tomorrow's Council Agenda

There is only one business item on the agenda for the council meeting tomorrow night - Ruston's 200 feet of shoreline will finally get its Master Plan updated, pending approval by the state. The full packet of information is available here (including a copy of the Shoreline Master Plan). Please join the fun tomorrow, 7pm at the Joyce Community Center, 5219 N. Shirley Street.

2012 Mid-Year Budget

For those who are interested, the mayor present a mid-year update to the council at the last meeting. The figures he presented are available here...  The bad news: despite the influx of some unexpected revenue, we are still running at at $59,000 deficit. The good news: the deficit is not as big as expected when the budget was approved at the end of last year.

Council Meeting Tonight

The Ruston Council will consider restrictions on community gardening and other medical marijuana issues, purchasing equipment for the fire department and electrical transformers as well as hear from the local business district. It's the first ever regular meeting on the new night (Tuesdays from now on). Stop in at 7 pm and watch your local political team in action! The agenda and background documents for the meeting are available here.

Newly Elected Council Member No Longer In Ruston

Dorothy Bailey, who was elected to the Ruston Town Council on Tuesday no longer lives in Ruston. It appears the council will have to appoint someone to fill the 4 year term in January. Ms. Bailey responded to my email asking if she was still a resident this morning (below), announcing that she has moved out of state.

Ruston has seen many different seasons, from intense political battles to quiet ignorance. In my time here, this is the norm; where it is a struggle to find someone willing and able to give their time to serve. The political quiet does come with some cost...      Karen
______________________
It is accurate. I'm now living in Chicago. I found out we were moving after it was too late to remove my name from the ballot so I will be contacting the mayor to officially resign from my new position. I regret putting the town in this position, but I tried everything I could to get my name off the ballot an wasn't able to do so.

Dorothy

Election Results

Politics have grown so quiet in town these days, it's hard to even recognize there were two Ruston council races decided Tuesday. With only one candidate for each position, the vote tally for each stands at 100% in each race. As of 3:57 pm today, the votes are as follows:

Council Position 3:
Jim Hedrick - 157 votes

Council Position 5:
(being vacated by Bradley Huson)
Dorothy Bailey - 122 votes

Meet Candidate Dorothy Bailey

A few days ago I asked both of our unopposed candidates for open council seats to answer a few questions. Dorothy Bailey, who will replace Bradley Huson in Position 5, sent these responses yesterday:

Tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you lived in Ruston? I've lived in Ruston for the last 7 1/2 years and enjoyed every day of being a part of this vibrant and diverse community.

Why did you choose to move here? My partner, Julie Martin, and I moved here from Seattle as a way to split our individual commutes. Julie works in Olympia as the Deputy Director of Washington ’s Lottery while I work in Seattle as the Benefits and Retirement Supervisor for King County . Ruston offered us a unique and wonderful community in which to establish our home and become part of what we call a front-porch community of friends and neighbors.

Do you have family at home or perhaps an empty nester? I'm not really an empty nester. With 8 siblings and over 25 nieces and nephews, I decided early on to be the aunt to so many wonderful children rather than having children of my own; a decision that I've never regretted.

Other details you can share about yourself? I enjoy every aspect of living in Ruston , from walking the 5 mile loop of Point Defiance Park , sitting in the sun on our front porch to cruising the Sound on our boat. Ruston offers a diverse community where we can all come together as friends and neighbors.

Why are you running for council? Ruston is faced with many challenges over the next few years that are more acute as a result of the economic challenges that face our nation, state, county and town. I had not considered a position in public office, but was approached by friends and neighbors and asked to consider running for Town Council. I realized that I could not sit back and expect others to take the responsibility for our community and its future. If I wanted to maintain the independence of our town I needed to get off the sidelines and become involved in shaping the future of our community.


Outline the issues you see as important for the town right now.
a. Maintaining our independence as the Town of Ruston: The financial realities facing our Town are severe. If we are to maintain our independence, we need to find reliable sources of continuing revenue to support the town now and into the future.

b. The development of the Ruston Way waterfront: We need to work in partnership with Tacoma in developing the former Asarco sight and to ensure that the development there is in the best interests of our town and does not diminish the many unique characteristics that make Ruston a safe and welcoming community that we know it to be.

Where do you want the town to be in 5, 10 and 20 years? I want Ruston to continue to be an independent town a reliable revenue stream.

Anything else you want to say? I would be honored to be on the town council and will be open to hearing the ideas and concerns of our community.

Remembering A Promise

I'm not connected to Ruston's political pulse anymore. Maybe that's a good thing. I have other important things that need my attention right now. One of those things is a history book for our little town. Without the latest political action to share with you, I will instead share some of my historical discoveries.

I came across this note that former mayor Phil Parker left the night before he committed suicide. Phil was a good friend and his decision tore a huge hole in many of our hearts. I share one of his dying wishes here in the hope that our current leaders, many of whom never had the privilege of knowing our bearded friend in Birkenstocks, will find a way to plant a tree or two in his memory soon...

Karen

Budget Cuts And/Or Tax Increases

I recently sent an email to Mayor Hopkins expressing my concerns about the proposal to raise utility taxes without making any budget cuts. Ruston has drawn on reserve funds to balance the budget this year.

Turns out the town has addressed both sides of this coin. His answer is informative and encouraging. He agreed I could share it with you'all. Contact information for all our elected officials is listed on the sidebar to the left. Be sure and keep the conversation going. It's important that our leaders don't make these important decisions in a vacuum. ~ Karen

This remains a balancing act and one that we haven’t been very good at in the past. We have made cuts and will continue to make them where needed. Some of the things council and I have done in the way of cost cutting – we eliminated the office assistant position, we eliminated the weekend emphasis patrol’s and have one officer on duty, we employed (prior to my time) a new town attorney whom is on retainer (huge savings) and replaced the town planning service with a more affordable service – much better quality/ service I might add. We are doing everything in our power to avoid litigation by being professional and diligent in our dealings with everyone. The litigation costs have been excessive and unacceptable – however this does not mean we are rolling over if we are confronted – it means we are handling our affairs properly and professionally.

We are not taking the increased taxation approach lightly. Council’s approach to this issue is that we cannot fundamentally run our town differently than other municipalities do. Meaning – we are in the condition we are in because we did not keep pace with the overall needs of the town. When this was a mill town we had subsidies and those offset our costs (need for taxes). Our tax position is quite a bit less than our neighbors in Tacoma and yet they have economies of scale working for them. For us to believe we can offer services for less than Tacoma is up for debate.

The other side of the coin is we have some residents that want the services, don’t want cuts, and are willing to pay more. They are probably a very small minority because I think everyone’s position is we don’t want services reduced and we don’t want increased taxes – that is the dilemma. Our projected expenses based on our 6 month review is approximately $900,000 (not including litigation payments) and our projected revenue based on our six month review is $790,000.

I am focused on encouraging growth, helping The Commencement come on line, promoting our town to anyone that will listen, helping Pt. Ruston become a reality, and the revenue will follow. Strong revenue growth will alleviate the need for increased taxation in the short term but at some point we have to adjust our tax base – but whether now is the right time or not is what council is currently dealing with.

Well – not sure if I have answered or properly addressed your issues but we have communicated. I know you are aware that I do not set policy so your council members will need to hear from you as well.

Chance To Explain

I recently asked the council and mayor to provide their reasons for voting to invite negotiations for annexation with Tacoma. Council Member Albertson responded with the email below. Council Member Huson called to talk over his views on this and other issues. I've summarized Huson's comments below with his permission. ~ Karen
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Council Member Huson is not convinced discussions with Tacoma will yield anything productive. The issue of annexation has been broached before without an enthusiastic response from Tacoma. He feels it is important for the council to review any letter sent to Tacoma before it is sent to ensure it reflects the council's position. The council wants to talk to Tacoma about having the larger city provide services as well as annexation. He voted against the motion on March 2nd because it did not include a provision for the council to approve the final wording before it was sent.

Huson stated clearly he is not ready to give up on Ruston yet - hopefully not ever. He is concerned that the police budget is so big (slightly less than half the total budget). He did not think there would be any decision on any of these issues until the research was done.

He is supportive of having the council do everything they can to develop the current business core. When he was on the planning commission, they wanted to raise the building height to 45'. He supports having the planning commission look at this issue again. "You can't do a Class A commercial building at 35' as we saw with the recent variance application for The Ruston Building," he noted. He hopes that building can start soon.

He feels the town should look at selling its surplus property before considering annexation. There are several pockets of land Ruston could sell. That was where the idea of selling Ruston Park for development began.

He is not enthused about giving up to Tacoma with $3.5 million in the bank. On a personal level, people don't declare bankruptcy until they have done everything (take out loans, go out on limbs before jumping ship). He feels the town should follow the same course, exhaust all possibilities before annexation is considered.

Having said that, he feels we need to come to grips with our services. What revenue do we need to grow our services to meet future demands as the population increases. He thinks that right now our services have surpassed our revenues. He hopes we can hold on until our revenues increase enough to find that balance again.

He continues to strive to keep the council meetings calm and businesslike. He doesn't think it is productive for the council to fight in public. But he would rather spend his time outside the meetings working on positive things. For instance, he and the mayor recently met with Pierce County about potential grants for upgrading the storm sewer system.

His priorities continue to be to get Point Ruston developed and address our infrastructure needs. He feels we are lucky to have Point Ruston moving ahead even in the current market. We should be happy with the level of activity and supportive rather than throwing up roadblocks.

__________________________________
From: Karen Pickett [mailto:kpickett22@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tue 3/3/2009 5:56 PM
To: Albertson, Dan; Hedrick, Jim; Hunt, Jane; Bradley Huson; Stebner, Wayne; Hopkins, Bruce
Subject: Annexation

Dear Mayor and Council,

The vote last night to begin discussions/negotiations with Tacoma for
annexation was very important to our community. I am inviting each of you to explain why you voted as you did on the motion last night and why you would not allow public input before you made your decision. I think voters would be very interested in what you have to say on the issue.

Your response will be posted on the Ruston Home blog. I hope you can find time to provide your input into this important issue.

Karen
____________________________________________
On Tue, 3/3/09, Albertson, Dan wrote:
From: Albertson, Dan Albertsond@TownofRuston.org
Subject: RE: Annexation
To: kpickett22@yahoo.com
Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2009, 7:07 PM

Dear Ms. Pickett,

As a matter of policy, I choose not respond to people who run websites which post altered pictures of Town Council members in Nazi uniforms. These types of websites, including yours, have, in my opinion, done great damage to the Town of Ruston and its image in the community. I believe we should focus on the issues to try to solve the Town's severe financial problems, not the kind of personal attacks posted on your websites.

Sincerely,

Dan M. Albertson
Council Member
Town of Ruston
________________________________
Tuesday, March 3, 2009 8:28 PM
From: "Karen Pickett" kpickett22@yahoo.com
To: "Albertson, Dan"

Thank you for your input. I am sorry you are not willing to share your reasons for your important action at last night's meeting. To clarify, as you know the website you are referring to is no longer being used for precisely the reasons you state; it was being used by all sides of our contentious issues to attack each other rather than dialog. Besides the one photo you focus on, there were and have been many attacks against those who disagree with current council members. The council member pictured in that photo is not offended and I am sorry you are not able to put this behind us as well.

The Ruston Home site is carefully monitored and offers a variety of opinions. I believe wholeheartedly we can disagree without attacks, which is what this communication tool strives for. It is important for people to understand what your goals are on this issue and why you think negotiating for annexation is the best use of our energy during the current financial challenge. I hope you will reconsider and share your opinion.

Karen---

Did Ruston Miss The Boat?

A couple of people have commented this week that Ruston missed the boat by not getting any infrastructure projects on the list for federal stimulus money as reported the New Tribune on Sunday. At recent council meetings, Council Member Hedrick seems to know the most about the stimulus program, so I asked him and the mayor to confirm if Ruston ignored a call to submit a "wish list" and why the Town is moving in the direction they are. Here are their thoughts:
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From Mayor Hopkins:

Ruston never received any project calls and if we had we were unprepared to respond. I know Jim can respond to the Economic Recovery Plan better than I can but we are preparing our projects so they are ready as soon as possible should any money become available. I know you were at the last council meeting when our town engineer clearly stated that we need fully engineered projects with associated costs if we were going to be "Shovel Ready". We anticipate having our two projects "Shovel Ready" for possibly the next round of funds.

The Wall Street Journal lists where the first wave of the funds are projected to go and here is the Infrastructure breakdown:
Infrastructure
$32 billion Transportation projects
$31 billion Construction and repair of federal buildings and other public infrastructure
$19 billion Water projects
$10 billion Rail and mass transit projects

While the two year package is over $800 billion - $275 billion of that is tax relief and leaves $550 billion over two years. My point is the number seems massive until you start breaking it down and the odds of Ruston receiving any of it will be difficult. We are doing everything in our power to position Ruston so we are ready for any part of that money once it trickles down.

Both council and I have spent a tremendous amount of time exploring every avenue possible to help our town financially.
__________________________

From Council Member Hedrick:

I am not aware of any call directly to Ruston, however Governor Gregoire's office made a blanket call of municipalities and local governments to compile lists of infrastructure projects and submit them to her office by the beginning of January. Further, the Association of Washington Cities was coordinating an effort to have cities respond to the Governor's office. What that process has produced are lists of projects, shovel ready or not, of every damn dumb thing some mayor, or city councilmember, or county legislator or transit board member or port commissioner ever wanted to build. Historic barns, footbridges, dog fountains etc. This is in addition to local projects such as mixed-use developments, city parks, museums, performing art centers, monuments, etc.. These lists all sit neatly in a filing cabinet in Dick Thompson's office in Olympia with little to no chance of ever being funded by the economic stimulus package. (Dick Thompson is the advisor to Gov. Gregoire on the federal stimulus package).

As Bruce states above, and Mr. Morrisette explained in what I thought was a vey thorough and frank discussion about local infrastructure finance, the federal economic stimulus package is constructed in a rigid fashion and distributed by existing categories. Federal stimulus funding for sewer projects will be deposited directly into programs such as the public works trust fund where there is a list of prioritized projects that have been engineered and awaiting public funding, even before the notion of a federal stimulus package was conceived. Also, many of these projects I suspect may not even meet the definition of "shovel ready" (120 days) as prescribed by the Obama administration; but that's where the Feds are sending the money. There will be little to no role for state legislatures or local governments to appropriate any of the federal economic stimulus money. Further, the amount of federal funds that will be made available for local water/sewer infrastructure to each of the states is much lower than previously expected.

Not wanting to be divisive, but I think it's worth noting, that during the amount of time Ruston has no engineering services under contract prior to having Mr. Morrisette and his firm on board, Ruston may have lost its opportunity to be positioned in this infrastructure stimulus frenzy had we been able to give the sewer project assignment we commissioned at the last Council meeting to an engineer months ago. When our previous engineering firms services were terminated, Ruston had no firm arrangement for an immediate replacement. It's also fair to say there was not enough confidence among the Council in our engineer at the time to be given the sewer assignment. Regardless, Ruston may have submitted a list of infrastructure projects to Olympia and it would sit neatly in a filing cabinet. Ruston is not ready or even shovel ready with our sewer project and we are certainly not alone with other municipalities across the state.

I am with my Mayor, who I think is trying to get Ruston positioned to get state funding support from the public works trust fund and has explored other options. The federal economic stimulus package, which is more of a state government bail out package, is not a realistic option for Ruston at this particular point in history.

Over my morning coffee -
_____________________________________

Council Member Hedrick also shared this analysis of the federal stimulus package he did for a client recently:

Federal Economic Stimulus:
Long time Olympia stalwart Dick Thompson (former state OFM, DSHS, CTED director and Governor’s Chief of Staff) has been charged by Governor Gregoire to coordinate the state’s effort with the federal economic stimulus package. In discussions with Mr. Thompson it is becoming very clear there will be accountability in how Congress and the Obama administration will distribute federal stimulus funds to the states. The stimulus version recently passed by the U.S. House and the recently marked up version in the U.S. Senate has very tight restrictions on federal funds distributed in existing programs across the board. For example, Washington State will receive funds for K-12 education by program categories that are formula-driven such as Title I, Special Education, and school construction. Mr. Thompson observes that funding for Special Education children’s programs is certainly laudable, but it’s another matter to argue that it’s economic stimulus or creates jobs. Other unexpected issues in the federal stimulus package is that there is heavy restrictions on supplanting state funds with the federal stimulus funds. Meaning, states will not have the ability to use the federal stimulus funds to pay off the state programs for which they are intended and use state funds in those programs to backfill other state spending. Further, the transportation share for Washington and other states is much smaller than expectations. The entire federal package for Washington will only be about $550 million and of that half will be directly disbursed to local or regional transportation organizations.
The federal stimulus package acts much more like a government bail-out package rather than targeted economic stimulus. There is very little opportunity to target resources and serve strategic objectives. Back in Olympia, Legislative budget writers including Reps. Kelli Linville (D-Bellingham) new chair of the powerful House Ways & Means Committee acknowledge this week that the legislature will have very little if any role in determining how federal stimulus funds will be spent. Rep. Hans Dunshee (D-Snohomish) and chair of the House Capital Budget Committee observed, “Congress will get their stimulus program through without any pork barrel spending in it and the expectation will be no less for us here in Olympia.” The concept of accountability is not lost on state lawmakers as they closely monitor the other Washington and the way they have been directive with federal funds. It is clear the Obama administration, after watching the public outcry upon the Bush administration’s handling of the federal bail-out of the banking and auto industries, wants to be able to answer the question; where has the money gone? It has also become the perfect political cover for President Obama’s new tax cut proposal for the middle-class (those under $250,000 annual salary) without having to show how to pay for it.

The goal for Congress is to get the federal stimulus package to the President’s desk to sign into law by the President’s Day break in mid-February. Distribution of funds could then begin by the start of March, just in time for the state’s updated revenue and caseload forecasts.

B&O Tax Increase

Speaking of businesses, Ruston is set to raise their B&O tax rate on Monday night. I didn't have time to scan the full ordinance, but the rate increases are:

• Extractor: was 0.048, now 0.11
• Manufacturer: was 0.048, now 0.11
• Wholesale Sales: was 0.048, now 0.102
• Retail Sales: was 0.047, now 0.153
• Printing: was 0.15, now 0.20
• All others: was 0.15, now 0.20

Most of Ruston's businesses are small, in-home enterprises. If you know anyone with a local businesses, please let them know Monday's council meeting will be their only time to address the council before they vote on this tax increase.