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 Nov. 19, 2009
- Members of the City Council
City of Tacoma, Washington |
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Dear Council Members:
ACTION REQUESTED
1. The updated Public Policy Calendar is attached for your information. The City Manager’s intent in providing this is to give you a longer-range “heads up” on policy issues you may be considering. He welcomes your questions or feedback.
2. Don’t forget City offices will be closed on Thursday, November 26th and Friday, November 27th for the Thanksgiving holiday.
TOPICS OF INTEREST
3. Public Works provides the attached spreadsheet listing the pothole overlay projects completed ahead of schedule and under budget by $350,000. Staff are exploring options to repair Fife Street, one block north and one block south of Sixth Avenue, as reported to you in June.
STUDY SESSION/WORK SESSION
4. The City Council Study Session of Tuesday, November 24, 2009, will be held in Room 16 in the Tacoma Municipal Building North. Discussion items will be: (1) Other Items of Interest – Term Sheet for the Bicentennial Pavilion; and Joint Determining Authority (JDA) for the Highlands Golf Course Open Space Current Use Assessment application; (2) Agenda Review; and (3) Closed Session – Labor Negotiations; and Executive Session – Performance Review.
At Tuesday’s Study Session, under Other Items of Interest, the City Manager will share information on the Option Agreement for the potential sale of the Bicentennial Pavilion.
As a second item, under Other Items of Interest, the Community and Economic Development Department is requesting assistance in identifying three Council Members, continuing in 2010, for appointment to the Joint Determining Authority (JDA) at the December 15th Council meeting. Since at this time, we are unsure if the JDA meeting will be needed, and if so if it will be held this year or next, staff is proposing that the resolution be completed this year.
As background information, the City and County Councils will jointly review and consider the Current Use Assessment applications. Per RCW 84.34, should both bodies approve the application and concur on how much tax reduction should be granted, their concurring decisions can serve as the final step in the approval process. However, if both bodies approve the application yet differ in the amount of tax reduction that should be granted, the final decision is made by the JDA. At this time, the Planning Commission’s recommendations differ from those of Pierce County staff for the Highlands Golf Course application. The Planning Commission has recommended a higher tax discount than what was recommended by County staff. Although the four parcels ( just under 20 acres) located on the golf course
qualify for the program, the difference stems from disagreement regarding how much public benefit is being derived from the three wetlands located on the course.
Under the County’s Public Benefit Rating System (PBRS), the tool the County uses to determine both whether sites are eligible and how much of a discount they should receive, the three wetlands are the feature that qualifies the golf course for a tax reduction. The wetlands also increase the amount by which property taxes would be reduced. However, in this case the wetlands are only a small portion of the whole site and are not high functioning in terms of habitat. The City Planning Commission has recommended that the entire golf course receive the full reduction. The Commission felt that the site provides valuable environmental, recreational and open space benefits and that it functions as a single site (rather than as four separate parcels); therefore, it should receive the wetland discount applied to the whole site. The County staff recommended that only two out of four parcels (where the wetlands are located) should receive the points awarded to wetlands. That amounts to about half the golf course.
The difference in tax reduction between the two recommendations amounts to about 10% per year on the four qualifying parcels. Under the County’s recommendation, the taxes would go down by about 50%, while under the Planning Commission’s recommendation they would go down by 60%. Both views are within the parameters laid out by the Current Use Assessment program and City and County policies and code. It comes down to a determination of how much public benefit is derived, which ultimately is determined by the elected bodies or the JDA.
Resolution No. 37920 will be on Tuesday’s Council agenda for your consideration to set the date for a public hearing on the Highlands Golf Course application on December 8th. Following consideration of the public testimony, there will be a resolution on the December 15th Council agenda for your consideration to approve the application, set the appropriate property tax discount and appoint three Council Members to serve on the JDA.
At the conclusion of Tuesday’s Study Session, there will be a Closed Session to discuss labor negotiations and an Executive Session to discuss the City Manager’s Performance Review.
5. The updated Tentative Council Study Session, Workshop, and Town Hall Meeting Calendar is attached for your information.
COUNCIL REQUESTS/INQUIRIES
6. Community and Economic Development Director Ryan Petty provides the following information in response to Council Member Fey’s question about available resources for completing “step 1” of mixed-use center master planning. On October 27th, the City Council received the Planning Commission’s recommendation regarding the creation of master plans for the City’s designated mixed use centers. The Planning Commission’s recommendation was developed in response to and based on the direction provided by the Council in Resolution No. 37835. The Commission’s recommendation divides the master planning process into three steps with “step 1” consisting of an initial assessment of the existing conditions of the mixed-use center and determining the feasibility of funding improvements through the formation of a Local Improvement District. The estimated cost to conduct “step 1” is approximately $75,000 per neighborhood mixed-use center. Funding for this activity is not budgeted and would require the identification of additional resources to complete.
7. In response to Mayor Baarsma’s request that staff research the status of the properties associated with Wapato Hills Park to ensure that the area is preserved for park use, Public Works Director Dick McKinley reports that the park is owned by the City, State and Metro Parks Tacoma. The northerly parcels of Wapato Hills Park are owned by the City and are included in the Open Space Inventory to be maintained as Open Space. This City property was acquired with Pierce County Conservation Futures. The central parcel is owned by the State to be maintained for conservation and recreation purposes. The southerly parcel is owned and operated by Metro Parks Tacoma as a park.
8. In response to Deputy Mayor Anderson’s request for information regarding whether any cuts or reductions related to ADA improvements were being proposed as part of the new Capital Facilities Program, Dick McKinley provides the attached memorandum. No cuts to existing budgets for the ADA Transition Plan are proposed in this biennium.
9. Assistant City Manager Tansy Hayward provides the attached memorandum with responses to inquiries related to the Safe and Clean Team updates presented at the September 15th Study Session.
10. In response to the question Council Member Lonergan raised at the last Council meeting, relating to Ordinance No. 27852 and if Metro Parks is committed to the operation and maintenance of People’s Pool once the proposed capital improvements are completed, the City Manager’s Office reports the following. The November 6, 2008 Interlocal Agreement between the City and the Metropolitan Park District contemplates that once the capital improvements are completed, ownership of the facility will be transferred from the City to the Metropolitan Park District. The details of this transfer will be addressed as part of the required Transition Plan described within the Interlocal Agreement.
GRANTS AWARDED
11. For your information, the City has been awarded the following grant:
• Adding a Marine Industrial Port Element to the City Comprehensive Plan - City was awarded $100,000, with a $50,000 City and a $50,000 Port in-kind match required.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
12. You have been invited to the following events:
• Pacific Ballroom Dance’s 4th Annual Harvest Ball Benefit on Saturday, November 21st, 5:00 p.m., at Tacoma’s Landmark Convention Center, Temple Theater Ballroom located at 47 St Helens Avenue.
• The Annual Zoolights Lighting Ceremony on Friday, November 27th, 4:00 p.m., at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium located at 5400 North Pearl Street, Ruston.
• The Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony on Saturday November 28th, 5:00 p.m., at 9th and Broadway, followed by a showing of The Polar Express at the Pantages.
Sincerely,
REY ARELLANO
Acting City Manager
Weekly report with attachments
Weekly and monthly report archive
City Manager's Office
747 Market Street
Tacoma, WA 98402
Phone: (253) 591-5130
Eric Anderson
City Manager
Eric.Anderson@cityoftacoma.org
Eric Anderson became the City Manager on July 15, 2005.
Deputy City Manager & Chief Information Officer
Rey Arellano, Deputy City Manager & Chief Information Officer
Rey.Arellano@cityoftacoma.org
Assistant City Manager
Tansy Hayward, Assistant City Manager
Tansy.Hayward@cityoftacoma.org