Council Schedule Highlights Week of August 19th, 2019
Monday, August 19th, 2019
1:30 pm Community Development Committee
Derek Young, Chair
Dave Morell, Vice Chair
Marty Campbell
Jim McCune
Douglas G. Richardson
Regularly scheduled meetings are broadcast live and replayed on channel 22 (Comcast and Click! Network) and channel 20 (Rainier Connect). Access meeting materials at www.piercecountywa.org/councilcommittees.
Proposal №2019–59, Shoreline Master Program
Sponsored by: Councilmembers Derek Young and Douglas G. Richardson
After passing our long overdue SMP update, the shellfish industry sued to block a number of provisions designed to protect Puget Sound and upland property owners. Unfortunately the Growth Management Hearings Board, which has jurisdiction over these cases, agreed with the industry.
At its core the problem is Governor Gregoire’s shellfish initiative which mistakenly viewed geoduck farms as a clean jobs program. My concern is that the cumulative impact of the farms, and locating them in our most important esturaries, will have an impact on endangered salmon and orcas.
The bill complies with the the Hearings Board’s order. I’ll be seeking a legislative solution in Olympia.
Urban Community Plans Update and Committee Discussion
Presenter: Dennis Hanberg, Director, Planning and Public Works
This month we had expected to have our first hearings on the plan updates in the urban communities of Pierce. The Planning Commission decided to have extra hearings over the next few months. I appreciate their willingness to take their time and give the Executive’s proposal the attention it deserves.
We’ll receive an update from department staff. I have some questions about the transportation plan. Since this is basically a proposal for transit oriented development, we need to make sure the transit investment is concurrent with growth.
Tuesday, August 20th, 2019
9:30 am Human Services Committee
Connie Ladenburg, Chair
Marty Campbell, Vice Chair
Douglas G. Richardson
Dave Morell
Derek Young
Regularly scheduled meetings are broadcast live and replayed on channel 22 (Comcast and Click! Network) and channel 20 (Rainier Connect). Access meeting materials at www.piercecountywa.org/councilcommittees.
Proposal No. R2019–93, Naloxone Training and Distribution Program
Sponsored by: Councilmembers Derek Young, Connie Ladenburg, and Pam Roach
Naloxone, better known by its brand name Narcan, is the opioid overdose reversal drug. One of the Opioid Task Force’s major priorities is to get NarCan into the hands of first responders and others who come into contact with people experiencing opioid use disorder.
A new program operated by the Dave Purchase Project (Pierce County’s needle exchange) will distribute naloxone kits and provide training.
Proposal No. R2019–94, Ending Veteran Homelessness Exploratory Task Force
Sponsored by: Councilmembers Derek Young and Connie Ladenburg
Even with one of the larger military installations in the world calling Pierce County home, you may be surprised to know that 1 of 10 residents is a veteran. Unfortunately, some of them, often bearing physical and mental scars of war, find themselves without housing. That’s why we’re forming a task force to end veteran homelessness in Pierce County.
The task force will tax will not exceed 9 members with designees from:
- Pierce County Human Services Department
- Pierce County Veterans Assistance Programs
- Pierce County Housing Authority
- Tacoma Housing Authority
- Tacoma-Lakewood-Pierce County Continuum of Care
- Catholic Community Services
- American Lake VA
Proposal №2019–55, Crisis Intervention Teams: Mobile Community Intervention Response Team
Sponsored by: Councilmembers Marty Campbell, Connie Ladenburg, Dave Morell, and Derek Young
MCIRT is a mobile outreach program for people in crisis, particularly those who are high utilizers of emergency services. Referrals to the program come from first responders, hospitals, and community service providers.
The pilot program was successful and is ready for permanent operation and expansion. The main obstacle to ensuring this service is available across all of Pierce County is resources.
Proposal No. R2019–97, Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account — Proceeds Allocation Process
Sponsored by: Councilmembers Derek Young and Connie Ladenburg
When the Legislature decided it would prefer that sales tax collected on transportation projects be redirected back to the Transportation Fund, they faced a dilemma with the billions in Sound Transit construction. Rather than put those locally voted and funded dollars into a state account, they decided to keep those dollars local by redirecting the money to the three respective counties in the district with the purpose of improving educational outcomes for vulnerable children.
Last year we created a stakeholder group to recommend a course of action. Primarily they set a series of goals, but one interesting idea that resulted in a bill passed by the Legislature, was to create an endowment.
That bill also had a provision requiring counties that haven’t passed the behavioral health tax (Pierce County) to set up a special process to ensure stakeholders, legislators, and cities were involved in the appropriation process. Although we likely would have set up something similar anyway, this bill is responsive to the new requirement.
My Weekly Calendar
A couple of years ago we got a request for my forward-looking calendar. Rather than have staff waste their time on public record requests, I decided to publish screenshots. Now I’m adding a link to the calendar as well. If you have questions, feel free to call. Keep in mind, my schedule isn’t static. Things will get added, deleted, changed, etc. There are conflicts that I have to pick between. But if people want to see where I’m at and who I meet with, that’s fine by me.
