Council Schedule Highlights Week of October 9th, 2017

5 min readOct 9, 2017

Monday, OCTOBER 9th, 2017

Monday Study Session

Presentation of the HCT Feasibility Study — Pierce Transit

There’s been a desire to create a High Capacity Transit line along Pacific/Hwy 7. Better known as Bus Rapid Transit, it operates more like light rail with lesson frequent stops, pre-sold tickets, dedicated medians and prioritized signals, but without the additional cost of laying track.

Pacific, which starts in unincorporated Pierce County and heads straight into downtown Tacoma, would seem to lend itself well to this form of transit.

1:30pm Public Safety, Human Services, and Budget

Dan Roach, Chair
Derek Young, Vice Chair
Connie Ladenburg
Jim McCune
Pam Roach

This meeting will be broadcast live and replayed on channel 22 (Comcast and Click! Network) and on channel 20 (Rainier Connect) Electronic meeting material can be accessed at http://www.piercecountywa.org/councilcommittees.Video archives are available at www.piercecountytv.org.

Medical Examiner Update Presenter: Dr. Thomas Clark, MD — Chief Medical Examiner, Medical Examiner Office

Regular update from the ME. I’ll be asking about opioid mortality rates as the addiction specialists from the State believe we’re underreporting.

Pre-Trial Services Update Presenter: Andrea Kelley, Pre-Trial Services Program Manager, Clerk’s Office, (253) 798–8613

The Pre-Trial Program started a couple years ago in an effort to reduce jail population. At that time, we had at any given time about 100 people locked up, awaiting trial because they couldn’t make $1000 bail. For such low level crimes, that means they would end up spending more time in jail than the underlying crime would warrant.

The program, which uses a number of tools such as reporting and electronic monitoring to insure appearance at trial, is in its second year so we should have good data now after some promising early results.

Tuesday, OCTOBER 10th, 2017

9:30am ECONOMIC AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

Pam Roach, Chair
Connie Ladenburg, Vice Chair
Douglas G. Richardson
Rick Talbert
Jim McCune

Proposal №2017–63, Annual Road Program, Six-Year Road Program, and the Fourteen-Year Ferry Program An Ordinance of the Pierce County Council Adopting the 2018–2023 Transportation Improvement Program and 2018–2031 Fourteen-Year Ferry Program, Pursuant to Revised Code of Washington Sections 36.81.121, 36.81.122, 36.81.130, and 36.54.015, and Washington Administrative Code 136, Chapters 15 and 16; Finding that Each Project Contained in the Plan is a Public Necessity; and Adopting Findings of Fact

Sponsored by: Councilmember Douglas G. Richardson

This is the annual update for our 6 year Transportation Improvement Program. The key thing to look for is an amount in the 2018 column that shows an investment over $1 which is used as a placeholder to keep the project on the list.

District 7 projects for next year are:

Study for FI Bridge Replacement $1,000,000
Key Pen Hwy Shoulder/Trail Widening $350,000
Cromwell Dr NW Hillside Stabilization $75,000
Whiteman Rd KPS Culvert Replacement/Resurface $758,000
62 Ave NW/144 St NW Intersection Gig Harbor $2,500,000
Pt Fosdick Dr NW/Stone Dr NW/34th Ave NW $2,674,000

6:00pm County Council Meeting — In District meeting.

Asia Pacific Cultural Center 4851 S. Tacoma Way Tacoma, Washington (District №4)

Council meetings are audio recorded and cablecast from gavel to gavel. Meetings are broadcast live and replayed beginning the next day on channel 22 (Comcast and Click! Network) and on channel 20 (Rainier Connect). Video archives are available at www.piercecountytv.org Audio equipment is available for the hearing impaired. Please contact the receptionist for assistance.

Proposal No. R2017–106, Agriculture Advisory Committee A Resolution of the Pierce County Council Creating the Pierce County Agriculture Advisory Committee to Advise the Pierce County Council on Agricultural Issues; Designating Committee Membership; and Providing a Sunset Date.

Sponsored by: Councilmember Pam Roach

The bill would create a limited duration committee to advise the Council on actions that could be taken to support farming in Pierce County. Councilmember Ladenburg and I will be introducing and amendment that would save two of the seats for operators of small farms that make up the bulk of our local industry.

Wednesday, OCTOBER 11th, 2017

9:30am FLOOD CONTROL ZONE DISTRICT BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

Rick Talbert, Chair
Dan Roach, Vice Chair
Derek Young
Pam Roach
Jim McCune
Connie Ladenburg
Douglas G. Richardson

Resolution 2017–4, A Resolution of the Pierce County Flood Control Zone District Repealing Resolution №2017- 3 and Approving a Revised Fund Balance Policy for the Pierce County Flood Control Zone District.

While establishing the District the board wisely chose to go slow on spending the new revenue. This has resulted in a very health ending fund balance, the perfect time to establish a strategic reserve. In addition to the normal fund balance that local governments use to manage cash flow and save for a rainy day, the strategic reserve will provide a resource in case of extraordinary emergency, unexpected opportunities, or match for grants. The key point is that it must be replenished which will enforce some discipline on the board. We set up something similar in Gig Harbor when I was on the Council.

Resolution 2017–5, A Resolution of the Pierce County Flood Control Zone District Relating to the Finances of the Pierce County Flood Control Zone District; Authorizing a Property Tax Levy to Implement the District’s 2018 Budget; Reserving Banked Capacity; and Protecting up to $.25 per $1,000 of Assessed Value of the District’s Property Tax Levy from Proration.

One oddity of the law government flood control districts is that they were exempted from the 1% property cap. I’m not sure why and don’t really care. After pushing for a couple years we’ve finally got a policy that will self-impose the 1% cap to the district. I happen to think it’s too low (should be capped at inflation), but I think people would expect us to make it consistent.

Resolution 2017–6, A Resolution of the Pierce County Flood Control Zone District Board of Supervisors, Adopting the 2018 Budget and Authorizing Improvements.

This is the budget for the District. Because of its specialized purpose, the program is pretty straight forward.

Thursday, OCTOBER 12th, 2017

9:30am COUNCIL BUDGET RETREAT

Location: Environmental Services Building, 9850 64th St W, University Place, WA 98467

Wrapping up the budget retreats ahead of next week’s start of the Committee of the Whole hearings where the departments will respond to Council questions and support their requests.

My Weekly Calendar

Earlier this year we got a request for my forward looking calendar. Rather than have staff waste their time on public record requests, I’m just going to start publishing screen shots. 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.