Council Schedule Highlights Week of June 24th, 2019

June 24, 2019

– Derek Young, Pierce County Council

Monday, June 24th, 2019

10:00 am Rules Committee

Douglas Richardson, Chair
Connie Ladenburg, Vice Chair
Dave Morrell, Executive Pro Tempore

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 №2019–32s, Supplemental Budget
Sponsored by: Councilmembers Douglas G. Richardson and Derek Young

Typically the Council will have at least one mid-year supplemental budget. This is partially due to the fact that we are conservative in our revenue forecasts and have more available than we had expected back in November. It’s also to address emerging needs and new priorities. Here are some highlights of the proposal as it stands now.

$45,000 for a Human Trafficking Awareness initiative.
$10,000 for Amara, an organization involved with foster children, additional funding for community engagement on how to best use its property in Midland.
$20,000 to provide flexible transportation services for inmates released from jail to substance abuse treatment providers.
$75,000 to the Blighted Property Maintenance Fund for abatement and clean-up activity.
$106,570 for the Coordinated Water Program Update.
$68,520 PALS Building and Development Fund budget for a new Limited Duration FTE (1.0) in response to increased workload.

A few other amendments I’m offering:

$20,000 to the Children’s Home Society to run a summer program for youths on the Key Peninsula.
$50,000 for consultant services for Shoreline Master Program amendments.
$80,000 to Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department for water quality monitoring and public notification services. This is to make up for cuts from the state. TPCHD will monitor lakes and marine bays popular for recreation and commercial shellfish.
$100,000 for legal services for indigent immigrants and refugees subject to removal. This was prompted by fears I’ve heard from Vietnamese and Khmer refugee communities. More here on the proposal from Matt Driscoll. If you want to help this pass, you can contact the Council here.

Councilmember Richardson has incorporated an amendment I was drafting for the $115,000 in park impact fees for improvements to the central meadow at Chambers Bay Park. The project will still move forward but using general fund revenue.

The other $300,000 for the project would come from hotel tax revenue and I have no issue with that. However, park impact fees come from construction in the unincorporated parts of Pierce County and should be spent in those areas, particularly considering the extremely poor level of service for Pierce County parks. We also made that commitment in negotiations with the Master Builders Association adopting a project list where the funds would be spent. Chambers Bay Park was not on that list. Though not legally binding, I certainly want to honor that promise.

Incorporated cities have their own impact fees and park sales tax dollars that could be tapped to pay for those improvements.

Proposal №2019–41, Declaration of Surplus Real Property — Authorization to Dispose — Puget Sound Behavioral Health
Sponsored by: Councilmember Douglas G. Richardson

This is the final step to making way for construction of the new South Sound 911 building on the site of the old Puget Sound Hospital. Because the County will be issuing bonds on behalf of SS911, we will retain ownership of the property and lease it until the bonds are paid off at which time the property and building will be transferred to SS911.

Proposal No. R2019–81, Interlocal Agreement — South Sound 911
Sponsored by: Councilmember Douglas G. Richardson

South Sound 911 was originally formed as an emergency communications joint operations agency. Prompted by discussions between the partner agencies and smaller cities seeking better representation, a reorganization as a public development authority has been proposed. Per state law, the new PDA will be chartered by the City of Tacoma but once formed is a completely new and legally distinct authority.

Contrary to some claims floating around, the new organization may not levy its own taxes.

Tuesday, June 25th, 2019

9:30 am Economic and Infrastructure Development Committee

Douglas G. Richardson, Chair
Connie Ladenburg, Vice Chair
Marty Campbell
Dave Morell
Pam Roach

Proposal No. R2019–74, Pierce County Broadband Initiative
Sponsored by: Councilmembers Derek Young, Marty Campbell, Dave Morell, and Douglas G. Richardson

High-speed broadband infrastructure is an essential utility necessary to foster a thriving community. As we look into the future, the demand for broadband will only continue to grow.

This resolution is the first of many steps launching our effort to improve access to high-speed broadband service across the whole county, implementing recommendations of the study I sponsored along the way. I’m particularly proud of the bipartisan support we have for the initiative and believe it shows the Council’s commitment to see major improvements.

The resolution directs the hiring of a short duration employee in the Council’s office to oversee the development of new policies and regulations outlined in the study recommendations, build public and private partnerships, and seek funding opportunities.

We know that residents, schools, hospitals and businesses need access to high-speed broadband to thrive. Like rural electrification a century ago, this effort will be central to Pierce County’s economic future. To achieve that, county government must provide regional leadership.

Council will continue to roll out future steps as the process moves forward.

3:00 pm Council Meeting

Proposal №2019–32s, Supplemental Budget
Sponsored by: Councilmembers Douglas G. Richardson and Derek Young

Final passage for the budget. Depending on which amendments are taken up in committee, I may be offering them here before the vote.

Proposal No. R2019–81, Interlocal Agreement — South Sound 911
Sponsored by: Councilmember Douglas G. Richardson

Likewise, this will be the final vote for the interlocal agreement as outlined above. It must be ratified by the other jurisdictions around the county.

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.