Tacoma City Council
Study Session
Noon, Tuesday, July 22, 2003
Room 16
Tacoma Municipal Building North
728 St. Helens Ave.
Link light rail, Steel Street extension
The City Council study session will cover two topics: Link light rail train safety and an agreement with Costco for improvements to Steele Street. Sound Transit has begun an intensive education campaign to alert pedestrians, motorists and others to safety precautions prior to the Tacoma Links first run Aug. 22. Sound Transit staff will review those public safety tips and measures already in place with the City Council. Public Works staff will spend a portion of the study session covering a developer reimbursement agreement with Costco that will come on the council agenda July 29. The agreement would allow Costco to recover improvement costs for Steele Street – from Idaho Street to South 35th Street – from owners developing in the reimbursement area within 15 years after the agreement is filed. Street improvements will include the addition of sidewalks and streetlights and initial timelines call for the work to be done before the 2003 holiday shopping season.
The public may attend the study session, but the council will not take comment.
Tacoma City Council
Regular Meeting
5 p.m., Tuesday, July 22, 2003
Council Chambers
Tacoma Municipal Building
747 Market St.
New city managers pay
How much compensation should Tacoma City Manager Jim Walton receive? If the City Council approves a resolution, Walton will earn nearly $12,000 more per year than he received as deputy city manager, bringing his salary up to $149,053. Officially, Walton took over as city manager July 15, but he has filled that role since May 6 when the Council placed former City Manager Ray Corpuz on administrative leave. If the council approves Waltons rate of pay, it will be retroactive as of July 15. At its July 15 meeting, the council removed longevity pay and deferred compensation as part of the compensation package and set the city managers pay range between $127,787 and $182,988. The City Council will take public comment before voting.
Fox may become TPU Board member
Laura Fox may become part of the Tacoma Public Utility Board. The City Council will take public comment and vote on a resolution to appoint Fox to the five-member board, which sets policy for all Public Utilities activities related to supplying customers with electricity, water and rail freight switching. Fox and her opponent, Carol Sloman, Ph.D., interviewed in front of the council July 8.
Child care support services contract
For more than 15 years, Tacoma has provided child care expertise to parents, child care providers, employers and the community. The city relies on funding assistance from the state Department of Social and Health Services to provide this service. The City Council will consider a $336,304 agreement with the DSHS Child Care and Early Learning Division, which will help the city continue to provide child care resources and referral services. The program: helps parents search for quality child care; provides training and technical assistance to daycare providers; contracts with employers to help employees find child care; and educates community members about child care activities in Tacoma and Pierce County. Citizens may comment on the proposed agreement. The council will vote at a later date.
This is an incomplete agenda for the July 22, 2003, meeting of the City Council. The Index prints as much as space allows.
