Tacoma City Council
Regular Meeting
5 p.m., Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Council Chambers
Tacoma Municipal Building
747 Market St.
New members to join City Council
Delayed one week due to the cancellation of last weeks meeting due to inclement weather, newly elected council members Julie Anderson, Spiro Manthou and Tom Stenger will be sworn in. Anderson is a consultant and local leader in public safety and social advocacy; Manthou is general services manager for Bates Technical College; and Stenger is a local attorney. In addition, Bill Evans, who was re-elected to the Council, will also be sworn in. All officials will serve four-year terms. The newly elected members will join Mayor Bill Baarsma, Connie Ladenburg, Mike Lonergan, Kevin Phelps and Rick Talbert. There will be an opportunity to meet the new council members before the ceremony at 4 p.m. in the City Council Conference Room next to the Council Chambers.
Bill Evans up for deputy mayor
A resolution nominating and appointing Councilman Bill Evans to the office of deputy mayor for a one-year term will be considered by the council. Evans, a local business owner, was re-elected to a second four-year term on the council in November 2003.
Those on active duty could get pay
Continued from the Dec. 16 meeting, the council may consider a substitute ordinance that, if passed, will give paid leave to city employees called to active duty as a member of the armed forces or organized reserve. The goal of the ordinance is to lessen the financial impact on employees who experience a drastic drop in benefits and earnings when called to active duty. This would apply to every officer and employee of the city who is a member of the Washington National Guard, Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard or Marine Corps Reserve who receives written orders for active duty for more than 15 days. Public comment was taken at the Dec. 9 and Dec. 16 meetings, and the public may comment on the proposed ordinance.
Reduced theft goal of idling ordinance
Continued from the Nov. 4, 2003 meeting, a proposal prohibiting the unattended running of a motor vehicle engine is scheduled for consideration. In 2002, Tacoma had 3,240 vehicles stolen. Approximately 10 percent, or 324 vehicles, were stolen while the vehicle engines were left running and unattended. The Police Department expects to see an increase in vehicles stolen while left running unattended now that winter has arrived. The public can testify.
Builder may get police boat contract
The City Council will consider a resolution that would authorize the Tacoma Police Department to hire Aluminum Marine Construction, Inc. (Almar), to build the marine patrol boat. The police are planning for a June 1 launch of the 31-foot aluminum patrol boat. The local boat builder is an approved U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) vendor. The department is authorized by state law to make purchases from federal GSA vendors through a federal program. Police have selected six marine patrol officers who will undergo training to become marine patrol certified, which is a course sponsored by Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. The public may comment.
This is an incomplete agenda for the Jan. 13, 2004, meeting of the City Council. The Index prints as much as space allows.
