“Tacoma City CouncilStudy SessionNoon, Tuesday May 23, 2000Room 16, Municipal Building North728 St. Helens AvenueTacomaHuman Service PrioritiesCity Human Services Manager John Briehl will present a new draft 2000 Human Services Strategic Plan to the Council. Proposed changes in the City’s plan for human services include:- Placing a higher priority on economic self-sufficiency and the needs of families;- More closely basing human service funding on outcomes;- Strengthening the systems within the city that fulfill basic needs – emergency shelter, transitional housing, food and clothing.The plan, last updated in 1997, prioritizes the way the City allocates funding for human services. Funding for human services topped $2.25 million in 1999.The Council will also conduct a public hearing on the draft Human Services Strategic Plan at its evening Council meeting. The hearing will begin at approximately 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers.A resolution to adopt the proposed Human Services Strategic Plan is set to come before the Council June 13.Tacoma City CouncilCouncil Meeting5:00 p.m., Tuesday May 23Room 16, Municipal Building North728 St. Helens AvenueTacomaFoss Car-Train ReliefA contract before the Council would begin design work on a grade separation/overpass to untangle train, car, bicycle and foot traffic heading to and from the Thea Foss Waterway area.The $2.5 million project is one of 15 high-priority FAST Corridor projects identified by the Washington State Department of Transportation. The FAST Corridor project brings together local and state governments to improve how freight moves through the Tacoma-Seattle-Everett corridor.The FAST Corridor package recently received nearly $5.2 million in state and $1 million in federal funding to cover the entire cost of the East D Street project. City planners said they hope the project will eliminate tie-ups between trains and cars, provide uninterrupted pedestrian and bicycle access from the Tacoma Dome district to the Thea Foss Waterway, and greatly enhance the ability of freight to move quickly into and out of the Port of Tacoma.If the Council approves the design consultant services contract in a vote following public testimony, Exeltech, Inc. of Olympia would begin the planning and design process.The City plans a number of public meetings to discuss potential alternatives and obtain public input. Construction of the grade separation for the southern end of the downtown Tacoma waterway is tentatively slated to begin July 2001.”