NEWS SOURCES:
Everett Herald, Seattle-PI, Seattle Times, Sacramento Bee, Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Chicago Tribune, Wired Magazine, Associated Press, LA Times, Washington Post, Drudge Report, Yahoo, G.R.I.T. Updates

NEWS ARTICLES

New

Seattle Times article re TODAY's County Council hearing on 10-yr. Comp Plan

Sultan Hiring/spending freeze (Herald article, published on the inside page of the Locals section on a Saturday.)

OTHER "STUFF"

DISCUSSION, OPINION & MESSAGE FORUM

G.R.I.T.'s 2002 RECORDING WARS
(When the City tried to stop G.R.I.T. from recording public meetings, with the help of the Boucher Clan, then-Mayor C. H. Rowe, and others..)

FOOD BANK: Put a pre-addressed food bank envelope in your "bills to pay" folder and send a check monthly: $5, $10, whatever you can spare!
For more info, click here.

It has taken us a little while, but in order to refresh everyone's memory about the $300,000 in city interfund loan balances (which is a main source of the Auditor's concerns), here is a transcription (and audio) of two excerpts from that Nov. 10th workshop (in Word, pdf), as well as an excerpt from the Auditor's exit review report to the council on Feb. 25, 2004. and here is the Auditor's financial report given that evening, in which the interfund loans were addressed.

And while we're on the subject of the 2006 budget, here is the handout of information distributed at the Nov. 10th and Nov. 16th workshops. There is a 6:00 PM Hearing this evening on the city's proposed budget for 2006.

• Forwarded by Councilman Jim Flower: Here's the County's amended, proposed FCC Ordinance and the amendment to that ordinance.
• Links related links to traffic impacts near/around FCCs: A link to another "squeaky wheel"-type website offering info on how REDMOND RIDGE's traffic concurrency certificate was granted, and a June, 2005 HEARING EXAMINER STAFFORD DECISION re traffic issues related to REDMOND RIDGE in which Stafford states that these certificates issued by King county were "arbitrary and capricious" (ahhh, he's singing our song) and that traffic "under all scenarios traffic from Redmond Ridge East will cause unmitigated adverse environmental impacts..." to nearby traffic patterns. And here's a July 1, 2005 SEATTLE TIMES article on this decision.
• Posted Nov. 10th - Nov. 8, 2005 letter from Mayor Tolson in opposition to the County's proposal FCC ordinance, which will benefit one single, greedy landowner who owns 2,600 acres near Lake Roesiger. Big kudos to both Tolson, who wrote this letter, adn to Jim Flower for following through on this issue (what we consider to be a real property rights issue, as this type of "improvement" will negatively affect the propery rights of the County's current population, in addition to many future property owners.

• Recent - as of 11/2: Notice of Decision on the Huber 1st Street property (in Word, Acrobat)
• Recent - as of 10/31: Vodnick's "Brickyard" Notice of Application, a 23-single family unit PUD on 4.77 acres at the top of the Sultan Basin hill, bordering the south boundary of Eagle Ridge. (This legal notice was not sent to us as required -- as a party of record -- and was not yet posted on the City's website as of the morning of 11/1/05.)
• Recent - BLA #05-004 York-Davies Boundary Line Adjustment just south of York's recently-completed Rosewood Estates community on 124th St. SE (The city did not send us this legal, but they did post it on their website.) PARCEL MAP of the properties involved. We present this map with a caution that the source was the Assessor's online SCOPI site, for which they essentially disavow any legal warranty as to its accuracy.
• Barmon Lumber's Determination of Non-significance for his 12,000 s.f. building (The City did not send us this legal, either, but they did post it on their website.)

Related to above article:

• Unfortunately, the issue of ethics concerning Green's and Dalmasso's actions as PC members has now become a moot point: Tom Green has transferred ownership of his property to Barclays for development of 114 homes (L43-1 Greens, L.L.C.), and Dalmasso is running for council against a completely unknown candidate without a chance of winning because of Dalmasso's name recognition.
• LEGAL NOTICE for Wed., Oct. 19th Hearing on the above-referenced Tom Green property(ies) before Sultan Hearing Examiner John Galt (in Word, Acrobat), appealing a City administrative decision.

What is wrong with this picture? The City has clearly taken a wring-their-hands-wailing-"We did not know this development was coming"-position on the issue of planning for sewer capacity. Well, what did the council and mayor think would happen as they recommended, then approved, a steady parade of developer-friendly codes over the past two to three years, along with a Comprehensive Plan carrying an explosively-bloated UGA area? Pul-eeze! At least give voters and taxpayers credit for more brains than that. When you actively engage in attracting, courting, encouraging and soliciting developers to build here, what is the result? Ignorance is not bliss, it is expensive -- to the taxpayers of Sultan in direct-pay-taxes for needed infrastructure, and to all taxpayers across the county, state and country in the form of the grants required to sustain Sultan's addiction to low-hanging funds from temporary permit fees from long-term development.

Bottom line: How could a sewer plan be approved in November, 2004 for one development scenario (lower growth), then only two months later in January, 2005 during the City Council Retreat, see the City Administrator/City Planner present a slide show advising the council of 1,000-plus homes in the next few years, and not realize there was a problem with the sewer capacity until August, 2005? The answer, my friends, is, at a minimum, misfeasance. Although Mayor Tolson has been doing his best (and succeeding, to some extent) to make up for many years of serious mistakes and purposeful overisghts by previous mayors and councils, he has allowed to go unchecked a serious problem within the city staff that needs to be corrected immediately before more long-term financial damage is done. (WE WILL POST DOCUMENTS SHORTLY ON THE STATUS OF THE SEWER TREATMENT PLANT CURRENT CAPACITY.)

• School Students (K-12) - ratio per dwelling unit: existing and future LOS (per CP) is 0.603, with the "existing supply" at 1,675. (I honestly do not know what "existing supply" means. However, luckily, there is a Sultan School District special meeting on MONDAY, 7/25 to discuss the budget, with a Board of Directors meeting following to adpt the School's 2005/2006 budget (see info on meetings at right.)
• Parks: LOS is 42.6 acres per 1,000 population. The "existing" figure in the CP states the "supply" (or existing "Parks" which includes all city-owned buildings and property, including city hall, the fire station, schools, public works facilities buildings, etc.) is 162.4 acres/7,074,144 s.f. although the LOS should be 174.7 acres/7,609,932, a deficit of 12./3 acres/535,7888 s.f. The LOS for next year looks even worse: With an estimated 4,400 population, the city should have a total of 187.4 acres of "park" (again, remember this category also includes all city-owned buildings and structures). This means the City will register a DEFICIT in this category of 25 acres, or 1,089,000 s.f. next uear. Note: These figures do not include any new "parks" being provided by the Sky Harbor development, and it is our understanding that both Stratford Place and Denali Ridge did not provide any park or recreational areas, choosing instead to pay a fee in lieu of providing an actual park or recreational area, a code that was successfully appealed by Planning Commissioners Josie Fallgatter and Jeff Kirkman earlier this year.

OLD ARTICLES & LINKS

Here's an idea for an appropriate T-shirt for taxpayers:
"Representation by Litigation"

"Put down that bag of potato chips and step away from the TV!" In other words, unplug yourself from your TV I.V. and GET INVOLVED! Don't be confused about everything that's happening here these days. Just take it one hearing/meeting at a time. Come to them, speak your mind and your heart and make a difference. Tell the city what you want (or don't want). NO ONE will laugh at you or what you have to say: It is important...and now is the time to tell the city what you want Sultan's future to be. The only time your voice doesn't count is when you don't use it...

This website is designed and maintained by non-paid volunteers for the purpose of providing news and information to taxpayers who otherwise would have no knowledge of the events going on in Sky Valley, specifically in Sultan. Let us know if you want to learn more, or if you would like to volunteer to help us sculpt our future. From the Washington State Public Information Act: "The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so they may maintain control over the instruments they created." (How to make a Public Information Request) "Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little." "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Both quotes attributed to Edmund Burke (1729-1797), an Irish philosopher and statesman.

PLANNING COMMISSION VACANCIES: Positions are open to serve on this commission; contact Mayor Tolson. Check our PC Page for details, an application and to view previous applicants' request for consideration.)

Wed., 12/14 - Council Meeting (The second council meeting will be held 12/21 rather than the "regular" day of 12/28.) NOTE: The Prothman Report recommendations will be presented at the 12/14 council meeting. The STATE AUDITOR report and findings at the 12/21 meeting.

U. S. 2 Safety Coalition meeting, 7:00 PM, Monday, 12/19.