NOTICE OF ROAD CLOSURES: For more information, read our 8/27/06 G.R.I.T. emailed update. (Request to be placed on the distribution list.)

Sultan Basin Road (sometime during October) to grind down the top/crest of the roadway to increase visibility for a private road within Timber Ridge (see our note below.)

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, Monroe Monitor

NEWS

U. S. 2 Effort needs Heavy Local Backing

OTHER "STUFF"

DISCUSSION, OPINION & MESSAGE FORUM

G.R.I.T.'s 2002 RECORDING WARS - updated 3/21/06
(When the City tried to stop G.R.I.T. from recording public meetings, with the help of the Boucher Boys, 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.

New Page - All about the Sultan Police Levy (Photos, transcription of Walser comments at Levy kick-off meeting, audio of council discussions, documents, etc.)

Recent (9-20) - Audio from August 10 council meeting (Also: Updated main Audio Page)

Recent (9-20)- LEGAL - 9/20/06 Notice of DNS (Determination of Non-significance) for slope stabilization on Sultan's Water Treatment Plant (WTP) property (in Word, pdf)

New (9-18) - Shockey-Brent was selected by council at its 9/14 meeting (instead of Berryman & Heniger, prevoiusly approved by council) to guide the City through required revisions to its flawed 2006 Comprehensive Plan. In Layman-speak, Sultan's 2005-06 comprehensive plan was found non-compliant by the CPSGMHB (Central Puget Sound Growth Mgt. Hearings Board), the result of an appeal to that Board by Josie Fallgatter and Jeff Kirkman. The City is mandated to correct these flaws by next June, 2007, putting the new Plng. Board under the gun. Thus, the reason for this consultant. All of this time and expense could easily have been avoided, had the Plan been done correctly the first time around. Unfortunately, it was largely the result of a heavily-weighted pro-developer Planning Commission, led by City Planner Rick Cisar.

Recent (9-18)- Developer Agreements for Plats: We placed a PDA request on 7/26 for "Development agreements for all preliminary plats approved by Council." Such Agreements have been touted as the legal mechanism by which a developer will be held accountable from the approval stage (when the council approves the preliminary plat) through final plat approval by the council (after construction is completed). Below is what we received from the City. (But where are all the rest of them? For pre-2006 plats?)

• Denali Ridge - Complete Developer Agreement (but unsigned).
• Timber Ridge - Complete Developer Agreement (but unsigned).
• Steen Park - No Developer Agreement. Received only "Developer Agreement to Establish Concurrency" for the developer's (York's) proportionate share of the cost for one police officer for one year. (Related Information: Garth York's letter to council under Steen Park LLC letterhead, which outlined objections to the City's requirements re payment of Park impact fees and donation of open space.)
• Cascade Breeze - No Developer Agreement. Received only "Developer Agreement to Establish Concurrency" for the developer's (York's) proportionate share of the cost for one police officer for one year.
• Skoglund Estates - No Developer Agreement. Received only two "Developer Agreement to Establish Concurrency," one for the porportionate cost of one police officer for one year and another agreement stipulating the conveyance of land for public park (5.46 acres).

New (9-18) - LEGAL NOTICE - Snohoco (County) Planning Commission Hearing, Wedmesdau. Sept. 26, 2006 - re 2006 final docket and 2005/06 remand areas (Sultan and Gold Bar issues will be heard).

New (9-18) - Garth York's letter under Steen Park LLC letterhead, to the City Council re objections to the City's "double-dipping." And, although we have not yet had time to review the specific codes he references, I believe Mr. York may just be correct. And if so, then Mr. Cisar may have placed the city and taxpayers in serious financial/legal jeopardy (again).

New (9-17)- Everett Herald staff opinion (Sunday, 9/17): "U. S. 2 Effort needs heavy local backing."

New - Audio for July 27, 2006 council meeting (Audio for Aug. 10th meeting coming later today)

New - Legal Notice - Giese, 812 Dyer Road MDNS (Mitigated Determination of Non-significance; "The Applicant proposes to remove 15 feet of an existing concrete access drive and rocks located below the ordinary high water mark and place logs and root balls within that area to prevent erosion." (Notice in Word, pdf)

New - Sultan Police Dept. Activity (calls for service) 2004 & 2005 (in pdf): This was the Powerpoint slide show presented at Sultan's 2006 Council Retreat in January. (Note: I was the only citizen attending, despite the fact that this was a public meeting.)

New - Agenda Packet (in Word, pdf) for this week's Council Meeting, 6:30 PM, Thursday, September 14th. Highlights:

• 6:30 PM - Presentation by WSDOT on U. S. 2's RDP (Route Development Plan) draft recommendations (Here are the DRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS & SUMMARY [in Word] of the two-day planning charrette at Sultan's Middle School Aug. 14th & 16th (and in pdf)
• HEARINGS: Two closed record in-council hearings are set for Thursday's meeting, one for the Vodnick Lane plat and another one for the Ramirez's Twin Rivers plat. There's just one teensy-weensy, little-bitty problem, however: No legal notice has been published in the Herald for either of these hearings and no notice has been sent to parties of record for either plat. Hel-LO??? (Would it be a stupid question or inappropriate for me to ask who's running Sultan these days?)
• Sultan's Critical Areas Ordinance (1st reading), in Word, pdf
• Police Levy ballot proposition (in Word, pdf)

Ongoing - POLICE LEVY MEETING - There was a good turnout of approx. 20 people at the Aug. 30th meeting, plus Chief Walser and Interim Fin. Directory Gordon Hey). A Pro-Levy committee has been formed. Co-Chairs are Gerry Gibson (799-1736) and Jeff Aikens (793-6819). Please contact them if you can donate funds or your time. They could use some help. In these days of dwindling funds and taxpayer patience, this levey could be a tough one. Councilman Jim Flower was the only council person in sight (except for good-hearted die-hard former Councilman Perry McPherson). A Church board meeting prevented Mayor Tolson and Ron Wiediger from attending. FOR a CD of the meeting in MP3, email us.

What's going on north of Sultan? Logging is going on in the wee hours in the morning (often as early as 3:00 to 6:00 a.m. We know. This is 1/4-mile from our home.)

Recent - Re Sultan Basin's Road impending closure in October (because of road griding at the crest for Timber Ridge Estates access), here's a transcription of the developer's (Neil Latta) closing comments that should be of concern to all (in Word, pdf). And here's a topographical view of the critical slopes of Sultan Basin Road and Timber Ridge land, which Mr. Latta states is "2 1/2 times" more critical in slope than SBR (in Word, pdf)

Recent- Herald article re Police Levy & Wed.'s SPD Levy meeting (The City is still blaming revenue lost from the Eyman's I-695....Hel-LO? That was how many years ago? If citizens want to know the real reasons for the City's financial demise, how about checking out these pages/info: State auditor findings (for year-ending 2004) and the Prothman Report OTHER REASONS: City has not been fiscally responsible; e.g., it has not increased its road impact fees (which pay for future roads and other future capital road improvements, such as improving the Sultan Basin Road on which 1400 new homes will be built in the next 2-3 years), nor has it adequately increased its development fees and other fees. This, and other behavior, has invited many lawsuits and other legal actions.

Wednesday's (8/30) POLICE LEVY MEETING - HERE'S A FLYER announcing Wednesday's meeting on the SPD levy that YOU CAN PRINT OUT AND DISTRIBUTE TO YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS. CLICK HERE FOR OTHER INFO ON THE POLICE

RESULTS OF SURVEY TAKEN DURING 8/17 TOWN MEETING (380 kb pdf file):

Some dramatic results (at least to me) were:

• Which City department(s) staff should be cut first (if cuts are required): A total of 76% of the total respondents indicated Administration (38%) and Community Development (28%) (Slide #5)
• The City should focus greater attention on (1) Growth Management Planning (31%) and Creating a "business friendly" environment (31%) (Slide #6)
• What do you consider to be the top priority for the police department? Reducing drug activity, 36%, Neighborhood Patrol (or proactive policing), 33%. (Slide #10)
• 77% of respondents stated there are not sufficient police to properly perform needed duties (Slide #13)
• 77% indicated it is "vital" for SPD to have at least wtwo officers on duty 24x7. (Slide 16)

Surprising to me were the following responses:

• Slide #21 re whether the city needa a dedicated animal control officer, the vote was 50/50%.
• That in 2004 when the city ran a levy to replace police officers lost in 2002, 29% indicated they did not vote, while 35% said they voted for both 911 service (i.e., for the cost of required, "no-choice" 800 mhz equipment for 911 & added police. (Slide #12)

Ongoing & Current - POLICE STAFFING LEVELS (in a squeeze play with City's continuing financial woes): Here's a couple of handouts distributed during the June 29th council meeting which can help residents better understand what police levels of service are and how these can be calculated for a city's needs.

• Unattributed article (i.e., source unknown) which we found immensely educational on this subject, especially for folks with zero-zilch-nada-zip education on police issues (This article was given to us by Interim City Administrator Lee Walton.)
• March, 2004 article from Public Management

  Other Information of interest re Police:

  • The City's DRAFT (proposed) ORDINANCES (in Word, pdf) re Police Levels - One ordinance gives two options for amending Sultan's comp plan to either delete police LOS from the Plan or revise the Plan's definitions. A second ordinance would delete the offending SMC (code) section re police concurrency.
  • Here's DNS (Determination of Non-significance) Notice and the SEPA document associated with these draft ordinances.

UPDATED 8/15/06 (Includes correction of a G.R.I.T. mistake, pointed out by Mayor Tolson following the 8/10/06 council meeting): The future Face of Sultan: A map of Sultan's future development which will (should) wake up even the sleepiest of Sultan officials and residents. Especially frightening are Sultan Mayor Tolson's/City Planner Cisar's (apparent) ingredients and recipe for Sultan's future failure:

• Add hundreds of new homes and thousands more people;
• While folding those thousands of new folks into Sultan's current mixture, greatly reduce essential police services;
• Add thousands of new vehicle trips per day to the Sultan Basin Road and to U. S. 2, then ignore the desperate need for a viable future Transportation Plan while maintaining the same tired, inadequate and ancient (since 1999) transportation impact fees which pay for future road improvements. (To "newbies," an impact fee is a fee paid by a developer -- which he usually passes onto the new home buyer -- money whish is used to fund future capital improvements to city roads.

NEW GRIT WEBPAGE - Decisions from Sultan's Hearing Examiner John Galt (This page is still under construction. But it does include the seven questionable plat applications processed by Galt earlier this year.)

NEW GRIT PAGE - CPSGMHB (Central Puget Sound Growth Mgt. Hearings Board) appeals by Fallgatter/Kirkman v. City of Sultan.

New (7/30) - July 29th Planning Board workshop was excellent:

• Mr. Cisar gave a good overview of current and imminent residential growth coming in and partially addressed questions related to why, if the Comprehensive Plan was just completed, the city needs to now redo much of it (re Fallgatter appeals). It was great that Josie was present, to help answer some of the Board members' questions. At first blush, I am extraordinarily impressed with these Board Members, their intelligence, the quality of their questions and the insight reflected by their probing. I would also like to congratulate Kurt Latimore, who thus far has proven himself a strong chairman and group leader/facilitator.
• We took photos of the updated map presented by Cisar which show significant new areas being proposed for development, one of which is an annexation (Into the city) along 124th's northern side for a proposed 200 new homes. Cisar stated this would be another Garth York project. This brings back memories of our first taxpayer advocate actions in early 2000. So here's a trip down Memory Lane, with the hope of avoiding the same mistakes.

New (7/30 - Improvements needed to Sultan's Sewer Plant - - Sultan is in the process of approving an Engineering/Facility plan for future long-term improvements to its WWTP (Waste Water Treatment Plant) to handle the capacity caused by the recent, and future residential growth. A couple of presentations have been given by Brown & Caldwell, the City's consultant guidling this process: The POWERPOINT presentation (1.3 mb in pdf) given 7/27/06 by B&C, and the MP 3 AUDIO FILE OF THAT PRESENTATION (6.8 mb file). Also, here's the 6/13/06 Powerpoint presentation given at the Council's wkshp. 6/13/06 (pdf 639 kb).

Tolson Apology re comprehensive plan mistakes can be heard as part of Audio & Summary/Minutes from June 29, 2006 council meeting. The Minutes (annotated by G.R.I.T.) includes the following contrite statement by Mayor Tolson, closing the meeting, which was not referenced in these City minutes. Yet the City continues to ignore advice by Fallgatter and other citizens trying to guide the City re mandated public participation/GMA processes. "Looking at all these things and trying to make the decisions that we're doing, they're not based on whim. They're based, I believe, for every councilman that's here, and even Kristina who's not here, every--every--every single one of these people put their, their utmost effort into this process. Um...for the betterment of the community as a whole. I will go on record saying I wish we could have....been smarter in 2004 when we approved the Comprehensive Plan. Ya got me on that one, Josie. Because that decision, because of the formulas that were included and not fully understanding -- I, I didn't vote, but I was a proponent of it -- has caused this...debacle." (The audio of this statement can be heard by accessing the last audio file in this summary page.)

(And yet, the July 27th council meeting included a HEARING to amend the city's park/recreation impact fees, as well as a first reading on Ord. 929-06, when that issue had not yet been heard before the new Planning Board, no one has seen a draft ordinance, and the city scheduled a 8/17 PUBLIC MEETING to discuss this very subject. This certainly seems to render Tolson's words hollow and meaningless.)

Here's another Tolson sound bite that we believe may explain Mayor Tolson's perspective on the GMA in general, and its own badly-botched comp plan process in particular (made at the beginning of that same 6/29 meeting). Mayor Tolson is referring to comments made by Josie Fallgatter and Jeff Kirkman as invited participants to the Growth Management Hearings Board annual roundtable. The city alleged that Fallgatter/Kirkman and the Board had ex parte communication. Here's the Board's ruling and decision. (You can read all of their appeals and the Board decisions by clicking our left-side menu button.)

July 27th Agenda Packet (in Word, pdf). There are no less than three hearings scheduled this week:

• 6:00 PM Amending Recreational (Park) Facility Impact Fee: Initiating Ord. 929-06, implementing new fees, is on the agenda as an ACTION Item and a 1st reading vote, without any review by or input from the City's new Planning Board. And WHERE can a draft copy of this ordinance be found? The City continues to obstruct the public participation process on matters that affect all citizens. Although the City's undeniable incompetence in failing to address these fees and increase them (they have been $300 per S.F. home since before we came on board in early 2000, unbelievable when compared to other cities' fees), a widespread public participation process is crucial.
• 6:00 PM - Engineering Report for Sultan's WWTP (Wastewater Treatment Plan) Draft Ord. 934-06, has not been released by the City for pre-review by citizens and appears on the agenda for a 1st reading vote.
• 6:30 PM - Six-year Street (Transportation) Program - Ditto above. Where is the public process and participation?

Also of significant import re NEW CITY ADMINISTRATOR/FINANCE DIRECTOR: The decision has been made by whomever at city hall to eliminate the position of City Finance Director. A second decision has also (apparently) been made to combine the now-separate City Administrator and Finance Director positions into a single job. We know what happens when that "cost-saving" measure is used; reference the combined city administrator/city planner "designer job description" for Rick Cisar: A halfway effort and result for both positions. This is NOT the time to cut corners on these two vital functions. Better to save the $75,000 per year by temporarily eliminating the position of city planner, which would also "save" the city legal expense, trying to defend against indefensible positions due to botched plat application processes. ONE MORE THING: Are the citizens of Sultan not even going to be allowed to review the educational, experience and professional credentials of their new Administrator/Finance Director? These are the folks who, after all, will have to live with -- and pay for -- any selection mistakes.

New - Audio of July 13th Council Meeting & B & O Tax hearing (includes links to previously-posted B&O tax info, including associated ordinances) and other documents related to this meeting; i.e., "Grow Washington" presentation, the SPD/WSP's Memor of Understanding, Sultan's 6-year road plan, etc.

New & UPDATED (7/19/06) - City's Final Decision & Resolution/Facts & Findings for Skoglund Estates Plat AUDIO of Council's June 29th Decision, Res. 06-09: File D-1 (4:32 min., 800 kb): File D-2 (5:15 min., 928 kb); File D-3 (5:57 min., 1.0 mb; includes Tolson's comments re park acreage per 1,000 population and Champeaux's statement that the city may, or may not be digging itself a bigger financial hole; only time will tell); File D-4 (4:56 min., 869 kb, includes Mayor Tolson's tie-breaking vote.)

Ongoing - MP3 Audio (approx. 50 min.) of the City of Sultan's June 15, 2006 Financial/budgeting "workshop" during which any and all remaining alternatives for additional tax revenues were discussed, including a City B & O tax. The cuoncil will have a hearing Thursday, July 13th and vote on First Reading re this proposal.

RECENT GRIT UPDATES (Contact us to be added to our update distribution list.)

• 7/11 Update as webpage (word, pdf) - Re new Sultan taxes, yet another "new" U. S. 2 Sultan signalized intersection, and Sultan Basin Road closure due to Timber Ridge development.
• 6/28: Update as webage (Word, pdf); Special Sultan council meeting, police LOS issues, Skodlund plat approvals, etc.
• 6/26 UPDATE as webpage (in Word, pdf) : Includes; new development in the county at the intersection of Kellogg Lake Road and Sultan Basin Road (next to Winters Lake and near the city's watershed), Monroe's ethics ordinance, Sultan's continuing concurrency/Levels of Services inanities, and more.

Legal Notices:

• Dyer Road 3-lot Short Plat, SP06-002, Dan and Colleen Smith - Notice of Application in the 1100-block NOTE: No land use signs have been erected at this property. UPDATED July 20, 2006: This application has been pulled back in order to do the SEPA anlaysis required, but not previously perofrmed.
• 8th & High Streets 4-lot Short Plat #SP06-001- Kenny Young Notice of Applicaiton (& plat map) June 14, 2006

Recent & Ongoing - PROPOSED TIP-OF-THE-ICEBERG SUBDIVISION DEVELOPMENT on 70 pristine acres, located at the intersection of Kellog Lake Road and Sultan Basin Road, with future plans to develop another 70'ish acres southward to 112th Street. (The southern border of the City's 366-acre watershed is located only be 1/3-mile north of the current proposed development, and the future, unnamed developed to 112th Street would greatly impact not only residents living on 112th and 116th Street, but anyone using SBR.)

Question from Gold Bar residents, which applies to all U. S. 2 cities: What is the division of maintenance requirements for the state and the city on State highways within their city limits? This document was provided by WSDOT's Loreena Eng (thank you!) almost before my finger left the "Send" button. My question was the result of a request by Gold Bar's Joe Beaver, inviting G.R.I.T. to investigate maintenance responsibilities of a VERY dangerous walkway located near the Mountainview Diner. This "walkway" is separated only by the paint of a white line only a foot or two away from heavy gravel trucks and semi traffic. His question specifically related to the growth of blackberries encroaching into the walkway along U. S. 2, which forced children and other users closer to the traffic stream, but he and other GB residents are increasingly concerned about safety issues. Here's Joe's petition in Word, inviting residents to participate in this process (in pdf)

Ongoing - THE SEARCH FOR THE "PARK" and "Open Space/Recreational" land at Sultan's Water Treatment Plant Property (re the city's newly-annexed 35 acre "park and open space" land.)

Ongoing - Sultan 144 L.L.C.'s (Skoglund Estates) appeal documents (There's a council HEARING 6/15 on this issue: The City is once again making a recommendation to ignore Galt's decision.

• Sultan 144 L.L.C.'s Motion for Reconsideration to Galt (5/12/06)
• Galt's Order Denying Reconsideration (5/15/06)
• Sultan 144 L.L.C.'s Appeal (to Sultan City Council) of [Galt's] Denial of Motion for Reconsideration (5/25/06)
• Declaration of Craig Sears (Sultan 144, L.L.C.) - Exhibit A of Mr. Sears' declaration includes a black-and-white GIS map which incorrectly shows the location of Skoglund Estate. Whether these errors were inadvertent or purposefully misleading, they should cast certainly doubt on the applicant's intentions for both the safety and quality of life of current and future Sultan citizens.
• Declaration by Mark Villwock of LDC (includes a letter from Brent Russell of Community Transit dated 5/12/06)

Updated 6-1 - Summary of Ramirez's Twin River Estates 5/18/06 Galt hearing and links to MP3 audio files Twin Rivers is a proposed 22-unit PUD Plat situated between the Skykomish River on the south and Skywall Drive on the north (at the BNSF railroad tracks). As stated in several public meetings, the developer must pay for a sewer line extension from Foundry Drive at Romac, underneath the RR tracks to the Ramirez development. Interestingly, the plat file contains no specifics related to the financial, R-O-W or mechanism aspects of such an extension. The City has, however, applied for a $20,000 grant to "improve the roadway surface" at that BNSF RR crossing. Staff Report (in pdf only) (NOTE: The audio links to these files are not yet complete.

Results of Galt's hearing (Monday, 5/15) Vodnick Lane PUD - Staff Report (in pdf only); Legal Notice (in Word, pdf) - The closing of this hearing has been delayed by two weeks, pending an analysis/study of the roadway sight distance (south side), as well as issues raised re Moderate Density PUD lot sizes (City needs to provide copies of the affected ordinances.)

John Galt's Decision on AJ's Place (Denial), a 39-unit condominium on First Street across from Osprey Park. Audio and summary of 5/8/06 Galt Hearing for AJ's Place Condominium and the staff report for AJ's Place

RECENT GALT PLAT DECISIONS: Skoglund Estates, Steen Park, Cascade Breeze (Part 1 and Part 2), AJ's Place (First St. condos); Decision on Vodnick, Hammer and Ramirez's Twin River pending future council action re LOS for police.
NOTE: Always contact the City of Sultan directly for the final and approved version of any ordinance, resolution or decision.

A NOTE REGARDING CITY'S COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ISSUES: Despite six years of requests by us to be placed on the City's list(s) to receive ALL public and legal notices, this is still not happening. Worse, the City's website is not maintaining notices. Evidence supporting my statements: (1) the City did not send me a notice for Ramirez's Twin Rivers 5/18 Galt hearing [I heard about this hearing from a concerned resident and have subsequently checked the Herald for this legal notice twice, attempting to locate the mandated legal notice for this hearing]; (2) the city has failed to fulfill TWO of my Public Information Requests (this document in Word) to receive certain items related to both the AJ's Place and the Hammer PUD hearings, despite the fact that these are CURRENT land use issues which had imminent hearings, which I shared with J. Galt at the 5/10 Hammer hearing; (3) the City's website has still not posted its May 11th agenda packet [which includes vital information re the council's CLOSED RECORD HEARING on York's two plats, their decision for which will significantly and deeply impact Sultan's future, whichever way they vote; and (4) Legal notices for Galt hearings on Vodnick Lane (Mon. 5/15, 2 PM) and Ramirez's Twin Rivers Estates (Thurs., 5/18, 6:30 PM) are not on the City's website (as of 5:00 a.m., 5/11). And we are not alone: Yesterday during the Hammer hearing, John Galt displayed unchraracteristic -- unprecedented, really -- frustration with the City's recent performance, especially related to significant inconsistencies being presented by city staff at the several recent hearings. (Welcome to our World, Mr. Galt....) QUESTION: At what point does obfuscation of the public process become a civil rights/property rights issue?

Recent - AUDIO SNIPPETS from Hammer PUD Galt Hearing 5/10: Some well-justified frustration with the City expressed by the always-unruffled, utterly-unflappable and highly professional Galt: File #1, a brief discussion with Cisar and ruminations by Galt re resolution of police LOS/concurrency issue (6:14 min., 1.0 mb); and File #2 another statement by Galt, same subject, just before the break (8:51 min., 1.5 mb)

Recent - AGENDA PACKET for the Thursday, 5/11 Council Meeting (in Word, pdf), which is absolutely littered with hearings:

• 6:00 PM - General/Comprehensive Plan Addendum Sewer Plan
• 6:30 PM - General/Comprehensive Plan Addendum Water System Plan
• In-council hearings (following councilmember opening comments):
• Draft Ord. 924-06 - Establishing a Sultan Planning Board
• CLOSED record hearing on Garth York's Steen Park subdivision (18 homes on Sultan Basin Road)
• CLOSED record hearing on Garth York's Cascade Breeze CUP (30 homes on Love's Hill Drive south of Eagle Ridge (using E.R.'s internal, but public, roads)

NOTE: Sultan's Hearing Examiner John Galt has approved with conditions, both of the above two plat applications, if Sultan's concurrency (level of service) problems can be resolved. The City's request for Galt's reconsideration of his decision on these plats was denied by Galt 5/2/06: "....There is no reason to believe that the Director [Rick Cisar] will have developed yet another approach to solve the problem. The interpretation and application of Chapter 16.108 SMC needs to be addressed promptly by the City Council; the most expeditious means to achieve that action is to deny the Request and allow the parties to address the subject when the Council considers the Examiner's Recommendation."

Also noteworthy is Galt's denial of the Skoglund Estates plat (Sultan 144 LLC) issued May 2, 2006: "DENY Planned Unit Development: RETURN preliminary subdivision to the Applicant for compliance with Concurrency Standards."

Finally, for those individuals wishing to find an easy answer who want to lay blame on a single person, point your finger directly at City Planner Rick Cisar. However, "blame" is also due Mayor Tolson for allowing Mr. Cisar to run amuck, and Sultan's recent councils which have found it easier to blame Josie Fallgatter's appeals to the GMA board as the problem. Various city officials' failings to enforce financial accountability in its land use practices, and their inability (or refusal) to scrutinize planning advice that, clearly, in its practice and implementation was as ill-advised as it sounded when spoken aloud, is the heart of the problem, NOT Josie Fallgatter. The City cannot make up their financial deficits"in volume" by building more houses at a loss-per-transaction. I have heard that for each $1.00 the city receives in revenue from new development fees and taxes, $1.25-$1.50 is expensed for future infrastructure and maintenance. And development does NOT pay for itself without a viable capital facilities plan and constantly-updated impact fees by which adequate levels of service can be achieved. (Example: Cutting back on police levels of service while building hundreds of "affordable" homes as fast as possible, defies both logic and intelligence.)

New - STAFF REPORTS on two more hearings re new plat subdivisions, both at 319 Main Street in Sultan:

• . (Audio of that hearing)
• Wednesday, 2: 00 PM [Barry] "Hammer's" 72-unit PUD (This document is available only in pdf, as the City would not share their electronic Word document with us. We are still waiting requested documents re concurrency and traffic issues.) Road access: This development will connect to one of Sky Harbor's internal roadways on its northern side -- for access to the Sultan Basin Road -- while a southern access will be provided via U. S. 2.)

New - Hearing Examiner John Galt's recent DECISIONS below uphold Josie Fallgatter's claims re lack of proper/legal concurrency (as recommended by Rick Cisar):

• Margaret Skoglund's 48-unit PUD on 132nd St. - Denied PUD outright, and Recommended subdivision application be returned to applicant "for modification as necessary to demonstrate compliance with Ch. 16.108 SMC, Concurrency Management System, regarding police services and parks, recreation and open space."
• Garth York's Cascade Breeze (Decision, Part #1, Part #2) - 18 units on Love's Hill Drive - Recommendation: to return plat to applicant "for modification as necessary to demonstrate compliance with Ch. 16.108 SMC, Concurrency Management System, regarding police services and parks, recreation and open space."
• Garth York's Steen Park (Galt's Decision, 30 units on Sultan Basin Road - Galt's finding identical to that of Cascade Breeze (above)
• Hmmmmm, with three more plats coming up (AJ's Place, Hammer 72 units and Vodnick's place), we wonder how Mr. Cisar will work his way out of the corner he's created for himself....

John Galt's being kept busy these days by the City of Sultan: In addition to recent hearings on two Garth York plats with a total of 48 dwelling units (Cascade Breeze and Steen Park), and Skoglund Estates' 48 s.f. homes, here's two more hearings coming up next week:

• New - Monday, May 8th - 2:00 PM - AJ's Place, 39-unit townhouse condominium on the south side of the Willow Run community (Available in pdf only; City did not provide this to us as a Word document.)
• New - Wednesday, May 10th - 2:00 PM - Hammer's PUD, a 72 s.f. unit subdivision on 18.17 acres (with the remaining 15.76 acres developed in the future as economnic development. These 72 homes will be connected to an existing internal Sky Harbor road. (Here's the Legal notice as a webpage, in Word, pdf) Here's another notice re Hammer's property - LEGAL - SEPA Determination (DNS) for Hammer property (in pdf only)
• New - Monday, May 15th - 2:00 PM - Vodnick's (in Word, pdf)

G,.R.I.T. Update: Re 4/18/06 U. S. 2 Safety Coalition-hosted interagency public meeting at SMS (in Word)

Coming soon! 6:00 PM Thursday, May 11, 2006 PUBLIC HEARINGS (This is a webpage, w/o the formatting contained in the City's original Word document) on Sultan's Sewer & Water Plans (in Word, pdf)

Here's the audio of yet another"special" 4/10/06 meeting in Gold Bar, called by the "special" Amenn-held majority: This one was held Monday, April 10th at 8:00 a.m. Hey, guys, you're not trying nearly hard enough to avoid scrutiny by the public. I suggest your next-scheduled "special" meeting be held at Midnight some Saturday night. (Of interest was a request -- demand, actually -- by Concilwoman Dorothy Croshaw that none of the many photos being taken this morning [by several people] be published. Based on that statement, as well as her willing and active participation in Mr. Amenn's Wild West Waywardness, I would suggest that Gold Bar's long-term public servant needs to reassess precisely what that means.

Related to above story: Monroe Monitor Columnist Steve Higgins urges a recall of Robert Amenn. (And for those three of four folks out there who give a gol-durn what we think, well I'll just say "Better late than never....")

City Staff Reports for Garth York's two proposed plat applications being heard before Sultan's Hearing Examiner John Galt this Wed., 4/12:: STEEN PARK and CASCADE VIEW (on the edge of the western cliffs above Sultan's 8th Street).

Ongoing - Petition and request from Dyer Road and Skywall Drive residents (611 kb in pdf). All homeowners but two on those streets signed this petition. The residents are asking that Sultan's Comp Plan be amended to remove an unwanted but proposed cut-through road and proposed sewer line.

New & Current legals & Meeting. Notices:

• Fraley-Forester BLA 06-033 (Boundary Line Adjustment) in Word, pdf (changing the Boundary Line between two contiguous WILLOW RUN Tax Parcels 00899000003100 and 00899000003200, located at 207 and 1013 Wildwood Place.
• TWO GARTH YORK PROJECTS (with hearings scheduled on the same day -- Wed., April 12th -- and at the SAME TIME, at 2:00 PM (These two developments were heard simultaneously.)
  • City of Sultan John Galt Hearing Examiner Heraing - Cascade Breeze (Garth York project at the crest of the cliffs at the southeastern end of Love's Hill Drive on the "backside" of Eagle Ridge): This will be the ONLY open public record hearing for this plat application (meaning, speak now or forever hold your peace....) File in Word and pdf
  • City of Sultan John Galt Hearing Examiner Heraing - Steen Park (Garth York project on Timber Ridge's northern border at the crest of the Sultan Basin Road. NOTE: When Timber Ridge and this development are built, there will be homes on the entire east side of the Sultan Basin Road all the way past 138th Street, with the exception of a lone remaining home.): This will be the ONLY open public record hearing for this plat application (meaning, speak now or forever hold your peace....) File in Word and pdf
• Sultan's Shoreline Mgt. Plan (continued from 3-23) hearing: 6:00 PM Thursday, April 13th
• Sultan's Critical Areas Ordinance (continued from 3-23) hearing, 7:00 PM Thursday, April 13th
• Skogland Estates DNS - SEPA Determination of Non-significance) for Skogland Estates (in Word), a 48 single family home proposed development on 132nd St. S.E.
• DNS (SEPA Determination of Non-significance; i.e., these actions have NO IMPACT on the environment) - Updated population figures for Sultan's Water Plan (in Word, Acrobat) and Sewer Plan (in Word, Acrobat)

REVISED 4/3 - U. S. 2 Safety Coalition story moved to its own page

Recent - G.R.I.T. Update March 26, 2006 (in Word): Re Herald stories on U. S. 2 and the U.S. 2 Safety Coalition (which meets tonight, 3/27 at 7 PM, 319 Main Street) and the council quorum stalemate that exists in Gold Bar.

March 23rd's Sultan council hearings and meetings: Briefly...Both the SMP and CAO hearings have been continued until the next Council meeting on Thursday, 4/13. Councilmember Steve Slawson's comments (reinforced by C/M. Wiediger) seemed to echo many of the council's frustration with the City's inability to adhere to its public participation mandates while trying to keep up with the incredible amount of information coming at them at this time which they are required to read and digest. We certainly commisserate with C/M Slawson, Wieiger (here's the 0.5 mb MP3 audio file of their statements) and others' frustrations in their attempts to deal with the tsunami of daunting tasks borne of the City's need to reorganize while simultaneously updating its Comp Plan***), which unscores the vitally important need to have key City "professionals" in place (especially in the administrative, legal and planning areas), on whose advice they can rely. Bue because of the several rejections by outside oversight government agencies of recent planning decisions, this is an area in which the City needs to do some real house-cleaning. (Testimony and facts presented by former planning commissioners Ron Kraut and Josie Fallgatter during the CAO hearing -- which we hope to post this weekend -- certainly support my statement.) ***This update of the CP would be far less onerous, had the 2004 Plan been done corectily the FIRST time around.

Letters of comment presented at the CAO hearing from MBA (Master Builders Association) and SCCAR (Snohomish County-Camno Association of Realtors).

Recent - March 21st meeting (Council as Planning Agency) - City Attorney Graafstra and Interim City Administrator Walton were on hand to help the council try to extricate itself from the hornet's nest that they, or others within city hall, have created via Ord. 904-06. Audio of this meeting and their discussion (and actions taken), will come later (but contact us if you want to have a CD of this audio now). In the meantime, access the link to this morning's G.R.I.T. Update below for more specifics on that, and other issues.

Sultan City Council Agenda Packet for Thursday, March 23rd (begins at 5:30 with rescheduled SMP hearing) in Word, pdf

This meeting is PACKED with important and complicated issues that should not be RUSHED: The CAO (Critical Areas Ordinance) is highly technical and should be finalized BEFORE the SMP (Shoreline Mgt. Program) because of deeply-intertwining CAO subjects requiring resolution prior to the SMP. (You can always depend upon Sultan to do work that poor cart to death, which is ever and anon in the front, leading its horse.) There is also a hearing on whether, and how much, to adjust lot sizes in a PUD. Copied directly below are some comments received from Fish & Wildlife and DOE on these issues:

A follow-up comment letter on Sultan's CAO (Critical Areas Ordinance) from the Dept. of Fish & Wildlife to Berryman & Henigar's Roger Waggoner (in Word, pdf).......1st Letter of comment on Sultan's Critial Areas Ordinance (CAO) from the Department of Fish & Wildlife as a webpage (in Word, pdf)......Current and ongoing: Proposed Critical Areas Ordinance/regulations (CAO), Available only in pdf format; visit the City's website for the most-current copy of the CAO draft, posted on March 7th, although the header states this draft incorporates changes as of February (while the footer states "1/26/06"; and the dates of this version does not incorporate all comments received.

Coming: Additionally, we will be posting very detailed comments from Kristin Kelly, acting in her dual-role capacity as FutureWise's East Snohomish County Field Director and as the Pilchuck Audubon Society's Smart Growth Director, as well as a letter to Mayor Tolson and the Sultan Council related to the City's lack of proper/legal public participation, a constant and ongling subject. (Lordy, lordy, do I ever get tired of having to talk about that no-brainer subject!)

We have UPDATED our "Recording Wars" page to see how much things have changed in Sultan since early 2002....

REMEMBER THE OLD DITTY, "I'M MY OWN GRANDPA"? In an uncanny imitation of that song, the Sultan City Council will now be acting as its own Planning Commission/"Agency" when it convenes an important meeting and workshop next Tuesday, March 21st at 7:00 PM. The Council -- excuse me -- Planning "AGENCY" -- will commence review of updates and amendments to its 2006 Comp Plan and development regulations, which will have significant long-term impacts to Sultan AND the Sky Valley. Then, at some future date, this same group of people will be acting in the capacity of legislative authority -- as Sultan's Council -- when they review and approve those same updates and amendments.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? The bottom line is that the city is spreading a wide, bright red welcoming carpet on which Sultan's future financial "blood" will flow. Why? Acting in this dual role capacity, the City will make/has made itself a target for the inevitable future lawsuits and liabilities that will soon follow. And, yes, of course Josie Fallgatter and Jeff Kirkman will be appealing this issue with the Puget Sound Growth Mgt. Hearings Board -- and citizens will some day thank them for that -- but developers who come to build in Sultan will also stay here while they sue the city by filing actual, real LAWSUITS (not just citizen appeals) because of decisoins/actions tained by the council's dual-role actions.

Here is a LEGAL OPINION from land use experts Bricklin Newman & Dold (in Word, pdf), commissioned by L. Storm/R. Kistenmacher, which was distributed to the city attorney, mayor, council and other city officials at the March 9th meeting. And what was the city's response? They immediately published this legal notice for this workshop, which kicks off Sultan's schedule for its Comp Plan Update.

We urge anyone who cares about the future of Sultan and the greater Sky Valley -- as well as the future traffic on U. S. 2 from the tsunami of growth that will result in this "council as PC" situation, to liberally share our legal opinion with other cities, government agencies and citizens.

WHAT DATA ANALYSES & SCRUTINY IS REQUIRED FOR AN AMENDMENT REQUEST TO BE CONSIDERED FOR CHANGES TO SULTAN'S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN (which will forever change the face of Sultan)? Here's an example of what was submitted by former Planning Commissioner Bart Dalmasso to REVISE ALL ZONING along U. S. 2 from whatever is its current zoning designation, to "Highway Oriented" (I especially like his answer to question #5, "A statement of how facility plans and capital improvement plans support the change," which was: "N/A"

NOW COMPARE Mr. Dalmasso's request for an amendment change (see the paragraph above) with the recent appeal by Josie Fallgatter and Jeff Kirkman to the Growth Mgt. Hearings Board shown here. (Objectively comparing those two documents side-by-side, who do you think is more concerned about the long-term professionalism and quality of life here in Sultan?

Thursday's (3/9/) Council meeting and hearing on the SMP: Briefly.... The hearing, despite a pretty good turnout, had to be rescheduled due to a lack of quorum (Councilmembers K. Blair and Steve Slawson were on vacation, Derek Boyd was had a work schedule conflict, and Bruce Champeaux was running late from a previous commitment, although he did show up five minutes before the time was set to cancel the council meeting, too.

The hearing for the SMP (Shoreline Mgt. Plan) has been rescheduled for the stellar time of 5:30 PM before the next council meeting March 23rd -- along with two other hearings (one of which is on Sultan's CAO [Critical Areas Ordinance]) -- when most folks are either still at work or navigating their way home. (Great decision, guys, especially as it has become clear from the draft of Sultan's Critical Areas Ordinance that the SMP should NOT be completed/approved until Sultan's CAO is in place: Too many overlapping issues. We highly suggest the City either rethink this date to a different day -- OR -- legally notice a later start time for its council meeting to allow for the SMP hearing at 7:00 PM. By the way, these are hearings to gain citizen input on MAJOR FUTURE DECISIONS; and the city has only alloiwed 30 minutes each for hearings on the CAO and SMP? HELL-O!)

Gerry Gibson, Dyer Road citizen/taxpayer advocate, presented a petition request to the City which contained 127 signatures of all but two residents residing on Dyer Road and Skywall Drive. U-n-b-e-l-i-e-v-a-b-l-e. These residents are requesting that the Comprehensive Plan be amended and the cut-through/connecting road and sewer line (between Skywall and Dyer) currently contained in the CP be removed. (We will be posting this information later this weekend.)

Based on information given out by Interim Community Development Director Rick Cisar, the City Council still plans on moving ahead in acting as its own Planning "Agency," with their first meeting to be held Tuesday, March 21st. We'll be posting the agenda and attachments later. NOTE: because this Planning "Agency" will require a quorum of the Council, it will also require legal noticing each time they meet. (I guess the city believes that changing the word, "Commission" to "Agency" changes the laws guiding city planning, not unlike their action in changing the name of the Water and Sewer Comprehensive Plans to "Water and Sewer General Plans.")

Correction of a statement I made last night during closing comments when I had stated that Sultan's current LOS (Level of Service mandated by its Comprehensive Plan) for POLICE is 2.5 uniformed police officers per 1,000 in population. It is actually 2.6 per 1,000 (Per the Mayor, Sultan population is currently at 4,700.) My comment was in response to Mr. Robert Hunstad's earlier statements that the costs for Sultan's inordinately-large number of Sultan police officers and the fact that they are allowed to use police cars to drive home, is a primary reason why the city is going broke. Mr. Hunstad also stated the SPD officers should reside within Sultan's city limits. Not surprisingly, I feel a bit differently. Mr. Cisar is making $75,000 in salary while Chief Walser's is $63,000. Interestingly, Chief Walser distributed a letter from the Black Diamond Police Department, canvassing other cities for new police officers. The top pay for a uniformed officer -- not a chief -- is over $67,000. And, say-hey, they even get to drive their police cars home. BLACK DIAMOND's POPULATION (per MRSC.org) is 4,080 and it's located on a rural King Co. road (KC 169), as opposed to Sultan, situated smack on a major U. S./federal highway. Its median household income is $67,092 compared to Sultan's is $46,619. (Is it possible that this city has made better planning choices than Sultan?) Black Diamond's community profie & Sultan's community profile.

Full AGENDA PACKET for Sultan's 3/9 council meeting (in Word, pdf)

New - LEGAL NOTICE for TIMBER RIDGE: Request for a DOE NPDES permit (permission and guidelines for discharge of stormwater during construction phase.) You can submit written comments to DOE (Washington State Dept. of Ecology) until April 9th. (Visit G.R.I.T.'s Timber Ridge page.)

Current and ongoing - REET Powerpoint presentation offered during the Council's 2/11/06 retreat, as a pdf file (as received from Mayor Tolson); and our mini-sized version, without all the bells and whistles, in html (webpage) and in Word. AUDIO of this presentation in MP3 (compatible with Mediaplayer), Part 1 (1.3 mb), Part 2 (1.4 mb)

Note: We have cleaned up this front page; here's a link to the previous version of this front page; For info on specific topics, such as the Prothman Report or the REET tax issue, look for links to those subjects/issues in our left-hand main menu.

We have placed information on the Ramirez/Twin Rivers Estate plat on a dedicated webpage.

Sultan held its 2006 council retreat Saturday, Feb. 11th . Here's a summary and some photos (of a map of the city's planned development -- 800 homes to start -- and the new interim City Administrator and Finance Director) The audio of this meeting will, unfortunately, not be posted until later this week.

PREVIOUS ARTICLES ON THE FRONT PAGE CAN BE FOUND ON AN ARCHIVED WEBPAGE. Click here for articles spanning (approx.) Sept./Oct. 2005 through Jan. 11, 2006.

LINK TO OLD HOME PAGES

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.

CITY OF SULTAN CONTACT/email INFORMATION:
319 Main Street
PO Box 1199
Sultan, WA 98294
360-793-2231-ph
360-793-3344-fax

• Mayor Ben Tolson
• City Councilmembers (see below)
• Interim City Administrator Leeland Walton
• Interim City Finance Director Gordon Hey
• Interim City Clerk Laura Koenig (for council agenda and Public Info requests)
  
• Interim Community Development Director,
  Rick Cisar

EMAIL ADDRESS "formula" for city hall staff and officials: is
firstname, then a period, then their last name, then @ci.sultan.wa.us.
Example: Laura Koenig's address is: laura.koenig@ci.sultan.wa.us

PLANNING BOARD: (Established June, 2006, first official meeting July 11, 2006. We will post email addresses for these folks as soon as we can determine that info. For information on Sultan's previous planning entity -- called the "Planning Commission" which was disbanded in early 2006, click here.):

• Chairman Kurt Latimore
• Board member Jeff Cofer
• Board Member Sarah Davenport-Smith
• Board Member George Schmidt
• Board Member Charles Van Pelt
  

NOTE: We are keeping the below note regarding Sultan's PLANNING COMMISSION on this website for a little while longer to remind folks of either the backdoor shenanigans of the City of Sultan or its incompetence (one of the two must be true).
As of the 2/8/06 via Ord. 904-06, Sultan's PC duties were placed in the hands of the city council, which will be acting as its own PC. However, during their first meeting, it was determined that they did not have the time to fulfill this role. The City is currently seeking NEW APPLICANTS to serve on a NEW Planning "Board." if interested, contact city hall at 360-793-2231 or visit their website: www.ci.sultan.wa.us

Prior to its disbandment, the PC consisted of the following individuals, with two vacant positions):
Bart Dalmasso (resigned just prior to disbandment, and urged that the PC be dissolved)
Josie Fallgatter
Ray George (term expired, not reappointed)
Tom Green (term expired, not reappointed)
Jeff Kirkman