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Not legally noticed is a SURPRISE council workshop this (Tuesday, 12/13) Actually, there was NO NOTICE at all for this workshop (except for the night-before (8:36 PM) posting on the city's website). (We thought we had seen the last of this type of behavior with the departure of former Mayor C. H. Rowe, but the sad saga continues. Tolson needs to get things under control. And fast.) UPDATE Wed., 12/14: We had some recording problems, thus, we unfortunately did not capture this session on audio. However, we did pick up the budget documents distributed during this workshop and will be posting them shortly

New! AGENDA PACKET for Wednesday's Dec. 14th Council Meeting(in Word, pdf). Note: There are two hearings before the meeting starts, one at 6 PM re the 2006 budget and a 6:45 hearing on the Jones' request to vacate 30-feet on Dyer Road property.

NOTE: The City had not yet posted either the agenda or the agenda packet on their website as of 5:17 a.m. 12/13. (Although Laura Koenig did distribute it to an electronic mailing list at 9:30 a.m. Monday, 12/12.) This type of noticing and communication is totally unacceptable. The City has certain legally-mandated actions and minimal responsibilities to its citizens. And legally complying with state-mandated guidelines on the publishing of legal notices and sufficiency in advance noticing and comprehensive communication of ordinances and other legal actions to be taken in a council meeting, is one of the Top Three, which are: (1) Security for its citizens; (2) financial stability and legal accountability for taxpayer funds;and (3) certain public participation responsibilities. The city has been slip-sliding further and further behind in these areas.

New on Wednesday's council agenda - Resolution 05-31 (on 12/14 agenda): Straightening out the CIty's interfund loan mess (in Word, pdf)

NEW! Herald 12/13 article: U.S. 2 Safety Coalition worries about mini-cities (FCCs) (FCC's stands for Fully Contained Communities," a terrible misnomer. The only FCC's that ever really "worked" were East Berlin and Australia when it was a penal colony.)

New! Transcription of statement of Resignation by PC Bart Dalmasso (in Word, pdf); Or listen to the mp3 audio (1.0 mb) of his statement.

Sunday (12/11) Evidence of endangered Marbeled Murrelets may hinder Sultan Basin Road's long-wished-for shooting range

New items of interest from MRSC.ORG newsletter:

Info from "THE POLICE CHIEF" re training programs: Benefits from a quality police training program include "...increased productivity, greater commitment from personnel, reduction in lawsuits, more efficient use of resources and better delivery of services..." among the negatives are officer safety, potential liability. "Police departments...are experiencing tight budgets due to reduced city budgets and ...federal government grant programs." And in Sultan, where the development is high and the population growing higher, the shrinking rate of its police dept. is alarming: Already below its mandated level of service (with new residents moving in every day), the department will soon be shy two more officers. Chief Walser and his staff have agreed to work 12-hour shifts temporarily in an effort to help the city climb out of its self-made financial problems, but the future security of Sultan citizens is quickly reaching 911 levels. And the City's response to that call for security: "Reduce the city's mandated levels of service." In other words, increase the population, while decreasing the number of on-duty police officers. (Or, wait. Perhaps former Councilman Rob Criswell, a long-time critic of Sultan's PD, would like to volunteer to lead Sultan's future Block Watch program.)

VISUALIZING DENSITY: Perspective and visuals can be tricky...and so can density.

NEW - Following Councilman Boyd's unsuccessful efforts during the 11/22 council meeting to inspire the council to dissolve Sultan's Planning Commission, Plng. Commissioner Dalmasso resigned at the end of the December 6th PC meeting. His resignation is no loss, of course, and his departure is long overdue: he has been the author of many pro-developer code revisions during his term in office, both specific and general, many of which were the result of direct conversations with specific Sultan individuals and with Barclays North personnel .

Commissioner Dalmasso read a three-page letter specifying the reasons for his action, laying blame on unnamed Commissioners Fallgatter and Kirkman, labeling them anti-growth "naysayers," also laying blame on the State's Growth Management Act for causing "...increased traffic congestion, more traffic accidents and fatalities, increased crime rates, severely higher pricing on real estate...." Dalmasso called for dissolution of the PC, and recommended that it be replaced with a "citizen advisory" board. Neither Commissioners Tom Green nor Chairman Ray George, whose terms expire this month, have requested to have their terms extended for six months, nor has Mayor Tolson requested to have their terms extended.

After Dalmasso's statement, Commissioners George and Green joked about the meeting being the last-ever for the Sultan Planning Commission (the only remaining PC members are Fallgatter and Kirkman).

Neither Mayor Tolson nor the council have provided the appropriate leadership needed to refill the two long-standing vacancies created by the loss of John Seehuus (Brain Block Alert & Correction; the first unfilled vacancy was created by the departure of Ron Kraut, not John Seehuus) and Janie Botting, despite receiving applications for consideration. At the end of the 11/22 council meeting, Tolson stated that he has purposefully rejected as unfit to serve those he considers to be either too pro-growth or too anti-growth. But as I stated in my closing public comments that night, there is a world of difference between someone wanting to serve to change codes that will feed their wallets and someone with no self-interested financial gain, wishing only to see the city grow wisely and with a sound financial base so that it may retain some measure of the current quality of life in Sultan still enjoys today.

12/8 - UPDATE ON COUNTY COUNCIL's 12/7 HEARING: Testifying at the 12/7 hearing were Sultan Mayor Ben Tolson and Planning Commissioner Josie Fallgatter (re county's recommendations on Sultan's UGA); testifying on FCCs were Sultan Councilman Jim Flower (reading Sultan's Resolution) and Loretta Storm reading the U. S. 2 Safety Coalition's Resolution (in Word) on this subject (filling in for Coalition Chairman Fred Walser, who could not attend). We hope to have transcriptions of these comments in a few days.

Previously posted Information this subject: UPDATE: Today's Seattle Times article on this subject. The County Council will be seriously considering Alternative 3, which is the high population scenario, without proper public noticing and despite the county's out-of-control growth. It will also consider and approve/reject this council's proposed FCC ordinance, which both the City of Sultan and the U. S. 2 Safety Coalition have both rejected, via formal resolutions. (It certainly appears that not only the county council, but Co. Exec Reardon have already made up their minds that the county should grow as fast and as large as it possibly can. We're reminded of Cinderella's Ugly Stepsisters' words of wisdom as they greedily tried to force-fit their too-big feet into the too-tiny slipper: "I'll just MAKE it fit!" )

Yesterday - Press Release from Gov. Gregoire re progress of "Nickel" transportation projects -- AND -- Nomination of current DOT Director Doug MacDonald to be the cabinet-level Secretary of Transportation (a newly-created cabinet position).

Ongoing - Sultan Hiring/Spending freeze (Herald article published Sat., 12/3) ASSOCIATED G.R.I.T. STORY:Mayor Tolson orders staffing/hiring and spending freeze. Here's Tolson's 11/29/05 letter (in Word, pdf) ENTIRE AUDIO OF TOWN MEETING (with summary)

Recent - State Auditors are "concerned": At the start of the November 10th council workshop for the 2006 budget, Mayor Tolson paraphrased the essence of the State Auditor's misgivings about the city's "financial feasibility" and other concerns. (Tolson's response to us in a phone conversation shortly thereafter was, "I am concerned. However, this isssue must, and will be addressed by the council and the auditor."

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