TOWN
MEETING November 28, 2005 - Audio and Summary -
All files in MP3 format, playable on Windows Mediaplayer or other MP3-compatible digital device.
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Note: The brief description of each audio file is not comprehensive. That is, not everyone's comments and not the entire content of what was discussed during this meeting, is detailed.
File A (9:35 minutes, 1.7 mb): Town meeting opening, Mayor Tolson's comments re his letter (Word, pdf) regarding Hiring/staffing and spending freeze; summary of SPD current staffing; comments from public on break-ins, need to get focused; Councilman Flower expresses thanks to Chief Walser; former Sultan Councilman Rob Criswell's comments, "The Chief needs to look at the way he does business.... Being out on the highway does not stop somebody from steeling stuff over by the high school. That's the problem, not manpower."
(Transcription excerpt of Mayor Tolson's opening comments, as a webpage, in Word document and Adobe pdf.)
File B (9:20 minutes, 1.6 mb): Tony Beedle's comment (and others) on the stepped-up need for a Neighborhood Watch program to assist the police,and other volunteer efforts.
File C (9:24 minutes, 1.7 mb): Councilman Flower discusses CERT training for citizens; a First St. resident complains about parked cars and speeding traffic from the Food Bank, VOA and others; question for, and response by Mayor Tolson regarding when a financial "Get Well Package" will be in place; Tolson, in part, states that former Mayor C. H. Rowe will be "vindicated" for his actions in trying to deal with an unnamed problem/problems during his term; discussion of SPD's costs to general fund, use of sheriff's office as alternative, etc.
File D (9:15 minutes, 1.6 mb): Tolson gives summary of SPD costs and how it relates to overall general fund expense; Wagley Creek Automotive's Jeff Cofer comment that local police (vs. county sheriff) offers a strong sense of community; Criswell states that "anti-business" ordinances have driven off Sultan business (gives Romac's filter problem as example, which is state DOE law, not city ordinance); Councilman Flower blames "unfunded mandates" for businesses leaving town; others give Burger King closure as example.
File E (6:37 minutes, 1.2 mb): Question for Mayor Tolson on what other cost-saving methods he will be employing; Connie Dunn's partial response for Pub. works was city will cut back on maintenance items such as street cleaning/repair, upkeep/supplies for parks, in office, equipment, etc.; Ron Oster states he hopes City will not cut back on parks (gives example of how city allowed developer of Date Street to build a house where an onsite park should have been); Ben encouraged Oster and everyone else to apply for volunteer positions open on Planning Commission and Parks Board.
File F (6:13 minutes, 1.1 mb): Statement by Chief Walser re levels of service and SPD crime/call demand, costs.
File G (10:27 minutes, 1.8 mb): Oster/Walser discussion re SPD emergency responses and back-up outside Sultan city limits, when necessary, i.e., threat of life, urges CERT training; SPD will be happy to offer training to citizens; Councilman Flower re "unfunded mandates" again - Tolson/Flower meeting with Dave Somers and "reasonable use" for environmentally-constrained areas ("reasonable use" is a STATE law, not a county code).
File H (9:35 minutes, 1.7 mb): Tolson statement that all personnel/staffing revisions, if any, will be done in an open venue, with nothing done behind closed doors; Rob Criswell stated volunteer efforts good, but erratic and cannot count on volunteers to help with city "chores" and maintenance, also states that having the SPD "cruising the highway" is not good; C. H. Rowe states that the city helping to operate the WSP Truck/weight stop "not legal"; Planning Commission Chairman Ray George states businesses will move to where they can get a break or into where other business have had success due to "business-friendly" codes; Criswell uses example of Sky Harbor's extra-thick roadway required by city as an anti-business code/action; Tolson's response. [G.R.I.T. note: Codes conducive to bringing in new business or helping existing businesses are getting confused with business that allows big developers to come in and write their own checks. While there have been few new codes written that could be considered "pro-business" in recent memory, Barclays and other developers, with the ear of certain city staff and Sultan planning commissioners, essentially passed a deluge of pro-developer codes, the negative effect of which is that the city has lost literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in income because of ill planning or "planning" that has come after the fact.]
File I (9:08 minutes, 1.6 mb): Jeff Cofer compliments Sultan Visioning efforts and its newly-formed committee; Councilwoman Blair gives details of 7:00 PM Dec. 3rd's Christmas tree lighting at VIC and other future events for Main Street.
File J (5:30 Minutes, 1.0 mb): Jim Flower's four-minute statement regarding problems with WSDOT related to signage through Sultan; Mayor Tolson's close.