AUDIO FILES & AGENDA DOCUMENTS
for July 12, 2007 Sultan Council Meeting

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SULTAN CITY COUNCIL MEETING
319 MAIN STREET
July 12, 2007

AGENDA PACKET AS A SINGLE PDF FILE (11 mb)

(The inclusion of the TIP hearing was a mistake so it was removed from the agenda. That hearing will be held before the July 26th council meeting.)

7:00 PM Council Meeting Call to Order - Pledge of Allegiance, Roll Call, changes to agenda. (C/M Blair requested that Consent agenda items #6 and 11 be moved to the ACTION agenda, and C/M Steve Slawson requested that ACTION agenda item #3, General Fund be moved to #2 spot, and ACTION item #4 follow it) (AUDIO FILE A, 1:35 min., 280 kb)

COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC:

  • Drenna Watson (AUDIO File B-1, 3:47 min., 667 kb) - 36-year area resident and library supporter peaking on behalf of the Friends of the Library; gave short history of library.
  • Christie Martinell [spelling uncertain] (AUDIO File B-2, 2:28 min., 435 kb) - Pro-police, pro-library
  • Kerry Ourada ( Dyer Road resident active in Sultan's government for over 18 months and current candidate for Council) (AUDIO File B-3, 1:10 min., 209 kb) - Pro library, pro-police; hopes the police issue can be "put to rest" tonight.
  • Kathy Immel (Lives just outside Sultan's city limits; wanted to start a business in Sultan, but no uncertain due to city's actions) (AUDIO File B-4, 5:53 min., 1.0 mb) - Re lack of promotion for Shindig as well as apparent exclusion of certain businesses at that event.
  • Burl Champeaux (Lifelong Sultan resident and Councilman Bruce Champeaux's father) (AUDIO File B-5, 3:13 min., 569 kb) - Re type and amount of development he sees around town and his now out-of-control property taxes, "They're gonna run me out of my home." [G.R.I.T. note: Amen to that, Mr. C!]
  • Chris Schwarzen (Speaking as a Sultan resident [although he's also a reporter for The Seattle Times].) (AUDIO FileB-6, 4:57 min., 893 kb) - Speaking on numerous subjects.
  • Myrna Walsh (Friends of the Sultan Library member) (AUDIO File B-7, 2:07 min., 374 kb) - Pro-library; important to keep it because of the amazing number of kids using it.
  • Jeffrey Beeler (Sultan resident and member of the U. S. 2 Safety Coalition Board) (AUDIO File B-8, 6:27 min., 1.1 mb) - Various; Signal at SBR/US2. How did city's finance get so bad? Objects to city's lack of notice for the "special" July 3rd meeting called by the Mayor and Deborah Knight (looks like G.O.B. meetings may be coming back). Chief Walser's paid administrative leave confuses him. Saddened by what looks like a sneak attack by Derek Boyd against fellow councilman Jim Flower by filing to oppose Flower at the very last moment.)
  • Loretta Storm (10-year area resident living just outside Sultan city limits, webmaster of G.R.I.T., Sultan Library board member and Secretary of the U. S. 2 Safety Coalition) (AUDIO File B-9, 2:11 min., 385 kb) -Pro-library and police. Recent meetings she's attended (VOA's Youth Violence and Gangs on Tuesday and Thursday's City-sponsored Economic Development Roundtable) underscore the importance for business of these basic community services. New "interim" part-time Chief (Dennis Richards) recently appointed by the Council (via the Prothman Group) does not have current police certification, thus ineligible under the job description used by the city to hire him. Pro Walser signs have gone "missing."
  • Liz Kirkman - (Willow Run resident; works for the Sultan School District) (AUDIO File B-10, 1:41 min., 299 kb) - Pro library.

COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS

STAFF REPORTS- Written Reports Submitted

CONSENT AGENDA: (AUDIO file E, 19 seconds, 58 kb)
The following items are incorporated into the consent agenda and approved by a single motion of the Council.

  1. Minutes of the June 21, 2007 Special Council Meeting
  2. Minutes of the June 28, 2007 Public Hearing on 2007 Budget Amendments
  3. Minutes of the June 28, 2007 Regular Council Meeting
  4. Approval of Vouchers
  5. Ordinance 915-07 - Shoreline Master Program - 2nd reading
  6. Ordinance 953-07 - Budget Amendment - 2nd reading (Blair requested this item be moved to the ACTION agenda; see below)
  7. Reschedule George 6 Plex Closed Record and Public Appeal Hearings
  8. Professional Service Agreement with Perteet Inc for on Call Planning Services
  9. Professional Service Agreement with Open Space Resources for Property/Right of Way Acquisition
  10. Washington State Records Management Grant Application
  11. Police Vehicle Purchase and Surplus (Blair requested this item be moved to the ACTION agenda; see below)

ACTION AGENDA ITEMS:

[Audio File F-G, 156 kb: Brief comment by Mayor Tolson re shuffling of the agenda items because of the requested council changes, then a motion to WAIVE COUNCIL RULES.]

PLUS: Discussion and Direction from council re supplemental contract service alternatives, AUDIO FILE I (13:42 min., 2.4 mb)
[ Note on the quality of our audio: Because of the city's loud, audio-killing HVAC system and the need for air conditioning that evening, this audio is marginal. The HVAC system was on during all of the public comments and throughout this important subject, but turned off the moment the police issue was settled. It's way past time for the city to fix this situation. If citizens cannot hear the proceedings and their representatives' discussion, debate and decisions, what's the point of holding a public council meeting at all?]

DISCUSSION (AUDIO FILE M, 8:33 min., 1.5 mb)

Levy LID Lift - Exploratory Committee

PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS ONLY:

  • Loretta Storm - Encourage folks to get involved in VOA Youth activities; congratulates council on their "defining moment" decision to keep law enforcement control local. (Audio File N-1, 2:05 min., 368 kb)
  • Traci Hoenstine - Comment re Blair's "poll" of 25 people, almost half of which preferred to go with Sheriff services (Traci obtained 50 pro-Sultan-police signatures on a petition during a brief 3-hour period; thanked council for their decision to keep police; thanked Deborah Knight for her professionalism re the disappearnace of the pro-Walser "Thank you" signs and her apology. (Audio File N-2, 1:13 min., 217 kb)
  • Josie Fallgatter - Police LOS not an issue of how many you can afford, it's how many you need to keep citizens safe. Comments re using backfill contracts to provide police in times of emergency/loss of staff; city previously turned blind eyes/deaf ears to the problems early on, leading to current situation. (Audio File N-3, 3:12 min., 564 kb)
  • Jeffrey Beeler - Confused over city levies/taxes and how the library's annexation to Sno-Isle would "work." (K. Knight gives explanation.) (Audio File N-4, 5:00 min., 881 kb)
  • Charles Van Pelt (Board member of the School Board, Library Board and Sultan's Planning Board): Shared with council various statistic from the library's quarterly report (an unidentieid woman made a comment as to why Gold Bar residents can use their library cards at any Sno-Isle library). (Audio File N-5, 2:34 min., 453 kb.)
  • Jeff Cofer (Owner of Wagley Creek Auto and member of Sultan's Planning Board) - Congratulated council for resolution of SPD issue; acknowledged all of the SPD officers' dedication; expressed relief that the library is not in any immediate danger, and feels its annexation to Sno-Isle may have a "higher probabilty of success." (Audio File N-6, 1:29 min., 262 kb)

COUNCILMEMBER RESPONSE TO PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS (All comments in a single AUDIO FILE, 6:12 min., 1.1 mb)

(Adjourned at 9:44 PM for Executive Session: Potential Litigation and Personnel)

   

NOTES ON OUR DIGITAL RECORDING AND FILES:

  • This audio is accurate and complete. However, we urge that people contact the City directly to obtain the final agenda, and certified minutes, ordinances, resolutions or other documents: City Clerk Laura Koenig 360-793-2231. If you receive the automated message, you can bypass it and go directly to her voicemail by pressing "2" and then the pound (#) sign.
  • As of the October 26, 2006 council meeting, the city began recording meetings using a Morantz MP3 digital recorder, which has records directly from the microphones to the recorder, thus, clearly than the audio we present here, with is captured from "room" sound from a microphone located near the podium. If you wish to secure a copy of the City's audio, contact Clerk Koenig.
  • All of our digital audio files are in MP3 format, playable on Windows Mediaplayer or other MP3-compatible digital device