G.R.I.T. UPDATE OCTOBER 14, 2003

  

 

Our interview with Sultan Council candidate SCOTT OPSAL will be posted on our website (www.ittakesgrit.org) later this morning. Mr. Opsal is running against Derek Boyd, brother to current councilman Dusty Boucher and The Valley Review's editor Brady Boucher. And you can see Derek and Scott in action at SULTAN'S CANDIDATE FORUM, conceptualized and organized by Council Candidate John Dick. EVERYONE is invited (whether or not they live in the city or haven't lived here all their lives…imagine!) to attend this interactive, open Q&A forum this Thursday, October 16, between 7:00 and 9:30 in the Community Center at 319 Main Street. (All candidates with the exception of Mayor Rowe, have confirmed their attendance. Rowe said he would probably be out of town, but would attend, if possible.)

COUNCIL MEETING:

At the June 4, 2003 Council meeting, during which Cliff Morris' sewer proposal to the City (to pay for a portion of the First Street sewer so he could develop 300-350 homes) was discussed, and the mayor was given directed by council to bring this issue back to the table after estimates for replacement of the First Street sewer were obtained. In the context of the discussion and the council's direction, it was clear that costs for those estimates would be borne by Mr. Morris, not the taxpayers of Sultan.

This week's agenda includes three contracts for engineering and construction oversight of that sewer. There are so many things wrong with the contracts and the manner in which this is being presented to the citizens of Sultan, I barely know where to begin, but here goes:
  • First, Sultan's Comprehensive Plan is not yet complete. The issue of Sultan's sewage and wastewater treatment needs, and prioritization of projects (called by most cities a Capital Facilities Plan, but by Sultan, "non-existent") should be addressed within the context of that Big Picture planning tool. Perhaps someone could explain to me the contradiction of Rick Cisar ordering a major sewer upgrade cost study, the effects of which will result in 300-350 new homes on Trout Farm Road, while constantly rebuffing certain Planning Commission members' (and residents') entreaties to do the state-mandated capital facilities plan consistent with the comp plan process before Sultan selects a preferred UGA alternative. The answer lies somewhere in the vast canyon that separates those who own cheap land they wish to develop, and those who plan on staying here and wish to retain the rural flavor of Sultan's beauty.
  • Second, according to the statement on the agenda cover sheet, the decision to move ahead on the First Street sewer project was made "unanimously" by Public Works committee council and staff members during an August 29th committee meeting. There was no public notice of that committee meeting, and therefore, no public input or oversight by the taxpayers. This is especially disturbing in light of the fact that nary a word was uttered in any council meetings subsequent to that Aug. 29th decision by any council member, Public Works staff, or City Planner/Administrator Rick Cisar, neither was it included as an item in a Public Works staff report. (It almost makes one believe the city was trying to "hide" this issue from public scrutiny until all their ducks were marching en masse and taxpayer funds already spent on city-hired consultants. Worse, taxpayers' funds did not include an actual estimate of costs for how much this sewer extension would cost, as mandated by council at their June 4th meeting.)
  • Third, this is not a "consent" agenda matter. The consent agenda is reserved for -- in layman's terms -- "no-brainer, no comment" type issues. For instance, automatic approval of the Minutes.
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  • Fourth, three separate contracts comprising over 75 pages contain fairly significant inconsistencies. (one contract each for Berryman & Henigar, handling the overall project design and construction, Dowl Engineering for surveying and R-O- work, and Nelson Geotechnical for geological and construction monitoring services). Read all the contracts on Councilman Jeff Everett's website, www.sultancitycouncil.com
  • By way of example, Nelson Geotechnical's contract includes work on the Sultan Basin Road project not specified in the B&H documents. Another rather glaring discrepancy is that the Dowl Engineering contract (Ex. A, pg. 2) bases its proposal on the "design engineering as outlined in the September, 2003 project description memo from Berryman & Henigar," Item #5 of which is to conduct a "centerline profile survey of 1st Street from High Avenue to the intersection of Trout Farm Road and Gohr Road." This item is not mentioned or detailed in either the Berryman & Henigar or Geotechnical contracts.
  • Next, each contract contains inconsistencies. Each of these contracts specify 2,600 feet of First Street sewer, from Main to High Street (it's actually closer to 3,000 ft.) They all reference construction of "appurtenances," however, road reconstruction is not one of those. According to the contracts, all that will be provided will be "patches."

900 feet of reconstruction and improvements are also specified on Alder Street at/between 5th & 6th Streets.

Sultan's 6-year TIP (Transportation Improvement Program) for 2004 to 2009, indicates a two-phase 1st Street Reconstruction: Phase I calls out 0.47 miles (it is actually 0.55 miles) from Main to High Avenue for an estimated $1.2 million, and Phase II from High Ave. to Trout Farm Road, consisting of 0.32 miles (it is actually 0.35), at an estimated cost of $0.845 million. Scope of project is stated as: "Total reconstruction of curbs, gutters, sidewalks, water, sewer and storm." Strangely, however, actual roadway replacement is not mentioned. This amounts to $2.375 million dollars for almost a mile of roadway (0.9 miles, to be exact).

Considering the above costs, we can't help but scratch our heads and wonder why, then, were the costs for the barely 0.2 to 0.3 mile High Street reconstruction so high approximately 18 months ago? My recall is that taxpayer funds expended were well in excess of $1 million, and construction delays were excessive. Here's a link to the 7/10/00 Council Minutes reflecting that an estimate of $742,227 was used for construction only (did not include any engineering/consultant or R-O-W work). And if you'd like a bit of a chuckle, check out Sultan's 6-year TIP for 1996 through 2001 on our website (distributed at the 2000 hearing on the 6-year road plan), which estimated High Street's reconstruction costs at $40,000 and the First Street reconstruction costs (from Main to High St.) at $60,000. Finally, another intriguing item on that same TIP plan was $2.5 million for reconstruction of Foundry Road (from the RR tracks to Cemetery Rd.) and Cemetery Road (from Foundry Rd. to just past the Cemetery), for an estimated total roadway surface of approximately one mile. The actual roadway mileage was significantly less.

 

RECENT NEWS STORIES OF INTEREST (In case you missed them)

Monroe man (owner of Coast to Coast Hardware store) was sentenced to 28 days in jail for Kid porn: http://www.heraldnet.com/Stories/03/10/14/17614131.cfm

Incentives for annexing into King County? Giveaways apparently help both King, wishing to enlarge its power base, and unincorporated areas such as Juanita and White Center: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001765366_budget14m.html

Then there's Maltby, that wishes to form its own city so it can move away from the poor planning of Snohomish County to craft itself the kinder, gentler, more spacious destiny some envision. As Greg Stephens, the movement's leader, says: "We want Leavenworth, not Lynnwood.": http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/03/10/13/17609198.CFM

McCord's family wants prosecutor to file criminal charges in Monroe shooting: http://www.heraldnet.com/Stories/03/10/14/17614163.cfm But Pierce County prosecutors say Snohomish prosecutor who issued the warrant to enter McCord's residence should recuse himself. (McCord had escaped from the Pierce County jail the day before the incident): http://www.heraldnet.com/Stories/03/10/14/17614163.cfm

SULTAN'S UGA/COMP PLAN….An interesting tidbit that fell out of the above Maltby article: Snohomish County states that In the next 20 years, the county only needs a maximum of 10 square miles of urban growth area to meet its projected population increase over the next 20 years. The Snohomish County Council, Snohomish County Tomorrow and 1000 Friends of Washington have all gone on record as saying Sultan does not need to expand their ample UGA area. So, tell me again, WHY is the City of Sultan recommending that its UGA be enlarged by approximately 1100 acres (including the City's watershed)? That's almost two square miles, or 20% of what the County is saying is required to meet its maximum population growth over the next 20 years. (Oh, and I forgot Cisar's recommendation to annex the Benito DeLeon 25-acre properties south of Route 2, inexplicably dropped -- at Cisar's request -- from consideration by the Commission for Sultan's review during the Comp Plan process, currently in the hands of the County Council.)

Financial Department Reorganization?

Several people attended the council committee meeting wherein this subject was discussed. The notice of time and place of the meeting was -- as usual -- not published (we found out about this on our own), as everyone knows the very best environment in which to raise a bumper crop of "mushrooms" is in the dark). Rick Cisar and :Laura Koenig presented their visions for a reorganization and future development of the Finance/Clerk's office. Laura's vision was to hire well-experienced people and then train them into the jobs gradually, an added benefit of which was to provide "workers" during Sultan's difficult economic downturn. Cisar's vision was to hire a top-of-the-line Finance Manager who would perform the menial work of his office by him/herself. After almost four years in Sultan politics and seeing Rowe, Porter and now Cisar in action, it was clear to us that Rowe & Co already has its sights set on a new Finance Manager, even though the decision was to present this for further council discussion/review during the budgeting process.

Gold Bar Mayoral Race:

Colleen Hawkins is running against Jerry Wood for Gold Bar mayor, and an October 10th Herald story, "Gold Bar mayoral race is wide open," and what we personally know about Mrs. Hawkins, made us curious enough to dig deeper.

Apparently, the first time in 23 years that Mr. Wood attended a Gold Bar council meeting was the one directly following his filing for office. During that meeting, Mr. Wood stood up and explained that the reason he was unable to attend past council meetings was due to his numerous illnesses (which he then proceeded to enumerate on the record, on tape), and thus, hasn't been strong enough to attend. A source supported Mr. Wood's assertion of ill health. In a recent meeting, a number of his neighbors expressed their concerns in Mr. Wood running for mayor. They indicated their affection for him, but have significant doubts on his ability to be able to serve the people of Gold Bar. Yet one of the pillars upon which Mr. Wood has built his platform is that he'll be in Gold Bar "five days a week…so people can have access to me every hour of the day…I think the biggest issue of this campaign is having a mayor that's here full time serving the community with no personal agenda." Mr. Wood's background includes no city service, but he does own and operate a small espresso stand. He says he has "real good solutions for dealing with the kind of tension that we have," but "Doesn't want to mention those solutions now, because they might be misinterpreted."

We called Mr. Wood 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning and asked to speak with him about the race. He was not available. We spoke with someone we assume was his wife, who seemed quite anxious for Jerry to call us back and speak with us. However, as of this morning, we have not heard from him.

Colleen Hawkins has extensive experience in municipal government, and has spent the last three-plus years forging the Gold Bar comp plan vision with other Gold Bar Planning Commissioners. She's a mom, and she's married to a sheriff deputy. She has a deep sense of civic pride and sense of duty, and has been involved in many charitable activities.

In addition to her local Gold Bar experience, she also served as the former Executive Assistant to both Mayor Rowe and ex-Sultan City Administrator Roy Bysegger. Since then she's been working as an Administrative Assistant in the Public Works department of the City of Sammamish.

Prior to filing to run for mayor of Gold Bar, Mrs. Hawkins consulted with Sammamish officials Together they decided she could "adjust my schedule in whatever way I needed in order to perform my duties as mayor…including telecommuting, if necessary."

I personally know Colleen Hawkins to be a woman of great integrity, intelligence, and a true servant of the people. All the people. Every choice the voters have should be this easy.

Jerry L. Wood
154 2nd Street (P. O. Box 593)
Gold Bar, WA 98251
Home phone: (360) 793-2672

(no email)

Ö Colleen Hawkins

222 17th St
Gold Bar, WA 9825
Home Phone: (360) 799-2096
E-Mail:cobra@premier1.net

ROWE's LAWSUITS (The ones of which we're aware):
  • Roy Byseggger v. Rowe: A federal judge ordered Rowe, the City and Bysegger to come to a mutually-agreeable settlement a few weeks ago. I do not know how that currently stands.
  • East Teak v. Rowe: Apparently, legal talks have begun regarding title entanglements on land Mayor Rowe sold to East Teak. This seems to be tied to his various land use revisions occurring on his 9-plus-acre tax-exempt Bureau of Indian Land. (We're guessing past tax issues?)
  • Falstich v. Rowe: Wrongful death suit was filed recently by mother of the girl who was struck and killed by a pickup truck driven by Rowe in late December, 2003.

(Anybody know whether or not a person can buy WHOLESALE legal representation?)

Thanks, and have a great week, all. Hope to see a good turnout this week at council and for the candidate forum.