Mr. Morris (whom I had not seen at most public meetings until the last 6-7 months or so) has made no secret why he's been attending the Planning Commission meetings so faithfully: He desires to develop his parents' property to which he now (apparently) holds title. So what's wrong with that?

For starters, the city has NO CODE to force sewer installation. This location is about a mile from the nearest sewer which would mean that the county's health department would be the approval agency for septic for hundreds of homes. Additionally, it's quite distant from any adequate road egress: Trout Farm Road is a sleepy, rural, two-lane rural road emptying onto the sleepy rural, two-lane Gohr road (made less-so since Willow Run's creation, proving once again that anything is possible). While a weak case could be made that the location is sort of proximate to the City's water infrastructure, this would be, as was the case with York's property, a real Cinderella step-sister "I'll-just-make-it-fit!" arrangement, not criteria for annexation approval. Check out a map of Sultan. This location is almost as distant from the Sultan city limits as are we, up on 116^th Street S.E.

Another important consideration is the fact that Sultan still has literally hundreds of acres it has already annexed inside its city limits which have not yet been developed. So the only reason Sultan would consider this annexation is because one person wants to do it.

Taxpayers need to get real smart real quick on this issue.

Whoa. What can we say on this subject that everyone else hasn't already thought of themselves or discussed on our website forum? The council will vote tomorrow (Wed., 11-20) on whether or not to make it so. (While I'm on the subject of the SVWN, Mr. Coy FINALLY changed the incorrectly-published 7:00 PM start time for Planning Commission Meetings (which he has been publishing since inception) to an incorrect start time of 6:00 PM. Jeez… One more time: The meetings begin at 7:30 PM.

The budget workshop on the 13^th was enlightening. I will echo the sentiments of several councilmembers that evening that, despite the economic downturn, tax-sapping initiatives, expensive consultants, etc., Sultan's budget situation looks fairly good when compared to some other cities. If folks have been following the Monroe story, they are about $500,000 in the hole this year, one reason for which is their previous dependency on short-term funds (the Catch-22 syndrome) that was being provided by building permits. Now that ethical and wise-growth political leadership in Monroe, they're trying to catch their breath and get on top of the financial strain created by development. Their development growth "bump" did not pay for itself, making it a clear example of what happens when a city is driven by a too-much, too-soon expansion.

But getting back to Sultan's budget, Councilmember Raney made the following upbeat statement which seemed to reflect everyone's thoughts: "When everyone else seems to be eliminating positions, we're actually adding some. And that's good."

Below are a couple of highlights/ideas from the workshop:

• Utility taxes will be raised 1%.

• Public Works needs a new garbage truck
• Police Department needs three new (or refurbished) vehicles. (Someone humorously suggested the chief might wish to defray the cost of vehicles by posting cars with advertising. The Chief responded by saying he wouldn't mind if Wendall Smith wanted to advertise by putting up an ad with a donut on it.)
• Brief discussion on impact fees. Rick Cisar said that instead of raising fees, the city could add a $35 administration fee for each impact fee the city charges (traffic, school, parks). (Note: the city's impact fees have not been increased for about three years.)
• Sultan Basin Road intersection: Snohomish County is acting as C.A. and has agreed to donate their services for the project. Current status is emphasis on defining alternatives to present for the public hearing process, since grant search and/or application cannot be started until an alternative is selected..
• Switching from janitorial service to a city janitor/handy-man (saves $$$, more flexibility)
• Engineering services to be cut back; the plan is to hire a part-time engineer rather than send so much work to outside consultants. (The cost of engineering alone for the design of the walkway and guardrail on SBR was $7,000.)
• Cost of city administrator was discussed. $60,000 plus about $13,000 in benefits is the cost used for the budget. Clerk Laura Koenig advised the council on this subject: "If you aren't going to get someone who knows how to do the job properly, please don't hire anyone at all!" Agreement of this sentiment was echoed by both Connie Dunn and Donna Murphy.

• The city may maintain the city water supply after the Everett line is in place and is considering selling it to a water bottling supplier as a source for funding.

• Status of TIB funds for traveler's park: One hold-up is the wait for trusses for the visitor information building, but it is still active. The city has until June to complete the project.

General discussion was held on where additional funds could be "found." Some thoughts were to "borrow" from an enterprise account (like the cemetery fund) or from bond funding, neither of which is an option.

Wish more folks would show up at these meetings. Besides the Comp Plan, this commission has been, and is, creating Sultan's future.

Mr. Dick's ride on this merry-go-round is making even us, as experienced, professional 'round riders ourselves, dizzy. We won't go into the details, but even though the city attorney had nothing to do with this issue (supposedly) or the writing of the letter itself, and even stated thus in a public meeting, it has somehow made its way back to them for approval of release. Makes one wonder what the heck is IN that letter, anyhow, huh? (By the way, we still don't know who the heck actually affixed their signature to it, because Mayor Rowe has disavowed having written it. So who did? That should really bother taxpayers wishing to make the city accountable.)

Well, he barely started his development of his controversial short plat and he's in hot water again. The city's approval criteria for development states that Mr. Boucher will erect a silt fence, limit grading to May to October (non-rainy periods) and follow the state's Stormwater Management Manual. Mr. Boucher (again) is not in compliance. And despite our conversations with Craig Bruner last week, these issues have not yet been addressed because Mr. Boucher (according to Mr. Bruner) is out of town hunting. Guess Mr. Bruner requires Chico's permission to put up a stop work order. Grading continued the day after my conversation with Mr. Bruner. Why is compliance so difficult for Messrs. Boucher and Bruner? (sigh)

There has been considerable criticism on my discussion forum about the fact that the proper display and lighting of our flag is not being complied with. Granted, this is a volunteer project and we are all faced with a myriad of tasks each day which siphons time away from "freebies." Mr. Dick suggested that if the flag is still flying in the dark this weekend (the city actually promised him something would be done immediately), that we set a time for everyone to bring our flashlights down to the memorial and shine them on the flag as encouragement that the flags either be removed each dusk or have lights installed.

The Willow Run Homeowners Association received another letter (it's on the website) from Mayor Rowe. This letter says that, even though the council had initially agreed to release all attorney-"client"-privileged correspondence on this ill-fated development, both the city attorney, and especially the city's insurance carrier (CIAW), have strongly recommended that this correspondence NOT be released. Hm-m-m-m….methinks there might be some dirty laundry sitting in the back of the city's closet.

The homeowners association formation is now a fact. Interestingly, however, these poor folks are still being pushed around by Valwork, who won't release the association's books (accounting) to them. Another Hm-m-m-m….

EDC representative for Sultan, Carolyn Eslick, was on hand with Michael Cade to discuss methods by which to revitalize and beautify the downtown/Main Street area. Approximately 13 people attended, among them ex-councilman Bob Ostrom, current Planning Commission member Bart Dalmasso, Debbie Copple, Judy Perkins, Cheryl from Ed's Hardware, Jackie Personeus (Library), Ixtapa's owner (did not catch his name), Gordon McDonald and others I did not recognize, sorry. Carolyn mentioned that there are several people who would like to attend these meetings (John Dick among them), but because they're held during the day, they can't be present.

The goal is to improve both the visibility and the visual esthetics of the area through physical improvement, advertising, organization, promotion and special events.

Murals for four blank walls in town have already been approved (working through the Arts Council and the school). One of these will be placed at DND Glass (mural of old Main Street as it used to be, looking eastward), the Dutch Cup (mural of a Model A or Model T), the Ed's True Value Hardware building (old Main street looking westward), and one other mural, the location and subject of which I missesd. (Bart was speaking too fast for me to keep up!).

The Chamber of Commerce will be contacted, urging them to begin 1/4-page advertising. Coupons (in the mail) were discussed, and this works for some, but not all, businesses.

Signs seemed to be of most interest and concern to everyone, the most in-depth discussion of which centered on the lack of enforcement. Bob Ostrom pointed out that cities like La Conner and other "destination"-type locations have sign codes that are quite simple, but their enforcement is strong and consistent. (This, as we're all aware, is NOT the case here, and this was echoed in the meeting.)

Organization: Get everyone organized; privately fund, if need be, hire a pro or put one key leader in charge.

Promotion: Create an image, hold special events and activities, imbue the entire area with a sense of energy and people, a palpable feeling of energetic vitality.

Design: Refurbish storefronts, awnings, signs, window displays, etc. to reflect an esthetically beautiful presence; upgrade as many as possible. Eslick mentioned her discussions with the city on lowering or eliminating permit fees on façade rework, the result of which was their "concession" to offer only a 25% discount on fees. This is not enough to encourage refurbishment. If anyone has any creative ideas on this subject, she urged that they contact Craig Bruner directly.

Economic Restructuring: Obtaining/securing financial resources is a key factor. Minority or women-owned businesses can qualify to receive loans with a 2% discount off interest rates. Check with Bank of America or Coastal Community Bank. Eslick will be organizing fundraisers. Also, businesses need assistance in how to manage, organize and fight competition from larger retailers (Wal-Mart, et al).

The Foundation is asking that folks drop off their old inkjet and/or laserjet copy or printer cartridges, which will create funds for scholarships. (Until a final drop-off location is announced, these can be dropped off at Touch of Class or any Sultan school. Call 360-793-2565 for more information.

Hope to see you at council tomorrow and next week's Planning Commission (this week's meeting is being held on the 26^th).

Loretta Storm

360-793-6683