City Hall News: Bikeways improvement project, Legislative update, and Chancellor Friedman Day

January 31, 2014 9:41 am
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City Hall News: Bikeways improvement project, Legislative update, and Chancellor Friedman Day

Tacoma residents will have plenty of opportunities next week to learn more about what’s happening in city government.

On Monday, Tacoma City Council’s Neighborhoods and Housing Committee will meet and is tentatively scheduled to discuss its 2013 annual report.

On Tuesday, councilmembers will hold their regular weekly study session and council meeting. Councilmembers will also hold their Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday afternoon to discuss the Tacoma Link light rail expansion project.

On Wednesday, City Council’s Government Performance and Finance Committee will meet to discuss eight proposed amendments to Title 6 of the Tacoma Municipal Code in order to correct language and code citations inconsistent with other language in the code, and to correct language as required by Washington State law.

Here is a look ahead at some notable meetings, events, and issues on deck next week at Tacoma City Hall.

UPDATE: BIKEWAYS IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

Three companies — Westwater Construction Company (Auburn, Wash.), Tucci & Sons, Inc. (Tacoma, Wash.), and Stan Palmer Construction (Bremerton, Wash.) — have expressed preliminary interests in a plan to develop the second phase of Tacoma’s Top 4 Bikeways Project, an aspect of the city’s Mobility Master Plan that aims to improve the city’s bicycle network and general pedestrian accessibility by installing new pavement markings, signage, asphalt and concrete pavements, curbs and gutters, and pedestrian flashing beacons. The City of Tacoma issued a request for bids on Tues., Dec. 17. The project budget is estimated at approximately $1.64 million. A pre-bid meeting was held on Tues., Jan. 7. Bids were received until 11 a.m. on Tues., Jan. 28.

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To read the Tacoma Daily Index‘s complete and comprehensive coverage of the City of Tacoma’s Mobility Master Plan, click on the following links:

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Councilmembers will receive a legislative update next week from Tacoma Government Relations Manager Randy Lewis.

Last month, councilmembers adopted a resolution formally announcing its priorities for the 2014 Legislative Session. Top-of-the-list items include support for a transportation package that completes State Route 167 and other local projects; new local transportation funding tools, including street utility; new economic development tools; and opposition to any efforts that restrict or diminish its authority to tax and license.

Lewis last updated councilmembers on the legislative activities currently under way in Olympia during a study session earlier this month. He returns next week for another update during a study session on Tues., Feb. 4, at 12 p.m. in Room 16 of Tacoma Municipal Building North, 733 Market St., in downtown Tacoma. Audio from the meeting will be broadcast live on TV Tacoma and online at tvtacoma.com. On-demand audio archives are available on the Web within 24 hours of the meeting online at tvtacoma.com. More information is available online here.

Following the study session, councilmembers will convene to executive session to discuss labor negotiations and Tacoma City Manager T.C. Broadnax’s performance review.

CHANCELLOR DEBRA FRIEDMAN DAY

Councilmembers are poised to declare Sat., Feb. 15, as Chancellor Debra Friedman Day. Friedman, the late chancellor of the University of Washington Tacoma, died of lung cancer on Sun., Jan. 26, at the age of 58. The university plans to hold a public memorial on Feb. 15 to honor Friedman. Councilmembers are expected to vote on a proclamation next week to formally recognize Chancellor Debra Friedman Day.

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To read the Tacoma Daily Index’s complete and comprehensive coverage of University of Washington Tacoma Chancellor Debra Friedman, click on the following links:

$3.4M SAFER GRANT APPROVAL

Looking ahead, councilmembers are tentatively scheduled to vote later this month on a resolution that would formally accept a $3.4 million grant awarded to the Tacoma Fire Department from the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program to fund up to 20 front-line firefighter positions for two years. The SAFER grant is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Councilmembers are tentatively scheduled to vote on the resolution during its weekly meeting on Tues., Feb. 11.

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