Tacoma City Council
Study Session
Noon, Tuesday, December 2, 2003
Room 16
Tacoma Municipal Building North
728 St. Helens Ave.

Two-year, tech college update
Under the first agenda item, the Pierce County Coordinating Council, represented by the five local technical and community college presidents, will provide an update on collaborative economic development efforts as well as current issues and opportunities.

Mid-biennium budget adjustments
For the second agenda item, the city manager will make recommendations to the council on budget adjustments for meeting the projected shortfalls in the 2003-2004 biennium.

The public may attend, but the City Council will not be taking any comments.
Tacoma City Council.

Regular Meeting
5 p.m., Tuesday, December 2, 2003
Council Chambers
Tacoma Municipal Building
747 Market St.

Utilities search for options
In order to resolve overcrowding, consolidate similar services and plan for the future, the Public Works Environmental Services utilities propose to construct a new 60,000 square-foot office building at the Tacoma Landfill on a 5.5-acre parcel owned by the city. The City Council will consider a proposal for $2.5 million to hire the architectural team of KPG (Seattle) and McGranahan (Tacoma) to plan and design the building, which would include public environmental education facilities. If approved, planning and design would take place in 2004, construction in 2005, and the building should be complete in early 2006. The proposed building would house an estimated 125 people and have the capacity to add another 40 over the next 15 years. The cost is estimated at $16.5 million total, and would be paid for using a combination of existing cash reserves and funds from a 2001 bond sale. The council will take citizen comment and then vote on the proposal.

Partnership could add Foss marina
As part of the Thea Foss Waterway cleanup, the City of Tacoma planned to build a temporary marina to hold boats moved during dredging. The Foss Waterway Development Authority, however, offered to help pay for a permanent marina for visiting boaters in the waterway near the Museum of Glass: International Center for Contemporary Art. Council members will consider whether to issue a line of credit for up to $2.7 million-to be repaid by the development authority-to build a marina meeting both needs. The City of Tacoma would build the marina and use it during cleanup to hold displaced boats. After cleanup is complete, the development authority would operate the marina as a permanent enhancement to the waterway, adding about 37 slips for visiting boaters.

Charter Review Commission
The City Council is scheduled to act on a resolution formally appointing 15 Tacoma residents to the Charter Review Commission. The Charter Review Commission was originally created by the Council Aug. 12. On Nov. 18, the City Council added two voting members to the Commission, including one member representing young citizens, bringing the total membership of the Commission to 15 Tacoma residents. The public can comment and the council will consider all of these recommendations.

This is an incomplete agenda for the Dec 2, 2003, meeting of the Tacoma City Council. The Index prints as much as space allows.