[EDITOR'S NOTE: This new column by Earl Gipson is a view of SeaTac city government. It does not necessarily reflect the views of The SeaTac Blog. We are seeking additional regular columnists to reflect opinions and views of SeaTac residents. Those interested can e-mail us at editor@seatacblog.com.]
by Earl Gipson
Retreats are supposed to semi-relaxed affairs where everyone takes a step back and reviews what they have done and what they want to do. The City of SeaTac’s might have well been an 8 hour Council Meeting without Agenda Bills. I was there for all of it.
Let’s hit some issues.
SeaTac’s and Burien’s Solid Waste Removal contracts are due for renewal simultaneously and Council Members Gregerson and Fernald agreed that this might be a good time to see if identical services might be feasible. Enter contract consultant Jeff Brown of Epicenter Services. He stated that identical City services (even if they are adjacent) have not been possible. Mr. Brown further stated that he is the only consultant on these matters in King County. Well it sure would make consulting fees a lot less that’s for sure. Might the contract consultants be part of the problem? Just a thought.
Compensation and classification explanation was conducted by Human Resources Director Anh Hoang. Nice explanation. How about fixing the structure and City Code where a $17,000 annual increase to a single person has some Council oversight?
Council Study sessions versus Council Committees came up again and was put off to another Study Session. Not too much of a shock there. Un-elected Mayor Anderson holds on desperately to control ALL Agendas and that may be his undoing. On a brighter note, Public Comment in the Study Sessions may be allowed and voted on in a future Council meeting along with Public Comment on Council Meeting Action Items (cases where no Council consensus reached). Others and I have called for these comment periods ever since the rules where changed by guess who? Un-elected Mayor Anderson. It may go a long way to improve meeting public attendance, participation, and general goodwill to many a now disenchanted Citizen.
Another development was that Regular Council meetings could not be canceled unilaterally by un-elected Mayor Anderson (as he attempted) or anyone else. He innocently thought he could (so stated) but must not have been paying attention all these years on the Council. Take some notes man!
At this point of 6 hours into it, it appeared to me the Council was getting weary (me too) and a little sniping went on. It serves no purpose to say between who but the “snipers” versus the “snipees” would have thought this a highlight. I did not and said so in the last Council Meeting. My opinion is that this meeting/retreat could have been over in half the time had the Council Members stayed on topic and not drifted all over the place. Un-elected Mayor Anderson fiddled and appeared to be texting when disinterested (as well as Council Member Gregorson). Just an observation. A few more breaks for the Council during these marathons might be in order. Now I “retreat” until the next Council Meeting/s.
“Un-elected Mayor Anderson fiddled and appeared to be texting when disinterested (as well as Council Member Gregorson).” Excuse me, but what are our government employees doing texting or Twittering or any of that nonsense while on the job? Businesses have rules about such behavior during work hours. Violation usually results in disciplinary action. Also, such action shows a flat-out disregard and disrespect for the rest of the Council.
The Cactus was spot on with his recap of this “retreat” session. I attended 6 of the 8 hour marathon, and it was like watching a soap opera … you can miss 6 months of the drama and pick right up with where you left off. The same characters are acting the same way, the same underlying issues are being rehashed ~ only the specific details have been changed and the actors have on different clothes. The theme remains the same. I had to contain my laughter when some council members praised the event as productive and meaningful. Guess the perspective depends upon what your goal is and what your measurement tools are.
Dear Cactus,
Could you please do a future article on the multiple state audits of The City of SeaTac and their results?
Thank you,
Hunter S Thompson