THIS SITE IS FOR SALE - DETAILS
JZ Knight, owning property just over a mile from the location of the new wells outlined in the City of Yelm’s Water Plan, launched an aggressive media campaign to get information out to the residents of Yelm and the surrounding areas concerning the City’s practices regarding the Water Plan.
The post on her website states:
The City of Yelm is trying to substitute a Mitigated Determination of Non-Significance (MDNS) for an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) regarding their proposed five-fold increase in water withdrawal quantities. By doing this, City officials are sidestepping their obligation to get the opinions of the public and independent professionals about the environmental impacts of such an action.
Your well water level could drop 23 feet and leave you dry
When this happens, when you least expect it, who’s going to pay you the $15,000 it takes to drill you a new well and replace your pumping equipment? Are you going to enjoy the surprise of having no water?
You have until this Friday, May 22nd to send your comments into officials for an appeal.
It also includes a downloadable PDF and contact info for sending in comments.
The PDF is much like the full color print ad in the Olympian today (in the A section).
The deadline for public appeal is Friday May 22nd.
Below is the map from www.jzknight.com, showing the area affected by the proposed drawdown.
The below is from a press release sent today, May 7th, 2009.
As a result of over a thorough 2-month investigation, I have published today
a detailed report outlining what I assert is the negligence of City of Yelm officials
in handling the official business of the city and in keeping this knowledge from public view.
“THURSTON HIGHLANDS IN DEFAULT -
AN OPPORTUNITY TO REMAKE OUR COMMUNITY IN OUR MIDST”
http://yelm.com/2009/05/thurston-highlands-in-default.html
My report includes public documents that support every facet of my investigation
and allows the reader to draw their own conclusions. I will be publishing a follow-up
part of this report with more details in a future entry.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you for your interest.
Most sincerely.
–
Steve Klein
Host, Yelm Community Blog
Welcome To Yelm
Klein provides links to PDFs of public documents supporting his claims and assertions.
He outlines four key questions.
1. Why is the City of Yelm proceeding with the Water System Plan when the whole premise of the Plan is no longer valid, since the city’s water system expansion is based on serving Master Planned Communities (MPC), the largest one being in default?
2. Why did the City of Yelm, who knew this firm was in default, not tell the public?
3. Why did the City of Yelm not tell their constituents the status of this default or the amount the city was owed by Thurston Highlands, LLC?
4. Why has the City of Yelm done little or nothing to get taxpayer dollars reimbursed?
It will be interesting to see if any large media outlets (Olympian? King 5?) pick this up as a story of city officials mishandling taxpayer’s money should be a hot topic in the current economy.
Washington State $3.2 billion construction budget has money for Yelm projects
The Washington Legislature has approved a downsized $3.2 billion construction budget with Yelm listed in two of the bullet points.
The House, on a 61-35 vote Sunday night after removing $777 million from the budget to help try to meet the state’s $35 billion operating budget. The last step is the signature of Gov. Chris Gregoire to finalize the bill.
In this budget are:
$400,000 in temporary public works funding for Yelm’s Longmire community park.
And
$11.05 million for the first phase of the Yelm bypass highway, which could put contracts out to bid later this year.
The $400,000 is to added to $408,800 that the Yelm City Council authorized in July of 2008 to run water to a park in Yelm…
For toilets. (See Yelm.com’s excellent article on this)
Over $800,000 to run water, which Yelm doesn’t have, to toilets at a baseball park to replace the portable toilets that now exist there.
And $11.05 million for the first phases of the SR 510 - Yelm Loop?
Thanks Washington State.
With some recent confusion over the status of the Yelm Bypass funding, I emailed Dennis Engel, who is listed as the Project Engineer WSDOT Olympic Region for the project (the SR 510 - Yelm Loop)
Under the current funding we have right of way and preliminary engineering (design) funded. There are three seperate budgets being worked on. The first one to come out was the Governor’s budget. This had no money for the Yelm Loop in the biennium that starts in July. The Senate and House have both issued their transportation budgets that include a little over $11 million for Yelm Loop.
The City of Yelm has been working with the legislature to fund the construction of phase 1 of the project. Phase 1 is a little over 1 mile that goes from Mud Run Road to Cullins Road. The money earmarked by the legislature is potentially for phase 1.
We are currently designing a portion of the Yelm Loop, concentrating on the area within the limits of phase 1. We have purchased almost all of the right of way in the phase 1 area and expect to have all the right of way for the entire Yelm Loop, with the exception of 3 parcels, purchased by the end of June. If the money is approved for construction we are looking at an October 2009 advertisement date.
So the City has motivation to complete Phase One, which would run traffic thru several ‘yet to be developed, but city zoned’ areas north of Yelm, but only to Cullins Road, not even to Canal Rd which could then route some of the traffic around town?
And if the rest of the money is funded, am I the only one who still thinks the bypass is a horrible idea?
I have noticed survey crews out by the 510 Curve North of town, by Mud Run Rd Se, this week. Are they taking measurements in anticipation of the start of a road project that could very well starve the current business in Yelm and put a nine stop bypass around town that runs past existing housing developments, feeding the Industrial Zoned section in Yelm and going past the city park?
Yelm Area Chamber of Commerce Award Winners
2008 - 2009 Award Winners Announced
Chamber of Commerce 2008-2009 Award Winners to be honored at the Tuesday, May 12, 2009 Chamber forum Luncheon.
Congratulations to the honorees:
Business of the Year (1-5 Employees)
PCI Pest Control and Inspection
Matt Purcell, Owner
Business of the Year (6-20 Employees)
Nisqually Valley News
Keven Graves, Publisher/Editor
Business of the Year (21+ Employees)
Baydo’s
Walt Baydo, President
Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year
John Gibbs Thompson, Project Manager & Property Services
Director, Prairie Park Holdings, LCC
City of Yelm Citizen of the Year
Ron Harding, R&M Remodeling
Directly from the City of Yelm Website
Employment Opportunity - Finance Director
$67,800 to $80,976 per year DOQ
Yelm is looking for a Finance Director to plan, organize and coordinate the budgeting and financial planning for the City and day-to-day operations of the Finance Department.
The City is seeking an individual who is approachable with the ability to communicate effectively. The candidate will fit in well with the Administrative Services Department, a team that works closely together, and shares a common vision.
Candidates should have a four year degree from an accredited college or technical school, in accounting, finance, economics, business administration or closely related field and extensive experience in a financial field; five or more years of professional related experience (preferably in the public sector) in areas of accounting, budgeting, tax administration, information systems, cash/financial management; and/or several years experience in the administration of business or government financial systems and significant supervisory responsibility for professional, paraprofessional and support staff. Any combination of education and experience that would provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying
For more information, call Janine Schnepf at 360-458-8402 or email janines@ci.yelm.wa.us.
Click here to download the
complete job description and announcement.
Update to Steve Klein Puts City Of Yelm On Notice Over Water
Steve Klein’s 3/25/09, CITY CONTINUES TO APPROVE DEVELOPMENTS WITHOUT SUFFICIENT WATER RIGHTS has been updated with an audio file from the April 13, 2005 City Council audio record and video of Klein addressing the Council. Mayor Pro-tem Isom’s rebuttal and Mrs. Fetterly’s comments can also be heard in-context from the City Council’s video.
The audio file is in response to Isom’s comment that Klein had mis-characterization the “moratorium on moratoriums” that is clearly stated and passed in the audio from the April 2005 City Council meeting.
The definition of moratorium is “a suspension of activity” (source) and Isom’s proposal and the City Council’s subsequent unanimous vote was to halt any further talk of a growth moratorium is pretty much a “moratorium on moratoriums”.
Also updated on yelmcommunity.org on the same post
UPDATE: April 14, 2009
I wrote to Mr. Isom on April 3rd to ask him to:
“identify what you view as the mischaracterization,
and I will gladly publish your views as a correction on the Yelm Community Blog,
since your motion & the Council resolution were not just limited to “we would not entertain the the idea of a moratorium.”
I want to insure that I provide the public with accurate information from your viewpoint.”
No response has been received to date, which speaks volumes!
Steve Klein, of yelmcommunity.org, addressed the Yelm City Council on Tuesday and brought to their attention that someone is paying attention to the fact they they continue to issue Plat Developments without sufficient water rights.
Klein’s comment were posted on his blog later that night.
March 24, 2009
The Dept. of Ecology verified that Yelm pumped 756 acre feet per year (acy) of an allocated 796.66 acy in 2008. An acre-foot is about 325,000 gallons – which, for the City of Yelm is about enough water to serve 3.5 homes for a year, according to the DOE. Doing the basic math then, the City would be over that limit with the current water rights they hold in withdrawing an additional 40 acre-feet (796.66-756 = 40.66 underage). That 40 acre-feet X 3.5 homes per acre-foot = 140 homes. That said, Yelm has many development permits already in the works & approved that have not yet been hooked-up to Yelm’s water supply well in excess of that number; 568 alone on hold under Court order.
The City has applied to the DOE through the Thurston County Conservation Board for the transfer of approximately 150 acre feet of water that the City currently controls through a lease agreement. While the City expects this transfer to be accomplished at some point in 2009, there is no guarantee that will happen.
The City has also submitted mitigation plans to the DOE for new water rights, of which the City expects approval for the first 554 acre feet between 2010 and 2012. That is 1 to 3 years in the future, if approved at all. Yet the city’s Water Mitigation Plan has not been approved and will most probably not be approved until all concerns are met. Wishing or hoping the Plan will be approved will not make it so, as there are alot of hurdles in the Plan to overcome.
For the city to continue issuing approvals for plat developments with ongoing litigation concerning water availability at final plat is quite remarkable & illustrates the city’s intent to the ultimate degree. What you are in-essence saying is you don’t have to show an adequate water supply by final plat approval, therefore thumbing your nose at a State requirement, the State’s DOE, Dept. of Health, the Attorney General’s Amicus Brief and a Thurston County Superior Court Final Judgment that is still active until the appeal is completed.
I am on-the-record tonight to say this action is being noticed and will be presented before the State DOE, Dept, of Health and State Attorney General’s office. The city would show good judgment by not approving further developments until all components are in place and the current appeal has been determined and is behind you. If you continue to do so, you run the risk of additional litigation from landowners, developers, and citizen activists.
Your own Staff Report [John’s Meadows Final Plat, dated March 2, 2009] says, “The City currently does not hold sufficient water rights to serve all undeveloped lots within its water service area, but has determined that the proposed means of water supply for this final subdivision is adequate…”
Really? Since when do water rights applications equate having water to serve all of the plats this City has approved or will approve without those in place?
[Ed. Note: The Staff Report for John's Meadows Final Plat goes on to specify:
"If the City is unable to provide potable water at the time a building permit application is submitted for any structure within this subdivision, the permit will not be issued until such time as evidence of an adequate water supply can be made..."
What does that mean?
That says the city will allow the developer to go ahead and put in power, phone, water, sewer and roads and then when they go to apply for a permit to build a home, if the city cannot provide water, the developer cannot build until the city can show evidence of adequate water.
The city can now say we told you, the information is all in our Staff report.
WHY WOULD A BUILDER DEVELOP UNDER SUCH CONDITIONS?]
On April 13, 2005, Yelm area resident Bill Hashim requested the City Council place a moratorium on any further building here until the Critical Area’s Update could be completed - a moratorium that would have placed the then-proposed Wal-Mart Superstore approval process on hold until more study and compliance with the Growth Management Hearings Board could be accomplished.
So outraged was the City Council at the continuing public outcry about a Wal-Mart here, then City Council member Isom immediately motioned for a moratorium on moratoriums so the name Wal-Mart and/or big box stores could not be brought before the council again. Council member Joe Baker seconded the motion.
That act was in addition to Yelm receiving the egregious Jefferson Muzzle Award for not permitting the public to mention the word Wal-Mart in Council Chambers. Interesting that a Wal-Mart was allowed to be built here with their traffic mitigated by an unfunded Bypass that was supposed to be operational within 7 years of the store’s opening and has now been postponed for at least 20 years, thanks in-part to the city’s push to move r-o-w & engineering funding from Phase 2 (Wal-Mart section) of the Bypass to Phase 1.
I propose rescinding the moratorium on moratoriums and that this City Council start to take a look at a growth moratorium, just as Lacey & Tumwater are doing to bring their growth in alignment with State law on a municipality’s use of allocated resources.
Stephen R. Klein
His comments fell on deaf ears as the vote on this Plat passed unanimously, even after Council Member Pat Fetterly who asked if the city had enough water to support 40+ homes in this development. Assistant Planner Nisha Box never directly answered the question, rather stated all of the information is in the report.
Klein asks you to write to
Vicki Cline, Compliance & Enforcement
Water Resources Program
Southwest Regional Office
Dept. of Ecology (Ms. Cline’s office oversees Yelm)
VWIN461@ECY.WA.GOV
Tell Ms. Cline that you are writing as a citizen and that you are requesting enforcement of Yelm’s continual plat approvals going beyond the city’s current water allocation and you want your letter to be included in the official public record of the City of Yelm’s Water Mitigation Plan.
April 25-26, 2009 – Nisqually Valley Home, Garden & Trade Show
Spring is in the air and the The Yelm Area Chamber of Commerce has a great list of April events.
Saturday -Sunday, April 4 & 5, 2009 - Hydroplane races at Lake Lawrence
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 – Forum Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. – Moose Lodge
Thursday, April 16, 2009 – Chamber After Hours, Twin Star Credit Union, 5:30-7pm
Sunday, April 19, 2009 - Miracle Bowl for Kids, Yelm Bowling Alley
Saturday & Sunday, April 25-26, 2009 – Nisqually Valley Home, Garden & Trade Show – Yelm High School
On March 12th, the Washington State Senate passed ESSB 5716, which would allow citizens to elect City Councils by district instead of the current laws that limit candidates to living inside city limits.
“Sponsor Bob McCaslin of Spokane Valley says it would spread out a city’s elected representatives to bring geographic diversity. He says it would prevent everyone on a city council from coming from the same apartment complex,” quoting the AP from The Olympian.
Read the full text of the bill here.
Of the 281 cities and towns in Washington, 186 are non-charter code cities, meaning candidates must be registered voters at the time of filing and residents for at least one year on Election Day. Of these, only 12 have a voting district.
ESSB 5716 would allow a district’s boundaries to change only by a majority vote at an election.
The election could be initiated either by resolution of the council or by a petition signed by 10 percent or more of the voters.
5716 passed the Senate 45 to 4 and had its first reading in the House on March 13th.
Contact your Legislator and tell them to pass 5716.
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