April 20, 2009
MAYOR HARDING: "WE CAN NO LONGER OPERATE...ALLOWING NEW GROWTH"
Harding: "We can no longer operate the system allowing new growth."
Mayor Harding and the Yelm City Council have been put on-notice for over 5 years that the city's "grow at all costs" policy was headed to be a train-wreck. This blog has an archive of three years of news stories giving the facts and highlighting the strains this area has endured with growth, water and lack thereof, along with a whole host of other issues, as well as a defiant Mayor and City Council calling anyone with a comment on these issues "anti-growth."
In what certainly must be an embarrassing turn of events, Mayor Harding now has to whip city property owners with large water rate increases to pay for the city's folly. In addition, he told local businesses at the Yelm Chamber Forum last week they must look for ways to conserve water. The city is at their maximum allowable water allocation as set by the State Dept. of Ecology.
From the local newspaper's print edition of April 17th:
"Mayor Ron Harding addressed the local business community Tuesday [April 14] about the affects of proposed water rate increases during the monthly Chamber forum at the Nisqually Valley Moose Lodge.
The rates are part of a six-year comprehensive water system plan.
'It’s not something we want to do,' Harding said. 'It’s something we have to do.'...
Rates are going to go up somewhat significantly, especially for large businesses, Harding said...
The average water bill for a single family home is $23 a month.
With the new projected rates, that bill will increase to $37 a month.
By 2015 the average residential customer is anticipated to pay $68 a month under the new plan. Rates are determined by meter and facility size....
Harding said he is encouraging businesses to start looking at ways to conserve water.
The city has taken the stance in recent years for growth to pay for growth, Harding said.
The city has taken on debt and allowed new growth to pay that debt.
That has changed with the economy, growth slowing and an “anti-growth environment.”
'We can no longer operate the system allowing new growth,' Harding said."
Ed. Note:
HMMM! Now isn't that singing a different tune to the Yelm Chamber members and community?
All of those commenting to the Mayor & City Council are NOT anti-growth, rather wanted the city to allow growth to be balanced with environmental preservation. They also wanted the city to follow the law. A lawsuit was required to get the city and state to wake-up to Yelm's behavior.
The city has a lawsuit judgment against the way they have been approving preliminary plats without first proving water; a case they say they won, yet appealed. If the city won, then why did they appeal the decision? HMMM!
And, why has the city not followed their own Vision Plan, created from a task force of people like Glen Cunningham, Shelly Badger, John Thompson & Margaret Clapp?
[CLICK HERE to see an excerpt of my letter to Dept. of Ecology Director Jay Manning about Yelm's water allocation issue.]
The city can no longer sustain the way they have been spending money the last several years with growth now stopped in its tracks. And unfortunately, they have not been up-front with the local businesses and property owners about the lack of water, debt and lack of future revenues from projected property taxes, until now, when they have their backs against a wall!
And, the local newspaper has given the city a "by" on this and other issues. Let's see when the Fall election is near and more details emerge about the city's malfeasance if the local newspaper editor/publisher still endorses the Mayor and Council to run again!
The city's Water Mitigation Plan has yet to be approved, and citizens are taking action in their own right to demand action from Ecology about Yelm's aim to severely increase pumping water here.
CLICK HERE for the citizens' action letter.
Harding: "We can no longer operate the system allowing new growth."
When he says this is about "the system", he is referring to the water system.
The Mayor, City Council, Community Development Dept. and City Administrator have all been warned many times by a qualified professional engineer, a 25 year Dept. of Ecology water specialist, this former mayoral candidate and many other citizens that the direction of their leadership via growth could not be maintained and lacked a vision for a sustainable future. All have said the city would be left out of a "chair when the music stopped."
That has now proven true and there will be a full-court press by city officials to lay on City of Yelm residents and businesses the costs of their hubris. The water rate hike and plea to the Yelm Chamber members for businesses to conserve water are just the beginning. Stay tuned!
Burying this decisive change in the city's direction on the "Business" page instead of front page headlines indicates the local newspaper's complicity in this, as well. The newspaper editor/publisher announced he moved out of the city, so will not be affected by what is coming down the pike. The city's tax & water bill payers are about to pay for their past silence by soon getting a one-two punch in their wallets & gut.
Excerpt of April 6, 2009 letter by me to Dept. of Ecology Director Manning:
The issue is this:
Your own 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.
Actually, the City of Yelm is pumping way over their allocation since the 796.66 acy allocated in 2008 “represents inclusion of its 112 ac-ft/yr non-primary non-additive water right,” quoting the Amicus Curiae Brief, page 4, filed in the case of JZ Knight vs. City of Yelm, et al. http://jzknight.com/download/092508EcologysAmicusCuriaeBrief.pdf
Therefore, the 112 acy should be subtracted from the 796.66 acy per year for a proper determination, demonstrating Yelm is pumping way over their DOE authorized allocation.
This news from Harding is too late. Harding seems to be in hot water and is now trying to "justify or make a show" to fix it. DO NOT GIVE YOUR VOTE TO THIS CROOK and liar. We need him and the council out. They have all lived high on the hog with unrestrained building and knew there was not enough water during for the past 4 years. I hope he and the whole lot are brought to court and have to pay for what they have done to this city. Harding still has not cut the City's budget, got rid of the perks he and the council have given themselves. We should not be paying for health insurance for the mayor and his family when he can afford to pay it with his businesses. Does anyone know if the council's health insurance is paid for by tax payers? Does the voting public know that while they, the citizens of Yelm, don't have health insurance, WE ARE PAYING FOR HARDING AND HIS FAMILY? An audit needs to be done on all financial records of the city ASAP. Where are the cuts to save dollars rather than raise taxes and fees? There are NONE. Mayor Harding, you are a theft, you have taken our resources, and abuse them, cut deals with big developers and you have raised the costs of services in a time when people are hurting, you have lied to the voting public and hid what is going on at City Hall, you are still spending money that the tax payers don't have and don't know about, you continue to keep on staff and pet projects that should have been cut several years ago. You are a disgrace to public office.
As for Graves not living in town, I hope the council and mayor are not far behind him. They all need to get out of Dodge.
Graves is a coward and has abuse his role.
I hope this is not just a move by Yelm City Hall and it's major developer to borrow large unknown sums of money via Local Improvement Districts (LID's) with unknown financial obligations to Yelm to enhance City power and statue by control of sewage contracts, potable water facilities and roads in a down real estate market. Are they taking advantage of State Health requiremeents to advance Thurston Highlands and Yelm City at the expense of Yelm residents and local developers? Do Yelm residents and local developeres get the financial morass they are faced with by not questioning these LID loans and conditions to their properties?
Yeah, the mayor and council are up to something and more than likely not for the good of the community. Citizens have learned not to trust him or the council of them.