Clark Gilman Appointed Olympia City Councilmember

Above: Clark Gilman, left, greets Doug DeForest after Gilman was chosen Monday night by the Olympia City Council to be appointed to the council. He replaces Cheryl Selby, who won the mayor's seat in November. Gilman will be sworn in at Tuesday night's council meeting and serve out the remainder of Selby's term. 

By Janine Gates 

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Westside Olympia resident Clark Gilman was chosen Monday night out of eight candidates who applied for appointment to the Olympia City Council, Position #4. 

The position became vacant when Councilmember Cheryl Selby won her election and was sworn in as mayor.  

Gilman will serve for approximately 23 months, until the November 2017 general election results are certified and will be sworn in at Tuesday night’s Olympia City Council meeting.

Gilman is a grantwriting and organizational development consultant for a local company, and a special education paraeducator for North Thurston High School in Lacey. 

Prior to that, he worked as a manager for the Harvesting Clean Energy program for Climate Solutions and co-founded a residential carpenters union local in 1996.

“I am a person who can work hard as part of a group and live with the decisions of the group. A career as an elected local leader and a regional staff person for the Carpenters Union offered me a great deal of practical experience in this area….As a regional leader of the Union, I would often represent the organizations’ position on contentious issues to diverse interest groups and use my position to work towards resolution of those difficult issues,” Gilman said in his application to the city.

Above: Eight candidates applied for the appointment to the Olympia city council. Left to right: Dr. Karen Johnson, Paul Masiello, Allen Miller, Marco Rosaire Rossi, Max Brown, Clark Gilman, Chase Gallagher, and Peter Tassoni. The interviews were open to the public, and taped for replay on Thurston Community Television (TCTV). 

Councilmembers took turns asking questions of the group of eight, in two groups of four. Candidates had two minutes to answer each question. After the interviews, councilmembers voted for three candidate choices. Although the council unanimously chose Gilman as a choice in its first round, they chose to do a second round, asking the top four vote getters an additional four questions. 

In the first round, Gilman received six votes, Johnson received four votes, and Brown and Gallagher each received three votes. In the end, allowed one vote, five councilmembers voted for Gilman. Councilmember Jeannine Roe chose Max Brown.

Jimmy Haun, political director of the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters which covers six western states, came down from Seattle to attend the interviews and lend moral support to Gilman. He expressed full confidence in Gilman’s abilities to be a councilmember for the city.

“Clark has been an advocate for carpenters working in the residential construction market for many years. In most cases, carpenters who are not represented by a union are not aware of their rights and are victims of payroll fraud. Many of these workers are Latino and are not familiar with how overtime works or how much they should be getting paid on prevailing wage projects. Some are misclassified as "independent contractors" by their employers who avoid paying Labor and Industries premiums and payroll taxes. Clark worked to help educate these workers so they were able to collect the wages that they were duly owed. He also help found a residential carpenters local, and a vast majority of their members are Latino,” said Haun.

For the City of Olympia, Gilman is chair of the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, which he said allowed him to have a closer look at the work of the council.

“As chair of the BPAC my focus has been on taking care of the committee members and the process. I have worked hard to make sure that every voice is heard and that our decisions reach consensus as often as possible. With support from Council we have moved forward with modestly funded innovative initiatives that kept the bicycling and walking agenda in action through the leanest of city budgets,” Gilman said in his application.

During the interview, Gilman said he feels blessed to have developed broad constituencies and relationships with shop owners downtown, neighbors on the westside, colleagues he works with, and people he has represented as a union representative.

 

“…I take very seriously the trustee role of overseeing a municipal corporation.  I see that as a responsibility and as a call to look at the best interests of the community, putting aside some of those particular issues and constituencies dear and closest to my heart….

“I generally feel really good and excited about where Olympia is at right now today…I am very proud of the work that the city staff’s been doing…so I don’t have any hesitation in putting my energy toward the agenda the council has right now and trying to push implementation of the good work of the staff,” said Gilman.

Gilman did gently suggest that the council has gradually shifted its attention over the years from overseeing the big policy picture to spending too much time on details about programs that the city implements such as the comprehensive plan and downtown strategies.

When asked by Councilmember Jim Cooper, in a hypothetical scenario, how he would pick one parks related project, have five million dollars to spend, and build community consensus around it, Gilman said that if the purchase of the LBA Woods was already accomplished, he would be responsive to and satisfy the community need for a dog park.

Gilman said he lives near Sunrise Park and was part of a group that had concerns about the dog park in that area. The park inadvertently became a regional magnet for pent-up city-wide off-leash dog park needs and was disruptive to nearby neighbors.

As a result of those concerns, he said he spent about a year working with a parks and recreation subcommittee to try and find another location, and spent days riding around with city staff to look for appropriate land with buffers that would not adversely impact neighbors.

“I think it would be such a different ride if I had that check in my hand,” Gilman said, eliciting laughter from councilmembers and the audience.

Without the benefit of running a recent campaign and hearing first hand from voters what is on their minds, Gilman was asked by Councilmember Bateman what he thought were the top three issues most important to the community members. He responded: the use of the Parks and Pathways fund and lack of land acquisition; safety, particularly since the officer involved shooting of two African American men in May; and the condition of downtown sidewalks.

When asked by Councilmember Jeannine Roe who he would choose to be the next councilmember if the councilmembers didn’t choose him, Gilman said Dr. Karen Johnson, saying that she was eloquent, gracious, and would be an asset in the process of group dynamics.  In answer to the same question, three other candidates also mentioned Johnson, who received the most votes of confidence by interviewees.

Mayor Cheryl Selby and councilmembers thanked all the candidates for their knowledge, ideas, and passion, and welcomed them all to stay involved in city issues. The meeting was Cheryl Selby’s first as mayor, and Jessica Bateman’s first as a councilmember. 

Above: Jimmy Haun, political director for the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters, greets Dr. Karen Johnson, during a break Monday night of the interviews for Olympia city council. Johnson received four votes of confidence from other applicants when asked who they would chose for the seat, other than themselves.

Olympia City Council Vacancy Attracts Eight Candidates

Councilmember Nathaniel Jones to Stay on Council

By Janine Gates

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Eight candidates have applied for the appointment to Olympia City Council, Position #4, which will be vacant January 1 due to the election of Cheryl Selby as Mayor. The deadline to apply for the position was December 14.

 

The applications are now posted on the city website at http://olympiawa.gov/city-government/city-council-and-mayor/council-vacancy.aspx

The candidates are Max Brown, Chase Gallagher, Clark Gilman, Karen Johnson, Paul Masiello, Allen Miller, Marco Rossi, and Peter Tassoni.

The person who is appointed will serve for approximately 23 months, until the November 2017 General Election results are certified.

Interviews will be held at 5:30 p.m. on January 4, 2016, and January 6, 2016, if needed, in the Olympia City Council Chambers, 601 4th Avenue East. The sessions will be open for public viewing and taped for replay on Thurston Community Television (TCTV).

After completing the initial interviews, the city council will decide the next steps in the process, such as whether to select an individual that evening, develop a short list of applicants for a second round of interviews or solicit additional applicants.

The city council has up to 90 days to make a selection. If a selection is not made within 90 days, the decision rests with the county board of commissioners per RCW 42.12.070.

The council intends, however, to appoint someone in time to participate as a member at the council’s annual goal setting retreat on January 8-9, 2016.

Jones Decides to Stay on Council

In an open letter provided to Little Hollywood on Monday, Olympia city councilmember Nathaniel Jones announced his intention to stay on the council, and not seek the state House of Representatives for the 22nd District.

“The enthusiastic support I have received from all corners of the district has been extraordinary.  I have been moved by the trust placed in me to represent the needs and the values of our community and our state,” says Jones in his letter.

“…I am not disappointed in my decision to stay with the City Council; this is not a concession, rather, the Council provides the best fit for me at this time.  I am excited about serving the City and I am convinced that this is the place where I can be the most effective.

“It was only a month ago that Olympia voters reelected me to the City Council.  These next four years present unique challenges for our community. The South Sound region is making a meaningful comeback from the Great Recession.  Olympia and its partners are at the heart of it all.  Rebuilding our economy and our community requires local leaders and an understanding of how this region works.

“…As we enter 2016 and the presidential campaign year, there are many local races and issues which need your attention.  Public policy issues affecting our community are at a cross-road; our education system depends on upon unreliable local districts across the state to meet basic needs, our energy systems are not evolving fast enough to overcome the negatives of fossil fuel dependence, our regressive tax structure does not reflect our intent, and both economic development and social equity lag.  Yet there is good news.  We know how to fix these issues; they can be addressed within our existing systems.  All we need is people who are willing to get involved and get creative.  We can affect the outcome of critical policy issues,” said Jones.

Olympia Planning Commissioners Meet Privately With Developer Before Zone Amendment Hearing

By Janine Unsoeld

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

A situation of a possible violation of the Open Public Meetings Act when two strategically planned, off the record meetings and conversations occurred, involving six members of the city Planning Commission, three Olympia city councilmembers, and an area developer, Jim Morris.

The Planning Commission is a quasi-judicial body that hears land use issues and reports and makes recommendations to the city council.

Morris is a party to a code text amendment zoning case having to do with a professional office/residential multifamily zoning district in the Kaiser-Harrison area on the Westside of Olympia.

Morris is in favor of the proposed zoning code amendment, and submitted comments on it prior to the deadline of March 10.

March 10 at 5:00 p.m. was the last day to comment on the case, File 14-0210, which is currently before the Commission. Several community members who knew this made the effort to comment, with many requesting that no action be taken on this case by the Planning Commission or the council until all the facts, meetings held, and conversations are known.

Some community members are calling for the resignation of Chair Max Brown, Vice Chair Kim Andresen, and possibly others. These letters have been posted online at the City of Olympia website with the agenda for the next Planning Commission meeting on March 17.

The Planning Commission heard the case on March 3, and is scheduled to deliberate and vote on a recommendation on the zoning text amendment case involving Morris’ property on March 17, a decision which is forwarded to the city council. 

Letter About Off-the-Record Meetings

Late last week, Little Hollywood received emails containing two attachments: a letter dated March 8 from Judy Bardin, Olympia Planning Commissioner, addressed to Leonard Bauer, City of Olympia deputy director of the department of community development and planning, and a letter dated March 9 from attorney Bob Shirley to the Olympia Planning Commission.

The letter by Judy Bardin details that she was invited by telephone by Planning Commission vice chair Kim Andresen to attend a private meeting with developer Jim Morris and others related to the development field.

Bardin chose not to attend because she felt it would be a conflict of interest given Morris' interest in the zoning code amendment and her position on the Planning Commission. In February, she found out that four other members of the Commission and city councilmember Nathaniel Jones attended the meeting held January 31 at the offices of Jim Morris.

On March 3, another meeting was held with Morris, real estate agents and others, with Planning Commissioner Carole Richmond, Mayor Stephen Buxbaum and Councilmember Cheryl Selby in attendance. The evening of March 3 was when the Planning Commission heard the zoning case in a public hearing.

Bardin said she decided to write the letter because she is concerned about the integrity of the Olympia Planning Commission and concerned for the public perception of the commission with respect to whether it is dedicated only to the public interest.
Bardin goes on to say that she does not think the commission should take any action on File 14-0210 and that the vote scheduled for March 17 should be tabled indefinitely.

The March 3 Planning Commission Meeting

In the online audiotape of the March 3 meeting of the Planning Commission at http://olympia.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=1113, Planning Commission Chair Max Brown tries to quickly shut down Ms. Bardin's question about the meeting with Morris held earlier in the day. The conversation starts at 1:39:30, and lasts almost exactly five minutes.

There is great effort to get a minimal amount of information dragged out of city planner Amy Buckler, who chooses her words carefully, and Planning Commission Chair Brown about the meeting.

The following is an unofficial transcript as heard from the audiotape by Janine Unsoeld and is not to be used for legal purposes.

Bardin: I wondered if Commissioner Andresen could fill us in on the meeting at Morris’ office today.

Andresen: That was a private meeting, you mean, it didn’t really have anything to do with the business at hand though.

Brown: Yea, I think I’ll take that one off the record for - since it’s not part of the - our liaison assignments – I’ll leave that ‘til a later time.

Bardin: Could we hear who was at the meeting?

Brown: (asking Andresen) Are you OK with that, or -

Andresen: Could we ask staff if this is pertinent to the meeting?

Buckler: Well, I think what she’s asking is, ah, the Planning Commission leadership and the Planning Commission itself wanted to meet with some economic development or developers – to learn about development issues in general and I think you announced it at another meeting or told everybody or invited everybody  individually to come outside of a quorum, to sit with some developers, not to speak about any particular projects themselves but just issues in general as part of your efforts to learn more. And when it was discussed at the leadership team meeting it was - Leonard was at the last one of these events - it was announced at that particular event that this was not specific to any issue with the city, there’s not a quorum, it was a general discussion about development issues, just like when other groups meet to learn more about their specific issues, like the Carnegie Group, so –

Bardin: So, I’m just curious, umm, who was at – there was an earlier meeting?

Male Voice: Yes.

Bardin: So, there were two meetings that were basically the same, pretty much the same, today, and the earlier meeting, sort of the same agenda?

Buckler: The same agenda existed for both…I’m trying to figure out what information you would need….the whole planning commission has had the opportunity to be there.

Bardin: Right, but it would just be nice to get, like, a report. Was anything discussed that was relevant to planning and who was at the two meetings?

At this point Chair Brown jumps in, speaking quickly.

Brown: I can give a report - I just don’t want to take up more time since this wasn’t something that we were going to discuss as tonight’s meeting. I’ll give a quick overview…and we can talk about this off-line. The day that we went, I think, there were four commissioners: myself, Commissioner Andresen, Commissioner Parker, Commissioner Horn, city councilmember Mayor Pro-Tem Jones was there, and then a group of four or five, either developers or commercial real estate folks and they were just kind of saying, ‘Here’s some of the opportunities that the city has to or that we see – or that other jurisdictions are using to help incentivize growth and to get projects moving.’ There’s kind of a perception in the community – and Leonard was there as well – and I think, it was just, more than anything, it was a question and answer opportunity for us as officials and city staff to say, ‘What are other jurisdictions doing to help you that’s making it easier for you to do business here that we can be aware of and it was really just kind of some pretty candid conversations about past opportunities that have been missed or, umm, projects that have had opportunities but never been developed but we were very clear about saying any projects that anyone is intimately involved with or working on currently is not to be discussed and those issues were not discussed. It was really just an informative – and I think part of it, too, was to build those relationships of something that hasn’t been in the past to say, ‘What did we learn, what do we not know, you’re the experts, we’re not, what can we do, so I think I’d like to leave it there and kind of wrap it up real quick if you don’t mind and feel free to ask me questions of the meeting or those that have participated. There might be one more and if you have time to go I think it would be very beneficial to hear what people are doing and what people are trying to make happen….

Brown then abruptly adjourns the meeting after getting a first and a second to do so.

Brown, in explaining that at least one more meeting was planned, assures that, eventually, all planning commissioners and city councilmembers would have been extended the opportunity to privately attend one of these off the record meetings, again, without any official quorum, just prior to votes by both bodies about the code amendment case involving Morris.

Commissioner Richmond's Perspective

In a public email on March 9, Planning Commissioner Carole Richmond said that the meeting she attended on March 3, the same day as the Commission meeting, was not about the zoning change affecting Morris' property, which she says was never brought up.

Richmond says Andresen did not stay for the March 3 meeting, because she said she had a “professional relationship” with Jim Morris, indicating that she is an employee or consultant to Morris. Leonard Bauer, deputy director of the city’s Community, Planning and Development department, attended the first meeting.

“Issues discussed were: The homeless situation and how that affects the desirability of doing business or living downtown, lack of a unified vision for the future of Olympia, the costs of construction downtown, restrictions imposed by lenders (one of whom was also in the room), and "things taking too long." That was about it and it was just a free-flowing conversation. These are certainly issues over which the City Council and Planning Commission have some influence, but none of these issues have taken the form of proposals to be acted upon. I think these are issues that developers (and others) would like the Council and Commission to put on the radar,” said Richmond in the email.

Richmond goes on to say that she is glad that Bardin brought the issue to the attention of the whole Planning Commission because of the "appearance of fairness" issue.

"Morris scheduled these meetings so that less than a quorum of Planning Commissioners could attend (at staff/OPC request) and that looks bad. Given a choice, I would've preferred for one meeting with developers to be held during a regular Planning Commission meeting, as nothing was discussed that couldn't be said in public, but I didn't question this. I do know that many developers don’t particularly want to take part in public processes and I wanted to hear what they had to say,” said Richmond.

City Response to Public Comment

Leonard Bauer, city deputy director of Community Planning and Development, sent a letter via email on March 12 at 5:26 p.m., to all those who commented, including Little Hollywood, on the meetings with Morris.

The letter summarizes information about the two meetings, providing explanations that were never given at the commission meetings by staff, commissioners, nor mentioned by city councilmembers Jones, Buxbaum, or Selby during their council reports.

It is common practice for commissioners and city council members to report their attendance at community meetings that they attend, especially if more than one or two or three attended the same meeting.

Bauer attended the January 31 meeting. He states that at the beginning of each meeting, it was stated and agreed that there could be no discussion of any issues that could become the subject of review by either the Planning Commission or City Council, including no discussion of any specific permit or specific use.

Bauer says the topics of conversation included that the cost of construction in downtown Olympia is high, making redevelopment difficult; impact fees are high and the timing of the payment may be difficult to finance; lending practices for construction can make it difficult to redevelop; the usefulness of the multi-family housing tax credit program; increased homelessness has had negative impacts on potential development in downtown Olympia; and a perceived lack of a unified vision by the city for development in Olympia.

Great topics, worthy of public discussion, yet, Morris and others were able to privately control the conversation, and personally reach and possibly influence six out of nine Planning Commissioners and three out of seven city councilmembers.

One public, official opportunity was never offered to the commissioners, councilmembers or the public to learn more about these “economic development opportunities” or “barriers to development” from a developer’s perspective.

Many commenting on the situation feel that the fact that no one spoke up about the meetings until the issue was forced by Commissioner Bardin seems to be a deliberate attempt to circumvent the spirit of the Open Public Meetings Act. Such actions cast suspicion on how prevalent the practice is of purposefully arranged private meetings of members of the same body to prevent a quorum, which would trigger public notice and recording of the conversation.

“I am concerned about the integrity of the OPC, since it has recently come to light that they are having secret meetings with developers. While this might technically be legal, it sure is sleazy. How can I pursue this problem as a private citizen?” writes Nancy Sullivan to the city clerk in a March 9 email.

“…According to a member of the Planning Commission, the staff and members of the Commission recently met in private with a party with a material interest in the instant rezone request – an ethical and legal breach of practice. There was, evidently, an awareness of the fact that such meetings were improper….Will there be consequence in this instance? Will the consultant to the developer be asked to resign from her post? Will the tarnished rezone issue be withdrawn from consideration? Will this initiate a serious review of how the city conducts itself and does business? I look forward to learning the steps the city will take,” writes Bethany Weidner to Community Planning and Development staff in a March 9 email.

The City of Olympia website is www.olympiawa.gov.