EatonvilleNews

My View:

Waiting for the Vote...

     by Dixie A. Walter
     August 19, 2008
     6:30 P.M.

     It's about 5:30 p.m. on election day. Questions and emails to me detail the enormous problem put before the people of Eatonville today regarding Proposition 1, a "Special Election" submitted by the Town of Eatonville for fire and emergency services. I have purposely kept my feelings about this issue to a minimum to better observe how the people of Eatonville vote on this extremely important issue.
    This is not to say ENN hasn't reported, and commented on the subject, in the past. A Google search of ENN will show 19 pages where Advanced Life Support (ALS) is referenced ; 60 places regarding Emergency Medical Services (EMS); 28 mentions of District 15 and another 60 references to the Eatonville Fire Department.
     Steve Lind on his Web site, Eatonville Truth, has brought up many relevant issues regarding this question as has Mike Jeffries of the Dispatch. If citizens don't feel "educated" enough about the levy it is because the town administration has not seen fit to educate. Even though "education" was promised long ago. Promises made and not kept is a hallmark of this administration.
      I have been asked over and over if I think this levy will pass. The only answer I have is what I am told by various groups. And that is, "The levy won't pass because people don't know how the money will spent." Or, "What fund will the money go to?" Or, "We don't trust the town to do anything right. Why should we trust them with more of our tax money."
      On the other hand I hear, "But what happens if we don't pass it [the levy]?" And, "We are being blackmailed to vote 'yes,' because if we don't, someone may die."
      Rich Adams, a council member voted into office in the 2005 election, tried over and over to put the fire department and emergency medical services in front of the council as a priority. Adams, who has expertise as a medic and firefighter, has been either shot down, or ignored, time and time again as he struggled to get other council members to see his point about safety for everyone. It's all on the record.
     Councilmember Jim Valentine, new this year, citing economic factors in mid-May, managed to convince the council to reduce the levy thirty-nine cents. Councilmembers Adams and Brenden Pierce supported this motion and it passed. Councilmembers Bobbi Allison and Bruce Rath voted against the tax reduction. Jim Valentine has been outspoken about his concerns for public safety.
     Allison and Rath have been at the forefront of financial problems in the past. Allison, as chair of the finance committee during Rath's administration (and still committee chair), and he, as one of the sloppiest mayors in our history financially speaking.
     In a couple of hours we will know how this levy was accepted, or not, by citizens. If it fails, the administration must take responsibility. If the levy passes, will the administration believe the passage gives them a vote of confidence? I don't know.
    Then we will know how this vital issue will be dealt with. If the levy passes there will be a myriad of questions thrown at all of us - where is the money going - how do we know what's happening to our taxes? And more questions which haven't been thrown my way yet.
    Below see the text put out by the "committee" which appears in the voter's pamphlet and ENN's comments in red.

On April 1, 2008, the Town lost its paramedic support from the surrounding fire departments. (ENN: This issue had been brought before the town council long before April 1, years before. The original contract in question is dated November 2007. Council and mayor evidently decided to ignore the issue and maybe it would go away. Or maybe the issue could be used for some other private agenda.)

The main reason was our lack of financial support for the fire department. (ENN: Why the lack of support? Rich Adams tried to garner support from the moment he was elected and so did others.)

Critical advanced life support (ALS) must now come from Puyallup when it is available. (ENN: Another scare tactic? You or your loved one could die while you wait for help from Puyallup. From what I've heard, and seen, for the past six or seven months, ALS has not been the complete focus of the administration. It appears the focus has been more long term - a full-time fire department with everyone paid, ambulances, places to sleep for staff and eventually a fire district. Mayor Tom Smallwood's wish is for a fire district. He has stated this on the record many times.)

This levy money will allow the Town to hire full time firefighters and paramedics. For the first time in almost 100 years of existence we will have firefighters and paramedics on duty 24 hours per day, seven days a week. The Fire Department will expand its ambulance transport program and citizens of Eatonville will pay nothing out of pocket for transport to the hospital by Eatonville Fire next year. (ENN: Interesting. How about the years after 2009? What will we pay then? That question isn't answered.)

This support will make the Eatonville Fire Department ALS-capable and will likely reinstate mutual aid with our neighboring Fire Departments. This mutual aid will mean four other ALS Fire Departments will come to our aid whenever needed. (ENN: "Likely" is an interesting word. Vague and non-committal.)

Negative...

Parks Need More Attention

(photo by Bob Walter)

The garbage can pictured above was filled to overflowing Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The photo was taken late Sunday afternoon after a concerned citizen, and frequent park user, contacted ENN about the condition of Mill Pond Park.

Parks Can be Town Gems...

      My View
      by Dixie A. Walter
      July 13, 2008

    Eatonville has no parks department and only a part-time person to try and keep up with parks. There are three major parks in town, Glacier View, Smallwood and Mill Pond. Mill Pond Park, which also houses the skateboard facility and several big toys was meant to attract families.
    The town's parks person, Tera Pine, is also the animal control officer. The animal control duties often supersede parks in order of priorities. For example, if Pine is busy working at a park and gets a call that a dog is running loose she must drop her work at the park and take care of her animal responsibilities. A loose dog might be a danger to people.
     More than one citizen was concerned about the condition of Mill Pond Park Friday. It appears nothing could be done to clean the park because the administration made the decision to virtually close the town that day for an "All Staff Wellness Day." Staff was obligated to participate in the "day" at Glacier View Park where some played games and received awards, much like a company picnic. (Please see Wellness Day below this article.)
     Many citizens were unhappy about this, and personally, I believe closing the town was not a smart public relations move by Mayor Tom Smallwood whose approval "rating" continues to decline. Perhaps the town does need to be closed, but closed for repair, not for fun.
     It was easy to see Mill Pond Park was definitely in need of attention on that day. It's easy to see when parks need attention because they are out in the open in front of everyone. Do we know if any other town departments suffered from lack of attention Friday? It would be hard to know since other departments are not viewable by just driving past them like parks are.
     Mill Pond Park is used by various people for various reasons. Some delivery people take advantage of the public restrooms, other people stop to eat lunch, while some take their young children and grandchildren to the park to play. I am told that the kids who use the skateboard section of the park are trying hard to be responsible, so the blame doesn't fall on them. Think about the image a littered park gives to tourists and others who use the park. Not a very pretty picture.

Parks Should be a Feast for the Eyes...

     I picture town parks as the jewelry of a community. That "jewelry" should be sparkling clean and a feast for the eyes. It shouldn't have missing gems and be tarnished, that is not even close to being attractive. But that what Mill Pond looked like over the weekend and folks who saw that image were turned off big time.
    Not only was the garbage can filled to overflowing, but there were beer cans and plastic bottles thrown around, outside and in the women's rest room. There was also dog feces at the park where children run and play, raising uneasiness about health issues. And some people had emptied car ashtrays full of cigarette butts in the parking strip and there was litter strewn about.
     This is not attractive or inviting in any way. If parks are so important, and I believe they are, everything should be done by this administration to make sure they are as clean and healthy as possible. There is a no smoking law, yet lots of cigarettes are smoked at the park. I'm not sure if there is a no alcohol law, but if there is it's ignored too.
     People who walk their dogs in the park and do not pick up feces should be doing community service helping to keep parks clean, or they should get a fine. There is no excuse for littering or allowing dog waste to be left where children play.
     The weather has been very, very warm lately and the plantings at Mill Pond need water. I was told some of the flowers were very droopy from the heat and lack of moisture.
     Dog owners must be responsible for their pets, that really isn't the job of town staff. From the appearance of what looks to be the only garbage container at the park some people are trying to keep the park clean. But what should they do when the garbage can won't take any more garbage? The town administration needs to be make sure our parks, silent ambassadors, are a top priority, especially during the summer months when they get heavy use.
     There really is no excuse for closing the town and allowing what is one of our best assets to become so messed up. The mayor keeps saying we have to be positive, not negative. Yes, positive is good. We had a very positive weekend in town. We had the sixth annual Relay For Life. You can't get much more positive than the Relay. Hundreds of people coming together with tears, hugs and laughter to fight a killer like cancer. At the Relay you could feel the love.
    That is not the case at town council meetings. Nope, you sure can't feel the love, but you sure can feel the tension and outright hostility among different "factions." There is no way to put a spin on on this negativity to make it positive. Yes, our little town has a lot of positive things going for it. But they come from citizens and not government.
     This isn't the fault of town staff. They don't make the big decisions. It's the fault of the mayor. The buck always stops at the mayor's desk, whether it be today or twenty years from now. We sure do need a strong and responsible leader in these trying times. But we don't have one. It's no wonder people are thinking about changing the form of government to a manager/council as opposed to mayor/council. The term is "strong mayor/council." But that's not the case here.

Women's Rest Room Late Sunday...

(photo by Bob Walter)

See more photos at Mill Pond Park You can see other photos and hear commentary on Steve Lind's site, Eatonville Truth - http://www.s-lind.com/#mill%20pond

Town Hall Closed Friday for "All Staff Wellness Day"

July 9, 2008

    Eatonville Town Hall will be closed Friday, July 11 for Wellness Day. During the council meeting of June 23 citizen Nancy Ellis questioned Mayor Tom Smallwood about the program, asking him what it was all about. Ellis also questioned why taxpayers should be paying salaries for town employees when they weren't working. She points out that citizens are going to be asked to pay even more in August when the fire department levy will come up for a vote.
    Smallwood answered, the program builds morale and is for, "The health of the people and the health of the planet." The program is promoted by the Association of Washington Cities (AWC). Watch video of Nancy Ellis and Mayor
     See photos of Wellness Day on Eatonville Truth http://www.s-lind.com/

See AWC Wellness Information

Someone in Town Hall is
Up to Old Tricks
Been There, Done That...

     My View
     by Dixie A. Walter
     July 7, 2008

     We started ENN a little over six years ago, June 8, 2002. When I started transcribing recordings of public meetings some in town government started getting nervous, but I wasn't quite getting why at that time. It was hard to find a way to intimidate me as I didn't need permits and such. So, lo and behold, during the term of Bruce Rath, council appointed mayor, it came to pass that there was some kind of ordinance on the council agenda to make the Dispatch the official town paper.
     Since the Dispatch has always been the official paper, and it was in the town code all along, that only seemed logical. I was kind of curious why this was on the agenda since it's been a given since time began in town. That wasn't a problem. The problem arose when the town "leaders" in all their wisdom decided to belittle ENN by deciding an online "news" source wasn't "media." Therefore I would have to pay for council and planning commission packets.
     What was wrong about their actions was the fact that they were breaking a town ordinance which said the media was to get free packets. It was interesting to watch, and listen to then town attorney, Bob Mack, trying to tap dance around that one. They had to come up with the meaning of media, but couldn't. It was rather like that infamous phrase of Bill Clinton's, depending what you mean by "is," or whatever silly thing he said.
     I knew ENN was media, but they didn't? Nope. In order to discredit ENN they made themselves look like silly kids on the playground. Back then not nearly as many people were getting their news from the Internet. But there were plenty who were, and it wasn't rocket science to figure out this was the way more and more people would be getting their information.
     And now that old silliness is being used against Steve Lind, "a citizen journalist," who gives his time and effort to make sure the citizens have access to governmental information. This is the reason we are on some kind of re-wind.
    Now, someone in this administration has given orders to the town clerk to find something saying Steve Lind's site, "Eatonville Truth," is not media. This comes on the heels of Town Councilmember Bobbi Allison trying to stop ENN from recording the recent finance committee meeting.

Suppression of Information ...

     In other words, trying to limit what you can hear and know. Not what they call transparent by a long, long shot. Suppression of information is unAmerican in my book. This is not what I was taught in various American schools. What you don't know can hurt you. Makes one wonder why they are so focused on trying to suppress. Makes many think they might be hiding something far greater than anyone knows. It does give a person pause for thought.
    I say someone has given orders to the town clerk because I don't think the town clerk would bother with this type of issue unless she had been asked to check it out. It seems she has enough on her plate, she doesn't need to be taking on the media.
    Turns out this latest maneuver by the town brought out some good information. Especially the RCW regarding exactly what "media" means, legally, in this century. I hear from some who know about such matters that smaller municipalities are more apt to ignore the First Amendment - Freedom of Speech - because they can get away with it.
    I say good for all the media in this area for not letting "them" get away with it. And good for Councilmember Rich Adams, a man of ethics, who continues to struggle against such foolishness. I received an email from Rich Adams which contains a thread of emails dealing with "Eatonville Truth" and the attempt to denigrate that site. Council members and other town media also received this from Adams.
   Pat Mason, the person deciding what all this means, is an attorney for Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington (MRSC). His information appears to be outdated, or perhaps he just didn't understand the question. It's all very interesting and not too long to read. Check it out MRSC & Media - the latest email is at the top of the page and the first one at the bottom of the page.
   I seriously doubt if Mason has any idea this whole issue has been done, that this is a repeat, and not at all original.

My View:

You Have a Right to Know
What Your Town Government is Doing?
But Not Everyone Seems to Agree...

by Dixie A. Walter
July 1, 2008

     You have every right to non-private knowledge about public officials, what they are doing and how your money is being spent. Yet, just a week ago, Councilmember Bobbi Allison, chair of the finance committee, tried intimidation tactics on me which, had she won, would have insured you didn't know what happened during the last finance meeting. Allison, in some odd attempt to muzzle the First Amendment, tried to assert herself I guess.
     It wasn't a very smart move, and she wasn't supported by other committee members, at least not publicly. But I have a hunch a couple of people in that room knew what was going to happen. I also have a very strong hunch that if I hadn't challenged this edict from Allison no one in authority would have stopped her actions. Like the mayor for instance. Although he was very quick to say he had no problem with my recording the meeting. I couldn't see him asserting himself if I had not resisted this latest attempt to silence the media in our community.
     The incident did have an amusing aspect to it since Bobbi Allison never, ever - in six years, tried to stop me from recording when she thought what she said would make her look good politically. So, her recent actions sure makes one wonder doesn't it? What is she afraid of? What didn't she want recorded?
     And, another question begs to be asked. If there had been no recorder at the meeting what might have been said? Was the meeting "cleaned up" for the record? These questions wouldn't have entered my mind if Councilmember Allison hadn't tried to make recording the meeting an issue. But she did.

Open Public Meetings - Extremely Important...

     Open meetings are as important in a little town as they are in a metropolis. At least I believe so. But for some reason, the town "leaders" have a strong tendency to take ordinary situations and turn them into peculiar situations. Why should an ordinary committee meeting be a reason to make yourself look foolish? Like you are trying to shut down the people's right to know. Where is the payoff? What do you gain?
     This peculiarity (is that a word?) popped up at the beginning of the finance committee meeting I attended Tuesday, June 24. The meeting was in the town hall court room, a small room with not much wiggle space. I was the only non-committee member present at this meeting. I had my audio recorder with me and was fiddling with it for a few minutes before the meeting started. When it appeared the meeting was going to get underway I turned on the recorder and set it on a banister behind Bobbi Allison's chair. Probably about a foot away from her back. The quarters are quite small in that room.
     At this point Allison said, "Dixie, this is not a public meeting." Then proceeded to inform me I would have to get "permission" from every committee member in order to record the meeting. I asked to be shown the RCW (state law) which supported her statement. (Listen to audio sound bite Allison Tries to Stop Recording)
     Evidently Allison, and whomever else she worked with on this action, didn't think to have the RCW in front of them when it was decided to challenge local media. Nope, no RCW was produced. However, Town Clerk Chrystal McGlone, immediately began supporting Allison, citing a document included in the May 27 council packet written by Pat Mason, an attorney for Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC) of Washington.
    The clerk said there had to be more than two council members at a meeting before it would fall under the Open Public Meetings Act. This sounds very odd since more than two council members make a quorum and that becomes a "council meeting." I'm not at all sure what they are talking about on this issue, and not sure they do either. Read the Mason Memo Open Public Meetings?
    I was also told I couldn't take photos and the committee meetings didn't require minutes. In other words, no record of these various committee meetings need exist, although vitally important issues are discussed and taken to the council at some point. What's the point of committees if they don't eventually advise? (For the most part the only records of these meetings come from Eatonville Truth, Steve Lind's governmental Web site, Mike Jeffries, Publisher of The Dispatch and ENN.)
     At this point Town Clerk McGlone left the court room and went to look up the Mason open public meeting document at a computer in the town hall office. I followed her out of the room, stood in the doorway of the office and chatted with her while she located the document, and printed a copy for me. She also explained to me this document wasn't the RCW. I asked if this whole fiasco was because of Bruce Rath's verbal attack on Steve Lind at another committee meeting earlier this year. She nodded in the affirmative.
    There is absolutely nothing in the Mason document even remotely referring to anything about "permission" of all committee members regarding recording of meetings or photographs. Nor is there anything in that document stating a committee member has the right to turn off a recorder, nor is there anything stating the media must tell the committee and chair where they plan to publish the recordings/photos etc., established during a public meeting.

Someone Tampered with my Recorder...

    While I was chatting with the town clerk in another part of the building someone turned off my audio recorder. It was running when I left the room. I was gone maybe about five minutes. I'm sure no one will ever admit the recorder was meddled with. But it was.
     This particular little digital machine does not turn itself off. And when it is turned off the recording goes into a file which is then closed. When the machine is turned back on, a new file is opened. New files are only opened when a new recording is started. I have two files for that meeting. Plus, the fact that I saw the machine had been turned off when I returned to the meeting room. I don't like someone meddling with my belongings - purse, suitcase, etc. I wouldn't do that to another person's property. And I feel the same about my audio recorder which is private property and shouldn't be handled without my permission. If the committee members wanted the recorder turned off they knew where I was, they could have asked me to turn the machine off and I would have been glad to do that.
     When I got back to the meeting room I asked Allison to take a vote. Sitting at the table were finance committee members Bobbi Allison, Mary Decker, Town Treasurer Mike Schaub, Mayor Tom Smallwood, former mayor Cliff Murphy and a guest speaker Robbi Stedman. Town Clerk Chrystal McGlone was also in the room.
    The mayor immediately said he had no problem with my recording. But it was still pretty obvious that Allison did. So, I asked if anything was going to be discussed that the public couldn't know about. Goodness, absolutely not. Some of them almost fell all over themselves to make sure I understood this was not the case at all. Allison, while carefully avoiding looking at me, asked if the recording was going on my Web site. I told her "No. It would go on Steve Lind's site as I don't have audio on ENN." She had no right to even ask me that question and I only answered her so we could get on with the already delayed meeting.
     So, the meeting was eventually recorded. Since the Mason memo came out there have been other committee meetings and at least one was recorded with no problems. I was told it was up to the chair of the committee as to whether the meeting could be recorded or not.
     So does this make sense? As chair of a subcommittee I can decide what you, a citizen and taxpayer, can be "allowed" to know? I don't think so. If the date, time and agenda of a meeting is announced at a regular council meeting, on the record by a council member, my feelings would be this is a public meeting. Bobbi Allison announced the meeting in question in mid-June, and mentioned there would be a "guest speaker."
     If a meeting is announced, then citizens are told, "It's not a public meeting," how would that go over? This is a town with a lot of problems. Real, deep and scary problems. So why try to close people out even more? It makes no sense, it's just the opposite...non-sense...

A Few More Thoughts...

    This community is unique because there are three local media watching, listening, documenting, recording and questioning town government. For those of you who don't live in this little town we have The Dispatch, a weekly hard-copy paper; ENN (this online publication) and Eatonville Truth, Steve Lind's site with primary focus on town government.
     All of us, Michael Jeffries, Dispatch Publisher, Steve Lind and myself have run into far too many roadblocks in our attempts to obtain public information. I have outstanding public records requests from a long time ago. This breaks state law, and I could have taken the town to task for these breaches of the law. And it could have cost them a pretty penny indeed. Perhaps, they thought I simply forgot about the requests, but I haven't. I made a conscious choice to give the town hall another chance.
     Mike Jeffries has stood up at public meetings, over and over, asking for an account of some $360,000 "missing" from an audit. He has never received a conclusive answer. However, he has been told by the mayor he would talk to him later. Why later? (Hear sound bite of Jeffries questioning the mayor - April 2008 - Where is $360,000) Why couldn't the question be answered in front of the public? The reason given for the allegedly missing money? Bad bookkeeping.
     Steve Lind attended a meeting of the utilities committee March 12 and was attacked and threatened verbally by councilmember, and former appointed mayor, Bruce Rath. According to witnesses, Rath, at one point, started coming out of his chair toward Steve. Rath threatened to throw Steve's recorder and camera across the room. And then, actually had the effrontery to say he wasn't threatening Steve.
   Rath was attempting to intimidate Steve - Rath said he didn't care about public meetings. (Rath: "I don't give a S- - - if they are public meetings...). All Rath succeeded in doing was make himself a colossal joke along with the other town "leaders" at the table who allowed his smarmy behavior to continue unchecked.
    The town "leaders" tried to put a strange spin on this behavior by implying it was okay because the meeting hadn't started, and/or maybe it wasn't a public meeting after all. And that's when Pat Mason was asked to clarify open public meetings. Seems like it was an attempt by the town to get someone in authority to dismiss public meetings so the "leaders" wouldn't have to be held accountable for their actions and words during meetings.