Bruce Rath Sworn
in as New Mayor...
(photo by Dixie A.Walter)
Eatonville Town
Attorney Bob Mack did the swearing in duties at the March 8, 2004 town council
meeting where Mayor Pro tem Bruce Rath was chosen as mayor by a majority
of the four person council.
To
see the council agendas and results of council actions please click here
March
8 Agendas
Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Rath - Soon to
be Mayor Rath?
(photo by Dixie A. Walter)
Eatonville Mayor Pro tem Bruce Rath sits at the mayor's desk in the
Eatonville Town Hall about one hour before presiding over his first
council meeting February 9. The big blue binder beside him is the
Eatonville Municipal Code book...
by Dixie A. Walter
February 15, 2004
According to Mayor Pro tem Bruce Rath, he now
occupies the Eatonville mayor's powerful, and elegant, chair because of
a spur-of-the moment decision. Rath said he was driving along and suddenly
decided he would run for town council. After calling wife Patty, who said,
"...do what you want to..." Rath described how he took a turn
and headed toward the Tacoma-Pierce County auditor's office to file for a
town council position, which he won. He explained, "It wasn't
no longtime dream or anything,"
Of his decision to run, Rath pointed out,
"I thought I could help, I still think I can help." As a citizen
who regularly attended town council and planning commission meetings for
many years, Rath stated, "I felt that some people weren't being
treated fairly and I want everybody to be treated fairly and
equally." He noted that he started attending the meetings years ago
because, "I just wanted to learn..."
Rath hadn't warmed his council seat when Mayor
Harold Parnell changed his decision to remain mayor, and resigned the
position effective March 1. Mayor Parnell, 82, is recuperating from a
stroke he suffered in early September of last year. Three people have
occupied the position since that time, Chelan Jarrett, Ray Harper and now
Rath.
During the first meeting in January, the
council chose Rath as pro tem, and council member Bobbi Allison as alternate
pro tem. Both are the newest council members and were sworn into office
December 23, 2003.
A self-made man, Bruce Rath, lives in the
largest house, on the highest hill, in the town. He has been actively
involved with the development of the "Rath Plat" which was *denied
a final plat by the town recently. Sitting in the mayor's chair Rath spoke
briefly about Mayor Parnell, "I feel bad about Harold, he gave 200
percent to the town." Rath points to the chair and says, "This
is a very powerful chair," as if taken by surprise at the authority
and responsibility of the mayor's position. He pats the substantial
Eatonville Municipal Code on the desk and adds, "It's all in the code
book, and we have to learn the laws." The mayor pro tem wants to
"straighten things out." Rath notes that the "big issues
are the electric and water..." The Rath Plat is now owned by Doug
Randles.
As pro tem Rath announced, at the last council
meeting, that he had made the decision for the new mayor to be
selected from the town council. This decision means there will be an empty
seat on the town council which will need to be filled soon. The new mayor,
who will serve for two years, is scheduled to be chosen by the council at
the first meeting in March (Monday, March 8) unless a special meeting is
called. The Eatonville Grapevine says the "smart money" is bet
on Bruce Rath to be picked by the council.
A Brief Bio of the Pro Tem
Bruce was born in Sunnyside, Washington 51
years ago. He moved to Eatonville with his parents, Mel and Lorraine,
in 1962. Before moving to this area the Rath family relocated from eastern
Washington to Puyallup "about 1956 or 1957." The family lived on
the Mashell Prairie prior to living in town. Rath attended school and said
he graduated from Eatonville High School in 1970.
"After I got out I went to the next year's
Valentine's Day dance in the old school cafeteria and met my wife
Patty [Daly] at the dance." Rath adds, "We have been married 32
years. All of our kids, all boys, were born in March. Bruce is 31,
Brian is 29 and Tim is 23." Bruce and Brian live in Eatonville and
Tim, a graduate of Central Washington University in Ellensburg, chose to
remain in Ellensburg where he's a flight instructor. Tim's proud dad said,
"Timmy - Tim - me and Patty call him Timmy but he likes to be
called Tim - has a degree in the science of aviation and geology."
Rath went to work logging for Weyerhaeuser
when he was 18 and worked with them for "...sixteen and a
half years, until 1986. I quit in '86 because they were cutting
wages." Eventually he started the Rath Company and began
building roads for Weyerhaeuser. Rath Company still does work for
Weyerhaeuser. Rath said he learned how to build roads by "...helping
Harrison [Christian] in Morton..."
As mayor pro tem, and probable permanent
mayor, ENN asked Rath what he would say to his critics who say
he has a conflict of interest involving development, critics who say he
will have to recuse himself often from council meetings. Rath
answered, "There are two issues where I will recuse myself. The Rath
Plat and the negotiations on the water tank property." The
"water tank property," called by some the "Christian-Rath
Project," is owned by Rath and Harrison Christian. It is the site of
the proposed new reservoir which will serve new developments,
approximately 150 new houses, within the town limits.
Patty and Bruce Rath have three grandchildren with
another soon to arrive. Young Bruce and his wife Joellen (Curtis) are
the parents of Skylar Joy who is four years old, and already has a
road on the Rath Plat named for her. Skylar's brother is Easton who will
be two February 22. Brian and Sarah's (Herbrand) little one is Kaitlan and
"Haley will be born in March. It's a new generation of Raths in
town."
*For
more information please see "Rath Final Plat Denied...Numerous
Problems Hold up Project." Rath
My View:
What are Laws
For Anyway?
by
Dixie A. Walter
April 4, 2005
The Eatonville Municipal Code (EMC) clearly states, "Be
it resolved by the Town Council of the Town of Eatonville,
Washington" is the following: "Section 2. That the Mayor of the
Town of Eatonville is hereby authorized to spend sums not to exceed
$5,000, or sums between $5,001 and $7,500 with the approval of the Council
person given responsibility for the budgeted amount, provided such
purchases shall not exceed budgeted amounts for that department..."
Unbudgeted amounts exceeding $7,500 must be approved by the council
during a public meeting.
Yet even though the law unmistakably
spells out the mayor's spending limits the current town administration
repeatedly goes over the spending limits defined in the EMC. A Few
examples: December 20, 2004 town hall remodel - $28,591; June 25, 2004
fire department radios - $26,362.76; November 5, 2004 install main
line approximately 200 feet from Antonie Avenue West for Nybo
$22,018.45.
During councilmember comments
at the end of the March 28 town council meeting Councilmember Bobbi Allison,
a member of the Current Expense Committee, along with Councilmember
Chelan Jarrett, made the following statement: "At the February
twenty eighth meeting two resolutions came before the council for
approval. Resolution 2005-Q for $9,077.21 [approving purchase of
electrical inventory supplies] and Resolution 2005-R for $8,252.48
[approving purchase of water inventory supplies - the purchases total
$17,329.61].
"I specifically asked if
each of these Resolutions had already been purchased and was told by
the town clerk [Carrie Lyn Loffelmacher] that, 'No, they had not.'
When I checked I found the items were ordered before council approval.
Resolution 2005-Q was ordered January 12, 2005, the invoice is dated
January 18, 2005. [The invoice also says, "Bring extra-large
jacket to Nester with delivery." Nester is the electric
supervisor.]
"The order for Resolution
2005-R was ordered February tenth and delivered February eleventh.
These orders exceed the mayor's spending limit and staff did not
tell me the truth when I asked. Both of these invoices will be
forwarded to State Auditor Mark Rapozo tomorrow." The invoices
were hand-delivered by a citizen to Rapozo. Rapozo is the state
auditor for our area.
During the council meeting of
February 15 Allison asked that $15,000 be removed from the Consent Agenda.
ENN asked the councilmember why she did this. Below is the question
and answer interview done with Allison via email
ENN:
I have a couple of questions regarding the
$15,000 you asked to be removed from the consent agenda during the
February 15 council meeting. It
is my understanding that the money was an approved capital
expenditure for the 2005 budget.
Allison:
Yes, I
received a memo in my box at town hall on Friday, February
24th, the memo was dated February 16th. In the memo it explained
that the expenditure was detailed in the capital equipment list 2005
budget.
ENN: My next question: Why was this situation not
explained during the meeting by either the town administrator or
town clerk, or both?
Allison:
I
cannot answer that question, I would have thought that both the
administrator and the clerk would have been able to answer my
questions at the time of the council meeting when I brought this to
their attention, but apparently not. They agreed with me, the
invoice was pulled and we went on about our business of the evening.
ENN: Why did you question this expenditure?
Allison:
I
questioned the expenditure because in 2004 the mayor had a
pattern of going over his spending limits imposed by Ordinance
92. I have collected back up paperwork/invoices
that total almost $100,000 plus in spending that did not
come before the council for approval. So
you can see how I am very cautious about the invoices when they come
my way for approval. Councilmember Jarrett and I are on the Current
Expense Committee and it is our responsibility to review all the
invoice authorized to be paid at the council meetings that appear on
the consent agenda, this is where I see what is being spent.
Town Hall
Gets Spacious Remodel...
.jpg)
(photo by Dixie A. Walter)
Gaille Finley, who is usually found working in the Eatonville Police
Department, sits for a moment at the desk of Kathy Linnemeyer, utility
clerk. Behind Gaille is part of the expansion taking place at the
Eatonville Town Hall. The electrical "post" to her right
will help reduce the tangle of cords which used to lie on the office
floor.
by Dixie A. Walter
May 9, 2004
Eatonville's
Town Hall has been undergoing dramatic changes during the past few weeks
as the McKasson brothers, Chuck and Earl, along with Richard Pease,
have worked at a much needed remodeling job. This photograph shows the
extra space gained by the remodel. The open space behind Gaille was once
part of the defunct district court.
Mayor Bruce Rath said the remodel cost around
$12,000 and the McKasson brothers were chosen from the town's small
works roster. Mayor Rath has chosen not to accept the budgeted mayor's
salary. The mayor says, "I don't need the money, I'm just here to
help." And he pointed out that mayor's wages, "$15,000 left in
the budget at the end of the year" may be used for any number of
things including "overtime." Rath, who owns a business, Rath
Company, also stated the town was "putting money in the bank."
He noted he had purchased some new weed eaters and received a "good
deal" on them.
New carpeting was installed in the town hall over the
weekend and it's hoped that by Monday the remodel will be
completed.
Making it
Happen...
Earl McKasson sweeps, and jokes, as he, his brother, Chuck, and
Richard Pease worked on the extensive remodel of Eatonville's town hall a
couple of weeks ago. The remodel is now to the point that the town clerks
and other staff can begin to enjoy their "new" work space. (photos
by Dixie A. Walter)
My
View...
Too Much Unauthorized Spending and
not Enough Thorough Geo-tech Reports
%20Nov.%2020,%2004%20001.jpg)
(photo by Bob Walter)
Eatonville
Mayor Bruce Rath says Glacier View Park, home of the Lions Art Festival
for over 30 years, needs to be fenced in with cyclone fencing. This
pricey, and needless, project will cost the citizens of Eatonville over
$12,000. Leave it to Eatonville to talk a good story about beautifying
the town but, in reality, contribute to the uglification of a lovely
park. Why? Who knows? Rath said at a council meeting the fence would
protect the park from cars driving on the lawn, animals and protect a
new sprinkler system. The money going toward this fence has not been
voted upon by the town council. See story below.
by Dixie A. Walter
November 21, 2004
Speaking of Mayor Bruce
Rath, and spending tax
money, his administration, in my view, frequently breaks Eatonville
Municipal Code with unauthorized spending. So far this year thousands of
dollars were spent on the town hall remodel. This big, spendy project
was not brought before the council to okay the amount of money spent. At
least not that I recorded. I haven't missed a council meeting since
early June 2002 so I am somewhat in the loop.
Thus, I know, to the best of my memory, this
project was not brought before the council during a public meeting.
The amount of money spent should have been a subject for discussion
during an open council meeting. My notes and audio tapes tell me it was
not.
At that time the mayor could have pleaded
"mea culpa," in the beginning, and he would have been believed
and forgiven. He could have said, "I didn't realize the mayor
had spending limits." However, this did not happen. So today
we have at least three instances where the mayor did not consult
the council when spending very large amounts of taxpayer dollars. All of
these are breaking laws.
As a citizen who attended planning
commission, and council meetings for years, the present mayor knows
the
legal limits put upon mayoral spending. If he pleads ignorance of the
law that's going to be hard for him to prove. He discussed this
issue with me in a phone conversation months ago. Rath, at that time,
certainly knew the law. He also brought up the subject in a skateboard
park committee meeting. (I tape all public meetings I attend.) Yet,
there is mounting evidence that this mayor allegedly chooses to ignore
the laws of the community and spend as much as he wants to spend, where
he wants to spend it.
The town hall remodel cost a lot more money than
Rath told me it would cost during an early interview with him. He
said the remodel would cost around $12,000. To the best of my memory the
remodel cost upwards of $32,000. This price should not be put at the
feet of the McKasson brothers who did the work. They had nothing to do
with how they were paid. Probably didn't even know the council hadn't
been involved.
However, the current administration did, and
does, know what the laws are regarding public monies. And if any
mayor didn't know the laws, we have a paid town attorney, Bob Mack, who
is supposed to guide new mayors. There are laws which are spot on
about overspending. ( Please see "It's the Law. Spending
Guidelines for Mayors" below this story.) So first it's the town
hall remodel paid for in a confusing manner. Then, it's the mayor
recently telling chamber members how, among his laundry list of
"Accomplishments 2004," $26,000 was spent for new fire
department radios. Hello, that's a lot of money. This is one more case,
by law, which should have been brought before the council to approve the
expenditure.
A pattern begins to form. A town hall
remodel, radios for the fire department, and now, over $12,000 to fence
Glacier View Park. Why fence the park you ask? I asked the question at a
council meeting. Had I not brought up the subject it wouldn't even be on
the record. The project would have slipped through the system like
others are slipping through.
According to Mayor Rath, the fence is needed
because there are people driving on the grass. I haven't seen real
evidence of this. And, if someone did drive on the grass, couldn't they
be stopped by a big log, or gate across the place they are coming in? It
would cost next to nothing. But, it looks like saving money isn't top
priority in this administration.
Also, according to the mayor, the cyclone
fence will keep animals out of the park. And protect the new (I'm assuming
this is in the future) sprinkling system. I drive to the cemetery
frequently. My family rests there. I never see animals in the park
without a human holding a leash. In fact, I have only seen one human
with a dog on leash just recently. And that's it animal wise. It's
extremely rare to see much activity in that park at all. There's a Big
Toy at the far end of the park I haven't seen used. Although I have seen
the toy after it was vandalized. Don't think that was done by little
kids. I asked some teens who live next to the park if they say many kids
on the Big Toy and they said only on occasion do they see that expensive
piece of playground equipment being used.
This fencing project, nonsense to people who
know the area, has not been brought before the council either. Why
aren't these expensive projects discussed at council meetings in a
public forum? Town law says they must be, but yet they aren't. Is
it really the fact, as many citizens say they believe, that the current
administration doesn't want to bother with questions from citizens? That
it's easier to just by-pass mayoral spending laws and get the jobs done?
What does the "public," the "taxpayer," the
"citizen" really have to say about how their money is spent in
the long run? Not much, it seems, if you live in Eatonville.
What is wrong with this picture? And
what other allegedly illegal spending is happening that we, citizens of
this town, don't know about? How much more is being spent behind the
closed doors of this secretive administration? What we actually know
about is already about $70,000. I wouldn't be surprised if the dollar
figure tops $100,000 soon. And, so far, all of it spent is against our
code.
