Spending: Rental City Hall, Marvelous Asset
by Jesse Tanner, Mayor
Renton Reporter Letter to the Editor, April 26, 2000

A couple of recent letters in the Renton Reporter have criticized the elected officials of Renton for failing to repair Wells, Williams, and South Fifth Street while working on the South Grady Way entrance to City Hall.

The writers complain about the money being spent on City Hall and none being spent on city streets.

Let me address the city street issue first, and then I will address funding for City Hall.

First, Wells Avenue, Williams Avenue, and South Fifth Street were torn up because the City was spending capital funds to replace old, undersized sewer lines this past winter.

Temporary patches to the streets were made in order to keep them open and accessible, with more permanent patches being delayed until the weather moderated.

This was necessary because asphalt cannot be properly laid during cold or wet weather. The delay was not caused by lack of funds and, in fact, the repairs are now underway during the good weather we are experiencing.

Within the next two to three years the City intends to replace water lines and surface water drainage lines in this area.

This will again cause the streets to be excavated. When these systems are in place, we intend to completely overlay these streets with new asphalt surfaces.

I know that it is inconvenient, but it is the price we have to pay to keep our utility infrastructure in good condition.

By the way, since I became Mayor, all of these city-owned utility systems are being upgraded without a single increase in your utility rates.

Also, for the past three years, the Council and I have substantially increased the amount of money dedicated to neighborhood street and sidewalk repairs.

Second, let me explain the expenditures related to City Hall.

In 1995, before I became Mayor, a ballot issue was put before the Renton voters: Do you want to pay for a new public safety building to the tune of $14 million by an excess property tax levy on your homes and business buildings.

The issue failed and two months later was put to the voter again. The second time it failed by a great margin than before.

The City heard Renton residents loud and clear. In 1995, the City surveyed the community about space needs and the results indicated residents recognized the need for additional public safety space needs, but did not want to pay through additional property taxes.

After I was elected Mayor, I decided against asking the City Council to try for an excess property tax levy again.

Instead, we decided to try to purchase an existing building that would satisfy the public safety needs and also provide space to house all city employees under one roof.

At that time, city employees were scattered in five different locations in sub-standard and crowded conditions.

I want to emphasize that we never asked your permission to buy adequate space for city needs, as alleged by one of the writers. Rather, we asked if you would be willing to pay for it through the excess levy described above.

The City found an existing building on South Grady Way that had been vacant and listed for sale for over a year. At this time, the office market was at its lowest point in years.

We started negotiation with the owners and only after failing to agree on a reasonable price did we institute condemnation procedures.

This was done to prevent price gouging. One of the reasons condemnation procedures are provided to public entities is for this purpose.

It leaves the determination of fair market price to a judge or, if desired by the property owner, to a jury.

I will also point out that the property owners enjoyed substantial tax advantages from the condemnation, and it was not entirely adversarial.

We agreed on a price prior to going to court and purchased the building using funds from Councilmanic bonds. If this appears to be strong-arm tactics, as alleged by one of the writers, then so be it.

We next refurbished the interior of the building to fit the needs of the various departments that make up city government and bought new workstation furniture so that our employees would have a decent work environment.

Included in that furniture purchase was the furnishing of the Mayor's Office. Indeed, as stated by one of the writers, I have a very nice office, befitting the Chief Executive Officer of the City of Renton.

The detailed expenditures for the new City Hall are as follows: