Tumwater On Tap: December 2012

Tumwater On Tap

December 2012

Tumwater Holiday Tree Lighting Festival

Saturday, December 8
2:00 - 5:00pm
Tumwater Fire Station

It's time once again for Tumwater's popular annual event: the Holiday Tree Lighting Tree Lighting 2011

Festival, sponsored by the Tumwater Downtown Association and Tumwater Parks and Recreation. Join us to watch the lighting of the tree, hear choirs singing, decorate cookies, make ornaments, have your hair styled by Jack & Jill's Hair Salon, and enjoy free Taco Time food samples and a special visit from the jolly man in the red suit! Thanks to the Tumwater Fire Department, Santa will arrive on an antique fire truck after the ceremonial tree lighting. He will be on hand to share his joyful laugh, along with a little bit of his candy.

We invite you to join us for this fun, free, family event this Saturday; you're sure to have a festive time! For more details, see the event flyer online or call Tumwater Parks and Recreation: 360-754-4160.

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Councilmember Hoefling says Farewell

Tumwater Councilmember Judi Hoefling has announced that she is resigning from the City Council effective the December 18 meeting. Judi has been on the Council since 2005. During her Council career, she has served on the Budget & Finance Committee, the Public Works Committee, and the Public Safety Committee, serving as chair of Public Safety during the critical time from 2010 to the present. Judi has also been an active representative of Tumwater in various inter-agency and community organizations.

There will be a public reception on Tuesday, December 18 beginning at 5:30pm at City Hall, prior to the regular City Council meeting. We hope that you'll join us to celebrate Councilmember Hoefling's many contributions to the Tumwater community.

Holiday Giving

For over two decades, the City of Tumwater - with help from City employees - has sponsored a

Holiday Assistance Program that provides toys and food for families in the Tumwater community. Over the years, the needs of local families and demands on the program grew, and it became clear that the City needed a partner in order to keep the program going. In 2011, the City initiated a partnership with the Lions Club in order to do just that.

This year, the Lions Club is fully managing the program - in cooperation with the City and Tumwater School District - to provide toys, shoes, coats and food to children in need in our Tumwater community over the holiday season. The involvement of the Lions Club will result in a program that is more robust and better connected to the community, while continuing the tradition began by the City over 25 years ago.

For information on adopting a family, making a cash donation, or volunteering to help the program, visit www.tumwaterlions.org or contact Christy Upton at 786-6979 or via email: TumwaterHoliday@comcast.net.

If you wish to make a donation of gifts, you can pick up a tag with a child's gift requests at Tumwater City Hall. Cash donations are also accepted.

City Adopts Two-Year Budget

Earlier this week, the City Council adopted a budget for the coming two years. Tumwater is the only city in Thurston County to use a two-year budget. This week's adoption caps off work by the Council and staff that started with a goal-setting retreat in April.

The total City budget is just over $123 million and includes 25 different funds to account for utilities, recreation, capital projects, and the City's General Fund. The budget includes funding commitments from last year's approved Public Safety Levy Lid Lift. So far, the City has hired three additional firefighters, two police officers, and has purchased a new fire engine. The expansion of City Hall for police services will begin next year along with the hiring of a third police officer.

Other highlights in the budget include retirement of the voter-approved debt on the library building at the end of this year, and retirement of utility debt in 2013. The resurfacing of portions of Capitol, Henderson, and Tumwater Boulevards will be a priority. Investment will be made in improving facilities after several years of deferred maintenance. The City will also initiate a volunteer program to create service opportunities for community members in various parts of the City.

Major Projects Include:

Completion of Capitol Boulevard Planning
Brewery Redevelopment and Neighborhood Planning
Improvement to technology to improve efficiency and service
Continue to design and seek funding for trail along the golf course
Utilize the Olympia Fire Training Facility
Increase community communications and engagement programs

A copy of the draft budget proposed by the Mayor is available on the City website and the final version will be available following publication early next year.

Partnerships Fund Human Services

Through a partnership with other jurisdictions, the City is helping to maintain funding for human services in the community. The City of Tumwater has joined Thurston County and the Cities of Lacey and Olympia to revamp the Regional Human Services Review Council into the Thurston County Health and Human Services Council. Each jurisdiction is committing a portion of their retail sales tax receipts to collectively address local health and human service needs. This new shared approach will allow for greater efficiency for the jurisdictions and the grant recipients, while providing the jurisdictions an opportunity to pool resources to address shared priority needs.

Thurston County has agreed to take over the administrative functions of the collaborative group, saving all of the cities money. This year, the group will allocate $221,000 in funds, of which $25,000 come from Tumwater. The funding is used to support programs like Meals on Wheels, homeless family services, Drexel House Emergency Shelter, and the Crisis & Youth Help Line. This collaborative approach can be expanded in future years to help allocate other types of health and human service funding in similar ways.

Tumwater City Hall

555 Israel Road SW

Tumwater WA 98501

(360) 754-5855

www.ci.tumwater.wa.us