FUNKYTOWN: SILLYVILLE

Ruston Town council meeting Monday, May 19, 2008, 7pm:

Take your choice or leave a comment, a fitting title for our evil rulers running Ruston. Our own Insane Clown Posse, the Ruston Juggalos, vengeance and hatred seems to be their sole operating procedure. This last council meeting was right out of Looney Tunes. Finding themselves in pickle after pickle, painting themselves into numerous corners after demolishing the town's infrastructure and trying end runs around the mayor they so thoroughly dislike that they are blinded to any sane procedures. Will we ever see the end of Dan, Jane, Wayne and Brad? Will we ever return to normalcy? Not soon enough I fear.

It started with lawyer Dan informing the public they could no longer comment on town business unless invited by the council. Rule 29 would be enforced and moved from item 8 to item 1 to preclude any comment. Cabal trouble making and Cabal pontificating, 87 minutes worth, would hold sway, rule the day. Sadly the resignation of town clerk Jenny was announced, a victim, not the first, of Cabal vindictiveness, trying to hamstring town operations and harass the Mayor by keeping her on part time status for five months.

No Town Attorney, no Town Planner, no assistant Town clerk and very little chance of replacing them under the current hostile environment. But we will be just like Mossyrock or Carnation. No official Town thank you to the resigning Town attorney, Jennifer Forbes, another victim of Cabal browbeating. Remember Wayne, wanting to separate the Town Attorney and the Mayor, seating them apart, because "she is whispering to the Mayor". My oh my if only she would have volunteered time to attend secret council sessions in the homes of the Cabal, she might have been more acceptable. Good luck getting and retaining a replacement of her stature. But then we have town lawyer "de facto" Dan running the legal end, see how much better off we are. Being all newcomers (Cabal) they don,t have a memory for back when Town employees left with a coffee/cake going away at the Town Hall old. Sad.

Item 3 which is normally pretty routine briefing by Point Ruston by J.J. and Loren Cohen turned into another elongated 62 minute Cabal fiasco when it was reported STACK HILL was grinding to a halt because the Cabal fired Huitt_Zollars, H-Z, the Town Planner, without providing for a replacement. Work cannot begin on the third model home without a Town Planner. The apparent Cabal fix for this was Item 9 added, to appoint Jane Hunt as liaison replacing Dan Albertson. Apparently H-Z charged Point Ruston $50,000 dollars with little to show for four months time. When they were budgeted to $1,000 dollar draws they used the thousand to respond they couldn't complete their work on thousand dollar draws. Stalemate at this Point, bye bye H-Z. Why no replacement? Another job for the chief investigator scooter Bill?

At this point it degenerated into a free for all with motions for RFPs and RFQs flying all around when they, the Cabal council, realized the terminated the Town Planner and voila they no longer had a Town Planner or anyone to do engineering work. Duh, we forgotted I guess. Dan wanted to use Frank Mellas, whose contract was for building services until an interim Town Planner could be hired, as a stop gap planner but the Mayor pointed out that was not in his contract for building services and the Town Attorney pointed out there might be an insurance risk.

At another point Jane became frantic because time was running out to get Stack Hill on the tax rolls before 2010. Another duh, gee whiz guys you Cabal brains have been fighting Stack Hill for the two years previous to this council. Remember The News Tribune called them WEIRD? But now emergency conditions exist and amid great hue and cry extraordinary planning is necessary, a Cabal specialty. That's great, shut down the project but still get the tax money?

Item 3. All of this became more apparent when the PSE rep had to wait over an hour to get approval from the Cabal to dig up Bennett street to repair pipe in the ground which was damaged. Gas leak? This came about when the Commencement, following the town's design, installed some underground lines. Now the dysfunctional council lies in wait for the next Commencement application and to start another lawsuit, the Town of Ruston picking up the tab just like the Ballet Lawsuit vs. the Commencement.

Oh yah, according to Dan and Bradley all electric, sewer, water, et al would be provided by Tacoma maybe. They haven't asked them yet.

Item 10, The next discombobulation started when the Cabal and de facto town attorney Dan A. led the charge to end run the Mayor and instead of a Town Attorney they, the Cabal council, would hire a "Special legal Services" person selected by the council bypassing the Mayor who has the authority to hire a Town Attorney. No problem, we make the Town Attorney disappear just like the Town Planner the assistant Town Clerk and anybody else not under our control and we can use to carry on our ongoing harassment of the Mayor and other perceived enemies. Two responses for replacement one from Seattle one from Ruston. Qualified? Lawyer Dan and friends will interview and determine if qualified. Some MRSC lawyers say ok, some say nok, but ok not in writing, the preferred Cabal accounting method. Dubious legality here another lawsuit in the making. This in fighting took another 25 minutes!!!

Add it up 87 minutes Cabal imbroglios, public comments on Town business zero. Maybe if we could get the new great pontificator, our very own Daniel, replacement of Bobby E., to listen to himself on tape we could cut go to meeting time by two thirds? Does this seem biased or am I biased. When will the ACLU ride to the rescue or better yet the state Auditor and Attorney General.

If you have got this far please, oh please, leave a comment so I know at least one person has read this. Let's go J. J. ROCK. Question of the day: will the Cabal Special Legal Services "Town Attorney" sit in the chair next to the Mayor or between Dan and Brad? They, the Cabal council have pretty much cleared out all the Town's employees leaving only Karen, the Town clerk, and our Lord Mayor Michael. Check out Mossyrock Michael it is time to let them sink or swim. We know your dedication to the town and professionalism will not allow your resignation and we salute you for your forbearance in difficult times.

Until next time, FROM THE FRONT ROW, that's -30-.

p.s. They are in hot pursuit to reclaim the $20,000 dollar bill received from Tacoma for swat team support. How about going after Wayne for the $70,000 "Ballet Class" lawsuit he instigated against the Commencement disregarding good advice that the town could not win. Shucks, forgotted again, the Cabal council gave them a 500 year lease.