1. MORE UNPLANNED WELL EXPENDITURES APPROVED TONIGHT

The Yelm City Council is going to vote tonight to spend another $80,000 for the well the city has been digging.
Golder Associates has asked to change the revised test cost to approximately $142K, up from a little over $61K, an $80,600 increase to produce a new pump for the driller, Boart, to pump more water.

Golder says, “the $80,600 change order is only for Boart Longyear costs (not Golder time revising the approach and working on validating costs) and is for the aquifer test portion of the project only.”
HMMM! What are Golder’s billings going to be for this change?
CLICK HERE for the change order in costs.

The City’s Staff Report says,
“The preliminary tests of the well via air lift testing and specific capacity testing indicate a well that will likely produce more water than the predicted 750-1000 gallons per minute. In an effort to fully develop the well and maximize the yield, the contract needs to be amended to include the additional upsizing of the pump, as well as the additional piping footage for the water discharge associated with this larger volume.”

“Staff recommends approving the change order for the following reasons: 1) The increased production capacity of the well can potentially offset additional capital infrastructure costs identified in the six year capital improvement plan; 2) the increased production capacity out of one well versus multiple wells, may offset some of the proposed impacts in the Nisqually and Deschutes water basins.”
CLICK HERE for the Staff Report.

ED. NOTE: Based on the city’s behavior the last 10 years on a whole host of subjects, I do NOT trust this city’s officials when they say:
“can potentially”
“may offset”
THIS MEANS THERE IS AN OUT & NOT TO EXPECT RESULTS

An $80,000 additional expenditure was not planned either.

And the key question has never been addressed:
“Why does the city need a new water system less than 2 miles from the existing system?
To lessen the impact on Yelm Creek is not a good enough answer.
Tonight the city will vote on buying a larger pump to pump in excess of “750-1000 gallons per minute” from the very same aquifer as the existing well, which could be dug deeper & save all of this money for water rate payers. That amount of water pumped a mile away will affect Yelm Creek, too.
WHERE IS YELM’S FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY?

2. DEPT. OF ECOLOGY SOON TO LOOK AT OLD WATER LAWS

This Seattle Times story says:
Economic climate change hits water policy

“State revenue problems are forcing a serious conversation about how the state might overhaul the management and financing of Washington water resources. New ways of raising money and a hard look at old water laws are headed to the Legislature from the state Department of Ecology…

The department’s Water Resources Program has prepared a report to the Legislature that not only explores imposition of user fees in pursuit of more consistent funding, but also seeks to update state water laws and application processes.”
Ed. Note: Expect more impacts on Yelm’s applications to increase the city’s water allocation.
Yelm has said the city has spent hundreds of thousands on legal fees to condemn a citizen’s water rights.
WHERE IS YELM’S FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY?

3. STATE REP. SAYS EXPENDITURE FOR CITY’S LOBBYIST A WASTE OF TAXPAYER MONIES

Megan Hansen of Nisqually Valley News said in her story titled:
“Yelms bypass taking shape as road nears completion”

The City of Yelm approved contracts for lobbyists during its last council meeting.

One of the objectives behind hiring the lobbyists is to have a presence at the capital during the next legislative session, according to city officials…

Previously, the city paid $25,000 for services and received $33 million through the gas tax for the bypass, City Administrator Shelly Badger said.

‘It was a good $25,000.’

Representative Tom Campbell
Photo from Representative Campbell’s official website

On his Facebook page, Rep. Tom Campbell questioned why Ms. Hansen left out any mention of his efforts to get Yelm Bypass funding by saying,
“Nice article on the first phase of the Yelm Loop project. It has died and been revived more than Lazarus, thanks to the Governor’s budgets. Just curious why I was left out by the NVN? Since it was me that provided the State support to do this project.”

HMMM! That IS a valid question!

Rep. Campbell added,
“Also interesting that the town of Yelm is once again wasting taxpayers money by hiring lobbyists for no reason. All they [the lobbyists] ever do is come by my office and ask if I have the project safe in the budget…

They pay legislators to look after their districts needs. This is just government waste.”

Ed. Note: This from our State legislator. He’s telling it like it is in Olympia. This is the ONLY person I have seen step forward to say that this expenditure is a folly.

Let’s take a tally, the city only has enough to spend $50,000 for a very small library for only City of Yelm citizens annually (ignoring the contributions of county property taxpayers), however will spend 1/2 that for a lobbyist to do our legislator’s job?
WHERE IS YELM’S FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY?