Former Yelm Telephone/FairPoint Communications Building
Photo credit: Yelm Community Blog


– STORY AT A GLANCE
* The recently approved Fairpoint Building and parcels purchase under scrutiny,
* Yelm’s Blogger presented new information the council did not have when they voted,
* A Special Council Meeting has been called May 29, public invited.
___________________________________________________________________________________
* Bottom line:
Put all of the blame and reasons aside including the profit to the seller, as these are not the issue. The facts are 1. The staff did not present the previous sales price and purchase date to council to compare in making a responsible offer, and the council did not inquire further, 2. the staff/council did not request a qualified commercial real estate negotiator, and 3. the city staff hired no real estate agent to act on their behalf in properly representing their taxpayers’ dollars expenditure. ___________________________________________________________________________________

* Seller made no improvements to the 4 parcels bought for $650,000 in Sept. 2016,
* 20 months later, seller makes a $275,000 profit from city’s $925,000 purchase,
* Seller flipped these parcels within 20 mos. for a 42.3% profit from city taxpayers.
* Council was told a $75K discount off a $1M market-value appraisal was a very good deal,
* Yet who buys commercial real estate based on one appraisal?
* Why was council not informed of previous sale prices/dates of this real estate?
* Why did the city not have an independent real estate agent and/or counsel’s advise?
* Why was this deal rushed where little public process, no open house occurred?
* This agreement’s May 8th Agenda item 8C had no docs, they were misplaced in item 9A.
* Council needs to vote to pause and gather more info to renegotiate this deal,
* Can the city afford public outcry by giving the seller a $100K, $200K, or $275K profit on $650K?
* If not, the city should consider backing-out of this deal for their constituents,
* The city may lose the $25,000 promissory note amount in breaking the deal, which is fair.
* If this building purchase is not now properly vetted, this is a dereliction of duty.
* PUBLIC PROCESS MUST BE INCLUDED IN THIS RENEGOTIATION!


– THE FACTS THAT CAME TO LIGHT FRIDAY, MAY 25TH:
Since Councilors Carmody, Colt and DePinto were the three councilors who “got it” on the points I raised during the public comment period May 22, 2018 about the Fairpoint Building purchase proposal, and subsequently voted “No,” I e-mailed them information I researched.


After I saw the purchase agreement, I noted the following and gathered more information:
A. The four parcels the city agreed to purchase were originally bought by the seller in a “block sale.”
B. A “block sale” means all of the parcels were grouped together in one single sale.
C. DUST, LLC purchased the 4 parcels from Ycom Networks, Inc.
D. Date of the block sale to DUST, LLC from Ycom Networks = 9/19/2016
E. Recording date of the sale with Thurston County = 9/27/2016
F. DUST, LLC purchased the 4 parcels in the block sale for a total of $650,000.

The 4 parcel numbers with Thurston County Assessors information:
64400800900
64400801000
64400801400
64400801500


– The back-story:
DUST, LLC made a $275,000 gross profit in “flipping” this property to the City of Yelm all within 20 months (their $650,000 purchase price vs. the city’s “discounted” purchase price of $925,000). Whoever negotiated this “deal” was not an effective negotiator for Yelm citizens and obviously knew little about negotiating commercial real estate purchases. I have never heard of negotiating the purchase of commercial real estate only based on what the buyer thinks is a good discount off of a single appraisal.

Let the buyer be ware – the city on behalf of their constituents should always get a second opinion PLUS an independent expert’s counsel. And any comment about the city’s real estate purchase by a councilor who is a real estate agent should be qualified if they had commercial real estate agent experience, and if not, their comments should be barred.

There was no need for Executive Sessions on this real estate purchase because there were no other bidders, buyers or interested parties that would have been influenced by the city’s intended purchase. This was yet another instance where public discourse was subverted via closed Executive Sessions to the public as to info the councilors received and the info that was omitted. The City of Yelm entered in to this purchase agreement on March 30, 2018, with the public first informed on May 3rd via a Yelm Government Facebook page single-page announcement, 35 days after the city made this agreement and 19 days before a final vote. And unless the public was truly adept in finding the purchase agreement documents on the May 8th Council Agenda, they would not find them, for that agenda item 8C was not listed as an action item and had no documents, rather the docs were actually titled for an Agenda item 9A, where there was no business. The city also held no open house and no public hearing, only comments to the agenda item. No wonder the public outcry from a lack of public process. That is not transparency for the city’s constituents!


– Bottom line:
The Special Meeting Agenda for May 29, 6pm, is now posted here.

I recommend the city council vote immediately to put a hold on the purchase of the Fairpoint Building because they need an extension to assess this new information and more after a proper due diligence has occurred, omitted from their May 22nd decision considerations. This time, the public process and transparency are required!

BRAVO to Councilors Carmody, Colt, and DePinto for raising so many issues at the May 22nd council and voting “NO” on this sale, where Councilor Carmody even attempted to extend the sales period to gather more information, which did not occur. BRAVO to these same councilors for calling a Special Meeting to review this information!


THE CITY TOUTS TRANSPARENCY & PUBLIC PROCESS –
HOWEVER ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS!

Council Members Colt, DePinto, and Carmody have called a special meeting regarding the potential purchase of the Fairpoint building to discuss information that was not disseminated to Council prior to the vote on May 22, 2018. This meeting will occur on Tuesday, May 29, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. at the Yelm Public Safety Building.
Click here to read the councilors’ letter.

Credit: Yelm Farmers Market


– Editor’s note:
Mark your calendar – the Yelm Farmers Market opens Saturday, May 26, Yelm Community Center.

Photo credit: South Sound Business


– “Thurston County Launches New Emergency Alert System, Smart911”
“Thurston County and Thurston 911 Communications — in partnership with the cities of Lacey, Olympia, Rainier, Tenino, Tumwater, Yelm, and the Town of Bucoda — have launched a new emergency notification system called Thurston Community Alert. Introduced as part of an effort to increase safety and preparedness within the community, the new program is now the official notification system of the county.

Thurston Community Alert, which can be accessed here, allows residents to set notification preferences and opt into a variety of notification lists,” quoting South Sound Business.
Read more

Photo credit: City of Yelm Government Facebook


– From the Office of Rep. Denny Heck
“The City of Yelm will host a free 5K run, walk, bike on the Friday before Memorial Day to remember service members who have lost their lives in the line of duty. This will be the city’s first Memorial Day event.

The event will kick off with opening remarks from Congressman Denny Heck D-Washington before creating a circle of remembrance where names of fallen service members will be read.”
Read more

Click here to register, scroll to drop down box for “Location to Walk or Run,” select “Washington, Yelm.”


– About “wear blue: Run to Remember”
“Every year, wear blue hosts community gatherings across the country on the morning of Memorial Day. These events begin with a Circle of Remembrance where the names of fallen service members are spoken aloud. Afterward, we unite as a living memorial for the fallen service members by committing purposeful miles with a self-paced run or walk. By setting aside a small portion of our morning, we show our gratitude and remembrance for the courage, heroism, and sacrifice of the men and women who have given all.
Who is invited?
We invite every American to come together on Memorial Day.”
Read more

Photo credit: Olympia and Beyond 2018-2019 Visitor’s Guide,
page 25, used with permission.


Yelm Community Blogger Steve Klein was called Yelm’s “eager cheerleader” in the Olympia and Beyond 2018-2019 Visitors Guide listing his recommendations of places to visit around Yelm.
Click here, scroll to page 25.

Photo Courtesy: The Triad Theater, Yelm


Jordan Sather – Destroying the Illusion
Friday, May 25th, 7pm $10-$20
Click here to purchase tickets

Photo credit: Port of Seattle


– “Sea-Tac to kick off another record-breaking summer travel season”
“Sea-Tac Airport is expecting up to five percent more travelers than last year during the busy summer travel season, which kicks off Memorial Day weekend. Nearly 14 million passengers went through Sea-Tac from June through August in 2017; this year Sea-Tac expects an additional 700,000 people as the airport reflects the continued growth of the region. In response to this, the Port of Seattle is providing new tools and reliable travel tips to help make the travel experience a little smoother.

Tips and tools include include a new mobile-friendly website and interactive Sea-Tac map, #SeaTac Hacks for tips throughout the summer season, Facebook Live information sessions with subject matter experts where you can ask questions, a family-friendly game you can print and play at home (coming soon), and text updates about what’s happening at Sea-Tac Airport (text “Airport” to 206-347-8045).
Read more

Former Yelm Telephone/FairPoint Communications Building
Photo credit: Yelm Community Blog


– Editor’s Note:
This evening the Yelm City Council voted to approve the purchase of the Fairpoint Building and adjacent land after much discussion. Steve Klein (Yelm Blog host) was the only public commenter, plus one Councilor DePinto received via e-mail and read aloud. While I thought this building and land was a nice addition to the city’s portfolio and I formerly agreed with the purchase, the comments from blog readers and others with their outrage over the lack of public process and transparency was cited, qualities which Mayor Foster and this city’s leaders have been touting as a priority. Well, actions speak louder than words! Councilors Carmody, Colt and DePinto voted against the purchase, the rest approved the resolution.
Click here for my public comments read on the record.


– Councilor Molly Carmody’s comments on her Council Facebook page
Tonight’s City Council meeting:
3. We narrowly approved the purchase of the Fairpoint building and 2 adjoining properties. While we all agreed that it would be an amazing and worthwhile addition to the city’s portfolio, several of us, including Cody Colt, Joe DePinto, and myself, felt that we should have gone through a more extensive public comment period. Vote was 4-3 in favor of buying the building. I have to say that I’m glad that the motion passed, but I will be pushing for a much more transparent process for future real estate acquisitions.

Thank you to my fellow Councilmembers for an excellent and very civil discussion on this issue!


– Councilor Joe DePinto’s comments on his Council Facebook page
At tonight’s city council meeting we voted to move forward and purchase the Fairpoint Building (the old Yelm Telephone Co building) as our new city hall.

Feel free to check out the video yourself which I linked below. Have a great evening.
http://media.avcaptureall.com/session.html

Ramtha, The Enlightened One
Photo credit: Copyright © 2018 JZ Knight.
Used with permission.


– Editor’s Note:
I was living in San Francisco 30 years ago this week from where I enrolled and flew into Denver to attend Ramtha’s Retreat at Snow Mountain, Colorado, May 22-28, 1988, highlighted in this 2006 story by Lisa Pemberton, The Olympian. During that gathering, Ramtha responded to a previous request from a student to teach what he knew, prompting him to create his School of Enlightenment (RSE) over 11 years after first appearing to JZ Knight in February 1977.


Who is Ramtha?
Click here to listen in his own words, by Will Arntz, producer, director, writer of the 2004 internationally acclaimed independent film, “What the Bleep Do We Know!?“.


Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment (RSE), was founded by JZ Knight in 1988 and based here in Yelm. The first official event of Ramtha’s newly established school in Yelm was conducted the first weekend of August 1988, which I also attended. Whatever opinion you may have about the school, this corporate entity headed by JZ Knight has paid taxes, employed scores of local staff, and been an integral part of the fabric of life in SE Thurston for 30 years now. Yelm, Washington quickly became one of the most well-known seats of spiritual learning worldwide and is still prominent to this day. In the period from 1988 until the 2008 economic downturn’s affects felt here in 2009, Yelm became visited by more international visitors than any other city in the South Sound, as described by one of our Legislative representatives. Since 2009 live-streaming from Yelm for the school’s students in up to 44 countries worldwide and simultaneously translated in over 10 languages has placed Yelm as an international city of notoriety, of which the economic benefit has been enormous for this area. In the late 1990s, famed religions scholar J. Gordon Melton nicknamed RSE as The American Gnostic School after years of studying the school in Yelm.


The Nisqually Valley News (NVN) and the mayor and city council recognize Yelm Community School’s students of the month, not realizing that many of them were born to parents in RSE and some of these Yelm Schools students themselves were raised in the RSE culture. There are many local business owners and involved citizens in civic groups that are RSE students, unbeknownst to most. JZ Knight and RSE will not get any such acknowledgement by the NVN or Proclamation by Mayor Foster for their contributions in being one of this town’s greatest assets, yet based right here in their midst for three decades. However, I for one, am grateful that RSE set-up shop here, as in September 1988, I followed the school’s founding and made my residence in this beautiful area I have also called home for almost 30 years.


Congratulations to RSE, JZ Knight, and ALL of the students who have ever engaged the teachings of Ramtha, The Enlightened One.


Blogger Klein is a JZK, Inc. emeritus employee and in the 33rd year as a Ramtha student.