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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
October 4, 2007     Shelton Mason County Journal
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October 4, 2007
 
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,.-.._ WORK ON THE Basin 2 Inflow and Infiltration Project is evident above with a trench for a new sewer line and catch basin at Second and Franklin streets. The work forced Shelton firefighters to park their fire trucks away from the station during work hours. Firefighters park it during sewer work On weekdays since Wednes- day, September 26, Shelton Fire Department has been forced to park its fire trucks away from the downtown fire station. The reason? Work on the Ba- sin 2 Inflow and Infiltration Proj- ect has progressed down Second Street to Franklin Street and the street in front of the station has been torn up while crews added new sewer lines and a catch basin. So during the work day, fire- fighters parked the trucks near the former gas station at First and Franklin. In the evenings, after the workers had finished for the day and installed steel plates over ditches dug in the roadway, the firefighters moved the trucks back into the station. "Yhey've been real good about communicating with us," Assis- tant Shelton Fire Chief Dave Salzer said of the project con- tractor, Gary Merlino Construc- tion of Seattle. So far, there have been no problems and the arrangement has worked out well, Salzer added. As of this Wednesday, fire- fighters were able to keep the trucks in the station during the workday, as the project pro- gressed to another area. Salzer said the workers will be back to resume work on Franklin Street within a few weeks. When they return, the trucks will be able to stay in the station full time, but firefight- ers must alter their route to get them onto First Street, turning right onto Second and right on Cedar to get to First. l>Jot a gun, 00still a strike By MARY DUNCAN A Union man who acquired his first strike under the state's per- sistent-offender sentencing law for assaulting another man by point- ing an imitation firearm at him protested his incarceration at a sentencing hearing held Monday in Mason County Superior Court. Jeffrey Sterling Walter Wooldridge, 29, of 11 East Union Ridge Road, was sentenced to nine months in the Mason County Jail for assault in the second degree and to a concurrent sentence of 90 days for malicious mischief in the second degree. "I'm not a threat to society and I don't see a need to put me in an already crowded facility," Wooldridge said, referring to con- ditions at the jail. Judge James Sawyer told Wooldridge the sentencing range is fixed by the Washington Legis- lature and with an offender score of one, the standard sentencing range is from six to 12 months on the assault charge. Wooldridge changed his pleas last month, at which time Sawyer told him: "This is a strike against you; three strikes and you're out." The state's persistent-offender sentencing act mandates a sen- tence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for persons convicted of three strike offenses. According to court documents, Wooldridge was taken into cus- tody at gunpoint on July 18 after threatening Brandon D. Wellborn with a gun which resembled a semi-automatic weapon but was later identified as an "air soft pellet gun," according to a prob- able-cause statement by Sergeant Jerry Lingle of the Shelton Police Department. Wellborn reported seeing Wooldridge, his former friend, parked in a white Suburban in the 700 block of Birch Street. Well- born walked up to the rig with his girlfriend and Wooldridge pointed a weapon at him through a closed window and told Wellborn to get away o2 he would shoot him. Well- born said he was convinced the gun was real and that Wooldridge was going to shoot him. Wooldridge was transported to the police station and placed in a (Please turn to page 11.) Shelton Auto Parts/Wrecking NOW BUYING 00HICLES! Bring your unwanted, complete vehicle to our yard and receive S$$1 BEST PRICES IN MASON COUNTY! Towing available-- call for detailst Some resnctlons apply, legal vehicle papenorl required, no garbage in vehicles. J I00uying Aluminum Cans 30€/Ib00 i "o,, yo,r to the d,,,p." [ 1501 W. Dayton,Airport Road, Shelton I |360} 4F-$150 Page 2 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, October 4, 2007 City's proposed budget has more spending than revenue By JEFF GREEN Shelton city commissioners got a sneak peak at the city's 2008 preliminary budget Monday eve- ning. City Administrator Dave O'Leary and Financial Services Director Kathy Beierle presented an overview of the preliminary budget, which includes a wish list of all requests made by the vari- ous department heads. But not all of those wishes will come true, as administrators will be sharpening their red pencils and keeping their erasers handy as they work in coming weeks to pare down the budget, which cur- rently is out of balance in nearly all categories. The General Fund, for exam- ple, has requested expenditures totaling $11,161,314, with pro- jected revenues of $9,177,499, a budget shortfall of $1,983,815 for now. "It's not unusual to have a large shortfall at this point," Bei- erle said. "THIS IS THE request phase," noted Mayor John Tarrant of the annual budget process. At this time last year in the General Fund, requests by department heads to- taled $8,924,493, with revenues estimated at $7,663,914. "Things will be much more aligned," promised O'Leary, who said he'll meet with department heads, then come back to the commission with a budget that works. The budget calendar calls for a formal preliminary budget pre- sentation on Monday, October 29, followed by a public hearing about the preliminary budget on Mon- day, November 5. A final budget public hearing is scheduled for Monday, December 3. "We're doing a lot, but you can't do a lot everywhere," O'Leary said of city operations and the problem of increasing public expectations and decreasing revenues to the city. Shelton is facing a decreasing fund balance. "We're about as far down as we should take that," O'Leary told the commissioners. In addition, the economy is "soft" and he said residential develop- ment is not doing as well as it used to. THE CITY HAS increased charges for connecting new homes to Shelton's water and sewer sys- tems and is talking about adding traffic impact fees, O'Leary said. Higher development costs will mean less development until the housing market adjusts, he add- ed. There is significant residential growth on the horizon and, while that will strengthen the city's ca- pabilities, it will also come with limitations, he said. The city's tax structure will remain the same and the city still has pretty poor infrastructure, he explained. As for city streets, the prelimi- nary budget includes $650,000 to maintain the existing commit- ment to streets, including funds for street maintenance, traffic sig- nal costs, street signs and more. The budget is currently writ- ten to assume the proposed six- year property-tax levy lid lift will be approved by city voters on No- vember 6. If the ballot measure passes, the levy lid lift would gen- erate $4,015,184 over six years tbr residential street repairs and maintenance. That would begin to alter the appearance of the city even in the first year, O'Leary said. THE SEWER FUND is the sole city fund showing a surplus thus far in the budget process. The proposed spending plan for that fund calls for $13,245,553 in expenditures while project- ing $13,381,567 in revenue and a $136,014 surplus. A summary of budget propos- als for other 2008 city funds with their requested expenditures, es- timated revenue and amount of budget shortfall includes: Region- Free septic workshop scheduled A free workshop on septic sys- tems will be presented from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, October 15, at the PUD 3 Auditorium, 307 West Cota Street in Shelton. Officials of the Mason County Extension of Washington State University and Mason County Public Health will conduct this event describing the components of a septic system and how such systems work. Participants will learn what to flush and how to make sure a septic system prop- erly treats and disposes of its con- tent. Participants will learn how to protect and inspect home septic systems, how to avoid problems and when to call in the experts. Those who attend will receive manuals and other reference ma- terials to take home. Homeowners who are unsure where their sep- tic systems are or what kind they have can get help researching re- cords that may be on file. For more information or to reg- ister, call 427-9670, Extension 680. al Sewer Fund, $12,599,233 expenditures, $12,534,222 in r enue, $65,011 shortfall; Capit Improvement Fund: $4,180,5 in expenditures, $4,023,413 revenue, $156,843 shortfall; " ter Fund: $2,522,763 in exp ditures, $1,630,601 in revert $892,162 shortfall; Regional V ter Fund, $2,479,362 in exl ditures, $2,431,000 in revent $48,362 shortfall; Street Fund: $2,221,758 in penditures, $1,808,816 in re nue, $412,942 shortfall; 911 Cot munications Fund: $1,323,4305 expenditures, $1,098,516 in r enue, $225,089 shortfa.ll; Sto Drainage Fund: $1,022,331 expenditures, $980,000 in r enue, $42,331 shortfall; Equ ment Maintenance and Ren Fund: $943,445 in expenditur $748,187 in revenue, $195,t shortfall. HAVING MORE :I RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS  IS NOT THE SAME AS RAVING MORE MONEY. There can be risk in having muhil,h; n.tircvnent accounts. Wilt... a singh; focus, it can be diflicuh to keep track of your inw,stments and to st;t; if w.t'rc moving toward i: your goals. At the very least, ! multiph ac,'ounts usually i mean multildc fies. Ib learn why (msolidating your retirement accounts to Edward Jones makes sense, call today. Armin Baumgartel Dan Baumgartel Financial Advisors 821 West Railroad Avenue, Suite A. Shelton 426-0982 • 1-800-441.0982 www.edwardlones.com The News Call for Parties, Meetings, Receptions FRESH A Wide Vi,ty of & Special SH ELLFISH Seafood & Other at I)tshes . Occasion Lunches DAILY with Chef Xinh T. Dwelley's Asian lValo (360) 427-8709 • Open for Supper Tuesday-Saturday. z, Downtown Shelton • Comer of 3rd and West Ra!!road r'Jr • Microclean Filtration • Energy Efficient • Financing Available • Chemicals • Mobile Service • Repair III I I .Fireplaces • Stoves .Inserts III H IEAT00' I..0.. ,.-.._ WORK ON THE Basin 2 Inflow and Infiltration Project is evident above with a trench for a new sewer line and catch basin at Second and Franklin streets. The work forced Shelton firefighters to park their fire trucks away from the station during work hours. Firefighters park it during sewer work On weekdays since Wednes- day, September 26, Shelton Fire Department has been forced to park its fire trucks away from the downtown fire station. The reason? Work on the Ba- sin 2 Inflow and Infiltration Proj- ect has progressed down Second Street to Franklin Street and the street in front of the station has been torn up while crews added new sewer lines and a catch basin. So during the work day, fire- fighters parked the trucks near the former gas station at First and Franklin. In the evenings, after the workers had finished for the day and installed steel plates over ditches dug in the roadway, the firefighters moved the trucks back into the station. "Yhey've been real good about communicating with us," Assis- tant Shelton Fire Chief Dave Salzer said of the project con- tractor, Gary Merlino Construc- tion of Seattle. So far, there have been no problems and the arrangement has worked out well, Salzer added. As of this Wednesday, fire- fighters were able to keep the trucks in the station during the workday, as the project pro- gressed to another area. Salzer said the workers will be back to resume work on Franklin Street within a few weeks. When they return, the trucks will be able to stay in the station full time, but firefight- ers must alter their route to get them onto First Street, turning right onto Second and right on Cedar to get to First. l>Jot a gun, 00still a strike By MARY DUNCAN A Union man who acquired his first strike under the state's per- sistent-offender sentencing law for assaulting another man by point- ing an imitation firearm at him protested his incarceration at a sentencing hearing held Monday in Mason County Superior Court. Jeffrey Sterling Walter Wooldridge, 29, of 11 East Union Ridge Road, was sentenced to nine months in the Mason County Jail for assault in the second degree and to a concurrent sentence of 90 days for malicious mischief in the second degree. "I'm not a threat to society and I don't see a need to put me in an already crowded facility," Wooldridge said, referring to con- ditions at the jail. Judge James Sawyer told Wooldridge the sentencing range is fixed by the Washington Legis- lature and with an offender score of one, the standard sentencing range is from six to 12 months on the assault charge. Wooldridge changed his pleas last month, at which time Sawyer told him: "This is a strike against you; three strikes and you're out." The state's persistent-offender sentencing act mandates a sen- tence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for persons convicted of three strike offenses. According to court documents, Wooldridge was taken into cus- tody at gunpoint on July 18 after threatening Brandon D. Wellborn with a gun which resembled a semi-automatic weapon but was later identified as an "air soft pellet gun," according to a prob- able-cause statement by Sergeant Jerry Lingle of the Shelton Police Department. Wellborn reported seeing Wooldridge, his former friend, parked in a white Suburban in the 700 block of Birch Street. Well- born walked up to the rig with his girlfriend and Wooldridge pointed a weapon at him through a closed window and told Wellborn to get away o2 he would shoot him. Well- born said he was convinced the gun was real and that Wooldridge was going to shoot him. Wooldridge was transported to the police station and placed in a (Please turn to page 11.) Shelton Auto Parts/Wrecking NOW BUYING 00HICLES! Bring your unwanted, complete vehicle to our yard and receive S$$1 BEST PRICES IN MASON COUNTY! Towing available-- call for detailst Some resnctlons apply, legal vehicle papenorl required, no garbage in vehicles. J I00uying Aluminum Cans 30€/Ib00 i "o,, yo,r to the d,,,p." [ 1501 W. Dayton,Airport Road, Shelton I |360} 4F-$150 Page 2 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, October 4, 2007 City's proposed budget has more spending than revenue By JEFF GREEN Shelton city commissioners got a sneak peak at the city's 2008 preliminary budget Monday eve- ning. City Administrator Dave O'Leary and Financial Services Director Kathy Beierle presented an overview of the preliminary budget, which includes a wish list of all requests made by the vari- ous department heads. But not all of those wishes will come true, as administrators will be sharpening their red pencils and keeping their erasers handy as they work in coming weeks to pare down the budget, which cur- rently is out of balance in nearly all categories. The General Fund, for exam- ple, has requested expenditures totaling $11,161,314, with pro- jected revenues of $9,177,499, a budget shortfall of $1,983,815 for now. "It's not unusual to have a large shortfall at this point," Bei- erle said. "THIS IS THE request phase," noted Mayor John Tarrant of the annual budget process. At this time last year in the General Fund, requests by department heads to- taled $8,924,493, with revenues estimated at $7,663,914. "Things will be much more aligned," promised O'Leary, who said he'll meet with department heads, then come back to the commission with a budget that works. The budget calendar calls for a formal preliminary budget pre- sentation on Monday, October 29, followed by a public hearing about the preliminary budget on Mon- day, November 5. A final budget public hearing is scheduled for Monday, December 3. "We're doing a lot, but you can't do a lot everywhere," O'Leary said of city operations and the problem of increasing public expectations and decreasing revenues to the city. Shelton is facing a decreasing fund balance. "We're about as far down as we should take that," O'Leary told the commissioners. In addition, the economy is "soft" and he said residential develop- ment is not doing as well as it used to. THE CITY HAS increased charges for connecting new homes to Shelton's water and sewer sys- tems and is talking about adding traffic impact fees, O'Leary said. Higher development costs will mean less development until the housing market adjusts, he add- ed. There is significant residential growth on the horizon and, while that will strengthen the city's ca- pabilities, it will also come with limitations, he said. The city's tax structure will remain the same and the city still has pretty poor infrastructure, he explained. As for city streets, the prelimi- nary budget includes $650,000 to maintain the existing commit- ment to streets, including funds for street maintenance, traffic sig- nal costs, street signs and more. The budget is currently writ- ten to assume the proposed six- year property-tax levy lid lift will be approved by city voters on No- vember 6. If the ballot measure passes, the levy lid lift would gen- erate $4,015,184 over six years tbr residential street repairs and maintenance. That would begin to alter the appearance of the city even in the first year, O'Leary said. THE SEWER FUND is the sole city fund showing a surplus thus far in the budget process. The proposed spending plan for that fund calls for $13,245,553 in expenditures while project- ing $13,381,567 in revenue and a $136,014 surplus. A summary of budget propos- als for other 2008 city funds with their requested expenditures, es- timated revenue and amount of budget shortfall includes: Region- Free septic workshop scheduled A free workshop on septic sys- tems will be presented from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, October 15, at the PUD 3 Auditorium, 307 West Cota Street in Shelton. Officials of the Mason County Extension of Washington State University and Mason County Public Health will conduct this event describing the components of a septic system and how such systems work. Participants will learn what to flush and how to make sure a septic system prop- erly treats and disposes of its con- tent. Participants will learn how to protect and inspect home septic systems, how to avoid problems and when to call in the experts. Those who attend will receive manuals and other reference ma- terials to take home. Homeowners who are unsure where their sep- tic systems are or what kind they have can get help researching re- cords that may be on file. For more information or to reg- ister, call 427-9670, Extension 680. al Sewer Fund, $12,599,233 expenditures, $12,534,222 in r enue, $65,011 shortfall; Capit Improvement Fund: $4,180,5 in expenditures, $4,023,413 revenue, $156,843 shortfall; " ter Fund: $2,522,763 in exp ditures, $1,630,601 in revert $892,162 shortfall; Regional V ter Fund, $2,479,362 in exl ditures, $2,431,000 in revent $48,362 shortfall; Street Fund: $2,221,758 in penditures, $1,808,816 in re nue, $412,942 shortfall; 911 Cot munications Fund: $1,323,4305 expenditures, $1,098,516 in r enue, $225,089 shortfa.ll; Sto Drainage Fund: $1,022,331 expenditures, $980,000 in r enue, $42,331 shortfall; Equ ment Maintenance and Ren Fund: $943,445 in expenditur $748,187 in revenue, $195,t shortfall. HAVING MORE :I RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS  IS NOT THE SAME AS RAVING MORE MONEY. There can be risk in having muhil,h; n.tircvnent accounts. Wilt... a singh; focus, it can be diflicuh to keep track of your inw,stments and to st;t; if w.t'rc moving toward i: your goals. At the very least, ! multiph ac,'ounts usually i mean multildc fies. Ib learn why (msolidating your retirement accounts to Edward Jones makes sense, call today. Armin Baumgartel Dan Baumgartel Financial Advisors 821 West Railroad Avenue, Suite A. Shelton 426-0982 • 1-800-441.0982 www.edwardlones.com The News Call for Parties, Meetings, Receptions FRESH A Wide Vi,ty of & Special SH ELLFISH Seafood & Other at I)tshes . Occasion Lunches DAI LY with Chef Xinh T. Dwelley's Asian lValo (360) 427-8709 • Open for Supper Tuesday-Saturday. z, Downtown Shelton • Comer of 3rd and West Ra!!road r'Jr • Microclean Filtration • Energy Efficient • Financing Available • Chemicals • Mobile Service • Repair III I I .Fireplaces • Stoves .Inserts III H IEAT00' I..0..