SHORELINE — Of 10 goals adopted by the City Council, only one ranked high on the discussion chart.
The goal that garnered the most debate was whether the Council should develop a Fircrest Master Plan in partnership with the state. The Fircrest School for the developmentally disabled, which sits on an 87-acre campus, includes some surplus property.
The goal, along with nine others, passed with a 4-3 vote at the June 26 meeting, with Councilmembers Ron Hansen, Rich Gustafson and Keith McGlashan dissenting.
“It is an enormous campus that is basically an open book,” said Councilwoman Janet Way. “The city can experiment with human services; there are many possibilities.”
Each year, the Council holds a retreat to develop goals that will guide the budget process and focus resources for the coming year. An initial list of 16 proposed goals were narrowed to 10.
The Fircrest site is owned by the state of Washington and is divided into two sub-trusts by the Department of Natural Resources and the Division of Developmental Disabilities, said city manager Bob Olander. The Fircrest School is home to about 250 developmentally disabled residents and provides about 700 local jobs.
Founded in 1959, Fircrest School is one of five Residential Habilitation Centers in the state. Since 1970, the number of residents at institutions has declined, according to DSHS documents.
Councilman Rich Gustafson made a motion to remove the goal for a Fircrest School Master Plan, which failed. A Fircrest School Master Plan is an issue that needs to be discussed, he said, but should not be listed as a top goal of the city.
“If the state is willing (to work together), then we can add it as a goal,” Gustafson said.
Councilman Ron Hansen concurred with Gustafson, saying the state is doing a “good job” handling Fircrest. The Council can step in when the state wants to go the table to discuss future uses of the land, he said.
“It is a state project and state property,” Hansen said. “We are setting ourselves up for failure.”
Councilwoman Cindy Ryu said there should be a Fircrest master plan, as it will help bring all stake holders together.
There are certain restrictions to the Fircrest property, Olander said, such as underlying trusts that go with the property and indicate any proceeds, such as lease payments, will go to people with developmental disabilities. It is unlikely the state would ever sell the property, he said.
The topic of developing a master plan is not a new one, but has surfaced on many occasions over the years, Olander said.
“There have been several partial attempts over the years,” Olander said about developing a master plan, “None of which have ever come to fruition.”
A master plan could include goals, parameters, public process, a work plan, shared costs and expected outcomes, according to council documents.
Now that goals have been identified, staff will work to bring back some work plans and the Council will have the opportunity to consider resource allocations, Olander said.
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