of the Gateway – At its first meeting of 2012, new Gig Harbor City Council members Jill Guernsey and Michael Perrow took the oath of office and their seats on the council.

Guernsey, a Deputy Pierce County Attorney, defeated former two-term council member Bob Frisbie in the contest for Position 4. She has taken over for Jim Franich, whose term ended on Dec. 31.

Gig Harbor Parks Commissioner Michael Perrow ran unopposed to capture the Position 6 seat, formerly occupied by Paul Conan, whose term of office also expired at the end of the year.

In another uncontested race, Position 5 incumbent Ken Malich was re-elected to another four-year term.

The city council, with its new makeup, then took up a variety of issues.

School district levy
After the city council listened to a presentation on the proposed Peninsula School District replacement levy by Superintendent Terry Bouck and Deputy Superintendent Chuck Cuzzetto, it passed a resolution that “strongly supports the passage of Proposition No. 1.”

The all-mail special election ballot will be counted on Feb. 14.

Prior to the vote, there was a spirited discussion between the one person who is speaking against the levy and the city council.

Key Peninsula businessman and longtime citizen activist Randy Boss pointed out the reason for the Gig Harbor area’s low levy rates is the high value of homes.

“As values go up, rates go down,” he said.

Boss also noted the district’s current levy lid — the amount local districts can spend on schools — of 28.9 percent is a 4 percentage point increase from 2010, when the Legislature upped the levy limit.

Under current law, most districts may bring up 28 percent of their budget through levies, although some, like Peninsula, are grandfathered in at higher rates.

Boss ran into a wall of opposition from the city council.

Council member Tim Payne said he was impressed by the school district, adding he thought taxpayers should applaud Bouck’s management of the district.

Council member Derek Young said the levy has been reduced to funding basics instead of extras, and he said the Peninsula School District gets the “best bang for the buck.”

“This really is a replacement,” Young said of the levy.

New council members Guernsey and Perrow had their say as well.

“A great community supports a great school district,” said Guernsey, who served on the Peninsula School Board from 2000-10.

The district is not just facing basic cuts, Perrow said, but cuts to critical programs.

“This is our first step to success in the future,” Malich said.

Flood control district
Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy and Harold Smelt, the county’s surface water manager, gave a presentation on the proposed Pierce County Flood Control Zone District.

If established, the new tax district would be a special-purpose government to fund flood-protection projects and programs in the county.

“It’s about economic stability,” McCarthy said, recalling the 2009 floods that closed Interstate 5 near Chehalis in Lewis County for four days and cost more than $47 million.

A similar disaster in Pierce County could cost upwards of $725 million, she said.

Soliciting input from citizens and local governments, it was discovered that minimizing bureaucracy, giving cities a role in the process and leveraging state and federal funds were important factors in the possible establishment of the flood control district.

“It’s a very slim process, and we’d like to duplicate that in Pierce County,” Smelt said, a reference to a similar district in King County.

Current plans call for assessment not to exceed 10 cents per $1,000 of assessed value as a means of paying for the flood control district.

Some council members remained skeptical.

“It’s a very difficult pill to swallow ... to accept this and move forward,” Payne said, pointing out that people in Gig Harbor already are paying daily for a large infrastructure project — the New Narrows Bridge.

“The benefit to us tangential at best,” Young said.

According to the project’s timeline, revenue collection and project implementation would begin in 2013.

Wastewater amendment
The city council approved a resolution which amended the wastewater comprehensive plan by revising sewer collection basin boundaries.

It was done on behalf of the Evergreen Business Center project, a 40-acre commercial plat located off Bujacich Drive, in order to comply with State Environmental Policy Act mitigation conditions.

Street names
The city council also approved naming the street within the Harbor Hill residential plat “North Spring Way.”

It is the first residential phase of the project located off the north side of Borgen Boulevard between Borgen Loop and the back of the Woodridge Substation.

Request for public art
The city council approved requesting a “maquette” — a small-scale model — from an artist who is being considered for producing a life-size, realistic bronze statue of a man holding a salmon, based on a 1909 photograph taken by Ashael Curtis.

The planned sculpture would be public art at the Maritime Pier location.

Service recognition
Dick Bower, Gig Harbor’s building and fire safety director and emergency management director, was presented a plaque that honors his nine years of city service.

Bower has accepted a position with the California State University at Monterey Bay as its emergency manager.

Bower played a key role in modernizing Gig Harbor’s permitting process, as well as development of the city’s emergency preparedness plan.

City Administrator Rob Karlinsey praised Bower’s work.

“The City of Gig Harbor has been fortunate to have Dick serve us,” Karlinsey said. “Dick leaves his department running on all cylinders.”

Bower’s last day on the job will be Jan. 18. He will start his new job on Jan. 30.

Reporter Brett Davis can be reached at 253-853-9243 or by email at brett.davis@gateline.com.