Puyallup City Hall is home to an art gallery, a Subway restaurant, a yogurt shop and roughly 60 city workers.

Could it also become the new location of the city’s police department? Or the municipal court?

The City Council hasn’t made any decisions yet, but members indicated at Tuesday night’s regular meeting that they want to talk more about the possibilities.

“This building can’t remain as it is, with the taxpayers paying for people to have cubicles that are bigger than houses,” said Deputy Mayor John Knutsen, referring to the five-story City Hall.

He wanted to direct City Manager Ralph …

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The Puyallup Homeless Coalition is holding a forum at 7 p.m. Wednesday to work on an action plan for 2012.

The group has the goal of eliminating homelessness in the city of 37,000 people. Members presented a strategic plan to the Puyallup City Council last year and have put together several community forums.

Wednesday’s forum is at Puyallup United Methodist Church, 1919 W. Pioneer Ave.

Puyallup residents can drop off fallen tree branches and other yard debris from last week’s storm at a temporary location across from Bradley Lake Park.

The site, set up by the city and DM Disposal, is open 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily through Sunday. People should bring ID showing they live in Puyallup.

The city says there also are a few other guidelines:

• Branches and trees can’t be taller than 8 feet long and 10 inches wide.

• No roofing or hazardous materials will be accepted. Drop-offs should be limited to yard debris from the storm.

…

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Hilltop Elementary School stood on the hill north of Puyallup for more than 50 years.

It’s gone now, but the site still is a place for kids to gather and have fun. It has playground equipment and a grassy area, and the Puyallup School District will dedicate it next week as the Edgemont-Hilltop Community Field.

The ceremony is set for 3:30 p.m. Jan. 31. The field is next to Edgemont Junior High School, 2300 110^th Ave. E., Edgewood.

“The name makes a lot of sense – it recognizes Edgemont but also preserves the memory of an elementary school that was …

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Puyallup City Council meetings will begin a little later starting next month. The council on Tuesday approved moving the start time from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

There was no debate and the vote was unanimous.

Mayor Rick Hansen said moving the start time was “the right thing to do, answering a request from the public.”

The meetings used to begin at 7 p.m., but the council in late 2010 changed the time to 6 p.m. in a split vote.

The decision was unpopular among citizen activists who attend council meetings; they said the change made it difficult to …

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The Puyallup School District anticipates it’ll need to trim millions of dollars from its budget next school year, and it’s enlisted a group of parents and other community members to help identify places to cut.

The citizens committee, which began meeting last fall, created a list of recommendations for district officials to use as they craft a 2012-13 budget. The recommendations include cutting staff positions, making changes to bus service and increasing sports fees.

They were difficult to make, said committee member Marcello Mancini, who helped present the list to the school board on Monday night.

“It’s so hard when …

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The new Puyallup City Council marked its first meeting of 2012 by revisiting an issue the old council rejected – giving citizens the power to enact new laws and repeal ones they don’t like.

No final action was taken on the matter at Tuesday’s session. But the seven-member council, which has four new faces this year, asked city staff to prepare information on the process of providing initiative and referendum power.

The powers aren’t automatic in all cities under state law, and the council in 2010 turned down a proposal that would have set the stage for having them in …

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The Puyallup River Watershed Council’s annual retreat is Friday in Tacoma. The public is invited to the session, which is set for 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Center for Urban Waters, 326 E. D St.

The council aims to protect and enhance the 1,000-square-mile watershed, which covers the area from Mount Rainier to Commencement Bay. The group is looking for new members, Pierce County officials wrote in a news release.

County Executive Pat McCarthy will be on hand at the retreat, which also will include a presentation from Joel Baker, Urban Waters’ science director, the release said. …

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