This year began with a buzz when Boeing chose Everett as the place where it would build its next generation jetliner.
But it will end as one forever seared by sadness of two devastating events: the mudslide in Oso and shooting at Marysville Pilchuck High School.
In 2015, developments in the manufacturing of the 777X airplane and the rebuilding of lives changed by those tragedies will continue to absorb our and the state’s attention.
Other headlines will emerge as the private sector looks to continue its rebound from the Great Recession and political leaders confront a demand for public services that outstrips the dollars available to pay for them.
Taxes will be a constant subject of conversation. Several cities and the county hiked taxes late this year to balance their budgets and may need to do so again before the end of 2015.
Same goes for the state. Gov. Jay Inslee, who as a candidate in 2012 opposed new taxes, is now pressing lawmakers to approve big ones to raise billions of dollars for public schools and transportation.
Recovery and rebuilding
It will be an emotional year for the families and the communities marred by tragedy.
Anniversaries will be held to mark the March 22 landslide that claimed 43 lives and the Oct. 24 shooting in which five teenagers died. And there will be heartrending conversations on what, if any, memorials to erect for both.
In the Stillaguamish Valley, the focus on recovery will range from helping businesses flourish to starting a community garden and attempting to get the last 14 miles of the Mountain Loop paved.
The county-imposed moratorium on building new structures in the slide zone will remain in force as policymakers ponder new land-use rules for landslide hazard areas. And lawsuits brought on behalf of 12 families affected by the slide through death and property loss should begin to wend their way through the legal channels.
Meanwhile, lawmakers and Inslee are united in responding to lessons learned from the catastrophic slide. A report issued by an independent commission will provide them a template for improving the understanding of and response to landslides.
The report’s recommendations include clarifying when a wildfire mobilization response can be activated. Fire officials said they tried in those initial hours after the landslide but were rebuffed.
The report also urges state leaders to accelerate mapping landslide-prone regions, to shore up funding of the state’s emergency response network and to make it easier for regular people to participate when an emergency occurs.
Reaction to the high school shooting will trigger a much different, and potentially more divisive, debate.
Bills will be pushed to hold adults accountable if one of their weapons falls into the possession of a child and something bad happens. Gun control backers want stricter laws to keep guns out of the hands of mentally ill adults and individuals prone to violent behavior.
At the other end of the spectrum, Rep. Elizabeth Scott, R-Monroe, will push to allow teachers who have a permit for a concealed weapon to carry a gun on campus as a first line of defense.
Look, up in the sky
At the Boeing Co.’s Everett plant, work will continue at a quick pace on the buildings where the new 777X jetliner will be produced.
On the company’s nearby Paine Field flight line, mechanics and engineers are hustling to get the first test plane of the KC-46 aerial-refueling tanker program into the air, possibly in late-April.
As production of 787s will hum along, aerospace analysts will be closely watching the level of interest in two the company’s classic lines — the 747 and 777. Boeing logged no orders for its 747-8 in 2014 and not enough of the 777 to sustain output at its current pace until the 777X ramps up.
County challenges
This is shaping up to be an intriguing year as the County Council and County Executive John Lovick contend with budget challenges and one another.
Lovick’s job is on the ballot, again, this time for a full four-year term. The Democrat says he’s running and Republican Carolyn Eslick, his opponent in November’s special one-year election, is angling for a rematch.
But Lovick may be challenged by others in his party. County Council Chairman Dave Somers, with whom he’s publicly quarreled of late, is one of the potential foes.
A bit of that tension stems from the council’s hiring of an attorney to investigate comments allegedly made by Lovick’s top administrator, Deputy Executive Mark Ericks. The contention is Ericks made several disparaging comments about Somers and County Councilman Terry Ryan during a cabinet meeting, a claim Lovick says isn’t true.
Council members Brian Sullivan and Stephanie Wright, who aligned with Lovick in the budget spat and opposed hiring the attorney, are bracing for challengers as they each seek re-election.
Outside the chamber, the most expensive building ever constructed by the county should be taking shape by mid-2015. That’s when officials expect to break ground on the new eight-story, $162 million courthouse. Worries persist about keeping the project on budget.
And the county’s largest proposed housing development, Point Wells, is inching closer to approval as well. Traffic and environmental analyses are under way on the effects of erecting 3,081 condominiums on industrial land next door to Woodway.
At the Snohomish County jail, Sheriff Ty Trenary will be sowing reforms seeded after a series of high-profile inmate deaths. Staff has been added and mental-health screenings at booking increased. There’s more work to be done, such as implementing an electronic medical-records system.
Trenary, too, must run again to secure a full term and the success of the reforms could emerge in the campaign.
In the capitol
State lawmakers arrive Jan. 12 for the 2015 session. No one’s sure when they’ll go home because the task at hand is a challenging one.
They’re writing a new two-year budget that must contain a sizable sum of money for schools. That’s because the state Supreme Court found them in contempt of its McCleary ruling that the state is violating the constitutional rights of public school students by inadequately funding basic education.
There are other pressure points in the budget. Voters passed a measure for smaller classes that carries a $2 billion price tag and the high court ordered the state to end its practice of psychiatric boarding, which means finding hospital beds quickly.
Inslee wants to impose a new capital gains tax to generate revenue and says it will only affect the state’s wealthiest 1 percent.
Raising billions of dollars for the state’s transportation system is another battle. The Democrat-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate have dueled for two years and are ready for a third. Inslee suggests the money come from a new tax on polluters and not a higher gas tax.
Beyond the budget, there are other matters such as how to blend the largely unchecked medical marijuana market with the heavily regulated legal pot industry that launched this year.
State lawmakers won’t be alone in wrestling with budgets.
In Everett, for example, the city trimmed jobs, hiked utility taxes and increased car tab fees in 2014 and still couldn’t eliminate its budget deficit. Mayor Ray Stephanson will try to squeeze more savings from the operations — and maybe pensions — of city firefighters and police officers. If unsuccessful, it could mean another round of tax and fee hikes.
The city is eyeing a 10-year plan to fix its sewer system and end backups into basements in the north. It won’t be cheap and it may require boosting sewer and stormwater rates.
Going up
Work on a slew of high-profile projects will pick up steam in 2015.
It took years to preserve Mukilteo’s Japanese Gulch and this fall plans for developing the 147-acre park could be firmed up. Look for its informal parking area to be improved this spring.
The $63.5 million building and remodeling project at Swedish/Edmonds hospital will continue. The new emergency department, urgent care center and new main lobby are expected to open in the fall.
The Port of Everett is forging ahead with its Waterfront Center development and strengthening its south marine terminal to handle heavier roll-on, roll-off cargo.
In Stanwood, city leaders are trying to figure out how to relocate City Hall out of the flood plain in downtown or to elevate it so it’s not prone to flooding.
Schools and education
Educators and students will be keeping a close watch on what happens in Olympia.
Money for teacher pay hikes is on the table. An effort to evaluate teacher performance on student test scores will be debated. And there could be a ton of dough for hiring new teachers so there can be smaller classes, which in turn could trigger the need to build classrooms or buy portables.
Students in grades 3-8 and 11 will, for the first time, be taking the Smarter Balanced tests aligned to the Washington State Learning Standards in English language arts and math.
And school districts are looking to get some projects done too.
In Edmonds, construction will begin on the new $59 million Alderwood Middle School, the single biggest project approved in the $275 million bond issue approved by voters in February.
In Mukilteo, the district will install $2 million of security upgrades that may include security cameras, access cards and perimeter fencing of schools.
In the Arlington Public Schools district, they’ll try again to pass a $3 million levy to buy 26 new school buses. The measure failed in November when it garnered only 48 percent support.
Cars, trains and ferries
Highways and byways in Snohomish County are getting clogged with more cars seemingly every day. Average travel times in the morning and evening commute between Everett and Seattle are getting longer and likely to get worse in 2015.
Commuting on I-405 is supposed to get slightly easier if new tolled HOT lanes open between Lynnwood and Bellevue in the fall as planned. They are expected to be pricier than the toll lanes now open on Highway 167 and carpoolers will probably need three people in their vehicle to qualify.
If a multi-billion dollar transportation package emerges from the Legislature it could provide some relief, though it’s not expected to add any new lanes on I-5.
There’s talk of a new bridge on Highway 9 over the Snohomish River, a new interchange on Highway 526 at Hardeson Road, more bus service and incentives to buy electric cars.
In Mukilteo, an $11 million project to add a second platform at the Sounder commuter rail station may open in early spring. The south platform project includes a pedestrian bridge, passenger shelters and public art.
And the first phase of construction on the new Mukilteo ferry terminal — removing the dilapidated tank farm pier — is about to get under way. Ferry system officials say the pier removal is expected to start in May or June.
In Edmonds, city leaders are going to press the state for $1.25 million to study how best to solve traffic issues in the busy waterfront district. Part of the study would examine whether a proposed 7,800-foot trench to allow trains to pass through the city below grade is technically achievable and financially affordable.
And, speaking of trains, the threat posed by those carrying Bakken crude oil and coal is going to be on people’s minds as the state considers proposed refining facilities and shipping terminals in Washington.
Herald writers Sharon Salyer, Dan Catchpole, Chris Winters, Noah Haglund and Kari Bray contributed to this report.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com
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