The ideas flowed during a Thursday morning meeting among members of Snohomish County’s legislative delegation and officials from the county, its cities and Economic Alliance Snohomish County. Priorities and recommendations for action were discussed, not just for the 60-day legislative session that begins Monday but for what comes after.
Though it’s certain to get most of the attention during the session, the issue over K-12 education funding wasn’t touched on. Instead the talk centered on transportation, human services, the economy, higher education and taxes; local officials suggesting where legislators could focus attention, and legislators seeking help from local officials.
Transportation: Edmonds Mayor Dave Earling, while noting the accomplishment in securing $670 million in the 16-year transportation package, said work remains to secure $3 million for work on the U.S. 2 trestle; funding for the public works trust fund that local governments rely on to quickly and inexpensively fund maintenance; support a Sound Transit 3 route that includes the manufacturing base at Paine Field; and moving up the timeline on transportation projects.
Toward that end, Sen. Marco Liaas, D-Lynnwood, encouraged the Snohomish County Committee for Improved Transportation and the Economic Alliance to prioritize the county’s transportation projects, a task that the Economic Alliance’s new CEO Patrick Pierce agreed to take on.
Human services: With a recent $1 million federal grant in hand, work is expected to begin soon on a project to turn the historic Carnegie Library building in Everett into temporary housing for those leaving jail and offering services that will help them avoid recidivism, explained the county’s Human Services Director Mary Jane Brell Vujovic. But more is needed to provide low-barrier housing to those whose mental health issues and chemical dependency contribute to their homelessness.
Housing vouchers and subsidized housing can be effective, Brell Vujovic said, but are less helpful in the tight housing market now seen in many areas of the county. She called for more publicly funded and managed housing near transportation and services. Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, recommended an inventory of properties, specifically mentioning a downtown Everett motel on Broadway that fits the description.
Beyond housing, Rep. Ruth Kagi, D-Shoreline, encouraged attention on childhood mental health issues. Expulsion rates among preschoolers, she explained following the meeting, are three times that of children in K-12. Any delay in assistance complicates learning as children develop and can follow them into adulthood. Brell Vujovic agreed, encouraging “two-generation services” for families in need of mental health assistance.
Brell Vujovic and Earling also praised recent efforts in Everett and the south county to send mental health counselors with police and paramedics to better connect some they encounter with needed services rather than jail or the emergency room.
Economy and higher education: Rep. Dave Hayes, R-Camano Island, said a better connection is needed between urban and rural economic interests to encourage investment in those areas. Sen. Norma Smith, R-Clinton, agreed: “People need to realize that the blueberries in their smoothies have to be grown somewhere.” Smith said farmers and growers need help to ease regulations and address workforce challenges.
The Alliance’s Pierce noted the opportunities in the county for wood products, such as cross-laminated timber; the growth in craft beers and spirits; and outdoor recreation. Pierce also said the recently completed economic development plan for Oso and the Stillaguamish Valley offers a blueprint for similar efforts in the county’s rural areas.
There’s also support for launching new agricultural degree programs through Washington State University at its North Puget Sound center in Everett, said Pierce, although funding wasn’t included in the governor’s budget. There is funding for a science, technology, engineering and mathematics building at Edmonds Community College, he said.
Taxes: Rep. Mike Sells, D-Everett, said more work is needed to track the effectiveness of tax exemptions, to show if and how those are promoting jobs.
Seeing all that could be funded but the shortage of revenue to fund it all, Sen. Maralyn Chase, D-Shoreline, said the Legislature will need to address tax reform.
Last year’s successful campaign to win funding for transportation projects in the county showed what local officials and lawmakers could accomplish with a unified voice, said Edmonds Mayor Earling.
Thursday’s meeting shows the solutions are there; the trick will be in securing funding, clearing roadblocks and finding the flexibility to bridge and expand existing programs.
That unified voice will be needed.
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