Snohomish County cities have wish lists for stimulus spending

Published 11:13 pm Saturday, December 13, 2008

Kids aren’t the only ones making their Christmas wish lists and checking them twice.

City officials in Snohomish County are working hard to assemble lists of underfunded public works projects in hopes that the federal government will pay to fix roads and sewer systems in the name of economic recovery.

It’s all about putting people to work right away, congressional representatives said. Projects that might receive funding should be ready to go now for whatever form the proposed federal economic stimulus package takes, they say.

It will be up to the state to figure out how to spend the check sent by the federal government, said U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash. The chosen projects must meet the new stimulus bill’s requirements, which include providing jobs in a hurry, Larsen said.

“We need a long-term economic recovery and jobs-creation package to create jobs here in Washington state, invest in local roads, highways and bridges and help families who are struggling,” Larsen said. “We have every reason to hope that ready-to-go projects in Snohomish County will benefit from the economic recovery and jobs-creation package I am pushing to pass, but there is no guarantee.”

Larsen, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, made it clear that the stimulus legislation is not expected to include earmarks for specific projects.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who leads the Senate Transportation Committee, believes that a significant amount of the money will go to transportation projects such as road repair and safety projects.

“We think that the focus is on infrastructure projects,” said Matt McAlvanah, a spokesman in Murray’s senate office. “President-elect Obama has signaled that.”

City managers and administrators in the county are meeting to build a list of capital projects to present to state legislators and the governor’s office, Marysville’s chief administrative officer Mary Swenson said.

“The list could have been so long it might not have been taken seriously,” Swenson said. “It’s not final yet, but we’re working together to make sure everyone is on the same page and bringing the most benefit to Snohomish County. Making our own lists in a vacuum is not going to help anybody.”

Wish lists from municipalities should be helpful to legislators and offer some guidance as they make their choices, Swenson said.

“It’s going to be a tough legislative session,” she said.

Projects as mundane as resurfacing roads may be among the first ones picked, said state Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, who is the chairwoman of the Transportation Committee.

“The highway preservation projects are going to rise to the top, but we certainly have a season for road work here and we’ll need to use it or lose it.” Haugen said. “There’s a feeding frenzy going on right now in Washington, D.C., and people are being loud and clear about accountability for the money that may be spent.”

One of the goals of the Senate will be to make sure that projects are funded in parts of the state where unemployment rates are high, Haugen said.

Gov. Chris Gregoire will work with the state Legislature to identify statewide priorities for the federal economic stimulus aid, said Laura Lockard, deputy communications director in the governor’s office.

“They’re going to be public works projects that are shovel ready within 90 days and can potentially employ thousands of Washingtonians,” Lockard said.

Until the economic recovery legislation is written and signed by President-elect Barack Obama, city officials in Snohomish County will have to sit tight.

“Everybody is just waiting. We don’t know what’s going to come down yet with the stimulus package, but the thing to do is to show we are ready to go,” Swenson said.

Here are the wish lists for some cities and Sound Transit:

Arlington: City officials have 13 ready-to-go projects that need about $34 million to complete. The list is topped by the upgrade and expansion of the city’s wastewater treatment plant, which needs another $14.6 million to be fully funded, public works director James Kelly said.

Marysville: State Avenue from 116th to 136th streets needs to be widened, requiring an added $2.5 million to complete. Extending 88th Street NE to Highway 9 needs another $4.3 million, and building a bridge over I-5 at 156th Street NE to help businesses in the Lakewood and Smokey Point areas will cost about $16.5 million, city administrator Mary Swenson said.

Everett: One of the items high on the list is construction of a $25 million sewer overflow control and storm water storage facility at the end of Bond Street, city officials said. The facility would limit discharges into Port Gardner Bay.

Edmonds: Officials hope the federal government will kick in nearly $9 million for $12.2 million in projects. The 11 projects on the list include a walkway for pedestrian safety along parts of Caspers Street and an emergency access road from the Shell Valley subdivision, said Stephen Clifton, a community services economic development director for the city. The city is grappling with tremendous reductions in revenue, especially lagging sales tax from hard-hit auto dealers, he said.

Monroe: The city has $43 million in needed transportation projects but only a handful are shovel-ready, said Brad Feilberg, engineering director. At the top of the list is a project to widen lanes and turn lanes to the intersection of Chain Lake Road and U.S. 2. The project is already designed and is projected to cost $3.5 million.

Snohomish: The big-ticket item is a $38 million upgrade to the city’s wastewater treatment plant but the city has several other shovel-ready projects on its wish list, including a new $700,000 signal for First Street and Avenue D, said city manager Larry Bauman.

Sultan: The city is planning an $18 million wastewater treatment plant upgrade and city staff wants the government to pitch in for a $775,000 centrifuge. The city has half a million dollars for the project and needs help financing the rest. At the moment, the plant doesn’t do a good job of separating the solids from the water, and the city is spending about $14,000 trucking sopping wet solids to La Conner for disposal. A centrifuge would reduce the number of trips, said city administrator Deborah Knight.

Mukilteo: Mayor Joe Marine reports that the city needs about $750,000 in help with its Rosehill Community Hall construction project as well as $19.7 million for a shoreline improvement project.

Sound Transit: The agency could seek stimulus funding for light rail from the University of Washington to Northgate, spokeswoman Linda Robson said. Light rail is currently not expected to reach Northgate until 2020. Stimulus money could speed up the timing, she said, and could theoretically bring light rail to Lynnwood earlier than the current 2023 target date. Money may also be sought for more buses for Snohomish County, she said.

Reporter Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427 or gfiege@heraldnet.com. Writers Bill Sheets and David Chircop also contributed to this report.