By Warren Cornwall
Herald Writer
Gov. Gary Locke plans to unfreeze roughly $400 million in construction projects halted after the September terrorist attacks and Boeing’s layoff announcements, according to a spokesman in the governor’s budget office.
It’s welcome news for Dale Reiner, a Monroe rancher nervously watching as snow piles up in the mountains that surround the Skykomish River.
The river is threatening to cut a new path through the heart of his 300 acres and wipe out a salmon habitat restoration project highlighted by President Bush during a campaign stop in 2000.
The state had allocated $618,000 in 2001 to buffer the area from floodwaters.
The work is just one of several Snohomish County projects totaling more than $15 million that would be affected if Locke releases the money. Those include plans for a new unit at the state prison in Monroe and money for several new buildings at Edmonds Community College, according to the state budget office.
"The governor’s intent is to restart the entire capital budget," said Ed Penhale, spokesman for the Office of Financial Management. "The reason is that we need these projects. We’re also in some tough economic times and construction jobs certainly are welcome in times like these."
Locke is expected to make the announcement today.
The threat of a flood as winter approaches adds urgency to the Skykomish River project.
Reiner and consultants had been working to secure environmental permits from the state and county before the money was frozen. Now that process will have to resume, said John Sayre, executive director of Northwest Chinook Recovery, a private firm working on the project.
"The first question is to finalize, hopefully, getting all the permits. Number two, dare we do this kind of work in the middle of a flood season?" Sayre said.
Tentative plans call for anchoring a man-made logjam on Reiner’s property near the river, which lies on the south side of the river, near Monroe. That would be backed by a heavy-duty fence that would hold back flood waters until they reached a certain height, diminishing the force of the flood and keeping the river from creating a new channel, said Sky Miller, an engineer designing the project.
The Snohomish County Council recently declared an imminent danger because of the situation and urged the state to speed up the permitting process. Council members noted a flood there could threaten part of Highway 203 near Monroe as well.
The area is also home to a series of ponds and streams in Haskell Slough that Reiner helped to expand to make better salmon habitat.
Locke’s announcement would come as state lawmakers prepare to confront a struggling economy and slipping tax revenues that could leave them short more than $1 billion in the two-year budget approved earlier this year.
Locke imposed the spending freeze in late September, but some state lawmakers recently have criticized the move.
Rep. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, said Locke planned to pay for the capital projects partly by issuing bonds backed with money from a fund for school construction. Murray, the chairman of the House Capital Budget committee, said he discussed the budget freeze Friday with Locke and top legislative budget officials.
"I think he has identified a very sound revenue source," Murray said.
But he said he would be wary of any commitments that rely on additional money from the state’s general fund.
Republican House Co-Speaker Clyde Ballard of Wenatchee said he was waiting to see the details of Locke’s announcement.
"I really want to wait and see what all he wants to do. On the surface, yeah, we want to get those projects going," he said.
You can call Herald Writer Warren Cornwall at 425-339-3463 or send e-mail to cornwall@heraldnet.com.
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