MUKILTEO – The cost of a new ferry terminal in Mukilteo has eclipsed $200 million – or $50 million more than originally expected – and continues to rise the longer the project is delayed, the city’s mayor said.
The state was expected to start building the terminal next year, but it’s been delayed until at least 2009.
And the state continues to investigate remnants of what is believed to be an American Indian village at the site of the planned terminal, which was once a U.S. Air Force fuel depot.
“My concern is if we have to put it off another year, and another year, costs are going to continue to increase,” Mukilteo Mayor Joe Marine said.
Today, the Mukilteo City Council is scheduled to hear a status report on the ferry terminal from Washington State Ferries. The council is also scheduled to discuss other projects planned for the city’s waterfront.
Representatives from Sound Transit are scheduled to discuss the new Sounder train station, and Port of Everett officials are expected to talk about progress made to a shipping pier intended for use by Boeing.
The new Sounder station is scheduled to be finished and open in early to mid-2008. The pier could be open by the end of this year after a crane is built at the site.
“The development that happens down there, you want it to be really coordinated and in the best interest of everyone,” City Councilman Kevin Stoltz said. “When you do things piecemeal, you end up with one side doing things that adversely affect the other.
“In the end, Mukilteo residents lose out on all of that.”
Stoltz organized the discussion to give the council a clear picture of everything happening on the waterfront. During the meeting, council members also plan to discuss public access to the beach as construction happens.
“I see no reason why we continue to lose what access we have while they’re developing,” said Stoltz, who lives in Old Town near the waterfront.
The ferry terminal project, called Mukilteo Landing, originally was expected to cost at least $152 million. While work on the project has been delayed until 2009, construction probably won’t begin in earnest until 2010, state transportation officials have said.
The project is being held up in part because the Air Force has not handed over the old fuel depot site to the Port of Everett. Marine said he’s hopeful the land transaction will happen by the end of this year, but state and port officials have said it could take longer.
So far, $148 million in state and federal funding has been budgeted for the ferry project, with $5 million of that slated to be spent on the environmental review process, state ferries spokeswoman Joy Goldenberg said.
“If we run too headstrong on this, it will cost a lot more money than if we just do it right,” said State Rep. Brian Sullivan, D-Mukilteo, the city’s former mayor.
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
Council meeting
The Mukilteo City Council is scheduled at 7 p.m. today at City Hall at 4480 Chennault Beach Road.
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