OLYMPIA — Residents in Snohomish and King counties will not be voting on billions of dollars in new road and transit projects this year, on orders from the state Legislature.
Legislation passed on March 8 compels Sound Transit and the Regional Transportation Investment District to approach voters in Snohomish, King and Pierce counties together in 2007 with any tax packages to build highways and expand transit.
“It’s better than what we’ve got,” said state Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish. “Right now, it’s not working.”
Leaders of the two agencies are compiling a list of projects and a means of paying for them. The law requires that both go to the ballot together, or not at all; both measures must pass or neither can go forward.
Sound Transit directors are furious. They’ve been winnowing the project list and ways to pay for them with the intention of seeking voter approval this fall.
“We had the rug pulled out from under us,” said Everett City Councilman Mark Olson, vice chairman of the Sound Transit board. “We’ll defer it a year.”
Sound Transit Chairman John Ladenberg, who is also Pierce County executive, called the ballot restrictions a “poison pill” that could delay existing projects and result in layoffs.
Mountlake Terrace city manager John Caulfield said the law means more delays, setbacks and increased costs. Residents will have to wait at least a year longer for light rail, which is being built along Interstate 5 in Seattle, to reach Snohomish County, Caulfield said.
“The voters established Sound Transit to establish regional priorities and Sound Transit was doing that,” Caulfield said. “Now the state legislature has weighed in and it has resulted in delays.”
Karen Miller, chair of Sound Transit’s citizen oversight committee, agreed that there will be delays, but there will not be a significant effect on South County residents. The Mountlake Terrace woman clarified that she was speaking for herself and not the committee.
“It will set back the plans that Sound Transit had already been working for phase 2. The legislature obviously was concerned about the perceived lack of cooperation between Sound Transit and RTID,” Miller said. “In the long run, I do not think it will harm the citizens of Mountlake Terrace and South County. Everyone has to stick together to make sure that future is realized. I think the benefits South County will see from a regional transit plan will be OK if they look at the area as a region.”
Lawmakers view the bill as their best — and maybe last — chance at improving how decisions on transportation are made and carried out in the three counties. The House passed the bill 68-39 on March 8. It cleared the Senate late March 7 on a 38-7 vote.
Nonetheless, Dunshee said he still has some reservations about the bill, even though he voted for it.
“If we’re going to do a regional versus a state transportation package it should be more seamless,” Dunshee said. “There’s too much cobbling. But I was of the mind that it’s the best we’ve got before us, let’s try it.”
One aspect of the law provides the Regional Transportation Investment District with the ability to revise its boundaries and alter what taxes it collects. It also allows any bonds sold through the district to be backed by the state treasury.
“We’ve been fighting for five years to get these changes done to make RTID function,” said Snohomish County Councilman and district director Gary Nelson.
By giving the transportation district the ability to redraw its boundaries, Nelson said it could encourage Sound Transit to expand its borders farther north and east into Snohomish County this year before going to voters in 2007.
Enterprise writers Jenny Lynn Zappala and John Santana contributed to this report.
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