HomeMy WebLinkAbout3886 ResolutionRESOLUTION NO. R �i
A RESOLUTION declaring the City's legislative priorities for the 2019
session of the Washington State Legislature.
WHERAS, the City Council identified its legislative priorities for the 2019 legislative session
in Resolution No. 3 86 1; and
WHERAS, the Council desires to amend said priorities with additional priorities of assistance
and concern; NOW, THEREFORE,
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PASCO, WASHINGTON, DO RESOLVE AS
FOLLOWS:
Section 1. That the legislative objectives stated herein below constitute the priorities of the
City of Pasco for the 2019 legislative session.
• PEANUTS COMMUNITY PLAZA and FARMERS MARKET: At the epicenter of
downtown Pasco is Peanuts Park, the primary and historic gathering place for the
community. The park is the heart of a culturally diverse downtown core. The City is
leveraging this project, as part of a bundle of projects to revitalize the downtown core,
enhance economic opportunities for the agricultural community and provide the public
greater access to locally grown produce. Design for these improvements is expected to be
complete in the spring of 2019 with construction to commence shortly thereafter.
Considerable public outreach was part of the master planning process and as a result the
project enjoys significant public support. The City requests $3 million in funding for Phase
1 of this project to revitalize the downtown plaza and farmers market structures, upgrading
this important community gathering place in a way that will spur economic development.
LEWIS STREET OVERPASS PROJECT: The City of Pasco is requesting $3.4 million
from the Transportation budget to close the final funding gap for this longstanding project.
The project will create an overpass across the BNSF Railway railroad tracks to replace the
1937 Lewis Street undercrossing. With the additional roadway features and pedestrian
features, the project will enhance safety, connectivity and economic development in the
area. More specifically, the overpass will provide an important and safe link between the
Pasco Central Business District and eastern Pasco for freight, emergency service vehicles,
school buses, residents, and businesses. The city's goal is to begin construction this spring
or summer.
PROCESS WATER REUSE FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS PHASE I: The City
requests $3 million for improvements to the City's industrial wastewater treatment facility
which supports a very successful food processing cluster and farmers within the region.
These proposed conveyance, rehabilitation and treatment improvements will improve the
reliability of the facility and allow for the needed and planned expansion in productivity of
current food processors utilizing the facility and create capacity for additional processors.
This project is necessary to support the current processors and farmers benefitting from the
plant and allow for growth of the Pasco Ag Processing Cluster.
ALLOW CITY PUBLIC FACILITY DISTRICT TO FUND AQUATIC CENTER:
The Pasco Public Facility District (PFD) would like to fund and construct an aquatic center.
Regional and county PFDs are authorized to construct "recreational facilities'; however,
city PFDs are not. The City requests legislation or a local tool to bring this project to
fruition.
INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING (TIB & PWAA): The City of Pasco has several
significant infrastructure projects that are too expensive to fund solely with local funding,
including; Lewis Street Overpass project replaces a deteriorating and functionally obsolete
1937 underpass on a former state highway; Argent Road, widening and improving safety,
capacity and multi -modal opportunities in the immediate vicinity of the Tri -Cities Airport
in Pasco, Columbia Basin College and nearby commercially zoned properties. The City
requests that the Legislature fund key infrastructure funding programs, including the
Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) and the Public Works Assistance Account
(PWAA) to provide adequate funding sources to complete these projects. Specifically, the
City requests that the legislature return funding streams, such as the utility tax and real
estate excise tax revenues, to the PWAA.
LOWER SNAKE RIVER DAMS: The City opposes the inclusion of $750,000 in the
Governor's proposed budget to study the impact of breaching the Lower Snake River Dams
as unnecessary and duplicative. The City instead urges the legislature to continue
supporting the ongoing efforts to provide education, analysis and improvements to hydro,
habitat, harvest and hatchery programs directed towards salmon and orca recovery and to
support the ongoing Columbia River System Operation Environmental Impact Statement
(CRSO EIS), a multi -State effort, involving federal and state agencies, tribes, local
governments, industry and special interest groups aimed at evaluating and addressing
alternatives and impacts associated with removal of dams along both the Columbia and
Snake Rivers.
BASIC LAW ENFORCEMENT ACADAMY (BLEA) FUNDING: The City of Pasco
supports increased funding and other solutions to ensure newly hired officers are able to
complete training through the Basic Law Enforcement Academy (BLEA) at the Criminal
Justice Training Commission in a timely manner. At current funding levels, the Criminal
Justice Training Commission has a backlog of officers awaiting training. State law requires
that officers are trained within 6 months of hire. The current backlog exceeds this statutory
timeline. This results in law enforcement agencies throughout the state hiring new officers,
and then keeping them on staff for upwards of 6 months, unable to perform police work
until their training is complete.
• ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOOLS: The City of Pasco joins the Association of
Washington Cities in encouraging the State to reinvigorate economic development
programs currently in statute that now remain unfunded, such as the Local Revitalization
Fund (LRF), the Local Infrastructure Financing Tool (LIFT), the Job Development Fund
(JDF), and others. Additionally, Pasco supports establishing a tax increment financing or
value capture financing program, similar to what is established in other states.
2019 Legislative Priorities Resolution
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• DEFEND LOCAL CONTROL: The City of Pasco believes the best governmental
decisions are those that are made closest to the people represented. Cities possess strong
local authority to provide for the safety and welfare of their residents, and the Legislature
must abstain from restricting, mandating, or otherwise interfering with local decisions. The
City of Pasco will oppose legislative actions that are inconsistent with this view.
Section 2. The City Manager is hereby directed to inform state legislators and other
appropriate parties of the City's 2019 legislative priorities.
PASSED by the City Council of the City of Pasco at its regular meeting this &2 `. ay of
February, 2019.� /
Matt Watkins, Mayor
ZLZ
Daniela Erickson, City Clerk
APPROV D AS TO FORM:
eland B. Kerr, City Attorney
2019 Legislative Priorities Resolution
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