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POSTED: Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008

Officials across Whatcom County prepare stimulus wish lists

Local officials are scrambling to put together lists of various public works projects that the federal government might pay for in a national stimulus package, although some of them don’t want to talk about their requests.

But city and county governments also appear uncertain as to how the process is working in the state, with multiple agencies and organizations seeking the lists from governments.

So far hundreds of millions in requests can be found on various lists, which are either still being refined or have been turned in.

Whatcom County Public Works Director Frank Abart said that perhaps five to seven different agencies sought a list from his department. They chose to work with the Washington State Association of Counties.

Gov. Chris Gregoire’s office now appears to be trying to coordinate through the state Department of Transportation. Rules seem to be fuzzy, but some include a requirement that projects should be ready to go to bid for construction within 100 days.

The DOT has asked local metropolitan planning organizations to work with towns and cities on what they’d like help on. Here, the Whatcom Council of Governments is formulating a top 10 list to offer up to the governor.

But the WCOG is mostly mum on what that list looks like. WCOG Deputy Director Gordon Rogers refused to provide the list, which is public information, to a reporter.

Instead, Ferndale Mayor Gary Jensen, who as one of the county’s seven mayors participates on the council, provided the list while discussing it. WCOG is looking at projects that include a replacement of the Lummi Island ferry for Whatcom County, improvements to Blaine’s H Street and more. The cost? About $63.1 million for WCOG’s full top 10 list.

The list is not finalized and by no means ready to go. The WCOG council will meet the morning of Monday, Dec. 29, to discuss the projects and their rankings, said Lynden Mayor Jack Louws, who chairs the council. Louws acknowledged that his city is seeking $2.3 million to complete Grover Street as part of an east to west arterial connector system.

Meanwhile, Jensen said he was concerned that some of the projects, like a $15 million request from the Lummi Nation for a marina and transportation facility at Gooseberry Point, might not be ready in the required timeframe of 100 days to bid. Whatcom County still leases that area for the Lummi Island ferry docks.

Ferndale wants the reconstruction of Church Road at a cost of $4 million, according to the WCOG list.

Whatcom County is seeking more than $57 million in projects. But Abart said it was difficult to provide a list that wasn’t all road repair work, because many more projects the county needs done would take longer for permitting and design. That work hasn’t been done because no money was available to guarantee the project could happen, he said.

Bellingham Mayor Dan Pike said that the process has been “convoluted” and that he has concerns about making requests, being awarded the money only to have that cash diverted to other jurisdictions by the governor.

“People complain about earmarks, but you know who is getting what and what it’s supposed to do,” Pike said. “In this case, I think different people have different knowledge about who is supposed to get what and what the intent is. It will be very frustrating for a lot of folks that are backing good projects … and it ends up being granted but it goes to somebody else.”