2017/01/04 Council Agenda Packet

Invest in Transportation Everett greatly appreciates the work by the 2015 Washington State Legislature and Governor Inslee to enact the 16-year, $16.1 billion "Connecting Washington" package, followed by the 2016 allocation of$1.5 million toward early design and interchange planning work on the U.S. 2 Trestle. For 2017, the City will work to ensure the 2017-19 Transportation Budget: • Includes the remaining$2 million in funding for the North Broadway transit safety corridor being implemented by Everett Transit; • Retains $1 million in Regional Mobility Grant Program funds for an 800-stall parking expansion at Everett Station. SR 526 — Re-titling Connecting Washington project to achieve better corridor-wide results: Everett appreciates the action by the 2015 Legislature, as part of the "Connecting Washington" transportation investment package, to include $47.2 million for a State Route 526/Hardeson Road interchange. Funding for this project will begin to flow in the 2017-19 biennium, and Everett and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) have thus begun to discuss the project design, goals and parameters. Both agencies believe that a combination of a partial interchange and other practical design elements along the SR 526 corridor will yield a better traffic mobility result than simply building a full interchange. Everett will thus work with area legislators, Transportation leaders, and the WSDOT to re- title this project accordingly. Expand Higher Education Access & Degrees Everett strongly supports continued expansion and growth of the University Center of North Puget Sound administered by Washington State University (WSU). During the 2017 Session, the City will: • Support WSU's $10.8 million Operating Budget request for the University's medical school program, which includes accommodations for students and internships at WSU- Everett and in collaboration with Providence Medical Center, The Everett Clinic and other local providers. Support WSU's $5 million request to launch a Center for Engineering and Science in Advanced Manufacturing and Materials for engineering program offerings and classroom space in Everett, Vancouver and Bremerton. In Everett, funds would be used specifically toward adding 90 FTEs in mechanical, electrical and software engineering. Protect and Restore "State-Shared" Revenues; Provide Local Governments with Options to Better Address Local Resource Needs Everett urges lawmakers to look at cities and counties as partners rather than "stakeholders" — particularly by collaborating with local governments on maintaining and restoring "state-shared" revenues and by giving local governments tools to better manage resource needs. Specifically, the City will support: