Transportation Panels To Be Convened

In recognition of the need to discuss a broad range of options to address the county's transportation funding gap Councilmember Dave Gossett will be convening panels at upcoming Public Works Committee meetings. The panels will include members of the local business community, labor, and local transportation stakeholders.

"When the county adopted the 2005 Comprehensive Plan it identified transportation projects that were critical to accommodating the growth and needed to be completed by 2025," said Gossett. "We have a funding shortfall of $263 million. That means that under current plans 2/3s of the projects promised to our citizens will not be built."

The list of over 40 projects which may not be built include improvements to 35^th Ave SE, 180^th St SE, Ash Way, Larch Way, Seattle Hill Road, and many others.

The purpose of the panels is to provide background for the Councilmembers and public so a discussion about priorities and tradeoffs can begin. Three panels are currently being considered including one each on transit, the importance of transportation to job creation and a healthy economy, and mobility.

"We need to discuss how the various transportation systems work together and how they impact land use," said Gossett. "Only then can we and the public have an informed discussion of options."

What Gossett hopes will ultimately come from the discussion are several scenarios. At least one scenario will assume no new transportation revenues and identify which projects will not be built and possible changes to land use that would result. Other scenarios will look at what projects would be prioritized if additional revenue is available.

"We need a transparent process. The public needs to know what projects are likely to not be built," said Gossett. "They need to know if their neighborhood will have even higher density or if new restrictions will be placed on rural property owners. To continue to pretend these projects will be completed without significant changes in current policy is misleading."

The first panel is scheduled for Tuesday, May 3, at 9:00. It can be viewed by interested citizens at that time or later by clicking on

Then click on "Public Works Committee" and choose the video for the May 3, 2011, 9:00 meeting.

County's Redistricting Advisory Committee Meets

By law every ten years following the Census election districts need to be re-aligned to keep the population equal in every district. The County's Redistricting Advisory Committee is the citizen's panel charged with gathering public opinion on how to adjust the county's council district boundaries.

The panel's four members were named by the County Council on April 13th. As required by Snohomish County Code the Council selected four members, 2 democrats and 2 republicans off a list of names submitted by the respective parties. The fifth member of the committee will be selected by a vote of the four named members.

The current members are:

Once the committee reaches its full complement of five members, those five members will hire a districting master to draw new county council districts. The Committee will give residents an opportunity to learn about county redistricting and voice their ideas prior to adopting a plan. The plan will be submitted to the county council for final approval.

All meetings of the districting committee are open to the public. The next meeting is May 3, 2011, at 6:00 PM, in the Jackson Board Room (floor 8), Drewel Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave, Everett.

Triage Center Bill Passes

House Bill 1170, which will allow Snohomish County to operate a triage center, has passed the Legislature. The Governor intends to sign the bill this afternoon.

Previously, when someone was acting out due to mental illness or chemical dependency issues law enforcement had only two options: jail or hospital emergency rooms. Both are very expensive and require a great deal of deputy time preventing the deputy from responding to 911 emergency calls.

"Now deputies can decide between jail, the emergency room, and triage," said Councilmember Dave Gossett. "If they believe triage is appropriate they can drop the person off which will speed up treatment, get deputies back in the field, and save the taxpayers money."

Senator Mary Margaret Haugen and Representative Mary Helen Roberts deserve thanks and credit for sponsoring and working for this legislation.