While the Puget Sound Regional Council decided March 12 how to allocate federal stimulus dollars for Pierce County projects, disappointment continues to flow from the fact the Port of Tacoma received the overwhelming majority of the funding.
During the Sumner City Council meeting of March 16, councilman Matt Richardson expressed his opinion that the strategy used by the Sumner Council during the request period was not beneficial to Sumner or other cities and towns.
Richardson said Mayor Dave Enslow’s opinion, one shared by some on the council, that the Port would be a powerful ally to Sumner in future funding requests, was incorrect.
Prior to attending the March 10 meeting of the Pierce County division of the PSRC, Richardson said he was asked by the mayor and council to not create a strong opposition for the port because the port is a strong entity and it wouldn’t be wise to create an enemy of the entity.
Richardson does not believe there is the risk of any type of adversarial relationship if Sumner were to take a stance against the port’s request for 79 percent of Pierce County’s stimulus funds.
“Why would we fear an enemy we don’t have?” Richardson asked.
Richardson added that he believes the request from the port for $15.4 million was both excessive and unnecessary, since the port has other methods of raising funds.
At the PCRC meeting, Port of Tacoma commissioner Dick Marzano said the port was at 12 percent of its bonding capacity, meaning 88 percent of its bond limit is available to fund projects.
Richardson repeated that Marzano’s reason for the port not using more bonding capacity was to avoid more debt.
The port’s project could also receive funding from the state Surface Transportation Program, but Marzano said before the PCRC those funds would not be available for three months.
The problem some see with not wanting to wait is, even with the stimulus dollars, the port doesn’t have the money to fund the project and it isn’t able to move ahead.
The Port of Tacoma’s public information director Tara Mattina said the port has other avenues through which to obtain funding.
At the Sumner council meeting, Richardson said the PCRC was negatively affected because representatives did not feel the decision was just.
University Place Mayor Linda Bird said while there were many people who were upset, she feels the group will be able to work together after a period of healing takes place.
“I think some things were said in the heat of the moment,” she said.
Bird said she felt the decision was made too quickly to allow adequate discussion about compromising on the result, leaving some to feel their thoughts on the matter were not considered.
“We have to demonstrate that all opinions are valued,” she said.
Bird said she is hoping to get back to the point where morale is as high as it was prior to the March 10 PCRC meeting, but realizes the challenge.
“It will take a little bit of time to build a trust level,” she said.
