By John Leggett-The Courier Herald
After nearly a decade of pushing the figurative huge boulder up the almost insurmountable hill, juggling to get legislative funding and ecological approval, money is finally headed Buckley's way to upgrade the city's wastewater treatment plant.
Gov. Chris Gregoire last week picked up her pen and signed into law a partnership between Washington state's Department of Social and Health Services (on behalf of Rainier School) and the city.
The state appropriation - which totals $4.2 million of the total $14.5 million project - has been years in the planning.
“Were it not for the governor signing that bill, the city of Buckley would have been on the hook for all of the $14.5 million,” Mayor Pat Johnson said. “So when she signed that bill, there was a huge sigh of relief coming from us, because that was like taking a big monkey off our back.
“Additionally, we were all happy that Rainier State School got the shot in the arm, because things were kind of touch-and-go for awhile whether they were going to turn it into something else and close it down,” Johnson added. “If the state is willing to invest this much money to become partners with the city of Buckley, it must be that they are going to leave the facility alone for continued use of the developmentally disabled.”
Buckley's City Administrator David Schmidt was quick to concur.
“I think the fact that the state Legislature did this is a very positive step forward for our community,” he said. “In order to have a commercial base you have to have more population. More people means more business, which means more jobs. The new business won't come without more people. It is just kind of a Catch 22 thing, but in the long run, I feel like this WTTP project will play a role in helping this city grow.”
Schmidt added that the city will be in almost constant contact with the Office of Financial Management to assure appropriations meet with already-established policies and regulations. He noted that $700,000 of the $4.2 million is still “unaccounted for” and will be needed to absorb the inevitable change orders and cost overruns that accompany such projects.
Upgrading the municipal treatment plant has been years in the making.
In April 2004, the city and DSHS agreed to jointly fund and approve the design of the treatment plant. Finally, in August 2006, the city's upgrade plans and specifications were reviewed and approved by the Washington State Department of Ecology.
John Leggett can be reached at jleggett@courierherald.com.
