December 22, 1999

State funds public works jobs

By LISA LANNIGAN
Journal staff reporter

A number of water, sewer and road projects across the state will receive a much-needed financial boost, even as local governments work to cut back their budgets.

The Public Works Board announced the award of more than $4 million in pre-construction loans to governments and Special Purpose Districts across the state. The money will go toward funding the design of 17 projects, from storm water treatment to road improvements.

"Now that Initative-695 has passed, it's the place to go," said Denise Van Housen, coordinator of the Public Works Trust Fund Pre-Construction Program.

For a complete list of the public works project grants issued, click here. You can also read about water projects that received funding recently.

Every year, the program awards loans to fund pre-construction activities, such as design, engineering, environmental studies and land acquisition, on projects that need urgent attention. This year, 21 requests came in, asking for more than $6 million in state assistance.

Van Housen said each request is scored on a 100-point scale. "We look at the project need (and) how well the system is manage," she said, "besides just the need and urgency."

This year, the city of Bremerton will receive $920,800 for design of a system to reduce combined sewer overflows. A loan of $819,472 will go to the city of Kalama for design of a water filtration plant.

The city of Seatac will receive design funding for two projects: $526,426 for Des Moines Creek storm water project, and $280,000 for improvements to the Military Road South corridor.

Van Housen said projects aren't graded on the availability of funds for construction. "We don't look at that," she said. "However, these pre-construction (loans) have a five-year repayment. Once the jurisdiction shows us they have funding, it changes to a 20-year repayment schedule."

Interest rates on the loans have been between 1 and 3 percent over the past few years. Next year, however, Van Housen says the interest rates will drop to 0.5 percent.

"Our applications last year were low compared to what we normally have," she said. By lowering the interest rates, they hope to benefit more communities.

About half the requests they receive are for water projects, but loans are available for road and bridge projects as well. Solid waste recycling projects were added to the eligibility list three years ago, but Van House said they've only had a few requests. "We're hoping to see more," she said.

Other governments receiving pre-construction loans were: Annapolis Waster District, Black Diamond, Bonney Lake, Clark Public Utilities, Kirkland, Lind, Mason County, Nooksack, Toppenish, Tracyton Water District, Union Gap, Waitsburg, and Wapato.