Will SR 16 traffic be addressed this year? Here are Gig Harbor’s priorities in Olympia
Public safety, addressing traffic congestion and funding for the sports complex are high priorities for the city of Gig Harbor this legislative session.
The City Council met with the lawmakers for the 26th Legislative District — Sen. Emily Randall and state representatives Michelle Caldier and Spencer Hutchins — on Jan. 3 to outline what progress they’d like to see in Olympia.
The legislative session began Jan. 9.
The 26th District includes Gig Harbor, the Key Peninsula, Port Orchard, and other parts of Pierce and Kitsap counties.
Public safety
One of the biggest priorities for the city is public safety, council members told the state lawmakers.
Specifically the city would like to see changes to how the state handles drug possession, to vehicle pursuit laws, and to allow for additional training for law enforcement.
The city wants the state to “enact a simple possession criminal offense statue that incentivizes treatment and accountability for those found in unlawful possession of control substances,” the city’s legislative agenda states.
In 2021, the Blake decision by the state Supreme Court struck down the state’s felony drug possession law as unconstitutional, decriminalizing personal drug possession. Instead of jail time or citations, police hand those suspected of drug possession a referral card with information about getting help. Police are now prohibited from arresting someone the first two times they come in contact with that person for drug possession.
“Ultimately the city desires to see less people incarcerated for drug possession crimes and more people guided into effective and sustainable treatment,” the city’s agenda said.
They would also like to see a modification to vehicle pursuits laws, “to enable more discretion in engaging in police vehicle pursuits in a manner that offers a balance between the risk of the pursuit versus the reasons for the pursuit,” the agenda states.
“Getting people into treatment, not just giving them pamphlets saying where they can go to seek treatment,” Josh Weiss, the city’s lobbyist in Olympia, said at the Jan. 3 meeting.
Some bills to change the law regarding vehicular pursuits have been pre-filed, Sen. Randall said at the meeting.
Public safety is at the top of the list, Randall said.
Hutchins and Caldier agreed.
“I think a lot of attention will be focused there this session,” Randall said. “There is a lot of interest in ensuring that we are continuing to move forward collaboratively to have policies and funding to keep our community safe.”
Additional training and resources for law enforcement is another request the city has.
“As we continue to implement public safety laws, it’s super important our officers get the training they need,” Weiss said at the meeting. “Public safety laws have changed a lot over the years and we owe it to our officers to make sure they have the proper and appropriate training to do their jobs.”
State Route 16 traffic congestion
Transportation projects to help with traffic congestion in the Gig Harbor area also came up at the meeting.
A 2017 WSDOT congestion relief study identified improvements needed along SR 16, and the city is asking the state to invest in three projects this legislative session.
The projects include $500,000 for roundabout meter at Burnham Drive, $550,000 for a right-hand turn along eastbound Wollochet Drive leaving SR 16, and $830,000 for a right-hand turn along eastbound Wollochet getting on SR 16.
State Route 16 congestion has been a topic for the city since 2016.
“Even though the transportation budget is not looking positive as a source for funding, it’s still very important to the city,” Weiss said.
“These safety issues and congestion relief are very important,” Randall said. “We will continue to have conversations with our Transportation Committee to make sure we are prioritizing safety-related projects.”
Hutchins, who was elected in November to represent the 26th District, is part of the Transportation Committee this session.
“My goal is to get what is possible and reasonable,” he told the Gateway.
Ultimately, congestion on state Route 16 is a safety issue, Hutchins said.
“It’s a safety concern and it’s a traffic issue,” Hutchins said. “It comes down to the health and well being of our local economy. It’s an important thing for us to do everything we can to accomplish the transportation projects.”
Sports complex funding
The city is also hoping the state can help fund the next phase of the sports complex project.
This next phase includes pickle ball courts, bocce ball courts, a playground area, event lawn, sheltered performance stage, two covered picnic areas and associated parking.
The estimated total cost for this phase is $5.25 million, and the city is requesting $2 million from the state.
When it comes to the state’s capital budget, the Senate and House will each draft a capital budget and then negotiate together on a final budget number, Randall told the Gateway.
The senate’s draft includes a $2 million capital budget for the 26th District, Randall said. Hutchins had not heard a drafted budget number from the House yet, he told the Gateway.
If the capital budget is set at $2 million per district, the sports complex would be the whole budget.
“I think it’s unlikely that I would be able to use all of my local and community project money that way,” Randall said.
Other priorities for the city
After the recent king tide and flooding Gig Harbor experienced, the city proposed $250,000 for a weather study on the impact of climate change on the city and what the city can do to respond.
The study would focus primarily on the waterfront area downtown, City Administrator Katrina Knutson told the Gateway.
“This is the primary location where impacts will be felt,” she said. “This study would help to determine what infrastructure is at risk of rising sea-levels and work to determine a proactive plan for addressing these impacts.”
The study is doable, Rep. Michelle Caldier said at the Jan. 3 meeting.
“There are different buckets within the capital budget, and also in our operating budget where we can get the study,” Caldier said.
The city is also asking for funding to help remove local culverts that are barriers to salmon.
The city is looking for a combination of local and federal grants to complete these projects.
“We understand the state can’t only fund the state owned culverts if we’re going to meet our goals of restoration and ensuring our environment is healthy, meeting court orders,” Randall said.
There’s not a designated place funding for culverts would come from, she said.
“Years ago there was interest for funding in the transportation package, but it would probably have to come out of the capital budget,” Randall said.
Council member Brenda Lykins also told legislators the city is working on the job description for a new position. The city plans to hire a housing, health and human services coordinator.
“The position would work with nonprofits, local fire and police, and also look at alternative responses to helping the undeserved in the community,” Lykins said.
Lykins said she’d like to see more funding for mental health.
Randall said at the meeting that she predicts there will be funding for alternative approaches in a final version of a bill addressing the Blake decision.
“I would anticipate that there will be funds in the general fund budget, coming out of the Appropriations Committee for mental health resources,” Hutchins told the Gateway.
What else state lawmakers want
Outside of the priorities the city listed, Randall continues to prioritize healthcare.
“Ensuring that our communities have the resources they need to be healthy and thriving places for business and our environment,” is Randall’s goal, she said at the meeting.
“I have some policy around health system mergers and we have some work to do around reproductive healthcare,” Randall said.
Senate Bill 5241, sponsored by Randall, would give the Attorney General’s Office the ability to approve or deny health system mergers or acquisitions.
“They would deny merger and acquisition requests that don’t increase access to care or limit access to care,” she told the Gateway.
She also talked about the need for shield laws to “help to protect folks who come to Washington to access abortion care or gender affirming care.”
Hutchins said he plans to focus on fiscal responsibility.
“I want to make sure that the state is first doing no harm,” Hutchins said. “When we fund programs, institute new policies ... my goal is to not set the people of my community backwards financially. That’s something that’s definitely a strong priority for me.”
“We don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem,” Hutchins previously told the Gateway. “I will be engaged very heavily in the process of having a conversation around the priorities of our government and how we are spending the vast sums of money that are flowing into our state coffers.”
Caldier wants to prioritize the healthcare workforce.
“Once we had the pandemic, many people left the workforce because of vaccine mandates or safety concerns,” Caldier told the Gateway. “Now we have hospitals, nursing homes, etc., that can’t adequately staff.”
One of her bills would allow healthcare professionals from out of state to come into Washington and practice, she said.
Another bill would address healthcare programs in education.
“We need to continue to work with colleges to try and figure out how we can ramp up the number of healthcare slots that their existing programs have,” Caldier said. “So we can get more people trained for the future.”
This story was originally published January 23, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
