MEETING MINUTES

Highway 2 Safety Coalition

Monday, November 29, 2004

Several cities' movers and shakers met to discuss the next steps in the Coalition's efforts to capture grant money through the PSRC Rural Cities Corridor Plan program.

Fred Walser indicated this was a very positive and worthwhile meeting.

Attending were the following individuals:

· Fred Walser, H2SC Chairman

· Donnetta Walser, Mayor, City of Monroe

· Colleen Hawkins, Gold Bar Mayor

· Geoffrey Thomas, City of Monroe Councilman

· Jim Flower, City of Sultan Councilman

· John Seehuus, City of Sultan Councilman

· Lonn Turner, City of Gold Bar Councilman

· Robert Amenn, Gold Bar Councilman

· Tina Rogers, Public Works, Snohomish County

· Bill Vlcek, Representative from WSDOT (NW Region office)

· Al Robinson, Sultan School District Superintendent

· Connie Dunn, City of Sultan Public Works Director

The $500K federal Omnibus grant the Coalition received (see information below) was discussed. Because of it, DOT has agreed to lead a planing session of all Route 2 Corridor cities' public works directors. This meeting was tentatively scheduled for the second week in January, during which they will work to compile a priority plan to submit to each city's councils for consideration and, hopefully, agreement of priorities. If/when agreement is reached, the Coalition will then move forward to obtain matching funds from PSRC and others by which to obtain another $600,000 to $700,000 for a corridor plan,

Donnetta read a memo that Steve Kiehl, PSRC Senior Planner, wrote to Monroe's Hiller West, regarding H2SC's submittal of the Route Development Plan to PSRC for consideration and inclusion on PSRC's 2005 legislative agenda, acknowledging PSRC's agreement to incorporate the plan into their agenda.

During the recent all-mayors meeting, Mayor Donnetta Walser agreed to be the lead insofar as coordinating city staff from all Route 2 corridor cities. And Hiller wrote one-page document on the development plan, which was submitted to Senator Patty Murray and Congressman Rick Larsen, which resulted in the $500K. Thinks we can find other funding opportunities.

The Federal Tea-21 funds (for Monroe SR 2 Safety improvements, the Sultan Basin Road realignment as well as the 5^th Street signalization, is separate, not included in or affected by the additional funds being sought for the Corridor study.

Tina Rogers (Public Works, Snohomish County) urged coordination and agreement of priorities on the corridor plan by all corridor communities. Fred Walser explained that the Coalition has already accomplished that. Rogers explained the tough and competitive environment that exists among cities for these grant monies -- which she said totals only $2.0 million for four counties to share.

The recommendation Walser would like to see result from this study are alternative methods by which capacities can be improved and to provide the ability to move traffic through the major choke points in east county.

Finally, Sultan Councilman Jim Flower also gave a brief update on the meeting he held with Kirk Pearson, several WSDOT representations, Sultan city administrator Rick Cisar, Councilman Derek Boyd and several Sultan business owners regarding signage and the Scenic Vista Act.

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REPRINT OF EXCERPT OF PRESS RELEASE FROM SEN. PATTY MURRAY'S OFFICE RE $500,000 FUNDING SECURED in the final Omnibus Appropriations bill. (Note: Every project in the Omnibus bill may be subject to an across-the-board cut of 0.83% to keep the overall bill under spending caps.)

"US 2 Development Plan, Snohomish County ($500,000) - United States Highway 2 provides east-west access over the Cascade Mountains in Snohomish County. This mostly two-lane highway is inadequate to meet the growth of freight and car traffic using US 2. Consequently, the road has become one of the least safe in the state. This project will help develop a plan to expand and improve US 2. The cities of Snohomish, Monroe, Gold Bar, Index and Skykomish have been integral parts of the Highway 2 Safety Coalition which has sponsored this project, along with WSDOT."

[These Minutes were authored by F. Walser.]