WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.639 So we have been recording, just so you know. 00:00:01.679 --> 00:00:04.099 Okay. Let's go ahead and get started since you 00:00:04.099 --> 00:00:07.339 are a no -nonsense guy today for whatever reason. 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:12.259 Welcome to County Connection. the official podcast 00:00:12.259 --> 00:00:14.580 of the Washington State Association of Counties, 00:00:14.580 --> 00:00:16.960 where we dive into the legislative issues shaping 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:19.399 the future of our communities. From budgets to 00:00:19.399 --> 00:00:22.339 public safety, infrastructure to elections, we'll 00:00:22.339 --> 00:00:24.980 break down what's happening in Olympia and how 00:00:24.980 --> 00:00:26.960 it impacts counties from across the Evergreen 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:30.079 State. Stay informed, stay engaged, and join 00:00:30.079 --> 00:00:32.659 us as we amplify the voice of Washington's 39 00:00:32.659 --> 00:00:38.340 counties. Welcome, everybody, to the County Connection 00:00:38.340 --> 00:00:40.700 podcast, the official podcast of the Washington 00:00:40.700 --> 00:00:43.240 State Association of Counties. It is officially 00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:45.659 the start of week three here at the legislative 00:00:45.659 --> 00:00:48.759 session. I'm Paul Jewell, your legislative director 00:00:48.759 --> 00:00:52.380 and host for the podcast. And we've got Axel 00:00:52.380 --> 00:00:54.820 Swanson, our managing director for the Washington 00:00:54.820 --> 00:00:57.340 State Association of County Engineers. Welcome 00:00:57.340 --> 00:00:59.899 back, Axel, your first podcast of the session, 00:00:59.960 --> 00:01:02.649 if I'm not mistaken. You're correct, Paul. Thanks 00:01:02.649 --> 00:01:04.709 for having me here, and I'm looking forward to 00:01:04.709 --> 00:01:06.950 the conversation and talking about how Session 00:01:06.950 --> 00:01:08.909 has gotten started and how it's going so far. 00:01:09.109 --> 00:01:12.329 Well, Axel, you are the everything transportation 00:01:12.329 --> 00:01:15.390 guru. You're the roads and bridges guy, and I 00:01:15.390 --> 00:01:18.689 know you keep a pretty sharp eye on what's going 00:01:18.689 --> 00:01:21.290 on in the budgets, especially the transportation 00:01:21.290 --> 00:01:24.620 budget, because let's face it, without... funding. 00:01:24.780 --> 00:01:27.079 We're not doing new projects. We're not doing 00:01:27.079 --> 00:01:29.579 maintenance. We're not making sure that our roads 00:01:29.579 --> 00:01:32.459 are safe out there. Aside from what they are 00:01:32.459 --> 00:01:34.799 now, we're certainly not improving the traffic 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:38.280 situation in Washington State, which is horrid, 00:01:38.280 --> 00:01:41.400 as we all know. Anybody who's ever tried to drive 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:45.379 to Olympia on a weekday, especially during rush 00:01:45.379 --> 00:01:48.799 hour, certainly has suffered along with the rest 00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:51.239 of us. So what's going on in the budgets this 00:01:51.239 --> 00:01:53.780 year? What can we look forward to? Yeah. So, 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:56.579 you know, thanks for the assessment. And I think 00:01:56.579 --> 00:01:58.599 the assessment is true both. Sorry about that. 00:01:58.659 --> 00:02:02.760 It's okay. It's not hard on county roads. Let's 00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:06.219 be clear. Well, we'll get into that. So the state 00:02:06.219 --> 00:02:11.840 obviously owns a good chunk of the transportation 00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:14.960 system. But we focus, as you mentioned, on the 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:17.099 county -owned portion of the system. And we work, 00:02:17.159 --> 00:02:19.620 I think, really well in conjunction with our 00:02:19.620 --> 00:02:24.120 city partners also. And, you know, just for a 00:02:24.120 --> 00:02:25.599 little bit of context for the listener, just 00:02:25.599 --> 00:02:28.139 go quickly over the system so they kind of can 00:02:28.139 --> 00:02:29.639 picture maybe in their mind what we're talking 00:02:29.639 --> 00:02:33.000 about. But it is a large percentage, the majority 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:35.740 of the transportation system is owned by local 00:02:35.740 --> 00:02:38.599 jurisdictions. Counties have 78 ,000 lane miles. 00:02:39.099 --> 00:02:43.580 We own over 3 ,300 bridges. So for lane miles, 00:02:43.719 --> 00:02:47.099 that's over 60 % or roughly 60 % of all the roads 00:02:47.099 --> 00:02:50.229 in Washington state are owned by counties. And 00:02:50.229 --> 00:02:52.830 in terms of bridges, we own about half, about 00:02:52.830 --> 00:02:56.409 45 % of all bridges are owned by counties. And 00:02:56.409 --> 00:02:59.050 then we also have four county owned and operated 00:02:59.050 --> 00:03:01.169 ferry systems. So we are in the ferry business 00:03:01.169 --> 00:03:03.370 like the state. So a huge chunk of this system 00:03:03.370 --> 00:03:09.110 is owned, operated, managed by us at the county 00:03:09.110 --> 00:03:11.490 level and the city level as well. So when you're 00:03:11.490 --> 00:03:15.530 talking about the portion that counties own though, 00:03:15.849 --> 00:03:18.370 and how we own 60 % of the lane miles, et cetera, 00:03:18.449 --> 00:03:21.550 that is 60 % of the entire system. And so we 00:03:21.550 --> 00:03:24.870 actually are responsible for and own more than 00:03:24.870 --> 00:03:27.770 the cities and the state combined. Is that right? 00:03:28.509 --> 00:03:30.310 Yeah, I think that's correct. I mean, it depends 00:03:30.310 --> 00:03:31.830 on what you're talking about in terms of lane 00:03:31.830 --> 00:03:35.610 miles, yes. So we own 60%. So that would be more 00:03:35.610 --> 00:03:38.270 than half and more than both those combined. 00:03:38.650 --> 00:03:40.750 Now, what we always have to acknowledge is there's 00:03:40.750 --> 00:03:45.520 different types of system. infrastructure. And 00:03:45.520 --> 00:03:49.840 so certainly the state is going to own the, you 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:53.780 know, larger freeways, the, the, the big bridges, 00:03:53.800 --> 00:03:56.120 the high capacity stuff. And so they have more 00:03:56.120 --> 00:03:59.719 average daily traffic on their portion of the 00:03:59.719 --> 00:04:02.680 system and their system admittedly. while less 00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:07.080 is very expensive. Yeah, I mean, it's not hard 00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:09.560 to make that connection, right? When you look 00:04:09.560 --> 00:04:12.860 at I -5, especially during rush hour traffic, 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:15.379 like I mentioned, versus, say, a county road, 00:04:15.620 --> 00:04:20.180 even a county road that's fairly busy, it's just 00:04:20.180 --> 00:04:21.779 no comparison with the number of cars that are 00:04:21.779 --> 00:04:24.220 going to be on that pavement day after day, minute 00:04:24.220 --> 00:04:27.500 after minute, hour after hour. Yep. And we I 00:04:27.500 --> 00:04:31.120 think I mentioned our relationship with the cities. 00:04:31.180 --> 00:04:33.000 I think we've been getting along very well with 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:36.459 who we work with more kind of a staff level, 00:04:36.540 --> 00:04:39.660 although we've been fortunate and got to have 00:04:39.660 --> 00:04:43.379 some meetings with the new secretary of transportation. 00:04:43.500 --> 00:04:46.740 And so the regional our regional partners at 00:04:46.740 --> 00:04:49.079 Washed Out, I think we all work together, you 00:04:49.079 --> 00:04:50.740 know, and we'll get into this maybe a little 00:04:50.740 --> 00:04:54.519 bit with a December storm that occurred, I think. 00:04:56.010 --> 00:04:59.689 During emergencies, I think you always have that 00:04:59.689 --> 00:05:02.629 opportunity to see the best in folks and how 00:05:02.629 --> 00:05:04.930 they respond and work together. And so I heard 00:05:04.930 --> 00:05:07.430 several accounts in the last weeks and months 00:05:07.430 --> 00:05:09.910 about how the jurisdictions were pulling together 00:05:09.910 --> 00:05:11.529 and working together during that storm event. 00:05:11.670 --> 00:05:13.350 It feels like that's actually getting better, 00:05:13.449 --> 00:05:17.370 too. Like that whole system of collaboration 00:05:17.370 --> 00:05:20.370 and sharing of resources, especially during emergencies, 00:05:20.850 --> 00:05:23.730 has been getting better. Really, you know, it 00:05:23.730 --> 00:05:25.970 feels like we've been making a lot of progress 00:05:25.970 --> 00:05:28.129 maybe over the last two or three decades. You 00:05:28.129 --> 00:05:32.529 know, I can remember not that long ago a lot 00:05:32.529 --> 00:05:34.310 of stories about different jurisdictions kind 00:05:34.310 --> 00:05:36.850 of fighting, right, over authorities and territory 00:05:36.850 --> 00:05:39.310 and, you know, whose job is what when some of 00:05:39.310 --> 00:05:42.490 those really big issues or emergencies would 00:05:42.490 --> 00:05:44.689 happen. And it feels like a lot of that's being 00:05:44.689 --> 00:05:47.990 set aside right now for collaboration and that 00:05:47.990 --> 00:05:49.550 the system's getting better. Are you getting 00:05:49.550 --> 00:05:53.079 the same sense? Yeah, I think so. You know, and 00:05:53.079 --> 00:05:55.040 you and I have both been around for similar amounts 00:05:55.040 --> 00:05:58.120 of time kind of working for counties. And so 00:05:58.120 --> 00:06:00.000 it's hard to, you know, you know what you know. 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:02.819 So I think back to like some of the things we've 00:06:02.819 --> 00:06:05.279 had to work through with the state and or cities 00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:08.579 like the recession, COVID. And, you know, so 00:06:08.579 --> 00:06:11.839 maybe there's some things where, you know, people 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:15.439 like us who are, you know, still working and 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:17.259 in our career and we've worked, you know. We've 00:06:17.259 --> 00:06:19.139 had those opportunities where there was no choice 00:06:19.139 --> 00:06:22.240 but to pull together. So I guess the lines of 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:26.060 communication are there and some of the people 00:06:26.060 --> 00:06:29.339 are there and remember that. And I think that's 00:06:29.339 --> 00:06:32.420 good. You know, we haven't had a podcast since 00:06:32.420 --> 00:06:35.680 that December storm happened. that you've been 00:06:35.680 --> 00:06:38.600 on and so if we could i just want to maybe ask 00:06:38.600 --> 00:06:40.819 a couple of quick questions about about that 00:06:40.819 --> 00:06:43.800 or maybe get an assessment from you on that how 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:46.480 would you how would you rate that event compared 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:50.699 to other kind of seasonal major storms that we've 00:06:50.699 --> 00:06:52.560 seen in the past i mean you've been around for 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:55.259 a while you were a county commissioner for uh 00:06:55.259 --> 00:06:58.100 at least one term you've worked for counties 00:06:58.100 --> 00:07:01.319 ever since whether it's you know, for Wasak or 00:07:01.319 --> 00:07:04.540 for Clark County or for Cowlitz County. So you've 00:07:04.540 --> 00:07:07.360 been, this isn't your first rodeo, so to speak, 00:07:07.480 --> 00:07:09.019 and you've certainly been in the transportation 00:07:09.019 --> 00:07:12.579 business for a while. How would you rate kind 00:07:12.579 --> 00:07:15.339 of the impact and the damage that counties faced 00:07:15.339 --> 00:07:18.420 during that storm? Is it kind of typical for 00:07:18.420 --> 00:07:20.620 an event that size or was it more severe, do 00:07:20.620 --> 00:07:23.480 you think? Well, as you know, they're all different. 00:07:23.500 --> 00:07:25.379 And you're right, I have been around for a while, 00:07:25.420 --> 00:07:28.120 and particularly as it relates to where I live 00:07:28.120 --> 00:07:29.899 and close to home. So I'm in southwest Washington. 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:33.519 I live near the Cowlitz River. It rains a little 00:07:33.519 --> 00:07:35.339 bit down there. It rains a lot down there. And 00:07:35.339 --> 00:07:38.680 that river is heavily influenced by, still influenced 00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:42.040 by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. And 00:07:42.040 --> 00:07:43.899 so a big part of my job for a lot of my career 00:07:43.899 --> 00:07:47.040 was paying attention to flood protection levels. 00:07:48.019 --> 00:07:50.939 and understanding, you know, what might happen 00:07:50.939 --> 00:07:54.180 during different events. And so I guess when 00:07:54.180 --> 00:07:57.579 that system came in, it hit southwest Washington 00:07:57.579 --> 00:08:01.699 really hard for, you know, almost 48 hours. So 00:08:01.699 --> 00:08:04.660 Lewis County, you know, you kind of saw a lot 00:08:04.660 --> 00:08:07.480 of impacts there. A lot of power outages. Where 00:08:07.480 --> 00:08:10.199 I lived. Lock roads, flooding. Standing water 00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:13.939 and kind of a grim outlook. And then the system 00:08:13.939 --> 00:08:17.439 pushed north. And you saw probably what was impacted 00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:21.680 worse was our colleagues and friends up in Snohomish 00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:24.939 County, Whatcom County. And it stayed there a 00:08:24.939 --> 00:08:29.139 little bit longer, and it got really scary. The 00:08:29.139 --> 00:08:31.120 levels that you were seeing for potential crests 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:32.980 up there were records, and we didn't see records 00:08:32.980 --> 00:08:36.259 down our way in southwest Washington. When you 00:08:36.259 --> 00:08:37.779 say crest, you're talking about the river levels. 00:08:37.960 --> 00:08:40.340 Yeah, where it was predicted to crest in terms 00:08:40.340 --> 00:08:43.639 of historic crests. And those are important when 00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:46.379 we're talking about flood impacts, potential 00:08:46.379 --> 00:08:48.539 flood impacts, things like that. Yeah. And that's 00:08:48.539 --> 00:08:51.879 what I'll always look for. You know, so there's 00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:56.159 river gauges on all of our rivers. And so you 00:08:56.159 --> 00:08:58.600 can kind of. check if you're interested it's 00:08:58.600 --> 00:09:00.779 kind of interesting to me but you know go back 00:09:00.779 --> 00:09:02.539 and check what the historic crests have been 00:09:02.539 --> 00:09:04.899 versus kind of where the predicted model's going 00:09:04.899 --> 00:09:08.139 and that's kind of how you can try to see 24 00:09:08.139 --> 00:09:10.960 hours to 72 hours out at where things are going 00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:13.100 to be or you know if they're going to keep going 00:09:13.100 --> 00:09:15.960 up or coming down so yeah that was a it was a 00:09:15.960 --> 00:09:20.720 very spooky uh forecasted storm because it started 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:23.759 in the southwest and moved up into northwest 00:09:23.759 --> 00:09:27.149 washington it kind of split And I don't think 00:09:27.149 --> 00:09:31.049 we ended up as bad as we could have if it had 00:09:31.049 --> 00:09:34.789 just stayed in one position or location for the, 00:09:34.850 --> 00:09:37.529 you know, four or five days. It would have been 00:09:37.529 --> 00:09:40.809 really awful. And also, I think we've done a 00:09:40.809 --> 00:09:45.470 lot of good work over time to sort of build resiliency 00:09:45.470 --> 00:09:48.070 and infrastructure and, you know, to make the 00:09:48.070 --> 00:09:49.769 infrastructure that we have as we put it back 00:09:49.769 --> 00:09:52.250 better. And I think you saw some of that stuff, 00:09:52.350 --> 00:09:54.269 particularly up in Skagit County, you know, some 00:09:54.269 --> 00:09:56.120 of the... some of the things that were done to 00:09:56.120 --> 00:10:00.480 protect the community. So bad storm in places, 00:10:00.500 --> 00:10:03.559 it was historic. In other places, I think they 00:10:03.559 --> 00:10:07.320 avoided the worst. And, you know, we can get 00:10:07.320 --> 00:10:09.600 into some specific damage numbers, but I've really 00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:12.899 appreciated the response by everybody to include 00:10:12.899 --> 00:10:16.259 the transportation chairs. And they're interested 00:10:16.259 --> 00:10:19.720 and had us actually present on this last week, 00:10:19.740 --> 00:10:21.559 last Thursday night in Senate. Transportation 00:10:21.559 --> 00:10:24.419 Committee and asked us to survey the membership 00:10:24.419 --> 00:10:27.440 for how they were doing and what their storm 00:10:27.440 --> 00:10:29.500 damage costs were and what their needs are. And 00:10:29.500 --> 00:10:31.759 so we continue to work on that. And I think that's 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:33.639 appreciated. Yeah. And it's nice that the state 00:10:33.639 --> 00:10:37.299 legislature is engaged in that conversation as 00:10:37.299 --> 00:10:39.379 well and kind of considering that. I'm glad we 00:10:39.379 --> 00:10:40.980 had a chance to talk about that. You know, in 00:10:40.980 --> 00:10:43.399 today's world, we just have more people in Washington 00:10:43.399 --> 00:10:46.899 state. We have more stuff in the way. And so 00:10:46.899 --> 00:10:49.659 there's always going to be those impacts as well, 00:10:49.659 --> 00:10:51.919 because. Maybe there wasn't a road there before. 00:10:52.259 --> 00:10:55.220 Maybe people weren't living in a particular area 00:10:55.220 --> 00:10:58.320 before. But with population growth and development, 00:10:58.460 --> 00:11:01.039 a lot of that has changed. So it's just good 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:07.279 to kind of calibrate, I guess, on how bad the 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:09.700 impacts really were. So I appreciate that perspective. 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:12.539 What do you want to talk about next? Do you want 00:11:12.539 --> 00:11:15.120 to talk about what you're seeing in the budget 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:19.769 as far as kind of, you know, informing our listeners 00:11:19.769 --> 00:11:22.929 on what the state's thinking about transportation 00:11:22.929 --> 00:11:25.450 investments in the next couple of years. Well, 00:11:25.509 --> 00:11:27.210 I guess right now we're just looking at next 00:11:27.210 --> 00:11:29.950 year. Yep. It's a short session supplemental 00:11:29.950 --> 00:11:32.309 budget. So we've got a two -year transportation 00:11:32.309 --> 00:11:34.990 budget. So we're, I mean, you know how this works. 00:11:35.070 --> 00:11:37.490 Maybe listeners aren't as familiar with the process, 00:11:37.549 --> 00:11:40.490 but we're not taking big swings here or trying 00:11:40.490 --> 00:11:45.549 to, you know, really change something. substantial. 00:11:45.549 --> 00:11:48.110 We're trying to build upon what's in there and 00:11:48.110 --> 00:11:50.509 then adjust things that we've noticed might be 00:11:50.509 --> 00:11:53.690 a problem or an error. Well, we're already a 00:11:53.690 --> 00:11:55.590 third of the way through the process at this 00:11:55.590 --> 00:11:57.090 point too, right? It happens fast, right? No 00:11:57.090 --> 00:12:00.409 matter how many times you do this, I haven't 00:12:00.409 --> 00:12:03.830 done this, when I say this, the legislative process 00:12:03.830 --> 00:12:06.490 and being sort of on the advocacy side specifically, 00:12:06.850 --> 00:12:13.289 it's hard to... It's hard to explain the pace 00:12:13.289 --> 00:12:16.049 a short session particularly happens at. Yeah. 00:12:16.110 --> 00:12:19.590 And you kind of, you go in thinking about that 00:12:19.590 --> 00:12:23.070 and you remember, but then it happens and you're 00:12:23.070 --> 00:12:25.570 like, you know, it just, it is. It's like trauma 00:12:25.570 --> 00:12:28.009 in your life. You bury it in the back of your 00:12:28.009 --> 00:12:30.850 mind until the next one comes along. There's 00:12:30.850 --> 00:12:33.929 just so many things happening at once that are 00:12:33.929 --> 00:12:37.070 important and nobody wants to, you know, look 00:12:37.070 --> 00:12:38.549 like they don't know what they're talking about. 00:12:38.590 --> 00:12:40.789 And these are. complicated topics and you're 00:12:40.789 --> 00:12:43.009 racing around and people are asking for information 00:12:43.009 --> 00:12:46.529 and you're trying to respond. It is a tremendous 00:12:46.529 --> 00:12:49.830 pace. So that being said, back to your question, 00:12:50.110 --> 00:12:52.710 there are some really important things in terms 00:12:52.710 --> 00:12:54.590 of conversations for the transportation budget. 00:12:55.090 --> 00:12:57.669 The governor's proposal came out, so we evaluated 00:12:57.669 --> 00:13:00.429 that. The highlight in there for counties is... 00:13:01.100 --> 00:13:03.820 In this two -year budget, we were able – so preservation 00:13:03.820 --> 00:13:05.700 and maintenance of the system, we started with 00:13:05.700 --> 00:13:08.259 that, right? We have the biggest, largest chunk 00:13:08.259 --> 00:13:10.759 of the statewide system. We've got to maintain 00:13:10.759 --> 00:13:13.840 it. We've got to keep it in good working order. 00:13:13.960 --> 00:13:15.620 I feel like we're always talking about that. 00:13:15.820 --> 00:13:17.980 We are. It's always going to be our priority 00:13:17.980 --> 00:13:21.500 besides just transportation safety and trying 00:13:21.500 --> 00:13:23.899 to improve the safety of it. But I'll tell you, 00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:27.080 the preservation of the system, it's getting 00:13:27.080 --> 00:13:30.509 – to a point where it's creating safety problems, 00:13:30.610 --> 00:13:32.029 and certainly you hear that from the Department 00:13:32.029 --> 00:13:38.669 of Transportation. So we had Chair Fye, the House 00:13:38.669 --> 00:13:43.090 Transportation Committee chair, he will remind 00:13:43.090 --> 00:13:45.409 us often that there were no new programs. It 00:13:45.409 --> 00:13:48.029 was a tough budget last year for them. There 00:13:48.029 --> 00:13:50.809 were no new programs with new money put into 00:13:50.809 --> 00:13:53.830 the budget except for... a new program at the 00:13:53.830 --> 00:13:55.590 County Road Administration Board. So we were 00:13:55.590 --> 00:13:57.330 proud of that. We were proud of the recognition 00:13:57.330 --> 00:14:00.649 that the legislature gave to the county side 00:14:00.649 --> 00:14:04.950 of the system. And they put a new program for 00:14:04.950 --> 00:14:07.789 local access roads into the budget. They didn't 00:14:07.789 --> 00:14:10.629 fund it until 27. So it's not funded until the 00:14:10.629 --> 00:14:13.870 next biennium at $20 million a year. The governor's 00:14:13.870 --> 00:14:17.649 proposal approved a decision package by the county 00:14:17.649 --> 00:14:19.769 road administration board to put 2 .2 million 00:14:19.769 --> 00:14:22.029 into 26 so that we could get the program started 00:14:22.029 --> 00:14:24.769 so you know you gotta You've got to have somebody 00:14:24.769 --> 00:14:26.769 manage the program. You've got to solicit for 00:14:26.769 --> 00:14:29.830 designs and kind of get that first call for projects 00:14:29.830 --> 00:14:32.149 out there. So last year they approved the program, 00:14:32.309 --> 00:14:35.269 which if anyone's interested, we did a deep dive 00:14:35.269 --> 00:14:39.009 on that, both with you and with Jane Wall from 00:14:39.009 --> 00:14:42.330 Crab. If you want to go back to our library of 00:14:42.330 --> 00:14:45.169 episodes earlier last year, you can find some 00:14:45.169 --> 00:14:47.090 more information on that. But that program was 00:14:47.090 --> 00:14:48.769 passed. You're saying they didn't fund it until 00:14:48.769 --> 00:14:51.820 2027, but the governor has said. Let's get it 00:14:51.820 --> 00:14:54.000 started. Here's some, would you call it seed 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:57.600 money? Yeah, sure. Startup funds maybe? Yeah. 00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:00.759 And that's how much? 2 .6 million? 2 .2 million. 00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:04.700 2 .2 million. Would be available in 26. And that 00:15:04.700 --> 00:15:07.480 was that local, like local access roads, right? 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:10.419 Local roads, yeah. And that's important because 00:15:10.419 --> 00:15:12.960 that's the vast majority of our... county -owned 00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:15.080 roads, and there is no current grant program 00:15:15.080 --> 00:15:17.059 through the state or the federal government for 00:15:17.059 --> 00:15:18.960 those roads. So you're just completely relying 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:22.100 on your local road fund. And so that'd be a big 00:15:22.100 --> 00:15:25.299 win. And for those of you or those listeners 00:15:25.299 --> 00:15:26.879 who maybe aren't as familiar with some of the 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:29.620 road terms, roads are classified into different 00:15:29.620 --> 00:15:32.159 categories like main arterials and things like 00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:36.019 that. What is a local access road? Just really 00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:39.559 quickly. Yeah, I don't want to get too much into 00:15:39.559 --> 00:15:43.019 the tiers and the R1s and the different things. 00:15:43.100 --> 00:15:46.259 But you would think of it as like not necessarily 00:15:46.259 --> 00:15:50.559 like a – it could be up to like a small collector 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:52.980 but like more of a neighborhood kind of a road. 00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:57.480 And you know what we should do? We should kind 00:15:57.480 --> 00:16:00.120 of pause this section because I think you should 00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:03.740 have Jane come back in. And she does a wonderful 00:16:03.740 --> 00:16:07.659 presentation. In fact – I've seen her give the 00:16:07.659 --> 00:16:09.200 presentation recently to the Senate Transportation 00:16:09.200 --> 00:16:11.600 Commission, but talk about how they're going 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:15.059 to set up and establish. this program and we 00:16:15.059 --> 00:16:16.740 can talk about maybe some of the other things, 00:16:16.820 --> 00:16:18.639 but it probably makes sense for the listeners 00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:20.460 just to hear it right from the County Road Administration 00:16:20.460 --> 00:16:22.679 Board. Yeah, that sounds good. Because they've 00:16:22.679 --> 00:16:25.059 got it all laid out and some great visual aids 00:16:25.059 --> 00:16:27.299 as well that show just how many of these roads 00:16:27.299 --> 00:16:29.600 are all over the state. Well, believe it or not, 00:16:29.700 --> 00:16:32.019 the episode with Jane Wall last year was one 00:16:32.019 --> 00:16:35.559 of the more popular. I don't know if your members 00:16:35.559 --> 00:16:38.539 all jumped in on the downloads or whatever it 00:16:38.539 --> 00:16:43.139 was, or if Jane just has that. podcast charisma. 00:16:43.320 --> 00:16:45.299 I don't know, but we'll try to get her back in 00:16:45.299 --> 00:16:47.179 here and we'll talk about that. I'm sure that's 00:16:47.179 --> 00:16:48.980 the one thing she'll want to talk about. Yeah. 00:16:49.399 --> 00:16:51.820 So you, so there's some funding for that in the 00:16:51.820 --> 00:16:54.620 budget. What else is there funding for? And so 00:16:54.620 --> 00:16:56.559 a couple of other things that we'll be looking 00:16:56.559 --> 00:16:59.320 for in budget. So I, as mentioned, I, I, we're 00:16:59.320 --> 00:17:01.120 talking a lot about transportation roads, but 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:03.399 I focus on the capital budget as well in some 00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:06.920 different areas. You can't have 78 ,000 miles 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:10.170 of roads and not have a lot of fish. barriers 00:17:10.170 --> 00:17:12.029 so those are culverts running you know we have 00:17:12.029 --> 00:17:15.029 to try to keep the the water moving underneath 00:17:15.029 --> 00:17:18.369 the roadway and in the past over time we've got 00:17:18.369 --> 00:17:20.490 you know we haven't done that so well and we've 00:17:20.490 --> 00:17:23.690 got a lot of corrections to made so make so we 00:17:23.690 --> 00:17:26.029 focus a lot on the funding that goes to local 00:17:26.029 --> 00:17:30.000 governments to repair and replace Those culverts 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:32.440 that are fish barriers, and so we focus on the 00:17:32.440 --> 00:17:35.299 Brian Abbott fish barrier removal boards, prioritized 00:17:35.299 --> 00:17:38.200 list. We'll be looking for that. It was funded 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:40.039 in the biennium at $30 million, but they need 00:17:40.039 --> 00:17:42.859 $70 million to get down the list. And so we'd 00:17:42.859 --> 00:17:44.900 like to see an additional $40 million come to 00:17:44.900 --> 00:17:47.180 the board there to do those prioritized projects. 00:17:47.619 --> 00:17:50.839 Boy, an additional $40 is a big ask in a short 00:17:50.839 --> 00:17:53.619 session, especially given the fiscal constraints 00:17:53.619 --> 00:17:56.200 that the state is dealing with. What do you think 00:17:56.200 --> 00:18:00.970 your chances are? Hard to say. But what I would 00:18:00.970 --> 00:18:04.970 tell anyone who will listen is, I don't want 00:18:04.970 --> 00:18:06.349 to be flippant about it, like I say, it's not. 00:18:06.549 --> 00:18:10.170 But if you look at the gain and the benefit of 00:18:10.170 --> 00:18:13.130 those projects and the amount of habitat that 00:18:13.130 --> 00:18:17.690 those projects will open up compared to where 00:18:17.690 --> 00:18:20.740 we're spending much more. not in my opinion, 00:18:20.779 --> 00:18:24.339 in reality, than $40 million around the state 00:18:24.339 --> 00:18:27.960 on important projects that are barriers, but 00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:30.059 much more expensive and opening up much less 00:18:30.059 --> 00:18:32.740 habitat or potentially having blockages upstream 00:18:32.740 --> 00:18:34.619 and downstream. You're talking about some of 00:18:34.619 --> 00:18:36.579 the WSDOT projects that are going on right now 00:18:36.579 --> 00:18:40.440 to fulfill the court order around the lawsuit 00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:45.059 that, what was that, 2018, 2019? Yeah, correct. 00:18:45.220 --> 00:18:47.900 So there is a mediation going on to hopefully 00:18:47.900 --> 00:18:50.200 open up, I don't know, I'm not involved in that, 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:52.279 but, you know, to open up some flexibility on 00:18:52.279 --> 00:18:55.259 where the remainder of funds, you know, that 00:18:55.259 --> 00:18:59.059 would go to replace the existing blockages that 00:18:59.059 --> 00:19:01.599 are still subject to the court order, where that 00:19:01.599 --> 00:19:03.960 would go. We're interested in that because we 00:19:03.960 --> 00:19:05.680 have a lot of these barriers, so do the cities. 00:19:06.440 --> 00:19:10.400 And, you know, there's an urgency to this, right, 00:19:10.460 --> 00:19:12.119 because there's limited time and there's limited 00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:15.480 money. And it just keeps getting more expensive. 00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:20.519 And it does. And what's good is our inventory 00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:24.059 is getting better. We know more about the barriers 00:19:24.059 --> 00:19:27.519 and where they're at. We have prioritized watersheds. 00:19:28.440 --> 00:19:31.460 And so our data and information is getting better. 00:19:31.599 --> 00:19:34.539 And my hope is that we can start prioritizing 00:19:34.539 --> 00:19:38.799 and directing more funds downstream to get some 00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:40.880 of this stuff, some of this habitat opened up. 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:46.339 So anyhow. Going back to the fish boards prioritized 00:19:46.339 --> 00:19:49.140 list of projects, I think it's a good list. I 00:19:49.140 --> 00:19:52.480 think that those projects are, you know, likely 00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:56.680 more heavily vetted for criteria, you know, than 00:19:56.680 --> 00:19:59.500 any other projects around the state currently. 00:19:59.700 --> 00:20:02.059 So I just, I think it's 40 million, you're right. 00:20:02.180 --> 00:20:05.059 It looks like a big number. But in terms of, 00:20:05.079 --> 00:20:08.019 I think, value add for fish and for the habitat 00:20:08.019 --> 00:20:10.940 and getting fish upstream, I think they're great 00:20:10.940 --> 00:20:17.690 projects. Also, the governor's proposal, so other 00:20:17.690 --> 00:20:20.829 infrastructure, we obviously care a lot about 00:20:20.829 --> 00:20:25.190 water and sewer and just kind of that basic foundational 00:20:25.190 --> 00:20:27.549 infrastructure that's important to everything. 00:20:27.950 --> 00:20:30.170 So the Public Works Assistance Account and the 00:20:30.170 --> 00:20:32.650 Public Works Board's traditional program is something 00:20:32.650 --> 00:20:35.630 we always focus in on. Unfortunately, in the 00:20:35.630 --> 00:20:37.890 governor's proposed operating budget, there's 00:20:37.890 --> 00:20:41.690 an additional $75 million. So what they'll do 00:20:41.690 --> 00:20:43.849 is if they see a fund balance there in the public 00:20:43.849 --> 00:20:47.470 works assistance account, which is the four dedicated 00:20:47.470 --> 00:20:50.769 revenues that fund the public works board's traditional 00:20:50.769 --> 00:20:54.309 loan programs, they'll take that balance. And 00:20:54.309 --> 00:20:58.869 so they've used $75 million additional from that 00:20:58.869 --> 00:21:01.009 account to help balance the operating budget 00:21:01.009 --> 00:21:03.509 for the state. Now, is that in addition to the 00:21:03.509 --> 00:21:05.910 $288 million that they took last year from that 00:21:05.910 --> 00:21:08.579 account? Last year's two -year budget for the 00:21:08.579 --> 00:21:11.660 Public Works Board, we ended up being pretty 00:21:11.660 --> 00:21:13.740 good with it. We would like to see it. Wasn't 00:21:13.740 --> 00:21:16.180 it around $300 million or so? Yeah, it was over 00:21:16.180 --> 00:21:19.019 that. It was closer to $350 million. And they 00:21:19.019 --> 00:21:22.440 were able to fund their way through the traditional 00:21:22.440 --> 00:21:27.160 program. And so we ended up in an okay spot with 00:21:27.160 --> 00:21:29.660 the budget in terms of the traditional program 00:21:29.660 --> 00:21:32.519 and what it could do. But, of course, our request 00:21:32.519 --> 00:21:34.519 is always that. you know, leave those dedicated 00:21:34.519 --> 00:21:37.680 revenues where they are. There's, there's, you 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:39.799 know, it's, it's an over solicited program. There's 00:21:39.799 --> 00:21:43.900 a need out there for infrastructure. So, you 00:21:43.900 --> 00:21:46.539 know, and, and, and the thing, I think there's 00:21:46.539 --> 00:21:48.779 just a lot of, I think people could understand 00:21:48.779 --> 00:21:51.839 this more and then, you know, it would be a little 00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:54.599 bit easier of an ask each year, but the programs 00:21:54.599 --> 00:21:57.740 pay themselves back. Nobody's ever defaulted. 00:21:57.759 --> 00:21:59.619 And so these are loan programs. Yeah. For the 00:21:59.619 --> 00:22:01.339 most part. I mean, they've opened it up a little 00:22:01.339 --> 00:22:05.150 bit to grants, but. For the vast majority of 00:22:05.150 --> 00:22:08.470 these projects, you're really just helping out 00:22:08.470 --> 00:22:12.970 smaller towns and communities largely to get 00:22:12.970 --> 00:22:16.930 a very low interest rate to maintain and replace 00:22:16.930 --> 00:22:19.250 and repair their critical infrastructure, water 00:22:19.250 --> 00:22:24.559 and sewer. This is essentially public money for 00:22:24.559 --> 00:22:26.720 public projects that just kind of rinses and 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:28.839 repeats, right? You know, I'm a town. I need 00:22:28.839 --> 00:22:32.160 a sewer line project or I need a new lift station 00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:35.200 or I need, I don't know, a bridge. It could be 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:36.740 a bridge project. It could be all kinds of things. 00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:39.960 I apply. I qualify. I get the money. I pay that 00:22:39.960 --> 00:22:42.160 back. And then that goes back into the fund for 00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:44.880 others to then take additional loans. And we 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:46.980 get, what, a 1 % or 2 % interest rate on that? 00:22:47.420 --> 00:22:50.000 Yep, kind of can depend on a few things. There's 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:52.079 criteria, but it's certainly going to be a lower 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:54.500 interest rate than what you would get, you know, 00:22:54.500 --> 00:22:56.500 out on the market. Right. And that's kind of 00:22:56.500 --> 00:22:58.720 the idea here. And so I've gotten asked before, 00:22:58.779 --> 00:23:00.900 and it gets, all this stuff is, you know, a little 00:23:00.900 --> 00:23:03.259 bit complicated, but you'll get asked, like, 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:06.400 it's, you know, well, this isn't going to increase 00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:09.380 taxes for, you know, and so sometimes we'll confuse, 00:23:09.539 --> 00:23:13.400 like, a rate with a tax. And there is an important 00:23:13.400 --> 00:23:15.730 distinction, but it... For me, what I like to 00:23:15.730 --> 00:23:17.910 tell people is, you know, if you live in a town 00:23:17.910 --> 00:23:22.349 or a community and your town or, you know, your 00:23:22.349 --> 00:23:24.990 jurisdiction has a water district, let's say, 00:23:25.089 --> 00:23:28.009 and you've got to, you know, replace a main line 00:23:28.009 --> 00:23:31.549 or a bunch of the infrastructure for that, then, 00:23:31.549 --> 00:23:35.430 correct, it's not a tax, but you're going to 00:23:35.430 --> 00:23:37.369 pay a higher rate if you have to get a higher 00:23:37.369 --> 00:23:39.089 interest loan. Well, of course you will. And 00:23:39.089 --> 00:23:42.109 so it acts, I guess, in a way like a tax. And 00:23:42.109 --> 00:23:45.150 so, you know. That's why this is a great program. 00:23:45.710 --> 00:23:49.029 It repays itself. It keeps those rates down for 00:23:49.029 --> 00:23:50.769 those people that are living in those communities, 00:23:50.789 --> 00:23:52.829 and it keeps the infrastructure good. Axel, if 00:23:52.829 --> 00:23:57.069 everybody's repaying the loans and you have dedicated 00:23:57.069 --> 00:23:59.990 funding coming into the Public Works Assistance 00:23:59.990 --> 00:24:03.809 account to make the loans, what's the long -term 00:24:03.809 --> 00:24:06.990 impact of these? of these transfers to the operating 00:24:06.990 --> 00:24:09.630 fund, do they have a long -term impact or is 00:24:09.630 --> 00:24:12.430 it just short -term on the ability for the Public 00:24:12.430 --> 00:24:16.220 Works Board to offer? more money to projects 00:24:16.220 --> 00:24:20.319 for the next year or two or three. What's kind 00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:23.059 of that net impact? I mean, it feels like with 00:24:23.059 --> 00:24:26.000 dedicated funding and the money coming back in 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:27.759 from loans that have been made, the funds should 00:24:27.759 --> 00:24:29.539 just be getting bigger and bigger and bigger 00:24:29.539 --> 00:24:31.759 and bigger and bigger. And we should be able 00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:33.460 to put more and more and more infrastructure 00:24:33.460 --> 00:24:37.119 improvements out there. And Lord knows we need 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:40.259 it. It's not just new stuff. You talked about 00:24:40.259 --> 00:24:42.630 preservation and maintenance. That's not just 00:24:42.630 --> 00:24:45.049 with roads, right? That's with pumps and pipes 00:24:45.049 --> 00:24:47.029 and everything else that we're doing as well. 00:24:47.690 --> 00:24:50.009 And the state wants us to increase development 00:24:50.009 --> 00:24:53.430 in more compact zones. And so you need to upgrade 00:24:53.430 --> 00:24:55.849 systems to handle that development as well as 00:24:55.849 --> 00:24:58.730 replace aging systems. All of this infrastructure 00:24:58.730 --> 00:25:01.549 that's out there, it feels like there's never 00:25:01.549 --> 00:25:04.430 enough money for it. So what is the long -term 00:25:04.430 --> 00:25:07.509 impact of the legislature actually scooping up 00:25:07.509 --> 00:25:10.589 these large amounts of money and putting it into 00:25:10.589 --> 00:25:13.890 ongoing programs? So I'm going to answer your 00:25:13.890 --> 00:25:15.890 question a little bit, and then I'm going to 00:25:15.890 --> 00:25:17.769 – it was a big football weekend this weekend, 00:25:17.869 --> 00:25:20.529 so then I'm going to punt. And I'm going to suggest 00:25:20.529 --> 00:25:22.410 – We didn't see a lot of punts this weekend. 00:25:22.410 --> 00:25:24.890 That's right, a lot of offense. But I think I 00:25:24.890 --> 00:25:28.210 would suggest you doing this just like what we 00:25:28.210 --> 00:25:29.769 mentioned earlier on the Local Roads program 00:25:29.769 --> 00:25:31.829 with Jane, but have Maria Jawad from the Public 00:25:31.829 --> 00:25:34.009 Works Board come over here because she's going 00:25:34.009 --> 00:25:36.509 to give the listeners such a better answer on 00:25:36.509 --> 00:25:39.349 your kind of very specific technical question 00:25:39.349 --> 00:25:42.259 about how – what I can tell you is – When the 00:25:42.259 --> 00:25:45.660 legislature looks to the public works assistance 00:25:45.660 --> 00:25:48.579 account, what the revenues have brought in and 00:25:48.579 --> 00:25:50.619 what the fund balance is, and then starts making 00:25:50.619 --> 00:25:53.759 these decisions about moving that around, it 00:25:53.759 --> 00:25:57.079 creates this secondary issue, which is where 00:25:57.079 --> 00:25:59.859 we are, which is the question you just asked. 00:25:59.940 --> 00:26:02.700 How is that going to impact what's in the account 00:26:02.700 --> 00:26:05.900 for the traditional program? And how do we make 00:26:05.900 --> 00:26:09.140 that all work moving forward? Because you're 00:26:09.140 --> 00:26:12.279 right, there's... the revenues that come into 00:26:12.279 --> 00:26:15.400 the account from different places. So we're talking 00:26:15.400 --> 00:26:17.700 about kind of like a utility tax or revenue that 00:26:17.700 --> 00:26:20.160 comes in, but then there's the repayments that 00:26:20.160 --> 00:26:21.819 come in. Right. So there's kind of like this 00:26:21.819 --> 00:26:23.980 constant looking at like, okay, where, how are 00:26:23.980 --> 00:26:25.839 we going to cover things with the repayments 00:26:25.839 --> 00:26:28.420 that we expect to come in? Right. And then what 00:26:28.420 --> 00:26:30.779 additional will these revenues bring in and what's 00:26:30.779 --> 00:26:34.200 the total pot and, you know, kind of this. When 00:26:34.200 --> 00:26:37.079 these sweeps, like, oh, well, $288 million out 00:26:37.079 --> 00:26:39.339 of the biennium, and then, well, looks like things 00:26:39.339 --> 00:26:41.599 are coming in this way, so we'll add $75 million 00:26:41.599 --> 00:26:45.059 to that. It just leads to this conversation every 00:26:45.059 --> 00:26:47.539 year about the security of the program overall, 00:26:47.819 --> 00:26:51.160 let alone maybe the individual project that's 00:26:51.160 --> 00:26:53.980 been already appropriated out there and is dependent 00:26:53.980 --> 00:26:56.200 on those revenues being there. But I'll stop 00:26:56.200 --> 00:26:58.039 there. I think it would be a great discussion 00:26:58.039 --> 00:27:01.470 with Maria on that and how they're... How they 00:27:01.470 --> 00:27:03.410 work through it. Because if we're being honest, 00:27:03.490 --> 00:27:04.890 right, you and I, again, we've been around a 00:27:04.890 --> 00:27:08.930 while. Yeah. This is an every biennium, if not 00:27:08.930 --> 00:27:12.910 year thing where we're talking about. The legislature 00:27:12.910 --> 00:27:14.970 really has been looking at this as kind of like 00:27:14.970 --> 00:27:17.069 every time they have a shortfall, they kind of 00:27:17.069 --> 00:27:20.609 start looking over the fence at the public works 00:27:20.609 --> 00:27:23.089 assistance account. It feels like it is their 00:27:23.089 --> 00:27:26.529 go -to move every time. It is definitely one 00:27:26.529 --> 00:27:29.829 of the ideas that's always on the short list. 00:27:30.009 --> 00:27:32.430 Yeah. Yeah. Well, what else is going on in the 00:27:32.430 --> 00:27:37.210 budget? I think, you know, I think that that 00:27:37.210 --> 00:27:40.809 probably covers budget stuff. Well, well, there's 00:27:40.809 --> 00:27:42.390 there's a couple of other we could probably do 00:27:42.390 --> 00:27:45.410 a whole podcast, you know, and I don't know how 00:27:45.410 --> 00:27:47.250 much detail we want to go into this. But you 00:27:47.250 --> 00:27:48.970 and I have had some discussions and there's certainly 00:27:48.970 --> 00:27:53.109 discussions that are ongoing about. a motor vehicle 00:27:53.109 --> 00:27:56.549 fuel tax calculation error. So that, yeah, that 00:27:56.549 --> 00:27:59.829 dates back a long time. I feel like we need another, 00:27:59.910 --> 00:28:01.910 look at this. We're, we're making a whole list 00:28:01.910 --> 00:28:04.650 of other podcasts. I feel like we need a whole 00:28:04.650 --> 00:28:07.049 one on that one, that issue alone. There is a 00:28:07.049 --> 00:28:09.190 lot there and maybe we'll be in a place in a, 00:28:09.190 --> 00:28:11.450 in a few weeks or a month or so on that one where 00:28:11.450 --> 00:28:13.390 we could do a deeper dive. But I mean, the short 00:28:13.390 --> 00:28:16.309 story there is to, you know, to no one's fault 00:28:16.309 --> 00:28:20.299 necessarily. The gas tax formulas and distribution 00:28:20.299 --> 00:28:22.700 formulas are complicated, and so there was an 00:28:22.700 --> 00:28:25.660 error discovered, and it dates back quite a while. 00:28:25.720 --> 00:28:28.599 So the question has kind of become, okay, if 00:28:28.599 --> 00:28:30.859 we settle in on an understanding of kind of what 00:28:30.859 --> 00:28:33.700 this amount was that was supposed to be distributed 00:28:33.700 --> 00:28:37.029 to counties over time. How can we, should we 00:28:37.029 --> 00:28:39.589 correct that moving forward? And so, yeah, again, 00:28:39.650 --> 00:28:42.250 probably a better conversation for a future podcast, 00:28:42.430 --> 00:28:45.390 but. But you are in talks at this point to try 00:28:45.390 --> 00:28:48.089 to find some solutions to that issue. Yeah. Are 00:28:48.089 --> 00:28:49.769 we going to see something this year, do you think? 00:28:49.829 --> 00:28:52.349 Will it be in the transportation budget? I mean, 00:28:52.369 --> 00:28:54.509 I think that would be our hope, but we've got 00:28:54.509 --> 00:28:58.470 some important communication to do, I think, 00:28:58.470 --> 00:29:01.950 before that happens, both with legislators and 00:29:01.950 --> 00:29:04.390 with our membership and, you know, just kind 00:29:04.390 --> 00:29:06.940 of. working through the concept and the idea 00:29:06.940 --> 00:29:10.880 right now, I think we're getting pretty, we're 00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:12.720 getting to a good place with like a shared understanding 00:29:12.720 --> 00:29:16.000 of the area that occurred and the amounts and 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:19.319 the problem. So kind of more to come on that 00:29:19.319 --> 00:29:22.299 one, but it is part of sort of the overall transportation 00:29:22.299 --> 00:29:25.069 budget question. Well, Axel, I got to tell you, 00:29:25.130 --> 00:29:28.490 it feels like we've only been here for five minutes 00:29:28.490 --> 00:29:30.609 and have only started to scratch the surface, 00:29:30.769 --> 00:29:35.150 but we're actually at our time. We've actually 00:29:35.150 --> 00:29:37.710 been going at this for almost a half an hour, 00:29:37.750 --> 00:29:40.490 if you could believe it. I had no idea that transportation 00:29:40.490 --> 00:29:42.849 talk could go by so quickly. Well, we didn't 00:29:42.849 --> 00:29:44.529 even hit on any bills, so we'll have to do another 00:29:44.529 --> 00:29:47.529 one. Yeah, we'll have to have you back. We'll 00:29:47.529 --> 00:29:50.109 do another one on bills. It's been kind of a 00:29:50.109 --> 00:29:53.009 wild ride so far, and we'll just have to see 00:29:53.009 --> 00:29:54.539 what happens. what happens in the next couple 00:29:54.539 --> 00:29:56.359 weeks. Believe it or not, like I said, we're 00:29:56.359 --> 00:29:59.440 at the start of the third week already. The first 00:29:59.440 --> 00:30:02.500 policy cutoff is just around the corner. It's... 00:30:02.829 --> 00:30:05.849 Next Wednesday, I believe. So we're talking February 00:30:05.849 --> 00:30:09.589 4th. Yeah, 10 days from today, if you count today. 00:30:10.170 --> 00:30:12.430 So it's just around the corner. That's how fast 00:30:12.430 --> 00:30:15.309 things move during a short session. We'll have 00:30:15.309 --> 00:30:17.809 to get you back pretty soon, pretty quickly to 00:30:17.809 --> 00:30:20.230 update us on some bills, maybe right around the 00:30:20.230 --> 00:30:22.430 time that that cutoff is occurring. So we know 00:30:22.430 --> 00:30:24.710 what's moving forward for the rest of the session 00:30:24.710 --> 00:30:26.930 and what people need to get serious about. Yeah, 00:30:26.990 --> 00:30:28.750 I think that makes a lot of sense coming in around 00:30:28.750 --> 00:30:30.970 the cutoff. We'll talk about some transportation 00:30:30.970 --> 00:30:33.849 and some procurement. Okay. Bills. Sounds good. 00:30:33.849 --> 00:30:36.710 Well, thanks for stopping by today, Axel. And 00:30:36.710 --> 00:30:40.609 are you going to give me a Go Hawks? Go Hawks. 00:30:40.609 --> 00:30:43.589 It's Super Bowl. Go Hawks. All right. Thanks, 00:30:43.630 --> 00:30:48.410 Axel. Thanks for tuning in to County Connection. 00:30:48.549 --> 00:30:50.690 Stay in the loop by subscribing to us through 00:30:50.690 --> 00:30:52.970 your preferred podcasting app and following us 00:30:52.970 --> 00:30:55.970 on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. And don't 00:30:55.970 --> 00:30:57.950 forget to join The Hub, your go -to source for 00:30:57.950 --> 00:30:59.710 the latest news and updates from the Washington 00:30:59.710 --> 00:31:02.349 State Association of Counties. 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