County gives third 'no' on overpass

Allison: County not planning on 'breaking the law'

MOSES LAKE — Mayor Ron Covey announced that the county has again denied the city's request to help fund an overpass on I-90.

Grant County Commissioner LeRoy Allison said that representatives from the city had asked the county about putting $30,000 originally set aside for a birding trail project, into the overpass project.

Allison added that commissioners discussed the idea before finding out it ran into the same constraints of the law of prior requests from the city, that is, using the county's road funds monies in another jurisdiction, such as a city bridge.

"(County's) paths and trails monies are off-limits for expenditures within the city," Allison said. "We are not planning on breaking the law at this point."

The county's negative comes weeks after the city's initial request for $100,000 was twice rejected by the county.

Commissioner Deborah Moore said the county was very supportive of the project but unable to participate in it. To Moore, the county's number one priority is the 2,600 miles of county roads and the 217 bridges that serve the residents of the county.

After three requests from the city, Moore said she does not see a change in the position adopted by the Board of Commissioners.

Covey said he was disappointed at the county's decision, calling it short-sighted.

"Even by reducing our request (from $100,000) to $30,000, it was still denied," he said.

In Covey's opinion, the city has provided the county several opportunities to participate in the project financially. Every time, the county has said that the request does not meet with state law, a statement that Covey disagrees with.

"They (county) could have participated at either the $30,000 or at the $100,000 level if they chose to do so," Covey said of the county. "They just don't want to."

The way it stands now, the city has discarded the idea of asking for a delay in order to get more money to fund a four-lane bridge. Instead, the city has contacted the Washington State Department of Transportation with the latest proposal for a two-lane bridge.

The proposal is for a 52-foot, two-lane flat bridge deck with jersey barriers on both sides for pedestrian and bike paths.

WSDOT had proposed elevated sidewalks on both sides of the bridge, but the city does not want that, Covey said. Instead, the city wants to be able to remove the jersey barriers and restripe the bridge into a four-laner, if the funds someday become available.

"That's not going to happen (for) now," he added.

City councilman Lee Blackwell said he was taken aback by the county's third rejection.

"First (Allison) said money was a problem, now it's something else," he said. "I am a little disillusioned."

Finally, Covey and Blackwell noted that private citizens Pamp Maiers and Jake Jacobsen had offered to put up $5,000 each for the project.