13th District benefits from capital budget
OLYMPIA - More than $103 million will be directed to capital budget projects in the 13th District, including nearly $10 million for projects in Grant County.
Grant County funding includes more than $1.5 million to Big Bend Community College for facility and roof repairs, and funds for farmworker housing in Mattawa, the City of Quincy's industrial water reclamation and reuse facility, the continued cleanup of the Ephrata landfill and $300,000 for the Boys and Girls Club's new clubhouse on Paxson Drive in Moses Lake.
The state's new capital budget, passed Monday, funds public-construction projects such as school buildings, correctional facilities and projects to support economic development. The budget also includes providing low-interest loans to local governments for community projects.
Sen. Janéa Holmquist Newbry, R-Moses Lake, who voted in favor of the capital budget, said the budget represents a "significant investment" in the area.
"These projects will strengthen our communities and protect our quality of life," she said. "This capital budget means more jobs for our community and we need those jobs to materialize as soon as possible."
Holmquist Newbry was able to help the City of Warden receive $1.8 million to avert a water-supply crisis, making it possible to transfer an irrigation well to domestic use and acquire an additional source of water for one of the city's wells.
"Since the project is now funded at the state level, Warden's ratepayers don't need to worry about an unbearable rate increase to finance the project," Holmquist Newbry said.
She also helped obtain $300,000 for the Port of Moses lake for a firefighting system to accommodate Aviation Technical Services.
Rep. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, who serves as the ranking Republican on the House Capital Budget Committee, said she was pleased to see additional funding for the Odessa Subarea Aquifer project and the Yakima River Basin Integrated Plan, both funded as a result of the capital budget.
"This water management plan has been decades in the making and I'm pleased we are able to get started on this agreed-upon plan to ensure water is available for people, farms and fish," Warnick said.
Warnick reportedly told House colleagues just before vote was taken she was happy with the investment in additional cameras at correctional facilities.
"This final budget was truly bipartisan," she said. "We worked together to prioritize what was most important not just for our own districts, but statewide. I believe the final result of this negotiated budget was something people can be proud of, that uses taxpayer dollars and our bonding capacity wisely."