By John Henderer, The Chronicle, 5/12/98
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Expanded flood-control work cost Lewis County an extra $17,500 in its contract with Edmonds-based engineering consultants, Pacific International Engineering. County commissioners approved the contract amendment Monday, paying PIE for what it called "increased" work, including lobbying in Washington, D.C., and preparing for state-mandated project oversight. The contract amendment effectively treats PIE's lobbying in Washington as "increased" work orders from the county, although the original $455,000 contract appears to have included this work. Last year's 11-page contract asked PIE to "contact other local, state and federal agencies as appropriate to facilitate project financing." The contract amendment adds $5,000 for a three-day trip to the nation's capital, plus $6,000 more to finish a lengthy report after apparently being distracted by two trips in March. |
Study Available
Copies of a new Chehalis River Basin flood-control study should be available for inspection in five public locations this week, possibly by Wednesday. The 113-page study, prepared for Lewis County by Pacific International Engineering of Edmonds, recommends a massive excavation project along the river near Centralia and installing an inflatable rubber weir atop Skookumchuck Dam. PIE estimated the projects would cost $93.3 million. PIE did not recommend building new dams on the upper Chehalis River, which it had recommended in an earlier report. It now calls the projects "economically infeasible." Pe Ell, Dory and Dryad residents objected to the dam proposals. Copies of the report will be available at the Chehalis and Centralia branches of Timberland Regional Library, the county commissioners' office in the Lewis County Courthouse, and Pe Ell Town Hall. Personal copies may be obtained at the Public Services Building for $30. |
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The county's resolution and contract amendment don't clearly spell out what extra work the county required of PIE. But it involved several presentations to a citizen flood-advisory committee and tri-agency meetings of the county and city councils of Centralia and Chehalis, said Bob Berg, director of the General Administration Department. PIE had estimated it would spend just $38,700 for agency and client coordination. But by April it had spent more than $100,000 on these efforts, Berg said. "They used that money up on other things that we asked them to do," he said. Money for the amendment will be paid from the county's flood-control zone district fund, which itself will need a $150,000 loan from the county road fund, Berg said. Some citizens attending the commissioners' regular public meeting Monday complained about the cost, questioning whether it was necessary to go back to Washington. "With all our electronic communications, you have to go back to D.C. and catch them by the throat and throttle them" Chehalis-area resident Dan Smith asked. Commissioner Glenn Aldrich said face-to-face meetings are vital. After Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, a Cowlitz County commissioner made more than 20 trips to the nation's capital to get funding for emergency repairs, Aldrich said. The county asked PIE to perform the extra work, Berg said, to help prepare for a meeting with a Legislature-mandated technical oversight committee. The Legislature ordered the oversight as part of a $600,000 direct appropriation to the county in the latest session. From the state funding, $560,000 will go to PIE. The technical group held its first meeting last week when PIE released its "Pre-Feasibility Analysis of Alternatives" report for flood control on the Chehalis River. One of PIE's main selling points with the commissioners was its promise not only to design flood-control measures but to find money to fund the improvements. "The proof's in the pudding," Berg said. "Don't we have $600,000" He said odds may be 50-50 or better the county will get another $2.5 million federal money it needs to continue the work. PIE labeled its additional work under the $17,500 contract amendment as four separate tasks: - Lobbying in Washington from April 27 to 29 for $2.5 million in Federal Highway Administration funding: $5,000. - Preparing for the technical committee meeting: $4,000. - Finishing the report after apparently being distracted by March travel: $6,000. - Coordinating a feasibility analysis for the next phase: $2,500. Commissioners last year allocated $300,000 toward flood-control efforts, an equal share coming from the county general fund and from the roads fund. But during budget cutting last December, they slashed this year's $150,000 general fund contribution to just $50,000. That triggered an equal cut from the road fund allocation because the state Auditor's Office said in a Skagit County finding that road funds could cover only half the funds toward flood-control work, Berg said. Interfund loans are not unusual, and this one will be repaid from the state's money, Berg said. Most of the $150,000 loan, $120,000, will be used as "cash flow" to cover expenses in the interim. The rest covers the contract amendment and a $13,000 shortfall created by last year's budget cutting. | |