By Mai Ling Slaughter, The Chronicle, 8/24/99
The statewide initiative that would decrease annual vehicle licensing fees to $30 could affect more than just transportation.
If Initiative 695 passes in November, the money that has been supporting the Chehalis Basin Flood Control Project would be cut.
But the Chehalis City Council is cooperating with the other players in the project, agreeing to get the project's engineering, mapping, surveying and other preliminary work started as soon as possible in case the money is cut.
For a couple of weeks, Lewis County Commissioner Richard Graham has been negotiating a $450,000 grant for the project. He said project coordinators hope to complete an agreement with the Department of Transportation by the end of the week.
''It's imperative, from our standpoint, that the council allow the mayor to sign this,'' Graham said.
The council unanimously agreed Monday that Chehalis Mayor Bob Spahr will sign the agreement.
''It's been a long, hard battle,'' Graham said, ''but we're getting closer.''
Since agencies receiving money from the motor vehicle excise fund began assessing potential effects of I-695, public transit systems and other areas have been warned of possibly losing grant money.
Chehalis has determined it will lose $86,000 in its 2000 general fund if the initiative passes. It plans to make up that difference by raising property taxes.
Also at Monday's Chehalis City Council meeting:
Public Works Director Jim Nichols announced that the city's consumer confidence report is completed and will be distributed to residences connected to Chehalis' water supply in the fall.
The water quality report is a new requirement of the 1996 Clean Water Act.
Spahr presented gifts given to the council last week from its sister city of Inasa-cho, Japan. Twenty-three of the 28 Japanese visitors performed in the Southwest Washington Fair last Wednesday.
The group stayed with host families in the area. In turn, Chehalis plans to send a 16-member delegation to Inasa in October.
---
Mai Ling Slaughter covers municipal government for The Chronicle. She can be reached by e-mail at news@chronline.com or by telephoning 807-8237.
This page created and maintained by Chehalis River Council
Send comments or questions to the: Chehalis River Council