By Stefanie Donahue
Despite having months to go before the 2018 legislative session begins in early January, staff with the city are working diligently to strategize a plan to obtain funding for two Blaine projects that have been on the books for years – in May, they recruited a Tacoma-based consulting firm to help.
According to Blaine city manager David Wilbrecht, the city hired two consultants from Gordon Thomas Honeywell Governmental Affairs to help obtain funding to extend utilities, like sewer and power, into east Blaine and to install a new southbound off-ramp on Interstate 5 at Exit 274 onto Peace Portal Drive.
During the last legislative session, the city requested millions of dollars in funding for both projects, but neither request survived the legislative process.
The city contracted consultant Briahna Murray for two months for $2,500 per month, Wilbrecht said. She’s taking the lead on the Interstate 5 exit 274 project and has been attempting to forge connections with the governor’s office and other legislative entities to get the funding request approved during the next legislative session. Last session, the house and senate approved allocating $12,100,000 from the state’s transportation budget to the project, but governor Jay Inslee vetoed it, citing insufficient information about the scope and cost.
Murray is a vice president in the firm and specializes in advocating for cities, counties and other local governments to both the Washington state legislature and the executive branch. She joined the firm in 2006 and has experience serving as a legislative staff member to the Washington state senate.
Consultant Meg Van Schoorl is the city’s other hire. Steve Price, project lead on the 1,013-lot Grandis Pond development in east Blaine, pitched in $15,000 to hire Van Schoorl for a period of six months to help develop strategies to obtain local, state and federal grants to extend utilities, such as sewer and power, into east Blaine, Wilbrecht said. City staff said infrastructure is the key to spurring three large development projects that contain more than 1,400 lots.
Van Schoorl is the director of project development at the firm and works with local agencies, nonprofits and other groups to scope out grant opportunities, develop funding strategies, compose grant applications and assist with grant management. Previously, she worked at The House of Representatives’ office of program research as a capital budget committee senior staff coordinator.
For Wilbrecht, partnering with the firm is a positive step forward for the city, which doesn’t have the staffing to send representatives down to Olympia during the legislative session.
“To have that kind of talent, access and capacity hopefully will provide some positive results,” he said.
