Growth in Tri-Cities Not Without Challenges

By John Collett                           Story Published: Jul 1, 2011 at 6:11 PM PDT


TRI-CITIES -- The Tri-Cities community has grown significantly in the past decade and experts say that will continue strong for another ten years. In fact, a new report KEPR first told you about last week has our community getting bigger by about 35 percent in less than ten years.

Thought of more growth are astounding to Tri-Cities local Barb Maheu, who has already seen major changes in her day.

“They have all that new housing in west Pasco and really it expanded, Kennewick is more crowded cause they didn't have that mall at all,” said Maheu. “I mean when I was born here like 60 years ago, they didn't have any of that.”

The 35 percent prediction is going to need some help according to TRIDEC President Carl Adrian.

“This dream will only come true if there are jobs in the community and there's a reason for people to come in,” said Adrian.

Even if the jobs come, the idea of all that growth may be a double-edged sword, that could affect the quality of life that people here enjoy. One of the major areas of concern is how the schools would handle growth since they’re already filled to the max.

“It's harder for them to finance new buildings and that sort of thing,” added Adrian. “So that kind of growth would be a concern.”

Real estate agent Paul Roy is well aware of the growth and what can happen when it’s not handled correctly.

“Not all growth is good growth, and most people you talk to are pro smart growth,” said Roy. “What we look at that is having the infrastructure in place, having the services to service that growth and not just grow for the sake of growing.”

A bonus would likely come to homes though as they expect an increase in housing prices for homeowners, and bring an overall boom to the market.

“Right now there's some issues there,” said Roy. “Especially in what we call affordable housing under 200 it's very tight, very slow.”

TRIDEC explained they don't expect growth to be an issue on healthcare since Kadlec and KGH both plan to expand. Traffic may be an issue, but it's all relative.

For Maheu though, some things will never change.

“It still feels like it’s kind of an ideal town,” said Maheu.

TRIDEC also tells Action News the 35 percent estimate seems a bit high, and guesses it will be more like 20 percent. That would still mean an additional 50,000 people in our community over the next ten years.

Murray seeks $5M for Tri-City area roads - Mid-Columbia News | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news

WASHINGTON — Millions of dollars for regional transportation projects in Washington have been included in the fiscal 2011 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill, thanks to Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

The bill includes about $5 million for projects in the Tri-City area, including the ongoing Highway 12 improvements between the Tri-Cities and Walla Walla.

The money was included in the bill by Murray, who's chairwoman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee.

"Especially now, it is critical to steer funding into transportation projects that create jobs and boost local economies in our backyard in Central Washington," Murray said in a statement.

For the Tri-City area, the bill proposes $1 million for Ben Franklin Transit to help replace its aging vehicle fleet; $1.4 million for rail improvements at Big Pasco Industrial Center; $1 million for the Red Mountain Interchange project; $500,000 for pedestrian pathways and transportation improvements in the Southridge area; and $1 million for right of way acquisition for Phase 7A of the Highway 12 project.

Murray also included millions of dollars for other Eastern Washington projects, including $2 million for rail improvements at the Port of Moses Lake, $1 million for Grant County Transit to build a new administration building and $1.3 million for an underpass on MLK Boulevard in Yakima's business district.

The bill, which was approved Wednesday by Murray's subcommittee, now goes to the full Appropriations Committee.

Many Tri-City public officials lauded Murray's efforts.

Randy Hayden, director of planning and engineering at the Port of Pasco, said Murray understands the importance of transportation to spur economic growth and create jobs.

The $1.4 million for the port would help the port continue its rail infrastructure rehabilitation project that began in 2005. Hayden said a rail-link helps to recruit manufacturers and provide a way to ship local products. If the port gets the money, construction of a new mile-long track will start next spring, he said.

"Once again, Sen. Murray has come through for the citizens of the Tri-Cities," said Benton County Commissioner Leo Bowman, referring to the money designated for two projects along Interstate 82. The money would pay for engineering and design and "get us to be shovel-ready," he said.

The two-part project would help construct a roundabout at the intersection of Highway 224 and Highway 225 near I-82 in Benton City and create a new Red Mountain interchange at Milepost 100 on I-82.

Both projects, which are estimated to cost $30 million, would improve traffic flow at the five-legged intersection at the Benton City interchange and provide more direct access to the Red Mountain winery area and West Richland, Bowman said. The projects also would improve emergency response times to the area by up to 50 percent, which can be critical in crisis situations, he said.

Kathy McMullen, Ben Franklin Transit's manager of service development, was excited about the possibility of getting money. "It's very much needed. We want some new buses for folks to ride in," she said.

Fourteen of the system's buses date to 1988, McMullen said. They have about 1 million miles on them and cost more to maintain, she said.

It would cost about $10 million to replace all old buses with new hybrid buses, McMullen said, and Ben Franklin Transit will seek additional federal money to do that. "We appreciate Sen. Murray's help," she said.

Jim Kuntz, executive director of the Port of Walla Walla, which led efforts for the Highway 12 improvements, shared a similar sentiment. "Things will start rolling now," he said.

Highway 12 work has already received $2 million from the state Legislature to help complete design, environmental assessment and land acquisition for Phase 7A, which includes building a new 5.5-mile, multilane highway from Nine Mile Hill north of Touchet to near Lowden.

The state Department of Transportation needs to purchase about 340 acres for the work and the proposed $1 million in federal money would be a great help to move the project forward, Kuntz said.

-- Pratik Joshi: 509-582-1541; pjoshi@tricityherald.com; Business Beat blog at www.tricityherald.com


Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/07/22/1101220/murray-seeks-5m-for-tri-city-area.html#storylink=mirelated#ixzz18CZmtDUA

Richland OKs annexation; 1 more vote needed - Mid-Columbia News | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news

RICHLAND — Just one more city council decision is all that stands in the way of Richland annexing 1,878 new acres where a city-size development is planned.

The Richland City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the ordinance annexing the land south of Badger Mountain and just west of Rancho Reata with no discussion, except a brief thumbs up from Councilman David Rose.

"I think it's great we have a petition that is signed by 100 percent of the property owners for annexation," Rose said.

Mayor John Fox noted that's a rarity for annexations into the city.

But every ordinance takes two votes for final passage. The council will vote on the annexation again Dec. 7.
Rick Simon, the city's development services manager, said if the council approves the annexation ordinance a second time, that will be the final step toward bringing the land into the city.

It's been a process years in the making, from the city's first suggestion that it should grow to the south back in 2002.

The proposal to add 3,300 acres to Richland's urban growth area ended up going through an appeal before the Eastern Washington Growth Management Hearings Board and ultimately being scaled back before finally being approved in 2007.

The acreage annexed includes the 40-acre, 79-lot Reata Ridge subdivision; 325 acres owned by Bill and Holly Wilson primarily used as an orchard; and about 1,500 acres owned by Nor Am Investments that is to be developed with as many as 5,000 homes, shops, offices, parks and a wine village.
Simon projected that when fully developed, the area will bring in a net of about $350,000 per year to the city's budget.

Loren Combs, the attorney for Nor Am, said the developer has submitted to the city schematics for sewer lines and other improvements to the land and is waiting for the annexation to be complete and permits to be issued before breaking ground.

Houses likely will start being built in 2012, Combs said.

The land is expected to be developed for 20 years, and ultimately could be home to an estimated 12,000 people.

Also Tuesday:
The council unanimously adopted an ordinance setting the city's property tax levy for 2011. The city is opting not to take the 1 percent property tax collection increase allowed by law, and is applying $400,000 of interest income from bonds to renovate the Richland Public Library toward property tax reduction.

The reduction will come over two years -- $250,000 applied in 2011 and $150,000 applied in 2012, said Ron Musson, administrative services manager.

Under that plan, the city's property tax levy rate will drop by about 12 cents, from $3.14 per $1,000 of value in 2010 to $3.02 in 2011.

That represents about a 5-cent reduction over the planned rate without the library money being applied, or a savings of about $10 per year for a $200,000 home, Musson said.

Overall, the owner of a $200,000 home should see a $24 drop in property taxes compared to 2010.

-- Michelle Dupler: 582-1543; mdupler@tricityherald.com


Read more: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/11/17/1255535/richland-oks-annexation-one-more.html#storylink=mirelated#ixzz18CYbOgeX