Revisiting the 48th District Town Hall Meeting

I've been meaning to write more about last week's 48th District Town Hall meeting in Bellevue, and I'm finally getting around to it. Apologies for the delay.

The meeting was held at 7pm at Chinook Middle School on a rainy Wednesday night, and the post-election attendance was good.

All three district representatives were present, and the first topic of discussion, which took up the majority of the time (a good 70 minutes), was about transportation. The demise of Proposition 1 at the ballot box means that everyone is trying to determine what happens next.

Deb Eddy, as a member of the Technology, Energy and Communications committee, has quickly become the local expert on these issues. She quickly made it clear that while regional transportation governance was likely to be re-addressed, it is not intended and won't be a Sound Transit killer.

Rodney Tom talked about how we need to be sensitive to local density concerns. That it was important that while we seek to create density around transportation corridors, a one size fits all approach is not the solution.

Ross Hunter noted that there has been far less angst regarding the impact of the Alaskan Way Viaduct on regional financing need, as it seems a surface solution has emerged as the leading option, which will be less costly than other rejected solutions (namely the tunnel option). Still, he pointed out that there could be a ripple effect eastward as cars shift from the AWV to using I-5, and those on I-5 divert to I-405.

Hunter also talked about the need to streamline the environmental review process so it doesn't take as long as it does now, which seriously impacts how soon new projects can begin. With things as they are the thinking is that work on replacing the 520 floating bridge couldn't begin for another 5 years.

Deb Eddy did note, however, that pontoons can be built elsewhere and barged in, so that work could begin sooner.

They also addressed the need for tolling, and the fact that a lot of money could be saved if tolling began collecting before the new bridge was in place.

An attendee brought up the Renton - Woodinville BNSF rail corridor and urged lawmakers to ensure it will be used eventually for light rail. Deb Eddy suggested posting visual indicators (i.e. simple signs) along the trail that will be initially built along it that clearly state to users and neighbors, that this will eventually become a light rail corridor. Ross Hunter suggested language to that effect could also be required on property titles to remove any contrary notion in a prospective buyer's mind. Personally, while I agree it makes sense to retain a transit corridor such as this one, I have to question the usefulness of this particular corridor. Is there really a ridership for a line that would go between Renton and Woodinville? Is that a typical commute for enough people to warrant a light rail line there? If we had the ability to run a line anywhere, how far up the list would such a line be?

Finally, Ross Hunter also indicated we need to create more HOT lanes. He pointed out that while some might call these "Lexus Lanes", it also appeals to many low income users who lose money due to traffic delays, and would find paying the price for HOT lane usage a financial win. I'll take his word for it.

By 8:15pm we finally moved to a new topic: education.

As vice-chair of the Early Learning & K-12 Education committee, this was Rodney Tom's top issue. He pointed out that current education funding is based on urban/rural boundaries drawn over 30 years ago, and that many rural communities back then have grown considerably, but funding has lagged.

They talked about the fact that there is far too much emphasis on the WASL, and far too few "good stories". Attendees spoke of their opposition to the WASL and the "dumbing down" of our education curriculum, and how that is driving would be teachers from getting into teaching.

Tom spoke about the class size issue, and a bill that would set a goal of 15 students per teacher in K through 3rd grade, and 25 students per teacher from grades 4 through 12, getting to those levels gradually in a six year period.

Finally, over the last 20 minutes of the meeting, the issue of property taxes and Tim Eyman's I-747 "1%" tax cap was discussed. Ross Hunter answered a question about the emergency clause used by the legislature which some say has been abused. While he agreed that sometimes it is used to avoid a referendum, that reason is rare. The primary reason it is used is that is speeds up the time a bill can become law, and often the emergency clause is struck out before the bill is passed.

However, more importantly, Ross Hunter clearly articulated his desire for comprehensive property tax reform. He said that the issue is far bigger than this one tax cap, and that the legislature, and the Finance committee that he chairs, will be looking at a less regressive tax structure. He mentioned a circuit breaker system that would cap taxes based on income, not just on property values, which would shield people from a runaway market that is pricing people out of their homes.

None of the representatives felt that the 1% cap from Eyman's initiative was a good solution in of itself, and Deb Eddy pointed out how legislating via such initiatives is no way to produce comprehensive tax reform. We'll see how that thinking flies in the expected special session to address the tax that Governor Gregoire has called for. It is clear that we need to be smarter than the drafters of the initiative and institute a long term solution, not an arbitrary one sprung out of Tim Eyman's head (or elsewhere).

There were a lot more points made by attendees and representatives alike that I have left out, but the meeting was informative and I'd certainly encourage more people to attend them in the future. These representatives want your feedback and these are great forums for people to provide them.