Legislators tout state project money

Keeping state Route 3 Freight Corridor construction on track and securing $1.5 million for Turning Pointe Survivor Advocacy Center in Shelton are among the gains for the 35th District in the state's $70-billion budget, the district's three legislators said Friday.

State Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton and state Republican Reps. Dan Griffey and Travis Couture, both of Allyn, offered their thoughts on the recently completed legislative session at an event sponsored by the Economic Development Council of Mason County, the Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce and the North Mason Chamber of Commerce at the Mason County Public Works building.

The forum focused on infrastructure and economic development. Couture said the 35th District received $32 million for capital projects, much of it in Mason County.

"I think we had some big wins in this district on infrastructure," Griffey said.

MacEwen said Gov. Jay Inslee "punted on a ton of proposals, including the Belfair Bypass" when it came to proposed transportation project funding. He said he met with state Department of Transportation representatives and pushed to get the project back on its original schedule.

"The way the governor conceived it I was worried it would never happen," Griffey said.

Instead, the project is set for construction to begin 2025, MacEwen said. "That was one of our big achievements together," he said.

The district also received more than $5 million for the final phase of the Oakland Bay restoration project. The project was in danger of losing permits and instead is "shovel ready" and might break ground this summer, Couture said.

The project will help in salmon recovery and is a great project with the tribes, he said.

"We need to finish that project ... I think it's going to be another jewel for this area," Griffey said.

Griffey said he's disappointed that the district didn't receive more money for power infrastructure. He said he is committed to getting Mason PUD 3 money for substations.

All three legislators spoke about their teamwork.

"The three of us worked hand-in-hand in all these, so whatever we talk about, we were on it together," Mac-Ewen said.

"We did everything as a team, so I think that's why we were so successful," Couture said.

"We are a powerhouse in Olympia because we stick together," Griffey said.

MacEwen noted that when the Growth Management Act was created in 1974, the state's population was 4.5 million.

"We're pushing eight million (residents) today, and we've never gone back and looked at it, seriously looked at it," MacEwen said. "As long as the Legislature fails to look at it, we'll continue to see this crunch" in available housing.

The Legislature "dumps money" into subsidized housing, but doesn't do for much for "first-time homebuyers, middle-income folks," the senator said. Energy codes, land-use and shoreline management acts, and the GMA all have increased the cost of housing, he said.

Griffey said the legislators need to keep an eye on tax increases being contemplated.

"I think the nine percent growth we've got on this budget, I think it's good we reduced it from 20 percent growth spending, there's still an appetite for 30 percent growth in spending, and we've got to be very careful about these things," he said.

MacEwen agreed.

"Be careful what you ask for, right? The more you want the state involved with things, I don't always think that's always a good thing, I think we can do a lot more by being out of the way."