Sumner unveils what will affect residents in 2010

By Avani Nadkarni/of The Herald

The seven members of the Sumner City Council unanimously approved a 2010 legislative agenda at the Dec. 7 council meeting.

The agenda, presented by Sumner Communications Director Carmen Palmer, is a brief synopsis of issues important to Sumner.

“This is ... representatives of the city of Sumner telling (Washington state) legislators what is affecting Sumner,” Palmer said. “This is to help those legislators put more of a face (on a small town).”

“In really good years, cities could ask for (a lot of money),” Doan said. “Now, the goal is just to keep the state from taking the money we already have. It’s less asking for and a little more protecting.”

Also hindering an extensive agenda is the fact that the Washington state legislature is meeting for a briefer session this year.

“The agenda is very different in tone from previous agendas due to the short session and budget (crisis),” reads the motion given to council members.

“Not as much will happen this year,” added Palmer.

Palmer outlined four main issues on the legislative agenda: Asking for assistance in maintaining the city’s financial stability, including funding transportation systems and maintaining streamlined sales tax mitigation, continuing ongoing projects, including flood prevention and trail system completion, weighing financial decisions with impacts to local communities and, finally, funding a corridor access study to State Route 410.

The latter issue is the only one that the city is actively seeking funding on, Doan said, and city staff are pursuing about $400,000 for the study.

“While $400,000 sounds like a big number, in the context of state transportation funding, it’s not that big,” he explained.

Also, Palmer explained, regardless of the financial state of Washington, issues like flooding and the corridor study need to have a constant presence on the agenda given to state legislators. It’s important, she said, for them to know what affects the residents on a regular basis.

“Even though we know what’s going on with the state (in terms of ability to fund), we want to keep these needs in front of them,” Palmer said.

The third issue Palmer outlined is asking state legislators to keep smaller towns like Sumner in mind when weighing financial decisions.

“That’s more of a smaller section not aimed toward city government but toward our citizens,” Palmer explained. “It puts a human face to the incredible spreadsheet balance books they’re going to be juggling.”