The lack of an approved state capital budget has caused some concern for local projects as millions of dollars in possible funding is tied up until the Legislature can agree on a deal to fund construction projects.
The Washington state Legislature adjourned last month without passing a state capital budget with a total of roughly $4 billion in funding. Many millions of dollars in funds are earmarked for local projects, specifically two massive education undertakings centered around Ridgefield.
The budget did not end up getting passed due to disputes regarding the Hirst water rights case, something that legislators tried to fix this year but to no avail. While some legislators were endorsing a two-year quick fix for the issue that can potentially cost property owners tens of thousands of dollars due to required studies, others wanted a permanent solution, and negotiations broke down.
Without that capital budget, projects like Clark College at Boschma Farms are sitting in limbo.
Clark College President Bob Knight sent a letter to local legislators regarding the capital budget stall which has hampered progression on a new campus project for the institution in East Ridgefield.
In the letter, Knight estimated that the total impact from a lack of capital funding would be in the range of $8.1 million, including $5.2 million in pre-design for the campus.
“Due to the lack of a capital budget, we are also experiencing costly delays in the maintenance and repair of our existing buildings,” Knight wrote. “We are unable to fix roofs and perform other work we normally do during the summer to take advantage of the weather and minimize the disruption of classes.”
“In the end, a further delay leads to this work costing more and being more disruptive to our students,” Knight wrote.
Knight, like other officials in capacities dependent on the budget, remains hopeful that a solution is in sight.
“We are still hopeful that the Legislature will come to an agreement on the Hirst water issue and the Governor calls everyone back for a one day session to approve the capital budget soon,” Knight wrote in an email. He added that he had been told that should a capital budget be approved, all of the college’s needs would be taken care of.
A higher institution of learning isn’t the only project in Ridgefield affected by a lack of capital projects funding. A massive, $100-million intermediate grade campus and sports complex for the Ridgefield School District is also reliant on state funds in order to get the project completed.
Without an estimated $20 million in state funding, the 5th to 8th grade complex can still get completed, RSD Superintendent Nathan McCann said, but the other components for the capital plan, including security upgrades in existing buildings, repurposing of the current View Ridge Middle School building as well as construction on the high school campus would not be funded.
“We could finish the 5-8 complex with the local dollars, but the rest of that would not be able to be done without the state assistance that Ridgefield is eligible for and, frankly, is expecting,” McCann said.
Although millions are up in the air, McCann, like Knight, is not yet dismissing the possibility of getting those funds.
“I am optimistic as well,” McCann remarked. “This isn’t about the state not having the money, it’s about the state legislature coming to a consensus.”
