HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/02/2010 12 2010 Federal Priorities Reports/Recommendations from Council Committees •
BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
• YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
AGENDA STATEMENT
Item No. 1 2--
For Meeting Of: March 2, 2010
ITEM TITLE: Report and recommendation from City Council Committees on Economic
Development, Transportation, Neighborhood Development and Public Safety to
adopt 2010 Federal Priorities. .
SUBMITTED BY: Richard A. Zais, City Manager
Michael Morales, Deputy Director, CED
CONTACT: Michael Morales, 575 -3533
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SUMMARY EXPLANATION:
Attached is a draft copy of the City of Yakima's 2010 Federal Legislative Issues. A summary of
the city's appropriations requests was presented to the city council on February 16, and the
overview of federal issues has been discussed during various committee meetings.
The top federal legislative priority for 2010 is passage of S. 1222/HR1677, a bill to extend the
time period and expand the boundaries of federal Renewal Communities. Yakima is one of only
40 designated RC's in the country, and this designation provides significant tax incentives that
are a central component of our economic development efforts. The designation expired in
® 2009, but is included in the one year tax extenders legislation. Yakima is working with a
coalition of communities from around the country to advocate passage of this law, or to have its
provisions included in other pieces of tax or economic legislation.
The city is also requesting additional appropriations for COPS Tech funding for a regional
communications system; Phase 4 of the Downtown Futures Initiative; gap funding for the Martin
Luther King, Jr. Boulevard Underpass; Economic Development Initiative funds for the Yakima
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Sawmill Redevelopment Project, and Transportation Enhancement funds for the William O.
Douglas Trail. In addition, our legislative priorities include advocacy for continuation of
competitive grant funds for capital projects, community development initiatives, and law
enforcement and crime prevention activities.
Following council approval, this document will be presented to our Congressional delegation,
and other federal agency officials in Washington, DC later this month. Mayor Cawley, Assistant
Mayor Coffey, Councilman Ettl, Dick Zais and Michael Morales will attend.
Resolution_ Ordinance Contract Other (Specify):
Funding Source
� Approval for Submittal: � City Manager
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends adoption of the 2010 Federal Priorities.
O . COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: Council committees recommend adoption
COUNCIL ACTION: '
® CITY OF YAKIMA
2010 FEDERAL ISSUES
PROPOSED
COMMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
• Pass legislation (HR 1677/S 1222) to extend Renewal Community tax
incentives through 2015, and expand RC boundaries. This is the City of
Yakima's top federal priority.
• Increase CDBG and HOME funding, restoring cuts made over the past several years.
• Yakima Mill District Redevelopment Project: $2,000,000 appropriation to assist and
accelerate redevelopment efforts.
• Yakima Downtown Futures Initiative: $1,000,000 appropriation to complete Phase 4 of
the project.
PUBLIC SAFETY
• Combating violent crime and building a safe community is a Yakima Valley
regional priority.
• $750,000 COPS Tech appropriation to complete the Yakima County Integrated Public
Safety Communications System
S • Support Yakima Fire Department SAFER grant request.
• Restore cuts made to COPS, First Responder, and Local Law Enforcement Block Grant
programs.
• Office of National Drug Control Policy: Restore funding for the Accelerated Domestic
Market Disruption Program.
REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS
Support for the Yakima Trans Action Priorities, including:
$2,000,000 -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Railroad Grade Separation Project
$2,000,000 -- Gateway Redevelopment- Terrace Heights Connector: Joint request with
Yakima County for planning funds and inclusion in reauthorization of the transportation
act.
• Reauthorization of the federal Transportation Act.
• Support legislation to authorize and funding to restore passenger train service along
the Amtrak North Coast Hiawatha rail line, and include stops in Pasco and Yakima.
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
• Congressional delegation support to secure Brownfieids Assessment, Cleanup and
Redevelopment grants from the EPA Region 10 office.
• Support of Yakima County Flood Control funding request through FEMA
COMMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ®.
Passing legislation to extend Renewal Community tax incentives through 2015
and expand RC boundaries is the City of Yakima's top federal priority.
Yakima was designated a federal Renewal Community (RC) in 2002. Without congressional
action, this designation and its tax incentives will expire. This Renewal Community program
has been a critical component of Yakima's economic resurgence, and specifically the
renaissance of our downtown.
• Yakima Sawmill Redevelopment Project -- $2,000,000
The city requests $2,000,000 to provide critical infrastructure and /or loan capital that
will accelerate redevelopment of the site and benefit the surrounding neighborhoods.
Redevelopment of this former sawmill and plywood plant is moving forward, boosted by
a commitment from the State of Washington in 2009 for up to $25 million of tax
increment financing. The City and property owners are developing a master plan for
over 200 acres of interstate frontage property. The site offers one of the most
significant development opportunities in Central Washington.
• Yakima Downtown Futures Initiative Phase 4 -- $1,000,000
The City requests $1,000,000 to help fund a continuation of the Yakima Downtown
Futures Initiative Project.
Phases 1, 2 and 3 of the Downtown Futures Initiative (DFI) have attracted nearly $75
million of private investment in Yakima's Central Business District over the past three
years that has created over 200 jobs and dozens of new businesses. The City of Yakima
has also contributed over $20 million of tax incentives and $4 million of low- interest
loans to businesses as part of this effort through our Renewal Community and Section
108 loan programs.
Given the tight market conditions for private investment, we need to continue improving
the public infrastructure for businesses, customers, and visitors as a way to mitigate the
restricted availability of private financing for projects.
• Restore funding formula levels for CDBG and HOME
CDBG and HOME programs have served as a vital resource to help meet Yakima's
community development, affordable housing and economic development needs for 35
years. Even with proven success, CDBG formula grants have been significantly reduced
over the last several years, with Yakima losing 20% of its entitlement. This number
alone equates to a Toss of $1 million in Section 108 economic development loan
authority, and a substantial negative effect on our community.
• PUBLIC SAFETY
Combating violent crime and building a safe community is a Yakima Valley priority.
Thank you for funding public safety programs in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
of 2009. The City of Yakima received over $500,000 and served as the lead agency in Yakima
County for Byrne Justice Assistance Grants through ARRA. These funds prevented layoffs of .
police officers throughout the Yakima Valley.
Crime is not just a state and local matter to be resolved. Federal resources are needed
to promote intergovernmental coordination that leads to improved criminal justice practices and
crime reduction.. While Yakima has made progress on the fight against crime, federal
resources continue to dwindle while illegal guns and drugs from other countries continue to
flood our streets.
• Funding for COPS and LLEBG should be restored with strong accountability standards
tied to the grants.
• Balanced • anti -gang legislation must be enacted that strengthens local law
enforcement and provides positive alternative to gang participation.
• Increase funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program. The federal
government should not require local law enforcement personnel to detain criminal aliens
without sufficient reimbursement to provide communities with the necessary resources
they need to detain criminals..
• • COPS Tech Appropriation for Yakima County Integrated Public Safety System:
The Yakima Valley Public Safety community is grateful for the $500,000 appropriations
included in the FY 2009 and 2010 Omnibus spending bill. As the project nears
implementation in late 2010, the City of Yakima, Yakima County and member cities need
an additional $750,000 from the COPS Tech appropriation bill to establish this integrated
system for Computerized Aided Dispatch, Mobile Data, Law Enforcement Field Reporting,
Law Enforcement Records, Prosecutors Processing and Corrections. COPS Tech funds
will ensure that critical data will be accessible by all law enforcement agencies in the
county, streamlining the operations and enhancing the abilities of our Public Safety
agencies throughout the county
• Office of National Drug Control Policy "Accelerated Domestic Market
Disruption Program ": Yakima was one of the smallest cities in the nation to
participate in the 'Accelerated Domestic Market Disruption Program "(Accelerated
Arrest). Funded by annual grants from the ONDCP of $150,000 in 2004, 2005, 2006,
and 2007 the program helps police efforts to target mid and high -level drug dealers. In
2007 alone the regional task force seized over $10 million worth of drugs, in addition to
scores of vehicles and firearms. Unfortunately, funding has not been renewed, and the
city requests restoration of these funds to allow for multi -year grant awards.
Department of Homeland Security SAFER Grant Application
SAFER grants provide financial assistance to help fire departments increase 'their cadre of
frontline Firefighters. YFD has applied for 3 Firefighter positions that would allow YFD to place
an additional engine company into service. These grants were to be awarded in 2009, but the
0 Department of Homeland Security has extended the grant application and period for several
months, allowing more applications to be considered without additional funding.
REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS
Thank you for providing funding for local and regional projects in the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The City of Yakima used $900,000 to construct a section
of Nob Hill Boulevard that is critical to continued redevelopment of the Congdon Orchards
property.
As Congress considers legislation for continued investment, we urge you to provide full
funding for federal transportation programs that support bridges, roads, highways,
and transit. Support funding that goes directly to local governments, such as
transportation enhancements, and the Congestion Management Air Quality
Program that helps reduce congestion and protect the environment.
Yakima Trans Action Regional Priorities
The City of Yakima is a partner agency in Trans Action, a regional collaborative effort to
improve strategic transportation connection points in the Upper Yakima Valley. Trans Action's
priority funding requests include the Yakima Railroad Grade Separation Project and the
Gateway Corridor - Sawmill Redevelopment Study.
Martin Luther King, ,Jr. Boulevard Railroad Grade Separation Project -- $2,000,000,
The Lincoln Avenue underpass will begin construction in April 2010, but the city is still short of
funds to ensure construction of the second underpass (MLK), which could begin following
completion of Lincoln Avenue in July 2011. Additional federal funding will ensure the second
underpass is built in a timely manner and does not incur significant cost increases.
Amtrak North Coast Hiawatha, Passenger Train Route: The City of Yakima supports
legislation to authorize and funding to restore passenger service along the North Coast
Hiawatha passenger route, including stops in Yakima and Pasco. Directed by Congress,
Amtrak published a feasibility study on this route in October 2009. The study projected a
yearly ridership of 359,800, and estimated that $1 billion in funds would be necessary to
restore the North Coast Hiawatha, including over $300 million for new locomotives and rolling
stock. While it would take four to five years to reintroduce the service if a decision is made to
move forward, restoration of this service could have a tremendous economic impact for our
region's growing wine and eco- tourism industries.I
ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Thank you for funding the Energy Environment and Conservation Block Grant in the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The City of Yakima received over $800,000
from this program that is allowing us to make significant investments that will reduce energy
consumption, improve safety and save local tax dollars for items such as streetlights and
efficiency improvements to city buildings, including the Southeast Community Center, Miller
Park Activity Center and the Office of Neighborhood Development Services. An additional $2
billion for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program in 2010 will help
communities to further these local efforts.
•
Support reauthorization of EPA Brownfield Programs.
The City supports reauthorization and increase funding levels for the EPA Brownfields Program.
These programs help communities clean and redevelop industrial sites that have been damaged
or undervalued by environmental contamination. Redevelopment of these sites can create new •
jobs and improve the quality of life for local residents. The City may have several potential sites
in the future that could benefit from federal funding and tax incentive programs such as EPA
Brownfield Redevelopment funds, and the Environmental. Clean -up Deduction available to
federal Renewal Communities such as Yakima.
Shaw and Wide Hollow Creeks Flood Control Project FEMA Grant Application
(FEMA Application Number: PDMC- P3-10 -WA -2010 -002; State Application Number:
WA- 2010 -003)
Yakima County has submitted a grant request to FEMA for $1,002,921 for a project to reduce
predicted flooding damage in an area that has been rapidly urbanized on the west side of
Yakima. This project has been identified in the Draft Ahtanum -Wide Hollow Comprehensive
Flood Hazard Management Plan as one of the four flooding problems in this flood prone
drainage and the highest priority short term action.
The proposed overflow channel will remove approximately 550 acres and 1000 existing and
potential residential lots out of the Floodplain and Floodway as indicated on the attached maps
• and will protect existing developments and future developable land from flooding, allowing
continued residential development in this area.