Othello preps for 2024 legislative session
GABRIEL DAVIS | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 2 months AGO
Lions Park’s former playground sits beneath an Othello water tower. Lions Park playground and park upgrades were the subject of Othello’s budget requests during the previous legislative session. During this year’s session, the focus is on the city’s ongoing water supply project, according to the city’s legislative lobbyist Holly Sanabria.
FILE PHOTO
According to Othello’s state legislature lobbyist, Holly Sanabria of Gordon Thomas Honeywell Government Relations, the 2024 state legislative session begins on Jan. 8, and the focus of the session will be on adopting supplemental operating capital and transportation budgets.
Gabriel Davis is a resident of Othello who enjoys the connections with his sources. Davis is a graduate of Northwest Nazarene University where he studied English and creative writing. During his free time, he enjoys reading, TV, movies and games – anything with a good story, though he has a preference for science fiction and crime. He covers the communities on the south end of Grant County and in Adams County. | November 16, 2023 5:56 PM
OTHELLO – Othello’s state legislature lobbyist, Holly Sanabria of Gordon Thomas Honeywell Government Relations, gave a presentation at Monday’s regular Othello City Council meeting on preparing the city for the 2024 legislative session.
“I'll begin by providing a general overview of what to expect for the 2024 session, then review the city's legislative priority for this session and I'll wrap up by talking about next steps. The 2024 session will be a short 60-day session and the second year of the biennium.”
The 2024 session begins Jan. 8, Sanabria said.
“The legislature's primary objective during a short session is to adopt supplemental operating capital and transportation budgets. And supplemental budgets are designed to make really minute changes to the biennial budgets, or what the legislature adopted the previous year, and account for changes in revenue projections and program or project costs,” she said. “The most recent operating budget forecast shows the state has roughly $900 million more than what was anticipated when the budget was adopted. Meanwhile, the transportation, budget and project acts around the state are continuing to come in higher than they were estimated and received funding for in the current budget. So legislators will need to determine how to manage these costs.”
Every bill that was introduced in 2023 that did not pass will be automatically reintroduced, Sanabria said, and legislators can also introduce new bills.
“So our ask this session is centered around the water supply project that the city has been working on for several years now,” Sanabria said. “We have received significant state investment for Othello's water supply goals, and we continue to remain hyper-focused on it. At the state legislative level, it is what Othello is known for and there is support for this work across the aisle. So, it puts the city in a great position to continue pushing for partnerships for this major investment.
The requested funds will go towards designing a water treatment plant, Sanabria said.
“As you all know, we received funding last session for the pre-design phase of this project, as well as funding to support the Lions Park project,” she said. “So the next goal is to demonstrate to the state that this funding for those projects will be rolled out and completed on time and on schedule.”
The city of Othello is currently in the process of installing playground equipment at Lions Park using its funds from the state.
“Because we are approaching a supplemental budget year, there is less funding to go after in comparison to the very successful session we just had receiving 1 million in total investment between the two projects,” Sanabria said. “So the city's request of $400,000 to go towards the design phase of the water treatment plan is definitely a reasonable request for this session.”
According to Othello’s state legislature lobbyist, Holly Sanabria of Gordon Thomas Honeywell Government Relations, the 2024 state legislative session begins on Jan. 8, and the focus of the session will be on adopting supplemental operating capital and transportation budgets.Sanabria said this will be the final session Jay Inslee will serve as Washington’s governor. Sanabria said he has taken an interest in Othello’s efforts towards a sustainable water source, and the new governor will have to be introduced to those efforts.
“The city took the opportunity to meet with the governor's water policy staff and briefed them on this project, where we're at and the $400,000 requests that we plan to make. The city was also able to submit a formal request for that funding through the governor's office. And that means that the city's project will be on the list of consideration as the governor develops his budget proposals for 2024. If the city's project is included in the Governor's proposal, it will definitely give us a leg up as we pursue it during the legislative session.”
Finally, Sanabria commented on the process as a whole.
“We are making great strides and will continue to advocate in the months leading up to session and during session for the inclusion of this project within the state's final budget.”
Gabriel Davis may be reached at gdavis@columbiabasinherald.com. Download the Columbia Basin Herald app on iOS and Android.
MORE STORIES
ARTICLES BY GABRIEL DAVIS
Work-based learning lets students build their own futures
MOSES LAKE — Work-based learning provides education opportunities for the workforce to receive hands-on training and technical education and prepare themselves to enter various industries. Educators and workforce development professionals from Eastern Washington discussed some the training they offer and the benefits of their programs. Next Generation Zone, an affiliate of WorkSource based in Spokane, provides job training opportunities for youth and young adults ages 16 to 24. Program Coordinator Kate Martin said there are multiple benefits to the program. “One of them is a paid work experience, and that’s where we reach out to area employers who are willing to take a young person and train them,” she said. “This is a short-term learning experience, so it’s typically about 240 hours; sometimes it could be longer or shorter. We’re the actual employer; we cover all of their wages, taxes, the L&I, and the employer just agrees to give them the experience and train them in whatever field it is that they’re wanting to go into.”
Serving schools: ESD superintendents reflect on operations, priorities
MOSES LAKE — Educational service districts are government-mandated agencies put in place to provide services to school districts across the state. ESD Superintendents discussed what they do and their priorities in operating their districts. ESD 105, led by Superintendent Kevin Chase, serves four counties, including Kittitas, Yakima and portions of Klickitat and Grant counties and provides support for 25 school districts – including Royal School District and Wahluke School District – and more than 66,000 students. “We help them collaborate with each other as well or collaborate with other partners,” Chase said. “(It’s) a lot of advocacy work, either regionally or across the state, or even federally, working on different issues that impact our education. And we provide very specialized services in certain situations in order to meet the needs of our students in our region and of our school districts.”
Columbia Basin Project making headway through Odessa Groundwater program
CASHMERE — The Columbia Basin Project is making gradual progress toward completion with particularly significant accomplishments for the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program in the last six months or so, according to Columbia Basin Development League Executive Director Sara Higgins. “When we’re dealing with a project of this size, advancement is kind of like watching paint dry, but yes, there have been (developments),” she said. “There are a lot of exciting things happening right now.” There are more than 300 miles of main canals, about 2,000 miles of lateral canals and 3,500 miles of drains and wasteways in the irrigation project, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation website. The CBDL advocates for the operation of those waterways and for the project to continue “build-out.”