On March 3rd, the State Supreme Court agreed to hear the Mercer Corridor "Condemnation" Case (Heglund Vs. City of Seattle) which means the City cannot proceed with acquisition of the West Marine Property along Mercer needed to make way for the Mayor/Vulcan 2-Way Plan.
And that means this project is not "shovel ready" and must be taken off the PSRC's list of potential projects for stimulus funding! Even though the State Legislature denied stimulus funds for Mercer, Our Mayor and Vulcan Inc. continue to lobby the Puget Sound Regional Council for stimulus funds they control!
"You must call or email the PSRC today and tell them to deny stimulus funding for the Mercer Corridor Project"(hearing to take public testimony and decision by Board Thurs March 12th - see below for email address where you can write and address for hearing)
- tell them that it doesn't serve regional transportation needs and is simply a beautification project designed to divert traffic away from Paul Allen's properties along Mercer!
- And of special importance, this project cannot be deemed shovel ready - not when a lawsuit is pending and condemnation cannot proceed. Federal funds also could not be released for Mercer until this case is resolved which will take no less that four months to resolve or possibly as long as 16 months. (projects must be prioritized that are ready to go within 90 days)
- Insist that the PSRC direct these stimulus funds to truly worthy projects addressing a long backlog regional and/or local needs
Earlier this week, the State Supreme Court (See "NO. 82192-5 - CITY OF SEATTLE V. ALBERT HEGLUND ET UX ET AL") agreed to hear the case of Heglund and Marine West Vs. the City of Seattle which means that the City cannot proceed with the condemnation and acquisition of property along the Mercer Corridor needed for the city to proceed with Mayor's Mercer 2-Way Expansion Plan.
The Heglund Marine West Property is located smack in the right of way and the federal government never would release federal dollars when a court case is pending that could deny the city the right to proceed at all. The court will not hear the case at least until May or more likely June. Decisions from the court may follow anywhere from a week to one year after hearing these oral arguments. This means that Mercer could never be deemed "shovel ready" (ie ready to go within 90 days) and on that basis alone should be disqualified from access to federal stimulus funds.
But that isn't stopping the Mayor and Councilmember Jan Drago from seeking PSRC controlled stimulus funding - both of whom sit on the PSRC Board (along with a host of other offices from the region - see full list below). Just last week, Drago and the Mayor withheld critical information from the City Council, suggesting that the Legislature would be providing federal stimulus funds for Mercer in order to ensure a vote by the council giving the go-ahead for the project. Several days before the vote however, they had already been informed that Mercer would not be receiving these funds.
We urge you today to call or write/email the PSRC board - see contacts below - and tell them to say NO to stimulus funding for Mercer! Come to the hearing too on the 12th if you can (but please email or call today one way or another since they vote on the 12th what projects will get this funding).
Current list of projects given priority to receive PSRC stimulus fundshttp://www.psrc.org/RPEC_ARRA_FinalRecommendations_022709.pdf Even though Mercer isn't now on this list, it could be placed on it at the last minute. The board votes on the 12th. We know the City is lobbying to get funds for the project back into the package. Councilmember Drago and the Mayor are on the board of PSRC and will be doing their level best to get it on the list so you much email/call ASAP.
Who to contact to oppose funding for MercerE-mail here but also contact individual boardmembers listed below: krichter@psrc.orgMail:Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC)ATTN: Karen Richter1011 Western Avenue, Suite 500Seattle, Washington 98104-1035 Phone: 206-971-3289 In Person: 9:30 AM, ThursdayMarch 12, 2009 at PSRC (Boardroom)Board Room, 5th Floor 1011 Western Avenue Seattle, Washington
List of transportation policy boardmembers to contact directly who will be making the recommendations on the 12th right after public hearing: Mayor Katrina Asay, City of Milton - Other Cities in Pierce County Deputy Mayor Claudia Balducci, City of Bellevue Shiv Batra, Bellevue Chamber of Commerce - Business/Labor Clifford Benson, Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board Mayor Cary Bozeman, City of Bremerton Councilmember Kim Brackett, City of Bainbridge Island - Other Cities in Kitsap County Don Briscoe, IFPTE Local 17 - Business/Labor Commissioner Josh Brown, Kitsap County/Kitsap Transit Councilmember Jeanne Burbidge, City of Federal Way - Other Cities in King County Councilmember Mike Cooper, Snohomish County Commissioner John Creighton, Port of Seattle Aubrey Davis, Community Representative - Community/Environment Councilmember Jan Drago, City of Seattle Councilmember Reagan Dunn, King County Representative Deborah Eddy, Washington State House Transportation Committee Mayor Dave Enslow, City of Sumner - Sound Transit Councilmember Pat Ewing, City of Bothell - Other Cities in King County Councilmember Tim Farrell, Pierce County Councilmember Jake Fey, City of Tacoma Commissioner Richard Ford, Washington State Transportation Commission Steve Gorcester, Washington State Transportation Improvement Board Lynne Griffith - Pierce Transit Councilmember Bruce Harrell, City of Seattle Senator Mary Margaret Haugen, Washington State Senate Transportation Committee Rob Johnson, Transportation Choices Coalition - Community/Environment Mayor Joe Marine, City of Mukilteo - Community Transit Senator Cheryl Pflug, Washington State Senate Transportation Committee Councilmember Paul Roberts, City of Everett - Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Mayor Graeme Sackrison, City of Lacey - Thurston Regional Planning Council Brian Smith, Washington State Department of Transportation Chip Vincent, City of Renton - PSRC Regional Staff Committee Mayor Donnetta Walser, City of Monroe - Other Cities in Snohomish County Elizabeth Warman, The Boeing Company - Business/Labor Mark Weed, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce - Business/Labor Luella Wells, League of Women Voters of Washington - Community/Environment Randy Witt, City of Bainbridge Island - PSRC Regional Project Evaluation Committee
Executive Board at noon on the 12th will make final decisions - here is a list of those folks:
Councilmember Carol Arends, City of Bremerton Mayor Linda Bird, City of University Place - Other Cities in Pierce County Commissioner Josh Brown, Kitsap County Commissioner Bill Bryant, Port of Seattle Councilmember Shawn Bunney, Pierce County Councilmember Mary-Alyce Burleigh, City of Kirkland - Other Cities in King County Councilmember Richard Cole, City of Redmond - Other Cities in King County Mayor Suzette Cooke, City of Kent Mayor Grant Degginger, City of Bellevue Councilmember Jan Drago, City of Seattle Secretary Paula Hammond, Washington State Department of Transportation Councilmember Bruce Harrell, City of Seattle Councilmember Linda Kochmar, City of Federal Way Mayor Darlene Kordonowy, City of Bainbridge Island - Other Cities in Kitsap County Mayor Denis Law, City of Renton Councilmember Mike Lonergan, City of Tacoma Commissioner Bill Mahan, Port of Bremerton Mayor Joe Marine, City of Mukilteo - Other Cities in Snohomish County Commissioner Richard P. Marzano, Port of Tacoma Executive Pat McCarthy, Pierce County Councilmember Richard McIver, City of Seattle Councilmember Sally Nelson, City of Burien - Other Cities in King County Mayor Greg Nickels, City of Seattle Commissioner Connie Niva, Port of Everett Commissioner Dan O'Neal, Washington State Transportation Commission Councilmember Julia Patterson, King County Councilmember Sonny Putter, City of Newcastle - Other Cities in King County Executive Aaron Reardon, Snohomish County Executive Ron Sims, King County Councilmember Dave Somers, Snohomish County
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Before you rant against Mercer, you might want to look at the PSRC list of recommended stimulus projects. If you did you would see that Mercer IS NOT on the list, and you were wasting people's time by telling them to contact PSRC.
In addition, if you knew anything about the court case you mention you would know that it will more than likely side in the city's favor since the Mercer street project is most definitely a public project.
A little more research on your part would be helpful.
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