In April, Governor Inslee signed the bill authorizing up to $1,000,000 of unused funds in the RCO’s $34.7 million appropriation to be used for “further planning, acquisition, and development of the Olympic discovery trail project between Discovery Bay and the trail's intersection with the Larry Scott trail in Jefferson county, without requiring matching resources.” http://leap.leg.wa.gov/leap/budget/lbns/2016Cap2380-S.SL.pdf

Trail Funding

Because of this authorization, funds are now available to the County to proceed with a route planning study for the Eaglemount section of the Olympic Discovery Trail, as authorized in the County’s 2016-2021 Transportation Improvement Plan.  To obtain the funds, the County must enter into a contract with the RCO setting out the terms and conditions by which a grant for the project is made.  Jeff Bohman of the Peninsula Trails Coalition contacted Rep. Tharinger, who confirmed that the RCO would guide access to the funds.  

Contacts with Public Works Department

Recognizing that the County’s Public Works employees are very busy, I contacted Eric Kuzma and offered to assist in any way I could to move the route planning project forward with the RCO.  Eric said he would contact me if he thought I could help. 

Earlier in April – before the funding legislation was signed by the Governor – Jeff Selby and I briefly discussed with Eric the grant funding issues that had come up regarding the Discovery Bay section of the ODT.  Eric raised the possibility of some of the appropriated money being used to resolve the issues.  To me, considering the safety problems at the head of the Bay, it might be OK to use some of the funds for that section if there is no other way to resolve the grant funding issues.  There is at least some theoretical possibility that could be done.  However, the legislative language makes clear that the $1 million is intended first for  route planning, second for property acquisition (once authorized by the County), and third for route development.  

Following our discussion, Eric confirmed that the  legislatively approved funding had been "well received" by the County, and indicated that the next step will be a meeting with RCO to discuss strategies to move the project forward.

County Commissioners Meeting

Also in April, Jeff Selby and I attended a County Commissioners meeting to inform them of the funding legislation and thank them for setting the process in motion by including the project on the TIP.  I provided them with copies of the relevant section of the bill.  Both Jeff and I acknowledged that only a route study has been authorized at this point, and that the next steps by the County (acquisition and development) depends on the results of the study. After our comments, Commissioner Kler thanked Norm Dicks and Steve Tharinger for putting their weight behind the funding effort.  She also recognized Public Works Director Monte Reinders for doing a “terrific job” with County road problems and said she could not thank him enough

Contact with Planning Commission Regarding Comprehensive Plan

During the month I again talked with Cynthia Koan, chair of the County Planning Commission, and reminded her of my offer to assist and of the importance of including the ODT-Eaglemount section in the County’s updated comprehensive plan.  Cynthia told me that she and the staff are currently working on Planning Commission procedures, which are almost complete.  She again expressed her support for the trail.  She asked me to send her a “short and sweet” memo about what needs to be included in the updated comprehensive plan to support the trail – with as much specificity as possible.  I said I’ll do it (but I haven’t done it yet). 

Corridor Tours With Candidate Consultants

During the month, Jeff Selby and I toured the ODT-E corridor, on bicycles, with three candidates for the route planning contract with the County:  Steve Durrant of Alta Planning + Design; Ahmis Loving of Loving Engineering & Consulting; and Dan Ireland of SCJ Alliance Consultants.   Each spent almost a full day touring the area, exploring various sections, and considering route alternatives.  All are knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and cabable (and strong cyclists). 

The County will probably select the route planning consultant from a roster maintained by the Municipal Research Services Center (MRSC).  This is a shared database used by various participating local agencies throughout the State of Washington.  The County does not maintain rosters separate from those provided by MRSC.  Alta, Loving and SRC are all on the MRSC roster.  

Statement of Work

In April I revised my draft Statement of Work (SOW) for the consultant’s contract, and circulated it to some board members of the Peninsula Trails Coalition for their review and comment.  After some vigorous discussions I re-revised it.     

PNNST Advisory Committee – Subcommittee Meeting

Finally, in April the western Washington subcommittee of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail Advisory Committee met in Quilcene.  We discussed in some detail the progress that has been made regarding the ODT-Eaglemount section.  I again suggested that the federal government, which will be sharing the new trail with the City, County and State, should share in its cost.  

In March, Representative Tharinger's funding proposal for planning, acquisition and development of the ODT-Eaglemount trail was included in the updated spending plan announced by budget leaders from the Washington state Senate and House of Representatives.  The Bill, SHB 2380 included the following language:

(2) A maximum of $1,000,000 of unused funds in this appropriation may be used for further planning, acquisition, and development of the Olympic discovery trail project between Discovery Bay and the trail's intersection with the Larry Scott trail in Jefferson county, without requiring matching resources.

On March 30th, after floor consideration by the House and Senate, SHB 2380 was passed, signed by the Speaker of the House, signed by the President of the Senate, and delivered to the Governor.

Good!

The news in March was not all good for the ODT in Jefferson County, however.  During the month we learned that there were potential funding issues with respect to the Discovery Bay section of the trial (the section that runs from Old Gardner Road to Snow Creek).  Those funding issues will have to be addressed before the County can proceed construction of that critical section (which will eventually connect to the Eaglemount section I am working on).   Considering, among other things, that the County’s Public Works Department is very strained because of staff shortages – I understand they have been looking for new hires for two-plus years – and road failures in the west end, the County needs to get the Discovery Bay funding issues resolved before Public Works can focus on the ODT-Eaglemount planning project.

Hopefully, within the next few months the County can satisfy the RCO’s requirements regarding matching funds, endangered species, tenure and control, etc, for the Discovery Bay section of the ODT.  It will then proceed with Eaglemount. 

In February, Rep. Tharinger moved forward with his plan to seek legislative approval to allow up to $1,000,000 of unused funds from an earlier legislative authorization to be used for the trail.  However, in February the County decided not to seek Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) funds for the trail, notwithstanding strong Olympic National Park support for a County FLAP application.    

Tharinger's Proposed Funding Legislation Moves Forward

On February 24, 2016, Representatives Tharinger and DeBolt released their 2016 Supplemental Capital Budget Proposal, PSHB 2380.  The Bill included the following section:

Note that the Tharinger/DeBolt legislation would allow use of the funds for "planning, acquisition, and development" of the trail.  Thus, if the costs of planning -- including administration -- were $85,000, and the costs of acquisition were $400,000, the remaining $515,000 could be used for trail development including construction of the initial phases.  And note that the proposed legislation would permit use of the funds "without requiring matching resources."  This meant that if planning and property acquisition costs were -- say -- $500,000, up to an additional $500,000 could be used for trail development.  And it meant that the Jefferson County would not need to provide any matching funds in order to use the funds.   

Good.

A Proposed FLAP Funding Request Is Not Made

But, not so good: in February the County decided not to seek Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) funds for the trail planning project, notwithstanding strong Olympic National Park support for a County application. 

FLAP, http://flh.fhwa.dot.gov/programs/flap/, is one of the Federal Lands and Tribal Transportation Programs (FLTTP).  FLAP was established in 23 U.S.C. 204 to improve "federal lands access transportation facilities" that provide access to, are adjacent to, or are located within Federal lands. The words “federal lands access transportation facility” mean a “public highway, road, bridge, trail, or transit system that is located on, is adjacent to, or provides access to Federal lands for which title or maintenance responsibility is vested in a State, county, town, township, tribal, municipal, or local government.” 

Funds made available under FLAP must be used by the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of the appropriate Federal land management agency (in this case, I believe, the National Park Service, as a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Interior) to pay the cost of, among other things, planning, research, and construction of transportation facilities that provide access to Federal land for pedestrians and bicycles.  

FLAP requires each state to create a Programming Decisions Committee (PDC) composed of a representative of the FHWA, a representative of the State DOT, and a representative of the appropriate political subdivisions of the State. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/map21/factsheets/flap.cfm. This committee makes “programming decisions” for FLAP funds – which, I think, simply means where to spend the money.    The committee must give preference to projects that provide access to, are adjacent to, or are located within high-use Federal recreation sites or Federal economic generators, as identified by the Federal Land Management Agencies (FLMAs).  The Olympic National Park is a high-use federal recreation site. 

The program is administered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/map21/factsheets/flap.cfm. George Fekaris is a FHWA Transportation Planner for this region.

As I understood it from Mr. Fekaris, to secure FLAP funding the single most important thing for an applicant to do is to get the FLMAs — in this case, the Olympic National Park Superintendent and Service Director —  to strongly support the proposed FLAP project.

The Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail (PNNST, or, sometimes, PNT) — the newest trail in the National Scenic Trails system — connects Glacier National Park in the east to Olympic National Park in the west.  The PNNST accesses the Olympic National Park on the east end of the Park.  Currently, the access is via SR-20, which means that PNNST hikers who are trying to get to the park must hike down the extremely dangerous stretch of SR-20 from Four Corners Road to US-101, then cross 101 to begin their ascent into the Park.  Access is extraordinarily dangerous for  PNNST hikers and other non-motorized users trying to get to the Park.  The ODT-Eaglemount Trail would bypass that dangerous stretch of highway and provide safe access for hikers and others going to and from the east end of Olympic National Park.

Because FLAP seemed to be the perfect resource for improving access to the Park, I contacted Lisa Turecek, chief of facility management at Olympic National Park, and inquired whether the Park Superintendent and her team would rank the ODT-Eaglemount route planning project as a #1 priority.  If so, I would work with the County and try to get a funding application prepared for The Park's review, in time for the March 4th application deadline.  Ms. Turecek's response was positive; on February 23rd she wrote:

I wanted to pass on to you that this project will be Olympic National Park's #1 Priority for Planning projects. We rank construction projects over planning, but of the planning projects submitted, this is our highest priority. Of the six projects submitted, it was our 4th priority overall. We have conveyed our priorities to the FLAP selection committee as well. I'd encourage you to continue with the application process as the planning priority and size of this request still make selection a good possiblity. Please contact me if you have any further questions.  

I immediately contacted the County Public Works Department and proposed, if the County was willing to apply for FLAP funding, to do the necessary work to prepare the County’s FLAP application.  On February 24th, I received this response: 

When the ODT was put on the TIP, Public Works/County made it clear that while it supports the concept of the Trail and its future development, this project should not pull staff and resources away from other high priority transportation needs/projects.  There are many high priority needs and not all can be addressed in the next 6 years.

 

The County has put significant resources into developing and submitting three FLAP applications that are for high priority transportation needs – repairing failing existing County roads that access federal land of the USFS and ONP (not to mention people’s homes).  Two of those projects are also coincident with the Pacific NW Trail.  Each of the 3 applications has broad support from a number of federal and non-federal stakeholders.  We cannot be sending conflicting messages about our priorities to the Park, George Fekaris, and our legislators.  Public Works had reservations about even submitting 3 applications due to the dilution effect this has on focusing support on the highest priority, but the needs were so critical at these 3 sites that we went ahead with it.  

 

Our Board has been briefed on these priority projects and has approved the applications as required by this process.  We do not have the resources at this time to put into developing a last-minute 4^th application that will compete for support with these higher priority needs.

 

I considered sending a response to Public Works but decided not to, believing there was no chance I could cause the department to change its position. 

So, there will be no FLAP application for the ODT-Eaglemount project for at least two years.  The Program's tentative next call for projects is November 1, 2018.  https://flh.fhwa.dot.gov/programs/flap/

In January of 2016, a funding plan for the ODT-Eaglemount route study was developed and multiple possible funding sources for planning, acquisition and development of the trail were identified.  

This is my first blog post since January 11th -- hard for me to believe -- and the first of what I expect to be several posts to catch up and become current about the progress of the ODT-Eaglemount trail.  Since much has happened, I'll organize these posts chronologically, month-by-month.  

To reiterate an earlier post, on November 16, 2105, the Jefferson County Commissioners authorized a route study for the ODT/Eaglemount trail.  They did not decide to develop the trail.  Their decision whether to acquire land and develop the trail will depend on the results of the study – which will include analysis of the costs of acquisition and development and a report on possible non-County funding sources.  

In late 2015, Jeff Selby and I identified several possible consultants who could do the route study.  One of the candidate consultants – Alta Planning and Design – estimated that it might cost about $75,000 to do the work.  Because Jefferson County’s resources are very limited, the Commissioners decided that the $75,000 for a route study, plus $10,000 for administration, would have to come from non-County sources.  

Norm Dicks and Rep. Tharinger encouraged the Commissioners to authorize the route study, and assured the Commissioners that they would find a funding source for the study and the administrative costs. 

January 2016

Tharinger Funding Plan

In January of 2016, State Rep. Steve Tharinger and others developed a plan to seek legislative approval to allow up to $1,000,000 of unused funds from an earlier legislative authorization to be used for planning and acquisition for the ODT-Eaglemount bypass trail.  

I believe that the $1,000,000 figure came about as follows: 

In late 2015 or January of 2016, Rich James (Clallam County's Public Works transportation program manager, who has been instrumental in getting the ODT built in Clallam County), generated a map of a possible Eaglemount bypass route.  Here’s a link to a map roughly showing the Rich James route:  http://arcg.is/1mlefOK.  The Rich James proposed route is marked with blue highlighting.  The map is not precise in terms of location of the trail.  I'm working with Casey Finedell, a mapping expert (and long-distance bicycler) on a more precise map.  

(Parenthetically, for what its worth, I prefer a different route, marked with yellow highlighting on the linked map. The blue route is arguably more bucolic, staying off Fairmount Road and away from SR 20, but the yellow route is shorter. The two routes cross SR 20 at different locations.  Both routes have some significant topographical challenges.  The blue (James) route would require the acquisition of more private land than the route that I prefer.  Both routes cross City of Port Townsend land, and it is uncertain whether the City will allow that.  If the City ultimately denies access, a totally different route, east of the Eaglemount summit, will probably have to be used.  Also, it is uncertain whether any of the private landowners will agree to have parts of the trail on their properties.  Possibly a fourth route, following the power lines and crossing other private properties, will have to be selected.  All of the possible routes will need to be carefully examined by engineers and/or contractors to verify their feasibility.  Additional public input will have to be solicited before any route is finally selected and recommended to the Commissioners.)

I believe that the $1,000,000 figure resulted from a 2015 conversation between Rep. Tharinger and Mr. James, in which Mr. James estimated the length of his proposed alternative to be about 12 miles (or 63,360 feet).  If a 30 foot right-of-way has to be acquired for all 12 miles, this would total about 1,900,000 square feet, or 43.6 acres.  If acquisition costs averaged $20,000 per acre, the total cost would be about $875,000 (20,000 x 43.6 = 872,727).  That, plus $85,000 for planning and County administrative costs, would bring the figure to just short of $1,000,000.  

I also believe, however, that for any of the possible routes, much of the land required for the trail might not have to be acquired.  For example, using the Rich James proposed route, about 32,000 feet (six miles) would be on publicly-owned property – East Uncas Road, Eaglemount Road, City Lake Road, City Waterline Access Road, DNR Property, Anderson Lake State Park property, PUD #1 property, Four Corners Road and Discovery Road.  Even using the (high) $20,000/acre figure, if the County did not have to buy that land, acquisition costs would be more in the range of $450,000.  Add $100,000 for route planning, and the total for planning and acquisition would be approximately $550,000.  With this in mind, I asked Norm Dicks to suggest to Rep. Tharinger that the legislative authorization  be for “planning, acquisition and development” of the trail.

Possible Funding Sources 

In January I prepared the following list of possible additional funding sources for the trail – assuming the planning consultant’s report would be favorable and would be generated in time for funding applications which would be due in the spring:

• WSDOT’s 2016 Pedestrian and Bicycle Program (PBP), http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/LocalPrograms/SafeRoutes/CallForProjects.htm   Website: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/LocalPrograms/ATP/funding.htm (applications were due on May 6, 2016)

• Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP), https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/map21/factsheets/flap.cfm (applications were due on March 4, 2016)

• Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), http://www.lwcfcoalition.org/in-the-news.html, see http://www.rco.wa.gov/grants/lwcf.shtml. The LWCF program was sunsetted in 2015, but President Obama’s FY 2017 budget recommendations, released on February 4, 2016, included a $900 million continued commitment to full and dedicated funding).  I don’t know when applications might be due

• Non-Highway and Off-Road Vehicle Program (NOVA), http://wdfw.wa.gov/grants/nova/. NOVA applications are accepted in even-numbered years. I don’t know when in 2016 NOVA applications are due.

• WWRP  Washington Wildlife Recreation Program (Trails Category) (WWRP), http://www.rco.wa.gov/grants/wwrp.shtml. I don’t know when WWRP applications are due.

• “In-kind” contributions. The City could possibly record an easement for the trail across its property, and the value of this easement deed could be used for a funding match. Likewise, the DNR to do the same on the  property south of Anderson Lake Road.  (As I understand it -- or possibly misunderstand it -- the DNR easement would be on Forest Transfer Trust land – which is controlled by the County, so the contributory value would actually be coming from the County.)

• Jefferson County reportedly maintains a large fund from its lodging tax.  In October 2105 several people suggested that these funds could be used by the County for the ODT/Eaglemount trail.  We should not ask the County to use these funds for “planning,” since in November 2015 we assured the Commissioners that we would look for non-County funds for the planning project.  If the County decides to proceed with acquisition and development, however, we could request the County to provide match funds from this lodging tax source.

• Fundraising, including additional PTC appeals, events (like the Freddy Pink Concerts), and online fundraising (using social media and fundraising sites) should be used to show community support and raise matching funds.

• The cities of Port Townsend, Sequim and Port Angeles, and the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, will all benefit from completion of the ODT.  All could be asked for contributions of matching funds.  There have been some preliminary indications from the S’Klallam Tribe that it might consider making such a contribution. 

• Private sources such as foundations (e.g., Forterra, formerly Cascade Land Conservancy; see Forterra’s “Olympic Agenda” at http://forterra.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Olympic-Agenda-First-Look-Forterra.pdf), health care companies (Jefferson Healthcare, Olympic Medical Center), Chambers of Commerce, and major retailers (REI, Henery Hardware, Home Depot, Costco, etc), could be approached for match contributions.