Tri-Cities gets $27M WSU tech building and black hole education center in state budget
The two-year $4.9 billion capital budget passed by Washington state legislators includes money for many Tri-City projects, including new buildings to be used for education and parks.
“This construction budget puts people first by putting a record amount of funding to build public schools, colleges and universities,” said Rep. Steve Tharinger, the Port Townsend Democrat who is chairman of the House Capital Budget Committee.
Washington State University Tri-Cities and the LIGO Hanford observatory will both get new buildings for students to use.
The capital budget, commonly referred to as the bricks-and-mortar budget, includes $27 million to build the WSU Tri-Cities Academic Building.
It’s part of a record $927 million to construct facilities at public colleges and universities.
The new WSU Tri-Cities building will provide Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) teaching laboratory space for first- and second-year students currently provided in leased spaces.
This has been part of a three-year process to add space to the school. Students, faculty and community members have gathered twice to talk about what they would like to see in the space, said Maegan Murray, a WSU Tri-Cities spokeswoman.
LIGO observatory field trips
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, or LIGO, north of Richland on unused Hanford nuclear reservation land, has not been able to accommodate the demand for school field trips, said Fred Raab, associate director for observatory operations for the Hanford LIGO and a matching LIGO in Louisiana.
It has lacked the physical space needed as interest has grown since it has begun detecting gravitational waves from violent collisions between black holes or neutron stars in recent years.
The state capital budget include $7.7 million for the design and construction of a LIGO STEM Exploration Center at the observatory. It will be used mostly for kindergarten through high school student visits, but also will help support public tours.
It is planned to have a hall to display up to 50 scientific exhibits. Now LIGO has 10 exhibits tucked into available spaces.
It also will include a classroom and a “maker space” for students to make things.
The National Science Foundation will be asked to cover operating costs and could pay for additional educational staff and exhibits.
The WSU Tri-Cities and LIGO project are among about 20 planned in Benton and Franklin counties.
“Most of the attention goes to the Legislature’s big debates over taxes and policy, but projects like these have a great impact on people’s daily lives,” said Sen. Maureen Walsh, R-Walla Walla.
Additional major projects for Benton and Franklin counties include:
Benton County
Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation
▪ $34,000 for the historic Benton County Courthouse.
Department of Commerce
▪ $1.1 million to the Boys & Girls Club of Benton and Franklin counties for its Kennewick Clubhouse project.
▪ $800,000 to Richland School District for an early learning facility.
▪ $464,000 for the Little Badger Mountain trailhead in Richland.
▪ $300,000 for the Pet Overpopulation Prevention Vet Clinic Building in West Richland
▪ $268,000 for parking lot improvements at the Kiona-Benton City School in Benton City.
▪ $103,000 to expand the Benton County Museum in Prosser and restore a leaking roof.
Department of Ecology
▪ $100,000 for completion of the environmental impact statement for the HHH Switzler Storage project. The project is part of the Columbia River Basin Water Supply Development Program.
Military Department
▪ $15.2 million to build a new Readiness Center in the Horn Rapids Industrial Park in Richland on a 40-acre parcel of land acquired by the military department in a previous biennium.
Recreation and Conservation Funding Board
▪ $582,000 for the Benton City sports complex will help buy 25 acres on Ki-Be Road across the street from Kiona-Benton City High School. The sports complex will include fields for soccer, football, baseball and softball. Benton City will provide $389,000.
▪ $82,000 to help buy 11 acres for a Benton City riverfront park near Seventh Street along the Yakima River. Benton City will contribute $20,413 in cash and staff time.
▪ $51,000 for the competitive pool in the Prosser Aquatic Center at E.J. Miller Park to upgrade equipment and add new signs and a public address system.
Washington State Patrol
▪ $400,000 for renovations and security improvements to the WSP crime lab off Highway 395 in Kennewick.
Franklin County
Department of Commerce
▪ $154,000 for the Pasco Farmers Market and to improve Peanuts Park.
Community/Technical College System
▪ Authority is granted for Columbia Basin College to build a $30 million student recreation center. The state capital budget includes a $3 million appropriation.
Students approved a $50 per quarter fee to pay for the construction costs and to fund running the building. An initial design called for a place to rent outdoor equipment and a basketball court. School leaders hope adding the recreation center will keep more students involved at the school.
Department of Ecology
▪ $150,000 for the Pasco Sanitary Landfill. Zone A of the landfill has 35,000 drums of flammable hazardous substances that are/have been leaking into groundwater. Evidence shows the hazardous substances have already been burning in the landfill. Ecology officials want the drums removed by the liable parties.
Department of Natural Resources
▪ $4 million for DNR’s share of a Local Improvement District with the city of Pasco for infrastructure to increase the value of the agency’s property to be marketed for commercial real estate uses.
Parks and Recreation Commission
▪ $350,000 for the first phase of the A Street Sports Complex, a project to build three multi-use sports fields, a parking lot and other facilities. Pasco will contribute $221,113.
Statewide spending
In addition to focusing on education projects, the capital budget also provides funding for behavioral health, affordable housing and the environment.
The budget includes $120 million in community-based behavioral health projects to help patients transition to care in their own communities. It also sets aside $33.2 million for predesign, planning and design of a new, 150-bed behavioral health teaching facility at the University of Washington Medical Center.
The budget includes $175 million in affordable housing loans and grants through the Housing Trust Fund.
Allocations include:
▪ $35 million for supportive housing and case management services for people living with behavioral health disorders.
▪ $10 million for high-quality modular housing to transition people out of homelessness quickly.
▪ $10 million for competitively awarded grants for state matches on private contributions to fund affordable housing.
The capital budget calls for spending about $148.4 million on toxics cleanup, prevention and stormwater assistance to local governments.
Other spending on environmental projects would prevent wildfires and help the orca population. Forest hazard reduction would receive $14.2 million.
This story was originally published April 30, 2019 at 7:32 PM with the headline "Tri-Cities gets $27M WSU tech building and black hole education center in state budget."