2019-10-28-minutes-public-works-study-session

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September 20, 2019 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Mark Cook, Director Mike Livingston, Regional Director WDFW South Central Rion 1701 South 24th Avenue Yakima, WA 98902-5720 RE: WDFW Support of Lick Creek Culvert Replacement Project The goat of our respective agencies has been working together for meauingfai improvements to fish passage and aquatic habitat when opportunities arise. Most recently, the County received Federal Highway Adminiatrahon funding assistance through their FLAP Grant program to replace fish passage barriers on Tearaway Road. To provide brief history, your agency requested the County consider reassigpiing the funding allocation to replace the Lick Creek fish passage barrier, which wasn't part of this original funding package. Lick Creek is a top -priority watershed for WDFW, DNR, USFS, and Yakama Nation for salmon recovery. In partacrship with WDFW, the County coordinated with FHWA to transfer funding and added Lick Creek as a priority replacement, the importance of the wished. Since that time, collaborative efforts have continued throughout the Lick Creek and Tearaway watersheds, including habitat enhancement and bridge replacememt projects Kittitas County has promoted reconnecting Lick Creek to the NF Teanaway River across DNR property, which would eliminate flood risk on the current alignment and damage to public and private iufiastructure, restore natural stream processes, and allow for a more resilient stream based on Mely future conditions. This is our preferred project. The enclosed informatiion provides the analysis requested by your agency regarding potential effects to charnel migration in the NF Teanaway River and the potential increase in flood risk if the creek were left in the new charnel. With this submittal, we believe you have all information required to determine if you will sponsor the project as a Fish Habitat Enhancement Project as outlined in RCW 77.55.181. Without this support, the project is at risk of not moving forward to construction. We have a meeting with Scott Downes of your staff October 3, 2019 at 9:00 am in Ellensburg. Please let me know how the Department will notice us of your decision sponsoring the re- connection of Lick Creck to the Tearaway River and the associated decision timeline, The requested additional analysis has significantly reduced our federal pemth% turnaround time supporting a 2020 construction bid solicitation.