2020-10-26-minutes-public-works-study-session

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DRAFT FbD capital support sign -on letter: Governor's 2021-23 budget (Fall 2020) 1,300 acres of working lands, including farmland, dairies, aquaculture sites and ranches, creatively funded projects that keep critical floodplain dairies viable by investing in new technologies to treat dairy waste while improving water quality, and improved infrastructure benefitting another 7,800 acres of working lands. Resilient communities The program not only helps sustain local economic productivity, the infrastructure works it funds creates hundreds of local high -paying engineering and construction jobs. This year has been remarkably challenging for Washingtonians across our state in many ways —with a public health emergency, continued climate -change exacerbated disasters, social unrest and economic losses for many. Beyond the health impacts of COVID-19, community and economic systems are strained, and workers across the state have lost their livelihoods. Capital investments get people to work. Capital investments in flood risk reduction simultaneously protect communities from devastating floods that would be even harder to recover from. Investments in salmon recovery sows the seeds for a return of harvestable fish for cultural, recreational and commercial purposes. Investment in our farm communities keeps food local, keeps our economy diversified and supports hard hit rural communities. It has also been a time when more and more families find solace in the outdoors. Floodplains by Design has created or improved 25 public areas where Washingtonians and visitors can go to find respite and renewal in nature — creating more opportunities for improving not just physical resilience, but spiritual resilience as well. It's clear that now, more than ever, it is time to invest in Washington's people and natural places. Floodplains by Design supports cultural, ecosystem and economic well-being — since 2013, it has created 2,755 new jobs across Washington, supporting 45 watershed -scale projects in 16 counties. Scientists find fish in the newly built restoration sites, farmers see another year they can farm, and many people are proud to have jobs that contribute to a State they love. By working toward the goals held by diverse people in a community and by working at a landscape scale, communities are coming together to shape their communities so they are more resilient to the impacts of climate change — including abnormally destructive floods, mudslides and extreme storms. A record of results From the Olympic Peninsula to the Palouse, and Bellingham to Vancouver, Floodplains by Design projects have improved outcomes for flood risk reduction, working lands and fish and wildlife habitat along 15 major rivers. Flood managers, tribal nations, farmers and community organizations are developing clear plans for how to solve their community problems. This is much-needed work. As communities work together more closely and link funding sources, staff resources, and previously disconnected plans — a path forward is ever increasingly emerging. Because communities are seeing actual results that matter, resources better leveraged, and time spent more efficiently, the program continues to grow as a trusted tool that can respond to creative solutions brought forward by local collaborations. More than half the 7,217 acres of floodplains FbD projects have reconnected since the program began is the result of work that was funded in the 2019-21 biennium, when the Legislature appropriated $50.4 million for the program — its highest appropriation yet. Floodplains by Design is poised to rapidly scale up multiple -benefit results in communities across Washington with increased public investment. With a capital investment of $70 million, Floodplains by Design projects would leverage an additional $79,003,090 from other sources -- more than doubling the value of every capital dollar.