2024-04-08-minutes-public-works-study-session

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perspectives and experiences with Kittitas County roads and bridges and identified both support and opposition to a proposed road levy to pay for continued road and bridge maintenance. Throughout the interviews, many of the participants echoed similar themes that included: • An acknowledgement that County roads and bridges were in pretty good condition overall, but require continued maintenance and that some specific areas were in poorer condition • A need to consider different methods of raising funds that did not disproportionally burden residents and allowed visitors to help pay the costs • A need to understand the specifics of a levy, what led to needing a levy, and how the funds would be used, and • The need to lead any levy outreach with transparency and to start that outreach as soon as possible, with opportunities for in person engagement. Key Themes and Takeaways The following section highlights the key themes and takeaways from the stakeholder interviews Stakeholders The time interviewees have lived in the county ranged from just a few years to multi -generation lifelong residents. They live and recreate in the area in addition to working in a variety of fields, including emergency services, transportation, real estate, tourism, business, agriculture, and public service. Overall, interviewees said that transportation was a priority and felt that their peers, professional groups, and communities also shared their priorities and concerns around maintaining County roads for safety and daily personal and business -related use. They generally had a positive outlook regarding Kittitas County and quality of life issues, though almost all shared concerns about area growth and funding growth -related road and bridge needs. Current Situation Interviewees use County roads and bridges to get to and from home and work, for recreation, for business, transporting harvest, and for daily tasks. They shared that visitors also rely on the roads and bridges to visit the area, especially during the summer months for recreation and for people who have homes in the area. Overall, participants describe the conditions of the county roads and bridges as pretty good, with an average rating of about six or seven on A a scale of one to ten, with one being the worst and 10 the best. While fm 6 Newhomes in the roads and bridges are generally in good condition, some did rural areas and acknowledge that some areas have roads and bridges in poor condition, an increase in such as decommissioned bridges in Elk Meadow. Some people also noted visitors put concerns over road and bridge conditions and their ability to support larger pressure on vehicles like emergency services vehicles, freight for hauling goods, or roads. 55 school buses (i.e., school buses can no longer use Cook Canyon Bridge due to safety concerns). It was also noted that upper county roads dealt with increased wear and usage due to greater traffic and spillover from Interstate-90 (1-90) congestion. A number of Kittitas County Road Levy Research j Stakeholder Interview Draft Summary 2 March 2024