West Seattle Bridge

Community Task Force

Meeting #4
July 8, 2020
Date (xx/xx/xxxx) Department
Date (xx/xx/xxxx) Department
Nameof Finance and Administrative
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 Agenda
• Welcome and Intros – 5 minutes
• Group Working Agreement – 10 minutes
• Technical updates: finance, bridge, neighborhood prioritization – 25 minutes
• Task Force Breakout Discussion – 60 minutes
• Task Force Report Back – 15 minutes
• Next steps & Meeting #5 (July 22 @ noon) – 5 minutes

Please note, audio and video for this Webex Event is being recorded and afterward will be available online and accessible to media.

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 Welcome and Introductions
Introductions from:
oKatie Garrow
oPort Commissioner Fred Felleman (for Commissioner Steinbrueck)
oSeattle City Councilmember Tammy Morales

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 Group working agreement - Paulina
1. Acknowledge/respect differences and 9. Provide honest input and feedback, with
similarities constructive solutions
2. Balance advocacy & inquiry 10. If we agree to something, we fulfill it
3. WAIT: Why Am I Talking; Why Aren’t I 11. Follow through on
Talking promises/commitments
4. Assume good intentions AND tend to 12. Respect everyone’s role and rely on
impact each other’s expertise
5. Actively participate – Be fully 13. Approach everything as a team (all
present and remain fully engaged equal participants)
6. Respect the views of all participants 14. Support each other; listen to
7. Commit to growing individual equity understand (rather than listening to
competence/lens respond)
8. Commit to difficult conversations when 15. Be transparent
necessary

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 Bridge structure update – Matt Donahue

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 Emergency bridge repair and stabilization:
Temporary Crack Arrest Measures
• We are currently doing work to stabilize
the bridge and slow or stop continuing
deterioration
• Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP)
wrap on affected girders
• Girder interior floor post-tensioning system
• Epoxy injection into cracks over .3mm in
width prior to CFRP installation
• Design of a long-term repair could be an
extension of stabilization work and
would be designed by our current
engineering consultant
Example of a bridge with girders supported by CFRP and
columns wrapped in it.

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 Six-Year Seattle Transportation Benefit District Proposal to
Aid Recovery
• The previous Seattle Transportation Benefit District (STBD) measure – which was
overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2014 – is set to expire at the end of this year.

• This week, Mayor Durkan transmitted legislation for a new STBD proposal to generate
between $20 and $30 million a year for transit over the next six years.

• If approved by the City Council, the new STBD would go before Seattle voters this
November and would support continued access to frequent and reliable transit service
after the current funding sources expire at end of year.

• The new STBD proposal ensures the critical elements and bus routes of Seattle’s transit
network are maintained, equitable access to transit continues to be prioritized, and the
City maintains its ability to scale up service as Seattle’s transit ridership recovers from the
COVID-19 pandemic.

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 Make investments in that address acute mobility needs in areas
like West Seattle.
• We are also facing a mobility crisis for all
communities in and around West Seattle as a
result of the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge
closure in March of this year.
• This includes the many freight and maritime
businesses in the region who play a critical role
in the vibrancy of our economy, but also the
many small businesses and communities
acutely impacted by the closure.
• This is not just a traffic issue; it’s an equity issue.
• Current detour routes have travelers heading south, cutting
through some of the most diverse communities in our city,
who already face disproportionate levels of pollution,
asthma, and environmental injustice.

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 Draft Process + Flow – Reconnect West Seattle

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 Reconnect: Help Needed
from Community Task Force
Launch:
• Help to generate involvement in prioritization and surveys
• Share launch email/post with community and constituents (SDOT will provide draft)
• Invite SDOT technical assistance to community meetings
• July 17: mobility survey postcard sent to West Seattle addresses
• July 27: send reminder email/post (SDOT will provide draft)
• July 31 surveys close

Review and Synthesis Targets (revised):

• August 5 & 19 Task Force: Review results and provide input to SDOT
• Early September: Reconnect West Seattle Plan

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 Three Fundamental Funding Truths
• First: What is best for the community and the bridge will drive our decisions

• Second: It is likely that any repair or replace scenario would exceed the City’s
financial means without outside funding

• Third: Like every major city in the United States, Seattle is maintaining our aging
infrastructure in the face of grossly insufficient federal funding.
• SDOT continues to prioritize the safety and resiliency of our transportation
infrastructure while simultaneously making the new investments necessary
to keep our city moving as our population grows at unprecedented rates.

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 Repair or Replacement Will Be Expensive
• The upcoming Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) will compare repair and replacement
scenarios using a broad range of criteria
• Draft criteria will be presented to the Community Task Force in August
• No matter which path we select, we will need to explore every funding option
• It is unlikely that any one funding option will be enough, so we will have to pursue
many options
• SDOT is taking necessary steps to be ready to take advantage of funding
opportunities

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 Exploring Many Ways to Pay
Funding – money we could receive
• Re-purposed SDOT funds from other
programs
• State and Federal Grants
• Loans, such as Transportation
Infrastructure Financing
and Innovation Act (TIFIA) Loans
• Partnerships with other local
authorities
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Finance - how we could pay it back
• A municipal bond sale – also known
as "debt financing"
• Tolling
• Public-Private Partnerships
• Voter measure (property tax, lid lift)
• Value Capture – Local Improvement
Districts, user fees, impact fees
 Investment-Grade Traffic and Revenue Study
• Could support both bond repayment
(debt financing) and TIFIA loan
• Requires a specialized consultant
• 18-month timeline
• Plan to release the RFP/RFQ in July
2020
• Will check-in with Task Force
throughout study
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• Will help to answer our questions
through these elements:
• Travel demand model of the bridge
corridor
• Traffic volume projections
• Tolling scenarios and related traffic
diversion
• Analysis of ability of tolls to repay debt
 Task Force Breakout Groups
Discussion

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 Breakout Group Questions
1. What are your biggest concerns about the bridge?
2. What are you hearing from your communities or constituencies?
3. How will you get word out to your communities or constituencies
about key WSB topics like traffic project prioritization?
4. How can we more efficiently and effectively organize our Task Force
meetings to best advise the City?

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 Breakout Group Assignments
Group A
Co-Chair Paulina Lopez- South Park
Charlie Able -Juneau/E Alaska Junction
Dan Austin – West Seattle Chamber
David Bestock – DNDA/Youngstown Arts
Fred Felleman – Port of Seattle
Tim McConnell – West Seattle Runner
KC Councilmember Joe McDermott
Amanda Kirk- West Seattle Bridge Now
Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon
Ken Bowden – Nucor Steel/Chamber
Deputy Mayor Shefali Ranganathan
Greg Ramirez – Georgetown Community
CM Alex Pedersen
Shayna Daitch -Sen Murray
Peter Goldman- WEC/Cascade BC
Marci Carpenter – Natl Fed for Blind- WA
Charlene Robins – High Point Clinic/Fauntleroy CA
CM Tammy Morales
Department of Transportation
Group B
Co-chair: Greg Nickels - Admiral
Lora Radford – West Seattle Junction Assn
Erin Goodman- SODO BIA
Mark Aytch – Roxhill
Jolene Haas – Duwamish Tribe
Todd Carden – Elliott Bay Brewing
Sen Joe Nguyen
Colleen Desmond – Highland Park
Rep. Eileen Cody
Jill Mackie – Vigor
KC Deputy Exec Rachel Smith
John Persak – Georgetown Community/Maritime Labor
CM Lisa Herbold
Yazmin Mehdi – Rep Jayapal
Anne Higuera – Ventana Construction
Aley Thompson – South Park, Duwamish Safe Streets
Bob Watters – SSA Marine
Deb Barker – Morgan Comm Assn
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 Task Force Breakout Groups
Report Back

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 Next Steps & Potential Agenda Topics

• July 22
• Bridge and Reconnect West Seattle Updates
• Mobility Planning
• August 5
• Bridge Updates and Next Steps
• Reconnect West Seattle Priorities and Survey Results; Part 1
• August 19
• Bridge Updates and Next Steps
• Reconnect West Seattle Priorities and Survey Results; Part 2

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 Thank you!

www.seattle.gov/transportation/WestSeattleBridge

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