City gives nod of approval to ballot measure and bike racks

    City Council gathered June 25 at 6:30 p.m. with the plan to plant themselves on either the supportive or opposing side of the Link Transit ballot and put in motion supplying more bike racks.
    Link Transit general manager, Richard DeRock, presented the ballot measure at the May 14 study session. Essentially the .4 % Link collects from 8.4% sales tax in Leavenworth will increase with an addition .2%. This increase isn't to keep Link afloat, the public transportation unit is financially sturdy to continue running as is, this is just to fuel an expansion that the public voiced they wanted.
    "We heard from the community they were interested in a more robust system than we currently have," said Mia Bretz, council member. "Compared to other transit authorities in the state, we have not done any increases when others have. It is modest and timely that this initiative came about - and it came about from the feedback we got from the public."  
    The implementation of the increase will be gradual and the .1% increase will occur in January 2020 and then the next .1% increase will be January 2022.
    "(DeRock) provided some information determining what that (the future projects) would be: Expanding Saturday and adding Sunday services to all towns, increase transit (i.e. more service) on existing routes, expanding coverage and reach to other areas, improving faster travel times between Leavenworth and Wenatchee. So what they're asking for is the .2% and that would be a phased increase," said Joel Walinksi, City Administrator.
    There was a public hearing prior to the vote so that the council could use the opportunity to hear from residents and Link representatives before swaying either way. Council member Sharon Waters seemed heavily interested in determining how much benefit Leavenworth residents would reap from the future projects.
    "I like to see it be more specific where they mention Leavenworth and where they say services for all cities and town. Because in my experience, the things you think you're getting, you may not be getting all of it. And that bothers me," said Waters. "I've seen too many things, the things they said we're going to happen did not."
    A particular point that was zeroed in on how Leavenworth will benefit was  the commuters that trickle into Leavenworth for those odd timed shifts when Link isn't always running. Those that infiltrate the city for those second shifts, weekend shifts and night owls would be a huge beneficiary of the upgraded transit system.
    "The public has asked for more. We are active in each town, each city we serve to do a better job. We're not perfect, there's more we can do. The proposal is to expand the service," said Russ Speidel, Link tax measure ballot campaign chair. "There's more that's being provided financially to Link, it's about six million dollars when it's in full sweep when it's actually up to .2%. It's a detailed process that takes time to implement."
    With the promise of 30 projects for the public transportation unit to expand and offer more frequent services, many pertaining directly to Leavenworth residents, the council approved the motion to support the ballot measure.
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    Bikers aren't an usual sight around Leavenworth, residents taking the scenic route by biking to work and tourists biking with the beautiful scenery as the backdrop for their ride. The Parking Advisory Committee is picking up the pace on alleviating some downtown issues - particularly with accommodating bikes. Their suggestion to purchase six bike racks should help the problem of overflowing bike racks and the issue of popular joints not offering nearby bike racks for patrons.
    "The Parking Advisory Committee is asking for your approval for an expenditure. We'll use dollars, 50% from the parking fund and 50% from Lodging Tax fund," said Walinski .
    The recommended locations for the racks are: areas on Front Street, Commercial Street, 9th Street and in a lot P1 thirty minute parking stall. Each bike rack cost $1,000. Eight bikes fit into each bike rack so there will be 48 bike spots for those gliding into downtown.
    "We're gaining 48 bicycle spots and losing only one single 30 minute stall," said Mayor Cheri Farivar.
    A&W Paving was approved to do the process of a double shot chip seal for pavement improvement and patching work with the bid of $38,450. The work will be done on: portions of Front Street, Commercial and 9th Street intersection, Schloze and Joseph Street intersection, Benton Street north of Ski Hill Drive and Pine Street east of Titus Road.

Other business tended to:
- Bretz shared some positive news about pieces of legislation that came from the state: the funding for local affordability housing projects could come from retail excise tax and sales tax that's currently allocated for the state.
- With fourth of July on the horizon, it was reiterated there is a firework ban.
- City attorney, Thomas Graafstra shared that the Friends of Leavenworth has served the city to appeal items related to the Adventure Park, but stated the petition to make its way through the Superior Court would take somewhere between two and half to five months.
- Preliminary results from the Highway 2 Corridor Study should be released by September, there will be public meetings throughout the process and the study should be completed by the end of 2019.