Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Whitman County commissioners Monday voted unanimously to renew the Palouse Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO) interlocal agreement after Commissioner Art Swannack expressed his reservations.
The group needed to make a decision as the Washington State Department of Transportation had issued a deadline – which has since been moved – for the end of January to continue to fund these agreements statewide.
“I’m not happy with it, as it is written,” Swannack said.
The RTPO was formed in 1991 as a transportation planning organization. Whitman County joined the group in 2003. The state requires at least three counties and 60 percent of their population to form an RTPO. The population votes come from individual cities.
Swannack said that his primary reason to support the agreement was so the city of Pullman could continue to receive funding for its transportation system. State law requires this type of funding to go through an RTPO or similar agreement.
“But an RTPO isn’t the only method to do your planning,” Swannack said.
Another option would be to establish a council of governments, he added.
All told though the money is limited and, mainly goes outside of Whitman County.
“It wasn’t that many dollars going through it that affected Whitman County directly,” said Swannack.
Of the $92,000 funded in the past year, $60,000 went to Southeast Washington Economic Development Association for administrative costs. The remaining $32,000 went to hire a company that issued a report on walking paths to school.
“And that was it,” said Commission Chairman Dean Kinzer, who is the county’s delegate to the RTPO board.
“Most of the work being done is by county engineers anyway,” Kinzer said. “They’re the ones that know transportation.”
“We’re basically doing it to support Pullman,” Kinzer continued. “It’s the least difficult way to go on with business as is.”
“The document is a culmination of a number of attorneys, to meet the minimum guidelines,” explained Whitman County Public Works Director Mark Storey. “If you’re going to start a process, you want it as clean as you can get it. If we ever get sideways with one of the members of the RTPO, I wouldn’t want to test the language.”
The document could be amended by one of the member cities or counties by putting forth a motion to change it.
“What are the odds that in 30-60 days we’re no longer going to have the RTPO?” asked Swannack Monday. “I don’t like signing agreements that aren’t written well. I don’t want to hurt Pullman, but I also think it’s garbage.”
What will happen next?
“It’s hard to say,” said Swannack. “We’ll see what other counties choose to do.”
“I’m not suggesting that this is a great document,” Storey told the commissioners. “I’m suggesting that the alternative is worse.”
The matter came to a vote.
“I’ll support it, but I think we need a contingency plan because I expect this to blow up,” Swannack said, casting his vote to approve.
Swannack, Largent and Kinzer have discussed the matter in workshops over the past six months.
“It had so many authors, it doesn’t agree with itself,” Storey said. “It will get the job done but leaves some question marks at the end of the day.”
The RTPO began with the county commissioners of Columbia, Asotin and Garfield counties establishing a resolution in 1991, designating the Palouse Economic Development Council as its lead planning agency. The RTPO’s purpose was to facilitate the development of regionally-based transportation plans.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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