Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The executive committee of the National Association of County Engineers (NACE) gathers for a picture in Washington, D.C. In the top row, second from right, is Mark Storey, Whitman County engineer and a NACE vice president.
Whitman County engineer Mark Storey went to Washington, D.C., earlier this month representing 11 western states, as one of nine executives for the National Association of County Engineers (NACE).
Storey was elected to the position last April.
In Washington, D.C., Feb. 27 to March 4, he and the eight other representatives from across the country met with a series of congressional staffs and federal departments including the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure committee led by Peter Defazio of Oregon and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
"It was very good, actually," Storey said. "A lot of people were impressed we came to meet with them."
Why was that?
"They have lots of special interests who come in. We represent local government instead," Storey said. "We're trying to help them, not just ask for money, but craft future legislation for better local government infrastructure."
The group met with committees in the senate and the house, representing both parties.
Storey named a highlight as conferring with the Department of Transportation.
"One of the big problems is to transition from a gas tax to a user fee," Storey said. "For more use of fuel cells and electric cars."
The department is working on such a format now. County funding is all based on gas tax.
Storey and the other NACE representatives talked about issues facing counties, which own 46 percent of public roads and 38 percent of the nation's bridges.
"The decision makers are better-equipped to make good decisions if we give them the information about the status of our roads and bridges," Storey said. "If we don't tell them what we need, they don't know."
Bridges were a specific area of discussion.
"There is federal government funding for bridge replacements but not enough," Storey said. "We are losing ground on the condition of bridges. It will be harder to keep them from being posted for (weight) load limits. And trucks are getting heavier all the time. Our bridges are in better shape, though, than 15-20 years ago."
Storey's title with NACE is Western Region Vice President representing Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, Hawaii, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico.
He and his colleagues will reconvene in April at the NACE annual meeting in Wichita, Kan.
Storey's Washington, D.C., trip was paid for by NACE while Whitman County covers his time.
The trip was held in conjunction with the National Association of County Officials' annual legislative conference.
"I believe it's worth our time to be a part of it," said Storey.
NACE's priorities include advocating for direct funding opportunities for local governments as part of any new federal infrastructure funding package. They say state funding cannot be depended on to be enough. They also prioritize the long-term solvency for the highway trust fund – the main federal fund that pays for interstate roads, supplied by the current rate of 18.9 cents per gallon in gas tax. Finally, the National Association of County Engineers aims to streamline the federal process for permitting work, reducing time in reviews and other procedures – based on the size of the project.
They say reforms in this area would improve public safety by allowing repairs to move faster for disaster-affected infrastructure. They also say that less bureaucratic steps can increase purchasing power of existing funding because road construction costs go up three to eight percent per year.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
Reader Comments(0)