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ARTS | Creative Children for Charity seek more artists for leadership collage [7]
BUSINESS | Ben Lee has become the sole franchisee in King County for TapSnap, a social FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2014 media connected photo booth. [2]
SPORTS | Bellevue boys, girls hoops teams set for 3A Regional round, SeaKing semi-finals after wins [10]
State faces money crunch to maintain roads, bridges BY BRANDON MACZ BELLEVUE REPORTER
Lynn Peterson
Washington Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson says even if the state Legislature approves a transportation package this session, there won’t be enough money to go around. A “Plan B” needs to be crafted to deal with the worst cases of maintenance and preservation needs to ensure public safety. Peterson met with Reporter staff Wednesday to discuss her reform package presented to the Legislature earlier this year, as well as the status
and issues revolving around Puget Sound transportation projects and funding for aging systems statewide.
Reforms
Acknowledging a design error that has caused cost overruns of more than $170 million for the SR 520 bridge replacement project, Peterson said one reform she’s pushing the Legislature to fund this year would address WSDOT’s contracting methodology for construction projects. “We have a lot of control, but that means if there is a design error, such as 520 pontoons,
Light rail designs at 60 percent
then that error comes back to us,” said Peterson. Peterson also wants funding to create a quality assurance manager position. While all projects are staffed for quality assurance, she said a manager would oversee all of them and report directly to her. She is also exploring options for including contractors in the design process. The transportation secretary defended her decision not to sanction Seattle Tunnel Partners — charged with drilling the downtown Seattle tunnel project — based on the results of a Federal SEE WSDOT, 12
First Congregational finds new church site BY BRANDON MACZ BELLEVUE REPORTER
This artist rendering shows what a South Bellevue Station is proposed to look like by Sound Transit as part of its East Link light rail extension slated for operation in 2023. BRANDON MACZ, Bellevue Reporter
BY BRANDON MACZ BELLEVUE REPORTER
City of Bellevue and Sound Transit staff will be on hand Feb. 25 for another East Link public involvement session to discuss the East Main Station area and what impact light rail will have there as the transit agency presents its 60 percent design. Sound Transit has reached 60 percent design completion for all East Link light rail areas within Bellevue and is now sharing its progress with
the public. About 70 residents in the Enatai neighborhood got another peek at what the light rail station and parking garage slated for construction at the South Bellevue Park and Ride will look like Feb. 6. Wendy Jones, president of the Enatai Neighborhood Association, said for a long time the neighborhood was divided in its support for light rail coming in. Now the focus is on making the station and garage fit in with the residential landscape to the
west and Mercer Slough Nature Park to the east. But Jones is not happy with the artist renderings provided at the station area meeting showing what the South Bellevue Station and parking garage are proposed to look like, particularly the industrial look she said doesn’t mesh with the neighborhood. “The people that I talked to that night were in agreement with this,” said Jones, who conveyed her con-
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The Bellevue First Congregational Church has purchased a new downtown site following sale of its prime location on 108th Avenue Northeast, but there’s more work to be done before a moving date is set. The church closed on its purchase of the Atrium Building at 111061 N.E. Second St., Wednesday, Feb. 12, after a two-year search process, said the Rev. Kevin Brown. He said a Shaping Our Future team of church members assisted in the search, providing options to the congregation for sites that supported criteria set for a new location. That included staying downtown, being affordable and saving enough money for redevelopment. “We really wanted to lift up our message of tolerance and acceptance,” said Brown. “You don’t always see that in traditional American churches.” The Atrium Building sold for $15 million, which is half what Chinese investment firm Plus Investment USA paid for the church’s current site at 752 108th Ave. N.E. “We are guaranteed here for at least a year,” said Brown of the church’s current location. “That was part of our agreement.” The church has hired an architect to help it realize the new site’s potential, and is also reviewing existing tenant leases in the Atrium Building. While the 25,250-square-foot site is smaller than the church’s current home, Brown said Bellevue First Congregational is committed to continuing its seven core ministries. The church has been on 108th since 1901. “We’ll expand our services in a number of ways, but not necessarily through square footage,” he said.