Valley Record SNOQUALMIE
101RS YEA
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015 n DAILY UPDATES AT WWW.VALLEYRECORD.COM n 75 CENTS
Taking care of people North Bend Citizen of the Year builds transportation solutions for the Valley By CAROL LADWIG
SCENE
NEWS
Editor
Flood day: Scenes from Monday flooding in Snoqualmie Page 10
North Bend named Amy Biggs its 2014 Citizen of the Year Tuesday, but the entire Valley really benefits from her work. As the director of Snoqualmie Valley Transportation, Biggs has, for the past several years, been the force behind the on-demand shuttle service that connects North Bend, Snoqualmie and Fall City people with the places they need to go, plus the semi-regular circulator bus routes that don’t require reservations, and the Metro-replacing bus runs that go up and down the Valley every 90 minutes. She’ll deny it, though.
Carol Ladwig/File Photo
Amy Biggs, Director, Snoqualmie Valley Transportation, and North Bend’s 2014 Citizen of the Year. “Our drivers are so cool,” she said in a recent conversation, unaware of her impending honor. Credit for the success of all three transportation programs goes to the 12 drivers (they’re hiring a relief driver) and four schedulers who run the system every day. “They’re not just giving people rides, they’re taking care of them, on a daily basis,” Biggs said. “They’re amazing. They were amazing before I
got here.” Biggs moved to North Bend in 1997. In 2012, she volunteered her talents in human resources and transportation management to the transportation program, to write transportation grant applications for the program, started in 2003 under the umbrella of the Mount Si Senior Center. She became the program’s director July 1, 2013. At the time, the on-demand shuttle was the only service the group could offer, and even that had been reduced as outside funding was reduced repeatedly. Fares were raised, from 50 cents per ride, and only a handful of buses were running, on limited hours. As the director, Biggs prioritized securing funding, primarily from Metro and the Snoqualmie Tribe, plus King County and few others, to build up the $1 a ride bus services now available. Now, SVT runs about 10 buses, moving 35,000 people annually, and covering more than 10,000 miles in the Valley. The annual budget is about $900,000. Biggs also worked, as did the rest of the staff, on reducing the cost of trips for the on-demand shuttle. They built and rebuilt schedules, and SEE CITIZEN, 3
What will $244 million buy?
School bond proposes to update all school buildings in Snoqualmie Valley School District
Steampowered Santa Train serves record number of riders Page 7
By CAROL LADWIG Editor
INDEX Opinion 4 9 Puzzles On the Scanner 11 Classifieds 11-14 15 Calendar
Vol. 101, No. 33 A sixth elementary school, which is part of the Snoqualmie Valley School District’s February bond, is based on designs from Cascade View Elementary School. If the bond passes, the new building could open by the fall of 2016.
It’s not a small bond, but Snoqualmie Valley School Board members say it is comprehensive. The $244.4 million issue that voters will settle in February would fund needed building repairs, solve crowding problems at the elementary and middle schools, and modernize and expand Mount Si High School, if passed. The problem is, it’s expensive. Proposition 1 would cost tax-payers an additional $1.29 per $1,000 of 2015 assessed property value, starting with their 2016 tax bills. That’s $516 annually, or $43 per month, for a $400,000 property, in extra school taxes. Opponents of the bond, speaking at school board meetings over the past year, worried about the expense. They said voters would reject a bond with such a high price tag, or that they couldn’t personally afford the tax increase. Bond supporters, also speaking to the board, agreed that it was expensive, but, considering inflation and current low construction bids, building will never be cheaper. Also, the school capacity needs are urgent “There are some big, big problems that are staring us in the face,” said Snoqualmie Valley Schools Superintendent Joel Aune. SEE BOND, 2
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