Transportation Improvement Board to help Brewster street projects

BREWSTER – Andrew Beagle, Southeast Region Engineer for the Washington Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) paid a call on Brewster Public Works last month and told Director Lee Webster he was impressed with what the city has done in the way of street improvements – much of it without state assistance.

“He said it is going to help us with Seventh Street, Main Street and Hospital Way,” Webster told the Brewster City Council at its regular monthly meeting last Thursday. “I think that’s going to be a tremendous benefit.”

That is good news for the city coming on the heels of the first TIB grant it was awarded last December after years of trying. That award saved the city $182,500 in matching funds for the Old Highway 97 project when TIB came to the rescue with the grant match. City Finance Director Misty Ruiz advised the city council of the savings windfall at its mid-December 2022 meeting.

“This one is super-exciting,” said Ruiz then. “Last year we talked about the Old 97 project where our match was going to be $200,000. It is now going to be $182,000 less than that because of the grant match we received from the TIB.”

Ruiz added that TIB also awarded the city $24,225 for an earlier chipseal project.

“In all the years past we have never been able to get TIB money and finally we got it,” said Mayor Art Smyth.

The council was so impressed with the news that they gave Ruiz a round of applause.

Webster said the new bathroom that Douglas is going to build at Columbia Cove is making progress.

“We picked tile and color,” said Webster but could not predict what the construction timeline will be.

The new restroom is the second leg of a two-part improvement project at the Cove that also includes new playground equipment. The PUD installed the new playground last year.

Landscape and sidewalk improvements at the city library now include a new concrete slab that was half-complete as of meeting day.

Webster reported that the city has received two bids to improve the Anderson Airport road. Related to that the council earlier approved the mayor’s signature ratification on two FAA grants, one for $813,123 and the other for $304,000. The city also awarded the airport contract JM Construction of Kennewick. JM was the lowest bidder at $940,987.88.

The Old Highway 97 project has the green light to go out for bid.

“We got approval from the state yesterday (Wed., June 14), so we are ready to go out to bid for that.”

In other business the city:

• Approved signature ratification on a Washington Department of Commerce (DOC) agreement to reimburse the city for residential water utility customer arrearages in the amount of $20,302. That amount was reduced by more than half the original arrearages. Mayor Smyth noted that as other customers qualify for the coverage the city will again apply to DOC for additional reimbursements.

• Approved a Solid Waste Interlocal Agreement with Okanogan County