County not opposed to rail-trail plan

Herald, Jim Haley May 18, 2005

A King County proposal to turn tracks into a trail in Snohomish County is fine with local officials, as long as someone else foots the bill.

If King County wants to buy a little-used rail route and develop it into a trail that extends 14 miles into Snohomish County, that's fine with Snohomish County officials.

They just don't want to be forced into paying for something they can't afford in a gambit started by King County Executive Ron Sims.

King County taxpayers could ultimately pick up the bill to buy and build the chunk of trail north of the King County line.

Sims is negotiating the purchase of the Eastside route, mostly a 100-foot swath that stretches from the edge of Renton to the Snohomish River at the Snohomish city limits.

Several years ago, a state study pinned the price at $300 million to buy the property from Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway.

Sims on Monday said he didn't think the cost would be that much under a federal program that gives governments an easier way to turn old railroad routes into trails. The executive said he had a price in mind, but refused to disclose it.

Sims said one reason he didn't tell Snohomish County officials about his plan to buy the land is because relations are strained over the Brightwater sewer treatment plant.

The plant is to be built on rural land in south Snohomish County just north of the King County line. Snohomish County is asking for King County to pay more for roads and other improvements to reduce the impact of the plant.
Sims said that's why he decided against asking for Snohomish County's help paying for the rails-to-trail project. "It's easier to get on and do it alone," he said.

It's hard to ignore the posturing in Sims' plan, Snohomish County Councilman Jeff Sax said. Even so, the council needs to hear more about the proposal, he said.

"I don't think he can afford to do it all by himself," Sax said. "Who knows ... maybe Ron will buy the trail as Brightwater mitigation."

If King County taxpayers want to pay for the trail and build it, that would be just fine with him, Sax said. Part of the trail is in his district.

Snohomish County Councilman David Gossett agreed.
"If King County uses their money to build a park in Snohomish County, quite frankly I can't see a downside," Gossett said.

In the Snohomish County executive's office, staff members are looking into the trail "to see what it is and what it means," executive director Gary Weikel said. They want to have a report ready for Executive Aaron Reardon when he returns from a trade visit to Ireland.

The 47-mile route runs just east of Lake Washington from Renton to the Snohomish River. Snohomish County's Centennial Trail starts on the other side of the river, and eventually will stretch to the Skagit County line.

Marc Krandel, senior planner with the Snohomish County Parks and Recreation Department, said the trail Sims is pushing has been discussed before. But he can't imagine King County being willing to pick up the entire cost.

Seattle attorney and environmental activist Peter Goldman and the Seattle-based Cascade Land Conservancy brought the idea to him, Sims said.

In negotiations with the railroad last year, officials didn't want to sell the route piecemeal, so Sims said he began including the Snohomish County chunk in the talks.

"That's the assumption we've been working on," Sims said.
Would he like Snohomish County to pony up some of the dough?

"Sure we would," Sims said.

So far, he's not asking. And he sent nothing - no reports, no e-mails, no letters - to the Snohomish County Council about the deal before his announcement.

King County Councilman Reagan Dunn, a Republican, said Sims' announcement also came as a surprise to him.
"I don't think (King) County should be in the business of buying land in other counties," he said. The land will be expensive, he said, and King County already is in a tough spot.

Sims said buying the route makes sense because it someday could be used for light rail as well as recreation.

King County Councilwoman Carolyn Edmonds, a Democrat, said the trail could take a long time to build. The first and most important step now, she said, is investigating whether King County can buy it.

"If there are costs to Snohomish County, it will be costs they will incur," Edmonds said. "This is not at all a deal like Brightwater."

While Brightwater set a precedent for King County having the say in that regional issue, owning a hiking trail in a neighboring county is very different, Dunn said.

"We didn't buy 14 miles of Brightwater," he said.