Pierce County Council OK's buying properties in water improvement plan

A largely perfunctory meeting of the Pierce County Council May 26 that lasted less than an hour saw the august body pass one ordinance and two resolutions.

By a vote of 7-0, the council passed an ordinance – Proposal No. 2020-38 – vacating a portion of Rhodes Lake County Road East. Hugh Taylor, senior legislative analyst, said the 43,000-square-feet area in the Bonney Lake area of unincorporated Pierce County will revert to adjacent parcels as it is not needed for county road purposes.

The council also passed by a unanimous vote a resolution granting the county authority to purchase certain properties identified in the Surface Water Improvement Program. Proposal No. R2020-30 also finds the Planning and Public Works Department has complied with provisions of the 2020-2021 budget in authorizing potential acquisition of those properties.

“I’ll note the proposal is considered to be necessary and routine (per Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order in response to the coronavirus pandemic) given the use of outside grants and associating timing, as well as the time-sensitive nature of associated real estate transactions,” Taylor said.

Finally, the council – again unanimously – passed a resolution in the form of Proposal No. 2020-39 authorizing the submittal of six grant applications to the Recreation and Conservation Office for funding assistance for the Brian Abbott Fish Barrier Removal Board 2020 Grant Program. In 2014, the state Legislature established the grant program to identify and remove impediments to salmon and steelhead migration.

Councilmember Derek Young said this was an important step in meeting treaty obligations with native Americans and protecting wildlife.

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