Darrington Strong Combined Community Meeting
1/21/15 The
Community Center was filled with folks from the Darrington area and
beyond, Jan. 21, to hear updates
regarding the status of a variety of projects that are currently
under way. The primary purpose of this meeting was to update
attendees regarding the current status of the effort to pave the
remainder of the Mountain Loop Highway (Finish the Loop Proposal) and
the Mountain Loop Highway Stewardship project and to summarize the
status of other projects being pursued by Darrington Strong,
Darrington Renewal Project, and Darrington Area Resource Advocates.
Judy
Pendergrass, representative from WSU, introduced Nels Rasmussen who
spoke on Darrington Strong and the efforts of the group to bring
tourism and recreation opportunities, among other ideas, to the
Darrington area. Several committees have been formed including
Friends For Public Use, Friends of North Mountain and the Darrington
Area Resource Advocates under the umbrella of Darrington Strong.
Martha Rasmussen spoke on the continuing work of Friends For Public
Use and their efforts cleaning debris and doing maintenance work on
local roads and trails. Val Peppinger spoke on the Darrington
Renewal Project and their efforts to establish a Farmers Market and
other projects. Amy Lucas, Snohomish County Planning and Development
Services,
spoke on the inclusion of Darrington in the yearly Eagle Festival.
Judy
then introduced Kevin Ashe to begin the program and give detail on
the efforts of DARA to get the 14 mile unpaved portion of the
Mountain Loop Highway finished.
The
Mountain Loop Highway, Forest Road #20, was constructed by the
Civilian Conservation Corps back in 1941. The road, known for its
breathtaking views and access to some of the most sought after
recreation in the state, has 14 miles of unpaved road requiring high
maintenance by the Forest Service and is now facing severe budget
cuts. Once the Mountain Loop Highway is paved, the intention is that
Snohomish County would take over the jurisdiction for the road. It is
believed that paving the remaining 14 miles of road will secure a
longer season for recreation, improve law enforcement and increase
recreational generated revenues both locally as well as for Snohomish
County and the State. In 1975, the Federal Highways Administration
(FHA) published an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) which
proposed completion of a paved 2 lane scenic highway from Barlow Pass
to Darrington. In 1986, the segment from Darrington to the Whitechuck
River was paved. In the 1990's, FHA was ready to prepare an EIS to
address paving the remaining 14 miles of gravel highway. This project
was abandoned when the Forest Service, FHA and Snohomish County
decided not to proceed with the work due to lack of broad based and
active support.
The
Mountain Loop Highway provides a unique loop drive opportunity to
residents of Snohomish County and the rest of Washington state, that
can be driven in a day from many locations within the Puget Sound
Area. Walt Dortch presented a slide show outlining the advantages of
completing the paving project along with the disadvantages of non
paving. The gravel part of the Mountain Loop Highway becomes a
dusty, pothole filled road making the drive a deterrent to visitors
living in Washington state and the U.S. as a whole. Paving would
bring year long recreational opportunities. Paving the gravel
segment of the Mountain Loop would also significantly improve the
capability of the road to provide a safe and accessible alternative
route to passenger type vehicles and emergency vehicles into and out
of Darrington, Silverton and other communities.
Based
on the Contract awarded to pave the Middle Fork Snoqualmie Road, it
is estimated that it will cost $22 Million to pave the 14 mile gravel
segment of the MLH. FHA can provide up to 86.5% of the funding for
the project, the remaining 13.5% must come from "matching"
non-federal funds. According Runyan data, published in the 2010
Snohomish County Tourism Plan, an average vehicle full of visitors
that stays overnight in Washington spends an average of $716 per
trip, while visitors who do not stay overnight contribute $222 to the
local economy.
DARA
continues to pursue building a case for the project and the
communities that would benefit from paving the 14 mile stretch of the
Mountain Loop Highway. Millions of visitors would have a world class
destination that would benefit Snohomish County and Washington State.
It
is hoped this time to create an active constituency of local
governments, Federal and State
Representatives and
Snohomish County Officials and interest groups who will step up when
it counts at meetings or other venues and urge the project to go
forward.
Dan
Rankin, Mayor of Darrington, pointed out the representation in the
room of the many organizations in Darrington that have taken on
different projects around town including the community garden, drug
awareness, Skate Darrington, Grange, Bluegrass Association,
Whitehorse Trails and many others. Council member Fred Cruger, from
Granite Falls expressed the fact that all the communities along the
Mountain Loop Highway will benefit from the paving.
Walt
encouraged everyone in the room to leave their email addresses so
when an important event arises, an email can be sent out to
encourage participation.
Kevin
Ashe, co-owner of the IGA, explained “We are looking for diversity
in Darrington instead of relying on one industry. In the 90s',
Darrington had a strong economy but times have changed.”
The
meeting was sponsored by Darrington Strong, Darrington Renewal
Project, Darrington Area Resource Advocates, River Resources Trust,
and WSU. Questions can be sent to finishtheloop@gmail.com |