By SHANNEN TALBOT
Staff Reporter
In the first long budget-writing session to wrap on time in a decade, the Washington State Legislature recently passed a $54.2 billion two-year budget that relies on more than $800 million in new tax revenue — and Airway Heights is set to get a piece of that pie.
The city will be receiving $5.5 million to fund its Highland Village project, which aims to decrease the density of residents in Fairchild Air Force Base’s Accident Potential Zone 2, the zone located at the end of the base’s main runway.
The money, taken from the capital budget, will be used to build houses and infrastructure elsewhere to create alternate home options for those residents, Mayor Kevin Richey said.
“There are no plans of forcing people to move,” Richey said. “At this time, we’re just giving people alternatives to reduce the density over there.”
Highland Village is just one part of the Fairchild Air Force Base Preservation and Community Empowerment Project initiated in 2012, a larger initiative that is the result of a four-year community-wide collaboration between the city of Airway Heights, Spokane County, Greater Spokane Incorporated, Habitat for Humanity and other local organizations.
Highland Village Rentals will provide 50 new detached affordable rental units.
Airway Heights will also benefit from $1.9 million earmarked for the Department of Corrections. Those funds will go toward creating separate irrigation plumbing for the Airway Heights Corrections Center.
The city has reclaimed water main infrastructure to the west and north of the prison, City Manager Albert Tripp said, but the trouble is converting the building’s internal system to make use of it.
In a move Tripp said will pay for itself within three years, the money from the state will allow the prison to use reclaimed water for irrigation and will free up enough potable water to serve 360 Airway Heights homes.
The state budget, which eclipsed $50 billion for the first time ever, includes an increase in business and occupation taxes and an increase on taxes for real estate transactions but includes no new capital gains tax.
The operating budget dedicates additional funds to K-12 education, mental health services and housing issues. Among the allocated funds is $280 million for behavioral health, including increased staffing at the state’s psychiatric hospitals, $45.5 million to help prevent and fight wildland fires, $10.3 million to address Washington’s backlog of more than 10,000 untested rape kits, $41 million to increase housing assistance and services to people who are homeless and $2 million for added security costs related to Gov. Jay Inslee’s campaign for president.
The Legislature passed new capital construction and transportation budgets in addition to its operating budget.
Shannen Talbot can be reached at shannen@cheneyfreepress.com.
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