Who needs………. well, you can fill in the blank.
I am hard pressed to recall a day this darned busy. Lots and lots of UW stuff going on, much of which you will read about in your local papers on Friday morning.
As I mentioned in the previous post, today was the big Senate hearing on the UW North Sound campus. Along with Deb Merle from the Governor’s office, I helped lead off the festivities with an update on the preliminary academic plan (not much to report) and then it was question time. Sen. Jean Berkey (D-Everett) asked the proverbial $64,000 question about which site the UW preferred, and I answered as I mentioned I would earlier today. Deb then provided an update on some of the outstanding issues and controversies swirling around the two primary sites in question, and then it was off to public testimony which continued for the next two hours. Dozens of supporters of both the Everett and Marysville site were in attendance including numerous local elected officials, business owners, citizen advocates, etc. Much passion in the debate on both sides and committee members were clearly interested in what everyone had to say. Not sure if anyone’s opinion was changed by the testimony but while the Everett site has gained some additional support this week, deep divisions remain in the legislature on the issue. More importantly, I believe a number of legislators are beginning to question the wisdom of moving ahead at all on the new campus given the cost projections and what appear to be concerns about how this really fits into the entire higher education system.
Early afternoon I found myself in the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education chaired by Rep. Kathy Haigh (D-Shelton). This subcommittee was created last session to give legislators a chance to delve more deeply into the budget requests and issues of early childhood education, K-12 and higher education. I got a rare opportunity to present our entire supplemental budget request but most of the questions from legislators focused on the one item we didn’t ask for — the funding included in the Governor’s supplemental budget to begin offering classes next fall in the Snohomish County area provided the legislature selects a site for the new campus.
By the end of the subcommittee hearing, it was apparent to me that the Board of Regents (meeting today in Seattle) had approved the Husky Stadium advisory committee proposal to spend $300 million to renovate the facility and to seek public funding for one half of the request. A number of reporters caught me out by the sundial (the gathering area between the Senate and House office buildings) and they had a lot of questions about what was being proposed.
In a nutshell, the UW is asking the state to “repurpose” some of the revenues currently being used to finance professional sports stadiums in King County towards the Husky Stadium renovation project (once those sources have fully paid for the existing stadiums of course). Of the $300 million price tag, the state would be asked to pay for one half and the UW would pay for the other half. The state funds would be used for what we call “preservation, renovation and maintenance” items such as replacing the lower bowl which dates from 1920, bringing the stadium into compliance with the Americans with Disabilites Act, replacing the press box, and making some seismic upgrades. The UW funds would be used to improve the fan experience in the stadium by removing the track, bringing the west end of the stadium in closer to the field, lowering the field itself and improving concession areas, bathrooms, etc. These items would be paid with donations from Husky supporters and revenues from premium seating (similar to the seats in the Don James Center).
Later on Friday, I will post all of the advocacy materials we have developed for the stadium request in the Spotlight section of the State Relations webpage.
It’s only day four of a 60 day session and I feel like session has been going on for several weeks. Friday should hopefully slow down a bit because I really need some time to study a number of bills which are scheduled for hearings next week. Just noticed our men’s basketball team earned a much needed victory over the Oregon Ducks, so that’s a nice way to finish a very, very hectic day.