Our 9th District Legislators and Business Competitiveness

Every year, the Association of Washington Business hands out the Cornerstone Award to Washington legislators who vote for business-friendly legislation and vote against legislation that would further erode the state’s competitiveness.

How did our 9th District legislators fare this year?

Sen. Mark Schoesler (R-Ritzville), Rep. Steve Hailey (R-Mesa), and Rep. Joe Schmick (R-Colfax) all received the 2008 Cornerstone Award. In order to receive the award, legislators must vote in support of the business community more than 80 percent of the time.

According to AWB's 2008 Legislative Report Card, Sen. Shoesler received a rating of 91%, Rep. Hailey received a rating of 100%, and Rep. Schmick received a rating of 92%.

As ourt district border Oregon and Idaho, we need to make sure our state remains a competitive place to do business. That is why we need Mark, Steve, and Joe back in Olympia next session.

"State's business friendliness debatable despite magazines"

The Queen has lately been touting what a wonderful place Washington is to do business. Ed Schweitzer, Eastern Washington's most prominent businessman, disagrees. So does Carl Gipson of the Washington Policy Center. In an editorial published in the Bellingham Herald, Gipson provided a reality check:

Is Washington state truly friendly to businesses? It depends on whom you ask. Some reports say Washington has a favorable business climate, yet other measures show our state isn’t anywhere near the top end of business-friendly states. Which are correct? There is no definitive answer, but examining the criteria used by the different reports might shed some light on this controversial subject.

The good news is that none show Washington at or near the bottom in overall business friendliness. However, several troubling statistics exist.

You may have heard that Forbes Magazine ranked Washington state as the 5th best state for business. Forbes is a respected national business magazine. Washington’s leaders should be proud of the good press. Does Forbes saying we’re number five truly make it so? Is the debate about our business friendliness over? Let’s take a closer look at Forbes’ criteria.

Washington ranked particularly well (4th) in Forbes’ “labor rank,” a criteria measuring educational attainment, net migration and population growth. We ranked 4thin the “growth prospects” category, a criteria that judges the prospects of individual income growth and business start-ups. For years Washington state has been ranked as a state with a high start-up rate, but we’ve also been ranked as a state with one of the highest business failure rates.

Forbes ranked us 5th in the “regulatory environment” category; something the hundreds of small business owners Washington Policy Center has worked with over the years might object to.

Where we didn’t score particularly well was in the “business costs” (33rd), “economic” climate (16th) and “quality of life” (32nd) categories. I’m curious as to how we can rate so well overall and yet be ranked so low in categories that include the cost of actually running a business.

Forbes is not the only national study to rank Washington particularly friendly to business. The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council ranked Washington the 4th best state in tax systems for small businesses. That sounds like even better news right?

But wait a minute.

The SBE Council had sixteen different sets of criteria including personal income tax, corporate income tax, AMT taxes, property taxes, gas tax and so on. What is notable about the SBE Council’s ranking system is that out of the sixteen measures, Washington only registers in eight of them. Washington has no personal income tax, corporate income tax and several of the other taxes that states were ranked by, and therefore Washington has an artificially high ranking.

Washington ranked perilously low in the categories for which there is data. We came in 25th in property taxes, second-to-last in sales, gross and excise taxes (includes our B&O tax), 43rd in unemployment taxes, 46th in gas taxes, and our state’s estate tax was not ranked using a comparison of percentages among other states but only by the fact that it exists. That Washington received the highest marks among taxes we do not have, and mid-to-worst among taxes we do have, should be kept at the forefront of the discussion.

The Tax Foundation ranked us 11th overall. We tied for first in the personal income tax category (because we don’t have one) but when they account for our B&O tax we came in at 31st. We also ranked dead last in their sales tax measure. The unemployment insurance and property tax rankings were not much better.

The American Legislative Exchange Council ranked our economic outlook at a worrisome 31st. Here too we ranked tops in the income tax standings, but fell to 25th for property taxes, 49th in the sales tax burden and 28th in the estate tax.

Despite the tax and regulatory burdens faced by entrepreneurs in this state, thousands of businesses open each year. But the pool of people willing to risk their livelihoods and their capital is finite – at some point the cost of doing business will become prohibitive. In 2007 the state’s business community paid almost $15 billion in taxes – an increase of 36% since 2002. At what point does the business community look for better, cheaper options and friendlier states?

During this election season, as rankings are being thrown about remember that while the business cli-mate may be good for some, it certainly is not great for everyone. The data in these reports show where we need the most improvement.

"City puts brakes on stormwater ordinance; Manager says drafted ordinance will be re-evaluated to make sure it serves 'community as a whole'"

Hallelujah. Pullman merchants and property owners have a brief respite from the business-killing effects of the Department of Ecology's new stormwater mandates.

Of course, if businesses don't bear the majority of the financial burden, then homeowners will. I just wish the ordinance would be finalized before November. That way, Pullman residents could adequately express their feelings toward the Democrats in Olympia that have forced this upon us.

From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Kevin Kirkman doesn't believe enough thought was put into the stormwater utility ordinance that was presented to the Pullman City Council in June.

Kirkman, who owns KIP Development in Pullman, said the ordinance doesn't provide incentives to developers that use the environmentally sound management practices already mandated by the city.

Kirkman was among a handful of residents who commented on the drafted ordinance, presented to the council June 3. The comments have led Pullman leaders and staff to shelve the ordinance until it can be tweaked to "best serve the community as a whole," city Stormwater Manager Rob Buchert said.

Kirkman said he has properties throughout Pullman designed in a "forward thinking way" to eliminate stormwater runoff with biofiltration devices and irrigation systems.

"We can't pay for a system to be installed, maintain it and then be charged a tax on it," he said. "We're discharging clean water and there was nothing in the ordinance that addressed that ... If you don't have any discharges, how can you be taxed on something that doesn't exist?"

The ordinance will be re-evaluated and returned to the council for final review in November, rather than August as originally planned. The utility is expected to be in place by spring.

"Once this thing is an ordinance, it becomes more difficult to change," Buchert said. "We want to make every effort to ensure that when we take this to council we have as much support as possible. If it takes a few more months to tailor this to meet Pullman's needs ... that's OK."

The utility ordinance was drafted in response to a municipal stormwater permit issued last year by the Washington State Department of Ecology. Its purpose is to manage the quality and quantity of runoff from development and to control stormwater discharge into sewer systems. The estimated cost for the city to meet requirements in the permit's first five years is $4.4 million.

A consulting firm for the city reported that single-family homes in Pullman have an average of 3,500 square-feet of impervious surface, and that amount has been determined as one equivalent billing unit at a cost of $7 per month. The draft ordinance was followed by a public comment period and only five members of the community formally voiced their opinion on the impending law.

Buchert said the limited feedback isn't enough to know if the draft ordinance is best for Pullman.

Most of the comments pertained to current city laws requiring developers to use environmentally sound stormwater management practices, such as retention ponds to help with water flow and biofiltration systems in parking lots with more than 10 spots. Buchert said the developers and business owners who commented would like their efforts to yield a credit on the stormwater fees.

In the draft ordinance, credits are offered to entities with National Pollutant Discharge and Elimination Systems - a permitting system through the federal 1972 Clean Water Act. Up to 20 percent credits also are available for commercial or industrial businesses that harvest rainwater and public and private schools that pledge to participate in stormwater or surface-water education.

"We definitely wanted to honor the comments submitted and go back to the drawing board on this thing," Buchert said. "Pullman has been discussing this for over three years, so I don't think we've rushed into everything, but we want to approach it as carefully and prudently as possible."

Kirkman hopes that's the case.

"I'm encouraged that there's going to be more thought put into this," he said. "It's going to have a real financial impact on property owners."

Buchert said many portions of the ordinance could be altered following further discussion, including the $7 billing unit.

"If there's any way we can think outside the box to get that rate lower, we'll do everything in our power to do that," he said.

Buchert said the city needs the income from the utility to help recover the costs associated with the permit, but added that big-ticket items such as equipment and additional employees will not be necessary until 2009. Until the utility is created, money will continue to come from the city's street budget.

"From a program management perspective I would have loved to have a budget yesterday, but we'll make it happen," he said. "It is coming. This thing is not going away."

Support Small Business? Then Support Dino Rossi

Ed Schweitzer is not the only Washington businessman with harsh words for Queen Christine.

Back in April, members of the National Federation of Independent Business, the leading small business association representing small and independent businesses in Washington State, voted overwhelmingly to support Dino Rossi for governor by a whopping 96% margin.

Here's a quote from the NFIB press release:

What's at stake is the small business environment in Washington and the ability for business owners not just to compete, but also to survive in this difficult economy. After the previous three and a half years, NFIB members are still laboring under one of the most expensive workers' compensation systems in the country. They're still waiting for healthcare reform that reduces burdensome regulations and increases access and affordability. They're still clamoring for a solution to our broken transportation system that will improve freight mobility and allow businesses to get their goods to market, instead of having them sit in traffic.

Small businesses are also fearful of the future when it comes to taxes. The current governor has spent one of the largest state budget surpluses in history, increased spending by more than 33 percent, and now we're facing a $2.4 billion deficit next year. If spending can't be controlled, there's only one way to fill this budget hole -- with tax increases. Even House Speaker Frank Chopp has conceded that tax increases may be necessary next year. Given Governor Gregoire's affinity for a new state income tax, small business owners have reason to be fearful of giving her a second term.

Small business owners realize that Rossi is the right candidate to turn Washington into an entrepreneurial state where all businesses have the opportunity to succeed, not just the Microsofts and the Boeings of the world.

The irony of course of that liberals and Democrats always talk about being on the side of small business (e.g. going after Wal-Mart) but yet it is the big corporations that benefit the most under their regimes.

At the Dino reception on Tuesday, Ed Schweizter criticized the attempts of current and previous Democratic administrations in Olympia at "elephant hunting," whereby major incentives and tax/regulatory breaks are given to heavy hitters like Boeing

Like small, locally owned businesses and want to "Think Pullman First," you'd better "Think Dino First."(which moved its HQ to Chicago anyway) while doing nothing to help small business.

Ed Schweitzer: SEL Will Double in Growth, But Not in Pullman

According to Ed, Washington is not competitive because of Mrs. Gregoire's overregulation and taxes, such as the death tax, the Department of Early Learning, which has made getting child care difficult for some SEL employees, and Ecology's new stormwater regulations, which will cost SEL $20,000 a year. He had some very harsh words for the Queen.

Schweitzer Engineering would like to grow in Washington, but the company, Pullman's larget private employer, is looking at states like Virginia and countries like Mexico instead.

Ed would like to change his mind if Dino gets elected. Think about that when you cast your ballot in November.

"Washington stormwater rules hit state highway department; Department of Transportation permit will run about $16M to implement"

The out-of-control state bureaucracy is eating itself now. The headline should read, "Department of Transportation permit will cost taxpayers about $16M a year to implement," however, because WSDOT doesn't actually generate a profit. We pay the bills through our nationally-high gas taxes and vehicle registration fees. So who do you think will be picking up this new tab?

This stormwater monster needs to have a stake driven through its heart and fast, before it destroys the whole state.

From yesterday's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

The Washington State Department of Transportation soon will expand its regulation of stormwater runoff from state highways, park-and-ride lots, ferry terminals, maintenance facilities and rest stops.

The state Department of Ecology has drafted a stormwater permit specific to WSDOT that likely will go into effect in July.

The permit is equivalent to one issued to the city of Pullman in February 2007, designed to manage the quality and quantity of runoff from development and to control stormwater discharge into waterways. Ecology also is pressing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to issue Moscow a similar permit because of its effect on area rivers and streams across the Washington border.

State Transportation Communications Director Lloyd Brown said how the pending permit will affect the Pullman area - and specifically the Pullman-Moscow Highway and the adjacent Paradise Creek - is unknown. The highway's recent widening project was constructed using best management practices and likely won't need to be retrofitted to meet the new permit's requirements.

"We're not new to stormwater management. We've had stormwater practices in place for two decades or more," he said. "We know the effect of stormwater on the local environment."

Brown said the new permit is expected to cost the transportation department nearly $16 million more per year to implement. Most of the costs will come from increased inspection and maintenance, along with the additional inventory and mapping duties to ensure stormwater runoff is managed and properly disposed of. The department has up to 24,000 discharge points into state waterways which will need increased monitoring.

Brown said the two state agencies are expected to work together with state legislators to find money to pay for the expanded permit program.

Bill Hashim, an environmental planner with the Department of Ecology, said most state highway infrastructure was built before the federal Clean Water Act was set in motion, which means that some older, existing highways may need to be upgraded to meet the requirements of new stormwater standards.

"A rule of thumb is if you own a place where water flows, whether or not you generate it, it's your problem," Hashim said. That means the stormwater that runs across the Pullman-Moscow Highway before it enters Paradise Creek "is their problem."

Brown said the new permit will replace the transportation department's existing National Pollution Discharge Elimination System. Many cities on the state's west side are expected to meet similar regulations as part of Ecology's municipal stormwater permit Phase 1. Cities in the eastern portion of the state were issued similar permits during Phase 2 in 2007.

Hashim said it makes sense to issue the transportation department its own permit.

"Since their highway system is so unlike any municipalities and their facilities are so unlike a municipalities, we wanted to tailor a permit for them," he said.

Hashim said the department will be required to increase its testing of stormwater into area waterways for both the type and amount of pollution found in runoff and the effectiveness of best management practices. Whether or not this testing will occur along Paradise Creek has yet to be determined. He said the transportation department will choose five testing sites statewide and have been asked to choose an eastern Washington location where traffic counts are between 30,000-100,000 vehicles per day.

"The potential could be that the urbanizing corridor between Moscow and Pullman could be chosen," he said. "My guess is that it will be the Spokane area or the Pullman area that they pick."

A comment period opened Wednesday to allow for public input of the drafted permit. It is available online at www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/stormwater/municipal/wsdot.html.

Written and oral comments on the drafted permit will be accepted through 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 24 to Hashim at bhas461@ecy.wa.gov, or by mail to P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, WA. 98504. Two workshops also have been scheduled to further explain the permit and answer questions from the public. The workshop for this region will be at 1 p.m., June 4 in Spokane at the Spokane Shadle Library.

After the workshops, Ecology will weigh public comment and concern and draft a formal permit, which likely will go into effect by July, Hashim said.

"What Is Going Wrong In Washington?"

To be competitive in a modern economy, Washington needs 21st century transportation and education systems. We have neither.

Why? Simple.

The one-party Democratic dictatorship in Olympia is completely beholden to environmentalists and the Washington Education Association to remain in power.

Look at some of the transportation solutions proposed by our "leaders:" Hundreds of millions of dollars pissed away on a Disneyland ride in Seattle (i.e. a monorail) and a proposal to tear down a bridge that carries tens of thousands of commuters every day and replace it with..........nothing.

Just recently, Washington turned down a $13.2 million education grant from the federal government. The WEA nixed the deal because *GASP* it included merit pay for teachers. God knows we don't want our teachers showing any merit or getting paid to do so.

Don Brunell, president of the Association of Washington Business is perplexed by this decision, as well he should be. Washington's businesses depend on a well-educated workforce to compete and surive, not the self-lubricating palms of a greedy and corrupt teachers union.

In his latest column, Brunell wrote:

In the wake of an earlier column about our state rejecting a $13.2 million education grant, people are asking, “What is going wrong in Washington?” Why was Washington the only state of seven to reject funding to improve math and science learning for public school students in advanced placement programs?

Our state’s teachers union, the Washington Education Association (WEA), killed the grant because it included merit pay for teachers. But other heavily unionized states accepted the grant. What went wrong in Washington?

The students who would have benefited from this money are those who will fill the engineering, technology and advanced science jobs in the United States to help us compete with the rest of the world. It is so important that Bill and Melinda Gates and Michael and Susan Dell each donated $15 million to the program, and Exxon-Mobil contributed a whopping $100 million.

But our state missed a golden opportunity by rejecting the money. Our elected officials want to grow the aerospace, software, biotech and technology industries in Washington, but companies like Boeing, Microsoft, Amgen and Schweitzer Engineering Labs can’t find skilled people to fill positions.

It also was a big setback for emerging technology leaders like Scott Keeney, CEO of Vancouver’s nLight Photonics, when the National Math & Science Initiative (NMSI), announced that it ended Washington's grant because the WEA refused to budge on the issue of merit pay for teachers. The NMSI program pays teachers directly, but the WEA insisted that all the money be collectively bargained. Keeney spearheaded the Clark County MAP (Mentoring Advanced Placement) program and the NMSI grant would have been a logical extension for high tech professionals who volunteer to tutor students in advanced math and science.

Heavily unionized states like Massachusetts and Connecticut embraced the six-year grants. But Washington’s teachers union wouldn’t budge. How did Connecticut get the teachers union to go along with the NMSI grant?

First, a strong coalition of business, teachers, government and education leaders pulled together to secure and implement the grant under a program called Project Opening Doors.

Second, they hired Dr. J. A. Camille Vautour, a long-time school superintendent, to ramrod the project. Vautour approached ten school districts in Connecticut and got nine of them to embrace the program.

Vautour bypassed state teachers union officials and put it to local teachers and school districts this way: “We have an opportunity to help our students, and the NMSI grant is non-negotiable. They set the terms, not us, and if we are going to improve our math and science programs, we need to embrace the grant.”

The savvy superintendent took the issue of merit pay off the table. He pointed out that only 22 percent of the money would go to teachers in pay for performance while the other 78 percent went to teacher training and tutoring.

Finally, he sold them on the idea that if students were successful on advanced placement tests in math and science, it would attract additional money from NMSI and the state.

The rest is history, and on Sept. 6, 2007, Governor M. Jodi Rell (R) accepted a $13.2 million NMSI grant.

So, why all the fuss over a $13.2 million grant? Isn’t that pocket change when it comes to education spending in our state?

True, but it is the signal it sends. Consider a couple of key facts:

• About a third of high school math students and two-thirds of those enrolled in physical science have teachers who did not major in the subject in college or are not certified to teach it.
• Only 29 percent of American 4th grade students, a third of 8th grade students, and barely 18 percent of 12th grade students perform at or above the proficient level in science.
• In China, virtually all high school students study calculus; in the United States, 13 percent study calculus.

So, when you look at the facts, you really have to wonder: What is going wrong in Washington?

"New fees may stymie growth"

Gordon Forgey, publisher of the Whitman County Gazette, had another great editorial in yesterday's edition of the Gazette.

Forgey provides a précis of growth in Pullman over the last thirty, what went wrong (driving business ovre to Moscow) and what went right (SEL.)

As Forgey points out, there has been opposition to recent growth and Pullman by the birkendorks as they are losing their power now that the university is no the be-all end-all in Pullman any longer. But their power to stop growth is minimal, and getting even more minimal all the time.

No, it really takes a good government bureaucracy to bring everything to a screaming halt. I love Gordon's term "The Boeing Syndrome." Welcome to Washington, the Evergreen State. That green represents treehuggers, not money.

Pullman is gradually gaining ground as a regional center. Aside from Washington State University, Pullman has long been overshadowed by Moscow, Idaho. Moscow is where people went to shop, dine and be entertained.

Pullman and Whitman County, more or less, let it happen. In local terms Pullman was Clarkston to Moscow’s Lewiston. For years, the business community of Pullman was smaller than its population would indicate, so much was leaving the city.

The change from being the step-sister of the Palouse has been steady, but slow. Schweitzer Engineering and other new companies have brought a new strength to the local economy. Pullman is no longer just a university town. New residential areas have been opened up. Slowly, new retail opportunities have given city and county consumers a reason to shop there. A new retail center outside the city will give more opportunities as well as generate new taxes that will benefit everyone in the county.

The changes and some proposed upcoming changes have been slow and steady. The city is gradually changing. The growth in Pullman has not been without controversy and protest.

A new complication has been added. Stormwater fees, the result of state and federal mandates, may slow growth in and around the city. All existing and new impervious surfaces that generate runoff into storm drains could face new fees.

Mitigation of the problem is expected to cost over four million dollars. That mitigation effort will have to be paid for by new fees.

Counties, cities and individual residents and businesses must be environmentally responsible. Pullman, in some respects, needs to clean up long standing pollution problems. Still, there has to be a better way to solve just a part of those probems than to mandate assessements on all pre-existing estabishments.

It is the Boeing Syndrome—take what you can and worry about how it affects business in the future. As we all know, Boeing is headquartered now in Chicago and has expanded its operations in Kansas.

Quotes of the Day

That’s a classic example of taxation without representation

- Port of Whitman Commissioner Bob Gronholz

Even a guy like Ed, you can only put on so many fees before he decides to move the company [SEL] to Mexico

- Whitman County Commissioner Jerry Finch

Well, Moscow’s not too far away

- Port of Whitman County executive director Joe Poire

All these great quotes on the Department of Ecology's business-killing stormwater requirements for "bubble city" Pullman are from the article below from yesterday's Whitman County Gazette:

Pullman stormwater fees

State and federal regulations on stormwater runoff in Pullman could mean the city will have to institute a series of fees for businesses and residences that have surfaces which collect precipitation and send water into the city’s stormwater system.

The aim is to minimize the amount of water that is discharged into waterways via storm runoff.

The state Department of Ecology was directed by the federal Environmental Protection Agency to permit stormwater discharge in all cities after the Clean Water Act was amended to include stormwater in 1987.

Rob Buchert, Pullman’s new Stormwater Services Manager, said the city was one of 10 “bubble cities” the state identified as being in need of a stormwater permit.

Instituting the necessary infrastructure and monitoring systems to treat the water released into waterways is estimated to cost more than $4.4 million.

“As efficient as we want it to be, there are a tremendous amount of requirements and deadlines we are forced to meet,” said Buchert.

Most of the money to cover those expenses will be generated by fees imposed on properties with impervious surfaces that send runoff water into streams and rivers. The fees will cost $7 per month for every 3,500 square feet of impervious surface on a person’s property.

“That’s a classic example of taxation without representation,” commented Port of Whitman Commissioner Bob Gronholz.

Those fees will hit companies at the Port of Whitman’s Pullman facilities particularly hard, said Debbie Snell, port facilities manager.

The port has sold off most of its property in the Pullman Industrial Park, but the new fees could be a significant hit to companies who have bought that land.

“This is fairly minor to us,” said Snell. “But it will definitely affect our tenants, and Schweitzer especially.”

Susan Fagan, spokesperson for Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL), said 800,000 square feet of impervious surface on the SEL campus could bring about fees in excess of $20,000. Those extra fees could force the company to rethink expansion plans, she added.

“Even a guy like Ed, you can only put on so many fees before he decides to move the company to Mexico,” commented County Commissioner Jerry Finch.

Finch added his own properties throughout Pullman could add an additional $10,000 to his annual utility bill.

Not only are companies at the Pullman Industrial Park facing steep fees, future tenants at the port’s Locust Grove Industrial Park north of Pullman may have to consider the costs. The port last November purchased 53 acres of land near the junction of State Route 27 and the Albion-Pullman Highway for the development of the new industrial park.

“The port will certainly take the new rules under consideration, but it won’t stop us,” said Snell. “We want to have the development, but we also want to be good environmental stewards.”

Port officials hope the new industrial park, which they intend to annex into Pullman, will be home to several spin-off businesses from its Innovation Partnership Zone and the Green Information Technology Alliance, which is researching technologies that will re-use energy from supercomputers.

“As we develop Locust Grove, these new fees will have to be taken into consideration,” said Snell. “It is unfortunate, but the money has to come from somewhere.”

Tenants at the new industrial park will have to minimize the amount of impervious surfaces on their lots in the future.

“Well, Moscow’s not too far away,” Joe Poire, port executive director, said, implying the fees may push new businesses across the border to Idaho to avoid the stormwater costs.

The fees will pay for a new department in the city’s public works to administer the nearly 1,000 stormdrains and 80 pipes that discharge water into streams.

Recent water quality tests by the DOE have turned up high water temperatures and high levels of pH and fecal coliform bacteria in the South Fork of the Palouse River. [much of which came from the sewage treatment plant in Moscow that was recently fined by the EPA. ironic, isn't it?- tf]

Red Stormwater Rising

Well, I hope the envirocrats at the Department of Ecology are happy. Their inane stormwater permitting is going to hurt Pullman's two most successful private businesses: Duane Brelsford, Jr.'s Corporate Pointe Developers and SEL. In fact, SEL now says it is reconsidering any further expansion in Pullman. Pullman immune from the national economic slowdown? Not for much longer....

The next time Dino Rossi is in Whitman County, we will have to plead our case to him and hope that he will provide some relief when he is (re)elected governor. It's for sure the Queen will never help us.

From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

PULLMAN: Stormwater costs discourage businesses

Corporate Pointe Developers, SEL among those who will have to pay the most

Duane Brelsford doesn't have much to say about Pullman's proposed stormwater utility ordinance.

The Corporate Pointe Developers president may be one of those hardest hit by the ordinance, which will charge stormwater fees to businesses and home owners within city limits.

"What can I say? We actually don't have a say," he said. "The state imposes it on the city and the city imposes it on people with impervious surfaces. No one has the money to handle this."

The fees are expected to be based on outdoor impervious surfaces, which means that Brelsford's more than 5 million square feet of property - which includes about 1,600 living units and retail spaces such as the Pullman Athletic Club and Fireside Grille - could cost him as much as $100,000 a year in fees.

Pullman leaders are drafting the ordinance that likely will be implemented by Oct. 1. Stormwater Services Manager Rob Buchert said the new utility is the city's most realistic option to recover the costs associated with the Washington State Department of Ecology-issued municipal stormwater permit. The permits were issued to municipalities throughout the state in 2007 and are designed to manage the quality and quantity of runoff from development and to control stormwater discharge into area waterways.

Buchert said the city needs to bring in about $800,000 per year to pay for costs associated with the five-year permit, estimated at about $4.4 million. The utility fees will help create a new arm of the city maintenance department to oversee the nearly 1,000 stormdrains and roughly 80 pipes that discharge stormwater into area waterways and will help create a savings account to pay for costs associated with the second permit cycle, which is to begin in 2012.

Consultants aiding the city in drafting the ordinance have taken aerial photographs to calculate an estimated fee structure. They have estimated that single-family homes in Pullman have about 3,500 square feet of impervious surfaces on average, and that figure has been determined to be one equivalent billing unit at a cost of a proposed $7 per month.

For developed nonresidential property, the square footage of impervious surface would be divided by 3,500 to determine the number of billing units. Impervious surfaces include the asphalt in parking lots and roofs on structures, which do not allow water to penetrate, causing untreated runoff to stream into area waterways.

Susan Fagan, director of public affairs for Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, finds the proposed ordinance discouraging, considering the company takes measures to prevent stormwater pollution and employs the best management practices for every construction project on its Pullman campus.

"We have done a lot of stormwater pollution prevention. We care about the environment in which we operate and we care about the environment in which we live ... but this seems like overkill," she said.

Fagan said SEL owns 800,000 square feet of impervious surface, and the company could have to pay an annual stormwater utility fee of about $20,000. That additional cost could mean the company may rethink ideas to build further facilities on the campus. SEL's most recent plans included construction of a hotel to complement the SEL Event Center built in 2006.

The proposed ordinance "certainly causes us to pause and question whether we would expand in Pullman," she said. "Expansion means growth and jobs and investment in our community. And when it becomes unreasonable ... responsible businesses are going to give a lot of thought to whether or not they should expand. Every square foot you pave or put a building on, or create some impervious surface, you'll be punished."

Fagan said the costs likely will be passed on to consumers of the company's high-tech products.

"How does any company recover its costs? Either you suck it up and absorb it, or you pass it on to your customers. And anytime there's added expense, it's obviously going to impact our customers," she said.

Brelsford agreed. He said rental rates on his dwelling units likely will go up, and he'll also have to charge more to his retail renters, which will likely result in increased costs to their customers.

"All the costs will be passed on. It'll increase the cost of living in Pullman, which is already high," he said. "Will the market support that added debt? That's the challenge."

Living Faith Fellowship Administrator Tom Weaver said the church doesn't have the convenience of passing the cost onto customers. He estimates the church may be required to pay roughly $6,500 per year in stormwater utility fees for its worship facility and private Pullman Christian School.

"We're a nonprofit," he said. "It would be a tremendous burden. We're all for clean water and all for being responsible citizens ... but the fees and taxes will be a huge burden that we didn't plan for."

Weaver said the congregation has been financially supportive of the church, but asking more of them would be tough. Raising tuition at Pullman Christian School is a last resort.

"We have to face it when it comes," he said.

Buchert said credits on stormwater fees likely will be available, though they're limited for now. The draft ordinance allows a 20-percent credit to entities that have a National Pollutant Discharge and Elimination System, which is a permitting system under the federal 1972 Clean Water Act. Only four entities qualify for the credit - the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport, UPS and the city transit and sewer treatment plant. Washington State University, which was issued a municipal stormwater permit as a secondary permittee, also will receive a 20-percent credit.

Credits of as much as 20 percent will be granted to commercial or industrial businesses that harvest rainwater, most commonly used for landscape irrigation. The credit will only apply to impervious surfaces the water is harvested from, such as rooftops, and does not apply to home owners at this time.

Buchert said schools throughout Pullman - both private and public - will be eligible for credits of as much as 20 percent for participating in stormwater or surface water education.

"To get there, we have to justify to the other ratepayers and pretty much the state auditor that the schools are providing services that are equal or greater than the fees," he said.

Buchert added that not only home and business owners in Pullman will be responsible for utility fees. The city itself will also fork over money for its impervious surfaces, though streets are exempt since they'll be considered part of the stormwater facility.

"It's very important that everyone pays, even the city," he said. "We're asking every community member large and small to help us participate in this and participate in being in compliance."

Exactly What State is Gregoire Running for Governor In?

License plate on Queen Christine's biodiesel campaign bus
According to the Seattle PI, Gregoire's campaign says the bus was rented from a Washington company. If that's so, I guess that makes them like thousands of other Washington residents who buy and license their vehicles in Oregon and Idaho to avoid Washington's onerous taxes and fees.

Below is a press release from the Washington State Republican Party:

Gregoire Driving An Oregon Bus on Re-Election Tour

Washington's Small Businesses Can Relate – They've Been Thrown Under The Gregoire Bus For The Past Three Years

Bellevue, WA - Gov. Christine Gregoire has been conducting her statewide re-election tour in a bus with Oregon license plates (there is an Oregon license plate on the front and back of the bus and a British Columbia tag on the front). A photo of the Oregon license plate on the rear of the Gregoire bus is available online here. Washington State Republican Party Chairman Luke Esser issued the following statement in response:

"Gov. Gregoire has been making it harder and harder for businesses to survive here in our state for three years, so it's no surprise that her campaign hired a bus with Oregon license plates to save money. The symbolism of Gov. Gregoire's bus tour couldn't be plainer. The business failure rate in the state of Washington is one of the worst in the country, and the Oregon license plates on Gov. Gregoire re-election bus express very well how hard it is for businesses to survive in our state. Time and time again small businesses have been thrown under the bus by Gov. Gregoire, and until Dino Rossi has been elected governor our business climate will only continue to get worse."