First phase of Spokane medical school gets green light
OLYMPIA – On the final day of the special legislative session, the state House passed a bipartisan two-year construction budget on a unanimous vote.
Although this budget is smaller than the previous biennial one, it includes funding for important projects that will create or sustain jobs throughout Washington. Several projects in the Spokane area made it into the final compromise budget, including funding to begin the first phase of construction for a medical school. The $35 million for Washington State University’s Spokane Riverfront Biomedical and Health Sciences facility is half the amount needed to build the new school.
“This is great news not only for Spokane, but for the entire surrounding region,” said state Rep. Timm Ormsby (D – Spokane), who serves as vice chair of the House Capital Budget committee. “The construction phase will bring jobs, and once completed we’ll have a medical school and research facility that will continue to provide family-wage jobs and improve access to health care.”
Also included in the final budget is $1.25 million for the renovation and expansion of 2nd Harvest Food Bank’s distribution center. The expansion will enable the facility to process bulk perishable food donations.
“At a time when our food bank is serving a greater number of our community members, this renovation will enable them to accept more fresh fruit, vegetables, and other perishables,” said Rep. Andy Billig (D – Spokane).
Billig and Ormsby also welcomed news that the budget’s Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program component will provide funding for the acquisition of additional land for the Antoine Peak conservation area.
“This secures recreational land that we can pass on to future generations,” Billig said.
Other Spokane-area projects that received funding in the final capital budget include:
· Spokane Falls Community College (classrooms and repair work)
· Renovation of Eastern Washington University’s Patterson Hall
· The ARC of Spokane (building acquisition)
· Transitions New Leaf Bakery
· Stormwater abatement projects (funded through the Public Works Trust Fund)
The construction budget was the last remaining of the three state budgets awaiting passage. Tuesday, the House passed a two-year state operating budget, which the Senate passed yesterday. A two-year Transportation budget cleared the Legislature during the 2011 regular session.
Yesterday marked the final day of the special session, with the Legislature adjourning about an hour and a half shy of the midnight deadline.