Board maintains recommended six‑year investments; staff to refine transmittal letter to legislature

Board members voted to keep the investment committee's recommendations for the six‑year program after a staff update that emphasized those project priorities are recommendations not guaranteed obligations. "As you might recall, you were presented with 212,000,000 in funding requests," staff told the board, noting the need to prioritize projects in two tiers and to embed language asking the legislature for flexibility or additional CCA dollars for greenhouse‑gas reduction projects.

Members discussed two recommended approaches for Tacoma — maintain a $7,000,000 FY27–29 funding recommendation while allowing staff some flexibility to apply build award funding to PE and environmental work — and a split approach for Spokane Valley that would provide $1,500,000 in 27–29 for initial stages and revisit later funding levels. Board leadership asked staff to refine the letter to avoid implying that projects identified for future biennia are guaranteed, and to highlight freight system priorities in the opening text before the draft is finalized for a December transmittal to the legislature.