Online Edition | Washington State University | Pullman, Washington | Friday, June 20, 2001

Spokane Rallies To Win Legislative Approval For Riverpoint's WSU Academic Center

The state Legislature has approved a revised capital budget that includes design funding for the Spokane Academic Center June 20 and sent it to Gov. Gary Locke for final approval.

Spokane-area legislators and community leaders, including the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce, joined the university to successfully press in the final days of the state capital budget-writing process for $2 million in design funding for the building.

The design funding will lead to a new $45 million Washington State University Riverpoint library, student services and classroom building.

The final version of the capital budget (Substitute Senate Bill 6155) first emerged from the House on June 19 and was approved by the Senate on the following day.. The capital budget will be sent to the governor for his signature, a critical milestone toward adjournment of the Legislature. These developments indicate the 90,000-square foot Riverpoint Higher Education Park building stays on track to be completed by 2005. That is something most legislative observers thought was unlikely just a few days ago. It also gives WSU a substantial base for expanding programs for the Inland Northwest.

The Spokane Academic Center project appeared to be a politically wounded duck as an earlier version of the House capital budget and two versions of the Senate capital budget did not include the design funding recommended by Gov. Gary Locke. Locke himself had suggested that construction could be delayed until the 2005-2007 biennium. But key legislators from the Spokane area weighed in on the issue. House Higher Education Co-chair Don Cox, R-Colfax, had numerous meetings on the issue with House Capital Budget Co-chair Gary Alexander, R-Olympia. Rep. Jeff Gombosky, D-Spokane, conferred frequently with House Capital Budget Co-chair Ed Murray, D-Seattle. Rep. Mark Schoesler, R- Ritzville, had discussions with the governor's office. Senate GOP Leader Jim West, R-Spokane, Sen. Larry Sheahan, R- Spokane, Senate Ways and Means Chair Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, and Sen. Darlene Fairley, D-Lake Forest Park, sent the word out early last week that if House negotiators wanted the Spokane building, the Senate would agree to it.

Spokane civic leaders, meanwhile, made dozens of phone calls to a broad number of legislators across the state to secure funding for the building, Washington State University's "centerpiece" for its operations at the Riverpoint campus. In response, the Legislative-approved capital budget recommends $2 million for 2001-2003 to design the Spokane Academic Center. In addition to the library, the center will be the new home for student services and the dean's offices that are currently housed in leased space at the Metropolitan Mortgage building in downtown Spokane. The building will include a 150-seat lecture hall, three distance learning classrooms, and two computer teaching laboratories.

The WSU capital construction budget passed by the Legislature totals just under $103 million, the third largest general fund appropriation in university history.
Projects in Spokane were among the few contentious issues in the capital construction budget for the university. In March, the Senate surprised many people by dipping deep into WSU's priority list and funding more than $1 million to accelerate expansion of the Intercollegiate College of Nursing/WSU College of Nursing building in Spokane. This month, the Senate backed off the ICN project and it is not included in the final compromise that passed the House today.

Other proposed WSU projects have fared very well in the legislative process and are included in the final capital budget:

Energy Plant Funded
Most notably, this new legislative budget adopts compromise language negotiated between the leaders of the two houses, that has apparently paved the way for WSU to apply $23 million in state dollars toward a public-private partnership to construct a new energy plant. The plant will be located at a new site to efficiently heat and cool the Pullman campus as well as provide for all of the electrical needs. Language proposed earlier by the House appeared to have blocked efforts to increase cogeneration and establish the plant at a new site. The co-chairs of the House Technology, Telecommunications and Energy Committee, Reps. Erik Poulsen, D-Seattle, and Larry Crouse, R-Spokane played a major role in crafting the compromise language.

Murrow Communication Addition and Vancouver Multi-media Building Ready for Construction
With final legislative approval, construction can begin soon on a $10.9 million addition to Murrow Hall this biennium. The project, which received strong backing from the Washington Association of Broadcasters, has been favorably recommended in all four capital construction budget drafts passed by legislative chambers this session, plus had the backing of the Higher Education Coordinating Board and Gov. Locke.

Shock Physics & Johnson Hall Addition Funded.
This final legislative capital budget also continued to recommend funding for the "Shock Physics" addition to Webster Hall, and design for a new addition to Johnson Hall.