Money keeps UW hopes alive

Everett says it has the superior site, but Marysville says no way. Lake Stevens chimes in, too, saying its site is really the best.

Does this sound familiar?

That was the debate last year as Snohomish County communities lobbied to get a University of Washington branch campus in their backyards.

And now that state lawmakers have adjourned their session without making a decision on where a campus should be located, the conversation may start all over again.

Lawmakers left Olympia without passing any of the bills that would have authorized a branch-campus site in Everett, Marysville or Lake Stevens.

The one thing the Legislature did do was leave $100,000 in the operating budget to get the communities to rally behind a single site that would serve students in north Snohomish, Island and Skagit counties. The state's Higher Education Coordinating Board will be in charge of getting the communities together, and then making a final recommendation by Dec. 1.

But local leaders, many still strongly defending their sites, are wondering exactly how that's going to happen — after all, some communities spent several thousands of dollars lobbying for their sites in a heated competition last year.

The city of Everett is still pointing to the fact that Everett Station was selected out of four finalists as the recommended site for a new campus by the Office of Financial Management last November. The office chose it ahead of the Smokey Point site in Marysville, a second Everett site and a Lake Stevens site.

Marysville Mayor Dennis Kendall, whose site was supported by powerful lawmakers this session, said he is ready to make another case for his site.

"I want to make sure the Legislature has all the info they need to make an appropriate recommendation," said Kendall.

"I think it's still a togetherness thing," he said. "But we, by far, have the much better location here."

Lake Stevens' city Administrator Jan Berg said her community purposefully made a decision not to fight over a site, because it wanted to see the branch continue making progress.

"It's important that a branch campus happens in Snohomish County," she said. "Of course, we think our site is best, but we don't want that to delay or hurt the process."

Skagit County Commissioner Ken Dahlstedt is optimistic that the three counties will be able to come together and agree on the process and make a decision based on "credible criteria."

"I think we're going to expect there's going to be a reasonable compromise on a site that's going to help our kids," said Dahlstedt.

It was clear midway through the session that the new UW branch campus was losing steam — it suffered a major blow when a dismal revenue forecast was revealed. Now, getting any funding for a campus will hinge on getting a site authorized first.

"We need to get a site first, and we need to get the flag first before we get any capital money," said Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, who sponsored a bill that would have authorized a campus in Everett.

Though a site was not authorized this year, Dunshee said the money in the budget keeps the hope of a branch campus alive.

"This is our best possibility for now," he said.

Christina Siderius: 425-745-7813 or csiderius@seattletimes.com