Now There’S A Debt To Those Blindsided

Nothing about Spokane’s proposed Lincoln Street Bridge has ever gone according to plan.

So it stands to reason that even retiring the debt for the project would have unpleasant repercussions.

U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt’s office announced last month that Spokane’s $5.8 million bill for the bridge had been forgiven, only for many in the state to learn last week that waiving the debt for Spokane leaves other bridge projects throughout the state without funding.

Nethercutt spokesman Tom McArthur defends the action, saying the state, which receives and distributes the federal funds, shouldn’t have expected the feds would make up the money spent by Spokane.

But nobody at Nethercutt’s office mentioned that in October when they announced that the bridge debt had been forgiven. And government officials throughout the state believed the debt would be waived without affecting the state funds.

For many in Spokane, having the debt forgiven was good news for a tight city budget. The city was about to raid its Solid Waste Department’s reserve fund and its street fund as sources to repay the cash.

Nethercutt was applauded for getting his constituents out of a jam. Sure, the news was delivered less than a month before the election. But that was as much a function of when the legislation was approved as it was pre-election politics.

Besides, waiving the bridge debt wasn’t some frivolous piece of pork for the city. It was the resolution of a very large bill that was complicated to some extent by the state itself.

A state board had rejected the proposed bridge on environmental grounds. The state Department of Transportation determined that because the city then killed the project, failing to pursue it until all appeals were exhausted, Spokane must repay the money it spent.

Nethercutt was just intervening to clear up a misunderstanding.

It worked out well for Spokane. The debt was forgiven and as a bonus Spokane got to keep the $2.2-million Salty’s property it had purchased for bridge right of way.

But now Spokane and Nethercutt have some fence mending to do with other counties.

Nethercutt said during his re-election campaign that he needed to return for a fourth term to complete unfinished business. Lobbying hard to restore funds to the seven bridge projects that lost out to Spokane should be near the top of that list.

Spokane also should lend its voice to efforts to restore the bridge money to other counties. To do less could be perceived as callousness by a city unconcerned about others as long as it gets what it wants. The city can’t afford that kind of animosity across the state. Among other things, it could jeopardize future bridge projects.

The Lincoln Street Bridge project debt has been retired. Now it’s time for Nethercutt and the city to roll up their sleeves and build some bridges of good will throughout the state.