 Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) approved Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration Funds allocations on Thursday. PSRC has project selection authority for several sources of funding, and the project selection process is conducted every two to three years to distribute federal funds via a competitive process. In February of this year, the project selection process began to distribute approximately $690 million of PSRC's federal fiscal year 2015-2017 funds. I am pleased to tell you that Auburn is the recipient of some of those funds!
Here's the ones we can count on:
- $3,774,340 for W Main St Multimodal & ITS Improvement
- $520,000 for F St SE Non-Motorized Improvements
- $817,500 for 15th St NE/NW Preservation
- $967,500 for Auburn Way N Preservation (2nd St NE to 45th St NE)
- $750,000 for Lake Tapps Parkway Preservation
A huge thank you to our Public Works Team for all of their hard work and effort to submit these projects for consideration, and fortunately for us - approval!
 It's time to prepare the next biennial budget for your city! Our directors and their teams have been working very hard over the past few months to prepare the 2015-2016 budget for their respective departments. They submitted their information to our Finance team a few weeks ago, and Finance has been hard at work putting it all together. This week, the directors and I met in a series of 4-hour meetings to review each area, prioritize needs and determine what will be presented to your councilmembers for approval. I am so proud to be part of a team that works in such a collaborative style! Over the course of the next couple of months, the directors will have the opportunity to present their department's budget to the council, and answer all questions they may raise. Before the end of the year, the council will approve a BALANCED BUDGET! At the local level, we have no choice - our budget must be balanced. Quite frankly, it's the way all government budgets should be handled.
 At Monday night's council meeting, we had the opportunity to celebrate our youngest Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) graduate Kurtis Harstad. Did you hear about the good samaritan that pulled a man out of his burning truck - without concern for his own well-being?
 Well, that hero is none other than Jeremy Harstad (right) - father of Kurtis Harstad (left)! Jeremy is also a CERT graduate, and we are very proud of him! We will be convening our next CERT class very soon. Please consider being a part of the class and be prepared to help out your neighbors in case of emergency. Visit www.auburnwa.gov/disaster for more information.
What would you do?
I really appreciate the great responses that we receive in this section! Are there any issues you would like me to address? What questions would you like to see us ask? Please let me know, and then look for your question to be featured!
This week's question comes from Scott:
"I guess this question can be applied to the state level also, if cars have to share the roads with bike riders , why don’t they have bike tab fees to help with the cost of road maintenance ?"
What do yo think readers?
For those that would like to see the feedback from previous questions, you can view that here.
July 26, for one single 24 hour period, Always Brothers will run 100 miles to honor U.S. Service men and women, and will raise money for the education funds of children who have lost a parent in the Iraq or Afghanistan War. Some runners will run all 100 miles and others will run in relays with their teams. Here's a short video to learn more about their organization!
Join the Auburn cheering section and show your support of the Always Brothers runners and their worthy cause. Meet at the corner of West Main Street and the Interurban Trail around 1 a.m. the morning of Sunday, July 27. You are encouraged to bring flags, banners or balloons and your loudest cheering voice! The runners will pass through Auburn around 1:45 am. for a short break and motivation from Auburn!
If you would like to donate to their cause, visit www.active.com/donate/alwaysbros100miles
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