Nothing yet for Sequim in Gregoire plan

Several stimulus plans being debated

Four economic stimulus plans are floating around the state capital so Sequim’s omission from the governor’s recently released plan shouldn’t be a concern at this point, said Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim.

"We were not even doing those over the weekend to let it all get sorted out. There’s so many different proposals that I truly don’t know what this will look like," he said.

"You should pay closest attention to the federal plan because they have the most money, but nobody truly knows the answer to that yet."

Van De Wege, along with Rep. Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, and Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, represents the 24th Legislative District, which includes Clallam and Jefferson counties and one-third of Grays Harbor County.

Gov. Chris Gregoire’s Washington Jobs Now plan released Jan. 15 is a $1.2 billion package of targeted investments and other economic support intended to provide short-term economic stimulus and long-term improvements to aging infrastructure.

So far the only road or capital project included in the plan is a $2.16 million project in Clallam Bay Corrections Center’s close custody housing units.

It includes installing slider doors and a sprinkler system, installing close-circuit camera systems, installing a new service switchboard, reconfiguring the two existing emergency generators and installing a third generator.

Kessler agreed that Clallam County’s omission from the governor’s plan should not be a source of concern.

"The governor wanted us to respond quickly but we don’t know how. We’re going to have a plan, then there’s the Senate plan plus the federal government’s plan. So we’ve just begun this process," she said.

Hargrove said the various stimulus plans include those targeted at the short- term, mid-term and longer term.

"There’s ones to get money into the economy real quickly and then there’s the more traditional capital projects approach. There’s a whole bunch of stuff going on.

"Everyone wants to move as quickly as possible but we don’t want to do dumb things while we’re trying to do quick things," he said.

Brian Gawley can be reached at

bgawley@sequimgazette.com.