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AN ORDINANCE authorizing the King County executive to execute an interlocal agreement with the King County Ferry District relating to West Seattle water taxi service as a mitigation measure for the Alaskan Way Viaduct project.
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STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. On October 23, 2008, the Washington state Department of Transportation ("WSDOT") and the King County Metro transit division ("Metro transit") entered into GCA 5820, an Agreement for Enhanced Transit Services, for the Early Safety and Mobility Projects of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Program ("the agreement"). The projects that are the subject of the agreement are known as the Moving Forward projects.
2. Three interlocal agreements have been developed to transfer funds from WSDOT to Metro transit to mitigate traffic disruption on the Moving Forward projects. These mitigation funds will pay for buses, service hours, Transportation Demand Management activities and expansion of its electronic bus monitoring system.
3. WSDOT and Metro transit have determined the King County Ferry District's West Seattle water taxi and water taxi commuter shuttle ("water taxi") services can provide direct connections to alternative transit routes that would bypass anticipated traffic congestion associated with WSDOT's viaduct construction work.
4. The King County department of transportation's marine division is authorized to operate the water taxi for the King County Ferry District ("the Ferry District") pursuant to an interlocal operating agreement and it is expected that any viaduct mitigation-related service enhancements to the water taxi will also be operated by the marine division.
5. The proposed interlocal agreement between Metro transit and the ferry district provides for Metro transit to contract with the ferry district, an independent special purpose municipal corporation, in order to provide a mechanism to implement and fund supplementary water taxi services in furtherance of the traffic mitigation goals and objectives of the agreement.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. The executive is hereby authorized to enter into an interlocal agreement with the King County Ferry District, substantially in the form of Attachment A to this ordinance, to provide supplementary water taxi service to augment the enhanced transit services being provided by Metro transit pursuant to the Enhanced Transit Service Agreement to effectively and efficiently mitigate viaduct and seawall construction related traffic congestion during the Early Safety and Mobility projects of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall replacement program. The executive may not enter into this agreement until the county and the Washington state Department of Transportation have amended the Enhanced Transit Service Agreement to add the West Seattle water taxi and related commuter shuttle bus routes to the list of eligible transit routes.
SECTION 2. The appropriate county officials, agents and employees are hereby authorized to take all actions necessary to implement the agreement and all actions heretofore taken by county officials, agents and employees consistent with the terms and purposes of the agreement are hereby ratified, confirmed and approved.
SECTION 3. If any one or more of the covenants or agreements provided in this ordinance to be performed on the part of the county shall be declared by any court of competent jurisdiction to be contrary to law, then the covenant or covenants and agreement or agreements, are null and void and shall be deemed separable from the
remaining covenants and agreements of this ordinance and shall in no way affect the validity of the other provisions of this ordinance or of the agreement.