Yakima County commissioners voted to sign a letter from the City of Zillah asking state lawmakers to reallocate previously awarded transportation funds to the Schooley Road Bridge project. The board approved the action during its June 5 work session; Commissioner Lindy made the motion and the board approved it unanimously.

The request originated with Zillah city staff and its city manager, Michael Graham, and was shared with county commissioners after legislative outreach to state lawmakers including Senator King, Senator Torres and Representative Dufo. Commissioner McKinney said she had exchanged messages with HLA and with Michael Graham and that the city preferred the Schooley Road Bridge as the priority project.

The item prompted technical comment from county transportation advisor Matt Petrushewicz, who said reallocating an awarded state project to a different local project is “unusual” and “a tough ask” but not impossible. “It’s an unusual, but I think that Zillah is thinking outside the box here…my initial thought is it’s gonna be a tough ask, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen,” Petrushewicz told the board.

Commissioner Lindy said she had considered a joint meeting with the Zillah City Council to gather public input but ultimately concluded the public input already received made a joint meeting unnecessary. After Lindy moved to send the letter, the chair called for the vote; the board voted in the affirmative and asked Julie Lawrence, clerk of the board, to prepare the letter for signature and distribution to the city and the county’s legislative contacts.

Why it matters: the board’s agreement to sign the letter is a formal show of county support for Zillah’s request to pursue a reallocation through the state legislative process. The outcome does not itself change funding allocations—the letter is an advocacy step intended to support Zillah’s request to state lawmakers.

Next steps: Julie Lawrence will prepare the county’s signed letter for the commissioners’ signatures, and the county will forward it to the city and to the identified state legislative contacts for advocacy.