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State grants $1 million for Lakefront Park; city staff warned of tighter capital and transportation budgets
Summary
City legislative representative Shelly Helder told the council that Lake Forest Park secured $1 million in the state capital budget for phase 1 of Lakefront Park, but other transportation requests were not funded and the legislature faced large shortfalls that restrained spending.
Shelly Helder, who represented Lake Forest Park in Olympia during the 2025 legislative session, told the City Council on May 22 that the final state capital budget included $1 million for phase 1 of the city’s Lakefront Park project.
Helder said the city’s application — supported by staff fact sheets and the local legislative delegation — was included in the Local Community Projects Program and survived final budget negotiations despite a constrained capital budget.
Why it matters: The capital budget was smaller than in past biennia and the legislature faced a multibillion-dollar shortfall that limited new project funding. Lake Forest Park’s award exceeds the program’s recent average award and gives the city a now-confirmed state funding source to obligate for the lakefront project.
Helder summarized the fiscal context the legislature faced: a $15 billion projected…
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