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Franklin Conservation District asks Pasco to rejoin; seeks small assessment increase to fund urban programs
Summary
Franklin Conservation District staff asked the Pasco City Council to approve a resolution to rejoin the district, saying annexation would give Pasco access to conservation programs, education and mitigation services; staff proposed raising local rates-and-charges funding from 4% to 11%.
PASCO, Wash. — Representatives from the Franklin Conservation District told the Pasco City Council Monday they would like the city to rejoin the district to access conservation programs, technical assistance and mitigation funds for shrub-steppe habitat.
District Manager Kara Culver and Voluntary Stewardship Program Coordinator Kelsey Potteroff described the district as a nonregulatory special-purpose local government that works with landowners, farmers and municipalities on voluntary conservation measures. Culver said the district would like Pasco to pass a council resolution to re-enter the district; the next steps would be approval by the Washington State Conservation Commission and then by the Secretary of State.
“Annexing into the Conservation District would give the City of Pasco access to our programs and services,” Culver said. She described education programs (including salmon-in-the-classroom for fourth graders and a stormwater education program for K–5), a heritage garden program to convert high-water landscaping to native, low-water landscaping, and the Franklin County Water Conservancy Board, which the district oversees and through which the district has processed 202 water-right applications (78 of them for the City of Pasco) since 1999.
Culver outlined how the district is funded and what annexation would change. The district’s current local funding is roughly 4 percent of its revenue from a rates-and-charges assessment that generates about $70,000 annually. Culver said adding Pasco would increase local funding to approximately $195,000 annually — an increase she described as moving the local share from 4% to 11%. Culver said that would allow the district to maintain staff and expand urban programming; she estimated the per-household assessment for a typical Pasco homeowner would be about $5.03 per year.
Potteroff described an emerging mitigation role: the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife now requires mitigation for removal of shrub-steppe habitat, and the district is working to accept developer mitigation funds in the absence of a local land trust.
Council members asked procedural and budget clarifying questions. Culver said the practical next step from the district’s side is a council resolution; the district would then submit paperwork to the State Conservation Commission for approval and finally to the Secretary of State. Culver said any rates-and-charges changes would not take effect until the following January if the council chose to proceed.
No formal council action was taken Monday; the item was presented for council consideration and staff follow-up. Council members asked staff to assess next steps and possible impacts before returning with a recommendation.
Culver and Potteroff left council with an invitation to work with the district on urban programming and landscaper engagement to encourage adoption of low-water landscaping in new development and with existing homeowners.
