Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Legislation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
State Rep. Madison Richards outlines ferry, Gorst and housing priorities for Port Orchard
Summary
State Representative Madison Richards presented highlights from the recent legislative session, emphasizing ferry-service restoration, preliminary work on the Gorst corridor, capital funding for downtown Port Orchard projects and state-level efforts on childcare, permitting reform and literacy.
State Representative Madison Richards on Tuesday told the Port Orchard City Council she is pressing state agencies and colleagues in Olympia to protect ferry service, advance study work on the Gorst corridor and secure capital funds for downtown projects.
Richards, who represents the 26th District, opened by describing geographic scope of her district and said, “I love to say the district goes from the Narrows Bridge up to the Manette Bridge here in Bremerton.” She reviewed transportation, capital budget and social-policy items she worked on during the most recent legislative session and in the interim.
On transportation, Richards said the session restored Washington State Ferries service "to pre-pandemic levels" for both Bremerton and Southworth runs and that she pushed to keep fast-ferry funding through next summer’s World Cup. She said she is working with Representative Nance and WSDOT to expand fast-ferry operations around Puget Sound.
Richards described the Gorst corridor as a local priority and said the legislature funded an archaeological study for Gorst and expects an environmental study update in April. “What I didn't wanna see happen was for us to come up with a grand bargain solution with all of the stakeholders and then start digging and find native artifacts because that's the Suquamish tribe's historic fishing village,” she said, summarizing why an early study was needed.
Richards also highlighted capital funding she sought for downtown Port Orchard reconstruction — saying the state provided $1 million — and for the Polaris theater restoration. On housing and permitting, she discussed a transportation-permitting work group she chairs that is exploring ideas to shorten permitting timelines, improve interagency communication and consider mechanisms such as contractor review systems or forced-arbitration models to resolve permitting disputes faster.
On social-policy items, Richards described a childcare bill that adds flexibility for entities such as churches to operate child care, and a tax-incentive proposal aimed at encouraging employers to invest in employee education, including a maritime-focused version planned next session.
Why it matters: Richards framed the items as directly tied to Port Orchard’s growth and downtown recovery, and she invited city officials to continue coordinating with her office on specific grant and permitting needs.
Council follow-up: Council members asked Richards about derelict-vessel funding, roundabouts at Sedgwick and Highway 16, and a potential commercial vacancy tax. Richards said housing and property tax structure remain central state issues and that she opposed increasing the property tax threshold from 1% to 3% this session because of impacts on seniors on fixed incomes.
