Sumner outlines $450,000 first-year Transportation Benefit District plan

City engineering staff told the Sumner City Council they plan to spend an estimated $450,000 in the Transportation Benefit District's first year on pavement preservation and accessibility projects.

Courtney Littrell, assistant engineering manager, said the TBD was formed last year and is funded by a 0.1% sales tax dedicated to roadway maintenance and preservation. Littrell said collections began on 01/01/2026 and staff recommend using roughly $300,000 for chip seal work and $150,000 for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) curb-ramp replacements and upgrades.

Staff highlighted three corridors for the chip-seal allocation: Academy Street (between Cherry Avenue and Wood Avenue), Park Road East (between Main Street and the north end) and Willow Street (between Alder Avenue and Wood Avenue). Littrell and an engineering presenter said the chip seal should extend pavement life by about seven to ten years and that markings, including bike lanes, would be repainted after treatment. ADA curb-ramp work would target intersections missing compliant ramps, including Sumner Avenue at Boyd Avenue and Willow Street at Guptill Avenue.

Council members asked how staff set priorities among high-need pavement sections, ADA upgrades and sidewalk projects. Littrell said staff use a pavement condition index (PCI), past biennial funding, project readiness and equity considerations (including proximity to schools) to choose locations and noted that ADA work tied to a surface treatment must be brought up to compliance when touched by that project. Littrell said chip-seal advertising is anticipated next month with construction starting in June, and ADA curb-ramp work would be combined with an upcoming sidewalk project anticipated to advertise in March and begin construction in May.

No ordinance or appropriation vote occurred at the study session; staff will bring contracts and project awards forward as separate actions.