Drafter

Clerk 03/21/2022

Title

A MOTION requesting that the executive prepare a feasibility assessment report and implementation plan on King County's ability to facilitate the manufacture of concrete for use in county projects and projects of public partner entities.

Body

                     WHEREAS, concrete is not only the backbone of the construction industry, but it is also foundational to the economic stability and growth of the region, and

                     WHEREAS, because a labor dispute with a limited number of companies has caused significant delays or shut down nearly all local public sector and private construction, the local concrete market is failing the county and region, and

                     WHEREAS, the labor dispute has for more than the last one hundred days, significantly reduced the availability of local commercial-scale production of concrete, and

                     WHEREAS, King County respects and recognizes the collective bargaining process and continues to urge the parties to return to the negotiating table with federal mediators, to bring an end to this region's debilitating dispute, and

                     WHEREAS, current public infrastructure projects like Sound Transit light rail expansion, West Seattle bridge reopening, Washington state Convention Center expansion, University of Washington’s Behavioral Health Hospital, completion of the Georgetown wet weather facility and the Metro transit department's rapid ride H and G lines are experiencing costly delay due to the labor dispute, and

                     WHEREAS, this ongoing dispute may harm future projects and result in costly delays or cancellation of taxpayer-funded work, such as expansion of Harborview Medical Center, and electrification of Metro transit department's south base, as well as road safety improvements in the unincorporated area, and

                     WHEREAS, the ongoing dispute is also impairing private development, including housing construction, during the current housing crisis when need for homes is greater than available housing, and

                     WHEREAS, the ongoing dispute is resulting in layoffs for thousands of construction workers and construction related jobs just as the region is recovering from the COVID-19 global pandemic, and

                     WHEREAS, because concrete can travel a limited distance to a job site, it is necessary for King County and its jurisdictional and public agency partners to explore the public manufacture of concrete for King County and public partner projects to ensure the next decade of taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects are able to move forward with minimal delay;

                     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:

                     A.  The council requests that the executive submit for the council's review a feasibility assessment report and implementation plan on King County's ability to facilitate the public manufacture of concrete.  The report and plan shall be developed in consultation with stakeholders such as but not limited to Sound Transit, the Washington state Department of Transportation, the Port of Seattle, the University of Washington, the city of Seattle and other interested jurisdictions around the county, representatives from organized labor who work in the concrete industry, and shall include at a minimum:

                       1.  A feasibility assessment of the county's ability to partner with other public agencies to facilitate manufacture concrete for use in public building and construction, including:

                         a.  identification of the elements necessary for the county to facilitate the manufacture of concrete for use in county building and construction and projects of public partner entities;

                         b.  identification of property where such manufacturing could occur and what improvements to property would be necessary for the public manufacture of concrete;

                         c.  a survey of jurisdictions and public entities that may wish to partner with the county in facilitating the public manufacture of concrete and use of publicly manufactured concrete;

                         d.  a fiscal analysis of the cost and benefits of the county facilitating the public manufacture of concrete;

                         e.  operational, policy and legal analysis of the county's role in facilitating the public manufacture of concrete, including consideration of whether operations should be contracted to an outside entity or conducted by employees of the county or other public agency, and partnerships with public entities; and

                         f.  identification of any opportunities in the public manufacture of concrete that may benefit private entities in need of concrete; and

                       2.  An implementation plan for the public manufacture of concrete, including:

                         a.  a process for jurisdictions and public entities to partner in the public manufacturing of concrete;

                         b.  an estimated timeline of major milestones for implementing the public manufacturing of concrete;

                         c.  a financial plan that identifies estimated costs and revenues for the public manufacture of concrete; and

                         d.  identification of any changes needed to the King County code to enable the county to facilitate the public manufacture of concrete.

                     B.  The executive shall file the feasibility assessment report and implementation plan on King County's ability to facilitate the manufacture of concrete by December 1, 2022, in the form of a paper original and an electronic copy with the clerk of the council.  The clerk of the council shall retain the original and provide an electronic copy to all

councilmembers, the council chief of staff, the policy staff director and the lead staff for committee of the whole, or their successors.