Months of preparation have gone into the development of the legislative priorities for the cities of Covington, Maple Valley and Black Diamond.

All three city councils met last summer to talk about their common interests and how the Legislature might help. Transportation is at the top of the lists for all three – with particular focus on Maple Valley Highway and Kent-Kangley Road – as well as funding for a commuter rail concept called Diesel Multiple Units that could connect the cities to Auburn’s Sounder rail station.

Covington City Council members met with state Rep. Pat Sullivan, whose 47th District includes Covington, on Jan. 5 to give him a heads-up on what they hope for out of the legislative session in Olympia.

Over dinner, they talked about Covington’s agenda – and not just for state money, but for requests the city will submit to the federal government to get funds from the stimulus package expected later this year.

Councilman Wayne Snoey is particularly enthusiastic about the diesel (DMU) commuter rail concept.

“The transportation centers in Auburn, Kent and Tukwila are overflowing,” Snoey said. “The reality is that a lot of those vehicles are coming from this area. We need the transit centers even if DMU doesn’t exist.”

Snoey is serving on a local committee made up of council members from all three cities and mayors Pete Lewis of Auburn and John Wise of Enumclaw.

Maple Valley will lead the push to get $600,000 from the state to study DMU commuter rail.

Passenger service used to exist on the Stampede Pass line years ago, and cities in this part of the county would like to see DMUs run on them again to link commuters to other existing transit, like the regional Sounder rail line that runs through the Kent Valley.

DMUs are self-propelled passenger rail cars with one engine hauling a single passenger car.

The first phase would put stations in Covington and Maple Valley and run to Auburn, with the potential to eventually link to Kittitas County as well as add stations in Black Diamond and Enumclaw later on.

In addition to finding new and creative ways to get commuters to work, city officials are looking for ways to improve existing roads, while Covington wants to make sure the $700,000 for the design and construction of the first phase of the Southeast 180th Street/240th Avenue Southeast park project is reappropriated.

The park site is near Tahoma High School. Covington spent several months to come up with a final design for the project. It could potentially replace existing ballfields at Tahoma High if Tahoma School District builds a proposed performing arts center there.

Sullivan said the state budget will be tight and getting requests for capital-improvement projects will be tough, but he’s cautiously optimistic about possible park money.

“We’re going to push for the the park,” Sullivan said. “It’s a lot easier to keep it in than to try and get it in (as a new request).”

Covington officials also hope to work with legislators on economic development.

City manager Derek Matheson said Covington made another strategic decision for the first time. It hired a lobbyist.

“The Association of Washington Cities’ lobbyists have represented cities’ interests for many years, but it is becoming more common for individual cities to hire lobbyists to emphasize their individual interests and funding requests,” Matheson said. He noted the Covington council felt it was “especially important to have a full-time presence in Olympia during a session in which the Legislature will have to close a $5 billion-plus budget deficit.”

Matheson said lobbyist Dick Little will be paid $16,000 plus expenses to represent the city, as well as work on the city’s behalf in Washington, D.C. as it attempts to get federal economic stimulus funds.

Maple Valley has submitted a number of requests for the federal economic stimulus package, with the top priority being improvements at the intersection of Witte Road and Southeast 248th Street. On one corner of that intersection is Maple Valley Library, and on another corner is Greater Maple Valley Community Center.

City officials will be requesting money for a number of other improvements around Maple Valley from the state and the federal government. According to Christy Todd, the interim city manager:

• Maple Valley will lead the advocacy efforts for State Route 516 – 207th Place Southeast to Witte Road Southeast.

• Black Diamond will lead the advocacy efforts for State Route 169 – Roberts Drive to Jones Lake Road.

• And Covington will lead the advocacy efforts for State Route 516 – Wax Road to 185th Avenue Southeast.

Black Diamond city administrator Gwen Voelpel said that while her city’s agenda is relatively light, significant work needs to be done to the transportation infrastructure that runs through the three cities.

“It’s important for us to work with our neighboring cities at this point in our development,” Voelpel said. “We understand the impact future development in Black Diamond will have on the transportation network in other cities. It’s important for the cities to look at more creative ways to deal with transportation needs in coming years.”

Staff writer Kris Hill can be reached at (425) 432-1209 (extension 5054) and khill@reporternewspapers.com