STA delays light rail decision

The Spokane Transit Authority Board Thursday delayed discussion of whether to proceed planning for a proposed $265 million light rail project between Spokane and Liberty Lake.

Voters rejected two advisory light rail propositions. The first asked whether STA should conduct a study on how to pay for the project. The second asked if STA should use its existing resources to pay for preliminary engineering and design for the light rail line.

Board members said they needed more information about project options and previous statements about spending on the project.

Some members said they didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to proceed with the plan. Others worried that continuing with light rail could frustrate voters who will be asked next year to extend a .3 percent sales tax increase now being used to fund bus service.

In other business, the board extensively discussed a proposal to hire only non-smokers for non-union positions. While some favored the plan as a way to promote productivity and decrease health care costs, others said employee wellness should only be considered as a whole, with attention also paid to weight, nutrition, exercise and other factors.

The board is scheduled to vote on the plan at its Dec. 14 meeting.

Also Thursday, STA staff announced that they would hold two citizen workshops on the agency’s draft 2007 budget. Dates haven’t been finalized, but the workshops will occur in the first week of December.

Because work on the document is one month behind, the board wasn’t briefed on the budget this month as it usually would be.