Karina Andrew reports:
U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen talked healthcare, infrastructure and housing affordability at a community coffee event in Oak Harbor on Tuesday.
Around 30 people attended the casual question-and-answer session, including several Oak Harbor city officials. Larsen said this meeting was the first of its kind on Whidbey since before the pandemic.
Larsen updated residents on work that has been going on in Washington D.C., particularly legislation that will directly impact Washington state and Whidbey Island.
They Said It
Oak Harbor City Council member Shane Hoffmire pointed out that the Clean Water Facility’s $160 million of debt reflects in the rates that city residents pay and wondered what options were available for managing that debt service, such as state revolving funds.
Larsen said the infrastructure bill invests greatly in the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act, which is where the state departments of health and ecology receive some state revolving funds. He said he would have his staff coordinate with Oak Harbor city officials as they propose solutions to the debt problem.
