Prompted by the approaching rainy season and the diminished ability of the Howard Hanson Dam to hold back the waters of the Green River, the Auburn City Council on Monday approved a resolution giving Auburn’s mayor the authority to declare a state of emergency before flooding actually occurs.
Basically, the new powers will allow Mayor Pete Lewis limited power to act on the spot and submit what he has done to the City Council for ratification within 72 hours.
“This was brought forward at the request of the Green River cities — Kent, Renton, and Tukwila — and King County so we could move forward with advanced emergency measures prior to the time there is a flood,” Lewis said.
The City of Renton approved a similar resolution last week and Tukwila and Kent are expected to follow suit. King County passed its resolution Monday afternoon.
“Thousands of homes and businesses may be devastated by potential flooding resulting from the Howard Hanson Dam,” said Councilmember Julia Patterson, prime sponsor of the county ordinance and chair of the King County Flood Control District. “By authorizing an emergency proclamation before flooding occurs, this legislation moves the county forward in our flood preparation and sends a message to the federal government that we need their support now.”
Homes and businesses downstream of the federally -owned-and-operated dam face the threat of flood waters as high as 10 feet, should heavy rainfall require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to release water from behind the dam.
Auburn City attorney Dan Heid said many powers will fall within the emergency authority of the City Council and the mayor, but he added that it is difficult to say in advance what powers will apply.
“This is going to give authority to the mayor to take action more quickly,” said Heid. “It would not alleviate the need for financial considerations to be approved by the City Council. But if something were a true emergency, it might be more of a ratification type of thing.”
One thing the resolution does is authorize the mayor to waive procurement and contracting rules, but only as they relate to the emergency at hand.
“One of the reasons we declare an emergency is so that we can access county supplies and state supplies,” Lewis said. “Sandbags in particular are bio-degradeable. They won’t last a month. We will stock up as we get closer to the emergency so that we have them on hand.
“It’s one of those things where we are hoping to be able to work in cooperation with the other three cities and King County to get as much supplies as we can prior to the event. We hope to have this passed so we can take it to the governor as quickly as possible,” Lewis said.
Officials in each of the four cities also hope to convince the Department of Ecology and the Federal Fish and Wildlife Agency to allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permission to remove logs from the Green river as it passes through their jurisdiction.
King County might need to shift the operations of major county facilities that lie in the flood plain, including the potential need to relocate animals from the shelter, inmates from the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center, and move the County’s Elections headquarters to prevent any disruption to the November general election. According to county officials, the estimated cost would be between $10 million and $35 million.
