[Please welcome Goldy to Slog. He’ll be posting here as well as his home blog, HorsesAss. — Eds]
In addition to the discounted power already provided the region, Seattle agreed this week to pay Pend Oreille County $19 million over the next 10 years, including $3 million toward construction of a new school in compensation for continued operation of the Boundary Dam. Okay, whatever.
Seattle City Light took a big risk back in 1964, deciding to invest $94 million of rate payer money in building a new dam and 300 miles of transmission lines at a time when electricity was dirt cheap. The fact that this investment more than paid off — Boundary Dam now provides about 46 percent of Seattle’s power, ensuring us some of the lowest rates in the nation — is a tribute to the foresight and planning of our city-owned public utility.
In return, Pend Oreille County got a recreational lake that has become a key part of its local economy, new school buildings, and about $1.4 million a year in impact fees… not to mention cheap, wholesale electricity that saves its rate payers about $20 million a year. All told, that’s an average of about $1,615 in direct cash benefits annually for every man, woman and child in Pend Oreille County.
That was the legally binding contract. But strapped for cash, and with the federal relicensing process offering an opportunity for political monkey-wrenching, if not outright extortion, Pend Oreille demanded that Seattle triple its annual payments.
Instead, the two sides “compromised,” with Pend Oreille getting an additional $3 million toward a new school, a fraction of its original demands. But before you feel too sorry for those poor, exploited rural folk and their crumbling school buildings, you might want to look at this…
When Seattle built the dam 40 years ago, it also built a grade 7-12 school in the northern part of the county. Since then, enrollment has plummeted, the roof started leaking, and seven local bond measures have failed.
It’s not Seattle’s fault that Pend Oreille didn’t maintain its school buildings, it’s the Pend Oreille voters’ fault for rejecting seven local bond measures. I mean, when was the last time Seattle voters rejected a school levy or bond measure?
Part of Pend Oreille’s problem is that inexpensive recreational waterfront real estate has attracted retirees to the area, who obviously couldn’t give a shit about funding schools for school age children they no longer have. But a bigger part of the problem is the whole attitude toward government and taxes that seems to dominate in much of the rest of the state. In their minds, the problem isn’t that taxes are too low, but that those liberals in Seattle keep ripping everybody else off.
So of course Pend Oreille comes to big, bad Seattle demanding more money, because they’re convinced we’ve been sucking them dry… when in fact Pend Oreille has always been one of the biggest welfare queens in the state. For example, between 1983 and 2004, the Puget Sound region received 98-cents back in spending for every dollar it paid in state and federal transportation taxes. But Pend Oreille County? They saw an impressive $2.58 return! That’s a $68 million subsidy over 20 years, or roughly $260 annually per man, woman and child.
And that’s just for transportation; the numbers are similar in nearly every other category of government spending and investment.
More after the jump.
This whole Boundary Dam controversy drives home for me a couple of lessons, not the least of which being the immense public benefit of public investment. Most Seattle residents and businesses have no idea how lucky we are to purchase our power from a city-owned utility whose primary obligation is to the rate payers, not the shareholders. Call it “socialism” if you like (and technically, it is socialism), but Seattle City Light has always proven a tremendous boon to our local economy.
Pend Oreille County rate payers also benefit from such socialism, both from the impact fees and wholesale power provided by the Boundary Dam hydroelectric project, and from the power generated by the Pend Oreille PUD’s own Box Canyon Dam, just up river.
But the bigger lesson is that today’s enormous political divide between rural and urban Americans as to the proper size and scope of government is largely based on a fundamental misconception about who is subsidizing whom. For without state and federal investments and subsidies in rural electrification, irrigation, transportation, communication, education and nearly every other “-ation,” much of rural America would have remained the same economic backwater it was prior to the admittedly massive expansion of government during President Roosevelt’s New Deal, and the next half-century of Democratic and Republican administrations that followed.
Again, call it “socialism” if you want, and technically, for example, the interstate highway system, you know, is socialism — but it was this massive wave of public investment that helped build the United States into the greatest economic, military, political and cultural power in the history of the world.
And it was a lack of public investment that reduced Pend Oreille to begging Seattle for money after the roof fell in at its lone 7-12 school.
Sorry “Goldy”, I don’t know where you got your facts from but a few of them are more than a little wrong. I attend the high-school that is “Begging Seattle for money after the roof fell in….” Well the building you are probably referring to is the school that was used for pre-third graders and the roof did NOT cave in. Due to the heavy snow fall we have every year the roof had many leaks but the another problem was the boiler which had a FIRE while I attended. The pre-third graders now attend what was the middle school. There is simply not enough room at that location and the buildings we have now are also ATLEAST 50 years old. Another thing that you got wrong is that most of our power doesn’t come from Boundary dam at all. Box Canyon Dam which is located on the Pend Oreille river before Boundary supplies our power. While Sullivan lake may draw in a few tourists, besides a stop at the grocery store or the bar, we receive NO money from it. All camp fee’s and parking fees go to the forest service. Ohh and did you forget to look at a map? Sullivan lake is actually in Colville National forest which is part of Stevens county NOT Pend Oreille. Ohh and the bonds that would have allowed us to build new schools that weren’t passed did you ever think there might be a reason?? So next time you write an article, please do a little more research than surfing the net.
47, Actually, everyone gets power from Boundary through the BPA. The line losses associated with sending electricity from there to Seattle would be intolerable, so CL sends it to the nearest BPA substation, and takes an equivalent amount of energy from BPA at one of the Seattle area substations.
Also, the original operating agreement did allow for your PUD to get power from boundary at reduced costs, and I don’t think that has changed.
City Light used to be one of the largest employers in that area, but with all the automation, I don’t know if that’s true anymore.
Well, it’s good to finally see a few negative comments. I’m feeling much more at home now.
*looking at 48, 50, 51*… did this post just get linked somewhere?
“There is simply not enough room at that location and the buildings we have now are also ATLEAST 50 years old.”
Which, frankly, is your fault for not passing the bonds you needed to build new schools. When Selkirk eventually gets Vadered, you’ll have only yourselves to blame.
Let me punch some holes in this Horsesass’s slog.
“recreational lake that has become a key part of its local economy” Really? You obviously know NOTHING about the Pend Orielle River or how the dam affected it. Have you ever even been here? This “recreational lake” brings NOTHING to the economy. The campground is hardly used, and at that it is usually shut down for one reason or other. The boat launch is hardly ever used, and if it is, it is used primarily by locals. On any given day there will be ZERO people using this “recreational lake”.
“enrollment has plummeted” – that is because over the last 40 years the economy has plummetted in the area and lot of people were forced to move…jackass!
“seven local bond measures have failed.” because they were poorly written or had parts in them people did not like so they did not vote for them.
“when was the last time Seattle voters rejected a school levy or bond measure” show me a Seattle voter that doesnt like voting in new taxes….
“Part of Pend Oreille’s problem is that inexpensive recreational waterfront real estate has attracted retirees to the area” – trying to use this “reacreational lake” idea again…wow, again you proove you know NOTHING about the area. The area of this “recreational lake” that Boundary Dam made has 90% sheer cliff where no housing can even go. And it is also only these retirees (quite a few from California and Seattle) who can afford to pay the property taxes on the waterfront property because of all the “Seattle voters” who like to increase our property taxes.
“cheap, wholesale electricity” the reason electricity is so cheap there is because the public owns its own hydroelectric dam…that would be Box Canyon Dam which is owned by the areas Public Utility District.
“Pend Oreille has always been one of the biggest welfare queens in the state” that is because of all the stupid regulations the tree huggers in Seattle pass that causes the loss of jobs everywhere else. The area had to shut down its lumber mill because the increased regulations on logging in this state made it too expensive and thus that mill had a hard time turning profit. It became cheaper to import lumber from another country than to harvest it locally. Because of all the tree huggers in our country causing more and more regulation it becomes cheaper to import natural resources from less regulated countries. Which is one reason the local zinc mine stopped production because the cheap imports drove the price of zinc down so much the mine was losing money.
You want to talk about returns on investment? How about the gas taxes we spend over on the Eastern side of the state primarily be used for projects in the Western side of the state? How about when the Kingdome when first put in it increased the lodging tax over the entire state. How does a hotel in Spokane benefit from a football stadium in Seattle??? Why did the lodging tax in Spokane have to be increased to help pay for the Kingdome?
How about the “Seattle voters” who were the ones primarily responsible for changing to way people can hunt cougar and bears? That hurt Pend Oreille County because hunting was a way to bring people in to spend money in the county. Those same voters are also the first to complain about animal attacks too…oh Im sorry, did that law cause an increase in population so now when you went camping fifi got eaten by Mr Puma?
And Seattle City Light makes money off Boundary Dam hand-over-fist, the PO County is just getting what it deserves! Id rather live in PO County with its fresh air and clean water than in Seattle any day.
@53, yeah your whole article was done for nothing more than to provoke which Im sure is why your home website is horsesass. You are nothing but an internet troll.
@51, Sullivan Lake is in PO County but it has nothing do to with Boundary Dam. The Colville National Forest covers both Stevens and PO County. The recreational lake Goldy was referring to was caused by the backwater the dam created. There is an actual name for the lake the dam created but nobody in the area calls it by that name. To us it is just part of the PO River. It is just like Lake Roosevelt that was created by Grand Coulee Dam.
And 50 is correct, 90% of the high school graduates leave the area to attend college to never move back, or simply just move away to find work. The mine and saw mill closed, there was a cement plant but the company that owned it (not located in our state) felt it was more cost effective to sell the entire plant to a company in china than it was to pay to upgrade the plant to meet current regulatory standards. They dismantled the plant into various pieces and parts and shipped it over to china.
oh and PO County crime rates are SEVERELY lower than Seattle’s and there are no gangs.
@36 and 39…funny how everything east of the cascades is “eastern washington” grand coulee is technically in CENTRAL washington….look at a map will ya? Coullee isnt THAT big of an irrigation project either.
@16…look up Z Canyon because that is what 90% of the backwater area created by Boundary Dam is…CANYON…no multimillion dollar anything..and the dam does very little for tourism. The “flood-managed” areas created by Boundary Dam are mostly vertical cliffs. The impact? hellifIknow, im not an ecologist but what should have happened is that instead of SCL putting in a dam for their own profit it should have been another PUD dam so you all could bitch and cry over us charging you triple the price…..
Yeah Ruthven78, Unfortunately he forgot to mention that our last M&O levy for the school past. With rousing success. Also that the school that SCL built here was designed for an area like Seattle that gets little to no snowfall. Where we get upwards of 100 inches. The poor design of this facility has contributed to the roof failing, not lack of maintenance. Also for people here being on welfare and food stamps. Well since the mine shut down, 185 more or less people out of work in a community that boasts 3 towns the largest of which has 500 residents. Add to that the lumber mills closing and slowing. Laying of people right and left. You are talking a very high percentage of unemployed people. Since there is little else for employment here many have moved and some have stuck it out. Yes we get discounted electricity however I bet that our winter heating bills are still comparable to Seattlites. If the state has its way our property taxes will become such that no one will afford tp live here. Tell me that Seattles Prop. Tax double last year because mine did and I know several people who have water front property whose taxes tripled.
I have lived in larger cities Tucson and Phoenix, but never have I lived among a group of nicer or harder working people that those that live here in Eastern Washington. Here we treat people with respect and kindness. Not contempt and hatefulness. Had any of you who hate us backwoods rednecks ever been here you would know that.
Also the roof never fell in at any of our schools to my knowledge. Get the facts straight please.
There is a bit of truth all mixed up in both Goldy’s post and his detractors here in the thread. Kinda fun to watch. Oh god are we going to have a “we need each other” moment??? I swear if Eastern Washington voters could pull their heads out of their asses, and Western Washington voters could pull the sticks out of theirs, we might all just live in a better place.
Bean – in the Tri-Cities.
“Unfortunately he forgot to mention that our last M&O levy for the school past.”
Just in time, huh? Apparently, some of the residents there haven’t learned how to spell.
@59 that’s cause you need a long rifle to shoot someone over there. Here handguns work fairly well.
@ 43 (Palousian) Just to clarify, Pend Oreille’s PUD dam is a run of the river dam. There is no reservoir, therefore it has not changed the course of the river from the dam to the south of of the county (the river flows north). Boundary Dam (SCL) is the dam that has changed the course of the river.
-Former North Pend Oreille County Resident.
@ 64 Come on now, lol.
On a good note, the students of Selkirk (the school district with the supposed caving in roof) have learned to read and write. They pass the WASL (or whichever the newly changed name of the assessment is) in the reading and writing sections (96% I believe) which is vastly higher percentages (nearly 20% higher) than the state average. And the school has received numerous awards, including a US News nod for being one of America’s 100 best high schools, etc. etc. etc. Bottom line, the school has been one of the largest reasons community members from the north end of the county have been pushing for the impact payments from SCL. If anything, the residents want to find a way to make sure the children of the county are given better opportunities and unfortunately, increasing their tax dollars to fund a multi-million dollar facelift on a school may not be an option at this time, considering how greatly the economy has impacted the county. Especially the north end, which recently lost one of its largest employers. I graduated in 2005 and I can’t even count the number days my friends and I huddled around the few heaters in the hallways during hard winters at close-to-zero temperatures, and that’s just one example (there are MANY) of the building inadequacies. You can’t install a new heating/ac system on a M&O levy. We used to travel to schools in areas larger than ours (which there are obviously many) and most of the high schools seemed like shopping malls compared to the single hallway building I spent 7-12th grade in. Why shouldn’t a smaller district receive a facility of those standards? Though this information may seem irrelevent to many of you and your viewpoints, I hope it illustrates the enormous deficits our state faces in overall quality of education and yes, a school building is an integral factor in making a quality education. I have seem MANY high schools across the state that are in the same condition as Selkirk High School. And I hope it may garner some compassion/empathy or what-have-you from those of that believe in the triumph of “socialism”. The inviduals pushing for these impact payments are doing what they can to improve the livelihood, namely children, in the county. I consider myself liberal/socialist (if you so choose to interchange the terms) and not believing in the betterment of the state and each of its counties and schools as a whole goes against my liberal ideals.
To the Pend Oreille defenders in this thread…
Are you really telling me that scenic and recreational water attractions are not one of your county’s biggest assets? People retire there, why?
Pend Oreille is beautiful country, and whatever its other impacts, Boundary Dam adds to that.
And as for the school’s roof falling in, yes, that was obviously intentional hyperbole. But I provide the quote that talks about the roof leaking, so I think most folks get the reference.
@43, agreed, but I think you mean “downstream”! (Right?)
Pend Oreille commenters:
I grew up in Stevens County, live in Seattle now, last visited Pend Oreille County in about April this year, and as always I loved it. It’s one of my very favorite parts of the state. I like your mountains even better than the Cascades. In a lot of ways I would be happier living there than here. I mean, specific places I drove past last spring (and I don’t mean big houses or lakefront properties) still pop into my mind from time to time now, and I think about how much I’d like to live there. There aren’t many places I can say that about.
@50’s description here is pretty much perfect:
“Pend Oreille has forests of Fir, Pine, Tamarack, and Cedar with nicely meadowed valleys.”
—
If I could steer your attention to a couple specific things Goldy has written here, I think it would be best to directly address these points –
From the main article:
“for every dollar it paid in state and federal transportation taxes…Pend Oreille County…saw an impressive $2.58 return! That’s a $68 million subsidy over 20 years…And that’s just for transportation; the numbers are similar in nearly every other category of government spending and investment.”
+
from Goldy’s comment @32:
“To be clear, I don’t begrudge the Pend Oreille folks their subsidies. We’ve all gained from raising rural America out of poverty. But I resent the fact that they resent us.”
—
ruthven78 @56 says “How about the gas taxes we spend over on the Eastern side of the state primarily be used for projects in the Western side of the state?”
To be honest, isn’t that just exactly what Goldy was talking about when he said “today’s enormous political divide between rural and urban Americans as to the proper size and scope of government is largely based on a fundamental misconception about who is subsidizing whom” ?
(See the quote just above, ruthven78, about how Pend Oreille has received $2.58 for every $1.00 paid in transportation taxes. You actually kind of have it backwards, don’t you?)
When ruthven78 goes on to say “How about when the Kingdome when first put in it increased the lodging tax over the entire state”, though, I can agree with the sentiment. I’ve never supported the idea of statewide subsidies of things like big sports arenas.
—
And Goldy, could you possibly tell us more about the part “In return, Pend Oreille County got a recreational lake that has become a key part of its local economy”?
I used to live up there. The reservoir behind Boundary provides no real-estate opportunities. That is in the North end of the county. The vacation homes are closer to Spokane and the South end of the county.
BTW the river runs north up into Canada. Beautiful country and great place to camp. That’s about it though.
aiff @70,
The Pend Oreille River Tourism Alliance touts Boundary Dam and its reservoir as one of its many attractions, so I took their word that it is. Boundary Dam has also been a major employer in the area.
By the way, when I talk about retirees being attracted to cheap lakefront real estate, I was talking about the county in general, not Boundary Dam in particular, but I can see how one might infer the latter.
Some people have bad memories and forget to mention that Pend Oreille County was in the works to build a dam near the SCLBD site and did submit the permit process first.
The powers that be thought Seattle should have the site because they served more people and the west side of the state wanted to control their power source and not pay triple what they are currently paying to POC PUD
Goldy you certainly paved the road to criticism. Your facts are not as concrete as your side of the state. If your local govt had to pay property tax on the value of its business property in PO County it would cost them much more than what you are whinning about. Come float the Pend Oreille River and get the facts instead of daming/damning?? the river of information and spilling excess overflow.