PORT ANGELES – The multimillion-dollar Gateway Center plunged into the middle of a debate Monday between two City Council candidates in front of a business audience.
Council Position 7 candidates Grant Munro, incumbent, and challenger Cherie Kidd included the Port Angeles International Gateway Transportation Center among issues discussed at a forum hosted by the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce at the Port Angeles CrabHouse Restaurant.
Munro and Kidd square off for one of three contested City Council positions in the all-mail Nov. 6 election, in which ballots will be mailed to registered voters Oct. 17.
The chamber will host the other two sets of candidates at forums Oct. 15 and 22.
“The city’s budget is spread so thin there’s no wiggle room,” Kidd said.
“If there’s cost overruns on the Gateway Center or Eighth Street bridges projects, there’s nowhere to go.
“We’ve spent ourselves into a corner. The 2008 budget is tight.”
The City Council has delayed almost $600,000 worth of projects because it is short of money for the Gateway Center project, Kidd said.
During a special meeting Oct. 1 on the 2008 city budget, City Manager Mark Madsen and Finance Director Yvonne Ziomkowski both told the council that the city’s $17 million general fund budget was “bare bones,” including no supplemental items.
“The budget is in fine shape,” Munro said Monday, adding there’s not enough money for the city to solve all problems.
The city’s general fund budget is tight, but that just forces the council to prioritize, he said.
The city has accounts set up by previous councils that include money saved up for large projects such as the Gateway Center and Eighth Street bridges, Munro said.
