Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) met with Mountlake Terrace Mayor Kyoko Matsumoto Wright on Wednesday to announce $3.25 million in funding for the Lake Ballinger Ecosystem Restoration Project. The funds will come from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the project is one of 500 nationwide with investments from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The state and city are providing additional funding for the project.
“This funding brings the final pieces to the Ballinger Park project and will allow us to start when design is finished this year,” stated Mayor Matsumoto Wright. “We appreciate Representative Larsen’s support of this project – from the first steps in bringing the project to the Army Corps’ attention and then facilitating the partnership over the past several years.”
The Lake Ballinger project includes a substantial ecological restoration component for the portion of Hall Creek that runs through Ballinger Park, together with the park’s ponds and wetland areas. In 2015, the city estimated this component of the plan would cost $5 million. In 2018, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined the project met federal interests by improving the quality of the environment and having a positive impact on ecosystem resources.
Mountlake Terrace and the surrounding community will benefit by having a project focused on our regional habitat, allowing for fish and birds and the watershed ecosystem to thrive. Through the Lake Ballinger/McAleer Creek Watershed Forum, the city has partnered with neighboring communities to restore Lake Ballinger and McAleer Creek all the way to Lake Washington. One of the long-term goals of the Forum is to bring salmon back to the watershed in the future.
“This project demonstrates what can be done with strong partners at the local and federal level,” added Matsumoto Wright. “We’re so grateful to Representative Larsen for his continued support of the Mountlake Terrace community.”
For more information on the Ballinger Park Hall Creek restoration, visit www.cityofmlt.com/2040.
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