Raines re-elected as Flood Authority chair

County Commissioner Vickie Raines uanimously was re-elected as chairwoman of the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority during a meeting on Thursday.

“It shows a level of trust and competence and their willingness to work with me,” Raines said on Friday. “It’s a great honor to serve in that group.”

Lewis County Commissioner Edna Fund was elected as vice chairman, replacing Thurston County’s former Commissioner Karen Valenzuela, who lost a re-election bid in November.

The Flood Authority is a 12-member group tasked with solving flooding issues along the Chehalis River, and mitigating impacts to residents, wildlife and habitat.

Raines has been the chairwoman since May of 2011. She is now the representative for Grays Harbor County following a unanimous vote by the County Commissioners on Monday. Prior to Raines, Commissioner Frank Gordon was the county representative.

Looking ahead, budget issues could hinder some planned projects, while others will get underway as planned, Raines said. A buget request to Gov. Jay Inslee was received, adjusted and included in the Governor’s Budget at a lower than anticipated level. The Flood Authority had requested $17 million, and the governor allocated $10 million.

“That basically puts us down to completing two projects,” Raines said. “It’s not at the level we’d hoped it would be, but there’s room for improvement on the legislative side.”

Which projects will move forward and which will be postponed depends on what the Legistlature chooses to do with the funding. Potential budget concerns aside, the Flood Authority will continue to serve the region as intended.

“We’ll continue to press forward and work with the governor’s workgroup,” Raines said. “We want to get as many boots on the ground as possible and put people to work, and reduce flooding for everyone, while reducing the impact from the 500- to 100-year floods which seem to be happening more frequently in recent times.”