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SECTION III County General Government, Proprietary and Airport Capital Facilities

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Section 3.1 - General Government Facilities
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Snohomish County provides a number of public services which are grouped under the heading of “general government.” Law and justice services and facilities are included in this category. The most widespread type of facility needed for general government functions is general purpose office space. Other facilities that support “general government” functions include hearing rooms and conference rooms, records storage, and parking. Most of the information in this section was originally derived from the 1998 space study performed by Facilities Management, consultant studies supporting the Campus Redevelopment Initiative, and from the database maintained by the county’s Property Management Division.

The primary county agencies that require these general government facilities are the large departments in the executive branch, such as Public Works, Planning and Development Services (PDS), and the operating county offices with elected officials, such as the Assessor, the Treasurer and the Auditor. Many of these county operations also require customer counter areas to facilitate access by the general public to those services dispensed to on-call to customers. The county also requires classroom space for training purposes, particularly training for the continuing upgrades in office automation systems that are in common use. Specific information on all General Government facilities is found in Appendix A – pp A2 – A3.

Office SpaceMost of the county’s general government functions are housed in facilities located in downtown Everett. The largest of these facilities is the County Administration Building-West located on the county’s downtown campus at 3000 Rockefeller Avenue. General government facilities support those county operations that utilize office space in county buildings on the county’s central downtown campus in downtown Everett area. Construction of the Robert J. Drewell building (Administration Building - East) was completed in 2005 as part of the County’s Campus Redevelopment Initiative Project. This building is located immediately east of the County Administration Building - West on the county’s central downtown campus in Everett. This building provides additional office space for the Civil Division and the Family Support Division of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and general government functions and largely replaced the leased office space located in several buildings in the downtown Everett area. The addition of this administration building provides a central location for a majority of all general county government functions at the downtown campus. This building, which is owned by the county, provides 140,692 gross square feet, most of which is devoted to general government operations. The primary users of this space are Executive departments, the County Auditor and the County Executive’s Office. Other county-owned buildings that supply office space for general government functions are the County Courthouse and Mission Building.

General government operations located off campus and in leased facilities were moved in 2006 into the new Robert J Drewel Building (173,975 sq.ft.) located immediately east of the existing Administration Building-West on the Everett campus. This relatively new space supports the following entities: council chambers and offices, executive departments, Information Services, the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the Office of Hearing’s Administration, the Customer Service Center-comprised of the County Auditor, County Assessor, County Treasurer’s Office, and Planning and Development Services.

Leased FacilitiesSnohomish County owns one facility in North Everett and another in Mukilteo that it leases to Compass Health for use as residential treatment facilities.

Café ServicesThe county constructed a café facility as part of the Campus Redevelopment Project project in 2005, to provide convenient access to food services for county employees, jurors, and the general public.

Fleet ManagementFleet Management, as approved by SCC 4.34 to use an Equipment Rental and Revolving (ER&R) Fund, delivers efficient and effective fleet services by providing safe, reliable, economical, and environmentally-sound equipment. It also provides related support services, and purchases or manufactures materials and supplies required by the county and other customer organizations.

Fleet Management utilizes an Equipment and Revolving Fund as created by SCC 4.34.010 to manage and maintain 1,465 county vehicles, trucks, heavy equipment, and radios in addition to several hundred vehicles owned by other agencies. The county fleet is comprised of gas and diesel powered vehicles and equipment including an approximate 1,080 county two-way radios and five new electric powered vehicles.

Consolidation of the former Snohomish and Paine Field locations to the Cathcart facility built in 2008 resulted in improved supply warehousing and vehicle maintenance efficiencies. This reduced overall expenses that could be passed on to customers including those from other agencies.

There are, in total, three fleet facilities in addition to a parking lot currently licensed to the county for use on a month to month basis. The parking lot is adjacent to the McDougall Fleet facility and accommodates 35 parking stalls. This parking lot serves as a holding area for new vehicles that require service prior to delivery and use by county departments.

Public Hearing/Meeting Rooms/ClassroomsThe Robert J. Drewel building provides additional space for meeting rooms for both law and justice and general government functions. A hearing room is located in this building and primarily serves the Hearing Examiner’s office. The hearing room also serves other county functions during and/or after business hours scheduled in accordance with the Hearing Examiner’s office needs. The Robert J. Drewel building provides a hearing room for Council actions and public meetings relating to other county functions.

Hearing rooms on the county campus are specifically designed for public meetings and hearings. The Henry M. Jackson Board Room is located on the 8th Floor of the Robert J. Drewel Building. It has fixed seating for about 70 persons on a flat floor and a permanent dais for board or council sessions.

There are four conference rooms on the 6th floor of the Robert J. Drewel Building that can accommodate small public meetings of between eight and twenty-five people. The Executive Conference Room on the third floor the can accommodate 25-35 persons. The Public Conference Room on the first floor of the Administrative Building-East can accommodate up to 125 persons in the hearing and meeting room space.

The Kinard Room is a multi-purpose room in the Courthouse Building that is currently used for training county employees, including non-law enforcement personnel, in a variety of skills, and is used to accommodate general meetings. Snohomish County has only one facility specifically dedicated to training and educational purposes – a leased facility in the general downtown Everett area.

Records StorageCounty records are stored and processed through a central records management building within the Department of Information Services. This operation is located within the new County Records Storage Building located in Everett which was completed in 2003. Most of this space is devoted to records storage, hard copy, microfilm or digital format records. A small portion of the space is used for micro-filming operations and administration. Law and justice operations, general government functions, and other agencies of county government are served by this facility.

ParkingThe county parking garage provides parking for county-owned vehicles, county employees, the general public and parking stalls that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Snohomish County developed an extensive parking garage complex (383,450 sq.ft.), at 3000 Rockefeller Avenue in Everett, as part of the Campus Redevelopment Initiative that serves general government, the law and justice facilities as well as the general public. It includes an underground parking garage with 1,226 (plus 29 ADA) parking spaces on the county campus site with entrances on Pacific/Rockefeller and Oakes Avenue and a 109 (plus 3 ADA) spaces surface lot with an alley entrance on Wall Street.

Snohomish County is a major employer and participates in the commute trip reduction program created by state law in 1991. The numbers of county employees commuting using alternatives to single occupancy vehicles has increased significantly over the last few years, thereby reducing the demand for parking at the county’s central downtown campus.

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Office SpaceThe completion of the Robert J. Drewel Building, in addition to the existing Administration-West buildings, should meet the general office growth needs for general government functions with the exception of certain law and justice functions explained in more detail under the Law and Justice Facilities. Additional future studies will be made to assess any potential change in office space needs.

Parks Administration offices are located within Willis D. Tucker Park, which is located in the Cathcart area. Fairgrounds offices are located at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, WA. Studies will be done in the future, as needed, to assess any change that may be required for these two facilities.

Fleet ManagementGrowth of the county equipment fleet, increasing age of existing maintenance facilities, and growing maintenance demand for support to other local cities and jurisdictions, led to the need to improve fleet maintenance capabilities. The existing facilities at Snohomish and Paine Field were replaced and consolidated into a new maintenance facility (constructed) at the county Cathcart property in 2008. The consolidated maintenance facility enables improved supply warehousing and more efficient maintenance of county vehicles. It will also provide opportunities to reduce equipment maintenance costs for local cities and county customers.

A future increase in the volume of vehicles and equipment to be managed and maintained is unlikely, based on relatively static numbers over the past several years so there is no anticipated need to increase space for fleet services in the next few years.

An assessment for future space needs to operate fleet services should be considered should there be an increase in volume of vehicles, equipment, or customers.

Public Hearing/Meeting Rooms/ClassroomsThe Robert J. Drewel Building, offers additional conference rooms to the existing meeting rooms already located in the Administration-West, Mission, and Courthouse buildings and should meet the county’s needs for hearing/meeting rooms in the next three to five years. Additional future studies will be made to assess any potential needs.

The new office administration building completed in 2005, provides an additional classroom for both law and justice and general government functions. The primary purpose for the additional 7th floor classroom (in the Robert Drewel Building) is to provide enhanced computer training to county employees and other outside agencies. The completion of the new classroom, in addition to the existing Kinard Room located in the Courthouse building should meet the county’s needs for classrooms in the next three to five years. Additional future studies will be made to assess any potential change in these needs.

Records StorageThe need for storage space for files, records, and equipment among county agencies remains, despite the county’s progress in office automation. The county constructed a new Records Storage Building in 2003, located in downtown Everett. This facility provides the storage needs of law and justice operations, general government functions, and other agencies of county government. The construction of this facility should meet the county’s needs well into the future. Additional future studies will be made to assess any potential changes in these needs.

ParkingConstruction of a six-story underground parking garage facility was completed in 2004 as part of the county’s Campus Redevelopment Initiative. This facility is located on the county’s central downtown campus in Everett. This facility’s purpose is to serve both law and justice and general government functions in the buildings located at the county’s central downtown campus. The county also continues to utilize the existing surface parking lot across Wall Street from the county campus. The county’s continued participation in the commute trip reduction program has reduced the demand for additional parking. The law and justice and general government parking needs should be served well into the future with this facility, the existing surface parking lot combined with continued county participation in the commute trip reduction program. Additional studies in the future will be made to assess any potential needs. If the new proposed County Courthouse and renovation of the historic Mission Building are constructed to meet future law and justice needs as explained in further detail under Law and Justice Facilities, additional parking needs would be addressed in that project.

Section 3.2 - Law and Justice Facilities
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The county’s law and justice system is a network of services including law enforcement, courts, detention facilities, alternative programs, and prevention programs. These responsibilities are currently fulfilled within the following divisions of county government:

The Sheriff’s Office provides law enforcement and crime prevention services to persons and properties within the unincorporated portions of the county and to some municipalities by contract.

The county’s judicial system (Superior Court, including Juvenile Services, and District Court) provides juvenile and civil court services to the entire county, criminal misdemeanant court services to the unincorporated county and to some municipalities by contract, and felony court services to the entire county.

The county’s correctional facilities (the Superior Court’s Juvenile Services Division and the Department of Corrections) incarcerate juvenile offenders and the following adult population: felons from the entire county, misdemeanants from the unincorporated areas of the county and municipal misdemeanants by contract with the municipality.

The Human Services Department partners with the law and justice departments to provide programs and services targeted at crime prevention to deter first offense, to assist current inmates to reconnect to a productive, drug-free lifestyle, and to reduce recidivism after release.

The Clerk’s Office provides accurate and timely processing of documents and exhibits filed in Superior Court cases. It also receives and distributes fees, fines, and restitution payments.

The Prosecutor’s Office has three divisions: criminal, civil and family support.

The Office of Public Defense (OPD) administers the assigned counsel program to provide indigent criminal defense services to those criminal cases in which jail is a potential sanction. OPD also serves all indigent persons defending against either civil contempt or civil involuntary commitment proceedings.

The Medical Examiner’s Office is responsible for determining the cause and manner of death of persons who die suddenly, violently, or unexpectedly while in apparent good health within the geographic boundaries of the county and who fall under the jurisdiction of the medical examiner.

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The following paragraphs give general information of the current Snohomish County law and justice facilities. More detailed existing inventory information can be found in Appendix A. Data on existing facilities is also available from the files and database maintained by the Snohomish County Department of Facilities Management.

CourtroomsCourtrooms are specialized facilities needed to support the county’s judicial branch, which consists of the Superior Court (including Juvenile Services) and the District Court.

Snohomish County currently has courtrooms and general office space for Superior Court located in the Courthouse and Mission Building on the county’s central downtown campus in Everett. Courtrooms and general office space at the Denny Juvenile Justice Center in north Everett serve the needs of the Juvenile Services Division of Superior Court. (Refer to Appendix A - pp A3 - A4)

The District Court facilities include courtrooms and general office space at each of its four divisions. The Everett Division of the District Court is located at the Courthouse on the county’s central downtown campus. The three satellite court facilities include Evergreen Division located adjacent to the Evergreen Fairgrounds complex in Monroe, Cascade Division located in Arlington, and South Division located in Lynnwood. (Refer to Appendix A - p A4)

A remodel to increase the number of courtrooms in the Courthouse Building located at the county’s central downtown campus was completed in 2005. (Refer to Appendix A - p A2)

Correctional Facilities (Adult)Snohomish County operates a 12-story – 1,321 bed correctional facility (10 stories of inmate housing) located on the east end of its central downtown campus in Everett. The county jail currently operates as a mixed security facility, with different sections of the building classified at different security levels. A major jail expansion project to alleviate crowding in the old facility and to accommodate the future growth of inmate populations was constructed and completed in 2005 as part of the CRI. The work release program was moved from the Carnegie Building into a remodeled section of the existing jail, increasing the work release capacity after completion of the jail facility expansion and remodel of the existing jail in 2005. (Refer to Appendix A - p A3.)

Correctional Facilities (Juvenile)The county’s juvenile justice functions are housed in the Denney Juvenile Justice Center. This facility was built in 1998. Roughly two-thirds of this space is dedicated to the housing of accused or convicted juvenile offenders. The remainder includes courtrooms (Juvenile Services of Superior Court) and general office space for the court, clerk, prosecutor, defense attorneys, and others.

Law Enforcement/Vehicle ImpoundmentThe county completed the construction of a new impound lot located at the county’s Cathcart facility, that accommodates 20 covered parking stalls and 50 additional parking stalls within a secured fenced area in 2008 to address the needs identified in a 1988 Space Report. (Refer to Appendix A - p A3)

Law Enforcement/OperationsThe Sheriff’s Office currently occupies space in the Courthouse Building on the county’s central downtown campus in Everett, as well as other facilities. These include three precinct stations (East, North, and South) and also substations in six communities that have contracted for local law enforcement services with the Sheriff: Stanwood, Darrington, Sultan, Gold Bar, Startup, and Index. The county also has a contract for law enforcement services with Community Transit. Special Assault Unit, Special Operations and Search and Rescue functions are distributed among county buildings, leased facilities and donated building space scattered around the county. (Refer to Appendix A - Law and Justice - pp A3-A4.)

Law Enforcement/TrainingThe Kinard Room is a multi-purpose room in the Courthouse Building on the county’s central downtown campus in Everett that is currently used for training county employees, including non-law enforcement personnel, in a variety of skills, and is used to accommodate general meetings.

An important part of law enforcement training involves training in the use of firearms. The county currently has an 11,140 ft2 shooting range built in 2008. The facility includes a classroom and indoor shooting ranges.

Law LibraryThe county law library is a specialized facility serving primarily law and justice functions, although it also provides service to other county departments. The existing law library is located on the first floor of the Courthouse on the county’s central downtown campus in Everett. (Refer to Appendix A - p A3)

Medical Examiner FacilitiesConstruction of a new Medical Examiner facility was completed in 1999 to address the unique needs and operations of the Medical Examiner’s Office. This facility was built at the Snohomish County Airport (Paine Field). The space in this facility is devoted to autopsy/examination rooms, laboratory space, office space, and records and materials storage. (Refer to Appendix A – p A1)

Clerk’s Office and Prosecuting Attorney’s Office SpaceThe main users of office space among the law and justice operations are the Clerk’s Office and the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. These two offices currently occupy space distributed between the Courthouse, the Mission Building, the Robert J Drewel Building and the Denney Juvenile Justice Center. Additional space in the Courthouse is allocated to the Office of Public Defense, the Bar Association, and the media. (Refer to Appendix A - pp A2-A3)

The county Records Storage Building located in Everett was completed in 2003. Law and justice operations, general government functions, and other agencies of county government are served by this facility. (Refer to Appendix A - pp A2-A3)

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The components of the law and justice system are interrelated. Workload changes in one part of the system tend to influence the rest of the system. The need for facilities is related to the rates of criminal activity and civil actions initiated. Factors contributing to increasing workload include population growth and continued urbanization of the county, mandatory sentencing legislation at the state level, and other wide-reaching policy changes.

Snohomish County has studied its law and justice facilities over the past two decades to assess the future need for facility expansions and to recommend potential solutions to those needs. The most recent study, a Justice Center Master Plan in 2008, looked at all county law and justice space requirements on the central campus, and the probable need for expanding facilities to keep up with future growth. The needs were identified, but funding to address them was lacking until 2012. When the county adopted the 2013 budget, it included funding for a new courthouse and renovation of the historically significant Mission Building. The existing County Courthouse was constructed in 1967 and has accommodated Law & Justice functions within the confines of this footprint since it opened. The designs for courtrooms and security circulation standards have evolved while the Courthouse has remained unchanged for almost fifty years. The building is not conducive to accommodating current courtroom design and other supporting functions even though minor modifications have been made over the years.

CourtroomsA general study was completed in 2006 projecting county courtroom needs (Snohomish County Justice Center-Facility assessment and Concept Design – Omni Group Inc.) by the year 2015. The county anticipated that all existing court operations would be moved to new courtrooms with the construction of a new courthouse. The initial projected need of a new courthouse was 2015.

A new County Courthouse will be located in the city of Everett at a site bordered by Rockefeller and Oakes Avenues to the west and east, and Wall Street to the south. The new building is programmed at approximately 254,800 square feet of space on 8 floors. The building will serve Superior Court, District Court, and Commissioner Court functions as well as the Prosecutor, Public Defense, and Court Clerk services. Project completion is projected for early 2017. The goal is to have the building serve the future law and justice needs of county for the next 50 to 75 years.

Correctional Facilities (Adult)Construction of an expansion to the main jail was completed in 2005 to respond to anticipated needs of the county. The completion of this expansion brings the operational capacity of the adult jail facilities to 1,321 beds and should be sufficient to meet the current and future needs of the county.

Correctional Facilities (Juvenile)Program philosophy and technology influence juvenile justice needs. Other factors that influence juvenile justice needs include changes in the law, population growth, and demographics. Snohomish County is currently meeting its facility needs in this area with the completion of the Denney Juvenile Justice Center (DJJC) in 1998. Average daily population of the juvenile detention facility has decreased since it was opened, and space remains available to accommodate future growth. These assumptions will be revisited in subsequent updates to this capital facility plan.

Law Enforcement/OperationsA study of the facility needs for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s headquarters was included in the 2008 Justice Center Master Plan. This study did not directly examine the need for satellite facilities, such as precinct stations, but focused on the centralized law enforcement support functions that could be incorporated into the justice center.

The historical service area for the sheriff is unincorporated county; however, a countervailing trend is present in the sheriff’s recent contracts for service with smaller cities. This trend is also consistent with the GMA, which envisions counties as regional service providers. A single regional entity is often capable of delivering local services more efficiently than several smaller agencies. This principal has been applied to library services in Snohomish County for many years and is now beginning to operate in the law enforcement arena as well. The on-campus needs of the Sheriff’s office will be addressed in the current project to build a new courthouse and renovate the existing Mission Building.

Law Enforcement/CommunicationsThe Sheriff and other county law enforcement agencies have identified the need for better communications within and among their dispatching operations, particularly during emergency situations several years ago. Accordingly, the Sheriff partnered with other emergency service providers to develop and deploy an 800 Megahertz emergency communications system. The system was designed to be built and implemented in two phases and is now completed and in use. In addition, all government emergency service providers are currently working on an integrated system for county-wide agencies to share data, increase safety, and increase efficiency. The project completion date for implementation to this system is scheduled for 2014.

Law Enforcement/Records StorageThe county Records Storage Building located in Everett was completed in 2003. Law and justice operations, general government functions, and other agencies of county government are served by this facility. The county’s needs should be met for at least the next five years with construction of this facility. These assumptions will be revisited in subsequent updates to this capital facility plan.

Law LibraryThe Law Library will be included in the new Courthouse/Mission Building project.

Medical Examiner FacilitiesThe 1999 completion of the state-of-the-art Medical Examiner facility located at the Snohomish County Airport (Paine Field) is likely to continue to meet the county’s need for this specialized facility for the next 10-15 years. Operational needs, in terms of autopsy room capacity at the Medical Examiner’s Office, are projected to exceed the capacity of the current facility by or before 2025, based upon the 20-year population growth target currently being used for GMA planning and projected staffing needs. This assumption will be revisited in subsequent updates to this capital facility plan.

Section 3.3 - Solid Waste Facilities (Proprietary Facility)
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County facilities that are maintained and operated primarily through funds generated by fees and other charges derived from their own operations are referred to as "proprietary" facilities. Proprietary funds are similar to business enterprise funds in that they are supported by fees and charges for service, rather than by tax revenues. Proprietary funds support several county functions and operations in Snohomish County, most notably solid waste management and surface water management.

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Historically, the solid waste disposal needs for Snohomish County were satisfied by a number of relatively small, independently operated, open disposal sites. None of these disposal sites would be considered acceptable by today’s standards. Rats, odors, contaminated water, and uncontrolled gas production characterized most of the old disposal sites. In addition, poor service levels, inadequate planning, lack of inter-agency coordination, and inadequate handling of special wastes was also a problem.

The solid waste disposal system became more sophisticated in the early 1970’s after the passage of the Solid Waste Management Act of 1969. The first Solid Waste Director was appointed in 1973, and the first comprehensive solid waste management plan was completed in 1974, giving the county jurisdiction over all disposal and collection sites within Snohomish County. All of the cities and towns yielded their authority over planning and designation of transfer and disposal locations to the Snohomish County Department of Public Works Solid Waste Division.

Solid waste management functions expanded after 1980 to include more than final disposal, partially because of increased state and federal requirements. The feasibility of waste export and waste-to-energy options were also researched during this time. The Solid Waste Division embarked on a three-prong program to find additional capacity as the Cathcart Sanitary Landfill was reaching its final capacity: (1) seek approval for additional disposal capacity at the existing Cathcart Sanitary Landfill; (2) site and build a new landfill adjacent to the existing landfill; and (3) explore the feasibility of exporting waste to a landfill outside the county. The county was successful in all three efforts: approval was obtained to extend the life of the Cathcart Sanitary Landfill; the new Regional Landfill was constructed adjacent to the Cathcart site; and a contract was obtained to export solid waste by rail to a landfill in eastern Washington. The Cathcart Sanitary Landfill was permanently closed in 1992. The new Regional Landfill was placed in reserve status (to be used in an emergency) and the county began exporting its waste.

3.3.A.1  Solid Waste Management Current Status of Facilities and Operations

The Snohomish County Solid Waste Management Division (Division) uses a combination of county facilities and activities to manage solid waste. Operations at the county’s facilities and most of the Division’s activities are coordinated with the private sector, which plays an integral role in handling waste generated in the county. Most waste is collected from households, institutions, and businesses by private haulers, and brought to one of three county transfer stations. Some waste is also self-hauled to one of the county’s three Neighborhood Recycling and Disposal Centers (NRDCs). The Division then packs the non-recyclable waste into shipping containers and trucks these containers to the Division-owned intermodal facility at the Riverside Business Park in Everett. The waste containers at this facility are placed on trains and transported to a private landfill in Klickitat County, Washington, for disposal.

The Division also runs a moderate risk waste collection facility. The facility’s operations and associated activities are designed to reduce hazardous waste discharges into the Snohomish County environment and reduce the toxicity of the county’s waste stream. This facility accepts hazardous waste generated by households and small businesses, packages the waste, and arranges for its transport and beneficial re-use (either incineration for energy production or recycling) or safe disposal by the private sector.

The activities run by the county: 1) are designed to encourage less waste production and more waste recycling; 2) are coordinated with the private sector to help optimize their efforts; and 3) include a number of integrated planning, program development, and program management efforts designed to assess future needs and meet those needs as efficiently as possible. The county also has an ongoing program to monitor all closed Snohomish County landfills that were publicly owned to prevent and remediate environmental problems these landfills could cause.

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3.3.B.1  Solid Waste Management Planning Standards

Solid waste management technical and operational standards have been established by federal, state, and county regulations. Planning standards are designed to protect public health and service the population of the unincorporated county, and the cities and towns, in an efficient manner. The county last updated its Comprehensive Solid and Hazardous Waste Management Plan in 2013 in cooperation with the cities and towns.

3.3.B.2  Solid Waste Management Future Needs

The Airport Road Recycling and Transfer Station (ARTS), the Southwest Recycling and Transfer Station (SWRTS), and the North County Recycling and Transfer Station (NCRTS), along with the three Neighborhood Recycling and Disposal Centers (NRDCs) are anticipated to accommodate the county’s waste handling needs for the next 20 years.

The county owns, but does not currently operate on a full time basis, the Temporary Recycling and Transfer Station (TRTS) at Cathcart Way Operations Center. This facility is permitted to operate only temporarily, when another of the system’s transfer stations is not operating.

Section 3.4 - Airport Facilities
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The Snohomish County Airport (Paine Field) is an important general aviation facility and industrial park serving the Puget Sound Region. Currently, Paine Field has more than 600 based aircraft and more than 100,000 aircraft takeoffs and landings per year. There are more than 50 businesses, employing more than 4,000 people at the Airport. These businesses range from small one-person operations to ATS Technical Services, Inc., which employs more than 1,000 people. Additionally, more than 30,000 people are employed at the Everett Boeing facilities, some of which are located on Airport property. The Airport will continue to be an important regional general aviation, business, and industrial center into the future.

The Airport owns a mix of hangars, manufacturing, and business office facilities in addition to a number of land leases with various hangar, manufacturing, and office facilities developed and owned by the tenants. The existing facilities on the property are used to service Airport tenants (both aviation and non-aviation) and Airport staff, including fire and maintenance buildings. (See Appendix A – Airport Section-pp 1-3)

Snohomish County Airport/Paine Field is also a major public use airport serving Snohomish County and the north central Puget Sound region. The airport is owned and operated by Snohomish County. The airport accommodates a complex mix of flight activity ranging from small, single-seat personal aircraft to Boeing 747s with a wide range of visual and electronic navigation aids to its 3 runways. The facility also has the highest number of based aircraft (615) of any airport in Washington State.

The airport is an essential public facility that serves as the economic engine in the Snohomish County economy. The Boeing Company constructs its wide body twin aisle aircraft (747, 767, 777, and 787) at its Paine Field plant and Aviation Technical Services (ATS) operates the country’s largest third party aircraft maintenance facility at Paine Field. Approximately 50 other businesses operating at the airport help provide jobs to thousands of employees.

The Airport has a 24 hour Fire Department to respond to aircraft, structural, and medical issues and is party to the Mutual Aid Agreement between all Fire departments in the County. The Airport Fire Department is capable of providing some off-site assistance when called upon and facilitates regional Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) training events.

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The airport has considerable undeveloped property and is capable of accommodating triple its current volume of flight activity. The county has been legally obligated to operate the airport for public use without discrimination among any class of user by accepting extensive federal investments. Current uses of Paine Field are primarily general aviation as market forces have not been adequate to cause commercial passenger or freight companies to choose to provide service at the airport. The county has had a General Aviation Role policy since 1978/9 with the “objective to retain and enhance light aircraft general aviation as the dominant aeronautical activity at Paine Field while encouraging the continuation and expansion of aircraft related industries, business and corporate aviation, public service aviation, air taxi and commuter service, and strongly discouraging expansion beyond 1978 levels of supplemental/charter air passenger service (per 14 CFR Part 121 SFAR 38-2 pp6), large transport crew training operations, air cargo aviation and military aviation while remaining compliant with the covenants in deeds and grants of the United States Government.”

Snohomish County Airport completed a 20-year update of the Airport+ Master Plan for Paine Field in 2002. The Master Plan contains an analysis of aviation demand, aviation forecasts, a capacity analysis of aircraft operation characteristics and facility requirements. Facilities will be constructed to meet actual demand and available financing. The Master Plan placed the Airport’s development needs into short-range (0-5 years), intermediate-range (5-10 years), and long-range (10-20 years). The Master Plan identifies approximately $244 million in capital improvements at Paine Field over the course of the 20-year planning period, with funding sources that include the Federal Aviation Administration for grant-funded projects, and airport reserves and private investment for other projects.