By Doug Petrowski

During a week when the discussions in Washington D.C. centered on budget cutting and sequester, local city officials traveled to the capitol to meet with representatives in hopes of pushing for federal funds to find their way back to Mountlake Terrace.

On Tuesday, Mountlake Terrace Mayor Jerry Smith, Mayor Pro Tem Laura Sonmore and City Manager John Caulfield met with Senator Maria Cantwell, Congressman Rick Larsen and representatives from Senator Patty Murray’s office to present requests for federal funding.

Among other requests, city officials were asking for the federal government to provide additional financing to smaller and medium-sized cities – such as Mountlake Terrace – for transportation, economic development and public safety initiatives through the TIGER Discretionary Grant Program. Congress has appropriated $500 million in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants to be made available to communities through September 2013.

City officials are hoping TIGER grants can help finance the planned $12 million in street, sidewalk and utility improvements to the Mountlake Terrace Town Center district; the city has already secured $6.5 million in financing for the project.

When Rep. Rick Larsen paid a visit to Mountlake Terrace in early January, city officials pressed for federal funding to help complete the Town Center improvements. “We’re chasing $5.5 million to finish the job,” Caulfield told Larsen at a meeting on Jan. 7.

Federal rules on TIGER allocations have to be addressed for the city to be eligible for the grant money; current rules specify that TIGER Discretionary Grants cannot be for less than $10 million except in rural areas.

The city’s other recent efforts to secure federal and state funding over the past few years have been successful, as approximately $10.7 million in funding, plus a $5.75 million Public Works Trust Fund Loan, has been obtained in support of a wide range of water main, street and sidewalk improvement projects throughout the city.