An appearance by First District U.S. Congressman Rick Larsen at the Ballinger Clubhouse on Thursday, Aug. 22, has been deemed a special meeting of the Mountlake Terrace City Council as a quorum of councilmembers is expected to attend and discuss city business.

Larsen will be in Mountlake Terrace to describe his recent legislative proposal, entitled TIGER CUBS Act of 2013, for the U.S. Department of Transportation to set aside a percentage of TIGER federal transportation dollars for small- and medium-size cities. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

Over the past four years, the U.S. Department of Transportation has granted about $3 billion for cities and local jurisdictions for new road, rail, transit and port projects. Larsen’s proposed legislation would set aside 20 percent of any future TIGER grants for cities that have been too small to compete against larger cities for the federal funds.

Mountlake Terrace city officials have applied for TIGER funds previously for development of infrastructure within the city’s Town Center district, but have not been successful in winning any of the federal transportation money. Councilmembers are expected to discuss Larsen’s effort to help the city obtain some of the TIGER grant money following the congressman’s presentation.

The Ballinger Clubhouse is located at 23000 Lakeview Drive in Mountlake Terrace; the public is invited to attend the special meeting.