Budgets passed off the Senate floor on Friday included $1 million to help Vancouver’s historic Academy building get a new roof and $300,000 to make upgrades to the irrigation system at the 78th Street Heritage Farm.
Sen. Annette Cleveland, D-Vancouver, who worked to secure funding for the projects, said it was a team effort and she’s pleased funding was included in the supplemental capital and operating budgets.
Both projects are “woven deeply into the rich fabric and history of our community,” Cleveland said in a statement.
Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, also pointed to his involvement in a press release issued Friday.
“Fortunately, I was able to educate my colleagues on the importance of this project and gain support for it again this year,” Benton’s statement said, referring to the roof project. “The Academy is not only an icon for the City of Vancouver, but for the state of Washington, and is arguably the most significant historic building in the region.”
The state Legislature is in the midst of a 60-day legislative session. Budgets during the short legislative session theoretically only carve out money to tackle emergencies, such as addressing areas devastated by wildfires.
Mother Joseph built The Academy in 1873 as a school and an orphanage. At the time, 15 years before statehood, it was the largest brick building north of San Francisco. The Fort Vancouver National Trust recently acquired The Academy, which is across Evergreen Boulevard from the Vancouver Community Library. It is home to offices and a wedding chapel.
The 78th Street Heritage Farm once housed the county’s indigent residents. Later, it served for decades as an agricultural research site for Washington State University. The farm, which is about 80 acres, was deeded back to Clark County in 2008.
“Our hard-working Clark County citizens send a lot of their tax dollars to Olympia, and we have a right to expect that some of those funds will come back to our district to fund projects important for our citizens, history and heritage,” Benton said in a statement.
