Wasilla reports roughly $27.3 million in capital grants since 2022; $43.2M total including pending airport and water grants

Deputy Administrator Crystal Nygaard gave the Wasilla City Council an overview of state and federal grant awards the city has received since 2022 and the funds that are currently pending.

Nygaard said public‑works capital projects brought the largest portion of funds: roughly $2.6 million in 2022, $9.7 million in 2023 and $11.2 million in 2024. She said 2025 awards are in flux because of federal deliberations but noted pending airport and water grants that, if realized, would add substantially to the total.

Nut graf: City staff said these grants have funded water, wastewater, airport work, public‑safety equipment and community projects (library, museum, planning), and that while the grants reduce capital outlay burdens, they can create future operational costs and reporting obligations for the city.

Nygaard presented consolidated totals: roughly $27.3 million in grant awards since 2022, with a relatively modest city match requirement to date (she cited about $900,000 total match across those grants). She said two large pending items — an airport request identified as $13 million and a water project of about $5.9 million — would raise the aggregate to about $43.2 million if those awards are approved.

Finance Director Cassie Olin joined Nygaard on the dais and explained that grant awards sometimes carry low or waived match requirements. She said the $27.3 million figure required roughly a $900,000 match overall because some federal and state funders waived or reduced local matches on particular projects. Olin cautioned the council that capital grants can carry ongoing operational costs, and that the council should consider performance measures and future budgets tied to newly funded assets.

Council questions focused on the composition of public‑safety grants and on distinguishing capital award amounts from resulting operating costs. Nygaard and Olin said public‑safety grants include equipment and program support (for example, JAG funding for task‑force positions) and identified library and planning grants in the “community” category. Nygaard also said the city does not have a dedicated grant writer and that securing and managing these awards required substantial interdepartmental effort.

Ending: Nygaard told council members that staff can provide more detailed breakouts and the administration will keep the council updated on pending awards and match obligations; council members requested a clearer, itemized breakdown for future meetings.