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Community Action warns $20 million EPA award frozen; county programs could face cuts
Summary
Okanogan County Community Action told commissioners an EPA $20 million award for a multipurpose community center in Omak is frozen by a federal funding hold, and state and federal budget cuts could shrink multiple local programs.
Rena Schauber, executive director of the Okanogan County Community Action Council, told the Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 24 that the agency’s $20,000,000 Environmental Protection Agency award for a multipurpose community center in Omak is on hold because of a federal funding freeze.
“We were contacted by the EPA saying that we would be a recipient of $20,000,000,” Schauber said, and then, she said, agency staff went silent when federal freezes took effect. The proposed facility — planned behind the county behavioral health and family health centers — would combine Community Action’s offices with three child-care rooms, a weatherization shop, a market-style food pantry, classrooms and a smoke‑filtered HVAC system intended for emergency shelter and firefighter respite.
The agency said the project has received local legislative support: the land was bought in 2021 with help from state lawmakers, and the county previously approved $250,000 to support acquisition. Schauber said the EPA award would cover framing and exterior work and that roughly $3 million–$4 million of the grant was planned to rehabilitate Community Action’s current building into a food warehouse and market-style pantry.
Why it matters: Schauber told commissioners the freeze threatens work already in motion — geotechnical and traffic studies on the three-acre Omak site — and could imperil federal and state funding streams the agency uses for food assistance, weatherization and rental help. She said national and state partners are preparing for possible cuts, and Community Action is drafting contingency budgets covering the next six months.
Schauber described other at‑risk programs and the populations they serve: LIHEAP utility assistance to seniors and people with disabilities, home‑repair grants, and consolidated homeless grant funding for rental assistance and case management. She said her network has been told to expect at least a 6% state cut and one funder warned of a possible 20% reduction to a $1.7 million housing‑support pool that the county passes through.
Commissioners pressed for specifics. When a commissioner asked for the source of a statistic, Schauber cited state data showing wide reliance on Medicaid (Apple Health) across Central Washington and offered to share the underlying emails and charts with the board. She also said Community Action staff would appear in a recorded press event convened by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray’s office to describe effects of the federal freeze.
The board did not take formal action on the presentation but asked Schauber to send a one‑page project summary and the EPA narrative so commissioners could consider a letter of support. Schauber said the EPA grant requires occupying the new facility within three years if the award is released.
Looking ahead: Schauber said the agency will continue its predevelopment work where possible and is pursuing other grants for the larger 60‑acre housing site and additional planning funds. She asked county staff for a short, county‑signed description of the project to share with federal contacts.
