Council authorizes grant applications for route expansion project; potential $25 million federal request

The City Council unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the city to apply for discretionary federal grants, including the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program and the Rural Surface Transportation discretionary program, to support the Route Expansion Project (section B: James River Expressway to I-44).

Karen Haynes, community development director, briefed the council and said the application process will be conducted in partnership with the Ozarks Transportation Organization. "This year's application will be our 7th application for federal discretionary funding for the Pollador," Haynes said. She told council that should the city receive a full award of $25,000,000, staff would return to council to request authorization for the city's local match, which staff anticipates to be approximately $1,300,000.

Council member questions focused on the size and variability of the local match. Haynes said the $1.3 million figure is an estimate consistent with prior application cycles and that the actual match requirement could be somewhat more or less depending on other funds layered into a final project budget; any specific local-match authorization would come back to council for approval before the city accepts an award.

The council moved, seconded and voted to adopt Resolution 25-R-4 by recorded voice; the clerk announced the motion carried 8-0. Staff said they will complete and submit grant applications with the Ozarks Transportation Organization as the partner agency and will return to council if an award is offered to obtain formal local-match authorization.