Council of Governments reports new brownfields funding, $8.7 million in broadband awards for Franklin County

Michelle Hoyt, executive director of the regional Council of Governments, briefed the Franklin County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 8 about the COG's semiannual work under American Rescue Plan Act funding: technical assistance to member jurisdictions, brownfields assessment activity, broadband planning and awards, and the five-year comprehensive economic development strategy (SEDS).

The COG used ARPA dollars and staff time to support jurisdictions in locating and applying for federal and state grants, Hoyt said, and recently hired a grant navigator who circulated dozens of funding notices to member governments. The presentation highlighted completed and newly awarded brownfields grants, the result of broadband mapping and BEAD application support, and regionally significant projects identified in the SEDS appendices.

Why it matters: The COG's work is intended to make local projects more competitive for federal funding. New assessment money and broadband awards could unlock redevelopment and connectivity in Franklin County, while the SEDS list gives projects a regional designation that can strengthen state and federal funding applications.

Hoyt reported the COG completed its first brownfields assessment grant cycle (an initial 2021 grant described in the presentation as $600,000) and submitted final reports. The COG identified nine sites for assessment across the two-county area; in Franklin County that included the former Thunderbird Motel site, where the city had demolished a building prior to an assessment. The COG said it will begin work under a newly awarded $1.2 million EPA Brownfields assessment grant beginning in January and is preparing to select consultants for that work. Partners named for the new grant included the cities of Connell, Prosser, Richland and Cornell and Habitat for Humanity for housing-focused conversions of former agricultural parcels.

Hoyt said that brownfields assessments can include Phase I and Phase II environmental work, regulated building-materials surveys and site-specific redevelopment planning. She noted the COG's brownfields work must be screened by a local coalition to prioritize sites that would return economic benefit if remediated. In response to commissioners' questions, Hoyt said a Port of Pasco property the county leases was a possible candidate for nomination but that EPA rules require review of potential responsible parties before grant funds can be used for assessments.

On broadband, Hoyt said the COG produced BEAD-eligible plans for Benton and Franklin counties and that the Department of Commerce has announced initial awards. According to the presentation, the state announced $8,718,976 in grant awards for selected applicants in Franklin County; the named awardees were SpaceX and Inland Wireless. Hoyt said the COG's role was to produce the required local plans and data that allowed applicants to compete; she said the COG did not take part in application decisions and had, so far, only the state announcement to report.

Hoyt also reviewed the COG's economic-development work. The COG updated its five-year comprehensive economic development strategy (SEDS), which lists regionally significant projects to help jurisdictions compete for Economic Development Administration funds. The presentation said the SEDS contains 104 total projects across the two-county area with a notional funding need of about $1,000,000,000; 31 of those projects were listed as related to Franklin County, including sites such as the AIM Center, Big Pasco, the Ryman Industrial Center, and North Pasco development areas.

Hoyt described a trip by a regional ag-innovation committee to UC Davis and said that visit caused the committee to reconsider how to begin supporting ag entrepreneurs locally; she said no specific site for an ag innovation center has been selected and that partners including the Port of Pasco are exploring long-range options. She also noted a COG-hosted regional event on Nov. 7 (registration deadline Oct. 23) intended to improve two-county advocacy and congressional connections.

Ending: Hoyt said the COG will provide more detailed project-level information as consultant selection and grant scoping proceed and invited county staff and elected officials to upcoming COG events. Commissioners asked staff to follow up on brownfields nominations and on the specific scope of the BEAD awards for Franklin County.