Eureka staff urged to pursue CIB, fix ARPA reporting and update general plan to improve grant readiness

Eureka — City planning staff and council members used a March work session to press for better grant-readiness: they recommended placing three infrastructure projects on the Permanent Community Impact Board (CIB) list, told the council to resolve missing ARPA reporting before the end of April, and discussed updating the city’s general plan and capital improvements plan so future grant applications are more competitive.

Shay, the planning consultant, told the council the CIB list can hold up to three projects per year and recommended resubmitting the town’s water system improvements, water source protection and road system improvements — the same trio Eureka listed the previous year — so the city remains eligible to apply during the coming CIB funding cycles. “It allows you to do any big water infrastructure project … and a roads project,” Shay said.

The council also discussed American Rescue Plan Act reporting. Shay said the Utah League of Cities and Towns provided a list showing Eureka flagged as out of compliance in the U.S. Treasury portal; he advised staff to complete or confirm annual ARPA reporting and to obtain a Treasury ticket number if portal problems persist. Shay said the city’s reporting should be completed by the end of April 2025. He offered to walk through the Treasury portal on a Zoom call and to follow up by email.

Council members and staff raised multiple grant programs and timelines with implications for Eureka’s planning: the transportation planning assistance (TPA) program commonly opens in December and typically notifies awardees in July; UDOT’s technical planning assistance and other small grants often require coordination and engineering estimates; regional “growth summit” training and resource events were promoted as opportunities to learn and make contacts. Shay said communities often miss or drop grant opportunities because they lack an updated general plan, recreation plan, transportation plan or a central tracking system.

Multiple council members said Eureka has not consistently followed through on prior grants and suggested a capital improvements plan (CIP) or a central project tracker to log active grants, awarded projects and required match or maintenance obligations. Shay said he is working on a Utah Project Portal — a capital improvements tracking tool at the state level — and suggested Eureka maintain a local CIP that ties projects to funding sources.

Shay and council members discussed Transportation Planning Assistance (TPA) and an older, incomplete technical planning assistance award the city received; Shay said staff can contact UDOT program staff (Jordan Backman at UDOT was referenced) to check whether expired or unused assistance can still be honored and recommended re-applying if necessary.

Council members asked staff to inventory current plans and to prepare a short work plan over the next six months so Eureka can prioritize projects for grant cycles that open this fall and winter. Shay offered to coordinate follow-up meetings on ARPA reporting and to help prepare CIB entries.

The work session also included notice that cities must migrate to a .gov domain by July 1, 2025; Shay said he would provide instructions and assistance to staff.

No council vote was taken on the CIB recommendations during the work session; staff were asked to proceed with drafting the CIB list entries and to follow up on ARPA reporting and plan updates.