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Officials weigh 20% match for Main Street BUILD planning grant
Summary
Skagway staff asked the finance committee whether to commit a 20% local match (about $809,000) for a USDOT BUILD planning grant for Main Street rehabilitation; the committee recommended the draft resolution to the assembly and asked staff to confirm scoring impacts of different match levels.
Skagway officials told the finance committee on Feb. 4 they plan to seek a U.S. Department of Transportation BUILD planning grant to design rehabilitation of Main Street and asked the committee whether to commit local matching funds.
Bureau Manager Emily Deach said engineering for the Main Street project is estimated at about $4,000,000. The draft resolution before the committee proposed a 20% local match equal to about $809,000; Deach said that would require roughly $500,000 from the municipality’s sales-tax fund in fiscal 2027 and about $300,000 in fiscal 2028 if the grant is awarded. "The more that you match, the better you score," Deach said, but she told members she would check whether the BUILD scoring rubric includes specific cutoffs tied to match percentage.
Committee members expressed concern about the size of the required local commitment and noted community resistance to sales-tax increases. Potter said the municipality could decline the award if the community could not provide the match. Members discussed whether to list 20% in the resolution, reduce the committed percentage, or leave the figure flexible; one member suggested that parts of the match could come from different local funds or from funds earmarked for tourism-related improvements.
The committee voted to recommend the assembly approve the draft resolution committing matching funds, and staff will follow up on how different match levels affect BUILD grant scoring and return to the committee with options.
