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Bluff council hears design update for Cooperative Cultural Center, learns EPA will not reinstate earlier grant
Summary
Town staff said an Aug. 28 EPA decision forecloses reinstatement of a previously pursued EPA grant; remaining GOEO funds of about $266,000 likely cover demolition and asbestos abatement, and council directed staff to pursue additional funding and schedule a focused work session.
Malia Collins, the town project lead on the Cooperative Cultural Center (CCC), told the Bluff Town Council that an Aug. 28 decision from the EPA’s dispute official dismissed the town’s reinstatement request because a federal rescission removed unobligated balances from relevant Inflation Reduction Act accounts.
“That decision…they must dismiss our request because of the Big Beautiful Bill Act enacted, rescinds unobligated balances,” Collins said, describing the EPA’s written determination that reinstatement is not a remedy and the administrative dispute is therefore moot.
The council heard staff are updating the Community Impact Board capital-asset self-inventory (CASI) in preparation for the February application window and assembling physical addresses required for a CDBG random-survey component. Collins said the town has roughly $266,000 remaining in its GOEO grant allocation, plus a $41,000 capital-cultural allocation and a restricted USDA amount of $50,000. “I am anticipating that we are going to be able to pay for demolition, period,” Collins said, noting other line items such as fire suppression and framing will require additional funds.
Council members pressed staff about sequencing and priorities. Erin Nelson, serving as town manager, and councilmembers said they want a focused work session to inventory available funding, redraw priorities and identify grant opportunities. Members discussed asbestos abatement as a near-term need that could reduce liability and clear the site for other work; Collins said she will confirm invoice timing with the architecture team and return next week with a fuller budget picture.
Solar carports were discussed as a possible energy solution; Collins said the architecture team has proposed carport-mounted panels on the existing blacktop where modular units sit because panels cannot be sited in the adjacent right-of-way. Council members cautioned that large-scale carport installations have previously quoted in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and likely exceed current available funds.
The council did not take formal action in the work session. Chair Linda Sosa asked staff to return with a clearer cost breakdown and to schedule a targeted work session before the next regular meeting so council members and staff can prioritize demolition, abatement and grant-seeking strategies.
