Newport council approves Metropolitan Council INI mitigation grant agreement expected to reimburse about $340,000

The Newport City Council on Feb. 19 approved Resolution 2026-18 to enter into a grant agreement with the Metropolitan Council’s INI mitigation program, a move city staff said will allow the city to receive reimbursement for previously completed mitigation work.

At the engineers report, the City Engineer told the council that the Metropolitan Council received roughly $12 million in funding through the 2023 legislative session for INI mitigation and prorates that funding to participating communities. The engineer said Newport submitted a mitigation plan, was accepted into the program and expects to receive about $340,000 in grant funds to reimburse work already performed. The engineer said staff will make minor edits to the draft agreement before final execution.

Council Member Sumar moved to adopt Resolution 2026-18 and Council Member Ingamman seconded. The council approved the resolution by voice vote. The transcript does not record a roll-call vote or a numerical tally; the engineer described the measure as a standard grant agreement required by the Metropolitan Council.

The measure authorizes the mayor and staff to finalize the grant agreement with the Metropolitan Council and accept the reimbursement funding. Council members did not ask for additional changes during the meeting; the engineer offered to stand for questions and noted staff will complete minor revisions prior to signing.

The action does not appropriate new spending in the meeting record; rather, staff said the agreement will reimburse the city for eligible work already completed under the program.