Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Bridge topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Center Point secures $1.5 million federal grant for Washington Street bridge; council accepts funding offer
Summary
Clerk/Interim Sarah Tritle announced a $1.5 million grant for reconstruction of the Washington Street bridge; the council unanimously approved accepting the federal funding offer and directed staff to pursue engineering proposals because the grant does not cover engineering costs.
Clerk/Interim Sarah Tritle announced that Center Point has been awarded a $1.5 million federal grant for the reconstruction of the Washington Street bridge and the City Council voted to accept the funding offer on Jan. 13.
The funding was described by Tritle as a federal FY2027 offer tied to the Washington Street City Bridge project. Council unanimously approved Resolution 2026-04 to accept the funding; the roll call recorded Aye votes from Council Members Nathan Schnell, Mike LeClere, Alicia Thomas, John Stuelke and Melissa McLaughlin.
Why it matters: the bridge is a main artery for local traffic and council members emphasized designing the project to support multi-modal access. Council Member Nathan Schnell said he would like to "see the Washington St bridge to have a trail to downtown" when the project is underway, and he also expressed support for a sidewalk on Iowa Street as part of broader downtown connectivity improvements.
City staff cautioned that the grant does not cover engineering services. Stuelke and Schnell asked staff to issue a request for proposals for engineering services so the city can procure design and engineering competitively and ensure taxpayer dollars are spent prudently. Tritle also noted the city pre-applied for a catalyst grant for 901 Main St and that final notice on that award will come in June.
Council approved the related funding offer by formal motion and roll call; minutes show the vote was unanimous. Next steps identified at the meeting included staff preparing an RFP for engineering and returning to the council with procurement and schedule details; no construction timeline was specified at the meeting.
The council also approved a separate resolution to accept a federal funding offer tied to the project (Resolution 2026-04) and directed staff to coordinate RFP drafting and future grant-related reporting.
