Pandemic relief funding offers cities opportunities

WEST PLAINS — No matter how you slice it, Washington state, counties, cities and school districts stand to receive a healthy dose of federal funding under the recently passed American Rescue Plan — including a local infusion of over $5 million for West Plains cities.

According to estimations for Sen. Patty Murray’s office released March 11, approximately $7.103 billion is headed to Washington, with $4.253 billion allocated to the state, $2.661 billion for cities and counties and $189 billion slotted for “critical” infrastructure projects around the state.

Locally, an estimated $2.73 million is tabbed for the city of Cheney, another $2.07 million for Airway Heights and $1.08 million for Medical Lake. Spokane County is slated to receive $84.36 million, and those dollar figures carried as wide a range of reactions among officials as they did in monetary estimates.

“I about had a panic attack,” City Administrator Doug Ross told the council at its March 16 meeting.

Ross said they were studying what has been presented regarding federal funds intended to help municipalities and states deal with economic impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic over the past year. While any potential restrictions aren’t clear at this point, the $1.08 million in funding the city is estimated to receive could give officials chances to do some needed infrastructure work or make long desired purchases, such as a replacement street sweeper.

“I think the intent is to spend the money and get it out into the economy,” Ross added.

Cheney officials were also cautious about the funding, with City Administrator Mark Schuller noting there were many potential ways in which the funding could be used in the community.

“The city of Cheney appreciates the additional financial support,” Mayor Chris Grover said in an email. “After clarifying the eligible uses and projects for this money, we will look at all potential ways to deploy the funds to improve our city and enrich the lives of our citizens and Cheney businesses.”

Airway Heights officials were equally cautious. Public Works Director Kevin Anderson said the plan and estimated funding were brought up in a staff meeting the week prior to the estimated funding release from Murray’s office. Anderson said the impacts on the city’s economy from Covid-19 had been “substantial,” leading to budget reductions, staffing reassignments and other belt-tightening steps.

One area Airway Heights may seek to direct some funding is its new recreation center. The $14.2 million facility had only been open less than a year when health and safety measures forced it to shutdown last March, leading to furloughs or layoffs of most of the Parks and Recreation Department staff.

“As demand for using the Rec Center is increasing at the same time that the state restrictions on its use are easing, I anticipate there will be interest from our citizens and council to get this facility fully up and running as quickly as we can,” Anderson said.

Funding for education from the American Rescue Plan is also on its way, with the state estimated to receive $2.614 billion. Of that, $1.852 billion is tabbed for the Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER), and 90% of this funding — $1.667 billion — must be distributed to state school districts via grants.

Additionally, school districts must use 20% of these ESSER sub-grants to address learning loss stemming from the pandemic, amounting to approximately $333.45 million.

Cheney School District Superintendent Rob Roettger said currently, ESSER funds are provided through a reimbursement model and are not sent directly to school districts. He added that while the district has seen possible funding estimates, they are not sure what the final allocation will be, watching and waiting for the Legislature to work on several issues regarding education funding.

“My hope is that districts will have full use of the ESSER funding to provide additional programs and support for students,” Roettger said. “My belief is the funds should be used for learning recovery efforts and to directly support students. My worry, however, is that the state may ask districts to use ESSER funds to backfill losses in transportation and enrollment funding which would provide fewer funds for learning recovery efforts.”

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.