Applications accepted now through July 15
information released
Chelan County seeks applications for funding from the Cascade Public Infrastructure Fund. The application period is open June 6 through July 15.
Applications will be accepted for public facilities projects, including permanently affordable housing, applied for by local governments, junior taxing districts (Regional Port Authority, P.U.D, Water and Sewer Districts, for example) or qualifying providers, such as authorities or housing trusts.
The Cascade Public Infrastructure Fund, approved by the Chelan County Board of Commissioners in 2021, is a grant program for public facility projects serving economic development in Chelan County. The grant program does not impose a new tax on Chelan County citizens but is instead funded by existing revenues from the sales-and-use tax for public facilities in rural counties, or the Rural Counties Tax.
New this year, Sen. Brad Hawkins sponsored legislation to expand the use of these funds to include projects that supported permanently affordable housing. The legislation passed and was signed into law in March, allowing Chelan County to consider applications from housing authorities or housing trusts. The expansion of the definition “public facilities” to include “affordable workforce housing infrastructure or facilities,” in Sen. Hawkins’ legislation, was prompted by the community’s critical housing shortage.
“Inadequate housing stock directly impacts economic development when businesses cannot recruit or retain employees because they cannot afford the housing available in this region,” said Sasha Sleiman, Chelan County’s interim Economic Development director and Housing Program coordinator.
Between 2021 and 2023, the CPIF plans to invest nearly $2.5 million into economic development projects in Chelan County. In 2021, the Chelan County Board of County Commissioners awarded nearly $740,000 in CPIF funds to six local agencies. The total amount of funding available for 2022 is $823,200.
For more information, including the grant application and the program guidelines, go to https://www.co.chelan.wa.us/board-of-commissioners/pages/cascade-public-infrastructure-fund-grant-program.
