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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEDA Phone CAll 8-11-218/12/21 EDA –Laura Ives Economic Development Representative Washington State U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration 915 Second Avenue Jackson Federal Building, Room 1890 Seattle, WA 98174   (206) 200-1951 LIves@eda.gov I contacted Laura Ives to discuss the EDA ARPA Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). MR: Monte Reinders LI: Laura Ives MR: In looking at the NOFO there are 7 different funding programs. It appears that the Port Hadlock Sewer would really only qualify under the Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) program. LI: Yes, that is correct. It is the best fit for large infrastructure projects. Most flexible. MR: It appears that there will be about $300 million nationwide after set asides are taken out. This amounts to about $6 million per state on average. So, it seems pretty competitive. LI: Yes. It was not as much as we had hoped for. The NOFO suggests a project cap of $5 million which is more than the $3 million in our regular public works program, but means it will be competitive. The Seattle region which covers 8 states has a little less than $60 million to distribute. MR: We were thinking something in the$2 to $2.5 million range. LI: A $2 million ask would be reasonable if you can show significant job creation and check the other boxes including how this contributes to equity. MR: We would like to work with you up front to determine if we have a competitive project before we invest a lot of time and money into a complete application. Who should I contact to do that? LI: I (Laura Ives) am your main point of contact. Chris for engineering matters. MR: Is it possible for EDA to do a site visit? LI: Everyone is really busy at EDA. We like to get out in the field, but it is just not going to be possible. We are fielding so many inquiries about this NOFO right now. We can help you remotely if you supply us with enough information. MR: What makes for a competitive project? LI: Job creation as always. Also, we need to be convinced that the project can be fully permitted by September 2022 and that there will be no environmental permitting holdups. If NEPA is not complete by Sept 2022, we cannot award/obligate money to the project. If it appears that the project has a long road to get permits, it will not be competitive. Equity is really important as well. Money will be targeted towards communities that have been underserved. MR: Port Hadlock does not have a large minority population nor is it indigenous. Does equity include serving communities that have high poverty rates? LI: A case could be made for communities that have a demonstrated history of persistent poverty. The NOFO discusses persistent poverty counties and rural areas with demonstrated historical underservice. MR: As we discussed in our last phone call, we’ve been talking about an application for a sewer collection line to serve the Alcohol Plant, a hotel that wants to expand. This makes it easier to get the Beneficiary information because we are essentially dealing with one property owner. There should not be much in the way of environmental permitting challenges since it will be a pipe in a road. LI: We will not fund a project that only serves one property owner. Will the pipeline provide an opportunity for expansion to bring on other properties? MR: Not really. There is a marina down there with a different owner but this pipeline would mostly serve just the Alcohol Plant which wants to expand. LI: That is going to be a tough sell if there is only one beneficiary. MR: Well, that is why we want to go over our project before we put a lot of time and expense into preparing a full application. This is good information. We might need to look at funding other areas of the project with EDA where there are more beneficiaries, which will require more work with the property owners. It is possible that EDA could be used for a piece of the project that serves more businesses though. MR: The NOFO says that applications should be submitted no later than March 2022. You would probably advise earlier, correct? LI: I have been telling people to get them in by the end of the calendar year. Applications are taken as they are received until the funding runs out. Given that you are proposing to ask for less than $3 million, you should keep in mind our regular Public Works program ($3M limit) which is open continuously with projects funded on a rolling basis (no deadline). One application is really good for both programs. We would evaluate it for both. MR: Does the regular PW program have the same investment priorities including Equity? LI: Our investment priorities are not NOFO specific. They are universal for our Administration. So yes, Equity would still be a priority although it might not be weighted quite as high in the regular PW program. Difficult to know. You would want to show how your project achieves our goals no matter what program you are applying for. MR: This is really helpful information. I will discuss with our team and set up a time to call you again once our Project Manager is back in the office.