Rep. Schrier Brings Home Over $11 Million for Local Projects Across the 8th District

WASHINGTON, DC – Today Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08) announced that 10 local projects will receive over $11 million as part of the Community Project Funding program included in the FY22 government funding bill. The projects will improve the lives of residents across the 8^th District.

"I'm thrilled that I could go to bat for the 8^th District and make sure all 10 of my requested projects received funding at the levels they asked for or higher," said Rep. Schrier. "Community Project Funding provided the opportunity to directly identify projects that are most important for our district and state. Local governments and nonprofits know our communities' needs best, and that is why I went directly to them for recommendations about what our federal budget should prioritize. I am especially grateful to my Advisory Board for their dedication to our district and for prioritizing such tremendous projects. This is a testament to just how much the projects will benefit their communities. I can’t wait to visit all of the projects in the coming weeks!”

Last year, Rep. Schrier announced that her office would gather project suggestions from throughout the 8^th district for consideration in the new Community Project Funding federal initiative. Rep. Schrier's office received almost 80 projects and an independent advisory board made recommendations on the top projects to be submitted to the Appropriations Committee.

The projects that received funding are:

• Chelan County Broadband Expansion, $1,286,390, Entiat, WA
  • This remote area of Chelan does not have access to high-speed broadband or cellular service so this project will design and build the fiber-based infrastructure to serve a minimum of 220 homes with the excess system capacity to meet new growth in the area
• Friends in Service to Humanity Food Bank, $900,000, Ellensburg, WA
  • FISH Food Bank currently distributes more than 1 million pounds of food to the five food pantries in Kittitas County so the funds will be used to construct a larger warehouse for more efficient storage and distribution of food
• Senior Hub Facility Improvement, $700,000, Enumclaw, WA
  • The funding would be used for revitalization of South East Rural Senior HUB/Enumclaw Senior Center. The program has grown from simply a daily meal, to a robust variety of programs and services that serve a growing aging population. With these grant funds, the program can make needed physical structure and safety improvements to better meet the needs of clients including Earthquake Structural improvements, replacement of outdated window glass, and safe and ADA accessible entry/exits.
• A PLACE 4 ALICE facility improvement, $941,340, Leavenworth, WA
  • The funding would be used for housing that will be preserved as affordable through a land trust designation. Additionally, these funds will support the construction or rehabilitation of a playground, sports fields and a pool. Lastly, it will support the development of a youth pilot program for construction apprenticeship.
• Fuels Reduction Project, $750,000, Roslyn, WA
  • This funding will reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire and to improve forest health through activities including thinning and mastication, prescribed burning, prescribed fire workforce development, and the implementation of a chipper program
• Snoqualmie Valley Trail Channel Widening and Wetland Creation/Enhancement, $225,000, North Bend, WA
  • This project would widen and realign a stormwater drainage area next to a wetland that often backs up during storm events which affects the wetland health
• Renewable Natural Gas Conversion and Methane Gas Recovery at the Wastewater Treatment Facility, $840,000, Ellensburg, WA
  • This funding would be used by the City of Ellensburg for the necessary infrastructure upgrades to efficiently take excess biogas (methane) through a scrubbing process and create a renewable resource, Renewable Natural Gas, offsetting the use of fossil gas
• Sammamish Plateau Water PFAS Treatment Plant upgrades, $1,585,000, Sammamish, WA
  • This project will allow the Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District to construct a water treatment plant to remove PFAS, a chemical that can pose health risks, from its wells so that its customers will have safe drinking water
• Bethel School District, WA, for facilities and equipment, $3,500,000, Graham, WA
  • The funding would be used to construct a school-based health clinic to support the medical, dental, and behavioral health needs of approximately 3,500 students and staff on the Graham-Kapowsin High School campus, which is co-located with a middle and elementary school.
• Auburn Consolidated Resource Center, $500,000, Auburn, WA
  • The funding would be used for the design and construction of the Consolidated Resource Center to build out facilities to provide health, dental, mental health, and substance abuse services

Additional information about the projects can be found here.