The Washington City Council approved a resolution for a grant application to help fund phase two of the city business park.

The city is applying to receive between $250-400,000 from the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy (RISE) program. City Administrator Brent Hinson informed the council that this will help fund the paving of West Buchanan Street from Avenue E to the Wastewater Plant road. Hinson says the bulk of the project costs are already being covered by a federal DOT grant, “It’s about a $2.7 million project, we have $1.9 million in federal funds banked to be able to use for this. Basically the remainder of the project we’re paying from Riverboat municipal grant funds that we’ve both received and that we’re applying for fiscal ‘22 and then we have some money from lot sales in the industrial development fund that we’re using as well.”

The city previously received a RISE grant for the first phase of the project in 2016, and the deadline for the current application is February 1st. Hinson expects the city will receive a response from the state DOT around March, and the bid letting for the project is set for April 20th.