ARLINGTON — Millions of dollars in grants have helped fuel ongoing economic recovery in the Stillaguamish Valley.
Earlier this month, the city of Arlington released a tally of grants received in 2016. Officials also looked back over the past few years at what the city has brought in for various projects.
Arlington was awarded more than $6.1 million total in grants this year.
Since 2012, the city has won more than $65.2 million for local projects. Nearly two-thirds of that total has come in over the past two years as part of an economic recovery plan, city officials wrote in a December newsletter. The plan was drafted after the March 2014 Oso mudslide.
The North Stillaguamish Economic Recovery Plan was used by Arlington and Darrington leaders as the foundation for entering the America’s Best Communities Competition. The two-town partnership is one of eight finalists that will find out in April which of them wins a $3 million top prize. The money would go toward continuing to rebuild the Stilly Valley economy and would fund projects that have been outlined in the recovery plan.
The list of grants received by the city over the past couple of years includes millions of dollars for road improvements, airport updates, parks and sports fields, and police and fire supplies.
The largest grant on the list is about $39.5 million from the state Department of Transportation for the expansion of busy Highway 531 near the Arlington Airport and the city’s industrial center. The road also is known as 172nd Street NE. The road would be widened, adding more room for increasing traffic. It’s a project local leaders had been pursuing for two decades when the funding was announced in 2015. A final design is in the works. Construction likely will start in 2019.
Other major grant-funded projects include the overhaul of ballfields at Bill Quake Memorial Park and new lighting for a taxiway at the airport. Some grants are for specific events, such as the Ride to Remember Oso planned for March and the Arlington-Stillaguamish Eagle Festival in February.
About $3.3 million more in grants are pending approval, which would bring the four-year total up to more than $68.5 million, according to the city.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
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