EDMONDS, Wash. — As pandemic recovery plans are well underway and cities work to pick up the pieces, Edmonds voted Tuesday on how to spend some of the latest federal COVID-19 relief funding.
Edmonds will get nearly $12 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding.
Edmonds City Council voted on a plan that breaks the funding into six categories - city expenditures, support for families, business support, nonprofit support, a job retraining program and green infrastructure projects.
About $4.7 million will go toward "green infrastructure projects, with much of it going toward restoring the Perrinville Creek Basin, which causes flooding during big rain events, and would help prevent polluted runoff from damaging salmon-bearing habitats.
Everyone who spoke in last week’s council meeting agreed that the project needs to be done, but some think the remaining million dollars should go elsewhere to better support the community as a whole.
“We all know that there are businesses and families out there that are suffering. I believe if we start socking away large amounts of money for green infrastructure, I think that we should just concentrate on one megaproject and that one megaproject is Perrinville,” said Councilmember Diane Buckshnis.
Another $4 million will be set aside for low-income families.