Now that a $20 million EPA grant for community resiliency projects around Benton Harbor has been canceled by the Trump administration, what’s next?
The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission’s Marcy Hamilton tells us alternatives will be sought for some of the things that were in motion as a result of the grant. Among other things, it would have been used for clean energy, workforce development, and the restoration of the Bobo Brazil Community Center.
Hamilton says there is an appeals process when federal grants are canceled.
“So, looking into that, and then there are groups that are working nationwide with different grantees and looking at potential legal actions,” Hamilton said. “There’s a lot of claims that the way that the grants are terminated isn’t legal, so we’re following those kind of national movements to see if it fits us or not.”
Hamilton says the planning commission is also exploring other ways to secure funds for Bobo Brazil. She notes the city has already been awarded $1.5 million in state grants for improvements at the center, so some work will still be done there. However, Hamilton says it’s a shame the roughly $3 million Bobo Brazil was going to get via the EPA grant is now gone.
Hamilton tells us the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission had an inkling the big EPA grant might be rescinded, so it was careful not to spend any money it didn’t already have in place as it prepared to implement the funding. Now that it’s gone, she says some beneficial projects won’t be happening in the city, at least for now.
