Planning & Economic Development Department
PEDD Vision: Honoring our Past and Preserving the Future of the Spokane Tribe of Indians by ensuring that all lands within the jurisdiction of the Tribe are preserved, protected, and enhanced through best land use policy, long-range planning to achieve sustainable community development, infrastructure development, economic development, and safe & adequate transportation planning.
PEDD April 2024 Updates
• Working on both Casino property development projects. This includes Mistequa frontage road to Spoko, STC Phase 2B and STC Phase 3. The Master Plan kick-off for STC has begun and we are hoping to have this plan completed by the end of the year. There will be an upgrade to the wastewater at the Mistequa Hotel and Casino property, as well as our STC property. Master planning for the Mistequa property will begin towards the end of 2024 or early 2025.
• Working on the following CARES/ARPA funded projects (each project is either out to bid, has a contract or is in the contracting phase):
o DV Modular Office Project
o PowWow and Longhouse Generators
o Longhouse Upgrades Project
o Boys & Girls Club Renovations
o West End Community Center Gymnasium A&E Project
o PowWow Grounds Electrical Upgrades
• The Strategic Energy Plan is finished and Sazan met with our Energy Team, Sovereign Power Board, and TBC Energy Representative to present the plan and discuss next steps. If you would like to review a copy of the plan, reach out to James Best at james.best@spokanetribe.com or by calling (509)458-6561.
• PEDD is constantly seeking land acquisition opportunities on and off the reservation for the Tribe’s development purposes. Reach out to Francis SiJohn with any questions or concerns regarding this matter at francis.sijohn@spokanetribe.com or by calling (509)458-6520.
• The DOE – Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid Formula Grants to States and Indian Tribes was awarded for the first 2 allocation years (FY22 and FY23). Around $1.1M has been awarded to the Tribe for activities that will improve the resiliency of the electric grid against disruptive events on the reservation. The additional 3 years of funding through this program (FY24-FY26) will be applied for once those applications open up. We are working on our project management plan for this allocation of funding. FY24’s allocation came in and the Tribe was allocated an additional $360,873 that will be added on top of our FY22 and FY23 allocations. The application was submitted, and the DOE did not have any immediate concerns. We are hopeful to have that additional funding in the coming months.
• Exploring Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Station opportunities in the Wellpinit area reinitiating previous conversations with Avista.
• Working with the City of Spokane’s Parks & Recreation team to complete preliminary A&E work at our Snxwmene Island in Riverfront Park. We received a WA State RCO PRA grant to complete some A&E work for this project. We signed a contract with Womer & Associates to complete the first 2 phases of the A&E work for this project. We are hoping to have some preliminary designs to share with the public in time for the 50th anniversary of Expo ’74. We are also working with the City of Spokane’s Parks & Recreation Department on a MOU for this project and Snwxmene Island.
• The 2022 HUD ICDBG award funding will be used to construct 5 new low-rent homes on the reservation. 4 will be located in Kokanee Meadows and 1 will be located in West End. We will continue to keep the community updated on this project. We are currently working to complete the HUD Environmental Assessment requirements for the project. We are hoping to have this step finalized in early April. Once that is complete and we let HUD know, we can move forward with putting the project out for bid.
• A 477 Economic Development Plan that is specific to the 477 Program and its clientele has started. This will be the foundation for the 477 Program’s Economic Development Program. We are currently finished with Phase 1 and 2 of this process, which was the Needs Assessment and Analysis phase of this plan and the Community & Stakeholder Engagement. We are now in Phase 3: Drafting the Plan.
• The Mobile Tiny Home Project was a great success! While there are still a few items to address, such as some electrical and a final coat of exterior paint, the Tiny Home has officially been turned over to the Tribe. We plan to turn it over to Spokane Indian Housing Authority (SIHA) to include with their Emergency Housing units they are working on. The project was a great opportunity for 4 of our local participants to gain some experience in the homebuilding and construction field. We are planning to have an Open House event open to the community that also celebrates the accomplishments of the participants and our contractor, Frame Your Future. Stay tuned for a date for this Open House event in the near future.
• Collaborating with UCUT on the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction grant. UCUT will be leading efforts to develop a regional Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) and Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) for all UCUT member Tribes. These two plans will be integral in developing the Spokane Tribe’s climate pollution reduction efforts. The PCAP has been completed and turned over to the member Tribes in the beginning of March. UCUT will work on the CCAP and implementation grant applications related to the activities outlined in the PCAP. An implementation grant application was submitted on behalf of all member Tribe’s to fund the activities outlined in the PCAP. Reach out to James Best at james.best@spokanetribe.com or by calling (509)458-6561 if you would like to review a copy of the PCAP.
• A feasibility study for the David C. Wynecoop Memorial Clinic has been finalized. We are now looking into next steps provided by the feasibility study and planning for that, one of those steps being another grant opportunity through the Department of Health and Human Services that we have put an application in for. Be on the lookout for future updates regarding this effort.
• Airway Heights Asbestos survey and abatement are complete on the back side of Spokane Tribe Casino. We are taking the demolition permit to Spokane county for their record. Now the next phase will be demolition, we are currently seeking quotes for demolition.
• An additional structural engineer building assessment will be completed on the Presbyterian Church, this second assessment will then be handed over to TBC to see the direction they would like to proceed in.
• Airway Height’s old gaming facility is in the works to be demolished but there must first be an asbestos abatement before tearing down the facility. There was an asbestos test complete but they encountered more at a later date and we are in the process of removing the additional asbestos that was found.
• Technology Hub Consortium led by Lakeside Companies. This is the first step in a huge opportunity to bring a tech hub focused on aerospace technologies to our region. Lakeside worked on getting the initial Regional Technology and Innovations Hub designation by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) last October. On February 29th, Lakeside submitted the Phase 2 application, proposing a budget of $80 million to launch the HUB. Stay tuned for updates on this exciting project! Continuous collaboration with the Consortium continues to take place.
• We submitted the following grant opportunities:
o WA State Department of Commerce – Tribal Clean Energy Grant- This grant would fund a feasibility study for the Western Nuclear Solar Farm Project that would install a large solar farm at our Western Nuclear (old Sherwood Mine) site. The study would guide the Tribe on whether it is feasible or not to move forward with this project. We anticipate hearing from the funding agency in the coming month or two.
o WA State Department of Commerce – Tribal Climate Resilience Funding – Each Washington State Tribe were allocated funds through the state’s Climate Commitment Act for the next biennium. This program is on a biennium basis and potentially will be around for a few more cycles. The funds will be used for the following activities: 1) Implementation of existing Climate Adaptation Plan, 2) Food Sovereignty Initiatives, 3) Fisheries Improvements, 4) Fossil Fuel Reduction and Road Dust Abatement Actions, 5) Grid Resiliency Formula Grant Matching Funds, and 6) Sovereign Power Inc. Support – Energy Independence Initiatives. We are in the award contracting phase and hope to get started on these activities as soon as possible.
o Dept. of Energy – Grid Deployment Office – Grid Resilience Grant Funding for FY24 – We submitted our application for the third year of funding through this program. As mentioned above, this program will fund projects associated with strengthening our electric grid resilience.
o EDA – Partnership Planning Program FY24-26 Grant Application – This grant application was submitted in late 2023, however, we were just notified that we were awarded in late March. This grant will continue to fund implementation planning activities associated with the Tribe’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for FY24-26. We had our kickoff meeting with the EDA in early April 2024. One of the first big tasks that will need to be completed with this funding is our 5-year CEDS update. Be on the lookout for community outreach opportunities.
Staff
Planning & Economic Development Director
Francis SiJohn
Office: (509) 458-6520
Cell: (509) 904-5383
Economic Development Manager
James Best
Spokane Office 509.818.1408
Wellpinit Office 509.458.6561
Cell 509.601.4423