Trump cuts could leave Pasco owing $2.8M bill for farmers market remodel
Pasco may unexpectedly owe $2.8 million on a loan the city spent to improve the downtown farmers market area at Peanuts Park.
The farmers market is on Lewis and Columbia streets in the city’s downtown core. Pasco invested $6.5 million in improvements and finished the construction project in 2022.
In 2020, Pasco received a $3.8 million loan for the project through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The city planned to pay back the loan with money from its annual block grant allocations.
The block grants are a federal program that provides funding to city, county and state governments for community development and housing programs that serve low- to moderate-income residents.
Pasco has been paying $245,000 annually since 2020 to pay off the loan by 2040.
Now the Trump administration proposes eliminating the CDBG program altogether. And the city will have to find another way to pay the outstanding $2.8 million.
Block grant money is used to pay for a variety of Tri-Cities programs including affordable housing, Meals on Wheels, domestic violence shelter services, scholarships and walking path renovations.
Pasco received about $680,000 in block grant money in 2024. The city spent the money on Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) updates at city playgrounds, Peanuts Park North improvements, community outreach and cleanup, and new equipment for the Pasco Specialty Kitchen.
Haylie Miller, director of Community and Economic Development, told the Pasco City Council this week that the city was notified by a federal group that the block grant money may not be available starting in 2026.
“The message is that it is up in the air,” Miller said.
It’s unclear how loan repayment will be handled if the program is not funded. The city may have to repay the loan on the same schedule or pay back the loan at one time. The loan cannot be forgiven.
Miller recommended the council send letters to Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell and Reps. Michael Baumgartner and Dan Newhouse.
Mayor Pete Serrano and council members Leo Perales and Peter Harpster agreed they should be urged to fully fund the block grant program.
“The CDBG program is a program that I definitely support,” Harpster said.
“Looking at what we funded last year, these are all worthwhile projects. If there is anything that we can do to petition the federal government or our legislators in any way, I think we should.”
