Federal agencies to visit Pasco for regional meeting. What to know
Franklin County will host a regional Federal Partners Coalition event at the HAPO Center at 6600 Burden Blvd. in Pasco on Thursday, March 26 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
The summit will host representatives from federal agencies including USDA Rural Development, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Economic Development Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Small Business Administration.
Other attendees include tribal, state and local officials and community stakeholders.
It’s a free, public event to learn about federal resources and partnerships.
Event highlights
• Registration begins at 8 a.m.
• Opening ceremony at 9 a.m.
• Morning presentations from participating federal agencies
• Afternoon breakout sessions, including veterans’ resources, opportunity zones, rural data gateway tools and resources, real gateway (infrastructure and development pathways) and using AI for grant applications.
• Resource fair featuring federal programs and services throughout the afternoon
‘Direct pipeline to federal decision makers’
Franklin County Administrator Brian Damsel told the Franklin County Board of Commissioners in January that the summit provides “high level access that is a direct pipeline to federal decision makers.”
“We have confirmed that many high-ranking officials from the Trump administration will be in attendance. Their goal is to listen directly to our local concerns and identify specific federal resources available to help us achieve our collective goals,” the board of commissioners wrote in a statement in January.
Pasco City Manager Harold Stewart said at a recent city council meeting that this is a regional meeting for Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Northern California.
“Federal officials will talk about their programs and what funding they have available, but also listen to local regional needs that they can take back and potentially find partnerships and funding from their agencies to our region in the future,” Stewart said.
It’s one of five summits in the U.S. It’s unclear how many people will be visiting Pasco to attend.
Pasco Mayor Charles Grimm asked the council to consider sponsoring the summit at the council’s March 16 regular meeting. The city would have paid $5,000 out of its general fund to be a sponsor and pay for meals and security.
Grimm’s motion to sponsor the event failed.
Most of the council felt that the board of commissioners should have made the request directly and the council should have notified about the request sooner.
