Benton County

recently approved $1.7 million in grants from its sales tax-generated economic

development program.

The money will be put

toward projects from the city of Kennewick and Port of Kennewick, Richland and

Prosser.

The county awarded $1

million to Kennewick and its port to transform Clover Island’s shoreline. The

money will go toward improving public infrastructure and preparing three commercial

building sites totaling 3.24 acres.

Work will include

shoreline stabilization, extension of utilities, trail building, installation

of drainage infrastructure and landscaping.

The county also

approved $350,000 for Swift Boulevard improvements between Stevens Drive and

Jadwin Avenue that includes upgraded traffic signals, replacement of street

lighting and installing on-street landscaping features.

Prosser received

$340,856 to complete the first phase of a utility crossing project at

Interstate 82. It’s part of a plan to facilitate commercial growth in the Gap

Road Commercial District and surrounding area.

Upon completion, the

utility crossing will assist in the recruitment of new businesses to about 160

acres of commercially zoned, public- and privately-owned properties. Build-out

is expected 24 months after completion.

The county’s grant

will pay for a feasibility and engineering study to determine two possible

crossing locations for water, sewer, natural gas, electrical, telephone and

fiber optic utilities, among other work.

Since spring 2017,

the county has approved more than $9.2 million in projects through its Rural

County Capital Fund, which is fed by a sales tax collected by the county and

earmarked for economic development, job creation and tax revenue in the county.

The 0.09 of 1 percent

tax generates about $354,000 in sales tax revenue for Benton County each month.

The tax sunsets in 2026.

The county’s rolling

grant program doesn’t come with a lot of red tape or competitive judging and matching

dollars aren’t required.

The proposals made to

the county are evaluated based on whether they meet state law and county

policy.

The money is awarded

based on city population, which is why the program was launched in the first

place. It’s intended to give an injection of money to rural counties with a

population density of less than 100 people per square mile, or a county smaller

than 225 square miles.

Benton County

qualified when the tax was implemented, though it has since grown to 112 people

per square mile.

The county dispersed

$2.1 million for 11 projects between 1998 and 2002.

After that, the

county dedicated tax dollars from 2001-16 to pay off the debt for the Benton

County jail.

The county policy was revised in 2017 after enough revenue

was collected to satisfy the jail’s bonded debt. The state allowed Benton

County to use the money for the jail bond but changed parameters later so other

counties couldn’t.