City of Idaho Falls to hold meeting, open house on EPA grant

The city of Idaho Falls Community Development Services Department will be hosting a community meeting and open house to discuss the Brownfield Assessment Grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The meeting will be held Tuesday from 3 to 5 p.m. at 574 East 4th Street (the former Boy Scout Office).

Last year, the city, the Idaho Falls Redevelopment Agency, and Bonneville Metropolitan Planning Organization received a three-year grant from EPA for $600,000. Since receiving the grant, project staff have done background work such as creating a brownfield inventory.

While the grant monies may be used anywhere within the city, the focus of the grant work is primarily within the city core, covering areas including Northgate Mile, First Street, downtown and the south downtown areas. As the project now moves towards more public activities such as reuse planning and environmental assessments, city staff and the project’s lead consultant from Stantec hope to use the meeting to accomplish a variety of purposes.

“We want to make sure that those who come to the meeting will be able to understand the purpose of the grant and learn how property owners can directly benefit from the funds,” said Brad Cramer, director of the Community Development and Services Department.  “We also want to seek input on properties and areas where the community members feel the grant should be used for revitalization.”

Staff will also be scheduling appointments with interested property owners to provide technical assistance on environmental, cleanup, and other redevelopment issues on their properties. For more information on this event or to schedule an appointment, please contact Kerry Beutler, the city's assistant planning director at 208-612-8278.