Planning for a new pavilion that could reshape Blaine’s waterfront has a green light thanks to funding from a federal pandemic relief bill.
Blaine’s City Council voted to use $118,000 from American Rescue Plan funding to develop and plan the new pavilion, scheduled to be completed by spring 2023. The money comes from a first installment of $782,591 in ARPA funding that will total $1.5 million.
Blaine City Council Member Richard May said the creation of the G Street Pavilion will help the community financially and socially.
“People who reside in Blaine, are first and foremost, found to enjoy the benefits of the development of the plaza area,” May said.
May said Blaine’s tourism was hit hard by the pandemic due to the Canadian border closure. He said other than Canadian tourists, the city also depends on commuters stopping in town on their way to and from the border.
Kathy Maness, board member of the National League of Cities, said this federal funding provides much needed support to help rebuild communities stunted by the pandemic.
“Lots of cities lost a significant amount of money when local businesses and restaurants had to shut down,” Maness said. “So this funding provided an opportunity to help community members and small businesses bounce back.”
According to a report from the tourism advisory committee, the city does not expect to begin construction on the pavilion with the $118,034 of ARPA funds — though it will pay for the initial development and design. The remainder of funding needed to begin construction for the pavilion is yet to be determined, according to the report.
The goal of the development of the G Street Pavilion is to create a dining experience that will stimulate the local economy, May said. He added the area will be used as a location that can sustain larger events than the former resources the town had allowed.
“This development is going to aid economic recovery by making it simpler and more cost effective to have bigger and better versions of events we have held in the past,” May said.
Blaine’s Economic Development and Tourism Coordinator, Alex Wenger, said this development is a push to accommodate the recommendations made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to hold more events outdoors.
“After other resources were addressed and paid for, we decided to focus on the physical improvement of our town,” Wenger said.
The city anticipates the Pavilion will help regain lost tourism revenue, since it allows the city to host larger outdoor events. May says the city will plan to host firework celebrations, food festivals, and outdoor concerts.
Wenger said ARPA funds were allocated toward the parks department, administrative costs of the city, the local police department, and other areas of need. He said funding the G Street Pavilion is an important step to aiding the economic recovery of Blaine.
The local economy depends heavily on businesses like the Drayton Harbor Oyster Company, and during the pandemic it has continued creating revenue for the city, Wenger said. He also said the City of Blaine wrote new code allowing more commercial use of the plaza spaces. This allowed businesses to lease the outdoor locations and expand their seating abilities.
“The point of this annual lease agreement is to generate money for the city while allowing businesses to continue to flourish and retain employees,” Wenger said.
The American Rescue Plan Act was signed into legislation by President Biden in March 2021. This plan was created to provide direct fiscal relief to U.S. towns and cities, in response to hardships faced due to the current pandemic.
According to the National League of Cities the ARPA designated a total of $65.1 billion to distribute amongst different municipalities. The League’s website has specifications on how a city should allocate funds once they are granted. These recommendations are classified into seven different expenditure categories: public health, negative economic impacts, premium pay, infrastructure, revenue replacement, administrative costs and services to disproportionately impacted communities.
