City to accept county-run Commute Smart funds and award remaining CDBG-CV to Meals on Wheels

City planners presented two separate administrative items to the Urban Experience Committee: an intergovernmental agreement to continue funding Commute Smart Northwest through Spokane County and a contract award of remaining CDBG-CV dollars to Meals on Wheels.

Della Mutunji (planning) said state law requires a commute-trip reduction (CTR) program for employers with 100 or more employees and that the city typically grants funds back to Spokane County to run Commute Smart Northwest because the county operates the regional program. The presenter said the city's allocation for the two-year program is $366,601 and that the regional pool totals about $650,000 across affected jurisdictions.

Leanne (county CTR lead, identified in materials as Lianne Yamamoto) described program activities—surveys, employer-reported annual reports, trainings for employee transportation coordinators and direct worksite support—and said the 2024 drive-alone rate was 62.6% with a regional goal to reduce that by 6%. She said the program removes an estimated 8,300 weekday trips regionwide (about 141,000 miles daily) and annually reduces roughly 2.1 million trips and 36.6 million vehicle miles.

Separately, housing staff requested approval to award remaining CDBG-CV (COVID-19-related Community Development Block Grant) funds—about $214,500—to Meals on Wheels to support food delivery for medically vulnerable populations. Staff said these federal funds have a June 30 spending deadline and must meet federal cross-cutting requirements. "If we don't use it, we lose it," a council member said in support of the award.

Both items were presented for committee consideration; the transcript does not record final votes.