River Falls seeks $46M in federal grants for Main Street improvements, applications submitted for BUILD and Safe Streets

Tristan Sard, vice president of policy at Merchant McIntyre Associates, told the River Falls City Council that the city has submitted two major federal applications to fund Main Street improvements and related safety work. "Our goal with this presentation is really to ... give a comprehensive overview of the efforts we're undertaking on behalf of the city to pursue federal funding," Sard said.

Sard said the city submitted a BUILD (DOT) application in February for just over $24 million to cover the bulk of surface-transportation work on Main Street and then filed a $21.9 million Safe Streets and Roads for All implementation application in May to carry out the action plan the city previously completed. He said the BUILD awards are statutory and should be announced in June, while Safe Streets decisions are expected by the end of the year.

The consultants framed the applications as complementary: the BUILD request would fund construction and major street work while the Safe Streets application would fund implementation of the city's planning outcomes, including pedestrian and bicycle improvements. "We feel very confident in the applications we developed," Sard said, while noting these programs are highly competitive and communities sometimes apply multiple times before receiving awards.

City staff involvement was highlighted as a key factor: Sard credited city administrator Simpson, Jennifer Smith and Amy Peterson for supporting the work and providing materials needed for competitive applications. The presenters also described an ongoing strategy to "stack" or layer grants so federal awards can be combined with state and local funding to maximize downtown and small-business support.

Next steps for both applications include monitoring federal announcements and preparing follow-up materials and implementation planning should either or both awards be granted. Council members asked about pilot projects and supplemental planning tracks under Safe Streets; Merchant McIntyre explained that Safe Streets offers planning, demonstration, and implementation tracks that can support data collection, pilot interventions and full construction work respectively.

The council was left with a timeline: BUILD results in June and Safe Streets later in the year, and staff said they will return with updates and any required local decisions on matching funds or phasing.