The City of Colusa will apply for a U.S. Department of Transportation Reconnecting Communities Pilot Planning Grant to further the city’s goal to connect the downtown to the Sacramento River, which would ultimately enhance tourism and economic development.
Plans for the Levee Park area began in 2020 when the city applied for – but did not secure – a $8.5 million Proposition 68 grant to build a marina on the river.
City officials said they have not given up the dream and are exploring different avenues and grants to achieve that goal.
“The idea here is to request a grant for $1 million to plan, repave, restructure, and add facilities along Main Street,” said Grant Writer Fernanda Vanetta. “This would also include our ability to put that beautiful plan to the river so it would reconnect our community to our riverfront.”
The DOT grant is for planning only, not construction, but Vanetta said the ultimate goal is to eventually remove the street, which is an eyesore, and make the Main Street area beautiful again with a new pavement, bike paths, motor vehicle access, and pedestrian walkways, thereby connecting the river and park to the downtown.
The grant would require 20 percent ($200,000) matching funds, but could come from in-kind contributions from local sources and philanthropic organizations such as the Rotary Club of Colusa, which has and continues to orchestrate access projects related to Levee Park.
“All of those contributions would go towards matching funds,” Vanetta said. “Not all of the match has to be in cash.”
The grant would cover expenses related to public engagement activities, planning studies, assessments of current traffic patterns, alternative roadway designs, conceptual and preliminary engineering, design and planning studies that support the environmental review for a construction project, proposed project impact mitigation, or other necessary planning activities that do not result in construction.
Significant work on the levee would require environmental review and involvement with the Corps of Engineers.
City officials not only envision a plan that revitalizes Main Street, so it can connect the community with the river, but to also give citizens and visitors an alternate route over Market Street.
Councilman Josh Hill, who motioned to approve the grant application, said any cash match not recouped from philanthropic and other in-kind contributions could be covered in cash by the city’s cannabis fund.
The City Council approved the application Sept. 6 with a unanimous vote. ■