The Chehalis City Council accepted both the 2026-2027 Public Defense Improvements grant award and the Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) grant award Monday during its council meeting.
The city was awarded a TIB grant for the Interstate Avenue sidewalk project, from Parkland Avenue to south of Best Western. The TIB grant will fund 85% of eligible project costs, up to a maximum of $333,285, for the construction of a new sidewalk along the east side of Interstate Avenue, enhancing pedestrian safety and connectivity in the corridor. The total project cost is estimated at $391,500. The remaining $58,215, or 15%, will be funded by the city’s Transportation Benefit District fund.
Lance Bunker, Chehalis public works director, clarified that the grants work in percentages, not total costs. This means that if the costs fluctuate, the grants will still cover 85%. Bunker added that a request for proposals will come to the city council no later than early February, with construction set for the summer and completion slated for the fall.
Since 2019, city staff has applied for and has been awarded the Public Defense Improvements grant funding from the Washington state Office of Public Defense’s Public Defense Improvement Program. In 2025, the court again re-applied for this grant and the application was approved. The city has been offered a grant totaling $30,000 to be distributed in two sums: $20,000 for use in 2026 and $10,000 for use in the first half of 2027.
This funding could be used to increase defense compensation; payment of investigator and expert services; reimbursement of defense training costs; and interpreter services for defense and client meetings (outside of court). These may otherwise be costs incurred by the city.
