Improvements are in store for Ferndale’s downtown thanks to $4.2 million in federal money to launch revitalization programs.
The city will spend $850,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, to begin the Main Street Program with a new executive director to promote economic development and beautification efforts downtown.
Of that sum, $400,000 is going to the volunteer-led Ferndale Downtown Association for the initiation of a Main Street Program and payroll for John Haslam, the new executive director, for the next two and a half years, said Riley Sweeney, Communications Officer for the City of Ferndale.
The time is now to get the program up and running, Sweeney added, as the state Legislature allows cities to redirect Business and Operations tax dollars to eligible local main street programs.
The other $450,000 will fund efforts to bring business back to Ferndale.
Ever since the creation of Interstate 5, Ferndale residents have been commuting to Bellingham to shop, Sweeney said. Further, Ferndale has “got some old and unusual buildings downtown, which aren’t necessarily conducive to new businesses coming in.”
Some of the ARPA funds will be aimed to make these buildings more appealing as well as stimulate activity downtown with events like art walks, business days and nights out.
The money will also be used to soften utility impact fees for new businesses. A brewery, District Brewing, is one such business trying to make its way to Ferndale, Sweeney said.
Another $200,000 in ARPA funds will go to business interruption grants issued by the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce. These grants will mostly go to small businesses with 20 or fewer employees that were impacted by COVID-19-related closures.
The Chamber of Commerce and the Main Street Program are working together to assemble their applications, but the community will see the money put to use in the next couple months, Sweeney said.
The Community Resource Center will receive $400,000 of the ARPA funds as well. The funds will go to the Ferndale Community Service Cooperative, its parent program, to pay a new, full-time executive director and expand services.
The Community Resource Center functions similarly to Bellingham’s Opportunity Council, offering direct support for those in need. Through the center school children can get coats and community members can access job-searching services, social service assistance and help with utility bills.
“While all of these efforts are worthwhile on their own merits, taken together, they are an unprecedented investment in Ferndale’s future,” said Mayor Greg Hansen in a prepared statement. “While the impacts of the pandemic are still being felt, the decisions we make today put us on the path to come roaring back.”
