HomeMy WebLinkAbout1 - Original Submission_ 2022 Exhibit A Johnston Group v2 finalPage 1 of 7 November, 2021
Exhibit A
Scope of Work and Summary of Accomplishments
This Exhibit presents some of the major accomplishments achieved in 2021 and outlines a Scope of
Work in prioritized order for 2022.
2021 Major Accomplishments
The Johnston Group helped the City of Bremerton make major gains in 2021 in support of its
federal legislative agenda. Specifically, we accomplished the following key goals:
1. Secured Congressional Support for $2.5 million for the Quincy Square project
a. Secured delegation support for this funding.
b. Worked with Bremerton staff to create application materials, community support
letters and define project scope and budget.
2. Reviewed Bremerton Capital Improvement projects with City staff and developed project
requests for:
a. SR 303 Corridor Improvements;
b. Oyster Bay Avenue, and;
c. Kitsap Way.
Coordinated with city staff about various projects in the areas of utility infrastructure,
stormwater management, broadband deployment, transit and transportation
infrastructure, housing and community development.
3. Lobbied for Bremerton’s $10.4 million in American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funding and
provided analysis to the City for the eligible use of the City’s award.
4. Continued work in support of the Defense Community Infrastructure Program (DCIP) at the
Department of Defense.
a. Secured a $10 million funding increase in the program to $60 million which would
allow the Department of Defense to make infrastructure and quality of life grants to
communities that support military installations.
b. Continued to work with delegation offices to ensure that the funds granted by DCIP
are able to meet military community needs.
c. Working to align the recommendations from the PSNS Commuter Workforce Study
with funding opportunities via the DCIP.
5. Lobbied for a medium sized set aside for federal transportation grants so that cities
between 10,000 and 75,000 have more competitive access to grant programs. We secured
this language in the House-passed infrastructure bill for two new grant programs. The
outcome of this effort is still unknown at the time of this writing, but we made significant
progress and got the language we wanted into the House-passed bill.
6. Positioned Bremerton as a regional leader of 33 Washington cities in support of the medium
sized city provisions.
7. Supported the creation of a new federal grant program led by Reps. Derek Kilmer and
Senator Maria Cantwell for local governments to use for salmon recovery efforts focusing on
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culvert replacement and fish barrier removal. This new program has been included in
various proposals in both House and Senate passed bills and we await the final resolution at
the time of this writing.
2022 Proposed Agenda
The 2022 scope of work builds on our short-term success from 2021 and continues to build support
in 2022 and for longer-term initiatives in the years ahead.
Additionally, we follow the work being done by partner agencies and organizations and will levy
support when and where appropriate. Some of these organizations include the Association of
Washington Cities, the Association of Defense Communities, the Puget Sound Regional Council and
Kitsap County, among others.
These items are listed in priority order.
1. Bringing federal funding to the City’s top infrastructure priorities.
With Members of Congress restoring earmarking authority, the City has ample opportunity
to position its priority projects for federal support. In 2021, the City secured House and
Senate support for $2.5 million to complete the Quincy Square project. Our work in 2022
will be primarily on the establishment of the new earmark allocation rules and weighing in
with the relevant agency as it establishes its regulations so that Bremerton has access to the
funds without overt restrictions or delay.
Our secondary priority will be to continue to seek federal funding support for other City
priorities. This may be through earmark requests or other funding opportunities that come
together (see bullet point 5 below).
2. Supporting the Second Tranche of ARPA funding and any future COVID Recovery.
Bremerton has received half of its ARPA designated funding with the second tranche
expected in May 2022. More, as the pandemic continues to impact communities, there is
already discussion about what a future COVID bill might entail with an emphasis on public
health infrastructure and economic recovery for impacted communities.
We will report to the City about U.S. Treasury guidelines for the appropriate use of funding
programs with ARPA dollars and lobby for City needs in any future COVID bill.
3. Transitioning the OLDCC funded report on the Pedestrian and Commuter needs for
the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard into grant funding opportunities through the
Defense Community Infrastructure Program.
The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS) is a key economic factor for the City of Bremerton
with insufficient parking, pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure and drop-off areas for a
commuting workforce. The City has done an excellent job of researching the challenge and
looking at potential mitigation strategies and is the midst of completing a $690,000 grant
from the Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) – now called the Office of Local Defense
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Community Cooperation (OLDCC) – at the Pentagon to develop a comprehensive strategy
and capital plan.
This grant fits with the Joint Land Use Study conducted for the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
and Naval Base Kitsap and enjoys the support of the Base Commander and the
Congressional delegation. This grant is expected to develop a comprehensive set of
prioritized infrastructure projects with correlating cost estimates for completion. The City
intends to apply for funding within the Defense Community Infrastructure Program (see
below) to fund these projects once the study is complete.
Part of our work in 2022 will be to ensure that funding is maintained and to keep our
congressional delegation informed about the work being done as key milestones are hit.
This grant will result in a blueprint that will we use to seek federal funding to support the
city’s improvements.
4. Defense Community Infrastructure Program (DCIP)
In 2018, Congress included the creation of the Defense Community Infrastructure Program
(DCIP) in the Defense Authorization bill with an initial authorization of $100 million for the
program. This program was the result of a multiple-year effort led by the City of Lakewood
and pushed by former Rep. Denny Heck with the support of Rep. Derek Kilmer and Rep.
Adam Smith. This new federal initiative created a new funding program for the Department
of Defense to help cities construct infrastructure that serves military installations.
Congress failed to fund the program in 2018 but we were able to get $50 million
appropriated in 2019 to establish the program and support the first round of grants. As
2020 unfolded, the OLDCC established the DCIP with an emphasis on projects that enhanced
military quality of life and de-emphasized infrastructure.
In 2021, we increased the amount of funding available to $60 million and successfully re-
prioritized infrastructure in the grant awards. This is key to our strategy of using the DCIP
to fund the infrastructure improvements identified by the OEA-funded PSNS Commuter
Workforce Study.
In 2022, funding the DCIP and ensuring that the program adequately prioritizes the types of
projects we envision needing in Bremerton is our top priority.
5. Transportation and Infrastructure Programs and Funding
As this scope is being drafted, Congress is in the final negotiations for an infrastructure deal.
The outcome of which will have tremendous consequence for Bremerton. At minimum, a
deal will provide an infusion of funding into traditional state and regional programs like
WSDOT and PSRC, providing opportunities for City projects to be considered.
However, several proposals in both House and Senate bills have new programs identified
for competitive grant funding (see below for a short list). Influencing how these programs
are developed by the agencies and ensuring they are set up in ways that make Bremerton’s
projects accessible and competitive will be a top priority. We don’t know as of this writing
which of these programs will make it through the legislative process, but each will provide
an opportunity for the City to position projects.
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Potential New Programs in 2022 (Subject to Congressional Enactment in 2021):
Community Transportation Investment Grant Program
Climate Innovation Grant Program
Transportation Connectivity Grant Program
Culvert Replacement Program
Broadband Development and Deployment
Electric Vehicle Infrastructure
6. Transportation and Infrastructure Policy Changes
As this scope of services is being drafted, Congress is in the final negotiations for an
infrastructure deal. The City has been supporting significant policy changes for federal
transportation spending and the outcome of these will need to be reassessed and re-
engaged if we’re not successful in 2021.
Medium Sized City Set Aside
Most federal infrastructure spending has a rural set aside which is critical for
smaller communities to be able to access federal dollars. There is no comparable
medium sized city set aside. Instead, medium sized cities compete against large
cities like Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles for limited resources. Medium sized
cities need a defined pool to compete within so as to make federal funds available in
a way that simply aren’t in their current status.
As Congress debates a new Transportation bill and considers the continued funding
of the RAISE Program (formerly known as the BUILD or TIGER discretionary grant
program), the City should lobby for a portion of federal infrastructure dollars be set
aside for medium sized cities. This policy position is consistent with the work the
city has been doing for years and is supported broadly by similar sized cities
throughout the state. As for proof as to why this set aside is needed, since the RAISE
program was created in 2009, not a single award has been made to a city in
Washington State between 10,000 and 75,000 in population size.
The RAISE program is the key federal funding program for local infrastructure
investments. Yet, all cities compete within the same funding pool, putting smaller
and medium sized cities at a competitive disadvantage for funding even as the
transit and commuter challenges are similar to those of larger communities. There
are efforts in Congress to create funding tiers so that cities of similar size can
compete for federal funds. The City should support efforts to designate a portion of
federal transportation spending for cities between 10,000 and 75,000 in population
size.
In 2021, we were able to get a medium sized city set aside in two of the new
transportation grant programs in the House-passed transportation bill. This was the
first time that Congress recognized the problem and designed a funding strategy to
address it. In 2022, we will need to increase the set asides in transportation
programs so that Bremerton has competitive access moving forward.
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Funding for MPOs
Federal transportation funding is generally distributed in Washington State via the
State Department of Transportation (DOT) or via a Metropolitan Planning
Organization (MPO) like the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC). In the most
recent Transportation bill from 2016, Congress changed the allocation of funds from
50%-50% between DOTs and MPOs to 55%-45% with MPOs gaining the larger
amount.
As Congress continues to implement the next Transportation bill, the City should
support increasing this proportion to the benefit of MPOs and oppose any attempt
to preclude the formation of new MPOs to meet regional needs. This should dovetail
with the City’s work at PSRC to more highly value cities with military installations in
competitive funding pools.
In 2021, the House-passed transportation bill changed the allocation formula to 60-
40 with MPOs getting the larger portion. The Senate bill made no changes to the
allocation formula and the bill is awaiting negotiations as this scope is being
proposed.
7. Defense Policy / Issues
As the host community to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Naval Base Kitsap, the City is
keenly impacted by Defense policies. The following issues comprise a key portion of our
2022 federal policy agenda.
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)
The City should support a BRAC round to focus limited federal funding on critical
military infrastructure needs. The City urges Congress to invest in the Office of
Economic Adjustment with any BRAC round. While the prospects of a BRAC round
over the next few years are unlikely, the DOD and our congressional delegation are
supportive, including most importantly, Rep. Adam Smith who is the Chairman of
the House Armed Services Committee with jurisdiction over this issue. A BRAC
round is the best way to direct military construction and infrastructure funding to
the bases and locations that need the most investments.
More, for bases that see an increase in missions or personnel following a BRAC,
Congress should consider creating a new funding support to address deficiencies on
those installations.
Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC)
As Congress moves forward with annual Defense Authorization bills, preserving
funding for the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC) – formerly
known as the Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) – at the Pentagon is a key
priority for the City. OLDCC funds economic studies and planning for cities that
experience reductions or growth in their military installations. We expect OLDCC to
continue to be a critical partner to the City for many of our shared initiatives in
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support of PSNS and NBK. Funding for OLDCC is under persistent threat and the City
should lobby for stable funding for OLDCC in recognition of its strong role in the
economic growth in our region.
Association of Defense Communities Engagement
The Association of Defense Communities (ADC) has the potential to become a key
ally for the City. The ADC’s support for the Defense Infrastructure Program was key
to enactment in 2018. Additionally, its steadfast support for the Office of Local
Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC) has been critically important for the
viability of that agency.
The City should look for ways to deepen its relationship with ADC and consider
participating in ADC conferences with the eventual goal of seeking committee and
board positions with ADC.
Support for Military Construction Projects at PSNS and NBK
As the City develops its relationships with base leadership at PSNS and NBK, it
should lobby for projects at both installations that the bases are seeking funding
support for within the congressional spending bills.
Carefully watch shipyard budgets for PSNS and advise City about impacts
The Navy has identified a multi-billion infrastructure needs at its major shipyards
but has failed to adequately fund the need to date. Watching this budget and
analyzing its impacts on the City of Bremerton will be a key priority for the Johnston
Group in 2022 and the years ahead.
8. Community and Economic Development Programs
Continuation of Earmark Authority
Congress has reinstated earmarking authority in 2021 and we want to support the
continued use of congressionally-directed spending in 2022 and beyond.
Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and the Home Investment
Partnership Program (HOME)
o The City of Bremerton uses Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
and Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funding to support
local initiatives that benefit the City’s vulnerable population. Funding in the
CDBG program increased by 30% in 2018 after falling to a decade low in
2017 and has been holding steady at that rate since then. The City should
support the CDBG and HOME program at the federal level and lobby for
increased funding that could be put to use in Bremerton immediately.
The CDBG program was used by Congress extensively as a distribution
mechanism for federal relief funding for the COVID pandemic. However,
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those program increases in the CDBG budget are temporary and responsive
to the pandemic – not permanent increases in the program.
Support Municipal Tax Policy
Congress has adjusted various tax policies that have a direct impact on the City of
Bremerton, including the New Markets Tax Credit, the Affordable Housing Tax
Credit and the State and Local Sales Tax Deduction. These policies, in addition to
policies that would negatively value municipal bonding authority, remain under
debate in Congress in 2021 and are expected to continue in 2022. The City should
advocate for strong municipal authority and tax credits that facilitate economic
development and meet our region’s critical housing needs.
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