DATE: TO: FROM: RE: PEBCJEE By Celincilr?xgc' lierbold i if: Elli? October 18, 2017 Councilmember Herbold ., 5 Council Chris Gregorich, Director, Office of Intergovernmental Relations Leslie Pollner, Federal Lobbyist, Holland Knight Federal Funding Situation for Center City Streetcar We are aware that during budget deliberations some council members expressed a desire to potentially redirect the $50 million Federal Transit Administration Small Starts grant for the Center City Streetcar to another transportation project. We are concerned that should council action delay the project to the degree that it becomes ineligible for the Small Starts grant, there could be serious implications for the City of Seattle as outlined below. Negative impact to future grants and congressional support: Withdrawing support at this point could damage the City?s credibility with the Federal Transit Administration, jeopardizing our other projects in the queue (including Madison BRT and Roosevelt Rapid Ride) and putting future projects at risk. Our federal delegation has long championed this project as a federal priority on behalf of the City of Seattle. They have spent considerable time securing this funding; we would be putting them in a difficult place if the project becomes ineligible for funding due to legislative action at the local level. Challenging current federal funding context: Due to the current Administration?s strong lack of support for transit projects, any project that appeared to be in disarray to the point of returning money, could potentially affect the FTA Capital Investment Grant program nationally. This program has already been targeted for cuts by the Administration. Not possible to reallocate Small Starts funding to other City projects: The Small Starts program has an extremely rigorous and rigid application process. Funding allocated through the Small Starts program that is not utilized by Center City Streetcar will go back to the federal government and will likely be distributed to other Small Starts projects across the country that are next in line. The example of Providence, RI is not applicable to the current situation because that was a much smaller and more flexible type of grant (a TIGER grant versus a Small Starts grant requiring congressional approval). Further, during the Obama administration, Providence worked closely with a transit-friendly USDOT to repurpose their $17 million grant; those conditions have changed dramatically. We are following up with your office to answer any questions you may have about this situation. Thank you for your consideration of our concerns.