Sept. 22, 2000: Hanford Monument may get grant money

Hanford Monument may get grant money

This story was published Sept. 22, 2000

By Annette Cary
Herald staff writer

A $250,000 grant may be available to help determine the location of a visitors center and do related economic development work for the Hanford Reach National Monument, but the Tri-Cities needs to act quickly.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., added the money to a Senate spending bill as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee several days ago.

Now the Tri-City area needs a nonprofit corporation with a 501(c)(3) taxation designation willing to administer the grant. The Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau, a natural choice, is ineligible. It's a 501(c)(6) nonprofit corporation, the taxation designation used for agencies such as chambers of commerce.

That left bureau president Kris Watkins scrambling Thursday to find an administrative partner for the grant by today or risk losing the money.

Thursday evening, Watkins said two charitable organizations were prepared to administer the grant money. Although she didn't name them, the Benton Franklin Volunteer Center confirmed it was one of them.

Watkins said both would do a good job, and she'll be discussing the choices with the bureau's board of directors and Murray's office before a decision is made.

The grant would be used to coordinate an analysis of the new economic development opportunities created by establishing the Reach as a national monument in June. That will include looking at tourism, community impacts and recreational access.

It also will include considering factors such as geology and wildlife there, Watkins said.

"We want to maximize use, but we want to keep it ... a beautiful, pristine area," she said.

Grant money also would cover an analysis of the best place for a visitors center for the Reach - an analysis that would be done in conjunction with the agency that manages the Reach, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Murray's office also has stipulated that the study will seek advice of all area stakeholders.

"We need to make sure all the stakeholders are well represented," Watkins said. "Several sites have been brought to our attention."

Most likely, a group will be formed that includes the Tri-Cities, West Richland, Benton and Franklin counties and possibly others. The group then will pick a professional consultant to recommend the best spot for a visitors center.

"You need to take the politics out of the decision-making and decide where's the best site for the region," Watkins said.

A similar process is being used to develop the Sacagawea Heritage Trail, a 25-mile loop trail that crosses several jurisdictions through the Tri-Cities. It's to be built as part of the 2003 bicentennial celebration of the Lewis and Clark expedition.