$56,000 grant would help finish Old Hotel remodel

OTHELLO — A $56,000 grant the Old Hotel Art Gallery is seeking from Washington state’s Heritage Capital Projects fund would allow the gallery to finish a remodel that began five years ago, according to Old Hotel manager Jenn Stevenson.

The Old Hotel is in fair to good position for the grant, but it’s a highly competitive process, Stevenson said. She is asking friends of the Old Hotel and other community members to write to their legislators to urge full funding for this year’s requests.

You may email Sen. Mark Schoesler at mark.schoesler@leg.wa.gov, Rep. Mary Dye at mary.dye@leg.wa.gov and Rep Joe Schmick at joe. schmick@leg.wa.gov.

This is a legislative grant that can be applied for at every biennium. Legislators set aside $10 million dollars, pending capital budget approval.

This year there are 35 applications on the list and just less than $9 million is being requested.

“We are number 24 on the list of 35,” Stevenson said. “There are about 20 projects within a 7-point spread. The project just above us is only 1/8 of a point more and asking for $750,000.”

Heritage Capital Projects funding is a 2:1 matching grant. Every $2 the project spends or receives from other funding sources is matched with $1.

“We have already spent over $102,000 in the last five years (the back timeline that is allowed) so almost all of our portion of the match has been completed,” Stevenson said.

Work completed includes exterior renovation including roof, gutters, siding, windows, new ductwork (no more asbestos), new plumbing with water heater, structural repairs, interior and exterior lighting, landscaping, drought-tolerant garden and more.

The $56,000 would cover is a new porch, stairs, sidewalks, ADA ramp, ADA parking pad and other needs to make our historic building ADA accessible.

“The rest of our match will be landscaping to repair all the damage the concrete work caused,” Stevenson said. “We plan to use a local, Othello contractor, local labor and local taxes to do the concrete work.”

If all 35 projects ask each of their communities to write letters to all the legislators about full funding, then it is more likely that the pressure will help all of the projects, Stevenson believes.

“The state capital budget is a mess due to other capital needs and issues right now,” Stevenson said. “It is highly likely that we will not be funded without community support.”

Stevenson noted that while $56,000 may be small in the scope of the capital budget, it is a huge amount to a small place like The Old Hotel Art Gallery.