Non-profits request $312,320 from city

by Richard Uhlhorn

The city invited other non-profit organizations who didn’t make the initial cut for Community Benefit Funds to present their needs for 2025. With benefit funds of $111,000 already allocated for the 2025 budget, these requests, if approved, would be funded out of either the Housing Fund or Tourism dollars.

Currently the city’s housing fund only has $170,000 and the Tourism Fund is at $5 million plus.

When added up, the requests equal $312,320 as follows:

• Chelan Valley Feral Cat Project                                                                               $  10,000
• Chelan Valley Housing Trust                                                                                     $100,000
• Heritage Heights                                                                                                            $  16,400
• Lake Chelan School District                                                                                     $  30,000
• Lake Chelan Habitat for Humanity                                                                        $105,920
• 911 Glass Rescue                                                                                                          $  50,000

Jackie Tupling said that Chelan has received only $15,000 from the State for housing.

Erin McCardle stated that those funds could also be used for capital projects. “It takes a very long time to fill that fund back up. That’s something to think about.”

Tupling stated that the Lookout provides $1,000 for every new home sold to the city’s housing fund.

Feral Cat Project:
April Leaf and Wendy Isenhart presented the case for continued funding for the feral cat project. The project has been successful in trapping feral cats and Leaf reported that 286 cats have been helped.

The $10,000 requested is $5,000 more than the city granted the project for 2024. The project has received $7,496 in private donations. This year $12,000 has been spent on veterinarian services and another $320 on administrative services. It costs $450 to neuter a male cat and $200 to spay a female cat.

Communications Director Chad Coltman asked how many cats have been helped specifically in Chelan and whether or not Chelan County provides any funding for the project. Leaf replied that the cats are trapped throughout the valley and that the county doesn’t provide any funding.

Housing Trust:
Executive Director Scott Meyers of the Chelan Valley Housing Trust stated that the city has provided funding in the past and he wants to see those grants continue. “Our goal is to build homes for wage earners,” said Meyers

The request for $100,000 would help support the organization’s operational costs, landscaping costs at Harbor Meadows and $20,000 for its operations budget.

Heritage Heights:
Heritage Heights requested $16,400 from the city for WiFi connections, telephone system, purchase of computers and printers and three new wireless access points in the facility.

Melissa Robbins explained that the non-profit has an all-volunteer board. “The city has been a contributor to this project in the past. Our building is old and has bad WiFi. We have a lot of things that are not normal,” said Robbins.

Lake Chelan School District:
Superintendent Brad Wilson and the district are requesting $30,000 to improve ballfields and gymnasium surfaces. Wilson remarked that the softball and baseball fields are used for tournaments before Memorial Day and after Labor Day and provide a number of overnight stays by parents and teams.

These programs denote overnight stays; Chelan youth wrestling, youth fastpitch; Kahiau Volleyball Club; baseball; basketball; Babe Ruth baseball and Bachfest. Other programs supported by the district include FC youth soccer; Valleywinds Musicians; Adult pickleball and tennis and Thrive.

Mayor McCardle asked if this request was a one-off request or a recurring one. Wilson replied that if they can get the community fields in shape it would result in a lot less requests from the city. She asked about the gymnasiums and Wilson said the funding would help pay for resurfacing of the Community Gym.

Habitat for Humanity:
Michelle Fanton, executive director of Habitat, is requesting $105,920 to continue providing homes for families who qualify. “We have served 17 families with homes. These homes fall within 30% of their incomes,” she said. All prospective families must be from Chelan.

The organization is highly dependent on volunteer labor and the funding is also provided by the Habitat store. City funding would help Habitat keep neighborhoods clean and revitalized, expand homeowner education, staff time to develop other sources of funding, help pay for infrastructure reimbursements to offset the costs of development at Pumpkin Lane in Chelan.

911 Glass Rescue:
Julie McCoy said the $50,000 requested would help the glass recycling get back into operation by early 2025.

Mayor McCardle stated that the request might have to wait until the 2026 budget process. McCoy stated that the organization needed to have it considered in the 2025 budget so the program could move forward.

Chelan lost its glass recycling when the recycling center burned down.

Requests:
All of the above requests will be discussed and decided on prior to the final budget hearings.