The $20 million EPA grant announced this week for Benton Harbor will result in a wide range of resiliency programs in the community in the next three years.
The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission applied for the Inflation Reduction Act Community Change grant on behalf of the city and will be administering the funds. Senior planner Marcy Hamilton tells us the grant has broad aims.
“It has a lot to do with renewable energy and getting residents’ homes more energy efficient, and also doing workforce development is a big piece of it, getting job training to residents,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton says the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission will work with the city, the Benton Harbor Community Development Corporation, and non-profits like the Workforce Development Institute and Let Us Rest to provide job training, help residents make their homes energy efficient, and establish disaster relief centers. The Bobo Brazil Community Center will be used for that last goal as the planning commission has earmarked $2.6 million just for improvements at Bobo Brazil.
“Oftentimes, people in the city lose power or during events in the summer where it’s really hot out and people need a cooling center. This community center can serve as a gathering place for people in a community center.”
That $2.1 million is on top of a $1 million grant the city has already obtained for the community center. The plan is to also include electric vehicle charging stations there.
Hamilton says the Benton Harbor Community Development Corporation will turn a house into hub that serves as an accelerator for community electrification efforts, while apprenticeship programs to train residents in weatherization and green energy will be pursued.
All of this is being done in the next three years with the $20 million from the EPA, plus a $1 million match from the state. Benton Harbor was one of six Michigan communities selected for one of these grants as Washington pumps out $1.6 billion nationally through the Inflation Reduction Act Community Change program. Hamilton says Benton Harbor is receiving the maximum award the program allows.
