$900K Grant To Offset Pandemic Gas-Tax Losses In Washington Co.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, MN — Washington County is set to receive more than $900,000 to help replace some of the funding it lost because people were driving much less during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Metropolitan Council is distributing $20 million to seven counties and more than 80 cities throughout the Twin Cities metro. The grants will offset some of the projected gas-tax revenues that weren't collected since March 2020 with people commuting and traveling far less amid the pandemic.

Half-Day Wednesdays To Start Next Week At Stillwater High

The Met Council said the significant drop in driving in the region resulted in a loss of almost $21 million in funding for county state-aid highways in 2021, plus a loss of about $11.6 million in funding for municipal roadwork projects.

Officials said maintenance work, road-safety initiatives and other projects have been delayed over the past year due to a lack of funding.

“The cities and counties have no shortage of projects to use this funding on,” the Met Council said in a news release.

Washington County is set to receive a grant of $900,639.

Stillwater Schools Could Drop Mask Mandate By Mid-February

Five cities in the county are also set to receive funding, with $248,393 going to Woodbury; $132,934 to Cottage Grove; $86,934 to Oakdale; $66,637 to Stillwater; and $28,066 to Mahtomedi.

The Met Council voted to distribute $20 million in federal funding from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplement Appropriations Act to all seven metro counties and 81 cities with a population of more than 5,000 people.

The grants will be distributed based on the state-aid formula that is used to allocate gas-tax revenues.

Washington County Leader Retires After Decades Of Service

Counties are set to receive almost $10.3 million of that funding, with cities to split just over $9.8 million.