Spokane faces challenges as federal grant for resilience hubs revoked

SPOKANE, Wash. — When extreme heat and wildfire smoke blanket the Inland Northwest, the City of Spokane wants to ensure residents without air conditioning have a safe place to go.

Libraries and community centers across Spokane make up what city officials call a resilience hub network designed to provide safe spaces during extreme heat, cold, and wildfire smoke. But last week, some of these facilities were unable to open their doors to residents who needed them.

The Northeast, MLK, and West Central community centers are three of the hubs in the network. However, they lack the proper infrastructure to filter air effectively or remain open during all hours when dangerous weather strikes.

“We had a situation where our community centers, the air quality was reading as poorly inside as it was outside. So that’s not a safe place for people to go,” said Erin Hut, with the City of Spokane.

A nearly $20 million federal grant awarded to Gonzaga University and the City of Spokane would have funded critical improvements to these five facilities. The Trump administration revoked the grant last year before the work could be completed.

The improvements would have included solar panels to keep facilities operational during public safety power shutoffs caused by wildfire risk, as well as enhanced air filtration systems.

“It would have gone towards solar panels to be able to keep those spaces active. In a situation like a public safety shut off where we have to turn off power because of wildfire risk,” Hut said.

Without the federal funding, the city must operate its resilience hub network with existing resources. City officials say they would be significantly further along in outfitting community centers with proper infrastructure if the grant had remained in place.

“We want to be able to provide better resources for folks. But it’s an unfortunate setback. We could be a lot further along the way. So we’re working still in close partnership with Gonzaga and other nonprofit partners, private sector partners, to hopefully be able to do this work,” Hut said.

For residents in need of a safe place during dangerous weather, the city recommends checking the 211 website for updated information about which facilities are currently open and their operating hours.