City Of Chehalis

The City of Chehalis, a U.S. local government entity in Chehalis, Washington, acts as a prime recipient of federal grants focused on airport infrastructure, emergency response capacity, and disaster recovery — representing 79% of its recent federal award footprint and placing it outside the competitive contractor market. The city has not won federal contracts as a prime and does not sit on federal contract vehicles; its federal relationships are exclusively grant-based.

Chehalis's grant portfolio centers on three capability areas grounded in its municipal operations: airport capital development and planning, firefighter equipment and training, and disaster mitigation and infrastructure repair. On the airport front, the city has received multiple Federal Aviation Administration grants under the Airport Infrastructure Grants program (CFDA 20.117) and Airport Improvement Program (CFDA 20.106). Recent examples include a $104,129.47 project grant awarded August 12, 2026 to acquire and install an electrical emergency generator at Chehalis-Centralia Airport (ultimate completion August 11, 2030); a $214,583.16 grant also awarded August 12, 2026 for cultural resource surveys supporting two phases of airport development, including construction of a 1,500-foot southwest hangar taxilane and a 235,000 square yard northeast development area (completion August 11, 2030); a $166,667.33 project grant from July 2023 funding approximately 33% of an airport master plan update (completion July 11, 2027); and a $333,333.33 formula grant from May 2023 covering 67% of the master plan and layout update project (completion May 20, 2027). The city also received a $994,653 cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Immediate Office of the Secretary under the Asset Concessions and Innovative Finance Assistance program (CFDA 20.945) awarded January 3, 2025 to establish the Chehalis Hub for Aviation Innovation and Sustainable Energy, with deliverables including an asset concession report and quarterly reports (completion January 2, 2028). On emergency response, Chehalis was awarded $202,933 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (CFDA 97.044) on July 30, 2024 for equipment acquisition, firefighter training, and health and wellness initiatives (completion July 29, 2026). The city also received an American Rescue Plan Act economic relief grant from the FAA on November 2, 2021 supporting airport operations and COVID-19 pandemic response costs.

Customer concentration is highly concentrated among two agencies accounting for 94% of recent awards. The Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration has placed 13 awards; the Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration Northwest Mountain Region has placed 12 awards; the Federal Emergency Management Agency Headquarters Financial Assistance Awards has placed 3 awards. The remaining awards come from FEMA (2 awards) and the Environmental Protection Agency (1 award). In its sub-recipient role, Chehalis receives grant pass-throughs from the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Washington State Military Department for infrastructure repair and disaster mitigation work, including stream bank stabilization, bridge replacement, and road reconstruction following severe storms, flooding, and landslides. Activity has been episodic: 3 awards in 2021, 4 in 2023, 6 in 2024, 3 in 2025, and 2 in 2026, with combined dollars obligated across all awards totaling $52.4 million.