The vacant Markwardt Brothers Garage in Chiloquin. The city will get $500,000 from EPA to clean the site up of hazardous auto chemicals. (Photo courtesy of the city of Chiloquin)
A new community center and “climate resilience hub” in the southern Oregon town of Chiloquin should be months underway right now. Instead, city officials are wondering if they’ll ever see the $16 million they were promised in December from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to build it.
The community center and hub — meant for dual use as offices for city officials, community events and classes and as a disaster shelter for residents, with a commercial kitchen and medical facilities — is one of 10 projects in Oregon slated to receive a combined $88 million in EPA grants meant to help communities facing economic hardship prepare and respond to climate change. Instead, the projects have been suspended since early March under orders from EPA’s director, Lee Zeldin…