Rep. Chu Secures $1.8 Million in Federal Funds for Pasadena – Pasadena Now

At Monday’s joint meeting of the Pasadena City Council and the Pasadena Board of Education, Congresswoman Judy Chu said the City would soon receive funds for two projects.

“I’m thrilled to report that the City of Pasadena will soon be receiving a total of over $1.8 million in direct federal funding to support two important projects in the community,” said Chu, who joined the meeting virtually from Washington.

The funds will be used for a Pasadena facility for job creation and a Pasadena water treatment project.

Chu was able to secure this federal funding by submitting two of the City’s project proposals as part of her community project funding request for the fiscal year 2024 Congressional appropriations process.

Ten years ago these types of funding proposals were known as earmarks, but after a series of reforms they are now called community project funding requests that each Congress member can submit on behalf of their communities.

The City will receive $850,000 in federal dollars for the jobs project. The money will be used to establish a new local facility that will provide members of our pathways, professional technical healthcare and skilled trades professions and vocations.

For the water treatment project, the City will receive $959,752 to construct a new groundwater treatment facility. This facility will play a critical role in Pasadena’s drinking water system by serving about a quarter of the city’s water demand.

This treatment facility will also remove contaminants in the city’s drinking water, improving water quality for surrounding communities that share the groundwater basin as an essential source of water supply.

Mayor Victor Gordo has long talked about a local jobs program.

“One of the priorities that is facing the District and really society in general is giving pathways of opportunity to be successful to not just young people, but people of all ages,” Gordo said.

“Over the course of the last year or so, the School District, Pasadena Unified School District and Pasadena City College joined by the trades have engaged in discussions on how we transform school sites in partnership with Pasadena City College and increase those opportunities for people in our community.”