The Dalles City Council has voted to send back a $1.6 million federal grant for the First Street Project because it will be faster and cheaper to do the work without it.  The money was awarded to the City and the Oregon Department of Transportation in 2009, and plans for the long-delayed project are now 95 percent complete.  But a finding that reconstruction of masonry walls between Union and Washington would be necessary carried with it the potential of delaying the project to 2026.  City staff found if the grant was sent back, it would cost the City $800,000 less to build the project and it would be done two years earlier.  The Oregon Department of Transportation, which had partnered with the City on the original application for the grant, confirmed it was willing to terminate the agreement.