PORT ANGELES — Clallam County has obligated all but $1,030,763 of the $15,020,640 in federal American Rescue Plan funds it received in May 2021, County Chief Financial Officer Mark Lane told the county commissioners.
“As part of the 2024 budget process, staff will present several possible of allocating remaining ARPA funds to support non-recurring capital outlays within the general fund and public works,” according to a staff memo for the Monday meeting.
The county’s total committed ARPA funding includes $12,907,919 formally obligated as of the end of September and $1,083,206 informally earmarked based upon prior commissioner discussions or were formally approved and obligated in October, according to a staff memo.
Lane said the committed but not formally obligated funds include $500,000 for infrastructure support for Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County’s new affordable and workforce housing project in Sequim.
The organization broke ground on the Brownfield Road project on July 5. It will develop more than 50 affordable homes.
“We’re still working with Habitat to get some additional information that the commissioners had requested. So continuing to work with (Executive Director) Colleen Robinson to gain that additional information,” he said.
The second project is the Bullman Beach project to repair the failed Group A water system. Lane said the commissioners had indicated support for $160,000.
The county sought requests for proposals in April for design and construction of a bag filtration water treatment plant for the Bullman Beach water system similar to the existing system at Camp David Jr.
The system has had a red or yellow operating permit since 2007. In October 2020, a court appointed the county as the receiver for it and required the county to bring it into compliance with state law.
The system serves eight full-time and 12 part-time residential connections and two non-residential connections and includes two 6,000-gallon storage tanks.
The third and fourth are $209,488 for recruitment incentives in the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and $212,469 for a second group of recruitment incentives in the prosecuting attorney’s office, health and human services nurses and juvenile corrections deputies, Lane said.
In September 2022, the commissioners approved spending up to $600,000 for hiring and retention bonuses for corrections and patrol deputies after then-Sheriff Bill Benedict said he was short nine positions or 30 percent of his staff. The program was expanded in March 2023 to include prosecuting attorneys, health and human services nurses and juvenile corrections deputies.
“That makes up the $1,082,000 roughly of placeholder funding that we are continuing to work down the path of placing those monies.
“So, once you deduct that, that leaves an uncommitted ARPA funds of $1,030,763,” Lane said.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at brian.gawley@peninsuladailynews.com.
