PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commissioners have asked the state auditor if they botched the process of awarding a pair of infrastructure grants to city and port governments in May.
Commissioners voted 3-0 Monday to send a letter asking state officials to determine whether they appropriately modified their budget to award a $1 million grant to the Port Angeles and a $285,952 grant to the city of Port Angeles.
County Treasurer Selinda Barkhuis rejected the warrants because the board did not hold a public hearing or secure written contracts with the port or the city before approving them.
Commissioners have voided the checks and reset a grant application process that will involve recommendations from the Opportunity Fund advisory board.
Board Chairman Jim McEntire floated the idea of a “special compliance review audit” after speaking with other elected officials and a ranking member of the state Auditor’s Office.
McEntire said there is “enough confusion and question in our citizens’ minds” to justify a third-party review.
He said he hoped for a “written communication back from the state’s Auditor’s Office to this board telling us what we did right or what we did wrong.”
“If there’s things that we need to fix, we can hear that from the state auditor and fix them,” McEntire said.
“If there’s things that we don’t need to fix and keep doing, we can do that as well.”
McEntire said he would invite County Auditor Shoona Riggs to sign onto the letter.
Riggs declined, saying she did not object to the audit but did not believe it was necessary for her to sign the letter.
“Right now, we’re operating under the condition we did something wrong,” Commissioner Mike Chapman said.
County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols said he would welcome the feedback from state officials.
Nichols issued a 16-page legal memorandum in June that concluded the commissioners modified the budget appropriately and that the treasurer had a duty to disperse the funds.
Barkhuis was not available for comment Monday.
Port officials plan to use the money to complete a building that will house the Composite Recycling Technology Center in west Port Angeles.
The city would use its grant on the second phase of the waterfront improvement project, which is currently under construction.
“They don’t want to demobilize,” County Administrator Jim Jones told commissioners.
“The city is in a hurry. The port isn’t in as big a hurry.”
City officials will pitch the waterfront project at the Opportunity Fund board meeting Thursday.
Commissioners are expected to hold a public hearing before approving either grant.
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
