PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commissioners today will revisit a request from the Quillayute Valley Park and Recreation District to forgive the $205,710 it owes on a 2004 loan.
The district runs the Forks Athletic and Aquatic Club at 91 Maple Ave., near the Forks Community Center.
The three commissioners will discuss the request from the district in their 9 a.m. work session in Room 160 of the county courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.
The district was awarded a $160,000 grant and a no-interest loan of $225,000 in September 2004 to purchase 4 acres of U.S. Forest Service land with four rental homes on it and equipment to support the community pool and recreation center.
The district made a $6,334 payment last year, as its board members asked for a deferral of outstanding payments.
“Our finances have taken a significant downturn since that time, due to the loss of a number of jobs from mill closures, as well as a reduction in staff at a number of businesses and agencies,” district Chairwoman Nedra Reed, a former Forks mayor, wrote in a Jan. 11 letter to commissioners.
Economic conditions created vacancies in the rental homes, which had to be repaired after a sewer system failure, Reed said.
As a result of the vacancies and the payment to the county, the park district was unable to make its insurance payment in full last year.
“We have negotiated an agreement with our facility operator to pay a portion of the insurance on the area of the building which they occupy; this however, will not cover the remaining buildings and the houses,” said Reed.
“Additionally, we are desperately trying to keep the community center open to the public since it was built for their use, but it does not generate enough revenue to fully cover the expenses.”
Voters approved a $2.9 million bond issue to build the facility in 2005, but a levy to fund its operations was rejected the next year.
The lap pool closed in 2007 but has since reopened.
The $225,000 loan came from the county’s Opportunity Fund, an eight-tenths-of-1-percent sales tax that supports public infrastructure projects that foster economic development in rural areas.
“It is our understanding that the Board of Commissioners is currently working on a reorganization plan for the Opportunity Fund, and since ours is the only outstanding loan, we would appreciate your consideration of our request,” Reed wrote.
“We are cognizant that this action on our part as well as any decision you may make may have political repercussions, and for that we apologize.”
Freshman Commissioner Bill Peach of Forks is a former board member of the Quillayute Valley Park and Recreation District.
He could not be reached for comment Monday.
County Treasurer Selinda Barkhuis has urged commissioners to make the district repay the loan or deed the property to the Peninsula Housing Authority.
In November 2013, the state Attorney General issued an opinion saying that the district could not use timber tax revenue to pay back the loan.
To date, Quillayute Valley Park and Recreation District has made three annual payments of $6,430 toward the loan, County Administrator Jim Jones said in a board memo.
State law gives the county the authority to compound and release the debt as long as the county’s interest is not prejudiced, Jones said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
