PORT ANGELES — Clallam County will help fund a restroom expansion at Serenity House of Clallam County if the housing nonprofit is unable to bridge a funding gap, the three commissioners said.
The commitment from the county to provide a backstop to a $369,000 grant application will enable Serenity House to obtain a building permit from the City of Port Angeles and complete an expansion of its Port Angeles shelter this summer, agency Executive Director Sharron Maggard said.
“I’m hoping that if we’re able to start construction that maybe by June we will be close to occupancy, because the construction really isn’t that complicated,” Maggard told commissioners Monday.
Clallam County will close its COVID-19 Social Distancing Center, which marked a one-year anniversary Tuesday, as soon as the Serenity House expansion is finished.
The county is paying about $90,000 per month to operate the shelter in the Port of Port Angeles-owned 1010 building near William R. Fairchild International Airport.
“I’m trying to get us out of the Social Distancing Center as rapidly as we can,” Commissioner Randy Johnson said in a Monday work session.
The Social Distancing Center is averaging about 35 guests per night, Clallam County Health and Human Services Interim Director Kevin LoPiccolo said in an email.
About 50 people are sheltering at Serenity House, which has reduced its capacity to provide 6 feet of physical distance during the pandemic.
The two-story Serenity House expansion will nearly double the capacity of the 92-bed shelter at 2321 W. 18th St. The bunkhouse-style building will have 2,000 square feet of shelter space on each floor.
The 80-bed shelter expansion was scheduled to be competed in May. It was delayed because of city of Port Angeles permit requirements for restrooms with showers for guests.
“The city is in absolute support of the expansion of the shelter,” Port Angeles Community and Economic Development Director Allyson Brekke said in the commissioners’ work session.
“We just have to ensure during the building permit process that we’re meeting code.”
Brekke said the shelter’s occupancy had “greatly increased” since the original permit was issued.
The city, which follows International Building Code, would allow Serenity House to provide temporary restrooms in trailers outside the building while 10 new restrooms are constructed inside the existing shelter, Brekke said.
The existing shelter has seven restrooms with showers, toilets and sinks.
“We are certainly offering some flexibility in not requiring bathrooms in the extension, in the expansion,” Brekke said.
“We understand that there’s a cost to that, but it is just an idea that we have, certainly a better idea than us just saying no and that we have to wait for the improvement in the main building to occur prior to the occupancy of the expansion.”
Maggard said Serenity House did not have funds to provide temporary restrooms. They would cost about $80,000 per year, she said.
Serenity House submitted a $369,000 grant application to the state Housing Trust Fund on March 25 to fund the new restrooms, including $25,000 for their design, Maggard said.
The grant awards will be announced June 30.
“If I had the money to be building the restrooms right now, I would be building the restrooms right now,” Maggard told commissioners.
“We were tasked to go find money to build the restrooms, and the only way I could find that money was to write the Housing Trust Fund grant.”
Brekke said the city was prepared to issue a building permit for the shelter expansion as soon as Serenity House agrees to provide the requisite number of restrooms and fixtures.
Commissioner Mark Ozias, board chairman, said he would be inclined to use county money to fund the new restrooms if Serenity House is unable to secure grant funds.
“I don’t see any scenario under which that (expansion) isn’t the final need, if not the final goal,” Ozias said.
“Certainly, the need for more space and more expansive services and more supportive services existed before COVID and will exist after.”
Commissioners Bill Peach and Johnson said they, too, would be willing to use up to $300,000 in county funds to help Serenity House complete its shelter expansion.
“Every month that we have the Social Distancing Center open, 3 1/2 months will pay for what we’re talking about,” Johnson told Maggard.
“Since you’ve submitted that (grant application), we could be the backstop if in fact you do not get the grant. So that gives you the wherewithal to think about going ahead.”
Peach encouraged Maggard to keep the board appraised of changing project costs.
“I just raise my hand to the issue that I see additional costs, and our interest is to make sure this is executed in a timely matter,” Peach said.
Commissioners agreed to provide Serenity House with a letter of support for the Housing Trust Fund grant.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
