PORT ANGELES — For the second time in six weeks, Clallam County commissioners have approved spending authority for a $901,200 Opportunity Fund grant to the Peninsula Housing Authority.
If the grant is approved, the housing authority will use the funds for infrastructure in the first phase of the redevelopment of the Mount Angeles View neighborhood in Port Angeles.
The three commissioners approved the debatable budget emergency in a public hearing Tuesday, repeating an action they took Feb. 28.
“We’re doing so in an overabundance of caution,” board Chairman Mark Ozias said.
“The first time that we held this public hearing, the agenda that was posted online had some incorrect phrasing. While none of the materials associated with the agenda or that we had looked at previously were incorrect, since the agenda item was labeled incorrectly, we’re holding a second hearing today.”
The Feb. 28 meeting agenda indicated that the grant would be used for construction of a Boys & Girls Club. The Peninsula Daily News used the agenda item to lead a Feb. 26 advance of weekly government meetings.
While the Peninsula Housing Authority’s Mount Angeles View Phase 1 redevelopment project includes site preparation for a larger Port Angeles unit of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula, the Opportunity Fund grant would be used exclusively for infrastructure to support the expansion of the 18-acre family housing complex.
“Regardless of how the confusion occurred, we’ve been consistent in our application,” Kay Kassinger, Peninsula Housing Authority executive director, told commissioners.
The Opportunity Fund grant would be used for site preparation, grading, stormwater remediation, utilities serving, curb and gutter, sidewalks, water, sewer, power and communications infrastructure, Kassinger said.
The Opportunity Fund is a portion of state sales tax that supports infrastructure in rural areas.
The first phase of the Mount Angeles View project will replace 33 affordable housing units with 66 new units.
“This phased project will provide enhanced public facilities, which in turn will enrich a developing economy by supporting those families and the community members that are an important part of our economy,” said Terry Weed, chairman of the Peninsula Housing Authority board.
“Again, the board is in support of this housing development project because it will increase affordable housing opportunities through an improved public community facility.”
Future phases will increase the number of affordable housing units at Mount Angeles View from 100 to 232.
The Opportunity Fund Advisory Board unanimously recommended approval of the infrastructure grant, Chairman Alan Barnard said.
“We voted unanimously to approve it because it meets all of the criteria for the use of those funds, and it’s a darn good idea,” Barnard said.
“It solves a lot of things. It creates jobs. It provides opportunities for parents of children.”
The Peninsula Housing Authority will recycle materials from the 75-year-old buildings.
All but two of the 33 homes were built in 1942, Kassinger said.
“We will also be requesting proposals for people to relocate homes if they choose to do so,” Kassinger said at the hearing.
Families living in the old units have moved into other Peninsula Housing Authority properties in advance of the summer demolition.
The 63 new units will be occupied by the end of next year, Kassinger said in a recent interview.
In other board action from a 4½-hour meeting, commissioners approved an ordinance amending general park and fairgrounds rules and regulations.
Notably, drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles will be restricted in the county’s 26 parks unless operators get permission from the parks director and special permits.
The ordinance also establishes quiet hours for generators in campgrounds and expands and simplifies gate hours at Salt Creek and Dungeness recreation areas.
The new gate hours at Salt Creek and Dungeness will be from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. from October through April and from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. from May through September.
The code updates also name the new disc golf course on the Miller Peninsula the Rainshadow Disc Golf Course and a 1.2-acre donated piece of property near the west end of Lake Crescent the Eagle Point County Park.
Commissioners also approved revisions to financial policies and tabled action on a proposed public records policy to incorporate public comments received before and during the public hearing.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@ peninsuladailynews.com.
