PORT ANGELES — Clallam County Treasurer Selinda Barkhuis is holding firm to her stand on Opportunity Funds grants.
For at least the third time — and second by way of her attorney, David Alvarez — Barkhuis on Thursday said she would refuse to release $1.3 million in Opportunity Fund grants until the commissioners approve them as debatable budget emergencies with attendant contracts approved by Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols — or include them as part of the 2016 budget.
Emailed letter
“The treasurer will not honor the warrants for the city and Port of Port Angeles” unless one of those conditions is met, Alvarez, the Jefferson County prosecuting attorney assigned by Clallam County to represent her, said in a two-page letter emailed Thursday to commissioners and obtained by the Peninsula Daily News.
“Only then will the proposed disbursements be ‘according to law’ as required by [Revised Code of Washington] 36.29.020,” the letter said.
The text of the letter and accompanying documents can be read online at: http://issuu.com/peninsuladailynews/docs/820barkhuisresponse?e=1313114/14907806.
The second-term treasurer said that if commissioners continue to balk, only a Superior Court judge’s order would make her release the funds.
“They could have gone through this process months ago,” Barkhuis said. “It’s their deal. They need to make up their minds how they want to proceed.”
Said Alvarez: “It’s up to the county commissioners if they want to issue the warrants. The ball is really in their court.”
Commissioners
Board of Commissioners Chairman Jim McEntire said Friday that commissioners will acknowledge receiving the correspondence at a work session at 9 a.m. Monday at the county courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St. in Port Angeles, and may discuss it again at their regular Tuesday meeting.
He said an executive session has been set for 10 a.m. Tuesday under the “potential litigation” public-meeting exemption if commissioners want to discuss “legal strategy.”
Commissioner Mike Chapman, who agrees with Barkhuis “100 percent,” said he will not participate in an executive session even if McEntire and Commissioner Bill Peach decide it’s needed.
“That needs to be done in full view of the public,” he said. “This is not litigation in which the county is being harmed. This is trying to force an elected official to do something that she doesn’t want to do.
“I’ll tell you who’s being harmed,” he continued. “The taxpayer is being harmed that we are not going through the normal budget process.”
McEntire, who was out of town Friday, said he had not yet read Alvarez’s correspondence.
He said he would not comment on whether he would change his mind and go down the road demanded again by Barkhuis.
“As I’ve always said, this is about keeping our eye on the big picture,” McEntire said.
“We have two projects that have been fully vetted, fully discussed and are worthy of expenditures from the Opportunity Fund. That’s the central fact.”
Peach did not immediately return calls requesting comment Friday.
Alvarez was responding to a five-page Aug. 13 letter from Nichols asking Barkhuis to honor the infrastructure grants of $1 million to the Port of Port Angeles and $285,952 to the city of Port Angeles that were approved by commissioners.
The commissioners rewound the grant approval process after Barkhuis raised objections in May.
They agreed to hold hearings and sign memos of understanding with the city and port, attempts at compromise that Barkhuis said were insufficient, then approved the grants for a second time Aug. 11.
Composites center
The port’s grant would complete construction of a building intended to house a Composite Recycling Technology Center in which Peninsula College is participating.
The city’s grant would complete landscaping and other features of Phase 2 of an ongoing waterfront improvement project.
The grant funding to the city and port originally was intended for the Carlborg sewer project, which has been delayed until 2016 because of permitting issues.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
