PORT TOWNSEND — After weeks of conversations about how much to invest in the homeless encampment off Mill Road, the Board of Jefferson County Commissioners return to the table today to talk about a critical point: site control.
Since last fall, the Olympic Community Action Programs (OlyCAP) have managed the encampment, naming it the Caswell-Brown Village after two local residents.
John Caswell, 62, was homeless and died during the extreme heat wave in late June. Victoria Brown, 23, was found dead outside her trailer at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds homeless encampment four days after Christmas 2020.
OlyCAP, in its efforts to provide shelter and services to prevent such suffering and death, has collaborated with Jefferson County to establish the village.
At first it was considered an emergency measure; the commissioners allocated $602,000 to purchase the land for it. That was labeled phase I of the Caswell-Brown project.
This spring, Cherish Cronmiller and Kathy Morgan of OlyCAP are seeking to expand and improve the village, adding septic, water and electrical service to make it permanent supported housing for as many as 50 people. Those facilities comprise phase II-A, while future phases II-B and III would add further improvements.
In order to apply for state funding for the additions — which will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars — OlyCAP must show it has site control, Cronmiller has explained.
In commissioners’ meetings over the past three weeks, Cronmiller has outlined plans, costs and potential ways to move forward.
The county could give site control to OlyCAP by selling the Caswell-Brown Village land to the agency — and then pouring the proceeds back into the expansion project, Cronmiller has said.
The commissioners focused on this idea in their meeting last Monday. With county Community Development Director Brent Butler, they talked about the possibility of selling the property to OlyCAP while keeping a small parcel of the land for commercial development along state Highway 20.
County Administrator Mark McCauley was away last week, so county Public Works Director Monte Reinders also partook in the conversation.
Besides the ongoing and future costs of the Caswell-Brown Village, the commissioners and county staffers discussed zoning questions, the issue of sewer service at the site, and leasing the land to OlyCAP instead of selling it.
“This is a big, thorny topic,” Commissioner Greg Brotherton said.
He and the commissioners opted to wait a week and put it on today’s agenda for possible action, with McCauley on hand.
The topic is set to be discussed after 2:10 p.m. today. People can participate in person at the Jefferson County Courthouse, 1820 Jefferson St., in Port Townsend or virtually at https://zoom.us/j/93777841705. To view the meeting live go to www.co.jefferson.wa.us and follow the links under “Quick Links: Videos of Meetings-Streaming Live.” To listen only, call 1-253-215-8782 and enter access code 937-7784-1705#.
In recent weeks, Commissioners Heidi Eisenhour, Kate Dean and Brotherton have questioned the county administrator about how much federal American Rescue Plan Act money can be invested in various county projects, ranging from affordable housing to broadband service. McCauley has said the funding allocations for such projects are not yet set in concrete.
Earlier this month, the commissioners allocated $500,000 toward basic improvements to the Caswell-Brown Village site. That was in addition to some $1 million in county funds allocated last year for the land purchase, the establishment of the village and relocation of homeless people who had been camping at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.
Much more is needed, Cronmiller has reminded the commissioners. The village’s operating costs — including OlyCAP staff and administrative time, meals purchased from Jefferson Healthcare, portable toilets, fencing rental, garbage disposal, recycling, water tanks and a water trailer — total $36,474 per month.
In their report during the March 28 county commissioners’ meeting, Cronmiller and Morgan said 19 adults and one child were living at the encampment. Phase II-A, at a cost of $874,399, according to OlyCAP’s report, would cover basic facilities toward expanding that number to a maximum of 50. There is a high demand for space at the village, the two OlyCAP staffers said.
Brotherton, who is on the OlyCAP board of directors, said this past Monday that the commissioners are going into today’s meeting with an understanding of the site-control issue.
He added that he is committed to the Caswell-Brown project.
“I’ve been wearing my heart on my sleeve,” he said.
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Jefferson County Senior Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz @peninsuladailynews.com.
