PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Opportunity Fund Board will re-hear a $285,952 grant application Thursday for the city’s ongoing waterfront park project.
But the board will wait, possibly until next week, to re-hear the Port of Port Angeles’ application for $1 million for infrastructure improvements to an unfinished building that would house the Composite Recycling Technology Center.
The meeting is at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in Room 208 of the North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center, 905 W. Ninth St.
After the Opportunity Fund board had recommended approval, Clallam County commissioners in May approved the $1.3 million in funding that was requested for the city and port projects.
But they decided to hold a public hearings on the requests after deciding to approve the allocations after Treasurer Selinda Barkhuis refused to issue the warrants releasing the money and demanded hearings, forcing the Opportunity Fund Board to reconsider its recommendations.
Opportunity Fund proceeds, administered by the county Economic Development Corp. (EDC), consist of sales tax revenue returned to the county by the state Department of Commerce.
The funds would be used at the waterfront park to improve access to the Port of Port Angeles’ Terminal 4, create event space and complete a portion of the Olympic Discovery Trail.
Alan Barnard, Opportunity Fund Board chairman, said Tuesday he saw no reason the board, which had voted unanimously for the application, would switch its vote absent new information.
“We need to proceed and finish the job so we can attract businesses and more tourism to downtown,” he said.
Jennifer Linde, EDC director of operations and finance, said Tuesday the port erred in titling its application for the funds “Project Title: Composite Recycling Technology Center.”
Linde said the title was not specific enough to the infrastructure improvements that are funded with Opportunity Fund grants.
Jennifer States, port director of business development, said she expected to submit a new application by today that will include new information on additional funding the port has received for the recycling technology center since the earlier application was submitted.
States said the new application will be titled “Public Infrastructure Investment for Economic Development Facilities at Composite Manufacturing Campus.”
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
