PORT TOWNSEND — Federal relief dollars are still coming in, as are requests for where to spend them, and Jefferson County is expecting to have more than $2 million to spend in the next year.
The Board of Jefferson County Commissioners voted Monday to allocate $1.5 million of the remaining $2.4 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds toward the Port Hadlock sewer project with the remaining funds to be made available to organizations that request them.
The three commissioners unanimously voted to approve the $1.5 million in ARPA funds as well as $1 million from the county’s capital fund to provide enough cash to have construction begin this summer.
Most of the funding for the Port Hadlock sewer project has been secure, said Jefferson County Public Works Director and County Engineer Monte Reinders, but costs would likely fluctuate and the ARPA funding could provide extra security to ensure the project’s completion.
“The project is happening,” Reinders said at the meeting. “There’s no more question marks about that.”
The total estimated cost for the project was $33,550,000, and through a series of state and federal grants matched with local funds, the county has secured more than $30 million for the project. The county has a grant request for $5 million with the state Department of Ecology, Reinders said, but that money is not yet secured.
With the DOE grant, the county would have roughly $35 million for a project estimated at $33.5 million, Reinders said. ARPA funding could provide additional financial cushioning in an environment of rising costs.
Even with the project largely grant-funded, commissioners authorized county staff to pursue establishing a line of credit of up to $10 million in order to provide enough cash to cover its early stages.
“We have to have the funds available to pay the grant contractor,” County Administrator Mark McCauley said. “You never know how long the granting agency is going to take to pay you.”
With the cash provided by the transfer, the bidding process for early portions of the project could begin, McCauley said, with construction starting as early as June.
The county has a remaining $592,948 in unallocated regular ARPA funds and is expecting a $1.6 million payment through the Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund, which provides additional monies to eligible revenue-sharing counties and tribal governments.
The county received its first $1.6 million tranche of ARPA revenue-sharing funds in October and committed most of those funds in November with $149,384 remaining. The second $1.6 million will hopefully arrive before October, McCauley said.
Following the decision to allocate $1.5 million of remaining ARPA dollars to the sewer project, commissioners began to draft guidelines for organizations or municipalities that may want to access the roughly $835,000 remaining.
The county had received three funding requests from local organizations, but they were unsolicited, McCauley said, and they came from letters being sent directly to commissioners.
The county has received additional funding requests of $35,000 for a digital navigator for the Jefferson County Rural Library District; $100,000 for repairs and upgrades to student cottages at the North West School of Wooden Boat Building and $20,000 to help the Port Townsend Marine Trades Association maintain offices for five years.
Commissioners expressed hesitation about funding those requests outside the county government without a more robust solicitation process. Funding provided by ARPA came with fewer restrictions than other government monies, and commissioners noted they had previously approved other projects on a case-by-case basis.
Considering the demand for public funding, commissioners reasoned they should make the availability of the funds more widely known and what criteria would be considered.
“The concerns I have are around fairness for partners,” said District 1 Commissioner Kate Dean. “We went through an agonizing process for (the Housing Fund Board). I worry a little bit about going outside of the process.”
However, citing time sensitivity and past support for similar projects, commissioners approved $100,000 of the remaining ARPA funding to support Mason County Public Utility District No. 1’s application to the Washington Statewide Broadband Office for internet infrastructure to the Brinnon area.
Brinnon is in Jefferson County, but its utilities are administered by Mason County PUD.
Criteria for the remaining ARPA funds will be discussed at commissioners’ next meeting on Jan. 17.
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Reporter Peter Segall can be reached at peter.segall@peninsuladailynews.com.
