Clallam board to consider grant for water infrastructure

Published 1:30 am Friday, June 19, 2026

PORT ANGELES — If an Opportunity Fund grant is approved by the Clallam County commissioners, shareholders of the Dry Creek Water Association will be spared from paying to cover utility line relocation costs.

The association notified shareholders in April that, due to the construction of a 58,000-square-foot Amazon warehouse on Critchfield Road, a portion of the road will need to be rebuilt and Edgewood Drive will need to be widened.

“As part of the roadway improvements, the county has requested that Dry Creek Water Association relocate its infrastructure at its own cost,” a letter to shareholders states. “Dry Creek Water Association maintains water lines and infrastructure at these locations.”

The letter stated the relocation cost estimate was $484,306.03, which would result in either a surcharge added to monthly bills or a one-time charge of up to $900 for each of the 584 shareholders in the association.

Since that letter went out, the association has applied for a Clallam County Opportunity Fund grant of $359,306.03 to cover the cost of the infrastructure relocation rather than charging shareholders.

“The Dry Creek Water Association is hopeful that the Opportunity Fund application will be approved and that the full cost of the utility relocation project will be covered through grant funding and other available sources,” association Manager Ryan Heskett said.

The Clallam County commissioners on Monday heard about the grant request during their work session.

The Opportunity Fund Board reviewed the application June 5 and recommended the commissioners fund the grant.

“This is an unusual application,” said Colleen McAleer, the Clallam County Economic Development Council executive director.

The application is the result of three different projects occurring at the same time: The widening of Edgewood Drive for the Amazon facility, the wastewater extension project for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and the development of the Amazon facility itself, McAleer said.

When the State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) comments were filed, they weren’t related to the water association so it did not know infrastructure would need to be moved, Heskett said.

“The timeline for the road improvement project, which was initially planned for 2030, has been accelerated due to mitigation requirements associated with the private development,” he said. “Had the Dry Creek Water Association been aware that utility relocation was being considered as part of the mitigation requirements, it would have submitted comments requesting that those costs be addressed as part of the development approval process.”

That lack of knowledge led to the infrastructure being suddenly hit with the expense of moving the infrastructure.

“I might add one thing that the SEPA process evolved,” said Joe Donisi, the county’s public works deputy director and engineer. “It wasn’t a simple comment the county made and then those requests the county made were granted. That wasn’t what happened. We made our requests, very little of our requests were actually granted. And so it evolved over time.”

The Opportunity Fund Board has recommended the commissioners approve the grant to the water association, but it wasn’t a unanimous vote.

Two members of the Opportunity Fund Board voted against the grant request. One objection was that it was felt that Ambrose — the company building the facility which will then be rented to Amazon — should pay to have the infrastructure relocated. The second objection was that a board member felt money from $3.25 million going to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Wellness Project for the wastewater extension project should be used to relocate the infrastructure.

“Again, this is an unusual application because normally it’s about a company that wants to build something that will create lots of jobs, but the infrastructure isn’t available to it,” McAleer said. “This is something a little bit different than that. The private entity (Amazon) is creating those jobs. If this money wasn’t awarded, I think it would end up being a legal issue because is it really fair that the shareholders of Dry Creek Water have to pay $900 per shareholder?”

As it stands, the recommendation from the board to the commissioners includes that if the wastewater extension project comes in under budget, the remaining funds should be used to reimburse the Opportunity Fund for any dollars granted to the Dry Creek Water Association.

Commissioners did not take action on the funding request Monday. The next step will take place June 23, when commissioners call for a public hearing to be held July 14 on the grant request.

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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.