Clallam board approves grant to focus on fentanyl

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, August 12, 2026

PORT ANGELES — A grant approved by the Clallam County commissioners will help area law enforcement officers focus on fentanyl.

The commissioners approved a $150,000 renewal of the federal Operation Stone Garden grant on Tuesday.

“It coordinates border security missions between local law enforcement and the U.S. Border Patrol,” county Administrator Todd Mielke said. “Oftentimes, most often, the federal government determines specific areas of emphasis that they would like. In this case, the recent emphasis is on identifying and interdicting movement of fentanyl in our region.”

The funding will be utilized by the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, Port Angeles Police Department, Sequim Police Department and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. The program period began Sept. 1, 2025, and continues through July 31, 2028, Mielke said.

The grant renewal was among 10 contracts commissioners approved.

One included a subrecipient agreement as part of a Connecting Housing Infrastructure Program (CHIP) grant between the state Department of Commerce and Clallam County.

“Clallam County is entering into a subrecipient agreement with the city of Port Angeles for sewer service for Peninsula Housing Authority’s construction of a 24-unit multifamily development to be called Eklund at Gales located Seventh and Gales in Port Angeles,” county documents state.

The grant amount is not to exceed $19,000, Mielke told commissioners.

The board also approved the county receiving a Commerce Energy Efficiency Retrofit Grant for $757,577.

“This is to replace a heat pump boiler serving the county headquarters,” Mielke said. “So, this is all part of a state mandate under the Washington Clean Building Performance Standards where they identify different levels of buildings, and we only have one building that meets the definition of a tier one. And so we have to meet certain energy performance standards.”

Separately, an agreement with the Office of Crime Victim Advocacy for funding provided through the Victim Witness Assistance DV-specific grant program for $50,232 was approved.

“The purpose is to support victims, survivors and witnesses of domestic violence,” Mielke said. “The grant covers a portion of salary and benefits for our victim witness coordinator staff.”

The grant does not include any matching requirements for the county.

“It’s used to maintain and enhance the services our office already provides,” Mielke said. “Both the revenues and expenditures have already been factored into the 2026 budget, so no changes are expected on that front.”

During the meeting, commissioners also approved issuing a notice that the preliminary 2027 Clallam County budget will be presented to commissioners Sept. 1 and also will be available for public viewing at their office.

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