PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County commissioners approved contracts with multiple agencies during their regular meeting Tuesday.
The first contract was for the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office Boating Unit, which will receive annual revenue from the state Parks and Recreation Commission.
“This is for a specific boating safety events and reporting grant,” county Administrator Todd Mielke said. “It’s actually an amount that slightly changes each year because it’s formula-based where we get a portion of the vehicle register for vessel registration fees that are collected by the state and then distributed to eligible entities.”
The next contract was a renewal of $15,000 in grant funding for the Sheriff’s Office from the state Traffic Safety Commission for the period of Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026.
“Specifically, it is funding to reimburse for overtime shifts spent on emphasis patrols specific to the Click It or Ticket program or the distracted driving campaigns,” Mielke said.
The next contract, a renewal of grant funding awarded by the state for county support of emergency dispatch centers, was for what Mielke called “pass through” funds.
“Typically, the way the state structures this is money flows to the counties,” Mielke said. “In this county, though, the city of Port Angeles runs Pencom, so oftentimes we serve as a pass-through.”
There are two buckets of funds which the state distributes that the county passes on. The first is an annual allocation which is used primarily to train Pencom staff, Mielke said.
“The second one, which this one is, comes out about every three to four years and it is specifically for the purposes of equipment replacement,” he said.
The grant is for $178,289.
The final contract was a consolidated amendment agreement between the state Department of Health and Clallam County Health and Human Services.
“What this does is it changes the total amount of the consolidated contract allocation,” Mielke said.
The contract allocation was increased to $270,797, which affects several program areas.
The increase in allocation raises the amount going to the Women, Infant and Children program to $36,165, while the National Estuary Program — Shellfish will now get $218,392 and the Office of Drinking Water Group A will receive $5,200. The final program area affected by the allocation is the Maternal & Child Health Block Grant, which will increase to $11,040.
During the meeting, commissioners also voted to call for two public hearings, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Feb. 24.
The first will be to address supplemental appropriations for several departments.
Those appropriations include $47,877 to the county Department of Health’s two-year pollution identification and correction grant, $94,292 to the Environmental Health Department for onsite septic projects and support, $44,000 for the Public Works-Roads Department for the Calawah to Sitkum Sol Duc Road segment of the Olympic Discovery Trail, $38,685 to the Sheriff-Emergency Services Department for wildfire defense plan costs incurred and reimbursed in 2025, $19,497 to the Sheriff-Jail Department for a fingerprint machine purchased in 2025, $75,000 to the Sheriff-Operations Department as a quarterly payment for 2025 Jamestown Contract Policing services, $178,289 to the Sheriff-Nine-One-One Enhanced Department to account for additional funds, and $8,200 for the Noxious Weed Control Department to be switched from unused funds from last year’s state Department of Agriculture knotweed grant to use for seasonal staff and vehicle rental costs.
The second public hearing will be for debatable emergencies in several funds.
Those funds are $10,000 for the coroner to purchase equipment such as gurneys and a loading dock, $4,925 to the Sheriff-Animal Control department for a two-day spay and neuter clinic planned for late February, and $80,000 to the Parks & Facilities-Real Estate Excise Tax to cover cost overruns for the courthouse/juvenile TRANE upgrade project.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
