PORT ANGELES — Clallam County has either spent, contracted for, or set a budget placeholder for $13.9 million, or 93 percent, of the $15 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds it was awarded in May 2021 and June 2022, County Chief Financial Officer Mark Lane told county commissioners.
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds must be committed under some kind of contract or spending plan by Dec. 31, 2024 and the funds must be disbursed by Dec. 31, 2026, he said Monday.
The county has ARPA obligations of $11.8 million, or 79 percent of its total, as of the end of March, Lane said. Including additional recent contracts, especially the Clallam Public Utility District (PUD) Carlsborg water project, total contractual obligations are $12.6 million, or about 84 percent, he said.
“And when you include other placeholders included in the report, that brings us to total obligations of about $13.9 million as of the end of March, or roughly 93 percent of our ARPA funds awarded to the county.” Lane said.
“We are quickly coming in upon really having all our ARPA distributed.”
Some notable grant awards Lane cited were $350,000 for Clallam PUD residential and commercial utility assistance, $1.25 million for Black Ball Transportation to keep the MV Coho running during the COVID lockdown, $296,629 to the Olympic Peninsula YMCA to build its new childcare facility and $300,000 to the Port Angeles Waterfront Center.
“So, also included in your packet, beyond all the money we have obligated and disbursed to date, we do have a number of placeholders that we’re still tracking,” he said.
Those include $300,000 for Peninsula Housing Authority affordable housing projects, $400,000 for Habitat for Humanity affordable housing projects and $261,109 for hiring and retention bonuses for the sheriff’s office.
Uncommitted funds total $1,080,923, according to a staff memo. Potential uses include expanding the hiring and retention bonuses to county nurses and deputy prosecuting attorneys, covering funding gaps for the Dungeness off-channel reservoir project and the Sequim School District’s Career and Technical Education facility.
Jefferson County received more than $6.2 million in ARPA funding with an additional $2.5 million in revenue-sharing funds. Earlier this year the county put out its last call for ARPA dollars, allocating roughly $834,000 to local organizations including $100,000 for child care at the 7th Haven housing project and $80 to the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building to build student housing.
County officials had previously allocated $500,000 in ARPA dollars to the Jefferson County Economic Development Council for distribution to local businesses, and another $500,000 to the Olympic Community Action Program for housing units at the Caswell-Brown Village. The Jefferson County Public Utility District No. 1 received $750,000 in ARPA funding from the county for expansion of broadband services.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at brian.gawley@sound publishing.com.
