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Page A-2 Shelton-Mason Countydournal - Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020 V
County approvesrent assistance grant application
Kirk Bozdeimer
Hm.rbo)deitner@gmail.com
The Mason County Commission
voted Tuesday to approve an Eviction
Rent Assistance Program (ERAP)
grant application to the Washington
State Department of Commerce to re-
ceive $500,876 in funds through the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Econom—
ic Security (CARES) Act.
David Windom, director of Com-
munity Services for Mason County,
briefed the commissioners Monday
on the CARES Act funding for ERAP,
which is effective Aug. 1 through Dec.
31.
Windom said ERAP is intended to
prevent evictions by paying up to 80
percent for three months of past-due,
current and future rent, while target—
ing limited resources to those with
the highest needs. '
“The goal is to promote equality in
who is served (and) focus on‘equity»
for groups of people who historically
have not been provided equitable ac-
cess to rent assistance,” Windom said.
“The effect of this is really to get
the rent to landlords. We realize there
is an anti-eviction guidance out from
the governor, but that’s not helpful to
the landlords, so what we’re looking
to do here with this funding is assist
everybody, get the rent paid and en—
sure that people stay in their homes.”
Windom added that requests have
already been solicited to meet a July
deadline.
District 2 Commissioner Kevin
Shutty asked who would be adminis—
tering ERAP for the county.
“How would folks who are eligible-
for this tap into the resources?” Shut-
ty asked. “Is- that going to be some—
thing that’s handled on our side, or is
that something that’s handled by one
of our community partners?”
Lydia Buchheit, manager of Com-
caquv BRIEFS
The Board of Mason County Commissioners
tackled a trio of proposed Public Works projects
that called for the county to approve agreements
with‘outsi‘de parties about granting conditional ac-
cess to each others’ lands:
I The board authorized the county engineer to
use the small works roster to contract out the Val-
ley Rose culvert replacement project, and enter
into a contract agreement.
Mike Collins, the county engineer and deputy
director of Public Works, was joined by Erik«
Schwartz, environmental coordinator for Public
Works, in briefing the board Monday.
munity and Family Health for Ma-
son County Public Health, indicated
it would involve coordination among
multiple agencies. I
“We’re trying to work everything
through Crossroads (Housing),
through their coordinated entry, but
that has some limitations that we’re
going to need to make some changes
'with Crossroads,” even as she prom-
ised “there will be a process,” she said.
Although Buchheit’s preference is
to work through Crossroads’ coordi—
nated entry, she acknowledged that,
“sometimes speed and coordinated
entry aren’t compatible with trying
to keep somebody in their house, lit-
erally, from going back to work and
exposing other people.”
Windom also touted the efficiency
of “keeping someone in their home,
connected to their family, connected
to food,” as opposed to using hotels
or motels, as well as preempting the
fear of rent delinquency which could
compel people to leave their homes to
go to work, thus allowing the county
“to cocoon those families in a way that
gets us through the COVID problem
faster.”
Shutty went on to cite the admin-
istrative portion of the requested
grant, which is capped at 15% of its
total budget and amounts to $75,131,
as well as the $100,175 in operations
costs directly attributable to the pro-
gram.
“What (are) the operations going to
cover?” Shutty asked. “And if we do
that coordinated entry program, do}
we retain that admin portion?”
“We’re trying to work out those de—
tails,” Windom said. “In some ways,‘
it’s faster if we can just have the land-
lord invoice us and get it paid, but to
be a little more square with everyone,
going through Crossroads is the goal.”
When Shutty asked how much lon-
ger Windom expected it would take
Due to flooding problems at the end of Valley let.
Rose Drive, caused by what they cited as heavy
rainfall and a lack of infrastructure, Collins and
Schwartz recommended that the County Road
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Fund cover the estimated $12,000 cost of a culvert
replacement project to alleviate the flooding and
reduce the hazards to “the traveling public.”
The Public Works Department has designed
plans to replace an existing cross—culvert while
adding another cross-culvert, and has recommend-
ed using the small w0rks roster to contract out the
work, due to the workload and schedule.
I The board then executed an interagency
agreement with the state Department of Fish &,
Wildlife, with the goal of removing an existing dam
and fishway structure from the outlet of Haven
Lake and replace them with a natural channel out—
The interagency agreement would grant the De-
partment of Fish and Wildlife and its contractors
access to county-owned property to do this work.
“to get this up and running,” and sup-
ply funding to those who need it, Win-
dom said it could be up and running
by the end of the week, subsequent to
the commissioners’ approval.
TIMING IS AN ISSUE
The ERAP grant also requests
$300,526 for rent payments, to be
made to a third party, and $25,044 in
sub-grants. When Windom clarified
the county is still waiting on propos-
als from subcontractors, Frank Pint-
er, director of Support Services for
Mason County, pointed out the next
board meeting is three weeks away.
“Will you be able to enter into any
subcontracts until the next board
meeting, when those subcontracts
are accepted?” Pinter asked, “and
does that become an issue for timing
for you?”
“For us, it becomes an issue for
timing, yes,” Windom answered.
District 3 Commissioner Sharon
Trask suggested convening a sub-
sequent emergency meeting, which
Pinter agreed was a possibility.
“I think that probably the smartest
course of action is to get the propos-
als, write those subcontracts, have an
emergency meeting and deal with it
up front,” Windom said.
District 1 Commissioner Randy
Neatherlin also favored an emergen-
cy meeting, “because there’s no yvay I
would be supportive of a blanket say—
ing we’ll sign something without see—
ing it.” .
The funding formula allocates 85%
of the funds to existing Consolidated
Housing Grant contractors, while
10% would go to existing Office of
Homeless Youth grantees with expe-
rience managing rent assistance. For
both categories, the award amounts
will be basedon their respective num—
bers of renter households and people
who are unemployed.
The remainder would go to the De-
partment of Commerce’s administra—
tion and the Department of Children,
Youth and Families for rent assis-
tance to youth exiting foster care.
THEY WANT TO KNOW WHY
During her own briefing earlier
in the day on Aug. 3 Carol Ehlinger,
program manager for the state audit
team in Mason County, offered advice
that she pointed out applies to federal
funds such as those obtained through
the CARES Act.
Ehlinger noted the degree to which
money is coming from the federal gov-
ernment with “very little guidance,”
and with many guidance require-
ments arriving subsequent . to the
funds, “which we know is not a very
good way of doing it, but that’s how
things are coming.”
According to Ehlinger, the State
Auditor’s Office suggests, when no
compliance requirements are sup-
plied, agencies should document
what that money is being spent on,
and why, so when auditors review
the agencies’ documentation, “we can
understand how your thought process
works.” ,
Ehlinger also warned that any
compliance requirements that are
supplied are subject to change at
a moment’s notice, and once such
changes are made, they retroactively
replace any prior compliance require-
ments those agencies might have
been working with. She advised sav-
ing each set of compliance require-
ments, whether through hard-copy
printouts or screenshots. .
“We expect an interesting year
next yearwhen we audit, so it should
be an interesting year for the coun—
ties and cities and all the public en-
tities, with the money that’s coming
out from the federal government,”
Ehlinger said. '
The property, Tracts A and B of the Plat of Ha—
ven Lake, was dedicated to the county at the time
of the plat recording. The Department of Fish &
Wildlife had plans to develop the land, to provide
public access to Haven Lake, and an agreement
was executed in 1956,‘under which Mason County,
granted the department the right and permit to
develop and maintain that land.
That agreement remains in effect.
I The board also authorized the county engi-
neer to sign an agreement, between the county and
Cheryl and Richard Alexander for a new Ecology
Block Wall at 16391 North Shore Road as well as
to solicit for bids and execute a contract to con—
struct that wall.
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