The Washington State Department of Commerce has announced $1.8 million in additional Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) to 17 rural counties to assist people and businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This includes an estimated $127,912 for Grays Harbor and Pacific counties, according to the announcement Thursday by Commerce Director Lisa Brown.
Awarded through the Economic Opportunity Grant program, these funds can be used at the discretion of county authorities to meet a variety of emerging local needs for “eligible uses,” such as providing food and rental assistance, small business support and health services. Counties provide for these and other urgent needs through partnerships with local service providers, according to the announcement.
Grays Harbor County Commissioner Vickie Raines said Saturday the board had just found out about the grant and no formal discussions as for its use had been taken by the board — the Commerce statement said the funding amounts as of Thursday were still “estimated, pending approval of state and local distribution plans.”
Raines said the board would take most of its direction from the county health department and county Incident Management Policy Group to determine best use of the funds when they are available.
The policy group, activated March 19, is made up of County Health Officer Dr. John Bausher, Grays Harbor Public Health and Social Services Director Karolyn Holden, Raines, Grays Harbor County Sheriff Rick Scott, and Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Norma Tillotson. It is tasked with coordinating local response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The state CDBG program receives an annual funding allocation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to assist rural communities to meet local priority needs. Since 1982, the state CDBG program has awarded over $525 million in grants to over 1,500 locally prioritized community development projects. Larger cities and counties receive CDBG funding directly from HUD, and are not a part of the state CDBG program.
