Grays Harbor County has committed to funding a small share of a potential low-income housing project in South Aberdeen. The estimated cost of construction is $15 million and the county has pledged $250,000. The City of Aberdeen will be asked to pay another $250,000. The local share would be for infrastructure improvements in the area.

The project is spearheaded by Coastal Community Action Program (CCAP) and the money will come from the sale of tax credits. Typically, financial institutions and businesses that want to lower their tax burden purchase the tax credits, a practice allowed by the government to spur development for projects such as this one.

The plan is to create more than 90 “micro housing” dwellings, each about 350 square feet. Rent would be between $500 and $600. Residents would likely be people who currently receive CCAP services but are living in sub-standard housing or who may be homeless.

Representatives from CCAP have said the actual project will be 100 percent funded through tax credits, but the $500,000 total from the county and the city is needed for the off-site work of road improvement and utility installation and easements. With the decision Tuesday, the commissioners have committed to kicking in $250,000 from the Affordable Housing fund, which receives revenue through local taxes collected for homeless and low income housing.

“This is not coming out of the general fund,” Commissioner Wes Cormier noted. “The state says to the county, ‘You must collect this money.’ We don’t have an option. We collect the money and this is a project that is how we’re supposed to spend that money.”

Commissioner Randy Ross added a caveat to the commitment, stating that the commissioners will only commit through 2017. If the project — which has not yet been approved for construction or tax-credit funding — does not receive approval in 2017, CCAP will need to approach the commissioners for a new commitment in the next year the project is pursued.

If the project is approved, Ross said he hoped for better communication in the future.

“The biggest concern that I have moving forward is that (CCAP) get the information out to the public so they understand what the project is and how it will function, because there seems to be a lot of localized opposition from people who live in that neighborhood,” Ross said. “And I can understand their concerns because they don’t know much about it.”

The project is proposed for an area near Miller Junior High School in Aberdeen. Commissioner Vickie Raines had recused herself from a vote earlier in the year that saw the commissioners giving the project a letter of support. Raines’ husband is executive director of the Grays Harbor County Housing Authority, which could potentially have projects seeking funding through the same fund.

During the Feb. 13 meeting, Raines again recused herself, however, at the end of the meeting, she said that upon further conversation with the county’s legal team, there was no conflict.

“I had committed to abstaining from that vote, which I did today,” Raines said. “In the last little while, I did speak with the prosecutor and after she reviewed the concerns she and I both had, there is no conflict posed there. I abstained because I said I was going to do so.”

Though the commissioners have approved to commit the $250,000 if the project is approved this year, the project also relies on the City of Aberdeen approving its own commitment to provide an in-kind donation of $250,000.

Raines noted that she had heard some concerns from members of the Aberdeen city council who said they hadn’t heard anything about the proposed project.

“I don’t believe the city has approved anything at this point,” Raines said.

Ross agreed the project had faced communication and process concerns.

“The process has to start somewhere. And I agree with Commissioner Raines that there seems to be some breakdown in the process,” Ross said.

While other committees have voiced their support of the project — according to CCAP representatives, both the Housing Coalition and the Health and Human Services Advisory Board had met and recommended the project — Raines said those recommendations came without necessary research.

“When this (project) came in so quickly, it got pushed from the requester through the Housing Coalition because they knew the Health and Human Services Advisory Board was going to vet it. And then the Health and Human Services Advisory Board was told they need it done and it’s on a time crunch, so they pushed it through to us, and all we hear is, ‘They recommended we do it.’ But there really was no detailed vetting, and that board needs to follow its own process,” Raines said. “I believe CCAP had a timeline they were on.”

While the project is being spearheaded by CCAP, it also awaits approval from Shelter Resources Inc. of Seattle, which is helping move the project through.

CCAP has agreements with Behavorial Health Resources and Evergreen Treatment Services to provide on-site mental health and substance abuse services to residents.