The Thurston County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) approved three agenda items relating to affordable housing services during its Tuesday, March 18 meeting.
The first move was an amendment to the Homes First Affordable Housing Development contract to add $165,000 in funding, bringing the total contract value to $260,400.
Homes First, a Lacey nonprofit organization that creates and maintains affordable rental homes, was awarded $95,400 in Substitute House Bill 1406 funds to partially finance the development of four accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to the property the agency owns in Olympia. The ADUs will be developed and then used to provide affordable rental housing to low-income households at or below 60% area median income. All developed units will have an affordability period of 20 years. Homes First applied for additional funds in 2024, and the BOCC approved the award in June.
Additionally, the commissioners approved a contract with Homes First for the rehabilitation of a single-family home to be used as affordable rental housing. Homes First applied to Thurston County’s Office of Housing and Homeless Prevention’s request for proposals for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) projects in March 2024. This round of CDBG funds was awarded by the City of Tumwater, where the single-family home is located.
The contract is for the amount of $245,000 and will include installation of new flooring, the replacement of kitchen cabinets and countertops, an upgrade of kitchen appliances, rehabilitation of existing decking, and an upgrade of the electrical panel. The property is a two-story, five-bedroom home, and the project will rehabilitate and preserve a sober living home providing affordable and supportive housing to seven individuals in recovery.
The BOCC’s final move was to approve an annual contract with Catholic Community Services to provide shelter services for eligible homeless veterans at the Drexel House Emergency Shelter. The contract is for the amount of $49,275, and the requested amount of $45 per night for residents is the same as what has been paid in recent years. Mark Moffett, county social services program manager, said Catholic Community Services has been the only organization to apply for the county’s request for proposal each of the last five years. The Veterans Assistance Program funds the program.
Moffett added that the county only used half of the contract but it served 11 veterans with 543 bed nights, which includes a bed, a shower, a meal, and additional resources.
According to the county’s point in time data count, about 5 to 7% of the county’s homeless population is veterans, which amounts to 50 to 75 individuals.
“What this contract does is it allows us to meet the veteran when and where they’re able. We can’t force them into services,” Moffett said. “This contract will allow us to, if a veteran comes into the Lacey Veterans’ Hub or if we see them on the street, we can refer them directly to Catholic Community Services, allowing up to three bed nights for each veteran.”
Thurston County Commissioner Emily Clouse requested during a March 11 agenda-setting meeting that the item be relocated from the commissioners’ consent agenda to a department item so that the community could hear the work being done by the public health and social services team.
“I think this is extremely critical. We do have public comments often saying that we don’t have any homeless veterans in our community, and I would love to highlight this during a business meeting,” Clouse said March 11.
All three of the measures passed unanimously.
