The Clark County Urban County Policy Board on Oct. 13 discussed the future of a county-owned building in downtown Battle Ground that houses Sea Mar’s WIC nutrition services and other programs, but deferred a final decision until the board’s November meeting.

Michael Torres, program manager, said the building was purchased with CDBG funds in 1993 for $350,000 (about $200,000 cash and $150,000 in-kind for the land) and that prior board action recommended $200,000 in CDBG funding for repairs in the last solicitation. He said staff had identified three options for the board to consider: sell the building to Sea Mar (Sea Mar spelled in transcript 'Sea Mar'/'CMAR' interchangeably) for $1 with HUD approval; sell at fair market value through HUD-required disposal; or leave the property as-is and pursue repairs using CDBG and other funding.

Torres said HUD has authorized a sale to Sea Mar for $1 in this specific case but cautioned that any sale proceeds become CDBG program income and could worsen the county’s timeliness problem if those proceeds are not expended. “We would be at risk of having the CDBG funds pulled from HUD” if the county remains untimely, he warned.

Sea Mar’s senior vice president, Nick Ramirez, told the board Sea Mar is committed to the Battle Ground location and said the organization would be willing to make improvements if it acquired the building. Ramirez said Sea Mar has in-house design and construction resources and staff at the site, and that the organization “would be happy to work with surrounding businesses and improve the resources that are around that area.”

Board members raised competing priorities: Battle Ground officials and others emphasized downtown parking and Main Street revitalization opportunities that could follow an open-market sale, while others favored preserving Sea Mar services in the neighborhood and avoiding further county maintenance costs.

Key facts and constraints discussed

- The building serves WIC (women, infants and children) clients based on income guidelines (under 185% of the federal poverty level). Staff said the building sees about 1,200–1,300 clients per month.

- A county-commissioned facilities assessment from 2019 estimated roughly $1.7 million in repairs would be needed to make the building fully functional long-term; staff noted that figure is from 2019 and construction costs likely have increased since then.

- Because the property was purchased with CDBG funds, Clark County cannot collect rent and any proceeds from the sale must be returned to the CDBG program as program income. Hudson staff explained that an inflow of program income without commensurate spending could worsen the county’s timeliness test with HUD.

Board direction and next steps

Members asked staff and Sea Mar to explore options, including whether Sea Mar could purchase the building and whether Sea Mar could relocate to a different facility purchased with sale proceeds. Several members suggested sequencing a sale and new purchase so Sea Mar would not be forced to move before identifying a replacement site.

Chair Young asked staff to return with more information in November; several board members also asked that county staff examine whether the previously recommended $200,000 in CDBG funding for repairs could be reallocated to other uses if the county pursues a sale.

The board’s recommendation will be forwarded to the full Clark County Council for a final determination if the board pursues a sale or major change in county ownership of the property.