Lewis County commissioners voted 2-1 on Aug. 5 to execute a two-year consolidated homeless grant contract with the Washington State Department of Commerce that carries a maximum consideration of $6,571,088.

Major Hamlin, speaking for Lewis County Public Health and Social Services, described the agreement to the board: “This agreement would run 07/01/2025 through 06/30/2027. It is a 2 year agreement with a total maximum consideration of $6,571,088,” he said, and noted the budget is divided by categories and providers in documents staff supplied to the commissioners.

The nut graf: The contract will provide state commerce funding for homeless services in Lewis County over two fiscal years. Commissioners and staff said they will use a scheduled workshop to set local budget guidelines and provider contract terms before providers sign new agreements; debate at the meeting focused on whether accepting the full contract amount would reduce local control and whether the funds as structured by the state allow sufficient accountability.

Discussion and concerns: Misha Hanlon, director of Lewis County Public Health and Social Services, told the board that many provider contracts expired in June and that providers are currently operating under prior, limited agreements for essential services. She said staff had prepared a provider-by-line-item spending report and an anticipated budget to inform commissioners. Hanlon also said the department no longer maintains a wait list for developmental disability services in a different agenda item: “We do not have people on a wait list anymore, so we're very excited about that.”

One commissioner expressed strong reservations about accepting the full grant amount and questioned whether the state’s funding model emphasizes housing-first approaches at the expense of treatment and accountability. That commissioner criticized what they described as insufficient accountability in some provider contracts and said some funds, as structured, can enable continued substance-use patterns rather than deliver treatment. That speaker also urged greater funding for treatment programs and direct-service providers such as Hope Alliance. Those concerns were raised during an extended floor exchange and are part of the record.

Commissioner Jan Pollock (first reference used with full name and title at the meeting) urged the board to accept the grant and apply local fiscal controls: “I can appreciate the frustration with the increase. However, we had the opportunity here to locally control these dollars, tailor programs that work for our county and our residents and reflect how we want to move things forward, and we do not have to spend them all,” Pollock said. She added the county can set contract terms with providers and will not be required to spend the entire amount.

Several procedural and next-step items were resolved at the meeting: commissioners directed staff to schedule a Wednesday workshop in August to review the consolidated homeless grant budget line items and proposed provider contracts and to coordinate that workshop with Public Health and Social Services. County staff said draft agreements with providers exist, and providers are operating under previous agreements for essential services while the county finalizes terms.

Formal action: The board moved and seconded approval of resolution 25-224 accepting the Commerce contract. The motion carried 2-1. The record shows the board also approved a set of related resolutions and stated staff would follow up with a more detailed budget and provider contract discussion in an upcoming workshop.

Implementation notes and risks: Staff and commissioners said a portion of the grant supports the county shelter program, which is due to relocate from Centralia to Chehalis and will involve rent estimated in the discussion at about $7,500 per month. Commissioners noted prior returned funds in earlier grant cycles (a figure of about $1.4 million was referenced in discussion) and said staff will prepare a detailed spend plan and proposed contract metrics so that local officials can exercise fiscal controls before provider contracts are finalized.

Ending: Commissioners scheduled a workshop to examine the budget and contract line items and asked staff to coordinate with providers; no additional spending or provider contracts were executed beyond approving the Commerce contract at the Aug. 5 meeting.