Nine applicants present for Mount Vernon’s 2025 15/90 affordable housing grant round

Mount Vernon hosted presentations Aug. 27 from nine organizations seeking funding through the city’s 2025 15/90 affordable housing grant cycle; staff said applicants requested roughly $2.2 million while the city expects about $1.1 million to be available. Steve Sexton, the city’s special projects manager, opened the presentation period with an overview of the application packet and noted each applicant had five minutes to present followed by five minutes for council questions. “Included in your packet are the presentation order of the applicants and the copies of all the submitted applications and a summary spreadsheet,” Sexton said. Nine applicants presented project proposals that fall into categories of emergency shelter, transitional housing, permanent affordable housing, rehabilitation, and supportive services. Highlights and requested amounts stated during the meeting included: - Salem Lutheran Church / Welcome Home Skagit: Property manager Greg (name in packet) described completed renovations to a Salem Lutheran building to support Welcome Home Skagit’s day-shelter, laundry and shower facilities and a multipurpose training room. The applicant requested $120,000 to reduce a loan balance for the project and said the building will support people with immediate shelter and sanitary needs and provide space for family-support programs. - Mount Vernon Manor Annex / Skagit Council Housing: Jim VanderMee (board president) asked for $150,000 to help fund architectural/engineering documents and predevelopment work for a proposed 40–44 unit apartment building for low-income seniors; VanderMee noted the organizations manage an occupied 101-unit campus and have a waiting list that exceeds the proposed new units. - Family Promise of Skagit Valley: Representatives described a campus project and operations; Family Promise requested $75,000 for site work over two years and an additional $210,000 to bring in a modular housing unit as part of a 14-unit modular campus (figures presented by the applicant). - New Earth Recovery (Cedar House 2): Alan Muia said the peer-recovery housing project is near completion and requested roughly $400,000 to close a remaining capital funding gap so the facility can open and operate with clean financial footing. - United Way of Skagit County (Pocket Community): United Way representatives described a pocket-community model of 24 small homes with shared amenities and asked for $114,000 to fund infrastructure and shared systems such as ADA-accessible sanitation, EcoSan systems and community-space improvements. - Community Action (Colschen View): Project partners said phase 1 would create 24 family units near LaVenture Middle School as part of a two-phase plan for 48 units; they stated the project is well advanced in fundraising and permitting and asked the city for a modest share (about 10% of the overall budget across this request and prior award) to help leverage other funding sources and ready the project for construction. - Welcome Home Skagit (vocational program): Sarah Vogt outlined a vocational program that combines shelter and employment training with five pallet-shelter units hosted at First United Methodist; the organization requested $68,000 for personnel and program supports. - Children of the Valley: Executive Director Flora Lucatero described after-school and family-support services for vulnerable youth and requested $25,000 to support transportation, program access and direct family assistance. - YMCA / Host Home pilot (Oasis-related): YMCA proposed a host-home pilot to place youth in screened, trained volunteer host homes as an alternative to congregate shelter; applicant Keith Momen asked for a three-year operating pilot and presented a three-year total ask of $670,000, noting $170,000 in private donations is already committed. Councilmembers pressed applicants on affordability periods, operations and enforceable conditions. For example, when asking about long-term affordability for the Salem Lutheran capital request, council sought legal instruments such as covenants that “run with the land” to guarantee program continuity; City Attorney Kevin Rogerson said such covenants are a common and enforceable mechanism for grant-funded capital projects. Applicants repeatedly noted additional fundraising, grant awards, and local partnerships would be used to fill funding gaps if the city provided only partial support. Sexton told the council he would provide any additional information the council needs and said staff planned to return with recommendations; he cautioned the council that funding is limited and the council would need to weigh competing projects. The council did not take funding votes at the Aug. 27 meeting; Sexton suggested council deliberation could continue and staff hoped to finalize awards in mid-September but would work at the council’s preferred pace.