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County approves Opportunity Fund agreements to match $5.2 million federal EDA forest-products grant
Summary
Clallam County approved three Opportunity Fund agreements to meet a 20% local match for a $5,206,462 EDA grant supporting forest-products industry projects, including West End industrial park reconfiguration, a public kiln at the Port of Port Angeles, and a housing demonstration with the Composite Recycling Technology Center.
Clallam County commissioners on Tuesday approved three agreements that supply local matching funds for a federal Economic Development Administration grant of $5,206,462 awarded in late 2024 to support a forest-products industry cluster innovation program. The EDA-funded program includes projects in tribal housing manufacturing, wood product manufacturing, workforce training and transportation. County officials said the EDA grant covers many costs but requires a 20% local match; the county and partners are committing funds and in-kind match to satisfy that requirement. The county approved: - A $60,000 agreement with the City of Forks to reconfigure the Forks Industrial Park so it can accommodate multiple tenants and support barge transportation for recruited businesses; county officials said one potential tenant could bring about 40 family-wage jobs. - A $116,000 agreement with the Port of Port Angeles to develop a publicly owned commercial kiln so small and midsize wood product manufacturers can access drying capacity when private kilns are at capacity. - A $100,000 agreement with the Composite Recycling Technology Center (CRTC) to support an affordable-housing demonstration project; county presenters said the demonstration home would be completed by Dec. 31, 2027, and may use locally developed composite and thermally treated wood building approaches. Why it matters: County officials described the investments as strategic local match that unlocks federal funding for multiple projects aimed at boosting industrial capacity, housing innovation and workforce development. Commissioners and staff called the Opportunity Fund investments coordinated and complementary across projects rather than ad hoc funding picks. Votes and outcome: Each agreement was moved, seconded and approved unanimously. Quotable: “I think this suite of investments...represent perhaps the most strategic and targeted investments that we have been able to make,” a commissioner said, praising the Economic Development Council and Opportunity Fund process.
