Lincoln County Health and Human Services presented a plan July 23 to deploy roughly $9.75 million in Community Development Block Grant funds awarded for wildfire recovery to create permanent housing for survivors of the Echo Mountain Fire, and commissioners agreed to move the application forward and hold community outreach.
Health and Human Services Director Jane Romero opened the hearing and said the session was the first of two required hearings and would be followed by a community public meeting targeted to wildfire survivors. Jennifer Beckner, the county grant administrator, told the board the funds were part of a statewide allocation of CDBG disaster recovery dollars designated for the eight most impacted counties after the Labor Day 2022 fires and that Lincoln County's share totals approximately $9.8 million. "Lincoln County's allocation of that fund is approximately $9,800,000," Beckner said.
Beckner said eligible projects include affordable rental or home-ownership development, property acquisition, and infrastructure for planned affordable housing projects, and that grants must be spent within three years. The county intends to prioritize 11 identified survivor families (32 people and 19 animals) who require permanent housing and to support three broad categories of need: landowners needing replacement homes, renters seeking to buy, and renters who want to continue renting. Beckner said partners include the Housing Authority of Lincoln County, which has agreed to manage rental units obtained with the funds and maintain affordability for a minimum term. "The Housing Authority of Lincoln County... will be managing those properties for us, once they're obtained," she said.
Beckner said the county will focus on modular and manufactured housing to meet the tight timeline and avoid displacing existing renters; the county will not pursue projects that would displace current occupants. She also said the county will invite the 11 identified families to a community meeting planned for Aug. 13 in Lincoln City and intends to post the plan on the county website and HHS pages by Aug. 1. County staff and state partners told the board they are actively coordinating reporting and compliance with OHCS (Oregon Housing and Community Services). An OHCS consultant on the call confirmed ongoing weekly coordination between county teams, OHCS and the retained consulting firm.
Commissioners asked about timeline and capacity. Beckner said initial project-plan submissions were due to the state by Aug. 29 and that all grant reporting is expected to conclude by 2029; she said consultant Tom Kemper and other local housing partners are already engaged. After no members of the public registered to speak at the hearing, the board expressed support and consensus to move the application forward and to conduct targeted outreach to the identified families and other low-income county residents who qualify for assistance under program rules if capacity remains after serving the priority wildfire survivors.