Kittitas County approves HopeSource Teanaway amendments, cuts units to 41 and sets 20 for homeless housing

Kittitas County commissioners approved amendments to the HopeSource Teanaway housing project during a Jan. 28 study session, reducing the development from 50 units to 41, increasing income targeting to 60 percent of area median income (AMI), and designating 20 of the 41 units as homeless-stock.

Chelsey Loeffers of the Kittitas County Public Health Department reviewed the proposed contract changes and asked the board to approve amendments that the department says align the project with current needs and funding constraints. The board accepted the changes and directed staff to continue working with HopeSource and the contractor to clarify contract language and invoicing.

The amendments approved by the board include: a reduction of total units from 50 to 41; raising AMI targeting from the originally proposed 30–50% range to 60%; and reserving 20 units to serve people experiencing homelessness. Loeffers said the department will need additional time to negotiate homelessness and affordable housing contracts because of their complexity and to ensure county protections in contract language.

County officials confirmed a meeting with HopeSource remains to be scheduled to discuss invoice details and other contract clarifications. No formal vote tally naming individual yes/no votes was recorded in the minutes for the HopeSource amendment approval; the record states the board approved the amendments during the meeting.