County approves donation of Miners Motel property to Habitat for Humanity and $1.21M rehabilitation subaward

Tuolumne County voted to convey the Miners Motel property at 18740 Highway 108 to Habitat for Humanity of Tuolumne County and to enter a subrecipient agreement not to exceed $1,212,966 to rehabilitate the site into affordable housing units using encampment resolution grant funds.

Health and Human Services Agency staff presented the item and said the property was acquired in 2023 for transitional and permanent housing, and the county ran a competitive RFP process that identified Habitat as the highest‑ranked proposer. “Her proposal will meet that deadline of spending,” staff told the board, referring to the grant spending deadline; occupancy target dates are tied to permitting and construction timelines.

Trinity, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Tuolumne County, thanked the board and said the organization already has a waiting list and has coordinated contractor timelines to meet the grant deadlines. “We expect to get this done within five months,” she said, adding that Habitat is prepared to push contractors and expedite work to meet the September spending cutoff.

Supervisors asked about feasibility and permitting. County building staff said they will meet on‑site with Habitat and the chief building official to outline inspection steps and expedite reviews. The board also placed a separate consent item on the agenda to waive certain fees for bona fide housing nonprofits to streamline the process.

The board approved the donation and the subrecipient agreement by unanimous vote.

Next steps: staff will finalize the donation and subrecipient paperwork, Habitat will begin construction and permitting steps, and the county will coordinate expedited inspections and a schedule to meet September grant expenditure deadlines.