Critical funding for Thurston County’s Rights of Way (ROW) Initiative is in danger of being cut in 2025, County Manager Leonard Hernandez told the Board of County Commissioners during the Tuesday, Jan. 7, agenda-setting meeting.
The funding, which runs from 2022 to 2025 and is managed by the Washington state Department of Commerce by direction of the governor’s office, was not included in Gov. Jay Inslee’s budget or incoming Gov. Bob Ferguson’s budget.
Thurston County is one of five counties in the state participating in the ROW Initiative because it has encampments on the Department of Transportation’s state rights of way, referring to the highways and freeways that the state oversees. The initiative provides funding to these counties with the goal to move people living on ROW sites into better living situations and permanently clear these encampments.
Hernandez told the board that, through a shared legislative meeting with the county’s delegation, the funding that comes through the Department of Commerce is “in suspect right now” and that the “delegation was fairly conclusive that it is an uphill chance” that the counties involved will receive the funding.
The state has previously provided $75 million to the initiative in past years, but the projected estimate for 2025 was approximately $45 million, according to Thomas Webster, senior program manager of county public health and social services. He said the Department of Commerce told him that it put in a request for the funding to be included and that the agency believes it will be included in the governor’s budget.
Hernandez said the county will meet with its housing team to analyze its options, including utilizing existing funding should the ROW funding not be included in the budget.
While it’s possible that the exclusion was a mistake, Vice Chair Wayne Fournier said mayors and county leaders are concerned that houseless individuals could end up on the street.
“I’m worried that we’re in a jam. The way that it was explained to us is that this Rights of Way funding came in and we created various programs to address the emergency but the operational funds to fund those are like gone and they’re not gonna reappear,” he said. “They said there’s no magical pot of money to fund these transitional housing things that [we] propped up. We hold the contract on those and we’re gonna be left holding the bag, and if we don’t have any money for them and the state doesn’t have any money for them, people are going to be put on the streets.”
Commissioner Carolina Mejia recommended a temporary pause on all county and jurisdictional spending for any new housing and homelessness initiatives. She also drafted a letter to involved city mayors and the county Regional Housing Council expressing concerns and urgency to devise a backup plan.
“I think that a letter from the mayors, as well as the chair of the board, will signify that we are still all supportive of moving along together in this project and that if we are going to do a temporary pause on all spending, it just doesn’t fall on the back of the county but as well as all the jurisdictions,” she said.
The news arose as Webster came before the board requesting authorization for the Public Health and Social Services Department to issue requests for proposals to receive applications for contracts related to homeless services, affordable housing, the Community Development Block Grant and veterans emergency shelter funds.
Hernandez suggested moving the item to the Jan. 21 board meeting while the county discusses backup options.
