The vote Monday night was never supposed to happen. The matter was up for discussion and Interim city Planning, Community & Economic Director Don Measamer had asked the Council for a consensus. But, as Council members discussed the issue it seemed clear there really was no consensus.
Council members Erica Pickett and Ryan Walters asked that the funds, about $13,000 out of about $90,000 that the City receives in an annual Community Development Block Grant for community work go to CAA, which has received a portion of the CDBG money every year.
But, this year, Anacortes Family Center filed an application for the CDBG funds and, thus, would end up competing with Community Action. Both pled their cases to the Council last month and Monday night the Council was supposed to tell Measamer who should get the funds.
Council member Liz Lovelett chimed in that the Anacortes Family Center is right here in town. “I’d rather see the money go to the family center because it would be a large part of its budget.
Council member Matt Miller agreed, saying he’d like to keep the funds in Anacortes. Miller pointed out that he had received a number of brochures from Community Action and that in other funding settings that would be the decider.
Councilman Eric Johnson, who was instrumental in getting the family shelter off the ground, noted that it had never received any CDBG and that the Council needs to support them. Council member John Archibald called the family center, “the heartbeat of this town.”
Fellow Council member Brian Adams suggested splitting the funds in half was dismissed as not leaving much money with either agency and increasing the already complicated CDBG paperwork the city must provide to receive the funds.
As the discussion progressed it seemed clear the split was 4-3 or 5-2 with a majority favoring giving the funds to the Anacortes Family Center. No consensus.
A motion was made to add a vote to the agenda. Approved. The final vote to give the money to the family shelter was 6-1 with only Walters voting no.