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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026 PIF RFP Instructions and Application 1 of 10 2025 Request for Proposals - Public Infrastructure Fund These instructions are for 2025 PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FUND PROPOSALS to request funding from the Jefferson County Public Infrastructure Fund (PIF). Under Jefferson County guidelines, you must be a LOCAL PUBLIC AGENCY for your public facility project to be eligible for funding from the Jefferson County PIF. The Jefferson County PIF Board will consider complete and signed proposals that include all requested information and documents that are received by the proposal deadline. Return all application materials as one document to Carolyn Gallaway at: carolyn@co.jefferson.wa.us by 4:00 p.m. on September 26, 2025. Call 360-385-9122 with any questions. 2026 Proposal Instructions The Jefferson County Public Infrastructure Fund (PIF) Board is accepting proposals from local public agencies to help finance public facilities serving economic development purposes via grants and loans from the County’s Public Infrastructure Fund. The PIF Board will make recommendations to the Jefferson County Commissioners (BOCC) after evaluating the proposals. All final decisions for use of the PIF will be made by the BOCC. ■ Proposals from local public agencies must be for helping to finance public facilities serving economic development purposes. Refer to the rest of this packet for instructions and eligibility details. ■ Your public facility project must be listed in the current Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), or in the economic development section of the comprehensive plan of Jefferson County or the City of Port Townsend. ■ PIF funding as grants or loans may finance a portion of the public facility project cost, not to exceed 80% of the project cost. ■ Proposals must comply with federal, state, and county laws and requirements, including Chapter 3.28 of Jefferson County Code. ■ Proposals must address all questions in the RFP and include all requested supplemental information. ■ To be considered, a completed and signed original application, must be emailed to carolyn@co.jefferson.wa.us by the deadline listed above. ■ The proposal and all documents filed with the County are public records, potentially eligible for release. Jefferson County is committed to the non-discriminatory treatment of all persons in the employment and delivery of services and resources. 2 of 10 1. Jefferson County’s Proposal Process - The Jefferson County Public Infrastructure Fund Board solicits proposals when sufficient PIF funds are available. The proposal form in Word may be downloaded from the County’s website, www.co.jefferson.wa.us, and may also be requested by calling the Jefferson County Administrator’s Office at the Courthouse, (360) 385-9100. Jefferson County staff will review project proposals submitted to the County, prior to presenting them to the PIF Board. Projects meeting the minimum requirements will be presented for review by the PIF Board. Applications that do not meet the requirements will not be forwarded to the PIF Board. This year, the PIF Board will review proposals at a PIF Special Meeting, tentatively scheduled for October 3, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. Applicants will be scheduled to attend this meeting in the Commissioners’ Chambers in the Basement of the County Courthouse (1820 Jefferson Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368), or online via Zoom. At that meeting, each invited proposing agency will answer questions from the PIF Board regarding their proposal. The Public Infrastructure Fund Board will make a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners regarding which proposals to fund, and at what funding levels within available revenues. The review of the PIF Board’s recommendations and final decision about allocating PIF monies will be made by the County Commissioners. Each agency will be notified of the status of its proposal. Contracts are prepared by the County and sent to agencies. The County will monitor contract compliance and reimburse approved project expenses. 2. Available Funding for 2026 - A total of up to $440,000 in Public Infrastructure Funds is potentially being made available in 2025 to be shared between all the successful applicants through this RFP. Therefore, each applicant is encouraged to limit the number of project applications submitted to the applicant’s top priority(s), and to scale funding requests so that other applicants may receive awards too. PIF funding awards can be in the form of a grant and/or loan, for up to 80% of a project’s cost. 3. Eligible Projects - Pursuant to this RFP and state law, Public Infrastructure Funds through this RFP may only be used to finance public facilities serving economic development purposes. Jefferson County solicits proposals from local public agencies within Jefferson County requesting funding for public facility projects that serve economic development purposes by promoting the creation, expansion or retention of businesses and jobs. 3 of 10 ONE fully completed and signed application with supporting documents must be received by 4:00 p.m. on September 26, 2025 to carolyn@co.jefferson.wa.us. She will notify you that she has received your application. If you have not received a reply, please call 360-385-9122. To be eligible, the project must: • Meet the definition of a public facility – see RCW 82.14.370(3)(i); • Be listed in the most recently adopted Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), or listed in the economic development section of the comprehensive plan of Jefferson County or the City of Port Townsend; and • Be a project of a local public agency within Jefferson County, and that agency will be the recipient of the PIF funds. RCW 82.14.370(3)(i) defines public facilities as bridges, roads, domestic and industrial water facilities, sanitary sewer facilities, earth stabilization, storm sewer facilities, railroad, electrical facilities, natural gas facilities, research, testing, training and incubation facilities in innovation partnership zones designated under RCW 43.330.270, buildings, structures, telecommunications infrastructure, transportation infrastructure, or commercial infrastructure, and port facilities in the State of Washington. In addition, a 2001 opinion of the Washington State Attorney General’s Office determined that PIF funds may be expended on an eligible public facility for the following purposes: Capital facilities costs, including acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, alteration, expansion, or improvements of public facilities; costs of development and improvement for the public facilities; project-specific environmental costs; land use and permitting costs; costs of site planning and analysis; project design, including feasibility and marketing studies and plans, and debt and revenue impact analysis. 4. Project Description/Criteria – Each application should provide a description and information about a project that meets the following requirements and provides an economic benefit to Jefferson County. Specific questions are included in the application form to ensure the project is in compliance with the requirements set forth in RCW and County Code, and to assist the applicant in delineating those matters which are of concern to the Public Infrastructure Fund Board and Jefferson County Commissioners. The PIF Board will consider the following criteria to evaluate projects: (1) Public facility projects that have a higher probability of successfully creating or retaining significant numbers of jobs including unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled jobs; or that have a large job creation-to-PIF funding ratio. (2) Projects that leverage significant outside funding and/or partnerships. 4 of 10 (3) Projects that would develop, re-develop, in-fill or expand existing or planned infrastructure systems necessary to create or retain jobs. (4) Projects with a higher match percentage. The match may include project-related expenditures for a period up to one year prior to the request for funding. (5) Projects that will retain or create jobs or benefit the economy in priority economic sectors or economic centers in the incorporated or unincorporated areas of Jefferson County. (6) Projects that also successfully mitigate for significant adverse environmental impacts, if applicable. (7) Consideration may be given for critical timing; emergent opportunities; (8) Consistency with and implementation of an adopted countywide economic development plan or strategy, the economic element of an adopted Comprehensive Plan, or an adopted Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS); (9) Projects which provide a balance of Geographic and Historic Distribution (10) Projects that confer multiple benefits. (11) Other criteria as the PIF Board may determine, consistent with RCW 82.14.370, and the adopted Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) or the adopted Comprehensive Plan of the jurisdiction where a project is located. For additional information, contact: Josh Peters, County Administrator Jefferson County Courthouse P.O. Box 1220 Port Townsend, WA 98368 Ph: 360-385-9100; e-mail: jdpeters@co.jefferson.wa.us 5 of 10 Jefferson County, Washington Public Infrastructure Fund Project Application Return all Application Materials as One Document to: carolyn@co.jefferson.wa.us by 4:00 p.m. on September 26, 2025 Project Title: Grant Request Amount: $ Loan Request Amount: $ Contact Information Agency: Contact: Date: Phone #: Email: Address: City, State, Zip: By signing you confirm you have authority to submit this application for PIF funds on behalf of your organization. I affirm that the information is correct to my knowledge. Signature: Printed Name: Title: 6 of 10 YOUR PROJECT What is your “Public Facilities” project? Please provide a brief description of your project in the box below. Description: Where is your project located? Description/Address: Also: please attach to the end of your Application: • a location map, and • a site map (if applicable). Which type of Public Facility Is Your Project? The public facility must be specifically listed under RCW 82.14.370. Please select the category(ies) that correspond to your project. ☐ Bridges ☐ Sanitary sewer facilities ☐ Electrical facilities ☐ Telecommunications infrastructure ☐ Roads ☐ Earth stabilization ☐ Natural gas facilities ☐ Transportation infrastructure ☐ Domestic water facilities ☐ Storm sewer facilities ☐ Buildings ☐ Commercial infrastructure ☐ Industrial water facilities ☐ Railroads ☐ Structures ☐ Port facilities ☐ Research, testing, training, or incubation facilities in an innovation partnership zone designated under RCW 43.330.270 ☐ Other – describe: 7 of 10 What will be the cost of this project? The County Commissioners may disburse funds as both grants and loans. The County negotiates the terms of each award. Total Project Cost: $ Total PIF Request: $ ☐ Loan Request: $ ☐ Grant Request: $ What other funding will you use for this project: What source, how much, & what status? Funding Source Amount Status (spent, secured, applied for, or future request) Is the project ready to proceed? If not ready, what work on this project has already been completed, such as planning, engineering reports, feasibility studies, permitting, etc., have been prepared, and when? Describe what must be completed before the project is ready to proceed. Description: 8 of 10 How does the project satisfy, in whole or in part, the jurisdiction’s economic development strategy? Is this project a documented countywide priority? If so, where does it rank? What are the anticipated outcomes of this project in terms of the criteria identified below? Quantify information where possible. • How many businesses do you plan on serving with this project? ___________ • How many full-time, permanent jobs will this project create or retain? o Retain: _____________ o Create in 1-3 years: _____________ o Create in 3-5 years: _____________ • What is the size of the population that will benefit by these infrastructure improvements? _______________ • How many jobs during construction? _____________ • How will this project improve local infrastructure capacity? Description: Description: Description: 9 of 10 How many months will the work on this project take to complete? Are there other factors significant to this project that we should be aware of, such as health and safety, emergency declaration, “bird in hand” efforts, volunteer efforts, etc.? Description: Description: 10 of 10 What Is The Project Phasing? Articulate the major phases of this project, including the start and completion date, PIF Funds requested for each phase, the eligible PIF expenditure category(ies) for that phase, and if asking for PIF funds for more than one phase, whether PIF funds could be awarded for each phase, separate from PIF funding for the other phases. Eligible PIF Expenditure Categories: The Washington State Attorney General 2001 No.5 opinion states that these funds may only be used for the following 6 eligible cost categories: 1. project design, including feasibility and marketing studies & plans, and debt & revenue impact analysis 2. costs of site planning & analysis 3. land use & permitting costs 4. project-specific environmental costs 5. capital facilities costs, including acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, alteration, expansion, or improvements of public facilities 6. costs of development & improvement for the public facilities Phase Start date End date PIF Grant Request (if any) PIF Loan Request (if any) PIF Expenditure Categories − write in number(s) from above. Can This Phase be Funded with PIF, Separate From the Other PIF Phases? $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $