PORT ANGELES – Clallam County Sheriff Brian King expressed cautious optimism about the much-anticipated development of the joint Public Safety Facility, set to be located west of Port Angeles near the airport. This collaborative project between Clallam County and the City of Port Angeles aims to enhance public safety by housing the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and the PENCOM emergency dispatch center in a single, state-of-the-art facility. The project will also move the current EOC out of the courthouse basement, a location vulnerable to collapse during an earthquake.

Sheriff King told Newsradio KONP this week that the team has spent the past month working to bring the budget back in line.

“We’re about ten million dollars over budget, so we went through a pretty extensive exercise to get back to that budget point. We still have a little more work to do,” King said on KONP’s Todd Ortloff Show. “We need to review some calculations related to the soft costs of the project and ensure it’s financially viable. I’m optimistic now, but I wasn’t about a month ago.”

King stated that preserving the facility’s core objectives has been a priority, despite financial challenges. Funding has been a critical concern, with some grants at risk of expiration if not used in time. However, King expressed confidence in their ability to address the issue.

“We feel confident about our state Commerce grants, as it’s relatively easy to get extensions on those. We’re actively working on our FEMA grant, and we have a plan in place for everything. We believe it’s a viable plan,” King said.

He also noted that the design architects are now under pressure to finalize bid-ready documents to avoid further delays.