Two Clackamas County projects are in line to receive $6 million in federal appropriations thanks to the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden in late December.
According to a news release, the county will directly receive $6 million to go toward the Hillside Park Housing Redevelopment Project and to decommission an outdated water treatment facility.
“The entire Clackamas federal delegation went to bat for these projects, working with us to make sure they were right for the community and competitive in Washington D.C.,” said Clackamas County Chair Tootie Smith. “We can’t thank them enough for the hard work they do for Oregonians, and for Clackamas County.”
The Hillside Masterplan Improvement Project located in Milwaukie will receive $4 million to help the Housing Authority of Clackamas County transition 100 of Oregon’s oldest public housing units into 500 new units — three-quarters of which will be limited to residents earning 60% or less of the area median income.
“I am ecstatic to have secured $4 million in community-supported funding for housing efforts in Clackamas County in this year’s government funding package,” former Congressman Kurt Schrader said.
Schrader, who was defeated in the May 2022 Democratic primary by more progressive challenger Jamie McLeod-Skinner (who lost in the general election in November to Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer) visited the Hillside Redevelopment Project last year.
“I am proud of our work and collaboration with Clackamas County to get this funding across the finish line to help offset costs and advance the Hillside Redevelopment Project forward,” Schrader said.
Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley also toured the site in 2022.
“After seeing firsthand this fall the huge potential for this Hillside project in Milwaukie to help Clackamas County generate affordable housing for Oregonians, I am glad our teamwork to secure this federal investment has succeeded,” Wyden said.
“Housing is a human right, and these resources help that goal become a reality in the metropolitan area.”
“Everyone deserves a decent place to call home, which means we need to construct a lot more affordable housing,” Merkley agreed. “This $4 million in funding is going to help transform Oregon’s oldest public housing project to provide hundreds of new affordable units.
“I fought to secure this funding because this is exactly the kind of community-initiated project we need to help meet housing needs for families in Clackamas County.”
The Clackamas Watershed Protection Project will receive $2 million and help transition an outdated, nonfunctioning wastewater treatment facility in Boring, Oregon, to a pump station that will connect to a larger, more effective treatment facility and improve Clackamas River Health.
“Rural infrastructure projects are the most challenging to upgrade because they can be so expensive, and without a federal award this project would not move forward,” said Commissioner Martha Schrader.
“I am pleased to have secured $2 million to help decommission, restore, and modernize the Boring Wastewater Treatment Facility,” agreed Congressman Earl Blumenauer. “This project, once complete, will allow the facility to meet its clean water permits and help protect water quality and quantity in the watershed.
“I look forward to seeing progress on the ground and celebrating milestones as the project is implemented.”
Two other notable local projects in the massive omnibus appropriations bill include a $5 million allocation to TriMet to improve the Oregon City Transit Center, and a $2 million investment to Metro/Oregon Zoo to improve the Condor Breeding Center located in rural Clackamas County.
