PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commiss­ioners voted 2-1 on Tuesday to support a grant opportunity to develop sustainable communities in a four-county region.

Commissioners Mike Doherty and Steve Tharinger signed a letter to back the Cascade Land Conservancy’s participation in a federal Department of Housing and Urban Development regional planning grant.

The land conservancy has proposed an “Olympic Peninsula Sustainable Communities Consortium” of jurisdictions and agencies in Clallam, Jefferson, Grays Harbor and Mason counties.

Clallam County will provide an in-kind match of up to $300,000 in preapproved infrastructure investments if the Cascade Land Conservancy is awarded the grant.

The county would not be on the hook for new money. Existing projects such as the Carlsborg sewer project would qualify as the match.

Chapman balks

Commissioner Mike Chapman did not sign the letter. He cited Community Development Director Sheila Roark Miller’s concerns that her staff would be saddled with the extra workload.

“We don’t need another plan; we need dollars to implement infrastructure improvements in this county,” Chapman said.

Close to 100 citizens packed the boardroom at the county courthouse to oppose the letter of support. It was among the most well-attended commissioners business meetings in recent years.

Concerned Citizens of Clallam County’s guest speaker Monday night, former Senate candidate Clint Didier, urged more than 200 audience members in Sequim to oppose the county’s letter of support.

“A lot of this money that people are against, contrary to one speaker’s opinion earlier, is your tax money given to Washington, D.C.,” Doherty said.

“I believe we should get some of that money back for projects in this area. This grant allows local planning tied to some other local governments on the Peninsula, setting some local priorities for some projects.

“So if it’s sewer, water, transportation, medical services, broadband — there are a number of areas — this grant could have a positive impact.”

No binding agreements were signed Tuesday.

Tharinger said the Cascade Land Conservancy has a “very strong history of working with a number of different players to bring all the different interests together to find solutions.”

“I think all of us could agree we face some challenges as how to best use our resources, how to best plan for the population that’s coming here,” Tharinger said.

“That’s what this is about.”

The letter of support is addressed to HUD Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities Director Shelley Poticha.

More than a dozen people spoke against the letter, including Bob Sauerwein of Port Orchard, an announced candidate for 6th District congressman next year.

Sauerwein said the root of the grant money is the United Nations.

“This road will lead to ultimate control of our nation by foreign power,” Sauerwein warned.

Proof on money

Tharinger asked Sauerwein for proof that the money is coming from the U.N.

“I’m actually quite amazed that people feel that the United Nations is really concerned about the Olympic Peninsula,” Tharinger said, drawing laughter from the audience.

“Wake up,” one man shouted.

Tharinger countered that the notion that the U.N. wants to take over the Peninsula is “quite conspiratorial.”

“In my view, the United Nations has a lot of other things on its plate,” Tharinger said.

Dennis Wilhelm of Freshwater Bay provided an answer to his question of where wealth begins.

“Wealth begins from extraction from the Earth — farming, logging, mining, fishing,” he said.

“It starts with extraction of our natural resources. And when you shrink this down into this thing that you’re trying to do, that shrinks the wealth that we have as well.

“You people are cutting the backbone of America.”

On Sept. 19, Cascade Land Conservancy project manager Sam Gibboney gave a presentation about the grant in a commissioners work session.

Tharinger disclosed that Gibboney was his campaign manager when he was elected to the state House of Representatives in 2010.

Several speakers said the grant is tied to ICLEI, which stands for International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives.

ICLEI is an international association of more than 1,200 local governments that are “committed to sustainable development,” according to www.iclei.org.

County commissioners were criticized in August for their $1,200-per-year membership to ICLEI, which provides reading materials about what other cities and counties are doing to save energy and help the environment.

Port Townsend is the other North Olympic Peninsula jurisdiction with an ICLEI membership.

Although Sequim is listed as a member on the ICLEI website, City Manager Steve Burkett said Sequim’s membership has expired.

“I decided we weren’t going to continue our membership,” Burkett said in a Tuesday phone interview.

“Our membership expired, I think, at the end of August, and we don’t have plans to continue it.”

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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.