Jefferson County commissioners unanimously voted Monday to yank their support for a $124,000 grant to pay for roof repairs and new windows at Trinity United Methodist Church.

The decision was a turnaround from the board of commissioners earlier approval of an application to the Washington State Department of Commerce for a general purpose Community Development Block Grant.

The church needed a municipal partner to apply for the grant funding, and county officials said the support of the grant would have no impact on the county’s budget.

Officials noted that the county had previously awarded a $20,000 grant to Trinity United Methodist Church to assist with improvements to the 150-year-old church.

Earlier this year, church officials contacted the county for grant application assistance for a $124,000 state grant. The church had identified seven repair projects that needed funding, including an upgrade at its preschool building to make it handicap accessible, renovating the kitchen, fixing flood damage, and the installation of an automatic door-opener, and the replacement of an old oil furnace/boiler. The projects also included a new roof and the replacement of 30-year-old windows.

The Port Townsend church was facing a June 1 deadline for the grant application.

Several community members have raised alarm about public funding being awarded to a church project, however.

In public comments before the commissioners voted, resident Tom Thiersch was concerned to the use of public funds by a religious institution for a religious purpose.

“What repairs are we talking about to roof and windows? Which building is it that’s going to be repaired? Is it the church itself, or is it the outbuilding?” Thiersch asked.

“If it’s just outbuildings, OK, maybe there’s an excuse there. Maybe there’s a possibility that that’s in fact OK,” he added.

But Thiersch noted the county would still need to devote staff time to make sure the requirements of the grant were being followed. “That’s not free, and it’s not budget neutral. Let’s be clear here about where the money is going and what extra money is gonna have to be spent on this.”

“I just think it’s unwise for the county to be involved in these sorts of things,” he added. “It it just doesn’t feel right; it doesn’t feel like my rights under the First Amendment of freedom from religion are being respected when the county does this sort of thing.”

County Commissioner Heidi Eisenhour said the grant assistance request had raised many questions.

“I feel like there’s not enough detail in terms of the community impact that the funding would have,” Eisenhour said.

“And if you’re coming to the decision-makers, which is us, without that level of detail, it just feels like a poorly thought-through project to me in terms of metrics and community impact,” she said.

Commissioner Kate Dean said she also had concerns.

“I walked in today, not knowing where I was going to land on this issue,” Dean said. “I have enough discomfort that I’m worried about proceeding.” 

Perhaps a larger conversation was needed, Dean noted.

“I don’t know if at some point we need to have a conversation about whether we would consider faith-based organizations for these funds in the future,” she said. 

“But I will keep it limited more to this one,” Dean added, “that I just don’t see enough of the safeguards in place that I feel like we can ensure that it’s the right use of public funds under our umbrella.”

Commissioner Greg Brotherton went further.

“I feel comfortable saying that I don’t think I would support any religious organization for these grant monies,” he said.

“I just think that there’s other ways that we can work together,” Brotherton said, adding that he was always willing to look at a specific project that a religious organization is looking for partnership on.

“I’m always willing to consider it. But I mean this is really general capital improvements, it seems to me,” Brotherton said.

Commissioners voted 3-0 to pull their support for the grant.

It was unfortunate, Dean noted, but said more deliberation would be needed in the future for similar requests.

“I really value the work of the faith community to do a lot of the work that government can’t do,” Dean said.

“But it’s fraught, and we have to hold a really high bar with public funds,” she said. “So I hope this action can be seen in that light.”