Juliet's House seeks county support for $1.5 million facility acquisition

Commissioner Keane introduced a walk-on request from Juliet's House and invited Russell to summarize the nonprofit's plans to expand its facility.

"We're looking for about 1,500,000, to acquire the building and to do some minor modifications to it, that would allow us to actually serve more children in this community," Russell said, describing plans for an assessment area, family waiting room, forensic interview room and a medical space including a child-focused drug testing laboratory. He said the organization has pioneered child-appropriate testing protocols in Oregon but lacks suitable space to collect and analyze samples.

Commissioners urged caution and requested more background; one commissioner noted the county must avoid competing internally for limited CBDG (community block grant) funds and suggested scheduling Arthur from Business Oregon for a follow-up to clarify grant pools, deadlines and which projects are eligible. The board did not vote on the request; commissioners asked staff and Russell to provide materials ahead of a future agenda so the board can consider whether the county will serve as the grantor and subcontract to Juliet's House.