WHIDBEY NEWS-TIMES: Judge to hear motion to ‘undo’ county funding of Freeland housing project

Jessie Stensland reports:

A judge in Island County Superior Court is set to hear arguments from several attorneys Monday morning in a lawsuit over the county’s award of $1.5 million to a nonprofit organization that plans to convert a Freeland motel into low-income housing.

They Said It

The LLC’s attorney, Randal Thiel of Bellevue, wrote in a memorandum supporting the motion for preliminary injunction that Island County commissioners “hastily decided to fund a substantial loan while avoiding transparency and due process afforded the people of Island County and Freeland.” He wrote that county leaders also ignored health and safety requirements in an action that allows unpermitted changes in use and occupancy.

“On twelve days’ notice, without having even served all the Defendants, plaintiff would have the court ‘undo’ a multimillion-dollar real estate sale funded through various sources without providing a shred of evidence suggesting it has any viable claim against any of the many defendants it named in the complaint,” LIHI’s response states. [Ed. Note: LIHI is the Low Income Housing Institute, the non-profit organization to which the county commissioners granted the $1.5 million in question.]

The county’s response states that the request for an injunction is now moot because funds have already been transferred and the sale occurred.

“There is no legal or factual basis to ‘cancel’ a deed of trust, and it is unclear what plaintiffs mean by cancelling a recorded deed,” the response states. “The recorded deed of trust is the security for the county and state to protect the public’s interests and enforce the terms of the contract.”