The Kitsap Rescue Mission and the YWCA ALIVE shelters both need money for vital repairs. But the two shelters are now competing for the same pool of city funds — and only one organization will get it.

At a meeting Wednesday night, the city of Bremerton put forward the Kitsap Rescue Mission and the YWCA ALIVE shelter as two options for $120,000 in unspent federal grant funding.

The Kitsap Rescue Mission is in danger of closing its overnight homeless shelter because the building is not up to fire code. The YWCA, on the other hand, needs to abate a possible lead paint problem inside its shelter for domestic violence victims and their children.

With both in need of serious repairs, the shelters will go head-to-head for the money. Ultimately, Bremerton City Council will choose which project gets funded.

“That puts us in a very different situation. We are both very needed shelters," said Meg Quinlivan, executive director of the Kitsap YWCA. “We serve two very different purposes. I don’t know how you measure that.”

The Kitsap Rescue Mission — which runs Kitsap County’s only year-round, overnight homeless shelter — announced last week that it's set to lose the temporary operating permit for its 26-bed shelter by Oct. 13. The permit won't be renewed until the building is up to fire code.

In response, Bremerton Mayor Greg Wheeler proposed a plan to divert funds to prevent the shelter from closing.

Under Wheeler’s plan, the city would pay to install sprinklers in the section of the building used as a shelter. In turn, the Kitsap Rescue Mission would pay to split the building into two spaces, in addition to completing minor roof fixes and adding insulation.

However, the future of the overnight shelter is still in limbo.

Nancy Olsten, executive director of the Kitsap Rescue Mission, said the overnight shelter is still looking for a temporary spot to move. And even if the Rescue Mission does receive the funding, Olsten said the timeline for finishing construction, while adhering to the grant requirements, could be challenging.

The entire process has only been complicated by recent news that the YWCA also needs money to help fix a possible lead paint problem inside Kitsap's only domestic violence shelter.

Quinlivan said the YWCA shelter needs to undergo several repairs, including replacing windows in facility. But the YWCA recently discovered the building likely has lead paint inside.

Though the paint doesn't pose any health risk right now, Quinlivan said the shelter will have to abate the lead paint problem before replacing the windows — an unforeseen expense that significantly raises its costs.

“We had no idea that this would be an issue," Quinlivan said.

The city currently has $120,000 in unspent unspent Housing and Urban Development money appropriated last year for the Quincy Square project — a plan to remake Fourth Street as a walkable public plaza, with space for events and live music.

Bremerton Council member Michael Goodnow said the city needs to have a plan to spend those funds in the next few months. “This money is only available if it can be used quickly,’ Goodnow said.

The funds were a good match for both shelter projects, which will quickly put the grant funding to use, said Sarah Achaoui, who oversees the Community Development Block Grant program for Bremerton.

However, Councilmember Leslie Daugs criticized the city’s process for distributing the unspent money, saying she wasn’t even aware of both projects before Wednesday’s meeting.

The city typically distributes extra federal grant money to projects that previously applied for the funding, Daugs said.

“The fact that we didn’t go through that process bothers me. Because being transparent is what I want to do with our funds,” she said.

City Council members will make a decision on the projects in November after a 30-day comment period.

When asked which project he would support, Goodnow said, “I don’t think I’m ready to answer that at this time.”

Daugs also declined to lend support to either project at this time. “Because I didn’t know there were two (projects) I’m going to wait until that information is out because I want to hear more,” she said.

But for the YWCA and the Kitsap Rescue Mission, it's a tricky spot to compete for the same funding.

Olsten said it's a "pretty hard ask" of city leaders to fund one project over the other. In the end, she said something good will come of the funding.

“What matters is we're both serving very vulnerable populations, and whoever gets the funds, the city will be helping a very important service," she said, adding: “Wouldn’t it be a great world where you could do both our projects?”

Kitsap Sun reporter Christian Vosler contributed to this story.