(The Center Square) – Spokane City Councilor Michael Cathcart doesn’t believe 30 days to come up with a plan to move more than 600 people out of a homeless camp on state land was enough time to address the concerns of residents and government leaders alike.
He has drafted a letter to the state Department of Commerce, which offered $24.3 million to relocate the people in Camp Hope, asking to reopen the discussion about how that funding can be used.
“I’m not necessarily asking anything stops, comes to a halt. I don’t think there’s any language in the letter that says that, but, really, just let’s have a conversation,” he informed members of the Public Safety & Community Health Committee on Monday.
His move to restart the conversation about where to place hundreds of homeless follows backlash by many West Hills residents against Catholic Charities’ plan to transform the Quality Inn on Sunset Highway into emergency housing. They have expressed fears about crime activity growing as it has around Camp Hope, and property values being driven down.
Catholic Charities’ project involves turning the motel into apartments for 100 to 120 homeless men and women. Some of them will come from Camp Hope, which is located on Washington Department of Transportation property near Interstate 90. The new facility will not be a walk-in shelter, the occupants will be referred from area service providers and screened and selected based on their likelihood of success in the housing situation.
The Department of Commerce announced last month that Catholic Charities would receive a $6.5 million award to buy the property from Surmohin Hotel, LLC. The organization has requested an additional $7.3 million for property rehabilitation and operational costs.
Cathcart said Monday he would like to see a meeting between Commerce and local government leaders and residents in any and all areas that would be affected by relocating the homeless. He would then like a second meeting involving regional partners because homeless people came from many different locations.
“Most importantly, I think we have heard a lot of concerns from folks who don’t feel like they’re being heard,” he said. “Not saying any outcomes would be guaranteed to change, but I think that they deserve a voice and I think that it makes sense that we reengage and have this broad-based conversation.”
He said the letter was not written to represent the entire council and other members could sign on if they agreed.
Only Councilor Jonathan Bingle offered support for the letter at the Aug. 29 meeting. Others expressed reservations about what it would accomplish.
Councilwoman Betsy Wilkerson said she doubts anything would change with another conversation.
“I don’t think there would be any other different outcomes than what there are now because that train has truly left the station and there’s no going back,” Wilkerson said. “The biggest challenge that we have as a city, council and administration, is making sure these people are getting the right information because the information out there is inflammatory.”
Councilor Lori Kinnear was concerned about sending the wrong message to Commerce.
“It feels a little disingenuous to ask for help, but say, ‘No, we don’t want that kind of help; we want it done this way,’” she said.
Commerce announced in June that Spokane County was eligible for the funding. A 10-day deadline for an application about how the millions would be used was set initially, but then extended to 30 days. The county and city scrambled to develop a plan in partnership with Spokane Housing Authority and other public/private entities.
The final plan submitted by Spokane officials to Commerce asked for $34.5 million to house 1,447 people if all projects are approved.
Councilor Karen Stratton said she felt some of the concerns expressed by residents over the Quality Inn included not knowing where Catholic Charities planned to site “House of Charity 2.0.”
The organization and Mayor Nadine Woodward announced in late April that plans were underway to relocate the current House of Charity to a larger campus outside of downtown Spokane, although no location was given.
If moved to a larger site, Catholic Charities anticipates the relocated facility providing shelter for 250-300 men and women instead of being limited to the current 135 beds.
