Meek denies claim school district supported homeless camp location

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake School District said on Thursday it is opposed to the creation of a homeless encampment at the corner of Longview Road and Kinder Road in the northern part of the Moses Lake and played no role in helping the city select the site.

On Tuesday, the Moses Lake City Council approved a plan to create a semi-permanent homeless encampment that would provide services to homeless residents.

At Tuesday's meeting of the Moses Lake City Council, shortly before the location of the camp was approved, council members asked City Manager Allison Williams whether the school district supported the plan. Williams stated that city staff had already conferred with Meek, who indicated that a well-managed site would be acceptable and potentially beneficial to the surrounding community.

In Thursday's letter, Meek denied that he had given his support.

“It has been suggested that the Moses Lake School District has been a partner in the development of this new camp’s location. For clarification, we were notified of the plans to develop this site on Friday, May 8 in a single conversation–just two business days before the decision was approved,” Meek wrote.

"We would have loved to have an earlier involvement in the process and planning efforts, as we are now faced with the challenge of making the best out of a decision beyond our locus of control," Meek added.

“The new camp, slated for location at the corner of Kinder Road and Longview Road, will be approximately 638 feet from the school campus,” said Superintendent Josh Meek in a letter to MLSD students, teachers and parents. “On behalf of our students and community, the ​Moses Lake School District is not supportive​ of the location decided upon by Moses Lake city officials.”

Meek said the district is sympathetic to the goal of developing a camp, noting that “homelessness has no boundaries” and that “not all people battling homelessness are criminals, substance impaired, mentally ill, or sex offenders.”

However, Meek said “the safety and well-being our our students” is the district’s top priority, and that the district played no part in siting the proposed camp.

Both Meek and School Board President Elliott Goodrich said the district is willing to help the city find an alternate site for the camp, including on vacant city property, and stated that the city has responded positively to these suggestions. However, Meek added that the district has begun looking at ways of reducing risk and improving security for Longview students if the camp does get built in the currently designated site.

“These discussions include a review of walking routes to the school and bus stops, building and property security, and bus stop revisions,” Meek wrote. “We will work with the city’s supervision and law enforcement procedures while closely monitoring the progress and development of this plan.”

Last year, city officials effectively blocked school district attempts to site a new elementary school on Road L just south of Wheeler Road, saying the location was directly underneath the municipal airport’s takeoff and landing path as well as too close to the city’s industrial area.