Moses Lake to consider old lumber yard as site for managed homeless camp
Months after originally voting to build a managed homeless camp in the Longview Tracts area, the Moses Lake city council is now considering developing the site at the corner of East Broadway Avenue and state Route 17 on what used to be a Penhallurick's lumber yard.
Emry Dinman/Columbia Basin Herald
If approved by the city council on September 22, Moses Lake's managed homeless camp will be built on the corner of East Broadway Avenue and state Route 17 on what used to be a Penhallurick's lumber yard. The blue building, abandoned years ago, would likely have to be demolished, said Moses Lake police Chief Kevin Fuhr in an interview.
MOSES LAKE — The city of Moses Lake is considering building a managed homeless camp at the corner of East Broadway Avenue and state Route 17, city officials said at Tuesday’s council meeting.
That site was formerly a Penhallurick’s lumberyard but has been abandoned in recent years, and is currently owned by a company, Ground Works Three LLC, according to property records. If approved, the city would lease the site, officials said Tuesday.
The decision, which has not yet been finalized, comes months after the city council initially voted to build the camp on undeveloped land in the Longview Tracts area. That site would have been sandwiched between residential areas and was located about half a mile south from an elementary school, sparking heated debate from parents and residents who said they hadn’t been included in discussions about the site.
Following a petition from local residents opposed to the site, the city council quickly opted to reconsider the site. A small committee then began a protracted search that looked at options including properties currently owned by the city, a number of properties offered by the Moses Lake School District and a proposal to co-locate the camp on the site of the new food bank operated by Community Services of Moses Lake, said City Manager Allison Williams in an interview.
The committee has since settled on the site of the old lumberyard, which Chief of Police Kevin Fuhr said had been his top pick when the city initially considered sites more than a year ago. At the time, Fuhr said that the current administration had wanted to consider only sites already owned by the city.
The site is located within walking distance of the city’s retail core and is less than a mile away from a number of currently occupied homeless encampments. It is also more than a mile away from the nearest schools.
Though managed camps have been considered in recent years, particularly in light of court decisions that limited the ability of city authorities to restrict homeless camping, the recent push for a resolution to those discussions comes as new revenue streams have become available.
The site would in part be initially funded with a $388,000 state grant for supporting at-risk and homeless communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, which requires that the homeless have access to hygiene and quarantine services during the crisis.
The city council also voted in May to approve taking back control of a portion of existing recording fees previously being sent to the county in order to support an affordable housing program. That reclaimed revenue would provide an estimated $56,800 annually for the next 20 years for the acquisition, construction or rehabilitation of affordable housing, as well as the maintenance of those facilities.
While the development of a site may still be months away, city officials earlier in the summer did contract with HopeSource to provide services at the eventual site. The site under consideration would be leased and may be a temporary facility, but city officials have indicated that they will be working with HopeSource to establish a long-term solution, whether at the currently considered site or otherwise.
The city council is expected to vote Sept. 22 on whether to approve the site.
Emry Dinman can be reached at edinman@columbiabasinherald.com.
