ML City Council postpones decision on transitional campus

Moses Lake City Council voted unanimously to postpone a vote that would have allowed city staff to move forward with hiring a planning consultant for a proposed $13-17 million transitional campus for the shelterless on West Central Drive during its Tuesday meeting.

“I think it’s really important that we listen to the citizens of Moses Lake. I have my own concerns about this. I am for taking care of those who are less fortunate than we are. … I have my own concerns with the ballpark, with the residents, with the homes – let’s look for someplace different,” said council member Judy Madewell, before the vote tabling the issue.

City residents speaking regarding the proposed Haven for Hope Campus, which city staff have said would consolidate services into one location and connect those facing shelterlessness with options to improve their situations, voiced objections to the project. Most said the location would be detrimental to nearby businesses and take away a recreational resource used by city residents. Some also voiced concerns regarding an increase in crime in the area and whether the facility might draw more indigent individuals to Moses Lake.

“I am for a location. I’m not for that location at all. I think that we need help here, but I know it’s going to attract more people. We have a beautiful location like that in a (central) facility and you’re starting to open it up with all sorts of different benefits, it’s just bound to. That’s just normal. People are going to go where they can get help,” said Moses Lake resident Carol Furrier.

However, Moses Lake Mayor Dean Hankins said he participated in the city’s Ad Hoc Homeless Committee and research he did indicated such facilities do not attract transient people.

Nokey Pando of Hope Source, the nonprofit that runs the city’s sleep center, which would be relocated to the new facility once it is built, said thus far the sleep center has been useful to the city’s homeless population. In the last 15 months, he said the sleep center has served about 300 individuals. Of those, 65 have gotten housing, 61 had improved their income or other needed resources and about 10% were between the ages of 18 and 24. The city currently has about 70 residents experiencing shelterlessness, he said, though a new count is set to be conducted on Feb. 28.

City Manager Allison Williams said the city has examined multiple locations for the facility and in conjunction with the Ad Hoc Homeless Committee came up with a draft plan for the transitional campus. However, she said, the campus is currently only a concept and identifying a location and establishing other details would be part of an assessment that needs to be completed.

In the meantime, the city’s Ad Hoc Homeless Committee will reevaluate the location proposal for the campus and return to council once additional options are available before moving forward with hiring a planning consultant.

“There are firms that specialize in this, obviously, and it may be a combination of firms because there is a varied scope of work,” Williams said.