Vancouver residents have until Monday to submit comments about a proposed day center for homeless people.
People who live within 300 feet of the proposed site at 2018 Grand Blvd. received official notices about a public hearing set for Dec. 19. The hearing examiner will review any comments and determine whether a social service can be located there based on the stipulations of the Human Services Facilities ordinance. After she makes her decision, people have two weeks to appeal the decision.
Don Dockum already sent in his thoughts for the public record. During his neighborhood association’s meeting Wednesday, he said he feels people aren’t getting enough time to talk about the day center and what the facility might become in the future.
“How far are they looking down the road and not telling us?” said Dockum, who lives in the Central Park neighborhood about three blocks from the building.
The 26,578-square-foot former state Department of Fish & Wildlife building is located on the northwest edge of the Maplewood neighborhood, close to where it intersects with the Central Park, Fourth Plain Village and Rose Village neighborhoods. About 4,000 square feet would be used for a day center.
“We don’t want to look like Share House and we don’t want a bunch of tents showing up,” said Norma Watson, chair of the Central Park Neighborhood Association.
Another concern, Watson said, is people camping in Water Works Park. Under the camping ordinance, camping is not allowed in city parks. It is legal to camp on most publicly-owned property in Vancouver between 9:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m.
Earlier in the week, at an open house held at the Luepke Center, people raised questions about the proposed day center.
Why is a day center being opened in a neighborhood that already has a high crime rate? What does this mean for the vitality of the Fourth Plain corridor? Where will people go at night? What will the rest of the building be used for and does the community have a say in that?
Peggy Sheehan, community development program manager, said that if the project goes through, people’s concerns could become the basis of a “good neighbor agreement” that sets standards for the facility to follow.
“This is not a done deal,” she said during the open house.
The city has not purchased the building, which is owned by Grand Watumull LLC, according to property records. Vancouver looks to spend $4.3 million from the general fund on purchasing the site.
Lots of service providers have expressed interest in having satellite offices at the proposed day center, Sheehan said. Other organizations have offered to provide meals.
The city spent a year looking at sites that might work for a day center or overnight shelter. Sheehan said the former Fish & Wildlife building is large, on a bus route, in a commercial zone and near other services but not right next to them, and it’s somewhat move-in ready. Besides needing showers, laundry and additional restroom facilities, it can be used as is. Rehabilitation would cost an estimated $500,000. The city has also identified areas around the day center that are in need of improvements, such as increased lighting.
Some people wondered why the recently-purchased Tower Mall isn’t being considered as a potential day center site. Sheehan said that building is at the end of its life due to deferred maintenance. Vancouver is seeking a subarea plan for 204 acres at Mill Plain Central, which encompasses the 12-acre Tower Mall site.
Other people are critical of the cost per person to open a bigger day center.
It’s “not as expensive as homelessness,” Sheehan said.
Money is already spent on police, firefighters, trash and hospitals to deal with issues related to homelessness; the burden is lessened the more people are housed.
Sheehan expects about 50 people would visit the new day center, which would be open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. People who are homeless already spend time at libraries and the Marshall Center, hauling their belongings with them. The day center would offer storage space, counseling, case management and trash pickup. Three staff members from Share, a nonprofit homeless service provider, would manage the day center.
Friends of the Carpenter is exploring how best to use its space whenever the current day center vacates. Options include leasing the space to another organization or church ministry, or expanding what Friends of the Carpenter already does.
The 1,200-square-foot day center opened in December 2015, and 1,000 people have used it since then. The most commonly-used amenity at the current day center is lockers for storing belongings. People have also gotten help accessing benefits or looking for jobs. Some people received long-distance travel assistance to live with relatives in other cities.
