The condition of Vancouver — or any other city — is in the eye of the beholder. But most residents likely can agree that it was good to see Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle deliver a State of the City speech in person this week.
“It’s been four years,” McEnerny-Ogle told an audience at Firstenburg Community Center. “Lots of things have happened in those four years, and it’s great to see you here.”
Yes, much has happened since the previous in-person State of the City address, including a pandemic that upended life for residents and city officials. While work on issues facing the city has continued throughout the COVID crisis, the return of an open forum symbolizes renewed efforts to move the city forward.
Primary among those issues is homelessness. In a sign of the times, the front page of Wednesday’s Columbian featured a story about McEnerny-Ogle’s speech next to a story from The Seattle Times about increasing homelessness throughout Washington.
According to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, homelessness in Clark County increased 31 percent from 2020 to 2022, outpacing the statewide jump of 10 percent. The pandemic and rapidly increasing housing costs are blamed for much of the increase.
While it is common for some locals to blame city leaders for a growing homeless population, a majority of Vancouver residents recognize that solutions require a communitywide effort. In February, 54 percent of voters agreed to renew and expand the city’s Affordable Housing Levy. The new levy is designed to raise $10 million a year for a decade to preserve housing and assist those in need.
The original levy, which expires this year, has helped keep more than 1,000 families from homelessness, according to information on the city’s website.
Meanwhile, the city of Vancouver has opened two Safe Stay Communities and is developing plans for more. The sites provide modular shelters for up to 40 people and have staff on site around the clock.
A report issued this week detailed the first six months of Hope Village, the second Safe Stay Community. During that time, five residents transitioned to permanent housing, 19 actively sought employment and 15 received mental health or substance abuse evaluations. Now, organizers report, the number of those moving to permanent housing has increased to 11.
Suggesting that the situation could be worse, however, is little consolation to unhoused people or to local residents and businesses. For Vancouver to reach its economic and quality-of-life potential, efforts to curb homelessness must remain the top priority for local officials.
It is disappointing that a lack of housing has overshadowed other issues in the community, but such is the state of Vancouver at the moment. Yet McEnerny-Ogle is correct to point to numerous successes. As detailed in a six-minute video that accompanied the speech, the city in 2022 opened a new fire station for the first time in 12 years, welcomed a new police chief, spearheaded mixed-use developments in various neighborhoods and opened two new parks.
As McEnerny-Ogle said of the city’s elected leaders, “When the council makes decisions, we’re not making it for the next year or for the next five years; we’re making it for the next generation, because we truly are in the forever business.”
With that visionary approach, the state of Vancouver is robust. But there is room for improvement.
