A majority of the members of the Chehalis City Council closed their Monday night meeting by speaking out against the Hope Housing Collaborative of Lewis County safe parking pilot program that will provide safe parking for homeless community members living in their vehicles starting in July.
Mayor Tony Ketchum declared that in his more than 25 years of public service, last Wednesday’s informational meeting at St. Timothy Episcopal Church was “one of the worst public meetings I’ve had to ever attend.”
“It just set the tone of the arrogance and the condescending note that the church gave out to the people that they were here to listen, but they weren’t here to listen,” Ketchum said during council reports. “They were only there to make sure that they were in agreement with the RCW that said they had to do a public meeting. They cared none about what anybody had to say. They were going to do what they wanted.”
Dozens of people, including residents neighboring St. Timothy Episcopal Church, filled the seats at the May 7 meeting that turned contentious as numerous attendees stormed out before the meeting concluded. St. Timothy is one of five churches participating in the program, including Chehalis United Methodist Church, Immanuel Lutheran Church in Centralia, Grace Foursquare Church in Centralia and Harrison Square Presbyterian Church in Centralia.
To read more about the details of the program and the meeting, visit previous Chronicle reporting at https://tinyurl.com/28v6phk3.
Ketchum said he “lost all respect” for the parking program when he heard that Gather Church in Centralia is one of the founding members of the Hope Housing Collaborative. Gather Church coordinates several programs to help those in a housing crisis “find, pay for and stay in affordable rental housing,” according to its website.
“I was asked by somebody, ‘Doesn’t Gather receive money from somewhere, some funding that is specifically used to house these people?’” I said, ‘I don’t know,’ and they said, ‘If they have that money to house these people, then why aren’t they spending that instead of not spending money and creating these safe parking places in neighborhoods that don’t need it?’ It is the wrong place to put it.”
Councilor Jody Kyes, whose district includes St. Timothy Episcopal Church and the surrounding neighborhoods, attended the meeting as she lives near the church and expressed her amazement at the turnout while keeping her comments on the program brief.
“It was quite a turnout. I think it just goes to show what a unique neighborhood we have. I love the neighborhood. It’s safe. It’s always been safe, and we’d like to keep it that way,” Kyes said.
Susan Anderson, a resident near St. Timothy, said her long-held belief that her neighborhood is safe has changed due to the safe parking program.
“We have no concerns at this point of our neighborhood and walking with friends or walking on our own and feeling safe. This changed my feelings completely,” Anderson said. “Some of these women may be fleeing abusive situations from significant others, and what’s to keep them safe and their children safe? Is that really something that the church can do?”
Councilor Bob Spahr agreed with Anderson’s concern while commending the church for trying to help people in their time of need.
“I thought it was an informational meeting that turned out to be a meeting where they were telling us they were going to do it. I agreed with one thing and it’s that those people are out there, and I commend them for trying to do something. I think that’s the wrong location,” Spahr said. “I hope this thing doesn’t grow out of proportion of what it is. I agree with what you were saying about the angry spouses. If the people they describe that they’re going to have as clients are those people, it might work out, but it’s the other people that aren’t there that could create some real problems. There’s nobody on site to help diffuse the situation.”
Mayor Pro Tem Kate McDougall, who also serves as the vice chair of the Lewis County Health and Advisory Board, also kept her comments brief.
“I have a lot to think about this. I think there’s a lot that we should look at (with) resources and everything that kind of got us here in the first place,” she said.
Councilor Kevin Carns said he spoke with numerous friends and residents of the neighborhood close to the church, but before he could continue with his comments, City Attorney Daniel Murray interjected and suggested the councilors continue with their meeting as planned, adding that he didn’t want the council to get into “dangerous waters” with their comments. Ketchum allowed Carns to continue reporting on the meeting that he attended.
Carns said he “adamantly opposes” the safe parking program, despite its good intentions.
“I think that the execution is absolutely horrendous. It is going to increase calls for fire service. It is going to increase calls for police service,” he said. “I’m not sure what we can do as a city because of the way that the state law is written, but I would like to support every option possible to give these people the services they deserve within the existing services that are already available and not do it in a neighborhood next to a school.”
Ben Crowell, another resident who lives close to the church, said he received a notice on his doorstep about the May 7 meeting but was unable to attend. He described the area that the parking lot surrounds, including W.F. West High School, Chehalis Middle School, James W. Lintott Elementary and Orin C. Smith Elementary, which has a total population of nearly 3,000 students and their families moving at least twice daily.
“In the center of those locations, this well-intentioned church group decided that this would be a good place to bring a population of people that are a challenge,” he said. “I appreciate the altruistic effort of the church. Two things can be true at the same time: a religious group can have a noble concept and a good idea, but it can be a bad idea that presents a significant safety and security challenge to the schools, the children and the families that occupy those spaces around that facility.”
In an email to Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope, who opposed the project in an op-ed published in The Chronicle, Chehalis School District Superintendent Rick Goble said the school district has not been contacted by the Hope Housing Collaborative about the safe parking program.
About the pilot program
The Hope Housing Collaborative’s pilot program will allow people living in their cars to park from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. for one or two weeks every two months. A maximum of 10 vehicles will be allowed to park each night at St. Timothy Episcopal Church and other participating churches.
Churches will only serve women and families with children who live in cars, trucks or vans who are also enrolled in local school districts. Single men are excluded, as the church said they are more likely to access and use the local night-by-night shelter.
Two hosts at the church will greet guests from 7 to 10 p.m. every night and take information, go over the code of conduct and get permission for a background check. A porta-potty and trash receptacles will move from church to church as the program rotates through the five churches. People may enter the parking lot from 7 to 10 p.m. and must leave by 7 a.m.
Church leaders say they expect to have the background checks by the next day for new guests and that the background checks are required for entry, and volunteers who greet and collect information from guests will undergo background checks, as well. People must be in or near their cars at all times from 7 to 10 p.m. and must be exclusively in their cars after 10 p.m. except for restroom use. No visitors are allowed, and cars are not allowed to run except if the temperature reaches below freezing.
After the six-month pilot project has concluded, the planning group and churches involved will evaluate the program and decide if it will continue in the future.
