After unexpected permitting and construction delays, a temporary night-by-night shelter is on track to open in Lewis County by the end of the year.
“The county has had difficulties opening by Oct. 1 as originally planned,” Eric Eisenberg, Lewis County housing and infrastructure specialist, wrote in an email. “But, we are taking steps to do the demolition work necessary to start setting it up. We are on pace to be able to open by the end of the year and hope to do so, to the best of the county’s ability."
The interim shelter will open at 2015 NE Kresky Ave. in Chehalis, the former Washington State Employees Credit Union, with renovations expected to begin shortly. Lewis County paid $960,000 for the property in August 2022.
Meanwhile, design work continues for the permanent shelter, located next door at 2025 NE Kresky Ave. Renovations on this project should begin in spring or summer of 2024, with the shelter likely not in operation until winter of next year.
Jointly managed by HopeSource, based in Ellensburg, and the Salvation Army of Lewis County, the permanent shelter could house up to 70 people, based on initial shelter designs. In April, the county received roughly $2.5 million in state money to fund the shelter.
Gin Pack, a Salvation Army captain, said the organization has the supplies and staffing needed to operate the shelter. Pack said opening the shelter is “absolutely a priority.”
The project, though, has seen several unexpected delays, and the interim shelter will need repair, according to Eisenberg.
The county has a design and work plan for the interim shelter’s renovations and has received state grant funding for the project, including removing asbestos in a portion of the building. Staff must solicit and hire workers to abate the asbestos found in an adhesive underneath floor tiles. Other work to the structure could be completed “mostly or entirely” with county staff.
“Lewis County is ready to begin the renovation, and has received a permit from Chehalis to do so; we just submitted the paperwork to Commerce to allow the renovation to begin and are awaiting their response,” Eisenberg wrote.
The county finalized designs for an interim shelter this summer, a process Eisenberg said “took a little longer than anticipated” and included a stakeholder group of more than 25 people. The county is currently working with the same stakeholders for the permanent shelter.
“Once we have that design there will be a number of tests and reports we must acquire to set the scope of work for the final shelter renovation,” Eisenberg said. “Work on the final shelter should hopefully begin next spring or summer.”
According to Eisenberg, Chehalis ruled the temporary shelter must receive a conditional use permit. After negotiations failed to resolve the matter, Lewis County filed the permit and an appeal of the legal interpretation that said the permit was necessary.
The City of Chehalis is currently processing the appeal and permit, Eisenberg said.
