As you see from the video, the Council's February 13th Special Meeting in Redmond City Hall was packed, mostly by residents opposing a city-owned land transfer to Plymouth Housing to provide homeless housing in our downtown core (not far from Anderson Park.)
In the meeting, Council approved the land transfer to Plymouth 5 -1 (Anderson)* to build permanent, low-barrier, supportive housing for over 100 homeless - many with disabilities and some elderly. Estimated cost: $40 million.
The homeless will be housed in a 6-story building with ground floor commercial space on 16725 Cleveland Street next to the Computer Surplus and close to a new high-end apartment building, once finished. Construction will begin in 2005 with completion expected by 2007. The City is chipping in $3.2 million towards the building.
Plymouth Housing, the nonprofit homeless provider, originally asked the City of Kenmore to site 100 homeless housing units but Kenmore Council members voted 4 - 3 against. So the "ask" was passed onto the City of Redmond, and was readily accepted by Council without a public comment period or Hearing. Under pressure from the residents, Council President Vanessa Kritzer promised "a robust review." suggesting "Items from the Audience" as the venue.
Some background: In 2019, the City proactively purchased this land for affordable housing to for $5.2M. The City will chip in $2.4M towards the project. The public wasn't informed, nor was there thorough study by Planning Commission on the purchase.
* Councilmember Steve Fields was absent; CM Jessica Forsythe presented his comments at the meeting.
-- Bob Yoder, 2/14/2024
Twitter @ Kenmore reactions/ - Johnathan Choe, journalist
The Planning Commission seemed in the dark on Plymouth; the Chair never heard of Plymouth asking Director Helland for an explanation of what Plymouth does for affordable housing. Her response was short and nebulous. B. Yoder
To me it’s so simple. In my childhood, people in post-war bombed-out Germany were homeless by the millions. Solution: Build camps with heated barracks and sanitary facilities. Put people to work cleaning up. Rudimentary medical care. And build, build, build housing. Instead of wasting hundreds of millions to “address” the issue, while addicts and crazies roam the streets, and the scammers in the homelessness industry haul down huge salaries, jumping organization every year or so. Never making a dent in the problem. And we fall for this scam, in the name of “Compassion.”
ReplyDeleteI'm okay with the project (but in the downtown core?) and have compassion for the homeless but Plymouth, the city, and community need to prove they can be truly supportive in every way to move these pour disabled souls forward to find a job or volunteer. Right now I just don't see it happening. Plymouth needs to give us proof their SUPPORTIVE model works. In what ways will the $40M be spent??... other than another 6-story mixed use building with commercial on the first floor, no less. At the next Redmond Council business meeting I can make I'll give Council all of my 3/4 minutes, on the subject and hope you do too. They take comments at City Hall at 7PM. I hope CM Steve Fields will be there when I speak. And, I'd like to hear what he has to say.
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