HomeMy WebLinkAbout040521_cabs02 JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA REQUEST
TO: Board of County Commissioners
Philip Morley, County Administrator
FROM: Julie Shannon,Executive Secretary II
DATE: April 5, 2021
SUBJECT: BRIEFING AND POTENTIAL ACTION re: Letter requesting Statewide
Support for Devoting a Significant Portion of the ARPA Funding for
Homeless and Housing Services
STATEMENT OF ISSUE:
The Board received an invitation to sign onto a letter from City of Seattle requesting Statewide
Support for Devoting a Significant Portion of the ARPA Funding for Homeless and Housing Services.
The Board will consider this invitation.
ANALYSIS:
n/a
FISCAL IMPACT:
n/a
RECOMMENDATION:
Discuss and give possible approval to sign onto a letter from City of Seattle requesting Statewide
Support for Devoting a Significant Portion of the ARPA Funding for Homeless and Housing Services.
W +DB •-
('' P ' or unty Admims ator Date
April X, 2021
Governor Jay Inslee Senator Andy Billig
Office of the Governor Senate Majority Leader
PO Box 40002 307 Legislative Building
Olympia, WA 98504-0002 PO Box 40403
Olympia, WA 98504
Representative Jinkins Senator Christine Rolfes
Speaker of the House Chair, Senate Ways and Means
339C Legislative Building Committee
PO Box 40600 303 John A. Cherberg Building
Olympia, WA 98504-0600 PO Box 40423
Olympia, WA 98504
Representative Tim Ormsby
Chair, House Appropriations Committee Senator David Frockt
JLOB 315 Vice Chair, Capital Budget Ways
PO Box 40600 and Means Committee
Olympia WA 98504-0600 224 John A. Cherberg Building
PO Box 40446
Representative Steve Tharinger Olympia, WA 98504
Chair, House Capital Budget Committee
JLOB 314
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA
98504-0600
RE: Resources to Address Homelessness in our Communities
Dear Governor Inslee, Majority Leader Billig, Speaker Jinkins, Chair Rolfes and Chair Ormsby,
Chair Tharinger:
We write to you as local officials who are the front lines of addressing the crisis of homelessness
in our communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, homelessness including chronic
hi hwa rights o f wa and
homelessness has magnified in every part of the state in our parks, highway g y,
sidewalks, and to address this crisis, we must all use our collective resources to create more
shelters, long-term housing, and appropriate services such as behavioral health.
As each of you know, Washington State has seen one of the largest increases in the nation of
individuals experiencing homelessness, including a substantial number of children and families
living unsheltered. It is estimated that statewide there are approximately 2,000 families and
children living unsheltered, 2,000 homelessness youth unsheltered and at least 7,000 other
individuals living unsheltered based on the 2020 Point in Time Count. Cities and counties alone
cannot solve this crisis.
The influx of federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act means unprecedented resources
are available to our state. While grant programs for homelessness are extremely limited, flexible
local and state direct funding must be used to address this crisis. While each of us will be
committing a significant portion of new one-time federal funding for homelessness and housing,
the scale and scope of this crisis requires all of our commitment. We call on you to commit at
least $500 million from one-time federal funding to meaningfully address homelessness in our
cities and counties. This should be in addition to the at least $225 million proposed across the
Governor, House, and Senate budgets for the Housing Trust Fund, Enhanced Shelter Capacity
grants, and Shelter Rapid Acquisition fund.
While these unprecedented federal resources are available, the real estate market downturn
resulting from the pandemic and associated reduction in rents has meant that multifamily
buildings at or near completion, building sites and hotels are available at a reasonable cost. These
buildings can be immediately turned into affordable homes or construction can begin
immediately, drastically reducing the time for buildings to come on-line. We cannot miss this
opportunity to act.
This past year, California invested $846 million in Homekey to quickly bring 6,000 units of
affordable housing and permanent shelters on-line for people experiencing homelessness in six
months and are expected to further expand this program with the American Rescue Act. Local
public entities including cities, counties and public housing authorities were granted funds to be
used to purchase and rehabilitate housing, including hotels, motels, vacant apartment buildings,
and other buildings and convert them into interim or permanent, long-term housing. The average
statewide cost to Homekey per unit is $123,987 and the average statewide local match is
$23,987, making the average total cost per unit$147,974. All units closed in less than six
months.
We believe Washington should make a similar historic investment at this critical moment.
Investing $500 million in a similar acquisition program as Homekey could create safe places for
more than 3,300 unsheltered individuals including many chronically homeless individuals,
families, and foster kids including LGBTQ youth.
We urge you to provide these resources and ensure they may be used flexibly to ensure each of
our communities is able to use the funds to address the unique needs of our jurisdictions to
provide temporary or intermediate spaces for individuals experiencing homelessness, permanent
affordable homes or permanent supportive housing.
With your commitment, we can capitalize on the work together to bring thousands of residents
experiencing homelessness inside to safe spaces.
Sincerely,