HomeMy WebLinkAbout091620S COVIDRecoveryComments ICGFrom:Helen
To:Tom Locke; jeffcofairgrounds@olypen.com; publiccomment@cityofpt.us; jeffbocc; Troy Surber;
jhaynes@cityofpt.us; wdavis@cityofpt.us; CovidRecoveryComments; eron@portofpt.com; kstreett@jeffpud.org;
citycouncil@cityofpt.us
Subject:Covid and Fire Emergency Situation - Funding and Relocation Needed Immediately at Jefferson County
Fairgrounds
Date:Wednesday, September 16, 2020 5:02:18 PM
Attachments:Community Email - Intergovernmental Collaborative Group .pdf
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Greetings All:
Attached please find a letter from a group of neighbors whose homes surround
the Jefferson County Fairgrounds and are concerned about the health and safety
of the campers and the surrounding neighborhoods. These people have changed
our once peaceful neighborhoods into a place where crime has increased, noise
and stench intrude into the yards of adjacent residents, Covid social distancing
and masking rules are violated and dangerous situations occur regularly that
range from domestic violence, threats of murder, perpetual drug use and now, as
of last night - a large fire explosion during the burn ban and dangerous smoky
conditions. They are no longer safe from the spread of the virus or smoke
inhalation and neither are we.
This letter is well past the noon deadline, but we just learned about this joint
special meeting regarding these funds and this situation demands immediate
intervention tonight.
We respectfully submit our letter of concerns and ask that you read this before
the meeting and find them safe indoor shelter tonight.
Sincerely,
Helen Wilson
From:Barbara Morey
To:CovidRecoveryComments
Cc:Gary Keister; "Beulah Kingsolver"; Cherish Cronmiller; Lizanne Coker
Subject:Covid Emergency Shelter of Unsheltered Funding Priority
Date:Wednesday, September 16, 2020 11:46:22 AM
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Dear Elected Officials:
First it was an emergency declared due to the lack of affordable housing. Then the
Covid pandemic came along, requiring that we isolate and separate ourselves from
each other for the public good. Our Olycap emergency congregate shelter, which was
already at capacity, moved out of the Legion Hall and into various sites in the
community. Due to social distancing requirements, they had a an overflow of people
who were placed in tents and RV's at the fairgrounds campground. Some of these
people could not safely be sheltered in a group setting because of their vulnerability
to the virus.
When the Olycap group shelter moved back to the Legion Hall, these approximately
30 people were left without support services in tents or RV's. They are doing what
that they can to pay for their campsites, but have fallen far behind because no one
has the resources left to assist them. It costs about $3240 per month to keep them in
their campsites.
Now the winter season is fast approaching and we have emergency air quality issues
that especially impact those who cannot get indoors for shelter.
The campground is closing for tent campers on Oct 1. Then where will they go?
One proposal is that a temporary cluster of 12 portable tiny 96 sq ft shelter houses --
"wooden tents" --be placed at the fairgrounds campground where they can have
access to clean water and sanitation as well as shelter during the winter season of
October 1- May 25 when the campground plans to close all but 8 of its 58 camping
sites that have water and electricity. It is also proposed that there be a "safe park" for
those living in their vehicles without access to sanitation and other hookups during
this covid emergency at the campground. That proposal includes providing structured
support of this effort by Bayside Housing with other social service agencies providing
on site services as needed. But it appears that this county-owned, privately managed
resource will remain largely vacant and unused during the covid emergency this
winter. And those who have been sheltering there in tents will be on the streets with
no access to sanitation, clean water or even protection from the weather--including
the smoke from the wildfires. That proposal, which is based on several others through
the Low Income Housing Institute in Seattle, Bellingham, WA, Eugene OR, and
Olympia WA (see reference below) would cost a minimum of $75,000, more likely
$150,000 for 8 months, depending on costs of finding an appropriate location and
staffing.
Whether or not this proposal goes forward, the need is still there and an answer must
be found. Please reserve sufficient funds to address these emergency shelter needs
in our community during the Covid pandemic. We need safe, stable, supported
housing for the most vulnerable among us.
Please make funding immediate response shelter housing a priority for use of the
Covid emergency funds.
It takes the whole village...
Barbara Morey, Housing Advocate
Member of Joint Housing Task Force
Member of Housing Solutions Network Tiny House Housing Action Team
909-1/2 14th St
Port Townsend
206 326-9022
****
For reference only:
The Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) in Seattle operates 12 tiny house villages in
Seattle, Olympia, and Tacoma sheltering over 1,000 homeless individuals each year.
Villages offer a safe and dignified place for those living outside. Each house is 8 by
12 feet, costs about $2,700, and has insulation, electricity, heat, windows, and a
lockable door. The villages include plumbed on-site facilities with showers, toilets,
laundry, and a community kitchen. Each village includes on-site case management
staff to help residents obtain housing, employment, and other social services.
In February, the Seattle City Council voted to amend the original permitted
encampment ordinance to allow the continuation of the existing tiny house villages
that would have otherwise sunset and permit up to 40 sites which could include tiny
house villages, tent encampments, and safe parking to be authorized throughout the
city.
New Tiny Houses for 60 Homeless People Opens on April 15
Nevertheless, she persisted...
New Tiny Houses for 60 Homeless People Opens
on April 15
New Village at T.C. Spirit Village and Expansion of Lake Union Village
From:Julia Cochrane
To:CovidRecoveryComments
Subject:Public Comment - 9/16/20
Date:Wednesday, September 16, 2020 10:52:36 AM
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Dear Elected Officials,
I, Julia Cochrane, am writing to you as someone who has been involved with the
unsheltered most of my life; locally since the days of ARF - Alternative Residential Forum in
the early 90s! What I have witnessed and Kate Dean has recently commented on is that we
are stuck in the reactive. We react, or not, to the multiple emergencies that are striking us
as a community. After the deaths of several homeless, we as a community reacted with 4
churches collaborating to shelter the homeless in their sanctuaries, which grew into COAST
and the current shelter, at the American Legion, which currently houses 28 of the several
hundred unsheltered people in our county. Eventually this effort was enhanced by a
summer tent village at the Fair Grounds, then a year round shelter program, then the
Winter Welcoming Center filled in a gap, and now….. Now we find ourselves reacting to a
global pandemic and another season of smoke. Now is the time to focus on basic
assistance to the most vulnerable in our community. Let us ensure that we share the
privilege to breath clean air, be warm, and sit! Let us use our privilege to proactively plan
how to meet the many layered emergencies our people are facing.
Getting back to the Jefferson Interfaith Action Coalition’s Winter Welcoming Center. I ask
that as you divey up this pot of money to all the varied interests in our community, that you
remember how our little piece to this puzzle is impacted. We need a larger space for social
distancing, hopefully supported by all of your jurisdictions, and we will only staff with paid
trained people during this pandemic, no volunteers. To offer warmth and a place to be for 4
hours a day - would be approximately $6,000 a month. These 4 hours were chosen to
augment the Library. If that stays unavailable, and there is no other space for people to
enter and get warm, then more hours may be needed.
Basically I am asking that you see the whole picture while not losing sight of the smaller yet
necessary pieces that will be absolutely essential to saving lives.
Thank you, Julia Cochrane, 1175 23rdSt., Port Townsend
willowtree@olypen.com
Julia Cochrane
willowtree@olypen.com
PO Box 1654
Port Townsend, WA 98368
(360) 821-1926 cell
"When the story of these times gets written, we want
it to say that we did all we could, and it was more
than anyone could have imagined."
— Bono
From:sue sailingvessel40.com
To:CovidRecoveryComments
Subject:Project to create long-term community food storage
Date:Monday, August 31, 2020 1:16:35 PM
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clicking links, especially from unknown senders.
The Food Bank Farm and Gardens, a 501c.3 non-profit, has funded and is operating a project to freeze dry fresh
produce and cooked dishes. The freeze dried product is capable of unrefrigerated, shelf-stable storage for up to 25
years. We have already freeze dried a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and finished dishes.
We depend for our fresh produce input on a variety of sources, including leftover fresh produce from the food banks
and contributions of perfectly edible but cosmetically less-than-perfect produce from farms and our FBFG gardens,
which produce around 8,000 pounds of vegetables that are given to the food banks each year. In this way we are
also reducing the amount of local produce sent to compost or simply thrown out.
Freeze dried food could form the backbone of a long term plan for a community food supply. Freeze dried food:
- does not need for electrical power that frozen food requires
- allows a much lower administrative overhead because of the reduction in inventory control cycles that shorter
term storage requires
- is light, and can be easily transported and stored almost anywhere in response to need
- retains 96% of the fresh nutritional value, higher than frozen, canned, or dehydrated food
- is easy to use-just add water. You can also cook with freeze dried ingredients if desired. For example, adding
freeze dried kale to a broth increases the nutritional value substantially.
We have been measuring the labor and raw product input/output/costs ratios, as well as evaluating which foods work
best when freeze dried.
Our ultimate goal is to encourage the development of a much larger freeze drying capability to build a community
emergency food supply to
- supplement what is available from local growers (and might not be available in the winter or if the farm labor
supply is severely reduced)
- reduce the costs of storing and transporting emergency food for the community
- serve as the primary food supply in the event of supply chains being disrupted for a lengthy period.
We would like to investigate the possibilities with emergency planning teams to determine the funding required,
timelines and amounts for short, medium and long-term output goals, distribution mechanisms, storage locations,
and possible funding options (sales of freeze dried finished foods and dishes for backpacking, RVs, etc, creation and
sales of freeze dried food conforming to special dietary needs, etc.).
We would very much like to be a part of the planning discussions around food resiliency.
I look forward to talking with you,
Sue Cross
360-344-2921
Sent from my iPad
From:Tom Thiersch
To:CovidRecoveryComments
Subject:No public comment during meeting ?
Date:Thursday, August 27, 2020 4:05:17 PM
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To all participants in the "ICC":
Your failure to provide for a real public comment period DURING your meetings is a sad
commentary on just how little public input to your process you seem to want to have.
Hiring some consultant who knows nothing about this area (e.g., Strong Towns) is not the
way to gain community buy-in.
Tom Thiersch
Jefferson County