Sue Lani Madsen: Spokane City Council’s attitude adjustment

Two years ago, the progressive majority on the Spokane City Council was busy writing letters to the conservative mayor. This year, the council seems to have lost their pen.

On Jan. 11, 2022, the council felt it was critically important to remind the mayor that the “Spokane City Council has enacted several ordinance provisions … to serve the houseless in the current frigid temperatures, and those ordinances need to be followed.”

The same day, a guest opinion column in The Spokesman-Review by housing and homelessness activists Dawn Shuster and Jennifer Calvert (“City should immediately provide shelter for homeless”) reinforced the council’s message to the mayor, saying, “The city’s action violated Spokane Municipal Code 18.05.030 section B3, stating that, ‘At no time shall the City reduce or eliminate specific night-by-night shelter beds without first having in place additional replacement shelter bed capacity sufficient to meet the requirements of SMC 18.05 unless authorized by City Council resolution.’ ”

On Monday night, former City Council candidate Earl Moore, a friend of former mayor Nadine Woodward, reminded the council of those same ordinances in her testimony during the open forum portion of the council meeting.

“Mayor Brown reduced 100 beds at TRAC (Trent Resource and Assistance Center) and closed the Cannon Shelter on Friday. Where’s the outrage today? The former administration would never have gotten away with anything like that for the homeless in the middle of winter. The media would be all over this and people would be protesting.

I’d like to remind you, this decision is a violation of two City Council ordinances.

Spokane Municipal Code – Section 18.05.020 directs the city to “open inclement weather centers, beyond existing homeless shelter capacity, for each day the National Weather Service predicts temperatures of 32 degrees or lower.” The city has violated this ordinance for the past three days. Tonight will make it the fourth.

Spokane Municipal Code – Section 18.05.030 directs the city to open and “at no time shall the city reduce or eliminate night by night shelter beds unless authorized by City Council resolution.” Did you pass a resolution to close Cannon last week?

City Council President Betsy Wilkerson, a friend of Mayor Lisa Brown, gently responded to Moore, saying “I will share a point of information. Beds were expanded at the church shelter outreach so there was no decrease in overnight beds.”

That’s not what the city says on its website. The city’s contract with Jewels Helping Hands was extended to “continue maintaining shelter services at local churches, which accounts for 80 total beds,” but capacity was not expanded.

And overnight bed capacity was apparently decreased recently when one church shelter was closed on March 2. According to a post on Jewels Helping Hands Facebook page, “Last night we closed the Liberty Park United Methodist Church warming center. We are happy to say we had no displaced individuals.” It’s great news no one was displaced, but no mention was made of replacing those beds elsewhere.

Pinning down capacity has been an issue for years. The city of Spokane website says the Community Housing and Human Services Department is launching a complete shelter audit this month to figure out what Spokane’s existing homeless shelter capacity actually is, and what it should be both between and during emergencies.

When asked how the timeline for closure of the Cannon Street Shelter and the downsizing of the capacity at TRAC shelter was determined, given the requirements of the ordinance and the weather forecast, city spokeswoman Erin Hut responded by email with this statement: “The timeline to close/ramp down the surge capacity among our shelter system was decided early on. Historically, the city has ended warming shelter capacity toward the end of February. Should we see the return of bitter cold temperatures, we still have the capacity to surge at TRAC if needed.”

Moore’s point wasn’t whether Mayor Brown and her staff made the correct decisions in reducing homeless shelter capacity at the end of February. “Look at the outrage they had last year,” Moore said. “What was a problem last year is OK this year. It’s all political.”

The text of Moore’s testimony was sent to Wilkerson and council member Michael Cathcart for comment by email with no response.

The bitter cold temperatures, as defined by council ordinance, returned Saturday. This week, the forecast calls for lows below 32 degrees through Saturday. Erin Hut confirmed the mayor has decided surging at TRAC isn’t needed.

Moore isn’t interested in excuses from a council she sees as talking out of both sides of their mouths. “If you’re going to hold the previous administration accountable to follow ordinances, why aren’t you doing it now?”

Contact Sue Lani Madsen at rulingpen@gmail.com.