The Aberdeen City Council on Wednesday approved the purchase of a vacant lot at 421 S. Michigan St. to serve as a homeless camping facility, at a cost of $60,000.
During that meeting, the council also voted to put the old river camp property on the market for no less than $440,000. (The city purchased that land last year for $295,000 and has since cleared it.)
By an 8-3 vote, the council approved the signing of the purchase agreement for the 31,000-square-foot property on Michigan, next to the train tracks south of State Street. The current owners are listed in public documents as David R. Stajcar, Sharon Werth and Duane Edward Joseph Stajcar.
Voting yes on the purchase were council members James Cook (Ward 1), Kathi Prieto (Ward 2), Tim Alstrom and Jeff Cook (Ward 3), Karen Rowe and Margo Shortt (Ward 4), and Frank Gordon and Dee Anne Shaw (Ward 6).
Voting no were Ward 1 Councilwoman Tawni Andrews and Ward 5 Councilmen Pete Schave and Jerrick Rodgers. Ward 4 Councilman John Maki was absent from the meeting.
There was lengthy public comment prior to the vote, with most speakers urging the council to vote against the purchase.
Public commenters included representatives from Harbor Battery and Finn Electric, two businesses adjacent to the property, as well as others who lived or had property interests nearby. Comments included concerns about the problems with theft and other crimes related to the old river camp, and the potential for more of the same at the new facility so close to the recently cleared river camp.
Other commenters questioned the need for the $60,000 land purchase when other city properties, some with existing buildings, could be made available for a homeless shelter. Still others asked what part of the city’s municipal code allowed for the creation of such a camp on city property.
Mayor Erik Larson told the crowd that the city’s staff and ad hoc committee on the homeless looked at about a dozen other properties, but none fit the bill for a long-term facility to replace the temporary tent camp set up in the parking lot north of City Hall. He said most were too small, within a wetland area or otherwise unsustainable.
As for security, Larson said the new facility would be fenced with limited entry and exit, with full-time security on-site. No drugs or alcohol would be allowed, though he acknowledged those issues will exist — but not outside the camp, “which I think is a big improvement.”
Andrews said she wasn’t worried about the safety of the camp, because security would be in place. She was most concerned with the city buying an additional piece of property out of its own pocket.
Later in the meeting, the council OK’d the purchase of 150 WeatherHyde shelters to be used at the site, at a cost of $45,000.
The council also approved the removal of campers from the city’s property on the south side of the Chehalis River, adjacent to the Southside levee, where many people moved after the river camp was closed. Larson cited the lack of accessibility to the heavily wooded area for emergency services and other public safety considerations for clearing that area.
