LACEY — The timeline for opening a homeless mitigation site on Carpenter Road just outside Lacey is looking unclear — and expensive — at a time when some officials were hoping to have one up and running.
The project is a joint effort coordinated by a Regional Housing Council made up of representatives from Thurston County and the cities of Lacey, Olympia, and Tumwater with the aim to make a regional effort to address homelessness.
Thurston County Public Works recently estimated it would cost $915,000 to get the Carpenter Road site ready and fully ADA compliant, according to the Public Works document. The “not fully ADA compliant” option was estimated to cost $635,000.
The rough estimates included $206,400 for grading the site, $180,000 for encampment lighting, $120,000 for an asphalt path from Martin Way to the site, and $80,000 to relocate Public Works equipment and structures currently stored at the site, among other costs.
Keylee Marineau, the county’s Homeless Prevention and Affordable Housing Coordinator, said the projections don’t include estimates for tents, toilets, and other needs to make the site operational.
Thurston County has earmarked $200,000 for the project, a topic of conversation at a Board of County Commissioners meeting this week.
Commissioner Tye Menser said at the meeting that he felt “blindsided” by the additional expenses that weren’t included in an earlier work-up, and that if this plan is unfeasible another plan should be considered.
“I want to see this process move forward, because I think that over time this community will benefit greatly by having the county and the cities working together on homelessness,” Menser said. “It’s all of our problem.”
The new estimates came about, according to Marineau, when the Regional Housing Council started having more serious conversations about the site. She confirmed a mock budget for operating the site from earlier this year was much lower.
A proposal for a sanctioned campsite was initially discussed by county commissioners in February, according to The Olympian’s previous reporting.
Officials first considered county-owned property near Tumwater, The Olympian reported. The council didn’t go forward with that idea, partly due to its proximity to the county jail. This second site near Martin Way East and Carpenter Road Northeast then came to the fore.
Hutchings said some members on the council pushed for an October start date, to get ahead of harsh weather. Then people were pushing to get it done in November, he said, but he mentioned in the meeting this week that it’s not likely it gets done by December.
“It’s like watching Jell-O set,” Hutchings said.
At some point, he said the council was discussing opening a warming center there for the winter months. But Marineau said that won’t be possible.
“We’re definitely not going to be able to put anything there for this winter,” she said.
The next step, Marineau said, is to create an interlocal agreement. Such an agreement will lay out the responsibilities of each jurisdiction, including who has the financial responsibility for starting up the site, for keeping it running, and for providing security.
“There’s no firm timeline,” Marineau said. “All of it hinges on an interlocal agreement.”
A draft of an agreement is currently circulating in the council, she said.
