The topics of homelessness and affordable housing were common themes during Tuesday  night’s Edmonds City Council meeting. The council heard from Lynnwood City Council President M. Christopher Boyer on what Edmonds’ neighbor to the north is doing to address those issues and had a joint discussion with the Edmonds Planning Board about council priorities for housing during the next several years.

The Lynnwood City Council formed a task group on homelessness and “we began by listening to city employees whose work was regularly impacted by our homeless neighbors,” Boyer said, along with social service agencies and “homeless people themselves to find out what was on their mind and in their hearts — what they needed.”

Boyer said the council task group learned quickly that there is no one profile of who is homeless in South Snohomish County, and they include men, women, children, entire families — “folks who have terrific educations, folks who didn’t get out of high school.”

Generally, people who are homeless fall into two categories: those who are “temporarily unsheltered” as the result of an accident, job loss or outstanding medical bills and “have fallen off the edge.” Usually, those people can be helped through short-term assistance and will eventually get back on their feet. The other category is those who are “chronically homeless” and they have been homeless for many years due to addiction issues, mental illness or physical disability. They need help in navigating a pathway to stability so they can address their underlying issues, Boyer said.

Following the task group meetings, Lynnwood issued a request for proposals to social service providers who were already working with local homeless people. The goal was to have them provide more services, conduct a community needs assessment around homelessness and begin to work with the other municipalities around Lynnwood and the county. “There is no one city in South Snohomish County that can solve homelessness within its boundaries without the help from other groups in the county,” he added.

Lynnwood contracted at the beginning of 2016 with the YWCA of King and Snohomish counties, with one YWCA staff member assigned to the project, at a cost of $75,000 a year. “It’s not the complete solution to the problem but it is a beginning,” Boyer said. “I would invite you all to seriously consider joining Lynnwood as we continue to work with the YWCA. Get one of their people embedded with your police department, just as Lynnwood, Everett and Snohomish County are doing. Let’s start working on identifying our homeless neighbors, finding out what they really need and getting them moved toward homes.”

Responding to a question from Councilmember Diane Buckshnis about housing availability, Boyer noted that overall, there simply is not enough emergency, transitional or affordable housing to accommodate those who need it. “In the long term, what my personal hope would be, is that we could come together — Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Brier, Woodway, Mill Creek — and start putting some money together to build either shelter and/or transitional housing to address the immediate need of these folks until they can get into the affordable housing that is beginning to come online.”

Lynnwood is in the process of completing two large projects near Alderwood Mall — a senior housing complex with some affordable housing units and a workforce development project designed for people who are employed but working in lower-income jobs, Boyer noted.

Councilmember Mike Nelson asked Boyer how Lynnwood is measuring the program’s success so far. “The embedded social worker and the YWCA have come up with some rubrics and they are beginning to report to us on a quarterly basis,” Boyer replied.

Many people think there is no hope for those who are chronically homeless, “but that is simply not true,” Boyer said. Scientific studies have demonstrated that homelessness — like alcohol and drug addiction — is linked to adverse childhood experiences, he explained, and as a result those who are chronically homeless are “functionally unable to form good healthy relationships” with friends, family and co-workers. “But when they receive mentorship, when they receive training their world changes and (they) are are able to become contributing members of society,” he added.

Following Boyer’s presentation, the council held a joint meeting with the Edmonds Planning Board to discuss what guidance the council has regarding the planning board’s approach to housing issues. The city’s Comprehensive Plan includes a chapter that discusses housing needs and issues in Edmonds, and also directs the council to develop a housing strategy by 2019 “for increasing the supply of affordable housing and meeting diverse housing needs,” Development Director Shane Hope explained.

Council and planning board members then spent some time discussing the best approach to take, as well as various options for types of housing that can meet the needs of different demographic groups — from older people to young adults.

Planning board member Alicia Crank said it was important to draw the distinction between affordable housing and low-income housing, noting that affordable housing is “what people can afford.” One option could be to create a “below market rate” program for larger-scale development that would require the developers to either dedicate a certain amount to affordable housing or instead pay a fee that the city could use to create its own affordable housing, she said.

In the end, the general consensus was that the planning board would work with the council to develop a draft housing strategy that would identify needs, strategies and key elements, which would serve as the foundation for a final plan.
In other action, the council:

– Unanimously approved a staff recommendation to reject bids for construction of the Edmonds Veterans Plaza. It means that the project — originally scheduled to be completed by Veterans Day 2016 — will likely be delayed until next spring. Public Works Director Phil Williams noted that the architect’s estimate of $248,683 to build the memorial west of the city’s Public Safety Complex was significantly lower than the two actual construction bids received. The bids, opened Aug. 18, ranged from a low of $416,383.56 by R. L. Alia Company to a high of $734,962 by A-1 Landscape and Construction, Inc.

It’s currently unknown why the architect’s estimate was so low but the city is working with the consultant, Site Workshop, to investigate, Williams said.

The Edmonds Veterans Plaza Committee, charged with raising money for the project, will resume capital fundraising activities to cover the additional cost. The city plans to call for bids again by late 2016 with the goal of completing the project in time for Memorial Day 2017.

Councilmember Tom Mesaros, a Vietnam War-era veteran who served in Germany, has been working with the committee, and said the group is confident it will be able to generate the additional funds. Anyone interested in making a donation can do so via the Edmonds Veterans Plaza website at EdmondsVeteransPlaza.com.

The Veterans Plaza is a public/private civic project that will be managed by the Edmonds Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department. Its primary purpose is to honor all veterans—past, present and future.

– Dave Buelow of the Edmonds Historical Museum made presentation on the Edmonds Historical Museum’s 4th annual Scarecrow Festival, and encouraged all to enter the 2016 competition for scarecrows that are homemade and family-friendly. Registration opens on Oct.1, and winners will be announced at the museum’s gala fundraising dinner Nov. 5. You can learn more here.

The council also heard the June 2016 quarterly financial report from Finance Director Scott James and had further discussion regarding the city’s stormwater management code update.

— By Teresa Wippel