PORT TOWNSEND — A Port Townsend City Council discussion, brought on by public safety concerns at an unsanctioned encampment behind the state Department of Social and Health Services building on Evans Vista, expanded into a brainstorming session on the broader issue of homelessness in the city.
The council passed two motions Monday night, one directing the Housing Fund Board to reopen public outreach and conversations pertaining to local solutions to homelessness and the other directing the board to consider a low-barrier shelter as a priority.
Robert Wittenberg, East Jefferson Fire Rescue’s community risk manager, illustrated concerning risks present at the encampment. He told the council about a recent walkthrough with city staff and law enforcement.
“We did find a number of areas of concern,” Wittenberg said. “Particularly, some tent locations that had actually burned with unreported fires. That raises some concerns, for not only the materials there — there were some propane tanks around that particular burn — but also any kind of injury that could occur to residents there, or expansion of that fire into other tents or into the woods or the other structures in the area.”
Wittenberg said that he’s performed outreach to residents as well as county public health officials and the city to come up with ways to enhance fire safety in the encampment.
Providing refillable water-based fire extinguishers and providing education on proper heating and cooking were among the ways he named.
“Especially as we head into the winter season, we want to make sure that those efforts to heat themselves do not elicit any kinds of issues,” Wittenberg said.
Another element would be to develop relationships that instill confidence in the residents that they can call 911 should an emergency arise, he added.
Port Townsend Police Chief Thomas Olsen also spoke Monday night.
“We’ve driven through the area almost daily just doing random patrols,” he said. “We have observed some fires that weren’t reported as well.”
The area around the DSHS building had 144 calls for service in 2024, Olsen said. As of Monday’s meeting, 155 calls have come from the area, Olsen said.
“We’re looking at calls for service most likely doubling this year over last year,” he said. “We’ve got a few staffing challenges now, and a lot of those calls are very time-consuming.”
Olsen said a number of the calls have been fairly serious in nature.
“We’re not getting full services to all the people who need it,” Public Works Director Steve King said.
King said putting the agenda item before council was a city staff effort to recognize the worsening problem while requesting that the issue be addressed more intensively by devoted entities.
“We’re responsible for public health and safety, and our roles and talents are not in social services,” he said. “This is why we call upon the Housing Fund Board and our regional partners to look at solutions to help the people experiencing homelessness that are most in need, recognizing that if we don’t make an effort, it’s only going to be a continued problem that only seems to be getting worse.”
Staff’s recommendation was to go to the Housing Fund Board to request that they pursue additional funding and services to address homelessness in the area.
The Housing Fund Board is a concerted effort between Jefferson County, the city of Port Townsend and the community at large, City Manager John Mauro said.
The board’s configuration includes two city council members, two county commissioners and three members at large, Mauro said. The board has expertise, involved providers and subcomittees, he added.
“It’s just a bigger table with more representation across the community and a collaborative effort to solve a really difficult problem,” Mauro said.
In addition to calls for service, the city has funded portable bathrooms and dumpster service to the site, Mauro said.
“It’s not the city not being present,” Mauro said. “We’re present among a lot of other voices and minds at the table. That has a better chance of advancing solutions.”
The Housing Task Force is currently working on a five-year plan to address homelessness in the community, which will come before city council for adoption probably in November or December, said Vicki Sontag, a member of the Housing Fund Board and its Housing Task Force subcommittee.
“We’re looking at all the data, we’re looking at underserved populations, we’re looking at the bigger context,” she said. “The good news is that, over this last five years, we have doubled the capacity of the emergency transitional housing system. There’s twice as many beds as before.”
In November, Olympic Community Action Programs’ Point In Time count recorded 30 people in the encampment, Sontag said.
“I understand it’s (now) up around 100,” she added.
In addition to those who are visibly homeless, like those in the encampment, others are less visible.
Julia Cochrane, the founder and director of the Winter Welcoming Center, said the problem is urgent and historic.
“It is time to step this up,” she said. “I have no disagreement with the need for a low-barrier shelter but do not believe one of the size needed will be built in time for this winter. Starting Oct. 1, many housing subsidies will be sunsetting, if not ending. This will affect the formerly unsheltered on (Tenant-Based Rental Assistance) as well as well as people on Section 8 vouchers and buildings that have subsidized units.”
National news outlets report that President Donald Trump’s proposed 2026 budget could dramatically impact housing subsidies and rental assistance.
Cochrane said she expects the DSHS encampment to grow notably by 2026.
“Many of these people will have no experience with being unsheltered,” she said.
Cochrane said she supports the city’s Evans Vista affordable housing development, but with tariffs, the cost of building supplies and the general volatility of the construction industry, she does not see the city’s vision as viable during Trump’s administration.
“I suggest we use that publicly owned land to do a truly supported encampment,” she said.
The encampment should have camp grids, sani-cans, dumpsters, access to water for fire safety and drinking, access to electricity, at least for charging devices, and wi-fi, Cochrane said.
“I’m also suggesting that, among the campers, we find a few who are relatively sober and sane and that we support these individuals with cell phones, a list of contacts for various types of emergencies, training and maybe a monthly stipend or give cards.”
The Evans Vista land is already publicly owned, is not under powerlines and is not bordering neighbors, Cochrane said.
“I’m begging the city council as well as the county and all the various departments to spend the next couple of months figuring out a humane response to what will be a tsunami of people losing their housing,” Cochrane said.
Council member Neil Nelson expressed support of exploring Cochrane’s Evans Vista idea.
Beulah Kingsolver, executive director of Dove House Advocacy Services and Recovery Cafe, said the issue should not be constrained to the bureaucratic limitations of the Housing Fund Board.
“There’s not a lot of room for open conversation,” she said. “It’s set up pretty rigid, like city council, for all the right reasons, but it’s not a great place to think outside of the box. It’s set up on how to fund us, not necessarily to brainstorm and bring in ideas.”
The cafe does case management for a lot of the people in the encampments, Kingsolver said.
“One of the things we offer is showers in partnership with the YMCA,” she said. “Laundry has become a huge issue because of the cost. One of the issues floated out there has been putting some laundry facilities in all of the community centers.”
The conversation is far from over, Mayor David Faber said.
“I worry it’s just going to get worse,” he said. “With the federal administration, with our housing affordability crisis in this community. It’s an abject disaster.”
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@sequimgazette.com.
