Office of Jani Hitchen, Pierce County Council, District 6 announcement.
Many of you have reached out to my office about the proposed Pierce County Village currently sited in Spanaway. There have been a lot of questions, many of which I had myself. I share a link to a resolution below that I think may help assure those in the community, that while we see this as a tool, we also want to make sure it is the right fit for our county and can serve the people it is intended to support.
There have been a lot of question around the proposed location in Spanaway. There is an Environmental Compliance Webinar over Zoon Monday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. focused on the environmental compliance and technical studies of the village project. You can join the webinar here to learn more.
I worked with Councilmember Ryan Mello to draft a “trailer resolution” during the budget process that stipulated some of the questions we would like answered before funding happens. There are additional steps that must occur before this comes to the Council. Executive Bruce Dammeier, the staff of the Tacoma Rescue Mission who are running this project, and some of our amazing Human Services department staff held a public meeting to share the status of this project and listen to community concerns. You can watch the recording of their presentation here.
We continue to see more and more people entering homelessness, but our staff do an amazing job to get people housed as quickly as possible. For those that have been unsuccessful for many different reasons – those we call chronically homeless – this model could be a game-changer. However, there are a lot more decision points and questions that need an answer.
Sweet words, reality is Pierce County has a murder, property damage, lawlessness that is the worst in the world. The reason is people like you it is pathetic. I have recently traveled to Sicily, Malta, Morocco relatively poor countries. They have drug use, homeless, criminals they deal with it. Citizens walk the streets without fear, no homeless crapping on the streets. I am a Tacoma native I am considering a move to Tunisia where it is safe with real police.
I’ve traveled the globe and never saw the support of everything that fails like around here.
I still prefer rural America.
Most folks are armed, skilled, polite/neighborly, and ready to deal with trouble.
Why Spanaway? “Build it and they will come”. Not only the sanctioned occupants but more drug peddlers and criminals who support their drug habits by stealing from Spanaway’s working families and businesses who are struggling to survive.
Here is an idea: build the village in Gig Harbor. Surely the fine citizens there can afford, and would want to help spread equity for all. Or better yet, how about Pierce County’s Chamber Bay “property” in University Place. The cost would be significantly less because the county already owns the property and the infrastructure exists next to the sewer plant.
Spanaway is already forced to pay exorbitant taxes to Seattle Transit (OK, technically it is Sound Transit, but look at the service map – it all goes to Seattle), even though Seattle Transit provides no service there. And now King County (OK, officially the state, but we know who runs the state) wants to cover 3500 acres of south Pierce county for an air freight airport to make SEATAC more convenient for Seattle travelers. Other parts of the county need to step up share the social burdens.
absolutely. this site is less than a mile from my house and I am already terrified to leave my house. I only leave once a week to go grocery shopping, during the morning, and I have a taser with me……..Please put this housing in YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, not mine
The County sends out a postcard with a date & time for the community meeting & then they change the time from 7.00 PM to 9:00 AM in the morning on the day ! How much more corrupt can this Pierce County & there council be ? Absolutely ridiculous to plan such a project that enroaches a Military Installation and a fully residential road, on semi swamp land with no sewer, only one ER within miles of the community- no municipal police department- Spanaway relies on County Sheriff only. There is no sanitation. This is supposed to be a Cross Base Highway!!! Where is the Federal $$ for that project- the one that everyone VOTED for !!! I did not vote for this absurd proposal, nor did the rest of the community. That type of project requires municipal policing, various medical facilities, & lots of taxpayers to pay for the 30+ million it will cost to run as other States with similar plans have reported. It is shown in statistics that 50 % of the Homeless are substance addicted & 25% have extreme mental issues that’s 75% that require special attention & facilities & crime prevention !! And you want to put it there ? NO Thank You Pierce County. You are the worst urban planning department in the State !
ABSOLUTELY, totallly agree
Who came up with this nightmare scenario of amassing 285 chronically homeless in one place? Isn’t that just a ludicrous and inhumane idea to begin with? And what about all the people who live around it? Would *you* like to have 285 chronically homeless as a neighbor, Mr. Bruce Dammeier? What about you, Ms. Jani Hitchen? You said in this article: “our staff do an amazing job to get people housed as quickly as possible” — this is a bald-faced lie. If they did such an “amazing” job, we wouldn’t have at least 4,300 people homeless in Pierce County, would we? Please reject this idea. Everything about it is bad — not to mention the devastating environmental impact it would have on the wetland and Oregon white oak woodland.
I am sitting in the den of my home with the windows rattling with the aircraft doing some sort of maneuvers overhead at JBLM, BUT according to the handout we received at the meeting at Sprinker, #24 says it is a “tranquil and serene” setting. What about the mortar firings that occur both day and night like this past weekend as well! According to the presentation, Mr. Dammeier walked the property and heard nothing. Perhaps the whole council needs to walk it again! This is not the place to house those who are suffering mental issues such as PTSD – the last thing they need to hear in the middle of the night is mortar firings.