PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A vote Clackamas County leaders call “historic” is now set for Thursday night.
That’s when commissioners will vote on whether or not to use $15 million to buy a hotel off I-205 and convert it into a transitional housing facility.
Commissioner Ben West has been vocally opposed to this project, based on concerns he’s heard from people in the area. However, county staff says this project is the solution to the exact problems nay sayers are worried about.
“We think it’s the right move to support the most vulnerable in our community,” said Dan Field, the Director of Community Health for Kaiser Permanente Northwest.
The money would come from Oregon’s Project Turnkey, no county funds would be used. The deputy director of the County’s Health, Housing and Human Services Department Adam Brown says the location was chosen because it was close to public transit and further from schools and residential areas, which he says Clackamas County residents have said is a priority when considering shelter locations.
“We’ve lacked critical infrastructure in our community to address these issues. And we really want to work together to make this a community resource to address some of those existing issues that we see today,” said Brown.
Clackamas County reports in its outreach, 55% of people outright supported the project and an additional 13% support it with certain conditions.
But West has already said he will vote no. In a tweet thread Monday, West said he was open to other Project Turnkey programs, but couldn’t support this one because of the details, like location, and other conditions decided before he was elected to the Board.
“For me, this is not about being “Right” or “Wrong.” I appreciate the hard work my colleagues on the CCB have done in leading to their decisions,” West tweeted.
Brown, however, points to a good neighbor agreement being crafted in part with Kaiser, which sits across Sunnyside from the motel.
“First of all, the county recognizes the critical role that businesses and other stakeholders will play in the ongoing success of this program,” Brown said.
“We can wrap services around them, we can understand what their needs are, what their medical needs are, what their social needs are. And that prepares them to be more successful in housing for the long term,” Field added.
Programs from Project Turnkey have helped add shelter capacity for 19 sites in 13 Oregon counties.
“These are folks who would otherwise go out onto the streets,” said Mary-Rain O’Meara from Central City Concern.
In Multnomah County, the River Haven Recovery Shelter has helped or is helping 76 people in a year and a half.”The community’s concerned about increased drug use behavioral health issues and an overall decrease in public safety, neighborhood livability and prosperity for nearby businesses. And we really want folks to see that this is actually the solution to some of those problems,” Brown said.