For days, many people from the Asian American community have tried to request a meeting with the City of Redmond and Mayor Angela Birney. Everyone is getting the same email
City official, Director Carol Helland kicked the ball back to the county and said “The Health Through Housing program is run by King County. As such, they are taking the lead on the community engagement.” On the contrary, City of Renton, which also hosts a Health Through Housing homeless hotel, decided to take the leadership role in community engagement. What a stark contrast!
As Director of Planning and Community Development, Carol Helland did not involve citizens of Redmond in the process and failed her job. RCW 36.70A.020 , Planning Goal, clearly states goal #11: “Citizen participation and coordination. Encourage the involvement of citizens in the planning process and ensure coordination between communities and jurisdictions to reconcile conflicts.” There are eight schools in close proximity to the Redmond homeless hotel site. A day care center is only 700 feet away from it. Ms. Helland may not care, yet WE care about the safety of the little ones in the impacted area. Judging by Ms. Helland’s statement below, she and City of Redmond will move forward without input from people and businesses in the impacted areas.
Mayor Angela Birney and Director Carol Helland owes citizens of Redmond, people whose taxes pay their salaries, a meeting, an explanation and an apology.
4 Comments
Deanna Gooding · August 6, 2021 at 8:06 am
I am very concerned about the placement of the new homeless shelter. I want to keep Redmond safe. This move to add a homeless shelter to Redmond is definitely a step in the wrong direction and should be prohibited.
Kenny L · August 7, 2021 at 10:23 pm
I’ve written my concerns to health.through.housing@kingcounty.gov. It’s been 5 working days and I’m not getting any reply from them. Who should we vote against for this *not* to continue?
Editor · August 8, 2021 at 12:04 am
You can also email the followings to raise your concerns:
leonardo.flor@kingcounty.gov
kcexec@kingcounty.gov
dow.constantine@kingcounty.gov
Joel Glass · August 9, 2021 at 2:51 pm
Unfortunately we are extremely unlikely to stop this project. The property has been purchased, the county is eager to implement their program and they have our money. I think we need to approach the various electeds from this perspective and try to find areas where we can help shape how this site is run. Who is going to manage it? Do they have prior experience? What sort rehabilitation services are they going to have, drug, work, life, mental health etc.
Comments are closed.