The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a meeting on August 16, 2022 at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel.
President Amy Mutal rang the bell at 6:15 p.m., calling the club meeting to order.
President Amy Mutal led the membership in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Attending were Pete Anderson, David Aubry, Bob Auslander, Scott Becker*, Terry Cole, David DeBois, Jocelyn Ellison*, Doug Evanson, Rashmi Garimella, Margie Glenn, Brandon Honcoop, Alan Hoviland, Michael Hunter, Isabelle Kalisa, Jim Meniketti, Amy Mutal, Kristin Olson, Joanne Primavera, Steve Shinstrom, Patti Smith, John Storbeck, Alice Volpe, and Rick Walter. *Attended via Zoom.
Guests:
Rashmi’s mother, Rajlaxmi Towari, from India. Tara Karns is visiting from Virginia, and was introduced by Rick Walter. Bethany Clement, who is checking us out, was introduced by Dave DeBois.
Greeter:
Our greeters this evening were Doug Evanson and Jim Meniketti, who were at the front desk to greet members and collect dinner fees.
Announcements, Club Business:
Kristin Olson recognized Rick Walter, our membership chair, for setting up and manning a booth at the Kirkland Downtown Association's Classic Waterfront Car Show, where he promoted Rotary.
Joanne Primavera was in Idaho visiting with the Strombergs, former members of this club. They are doing well and have joined a club there.
The Salmon Bake will now be August 22 at Bob Auslander’s house. See President Amy’s Monday, August 15 email with details and to RSVP. It was moved from the 20th as it was less expensive that way. We are having it catered this year by the same people who did the food at the holiday gift wrapping party. The cost will be the same as at the Courtyard by Marriott, so members can use meal cards. Be sure to sign up soon by responding to Amy’s email, and indicate if you are bringing a guest. Also, bring a bottle of wine to share and indicate either a dessert or an appetizer.
Rick Walter mentioned that the District’s web page has space for each club to post information. We need to start using that resource. New women members in the District over the next couple of months will be able to attend a reception for Rotary International’s current [woman] president.
Happy Bucks:
There were no Happy Bucks this meeting.
Program:
Our speaker this evening is Jim Lopez, the city of Kirkland’s Deputy City Manager for Internal Affairs, who spoke to us about King County’s project to establish Permanent Supportive Housing at the La Quinta Hotel site in South Kirkland. The theme of this project is ‘Health through Housing’. This is a King County project that will have to comply with strict standards in order to successfully function within the City of Kirkland.
Kirkland has been involved from an early date in trying to ensure that the project is well-run, has accountability, and will not negatively impact the folks who live, work, and go to school in Kirkland. The process of ensuring that all this occurs has involved much public input and also the involvement of several city departments, including the police.
The aim of the project is to pair subsidized housing with case management and supportive services. Clients who have an income will be required to pay 30% of their income for this housing and associated services. Potential clients must be disabled and chronically homeless as defined on the King County website. People meeting these criteria will then be eligible to be evaluated for this program.
The program is conditioned on an agreement between the city of Kirkland and King County on how the program is to be run and administered. The facility will be run under strict rules by a private vendor. [Redmond has a similar program, but it has not yet been possible to find an acceptable vendor. Redmond’s site is currently being used for Afghan refugees. The city of Kirkland’s conditions include a proviso that the property can NOT be used for any other purpose but Permanent Supportive Housing.]
The program is based on ‘Housing First’, the theory being that clients cannot be reintegrated into society if they are not in a stable living situation.
The public hearings revealed a LOT of concerns about the impact on nearby neighborhoods, schools, daycares, and the city as a whole. The terms being developed with King County and the city are designed to have mechanisms to compel performance by the operating contractor.
The city of Kirkland’s homeless population will have some priority for this facility and associated services.
Three were MANY questions from Rotarians, including the observation that other, similar projects around the country show a complete success rate of about 6%. Other questions mirrored those that came up during the public hearing process.
Other information elicited from the audience’s questions included information that the project will rely a good deal on local people currently working with the homeless population for referrals to the project.
There seemed to be many concerns but general agreement that there is a real need and that this type of program is essential. BUT – lots of concerns with the details.
Since this is a King County program, the city can only ensure that the program addresses concerns and is well run and accountable to the agreed-upon terms.
Adjournment:
President Amy rang the bell at 7:28 p.m. to adjourn the meeting.
Respectfully Submitted
Dave Aubry, Acting Scribe