City to host public meeting to discuss homeless shelter on border of Spokane and Spokane Valley

After public outcry over a proposed homeless shelter at the border of Spokane and Spokane Valley, city staff and elected officials will hold a public meeting next week.

City spokeswoman Marlene Feist said the public meeting would be a chance for constituents to share their concerns and get some of their questions about the shelter answered. The new shelter will be at the former Grocery Outlet near the corner of Havana Street and Sprague Avenue and will house up to 120 people. Earlier this month, the Spokane City Council approved a $1.8 million sales agreement to try and buy the shelter, and city leaders hope Spokane County will agree to split the final cost.

Board members from Project ID, an organization that offers programs for intellectually disabled adults who have aged out of the system, spoke out against the shelter. The shelter would be next door to Project ID and advocates worry the concentration of people from the shelter, or people turned away from the shelter, could put the vulnerable people who attend Project ID at risk.

Mayor David Condon and council members have both been supportive of the shelter, with City Council President Ben Stuckart saying it would reduce the need for warming shelters this winter, and Condon saying it would move some of the services outside the downtown core.

The public meeting will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Project ID office, 4209 E. Pacific Ave.