Spokane City Council overrides mayoral veto removing purchase of Trent shelter, Municipal Justice Center from six-year plan
The Spokane City Council overrode a second mayoral veto in as many weeks Monday, this time objecting to Mayor Nadine Woodward’s removal of two items from the city’s six-year Capital Improvement Program.
Like many cities, Spokane maintains a Capital Improvement Program, a sort of wish list for buildings and other infrastructure that the city may want to pay for in the next six years. Unlike the annual budget, the six-year programs are not commitments but help city officials plan and seek grants for listed projects.
On Nov. 28, Woodward vetoed two items the City Council had prioritized in the six-year plan: purchasing the Trent shelter and a campus for a new Municipal Justice Center.
“The City is not in a position to spend tens of millions of dollars on capital purchases that are unfunded and lack sufficient review,” Woodward wrote in a letter to City Council.
Council President Breean Beggs disputed that, saying in an interview that possible funding sources had been identified for both projects, though not necessarily sources the mayor agreed with.
He added it was likely the Municipal Justice Center campus would be purchased next year through a Special Budget Ordinance.
However, while he said a majority of the council agreed with purchasing the shelter, he believed it was unlikely to happen. The city’s lease agreement with the property’s owner includes a purchase option that will expire in mid-January.
Trent shelter
The mayor’s office and City Council have long disagreed about whether to purchase the Trent Resource and Assistance Center, the cornerstone of the city’s efforts to relocate those living at the Camp Hope homeless encampment.
In June, the City Council approved a $1.6 million, five-year lease agreement for the shelter, which is owned by developer Larry Stone through an LLC, Lawrence Stone Properties No. 4320. The lease included an option to purchase the property within six months, expiring in January.
Some council members have pushed to exercise that option, particularly with investments to make the property usable as a shelter to temporarily house hundreds of people.
“We’re looking at $1 million of improvements to the building, and a private citizen should not be benefiting from taxpayer improvements of a building,” said Councilman Zack Zappone.
In an email, city spokesman Brian Coddington wrote improvements to the building had been made by the property owner at their own expense, per the terms of the lease. However, those were minor improvements compared to the investments needed for bathrooms, showers and modular living spaces, which will be paid for by taxpayers, Beggs said.
Zappone said there are concerns over Stone supporting Woodward’s mayoral campaign. Stone contributed $1,000 to Woodward’s campaign in 2019 and has donated another $970 to her 2023 re-election campaign, according to filings with the state Public Disclosure Commission.
Municipal Justice Center
The City Council has had its eyes on a 252,000-square-foot campus on East Sprague Avenue, owned by Premera Blue Cross, as the new home for the city’s Municipal Court, and potentially a new precinct or headquarters for the Spokane Police Department.
The current Municipal Court is too small, said Councilwoman Lori Kinnear, to the extent that it could be dangerous.
“It’s physically unsafe when victims and perpetrators are in contact with each other in a small space, and with judges, and when restrooms are not secure –all these things are dangerous for your employees,” Kinnear said.
“When the U.S. Marshal visited, he said it was one of the most unsafe (courthouses) he had seen,” she added.
There is $5 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds set aside for the purchase of a new justice center, Beggs said. The remaining funds could be acquired through the sale of city property, including the Gardner Building, a portion of the city’s Criminal Justice Assistance funds and a loan from the city’s own investment accounts, Beggs added.