Ellensburg partners with Kittitas County for temporary winter shelter amid sleep center delays

ELLENSBURG, Wash. — The City of Ellensburg’s plan to build an overnight shelter for people experiencing homelessness has been delayed, but city officials plan to partner with Kittitas County to ensure people have a safe place to go this winter.

“I think we’re recognizing that it’s not going to happen this winter, so we need to get something in place to fill that gap from the ministerial association not being able to do the cold weather shelter,” City of Ellensburg Public Information Officer Nicole Klauss said.

The Kittitas Valley Ministerial Association has operated a temporary, seasonal overnight shelter in Ellensburg since 2015, rotating between local churches and housing four to 20 people a night. However, Klauss said the association told the city and county this year that they would no longer be able to manage the shelter.

“It’s become really difficult for the churches to continue with that, just because it's so largely reliant on volunteers,” Klauss said.

In response, the city has been working on a more permanent solution: an overnight sleep center made up of individual pallet shelters. Experts reviewed possible locations and selected a property on Ruby Street, the site of HopeSource’s incoming Pathways affordable housing project.

“They had some extra room and they thought they could put some wraparound services there and it would be great,” said Klauss.

However, the proposal received community pushback from nearby businesses, including a nearby daycare and its clients.

“Some folks that maybe had their children go there had some concerns about that,” Klauss explained.

The city then asked the public to suggest alternate locations, which would be discussed at a public meeting.

However, HopeSource sent a letter to the city, asking their site be removed from the list, stating: “While HopeSource believes that the Ruby Street site likely is the best of those sites in play, it is clear that site has become a flashpoint that is hindering the ability of the community to move forward and do the work of thoughtfully considering how to make the necessary sleep center a reality.”

Four locations are still up for consideration, but Klauss said that the permanent sleep center will not be ready this winter.

The city is now teaming up with the county to run their own temporary cold weather shelter. This stationary shelter will be open for 12 hours overnight.

“We’re just getting together and working on the RFP that will go out to find a contractor to provide the services,” Klauss said. “A location hasn't yet been identified. That's something that staff from city and county will work on, kind of looking at the market, what's available that could even work for this situation.”

Klauss said there is no timeline for when that might happen, but they’re hoping to move forward quickly to ensure the temporary cold weather shelter can be open by mid-November.

Meanwhile, city officials continue to evaluate four possible locations for the permanent sleep center, though no set timeline has been established.

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