A former Penhallurick lumber yard will soon become a temporary, managed homeless camp after a recent vote by the Moses Lake City Council as part of the city's plan to deal with the homelessness. | Stock Photo
A former Penhallurick lumber yard will soon become a temporary, managed homeless camp after a recent vote by the Moses Lake City Council as part of the city's plan to deal with the homelessness. | Stock Photo
A former Penhallurick lumber yard will soon become a temporary, managed homeless camp after a recent vote by the Moses Lake City Council as part of the city's plan to deal with the homelessness.
According to a Sept. 24 Columbia Basin Herald news article, the city council approved a two-year lease on the former lumber yard located on East Broadway Avenue and Highway 17 with plans to build 20 portable housing units. The camp will also include a fence and security devices with allowed admittance from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. and the requirement for those staying at the camp to leave each morning.
“We can go another winter and not get anything done, we can go another year and not get anything done, and it goes on and on and on," Moses Lake Council Member Dean Hankins told the Columbia Basin Herald. "We need to get started with something.”
Funding for the site is from state and federal agency pandemic relief that has been designated for homelessness as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Columbia Basin Herald. City officials said the housing camp may also be used down the road for short-term pandemic housing and possibly as a shelter for the homeless who need to quarantine, the article stated.
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