MOSES LAKE — A managed homeless camp will be built on a strip of undeveloped park land parallel to Longview Street Northeast near state Route 17, the Moses Lake City Council decided Tuesday. The site of the camp is sandwiched by residences on either side and is about a half-mile south of Longview Elementary School.

In a 6-1 vote, the council Tuesday authorized City Manager Allison Williams to contract with Hope Source to manage the site. Hope Source would provide active management as well as an outreach team for the homeless, and Hope Source would demonstrate the ability to comply with health guidelines and identify additional grant funds, among other responsibilities, according to a request for proposals.

The site will be initially funded with a $388,000 state grant for supporting at-risk and homeless communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring that the homeless have access to hygiene and quarantine services during the crisis. It will include 30 tents and cots, as well as generators, portable toilets, showers and handwashing stations, as well as a portable office and security cameras.

Though the original plan approved Tuesday is only for emergency housing in tents, a site plan included in the packet shown to the council Tuesday indicated possible plans for further development, including for a permanent housing project and a developed park along the same strip of land.

“I think the intention here is that if you are working with a capable non-profit that has the ability to be a community development organization, they have the ability to bring in additional funding,” Williams said.

With additional funding sources, the site could be further developed and maintained in the long term, Williams said.

Council member Karen Liebrecht voted against the proposal. She raised concerns from homeowners from that area who felt they were being selected because they are a low-income, at-risk community.

“They’re saying that not anyone on council would want this across the street from their house,” Liebrecht said. “Making it adjacent to a neighborhood that struggles would make the choice easier, and I don’t think that’s fair, that’s not correct.”

“At any of these sites you are going to get opposition, and I feel that they have been chosen because you feel that that is the path of least resistance,” Liebrecht said.

Council member Dean Hankins, who was involved in selecting a site for the proposed camp, said that while he understood the concerns of Liebrecht and area homeowners, it was not true that the site was chosen because the community would be less able to oppose the decision.

“We were looking at this as the best option we had. We were looking at this for the usability of the site,” Hankins said.

Deputy Mayor Daryl Jackson said he had also heard from a number of city residents raising concerns about the site’s proximity to the elementary school. Williams stated that city staff had already conferred with district superintendent Josh Meek, who indicated that a well-managed site would be acceptable and potentially beneficial to the surrounding community.

With approval from the council, Hope Source is required to present a plan to provide services no later than May 29, according to the request for proposal.

One aspect of the approach is for the city and non-profits to work to get the homeless into supportive or permanent affordable housing.

“You don’t want to just stop at the camp level, you want a plan in place that will get the participants into affordable housing, back with family, back in a substance abuse program, or whatever the case may be,” Williams said.

The city council also voted Tuesday to approve taking back control of a portion of existing recording fees previously being sent to the county in order to support an affordable housing program. That reclaimed revenue will provide an estimated $56,800 annually for the next 20 years for the acquisition, construction or rehabilitation of affordable housing, as well as the maintenance of those facilities.