EVERETT — Somewhere within Everett, Snohomish County is looking to obtain a hotel to repurpose for sheltering homeless individuals, similar to what King County did, but the move apparently wasn’t done in concern with the City of Everett. Many city officials learned of it through the press.
“I, too, was surprised when it came up at (the County Council) meeting,” Mayor Cassie Franklin told the City Council last week.
County officials this week will debrief the City Council on its sheltering and homeless services plans at the Nov. 24 council meeting after press time. The meeting starts at 12:30 p.m. The debrief got set up when city officials hustled to have the county explain further.
The county is looking to buy or lease an approximately 125-bed hotel specifically in Everett to use for homeless shelter purposes. It could also be used for refugee assistance.
“We are focused on purchasing this first hotel in Everett, but we do intend to pursue other options elsewhere in the county if we can find jurisdictions to partner with and there is need,” Kelsey Nyland, a spokesperson for the county’s Office of Recovery and Resilience, said.
On Nov. 8, a 4-1 majority on the County Council authorized the County Executive Dave Somers’ administration to sign a contract with a real estate broker for the job.
City residents began calling the city when the news broke.
Silver Lake Neighborhood residents are led to believe it will be a hotel near them, but that is not known.
City Council President Brenda Stonecipher emphasized that a site location has not been made public.
“The county has not settled on a location, and if they have, it is not being made public,” Stonecipher said at the council meeting.
Kidder Mathews is the broker. They have already begun touring hotels, Nyland said. American Rescue Plan Act funds are paying for the brokerage services.
