Councilmember Mike Roskind said, “I’m very disappointed in the conduct of the people who are trying to bring tent city back into the City of Woodinville. I’ve been one of the more vocal advocates and have taken some heat for it, defending tent city as I think that the people in tent city are doing the best they can. … I am very aware of how dangerous it is on the streets among the homeless. However, I think the people that are pushing the agenda are moving away from trying to protect and shelter the homeless and pushing a political objective that is really nothing more than a power grab from our government. We’re a small city and maybe they think they can test these issues here.

“I, myself,” said Roskind, “am trying to balance the civil rights of my community against an aggressive policy, which is usurping authority from government and trying to force their will upon our community. I find this is something that is unacceptable. It has nothing to do with sheltering the homeless. It has everything to do with dictating the terms to the community.

“ … You have to base a moral decision on what’s the best for everybody. … We have to take a look at why the church is not taking seriously the rule of law, that they are willing to act in civil disobedience.”

“There was a citizen who spoke earlier,” said Councilmember Chuck Price, “about her pride in the justice, charity and civic responsibility (this community demonstrated the last time tent city was in Woodinville). Justice, charity and civic responsibility require balance. You can’t sit on one side of the fence, and you can’t sit on the other side. You have to sit on top and look down on the whole situation. … One of the gentlemen sitting over there from New York said it himself. He said, ‘Tent city? What is that? Living in tents? Porta-potties? What is that?’ Really, what the heck is that? (With) the complacency of the church to be able to live and just sit back and watch and be manipulated, it’s no wonder people are saying Share / Wheel is manipulating the church community. This church community isn’t doing their job, and I’m just disgusted.

“Well, we have to do our job. They’re spinning their wheels. They’re putting this in our faces, and these poor people, legitimate people that need problems solved, are being moved around and positioned like pawns. … People can (puff out) their chests and say I’m doing something for these people. Well, I don’t see anything good (in) putting these people in tents. How many years? How many communities? How many tent cities? How many hundreds of thousands of dollars have we spent? … Now you want us to come and do this all over again? Well, I’m very sorry. I cannot support this, as we have to represent justice, charity and civic responsibility for those people down at the park (as well). It was a one-time deal. … They agreed that they would give timely consideration to any future tent city. I am not against the homeless. I want to fix that problem as much as the next person, but I am really – I said it before – against this process because it is not helping their situation.

“ … If (in the past) five years, we had spent as much energy working for a permanent place (for the homeless) rather than fighting this stupid situation, we’d be miles ahead for the people who are sitting over there in the corner.”

Council discussed a number of motions. One was for staff to look into and return to council with a recommendation about raising the maximum fine for violating permitting from $250 a day to $1,000 a day. It passed 6-0, with Mayor Cathy VonWald absent. Council also asked that staff return to council with a fee structure that escalated fines based on continued daily violation when a permit was knowingly violated. It passed 6-0.

It was also suggested that council add to its proposed homeless encampment ordinance a mandatory 24-hour police servicing stipulation, funded by the applicant unless waived by the council.

Councilwoman Gina Leonard said, “I ran the numbers for the years 2003 and 2004 for both Part I and Part II Offenses. I don’t think, based on those numbers, that there’s any reason to feel we need 24/7 protection. And I’ll just throw out some numbers. For example, aggravated assaults were 4 in the year tent city was here and 9 in the year previous. Burglary residential was 25 in the year tent city was here and 21 the year previous. Vehicle theft was 59 the year tent city was here and 67 the year previous. Stolen property 1, nothing the year previous. Weapons violation 2, 4 the previous year. Vandalism 100, 104 the previous year. I understand your approach to this. I just don’t see that we have to worry about those kinds of crimes.”

Councilman Don Brocha said, “I have to agree. I don’t think that 24/7 police is required. We talk about a couple officers. I mean, it’s starting to look like just a transparent effort to try to block tent city period, and, you know, I’m not interested in talking about that right now.”

Police Chief Kent Baxter said that Bothell had police 24 hours a day, costing the city somewhere around $100,000. He said when tent city was last in Woodinville, police – city officers and county officers – made 2.5 stops at the camp per day.

“We had 15 reported incidents,” said Baxter.

Roskind said, “It is obvious Northshore United Church of Christ (NUCC) and the Church Council of Greater Seattle have absolutely no respect for our process down here. We’re making it very inviting for them to come down here and abuse our community right now. I think it’s a mistake for us not to demand 24/7 police servicing, unless they can prove to us that they don’t need it. … They’re not interested in talking to us. … They’re not interested in respect of the community, the neighbors, the council, the rule of law. They’re interested in usurping government process. And that’s why they should be required to post 24/7 police services unless they go through due process.”

The motion to have 24/7 police services at the encampment funded by the applicant failed 3-3, with Roskind, Stecker and Price in favor and Brocha, Leonard and Hageman opposed.

Price moved to have the applicant pay for police services to be determined by the chief of police to cover the needs he assesses and the cost of services. This motion failed 3-3, with council members voting as they did in the previous motion.

Deputy Mayor Stecker said, “I want to get back to the crux of the matter. Are we going to allow the siting (of tent city) in the downtown area? We’ve been dancing around an issue here. The previous council, some of which are here, were extremely generous in the last situation. It was a unique situation. … The council stepped up and the citizens, in general, felt it was a decent solution at the time. We were very generous with $92,000 of the city’s money. And I’m sorry. It does put at risk businesses in the downtown area. … What I’m really getting at is, are we going to allow tent city to be in the downtown area or … not? And if not, and they break the law, what are we going to do about it?”

After a couple motions were proposed and failed to move forward, Roskind moved that the city enter into a contract with NUCC and Share / Wheel for use of the downtown park for tent city.

Councilman Scott Hageman said, “In my heart of hearts, I truly believe … people are being put in (a situation) that is causing them distress. And yet the whole system, I think, and the whole process (are) flawed. I want to help these people. I really do. My wife and I … give a lot of time and money to homeless organizations, and yet here we have a different situation that … in some cases really works for these people. But I really have a problem with the process and I’m just torn down the middle. On one hand, I want to do everything I can to help these folks. On the other hand, I’m not sure … it’s being gone about in the proper (way, following the proper procedure).

“The park land would be my choice; however, at the same time, I’ve heard, and I agree, this should not be done on the backs of the citizens of Woodinville. I’d be willing to open my wallet right now, but I don’t have a thousand or ten thousand or a hundred thousand dollars. And I would agree with Mr. Price. The organizations that should be doing the work to solve this crisis … are not. There’s perhaps another agenda here. I think these people end up as unfortunate pawns. No one should be in that position.

“My goal is that if they would go to the park land, the citizens of Woodinville need to be compensated. We need to see that. … We (need to) find a way to make sure this never happens again. … Otherwise, I cannot support it.”

Deputy Mayor Stecker said, “I don’t think anyone who sits on this council doesn’t care, or they wouldn’t be sitting here. We agree on things. We don’t agree on things. But we’re all up here for public service. We care about what happens to you or we wouldn’t be up here. But it’s a bigger issue than that. We can’t put this on the backs of the downtown or the people who have their businesses downtown. I can’t go forward with this.”

Leonard said, “So we’ve now sat here for four and a half hours and I’ve heard lots of different opinions. I’ve heard facts. I’ve heard advice on how to vote. I’ve heard advice on how to protect my political career if I want to do that. Nearly everybody’s given me the best advice. And that is to make the right decision. That’s what I’m going to do. I’ve listened to speakers, I’ve gotten e-mails, I’ve gotten phone calls, believe it or not; and I have to say, never once … did I ever get the sense that the church was tying to extort something from us or blackmail us … I believed them when they said it was an emergency. I still believe them, in spite of everything I’ve heard tonight to the contrary.

“If Share / Wheel has a political agenda, and from what I’ve read, they most likely do, that’s a separate issue (from) what we’re dealing with. This is a very pragmatic decision for me to make, and that is regardless of the games Share may or may not be playing. I entertain the premise that this is an emergency, that they need to have some kind of decision made within the next few days. … I am faced with what has to be done with these homeless people who have to go somewhere and they have to feel safe.”

Leonard amended the motion to authorize tent city’s use of park land provided applicants abide by the conditions of the previous agreement with the following changes: that Share / Wheel not come back to Woodinville for 18 months, that they stay only 60 days, and that Share / Wheel agrees to pay for all associated costs such as hookups, water, construction. This motion failed.

Brocha wondered why this was such an emotional issue. He said part of it was fear, uncertainty and doubt.

“That’s fanned by a lot of prejudicial language you’re hearing on both sides,” he said. “Share / Wheel are terrorists. Although whether that’s true or not, the City of Woodinville’s charter is not to combat terrorists, as far as I understand. We just heard a lot of language, conspiracy theories, threat intimidation, disgusted, embarrassed, all these words fanning the FUD factor, fear, uncertainty and doubt. … Some of it is just plain indignation.”

Brocha called Mr. Dyke’s lawsuit against the City of Woodinville the last time tent city came to town a “frivolous suit,” saying “and apparently the judge thought so too. I’m a little more concerned this time about the legal costs,” said Brocha. … I can’t accept the city and citizens essentially paying for a lawsuit where we might not prevail, where it’s in question. … I feel I’m torn. … If we deny this, it’s up to the church to make the next move, and we will respond with our laws. We keep hearing that everyone needs to play by the laws. We have laws on the books. … So we’re not doing this outside the rules. It is short-term notice. Due process? What have we been doing for the last four and a half hours? Get off my back. Oh, sorry. I’m (showing a little) indignation. And let me tell you, I came close to indignation about that Abbott and Costello act we just went through with all those different motions. It’s too late to do this kind of stuff. … I think we could make it work, but the lawsuit and potential costs from that concern me greatly.”

The motion to enter into an agreement to allow tent city to use city land failed. Leonard voted yes; Roskind, Stecker, Hageman and Price voted no; Brocha abstained and Mayor VonWald was absent.