Madrone Announces Olympia City Council Race

Above: Dani Madrone, 35, of Olympia, announced her candidacy for Olympia City Council, Position 3 on Saturday. Little Hollywood interviewed Madrone on issues of homelessness, affordable housing, sea level rise, and neighborhoods.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Dani Madrone, 35, of Olympia, announced her candidacy for Olympia City Council, Position 3 on Saturday.

The position is an open seat because Councilmember Nathaniel Jones, who currently occupies that position, is running for the seat currently held by Mayor Cheryl Selby. Selby is running for reelection.

Madrone, a resident of Olympia since 2004, studied science, sustainability, and public policy at The Evergreen State College. She received her master’s in public administration in 2016 and works for the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

Madrone met with Little Hollywood in downtown Olympia Saturday to discuss her candidacy and the issues of homelessness, affordable housing, sea level rise, and neighborhoods.

She says Olympia faces big decisions on the environment, including climate change, and the health of Puget Sound. She wants to incorporate environmental priorities into all areas of city government with decisions based on science.

Above: The city-sanctioned homeless mitigation site located on the corner of Olympia Avenue and Franklin Street Saturday morning in downtown Olympia.

Beginning our walking interview at the city-sanctioned homeless mitigation site located on the corner of Olympia Avenue and Franklin Street, Madrone acknowledged that homelessness in Olympia is in crisis mode.

She says she recognizes that social service providers are overwhelmed, potential shoppers are afraid to go downtown, and local businesses are losing customers.

“I love downtown. I feel safe, but I don’t want to tell other people what feels safe for them. There’s a lot of tension downtown and at this point, it takes a lot of courage for businesses to step up and say, ‘This isn’t working for me.’ The conversations just aren’t very good right now.

“I’m hoping to be a bridge builder and to listen to people and say, ‘OK, what does it look like when we’re succeeding?’ and develop a crisis management plan around that. This is a big issue and it’s going to be tense for a while.

“We need a clear problem statement. We need to know if the mitigation site is working, for example. It’s a big community conversation that needs to happen between folks who are homeless, businesses in the area, service providers, and city staff to come up with a shared vision of success. Otherwise, we don’t know if we’re heading there.”

Asked about the mitigation site, Madrone said that it is a good first step but needs to lead to something more permanent. She says she thinks of it as Olympia setting the table, but wonders how the city is going to make sure all are fed and healthy in the long run.

“What comes after this? This is obviously not a sustainable solution. We don’t want people living outside on pallets in tents. It’s not the end-game. That’s the piece I’m not seeing yet and that’s the part I’d like to help bring around – a long term crisis management plan,” she said.

Asked about funding, Madrone said the Home Fund is an important piece of the funding puzzle.

“I’d say by the time the Home Fund was already approved by the voters, it was not enough. We have a growing problem, a problem that is becoming increasingly visible. The city does need more help from the county, state, and federal government.

“We have to ask ourselves, are we putting our resources where they need to go? Do we know at what point we can declare that something is not working so we can free up those resources and put them toward the things that we know are working?”

Housing Options

Madrone has lived in a variety of rental situations in Olympia and has had to leave housing because the rent was suddenly raised so high she couldn’t afford it. She’s also lived in places where the landlord really cared about her situation. 

Madrone says her rent was not raised for four years because her landlord knew she was struggling. She is now a homeowner in the northwest neighborhood where she lives with her young daughter.

Madrone was active in the recent “Missing Middle” housing conversation and sees a need for more diverse housing options throughout the city. She says she will explore renter protections and the barriers created by short-term vacation rentals and long term vacancies.

“The Missing Middle conversation is a big, complicated issue. Calculations from the city say that 1,000 more housing units across the city could be built over the next 20 years due to the recent passage of the ordinance.

“It’s a very small piece of what’s needed. In terms of what’s next, we really need a lot more multi-family housing in the density nodes: downtown, over by Capital Mall, the Eastside, and the high-density corridors. We have to figure out why those aren’t being built.”

Above: Dani Madrone walks along Percival Landing near the children’s playground where soft-armoring of the shoreline with native plants help control flooding.

Sea Level Rise

Another issue facing Olympia is the threat of sea level rise. Discussing the city’s draft sea level rise plans, Madrone says that floodable landscapes are mentioned but not incorporated into the plan.

“I really think the city should be looking at places downtown that will allow flood water to come in and become the receptacle for flood water until everything subsides.

“There are opportunities to take underutilized parking lots and turn them into a park-like area so when it floods, you can direct the water into those areas to contain it. 

There’s a lot of planning to protect downtown from flooding but not enough planning for where that water is going to go if we can’t handle it.

“I would like to see us have a range of flood barrier options to choose from for downtown….We don’t have any options that suggest that we only protect part of downtown. What would it look like if we were to retreat from downtown? Let’s put it out there on the table.”

Little Hollywood asked Madrone if she was suggesting that retreat still be considered as an option and if she was in agreement with the city’s sea level rise plans. 

The city is committed to saving downtown and all its assets, such as the regional LOTT water/wastewater facility.

“Not 100 percent,” responded Madrone. “I think their direction is fine if we only get two to three feet of sea level rise, but if we end up on the higher end of the projections, I think we’re underestimating the issue….

“I don’t think a complete retreat from downtown at this point is realistic, but we might start talking about what it looks like to put new housing over in that direction (Madrone points southwest across Capitol Lake).

“The less we have to protect in the areas most likely to flood the better. What does the community conversation look like in terms of what parts of our downtown is most important to protect? What is the phased approach?”

Finally, Little Hollywood asked Madrone if there were any issues she needed to learn more about.

“I could stand to learn more about almost every issue. I would hope everyone would say that. I would love to hear more from businesses throughout Olympia about their experiences and what their needs are,” she said. 

Madrone said she would also like to hear from neighborhoods and their issues. 

“Neighborhood associations are run by dedicated volunteers with limited time and energy. Their issues need to be kept on the city’s radar,” she said.

“I’m going to learn a lot in the next year. One of the biggest challenges I see is how much people talk past each other. I want to be someone who can help with seeing our shared interests and help bring people together a bit more. It’s part of the national politics right now for everything to be so divided and I just feel like we can do better locally,” said Madrone.

Madrone has already received endorsements from some elected officials and community members.

The filing deadline for council races is in May. 

Sea Level Rise: Olympia is not Alone

Above: Regional elected officials met last Wednesday evening at Olympia City Hall to discuss sea level rise response planning efforts. Members of Olympia, Lacey, and Tumwater city councils, the Port of Olympia, Thurston County, and the LOTT Clean Water Alliance were in attendance.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Regional elected officials met January 31 to discuss the threat of sea level rise and began planning efforts to save downtown Olympia.

A sight rarely seen to discuss a singular issue, members of Olympia, Lacey, and Tumwater city councils, the Port of Olympia, Thurston County, and the LOTT Clean Water Alliance were in attendance at Olympia City Hall. 

Over 100 assets in downtown Olympia have been identified and categorized and a plan for phasing in specific actions, with an eye toward long range strategies, will begin. 

Justin Vandever of AECOM, the consultant firm hired by the entities, presented the latest sea level rise science specific to downtown Olympia. 

“We know the science is going to change…every few years we’re going to get new information. The likely sea level rise scenario will be 13 inches by 2050, and 36 inches by the end of the century…but there’s a lot of uncertainty…the high range is 24 inches by 2050,” he said.

Reminding officials that Olympia is not alone, Vandever provided examples of other cities, port districts and water and wastewater treatment plant facilities that are also facing sea level rise challenges.

Despite his experience in working with various entities, Vandever said Olympia is unique and its plans and ideas need to be relevant and flexible to the area, which includes three miles of shoreline.

Most of the graphics were overwhelming, eliciting a range of emotions, questions and comments.

Port of Olympia Commissioner EJ Zita expressed her views on mitigation and adaptation. 

“...Much of the hometown we love is going to flood. We have no choice but to adapt. Meanwhile, we can still make choices to mitigate - to slow or reduce climate change. By choosing to encourage dense urban development, especially on higher ground, we can make transportation more efficient, and preserve farmland and open spaces. By choosing renewables instead of coal in Washington State, we can make electricity cleaner. And by installing more charging stations, we can electrify vehicle transport.

“Ports can play a major role in mitigation. By cancelling the biggest oil terminal in the U.S., the Port of Vancouver discouraged oil transport and burning. Our own Port of Olympia could choose not to support fracking for fossil fuels,” she said.  

Lacey Deputy Mayor Cynthia Pratt focused her concerns on infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, fire and police stations, and the LOTT Cleanwater Alliance water and wastewater treatment plant.

“The plant represents a community investment of over $500 million dollars, and it is critical infrastructure that is essential to the continued protection of public health and our environment. It needs to be protected from sea level rise.”

She said she often hears from Lacey residents that they don't have to deal with sea level rises issues and asked Mike Strub, executive director of the LOTT Cleanwater Alliance, to explain what the impact would be to Lacey.

“When Lacey toilets back up, then they will care,” he quipped. Quickly getting serious, however, Strub explained how sea level rise will impact the whole region.

“There will be an impact on all communities. The process (of inundation) would cause the system to shut down. The Budd Inlet Treatment Plant is the mothership of the treatment system. We can keep it going for a little while, but if we lose power, we can’t get water through the plant. It wouldn’t go anywhere. It would be a serious situation. It’s a fragile line. Once that’s crossed, there are serious consequences.”

Pratt, who serves as Lacey’s representative to the LOTT Board, elaborated on her concerns to Little Hollywood after the meeting:

“LOTT will need to keep updating equipment, such as generators and pumps, which will add costs to ratepayers. I think that is an important element for Lacey because they don’t get the connection between us and Olympia’s “problem.” It’s an out-of-sight, out-of-mind issue. Obviously, if LOTT fails, there will be issues, but it also means that wastewater spills untreated into Budd Inlet....I truly think this conundrum needs to be addressed in the outreach plan. It isn’t just an Olympia, LOTT facility, Port problem but rather a system-wide issue.” 

Olympia City Councilmember Jessica Bateman asked several questions about Capitol Lake, and the assumptions used, given the possibility it could revert back to an estuary. 

The state Department of Enterprise Services is responsible for lake management. 

Andy Haub, City of Olympia water resources director for public works, responded that Capitol Lake is in the inundation zone and the intent of a plan is to accommodate whatever Capitol Lake becomes.

Port of Olympia Commissioner Bill McGregor mentioned his concerns about the protection of Cascade Pole, the former wood-treating site on port property that requires an on-site pumping and treatment system to remove contaminants from groundwater. He wondered why the state wasn’t involved in protecting its investment, since it has spent millions cleaning up the area. 

Haub admitted that Ecology nor the Department of Natural Resources has expressed interest.

Olympia City Councilmember Clark Gilman said it was hubris to try and defend what downtown looks like now and urged that environmental and social justice organizations be involved in the public planning process.

City of Tumwater councilmember Tom Oliva asked about plans to finance sea level rise planning strategies.

Haub said governing a financing plan will be hard to sustain for decades, and an umbrella organization, such as a levy or flood protection district, could be implemented.

Above: The nine-story Capitol Center Building in downtown Olympia is reflected in Capitol Lake. The artificial lake was created in 1951 through the creation of a dam that impounds the Deschutes estuary. A hearing examiner recently approved a redevelopment project for the site that would add two new, 35 foot buildings. The proposed project is within 1,000 feet of Budd Inlet and Capitol Lake.

Clarification, February 8: Lacey Deputy Mayor is on the LOTT Board and serves as the board president.

Little Hollywood regularly writes about downtown Olympia sea level rise issues. For more articles, reports, and photos, go to Little Hollywood, http://www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com, and type key words into the search button.

Olympia Plans for Sea Level Rise

Above: Community concerns regarding the City of Olympia's plan to address sea level rise are written on yellow sticky notes, reduced to the length of a tweet, at a community meeting Tuesday night. 

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

http://www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

The City of Olympia is about to embark upon a very traditional planning process to address the most critical environmental issue threatening the city's very existence: sea level rise.

At a community meeting at the Olympia Community Center Tuesday evening, the city revealed a schedule of activities spearheaded by the city, the Port of Olympia, and the LOTT Clean Water Alliance. 

The process is expected to take 18 months.

Omnipresent yellow sticky notes were made available to capture and reduce community concerns to soundbites.

City staff also encouraged the public to place little colored coded stickers on a map of downtown Olympia to indicate answers to typical softball questions: “Where have you seen coastal flooding in Olympia in the past?” and “What are your favorite shoreline areas?” and “What features do you like?”

About 40 people were in attendance.

Andy Haub, director of water resources for the City of Olympia, began his presentation with an explanation of how, in 2010, the Olympia city council committed to protect downtown and its infrastructure.

Most notably, this includes the Budd Inlet Treatment Plant, located in downtown Olympia, which treats the region’s 12 million gallons of wastewater per day. Valued at $500 million, relocating the plant would cost an estimated $1.2 billion.

Built on fill about 100 years ago, the area of the Port of Olympia, the seventh largest marina in the state, is also expected to be dramatically impacted by just one foot of sea level rise.

“The time is now, and we’re vulnerable….The future doesn’t feel that far away anymore,” said Haub. 

Susan Clark, project manager for the city’s sea level rise plan, outlined how the plan will be developed and engages the public.

The city has hired an international engineering firm, AECOM, to help implement the plan.

“At $250,000, the planning process reflects the next step. It is not the end point of sea level rise planning….We want to get this right. It’s too important not to,” said Clark.

She said that over 20 internal working groups are working to develop a framework for the plan. The groups include staff from many departments, including parks, transportation and emergency management, along with elected officials.

An inventory of assets will be conducted, including open space, from the Fourth Avenue Bridge and the isthmus to East Bay and Marine Drive. Private property on East Bay and West Bay will not be included. Then, a vulnerability assessment on those assets will be conducted.

The final step will develop adaptation strategies such as tide gates and retrofits to existing buildings.

The city says it will conduct focus groups with the business community and others, including three workshops, the first to be held in October. The idea is to wrap up the plan by December 2018.

The city has a new electronic newsletter addressing sea level rise planning issues.  Community members can self-subscribe to it at olympiawa.gov/subscribe

Above: The city is looking to cutting edge sea level rise planning efforts currently underway around the country. It is particularly looking for guidance from the San Francisco Sea Level Rise Action Plan and the Marin Shoreline Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment. The draft Marin Ocean Coast Sea Level Rise Adaptation Report is currently out for public review, said Susan Clark, project manager for the City of Olympia's sea level rise planning efforts.

Several audience members expressed their displeasure with the Port’s contract with Rainbow Ceramics and continued acceptance of ceramic proppants. Others wondered where the funding was going to come from to protect downtown.

Rueben Males was disappointed with the region’s approach to sea level rise planning, and said so at the meeting. He has started an organization called Jobs in Renewable Energy, a non-profit cooperative whose purpose is to incubate worker owned cooperatives.

He said he wants the Port of Olympia to be part of the climate solution, and not the problem, by initiating job creation to renewable energy and promoting the local sale of locally produced electricity.

He suggested that the Port of Olympia host the space necessary for a solar farm at the port district's airport property and/or for a solar farm at the port property on Budd Bay.

Community member Judy Bardin, along with several others, was disappointed that the city has apparently still not reached out to local environmental organizations for their assistance and guidance on sea level rise issues.

“Stakeholders are taxpayers,” she said. In April, after the last community meeting, Bardin provided the city a comprehensive list of local organizations to contact.

When asked what organizations the city has consulted with to date, Haub responded that he has met with the city’s Planning Commission and two Rotary groups, and the Coalition of Neighborhood Associations.

“We need to define what downtown means to us…We can’t capture it all, I’m sure. Give us suggestions and a venue and we’ll be there,” Haub responded.

Local attorney Charlie Roe, father of Olympia city councilmember Jeannine Roe, said that one of the requirements of stated law within the state's Shoreline Management Act is that one option needs to be no action. He asked if the possibility of no action on sea level rise has been ruled out.

“The state is providing some guidance on climate change and sea level rise but it is not a clear mandate. We see this as a local initiative...we have chosen to incorporate it into the city’s version of the Act, requiring setbacks along the shoreline…Unfortunately, to be candid, the guidance from federal and state government is very limited these days and we need to move forward,” responded Haub.

Little Hollywood has written extensively on downtown Olympia sea level rise issues, flooding incidents, the management of Capitol Lake, and current sea level rise projections for Olympia with maps and photos.

Recent articles include “Olympia Starts Sea Level Rise Planning” at http://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com/2017/04/olympia-starts-sea-level-rise-planning.html and “Olympia’s Sea Level Rise Plan Begins with Port, LOTT” at http://www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com/2017/04/olympias-sea-level-rise-plan-begins.html

For more articles, go to Little Hollywood, http://www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words into the search button.

Above: Former City of Olympia councilmember Karen Messmer was happy to express a few opinions about the city's sea level rise plan using several yellow sticky notes at Tuesday night's community meeting.

Olympia Starts Sea Level Rise Planning

Above: Over 100 interested community members attended the City of Olympia's annual sea level rise report to the community, delivered by Andy Haub, the city's water resources director, at the Olympia Center on February 8. Olympia is starting a coordinated sea level rise response plan with the Port of Olympia and the LOTT Clean Water Alliance.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

http://www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

“This is going to go on forever…this will be our future,” said Andy Haub, City of Olympia water resources director, about the city's planning for sea level rise. 

Speaking to the city’s citizen utility advisory committee on Thursday evening, Haub provided an update on the city’s sea level rise plan and the committee's role in its implementation. 

The citizen advisory committee is charged with overseeing the city’s sea level rise planning process.

Looking at a draft plan schedule that included typical public outreach tools employed by the city, the group was quiet and seemingly a bit daunted by the responsibility. 

When a member questioned how they should go about their role, Haub admitted that there is no clear recipe.

“You’ll have to use your collective judgement,” Haub said, acknowledging that sea level science is evolving, but there are strategies the city can draw upon from around the country and the world.

They agreed that the ultimate governance for the plan, whatever that plan turns out to be, needs to be carried through the whole process, and not left to the end.

At its regular Tuesday meeting, April 11, the Olympia city council is expected to sign an interlocal agreement with the Port of Olympia and the LOTT Clean Water Alliance for the planning and assessment of sea level rise issues.

The city, Port of Olympia, and LOTT all own properties and have responsibilities in the area where sea level rise is expected to inundate downtown Olympia.

An international engineering firm, AECOM, has been chosen to help the city determine the plan’s scope of work and ensure a robust public involvement process.

The scope of work will focus on the development of a sea level rise plan and provide recommendations for capital projects, funding needs, implementation schedules, and emergency response protocols.

The plan will include a full analysis of options for responding to various sea level rise scenarios over a 100 year time frame, and look for ideas from other areas of the United States and the world.

The city, port, and LOTT will divide the costs for consulting services. The port and LOTT will pay up to $75,000 each and the city will pay at least $75,000. Total costs for consulting are not to exceed $250,000 without further negotiation and approval.

According to science based research and multiple reports, there is no doubt sea level rise will impact downtown Olympia as we know it.

Thad Curtz, former chair of the Utility Advisory Committee citizen advisory committee, was one of several community members who expressed concerns on Thursday about the plan’s scope of work.

“The staff presentation said that we’re eventually going to have eight feet of sea level rise. We ought to be thinking about (a plan) with respect to earthquake risk. If we have four feet of sea water outside of whatever we build, and we have an earthquake that impacts a dike or whatever, we’re going to have very serious costs. We need to be planning to deal with that.

“We’re talking about restoration of Budd Inlet at the same time we’re talking about seriously altering the shoreline from Priest Point Park to West Bay. We also have the whole Capitol Lake process going on. Those planning processes ought to be related to each other.

“We [also ought] to have a conversation about setbacks. How much room do we need between buildings and the shore if we’re going to have to deal with eight feet? We can’t just talk about sea level rise as if it’s something by itself,” said Curtz, who said he intends to stay involved with the conversation.

Former city planning commission member Judy Bardin said that adaptation for sea level rise will be a huge and costly undertaking, noting that city staff estimates that sea level rise adaptation for downtown Olympia will cost in excess of $60 million, and the pumping system alone could be $37 million.

“If the public is going to be asked to pay for sea level rise mitigation in any way, they need to be brought into the conversation now, especially in the scoping of the plan…we need to involve our neighborhoods and the environmental community,” she said.

Helen Wheatley of Olympia asked staff and the utility advisory committee members to think of all people who are impacted by utility decisions and plans.

“It includes everyone from low income apartment dwellers, to treaty tribe members struggling to preserve and enhance salmon habitat in the face of over a century of catastrophic assaults on the ecosystem,” she said.

Wheatley urged that the plan take a “safety first” approach that considers the realities of who lives there, who will live there in the future, and how we live.

“Is it fair or right to drive people into the flood zone because they don’t own a house?” she asked.

“Sea level rise will not happen overnight, but its progression will be relentless. We can choose to transition ourselves into a newer city by moving uphill. How long we hang on to different parts of downtown will involve tough financial, emotional, technical, and political decisions,” said Walt Jorgensen of Tumwater.

Sea Level Rise Community Update

Above: In what has become a familiar scene, the city's public works team, with Andy Haub, City of Olympia water resources director, in yellow jacket, stationed themselves near the Oyster House restaurant on Sylvester Street in downtown Olympia on the morning of March 10, 2016, to monitor the surge from nearby Budd Inlet.

Haub gave his annual sea level rise update to the community on February 8 at the Olympia Center. Over 100 people were in attendance.

Haub described how the city is currently needing to manage four to five significant downtown flooding incidents per year. To add to that scenario, downtown Olympia appears to be sinking at the rate of one inch per decade. 

A situation of low atmospheric pressure creates exceptional high tides, turning moderate tides into high tides, and high tides into extreme tides.

“That whole dynamic is absolutely fascinating…the intensity of storms will increase. Our downtown streets are flat, not deep, so water will spread far,” said Haub, who has long reported that the city could manage one foot, or maybe two feet of water, but no more than that. 

Vertical gates, flood barriers, elevated landscapes, and the strategic placement of planter box barriers will only work up to a certain point.

“We’re planning for two feet of sea level rise by 2050, but with two feet of water flooding downtown every other day, it just won’t work for long,” he said.

Audience members were at all different levels of understanding about sea level science, and peppered Haub with questions about sea level rise projections for downtown, Budd Inlet flood dynamics, and the city’s plan in relationship to other plans, such as the multi-year, $250,000 study called the Downtown Strategy.

The Downtown Strategy has a 20 year planning horizon, leaving many to wonder why the city is encouraging downtown development, and how sea level rise fits in.

Although port commissioners and city council members were present in the audience, Haub stood alone, fielding questions while facilitating a complicated conversation during his PowerPoint presentation. Lacking support, he lost control of the meeting about 20 minutes into the program.

Frustrating some audience members, Haub unquestionably defended the city’s stance that downtown must be saved. Several audience members expressed their opinion that the best solution is to retreat to higher ground. Haub responded that a retreat is not consistent with the city’s Comprehensive Plan.

Haub did not have answers for many questions, including the impact of sea water salinity on downtown’s underground and above ground electrical systems.

“Downtown is vulnerable. We have to accept and acknowledge the risk. This plan will start addressing how we balance and manage new development. There’s a way we can do it, it’s just not cohesive at this point,” he said, adding that the city has a lot of investments in downtown Olympia, most notably the region's LOTT water and wastewater system, which is valued at $1.2 billion.

Above: During times of high tide and favorable atmospheric pressure, certain areas of downtown Olympia are inundated with storm surge from Budd Inlet, overloading storm water systems. The area on State Street in downtown Olympia near the former Les Schwab tire store building at 210 State Street experiences flooding several times a year. The vacant building lies mere feet from Budd Inlet and is now owned by developer Walker John, who proposes to turn the property into a restaurant and 40 unit housing development. Photo taken March 10, 2016.

For numerous articles about sea level rise and flooding incidents in downtown Olympia, the management of Capitol Lake, current sea level rise projections for Olympia with photos and maps, go to Little Hollywood, http://www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words into the search button.

The city's Utility Advisory Committee meets on the first Thursday of the month, at 5:40 p.m., in Olympia City Hall, Room 207, 601 4th Avenue East. For more information, go to www.olympiawa.gov.

Olympia Protesters Demand 24 Hour Restroom Access

Interfaith Works receives temporary use permit, opens warming center

Above: A lot of people have to go to the restroom after 7:00 p.m. Washington State Patrol Captain John Broome speaks with protesters outside the men’s restroom at Heritage Park on Water Street in downtown Olympia Monday night. Protesters are demanding 24 hour restroom access. Some participated in civil disobedience and successfully held the restroom open until 8:41 p.m. There were four arrests.

By Janine Gates

http://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

A woman was hit on her right side at close range by a pepper ball shot by an Olympia Police Department officer Monday night. She said the officer aimed right at her. She has a welt.

“Over a bathroom protest. It’s BS,” she told Little Hollywood later that night, admitting she was in the way of the men’s restroom door. Another person was also reportedly hit with a pepper ball.

For the third night in a row, about 25 protesters successfully kept the restrooms open at Heritage Park on Water Street in downtown Olympia past the time it was scheduled to be closed. Several supporters stood nearby.

Like previous evenings, Washington State Department of Enterprise Services staff arrived at closing time, 7:00 p.m., to lock the doors, forcing those needing access, such as the homeless, to pee and defecate in alleys and bushes in and around downtown Olympia. 

Protesters occupied the restrooms.

The Washington State Patrol and Olympia Police Department arrived. After warnings to clear the area, four were arrested in acts of civil disobedience. The men’s restroom was locked at 8:41 p.m.

Above: Olympia Police Department officers, armed with pepper ball guns, assist Washington State Patrol officers at the Heritage Park restrooms on Monday night about 8:35 p.m.

An Olympia area group called Just Housing has been advocating for justice in housing issues. 

The group wants the city to designate suitable public property for a legal tent encampment and to repeal laws that criminalize homelessness.

Most urgently, because everyone has to pee and poop, the group demands that the city and state open its public restrooms for 24 hour, seven days a week access. The homeless in particular have nowhere to go at night, every night.

The group has met with city staff and councilmembers for the last couple of months. 

On Saturday night, the Heritage Park restroom was open until about 7:35 p.m. and there was one arrest. The Thurston County Sheriff’s Department participated with the WSP and OPD that evening.

The men's restroom stayed open a full two hours past the time it was scheduled to be closed on Sunday night and there were no arrests.

For the last three evenings, community outreach worker and Just Housing advocate Renata Rollins has become an engaging citizen reporter, covering the events on Facebook Live, providing constant commentary and explanations for what the viewer is seeing and hearing.

Apparently without watching any of her online video, The Olympian newspaper and a Seattle television station reported that on Sunday evening, officers were locked in the restrooms, as if trapped by protesters. It was fake news.

Anyone present or watching the video live could see that the officers closed and locked the doors themselves to speak to the protesters inside and keep other protesters from entering.

“The Olympia city council has been debating public restrooms downtown for four years with no results yet....We have people sleeping outside in cold and isolation, and the authorities haven’t even been able to get us a bathroom. How are we going to solve the real problems our community faces?” Rollins said on Sunday.

Rollins said members of Just Housing had a meeting Monday afternoon with Washington State Department of Enterprise Services deputy director Bob Covington and other staff. He asked for time to come up with a “workable plan.” 

When asked how long, the response was two weeks, said Rollins.

“They wanted us to stop the protests and sit ins. I told him (Covington) that there are people really fired up and angry about this, especially after the outrageous escalated police response on Saturday night. Even if I’m not organizing people, people are going to be showing up,” she said.

Protesters chanted, “An injury to one is an injury to all – open up the bathroom stall!” and “Why are we here tonight? Bathrooms are a human right!” and “Same time, same place, same time, same place,” as they dispersed Monday evening.

Just Housing welcomes anyone of goodwill to attend their meetings on Mondays from 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. at United Churches, 110 11th Avenue SE, in downtown Olympia, including the next two Mondays - no holiday break.

Above: No footsteps in the snow here. The restroom near the LOTT Clean Water Alliance and the Hands On Children’s Museum is just one of eight public restrooms in downtown Olympia. It is closed day and night due to problems with excessive drug paraphernalia, and is only open from May through September and for special events.

In related news, Interfaith Works received a temporary use permit to open a daytime winter warming center at 408 Olympia Avenue NE and opened on Monday. 

It served nearly 190 individuals when Little Hollywood stopped by at 4:30 p.m., a half hour before closing. The spacious building contains two restrooms inside, and two port-a-potties outside, which are locked at 5:00 p.m.

Guests were quietly resting, sleeping on mats, drinking hot coffee, and watching “Pirates of the Caribbean.” 

For more information about the lack of 24/7 public restrooms in downtown Olympia, go to “Public Restroom Realities in Olympia: Challenges to a Human Need, a Human Right,” at http://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com/2014/02/public-restroom-realities-in-olympia.html or type key words in the search button at Little Hollywood, or go to the City of Olympia website for current conversations.

For more information about the Interfaith Works warming center, go to Little Hollywood, http://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com/2016/12/downtown-­olympia­winter-­warming­-center.html