By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

2020 will be the fourth full year on the Myers Way Parcels for city-supported tiny-house encampment Camp Second Chance.

The year’s first monthly meeting of the CSC Community Advisory Committee happened this afternoon at Arrowhead Gardens, a few blocks north of the encampment. Here’s what happened:

CAMP UPDATES: Co-founder/site cooordinator Eric Davis said 51 people are now at the camp, occupying 45 houses with five more being replaced. No one has exited to housing this past month, but Davis said at least four people are likely to be moving out soon, as they just got vouchers. Five of the 50 tiny houses are being replaced; Davis explained that they’re the oldest ones, donated to CSC from another village, Davis said, and had mold and other safety issues.

COMMITTEE MEMBER UPDATES: Chair Willow Fulton, an area resident, said Myers Way in general hadn’t had as much of a dumping problem lately. She recently spoke with a former CSC resident who exited to housing and stressed the importance of continued community connections. She also talked recently with State Sen. Joe Nguyen … Cinda Stenger said she’d had Christmas morning breakfast at the camp, and noted that Sound Foundation NW/Alki UCC is working with new camp sponsor Fauntleroy UCC to continue buildin tiny houses … Grace Stiller said she’d glad everybody at the camp is in a tiny house. She also brought up the Burien building closure that threatens to displace some nonprofits, including at least two that work with low-income/homeless people … Shawn Neal of the city Human Services Department said the city is working on a new draft of the encampment-authorizing ordinance … Aaron Garcia of the White Center Community Development Association said that planning for its 80-unit affordable-housing project in White Center will accelerate with a series of community-engagement events toward month’s end; “we’re hoping to acquire the land sometime in the spring” – that’s the site at 8th/108th. He will be “officially moving more toward a project-management role” full time. Garcia also mentioned that the One Night Count is coming up later this month (January 24); the entire WCCDA staff will be participating, he said. He also said King County Housing Authority will be opening the list for Section 8 vouchers February 12-25 for the first time in a while … Judi Carr, an Arrowhead Gardens resident, said she’s glad all is going well with the camp.

TACOMA PROJECT: Davis is helping LIHI with a new tiny-house village in Tacoma. It’s a pilot project, he said, and his role is because organzers are impressed with how things have been going at CSC. He is not moving there, he made it clear, but he’s been spending a lot of time at the Tacoma site helping it get off the ground. “I want to help, wherever it is,” he said.

ANY CAMP NEEDS? Garcia asked Davis about that. Nothing urgently needed, Davis replied.

NEXT MEETING: The first Sunday in February, February 2nd, is also Super Bowl Sunday, so the time might slide up a bit earlier – Fulton will check and update. (We’ll update our calendar listing with any change.)