City of Wenatchee Grants More Funds into Second Safe Park

The City of Wenatchee granted the Wenatchee Rescue Mission over an additional $500,000 for their second Safe Park RV program.

This would increase the total contract cost to $2,090,554.36, from the original cost of $1,529,127.29, and extended it into Dec. 2024.

On Sep. 22, Wenatchee City Council partnered with the Wenatchee Rescue Mission to establish a two-phased Safe Park RV program for those living in their vehicle.

The first park opened in late September and is located in the 1400 block of South Wenatchee Avenue, while the second is on Ohme Garden Road in the Olds Station area.

A second safe park has been established due to Wenatchee and East Wenatchee’s dire need to find suitable housing for unhoused people.

City of Wenatchee Community Development Director Glen DeVries said they were able to find a location for the second safe park ahead of schedule.

“Originally, the thought was that the second safe park would most likely not occur until next year at some point,” DeVries said. “But we've been successful in locating a second safe park this year, which is great because of the need out there. ”

The Rescue Mission asked to modify their contract that originally funded 20 shelter beds, extending it to 40 beds instead. 

Staff also recommended adding another staff member for the safe park, specifically an outreach position for the weekends and evenings.

The Rescue Mission discovered an error in their staffing model and realized they did not have enough staff to monitor the area 24 hours a day.

DeVries said they are asking for a flat amount increase so that they don’t have to come to the city for future amendments to their contract. He suggested implementing a 12 percent overhead rather than list all potentially required overhead costs.

In 2023, the Columbia River Homeless Task Force and the Cities of Wenatchee and East Wenatchee will update their Homeless Housing Plan to use funds towards eliminating homelessness.

These units will become available by later Spring or Summer or 2023.