Okay.

It is six o'clock on September 8th, 2026, and I'm call this Lacy City Council work session to order.

Councilmember Cox is going to be attending remotely, but all other council is present.

Also, want to acknowledge that we, the city of Lacey, are on the ancestral lands of the tribal people, the Treaty of Medicine Creek, including the Nisqualian tribe

and the

Squawks and Highland tribe.

With that, can't get a motion to approve this evening's agenda.

Move to approve the agenda as published.

Second.

It's been moved and seconded.

Any discussion.

Seeing none, all in favor of the motion signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Is there anyone opposed?

That motion unanimously carries.

We have an approved agenda.

First up on our approved agendas or public comment.

We do have one person who signed up for public comment.

Stephanie, can you please approach the podium over here and introduce yourself and you'll you'll have three minutes for public comment.

Alright, uh, good evening.

My name is Stephanie Scott, she her, and I'm here tonight in advance of the Franz Anderson vote next week, because I'll be at a school board meeting next week uh talking about AI cameras in our schools.

Um I am a community member who's a Lacey resident.

I am deeply involved in supporting housing insecure and homeless individuals in this community.

And I'm here tonight to remind this council that we cannot solve a regional housing crisis by continuing to make decisions without listening to the people living through

it.

People with lived experience are your constituents just as much as any business or property owner is.

Regional governing bodies, including this council, have continued making decisions that leave our community increasingly overdependent on the low housing and uh low income housing institute with few alternatives when that provider doesn't deliver.

We need to be honest about how we got here if we want to move forward.

Policy decisions and lack of accountability created this situation and have contributed to a narrative that housing first is ineffective when in reality our region hasn't fully invested in the combination of quality housing and services at the level needed to truly implement housing first.

I am asking this council to remain committed to a regional housing first approach.

Homelessness doesn't stop at the city boundary, and neither should our solutions.

When you make decisions about shelter, supportive housing, eligibility, providers, and transition from homelessness, you need to hear directly from the people who are experiencing these systems.

There are already mechanisms to do this if you don't know where to begin.

You have the Regional Housing Council's homeless services advisory board and lived experience housing steering committee.

You could seek input from McKinney Vento liaisons to understand what these decisions mean for the over 1,000 homeless NTPS students and their families, and quite frankly, stop being confrontational with people who share their lived experience.

Our local jurisdictions have to start building this input into your decision-making processes before decisions are made and throughout implementation and evaluation.

Franz Anderson is a perfect example of why this matters.

Changes to AMI eligibility will change who gets access to extremely limited supportive housing.

And because Franz Anderson and Maple Court are connected to any regional strategy for transitioning people out of the jungle, these decisions have consequences beyond one building that will deeply impact the closure of the jungle.

A camp with a population of 300 plus that includes people from Lacey and people swept from Lacey and people who will return to Lacey when trespass notices go up.

I believe this council has three choices that must be informed by lived experience and regional collaboration to be effective.

Rather than invest in Franz Anderson, as currently proposed, you could increase investment in the supportive housing we already have in this region and improve the things that matter most, including services to increase and expedite successful exits into permanent housing, freeing up critical spots to people awaiting placement.

You could lead the way on working with a different provider and start developing real people centered alternatives to our overdependence on LIHEA.

Or third, you could continue working with LIHEA with real accountability, set measurable performance standards, require regular perform regular reporting, establish consequences when expectations aren't met.

Don't give away public property to LIHEA without getting accountability for outcomes for the people they serve.

And regardless of which route this council chooses, give people receiving services a regular, meaningful seat at the table to share their experiences as part of the evaluation and accountability process.

Please stay regional, listen to lived experience, and hold providers accountable.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Is

there anyone else wishing to address the council this evening?

Seeing none, then let's go.

Oh.

Go ahead.

Yep, can you please uh approach the podium?

Give us your name and uh,

Gerald.

Okay,

or