From environmental revitalization to the evolving landscape of public art and social policy, the Kent City Council’s Feb. 3 session tackled a broad spectrum of local and regional challenges.
The evening’s highlights ranged from a generous EPA grant aimed at reclaiming contaminated “brownfields” to the unanimous approval of an expansive public art plan for city parks and downtown murals.
However, the evening took a somber and data-driven turn with a guest presentation from Normandy Park Mayor Eric Zimmerman, who delivered a stark analysis of Washington’s homelessness crisis. Zimmerman’s findings challenged the state’s “housing first” approach, pointing instead to a correlation between skyrocketing overdose rates and the rise in homelessness.
$500,000 EPA Grant
Kent will be using a $500,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to assess cleanup opportunities for “brownfields”. These are vacant lots that have some degree of chemical contamination. The grant will help assess contamination levels and determine the cleanup process, as well as plan for appropriate future use of the lots. The grant requires no match from the city, and even covers the cost of staff time for the project.
Public Art Plans
Kent was one of the earliest cities to adopt a public art ordinance, with the $2 per capita art fund launched in 1985. This money amounts to $280,800 per year. Plans for the art fund this year include projects at Garrison Creek Park, East Hill North Community Park, Springwood Park, and Uplands Spray Park. In addition, rotating murals downtown will be refreshed, and eight new utility boxes will be covered with art. The utility box art has been a popular project that brightens the city while helping deter graffiti. A portion of the funds will be spent on maintenance of the city’s current art collection, some of which saw damage during the recent flooding. This plan passed unanimously.
Homelessness In Washington State
Visiting Mayor Eric Zimmerman, of Normandy Park, gave a presentation on what is potentially driving recent surges in Washington State homelessness. He showed data on the patterns and causes of homelessness, stating that it is often blamed on the cost of housing but rates don’t always coincide with the cost of living. Zimmerman said that taking just one approach to reduce homelessness will not work, as there are many facets to the problem.
Mayor Zimmerman thinks that the huge amount of money the state has spent on homelessness could have been better distributed. The state has mostly focused on providing affordable housing, but the issues of behavioral health and drug addiction have been pushed aside by the housing first process.
The problem has been dire in this state in particular. In 2014, 2,500 homeless individuals were counted. In 2024, that number jumped to 13,000, a 418% increase. Washington was sixth in the nation for homelessness in 2014, but jumped to second in 2024. All the money spent on housing has not solved the issue.
Mayor Zimmerman shared that the number of people earning near zero–up to an average of $6,000 per year–has skyrocketed in the last decade. This portion of the population, which has tripled, does not have the ability to pay for housing.
Drug use was a big focus of the presentation, and Washington’s numbers are dire. The state was 20th nationwide for fatal overdose, and is now fourth. This is triple the national average for the growth in fatal overdose over the same period. Washington is now number one for non-fatal overdose, up from tenth. Other states had a strong uptick in overdoses during COVID, but then their rates dropped quickly down.
According to Zimmerman, these rank shifts are unprecedented. He showed how areas with a high cost of living plus low barriers for drug use have the greatest increase in homelessness. He said that drug use and overdose deaths consistently rise in advance of rising rates of homelessness. He was careful not to attribute causality, but showed clear correlation. He believes the focus should be on mental health and drug use, rather than housing alone.
