'The timeline is slipping': The future of Nickelsville

SEATTLE -- It looks no fancier than a shack.

But the 8-square-foot structure houses the dreams of the residents at Nickelsville.

It's called a "simple small sturdy sleeping structure," and each resident hopes to soon call one home.

Mike Jones, another Nickelsville resident, designed the structure, and several others help build the prototype, which now proudly sits outside the old Lake City fire station, the current home of Nickelsville.

A mix-and-match of donated and newly-bought parts, the structure cost roughly $250 to build.

"It ain't bad considering what we had to go through to build it. You know, we had bad weather and everything," said Whistler.

The structure was made with wood pieces of two different sizes and just one type of screw. The goal was to keep the components simple so the structure can easily be disassembled and reassembled.

A tarp currently covers the roof, but the residents hope to add shingles once the structure is moved to a permanent home. There are also plans for a window and a skylight.

A prized point is the handles on the door. Instead of buying handles for $6.95 a piece, Jones and Whistler fashioned them out of leftover wood.

Jones has come up with several different layouts for the sleeping structure, and the residents have already begun making plans for their own.

"Everybody knows a little bit about what they want, and what they're going to do," said Whistler.

"It's kind of hard becoming a community of 90 people stuck in a room together. How do you get along?" said resident T.J. Johnson.

And the dorm-like arrangement has made it hard for residents to stay clear of seasonal illnesses.

Just the thought of having one's own space without having to settle for a tent gives the residents a sense of hope.

"The sense of individuality, we each having our own room, our own space, our own ideas," said Johnson.

Waiting for the final word

As each resident dreams of owning a sleeping structure to call his own, Nickelsville is looking for a site to call its own.

In August, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn proposed the city-owned site of the old Sunny Jim Peanut Butter Plant as a possible permanent site for the homeless. Several other sites were also considered, but the mayor, citing its large size and proximity to public transit, favored the South Seattle lot. The city estimates the site could house up to 100 people.

"The program will include a strong emphasis on self-governance and management, and residents will be expected to take responsibility for aspects of the the site's operations and community," Deputy Mayor Darrell Smith wrote on his blog.

"Professional 'coaches' will be on staff to guide residents towards benefits, paths to housing, and skills training. It will function as a landing pad for homeless individuals who have difficulty, for whatever reason, accessing or succeeding in the current system of shelters."

"We want to be an eco-village, and we want to get out of the tents," said Nickelsville resident and homeless advocate Peggy Hotes.

But the city has not yet finalized its decision on the site. The mayor's office is working to put together a proposal outlining the project. The proposal will then have to be approved by the city council, and will require votes on four separate issues.

Once the plan is approved, the city will seek a nonprofit service provider for the site.

"That will be a competitive process," said Aaron Pickus, a spokesman for the mayor.

Nickelsville, which has been working with the mayor, hopes to win that bid to provide shelter to the homeless.

"Nickelsville is unique," said Lisa Herbold, legislative aid to Seattle City Council member Nick Licata. "Aside from SHARE/WHEEL, there is nobody else that does this."

'The timeline is slipping'

The city last week released the results of a contamination study of the proposed permanent site, where two fires have burned. The study found "no major concerns were identified with the future use of this Plot," however, it did add "actions should be taken to address several of the soil areas and building materials prior to occupation of the Plot."

Still, the news was a relief to Nickelsville residents.

"They came out with the fact that the Sunny Jim site isn't dangerous," said Scott Morrow, Nickelsville's sole staff member, at an all-residents' meeting.

"The catch is the timeline is slipping," Morrow said, adding the residents had hoped to have the city council's approval for the project by now. "From Deputy Mayor Darrell Smith telling us in the fall it'd be January, but then it was spring and now it's summer."

The reason for the delay, Morrow said, is the increased estimated cost of the project.

According to Morrow, the city estimates hosting the homeless encampment for a year at the proposed site would cost $800,000.

"That's just the number they've been told," he said. Pickus said he hadn't heard the figure before, but Licata's staff member said the number has been floating around.

The residents believe much of the money would be spent on administrative costs for social services the mayor hopes to make available to the site's residents. The remainder of the money would go toward renting two double-wide trailers to provide residents with a community kitchen, showers and a community area.

"The mayor's plans are sort of sliding away from what we want, from what the mayor's encampment panel wanted last fall," said Morrow. "His plans are getting fancier, a lot more bells and whistles."

There is concern the growing estimated cost of the project will be rejected by the city council.

"We can take care of it in a much more cost-effective way, and that's what we're trying to do," said resident Nate Martin.

"He's by far being better to us than the city council," Morrow said of the mayor. "We've got to pull him back in.

"You know, with $800,000, the way we've been living, we can make that last 10 years."

Meantime, the residents are trying to get city council members to take an interest in their encampment. So far, they've only convinced Licata to become actively involved.

"We keep inviting city council members to come out and check it out for themselves," said Morrow.

An uncertain future

As the residents wait for a decision, Whistler likes to sit by the prototype sleeping structure and look it over slowly as he smokes cigarettes. His pride in his work is apparent.

Whistler is anxious to move to the permanent site and put shingles on the roof. He's worried the prototype's bare roof may become damaged before the rainy months pass.

"I'm ready to get this thing done," he said.

He and many others are also anxious to start building dozens of the structure, one for each resident. But with the decision still unmade, they remain cautious in their hope.

"We have some donations coming from different sites that are going to help us, construction companies," said Whistler. "We'll see. I mean, that's what's proposed. That can change, too. We'll see what happens."

It's unclear what will happen to the encampment if it doesn't win the bid for the proposed permanent site.

When Nickelsville first moved to the old Lake City fire station in November, the city said the encampment could stay for up to six months.

If no permanent site is found by the time those six months are up, the encampment could seek a permit to temporarily stay at the Sunny Jim site.

If that happens, Morrow hopes Nickelsville will instead seek a permanent site on its own. He said the encampment once considered more than 70 sites, but because the Sunny Jim site has been so promising, Nickelsville stopped pursuing those other locations.

Whatever the case, if time runs out before a plan is formed, each resident may be left to fend for himself.

"Experience has shown getting someone housed is the fastest and most effective way for a person to become self-sufficient. Unfortunately, the region has not been able to keep up with the demand," the mayor said in a written statement.

"Waiting lists for housing are long, and shelters can pose serious challenges to people trying to hold down a job or in need of a safe place to spend the day."

At last count, there were 2,442 homeless people sleeping outside in King County.