Open House About Wenatchee Safe Parks Happening Next Week

A public open house regarding the City of Wenatchee’s new Safe Parks is scheduled for next week.

The forum is being organized along with the City of East Wenatchee and the Wenatchee Rescue Mission.

City of Wenatchee Executive Services Director, Laura Gloria, says the event is designed to give the public a better understanding of the parks in several facets.

“We’ve received a lot of questions about what’s happening at the parks, who’s living there, and how did those people get admitted to the program. So we’ll have the city there to address the more regulatory questions and the Wenatchee Rescue Mission there to provide information about the day-to-day operations.”

The City of Wenatchee established the parks at the north and south ends of town over the past six weeks as a way to give people without permanent shelter who are living in their vehicles a safe place to stay.

Gloria says the parks have prompted a number of inquiries from the public since opening, and the open house will give citizens an opportunity to pose their questions and also provide valuable feedback for the city as well.

“We’ve gotten a lot of really positive comments and we’ve also had some concerns. So I think we really just want to understand whether there are concerns and what those concerns are, and whether we have information that will help speak to those concerns. So it’s really a back-and-forth dialogue.”

The open house is part of the requirements of an interim zoning ordinance which was adopted by the City of Wenatchee in September that allowed the parks to open on city-owned property.

The open house will take place next Tuesday, November 15 from 5:15-6:15 p.m. at the Wenatchee City Hall – 301 Yakima Street.