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10210 E Sprague Avenue | Spokane Valley WA 99206
Phone: (509) 720-5000 | Fax: (509) 720-5075 | www.spokanevalleywa.gov
SPOKANE VALLEY HOMELESS HOUSING TASK FORCE
MEETINGAGENDA
Thursday, August 28, 2025 | 2:00 p.m.
Spokane Valley City Hall, 10210 E Sprague Ave, Room N212Second Floor Conference Roomand virtuallyon Zoom:
Click here to: Join the meeting online
Meeting ID: 862 6839 9898| Passcode: 742994
1. Call to Order
2. Attendance
3.General Public Comment Opportunity
This is an opportunity for the public to speak on any subject except agenda action items, as public
comments will be taken on those items where indicated.
ACTION ITEMS
4.Approval of July2025 Meeting Minutes
5. Homeless Outreach Program Update
INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION ITEMS
6.5-Year Homeless Housing Plan Update
7.Adjournment
AGENDA ITEM 4
10210 E Sprague Avenue | Spokane Valley WA 99206
Phone: (509) 720-5000 | Fax: (509) 720-5075 | www.spokanevalleywa.gov
SPOKANE VALLEY HOMELESS HOUSING TASK FORCE
RegularMeeting Minutes| July 24, 2025| 2:00 pm
at Spokane Valley City Hall, 10210 E Sprague Ave, Room N212 and on Zoom
1 CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 2:03 pm.
As Mayor Pam Haley, Task Force Chair, was not in attendance, Lisa Miller moved that John Parker act as Chair for
this meeting. Joseph Ghodsee seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
2 ATTENDANCE: In attendance were:
Task Force Voting MembersGuests(in person)
George Dahl, Spokane County GretchenBrown, FBH Outreach Team Lead
Lance Beck, Greater Spokane Valley Chamber ToddMyers, FBH Outreach Team
John Parker, Central Valley School District MistyJarvis, FBH Outreach Team
Kelly Keenan, Spokane Housing Authority
Joseph Ghodsee, Community Member Guests (online)
Allisa Corley, Community Member Jennifer Wilcox
Lisa Miller, Lex Law Group Phillip Ohnems, KHQ
Task Force Non-Voting MembersCity Staff
Gloria Mantz, City of Spokane Valley, City Services Eric Robison, Homeless & Housing Coordinator
Administrator
Arielle Anderson, City of Spokane, CHHS Dept Director
3GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY
There were no comments.
ACTION ITEMS
4Approval of May 2025Meeting Minutes
Lisa Miller moved to approve the minutes. Joseph Ghodsee seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION ITEMS
5Five-Year Homeless Housing Plan Update
Eric Robison provided a background of the Spokane Valley’sadoption of the 2024-2025 Continuum of Care (CoC)
Regional 5-Year Planin late 2023. He spoke about the city’s participation in the CoC, deadlines for adoption,
ongoingcommunity feedback, and updated guidelines for the new plan from the Washington State Department
of Commerce. The group reviewed plan objectives and how those objectives differ from the previous five-year
period.
Spokane Valley Homeless Housing Task Force 07.24.2025 Meeting Minutes| DraftPage 1 of 2
Members discussed future funding uncertainties, low-barrier/high-barrier options, focus areas, timelines and
requirements, next steps, ongoing public outreach, performance management and performance metrics. There
was also discussed about improving information distribution in the community and challenges with having one
plan for multiple jurisdictions. The Task Force will review the draft plan and make a recommendation to Spokane
Valley City Councilin November 2025.
6Homeless Outreach Program Update
Eric reported that as the city’s contract with Frontier Behavioral Health (FBH) recently passed the one-year mark,
FBH staff would present an update. Gretchen Brown, Outreach Team Lead, spoke about outreach team
operations. FBH shared a July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025 Year in Review document outlining outcome data.
The group discussed problems with placing homeless families into new housing because they owe back rent on
previous housing. Grethen spoke about how she negotiates with property owners to attempt to reduce the
amount owed.
At 3:01 pm Acting Chair John Parker stated that to give Gretchen time to finish her presentation, he would like to
extend the meeting another 15 minutes. Joseph made a motion to extend the meeting 15 minutes. Allisa
seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
Members discussed pros and cons of declaring bankruptcy for debt due to unpaid rent. Gretchen reported on
case management, number of individuals served, caseloads, process after initial intake, challenge of finding care
for pets, and more.
7Adjournment
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:16pm.
Julie Meyers-Lehman, Executive Assistant
Spokane Valley Homeless Housing Task Force 07.24.2025 Meeting Minutes | Draft Page 2 of 2
AGENDA ITEM 5
10210 E Sprague Avenue | Spokane Valley WA 99206
Phone: (509) 720-5000 | Fax: (509) 720-5075 | www.spokanevalleywa.gov
SPOKANE VALLEY HOMELESS HOUSING TASK FORCE
Meeting Date:August 28, 2025
AGENDA ITEM TITLE: Outreach ProgramUpdate
BACKGROUND:The City contracts with Frontier Behavioral Health (FBH) to provide outreach services inside the City of
Spokane Valley, and in some areas adjacent to the City’s boundaries.Outreach services include assisting clients in finding
long-term housing options that work for their needs. This can include housing navigation, assistance with the application
process, and paying for move-in costsand more.
Another common expense is the cost of providing temporary shelter for pets as their owners go through treatment or
enter a shelter where pets are not allowed. Without this, many clients would not be willing to leave their animals to enter
treatment or shelter.FBH currently has three households utilizing pet boarding for a total of 11 pets.
The outreach program can be improved by providing pet boarding. The contract with FBH does include funds these
services. This expense was not envisioned in the original contract because no options for long-term pet boarding had
beenidentifiedin the past. This changed recently, however, when Spokanimal agreed to provide pet boarding beyond
their standard 14-day limit. The agreement would allow animals to stay for up to 45 days at the cost of $30/day for dogs
and $20/day for cats, with no cost for the first 14 days.
The FBH outreach team will provide informationto the Task Forceabout the average costs per household to achieve a
positive housing outcome, including costs associated with move-in fees, back rent owed, pet boarding, etc. FBH will also
talk about current funding availability to cover these costs, and projections for whatlevel of fundingis needed to maintain
high levels of positive housing outcomesmoving forward.
The Task Force may recommend amendingthe current contract to add additional funding for pet boarding.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:Amending the contract with FBH to provide fund for pet boarding.
STAFF CONTACT: Eric Robison, Homeless & Housing Coordinator
ATTACHMENTS:None
AGENDA ITEM 6
10210 E Sprague Avenue | Spokane Valley WA 99206
Phone: (509) 720-5000 | Fax: (509) 720-5075 | www.spokanevalleywa.gov
SPOKANE VALLEY HOMELESS HOUSING TASK FORCE
Meeting Date:August 28, 2025
AGENDA ITEM TITLE: Five-Year Strategic Plan to Prevent and End HomelessnessUpdate
BACKGROUND:
On July 25, 2023, the Council adopted a resolution to assume control over available document recording feesfrom
Spokane County and establish a Spokane Valley homeless housing program. Per RCW 43.185C.160, the City is required
to adopt a five-year homeless housing plan and develop guidelines as needed for emergency shelters, short-term housing
needs,long-term housing,temporary encampments,andsupportive housing for chronically homeless people.
In October 2023, the Council adopted the Continuum of Care (CoC) Regional 5-Year Plan to Prevent and End
Homelessness (Plan) for the 2020-2024 period. In mid-October 2024, the Washington State Department of Commerce
(DOC)released the 2025-2030 Local Homeless Housing Plan Guidance, which outlines the various requirements for the
2025-2030 Plan cycle. To incorporate the recently released guidelines, DOC extended the deadline for the new plan
adoption to December 31, 2025. However, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)did not extend
its timeline. To meet the earlier HUD deadline, the CoC received community feedback, finalized the current version of
the plan and submitted it to HUD in March 2025. The plan will continue to be updated throughout 2025 to meet
local/regional expectations established by DOC.
The current plan was created in partnership between Spokane County, the City of Spokane, and the CoC. The City of
Spokane Valley participates in the CoC board and subcommittees. The planprovides the road map used to distribute
funding, define success metrics, and establish priorities. The current regional 5-Year Plan meets requirements from both
the DOC and the HUD.
The updated plan requires different objectives from those required during the last five-yearperiod. Current objectives
are:
Promote an equitable, accountable and transparent homeless crisis response system.
Prioritize those with the greatest barrier to housing stability and the greatest risk of harm.
Prevent episodes of homelessness whenever possible.
House everyone in a stable setting that meets their needs.
Strengthen the homeless service provider workforce.
The CoC conducted extensive public outreach and soughtfeedback on the plan revisions, particularly through its
subcommittees, which consist of variousservice providers, people with lived experience, and anyone from the general
public whois interested in participating. Input was also provided through asurvey.
Performance metrics for each intervention type are detailed in the 5-Year Performance Management Plan (PMP). System
Performance Measures (SPMs) are prescribed by HUD. The Minimum Performance Standards and System Performance
Targets are set by the CoC and are designed to ensure compliance with the SPMs. Projects not meeting minimum
performance standards will be required to develop a Corrective Action Plan (CAP). Projects that do not meet minimum
performance standards or fail to fully participate in the CAP by the end of the next quarter may face a loss or reduction
of funding.
The CoC will continue to review and make changes to the plan before the December 2025 deadline set by DOC. The City
Council has an option to adopt this plan to meet the requirements for administering the local recording fees, or to create
its own plan.
Any feedback, questions, or other comments can be sent to city staff member Eric Robison at
erobison@spokanevalleywa.gov, who will collate and transmit feedback to the CoC through the relevant sub-
committees. The deadline for submitting any substantive feedback to the CoC to incorporate into a revised draft is
9/17/25. The task force will discuss the 5-year plan at the October meeting and make a recommendation to Council at
the November meeting.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Discussion only.
STAFF CONTACTS: Gloria Mantz, City Services Administrator and Eric Robison, Housing and Homeless Coordinator
ATTACHMENTS:
Presentation
Five-Year Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness
Spokane Regional Continuum of Care Five-Year Performance Management Plan