Council President Breean Beggs, bbeggs@spokanecity.org & Council Member Betsy Wilkerson, bwilkerson@spokanecity.org
Wednesday, July 6, 2022 at 9:06 a.m.
Council Members look to prepare an ordinance that would likely require locating the Spokane Police Department (SPD) precinct along the East Sprague Corridor, which is the portion of the East Central neighborhood that has historically and most recently experienced the most crime. At the recent Finance and Administration Committee Meeting on June 27th, Council President introduced a resolution to place a police precinct in the part of the East Central Neighborhood where crime is reported at the highest rate. Given the recent uptick in violence across the City, he and Council Member Wilkerson are upgrading their efforts by proposing an ordinance that would provide prompt relief to the businesses and residents along the Sprague Corridor, instead of an alternative location blocked by Interstate 90, less visible to the public and far away from where actual crime is occurring.
“SPD has requested new space for a police precinct in the East Central Neighborhood that is more visible and provides easier access to the public,” says Council President Breean Beggs. “Reported crime in the East Central Neighborhood is substantially clustered along East Sprague Avenue from the Hamilton Overpass to Havana Street. The I-90 interstate poses a substantial obstacle to accessing a police precinct if placed south of the freeway. While Spokane Police Department cannot prevent all crime, we want to provide an enhanced response time to the areas of concentrated crime. We want to ensure that SPD has unmitigated access and preparedness to those areas along the Sprague corridor. Most importantly, we want the businesses, customers, and residents in the East Sprague Corridor to see police vehicles parked and officers walking and bicycling as a deterrent to crime and assurance of safety.”
Last week, without a Council vote or public notice, Mayor Woodward announced that Spokane Police Department will now occupy the former library at East Central, located at 524 S. Stone. SPD currently occupies a space St. Ann’s Church on the lower South Hill and is looking for a new area to expand its services. Spokane Public Library relocated to its new Liberty Park branch a few blocks away, leaving the 6,000-square-foot East Central Library vacant. Last fall, Council Members began community engagement around East Central vitality through community conversation, online surveys, neighborhood Council meetings, and stakeholder engagement. Council Members recently proposed an open house for competing proposals to provide human services at the former library so that the community can respond to specific ideas for that community-owned space.
“It was brought to my attention that the Mayor has, without due process, directed the SPD to occupy the former library at East Central,” said Council Member Betsy Wilkerson. “In a recent press conference on May 18th the Mayor agreed that it was Council’s final decision on who will occupy the space. I am beyond disturbed at her disregard for the Council process and her inability to be inclusive in her approach to hearing the complete voices of East Central residents who did not get input or final say on what the community would most like to see in their neighborhood. As a resident of East Central, we absolutely need public safety in East Central, but in an area in critical need of safety. East Sprague historically has been a high crime vessel, and police presence is most needed in that area.”
Council President has proposed an ordinance that requires the City to undertake a community process and final Council approval for the location of essential city facilities, including police precincts. This ordinance might be heard as early as this week, if at least five Council Members agree, as an urgent response to the Mayor’s unprecedented violation of her promise to let the Council decide on the location of the next police precinct in East Central.
