EVERETT — The Everett Community Streets Initiative task force presented its final report to the City Council and outlined the processes, deliberations and final recommendations to tackle the city’s chronic problems with homelessness, mental illness, addiction and public nuisance.
It includes 17 priority tasks that will be the focus of a new implementation team in 2015, including establishing alcohol-impact areas, adjusting jail release times and strengthening the city’s laws against aggressive panhandling.
That latter item is notable because two task force members, Alan Dorway, of First Presbyterian Church, and Megan Dunn, of the Human Needs Advisory Committee, included a dissenting opinion in the report, arguing that it may lead to subjective enforcement and de facto criminalization of homelessness.
The task force, which presented its report Wednesday, will reconvene in March for an update from an implementation team led by deputy city attorney David Hall.
The task force also will present its findings to the Snohomish County Council on Dec. 8 as part of a general acknowledgement that Everett will not be able to solve these problems on its own.
Mayor Ray Stephanson indicated he would be inviting mayors and leaders from other local communities to meet in the coming months.
The final report of the task force is posted online at everettwa.org/Get_PDF.aspx?pdfID=8531.
Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.
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