HomeMy WebLinkAboutDobson 12.07.20From: Diane Dobson <diane@gorenton.com>
To: April Alexander <analexander@Rentonwa.gov>; Jason Seth <JSeth@Rentonwa.gov>; Armondo Pa
vone <APavone@Rentonwa.gov>; "council@rentonwa.gov" <council@rentonwa.gov>
Cc: "Hoffman, David" <David.Hoffman@pse.com>; Karen L Schartman <Karen.L.Schartman@kp.org>
Date: 2020-12-07 18:54
Subject: Feedback from Community Forum on 12.5.2020 - please include in public comment for 12.7.2020
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December 7, 2020
Mayor Armondo Pavone and the Renton City Council
1055 S Grady Way
Renton WA 98057
Re: CommUNITY Conversations regarding the DeIntensification Facility
December 5, 2020
Greetings Mayor Pavone and Renton City Council
The Greater Renton Chamber of Commerce provided a platform for a CommUNITY Conversation on Saturday, December 5, 2020. This was a positive and uplifting
conversation with 41 registered participants between business owners/representatives, residents in the community, former employees at the shelter, resource
providers, faith leaders and even the Director of the King County Department of Community and Human Services.
As mentioned in my email on 12/4, organizers shared that there were limiting factors in the ability for elected officials to participate and assured participants the
recording would be provided to the City and elected officials for your review as you consider this critical set of code amendments.
You may find the link to the full recording below and request that this correspondence and recording of the meeting on Saturday be included as part of the public
comment for the Council Meeting of December 7, 2020.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMO7WV3G2p0
(We will be sending written report and summary separate.)
While I’m sure the entirety of the recording is important to you, to save you time, I would direct your attention toward the breakout session reports out from the groups,
the meeting recap and the next steps.
At the end of the meeting there was hope. While many questions still remain, there was a definite desire among attendees to address the need for services in our
community moving forward. Attendees acknowledged this shelter is placed here for the purposes of the health pandemic and attempts to De-Intensify the
spread of the virus – and there was no doubt the purpose that is serves is valuable and important.
The overwhelming respond by attendees during the meeting was compassion– even by those businesses so adversely impacted.
The Chamber will be reconvening what was previously coined the “RANU Homeless Task Force”. This group met previously and included law enforcement, Renton
Regional Fire Authority, Valley Medical Center, Renton School District, faith based organizations, resource providers, businesses and community members. We invite
you or your appointed departments to join us in these conversations. Our first meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 15 from 1:30p – 3:00p. This as an
opportunity to come together again with a collective voice to address the various needs within our community.
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The fact remains we have needs within our community that need a rapid response. With over 600 students impacted by homelessness in the Renton School District
alone, the needs are undeniable and immense. We are very concerned what this situation will look like as we come out of this pandemic. We look forward to the
opportunity to collaborate with the City of Renton and the greater Renton community as we seek solutions to these ongoing challenges.
Thank you for your continued leadership. We have the greatest of respect for the position you are in and thank you for listening to the many voices and perspectives
from the community.
Yours in service
RENTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Diane Dobson
CEO Renton Chamber of Commerce
Renton Chamber of Commerce
625 S 4th St,
Renton, WA 98057
425-226-4560 - Office
425-890-9176 - Cell
Renton Junction – Chamber Blog
To join our eblast click here: Eblast/Current Events at the Chamber Sign-up here!
To sign up for our Renton Area Nonprofits Unite updates, click here: RANU News!
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