Women in Safe Homes’ proposal to renovate the former Ketchikan Regional Youth Facility as an emergency shelter is one of many items on the Ketchikan City Council agenda Thursday.
The council held a public hearing on the proposal during its Sept. 6th meeting, a requirement if the city and WISH choose to move forward with an application for a state Community Development Block Grant.
WISH has a facility now, but the building is about 100 years old and requires constant maintenance. It’s also too small and doesn’t ensure the level of security that WISH officials say is needed for a domestic violence shelter.
The former Ketchikan Regional Youth Facility was run by the state on city-owned land. The building reverted to city ownership when the state ended operations there in 2016. The city has been looking for a use for the building since then.
WISH has been working on a proposal for that building for many months. More recently, the city received two additional proposals. Love In Action, another area nonprofit, has proposed renovating the former juvenile detention center for affordable housing. A private developer also has offered $200,000 for the building, but has not said what it would be used for.
City staff is seeking direction from the council on which proposal to pursue.
Also Thursday, the council will consider a bird-baiting ordinance in second reading; discuss changing city code related to the use of fireworks; vote on hiring consultants to update the city’s compensation plan; and hear a presentation from Historic Ketchikan about plans for developing the downtown waterfront promenade.
Thursday’s meeting starts at 7 p.m. in city council chambers at City Hall. Public comment will be heard at the start of the meeting.
