The former Polyclinic facility
State Rep. Shaun Scott sees it as an opportunity for three levels of local government to come together to push for the right thing. Folks at the King County Department of Community and Human Services feel like they are running to catch up with the questions and concerns.
“I see it as my role as a representative of the 43rd Legislative District to be part of the solution, not part of the problem,” Scott tells CHS about his effort to organize a town hall Monday night on Capitol Hill to raise support for what the first-year state legislator says is a desperately needed resource that will be ready to serve the entire community.
“Placing it in the heart of the city makes sense,” Scott said.
CHS reported here on the plans for Monday night’s Crisis Care Center Townhall as Scott will be joined by Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck and county officials at Capitol Hill art bar Vermillion in a session hoped to drum up support — and counter business community-led opposition — to a major mental health Crisis Care Center being planned for Broadway and Union.
Monday’s planned event comes after the county met with significant pushback from the area business community over its $50 million proposal to acquire the former Polyclinic building at the corner of Broadway and Union to create an emergency and walk-in clinic part of a voter-approved, $1.25 billion network of five facilities across the county.
The Broadway clinic would be the second in the system but the first adjacent multiple businesses and apartment buildings. The first clinic opened in a Kirkland business park. The county has not announced specific locations — or general areas — for the other three planned clinics.
CHS broke the news on the Broadway plan in May.
“So often in conversations related to those most in need, often conversations get characterized through oppositional voices,” Rinck told CHS about her decision to get involved speaking out for the county-level project.
“We’ve already seen this model work successfully in Kirkland,” Rinck said, saying Monday’s town hall from her, Scott, and county representatives will be a an opportunity to “get good information out there.”
Rinck, who holds one of two citywide seats on the council, will not be joined by the District 3 representative for Capitol Hill, First Hill, and the Central District at the Monday night event.
Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth says her office, also, has been busy working on the situation around the planned crisi center, calling on the King County Department of Community and Human Services to improve its communications and feedback process around the effort to scale up to the densely populated and busy area it is planning the facility to fit into.
In a letter to county officials, Hollingsworth has called for the crisis center plan to develop a better process that includes planning details for multiple possible care center sites, “more transparency about the acquisition of the property and the timeline” for the Broadway effort, and consideration for a potential youth crisis care clinic that Hollingsworth said is also a desperate need.
The first center opened this year in Kirkland
“People just want a process that is more transparent so they know what is happening,” Hollingsworth said.,”so they can be in a better position to handle potential impacts.”
There are many questions. County officials say they are being asked about the siting strategy for the rest of the crisis center network and what resources will be available after treatment at the potential Broadway and Union clinic.
So far, the county says it is in “feedback gathering mode” and more answers will come.
Kelly Rider, director of the county’s Department of Community and Human Services, said earlier this year that a purchase and sale agreement was put in place for the former Polyclinic facility in January. The $50 million plan was hoped to go in front of the King County Council this summer for approval. Rider said in May that if the process is not interrupted, closing would happen at the end of 2025. The earliest the center could open is 2027.
The county says that the Polyclinic site offers a number of hard-to-find advantages. It is large enough to support the Crisis Care Center, which calls for 30,000 square feet of space. It has the right zoning and is already built out for health care services.
DCHS also wants to get out word that is hosting regular “virtual community meetings” to help keep people informed on the process including one planned for next week:
Virtual Community Meeting: July 15
Please join us on Zoom to catch up on the Crisis Care Centers Initiative. We will continue to host these general updates for community monthly. Thanks to everyone who joined our update in June!
Register today:
Afternoon Session: 2-3pm on Tuesday, July 15
Evening Session: 6-7pm on Tuesday, July 15
Officials are also offering to meet with local organizations “to offer education about Crisis Care Centers.” You can email [email protected] to schedule a presentation.
As for Monday’s town hall, the event caught county DCHS by surprise. Like Hollingsworth, they say they learned about it via social media and CHS’s report. The county will have representatives at the 11th Ave bar to be part of the session.
Scott says the town hall won’t be a typical civic event — “civics doesn’t have to be a chore” — and will include stand-up comedy and a question and answer session.
Rinck isn’t sure if business owners who have spoken out about the Broadway crisis center plan will attend but says business community leaders like Molly Moon-Neitzel are welcome.
“All viewpoints are welcome. We want to create a lower barrier opportunity to attend,” Rinck said. “With so many of our neighbors in distress on Capitol Hill, this is a place we can maybe start.”
Scott says Broadway and Union is exactly where the center belongs, pointing out that the crisis care center levy passed by voters in 2023 had some of its heaviest support on Capitol Hill. The project may be a county effort but the state representative said it is his job to take on challenges that can make the neighborhoods he represents better.
“The people impacted are going to be constituents of mine,” Scott said.
The Crisis Care Center Townhall will take place Monday, July 7th starting at 7 PM at Vermillion, 1508 11th Ave.
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