Kennewick evicts homeless campers from heart of the city

Kennewick has halted camping at Dayspring Ministries in the heart of the city, but the church group continues to serve three meals a day to the homeless and hungry.

Dayspring, a jail-and-prison ministry catering to a hard-bitten crowd, remains a hub of activity at 2625 W. Bruneau Place, near Vista Way and Highway 395, albeit a daytime one.

It was camping outside the ministry that drew attention from neighbors and the city, as complaints mounted about unruly behavior, unsanitary conditions and safety issues.

The meals program continues mostly without incident, serving an estimated 100 people daily.

“Everything is normal. I’ve seen no problems,” said a volunteer preparing Thursday’s evening meal.

The church that owns the property ordered campers to leave as the city cracked down on safety and sanitation issues.

Evelyn Lusignan, spokeswoman for the city, said officials were only concerned with code violations associated with the homeless encampment, not the meal program.

The city ordered the site cleared and trailers removed. Most of the issues are resolved, Lusignan said.

Leroy Hendren was among those ordered to leave. Hendren, who was working on bicycle parts in the Dayspring parking lot Thursday afternoon, said he originally moved his trailer to Kennewick after getting into a dispute with his Pasco landlord over pet deposits.

He paid $250 a month to park his trailer at the Kennewick church and for electricity, he said.

It’s unclear where most of the former Dayspring residents went after the eviction. The Tri-City Union Gospel Mission in Pasco said it does not ask the people it serves where they came from.

Hendren is living with friends and storing his trailer at a home on the condition he not live in it, he said.

He’s a convicted felon who has been unable to find a landlord willing to rent to him, and he’s growing despondent.

“It doesn’t seem fair to me,” he said.

Dayspring and its broad mission to serve people who are hungry, homeless or who have been in jail or prison caught city officials by surprise last fall after it moved from its old location near the cable bridge and added a shelter to its lineup of services.

Bill Price, Dayspring’s chaplain, invested personal money to convert an upstairs space into a makeshift dormitory. The city said it didn’t meet fire codes and ordered him to shut down.

Price declined, citing harsh weather. The city stepped in and closed it in February.

The standoff led to legal troubles for Price, who was cited for a gross misdemeanor for operating the shelter after it was ordered closed. He was arrested earlier this month on a bench warrant after he failed to appear in court. A court official said it appeared the court didn’t have his current address and he didn’t receive the notification.

His next hearing is set for March 29 in Benton County District Court. If convicted, he faces a fine of up to $500 plus court fees and a year in jail.

He was released after his arrest and continues to manage the Dayspring program.

Confronted with a rowdy encampment in the middle of a business and residential neighborhood, the City Council considered an ordinance that would give it more authority to regulate such facilities.

Washington law grants religious organizations wide discretion to serve the needy, but it does allow cities and counties to regulate safety and sanitation.

Kennewick is holding off on the new rules while the Legislature considers a bill that covers similar ground, Lusignan said.

Substitute Senate Bill 5657, sponsored by Republican Sens. Mark Miloscia of Federal Way and Ann Rivers of Camas, passed 49-0 in the Senate on Feb. 28 and is pending before the House Committee on Community Development, Housing & Tribal Affairs, which last took it up on March 16.

If approved, it would allow cities to require a three-month period between encampments, to hold informal meetings about them, and to require religious organizations to enter into agreements to ensure the health and safety of residents and neighbors.

Those managing encampments would be required to use an electronic records system that allows Washington to gather information about the services provided to people who are homeless.

This story was originally published March 24, 2017 at 7:14 PM with the headline "Kennewick evicts homeless campers from heart of the city."