Franklin commissioners vote on home for sexually exploited girls in rural Pasco

A charitable project aimed at helping sexually exploited teen girls was rejected Tuesday by the Franklin County commissioners.

In a 2-0 vote, Commissioners Clint Didier and Bob Koch sided with some of the concerned nearby homeowners in the rural Pasco area near the Columbia River.

While a couple of neighbors spoke in favor of the project in February, many others adamantly opposed converting the house, barn and former dog kennel into a restoration center for sex trafficking survivors.

“They’re the taxpayers. They’re the ones who have invested in this land, and I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize their investment,” Didier said.

Commissioner Brad Peck did not take part in the discussion or the vote because he had donated to the nonprofit Mirror Ministries and previously participated in negotiating to buy some land near the project in recent years, which could have been perceived as a conflict of interest.

Mirror Ministries Executive Director Tricia MacFarlan was disappointed by the decision, saying the land was the perfect spot. They are continuing to examine their options for this property, while looking for another location.

“We know the community wants and needs this program, they are very supportive,” she told the Herald after the meeting. “We just have to continue to educate our community that it is OK for a home like this to be near where you live as well. ... We will not give up on these kids and the home they so desperately need.”

The nonprofit has a contract to buy the nearly eight acres north of Pasco to build the first center of its kind in the state.

The faith-based organization has spent about 10 years researching restoration centers across the country. When the project was finished they planned to bring in 18 teen girls to live, take classes and heal at the center.

But the nonprofit needed a permit from the county.

A heated disagreement between some nearby homeowners and Mirror Ministries resulted in a contentious two-hour Franklin County Planning Commission meeting in early February that ended with a 3-3 tie.

The planning commission tabled the vote for a month until the seventh member, Melinda Didier, could take part. After reviewing the record, she voted in favor of the permit and it moved on to the county commissioners for approval. She is Commissioner Didier’s sister in law.

Property concerns

Henry Field, whose parents used to own the kennel and still own property next to it, hired Yakima attorney Mark Fickes to challenge the permit application.

Fickes argued the group home would not be allowed in the area even with a permit, and said Building and Planning Director Derrick Braaten used the incorrect designation when he recommended approving it.

In addition, he contends the center would have three homes, something that none of the nearby properties in the zone are allowed.

And Fickes said the center would end up hurting the neighborhood by adding traffic and other potential businesses. He said neighbors also worry that the home could attract criminals.

“My parents love the property. They also love the neighborhood,” Field told the commissioners. “If my parents had any clue this would happen, they would have put restrictive covenants in place to protect from something like this.”

But MacFarlan argued that in the six years they’ve operated their services, they didn’t have any threats from sex traffickers or any need to call police.

“One of the realities is once they’re getting help, it’s just easier for the trafficker to find another victim,” she said.

The girls would always be supervised and stay on the property, she said.

And she promised that no major changes were planned for the property, and they would mostly rely on the existing buildings during their first two phases.

She also pointed out that the center would have less traffic than the dog kennel business that already operated at the site.

This story was originally published October 27, 2020 at 12:56 PM.