Smooth sailing for church and Tent City 4, but not all are happy
WRITTEN BY DON MANN
Eighty-three Tent City 4 residents have been on the grounds of Bear Creek United Methodist Church for a week now — the first-ever stay at the Woodinville church for the roving Eastside homeless encampment — and spokespersons from both organizations say things are going very well.
“It’s been extremely quiet with the exception of people calling with offers to help,” BCUMC steering committee member Ellen Boyer said. “The campers are polite and friendly and we’ve had no calls of complaint.”
BCUMC pastor David Orendorff, incidently, has been away on vacation since TC4 moved onto the grounds of the parking lot on June 24.
Boyer said TC4 was very quiet and respectful during church services on Sunday.
“A few TC4 folks came in to worship and at fellowship time were warmly welcomed,” she said.
TC4 spokesman Bruce Thomas agreed that the relationship has been mutually amicable.
“We’ve been nice and quiet and all our interactions with the church have been very positive,” he said. “They’re lovely people, just lovely.”
Ken Kawafune, however, has a slightly different take.
Photo by Don Mann Tent City 4 patrol officers are in command at the entrance to the camp, known as the Executive Committee (EC) tent.
The president of the Bear Creek Neighborhood Alliance opposed the arrangement from the start, particularly since he felt the church made a unilateral decision to invite TC4 without first consulting the neighbors.
Two community meetings were held at BCUMC before TC4 arrived, in an effort to address neighbors’ concerns.
Kawafune was asked if those concerns had indeed been addressed.
“I would say no,” he said. “A lot of things we asked for have been ignored.”
Among those things, he said, were acquiring a copy of the audio recording of the July 7 meeting, acquiring copies of records submitted to the health department by the church, a request that BCUMC’s septic system alarm remains on at all times, a request that a cyclone fence be constructed around the periphery of the encampment, and a request that the church itself conducts a background check on TC4 members — in addition to the standard screening TC4 already provides.
But Kawafune’s biggest beef, it seems, is TC4’s policy of round-the-clock, two-person security patrols, which extend to a two-block radius around its encampment.
“We asked that they not do their security patrols,” Kawafune said, “and so far they’ve refused. Our preference is that we don’t have strangers walking through the neighborhood — but they’re still doing them.”
Thomas, a TC4 member since its inception in 2004, is not unfamiliar with Kawafune’s concerns.
“We patrol a two-block radius of the camp — always have, always will,” he said. “They knew that coming in. Some people don’t like it, but that’s the way it is.”
Boyer said the lines of communication between BCUMC, TC4 and the community at-large remain open.
“We are continually trying to respond to neighborhood concerns,” she said. “In addition to responding to e-mails sent to tc4@bcumc.org, we are also participating in a monthly meeting with the neighborhood to address issues that might come up during TC4’s stay.”
Kawafune said he was looking forward to attending a community barbecue involving BCUMC, TC4 and the neighbors next Sunday.
“It will be good to see people on both sides of the issue get together,” he said.
“We hope some of our concerns are addressed but that remains to be seen. Our stance is this: If you’re going to do this, make sure you do it right and consider what the neighbors’ concerns are.”
