Yelm City Councilors voted 5-2 to make changes to the Yelm Municipal Code by repealing Chapter 2.36, the homelessness committee, and Chapter 2.63, Yelm Library Advisory Board, from city ordinances on June 25.
Trevor Palmer, Stephanie Kangiser, Joshua Crossman, Joseph Richardson and Tracey Wood voted in favor of repealing the committee and board. Councilors Brian Hess and Terry Kaminski each voted against the repeal.
Councilors initially met on April 26 and 27 to discuss boards and commissions within the City and the roles they play. They held a second discussion during the June 4 study session to discuss if the homelessness committee and Yelm Library Advisory Board still serve a purpose.
In the Yelm City Council agenda packet for the June 25 meeting, a written statement communicated, “The City Council no longer feels that the homelessness committee and the Yelm Library Board are feasible for the City of Yelm and has requested that they are removed from the Yelm Municipal Code.”
Mayor Joe DePinto said discussion has taken place at several meetings on if certain committees in the City of Yelm should exist.
“One includes the Yelm Homeless Committee, which I believe was established last year by the City Council and officially at the recommendation of the Yelm Homelessness Task Force that was approved,” DePinto said. “The other is the Yelm Library Advisory Board. We haven’t had that in existence [since] at least 2010, and it hasn’t been filled. However if council does not approve that, I will go ahead and fill that position, and we will staff it if that’s what council wishes.”
Hess said an issue he had with the agenda packet’s statement is the term “feasibility.” He said feasibility deals with aspects such as cost.
“If I recall correctly, the discussions that have all been about removing these two is because the people who brought it up and support such have basically stated that these committees are no longer needed,” Hess said. “It’s not feasibility. It’s that they feel that they’re no longer needed, and the issue is no longer an issue. I disagree with it, and that’s why I disagree with this. I believe we still have reasons to have these two committees.”
Palmer pointed out that these boards and committees have been discussed, and that interested parties would have scheduled a special presentation to come in and speak as previously done.
“We’re not shutting the door on [the committee and board],” he said. “You can come to the council and we can discuss it.”
Crossman pointed out that the Yelm Library Advisory Board hasn’t been operational since 2010.
“I don’t know any councilman or citizen that wants to do away with the library,” Crossman said. “It’s nothing against the library. It’s just a defunct committee that hasn’t been operational and doesn’t do anything. Nobody has come up before to say they want to fix this issue. So why do we have this if nobody is raising a fuss for it?
“With the homelessness committee, there’s nothing stopping people from forming a committee to help with the homeless,” Crossman added. “There are many on this council who help with the homeless regularly. There’s many in the community that help. There’s no reason to really have a government entity to waste time when people could be out doing the actual work instead of sitting in a meeting and talking about things.”
Kaminski suggested that the item be tabled to continue discussion as the City has put so much emphasis on Love Abounds Here, which recently disbanded and created a change of circumstances in Yelm.
