Good response at City Council Meeting

The City Council Meeting last night left the supporters of the Vic House Eleven feeling that we had a good hearing and the Council would like to do what they can to assist in our situation. All members of the council expressed concern about the situation of our residents who have been treated so shabbily. They are unsure what action is within their power to take. They agreed to send a letter to ALC, State Representatives and DSHS strongly stating their concerns about what is happening.

City Attorney John Watts provided the Council with two draft ordinances for their consideration. One concerned landlord tenant just cause and the other concerned business licensing regulation that prohibits terminations or evictions except for cause. The council decided to refer the ordinances to the CDLU (Community Development Land Use) Committee before making a decision.

It is interesting that ALC had a letter sent to the mayor from a Olympia legal firm stating their position and cautioning against a just cause provision in the eviction ordinance. We were told that an attorney from the firm had planned to be at the meeting but was unable to come due to weather issues.

John Estes, Sue Estes, Doug Campbell, Nick Harper, Leatha Smith and Kelly Dodson spoke on behalf of the Victoria House residents. Don Rose, Maintenance Man at Victoria House, spoke but stated that he was not a spokesman for ALC; however, his comments pretty much followed the "company line".