City Council Meeting - Report

The Port Townsend city council meeting hall was swamped - filled to the brim and overflowing! - with citizens burning with the need to say their piece. It was a people-power extravaganza!

Unfortunately, they weren't there to ask about city policy about renewing permits for businesses built with public money and about to evict Medicaid recipients. No, the real outrage in the community had to do with the threat to close the Mountain View swimming pool.

Nick Harper and Doug Campbell stood up and addressed the council. Their points were that the city issued a permit for the Victoria House, and that the permit would lapse December 31st. They asked that the council consider ways of linking the issuance of a new permit contingent on keeping as many as possible of the Victoria House Eleven instated in the facility.

In terms of hope-for-humankind it pleases me to report that one of the council members had tears running down her cheeks during Doug's 3-minute comment. Thanks for that, Councilwoman Medlicott.

In a private conversation after the meeting, Mayor Welch promised he would give this web address to City Attorney, John Watts, and get back to us about whether there is anything the city can do.

So, action step: contact each of the council members and the city attorney. Politely ask that something be done at the city level about the permit - and suggest that pressure be put on the Assisted Living Concepts company with regard to the facility's unilateral decision to cut its relationship with Medicaid. Click on this link for contact information for the council members. And click here to write an email to John Watts. Alternatively, use paper mail. Direct correspondence to the person of your choice, City of Port Townsend, 250 Madison Street, Port Townsend, Washington, 98368. Be polite. Be concise. Be clear - but be writing.

There outght to be a law... and some states already have it!

Hullo, visitors from Crooks & Liars! (Thanks for the link, Blue Gal) - and indeed, there are states that don't permit eviction of patients from nursing homes.

We'll hear more from Sue Estes, Regional Ombudsman, but I know of Illinois, which made such evictions illegal in 1979, and Oregon, which did so this year, after the Assisted Living Concepts ghouls evicted every Medicaid patient in the state in one grand move.

Washington should have that law, too. In fact, so should the OTHER Washington.

If you're local to Port Townsend, be at the City Council meeting tonight at 6:30. If you're not, find out the conditions in your state and work to change them. Quick, before you or someone you love needs the laws to be in place.

City Council Meeting - Monday at 6:30

The Port Townsend city council meets on first and third Mondays at 6:30 p.m., at the City Council Chambers.

The Victoria House facility is within city limits, and is subject to city ordinances. Anyone with questions about this (or knowledge about how to get it on the agenda) is welcome to show up.

Are you coming on Monday? Leave a comment, too. Maybe they'll need to pull in some extra chairs.