SNOHOMISH COUNTY—The Snohomish County Council will be voting on a series of motions this upcoming Wednesday, January 28, related to service agreements at its two New Start Centers – a pair of repurposed hotels which the county intendeds to use for emergency bridge housing for people experiencing homelessness in Snohomish County.
The idea of the New Start Centers is to convert underused hotel buildings into time-limited housing with wraparound services (including support for mental health, employment, substance use treatment, and other basic needs). These are not permanent homes, but transitional sites to help people stabilize, connect to services, and ideally move to longer-term housing.
In 2022 Snohomish County identified two existing hotels that could be repurposed for this purpose, the Days Inn facility in Everett for $10,823,000 (with about 74 units) and the America’s Best Value Inn in Edmonds for $9,075,000 (with about 55 units)—$155,038 per unit.
The county moved forward with these purchases under American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and the county’s Affordable Housing and Behavioral Health tax, aiming to quickly expand local shelter capacity.
However, the plan was met with some controversy, with the discovery of both hotel buildings being contaminated with methamphetamine residue from previous use – prior to closing the sale in late 2022. The County subsequently began negotiations with the sellers to account for the cleanup costs and meth decontamination was complete as of early 2024.
Over the last couple of years, the County Council has debated whether to add a drug treatment and sobriety clause to their agreements, an amendment which was ultimately rejected by the Council in late 2022. In public comments, residents have also voiced safety concerns and broader questions about community outreach and transparency, with some Council Member questioning the government’s role in housing to begin with, while voicing health risks and overall operational capacity concerns.
Despite these contentions, both New Start Centers were scheduled to open in late 2025 but were ultimately delayed due to inspections and final approvals. Snohomish County Councilman Sam Low referred to the projects as “money pits” in this week’s meeting, given the total budget has ballooned to $37.7 million as of May 2025—up from original $20 million allocation—and are non-operational as of January 2026.
The Lynnwood Times is awaiting confirmation from the County on what the updated total on money spent to renovate the hotels, and the updated estimate, up from $1,590, of the post-construction per unit monthly cost.
Last week the Snohomish County Human Services Department provided drafts of a Management Plan, a Referral Partner Agreement, and a Code of Conduct. In review of those documents, it was identified that the Referral Partner Agreement and the Referral Minimum Requirements listed had some variances.
The contract did not include a provision for 30 days of sobriety, and the draft Referral Partner Agreement did not include a requirement that there be no violent crime conviction. Human Services provided an updated draft to the county last Friday.
Snohomish County Vice Chair Sam Low, and Council member Nate Nehring, are sponsoring a joint proposed motion that would add a requirement that extensions come to the council for approval.
Following a presentation by Heidi Beazizo, Chief of Staff for the council, County Councilman Strom Peterson expressed concerns about the referral and eligibility changes that council would not see until after they vote on the motions next Wednesday.
According to Beazizo, the projects would not be hindered by the HUD’s recent restrictions on low-barrier housing because the only federal funding in the two New Start Centers is surge funding through the HOME-American Recovery Program (ARP) grant, which is not the from the County’s portion of State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF), or CLFR, subject to the December 31, 2026, deadline.
“Snohomish County received the HOME-ARP grant, which is authorized under a separate section of Public Law No. 117-2, and is using it to fund services in the two centers. The HUD funds referenced below are Continuum of Care funds and the County currently has no plans to utilize those funds for services in the centers,” said Beazizo. “While not relevant to the New Start Centers per se, HUD’s FY2025 NOFO, which attempted to cap Permanent Supportive Housing at 30% for Continuum of Care funds, is currently enjoined. Even if the FY 2025 NOFO were not enjoined, the County has no plans to utilize Continuum of Care funds to deliver services in the New Start Centers. Further, the centers are not classified as Permanent Supportive Housing under Continuum of Care rules.”
Wednesday’s meeting will be the next step in potentially securing nonprofit partnership who will run the facility under the County’s strict guidelines. The Salvation Army, and YWCA, respectively, were selected as the winning bidders.
Current motions under consideration for Wednesday
Current motions on the table – that return to council for a vote on Wednesday, January 28 – include Motion 26-005, which authorizes Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers to execute a services agreement with Salvation Army as the selected nonprofit operator. If approved Wednesday, Salvation Army will receive $781,012 in HOME ARP dollars for a period to conclude on December 31, 2026.
These dollars will be used to fund six Full-Time Equivalent (FTE’s), including a client services manager, case managers, shelter cooks, and appoint five landlord engagement specialists through a professional service agreement with the YWCA.
Motion 25-582 authorizes the execution of the operating and licensing agreement for $2,684,610 for a term also concluding on December 31, 2026, though the agreement does allow for four year-long extensions with cost-of-living expenses in consideration, per the County’s discretion.
In addition to funding the salaries and benefits of 14.7 FTEs the agreement provides funding for office supplies and equipment, security system installation, administrative costs, utility costs and maintenance on vehicles and minor equipment, and other miscellaneous costs. In addition to the contract’s terms and conditions the agreement includes four additional requirements: the management plan, code of conduct, referral and eligibility requirements, and safety and security requirements.
Similar to the Everett facility, the Edmonds New Start Center also has a motion (26-004) authorizing the execution of a services agreement of $1,884,294 in HOME ARP dollars. The 16.5 FTE’s associated with this contract include a program manager, life coaches, landlord engagement specialist, front desk employees, and a healthcare navigator.
Additionally, it includes $500,000 in meals and $250,000 in client flex funds, which would be used for clearing barriers for housing, legal evictions, healthcare bills, and so on.
Motion 25-583 executes the operating and licensing agreement with the YWCA for $2,122,669 and funds 4.75 FTE including portions of an Admin Analyst, Data Coordinator, Senior Director, Program Supervisor, Chief Program Officer, Maintenance Staff (custodian and on-call custodian).
Also in consideration, is $450,000 for professional services for security, pest control, fire safety, dollars set aside for insurance, utilities, repairs, administration and other miscellaneous costs. The requirements are identical to the Everett facility.
Each hotel is required to maintain a 95% occupancy rate. The facilities will also be required to provide clean linens at least weekly, one hot and one cold meal per day, individual client plans with the goal of permanent housing within 90 days, and work with the County’s referral network.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
