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Public commenter urges action on homeless camps; county staff to explore moving treatment van
Summary
A public commenter raised concerns about homeless encampments in Shelton and asked Mason County to consider relocating an Evergreen Treatment Services van; County Administrator Mark Neri said staff will discuss possible relocation with public-health leadership but cannot compel Evergreen Treatment Services or the city to move the van.
During the May 13 public‑comment period, a speaker raised concerns about homeless camps in Shelton and requested that an Evergreen Treatment Services (ETS) van be moved away from Third and Franklin to a location nearer the county public-health clinic by the hospital.
The commenter said the park near Third and Franklin “has turned... into a dump” and reported counting 11 homeless camps there. He referenced recent court rulings while discussing enforcement options: “I wanna make sure that we are addressing current legislation that has gone ahead and been passed by the Supreme Court, specifically the, ruling that was made down in Grants Pass versus Johnson,” he said.
County Administrator Mark Neri responded that county staff are looking into the ETS van location and that the public‑health director—who has been on FMLA—is expected to return to limited duty and that staff will discuss possible relocation. Neri said the county does not have authority to order ETS where to park but said the county can work with ETS and the city to identify an alternative: “We don't have authority over them... But we can we can definitely we have a good working relationship with them, and I think that if we did have an alternative location that we thought was better, we could request that they move, but not demand that they move it,” he said. He added the city would need to weigh in on the change.
No formal action or direction to adopt new enforcement policies was recorded; the exchange was recorded as public comment with staff committing to follow up.
