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Cowlitz County staff recommend updating lease, invite Janice House to brief commissioners on youth day-stop program
Summary
County staff reported on two small houses the county owns that Janice House, a local nonprofit, occupies rent-free while providing a daytime drop-in program for homeless youth. Staff recommended legal review and a new, longer lease if the board wishes to continue the arrangement and invited Janice House to present to the board.
Cowlitz County public services staff told commissioners on Wednesday that two county-owned houses near the Hall of Justice are occupied by a nonprofit called Janice House and that staff are proposing a modernized lease and a board briefing.
Savannah Clement, Public Services, said the county acquired two houses on Washington Street (addresses 124 and 202) some years ago and that volunteers and the nonprofit rehabilitated the buildings after they were in poor condition. “What Janice House does is provide a day stop area for homeless youth in our community,” Clement said, describing shower, laundry and donation-room services and space used for case management and meetings.
Sean (Public Services staff) told commissioners the existing arrangement began as a one-year lease with renewals and that those documents have expired. “They put a deposit on the homes of about a thousand dollars. They do not pay us rent. Instead, they are doing the maintenance and improvement on the buildings themselves,” Sean said.
Staff asked whether the board is open to directing legal to draft a current lease and return for further discussion. Commissioners agreed they want clearer terms describing maintenance responsibilities, rent or lease value equivalency, insurance and liability. Commissioner Dahl emphasized he wants assurances that the county is not “gifting” county assets and that liability language be explicit before any renewed agreement is finalized.
Clement said Janice House’s staffing is paid in part by local medical providers and that the program relies primarily on state and federal grants; she said staff were unable to supply a reliable annual or monthly client count and described usage as “hit and miss,” with higher demand on holidays. Staff said the houses are modest (about 1,300 square feet each, two bedrooms, one bath) and that the nonprofit employs roughly four full‑time staff and operates two outreach vehicles.
Commissioners instructed staff to: ask Janice House to meet with the board at a future public meeting to describe its services and answer questions; provide the board copies of the existing (expired) agreement and any related documents; and involve county legal counsel in drafting updated lease terms that specify rent or value-equivalency, insurance obligations and liability protections.
Staff said they will return with a proposed updated lease and that, if the board wishes to continue the occupancy, the county will bring the new agreement back for board action. The county did not adopt any new lease Wednesday.
