HHS: navigation center open for cooling; joint regional communication on air-quality resources coming soon

Dawn from Spokane's Health and Human Services briefed the council on cooling and inclement-weather response, saying the HHS inclement weather plan is posted online and that the navigation center (opened after the plan) is operating as the primary daytime cooling and outreach staging location.

"The HHS inclement weather plan is currently posted on the website," Dawn told council, adding that the day navigation center is open for individuals to access and is used to stage outreach supplies such as water, sunscreen and electrolyte packets.

Dawn said staff have purchased air purifiers for the navigation center and that outreach partners and the homeless coalition receive email notifications when the city activates inclement-weather services. She also said Erin Hutt is coordinating with Spokane Valley and Spokane County communications teams on a joint release that lists regional resources; staff expect that release to be issued soon.

On activation triggers, council members asked whether the city uses a daytime trigger. Dawn said the activation criteria are tied to both heat and air quality: the city's threshold is 95°F for two consecutive days and an AQI of 200, and the city now relies on navigation and shelter-system beds rather than the pop-up daytime cooling centers used in earlier years because pop-ups were costly and hard to staff.

Council members requested broader public communications about available cooling resources for housed residents; staff said library communications and a joint regional release are forthcoming. Staff noted some community centers currently lack indoor air-filtration capacity and, during recent high-AQI events, indoor air quality in those buildings tracked outdoor conditions closely.

What's next: staff will finalize the regional communications and continue coordinating supplies and notifications with partners.