Neighbors Again Left Out Of Loop On Berkshire Low Barrier Housing Construction

May 15, 2018

Everett

As part of the management plan for the low barrier housing on Berkshire Drive in Everett, Washington Catholic Housing Services wrote the following:

low barrier

Click to enlarge

It appears that promise was never carried out in spite of multiple inquiries by MyEverettNews.com regarding the construction plan. On April 6th M-E-N contacted Catholic Housing Services asking for a copy of the letter that was to be sent to about 220 residents and business in the neighborhood. On April 9th Michelle Umadhay with Catholic Housing Services sent the following reply:

Hi Leland,

I’m the Developer/Project Manager for CHS for our Everett Safe Streets Supportive Housing Project. We are starting mobilization this week with our construction team getting their job trailer set up. We will be starting construction this month. Our contractor is working on an informational handout that we will be providing residents with contact info if they have any questions or concerns about the project.

I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.

That was followed the same day by this promise:

I will forward it along as soon as we get it finalized.

On April 30th MyEverettNews.com asked again via email for a copy of the letter and never received a reply.

Pile driving has now started at the site promptly at 8 AM each day with the sound resonating for blocks. MyEverettNews.com talked with residents and business owners in the neighborhood who all said they had not received anything in the mail regarding the start of construction. Here’s a short video of the sound that greeted people in the neighborhood as pile driving began.

At 11:12 AM this morning MyEverettNews.com sent a request to both Catholic Housing Services and the City of Everett asking why the promised outreach had not happened and that we were hoping for a response prior to releasing a story this afternoon at 3 PM. At 2:56 PM the following email was received from Michelle Umadhay at Catholic Housing Services:

Hi Lee,
Please see attached the informational letter that is being mailed out to residents and neighbors this week. Additionally, a Dawson Construction team member and myself have scheduled to go door-to-door tomorrow morning and personally talk to neighboring residents and businesses. Would you like to join us? We’ll be leaving from the construction site at around 10:30am.
Best Regards,

Michelle

Here is the copy of the letter that is now being mailed this week.

ESSSH_Neighborhood Outreach

As of 3:30 PM, MyEverettNews.com has not received an explanation on why there has been no promised outreach.

At 4:05 PM MyEverettNews.com received the following email from Meghan Pembroke at the City of Everett:

Hi Lee – Sorry to have missed you while I was in interviews earlier. As the project developer, Catholic Housing Services is responsible for notifying the neighborhood about the construction schedule and any other impacts. We’re pleased that they will be visiting with neighbors this week to let them know about the start of construction and we will continue working with them to ensure they are meeting their obligations to the community as the project moves forward.
Let me know if you have any other questions.



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My Everett News is a hyperlocal news website featuring news and events in Everett, Washington. We also cover City of Everett information and items of interest to those who live and work in Everett.

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