SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward said during a briefing on Friday that the closed downtown Spokane library could be used to shelter homeless residents during the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
The Washington State Department of Commerce announced on Thursday that it would make $30 million in funding immediately accessible to every county under a new grant. This funding is aimed at helping local governments create housing necessary for quarantine, isolation and additional sanitation to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each county will receive a minimum of $250,000, with the rest distributed based on the number of homeless residents measured by the annual Point-In-Time Count.
Woodward said on Friday that Spokane County received $1.4 million in funding from the state, with most of the money going to the city. She believes funds will be available at some point next week.
Woodward said funds would be used in part to staff the facility.
Right now, Woodward does not have a definite opening date for shelter space at the downtown library. She added that the city could look at more shelter spaces beyond that location.
The Downtown Spokane library recently relocated to the Spokane Transit Authority Plaza while it undergoes significant renovations.
In November 2018, voters approved a $77 million bond measure to remodel four existing libraries, including the Downtown and Shadle libraries, and build three new ones.
The downtown Library is set to close for two years during the remodeling process.
Spokane Public Library closed all of its locations to the public effective Saturday, March 14, in response to COVID-19. These closures will remain in effect until at least April 13.
