White Center Now: The blog about White Center

3:22 PM: Another notable fire response – this time to 1st SW and SW 108th in Top Hat. It’s logged as a brush fire. Seattle Fire units are being summoned to help North Highline FD.

5:55 PM: This did not turn out to be as big as it sounded. It appeared to have been in a front yard.

King County Sheriff’s Deputies are arriving at the West Seattle Marijuana Store in Top Hat (10825 Myers Way S.) after a report that the shop was robbed at gunpoint. Deputies are looking for multiple suspects who are reported to have left on foot. You’ll see deputies taking up “containment” spots for some distance around the area. The robbers are described as 3 Black men in their 20s, wearing hoodies – one blue, one green, one gray – and at least two with backpacks. Updates if and when we get more information.

ADDED MONDAY: No new details except that no one’s been arrested, says KCSO.

Almost three months after its abrupt announcement ignited community concern, the Top Hat site set up by King County for possible COVID-19 quarantine/isolation remains idle. On Wednesday’s weekly informational call for White Center ccommunity members, a neighborhood activist again asked about the site’s post-pandemic future, but the county insists it’s too soon to say. Meantime, the county is closing the Shoreline site it had set up for assessment and recovery, as explained by Angie Malpass:

As a result of flattening the curve, the operations at the Shoreline AC/RC site, designed to handle a surge of cases, are on hold now that our health-care system, and isolation and quarantine centers have plenty of capacity. The structures will likely remain standing through the end of June when the agreement between the City of Shoreline and King County expires, as we continue to monitor case counts and demand for isolation, quarantine and assessment/recovery centers.

That leaves four county centers in operation – Kent, North Seattle/Aurora, Issaquah, and Harborview Hall. 33 people in all are staying at those facilities, far below the total 246-person capacity. Along with those, the Top Hat site and one in Eastgate “continue to stand ready to open when needed, if demand grows or we experience a second surge,” Malpass said, but, “King County will bring current operational facilities up to full capacity before opening new sites for isolation, quarantine, or recovery.”

(WCN file photo)

2:40 PM: During today’s weekly update call related to the Top Hat quarantine facility, Calli Knight from the King County Executive’s Office said the facility may never open. She said they’ve decided not to open any more facilities until the ones already opened by the county are at capacity, and they’re nowhere near that. She said they’re being kept in reserve just in case there’s a need from a “second wave” of infections, but otherwise it looks like occupancy at the current facilities – including former motels in Kent and Issaquah – peaked around 70 earlier this month, and is currently around 60.

3:11 PM: Angie Malpass from King County verifies that the Top Hat facility “is on hold”:

There continues to be plenty of capacity at King County’s COVID-19 isolation, quarantine and recovery centers that are currently open today in Kent, Issaquah, North Seattle/Aurora, Harborview Hall and Shoreline.

We saw peak demand about one and a half weeks ago at 74 guests and have seen a plateau now at 61 guests today.

As a result, we don’t anticipate having a need to open White Center in the near future.

Public Health is anticipating an inevitable second wave of COVID-19 and we will continue to keep White Center ready to open for when than second surge happens, should the current 5 facilities that are operational reach capacity.

This goes for the site at Eastgate, which remains ready when needed, likely for the second wave, and Interbay/Elliott Ave, which will soon be ready for when needed.

So what’s the site’s long-term plan? A neighborhood advocate asked that during the call, saying he had just obtained county emails showing discussion that the site was intended to become a shelter for homeless people. Knight said she didn’t believe that’s the current plan but would follow up.

(King County photo)

Seven weeks after it was announced, King County’s Top Hat quarantine/isolation site hasn’t opened, and doesn’t appear close to opening – not because it’s not ready, but because the county still has plenty of room in the facilities it’s already opened. As we do most weeks, we listened in on the weekly communtty phone meeting Wednesday, led by Calli Knight from King County Executive Dow Constantine’s office. She noted that the four facilities the county has opened – Shoreline, Kent, Issaquah, North Seattle – are currently hosting 74 people. A community member told Knight that neighbors would like to be provided with PPE before this site opens because of fears about possible airborne transmission; Knight and a Public Health rep on the call said that didn’t seem as if it would be necessary. A community member told Knight that legal action to stop the site from opening was still a possibility. The call ended otherwise uneventfully with a reiteration that there’s “no clear opening date” for the facility.

For the first time since the day it was announced five weeks ago, we have a close-up look at the quarantine/isolation site the county is setting up in Top Hat as part of its COVID-19 response.

These are county-provided photos taken at the site this past Saturday (April 4th).

Only one four-room modular unit was in place when the site was announcdd. The old Wilderness Technology Alliance building on the site was demolished to make room for more.

Angie Malpass from King County explains, “They are finishing setting up the rooms with supplies, and while it will be ready to open this week, the county is holding off on opening until there is demand, so the opening is TBD for now, based on numbers”

As of today, the county is housing 48 people at the three other sites it has opened so far.

The opening of King County’s quarantine/isolation site in Top Hat has been delayed. The County Executive’s Office announced Thursday that it would not be opening Friday as originally planned. County spokesperson Angie Malpass provided WCN with some additional details, saying site work is likely to be complete sometime Saturday, so the site could be ready to open “maybe as soon as early next week. It just depends on the need… Currently the three sites open today — Kent, Issaquah and Aurora — still have capacity, so we may hold off.” According to the Friday update from Seattle-King County Public Health, those three sites are housing a total of 41 people. Malpass says the Top Hat site will have 24/7 security – “no walk-ups and no visitors. All patients are triaged by Seattle-King-County Public Health, and the assessment is taken to DCHS who then assigns/places and transports the patient.” The county will eventually have nine sites, including this one – quarantine/isolation in Kent, Issaquah, Aurora open, Harborview Hall and Top Hat soon, and assessment/recovery centers coming to Shoreline, Interbay, Eastgate, and SODO.

Will the county’s quarantine/isolation site in Top Hat open Friaay as projected? County reps on Wednesday’s regular weekly community-update call couldn’t say for sure, but promised an email update by week’s end, one way or another. That’s the only real information that emerged from the call. The county has three other sites already in operation – in North Seattle, Issaquah, and Kent – with a total of 23 people now staying in them. The county says this one will have nursing staff on site when it opens.

(WCN file photo)

By Tracy Record
White Center Now editor

Nobody’s in the Top Hat quarantine/isolation facility (206 SW 112th) yet. But the county is launching weekly community phone meetings for updates and Q&A. We participated in the first one this afternoon.

John Taylor from Local Services, Callie Knight from the Executive’s Office, Brad Binder from Public Health, County Councilmember Joe McDermott were among those on the call.

Regarding the timeline, Knight said the timeline for opening is still “at least a week and a half” away. April 3rd is the target date, to be open for 8 four-unit trailers, including one unit to be used as an on-site office, added Christina Gonzales of Facilities, who joined the call latr. They’re still working on utility hookups. So no one is occupying it yet, but work crews continue their efforts. Demolition of the existing building hasn’t yet been completed – that’s needed to facilitate more modular units.

Regarding health staff on site, Knight said they’re still working on that and whether it would be 24/7 or not. No matter how that works, everyone who occupies the site will have a cell phone and would be checked on by “public health professionals” at least twice a day. If they needed to be moved to a health-care facility, they would be.

As for requiring people to stay there – we’re not in a police state situation, Knight said, but they hope the decision to not house anyone there with behavior-health or social-service needs, they hope it will reduce the possibility. They are working on “notification measures …so that quick communication could happen” if someone does leave against advisement.

Nearby residents are going to get in-person outreach starting tomorrow, with a team of 4 county workers, and they’ve been reaching out to local businesses and apartment managers as well.

Will the food provided for quarantined people come from local providers? They’re working on that, county reps said. Will local volunteers be needed? Coordination of offers of help is in progress. Call participants mentioned that – separate from this – Camp Second Chance on Myers Way is having trouble getting sanitary items.

Want to be on the next call? email cknight@kingcounty.gov

In addition to this site, the county also has opened a former motel in Kent, where three people are now in isolation, and also has leased a motel in Issaquah as well as working on other sites in Bellevue, Interbay, and North Seattle.

Received from the county this morning:

As King County’s response to COVID-19 evolves and to address community concerns, King County’s temporary housing units in Kent and White Center will be available for those individuals who are able to quarantine or isolate without the need of social services or additional supports.

On March 12, an individual experiencing homelessness and waiting test results for COVID-19 voluntarily responded to offers of service and took a room at the Kent motel currently used for isolation and quarantine.

At approximately 7:30 a.m., the individual disregarded the instructions of an onsite security guard and left the motel. The individual crossed Central Avenue North and entered a convenience store, where he allegedly shoplifted items before taking a northbound Route 153 King County Metro bus. The bus was taken out of service for cleaning and sanitation.

There have only been two people in this facility so far. The first individual tested negative and left the motel.

As the COVID-19 crisis unfolds and resources are rapidly moving to meet public health needs, King County is shifting the Kent and White Center sites to help people who do not need supportive social services.

Sites for those with behavioral health needs will be identified and staffed appropriately.

Public Health Seattle & King County expects that the vast majority of residents who are infected or who have symptoms will successfully isolate in their own homes. King County does not have a mandatory quarantine in place.

As we reported earlier this week, no one has been moved into the Top Hat facility yet, and the county says that might not happen for two weeks.

Five days after an at-times-contentious phone meeting about the county’s plan to open a COVID-19 quarantine/isolation compound at 206 SW 112th in Top Hat, the promised email followup has arrived. The headline: Calli Knight from King County Executive Dow Constantine‘s office says, “I’ve confirmed with Facilities Management and Public Health that no one will occupy the site for at least the next two weeks. … While residents may see Facilities Management staff at the site working on utility hook-up, no one will be occupying the facilities. We are committed to giving as much advance notice as possible when the facility becomes fully operational (meaning when an individual or individuals actually utilize the facility to get well).” And Knight noted a change from what was said on Friday’s call: “Additionally, my team is working on confirming that medical staff will be on-site once the facility becomes operational.”

Meantime, she promised some of the funding approved this week by the King County Council would “provide robust language access services, and direct resources to community-based organizations in White Center” and added, “We will also continue to work through how best to support impacted businesses in White Center, Kent, and near the two facilities in the City of Seattle.” According to the daily update from Seattle-King County Public Health, the Kent facility – a former motel – has its first patient in residence; the news release also says, “The number of persons in King County’s isolation and quarantine sites will be included in regular updates provided by Public Health – Seattle & King County. No other identifying or personal information will be provided.”

Back to Knight’s email, she said she’s still “working to determine answers to a small number of questions” and hopes to have them by week’s end. Two “fact sheets” were attached – this one (PDF) with Q&A about the quarantine/isolation sites, including their future use; that answer: “We are focused on the public health emergency and creating spaces for people to safely isolate and quarantine. Future use of any of the emergency community services locations being created now is a conversation for a future time.” Here’s the other one (PDF), which overlaps to some degree with the FAQ.

(WCN photo, Sunday)

Tomorrow marks one week since King County announced it planned to use the former Wilderness Technology Alliance site at 206 SW 112th in Top Hat as a COVID-19 quarantine/isolation site. No patients there yet, but preparation work continues, we confirmed with the King County Executive’s Office today. We asked a few questions today since we hadn’t seen the promised followup to last Friday’s telephone meeting yet; spokesperson Alex Fryer said that’s still in the works and likely will be sent to community members tomorrow.

Though no patients are there yet, Fryer said, they are on track to be ready as soon as Thursday; the second modular unit has been delivered, and the sewer line was installed Sunday. The old WTA building will be demolished by the middle of next week, he said (that would potentially clear the way for additional modular units).

During Friday’s call, county officials said they were still shaping the criteria for who this facility would house. We asked Fryer what they’d decided on. His reply:

Criteria would include those who have been exposed to the virus, who are not ill, and need a place separate from others; those who are symptomatic but not critical and in need of housing; and those recovering … examples include:

i. College students living in dorm housing

ii. People who have traveled to the region and don’t have a home to self-quarantine

iii. First responders who have been exposed or are exhibiting symptoms who can’t self-quarantine at home

iv. People experiencing homelessness

v. People who can’t self-quarantine at home because they have a family member who is at a high risk of contracting the virus

The King County Council is scheduled to consider emergency funding tomorrow related to the outbreak response; here’s the agenda and packet (PDF) for the 1 pm Tuesday meeting, with the emergency-funding response on page 239. The documents call for allocating $10 million to placement of the modular facilities, which so far have been announced for two Seattle sites (Interbay and North Seattle) as well as the Top Hat location.

(This is also published on our partner site West Seattle Blog)

By Tracy Record
White Center Now editor

New information on the King County quarantine/isolation facility planned at 206 SW 112th in Top Hat, just east of White Center, first announced Tuesday. The new details emerged in a conference call meeting that county reps organized for community members; we were on that call, which just concluded, for WCN and partner site West Seattle Blog.

The site will start up with two 4-room trailers, with up to six more when a vacant building on the site is demolished. (Above are our photos after the first trailer was delivered Tuesday – the county had 14 in storage on Harbor Island.) The county has now decided NOT to open the site until utilities including water/sewer are hooked up to the trailers’ built-in bathrooms – they originally had said they would start with portable toilets and hand-washing stations but have scrapped that plan. They expect the connections will be complete by the middle of next week.

The site will NOT have medical staff – but the county plans to “check in” with people at least twice a day. They also plan to deliver food and other supplies. And they will have 24-hour security who will “notify” county reps if someone leaves the site.

Who will be there? Criteria are still being developed, the county reps said. Three scenarios were mentioned for starters – people who are traveling and have nowhere else to go, people who are unhoused, people who can’t “self-quarantine” because of a situation at their home such as an at-risk person also living there.

How long will someone stay? If they’re being tested – until the test results are in, if those results are negative. If they’re ill, “until they’ve recovered.”

The call wasn’t strictly informational – strong opposition was voiced, primarily by people pointing out that the area is home to low-income people and other marginalized populations and should not have to bear this burden and risk. “10,000 people are opposed” was mentioned – apparently a reference to this online petition. But county reps were clear – this decision has been made and will not change.

Those on the call, besides several staffers from various county departments such as Local Services, included County Councilmember Joe McDermott and Burien Mayor Jimmy Matta. McDermott said County Executive Dow Constantine‘s request for emergency funding will be approved at next Tuesday’s King County Council meeting.

We have a few other details to add shortly.

ADDED 12:58 PM: First, for those wondering about the other two quarantine sites, the county has provided these addresses – 531 Elliott Avenue West [map] in Interbay and 1132 N. 128th Street [map] in North Seattle. The Top Hat site was formerly home to the Wilderness Technology Alliance.

Julie Hiatt of the North Highline Fire District, which serves the area, was on the call and said NHFD had not even had a meeting with the county to talk about this; one was promised. County reps also said they were not intending for NHFD to have to transport patients to/from the site; they are working with potential providers such as Tri-Med.

One community member on the call was aghast at the single-security-guard plan: “You’re bringing this into poor communties and telling us there’s going to be one security guard for people who might leave?” Security plans would be re-evaluated along the way, county reps said. Another community member: “If this is going to spread, this is not the community you want it to spread in – most (nearby) people don’t even have health insurance.” The site is in a densely populated area of North Highline, with neighboring apartment complexes including the huge new Southside by Vintage across SW 112th.

Another community member: “It seems like an experiment. … The community does not want this facility here. It’s going to cause death … There is death attached to this facility.” County reps countered that this was meant to save lives; Local Services director John Taylor countered, “The consequence to the community of not doing this could be disastrous.”

The call ended after an hour but more communication including an email list was promised.

We got a few questions about the Guardian One helicopter’s presence over east White Center/Top Hat this afternoon. That video shows what it was all about – assisting as King County Sheriff’s Deputies on the ground chased after an auto-theft suspect. The accompanying summary:

The suspect initially evaded police and then was relocated at a house. The suspect got into the passenger seat of a vehicle and then ran from police again when confronted. Guardian 1 tracked the suspect with the FLIR camera and he was taken into custody in a backyard shed.

7:06 PM: Got a few questions about helicopters just south of White Center. The King County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a shooting in North Burien, 2nd SW and SW 120th [map]. KCSO says a 27-year-old man was “shot in the face” and was taken to Harborview in serious condition. No other info yet.

11:35 PM: Update from KCSO: “Deputies were able to determine actual shooting took place in the Top Hat area of unincorporated King County and the victim fled to a house in Burien. This entire incident was over a vehicle. The suspect is still outstanding.”

8:04 AM: From radio communication: Deputies are on the scene where a man is reported to have been shot at or near a house on SW 106th between 1st/1st SW. They’ve reported finding a shell casing. No word yet on the victim’s condition.

10:58 AM: KCSO says the victim’s injuries are not life-threatening. No suspect information yet.

5:22 PM: More followup info is here.

In case you missed this in regional media – the Quick Stop Food Mart in Top Hat sold a winning Mega Millions ticket. The winner claimed their $25 million prize as a $16 million lump sum on July 20th, one day after the drawing, according to the Washington Lottery news release. That’s just four months after a 7-11 in south West Seattle sold a Mega Millions ticket good for a $150 million-plus jackpot. By the way, the Quick Stop owner gets a $50,000 bonus for the winning-ticket sale, per the state.

We received some questions about an hours-long King County Sheriff’s Office presence near 1st Avenue S. and 104th in Top Hat last night. By the time we were finally able to get over to the area, they were gone. We followed up with KCSO Sgt. Cindi West this morning:

Yesterday around 7:20 am deputies were flagged down by a woman in Burien who said they had their car stolen. ( 800 block of SW 122 St. )

The woman had pulled into her day care and left the vehicle running while she dropped her child off. When she went back out to the car it was gone. The woman had also left her iPhone in the car. We took a stolen vehicle report and about 15 minutes later, the woman and her husband flagged another deputy down and told him that they had a GPS signal from the phone showing it was in the area of S. 104th St and Occidental.

Deputies drove the area and found the stolen vehicle parked in front of a house in the 10200 block of 1 Ave S. When deputies tried to surround the car, the suspect sped off, striking a police vehicle as he fled. We did not find the suspect or vehicle but did find another stolen car at the house he had been parked in front of.

From King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West:

Last night around 1130 pm King County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of two women shot near S. 112th St. and 1st Ave S. [map].

The women were with a group of people lighting off fireworks at that location. Witnesses said a white car was driving erratically back and forth in between the area where the group was lighting fireworks. When the vehicle stopped nearby a man from the group approached the vehicle to yell at the driver to stop driving recklessly.

An altercation occurred between the man and two people in the car. During the altercation shots rang out and two women in the group were shot. It is unknown at this time if the shots came from the occupants of the car.

The woman who was shot in the back is a pregnant, 24-year-old Burien woman. She was taken to Harborview and is in serious but stable condition. The other woman, 46 and from Seattle, was taken to Highline Hospital with a gunshot wound to her foot.

The vehicle in the altercation is described as a white older model sedan occupied by two females. Detectives are asking for anyone with information to call the King County Sheriff’s Office at 206-296-3311.

(WCN photo)
2:03 PM: Big fire response in Top Hat this afternoon, at the convenience store in the 11000 block of 1st Avenue South. Along with North Highline Fire District, the Seattle Fire Department sent help via mutual aid. Our crew is there and says there’s not much damage visible from outside but crews are using fans to ventilate the mini-mart. Also, SW 112th is blocked right now because of the response. Regional media is at the scene too and we’re expecting a briefing shortly with details of what happened.

2:27 PM: Firefighters tell us that the fire involved vehicles behind the mini-mart, which explains why nothing’s obvious from the front. Our crew is finding out more from the chief at the scene right now.

ADDED: From comments – Erik’s video taken early on during the fire: