Dear Editor,

We (the immediate neighbors of the abandoned Cavalry Lutheran Church) were informed on Saturday that Pastor Steve Grumm of Our Redeemer's Lutheran Church has decided to allow the homeless shelter without any of the neighborhood requests considered.

He will be opening the issue up to a vote by members of his congregation (the majority of which do not live near the site) on Thursday May 7. Parishioners at Our Redeemer's were informed of this reversal of position yesterday (and those I spoke with were shocked). As this vote is on a Thursday evening, it is almost guaranteed that anyone who shows up to vote will be supporters of Pastor Grumm.

This change of position by Pastor Grumm occurred after more than one month of “good faith” negotiations, which we (the neighbors) believed would allow an arrangement that would satisfy all parties.

This also occurred immediately after several of the neighbors of this vacant church volunteered their time this past Saturday and helped clean up the grounds of this building.

Pastor Grumm has once again shown his disdain for the neighbors of this building by choosing to allow SHARE to occupy the building without regard for the neighborhood. His utter lack of appreciation of the concerns of the neighborhood which have been evident during the last five years of occupation of the building by the soup kitchen will now continue unabated.

What is even more disconcerting is that this reversal of position is yet another example of Pastor Grumm misleading and/or potentially directly lying to the community surrounding this property.

SHARE has entered into agreements with communities on the eastside whereby they screen their participants for both outstanding warrants and background checks for sexual offenders – their utter refusal to allow Ballard the same level of protection or sense of security leads one to believe this shelter (and potentially all others like it in Seattle) will be the de facto dumping grounds for those people who would not be allowed in shelters in which background checks are performed.

I was formerly against this shelter – now I am steadfastly against this shelter.

The actions of both Our Redeemer's and SHARE have been without honor, riddled with deceit and completely lacking in sensitivity to the neighbors surrounding this property in this residential neighborhood. This residential neighborhood is not the place for a contingent of professionally homeless.

Name on File
Ballard