City leaders address Pine Lodge homeless shelter rumors [Video]

MEDICAL LAKE, Wash. — On Sunday, August 4, Medical Lake Mayor Terri Cooper shut down the rumors that the Pine Lodge Corrections Center, a former women’s prison, would be bought by the City of Spokane and turned into a homeless shelter. 

“I just want to assure you that plan is off the table,” said Cooper at a press conference on Sunday.

Cooper says an initial discussion to combat the rising homeless population was started by Spokane City Councilman Jonathan Bingle, who proposed the plan to Cooper. 

Cooper says she turned the proposition down. 

The rumor stems from a miscommunication, with Medical Lake representatives under the impression that the City of Spokane was still seeking to move forward with the plan.

“We didn’t know about it. No one had contacted our city,” said Cooper. “No one …