Happy NYE! With limited attendance expected for our call this Friday, Jan. 2 at 9 a.m., we’re cancelling the call this week. Our next Planning Team call is only a week away, next Friday, Jan. 9 at 9 a.m. - As a reminder, a few of you are confirmed to join the next Task Force meeting on Thursday, Jan. 8 at CHAS Health Learning Institute, 731 N Iron Bridge Way, Spokane, WA 99202. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. and we’ll kick off the meeting at 9 a.m. with brief remarks from Commissioner Chris Jordan and Sheriff John Nowels representing the County and Mayor Lisa Brown and Chief Kevin Hall representing the City of Spokane. Please note there is a very full meeting agenda so ask that remarks stay brief. (You are not expected to stay past introduction remarks.) You can view past Task Force meetings at SafeandHealthySpokane.org. - John H., Pam or Laura, if available, we’d love to have you also join to represent the City of Spokane Valley from the Planning Team to share your hopes/expectations for the Task Force too. Task Force Meeting #4 + Press Conference: Jan. 8 With a lot to cover on the agenda, Task Force Meeting #4 on Jan. 8 has been extended to 3 hrs with the primary areas of focus being discussion of the updated Asset Assessment Report (will be shared for the first time with the Task Force at the meeting), subcommittee structure and timelines, and the planned community engagement strategy. We’ll share the updated Asset Assessment Report with you next week also. With the completion of the Asset Assessment, this marks one of the first major milestones that we can leverage to reengage the public ahead of the launch of subcommittees and community engagement. With this in mind, we intend to convene a virtual press conference following the meeting at 12:30 p.m. to release the Asset Assessment Report from The Leifman Group. Primary messengers will include Judge Leifman (virtual), from the conveners Alisha Benson of GSI, and 2-3 yet-to-be-confirmed Task Force members. DH is supporting the presser logistics and working with us on press release, talking points and messaging that will include an email update to each local jurisdiction framing how the assessment will be used by the Task Force. We’re aiming to follow up to the press conference with a virtual community session with Judge Leifman outlining the assessment, key findings and recommendations the week of Jan. 12. More to come on exact timing, it will be recorded and also shared with local jurisdictions. Scheduling Jurisdiction Updates We need to finalize the dates for the requested updates to each jurisdiction. We’ve noted potentially the last week of January but have already identified some scheduling conflicts. With Task Force Meeting #5 scheduled for Feb. 6, want to flag there’s an opportunity to integrate consultants into the presentations if we can aim for that week. Facilities Tour: Jan. 21 We’ve scheduled the next round of facilities tours for Wed. Jan. 21, 12:30-4:30 p.m. Participants will tour the main jail, Geiger jail and County Stabilization Center. If you’d like to join, please email Stacia by Jan. 15. Thanks, and happy new year! -Emilie