Title
B. Staff Report
Hollis said he and other City staff had a meeting with the members of the North Central Columbia Neighborhood Association at the Wilkes Blvd United Methodist church. Neighbors expressed their concerns about homelessness. The church expressed that they feel they get blamed for all issues around the neighborhood. Members of the NCNA have been meeting with the church once a month, and the church has been hosting and attending the association meetings. Overall, these actions have helped. All parties are solution-oriented. Pat Fowler talked about the Zone of Compassion, a way to set shared norms for the neighborhood and visitors. Year-round bathrooms for the unhoused were discussed as a need. Hollis said Portland Loos were discussed as an option. Hollis said the neighbors expressed a concern that calling the police is their only option for people who are in distress or are causing issues in the neighborhood. Hollis told the attendees that the City’s homeless outreach services could be utilized to help. Hollis said they discussed taking a similar approach to San Francisco, which sends a social worker with a police officer and EMS staff to these types of calls. Hollis said Jill Schlude, the incoming police chief, expressed support for this approach at the meeting. They also discussed a peer support program in which trained peers could be sent to handle situations instead of sending out a police officer. The neighborhood requested the City’s help with producing and posting signs with the neighborhood norms and with placing and maintaining trash receptacles in the neighborhood. Hollis said the meeting was productive. He relayed the information from the meeting to the City Manager and will follow up based on the City Manager’s direction.
Hollis discussed the Loaves and Fishes move. Loaves & Fishes has been unable to identify a new location. So, they have started discussing potentially moving the program into to the Ashley St. Center and what the requirements would look like, including insurance and other food code compliance. The kitchen is almost done; however, the area where people would be served is being used as the women’s shelter area and this area will be impacted by the renovations to add additional showers, laundry hooks ups, and additional bathrooms. Hollis said it is unlikely space will be ready for use by April. He has encouraged Loaves & Fishes to continue to seek other locations.
Hollis said he is working on the amendment to the Turning Point contract, increasing the contracted units in order to extend their weekday operating hours. This will impact the program’s interaction with Loaves and Fishes; so, the church has asked that Loaves & Fishes move their services to an earlier time so that people are not hanging out in the parking lot and neighborhood between programs. Hollis said Room at the Inn has considered providing dinner for their guests to reduce the burden on Loaves & Fishes.
Hollis said that the Opportunity Campus should be breaking ground soon They did retain the state funding. Hollis said he does not believe all the issues being experienced in the North Central neighborhood will go away, but overall, it will help to move the homelessness services out of a residential neighborhood.
Hollis said that Utterback is working on a report to City leadership on the Shower to Empower mobile shower pilot program. There is still no update about the pallet shelters the city manager is interested in purchasing.
Hollis said the grand opening of the Food Bank Market will not be until the spring. Hollis offered to set up a tour, and several commissioners expressed an interest. Hollis said he will set up a tour in December and send the details to the commission.