The longer-term and larger homeless tent encampment proposed for South Michigan Street in Aberdeen is on hold for the time being, following a surprising 10-1 vote at Wednesday’s council meeting against issuing a temporary use permit for the camp. Karen Rowe was the sole yes vote.
Mayor Erik Larson was not at the meeting, out of town for his job. Councilwoman Margo Shortt was absent.
Larson put the plan together and oversaw purchase of the property. The vote will be seen as a defeat for him.
The vote followed more than an hour of public comment about the camp, the majority of it against the location. The result was surprising considering that just six weeks ago the City Council voted 8-3 to allow the city to purchase the property for $60,000 to use as a homeless camping facility. At that same meeting, the council approved the purchase of 150 WeatherHyde shelters to be used at the site at a cost of $45,000.
Before the vote, Councilman Pete Schave and Councilwoman Kathi Prieto both said they didn’t think the Michigan Street property, near the corner of South Michigan and State streets and adjacent to the railroad tracks, should be considered for the camp at all.
“This site is off the table as far as I’m concerned,” said Schave.
Schave is running to unseat Larson as mayor.
Initially, Councilwoman Dee Anne Shaw made a motion to table the temporary use permit vote to a future meeting to give the council “more time to consider other locations.” Councilman Frank Gordon seconded the motion, but the motion was voted down 6-4. Voting to table were Tim Alstrom, Jeff Cook, Gordon and Shaw; voting against were Tawni Andrews, James Cook, Prieto, Jerrick Rodgers, Rowe and Schave. John Maki abstained from the vote.
Back to the original matter, the temporary use permit, Schave said, “Again, I implore the council to vote no on the Michigan Street site,” saying the outpouring of public testimony against it “made it clear this is not a good site to use.”
Prieto said she would vote no because she didn’t feel the Michigan Street site was a good location for the camp. “The concept is good,” she said, “the location is not good.”
Councilman James Cook said the businesses in the area that spoke to the council about their concerns with the Michigan Street site, the same businesses who were impacted by the now-cleared river camp nearby, “have had to put up with this for in excess of a year, or more. I think it is time they got a break and we try to find a better solution.”
Rowe said she would be voting yes on the site and argued that the council had indeed considered a number of other locations before selecting the Michigan Street site. “I don’t think any location is perfect,” she said, but said the city had done its due diligence in the selection and until there is a perfect solution she would vote to approve the temporary use permit for the site.
At the Aug. 28 meeting, when the council approved the purchase of 421 S. Michigan St., Larson told the council that the city and its ad hoc committee on the homeless looked at about a dozen other properties, none of which were as suitable as the Michigan Street site.
The 10-1 “no” vote drew cheers from the crowded gallery, the largest that most in attendance could recall at a recent Aberdeen City Council meeting.
The vote was merely to deny the temporary use permit for the site while the council studies other options for a site. It does not necessarily mean the Michigan Street property wouldn’t again be considered if no other alternative can be found.
City Hall camp
Earlier in the meeting, the City Council approved extending the existing temporary use permit at the homeless encampment behind City Hall through March 15, 2020.
The original report from the Public Safety Committee asked that the permit be extended through Nov. 15, at an additional cost of $5,000 for maintaining the site. In theory, this was to allow more time to establish the larger camp on Michigan Street before moving the 50-plus current inhabitants of the City Hall site to the new location.
Shaw recommended the extension through the winter, prior to the Michigan Street permit vote, saying she didn’t believe an additional month would be enough time to move the City Hall camp. The amended report was passed, allowing the lengthier extension, with a provision that the cost to the city for the extension be presented to the council at its next meeting Oct. 23.
