As a follow up to last week’s crowded workshop to discuss homelessness, a similarly large number of people showed up to Wednesday’s Aberdeen City Council meeting to formally get their opinions heard.

More than a dozen people spoke during the meeting’s public comment period, some of whom were disappointed that prior meeting, an informal council workshop to talk about homelessness, was exclusive to council member discussion. Mayor Erik Larson said he realizes homelessness is one of the major issues in Aberdeen and was pleased that it drew an unusually large crowd to the council.

“I am encouraged to see so many people turned out to share their thoughts and opinions with the City Council,” Larson said to The Daily World. “Homelessness is a difficult issue, with members of the public possessing very divided and emotional positions on how to best address not only the shortage of housing, but also the societal impacts of homelessness. The City of Aberdeen knows this is an important issue to many residents and will continue to discuss and implement policies and programs aimed at improving life in our community.”

The speakers had a wide range of opinions, from former homeless people and non-homeless locals who felt the homeless should be treated with more compassion, to business owners saying that homeless people have stolen from them or made business difficult.

Several of the speakers said that council members’ comments at the workshop were unfairly critical of homeless people. One speaker, Lisa Chappell from Hoquiam, said she was disappointed and felt that all the solutions were focused on ordinances to police homeless people instead of committing to offering more assistance, such as more housing.

“I was disappointed with the tenor of the workshop,” said Chappell. “Some council members insulted homeless people and seem to view them as the enemy, and not as fellow human beings in need. There were no solutions offered to alleviate the suffering of those less fortunate, only ordinances against homeless people.”

Chappell also said she has seen people write “hateful, horrible” comments about homeless people on Facebook following last week’s workshop.

“I’ve seen someone saying their homes should be bulldozed, that the people are trash,” she said. “The worst was someone said that homeless people should be gassed.”

Another speaker was April Obi, who said she has been homeless herself and now lives by Sam Benn Park in Aberdeen. Obi said that because more homeless people are being turned away from downtown storefronts, she has noticed increasingly more people taking shelter higher up on the hill north of downtown.

“Boarding everything up, where the homeless can’t get out of the weather, all the people who were downtown are now coming up the hill,” she said. “I’ve had so many people sleeping at Sam Benn Park, sleeping on the basketball courts and in between the bathrooms trying to get out of the rain. I don’t turn my back on them, I feed them and give them water, because they are humans.”

Some local downtown business owners showed up to speak as well, and said that while they feel sympathetic for the local homeless population, they are tired of having increased garbage and other sideeffects of homelessness that hurt business. Ilan Kariv from Grays Harbor Guns said that he wants to advocate for homeless people, but is upset with its impact on downtown commerce.

“We sympathize with homeless people in town. But homelessness brings very negative impact to downtown business,” said Kariv. “There are customers who will not approach businesses downtown because they see homelessness. It’s nothing against people, but the garbage left behind, the infected needles, the defecation.”

Dennis Bemis, who owns a shop in Aberdeen, said he recently had someone steal his pickup truck after they cut through his fence and found a spare key for it. He said that homeless people who are invested in fixing the issue should assist the town by turning in criminals to the police.

“If you’re as adamant about taking care of yourselves and the homeless, turn these tweekers and thieves who are in your midst into the police and report them,” said Bemis. “Is it that difficult? If you want respect from the rest of us, then report the ones who are causing the problem.”

Many of the speakers suggested temporary housing, such as huts, teepees or small apartment add-ons as a way to better house local homeless people, and Larson said he felt there “is generally an opportunity” to look into that option. Liz Ellis, from Aberdeen, said maybe the city should look to implement new zoning codes that would allow for things like Seattle’s “tiny houses,” which are cost-effective miniature houses placed on vacant lots.

“I know there are people who would like to help, and have big lots, and would be willing to host folks in their homes, in their garage or a tiny house,” said Ellis. “But code needs to allow for residents to help out in that way.”

In addition to listening, Larson provided some back-and-forth discussion with the speakers at the meeting, and explained how realistic certain ideas were. Larson added that he has met recently with Mike Lang, owner of a large piece of riverfront property where many homeless people camp, and other owners to discuss potential solutions to the growing camps along Aberdeen’s riverfront area.

“I had a discussion earlier today with the property owner in that area, and we’re also working with the adjacent property owners, including the railroad, and are having discussions regarding how to best address the issue, in a way that also has compassion,” said Larson. “I can’t provide you any specific details at this time, but it’s something that has a pretty high priority, and we’re working on it pretty aggressively.”