Benny Westcott
Community Services Officer Sean Morgan delivered numbers regarding Sweet Home’s homeless population and discussed a proposed sleep center during a Community Health Committee meeting at City Hall on Monday, Dec. 20.
According to Morgan’s count, some 26 homeless people currently stay in the city. Twelve occupy the parking lot of the former City Hall building on 12th Ave.
“They have different arrangements,” he said. “Sometimes they sleep in a friend’s house, sometimes in a car. It’s all over the place.”
Morgan noted the likely existence of another 10.
“I don’t know where they’re at,” he said, “because I don’t have good tabs on them – they just kind of keep a low profile.
“It’s all really fluid. Some of these folks might have come and gone. There’s some people who aren’t in town tonight. One’s in a hospital. A couple others are in some alternative setting, and we could have them back on the street three days from now. When I say there’s 26 [homeless people in Sweet Home], there are 26 tonight. There could be 29 or 32 by the end of the week. And that could be back down again next week based on particular situations.”
City Manager Ray Towry said the parking-lot population is “having a negative effect on the surrounding community.”
“There has definitely been some level of cleanup during the last few weeks there, and there are probably a few more things that we could try to work on and will work on,” he said. “We’re working to mitigate negative effects for the few months that the homeless may be there.”
One proposal calls for fencing on Kalmia Street to cover the entrance of the Sweet Home Fire District’s Main Station 21 to the corner of the old City Hall on the street’s north side.
“This is a divisive issue,” Towry said. “And when we’ve explained to them [area residents] that this is a step in a process to alleviate issues, they’ve been very understanding.”
At this point, Morgan believes that between 17 to 22 homeless people would opt for a proposed “sleep center” at the former Weyerhaeuser/Willamette Industries mill site east of Bi-Mart. The Community Health Committee has been developing a master plan for its construction all year. Linn County still owns the property, but commissioners Roger Nyquist, Sherrie Sprenger and Will Tucker gave initial approval earlier this month to give 2.69 acres to the city of Sweet Home.
While Towry was initially optimistic that the property could officially be transferred early enough to break ground in early 2022 (“If the stars align, we could start doing work on Jan. 13,” he said at a Dec. 20 meeting), developments will likely delay the project by months.
Last week the county moved for a Phase 1 assessment to gauge the property’s environmental standing before transferring ownership. City and county staff remain somewhat in the dark about what, if any, problems exist. January 2021 saw some drilling and testing, but Phase 1 will entail interpreting technical data from those efforts. If the area lacks notable environmental problems, Phase 2 procedures may not be necessary, based on the Department of Environmental Quality’s determination.
In the meantime, city staff members explore other options, such as a temporary homeless facility in an already fenced area behind City Hall, Towry said.
The cost and attainment of sleep-center materials also came up during the meeting. Towry noted that pipe and conduit are “not easy to find and obtain” in a timely manner.
“You would not believe what people are charging for fencing now,” he said. “Just in the past couple of months, we’ve seen a price increase of about $20,000. We are still looking and trying to find it a little less expensively, and trying to look a little more local as well.”
The possibility of using the former City Hall as a resource center has also been discussed. According to Towry, the city obtained an estimate on moving the building to that location: about $12,000 to disassemble, move and reassemble it at its new home.
Towry credited Commissioner Tucker for helping propel the sleep center forward.
“Tucker has been a champion for us at the county level in this project, in helping to herd this through the process,” he said, adding that one of Tucker’s sources, not identified at the meeting, would consider a gift of up to $100,000 for the project.
“Normally this wasn’t something that this contact of his would support,” Towry said. “But as [Tucker] explained what the project was and the success it’s had in other places, and the model, the proposed donation went from $30,000 to $60,000 to $100,000.”
“I think I did a little dance when I read that email,” Community Health Committee member Larry Horton said, describing his reaction to the potential donation.
“When we drive around downtown, the homeless are not sleeping in doorways,” Towry said in a conclusion of the discussion. “They’re not in the parks. Families can go into the library again. So even though there are issues now, I think it’s a step in the right direction. I think there is an indication that we are at least heading down the right path, both for the community and for the homeless.”
Morgan also shared happier news, stating that 10 people were no longer sleeping on the street as of Dec. 20 who were homeless in Sweet Home at the beginning of this year.
Two, he said, recently completed nine months meth-free and have lodging thanks to a motel program.
“They are making all kinds of headway,” he said. “I’ve been working with these folks, and a lot of other people have really stepped up to help them out. They’ve made incredible progress, and they’re closing in on a year clean. That’s going to be huge.”
Another pair is undergoing treatment at Milestones Family Recovery Center in Corvallis, and representatives from the center are looking into long-term housing options for them.
One woman has spent four months in Second Chance Shelter in Albany. A man Morgan described as a “heroin addict and thief” has become, he said, “gainfully employed in another place entirely and housed.” A former alcoholic has sobered “thanks to a person in our community,” according to Morgan. “He has a room, lives indoors and helps out quite a bit.” Another is working with Albany-based recovery support service Communities Helping Addicts Negotiate Change Effectively, or CHANCE, and Linn County Mental Health, and has found a room to rent.
A developmentally disabled woman was reported to be on track for a group home or independent facility if available. As of Dec. 20, she was staying with family.
“Hopefully before she ends up back on the street we’ll have her into a program,” Morgan said. “She’s fallen through the cracks, so we’ll get her out of the cracks and into the help that a lot of other folks in her condition get.”
A still-homeless man is working on a child support agreement so he can obtain his license. “He’s going to travel the United States,” Morgan said. “He’s got a plan in place. It’s pretty solid, as long as he maintains it and thinks about his budgeting. He’s just going to travel. Kind-of a fun idea.”
In other action, committee member Bob Dalton expressed his concerns regarding COVID-19.
“This COVID, as it raises its dirty head back up in a different direction, has kind-of got everybody scratching their head again,” he said. “For me personally, being out in public and seeing what’s going on, it seems like there’s a portion of our community that has taken their foot off that accelerator pedal of awareness, and that concerns me.”
“I’ve been into a lot of businesses with no masks and no compliance,” he continued. “That’s a concerning red flag, especially where we are headed right now in our state and the country as a whole. I would like to see somehow our leadership and business owners become more engaged with [enforcing pandemic mandates]. I know that’s always been a touchy subject for a lot of businesses out there. Some have done very well, and for others it seems almost nonexistent.
“I urge leaders who have taken an oath to the state of Oregon’s rules and the Constitution to lead by example, and not from behind, because I think that’s kind of what has put us in some of this position.”