Highlights of the Fort Smith Board of Directors Meeting 4/14/22
The only topic for the Fort Smith Board of Directors special study session meeting held 4-14-22 was discussion of the zoning change request for 815 South 6th to facilitate Next Step Homeless Services building a homeless facility including tiny-house style transitional housing units. Directors Catsavis and Dawson were absent. Unlike most study session meetings, the public was invited to speak at this meeting.
Fort Smith resident Mitch McDonald spoke in support of the Next Step relocation. He mentioned his feeling that even good-intention based decision making on a financial basis discounts what may or may not be best for the people and that Next Step’s efforts had been “pushed off” and “discounted”. He said that Next Step understands the situation and is trying to get the city to support them.
Phil White, who owns property 400 feet from the proposed new location and is one of the largest property owners in the nearby neighborhood and used to have a business across the street from Hope Campus, spoke in favor of the Next Step relocation. He said that Next Step did what the city asked and that the location would have the “least negative impact on our community”. He mentioned that the location being walking distance from Hope Campus adds convenience for the residents.
John Clayton, who owns a business near the proposed location, asked about funding for the facility. The Board clarified that absolutely no city funds are being used for the facility. Sharon Chapman, Executive Director of Next Step, added that the facility is being paid for via fundraising and private donation and that until they purchase the property they cannot apply for some of the grants including federal grants that they intend to pursue if they get the zoning change and buy the property. Clayton also mentioned that the police had told him that a lot of the homeless population is from out of state and comes here because Fort Smith is “friendly”. He asked “Is that what we’re presenting as a town?”. He said that 90% of homeless people prefer to be homeless and that they have drug addiction, alcoholism, and mental health issues and that providing shelter and services allows them to continue that lifestyle. He said service providers are “not helping the situation, just covering it up”. He spoke of safety concerns caused by homeless people in the neighborhood saying “My employees are not safe. My vendors are not safe.”.
Director Morton reminded that posting a No Trespassing sign allows the police to enforce trespassing laws even if the owner is not present at the time without having to call and contact the owner every time. He asked Phil White and John Clayton if they have a No Trespassing sign on their properties. White answered that he did not have one but that employees are working there all the time and that he had never experienced a problem with trespassing. Clayton answered that he had tried posting them but that homeless people keep taking them down. He added that the police have been helpful and he has “no complaints” with the police and that “they’re doing a great job, just overwhelmed.”. Administrator Geffken reminded that the city started a program in 2020 that offers businesses and property owners green metal No Trespassing signs with reflective lettering provided by the city at no charge to the business or property owner. Director Morton suggested that we need to reach out to business and property owners about the sign program. Geffken agreed and said the administration would reach out.
Tim Dunn, who has a property near the proposed location, started by expressing frustration that the 2 minutes allotted for members of the public to speak was not long enough. He urged the Board to call for a Level 3 Environmental Study to be conducted of the proposed location because of things that may be underground on that lot. He spoke in opposition of the relocation to the new location and expressed safety concerns saying that his life had been threatened by the Aryan Brotherhood and others. He said of the homeless that “these people choose this lifestyle”.
Kevin Goodson, owner of Golf Cars of Fort Smith near the proposed location, asked what guarantee there is that the new location will not include a day center or feeding program as Next Step have said they would not offer at the new location. Geffken responded that according to the PZD zoning that they are requesting, if that’s approved, it will not allow for a dayroom or feeding center and that to add one would require them to apply for another zoning change and go through the whole Planning Commission process all over again.
Joe Able, owner of Rhodes machine shop across the street from the Hope Campus, referred to the neighborhood’s homeless problem as a “daily circus” and asked how Next Step would be different from Hope Campus. Sharon Chapman responded that it would not have an emergency shelter, strictly housing. It would be a closed housing area for only the people who live there, no walk-ups, and called it “nothing like Hope Campus”. Able expressed safety concerns saying that the “theft rate is horrible” and “employees are scared to come to work without some kind of weapon”. He mentioned a truck being stolen and burnt and finding criminals’ ankle monitors cut off in the yard. He expressed worry that his property is “getting surrounded”.
Director Rego spoke of the proposed multi-million dollar Next Step facility as a fenced in facility with screened applicants. He praised Next Step as “very very noble work that they do regardless of where people come from”and he is “very very grateful this is a mission they take upon themselves”. He also asserted that the statistic claimed that 90% of the homeless are choosing homelessness “is inaccurate”. He said that some “folks are afraid of a caricature that is not accurate”.
Director Morton asked how long individuals would reside at the facility. Chapman responded that in the transitional housing facilities that Next Step currently has the goal is usually 6 months or less, but with the new facility, many of the residents would be people taken directly out of encampments and would be working with a social worker to progress toward their goals so their journey from unsheltered to independent living might take longer than the 6 months. In response to inquiry from Morton about the success of Next Step’s current transitional housing facilities, she answered that they have 5 group homes, 5 single family homes, and 4 apartments and served 88 people last year with a 76% success rate.
Director Good expressed that the reasons homeless people come here are for the low cost of living, beautiful city, and our caring and that the homeless are the less fortunate and they heard or see that we care. He stated that homeless are already in that area, that the new location would not be bringing in homeless people or more chronic homeless. It would serve “people looking for the particular service of transitional housing”, people who don’t want to be homeless and “want to assimilate”. He said that it “wouldn’t affect safety negatively” and “if anything, would help beautify the area”.
Director Morton asked Chris Joanides of the Hope Campus how many people their overnight shelter served the night before. He answered 144 and that they did not turn anyone away and tried to accommodate everyone. Asked about his capacity to take in more people, he answered that he has capacity and will soon have more as there is already construction underway from a federal CARES grant that will add accommodations for 40 more beds. Director Martin asked the estimated number of homeless people in Fort Smith. Sharon Chapman responded that in the annual Point in Time survey conducted in February there were 376 homeless people found in Fort Smith, with 180 of those being completely unsheltered (not in a shelter, transitional housing, or a home of any sort). Chris Joanides said that overall homelessness in our city has increased by 11% over last year.
Asked about his opinion on Next Step’s transitional housing program and relocation, Joanides said that he is in favor of it saying that he needs to have a “next step” for his residents. Director Good had heard that the Hope Campus residents are turned away in the mornings and Joanides clarified that that was not correct, the campus is open all of the time.
Director Settle asked Joanides how to fix the problem land owners have. Joanides responded that the people who come to Hope are not the bulk of the problem, that most of the concerns from neighbors are caused by the chronic homeless with addiction, alcohol, and mental health issues who will not come to the Hope Campus. Settle asked what percentage of Hope’s residents are local and Joanides answered that 64% are from here with the rest being from out of the area.
Director Morton asked Police Chief Baker what kinds of calls the police gets to Hope Campus. Baker answered that in 2020 they got around 300, in 2021 530+, and have had 200 already in 2022 so far. He has not seen any explanation for the increase in calls or a spike in any specific type of crime. He said calls concerning the homeless are typically nuisance calls, intoxication, and fights. Director Morton asked what the police department might be able to do if fully staffed to better enforce the No Trespassing signs. Baker spoke that problems we’re experiencing are not unique to Fort Smith, calling them a “problem for our country”. He said “We are a generous community” and that that is “not something to be ashamed of”. He recognized the need to improve both perception that we care and perception of safety. He mentioned that since 2019 officers have been required to participate in non-enforcement community activities and one of these activities has been serving meals to the homeless. He talked about the new Crisis Intervention Unit that addresses mental health crises and substance abuse issues. 20% of their cases are dealing with the homeless. Currently, the Crisis Intervention Unit is only half staffed due to labor shortages. Previously, one officer per shift was always assigned to downtown to deal with the homeless, but serious crime in other neighborhoods while short staffed has caused this to have to be stopped. But he has seen improvement to the staffing issues and expects to be fully staffed by the end of the year. He sees full staffing as something that will help improve the situation by being able to address things that aren’t just responding to problem calls. He emphasized that he does not think the problem will be solved by arrests saying “incarceration is not the answer” and that we “don’t have the jail space, personnel, or desire to solve it that way”. He added that “Not In My Backyard is not gonna solve this problem forever” and that while we may not reach everyone we can “make a dent in it”. Administrator Geffken suggested that a sobering facility might also offer an alternative to incarceration to help people recuperate and get connected with social services and resources and would help the Police Department.
Director Morton asked that businesses consider adding fences to their property to limit access.
Director Settle asked Chief Baker what other communities are doing to deal with their homeless issues and he responded that the West Coast has done some radical things but that their situation is very different from the situation her and mentioned that some places have HOT Teams with officers assigned specifically to deal with the homeless.
Shawn Gard with Neighborhood Services clarified for Director Morton that when encampments are viewable from the right away that they are the responsibility of the property owner and that the property owners are notified and required to clean it up (even if the mess is made by people they did not authorize to be there). He said that sometimes the lot gets cleaned up and then people move back into it again. He stated however, that cleared lots, fully vacant without tree cover, do not have issues with encampments. Director Morton expressed his view that trees need to go and that the railroad property and property down by the river that are prone to having encampments need cleared and trees removed. He mentioned that because these areas are dominantly privately owned property, there would be no problem with legal issues that arise from clearing encampments on public property. He expressed hope that getting rid of and discouraging encampments would “tend to drive people hopefully to Hope Campus, then on to Next Step”. Geffken reminded that a few years back the city worked with the railroads and took the lead in removing trees and cleaning up some encampments. He said that the city could design a plan to partner with property owners and provide free services like hauling debris. Director Martin expressed concern asking aloud that if the current camp locations were cleared would it just cause them to move elsewhere.
Director Settle asked if Next Step was planning on serving the chronic homeless and Chapman answered that they do want to get “people who are motivated to move up from where they are” out of the encampments and sleeping unsheltered downtown. She mentioned viewing the homeless, including the chronic homeless, as “people who are suffering”. Settle asked if Chapman thought that there were some people who would not come to shelters or transitional housing no matter what and Chapman said that there were.
Mayor McGill asked Chapman if the relocation would have an effect on the people congregating and sleeping at the corner of 6th and B near the current Next Step Dayroom facility. Chapman said that Next Step would try to get many of them into the transitional housing because many of those stay there because they are scared of the encampments and that some of them may choose to move to Hope Campus.
Director Morton urged business owners to work with the city and police to make their situation better. He said “We did not know what you’re dealing with” and that the “city will work hard to help with your individual situations”.
The agenda for the 5-28-22 study session will include a discussion of homelessness in general.
