Committee tries to sort out what homeless services to offer to who where — with no specifics yet on how to pay for it

By Morgan Rothborne, Ashland.news 

At a half circle of folding tables in the 2200 Ashland St. building Wednesday, members of an ad hoc committee set up to discuss the property’s best use met to whittle down a list of possible ideas for the property’s future. They wrestled with finding a compromise that holds in balance the needs of all Ashland residents while answering to restrictions such as building codes and available funding. 

In a meeting agenda obtained by Ashland.news and made available to committee members in the days preceding the meeting, a series of possibilities for the property were delineated in two columns: “What is NOT being considered” and “What IS being considered.” 

Not being considered: Tent camping, car camping, low barrier sheltering, congregate sheltering, a walk up shelter, a flea market, maker space or permanent pallet houses.

Under what is being considered, a severe weather shelter was listed as “a given,” along with a neighborhood hub during community emergencies. Other listed possibilities included a resource center, day center, urban rest stop, day storage, public restrooms, public showers, public laundry, seasonal winter shelter and transitional shelter. 

Committee members were asked to rate options on a scale of 1 to 4 and leave additional comments.

Debbie Niesewander stated she took issue with the building being considered for a resiliency hub or disaster management space due to a stipulation the building came with due to its purchase with state grant funding — 10 years of use for homelessness services for any facility purchased with the grant funds. 

She read aloud from the city’s application for  the funding: “The city has no intention or need for a facility that does not serve the crucial purpose of addressing homelessness in the community. It is fully committed to fulfilling this requirement and ensuring the facility remains dedicated to supporting the unhoused population for the specified period.” 

Niesewander said, “So we need to come up with what we’re doing for the homeless before we even talk about (use as disaster management space) to see if it fits into this.

Allison Wildman countered that an emergency services hub would serve homeless people, too, and other items on the list such as office space for those serving homeless people were important to “hash out,” especially because investing further funds to turn the building into a long-term shelter has already been decided against. 

“Why are we even proposing these when I’d like to know where the heck the money’s coming from? Because if it comes again from this community, like you’re going to raise taxes, enough of that,” Trina Sanford said. 

Mayor Tonya Graham stated the plan would have to come before funding can be obtained. 

“I’m not anticipating the city investing a significant amount of our money,” she said. “I think what we’re doing here is creating a master plan so we can go out and get funding and partners who manage it.” 

Sanford responded with a concern that services offered at the building would be encouraging an increasing population of homeless people, straining the already limited resources of the city’s police and fire departments. 

“The fire that just happened on I-5 was (started by) a lady from Medford,” she said. “It’s like we’re not dealing with people that are being unhoused here locally and we’re not serving our own … It seems like we’re getting put on the map of ‘Oh, just come to Ashland because we want to save the world and we’ll help everybody.’” 

Ashland’s existing population of people struggling to regain or retain housing could be “snuffed out” if too many people come from out of the area, she said, adding that the city doesn’t have the means to support everyone who needs help.

Niesewander countered that many homeless Ashland residents go to shelters in Medford and that, while some transient population comes with being positioned on Interstate 5, the city of Ashland should think in broader terms in light of what is coming. 

“(We’ve) got to cooperate regionally, and that’s something that we really don’t do very well. … A lot of the folks that come down from Medford are getting away from all the drugs and the theft and the problems that are going on there. … When Medford does their sweeps, they end up here. When California does their sweeps, they’re going to end up here, there’s going to be this migration,” Niesewander said. 

“I understand you want to take care of your family first and then your neighbors and then who else feels right — it’s the concentric circle of life. The questions about how this building is used and who it might draw are dependent on what services we put here,” Jan Calvin said. 

Avram Sacks, committee member and volunteer coordinator for the city’s severe weather shelter, took issue with the elimination of options such as tent camping and car camping. 

“What’s the difference between being in a tent and being in a palace?” he asked. 

“You’re safer in a palace,” answered Matthew McMillan, who self-identified as previously being homeless. 

“Stealing is a big one, being attacked is another. … If you have a tent, people can cut your tent open and put a hand in. If you’re living in that lifestyle, you’ll do things you wouldn’t think you’d do,” he said. 

McMillan answered that allowing some forms of camping would not be solving but simply transferring problems seen in areas such as the city’s so-called night lawn behind the police station and council chamber buildings on East Main Street to a different location.

Wildman stated the pallet shelters would be safer for homeless people and potentially provide heat and overall improved living conditions. Sacks countered the city was currently serving around 30 individuals on its night lawn, also known as the dusk-to-dawn camping area, “who are completely unsupervised and extremely uncomfortable.” Adding services to a physical space and hiring someone to operate it would provide needed structure, he said. 

Wildman expressed frustration with what he called a lack of accountability in services already provided in the area, and said the 2200 Ashland St. property should not exacerbate existing problems, saying that the previous week “there was literally a rapist discharged from OHRA to the streets,” and he was located loitering outside the home of another committee member and neighbor of the shelter. 

Calvin stated some options, such as tent camping on the property, were being discounted as not a “win-win in this neighborhood.” 

“We know there are so many needs, what is the best use for this space? We cannot do everything. … All these great ideas about what could be here is what I want this group to get some agreements around,” she said. 

The committee listened as the proposed list was further limited by factors brought up by city staff present at the meeting.

“Sleeping is what’s going to trigger (code requirements). No sleeping, you can do a lot,” said Steven Matiaco, a building official for the city. 

The number of people sleeping, as well as the overall number of occupants in the building, corresponds to different categories within the building code which would trigger certain costly renovations, including having to add sprinkler systems, alarm systems, or more bathrooms, Matiaco said. One bathroom is required for every 10 people. Walls between sleeping areas require certain sound breaks, exits have to be illuminated and space required between entrances and exits is altered by the number of residents and if they are sleeping in the space. 

Pallet houses are not covered under the same rules, Matiaco said. 

The group voted on a portion of the list. The urban rest stop, resource center and day center were eliminated. Other options did not see a final decision as the meeting reached its two-hour time limit. 

At the close of the meeting, committee members unanimously agreed the previously considered date of Sept. 11 was a poor choice for a public forum. The date remains to be determined, but is expected to be in late September. 

The ad hoc committee’s meeting dates are available on the city of Ashland website (currently meetings are set for 3 to 5 p.m. the first and third Wednesday of the month at the 2200 Ashland St. facility). Public comment may be made at each meeting. 

Email Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at [email protected].