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Arguments to be aired on homeless encampment, veterans banners

The Santa Fe New Mexican - 6/28/2022

Jun. 29—Get an extra pot of coffee ready.

The Santa Fe City Council is scheduled to hear a presentation on a proposal to build a sanctioned homeless encampment at its Wednesday meeting — one of two high-profile items expected to draw significant community feedback during the meeting public comment period.

Santa Fean Maria Bautista, who said she lives near the proposed site of the encampment, said she is against what the idea might mean for not just nearby residents but local businesses and schools. She is hoping to galvanize residents to speak out against the proposal during the meeting's 7 p.m. public comment period.

"We are not against homeless people receiving services and the things they need," Bautista said. "But it is like a whole other city being embedded in your neighborhood."

Another brewing issue is that of the Hometown Heroes veterans banner program, which is in limbo. U.S. Air Force veteran Donald Christy, critical of the city's recent decision to take down banners honoring former military members that hung on Cerrillos Road light poles, has been rallying supporters of the program to speak at the meeting.

The two items are expected to meld at what some city councilors expect to be an energetic and perhaps lengthy public comment segment — one of the first since the council returned to in-person meetings in May.

"All these groups are coming together to finally offer opinions now that we are meeting live," City Councilor Chris Rivera said. "I think this is part of what was missed out on during COVID-19 — not really discussion, but hearing from the public about what their concerns are and what they are passionate about."

Officials seeking solutions to homelessness as well as the scores of increasingly costly, and sometimes filthy, illegal encampments spread throughout the city are proposing the establishment of a sanctioned camp at the largely vacant midtown campus.

It would be developed near Consuelo's Place, an emergency shelter set up on the onetime college campus that is owned by the city.

The proposed encampment would provide wrap-around programs, trash pickup and other services for about 50 people at a time, Kyra Ochoa, director of the city's Community Health and Safety Department, told a council committee in late May.

Rivera, a former city fire chief, said he would like to hear more about the idea before supporting the proposal, calling it a "tough situation."

"Either you go wholeheartedly into doing things that will assist the homeless or you are going to the other extreme, where you are using law enforcement and jail to take care of certain situations," he said. "There is pros and cons to each one, but I am really interested from hearing from the public."

Santa Fe officials first began exploring the option of a sanctioned and monitored homeless encampment in 2021, based on models operating in other cities.

In March, a draft plan called for up to four city-approved sites, each limited to about 25 people. All would offer wrap-around services for campers.

That plan was replaced with just the single midtown site with wrap-around services after area providers expressed a hesitance toward expanding to multiple sites.

City Councilor Michael Garcia said he would have liked to see more community outreach regarding the idea and said he intends to ask the council to place any auxiliary item — including encampment management contracts — on the agenda as a public hearing so people can have more opportunities to comment.

He said he's unsure of how much community feedback the council will receive Wednesday on the encampment idea.

"I have heard from folks who say they will be waiting to provide input as we move forward, potentially," he said. "But now is the time. If people want to provide their input, tomorrow [Wednesday] would be a great avenue for that feedback."

Bautista, who said she was primarily concerned about safety issues and a lack of information on the plans for the site, was unsure about how her efforts to pack the council chambers with commenters will pan out.

"I don't think people were really aware of what this [encampment] meant," she said.

Christy also said he hopes time before the council will spur movement on the banner program.

The banners, which bear the names and faces of local veterans, have flown from Memorial Day to Veterans Day for the past few years, but the program was halted earlier this month when safety concerns were raised. According to the light poles' manufacturers, placing multiple banners on the standards potentially could knock them down in high winds.

City officials have offered other options, including moving the banners to the Santa Fe Railyard. The ideas have been met with wariness or dismay by Christy and others.

Christy said he was hesitant to say how many people he expects to show up at Wednesday's council meeting, but said he put out the call to a number of area veteran organizations and families who have purchased banners. He's also been active on social media.

"I am only keeping my fingers crossed that a whole ton of people show up just to prove a point that the city has to do something," Christy said.

"We are only hoping for the best," he added. "That is all I can tell you, we will see what comes of us."

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