It appears Chatham-Kent will establish an encampment executive committee in an attempt to bring all sides to the same table to understand one another’s concerns and provide advice to the municipality.
This evolved out of Chatham Coun. Michael Bondy’s motion to establish just such a committee.
His request was to have members of council, municipal administration and residents who live near the homeless encampment at the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) green space on Grand Avenue East sit down together.
That concept received a great deal of support from frustrated homeowners who showed up at the Sept. 22 council meeting to voice their concerns. Along with their approval of the concept, they tossed in terms such as “Club PUC” – a reference to the encampment, inferring it’s a resort-like living centre – and “unelected staff” to accuse municipal personnel of leading the way in determining where encampments go.
The committee concept also received successful tweaks from several other councillors. West Kent’s Melissa Harrigan echoed The Chatham Voice’s Sept. 18 editorial, “Inclusion,” in saying the committee should include “representation from community groups and persons with lived or living experience.”
She also said it should be a pilot project, given the fact council has largely moved away from advisory committees.
“As a councillor, it’s really important that we can see what is really clear about the roles and responsibilities. It’s really important for engagement and the conversations we’re going to be having,” she said.
North Kent Coun. Rhonda Jubenville made additional amendments, as she did not want to pigeonhole people onto the committee just from one area of the municipality when homeless encampments are more widespread but not as visible as the one on Grand Avenue East.
Residents who lived near the former Victoria Park Place shelter on Murray Street in Chatham could perhaps provide valuable insight, she said.
“My only concern about the specifics about talking about the PUC property is if a potential encampment goes up on the Irwin Street property (the site of the Chatham water tower), maybe expand the wording so it’s not limited to the PUC,” she said. “I want the ability to make the committee fluid so councillors and members of the public could be added if an encampment were to crop up in another community.”
Chatham Coun. Marjorie Crew, clearly irked by unsubstantiated comments by several deputations, agreed.
“Include the east side (of Chatham). We’ve had encampments before anybody. It’s not new to us,” she said.
Clearly rankled by the “Club PUC” comment, which mentioned how the encampment residents have food delivered by community outreach groups and could see the Chatham-Kent Mobile Care Clinic visit regularly while 32,000 residents are without family doctors, Crew fired back.
“Maybe this committee can help with some of the misinformation that is out there. It’s circulating. We can’t get the correct information out and people aren’t listening,” she said. “As for the Mobile Care Clinic, that is for anyone. If you have a doctor or you don’t. Find the schedule. It’s online.”
Wallaceburg Coun. Carmen McGregor said the municipality should ensure anyone living in the encampment is made aware of the potential formation of this committee, and was told that could be done.
Bondy, in commenting on the proposal, said the public deputations “said it all. I don’t feel the public in the neighbourhood (surrounding the PUC green space) was consulted on the establishment of the encampment,” he said. “Their only option was to make deputations. That’s making a statement. This (a committee) would allow for conversations.”
Bondy said he doesn’t like homeless encampments and wants to see them go away.
“I don’t think the encampment is good for anybody; the people who live in it and who live around it,” he said. “This committee hopefully will find a way to dissolve the encampment. It’s been a summer of chaos all around.”
The councillor did not offer possible solutions to encampments, however.
Council unanimously passed the motion, but deputy CAO Dave Taylor said the committee won’t be formed overnight.
“It will probably take a few weeks to draft this up. This is not a committee we’ve seen elsewhere that we know of,” he said. “It will take a little bit of time to ensure the terms are well referenced.”
He said expecting this sometime before the end of October would be “ambitious.”
CAO Michael Duben said he looks forward to the development of this committee.
“What is going to come from this committee is going to be advice to council,” he said. “We want to be able to have dialogue with people. This committee would allow us to have the dialogue.”
