MISSOULA — Two members of the Missoula City Council on Monday maintained their opposition to a contract between the city and the Poverello Center over the management of the Johnson Street homeless shelter.
A number of residents around the shelter also accused the city of poor outreach and said criminal activity around the shelter has degraded property values and left residents feeling unsafe.
The City Council on Monday night officially approved splitting the shelter's $1.8 million operating cost with the county for the next year. It also approved a contract with the Poverello to staff and operate the shelter for the next two years.
Council members Bob Campbell and Sandra Vasecka opposed the contract, suggesting it only prolonged the shelter's eventual closing and offered no concrete steps to mitigate the shelter's impacts on surrounding residents.
Campbell also criticized the contract's requirement that six shelter guests must find “housing solutions” each month. That increases to nine guests per month in the contract's second year.
“I have concerns about the lack of language and agreement by which the city can enforce this clause,” said Campbell. “It's nothing more than aspirational, feel-good language. The only way I can see the city can enforce this presumed requirement would be to declare the Poverello in default and seek to terminate the contract, which obviously is never going to happen.”
Vasecka has been steady in her opposition to the shelter's location. On Monday, she read an email from a constituent regarding a nearby school that said, “Year after year, we continue to see violence, drug use, unsanitary conditions and unsafe people. We're having to patrol the playground before students arrive. This week we found a bag of needles, powder, socks and a pill. We had to clean human feces off our playground structure.”
Vasecka expressed frustration with the shelter's ongoing operation, its impacts on the neighborhood and the lack of accountability.
“This is five years now, and it's incredibly frustrating for the neighbors. If you want to live in society, you have to adhere to society's rules. If you want to use the resources society has to offer you, you can't treat society like this,” Vasecka said.
The shelter has been a source of controversy now for several years. The city purchased the property in 2017 with plans to redevelop the site. But when the pandemic hit, the city shifted gears and opened a warehouse on the property as a temporary winter shelter.
The shelter's use intensified last year when the city turned it into a year-round facility. Now, with the city contracting the shelter's operation for another two years, residents are expressing anger and frustration.
“I'm extremely frustrated and angry with what's going on. I can't even have my grandkids play in the park anymore,” said Lisa Thomas, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1978. “We are all very tired and done. You need to do something about this.”
Other residents accused the city of poor outreach, saying it has failed to communicate its intentions regarding the shelter and the property outside of standard council meetings.
“I feel the city was negligent and didn't do due diligence about explain anything that was happening,” said resident Amy Keil. “No one has taken the time or consideration for us as residents, or for our property values. Sometimes you ask too much and surprise us with it and we don't feel like we have a voice at all.”
Other members of the City Council also have expressed frustration over the past year. Council member Mike Nugent last year spearheaded a proposal calling for the city to master plan the shelter property for redevelopment and set a goal of removing the shelter after 2026.
That plan remains in motion, but the city currently lacks an option to relocate the shelter's guests to another location. Until that day comes, Nugent said the city needs to step up enforcement around the shelter.
“I agree wholeheartedly that this was not the intended use of this property when the city acquired it. But in the broader conversation, we're having right now about our parks and the impacts we're feeling there, if we close the shelter next month, that issue is only going to get worse, not better,” said Nugent. “Unless we have another place to direct people to go, we're not going to simply close it next month and have 170 people just leave the community.”
Mayor Andrea Davis said she hears the concerns and said the city is looking for solutions and other options, which may take time.
"It is not an easy situation and I apologize for that. I wish we could alleviate that for your neighborhood now, today, and find a better location in a brand-new building in a site that's not impactful to others. It's going to take all of us to lean in and find a better solution," Davis said.
