Proposed Ottawa homeless shelter doesn’t gain Plan Commission’s recommendation

The Ottawa homeless shelter’s bid to move to 401 E. McKinley Road took a defeat at the city’s Plan Commission meeting Monday after concerned citizens spoke out against its plan.

Public Action to Deliver Shelter Executive Director Carol Alcorn said she isn’t sure what’s next after she laid out the homeless shelter’s plan for a new 10,000 square foot facility with enough room to sleep 55 to 60 people, along with having more space for programs.

The Plan Commission recommended the City Council deny PADS request for a conditional use permit to operate a shelter on McKinley Road.

More space is a need for Ottawa PADS as the homeless shelter seeks a new location, especially at a time the shelter aims to add quarantine space and more bathrooms. The current space has two bathrooms to serve 55 beds.

Alcorn’s proposal would take the shelter out of its current location, which is centrally located near Ottawa’s downtown and build a new facility on the city’s South Side near Kroger.

Alcorn said the new location would have just as many benefits as the old one, since it’s close to Kroger and Dollar General, grocery stores that are also places to work, and Sigan, a company that regularly works with PADS to employ clients.

Some aspects of the meeting didn’t go PADS’ way, however. Ottawa Police Chief Brent Roalson, who works with the shelter on a regular basis along with his officers, wasn’t fond of the new location because of how far away from the police station it is.

The Ottawa Police help PADS run screens and check identification of people housed there to ensure they aren’t sex offenders or other criminals.

Right now, Roalson said an officer can walk to PADS, and can be there faster if there’s any kind of altercation. In a new location, that response time changes to 4 or 5 minutes at best, which would be sufficient to check an ID or run a screening but not ideal if something were to go wrong in a manner PADS staff needed police assistance.

“My simple take on this is, if it could go wherever and centralize, it could be developed there,” Roalson said. “To me, that’s how we could better serve the shelter and the needs they have both with police and fire. The distance is too far as we spread out and the city takes more land.”

Roalson said Ottawa is growing to the north and to the west, spreading farther, which is already increasing response times.

Citizens raised different issues Monday, such as wondering what a shelter on their side of town would do to property values and how safe the neighborhoods would be with a homeless shelter nearby.

Diane Carr, whose grandchildren live across the street from the proposed site, said she’s worried about the already dangerous stretch of road they play on outside because of the traffic. A homeless shelter on that side of town, Carr believes, would increase traffic on one of the busiest streets in the city.

“You can’t even get out on the street because it’s wall-to-wall busses,” Carr said. “Between the cars and the kids, it’s probably one of the busiest streets in Ottawa.”

Madison Green, a South Sider who lives across the street from the proposed building site, shared Roalson’s concerns and also brought up the lack of streetlights when she walks her dogs at night.

Alcorn responded that people staying at the PADS shelter have to be in for the night by 4 p.m., so there would be no danger at night.

Another South Sider, Chris Burns, spoke in favor of the shelter being built on McKinley Road. Burns has his own experiences working as a caseworker for a private agency dealing with vulnerable populations.

“What’s interesting is that, and I work with these people that struggle with drug abuse, have domestic violence issues, sex offender issues and other similar issues,” Burns said. “Anecdotally, not one of the clients that I know of stay at or live in homeless shelters. They already live in residential neighborhoods like houses, apartments and condos.”

Burns said in some ways, a homeless shelter is going to be safer than some residential areas if people are worried about drug use and crime.

One resident suggested PADS has taken in ex-felons before, but Program Director Marissa Trumper said it’s a requirement from the state, and PADS rejects nine out of the 10 felons the state requests.

“We do occasionally get a few people that’ll come in through the Department of Corrections but before we take them in, we have a conversation about whether or not they can be placed here,” Trumper said. “If they’re a registered sex offender, it’s a quick call, because we can’t take them without them violating their parole and getting them sent right back to prison.”

Trumper said PADS can’t take in sex offenders because about a third of its clients on a yearly basis are children.

The Plan Commission commended Alcorn and the PADS’ board for everything they do for the community

Commissioner Todd Volker said homelessness is a tough situation everyone hopes to avoid and it’s important for an organization, such as PADS to exist, but the safety concerns brought up by Roalson aren’t ones he can ignore and the citizens are concerned with safety.

“That being said, if PADS comes up with another site we’re just going to see people coming to say ‘not my backyard,’ ” Volker said. “That’s just the nature of the game. I’ve been on this commission 10 years, and I like the idea of the project.”

Plan Commission President Brent Barron was the lone vote in favor of recommending PADS’ new site, and said the issue is bigger than one that can be addressed at the Plan Commission level: The issue of affordable housing in the community.

“There’s a big problem in our country with people living on the street,” Barron said. “We’re supposedly the greatest country in the world and we have how many of our fellow citizens living in their cars, or in a box, or under a bridge, or in a tent.”

Barron said PADS has to serve a three-county radius with locations in Peru and Ottawa shows a bigger issue for the whole Illinois Valley.

Barron’s point? If PADS closes up and moves on, it would be 90 or so homeless people looking for a place to sleep.

The City Council will have the opportunity to vote on the Plan Commission’s recommendation Tuesday, Feb. 1. The City Council could vote on the Plan Commission’s recommendation, or it can opt to send the case back for further discussion.