This is from the plan commission meeting on Monday. Where staff beats back the ridiculous requests for conditions on the day center posed by 7 – 9 un-named business community members, most who were too cowardly to show up to the plan commission meeting and plan commission beats back the goofy request for making the developer pay for a bus stop, which never happens – including on the projects they approved earlier in the evening 2 blocks away. They didn’t really address pedestrian safety . . .
I actually typed most of this that evening, but had no time to finish one spot in here and run it through the spell check . . . .sorry its so late . . . .
#17 – 615 E Washington Ave. DAY RESOURCE CENTER
Parks reads off the definition of a day resource center. He says they will hear extensive testimony both for and against. He says it can meet the standards and supplemental regulations, its not inconsistent with plan recommendations and the operations plan is adequate. This has been a long and arduous search over the past 5 years, they have looked close and far from downtown. He talks about Wright St, the town of Madison site and Messner’s which had opposition from residents and businesses. He says the city is a funder but he doesn’t feel that impedes their ability to look at the project objectively. He says there are several email communications attached to the file
Public Input
Lynn Green, Casey Becker, Dawn O’Crowley, Jackson Founder and Kathy (?) are given 15 minutes to speak.
Lynn Green says she reviewed the staff report and are in support with the exception of item 32. She thinks this will allow them to have the resource center by next winter at the latest. She says the staff report gives a good summary of the history. She has looked at numerous properties and has seriously pursued many of them. She says they worked hard to get public input. (but they just didn’t listen . . . grr.) She talks about all the groups they got input from (but didn’t listen to). She thinks this is the best site yet. She says this meets the requirements of the 2013 report and the concept paper from 2016.
Casey Becker says that the staff recommendations were very thorough. She says several agencies provide day services, but they are spread throughout the city, its hard to access all these services with dignity when you have to travel. She says the goal is to have all the services in one place. Services will cover basic needs (on the first floor), showers, laundry, respite from the elections, with separate areas for families and singles. Second floor is housing search and job placement. Their goal is to increase services in the future. Overnight storage will not be included, they will be able to store vital documents and baby supplies and day time use. They will connect people to long term storage in the community. They think the decentralized storage model is a good plan. They are working to do a future site search and operational budget for storage.
Dawn O’Kroley says its a T-shaped site, they are working on pedestrian safety and increasing the impervious area, they are creating a courtyard. E. Wash is property line to property line.
Jackson Founder from Catholic Charities (insert commercial here) They have a long history of doing projects and are sensitive to people needs. He talks about the All Saints senior neighborhood and the Adult Day Center which opens tomorrow for those with dementia and memory issues. He says they will work with others. He says that they work with mental health, substance abuse, trauma informed care and motivational interviewing which are the needs of the homeless. He says the reason they designed the second floor with all the offices so they can bring in services. He says that through the end of March they will provide a day center through March, they serve 100 men and women every day. We are building relationships and learning along side Bethel staff. They are funding it on their own. They are going to have a participant advisory council and community advisory council. The will have a full time Director, 6.5 staff and a full time security guard. They have 165 other Catholic Charities organizations and they can lean on them. They created a database of services and and are visiting several agencies. They have relationships with MATC and UW. They are looking forward to working with United Way, City and County but they are the lead funder, they are committing $150,000 of their own funds.
David Sherer from 637 E Wash, next door to the facility. He has not yet met them until tonight. They have not knocked on our door. His main concern is safety. When he read the proposal, $330,000 is 7.5 full time employees but none of them are security people. That should be in the budget. He says there should be two security people at all times, so one can leave and walk around the neighborhood. That is 126 hours a week. That would be $150,000 of expense for 9 hours a day at $20/hour. He says they had issues when the day center was at the Lussier Center. He says they had people urinate in their parking lot, a mentally ill woman would come in and ask to insure a house in a magazine, people used their bathrooms and no one could use it. A homeless person stood next to a staff person for 15 minutes. The employee froze and couldn’t deal with it. He says that security should not be a footnote in the application. The city or county needs to pony up the money to pay for it, there should also be cameras throughout the neighborhoods. People won’t want to walk up to the night shelter and they will not want to do that.
Cliff Fisher in opposition – he says Hovde and he were going to develop the property and that was pulled out from under them. He hired Bill to meet with everyone, they were too afraid to come around here. The TLNA was upset this would lower their values and have people wandering their neighborhood. He lives downtown by the Y, Grace and the Salvation Army and he just needs it to be properly run. He says that there is a restaurant next door and how will they deal with people who want to come and drink. He says that we need more micro-housing and a fence down E Washington.
Mike Rewey says that the people who got killed by East High were in the cross walk. The fence was already there. Rewey asks about why they don’t ask for a fence by a nighttime drinking establishment two blocks away. He says those are adults.
Bill White passed along his comments. He says that they have accepted the fact that this is going to be there, they want an environment that is exemplary. He wants to work with everyone to make it work. He was delighted that many of the conditions were in the management plan and in the staff report. Given that, we are moving in the correct direction. He is pleased Catholic Charities is going to do this, he thinks they should start with tight controls and then loosen it up. He asks about the Management Plan in the CUP, he wants to make sure it is the one that people reviewed. If the issue on the crossing the highway is an issue he apologizes for his language. He also would like to see a minor alteration to take security back a notch. Security is THE issue, it shouldn’t be a minor alteration. It should be a major alteration. He’s had some conversations in the hallway and he is optimistic.
Rewey, makes a comment again about the kids hit by East Washington.
A commissioner asks about not being able to read a book, watch TV or play cards. He says that shelter from the elements is here, but its not supposed to be a magnate for a hang out. This isn’t what the plan is for homeless facilities, we need a plan.
King asks what the East Washington Coalition is, was it formed just for this project. Yes. They read about it in the paper and they are reacting to it. They have experience from the Don Miller site, why are things an issue at Messners but not here. They want to develop a signature development on this corner. There was a group of 6 or 7 people, some aren’t here tonight.
Zellers asks about 7 & 13 – off-site, off-premise loitering. What are you talking about, how many blocks away. He says right across the line, they don’t want people to cross the line and go sit on the lawn and drink. He says that is against the law, that is why they want security guards but what will they be able to do? Zellers asks about 12 and banning “offenders” – people who come in drunk or under the influence of drugs, there has to be a standard, and you can’t just hang out.
Evelyn Gildrie-Voyles – She’s a pre-school teacher in favor. She commutes, works and walks downtown. She has more fear from traffic and not obeying stop signs than she does with the homeless. She volunteers at the Road Home and she has seen how effective a day center can be in providing humanity and dignity for those using a night shelter. Also for those who work nights. This has been a long time coming, let it happen. Let it happen in a way that preserves and recognized the dignity and humanity of the people who use the services. Today I went to my house and I hung out. Hanging out is a human right. Recently the way the city has treated homeless is as an eyesore. Removing art, removing a bus shelter and proposing ? walls.
Property owner on E Mifflin and E Wash, they support the center, its hard to pat ourselves on our back when we have 2200 homeless residents. They aren’t concerned about security, they are implementing key card entries.
Karen Andro in support. She works at First United Methodist Church, supports Catholic Charities, and works with them at Bethel. They meet with people and meet them where they are at. She says Off the Square Club who serves people with mental health. She says that helping people is appealing to their humanity. She never thought of reading as loitering. It adds to people’s dignity.
Tami Fleming is from Friends of the State St. Family, they have 24 trained outreach workers and feed people at the top of State ST. on Saturdays. We see so many people falling between the cracks, you can’t find people when you need to, the day center will be that central place. The 21st we memorialize everyone who has died and there are alot of people who have died. Having the day center open will help with that. People are in crisis, mental health, drugs and alcohol or maybe domestic violence. She supports Catholic Charities.
Ruben Anthony, Urban League says that they work with homeless issues on a daily basis. He is proud to see this community stand up and find a solution. They other day was a man who asked him to jump the car, he was on the way to meeting and didn’t stop, when he walked out he saw a baby in the car with a woman and he stopped and jumped the car. He said he needs a job. People need an opportunity. At the Urban League they focus on social justice and employment and they will be a partner here. He talks about his friend that started a blanket drive for people who need them. There are veterans in the woods sleeping, and they need our help. In a cold state like WI, you can’t sleep on the street, there will be bad consequences. This is the right thing to do and we need to help. They are not just standing on the side lines and criticizing.
Scott ? – from Ingersoll, he lives 6 or 7 blocks from the site, he is happy this is moving forward. It’s a tragedy that some people are more concerned about property values than human life and he is really encouraged by what he heard from Catholic Charities.
Ed Kuharski says his lifelong motto is keep doing it til you get it right, its been 7 years and he is so glad we are at this point. He hopes they help move this process along. We need this now. Last week it was September of the next year, now its winter. He’s an architect and he has submitted some concerns and the needs for improvement, the core intent doesn’t come through on the plans, much like the unfortunate memo from Mr. White. It’s a legal place to be, first and foremost and if you don’t do that, then you aren’t fulfilling the intent that was promised. If you want the neighborhoods neat and tidy, then you want people to come there, no one should be able to fail out of here. WE should throw those over the side of the boat who are not able to swim. There was a person who two weeks ago died because they were banned from detox, banned from shelters, banned from jail. He says Mr. White should go back to law school and re-learn that they should have the same rights and dignity as the rest of us.
Patrick Hecht is in support. He wishes the business coalition had attended the neighborhood association meetings and the county meetings, because there were many concerns, but solutions too. Some of the letter dovetails nicely with it. He is concerned about the storage situation. The long term storage needs that are not met. I don’t think the plan commission can do anything about that. It requires them to come back if long term storage is proposed, and he hopes that they make that easy. He is also concerned about crossing E. Washington. As noted in condition 16 they have to go to Blair and that is a terrible intersection. We have mentioned fences, but the Blair intersection can’t be fixed until there is more development according to staff but he is worried about what the cost of that might be.
Scott Freeman – Lives at Willy and Blount, he wanted to come and support, he’s not representing any organization. He thinks its wonderful that we have gotten here after looking at the other sites. Caring and compassionate citizens are considering this center and he wants to thank them.
Martha Cranley – from United Way – she is in favor. She has been a partner for many years seeking solutions to homelessness and that is part of their mission. This building in particular is a great location. It’s close to other services, its on transportation. She also supports Catholic Charities, they can deliver outcomes. They will run it efficiently, respect the clients and give you outcomes. She was excited to see United Way as on e of the four horsemen up there.
Susan Schmitz – President of DMI – in support. They have been involved with Dane County, United Way and the City for 5 years and the search was based on learned successes from other cities around the country from places that adopted Housing First and one of the first things is to have a day resource center. She says that the RFP for an operator got into the hands of an organization that is serious about getting results. The need for the center continues to increase, please move forward. Luckily the city is moving forward with housing. We have all come a long way and we can finally make an impact. She is excited about this.
Registrants – there were about 15 others registered in support, most with the county or Catholic Charities.
Questions
Berger asks about condition 31 – metro transit requires them to provide a private shuttle. Lynn Green says they have a van, Porchlight provides it, its in the budget, Catholic Charities may take it over.
Zellers asks about security cameras – will there be more than one. Green says that there is a system and a security guard. They had that on E. Washington and they work with police to set it up effectively.
Zellers asks about community meetings on a quarterly basis. Green says “absolutely”.
Zellers asks about a centralized contact for reporting CUP violations. Green says they can do that too.
Carter asks O’Kroley to explain the pick up behind the building. She says that E. Wash is all parking and bike lanes and they can’t stop there, so they will have to come around the back. They will have to do a Y turn to turn around. She asks about more washers than dryers, she says that the dryers are stacked. Carter asks about the seating.
Questions of Staff
Berger asks about security and condition number 6 being a major alteration. She doesn’t want them to change something small and have to come back and it sounds like the neighbors are happy with the security plan, but how do we do that and yet make them feel better about it. Stouder says that the alder and MPD also have to sign off. Berger asks if major changes to staffing came forward would that be a major alteration. Parks says that Captain Gloede was satisfied with the management plan. The daytime shelter is always a conditional use and they could come back if there are concerns.
Rummel asks about the management plan and where to find it. Where could she find it. Parks says its under current projects under the site plan. Rummel asks if they can make sure its all together so people can find it. Rummel asks about the management plan – are the community and participant councils part of it. She sat in on the RFP process and wants to know if the commitments were in the plan. Stouder says that it is in page 10 & 11. She also asks about teh storage being an outstanding issue. They are setting aside perfectly good money not to do it. We are wasting public taxpayer dollars to make people walk down Willy St. to get their things. She says that they should require them to come back in 6 months instead of requiring them to come back. Maybe the personal storage lockers that were just approved would work. He says they have heard about a larger indoor stage facility and might not be allowed under the zoning. They will come back when they have more information. If they had more info it would be before them, all they have is good intentions and desires. Rummel says the commission should ask for a report back. Her final question is about how we have these three conditions from metro. What was the thought that went into these conditions. Tim Sobota says that our existing operating budget and standards, especially early morning and weekends and the staff discussion on page 5. The management plan needs to address the what happens when people get there a half hour or hour early. They want to make sure that there are not gaps on the weekend. There is going to be a demand and they don’t have the resources to provide that service. There needs to be a plan to address the needs. With item 32 there are no amenities a the bus stops. If buses come once an hour and they are standing outside for 25 minutes without shelter, our agency would be asked to respond to that.
Rewey asks if that has ever been asked of other developments in the city. Tim says there was an alternative school on Olin Ave. They also had once an hour bus service. He says there was another one on the West side. Rewey says this happened once the whole time he has been on the plan commission. Rewey asks who paid for the ones on Gorham. Sobota says that the city has traditionally paid for them. So why here? He says that the Cosmo and Spark projects, its great that the city is providing those services, but they haven’t been successful in dealing with weekend service. Rewey says that Spark and Cosmos didn’t have to because they don’t create the same demand. Commute time is bus service every 10 minutes. Sobota says that if people are waiting they will be in the neighborhood.
Berger asks staff to address the conditions from Bill White, some of the conditions are not enforceable or we can’t do them. One was addressed verbally. Does staff feel like there are conditions in here we should add. Parks sighs and says yes, they have talked about them at length since they were received.
1. Create a comprehensive plan for the type and general location of both the day and nighttime homeless facilities.
In terms of #1, that is a policy statement beyond what is in front of plan commission. The daytime shelter is what is before you and the others are existing uses and conforming.
2. Prohibit recreation activities on site; only job placement and counselling services to be provided.
#2 was adequately addressed during the public hearing.
3. full-time security services to be provided, preferably with an off-duty county sheriff’s deputy with authority to make arrests for violation of the CUP conditions and for violations of law. The security should begin an hour before the shelter opens and last until an hour after it closes
Full time security is being addressed, an off-duty sheriff won’t move the needle. They use them on Regent on game day, I’ll let you fill in the rest of that sentence as you see fit. In terms of being able to make an arrest for conditional use conditions, not even Matt Tucker (zoning administrator) has that authority, he might want it, but he doesn’t have it. Captain Gloede feels that the security being provided is adequate and there is an opportunity to adjust that with continuing jurisdiction.
4. Transportation to be provided from the Day Shelter to the Night Shelter to keep folks from wandering through the neighborhoods.
Transportation is being provided, and there is nothing that a allows a person to not wander through any neighborhood as long as they are in the public right of way.
5. Prevent inter-mixing with the Salvation Army customers across the street on East Washington Ave.
#4 is not something they feel is appropriate, nor is #5.
6. Provide security cameras on site.
6 is addressed in the management plan.
7. Prohibit loitering on and off site and enforce the prohibition.
Loitering is addressed in municipal ordinance as informed by state law and plan commission should leave that there.
8. Provide one centralized contact for reporting CUP violations that is received by Catholic Charities, Dane County and the City of Madison Zoning office.
Likewise the zoning code is very clear on how it works regarding continuing jurisdiction and complaints. Any violations would be addressed through zoning enforcement and if it rises to a complaint against the conditional use it would come before you to decide if there is a violation and then for a hearing to determine what need to be changed or to revoke the usage.
9. Conduct community meetings on the operation of the shelter on at least a quarterly basis.
Community meetings are being addressed in the management plan.
10. Provide the main entrance from the rear of the building with the East Washington Ave. entrance only as emergency egress.
The rear entrance to the building – people will come by various transit and forcing them to come in one particular door and walk around the building doesn’t seem necessary.
11. Provide the CUP to be two years in length and reviewed every two years to ensure compliance with the CUP and to add conditions if necessary.
#11 might be one for the plan commission, the body has limited the length of conditional use for a variety of reasons and can discuss.
12. Prohibit consistent offenders from being provided services by the Day Shelter.
#12 is handled by the security plan. Its up to them to devise a “naughty list” if that kind of thing is needed.
13. Prohibit use of alcohol or drugs on site or off premises.
#13 Drugs and alcohol was discussed in the public hearing
14. Additional costs for the operation of the Day Shelter should be included in the County and City operating budget.
#14 was kind of nebulous, Jim O’Keefe (Community Development Division) and Lynn Green (Dane County Human Services) could speak about the funding. Catholic Charities feels they have adequate funding, absent a clear need related to what is before them, they don’t feel that is needed either.
MOTION
Zellers moves approval. Rewey seconds. Berger removed condition number 32, that’s friendly.
Carter wants it to be in, the clientele for the day shelter has to carry their belonging and to stand in the elements with all your belongings that is supposed to serve is just inhumane. A shelter and a bench should be provided.
King asks if the city can be forced to pay it, not the applicant.
Natalie Erdman says that would be a budget amendment.
Zellers says that this is in a TID and maybe TIF dollars would be available.
King asks if we take this out will you pursue funding for it. Rummel and Zellers agree.
Carter is satisfied and she’ll be watching.
Passes unanimously.
Adjournment at 11:25.
