Lincoln City’s plan to bus its homeless to a Newport warming shelter was not communicated to the Newport City Council, Newport Mayor-elect Dean Sawyer said Tuesday.

“This whole thing blindsided us,” Sawyer said of Lincoln City City Manager Ron Chandler’s arrangement with Grace Wins Haven in Newport to house North County homeless overnight on a temporary basis. “Our City Council never heard of this. I wish Lincoln City would have contacted us earlier in the process so we could have gone over the logistics.”

Sawyer said Chandler spoke Tuesday morning with Newport City Manager Spencer Nebel and told him, “The plan is dead in the water.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Chandler told Homepage, “The Warming Shelter LLC isn’t interested in pursuing this so it’s not going anywhere. There’s no story in this other than the City was trying to help the Warming Shelter find a temporary solution, but they weren’t interested.”

In an email thread late last week between Chandler and Lincoln City Warming Shelter President Patrick Alexander obtained by Homepage, Chandler said:

“Dear Patrick: I’m pleased to inform you that I’ve made arrangements with Traci Flowers of Grace Wins Haven in Newport and the County to house those in Lincoln City needing temporary, overnight housing at the Grace Wins Haven facility in the County Fairgrounds. Traci said that she will need volunteers from your organization to assist when Lincoln City patrons are there and that we transport the patrons back to Lincoln City the next day. . . .”

Chandler went on to inform Alexander he had reached an agreement with Lincoln County Transit to purchase vouchers to transport patrons to Newport.

After learning of the arrangement, Alexander said busing his clients to Newport could only be considered as a “short-term stopgap measure” while a local shelter site is worked out.

Flowers told Homepage on Monday that her shelter at the County Fairgrounds was dropping its arrangement with Chandler, saying, “I’m not going to be a part of this unless the City is behind it.”

Since Homepage’s initial report Sunday, citizens from throughout Lincoln County have widely spoken out against such a plan, citing freezing temperatures as unsafe for travel and concerns about where homeless would store their belongings and pets, among numerous other considerations, such as getting clients back for work or job interviews.

Sawyer said he was surprised to learn of Lincoln City’s plans to bus its homeless to his city through Homepage.

“I thought Lincoln City had a warming shelter figured out,” he said.

Sawyer said Grace Wins Haven has been doing a great job serving Newport’s homeless population, and that its leader, Flowers, has a “huge heart.” He said it’s difficult to keep volunteers working long hours to help the homeless.

“Finding people to work at 3 a.m. is a difficult task,” he said. “Working with the homeless can be difficult at times, and keeping volunteers can prove challenging.”

Sawyer said the homeless do not possess modern society’s use of communication tools such as Facebook, email and smartphones to alert the public to changes in services and how to obtain them.

“If you are changing the location on the homeless, it’s hard to get the word out to them,” he said. “A coordinated effort needs to be made to create one place to get what you need, not 16 different places.”

The League of Oregon Cities provides an opportunity quarterly each year for city officials to network and discuss common issues and solutions, he said.

“League of Oregon Cities talks about problems like homelessness,” Sawyer said. “A couple councilors from Lincoln City and myself recently attended one of the meetings and they never said anything about problems with their warming shelter.”

Preparing a strategy and experimenting with new ideas could help tackle homelessness, he said.

Sawyer said plans are in the works to create a committee or “task force” on homelessness in about a month that will be composed of Flowers, local businesses and citizens. Anyone interested in joining the committee is invited to apply on Newport’s website.

“Every city has the same problems,” he said. “We all have to try things and share our successes and failures.”

Chandler has scheduled a meeting at 6 o’clock tonight (Tuesday) at the Driftwood Public Library, and 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the North Lincoln County Historical Museum to discuss the homeless issue.

HOMEPAGE’S EARLIER COVERAGE

Plans made to bus Lincoln City homeless to Newport for temporary shelter

Resistance to homeless busing plan leads to Newport shelter’s withdrawal

Arrangements have been made to transport Lincoln City’s homeless to Newport in cold-weather situations and temporarily house them at Grace Wins Haven at the County Fairgrounds.

According to a recent email obtained by Homepage, Lincoln City City Manager Ron Chandler has informed Lincoln City Warming Shelter President Patrick Alexander that those needing temporary overnight housing will be bused 30 miles south to Newport under an agreement to purchase vouchers from Lincoln County Transit.

“The Lincoln City Warming Shelter believes that busing can only be considered as a short-term stopgap measure while a local shelter site is worked out,” Alexander said.

Chandler has scheduled two “neighborhood meetings” this week to discuss overnight housing in the Taft area – 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 20, at the Driftwood Public Library, and 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 21, at the North Lincoln County Historical Museum.

“Please note that this is not a City Council meeting nor is it a public hearing. It’s an opportunity for me to meet with the people that live and work in Taft and provide the Council with information,” Chandler said.

“We encourage anyone interested to attend and have their say,” Alexander said.

In the email, Chandler said the arrangements with Grace Wins Haven and Alexander’s desire to use the emergency powers of the City to use Taft Hall or First Baptist Church in Lincoln City won’t solve the shelter’s long-term problems.

“If you want to permanently remain in Taft Hall or permanently move to the First Baptist Church you should apply to the City to change the zoning ordinance to allow this use as a permitted or conditional use,” he said.

Meanwhile, volunteers will be needed to assist in the care and travel of Lincoln City patrons, Traci Flowers, of Grace Wins Haven, said. The last stop of the bus route is located across the street from the Fairgrounds.

In email correspondence with the City Council prior to Chandler’s announcement, Alexander said the transportation plan would mark the first time he could recall in his 12 years in Lincoln City that officials have moved in favor of centralized services in Newport as opposed to locally provided services in North County.

“In speaking with the organizer of the Newport shelter, I have learned that while the fairgrounds has ample space for people to sleep, it does not have sufficient cots or volunteers to handle an increase of as many as 40 additional clients each night,” he said.

Alexander also warned that some volunteers might be able to make the trip to Newport, but that road conditions are likely to be poor and many might not feel safe making the trip. Questions have also been posed in regards to transporting clients’ belongings and possibly their pets.

Alexander also pointed out that the fairgrounds are unavailable as a shelter on Friday nights, when it moves to a smaller alternate site due to a standing booking.

“Whether that alternate premises could handle an influx of North County clients remains unclear,” he said.

Alexander also said the Newport shelter has a lower temperature trigger than the below 40-degree mark his operation utilizes and shared other concerns:

“The opening criteria could leave homeless clients unsheltered on nights as cold at 33 degrees,” he said. “Our group believes that is unacceptable, especially when there are suitable premises to provide a higher level of care right here in Lincoln City, complete with a dedicated pool of volunteers who have a proven track record of operating a shelter in a safe manner.

“Busing homeless people to Newport also has the side effect of making their already hectic lives even more stressful. It is a little-known fact that many of the people who stay overnight in our shelter have jobs to get to in the morning. Forcing them to commute back from Newport to get to work adds an unnecessary complication to their day. Even our clients who are unemployed have hectic lives as they try to get to appointments and fulfill personal obligations while relying on public transport and often carrying all their belongings with them.

“The city’s internal debate about what constitutes ‘Accessory Use’ presented our group with a moving target as we sought permission to operate this year. Our group worked in good faith in accordance with the guidance presented to us. Since that guidance changed in September, we have tried to adjust our strategy accordingly, presenting alternate premises for consideration as a shelter and trying without success to find a new home within a commercial or industrial zone in order to pursue a ‘Conditional Use’ permit.

“The failure of these efforts should not be used to justify a policy of busing, with all the associated shortcomings laid out above.

“Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, our group does not feel busing homeless people to Newport represents the community values of Lincoln City, especially in light of Council’s admirable actions in recent years to triple its funding for nonprofit groups that largely work to provide comfort to this vulnerable population.”