NAACP Unit 6219 invited Concho Valley Community Action Agency Director Mike Burnett to speak on Saturday afternoon.
Burnett talked at length about the history, and possible future of the Rock Rose Community Campus project, which he hopes will occupy the 11.8-acre tract on West 14th Street.
He explained how they calculate the number of homeless, and nearly homeless, people are living in our area and spoke about how local outreach efforts have evolved with events like the monthly Navigation Day, which has proved invaluable to homeless neighbors.
He spoke honestly about the problems business owners in the area experience on a regular basis, and conceded that something had to be done about that, touching briefly on extensive discussions he’s had with local law enforcement, who engage regularly with the homeless population.
Burnett supplied everyone with a handout packet that included a proposed map of the campus, and discussed each feature of the project, telling listeners the cost of the campus is currently estimated at around $30 million, and organizers currently are exploring funding options.
Questions from the Floor
Retired Presbyterian pastor and longtime homeless advocate Craig Meyers opened up a major point for discussion, asking about what impact the proposed campus would have on home values in a neighborhood that’s worked so hard to eliminate sub-standard housing and bring home values up over the last 20 years.
He also spoke about his concerns regarding the increased foot traffic associated with the campus’ residents coming and going through the neighborhood.
Burnett told listeners they had considered these points, and, based on the existing campuses they looked at around the country, home values remained stable, and overall crime rates decreased in the areas where these projects have been established, because of the improved security presence associated with the facility.
“I think, what we’ve been doing, as a community, hasn’t worked, and it’s been very, very expensive,” he said. “We as a community pay about $36,000 per year, for a chronic homeless person … where programs like this have come into existence, that cost has dropped drastically.
Burnett said the current estimate is that the community is spending about $3.6 million on an ineffective system of homeless outreach.
“That could go down to about $1.8 million, with us providing care for these individuals and shelter and taking them out of crisis.
“Then, for individuals who choose not to go there, that’s when other agencies, like the city and police, can have a different response, and be able to police them a little better.”
Burnett said he’s visited with plenty residents in the area who say it’s a real problem, but he pointed out that the homeless population in town has been concentrated in the area for about 5 years.
“When they abated that homeless encampment just a few blocks from here last year, they had no place to go because the homeless shelter had closed.
“You’re not wrong, that wherever we build this, it’s going to be in somebody’s backyard.
Attendees suggested a couple of other locations where the campus might go.
“They’ve got plenty of room out by Bentwood,” Pastor Meyers said. Another suggested an area off of South Chadbourne, that would put them closer to the hospital and bus depot.
Burnett said city officials have designated an exclusion zone for much of the downtown area, where they are not welcome to build the campus, which ironically includes area where the Salvation Army Shelter sits.
Someone asked about the zoning change hearing, and what the next step was for the project.
Burnett explained that due to a new state law, any project involving a governmental entity giving property for something like a homeless campus, notices must be mailed out to every resident and business owner within a 1-mile radius, and a town hall meeting must be held somewhere within that area.
He said he’s meeting with city officials on Sept. 9 and should have more details about the zoning process afterward.
Sally Ayala talked about changes in the West Blackshear neighborhood over the years that residents didn’t ask for, like closing their school, or building a detention center, and said she feels like it shows a general lack of respect for Blackshear residents’ feelings.
“We’re always the last to find out about something like this,” she said, adding “My heart goes out so much to the homeless, because I could be the next one that’s homeless.”
Burnett spoke about the reasons for keeping it under wraps, which he hoped would help prevent it from getting tangled up in city council and mayoral elections.
He then sketched out briefly the timeline of events from when they first began studying projects of this kind in other places to the city approaching them with the property on 14th Street, touching on key points along the way, including conversations he had with some business owners in the area and the Boys and Girls Club, among others.
Dudra Butler talked some about demographics in West Blackshear, and inquired if city officials had talked to anyone in advance, noting that “history tells us that the city tends to push things wherever there’s the least resistance.”
“I appreciate the comments,” Burnett said in closing, “whether they’re pro or con.
“The only way we’re going to build a strong solution, is if we keep having these conversations. And we won’t always agree 100 percent on everything, but if we can just keep having civil conversations…
“… and you don’t know me from Adam, but I’m telling you; I run down every suggestion or idea. If you want to share an idea or have more conversation, my personal number is on that card.”
Reporter’s notes: OPERATION DINER-IN
During the conversation, as Burnett was discussing funding possibilities for the Rock Rose Community Campus, he outlined one interesting idea for mass funding.
“We are in the middle of a quiet campaign to raise funds, he said. “And we know that $30 million is a lot of money. But I think it’s going to happen, because I believe in our community.
“I was driving the other day, and I thought: How do we get to $15 [million]? …How do we get to half? What does half look like?
“OK: here’s how you can get to $15 million… If 15,000 people — there are 125,000 people in the Concho Valley — if 15,000 of them say ‘I’m not going to eat out for dinner one time a month, and instead I’ll donate that money [to the Rock Rose project] for three years.’ — Well, if you take that $30; in a year that’s $360. If 15,000 people do that for three years, that’s $15 million.”
