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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-25-19 Public Comment - J. Maixner - HRDC Warming Center SiteFrom:Chris Mehl To:Agenda Subject:FW: Men"s recovery house Date:Friday, October 25, 2019 8:31:09 AM Chris Mehl Bozeman Deputy Mayor cmehl@bozeman.net 406.581.4992 ________________________________________ From: Jennifer Maixner [jenmaixner@gmail.com] Sent: Thursday, October 24, 2019 10:11 PM To: Chris Mehl Subject: Re: Men's recovery house To: Sarah Rosenberg, Bozeman City Planner Martin Matsen, Director of Community Development Chris Mehl, Deputy Mayor To our community leaders, I hope you read this email in its entirety regarding the projected HRDC Warming Center location on Westridge Dr, less than 300 feet from an elementary school. As a parent of Morning Star Elementary children and a health care worker in our community, I have extreme concern about this site chosen for a warming center. This is about location, not mission, nor lack of compassion. I am fully aware and very engaged in my daily work with people who face homelessness. I understand it is often a mental health issue to be homeless. I witness that those who are homeless are also often addicts, criminals, sexual offenders and often are in cycles of violence. I have deep compassion for these people, and I value programs to support their needs. However, as a parent of very young children who attend Morning Star Elementary, I cannot support placing this service in direct sight of elementary school children, nor within such close proximity to their school, playground, sidewalks they independently walk and bike to school, or their after school parks. Concerns: This location is zoned for R1—residential between two schools, elementary and junior high The shelter will process on average 36 people per night, no background checks The shelter will not refuse service to people with mental illness, criminal records, sexual offenders Some sexual offenders are required to stay 300ft from school grounds, yet this site is 287 feet—not compliant with the law should these offenders use this center How are weapons processed? How will the children walking past this site on their way to school every morning be kept safe from those with weapons not confiscated? The shelter provides transportation at 7am to HRDC, but is not responsible for those who choose to not use this transportation, leaving them at will in a residential area and near children getting to school and school grounds Last year there were more than 80 calls to the police at an HRDC warming center in 5months. Is this appropriate 287 feet from an elementary school? Many people in our school district chose this area of Bozeman to live because of its safety. We love sending our children to school feeling empowered as they ride their bike without parents, or walk alone or with friends. Being a parent of children who are in school face the awful truth that one day their child might not come home alive from school. Our children, our tiny Kindergartners, are learning to “hide from bears” during active shooter lock down drills. Please, help us keep our children safe in our neighborhood and our local schools. We live in a time where parents, more than anything, want to give our children a chance at living their young life without having to know the realities they are simply too young to comprehend. Do not place our children in a place of potential risk. Find a new, more appropriate location. Safety first for children. Jen Maixner On Mon, Jul 29, 2019 at 8:08 PM Chris Mehl <CMehl@bozeman.net<mailto:CMehl@bozeman.net>> wrote: Thanks for contacting me about a possible men’s recovery house on the southside of Bozeman. Many folks saw a recent story in the Bozeman Chronicle, https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/county/new-recovery-house-hopes-to-open-in-bozeman-this- fall/article_c7b85673-1ab5-5201-8d21-2d2764ae4496.html. Here’s an update on the situation. Those interested in operating a recovery house have contacted the city, but it has been at the inquiry level only. No formal proposal has been made and the scope, size, timing and details of a proposal—if/when there is one—are not set at this time. Any proposal would require a site plan. If/when this is proposed it would be a public document with notice (posting at the site, mailing to neighbors, etc). Such a proposal would be reviewed by the city after it is received, taking 6-8 weeks at a minimum; with plenty of opportunity for public comment. City staff will meet with school staff to update them. Feel free to contact me or be in touch as we all learn more about a possible proposal. Chris Mehl Bozeman Deputy Mayor cmehl@bozeman.net<mailto:cmehl@bozeman.net> 406.581.4992 City of Bozeman emails are subject to the Right to Know provisions of Montana’s Constitution (Art. II, Sect. 9) and may be considered a “public record” pursuant to Title 2, Chpt. 6, Montana Code Annotated. As such, this email, its sender and receiver, and the contents may be available for public disclosure and will be retained pursuant to the City’s record retention policies. Emails that contain confidential information such as information related to individual privacy may be protected from disclosure under law.