Support, opposition and questions swirl around Navigation Center proposal

MCCAC is a private non-profit (501c3) corporation serving Hood River, Wasco and Sherman counties, providing energy and utility assistance, rent assistance and houseless assistance funded by federal, state and local government agencies, as well as private donations.

Though not a City of The Dalles or Wasco County project, both have been asked to help fund the proposed facility.

City of The Dalles

During the public comment portion of the March 14 city council meeting, many community members spoke in favor of the project, encouraging the city to continue supporting it.

Marilyn Arthur said she and her husband have been involved in helping the houseless in The Dalles for six years. She has served on The Dalles Housing Coalition, volunteered with the warming shelter from 2017-2020, and volunteered to help with the Point-in-Time Count this year.

“Through all these involvements we have really seen firsthand the issues of the homeless, including mental health, weather, and we’ve also seen the frustrations in dealing with them,” Arthur said. “So now, under the direction of (MCCAC Executive Director) Kenny LaPoint, we have this Navigation Center proposed, which gives us real hope to solve these problems in a comprehensive way.”

North Central Public Health District Director Shellie Campbell also spoke in support of the Navigation Center, noting the importance of working together as a community, especially considering the difficulties experienced by the community in recent years.

“I think with COVID, the one thing it’s taught us is that the support of the community is invaluable,” Campbell said. “To have a navigation center or something of this caliber in our community would really emphasize the support of coordinating efforts and having them under one roof.”

Campbell also said that from a public health standpoint, they support the Navigation Center and would ask others to do so as well.

Others who voiced support for the project included Reverend Marilyn Roth, CEO of One Community Health Max Janasik, and Oregon Human Development Corporation Executive Director Martin Campos-Davis.

In total, seven members of the community spoke in support of the Navigation Center.

Only one community member voiced concerns with the upcoming projec at the meeting. However, others wishing to address concerns regarding the facility told the Wasco County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday they were not allowed to speak during the city’s Zoom meeting.

Local resident Jennifer Dewey said she was concerned about the location of the proposed center.

“I think the Navigation Center is a great project,” Dewey said. “I do have an issue with where it is being set, and the reason I have an issue is because it butts up against commercial and retail space that has a lot of inventory outside, meaning the car dealerships, Coastal, and the motels.” People located around the area should have had some input and say into the decision to put the center there, Dewey added.

Wasco County

The Navigation Center was also addressed by community members during the public testimony portions of the March 16 meeting of the Wasco County Board of Commissioners. Public testimony was split between morning and afternoon sessions due to time constraints.

Although Wasco County has not been a party in the development of the Navigation Center, the county has been asked to dedicate federal funds earmark for the county to the project.

Bob Schultens, who owns and operates an auto dealership on Sixth Street, said the Seventh Street location was problematic for area business.

Schultens said there was a lack of transparency in the process in regards to the location, how exactly the Navigation Center would function in the future, and what operations would look like. “You would think ...you would go out and ask community members, ‘What do you think about putting something like this here?’ If we are going to put it into the middle of a business area, why wouldn’t we talk to (those in the) business area?”

Schultens added the city was not listening to those in opposition to the project, who were not allowed to speak during the March 14 council meeting. “This is a slippery slope we are going down,” he said. “It’s scary to me.

“I don’t have a problem with the idea that we have going on here, but I do not like the location,” he continued, noting three hotels overlook the proposed site of the Navigation Center, making it one of the first things visitors to The Dalles would see. “If a homeless shelter is the first thing they see, some people that will turn them off,” he said.

He pointed out that Sixth Street is already a high crime area, with frequent incidents of theft and vandalism. “Just last night, someone went through one of the dealer lots breaking mirrors off the cars,” he told commissioners. “The city is saying they can’t do much about this, except report it,” he said. Auto dealers on Sixth Street have reported 62 incidents to the police in the last two years, he noted. “What is the plan to get better police protection out there? I think you need to dig deeper than just the idea. The idea is a great idea, and I think it has its place. But I don’t think its place is where we are talking about it going.”

Expressing fears a Navigation Center would increase houseless traffic through the area still more, Schultens said, “It won’t get any better if this (Navigation Center) happens.

“And if it is going to get better, I want to hear about it.

Rob Peterson, who owns a mobile home park directly across the street from the proposed location, said residents of the park were also concerned about the project. “I have people out there who are very concerned about this,” he said. “It’s a family park, its right across the street from this property. I really hope they find another location for this. We already have a lot of theft, people wandering through in the middle of the night.”

Others spoke in favor of the project, including Janasik, who noted OCH currently serves 190 patients that identify as houseless. “We have been working withJeffrey Teel, director of engineering, operations and technology for Northern Wasco County PUD (NWCPUD), based in The Dalles, said some of the current issues were anticipated by operational staff last year and the utility increased stock of some “key materials.”

Kenny LaPoint and the team at MCCAC and have been impressed at the way he has brought together a collaborative of different partners to bring caregivers and resources together that can help our homeless and at risk community residents,” he said. “This includes getting them into permanent housing and the workforce, to help individuals become independent and contribute to society, and provide them with physical and behavioral supports on that journey that they are on.”

He pointed out the location is donated, a significant cost saving to the overall budget of the project.

“I also feel strongly it is conveniently located and easy to access,” he told commissioners. “I understand there are always voices of descent on any project like this. But those are also the first voices to complain when people start camping at their businesses, or near their homes.

“We need to change the trajectory of homelessness in our community, so we can avoid similar outcomes to Portland and other communities that have waited to long to take action,” he said.

Others also spoke both in favor and opposition.

Discussion needed

Following the public comments, each commissioner articulated the need for future opportunities for community dialogue on the proposed Navigation Center and its location.

“We need to think how we can allow for this discussion within the community, so these questions can be asked, and answers given,” noted Commissioner Scott Hege. “A lot of these questions are good questions; they could and should be answered,” he said, but added, “They are not really questions we can answer. I think there is a lot here that can be dialogued and worked out.”

Commissioner Kathy Schwartz agreed, noting the county needed to get together with the city and go from there. “They are hearing the same things at the city, as I understand it. The location is a city issue, city zoning and all of that. I think that’s where we can start.” Schwartz also encouraged those with concerns to talk with LaPoint about their concerns, first and foremost.

Commissioner Steve Kramer said the houseless problem was not new, but needed to be addressed now. “We’ve got a lot of work left to do on this project. Unfortunately its late, we needed to be doing this 15 or 20 years ago and be moving forward. But we haven’t, and we’ve got to start somewhere.”

Kramer noted the bulk of funds for the project are coming state legislators in Salem. “I see this as a MCCAC plan, not a Wasco County plan. Some of the burden (of answering these questions) has to fall on the MCCAC program.”

Those answers should soon be forthcoming, he added. “I understand there is a five-year strategic business plan that is completed or almost completed,” he said. “The legislature has put confidence into this project, to the tune of $500,000 for two years. That raises questions for me, and I’m still trying to find many of the answers to questions raised by opponents and proponents both regarding the (operational) plan,” he said.

“This is not just us,” he added, “it’s all over the state.”

“We’ll find a solution, but as was brought up today, we’ve all got to work together on it,” Kramer said.