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| A D1 Constituent sent me this picture, taken at the intersection of Beverly Parkway and W Street....Is this what we want our kids to see when driving around this district? |
Folks in District 1 are getting fed up with the aggressive behavior of the homeless population that seems to be growing larger by the day. The trash they are generating, the destruction of property, theft, the panhandling, the public nudity, drug use, camping on private property, and engaging in dysfunctional behavior. Folks are fed up---and they want action. I heard it at Monday's town hall, and I have heard it from constituents all over the district. Yesterday, I received the below email of frustration from a local taxpaying business owner. He's fed up--and he is saying what a lot of folks are thinking.
"The purpose of this email is to address a concern that I
share with other business owners along Beverly Parkway. My office is located at
the corner of Beverly Parkway and W Street. We have a serious problem with
indigents and transients: trespassing ,aggressively panhandling ,doing
drugs, and destroying property at our places of business and in the surrounding
residential area. We have contacted Sheriff Simmons about the problem and he
has advised us the majority of the people causing harm are staying on a wooded
property adjacent to us. Surprisingly, this land is county owned and even
though these people are clearly trespassing and living on the property, the
County Commissioners will not issue a trespassing complaint to remove them.
Sheriff Simmons has made it clear his hands are tied and he cannot act until
you all file a trespass complaint. Is this an accurate representation of the
situation ,and if so why are the County Commissioners allowing this to happen?
Secondly, why can we not pass an ordinance against camping or trespassing
on county owned property? They are not public property and we should not have
to wait for the County Commissioners to trespass people from the county’s
own property before anything can be done. The homeless population in Escambia
County continues to grow every year and it is no surprise why when these people
can live for free and have sanctuary from the police on county owned property.
Whatever needs to change be it a full-on sheriff’s homeless task force or
better written ordinances, we would support the effort. What I and other tax
payers would not support is keeping things the way they are and continuing to
let county land to be used as a base of operations for the homeless. The bottom
line is the tax payers in this area are starting to feel like their safety
comes second to the rights of the homeless and that’s just not something we’re
going to abide by. Please give this matter your utmost attention and provide a
response."
TO WHICH I RESPONDED:
"Thank you for bringing the situation to my attention. Unfortunately, this situation is occurring on multiple parcels of land throughout the county not simply the ones owned by the county. I have no issue at all trespassing people who are on county property illegally. If you forward me the address of this parcel, I will give it to Code Enforcement immediately. I agree we should have an ordinance prohibiting this activity, I have on multiple occasions brought the solution of moving the homeless out of the area out to the woods in a campsite where services could be brought to them in order to keep them away from businesses and homes. Unfortunately, this initiative has gained no support from my counterparts. I am not giving up though. I want to be compassionate, but my primary compassion is for folks who want to help and will take help. My understanding of the problem is roughly half of those who are Homeless are engaging in illegal behavior, and are addicted to drugs or alcohol and have no inclination to change this behavior. But I stand up for business owners and residents and I’m a rule follower so I will look at the situation carefully and again I have no problem proposing an ordinance, which would prohibit overnight camping on vacant county property. Thank you, again, for Bringing this to my attention. I am copying our county attorney, our county administrator and our Director of Code Enforcement on this email. Please reply all with the subject parcel that you believe is county owned where homeless folks are camping overnight. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Jeff Bergosh
Commissioner, District 1"
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| A D1 Constituent sent me this picture of a homeless encampment and trash pile that sprung up recently on Mobile Hwy in District 1 |
