Homeless plan on drawing board

Almost two years after the city spent $775,000 buying the former Farmers’ Market, the nine-acre site lacks new buildings or activities related to the homeless service comple planned for the property.

“I know the eventual use is to serve the needs of the homeless community,” said Mayor Ron Littlefield, who in 2006 unveiled plans with no clear timeline for the project.

The mayor now says the city is “banking” the land for later use, a common practice in urban planning. Getting more specific about what’s next for the site is difficult, he said.

“I would love to say that it would be possible to sit down and write a hard-and-fast plan, but you’re dealing with multiple organizations here that have their own agendas, their own budgets and their own boards,” Mr. Littlefield said. “We can only guide and lead and suggest.”

The mayor’s proposal has engendered sometimes vehement opposition among residents of the M.L. King neighborhood.

Erika Stearns, who moved to the neighborhood in 2006, said the City Council hasn’t done all the needed study on the proposal.

“I think it’s kind of like writing a blank check and not really knowing what the check is going to pay for,” she said.

There has been some progress on the project, the mayor said. The City Council recently approved two separate leases with the Southeast Tennessee Human Resource Agency and the Interfaith Homeless Network of Greater Chattanooga.

SETHRA plans to break ground on a $1.5 million transit and training center in the fall. The homeless network has no timeline for construction on its planned day center and office space. The organization plans to seek funding to build the facility, which is expected to cost about $500,000.

Officials with the Union Gospel Mission and the Salvation Army said they are considering the East 11th Street site for potential shelter space.

The Rev. Jon Rector, executive director of the Main Street mission, said the organization is weighing all shelter options equally. Salvation Army spokeswoman Kimberly George said the agency is not “far enough along to commit” to a facility on the property.

John Dorris, who has been involved in the Farmers’ Market project as consultant for the Chattanooga Community Resource Center, said the downtown homeless services center will be positive.

“The mayor’s efforts over the last two years have helped raise awareness of homelessness and the need for better coordination of services, something that will benefit the whole community,” Mr. Dorris said.

Mr. Littlefield said he expected some project opposition because he’s previously dealt with “not in my backyard” matters. However, he defended the amount of time taken to develop the proposed complex.

He compared the homeless project to the three-year, $120 million waterfront revitalization effort overseen by his predecessor, Bob Corker. He said the riverfront endeavor required extensive preparation, and so will this one.

“It requires patience,” he said. “You develop a plan, you try to put some initial pieces in place and then you wait for opportunities and you act on them when they present themselves.”

FITS AND STARTS

The city bought the old Farmers’ Market site for about $775,000 in March 2006.

Neighbors opposed the plan from the start. Some residents of the area around the proposed homeless complex have said the project will reduce home values and hurt a downtown community they’ve worked hard to reinvigorate.

In February 2007, the Student Government Association at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga approved a resolution opposing the proposed complex.

Also in winter 2007, City Councilman Leamon Pierce called for the Community Advisory Committee on Homeless Issues to look at the mayor’s proposal. In a report released in May, committee members asserted they were “unable to find a rationale to support” the homeless complex.

Councilwoman Linda Bennett, who led the committee, said that there was a “mix-up” with drafts of the report and that the group instead was “unable to reach a definitive conclusion.”

Ms. Bennett said last week that the group was put together after a proposal already was in place for the site.

“I think the administration had a plan of what they wanted to see there and (the advisory committee) was kind of an afterthought,” Ms. Bennett said.

“My way or no way”

Mr. Pierce, whose district includes the old Farmers’ Market property, objects to what he called the mayor’s “my way or no way” approach to the project.

“I have just gotten to a point where I’ve given up on it,” said Mr. Pierce, the only council member to vote against the leases for the homeless network and SETHRA. “When you keep opposing something to no avail, why keep opposing?”

Brandon Ponder, who moved to Chattanooga in 2000 and built a house on 10th Street, said the complex might attract homeless people from other cities.

“To me, the city had taken five steps forward in developing the M.L. King neighborhood, and now they were ready to take six steps backward,” said Mr. Ponder, 29.

Ms. Bennett said some M.L. King residents are “discouraged” with the situation.

“It’s just very important that we look at the quality-of-life issues and make sure we don’t do anything that has a negative impact on the community,” she said.

Mr. Littlefield said shelter space is the most pressing homelessness issue that officials will tackle in the coming months. The Union Gospel Mission must leave its Main Street facility by June 1.

“If that shelter shuts down, there will be at least 50 more people on the street, or somewhere,” he said. “That is the hard fact the community has to come to grips with.”

Although he has been criticized, the mayor said he has great hopes for the proposed complex. He said the site could be a “showplace” for civic leaders who want to tackle homelessness.

“Cities everywhere are looking for solutions to this problem,” he said. “It’s not as much fun (and) it’s not as colorful as a riverfront, but it’s a necessary issue that has to be dealt with.”

COSTS OF COMPLEX

Here are the costs of the proposed homeless services complex:

* $775,443: Purchase of the nine-acre site

* $54,571: Total expenditures on site since it was bought in March 2006 (includes environmental study, fees for consultant to work with Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, real estate survey and utility bills)

Source: Chattanooga government