The Danville City Council Public Services Committee has forwarded a proposed ordinance to the full council that deals with regulating public camping within corporate boundaries. This comes after recent trouble spots were reported in both Ellsworth Park, and nearby in the 200 block of Logan. Police Chief Christopher Yates says the main goal here is not a criminal process; but a civil process, in getting those with financial difficulties, as well as those with substance use and mental health issues, to the social services that can help them.
Chief Yates said it’s also a matter of balancing the rights of those who need help with the rights of property owners affected by such public camping sites. For example, Chief Yates mentioned that debris left behind at these camps can be very unsanitary and dangerous, and you certainly “would not want to walk through it with open toed shoes.”
The Public Services Committee passed the proposed ordinance 6-1, with Alderwoman Tricia Teague casting the one “no” vote. One difficulty Teague stated that she had with it was if the ordinance is going to say you cannot set up camps like this in parks or on public properties, the city could be provoking additional trespassing on private properties. But Chief Yates said the private properties are already having difficulties now as things are.
(1st Picture) Police Chief Yates (third from right) describes the proposed public camping ordinance. (2nd Picture) Alderwoman Tricia Teague (second from left) questions Chief Yates about the proposal.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: Well, you know, those circumstances already exist. Because, like I said, almost every private property is attached to public property. So, the vulnerability of a public property issue becoming also a private property issue is very high. That’s why we have to have the guidelines in place; to understand what we need to do, and what we can do.
Staying with the police portion of the Public Services meeting, Chief Yates also mentioned that data trends from January through April of this year show things moving in the right direction, with definite improvements still needing to be made.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: We’ve seen an overall, relatively good drop in violent crime. However, property crimes and non-violent crimes are still an issue. We’re often arresting people several times. Our community’s very resilient. We’ll continue doing what we need to do to protect, and improve the quality of life for everybody.
A look at the progress of the Bresee Tower tear down from the north side, as of Tuesday evening (May 27th) prior to the Public Services Committee meeting.
And of course, the tear down of Bresee Tower by Homrich out of Carleton, Michigan continues; along with the closure of Main Street right in front of it. Chief Yates says everyone seems to be accepting the necessary inconvenience, and that he has not heard of any increase in problems or concerns.
