By Samuel Strait, Reporter at Large – June 9, 2021
No more prophetic words that appeared on a sign carried by a protester
to the intention of the County’s Board of Supervisor’s to allow DHHS to
purchase the Coastal Inns and Suites located at 665 L Street for the
purpose of converting the motel to permanent housing for the County’s
homeless. At the time the City was encouraged to object to this action,
instead sat on their collective hands. Nothing to see here folks. Just
a future blight in the middle of town, nothing to see here folks. It
wasn’t but a few months before the first major event occurred at the
“homeless shelter” where City police arrested an armed drug dealer.
Perhaps it was at that point that the City’s police chief knew he had a
problem that was only going to get worse.
We were told at the time that it was already being utilized as temporary
shelter for DHHS clients by Director Heather Snow. We were to learn
further that it was currently housing 43 occupants which represented 26%
of the County’s homeless. Since Director Snow is only the head of DHHS
and her office directly deals with the many problems of the homeless it
shouldn’t be much of a surprise when others in the Community that
actually have contact with the County’s homeless report a much higher
count, 400 to 500. Naturally, at the time when it was pointed out that
the Coastal Inns and Suites as a homeless shelter in downtown Crescent
City was a terrible idea, both the leadership in the County and the City
went ahead without so much as a care in the world.
After a grand total of eight months as the County’s permanent “homeless
shelter”, Police Chief Richard Griffin of the City had a slightly different
take on the decision. In a report to the City Council, Chief Griffin
reported that in 2019 the police were called to the Coastal Inns and
Suites a mere 71 times. In 2020 that figure jumped to 194 times. In
2021 the count is at 96, with the Chief’s staff reporting that the
department could conceivably see well over 200 calls to that location.
Businesses in the area report increased drug use, petty crime, and theft
on the rise. No surprise there. The stated intent by Director Snow’s
department is to provide kitchen facilities in the units for food
preparation, and maybe a little meth on the side. Fire insurance
anybody? Currently several of the units are vacant as work progresses
on making kitchens a reality. And the money for this comes from where?
It is not often that such blatant disregard for common sense comes into
play so rapidly. While the City leaders did nothing to halt this clear
disaster in the making, both Director Snow and the County’s Supervisors
can’t seem to get out of the way of this train wreck. It simply does
not matter if the police and the residents of Coastal Inns and Suites
“get along”, it will not eliminate the growing possibility of a major
catastrophe. Crime, incident reports and the indifference by the Del
Norte Sheriff’s Office will likely continue on the path forward. The
City Council will have to pay for the mistake of not doing something
about the problem when they could have. Chalk another one up for our
illustrious Mayor at the time, Blake Inscore. It is curious that the
City’s residents are still “Okay” with this behavior within the City’s
limits.
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