Residents urge Shelton council to reinstate homeless task force and create mitigation site

Multiple Shelton residents used the council's public-comment period on March 18 to press the council to reinstate a local homeless task force and to plan a homeless mitigation site to provide immediate shelter, sanitation and connections to services.

Alicia Otto, who opened the set of remarks, urged the council to "reinstate the homeless task force" so stakeholders including nonprofits, faith-based organizations, housing authorities, healthcare providers and residents could coordinate "evidence-based" solutions rather than short-term fixes. Otto said a mitigation site would provide a safe, sanitary place to connect unhoused people with services and reduce harms such as discarded drug paraphernalia, human waste and litter.

Tanner Opherdahl, who said he works in utilities, echoed Otto's call for a mitigation site and described visible debris and concentrated trash in public areas. He said the situation had worsened over the previous year and that consolidating services could limit the spread of the problem.

Dave Redfin (transcript: Redfin) said he manages the Schultz and veterans village and advocated for a "homes first" model, arguing that stable housing with wraparound services reduces calls to first responders and opens hospital capacity. He cited a Washington State Health Care Authority report from June 2024 as an example of a statewide program that enrolled people and provided housing subsidies, case management and mental-health support; the meeting record gives approximate figures but the transcript contains digitization errors and those numbers were not read back for confirmation.

Business owner Susan Pollard said she operates a downtown business and described ongoing problems near the recovery cafe where people have camped and where she has made multiple non-emergency calls about public urination and damage to property. Pollard said she had called non-emergency police six times in the previous two weeks and had submitted a code-enforcement complaint form.

Resident Dean Jewett urged the community to engage constructively and said his own views had changed after conversations with other residents and public commenters.

Why this matters: public commenters framed homelessness as a complex issue involving shelter availability, behavioral-health needs, substance use and economic strains. Commenters urged the council to coordinate stakeholders, plan a mitigation site that prioritizes sanitation and service referrals, and consider a "homes first" model that pairs housing with wraparound services.

What the council said: The city did not take formal action on these public comments at the March 18 meeting; the speakers asked the council to reinstate the task force and pursue planning for a mitigation site. No council motion or formal vote to create a task force or site is recorded in the transcript.

Ending: Commenters asked the council to act through coordinated stakeholder planning; staff and council will have an opportunity to place related proposals on a future agenda if they choose to pursue the task-force reinstatement or mitigation-site planning.