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Residents urge town action on street safety, homeless loitering and oversight of group homes
Summary
Public commenters at a Georgetown Town Council meeting described nighttime crossings, intoxicated loitering near retail sites, and a perceived rise in group homes; they urged verification of providers and stronger oversight of services funded by state agencies.
Several Georgetown residents used the public-comment period to press the Town Council for action on street safety, visible intoxication and loitering, and oversight of group-home providers they say are contributing to people living on or near sidewalks.
A resident who spoke during public comment described repeated late-night crossings and people loitering near a liquor store, saying, “She even brings out chairs for them to sit in when they're too drunk to stand up.” The commenter said they regularly pick up trash and refuse left on public property and identify Shepherd's Place as a recurring source of materials left on the street.
Linda Dennis, who said she chaired the town housing task force in 2012, told the council that the number of group residential facilities has grown since her task force report and urged officials to verify how many providers operate in town and what services they are actually delivering. “If they're receiving state funding, either from the division of mental health, the division of developmental disabilities, there are expectations of those programs to provide certain services. The question is, do they get those services?” Dennis said.
Dennis said some people are expelled from programs for noncompliance and then end up roaming the streets. She urged the council to confirm provider registrations and the services those facilities are required to provide, and to relay concerns to the state departments that fund them.
Other residents said the visible problems include public vomiting, people sleeping or lingering near storefronts, and repeated unsafe crossings at night near intersections and gas stations. Shelley Wise said she wants the town to “come back to what it was” and described being afraid to walk or bike in town because of recent incidents; she added that she feels empathy for people who appear intoxicated but wants town safety restored.
The comments combined public-safety, nuisance and social-service concerns: callers asked the council to verify the number and type of licensed group homes, confirm whether state-funded providers deliver the therapeutic services tied to that funding, and to increase enforcement around intoxicated patrons in and around retail locations.
The council did not take formal action during public comment. Residents requested that staff or council follow up to verify provider counts and funding sources.
