Aldermen split on referral for human waste/paraphernalia cleanup; motion to send to public safety fails

An aldermanial motion to refer the city’s plan for mitigating human waste and drug paraphernalia in public spaces to the Public Safety Committee failed on July 7 after several aldermen opposed the referral.

Alderman McLaurin (motion) asked the board to convene a public meeting to discuss responsibility for cleaning human waste and paraphernalia appearing in parks and sidewalks, noting downtown service changes and population shifts following housing-program transitions. The motion sought a public forum with police, fire, public-health and downtown stakeholders present.

Supporters called it a public-safety and public-health issue; opponents questioned whether public safety was the correct standing committee and whether the city lacked capacity to clean all affected areas. Alderman Davis suggested inviting the Board of Health to participate; the motion was later amended in discussion to include board-of-health representation but ultimately failed when the board voted.

Recreation staff told aldermen the department already follows internal policies: staff carry rubber gloves, trash pickers and sharps containers and coordinate with police for sharps removal when necessary. They urged recognition that police and recreation staff have limited capacity to respond to every instance and that coordinated strategies involving multiple agencies would be needed.

Ending: The board did not approve a referral to Public Safety at the meeting. Aldermen and staff discussed alternative approaches to coordinate departmental procedures and public outreach but provided no formal action item after the vote failed.