Residents press council over porta‑johns, trash and mosquitoes at homeless camp; city says services scheduled

During public comments at the June 4 Alamosa City Council meeting, a resident described sanitation and maintenance problems at a local homeless encampment and urged the city to act on porta‑john servicing, trash removal and lighting.

Speaker identified as Mister Perry said the bathrooms had been “full right now. They have been for the last 2 weeks,” and described limited restroom access and trash accumulation. “There’s people that don’t even live there. They’re using their tents as storage,” Perry said, and added concerns about mosquitoes, lack of lighting and inaccessible restroom facilities for people using walkers or wheelchairs.

City staff later replied during staff follow‑up and said the contracted service frequency for trash removal and porta‑john servicing is at least once a week and that an ADA porta‑john unit had been ordered. City staffer Heather Sanchez said she would “connect with staff to find out how we are on the Porta Johns and the trash removal and all of that” and share updated dates. A follow‑up update noted weekly servicing is the service agreement and staff would double‑check vendor compliance.

Council members and staff also noted that mosquito control is handled by the Mosquito District rather than the city and encouraged residents to contact the district; staff said they would pass along the complaint. City signage and camera checks were referenced in follow ups: a staff member said a camera view suggested the dumpster at the site was not full and the camp “looks fairly clean,” and that a recent volunteer cleanup had been conducted about two weeks earlier.

The council did not take formal action during the meeting beyond staff commitments to verify service schedules and follow up with the Mosquito District.