Residents press council over shelter petitions, safety concerns near schools

Public comment at Tuesday’s Barnstable council meeting focused heavily on two citizen petitions and on a proposed shelter location that residents say sits too close to schools.

Eric Schwab told the council its recent action bought ‘‘an extra month to organize’’ and urged the administration to proactively facilitate negotiations with Catholic Charities and petition signers. John Julius, speaking later, said he represented ‘‘every single constable taxpayer’’ and offered a packet of public‑safety notes: he said council records show ‘‘805 police calls in the last eight months’’ tied to the shelter area and read a state database count he described as ‘‘32, count them, level two and three registered sex offenders’’ (13 of those listed as homeless).

Julius urged the council to schedule the open‑meeting hearing requested by more than 500 petition signers and warned he would seek state review if the council did not respond. Councilors acknowledged the level of public interest, said meetings with the zoning board had been held, and said plans were in place for a larger public venue (a July 22 high‑school session) to accommodate overflow.

Council response: several councilors, including Vice President Clark, said they supported a larger venue to ensure wide access and asked town staff to coordinate the process. Councilor Doo confirmed meetings with the property owner had occurred but said petition signers had not been engaged in the same way and asked for a proper meeting to address the petition’s content.

What’s next: councilors said they would continue to coordinate with petitioners, town staff and the zoning board; the council did not take action on the location during Tuesday’s meeting.