Clearing notice papers were placed on poles and individually handed out Monday at unhoused encampments on the Thomson property located off of South Rogers Street near the Duke Energy substation.
The notice states that personal property stored at the location violates Monroe County Code 257. On Dec. 8 personal property found at the location will either be taken to the Monroe County Highway Garage or disposed of immediately if deemed as trash or harmful.
Individuals will have one week to claim property held at the Garage, after the holding period property will be deemed abandoned and disposed of in accordance with county code 258.2, the notice states.
Richard Crider, county fleet and facility manager, said the notices were due to storage of personal property, trash and overnight camping. He said the area is a public health hazard due to needles and human waste, and that encampments at this location have been cleared multiple times.
The property has Duke Energy easement trails where tents, suitcases, bikes and clothes can be found.
“There's a fence that runs the southern border of the property, and someone's actually cut some holes in the fence,” he said. “Anywhere there's a trail that runs off of those easements, there's a campsite. The property is literally dotted with them.”
Beacon Executive Director Forrest Gilmore said camp removal is a failure of our society to treat people with dignity and compassion. It devalues those who face poverty, mental health illnesses, substance use issues and disabilities.
When one camp is removed, most people move on to the next camp to have another place to live, Gilmore said.
“We just move one more camp and one more person, human being, out of the place that they find warmth and find place to sleep and a place to survive, and we just, you know, do that one more time without dealing with the core problem,” Gilmore said.
Trying to get unhoused individuals to move somewhere else is already a challenge due to such individuals facing issues that do not give them the strongest skillsets, he said. Cold weather only makes it harder.
In addition to the property already being private and having no-trespassing signs, starting Dec. 8, the property will be designated as “authorized personnel only,” Crider said.
