NEWS

Councilor urges action on shelters

Hutchinson says Rochester, Somersworth should follow Dover's lead

Kyle Stucker
kstucker@seacoastonline.com
Dave Abbott, right, gets a hug from a person using the warming shelter at St. George Maronite Church in Dover on Dec. 30 due to the snow storm and cold temperatures. [File photo: Deb Cram/Fosters.com]

ROCHESTER — City Councilor Jeremy Hutchinson will formally request Rochester and Somersworth "swiftly" relax restrictions within their overnight sheltering permits so that they’re in line with the permits Dover has already issued.

Hutchinson, expressing frustration several times during a phone interview Monday, said permits in Rochester and Somersworth shouldn’t limit private entities to 48 hours at a time and three operations a season.

"Dover’s showing us that (two nights) in a weeklong cold snap isn’t going to cut it," Hutchinson said, referencing the fact that two Dover churches have secured and operated overnight warming centers under their city’s looser, largely limitless permits. "Dover’s making great strides. It’s not perfect, but it’s still 100 percent better than anything we’re doing."

Going further, Hutchinson said he believes limits in Rochester and Somersworth, and the way the public may perceive them, may help explain why no entities have yet applied for a permit in those cities.

"I think it’s kind of like government stepping in the way of a private entity doing some good work," he said.

Comparatively, Hutchinson said the temporary shelters in Dover show the permits can have few hurdles, run smoothly under the oversight of a pool of over 100 Strafford County-trained volunteers, and are well-received by area houseless people in need and by business leaders willing to support them. The most recent Dover shelter operation served 29 people at St. George Maronite Church on Jan. 8.

"It would be in our best interest to do the same thing," Hutchinson said, later stating he finds the disparity between the cities frustrating because Rochester residents have stayed at the Dover shelters.

Rochester City Manager Blaine Cox created his city’s permit, an inclement weather version of its existing special event permit, on Dec. 12. 

The permit allows a private entity like a church, organization or other property owner to operate their building as a temporary overnight warming shelter when said entity sees fit between November and March, so long as the building used has working fire alarm systems and smoke detectors.

Cox and other city officials have said the 48-hour and three-time limits are based upon the ones within the city’s standard special event permits, as well as city zoning.

The city of Somersworth recently followed suit and adopted the same permit, following the recommendation of two City Council subcommittees. 

When Rochester created its permit, Dover officials said they didn’t need a formal permit process to authorize private entities to operate as temporary emergency shelters. They also said the city wouldn't put hard limits on such operations.

"We can’t just give carte blanche for an entire season ... (but) many cold weather events last longer than two days," Dover Fire Chief Paul Haas said last month.

Dover operated a bedless overnight warming center inside its McConnell Center on Dec. 19, then allowed the Knights of Columbus to operate a similar one within St. George on Dec. 20. Since then, the Knights of Columbus have opened St. George doors several nights, while St. John’s Methodist Church has done so once.

Last week, Dover City Council did adopt a formal permit process to help streamline and standardize the Garrison City’s process. The permit allows entities to operate up to 15 days at a time, with a clause that if additional days are needed the entity must cease operating the shelter for 24 hours before it can resume. There are no limits on the number of permits a single entity or building can obtain, unlike the permits in Rochester and Somersworth. 

Hutchinson, the chair of the Tri-City Mayors’ Task Force on Homelessness, will formally make his request through Rochester and Somersworth city channels. He said he hopes his proposal will be addressed in earnest at both Wednesday’s Rochester Public Safety Committee meeting and the Jan. 21 Rochester City Council workshop.

"This is another example of somewhere the city of Rochester has the opportunity to pull back their red tape," said Hutchinson.

In the meantime, the Knights of Columbus are working with other Dover churches and entities to secure additional buildings for overnight sheltering operations, Chancellor Dave Abbott told task force members at a meeting last week.

The hope is to build a network of buildings that can step up whenever there is a need. Abbott has expressed disappointment the Knights and St. George couldn’t continue their Jan. 8 operation for a second night, due to other commitments.