Is the Intoxicated Street People Task Force trying to help the community or are City administrators running the show?

The Intoxicated Street People Task Force, which was formed Nov. 2003, is made up of 20 volunteers from Winslow and surrounding communities who wanted to help fight the ever-growing problem of transients.

During their first meeting, which was held under the direction of Mayor Jim Boles and City Administrator John Roche, the task force talked about Winslow’s extreme problem with intoxicated street people.

After that initial meeting, the Task Force should have taken the helm of these gatherings, but a month later that still has not happened. Every week, the second item on the agenda is to elect a task force chairman and each week the task force declines to do so.

This task force still does not have a chairperson, and at each meeting the group is lead to the watering hole by City employees.

In my opinion, they cold accomplish a lot more by establishing a leader.

If the City wanted to tackle this problem themselves, why did they even bother creating this task force?

The second time the task force met, the Mayor suggested the group start brainstorming on different solutions and concerns that each volunteer possessed. City Administrative Assistant Susi Kaufman wrote their comments on a large piece of paper.

At the following meeting, the Mayor read the solutions aloud to the group and then directed the group to vote for five suggestions they felt were most important. The group did this by placing little red “dot” stickers on their five choices. After everyone present at the meeting voted, Kaufman listed the top five, which were:

Support efforts to create a shelter/rehab/detox center (with 25 votes).

Build a coalition with other border towns to develop a regional solution (12 votes).

Purchase liquor licenses from some local businesses (10 votes).

Solicit funds from the Tribes and form grants (9 votes).

City sales tax on all alcoholic beverages (8 votes).

As I thumbed through my agenda and informational packet for the following week’s meeting, I noticed the last voted-on solution was crossed out and added in its place was “Exclusion from the community if not a productive citizen.”

I thought back to the night when everyone voted, looked through my meeting notes and could not find or remember where the task force agreed to drop and add a solution.

I don’t know why a solution was dropped or who added this new one, but I do know the person who voiced this solution was City Administrator John Roche.

When I attended the meeting the following week, I was waiting for a member of the task force to say something about the missing solution, but no one did. It went completely unnoticed.

I am a concerned citizen who is looking for a solution to end Winslow’s problem with the intoxicated street people and I think a task force is a good idea.

One suggestion I would make would be to dig deeper and get to the real guts of what everyone in attendance is feeling. Listing pros and cons for every suggested solution is not going to get us anywhere.

This letter is not meant to upset, hurt or defray anyone on the task force. It is simply my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own.

I encourage feedback from any individual who would like to share their opinion on this topic. I think the task force needs to stand their ground on what they would like to see done and not what the City wants to be done.

If you, as a member of the task force, are devoting your free time and are concerned about this issue, take charge and do things the way you envision them.