DULUTH – A proposal to hire a downtown street outreach worker with federal pandemic relief money has met resistance from City Council members and the local NAACP.
"We have people relying on us to make it perfect, and it is not perfect," Council Member Derek Medved said at Monday night's meeting. "We should be 100 percent ready to own it, and I'm not."
Other council members urged fast action given the need for the position — increased mental health crises and safety issues that the pandemic has exacerbated.
"People are sleeping in the skywalk, defecating in doorways," said Council Member Roz Randorf, who represents downtown. "If we don't have this, businesses will close. ... Let's not let perfect become the enemy of good."
The council tabled the proposal Monday and will take up the issue again at its Sept. 13 meeting.
The three-year pilot program would cost a total of $300,000, paid for with the $58 million the city received through the American Rescue Plan. The Greater Downtown Council would work with Block by Block, the company that staffs and manages the eight-person Clean and Safe Team, to hire and manage the street outreach worker.
"It's a very proactive position, and it's really about building a rapport with individuals on the street," said Kristi Stokes, president of the Greater Downtown Council. "This is exactly what these funds are for. We've seen more individuals facing crisis during the pandemic, and this is hopefully our way of connecting with them and giving a hand up."
The proposal came from city administrators after meeting with downtown business and property owners in recent weeks. City Attorney Rebecca St. George told the council last week that "whoever takes this position will be working closely with the police, but the idea behind it is that rather than policing people and rather than criminalizing some of the behavior that's happening is recognizing that people need more resources."
