UPDATE: ‘I ain’t homeless no more’; community rallies in support of man in need
By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
The city of Hays says it’s doing everything it can to address a zoning issue involving a homeless man illegally living behind Wolf Furniture Galleries, 4213 Vine.
An Oct. 30 notification letter from Planning, Inspection, Enforcement Superintendent Curtis Deines to owner Preston Wolf declared that Arnold’s shelter had to be gone from the Wolf property by Friday.
Hays city commissioners brought up the issue at the end of their meeting Thursday night.
Eber Phelps said the Hays Police Department “does not go out and harass anybody and run them off.”
“That’s been a rumor going around that police have been hard on people out there and that couldn’t be further from the truth,” he said. “Actually, they go out there (near Walmart) and tell them all the assistance that’s available (locally).”
He specifically mentioned the Ellis County Ministerial Alliance and First Call for Help.
Phelps said he’s talked previously to Police Chief Don Scheibler about the issue of people panhandling in the Walmart shopping area.
“He said there’s three categories. People that have broken down on the highway and don’t have a way to get the money for a new transmission or whatever, so their only avenue is to possibly ask for contributions to get themselves on the road. There are organizations in Hays that will contribute to that.
“The next group of people that are out there are literally homeless. A lot of them have health issues and what have you. They’re just there trying to get enough money for their next meal.
“There’s a third group Scheibler contends have a place to live, have a vehicle, and don’t want any assistance whatsoever. They just like to panhandle for money, I guess.”
City Attorney John Bird got involved after the PIE department determined the shelter created by James Arnold should not be maintained in a commercially zoned area.
“The city manger directed all the staff to back up and look at the whole situation with some compassion,” Bird said. “There isn’t anybody who is getting disenfranchised or getting kicked out of the place they are. … The city is doing everything, as far as I can tell, to address the legal problem – the zoning issue – without having the unintended consequence of having somebody ground up by the system.
“That’s not going to happen while this city manager (Toby Dougherty) is here or I’m here,” Bird added.
Bird told Hays Post Friday morning “the city will not take any action to evict Arnold or remove his structure until we know all the facts.”
According to Bird, the city first became aware of the situation when Arnold appeared in court for allegations of threatening someone with a knife.
Bird said the city is looking into pending court matters and might be able to get help for Arnold through the court system. According to Bird, the Ellis County Sheriff and county attorney’s offices normally get involved in any sort of mental health petition.
“It was never our intent to move quickly (on this),” Dougherty said to Hays Post Friday. “After the notification period is up, we’ll look again at all our options.”
Vice-Mayor Shaun Musil and Mayor Henry Schwaller both complained Thursday night about inaccurate statements made on social media regarding a Nov. 14 Hays Post news story about the situation.
“Maybe you should ask before you go on social media and complain how bad our city is, because our city is pretty darn good,” Musil said. “I really believe in this community and there ain’t a person in this town that wouldn’t help a homeless person if they had the ability to do that.”
Musil said he read on social media where people have offered the use of a camper for Arnold.
“That’s our community right there, whether he takes advantage of it. So possibly that brought out a good thing.”
Schwaller urged anyone who’s angry to get together and form a homeless coalition in Ellis County.
“Take that anger and that time it took to post those comments and solve this problem. … We have a lot of resources but not enough,” Schwaller said. “That’s what makes this community great. When we have a problem, we solve it.”
