City Council discusses downtown homelessness

RITZVILLE – The City Council meeting, May 17, produced a discussion on downtown homelessness.

At-Large Councilwomen Marsha Smith started the discussion by asking about an individual – identified by Police Chief Dave McCormick as John Tryon—sleeping in front of a closed store front on Main Avenue.

“There is no ordinance against sleeping on Main,” McCormick said.

He went on to say there is an ordinance against sleeping or camping in City Park, but not where this individual is living.

Homelessness is a problem faced by many cities, including Spokane, he said.

“But I am not a City Council member in Spokane,” Smith said.

Mayor Pro Tempore Scott Yaeger, who presided over the meeting in the absence of Mayor Linda Kadlec, called the homeless issue in town “unsightly.”

The council agreed by consensus to have City Clerk/Treasurer Julie Flyckt contact property owners and see if they would like to move this individual.

This is not the first encounter with a homeless man on Main Avenue.

Last July, a man was sleeping on a bench outside Collective Adventure. At that time McCormick said, “he is living there.”

In other business, the council passed motions to allow the mayor to sign three agreements for financial software and IT systems. The agreements are with Springbook Software, DataPro IT Services and Express Bill Pay.