Talks stall between Warming Center, neighbors

Conversation has stalled between the Flathead Warming Center and a group of residents in the surrounding area tasked with addressing community concerns about the homeless shelter’s presence in Kalispell.

A meeting planned for Monday, Aug. 26 between the center’s leadership and the working group of concerned neighbors was called off, prompting group members to appear at City Council’s Monday night work session, informing council of the halted talks.  

In an email sent on Aug. 22, the Warming Center’s board of directors said that the meeting would not be able to meet expectations set by the neighbor group. Facilitators were prompted to cancel the meeting.  

The statement from the Warming Center indicated that the shelter has been expected to address issues of transportation, waste management, policing bad behavior and patrolling public parks, which occur off the shelter’s property. 

“The [Warming Center] remains open to conversation,” the statement read. “But to be clear, the [Warming Center] cannot agree to take on duties off of [the Warming Center’s] property, such as supervising people out in the community. Any duties of that nature are outside of [the Warming Center’s] legal, moral and practical control.”  

Marshall Taylor, a resident on Fifth Avenue West North and member of the resident working group, told the council on Monday that shelter leadership rescinded from all future conversation. 

“The neighborhood that I represent here this evening, does not find it meaningful to continue in discussion with the Flathead Warming Center as they have made it clear that they do not want to continue in discussion with us,” he said.    

Warming Center Director Tonya Horn said in an interview with the Inter Lake that claims that the shelter does not want to hold any further conversation are untrue.  

“It was not that we we're not willing to meet, it was decided that that meeting wasn’t going to be productive because we couldn’t meet the expectations of that meeting,” Horn said. 

“I am not all that surprised because I believe that unrealistic expectations of what the Warming Center can control has underlined this whole process from the beginning,” said Councilor Ryan Hunter regarding the stalled talks. “The whole process has been doomed to a negative outcome simply from the framing it started out with.” 

Horn said the designated area in the neighborhood that the shelter would be responsible for has not been defined. 

“That’s part of the issue,” she said. “The neighbors were trying to define it. It is well beyond what our capacity is." 

CITY OFFICIALS introduced discussion on revoking the low-barrier North Meridian Road shelter’s conditional use permit in the spring, citing complaints from nearby residents and businesses that included a spike in homeless people in the surrounding neighborhood, an increase in law enforcement service calls and a failure of shelter leaders to be receptive to public concerns.  

A formal hearing was held in July where the council heard public comments – both for and against the shelter – and analyzed emergency call data. Warming Center leadership defended and responded to community concerns, arguing that all conditions within its conditional use permit had been met.  

Following the hearing, the council opted to delay action on the permit, giving shelter leaders 60 days to work with the surrounding community to find amicable solutions before the topic returns to council on Sept. 16.  

Michelle T. Weinberg, an attorney representing the shelter, has since warned the council that revoking the Warming Center’s conditional use permit would violate state and federal law, and result in litigation.  

Former Kalispell Public Schools superintendent Mark Flatau volunteered to facilitate discussion between the shelter and the select group of concerned neighbors. Chamber of Commerce President Lorraine Clarno and former Kalispell police chief and Republican state Rep. Frank Garner also aided in mediating discussion.  

The first formal meeting held on Aug. 19 was attended by several Warming Center board members, one shelter staff and around a dozen residents who live near the shelter. 

Topics discussed included transportation of shelter guests on and off the premise, community outreach, waste management and security and safety, according to an email signed by Flatau, Clarno and Garner.  

Horn described the meeting as well organized.  

“We’re very grateful for the mediators and the work that they put into this,” she said.  

A second meeting was scheduled for Monday, Aug. 26.  

“There was an expectation moving forward for the meeting that the FWC would come to the neighborhood with actionable and measurable items to address the concerns we had sent forth,” Taylor said.  

“There has been more conversation than there has ever been before, that’s progress. Meeting neighbors, that's progress. But to the point of coming up with solutions that we’re able to do, we haven’t made progress with that.”   

Facilitators Flatau and Clarno declined to comment, and Councilor Chad Graham did not respond.  

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at junderhill@dailyinterlake.com and 758-4407.