Reconvene talks between shelter, neighbors

Mediation between the Flathead Warming Center and surrounding residents and businesses is on ice.

An impasse arose last month following the first formal meeting between stakeholders that was intended to open constructive dialogue about the low-barrier shelter’s impact on the Meridian neighborhood. Kalispell City Council called for the creation of the work group earlier this summer following a discussion about revoking the shelter’s conditional use permit based on complaints of increased homelessness and law enforcement calls in the area.  

The work group was supposed to present Kalispell City Council with its potential solutions by Sept. 16. That seems unlikely to happen now. 

The second meeting was abruptly called off by facilitators after Warming Center representatives determined that talks had become unproductive. While shelter officials say they remain “open to conversation,” they took issue with the scope of what they should be held accountable for, including issues of transportation, waste management, policing bad behavior and patrolling public parks. 

Three mediators, led by former Kalispell Public Schools superintendent Mark Flatau, have volunteered to facilitate these discussions. There is enough impartial and qualified leadership in the room to sort through the multitude of impediments that are likely to emerge amid passionate dialogue. That’s part of this process. 

The Warming Center dismissing culpability is not helpful. The shelter has a public responsibility to ensure its mission and services are not a nuisance to nearby residents or hinderance to surrounding businesses. Quite frankly, it’s the neighborly thing to do. 

But the question remains — where is the line in the sand? 

Asking the nonprofit to police and respond to issues beyond the immediate neighborhood is excessive and would be a capricious standard no other service provider or business would be — or should be — asked to meet.  

What’s more, saddling the Warming Center with a disproportionate range and scope of accountability stinks of a gotcha ploy to hold the shelter responsible for any homeless activity in Kalispell. As if the center itself is the cause of all homelessness in the city. 

It’s time for this work group to reconvene with reasonable expectations on all fronts. Don’t take the ball and go home because the first round of talks didn’t go your way; move the ball forward to find amicable solutions so this critical safety net can continue to coexist with its neighbors.