Homeless Issue Public Comment from David DominguezAimee Brunckhorst
From: david dominguez <onpoint50@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, January 20, 2023 12:59 PM
To: Kalispell Meetings Public Comment
Subject: EXTERNAL Homeless Issue
My name is David Dominguez. I live in Kila and have since 2019. I'm a retired Police Officer. I spent my entire 25 plus
years as an officer in the City of Chico, Northern California. Chico, like many cities in California, have a SEVERE homeless,
transient issue. One, that has essentially taken over the city. There is no where you can go in that city without seeing the
transient problem. There are panhandlers at every shopping center entrance/exit in the city and on every corner in the
commercial areas. It hasn't always been like that. When I started my career in 1988, there was a small population of
homeless, but there were ordinances in place restricting their movement. As the population grew, the city tried to
provide assistance. That 'assistance ' back fired in such a way, they are still, to this day, paying the price for it. They
provided a place to sleep at the fairgrounds when the temperature dropped to a certain point. This manifested into the
city even providing transportation to the shelter. One stipulation was the occupants had to be sober. Those that showed
up intoxicated were refused entry, which as everyone knows, turned into a law enforcement issue when you try to tell
an intoxicated individual they couldn't do something. Arrests went up so much, the district attorney requested that an
evening in the drunk tank was sufficient. Why ? Because homeless individuals do not, I repeat, do not pay fines. If they
were capable of paying a fine, chances are, they wouldn't be homeless to begin with. When court appearances were
ignored, warrants were issued. Soon we were arresting homeless individuals, over and over. A revolving door. Then they
thought that if the homeless had a place to eat, one they wouldn't panhandle as much and two, they'd be less likely to
be intoxicated when they arrived at the shelter, which by the way, was now a new building , put up specifically to house
the homeless. Unfortunately, that building was across the street from Costco, so when the homeless was kicked out in
the morning, where do you think they went ? So a location was built to provide (3) meals a day for the homeless. Once
again, transportation was provided to get them there. It got so politically ridiculous, new police officers, in training, were
required to spend a day there serving meals. All of this did nothing more but to increase the homeless population in
Chico. The word of shelters and meals spread far and wide, to the point that when the Police Dept tried to finally battle
the problem, based off citizen group's pressures, they created a chart, to show the council just how far some of the
homeless had traveled from to get to Chico. During this time, the city tried a facelift effort, to draw people avoiding
downtown businesses, back in, due to loss of revenue in shops, stores and restaurants. People got tired of homeless
begging for their doggie bags when leaving restaurants as well as the constant smell of urine in every doorway of every
business downtown. So they took the city's downtown gazebo area, and cemented in the entire park. With a small stage
for concerts, chess/checker's benches and of all things, fountains that shot out of the ground. It quickly became the
location for the homeless to bathe. They hung out there all day, unless it was meal time at the 'Jesus Center', in which
case they were transported too. I can continue with all the additional problems that arose every time an attempt was
made to alleviate the severe problem, but I think I've made my point. If the problem isn't stopped right off the bat,
slamming a door in the face of it, it will get worse. You offer a hand to try and help and five years from now, you'll be
wondering where it all went wrong.
If you have any additional questions that you think I may assist with, please feel free to ask. Good luck.
David R Dominguez
Onpoint Firearms
Kila, Montana
(406)407-8425
1
Aimee Brunckhorst
From: david dominguez <onpoint50@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, January 20, 2023 2:10 PM
To: Kalispell Meetings Public Comment
Subject: EXTERNAL Pic
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I thought I'd add this to show you just how crazy it got in Chico. This is the chart the Department put together to show
how far homeless individuals traveled from to reach Chico.
David R Dominguez
Onpoint Firearms
Kila, Montana
(406)407-8425