Proposed Ordinances Regarding Homeless Issues Public Comment from Lawrence DimmickAimee Brunckhorst
From: Lawrence Dimmick <Idimmick58@icloud.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 21, 2023 11:44 AM
To: Kalispell Meetings Public Comment
Subject: EXTERNAL Proposed Ordinances Regarding Homeless Issues
Dear City Council,
I am emailing you to comment in support of the proposed ordinances to deal with the homeless situation here in
Kalispell. I am a retired law enforcement officer with 33 years of service in Los Angeles County, both as a deputy sheriff
and as a district attorney investigator. I have had years of experience dealing with the homeless. In the course of my
lifetime in Southern California, I have seen Los Angeles, a previously beautiful city, turn into a dystopian nightmare, in no
small part due to the homeless population.
Most homeless people have substance and alcohol abuse issues, as well as mental health problems, frequently all three.
These factors affect their behavior, which is unpredictable and often violent. These unstable individuals make our parks
and other public places unpleasant and unsafe for the general public.
Wherever there are homeless, they leave trash, urine, feces and discarded drug paraphernalia, turning our previously
pleasant public spaces into open air sewers. This has been happening in Depot Park and along the new bike path
through town. The Kalispell Police have been cleaning up after the homeless in Depot Park, which should not be their
job, and now the gazebo must be blocked off to keep the homeless from using it as a campsite and a toilet. I have heard
many people say they do not feel safe using the bike path, and I personally have seen the piles of trash left there by the
homeless.
Some people argue that we must be "compassionate" and that the homeless "have rights too." The rights of the
homeless to camp in parks, urinate, defecate and use drugs in public, do not supersede the rights of everyday citizens to
enjoy the parks, bike paths and other public areas in safety, free from trash, feces, urine and discarded needles. The
citizens pay for these areas with their taxes. The homeless do not.
The more services you provide the homeless, the easier you make it for them, the more homeless you will have, and the
greater the problem will become. This is a fact, and we are seeing it happen here in Kalispell right in front of us. This is
truly the "Last Best Place." As the City Council, you have the power, responsibility and authority to maintain the quality
of life here in Kalispell. Please do not allow Kalispell to become Los Angeles.
Sincerely,
Lawrence Dimmick
Kalispell
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