Kalispell Warming Center from Peggy KochJudi Funk
From: Peggy Koch <pkpurplelady20@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, May 24, 2024 3:20 PM
To: Kalispell Meetings Public Comment
Subject: EXTERNAL Kalispell Warming Center
To: Mayor Johnson and Kalispell Council Members:
We are Carl and Peggy Koch, in our late 60's and live in Kila. We do our shopping and recreation in and
around Kalispell.
We appreciate the opportunity to voice our concerns on how our daily lives have been affected by the (so
called) homeless. We appreciate your request to hear how The Warming Center has negatively affected
the surrounding communities. We attended the May 13th meeting, and was disappointed the meeting
was monopolized by the employees, volunteers, and board members of The Warming Center, even after
The Mayor requested hearing from people who have been negatively impacted.
We moved here six years ago. We lived 35 miles south of Seattle. Over the years, we watched Seattle
deteriorate, as a result of the homeless. Unfortunately the homeless started spreading into the
outlying communities affecting our town.
In Kalispell, during the first few years, we did not see many homeless or evidence left behind around
town. On the northside of town where the stores are located for shopping, we saw panhandlers at
intersections, and noticed signs going up prohibiting panhandling. We were impressed thinking the
homeless situation would not become like Seattle. Sadly this is not the case in downtown Kalispell.
The last few years, after The Warming Center opened, we've watched the homeless situation grow worse.
Peggy enjoys reading and was excited for children to be able to walk or ride their bikes to the
library. Today, we would not allow our children to go to the library alone. Sometimes she does not feel
safe outside of the library. She is seriously considering purchasing an electronic reader so she does not
have to ask Carl to accompany her because she feels unsafe going by herself (which impacts her
freedom). The library is for people to read, to be able to spend time there reading or researching. In the
recent past the upstairs is full of homeless people charging their phones, taking up most chairs and
tables. The building smells, and security guards have been hired. There used to be a bus schedule,
listing the times for transport from The Warming Center to the library and back again, encouraging them
to hang out in the library. Since the controversy on renewing the Conditional Use permit, we have not
seen the homeless in or around the library and not as much around town as usual.
Peggy enjoyed breakfast with our daughter at Skyes, when they left to get in the car, there was a
homeless man yelling about how he hated women.
We receive services from Albertsons, The Vision Clinic and a Hair Salon in the area of The Warming
Center and there again Peggy has to decide if she wants to go by herself. People don't use the new trail
through town or enjoy the parks.
We, as taxpayers, pay for these facilities. We now avoid enjoying these places because we don't know
what we'll run into. Our freedoms are being denied. It's like living in the Seattle area again.
Thankyou - Calr & Peggy