St. Cloud Council Discusses Concerns With Homeless Shelter

ST. CLOUD -- The St. Cloud City Council shared their concerns with the Lincoln Center homeless shelter during the open discussion portion of Monday night's meeting.

Councilmember Goerge Hontos says he's received a number of calls from business owners in the area near the center who say the facility has become disruptive to their operations.  Hontos says while trying to serve the homeless population it does not come without grief and aggrevation.  He says the businesses have incurred a number of expenses improving their security and adding fences, and the number of crimes being reported in the area has gone up a great deal.

Hontos encouraged the city staff not to give the Lincoln Center any breaks at all when it comes to following the rules.

He also questioned how much money the city has spent on the number of police calls to that area.

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Community Development Director Matt Glaesman says they are staying on top of it as much as they can.  He says the Lincoln Center has had an ongoing issue of staffing.  Glaesman says the city has had weekly meetings with the center since it opened in November.

Council President Jeff Goerger says while homelessness is an issue that needs to be addressed, criminal activity is still wrong and needs to be dealt with and he encouraged businesses in the area to continue to call the police.