Police review land owner’s request to roust homeless

Diana Sahagun

Wednesday, June 13, 2001 | 10:46 a.m.

Boulder City resident William Smith, who owns the property that has become known as "Tent City," has formally asked Metro Police to remove the homeless people who live there.

But police are not rushing to evict the squatters near Union Pacific Railroad tracks at A Street, instead reviewing their options and trying to find a gentler way to deal with the homeless.

Metro's legal staff is reviewing the documents filed by Smith to determine the best way to follow the letter of the request, Officer Kendall Wiley, who specializes in working with the homeless, said this morning.

Wiley and her partner spend their days working with the homeless who live at Tent City and nearby, making sure they are safe and receiving help if they want it. She said the homeless know their days are numbered, but there has been no deadline set by either Metro or the city as to when the property will be cleaned up and the people removed.

This is the second week workers from the Salvation Army have been speaking with each homeless person living at Tent City, offering shelter and services to those who will accept it.

Duane Sonnenberg, administrator for homeless services for Salvation Army, said when the interviewing began last week, 150 people were living on the site. That number has dwindled and fluctuates between 30 and 50, as the homeless find shelter or relocate.

The interviewing will likely be completed at the end of the week, he said.

Four people Tuesday took shelter at the Salvation Army, he said. But others simply refuse help.

"I had one gentleman say he was doing fine and that he'd rather the people who need the shelter use the shelter," Sonnenberg said.

Compounding the problem is a shortage of beds for the homeless, with the recent demolition of Catholic Charities' shelter, which accommodated 175 people.

Local and state officials Tuesday celebrated the groundbreaking for the new Catholic Charities' St. Vincent's Plaza, which will add 475 additional beds for the homeless when it is completed in one year.

The new plaza will also house the social services programs that provide food, clothing and other help to the needy and working poor.

The outreach efforts by Salvation Army last week came a month after Smith was served a routine nuisance/abatement letter by the city of Las Vegas, giving him two weeks to clean up the property or face a potential $500 fine or six months in jail.

The city has shifted responsibility to removing the homeless to Metro, because the land is private property.

The city will not likely have any other role in the matter, because only Metro can remove people from private property, Neighborhood Services Director Sharon Segerblom said.

Segerblom said the city doesn't usually go onto private property to clean up hazards, but the shantytown may be a special circumstance because of health concerns. There is no running water or bathrooms at the site, and human waste and trash is strewn about.

She emphasized that no one will be turned away if they need shelter, job placement, or other services. But if they choose not to accept the services, there's not much the city or anyone else can do.

"This is private property, and I can't make someone go to a shelter," Segerblom said. "What we will do with them I don't know."