Roseville residents speak out against new Gathering Inn site location

A handful of Roseville residents pleaded with the Roseville City Council to not provide The Gathering Inn a letter of support for expansion program funding during Wednesday's City Council meeting. The Gathering Inn is a nonprofit organization that provides shelter and accommodations for those experiencing homelessness in Placer County. Gathering Inn Interim Care Programs director Ron Arneson, Chief Executive Officer Keith Diederich and Chief Operating Officer Rolande Tellier asked Wednesday for a letter of support to submit with The Gathering Inn's application to the United States Department of Social Services. The Gathering Inn wants to open a housing and medical respite site at 300 Elefa St. in Roseville, which is approximately 800 feet from Woodbridge Elementary School. The Gathering Inn has a 100-bed emergency site in Auburn, as well as a six- and five-bed interim care program where those experiencing homelessness can stay after being discharged from the hospital. Since 2009, Sutter and Kaiser in Placer County have partnered with The Gathering Inn to create the interim care program, which provides continued medical aid for homeless individuals who cannot afford to stay in a hospital or who lack health insurance. The Gathering Inn is applying to the U.S. Department of Social Services to expand the program's medical respite and recuperative program. By expanding this program, The Gathering Inn could help provide temporary care for those experiencing homelessness and poverty in Placer County, according to Tellier. The Gathering Inn receives 300 referrals annually from Sutter and Kaiser hospitals in Placer County, Tellier said, but due to The Gathering Inn's limited space, 200 referrals are denied. The referrals are typically for homeless individuals coping with fragile medical conditions, such as heart failure. "The Gathering Inn is the only medical respite in Placer County," Tellier told Roseville City Council. Residents near Elefa Street are concerned about the safety risk of adding a respite program to the neighborhood and are frustrated that The Gathering Inn did not communicate to residents about a program possibly being constructed there. "Transparency in proposing a project is key," two Los Cerritos Neighborhood Association members said during Wednesday's meeting. "The Gathering Inn needs to mail postcards to all property owners, not just the renters within 500 feet of the property line, inviting them to an informational meeting to provide residents with an opportunity to gather and hear about the proposal and ask questions they may have." According to Gathering Inn representatives, verbal outreach was completed the weekend of July 16. Gathering Inn Strategic Services director David Loya said during Wednesday's meeting that he spent up to three hours last Saturday on nearby streets, including Washington Boulevard, Los Vegas Avenue and Treasure Lane, "knocking on doors to speak with residents" about the respite program. Loya said he also visited the businesses and business park behind Washington Boulevard. Loya said he talked to about 16 residents. "I have signs up in my house on my fence that say daycare is open with my phone number all the time and I never got a knock on my door," said Roseville resident and private daycare owner Dawn Marshall. "They (The Gathering Inn) said that they're not taking mentally ill people. However, on their flier, it states that it is severe mental illnesses that they will be dealing with. I'm a single mom with an infant. And if these people are allowed to just walk out the door, that's adding more homeless people to this area and a bigger problem." Roseville resident Sarah McGeorge also spoke. "I think it's a fantastic idea, I think the location is just wrong," McGeorge said. "The (Gathering Inn) site in Auburn is not a family neighborhood. There are not small children that live right next door that walk to and from school. We already have a park in our neighborhood that is unusable because of the homelessness issue." Ellen Dubach Riley of Roseville visited The Gathering Inn's Auburn location Wednesday and advocated in favor of the Roseville site. "I didn't see dangerous people (at the Auburn site)," Riley said. "And I hear a lot of concerns that people are afraid that these residents are going to be a danger to that community. I understand that The Gathering Inn already serves people that have addiction issues and they already serve people that have mental illness. But that's not what this is. It's a medical respite for people who have medical conditions." Two men who received care at The Gathering Inn also spoke in favor of the respite's Roseville location and how receiving the proper care saved their lives. After further discussion and clarification among the council, City Council members agreed that more community outreach must be done by The Gathering Inn. "We have the community here," said Roseville Vice-Mayor Bruce Houdesheldt. "Some who understand, recognize and support medical respite but some who need their questions answered. You don't need to rush this process. You need to do that outreach." Roseville City Council voted to table this item until the Aug. 17 council meeting, when The Gathering Inn will give an update on the progress of community outreach and clarity. The vote was 3 to 2, with Councilman Tracy Mendonsa voting no and Councilman Scott Alvord abstaining. In other news Roseville City Council approved an agreement and contract to begin the 2021 General Fund Arterial Resurfacing Project during Wednesday's meeting. According to Roseville Engineering manager Stefanie Kemen, the resurfacing project's scope will consist of restoring portions on Pleasant Grove Boulevard, Douglas Boulevard, Cirby Way, Rocky Ridge Drive, South Cirby Way and Old Auburn Road. The streets' restoration is part of Roseville's preventative maintenance program to preserve existing pavement by completing affordable resurfacing on seven- to 10-year intervals, according to Roseville senior engineer Noah Siviglia. "The work being completed will include crack sealing dugouts, repaving of pavement or failed pavement sections," Siviglia said. Roseville City Council unanimously approved the agreement. The resurfacing portion is anticipated to begin in mid August and be completed by the end of November, according to Sivglia.