Chillicothe — Debate about the “Anti-Camping” legislation since the beginning of the year has raised protest by defenders of the homeless…and did again Monday evening in Chillicothe Council. Council overrode Mayor Luke Feeney’s veto of the “Anti-Camping” ordinance / Chapter 555 update on May 12th.
Tannis Cydrus recalled “Coffee with a Cop,” and suggested similar coffee events with the council “to get to know one another.” The following speaker briefly supported that idea.
Bill Showman said he was angry at council, and brought handouts for the six who voted to override the “Anti-Camping” veto, but dropped them on podium and walked away.
Hear these three speakers who directly or indirectly touched on the issue in the below video.
A.J. Taynor also criticized Chillicothe Council for not getting out notifications and for a lack of video coverage.
Taynor has been video-recording council sessions during the homeless discussions, and said “I started the Chillicothe City Trackers [Facebook page] because I believe there is a very fundamental and crucial and, honestly despicable, lack of transparency between city council and community.”
Council has been providing live and archived video on Facebook and YouTube under current council president Kevin Shoemaker and before, but Taynor noted that when council meets out of regular chambers, there is no video for the public. It’s so easy to use smart phones to get video – why not?
Council clerk Kennedy Moss pointed out that she does audio-record council sessions, at least.
Email notifications from council have also not been getting out to Taynor. Hear Taynor in the below video.
Part of the apparent reason for the legislation, the accumulation of trash at homeless camps, is now in the process of being cleaned up by volunteers.
A former camp has been cleaned, with another cleanup scheduled. Learn about that in “First Volunteer Cleanup of Homeless Camp Accomplished in Chillicothe.”
