GREEN BAY (NBC26) — The Whitney Park Neighborhood Association spoke with city, county and non-profit leaders at their fall meeting, pushing for short term solutions to issues they say are caused by people who are currently unhoused.
- Whitney Park neighbors say their summer was difficult due to people sleeping in the park, trash, theft and excess noise.
- The neighborhood association brainstormed possible solutions to the issue, from keeping the park lit overnight, to increasing surveillance.
- The Green Bay Police Department says it increased its patrol of Whitney Park in September, and they had a decrease in the number of disturbances and ordinance violation calls.
The conversation around the unhoused community in Green Bay continued at the Whitney Park Neighborhood Association quarterly meeting on Tuesday. This follows a packed community event last month, where community members across the county came together to discuss solutions.
Residents of the neighborhood, which is located on the East Side of Green Bay, say people are leaving trash and personal belongings at Whitney Park. They also say people are vandalizing playground equipment, going to the bathroom outside and being too loud for the neighborhood.
Longtime resident and president of the neighborhood association, Garritt Bader, says it was the worst summer he's seen.
"In my 13 years of living around the park, I've never experienced it to this degree, and it was eye-opening," he says.
On Tuesday, community members and residents came together for a conversation with local leaders, as the neighborhood association pushed for quick solutions.
“It is a public park, people have a right to use the park, but how you use it and how you leave it matters to quality of live for people who not only want to use the park, but those who are in the neighborhood as a whole," Bader says.
The group brainstormed possible short term and long term solutions. They suggested reducing park hours, turning park lights on over night and increasing the frequency of maintenance and cleanup.
Green Bay Police Department community services division Captain Tom Denney, says last month, they added another officer to the Whitney Park Area and increased crime prevention calls. He says they're spending at least 15 minutes every day at Whitney Park.
Denney says in August, they made about 3 crime prevention calls, and they responded to 11 disturbances and 17 ordinance violations. In September, they made 65 crime prevention calls, and they responded to 2 disturbances and 3 law violation calls.
"I think establishing a consistent presence there, and just be consistent about enforcing law violations or ordinance violations when we see them helps," he says.
GBPD also goes with the City of Green Bay Parks Department once a week to cleanup the park.
“This is a complex issue, and us cleaning the parks, or us enforcing the laws and ordinances there, while I think there’s real value in it, it does little to address the root cause of the issue," Denney says.
City council president, Alyssa Proffitt, and county board supervisor Emily Jacobson attended the meeting.
Jacobson says enforcement is a city issue and the county is limited in how they can help.
“Because a lot of our stuff is mental health related, we have to adhere to HIPPA laws, and so we’re meeting with them at the Micah Center, at St Johns– we can’t be in the park," she says. "The county is actively wanting to work with the city, and I think we are."
Jesse Brunette is the executive director of St. John's Ministries, one of the local organizations helping people who are experiencing homelessness. He says the organization is also limited in the amount of support they can provide.
"As a ministry, we are not supported, nor do we receive funding from state or federal governments, so we are simply a ministry trying to respond to the community needs as best we can," Brunette says.
The City says people can request maintenance or service to the park through a form on the city website.
If there are issues that need to be addressed, people can also call the non-emergency police line by dialing 920 448 3208 ext. 8.
