SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Sioux Falls City Council chair Rich Merkouris told his fellow councilors and the public Tuesday night that homelessness was his motivation to serve on the council.
“This is why I ran for city council, was the issue of homelessness,” Merkouris said Tuesday during the council meeting.
Wednesday in an interview with KELOLAND News, he reiterated that impulse.
“This is a major reason why I wanted to participate is to make sure that when we’re making decisions for our community, we’re considering those who oftentimes get forgotten,” Merkouris said.
Democratic state lawmaker Kadyn Wittman of Sioux Falls, who serves as minority whip in South Dakota’s House of Representatives, has similar convictions. Wittman has worked at the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House, one of Sioux Falls’ two shelters for people experiencing homelessness, and she was among the people who spoke out against the proposed ordinance when it was up for its first reading at the city council’s Aug. 6 meeting.
“My goal was to show up at city council, clearly state my opposition to it and then follow up with what I think could be some guardrails that would be appropriate to incorporate in the ordinance,” Wittman said Wednesday.
The morning after that Aug. 6 meeting, Wittman emailed city councilors a list of possible amendments. And now, her input is reflected in the changes unanimously approved Tuesday night when the proposed ordinance was up for its second reading.
“We had a lot of feedback from various people in the community, Representative Wittman, and then I spoke specifically with Des Moines and Spokane who had similar ordinances that they brought forward at times and learned a lot from them and then that brought some language of what I thought was appropriate for our ordinance,” Merkouris said.
“We’re hearing passionate people on both sides, and I think it’s just striking that correct balance that we want to have clean, safe parks,” city councilor Jennifer Sigette said Wednesday. “We also want to take care of anybody who is experiencing homelessness.”
The amendments would require the city to try to connect a would-be violator with an organization that helps people battling homelessness. Another amendment would require at least a 24-hour delay before the city could remove a temporary dwelling. Finally, a third amendment would require the temporary storage of personal items taken from a removed encampment or tent.
“These amendments were really important because it codified process and system for how we enforce it,” Merkouris said. “I was really nervous about just putting out a law and what could be done with it in the future.”
“While I struggled with this ordinance from the beginning, the version that we have seen come forward with the amendments is one I believe our law enforcement can appropriately and responsibly use as a tool,” Wittman said.
The city council still has to approve the amended proposal at a third reading; this is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 19.
