Brady Johnson: Thank you for speaking with WVIK news today 5th Ward Alderman Dylan Parker. On Monday, October 13th, the City Council voted 6 to 1 to pass a social service ordinance. For listeners who may not have been following the ordinance process, can you summarize briefly what the ordinance is about?
5th Ward Alderman Dylan Parker: Sure. The ordinance creates a regulatory framework for social service providers in Rock Island, specifically homeless shelters and some related services. It creates a licensing system. So if a nonprofit organization is going to operate that type of facility in Rock Island , they need to get a license from the city to do so.
Johnson: And what is the intention, the purpose of this ordinance now that it has been passed?
Alderman Parker: Yeah, it's multifaceted. There were concerns about the quality of some of the service providers in Rock Island. So neighbors of these facilities, you know, these are really difficult situations where we recognize the need to provide services for the needy and the poor, while at the same time recognizing that these facilities sometimes have a disproportionate impact on their neighbors. So neighbors of these facilities had asked for the city to get a little bit more involved. The intention is not to regulate these facilities out of operation or anything like that, but to create a system where if there are concerns or issues brought forth about these facilities, that the city has a way to address that, to hold providers accountable, and to make sure that something is done when issues are brought up. Additionally, there were concerns about these facilities centralizing in one neighborhood in the Quad Cities, specifically downtown Rock Island. We've seen an influx of new providers entering Rock Island, downtown Rock Island. And so part of the intention with the ordinance is also to address land use concerns like centralizing these facilities in one neighborhood.
Johnson: And as you mentioned, the onset was not to regulate any social service organizations, but to provide a framework for any issues down the line. So the city has a way, a process of addressing it. And I know the ordinance is grandfathering in a lot of the current operations that are in downtown Rock Island. I know some residents and organizations have raised some concerns that it would inhibit future social service operations in Rock Island. I don't know if you've heard these concerns and how would you like to address those?
Alderman Parker: Yes, I certainly have heard them. Like I said, part of the intention is to address concentration of these facilities in Rock Island. So there is an element of truth to the accusations. For example, absent the city council grandfathering in The Third Place Quad Cities, the new facility in downtown Rock Island, they would not be eligible for their current location. They're too close to an existing homeless shelter in downtown Rock Island. That's one of the land use limitations in the ordinance is that you can't be so close to another homeless shelter. You can't be X number of feet from public park, a school, daycare facility, certain sensitive areas in Rock Island. And so, for example, had we not grandfathered in The Third Place, they would not be able to operate in that location. So there are some restrictions. We recognize that. Again, the intention is to make sure that these facilities are not concentrated in one neighborhood. There are areas in Rock Island where such facilities could open. It's not a blanket prohibition on future facilities. But we did intentionally make sure that these can't be concentrated in one area.
Johnson: And I know you and other alderpersons on the dais have mentioned, like, homelessness is not just a Rock Island issue. It's a greater Quad Cities, a national issue and that we need to work together. And that was kind of one of the reasons you mentioned of, like, not having a hub in downtown Rock Island. Have you been speaking with other municipalities? Have you been hearing from other aldermen and women about ideas of how to work with other municipalities in addressing these issues that way, it's not just on Rock Island?
Alderman Parker: Not really, unfortunately. I've been on city council for eight years now. And so, of course, over the years there's been conversations and dialogue. I meet regularly with some council members from other communities. The issue is discussed. However, there's never any sort of clear plan for how we address this as a region, which is very badly missing, in my opinion. Part of this land use restriction in the new ordinance is sort of an acceptance on Rock Island that, well, we're not seeing any action from our neighboring communities to address this. And so it's kind of like setting a boundary for Rock Island. Like, like, well, okay, if other communities are not going to have these facilities in their community to address their poor, then Rock Island is going to draw a boundary and say, well, we're not going to be the only place in the Quad Cities that allows these facilities or has these facilities open. I do hear anecdotal horror stories about other communities bringing unhoused or people experiencing quality of life crises to our community. That is a very real thing. And a lot of people don't want to acknowledge that. It's not very pleasant. But anecdotally, I have constituents in downtown Rock Island that have told me that they see emergency responders bringing, like I said, other people into our community because we have the facilities, of course, and that makes sense, and I understand that. However, when other communities don't have such facilities. It results in, again, this challenge concentrating in our community, while other communities just sort of shrug it off over to Rock Island.
Johnson: And at this point, is there anything I may not have asked you about the social service ordinance and the discussion of homelessness and the greater Quad Cities that you think listeners should know, or anything I need clarification on?
Alderman Parker: I appreciate the question. It is a very nuanced and complicated subject, and that is very easily stereotyped and sort of able to make assumptions as to what's going on here. From the very beginning, I have tried to articulate that this is a compromise. This is a difficult issue resulting in people being unhappy on both sides. You know, social service providers and their supporters, very rightfully so, have a good point where they say, you know, banning homeless shelters or, you know, banning camping, which this ordinance does not do. But other communities have done things like that. You know, we can't ban homelessness out of existence. That's not the solution. The solution, of course, is more housing. And that's why I have repeatedly called on my colleagues on city council to pass a local real estate transfer fee that can generate some revenue for the city of Rock Island to fund housing programs in our community. Because the solution to homelessness is housing. Right. But that also doesn't negate the fact that these facilities really do have impacts on their neighbors. And I'm not making a value judgment. I'm not saying whether it's good or bad. I'm simply acknowledging that if you take a stroll down Third Avenue in Rock Island where these facilities are located, you see a preponderance of broken windows, fences that property owners have had to put up at their own cost, and a variety of other impacts on neighbors that people in other communities that don't have these facilities don't have to deal with. And so from the very beginning, I have said that this is a compromise. This is not banning homeless shelters. This is not trying to ban homelessness out of existence. There certainly are people in downtown Rock Island who would like a much stricter ordinance that we passed, really going after our legacy social service providers in downtown Rock Island. I don't think that's appropriate. My colleagues on city council clearly don't think that that's appropriate. But at the same time, we do need to be responsive to some of the concerns that people have about privacy, safety, security, hygiene in downtown Rock Island. So it's a compromise. And unfortunately, with a compromise, compromises are not popular. Right. And when you have a compromise, people on both sides of the issue feel unheard, feel dissatisfied with the result. But ultimately, that's what politics is about. And I know that compromise is an unpopular word in politics today. We're seeing it at the federal level, where our elected representatives cannot figure out a compromise with respect to the budget. However, good politics, good government, I believe, is a compromise. And so when both parties have valid points, I try to broker compromises. And I feel like that's what we did here in downtown Rock Island. And I'm very proud of that work.
Johnson: Thank you for coming in today and speaking with WVIK News Alderman Dylan Parker.
Alderman Parker: Thank you very much. Happy to be here.
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