Amarillo gets public input on Transformation Park plan

Amarillo’s community development department held a public meeting Thursday evening to discuss and get input from citizens on its Housing and Urban Development (HUD) American Rescue Plan distribution and its planned Transformation Park that will address solutions for homelessness in the city.

The city of Amarillo received $2.56 million in funds through HOME-ARP Allocation that can be used toward affordable rental housing, tenant-based rental assistance, supportive services and non-congregate shelter, which refers to separate living spaces.

Needs assessments and surveys will be ongoing to help form a plan by late February / early March that will be made available for public comment, before an allocation plan is presented to the city council for approval. The allocation plan for these funds must be submitted to HUD by March 31.

About 30 members of the public showed up for the meeting. A vast majority of the meeting was spent focusing on Amarillo’s plan to address its homeless population with Transformation Park. This cabin community is being planned adjacent to the new multimodal transit center near Southwest Sixth Avenue and South Bowie Street.

The community is planned as a multi-faceted shelter for the homeless population, which will encompass cabin homes, safe spaces, a day center and community services for those in need and to get help in finding a permanent solution. The planned park has fostered a private-public partnership that has already had major donations from Hillside Christian Church and Joe and Laura Street to help fund the project. A full commercial kitchen and food will also be donated to the project from another donor to aid in feeding those at the facility.

More:Amarillo shares plan for its Transformation Park to address homelessness

Concerns and questions brought up about the facility ranged from questions about security at the site, how to keep the site clean and how prepared it will be for weather issues like flooding, snow and tornadoes.

Jason Riddlespurger, director of community development for Amarillo, spoke about the scope of the project and took questions from the public about the Transformation Park plan.

“We have a lot of entities that are really looking forward to getting this built, but if we are going to do this right, we have to plan it out the right way to make sure that the project is able to accomplish its goal," Riddlespurger said. "We have had a lot of community partners that have stepped up to make this happen."

During his presentation, he spoke about the city’s concerns and issues about its homeless population being isolated from services and shelters and its negative effects on those experiencing homelessless and the consequences for the city.

He mentioned fires that have been caused due to homeless people trying to keep warm and the inability to produce solutions to get people off the street and into shelters.

Riddlespurger said that there could be more meetings with the public about the progress and ideas of Transformation Park, and he looks forward to getting more input or answering concerns from the public.

When asked about potential flooding, Riddlespurger said there was not a major concern due to the site of the proposed location and the work of engineers working on the project. He said that the key to making this work is planning and having the resources to help the homeless get the help they need.

During the meeting, Riddlspurger stressed that the city wanted to bring entities together to help with a citywide problem and did not want to be in the business of running a shelter. He said the current sheltering options are just not set up to efficiently address the number of homeless in the area.

Riddlespurger said that the facility will have three meals a day, showering facilities, bathrooms and a level of security with the ability to be able to store people's belongings. There will also be the capability to shelter animals on site, as this is a determination for some homeless to get into some shelters. He also said that the facility will be built so that it will not detract from the local aesthetics of the community.

Attending the meeting was Jeff McGunegle, a local resident who wanted to understand better what the city was planning to do with its homeless solution.

“I came to this meeting to see if the research has really been done on this project,” McGunegle said. "I think they have something here that can be incredibly special for the community, if it is done with a standard of excellence. To me, it is about looking at what other communities have done, rather than just brainstorming about what might work.”

McGunegle said that he was pleased that an experienced nonprofit like Hillside Christian Church was involved, and his concerns were alleviated in the meeting that this might be a barrier to some who may be averse to this type of entity managing the shelter.

“The response from the community last night was very productive and positive,” Riddlespurger said. “I appreciate the people that came out to learn more about this project and their input.”

For more questions or information about Transformation Park, the public is encouraged to contact the department at 806-378-3098 or go to their website at https://comdev.amarillo.gov/.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo gets public input on Transformation Park plan