NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Metro Parks board members heard ideas during a special called meeting for Brookmeade Park but say they’re still far from a solution that removes the much-talked-about homeless encampment.
There was cautious optimism in the air as Metro departments briefed the board on how Mayor John Cooper’s $50 million plan could provide housing for the estimated 1,900 homeless in Nashville.
April Calvin of the Metro Homeless Impact Division detailed how some of the money could be used as incentives to motivate developers into building very low-income housing.
“We’re utilizing and leveraging funds. Not just local dollars, but federal dollars also, to help combat this problem,” Calvin said.
She said that in her eight years working for the department, this is the first time she felt they were able to meet the need with funding that could soon be available.
Calvin said that while most of this American Rescue Plan funding would provide for building homes through developers, another $9 million could be used on gap housing.
That would include the use of micro homes, expanding our mobile navigation centers, and collaborating with more hotels that set aside units for the homeless.
She also said another $9 million would be earmarked for wraparound services such as mental health and addiction resources that could help the estimated 45 people currently living in the encampment.
Other Metro departments said they too were optimistic about what this funding could do in the long-term, but Dr. Michelle Stelle of the Metro Parks Board said she was hoping for more immediate solutions.
“We don’t get to a solution in the next two weeks — we don’t get to a solution in the next 30 days — and the residents of Brookmeade have to live with this. I think we’re definitely going in the right direction, but we still don’t have an answer,” Stelle said.
If money were the answer, one board member noted that Metro Parks director Monique Odom was managing with one of the smallest budgets in the city for a department their size. Their solution? More money and more resources.
Council member Gloria Hausser of District 22 responded by saying, “then ask for it.”
Council members Thom Druffel, Sharon Hurt, and Courtney Johnston were also in attendance and shared their collected frustrations over something they agreed should have been addressed years ago.
Noticeably missing was council member Dave Rosenberg who represents the district where Brookmeade Park is located.
Council member Courtney Johnston of District 26 told the board that it’s not a matter of if the council will approve the mayor’s proposal in October. It’s how this money will be used that has her concerned.
“What I don’t want to happen is for us to allocate those dollars and it not be the solution; we still have the problem, and we’re out the $50 million,” Johnston said.
When neighbors had their turn, we heard ideas. Some were on the short-term, while others took a more layered approach.
Chris Scott was one of the first to speak and told the board it could be as simple as removing the hundreds of shopping carts in Brookmeade.
“The cleanup starts from the back end. From the very back end. And as we move forward, they go because we’re coming,” Scott said.
Scott told the board he spoke with people living in Brookmeade before the meeting and found some willing to help if there was some promise of housing.
“We’ve got winter coming. These people are going to be freezing out here. There’s not enough housing. If you want to do something with that money — water, sewer, and electric coming up out of the ground. We’ll put a micro house on top of it,” Scott said.
Members of Reclaim Brookmeade Park have been big advocates of micro homes as an immediate solution but say the board should be open to even more suggestions. One idea was to appoint a non-board member to a Metro Parks committee for the sake of adding more diverse voices from the community.
Rebecca Lowe of Reclaim Brookmeade Park said these are solutions we could work toward today, but also suggested Metro Parks at least take responsibility for what she calls a delayed response to the crisis.
“We would not be here if you had treated our park like all the other parks. It’s very difficult to say because I don’t want this fight to continue,” Lowe said.
