The El Dorado City Commission voted against a plan to turn a vacant building into an overnight homeless shelter at their meeting Monday night. The 3-2 vote came after much discussion and weeks of public comments regarding the permit for the proposed shelter, which would have been located on West Central Avenue. The city’s planning commission already voted against the permit nearly two weeks ago. Commissioners Sydnee Scribner and Kendra Wilkinson were in favor of the permit’s approval. Wilkinson cited the number of homeless people in El Dorado that have been served by the Butler Homeless Initiative has continued to increase since 2020; as of this year, that number is 309, including 56 children, most of whom were under 8 years old. “I was saddened and sickened by the thought of 56 children suffering from homelessness in our community through absolutely no fault of their own…these numbers should not be acceptable to any of us,” Wilkinson said. Those against the shelter said its location would have been too close to surrounding homes, as well as safety concerns. Commissioner Kelly Tetrick said that while he supports the planning commission’s vote, he added that the city should continue to support the Butler Homeless Initiative, and help them find an alternate location. “I don’t feel the building is large enough to accommodate what they’re hoping to do. When you see the numbers…I think the shelter would hold 30…I think we need to try to find a larger location,” Tetrick said. The Butler Homeless Initiative said in a Facebook post that, while they were disappointed with the outcome, they will continue to provide a hot meal every evening at the First Church of the Nazarene at 202 North Taylor, food and other resources to help those escape homelessness.
Source: KAKE – News
