Madison City Council pushes Reindahl Park proposal to committees

From our content partner, Channel 3000.

A proposal to end a homeless encampment at a Madison city park failed to pass Tuesday night.

The proposal, initially put forth by District 17 Alder Gary Halverson, would have returned Reindahl Park to a normal city park and move the homeless population there to a plot of land on the city’s south east side. Halverson used a rarely used procedural motion that would have put the plan in place immediately if it received enough votes.

Tuesday night, however, the motion failed on a 14-6 vote.

The proposal will now move to two council committees before returning to the full council.

Under the proposal, the city would set up restrooms and handwashing areas on a plot of land near Femrite and Agriculture Drive.

Ahead of Tuesday night’s vote, the proposal had received criticism from Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and other homeless advocates. Their biggest complaint was the plan offered no time for the dozens of people living in the park to find a new place to live.

“I wouldn’t really call them solutions as much as I would hiding,” said Evelyn Gildrie-Voyles, a volunteer with Community Action Against Reindahl Eviction told News3 Now’s Adam Duxter on Monday.

Halverson told Duxter the proposal takes action, something he believe the city council has failed to do.

“I think the city council has failed us for a number of years in coming up with a resolution to help those individuals experiencing homelessness,” Halverson said. “We’re basically tasked with solving a problem that many many years of councils in years previous to us have yet to do anything to solve.”

Halverson said his constituents are worried about violence and drug use in the park. Halverson said three people died from overdose in the park last year.