Residents and city councilor upset after removal of encampment next to courthouse

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She is one of the organizers for the upcoming garden which has received a lot of attention including from people living in the encampment, with talks of them helping tend to the garden. But now with these people being forced out into the streets again, leaving her and other people in the town upset.

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“People were talking about planting things, they were talking about looking after the seeds, they were starting to pick up garbage,” said MacDonald

City councilor Brian Skakun said he’s upset over the city’s decision.

“These folks wanna get involved and they want to be a part of the solution and we just can’t shuffle them along,” said Skakun

Skakun visited the encampment on Tuesday and met with some of the people living there. He says the people had too many possessions for them to pack it by the time that they had to leave.

“Some of the folks looked in rough shape…some of them had all their worldy possessions with them, some of them were sleeping in tents, on mattresses wherever they can, and it’s really concerning,” said Skakun.

The city has plans to create an affordable housing unit for those in need, but Macdonald says those plans need to be expedited.

“Some place where people can set up their tents maybe the possibility of tiny homes can be explored. The bottom line is that we need to find out a way to meet people’s needs,” said MacDonald

Macdonald says that organizers of the community garden are hosting a rally at the encampment site on Friday at 1 p.m. and is asking the community to join in.