MODESTO -- Modesto's blue-ribbon committee on the homeless is talking about stricter rules for people living on the streets and the charities that help them.
The ideas include potential restrictions on feeding programs, using safety officers to patrol city parks and advising the public not to give money to panhandlers.
The panel members also favor outreach programs focusing more resources on temporary and permanent housing for homeless people who want to change their lives.
City Council members appointed nine people to the panel in February to study better coordination of homeless services and public complaints regarding the homeless.
These days, Modesto seems divided between people whose focus is helping the homeless and those who've lost patience with problems of loitering, public drunkenness or Dumpster diving. According to minutes of committee meetings, the panel is talking about proposals more appealing to people in the second camp.
David Wright, an insurance business owner who is chairman of the committee, said members have talked with other cities such as Santa Maria, which is using park safety officers to control the homeless. The unarmed peace officers patrol the parks, enforce the rules and respond to problems.
The committee likes the program, and has also talked about using cameras to monitor parks in Modesto.
"What we've found out is that there is a lot of vandalism in parks, and it's not necessarily caused by the homeless," Wright said. "Cameras are one thing we've considered to deter vandalism."
The committee could recommend that the city limit outdoor food programs to a single park, although it hasn't reached a consensus. According to minutes of the May 9 meeting, Beard Brook Park on Dry Creek in south Modesto would be chosen, because of its "central location and closeness to shelters."
City officials believe that food donations in parks contribute to loitering, litter and sanitation problems in parks without restrooms.
Community activist Robert Stanford said it seemed to be a ploy to move the homeless from downtown and he doubted the legality of such a restriction. "I don't understand how you could pass a law making it illegal to feed a hungry person," he said.
One committee member is Pastor Darryl Fair, the board chairman for the Stanislaus Community Assistance Project. The nonprofit agency has come under scrutiny for a compensation agreement for business and program development director Joe Gibbs.
The agreement, paying bonuses on the government funding produced through his grant writing, allowed Gibbs to earn $627,000 last year. After The Bee exposed the compensation package, Gibbs, the husband of SCAP Executive Director Denise Gibbs, announced early this month he would forgo $436,000 in bonuses owed him.
Fair has advocated for housing programs and a day resource center, where homeless people could be linked with government services. He did not return phone messages to talk about his work with the committee.
When asked about Fair's involvement with the committee, Wright referred to Fair's statement to the City Council last week that he had worked to straighten out the problems at SCAP.
Wright added that other committee members favor the proposal for the day center, although funding for the project hasn't been identified.
Committee member Brad Wilson, development director for the Modesto Gospel Mission, said Fair's idea for a day resource center would take a good deal of time to develop. Although Fair is a volunteer at the Gospel Mission on Yosemite Boulevard, the day center would not be located there, Wilson said.
"He has been a big advocate for collaborating with the city on trying to make the center happen," Wilson noted.
The Gospel Mission official said he agrees with some of the committee's proposals, even though they might sound coldhearted. For example, he said, the public should be advised not to give money to panhandlers.
"With the chronically homeless, giving them resources can hurt them," Wilson said. "To get them back on track with their lives, you need to give them more sophisticated help and help with addiction recovery. You need to deal with the total person."
Committee members said they realize that proposals, such as surveillance cameras or a park patrol, might not be affordable for the city right now. Wright said the panel could deliver a report to the City Council's safety and communities committee within two months.
"It's our job to give them direction on the way to go forward," Wright said. "With the homeless, there are no easy solutions."
Bee staff writer Ken Carlson can be reached at (209) 578-2321.
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