by Travis Mateer
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been in an absolutely TERRIBLE mood the last few days, so I was tentative about showing up to City Council as the TRASH ALCHEMIST on Wednesday, but thanks to Virgil’s help, I was able to make a fairly coherent and mostly positive comment to the Public Safety Committee.
Despite Virgil’s presence, it was still a little awkward when I told Council that I’m calling this thing my ECLIPSE THEIR BULLSHIT trash removal and poetry reading event. Don’t worry, I assured them, I include LOTS of local entities under the “their” pronoun, not just them.
I left Council to meet with Parks and Rec (Virgil stayed in the car) feeling fairly confident, and the conversation went as good as a conversation can go with me when I’m caffeinated and optimistic sanity might slip in somewhere, but the takeaway is a HARD NO for any kind of cleanup on CITY land, like the West Broadway Island.
Am I deterred? Fuck no, I’m simply challenged to be more creative, like shifting to this idea: how about instead of putting trash in the trash bags ourselves, we simply hand out trash bags to those living on the island? Then, if they’re so inclined, they can put trash in the bags and bring it to the dumpster I’m still planning on getting placed in the parking lot of Imagination Brewery (if I can get permission).
If CITY land is a no-go, there are different jurisdictions to clean besides just city property, like the area Ryan Tollefson has been trying to address–that spot is NOT city land, it’s the Montana Department of Transportation, I think, but if my decade of experience tells me one thing, it’s this: NO ONE wants to be the entity responsible for cleaning up these “urban camps”.
I was going through a recent email thread to parse out the issue of jurisdiction, but some areas along the river continue to confound our local officials. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about:
What falls under the purview of DNRC? Amy, from DNRC, would like to set up a meeting to figure that out. I spoke with Amy and EVERYONE involved in this stuff over a year ago, so it’s kind of discouraging to see that this basic shit STILL hasn’t been figured out.
I went looking for additional insights and found something from DNRC about a bridge in Ravilli County that shows what they’re willing to claim when it’s NOT a homeless encampment we’re talking about:
Montana Code (MCA 70-16-201) provides for state ownership from the low water mark to the low water mark on navigable water bodies. Based on historical evidence the Bitterroot River is commercially navigable from the mouth of Jenning’s Camp Creek on the east fork (SW1/4, Sec.27, T2N, R18W) to its confluence with the Clark Fork River. Therefore, the state claims ownership of the riverbed below the low water mark between these two points. YC properties is seeking an easement and land use license from the DNRC (between the low water marks). DNRC has no jurisdiction above the low water mark. YC Properties has applied for permitting from other agencies with jurisdiction above the low water mark (Conservation District, Floodplain Administrator, US Army Corps of Engineers).
These conversations about ownership and jurisdiction are critical to cleanups–or, I should say, are critical reasons why cleanups DO NOT HAPPEN until they get to crisis-level-bad. Is this frustrating? Yes, tremendously so. Is it helpful to go on Reddit and say this? Probably not.
This is Ryan on Reddit, talking shit. As someone who has turned shit-talking into a formal methodology, I appreciate the sentiment, but doubt the strategy, and I say that as someone who wasted a stupid amount of time in comment threads when I first started blogging at 4&20 Blackbirds 14 years ago.
Since jury nullification is a thing, it’s interesting to document some examples of public sentiment, as expressed on Reddit.
If I didn’t have my Butthurt Self-Reporting System in place, I’d be in a similar state of perpetual martyrdom, like earlier this week, when I threw a big WOE-IS-ME party for myself because my big fat ego got the sads and needed petting.
I looked up “healthy ego” just to see what came up, and I like the first result:
Healthy Ego: Involves a profound self-awareness, recognising strengths and weaknesses, and a willingness to pursue self-improvement.
Unhealthy Ego: Characterised by a lack of self-awareness, often blind to personal flaws and resistant to acknowledging areas for improvement.
So, do I have a healthy enough ego to get the band back together for one last run at collaborating where now only frustration exists? Or, am I merely deluding myself as I slowly turn into this?
I didn’t always have to dress like a street character to get attention for my work, once upon a time I was actually paid to be the Homeless Outreach Coordinator of the Poverello Center. With that in mind, here are some links that show the scope of what I’ve been doing for more than a few years. Though this particular coverage starts in 2020, my work in the Reserve Street area goes back to before 2015, when this article was written.
Here are LOTS of links to show you I got the damn receipts for what I’m talking about:
On My Involvement With Missoula’s Reserve Street Homeless Camps (August 5th, 2020)
Reserve Street Camps Update And Interview Teaser (August 5th, 2020)
Cleaning Up The Homeless Camp: A Former Service Provider’s Concern (April 18th, 2021)
The Narrative Gatekeepers Who Congratulate Themselves In Public Op-Eds Are Undermining Cleanup Efforts At Reserve Street (April 20th, 2021)
Zoom Town: A Conversation About Reserve Street Homeless Camps (April 20th, 2021)
The Work At Reserve Street Continues… (April 26th, 2021)
A Video Statement Regarding Missoula’s Reserve Street Homeless Camps (June 21st, 2021)
A Compilation Of Links Regarding Missoula’s Reserve Street Homeless Camps And Who Benefits From Our Community Response (I’m Looking At You, Blue Line Development) (July 19th, 2021)
On Trying To Understand Martin Kidston’s Confusing Reporting Regarding Reserve Street Homeless Camps And MDOT’s Fence Strategy (July 29th, 2021)
After Years Of Inaction, Missoula City/County Leaders Are Claiming It’s Now Time To Clean Up The Reserve Street Homeless Encampment (December 6th, 2021)
How Will Private Security Patrol The Reserve Street Homeless Encampment? (January 6th, 2022)
Will The Countdown For One Reserve Street Bridge Dweller Become A Showdown? (January 24th, 2022)
What’s The Reserve Street Camp Plan Now That The Gates Are Up? (January 31st, 2022)
The Reserve Street Plan For Homeless Resident “A” Is There Is No Plan (February 4th, 2022)
Missoula County Shelter Project Coordinator, Casey Gannon, Is Either Lying Or Ignorant About The Reserve Street Homeless Camp (April 14th, 2022)
I Told You, I Told You, I Told You, But NOOOOOO, You Do This Shit Anyway (April 15th, 2022)
Preparing For The Earth Day Encampment Clean-Up (April 22nd, 2022)
40 Tons Of Homeless Trash Removed While Clueless Service Providers Allow A New Shanty Town To Be Built (May 18th, 2022)
Missoula’s “Authorized Camping Site” For The Homeless Refugees Of The Reserve Street Encampment Is An Unmitigated Failure (August 1st, 2022)
On Storing The Personal Belongings Of Homeless Tenants When Their Home Is The Great Outdoors (Or An Authorized Camping Site) (November 23rd, 2022)
Remembering The Summer I Helped Identify A Homeless Killer (July 26th, 2023)
If you appreciate all this context on homeless camps in Missoula, Montana, consider supporting Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) because it turns out I know a thing or two about this kind of shit!
Thanks for reading!