Union County Warming Station goals are to provide a warm place at night for the homeless living in La Grande. That goal will be partially reached when the shelter on Third Street is functional. That vacated office building is ostensibly the only available spot in town. The warming station’s website states its mission is “to provide a welcoming, safe, and compassionate place where all people can stay the night and are offered resources and pathways toward housing stability.” I think we can all admire and support such a mission; so I encourage those who agree to make a donation of time or money to the Union County Warming Station.

What are the objections to setting up a warming station in the selected location? La Grande downtown urban renewal efforts have been underway for decades, making progress, losing a little, regaining a little, etc. For years, considerable expense has been put into makingdDowntown La Grande a beautiful place to attract viable businesses, the shopping public and tourist traffic.

Since Al Adelsberger’s name has been thrust into this discussion, consider why he might object to a warming station opening its doors across the street from one of his projects. His philanthropy has been a labor of love for La Grande and Eastern Oregon. And he has been appreciated for his generosity and large-scale improvements to the downtown area, including the New Town Square on Washington Avenue and major construction and renovation projects on Adams Avenue, to no personal gain. Could it be he wants to see Market Place Fresh Foods and surrounding small businesses thrive?

For the plight of downtown merchants in La Grande, just walk the sidewalks of Adams Avenue to see several vacant street-front business locations. This attests to the tenuous existence of those who open a business hoping to survive long enough to profit from the effort and employ local citizens. The La Grande City Council, having involvement with the Urban Renewal Agency, should have no difficulty in understanding the desire of downtown merchants to keep the area safe for shoppers and free from the optics of Burnside in Portland.

Marco Rennie, co-owner of Market Place Fresh Foods, shared that he recognizes the need for a warming station but that it’s not fully addressed by this Third Street plan. Since Fresh Foods has been open, he has donated more than 12,000 pounds of food, amounting to $3,000 a month, to Community Connection. He does not consider himself an antagonist, but he would like to see more effective planning.

The failure is on multiple fronts. The Union County Warming Station began the process of getting permits to use the property at such a late date that any opposition to it would put them in the exact place they are now. The city council chose not to notify local businesses, practically ensuring an appeal would come forth. The selected site is measurably inadequate to the task at hand with maximum capacity accommodating 26 people of the many more in the community who are in need of that service. Adequate planning for this shelter was observably absent. The location was determined by a rushed expediency, not a reasoned, well-planned approach.

Compassion is not accomplished by locating a warming shelter in a place that pits members of the community against one another. Nor is compassion being extended to those who are expected to bear the burden while trying to run their businesses and survive into the next year.

What have we learned? Now, not later, is time to plan for a fair location for a warming station that meets everyone’s needs. The La Grande City Council is not the Politburo. This is a time for affected and concerned citizens of La Grande to come together.