Volunteer tired of picking dirty underwear out of bushes in Marshall Park

Melanie Allen said at a city meeting this week that she was tired of picking dirty underwear out of the bushes of Marshall Park.

Allen is a longtime member of the Historic Ocean Springs Association that leases the park on Washington Avenue at the downtown entrance.

“HOSA spends $12,000-$15,000 a year on Marshall Park,” she told the mayor and Board of Aldermen. “And I spend hours and hours every month removing personal items from the park.

“Marshall Park is not a bathroom. It’s not a bed and breakfast. It’s not a short-term rental.”

The situation with the homeless has changed, she said, and frankly, it’s more difficult dealing with them. She said shop owners along Washington Avenue report problems with loiterers. Allen told the board that she personally had a man become aggressive with her when she was leaving a store because she didn’t give him money.

She said that in the late 1990s, the city had “a bit of a problem,” but then it was one person and everyone knew his name.

“We could tell him ‘don’t sleep under the bandstand,’ ” she said.

“But these people scare me.”

Is there a solution?

Alderman Chic Cody said the standard response in the past has been to close the park at certain hours, but Allen said that’s hardly fair to the rest of the town and called for some sort of summit on how to best deal with the situation.

She pointed out that the city’s soup kitchen is downtown. A staunch supporter of Lord is My Help, she said the location may be a contributing factor because once people are fed, they’re released in the center of a booming central business district.

A Methodist church has a community center-type service for the homeless, but it’s east of downtown.

Not only is Marshall Park an issue, but also the benches in front of the Chamber of Commerce and the library downtown are where 12-15 homeless men and women regularly hang out.

Allen said she saw a man assault another man near Marshall Park who appeared to be disabled and the assailant was “so drunk someone had to help him back to the park.”

Alderman at-large Bobby Cox said he has had complaints the last two weeks and Alderman Matt McDonnell said he hears about the problem when he goes to shops or restaurants downtown.

Homeless can sue

“I thought we agreed to move these people to other parts of the city,” McDonnell said to the board. Mayor Connie Moran suggested the police “escort them out of town.”

But other aldermen said the police are reluctant to do that and Allen agreed, saying she and others have researched cases where the homeless or someone representing them have sued cities when they were relocated.

Outside the meeting, Allen explained said the city owns Marshall Park and HOSA leases it. HOSA pays to have the lawn mowed and the gazebo painted. They pay for upgrades to the grounds, for utilities and annual Christmasfestivities. She said she realizes the situation isn’t going be be an easy fix.

“But it’s meant to be a park,” she said. “And when it is, it’s safer for them and us.”

This story was originally published June 23, 2016 at 2:36 PM with the headline "Volunteer tired of picking dirty underwear out of bushes in Marshall Park."