Request for Conway homeless shelter fails

CONWAY — Greg Pillow, president of the Ministry Center’s board of directors, said he is “disappointed and sad” after the Conway City Council didn’t approve the group’s proposed homeless shelter.

However, he said he is optimistic that the group will find another location to establish the shelter.

The Conway Planning Commission voted 7-1 in June to approve a request for a conditional-use permit for a crisis homeless shelter, which the Ministry Center wanted to open in a building on its campus at 766 Harkrider St. The facility would have provided temporary shelter — a maximum of 45 to 60 days — with up to 30 beds. The plan was to operate the shelter from 4 p.m. to 9 a.m. daily.

The City Council, which voted in June to hold the request in committee, didn’t vote on the request at the council’s July 28 meeting, which meant the proposal failed, 7-0. City Council member Mary Smith was absent.

“They never voted; they never made a motion,” Pillow said of the council. “We had a couple of hours of discussion, and no one would make the motion. I feel like, based on their comments, they didn’t dispute the fact there was a need; they didn’t dispute the fact we were capable of meeting the need. They just didn’t like the location,” he said.

City Council member David Grimes agreed.

“As we told everyone there, there certainly is a need for a place like this, no question about it,” Grimes said. “The question at hand was a land-use issue: Was this the best place to do it? Ultimately, we decided it was not the best place to do it. Nobody questioned the need, or the group’s good work or good intentions. This just wasn’t the place to do it.”

Grimes said the City Council “pledged” to work with the Conway Planning Department to help the Ministry Center find a “suitable place to do this because it absolutely is needed in our community.”

Owners of businesses near the Ministry Center and proposed homeless shelter addressed the Planning Commission in June with their concerns, which included the impact on property values and transients loitering near area businesses.

The Ministry Center asked the City Council in June to hold the request in committee so the council could address concerns at two public meetings.

Pillow said other shelters in Conway stay full, and Ministry Center board members hoped its shelter could be “a holding place” temporarily for those people. Pillow said in an earlier interview that background checks would be conducted on residents and that no sex offenders would be allowed. Also, residents would have to participate in the Ministry Center’s case-management program.

He said the Ministry Center gives people tents now instead of providing shelter.

“I haven’t talked to my board about it yet, but I can’t help but think we’d pursue it maybe at another location,” he said. The Ministry Center Board meets the fourth Thursday of each month, he said.

He said the board’s crisis-housing committee likely will meet sooner than the full board.

“This is the truth; we’re optimistic about the future,” Pillow said. “We firmly believe God will provide another solution. Until then, we’re going to keep meeting needs and share the love of Christ for people who need it.”

Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.

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