Nov. 12, 2024 1:30p
(WGTD)---A new voice has been added to the chorus of people complaining about downtown Racine loitering and bad behavior.
Laura Sumner-Coon, whose Racine Literacy Council building is across the street from the boarded up, and fenced-in former YMCA building, went before the city council Monday night.
Since becoming executive director over two years ago, there's been an increase in loitering and drinking on RLC property, and even camping out in the parking lot during off hours, she said. "Not only have they left suitcases, broken alcohol bottles and trash in their wake, but we have seen what appears to be trafficking activity," she said. "We've had a man climb on our roof to store his stuff. People are drunk or high, wandering through our lot--punching in the air and screaming." Others have been caught urinating in the open.
The loiterers have created an unwelcoming and at times scary atmosphere for the council's students, employees and volunteers, Sumner-Coon said.
She's asking for two things: Demolition of the former YMCA building, which has become a magnet for homeless people and others, and the establishment of a community-oriented policing house in the downtown area.
Demolition of the building is expected to begin soon.
Mayor Cory Mason has proposed a downtown “COP” house, but questions remain over just how construction would be funded.
At Wednesday night's meeting of the city's Permit and Licensing Committee, Alder Sandy Weidner is expected to discuss her proposal to study the problem of downtown loitering.
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