SKOWHEGAN — Town officials are moving forward with developing an ordinance that would explicitly prohibit overnight camping in public spaces as part of an ongoing effort to address the impacts of homelessness.

Members of the Planning Board and Board of Selectmen appeared to reach consensus during an annual joint meeting Tuesday that Skowhegan should adopt such a ban modeled after ordinances in other communities, including Waterville.

Town staff have been discussing the proposal for months, said Bryan Belliveau, director of economic and community development.

“We’ve got a homeless population that appears to be exploding, but it’s really not,” said Belliveau, who also oversees code enforcement. “They’re just moving around a lot more. … But we certainly don’t want them in our public places and just trashing them. We’ve got to do something to get them out of here.”

Ordinances are generally first reviewed by the Planning Board, then sent to the select board for further revisions if necessary. The select board then would decide whether to put the ordinance before voters at town meeting to seek final approval. Skowhegan’s annual town meeting is typically in June.

Jeff McCabe, vice chairman of the Planning Board, said he would support the new ordinance, but wondered if it would do any more than the current rules for public spaces, which state they close after dark.

Belliveau said that, currently, police can issue trespass notices or warnings but need more authority to make people move permanently.

“Those folks are coming right back,” Belliveau said.

McCabe also said the ordinance would most likely push people elsewhere, rather than address the greater issues.

Road Commissioner Jason Finley, whose crew has helped clean up some areas in town, also said he would support an overnight camping ordinance. But he questioned what the end result would be.

“What are you going to do with them, though?” Finley said. “They’re homeless. We’re going to give them a fine? So they end up in jail?”

Whitney Cunliffe, chair of the select board, said the ordinance would be the first step to addressing problems with the town’s homeless population.

“Right now, we know that our public areas are getting really defiled,” Cunliffe said. “These are some of our nicest places getting ruined, right along the river, where people are taking their visitors. Investors are coming over here, and when they see our public spaces trashed, they don’t want to invest here. So we need to take this seriously.”

Cunliffe said that, recently, a group cleaned up the area by the walking bridge over the Kennebec River, they took out five barrels of trash, including needles and excrement. He also said he received photos from a resident in the Cedar Street area showing the impact of people living in tents.

“I care about homeless. I care about the situation,” Cunliffe said. “But we’ve got to take care of the residents that pay taxes here, and people need to feel safe.”

Adopting something similar to Waterville’s camping ban would be a good first step, he said. 

In early 2024, officials in that city decided to enforce the restriction, which had been in place for several years. They reported the effort was working, but the local shelter was overwhelmed with people moving away from several large encampments.

Skowhegan’s lone homeless shelter, Shelters by Jesus on McClellan Street, was also a sticking point during Tuesday’s meeting.

“The biggest issue we are seeing is not with longtime residents of the town of Skowhegan,” Belliveau said. “These are mostly people that have never lived here before that you’re dealing with. And there’s only one place in town that they’re coming from,” an apparent reference to the shelter.

Some questioned whether the facility was over-capacity or in violation of any other codes. Belliveau said he has visited the shelter three or four times and found no issues.

Planning Board Chair Steve Conley suggested the select board members arrange a meeting with those who run the shelter to discuss the town’s concerns.

The Skowhegan Police Department, meanwhile, is moving ahead with assigning a community resource officer for the downtown area, where business owners and residents have raised various public safety concerns, some related to homeless people. Vandalism also forced the public restrooms in the Renaissance Center building at 60 Water St., which is owned by the Skowhegan Economic Development Corp., to close.

In August, the town entered a lease agreement with a quasi-municipal economic development organization so the Police Department can use that building as a substation. 

The community resource officer, likely working a shift of noon-10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, will be based at the substation, having a presence downtown on foot, on bike or in a cruiser, Chief David Bucknam told the select board at a meeting in August. Bucknam said a police presence downtown during events this summer allowed the public restrooms to be opened.

The town is paying nothing for the space for the first year of the three-year lease.

Voters approved the new resource officer position, along with a new detective position, at town meeting in June.