Mayor Says it Could Take Time Before Issues Around Lincoln Center Homeless Shelter are Resolved

(KNSI) — St. Cloud’s mayor says it will take time before the situation around the troublesome Lincoln Center homeless shelter is solved.

The low-barrier shelter has been at the center of endless complaints by businesses and east St. Cloud residents, including assault, theft, trespassing, sexual assault, prostitution, drug use and drug dealing.

Dave Kleis explains to KNSI the city can’t just walk in the door and shut the facility down. “Then we’d be in court, and what would happen is they would win. And every legal advice we have says, you go down that path, you’re going to lose. You’re going to, first of all, spend a whole bunch of money and then, they get exactly what they want.”

He added it’s also not easy to go in and close the place down. “It takes a real high level to close a place down because of nuisance. You’ve got to have felonies. I mean if you look at the calls for service over the last month none of those rose to a felony level.”

There were nearly 50 calls for service at the shelter between February 1st and March 8th, and the St. Cloud Police Department is stepping up patrols in the area.

According to Kleis, the best way to deal with problem homeless shelters would be if the Minnesota Legislature would allow cities to have more control. “Let us license a homeless shelter. If we could license them, then you would have the parameters that you have to meet, or you don’t get a license.”

He says under current law, cities can only control the zones where a shelter can be allowed. Controlling licensing would give the city more teeth. Kleis plans to talk with state lawmakers about changing that.

The mayor says he wants to see new management at the facility and isn’t interested in the city running the place.

The center had applied to expand from its current 19 residents but withdrew the application after the city zoning board of appeals placed numerous restrictions on the operators.

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