West St. Paul Community Supports Mental Health Crisis Center

Thanks to Cherokee Service and Southview Animal Hospital for their support.

Nearly 100 people packed West St. Paul’s city hall Monday evening for a City Council public hearing to consider a proposed mental health crisis center.

• 34 people spoke during the public hearing for roughly an hour and 20 minutes.
• A majority of the crowd—roughly four out of five—supported the crisis center, speaking in favor of mental health services.
• A minority of residents spoke in opposition, citing safety concerns.
• West St. Paul’s City Council voted unanimously to approve the crisis center.

What: Dakota County and Guild Services proposed a 16,000-square-foot building with 16 beds to house intensive residential treatment, crisis services, and a “welcoming place to go” 24/7 staffed by the Dakota County crisis team.

Where: The proposed location is the northeast corner of the Dakota County’s Northern Service Center property along Livingston Avenue.

Aerial view of the proposed site with ‘X’ marking the location of the proposed crisis center.

Neighbor Concerns

Nearby residents have voiced concerns at multiple public meetings, including the November 15 Planning Commission, a December 1 neighborhood meeting attended by more than 80 people, meetings with the police chief, and more.

Complaints focused on security concerns and a lack of community notification:

• Our backyard: “Last week there was disclosed a client of Guild that seemed pretty dangerous to the public. I’m concerned our biggest nightmare would come true that something like that comes into our backyard and the first responders are our children.” -John Hansen
• Asking questions is OK: “The suggestion that asking questions about this facility and program constitutes opposition to expanded mental health programs and facilities is misplaced and has a chilling and intimidating effect on reasonable discussion.” -Former City Council Member John Bellows
• Not if but when: “You are going to make us make accommodations for our entire life. The staff at Guild, the staff at the county, they get to go home. We won’t ever get to stop worrying about when something will happen. It might not be for years, but sometime it will happen.” -Britt Drake

Neighbor Support

Other residents and community members spoke in favor of the crisis center:

• Police support: “Three police chiefs are on record, including our Chief Sturgeon, saying they are not concerned about this facility. So I’m personally really proud to welcome this facility to town.” -Former City Council Member Aaron Van Moorlehem
• Valued: “People who are in treatment for mental health deserve to know they are valuable people. We value them. We welcome them. And we will support them in their recovery. … Let’s not let the reputation of our city reflect those few people who turn their back on those in need but instead reflect the majority of our residents who really care.” -Connye LaCombe
• Why not here?: “When I hear about a resource like this being developed and some of the reaction is ‘we need it, but not here,’ my reaction is we need it so why not here.” -Katie Dohman
• Overblown: “Their concerns are real, but I think their concerns are overblown. They say they want this project, but they haven’t proposed an alternative location here in West St. Paul. Their concerns apply to any location you can imagine within West St. Paul because we are largely a residential community.” -Andrew Olson
• Student support:  “I’m a sophomore at Two Rivers High School and I’m really grateful to be part of a generation that works to remove stigma and prejudice around mental health. … Treatment is important and I’m proud to say it could be in my backyard.” -Gabriella Walz

City Council Approval

Some of the issues at play:

• Required: State law requires these facilities to be located in residential areas and requires that cities permit them. The city had no recourse to deny the proposal.
• Location: The city supported this location because residential homes are only on one side of the property and don’t immediately back up to it (the facility and backyards are separated by undeveloped woods). The location also offers easy access to transportation, services at the Northern Government Center, and other nearby amenities.
• Conditions: The city is allowed to place “reasonable” conditions on the use, and the city added several, including requiring security cameras, fencing, and city review of intake policies, among others.
• Safety: West St. Paul Police Chief Brian Strugeon has repeatedly addresssed the security concerns:

“These people are in our community already, whether they’re in a house or homeless or what have you. But this is a place where they can get off the street, or get away from whatever is causing their crisis situation, get them into a stabilized facility to seek treatment to get a more permanent stabilization plan in place to help them in the long run. These people are not going to go out and terrorize the community.”

Council Members said…

• Wendy Berry: “The mayor and I are both on the South Metro Fire board where we’ve been focused so much on the mental health of our firefighters for four years, and I know the chief of police has been really focused on mental health issues there. If we’re not also extending that same accessibility to people in our city, we’re doing ourselves an injustice.”
• Lisa Eng-Sarne: “I want to thank everyone for coming… It means you care a great deal about your community. …  I received three total emails against the project and 33 in favor of it… The community has been largely in support of this and it’s been really beautiful to see everyone’s stories and their willingness to share, and I thank you for your vulnerability.”
• Dick Vitelli: “When Dakota County built the Northern Service Center this room was packed three times as big with people against it. And they were so afraid of that building and that there were going to be criminals and people ruining their neighborhood. It just didn’t happen.”
• Robyn Gulley: “For everyone who took the time to come and speak, it matters a lot. Not just for us to hear these stories, which were both heartbreaking and incredibly moving, but also because it helps send a message to people who are coming into our community that this is the kind of community we are, that we are a loving and welcoming and caring community.”

The City Council voted 6-0 to approve the various resolutions and ordinances related to the crisis center.

Next? The Dakota County board of commissioners is the next step for approval.

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