City News

Salem Elks Lodge wants the city’s help paying for a fence following camping in Cascades

Motor homes and trailers parked at the Salem Elks Lodge #336 RV park on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

Blake Whitson has seen members at the Salem Elks Lodge #336 get threatened and screamed at since the city began allowing people experiencing homelessness to camp in the adjacent Cascades Gateway Park during the pandemic.

Whitson, the lodge’s government relations officer, said a fence would help the 125-year-old fraternal organization keep its doors open.

But they need a way to pay for it and want the city of Salem’s help.

The situation raises questions about what responsibility the city has for nearby neighbors who were impacted by choices the city made regarding homelessness.

Issues arose at the lodge, which maintains a 38-space RV park, in the summer of 2020 after the city of Salem allowed camping in the adjacent Cascades Gateway Park.

Whitson said theft shot up. Extension cords, propane tanks and RV batteries went missing.

But for him, the theft is more of a nuisance.

He said people would wander through the property carrying weapons like a crossbow and threatening people living in the RV park.

“If we lose our members and they don’t feel safe, then we as an organization ultimately cease to exist,” he said.

Whitson said the Elks have been accused of being opposed to homeless people. But he said he’s pushed back on members to say not every homeless person is causing an issue.

“We’re trying to be very cautious that we don’t want to paint the entire homeless community in Salem as a problem because it’s not,” he said.

Adding to safety concerns was a storage unit fire last May, allegedly caused by a man living in the park who shot off a flare gun.

“We felt left to deal with it more or less,” he said. “The way we’re feeling, we didn’t create the problem but we’re suffering all the consequences of it.”

The city closed Cascades Gateway Park last summer to restore it following more than a year of camping with plans to reopen it on Memorial Day. The city set aside $300,000 to clean both Cascades and Wallace Marine Park following camp sweeps. But a recent city estimate put the cost of repairing the bathroom at Cascades at $650,000.

Whitson said because the Elks Lodge is a 501c8, a nonprofit with members, they don’t qualify for charitable grants or Covid relief funds.

Gretchen Bennett, the city’s homelessness liaison, said she looked for a city program or other funds that could help the lodge, to no avail.

“I have not been able to locate funds that would be available for this purpose, nor am I aware of potential private donors,” she said in an email.

The city offers grants to private businesses that are located within one of its urban renewal areas for things like façade improvements, roof replacements or plumbing renovations.

Turner Road isn’t located within an urban renewal area.

A roll of fencing to be installed at Salem Elks Lodge #336 on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

Whitson said fence estimates are around $30,000. He said if not for the pandemic, the lodge would’ve been able to pay for it.

But after gaining 42 members in 2019, they lost those members the following year. The RV Park also wasn’t seeing travelers.

Whitson said they were down $50,000 in revenue.

He said the fence wouldn’t stop all theft, but he said it would cut down on the number of people entering the property.

Whitson said the Elks have been accused of being opposed to homeless people. But he said he’s pushed back on members to say not every homeless person is causing an issue.

“We’re trying to be very cautious that we don’t want to paint the entire homeless community in Salem as a problem because it’s not,” he said.

He said the Elks work with Easter Seals of Oregon to make “welcome home” boxes for homeless veterans who have recently been housed.

Whitson said they’ve made 150 of those boxes in the last two years, filled with pots, dishes, towels and other household items.

He said he wants the city to come up with more solutions to homelessness that are long-term and sustainable, unlike camping in city parks.

Whitson said he’s in favor of the micro shelter villages.

The city had considered siting one at nearby Church at the Park but instead chose a location on Center Street last week.

Courtney Knox-Busch, city spokesperson, said the city knows nearby camping can be concerning to neighboring property owners. She said fencing all of Salem’s parks isn’t possible or cost effective.

“Unfortunately, for everyone involved, these situations are complex, challenging, and complicated,” she said in an email. 

A ‘no trepassing’ sign at the property line for Salem Elks Lodge #336 on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

Contact reporter Saphara Harrell at 503-549-6250, [email protected]. 

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