Carrboro town leaders addressing a lingering problem
Emily Burns photo
by Sam Giffin
Carrboro Commons Writer
The Tuesday, Oct. 23 Board of Aldermen meeting hosted the monthly public hearing session during which citizens are allowed to sign up to present their opinions and findings to the board. One issue to be discussed at this meeting brought a relatively large public presence. Many citizens of Carrboro stood up to speak their minds about loitering issues concentrated near the Route 54 bypass.
At the intersection of Davie Road and Jones Ferry Road, day laborers wait between the hours of about 6-11a.m. in the morning for contractors to pick them up for manual labor work. These men are mostly Hispanic and according to a Town Staff report are often accompanied by unemployed men who are not looking for work.
At a previous meeting on Sept. 18, the Town Staff presented evidence they had compiled on issues occurring repeatedly at this intersection to the Board of Aldermen. The report included concerns such as loitering, public urination, littering, public consumption of alcohol, trespassing on private property and harassment of passersby.
The Board approved an action plan for resolving this problem including an increased police presence, a new public trash can and talking with both El Centro Latino and the contracting companies that hire these workers. More significantly however, the Board set in motion the process for instituting a limited anti-lingering ordinance at the intersection and surrounding area between the hours of 5 to 11 a.m..
In recent weeks some of these measures have been implemented. A trash can had been set up and police presence has been augmented over the past month. Many citizens however clearly believed that not enough had been done to solve these problems.
“There has been significant improvement on the street, but that does not solve the problem,” said John Neville, who lives nearby the intersection. Neville said that his wife had informed the chief of police two to three years ago and that they have called the police numerous more times since then. Addressing the Board, Neville asked, “How many calls you need? You all got a job to do. We got children out there catching the school bus.” Although Neville supports the ordinance, he does not believe it will provide complete resolution. “This ordinance is going to be a Band-Aid. It’s not going to solve the problem.”
James R. Harris, the Director of Economic and Community Development for Carrboro, opened the issue with a PowerPoint presentation on how the ordinance would be both effective and not harmful to the day laborers’ chances of getting hired. Harris noted that the laborers were dispersing at about 11AM anyways because they were not usually hired after that time. He also claimed that the ordinance would be a “cheaper and less heavy handed” method of protecting public health safety than simply increasing police attention to the area.
Like Neville, Cynthia Callan worried that the ordinance would not be enough. “I don’t see how this is going to help the problem. I think it’s going to increase the police’s problem of enforcing it.” She is also wary of the possibility that an ordinance might simply move the location where these men wait to seek jobs. “I don’t want the corner moving over to West Main Street,” Callan said. Alderman Randee Haven-O’Donnell pointed out that this is not an arbitrary location for day laborers to wait. This intersection, rather, is used because it is an optimum location for the contractors to quickly and easily pick up workers and get on the highway.
Carroll Brooks stood up to say that the day labor system is the root of the problem. “The solution isn’t an easy one. The problem might move elsewhere if this ordinance is put in place.” Alderman Alex Zaffron said that the crude behavior, not the day labor system, is to blame. Nonetheless the debate continues, and citizens are on all sides. No one seemed to believe that there is a silver bullet to fix these issues.
Furthermore, no one seemed to want to disrupt the ability of these laborers to find work, but all noted that these problems are severe. While some support the ordinance fully, many do not believe that it can possibly solve the underlying causes of the intersection’s crisis. Unfortunately, the people who will be affected most by this debate, the day laborers, went unrepresented at the meeting.
*The town attorney is preparing a new report based on comments heard at this meeting for the next general business meeting of the Board of Aldermen on Nov. 6, when the ordinance will be further discussed and possibly voted on. For more information on Carrboro Board Meetings and Agendas check out www.townofcarrboro.com/gov.htm
The issue, as presented in Carboro Commons, itemizes the real problems associated with day the needed day laborers who do not have a community-appointed place to await employment. Certainly, we all would like to see those most needy engaged with gainful work. Should there not be a place accessible to these people to await their daily opportunities that would be acceptable to the community? Could the community provide a portable toilet, trash can, and perhaps, even a modest rain shelter like there are at bus stops in some places? Would this not be a great humanitarian gain, while solving the problem, and meeting needs (perhaps relieving some public assistance tax burdens)?