Monday’s vote was a second reading, which is often a formality — but when Commissioner Jonathan Barfield, who was the lone vote to reject the ordinance last month, stood by his vote, things took a turn. Three other commissioners changed their minds and agreed with Barfield to overturn the ordinance.
Vice-Chair Deb Hays was the lone vote against denying the ordinance. She wanted commissioners to find other solutions to address the problem first, but according to Commissioner Bill Rivenbark there had been little discussion since the first reading.
“If we had done something about this since the last meeting, I'd feel a little bit better about it but we haven’t," he said.
The county library in downtown Wilmington is where the majority of the unsheltered population goes to sleep and congregate. Recently, there has been a lot of disruption and difficulty keeping the area clean.
Hays said putting the ordinance in place would put the homeless in the right direction to receive the help they need if they want it.
“We are not trying to take anything away from anybody and certainly not the homeless population. They are people too – just like all of us. What we're trying to do, what I feel like we're trying to do is get them to the services that they need," she said.
Commissioners left the issue without a resolution, although Commissioner Rob Zapple called on staff and the City of Wilmington to work on options (his motion to table the ordinance for further study failed 3-2).