Chillicothe — Council chambers were packed with continuing opposition to the proposed “Anti-Camping” ordinance and in support of the homeless.
The session that gave a second reading for the item began with a probably over-capacity crowd, with council president Kevin Shoemaker asking council members if they wanted to move somewhere larger at a different time.
Councilwoman Julie Preston abruptly motioned to continue as is, seconded by Kathy Payne. The motion passed, with the only “no” vote from Dustin Proehl, who also later unsuccessfully moved to table the Anti-Camping item again.
President Shoemaker cautioned that if the Fire Department showed up, they will have a say if the meeting continues. Two firefighters did show up later and made a count, but did not make any announcement or call for the removal of any of the crowd.
Shoemaker promised that in the future, for an issue that would attract such a large crowd he would find council a larger and more accessible space.
This was also the first session for newly appointed Gunner Barnes (D) who fills in for Deirdre Nickerson, and lacking recently resigned Steve Barnes (R).
In the public address portion, President Shoemaker again allowed more than the 15 minutes per subject that council rules call for. Even with that, as he tried to stop speakers continuing on the topic of the Anti-Camping ordinance, some in the audience started to argue and complain, and Shoemaker chastised them.
CORRECTION: Jamie Brown, former councilman and one of the advocates for the homeless at council, pointed out an error in my reporting - which I have confirmed upon review of council's video starting about 55:20. After about 25 minutes of public address on the homeless issue, council voted on a motion to allow more time. It was a tie, and council president Shoemaker broke the tie by voting in favor. Brown states that "the motion passed meant that EVERY person, if they wanted to, could have spoken to the issue of Chapter 555 until such a time that another motion was passed to re-impose it..." "Per council rules, the President does not have the authority to reduce a speaker’s time—he only has the authority to extend it." But Shoemaker immediately announced that he would allow only a couple more speakers, and later cut off a speaker. However, there was no pushback to that at the time, and I missed the significance of this interaction. More soon.
In this session, I happened to video-record speakers in favor of the Anti-Camping ordinance, while there were a majority of speakers opposed to what they were now labeling “Ordinance 555.” (Watch videos in my previous stories for other opponent speakers, and Chillicothe Council’s video of this session to hear other speakers – see below.)
Connie Scott said she was in support of the proposed ordinance, saying it was a very positive improvement over existing law with better treatment of personal property, advisement of assistance, slower action, and smalller penalties.
Nancy Schaffer asked why there is so much opposition to this, with the current vagrancy law being harsher. She said she asked for a lawyer’s opinion, and read what had been shared on Facebook (see companion story).
Schaffer asked if the city had just paid $35,000 to clean up a homeless encampment that was so filthy it was a public hazard. Councilwoman Julie Preston answered yes, the county did spend $30K near the East Main Street bridge (Charleston Pike). Schaffer said that money could have been spent on helping the homeless.
Some speakers noted that police have already cleared out homeless camps in the city limits, and so the Anti-Camping ordinance now has less significance.
In addition, Mayor Luke Feeney mentioned that the Police Department had some concerns and critiques of the proposed ordinance.
Two members of the audience were video-recording the session, as they did previously: AJ Taynor and Stephanie Renner. Find links to their videos in my previous story on the issue, “‘Anti-Camping’ Received its First Reading Amid Protests by Homeless Advocates in Chillicothe Council” (03/11/2025).
Also see my companion story on the mayor’s briefing to council – and councilman Jeff Creed’s proposal to study alternatives for old City Hall and the Municipal Building, and his plans for a part two for the ’roundabout review.’
You can watch council’s official videos on Facebook or YouTube. They lack a view of the speakers, presentation, and audience – but have mostly clear audio, and closed captioning is available.
You can find videos on the March 24th Chillicothe Council session in council’s online accounts: YouTube and Facebook.
Major timestamps:
2:15 Audio starts
24:15 Start public address
39:30 Speakers after I stopped video-recording
55:00 Vote to allow more public access time on the homeless issue
1:31 End of public address
1:20 Proehl moves to table the ordinance
1:31 End of video recording
